Monthly Archives: October 2010

10 miles on 10.10.10

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Hey there world! Is there a better day to run 10 miles than 10.10.10? I don’t think so! I put on my running legs and completed the run in 1:35. Yahoo! I want November 14th to be tomorrow!

 

Pre-run I had a piece of peanut butter toast (Ezekiel bread).

 

Mid-run I walked for a block and had a shot block.

And I drank Gatoraide. Word to the wise, water down your gatoraide. I didn’t and it kinda made me nauseous.

 

Post run I enjoyed my favorite recovery beverage:

Chocolate milk, and yes, I put salt in it 😉

 

For dinner I made roasted butternut flat bread. I used the leftover butternut squash and combined it with onion, garlic, oregano and EVO. I used TJ’s whole wheat dough, topped it with goat cheese and let it bake for 10 mins at 450 degrees.

Yum! This was delicious. I will be making more. Is there any dish that can’t be improved by butternut squash? I didn’t think so.

 

Hope everyone had a fun, restful weekend!

Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli

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Since tonight is my first weekend night off in forever I decided to make something new and fantastic for dinner! Confession time: Butternut squash is my new obsession. It is so fall like. This girl might not be able to get a cider doughnut but at least I can have butternut squash.

I started by peeling and cutting up the rest of the remaining butternut squash. I roasted the whole thing and saved some for later.

I roasted the butternut squash with olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. I cannot get enough of this honey! I used less honey than last time and it gave the squash a light, sweet flavor that complimented the taste nicely.

Mix it up and roast at 425. Keep an eye on it. I think I left it in for about 35 mins.Once you remove it from the oven set aside a half cup or so of the squash and refrigerate the rest.

Time to get cracking on the dough! I used Jenna’s recipe because it only had three ingredients and was simple. Since it’s my first time making my own pasta I didn’t want to be too crazy.

Use a 3/4 cup of flour and a pinch of salt, make a volcano with the flour and put the egg inside.

Start to gently work the dough with your fingers and work it until it is in a ball.

Put in a bowl, cover with a damp towel and set aside for 45 mins.

Take a break, put on some music, check on your squash.

The squash should come out before the dough. I also sauteed garlic and onions. I added it to the butternut squash and mashed it up.

Set this aside and dig into your dough! Flour the counter and your rolling pin and roll it out really thin.

Cut the dough into strips and put butternut squash on the dough.

Take the squares and put their tops on, use a fork and compress on all sides.

Boil water and cook until the pasta rises.

While the pasta was cooking I made a simple butter sauce. I took 2 tsp. of butter and browned it with pine nuts. Put the ravioli on the plate and pour the butter on top of the pasta. Grate Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!

I was worried that this wasn’t going to be a big enough serving but it wound up being quite the hearty portion. I love the browned butter sauce with parm. It is so easy to make especially since you’re already making a multi-step dinner with homemade pasta. The pasta itself was pretty good considering it was so simple. I am left wondering how hard it would be to make other kinds of pasta. I may have to try that soon! And the butternut squash? There are no words. I am in love and my new boyfriends name is ‘butternut’.

Butternut squash is a beautiful thing.

Signs of Fall

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Happy weekend! Sorry for a lacking of posts the past two days. Yesterday night I had a blast with my friend David. We volunteered at an event for Glsen and I saw the cast of Big Love, the cast of Modern Family (I told Manny where the bathroom was!), the screenwriter of Milk, and some of the cast of Dancing with the Stars. It was super fun but I didn’t snag pics. Gotta maintain cool around the celebs. I dad have red wine and a dirty gin martini at the Polo Lounge. It was fab!

I woke up this morning and high tailed it to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. Signs of Fall were everywhere! Love that crisp Fall air!

Beautiful, right? I love the farmers market. After a busy past 5 weeks I finally have a weekend with very few commitments (beyond 250 pages of reading, a group meeting, and a 1o mile run). I took advantage by cleaning my apartment and watching The O.C. I also have something epic in the works for dinner so stay tuned! I hope you are all having a fab weekend!

Posted in LA

How to Survive a Rainy Day in LA

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I know I shouldn’t complain, but it has been rainy for the last few days. This is a rarity in LA and a mark of Fall and Winter. I especially shouldn’t complain especially to my family and friends who live in Chicago and Boston and put up with crappy weather for most of the year, but when you are used to perpetual sunshine rain can take you by surprise. Here are the essential steps to take.

