Foodie Weekend

So this weekend I enjoyed an assortment of excellent food... Friday night I headed to Pescado's China Street with 2 girlfriends for happy hour and dinner. We enjoyed pitchers of Sangria, colorful mojitos, and one big guava jalapeño margarita that was to-die for... It packed some heat too! The great thing about Pescado's is you can dine all night long on their small plates and taste a variety of options. We chose the escolar tostada, fried oysters, and ceviche that was out of this

world. The seafood paella entrée rocked too. The risotto griddle cake underneath the clams, shrimp, mussels, and chorizo made for a unique twist to the traditional meal. The best part was dessert... Avocado Tarte. Everyone who knows me fairly well knows that my favorite food is avocado. I eat probably a half avocado every single day. I use avocado for everything - it replaces my cream cheese when I have lox and bagels for breakfast, and trumps mayo any day on a deli sandwich. So when out came a beautiful graham cracker crust bowl of avocado creaminess topped with whipped cream and fresh mint, you can only imagine my anticipation. Words cannot describe the heavenly taste of this dessert. It was light yet full of flavor - a great way to end our wonderful meal!

On to another favorite restaurant of mine in RVA... Stronghill Dining Company. John and I were able to brunch on Sunday for the first time in a while. After a round of bloody mary's, we enjoyed egg's benedict, but topped with fried goat cheese and smoked salmon instead of the traditional Canadian bacon. It was excellent. I ordered an omelette with goat cheese, mushrooms and

crawfish. It was very fresh - not fishy at all! And of course a side waffle, because I always want a

taste of sweetness with my eggs...

S0... with all that said, hope you drooled a little while reading this post and of course, head down to Pescado's or Stronghill for a fabulous dining experience!

Tradition St. Paddy's Celebration in Boston

It's that time of year again... Ever since my twin sister moved to Boston attend law school at the New England School of Law, I've visited and for lack of a better word, "celebrated" St. Patrick's Day with my sister and her crazy lawyer friends. This year was no different. As we hit the sky in our swanky Jet Blue ride, we started our trip with warm white wine on the plane, only to be followed by copious amounts of beer and shots. While this blog post has nothing to do with food or fitness, I feel the need to share one of my favorite events I've participated in for the past 4 years: the St. Paddy's Day parade in Southie, Boston. Now this is not just any parade. It takes skill and dedication to get through this one glorious day. Each year, my sister hosts anywhere from 4 to 8 people in her tiny Beacon Hill apartment- all women who require showers and hair dryers that blow fuses in the apartment on a regular basis. The effort to get 8 girls showered and ready for a full day of celebrations is nothing short of a special forces mission. First, we set our alarms for 6am, and the first poor soul gets up to begin the shower line-up. Usually the best sport in the house is my roommate Talley, who also forgoes hours of sleeping based on her spot in the room (we somehow shoved 2 inflatable mattresses into my sister's tiny room along with her full size bed to sleep 4 people). Because Talley's mattress is by the door, everyone who goes to the bathroom or enters/leaves the bedroom has to physically step on her inflatable mattress near her head. It's quite the scene, but all in the name of fun and tradition do we endure it.

Following the endless row of showers, we enter the hair dryer line-up, followed by flat irons and makeup... Then the fun part: the St. Paddy's Day gear! Every year we bring up beads, shamrock earrings, glittery stickers, green drinking straws and anything else we can find to dress up our outfits for the day. This year we kicked it up a notch with shamrock knee-high socks and jean skirts. Now that everyone's decked out in glowing green costumes, we move on to a simple yet nutritious breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and of course, mimosas.

And we're off! It's almost 9am and we must get in line at the epic Beer Garden, a bar just off of L street on Broadway. Beer Garden is our annual tradition and now the center of our historical celebration. We are always the first in line so that we can snag the large bay window area in the front of the bar with tables. This allows us to drink, eat and be merry as we watch the parade go by. The staff is superior to any bar staff here in Richmond. They keep the green Bud Light aluminum cans flowing before you even set your empty one down. The Irish car bombs and intermittent shots throughout the day are expensive but worth it when you are buying for a crew of 15. When you come to Boston and role with us, you have to accept that you will burn a large whole in your wallet. Sometimes you don't remember doing it either. All in all, the day wraps up sometime around dinner where we almost always snag an unmarked van cab to take us back into town for a dinner we don't remember, and where we continue to party until we drop. I usually never make it past 11pm but at that point, I've been drinking since 8am and don't mind tapping out for the count. So in a nutshell, the 4th annual St. Paddy's Day celebration in Boston was a huge success. Some people lost their debit cards, iPhones, and dignity, but somehow we all survive.

