Rooftop Dining

For lunch today, I sauteed green peppers and onions while Kevin grilled up some Mushroom Asiago Chicken Sausages.It was my first time noticing this flavor at Trader Joes and since Asiago is my favorite cheese - I grabbed them immediately. Nutrition Facts for those interested...All together, served on a whole wheat hot dog bun with a schmear of dijon mustard and ketchup. Deeeelish.
Another item I picked up at Trader Joes are these Banana Beauties below. (Try saying that 10 times fast)
If you like the fruit leather thingees, you will love these. Simply Bananas - chewy and sweet.


Later on, it turned into a beautiful evening, so Kevin and I decided to head out for a run. Afterwards, we were stretching on the front steps and I decided to take some photos.


My potted flowers out front...there is a pot on each side of the steps and they are doing great!!Oscar looked so handsome next to the flowers.Kevin giving Oscar a kiss. Oscar gives us a million kisses after runs because he loves to lick the salt off our legs. Oscar looked so happy to be getting some lovin from Kevin. (And I just realized that our neighbors have The Sloman Shield! "Shield Your Home...The Sloman Shield!" ha.)
So, after taking the picture above...I was jealous and wanted a picture of Oscar and I like that. Well, it just wasn't happening...Oscar was not having any of it and wanted to get away from me more than anything. Since it was such a great night outside, we decided to have dinner up on the roof top deck! We really don't use it enough.


Baked Panko Crusted Tilapia (from TJs) w/ zucchini sauteed in smart balance topped with tomatoes and a little parm. Oh and fresh lemon to squeeze over the fish.I felt like I should have been drinking wine or something fancier, but we were all out. Crystal Light Lemonade in my Redskins cup was just fine!
I was "picture-happy" tonight, so we set up the automatic timer and tried to get a couple shot. First attempt - Oscar wouldn't leave me alone and the lighting was all wrong.Second attempt was much better. Notice that our plates were cleaned...that means you get to have dessert. Not sure what it will be though...
And I leave you with the gorgeous view of the Baltimore City skyline and Patterson Park from the roof deck...
Hope you enjoyed your Wednesday night...

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Half-Day Excitement

Its Friday and that is reason enough to celebrate, but even better is that I have a half day of work and am leaving for the beach! Jealous? Don't be that jealous - it is rainy and gross outside. I am just excited to get away for a night.


I had all intentions of getting a run in last night, but after Jillian Michael's kicked my butt on Wednesday night - a long walk in the park with Oscar was all that was happening.


Actually, Kevin and I dropped Oscar off and took another walk down to a local Irish bar we have been eyeing up about a mile from our house.


Mike McGoverns Irish Pub. This place is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 5pm-2am and is the epitome of low-key. Love that and we will be going back, especially since I ran into my cousin's cousin (you follow me? ha), who told us he bartends there on Friday nights. This article in the Washington Post describes it best.


After one beer, we headed home and I cooked up a simple, satisfying dinner. Coconut Crusted Tilapia w/ mixed veggies.
For the veggies, I sliced zucchini, white mushrooms, and spinach - sauteed in a drizzle of EVOO and garlic for about 15 mins. Then, I added black pepper, red pepper, salt, pine nuts and shredded monterey jack cheese. yum.


My sweet tooth was all riled up after dinner, so I put together 3 Dessert Wontons.
Inside these wontons was part-skim ricotta, semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and a drizzle of agave nectar. Sweet Tooth -> satisfied.


Weekend Travels

• I am all over the place this weekend - tonight @ the beach - Mother's Cantina - our friends' place that is serving up some fresh tex-mex and margaritas. Full review when I get back.

• Saturday, I am headed to Northern VA to have a makeup artist practice on my face for my friend's wedding in June - will try to take before and after photos. I am not a big makeup person, so it should be fun.

• My other friend is scheduled to be induced on Saturday in DC area also. They kept the sex of the baby a surprise, so it will be exciting.

Lots of fun stuff, but I may drop out of the blogging scene for a bit. I hope to be back Sunday late or Monday early with a recap.


What have you got going on?

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SHIF

SHIF stands for "S00000 Happy It's Friday! (I meant to post this much earlier today, but work decided to get CRAZY.)

A few of you asked for the Butterscotch Bark recipe from my Grandmom and it made me remember that I had made it before and actually blogged about it. It was around Halloween time, so I called it: Halloween Bark! It is super-simple and definitely a recipe where you can stretch your creative legs.

Thursday

I did the 40 min 'No More Trouble Zones' w/ Jillian Michaels using my new 2 pound weights. I am slowly moving up from my soup cans.

Dinner was simple, but perfectly satisfying. Grilled Blackened Tilapia and Zucchini. Kevin put the rosemary sprig in there to make the picture prettier. :)

I also made some Quick Butternut Squash Soup, but completely forgot to take a picture. I have made it before, so the recipe and pics can be found HERE.

Friday

I finally tried a PURE bar - Cherry Cashew flavor.Everything about it reminded me of a larabar. This was basically a combo of the cherry pie and cashew cookie larabar. Extremely delish.
Kevin and I went to a delicious dinner tonight @ The Dogwood in Hampden and I can't wait to tell you all about it. BUT, I need to get to bed because we have a trail run tomorrow morning. I don't plan on doing long mileage, since the mountain bike race is Sunday, but at least an hour will feel good.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Lemon Caper Pasta (1.12.2009)

Ingredients*

• 8 oz linguine
• 2 small zucchini, sliced
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 c white wine
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 c capers

I used the following pasta for this dish, but any fresh linguine would be fine.Saute garlic, onion, and zucchini in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 min. Deglaze the pan with white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add bay leaf.

Add 1T of butter and cook until liquid coats the back of a spoon. Add capers and lemon juice - cook for a couple minutes. (Kevin added the half lemon to the pan after squeezing for extra flavor.) Add tomatoes. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes.
Remove bay leaf and lemon and turn off heat. Add pasta to pan and stir to coat. ENJOY!*Please note that all ingredient amounts were estimated since Kevin wasn't measuring as he went.

This dish was great as-is, but would also be outstanding served with fish.

Have a good night!

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