1) Get your cute rain gear out! Its harder to be upset about rain when you have a cute outfit on. I suggest an olive colored trench coat and adorable rain boots. Mine are hot pink.

2) Get ready for a long commute. Good news: rain in LA is almost apocalyptic so everyone else will be late too.

3) Watch “Rainy Day Women”, from Season 2 of the O.C. Yep, its that episode where it rains. Seth and Summer kiss upside down while he wears a Spider Man mask because he has no rain gear (in So Cal, no one carries an umbrella on rainy days because its ‘so crazy’). Other highlights include Lindsey moving to Chicago, Sandy vowing to help Rebbecca and her fleeing after a car accident, Julie and Kristen drink at the office and try to one up each others drama (husband helping convect ex girlfriend vs. lesbian daughter), and everyone talks about how no one can drive in Southern California when it rains. Overall, it is a rainy day in So Cal classic and MUST be watched.

Source

4) Pour yourself a cup of tea. That is what I did when I came home from school. It was chilly outside and wet. All I wanted was a cup of tea. I used Winter Tea that my brother bought me from the coffee shop he worked at in Wilmette (our hometown), Links Sweet Bean.

Yum.

 

“What’s that Mom?”

“MMM! Tea!”

“Can I have some? Please?”

Because the Tea is loose I used a lovely tea pot I got for last Christmas.

The tea was exactly what I wanted on a cool, wet day like today. Nothing is better than wrapping up in a blanket, drinking tea, and watching the OC. And never fear. The number 1 rule of rain in LA? It won’t last long. The sun will come out tomorrow (or the next day at the very latest) so enjoy the rain while you can.

The Nasoya Tofu U Pledge Party

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**It’s not too late to vote for my champagne luxe on a PBR budget in round 3 of Project Food Blog. You can vote here. Thanks for your vote!**

Tonight was such a treat! I was invited to the Nasoya Tofu U Pledge Party hosted at Palihouse in West Hollywood. I was excited to attend this great event.

If your a reader you probably are thinking, “tofu?! I’ve never seen her eat tofu!” You would be right. But something that I have been discovering recently is that I really like a lot of foods I thought I didn’t like. Recent discoveries include Brussles sprouts, beets, and mushrooms. I had a sneaking suspicion that tofu would go the same way as beets and tonight confirmed my suspicions.

felt so official with my name tag!

First of all, the Palihouse in West Hollywood was a beautiful venue. I loved the decor, it reminded me of my apartment.

The event was to promote Nasoya’s new website, Nasoya Tofu U which give you the low down on tofu including tofu basics, several different recipes, how to videos featuring Sabrina of Rhody Girl Tests, and a pledge (you get coupons!). We sampled some of the Tofu U recipes at the event. Guys, I’ve officially changed my mind about tofu. Here are a few reasons why…

Tofu Spring Rolls

Was there even tofu in this? It was delicious. My biggest gripe with tofu and the reason it hasn’t been incorporated into my diet is the consistency. I could not tell that this dish had tofu in it and it was yummy.

But the star of the night was the Moroccan Tofu.

The seasoning in this dish were spot on. It almost tasted like pad thai because the dish had peanuts. The tofu, again was well prepared and the consistency didn’t both me. I ate several spoonfuls of Moroccan Tofu and it was delicious. I really want to recreate this at home.

I also got to meet Kim Barnouin, author of the Skinny Bitch Cookbooks! She was so nice and chatted with all the bloggers. We got a copy of her new cookbook “Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cooking”. Based on a perfunctory reading it looks like it will be a great addition to my kitchen. I love how she lists servings and calorie information after all of her recipes. You will be seeing it on the blog!

Overall it was great to meet some LA area foodie bloggers and get more acquainted with tofu. Now I can put it on my list right next to beets!

The Olive Kitchen + Bar

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**Please vote for me and my Luxury Dinner Party (feat. truffle butter and honey roasted veggies) in Project Food Blog. You can vote here. Thanks!**

To celebrate both the end of midterms and the start of Restaurant Week LA, Kelly and I had dinner at The Olive Kitchen + Bar in the Grafton Hotel. We got an awesome three course meal at a fraction of the usual price. We’re talking three courses at the price an entree and a glass of wine would typically be. Great deal!

Yep, we braved the rain. Nothing keeps us from a good deal!