Thank you to my wonderful sister for making this tradition one of the most memorable times of my life!

I Want My Baby Back Ribs

I tried another new recipe today. This one turned out better than the lasagna I made a couple weeks ago (which turned into noodle, eggplant and mushroom marinara soup). Tonight we ate Baby Back Ribs! At Trader Joe's (I know, I'm obsessed), they sell racks of baby back ribs at a pretty decent price and quality. I got a large rack of ribs for $8 bucks. The plan was to have John put them in the oven, covered in foil with nothing but salt and pepper on them for 4 to 5 hours at 275 degrees. Since I forgot to ask him to do this until 2pm, they only cooked for 3.5 hours at 300, but they were still tender. Afterwards, I coated them in Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ Sauce, followed by Part Time Party Porker Sweet and Heat BBQ Sauce. I got it at a food and wine tasting over the holidays. It's amazing. It definitely packs some heat! The ribs go back in the oven for another half hour covered in foil to let the sauce sink in, and viola! Fall off the bone, finger lickin' baby back ribs. I paired them with grilled asparagus and rice and broccoli. It was so good! I will definitely make this recipe again. Thank you to my co-worker, Jessica for your recipe and help - they turned out great!

South of the Border... er... West End Mexican

Just a quick shout-out blog to share my awesome experience today at Habanero Taqueria. I got the idea to try this place from a fellow food blogger and critic (RVAFoodie), who happened to share another foodie blogger's experience at this authentic taco joint as well.

I took my co-worker, Jessica, with me and headed to Quioccasin Road, just off of Parham Road in the West End (near Regency Mall). It's very close to my office so I was thrilled. We ordered the 3 tacos for 4.99 lunch special - 1 chicken, 1 steak and 1 "al pastor" (pork). The meats were cooked and seasoned perfectly. The homemade fresh salsa was heaven - diced onion, tomatoes and cilantro. What's not good with cilantro??? YUM.

Not a lot of room for seating, and I worry that if you get the tacos to-go, the corn tortillas will be mush before you make it back to work, but I'll give it try next time and let you know. Definitely a "regular" lunch spot for me in the future!

Blinded by the (Florida) Light

Hello hello! Wow, it's amazing what a mini vacation will do to your mood (and your belly)! While I've been running each day while in sunny Fort Myers, Florida, I can't help but over indulge as I freeload off my parents for the extended weekend. I flew in around midnight Wednesday and hit the pool immediately the next morning. The weather down here is perfect. 82 degrees and sunny all week/weekend long.

The shopping is also quite amazing. Miromar Outlets in Estero (between Naples and Fort Myers) has over 140 designer outlet stores, which my Mom and I managed to run through in a mere 2.5 hours. We spent the majority of this time in Off the 5th, where I probably tried on 28 things and only left with 2: a Tory Birch tunic and a pair of True Religion jeans. So pleased.

The next day consisted of another pool and shopping spree. I laid out for 4 hours straight, and then headed to the infamous juice factory for a frozen treat with the 'rents. When I say "juice factory," I really mean Sun Citrus Harvest. It's a huge fruit distributor with a museum like store filled with Florida themed knick-knacks and the best orange/vanilla swirl frozen yogurt. We've been going there ever since I was a kid and for some reason it generated the nickname "Juice Factory" that stuck... After a bit more shopping (Ralph Lauren polo bikini and cable knit sweater), it was time to head home and hit up happy hour at the Club! Cocktails and an amazing dinner of filet mignon, sweet potato puree and french onion soup to start. So good... Afterwards, we headed to Barnes and Noble for coffee, reading and catching up on work - another family tradition down here in Florida. It sounds lame, but to us, it's quite nice to enjoy coffee and a magazine after dinner.

Today managed to top yesterday. After a morning run, we headed gulf coast ride. We stopped by Salty Sam's Marina on Fort Myer's Beach for a bite to eat - blackened mahi mahi and sweet potato fries plus a few havana mango mojitos. Why not? I'm on vacation after all! During the ride home we spotted a few dolphins... they literally swam along the boat, it was awesome...