I really liked the space that the restaurant is in. The Grafton seems like a really trendy boutique hotel. I’d love to see more of the actual hotel. The restaurant was casual which was refreshing. The prices on the regular menu are pretty pricey but the restaurant itself didn’t seem stuffy.

Because its restaurant week the menu was three courses and there were three options for each course. We had no problem picking because everything sounded amazing.

We started with  Beef Carpaccio seasoned and thinly sliced tenderloin, summer asparagus salad, grape tomatoes, shaved parmesan, parsley piccata and mustard balsamic aioli.

This was one of the stand out dishes of the night. The meat literally melted in my mouth and the sauce on the beef was amazing and had a horseradish flavor. The salad was light and wasn’t over sauced. Very delicious! This is something I would order again.

We also ordered Roasted Beef and Buratta roasted beets, burrata cheese, horseradish sicilian pistachios red beet and sherry puree.

This dish was another favorite of the night. The beets were fantastic and paired well with the cheese.

For our entrees we ordered Linguine with Clams.

The clams were delicious but the white sauce left a little to be desired. The flavor fell a little flat. For me, I think I prefer clams in a white wine sauce but I did like that this dish was a different take on a classic. The clams themselves were delicious. I totally horded them from Kelly.

Our second entree was Kelly’s choice, Crispy Roasted Chicken.

The chicken came with mashed polenta and grilled asparagus. The slaw on top was delicious and flavorful. I wish the mashed polenta has more flavor but have I ever had bad grilled asparagus? Obviously not.

The final course was dessert. We ordered White Chocolate + Wildberry Bread Pudding.

The creme sauce was good but the cake was a bit dense. The creme broke it down a little bit. Overall, not the best dish of the night but not poor.

The real stand out of the night was the Traditional Homemade Tiramisu in a Burnt Caramel Sauce.

I always love tiramisu  this did not disappoint. The tiramisu was light like a pillow or a cloud and so delicious. The best part of the dish was how the tiramisu was on top of the burnt caramel sauce. I’ve never had tiramisu with caramel before but it was so good. This confirms what I already believe, that there is no dish that cannot be improved by the addition of caramel.

Overall, I liked the Olive Kitchen + Bar. I didn’t try the cocktails but they looks delicious (there is a pear martini I had my eye on) and the appetizers and tiramisu are the clear standouts.  This would be a great place to hit for happy hour in the future!

*also, the midterm is over. It never tasted so sweet.

Do you plan to participate in Restaurant Week? If so, where do you want to dine?

6 Miles + Pizza

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Hey blog world!

Today has been an insane day. Between midterm studying, blogging like its my job, and cleaning I did manage to squeeze in a 6 mile run. I knew when I made my Half Marathon Training Schedule that I planned a taper week. Thank goodness this was it. After the 10 miler on Wednesday I needed a “short” long run. I had a great run. It was cool, overcast and wound up being super sweaty.

Afterward I was ravenous and I consumed several slices of pizza.

This pizza had onions, garlic, heirlooms, chicken and blue cheese with S&P on whole wheat crust. It tasted so fantastic after a long run!

Should be a busy week ahead. I have a midterm tomorrow, a special event Tuesday, and voting for Project Food Blog all week! Clearly I have to get a good night sleep. Hope you had an awesome weekend!

Taking a Hike to Tom Petty

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This has been a very busy weekend! Yesterday I hosted a luxurious dinner party for Project Food Blog Challenge 3. You can read about that here. But on Friday I saw Tom Petty for free at the Hollywood Bowl. But its not really what you think…

My friend Leanna is a sound monitor at the Hollywood Bowl. For those that are unfamiliar with the Bowl, it is an outdoor concert facility in Los Angeles. It is in Loz Feliz and nestled in the same hills that house the Hollywood Sign. I love Tom Petty so of course I said yes when Leanna asked if I wanted to see him for free. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect about where we would be sitting.

When we arrived at the Bowl we drove up, up, up into the residential neighborhood surrounding the Bowl all the way to the back entrance which is way up on the hill. We entered through a nondescript gate and hiked up a trail. At one point I turned around and saw this:

If that tree wasn’t partially blocking the shot you would be able to see a view of Los Angeles from downtown to century city. It was a very clear night and you could see everything!

We hiked down the trail a little further until we have a great view of the stage. Of course we weren’t close but we could see the entire audience and the stage.

That blue thing is the stage. What can I say? The song had just ended. Not the greatest timing.

And don’t worry, just because we didn’t have ticketed seats, that doesn’t mean we didn’t eat and drink like we did!

I picked up Clementine on the way to the Bowl.

I also came prepared with some adult beverages…

Is this not the cutest beer cooler ever?

Petty played all the songs I wanted to hear while I ate my BLT and he was so great. When he played “Free Falling” we could see and hear the crowd singing and swaying along. He also played other favorites including “American Girl”, “You Don’t Know How it Feels”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Refugee”, and “Runnen’ Down a Dream”.

Representing Simmons at all times!

I will say, the only down side of watching Tom Petty from a hiking trail is that when nature calls there is no bathroom…

What can I say? I’m the daughter and sister of Eagle Scouts. I know how to rough it and this bathroom had hey, a killer view of the city. How often do you get to enjoy that?

Overall, it was a once in a lifetime LA experience. It was a special night and a great way to kick off the weekend! Major thanks to Leanna for inviting us!

Project Food Blog Round 3: Champagne Luxury on a PBR Budget

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Yesterday night I hosted a luxury dinner party for challenge 3 of Project Food Blog. Let’s just say that the theme of the night wound up being, “four guests, crazy honey”.

When I read the prompt for challenge 3 I was initially worried. “Throw a luxury dinner party?” I thought, “how can I do that when most of my friends don’t even have dining room tables?” I have maintained on this blog that just because you are a student and short on cash, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fabulous party! Personally, I think there are two keys to this: 1) use ingredients you already have and 2) use a few, really special ingredients in simple dishes. I did both last night and I think I accomplished my mission.

I decided to throw the party at my friends Catie and Emily’s house because I have a midterm on Monday and it looks like a Wills and Trusts bomb went off in my apartment. Unless dozens of pages of tiny family trees with dollar amounts next to them is your idea of luxury I knew it just wouldn’t work. Plus, Catie and Emily have a big, open concept kitchen which allows for plenty of chef to guest interaction. The kitchen is the heart of every home and I love cooking surrounded by friends. Catie’s long time friend Jackie also attended.

My favorite part of dinner parties is cooking with everyone, sharing stories and laughing. We had to start with wine of course!

Once the vino is poured the party really starts rocken’.

One of my pieces of advice if your on a budget but want to host a luxe dinner party is to use what you already have plenty of. I happen to have a ton of honey leftover from making baklava last week so I incorporated it into every course. Honey was used liberally in the creation of this meal.

Explaining the importance of using what you got

As you might have gleaned from the title of my blog I am a bit of a Barefoot Contessa fan. I love Ina because everything in her world is always fabulous and even challenging dishes are so easy and simple to make. All I want to do is move to the Hamptons and eat leftovers with Jeffrey.

I always take study breaks when Barefoot is on and yesterday was no exception. While watching I decided I had to make a cheese appetizer she was featuring: Baked Brie with Honey and Pecans. I served it with farmers market fresh honey crisp apple slices. I made this first so my guests could enjoy it with wine while I prepped the rest of the meal.

Another Barefoot classic was the entree: Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter.

This dish is amazing because it has very few ingredients and you might actually have some of them lying around the house. One thing that won’t be lying around your house if you are a twenty something graduate student is truffle butter. Lucky for me, it was on sale at Whole Food this week! Even I can afford $7 for “the finest truffle butter in the world”.

Can you believe my friends had never tried truffle butter?

This dish cooks in a matter of a few minutes.

While the pasta was being prepared I honey roasted some fall vegetables. This is a simple recipe that utilizes honey, because I have an excess of it, and some great farmers market finds including the first butternut squash of the season, carrots, parsnips, and walnuts.


If you read my blog you know I’m a sucker for roasted veggies. This is a sweet twist on your typical roasted veggie.

And then, dinner was ready.

Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter

and Honey Roasted Fall Vegetables


Dinner is served!

Who says you can’t have a luxurious meal and sit on the floor? I think we proved them wrong last night!

And then it was time for dessert… Vanilla Ice Cream with Drizzled Honey and Raspberries.

Simply delicious.

I am so glad I have made it this far in Project Food Blog and was able to serve this fantastic dinner party to these fabulous ladies! I was able to combine simple and special ingredients with the ingredients I already had to craft a tasty dinner for everyone. The best part of any dinner party is getting together with old and new friends, swapping stories and laughing. We had a wonderful, food coma inducing time. Thanks for being a part of it!