Fast forward to tonight. We headed to La Casita, yet another regular dining spot of the

Nuara family. I split a pitcher of Sangria with my parents and we dined on soft tacos, chicken and steak fajitas, and of course salsa and guacamole. I almost walked home in an attempt to burn off just 1 glass of Sangria... Oh well, it was worth it!

So tomorrow is my last day in the sun. I'm sad to leave but excited to get home to my regular routine. I'm digging my tan, even if it meant a few burnt areas! My mini vaca was definitely needed, only now I have the spring bug and I'm ready for the summer. Bring it on!

Blondie Soup and Pizza Tonight

I know the name is pretty lame, but it's all I can think of since the soup is yellow. It's my own creation, but inspired from a recipe a friend gave me called lasagna soup. The lasagna soup is a tomato-based version filled with ground Italian sausage and veggies. I decided to make a hearty wintry version instead. Here's the low-down:

• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 32 oz. butternut squash soup
• Trader Joe's soup mix (2 cups worth of chopped carrots, celery and onion)
• 4 chopped garlic cloves
• 2-4 sliced zucchinis (small slices or chopped)
• 2-4 sliced yellow squash (small slices or chopped)
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup of rotini noodles
• 1 package of Trader Joe's garlic chicken sausage (or 1lb ground turkey sausage), sliced
• 1 cup of baby spinach leaves
• fresh mozzarella slices
• tbsp cumin
• tbsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

It seems like a lot of ingredients, but honestly, you can buy almost all of these items already chopped (have I mentioned Trader Joe's is my obsession, or does everyone get the point?). Plus, once you chop everything up, all you do is toss them in a huge pot and let everything boil. As far as the seasoning goes, just make it spicy as you like it. You don't necessarily need the cumin or cayenne, but I like the kick (I'm a spice fanatic).

Place slices of fresh mozzarella on bottom of soup bowl. Pour boiling soup on top, and let it cool just a bit (trust me, you do not want to burn your tongue on this). ENJOY!

Okay, one more food mention and I'm done for the night... PIZZA TONIGHT.

I recently discovered a new make-at-home pizza and I think I'm in love. I don't usually eat pizza. Pizza was always a trigger for me as an overweight kid. I can never stop eating it, and I like the most unhealthy toppings too. I've even ordered a chicken parm slice and a baked ziti slice of pizza before. Who needs a meal on top of a meal, honestly??? So back to the amazing pizza. It's a dpizza kit you can buy at the Farmer's Market (SOTJ), Belmont Butchery, and Elwood Thompson grocery store. The kit comes with 2 balls of homemade dough, a cup of their amazing marinara and secret seasonings. You provide the toppings and cheese. We made our pizza with sliced sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, fresh garlic cloves, mushrooms, mozzarella and feta cheese. It was heavenly.

So, I will post soon on fitness since I've been talking about food quite a bit lately. I've gotten into a cooking kick ever since I started shopping more at Trader Joe's, and my workouts haven't changed much - spin, run, stair climb. I'm going to transition into run, bike, swim and lifting next month to prep for the 10K and of course the up-coming triathlon season. I'll keep you posted!

Polenta Love

Tonight, I've discovered a wonderful new food to cook with and eat... Polenta. It's a corn bread-like grain that tastes very similar to grits. I recently picked up a tube of polenta at Trader Joe's (another obsession of mine), and created a recipe with it all on my own. I called it polenta pesto bites with eggplant. Here's what I did:

Step 1: slice eggplant into quarter inch circles and coat with either egg white or Pam olive oil spray. Drop into bag of Italian bread crumbs and shake up bag to coat eggplant. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Step 2: slice polenta into half inch circles and lay on top of eggplant. Bake for 20 more minutes.

Step 3: top with Pesto sauce (or marina) and Italian cheese or fresh mozzarella. Place back in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

And there you have it. It's a great appetizer option or even a meal since it's pretty heavy with the pesto coated in top. I googled eggplant and polenta and came across recipes that were exactly like mine, which burst my bubble on how amazingly creative I was, but oh well. The photo on the left is a more creative version of what I did, but you get the idea.

I can't wait to cook with polenta again! You can even microwave it, so I may bring it to work with some pizza sauce and cheese and make polenta pizza bites. Yum. The other fabulous thing about polenta is that it's healthy! A fifth of the tube (pictured) is 70 calories and ZERO grams of fat. Plus, it has a little bit of fiber and protein, too. I sliced about 8 circles of polenta and only used half the tube. I am truly psyched about cooking with polenta more often. And yes, I know I'm a complete nerd too.