whew, this week is proving to be a whirlwind already!  In order to take a break from it all I thought I’d come back to my happy place and blog about a recent visit to a possible wedding spot.  Even though our wedding date isn’t set exactly, we have an idea to look out for September 2012.  I know you’re thinking, well why the heck are you already looking when it’s 2 long years away?!  True True.  I confess, once I get my mind going on something there’s no turning back!  We visited a local golf course/country club called Anthem and it was gorgeous!  

I’m not quite sure why the wedding thoughts all of a sudden, even though we’ve been together for 4 years now, but Chris and I sat down and thought it would be a good idea to just set a ‘date’ and start saving.  Two years should give us enough time to graduate with our Masters and save up if we can buckle down and put some away each month.  I just want to start looking to get an idea of what’s out there.  Plus, well, it’s just plain darn fun!

I don’t want a big, lavish, over the top crazy expensive wedding.  I just can’t fathom spending that much moola on one night, no matter how special it is.  I have been looking at all sorts of wedding ideas and man oh man it’s tough not to get all googly-eyed on all the extravagant things you can do.  Then I just think about the price tag and get slapped back to reality.

Ok, I’m kind of thinking an Italian, rustic, Tuscan, backyard type wedding theme?  I love the idea of a backyard wedding.  Something simple yet elegant.  Oh yes and I love sunflowers and don’t care if I don’t see a single rose.  I’d also love to have those hanging light bulbs like you see on patios.  Kind of like this but with more greenery?

[photo by: Leigh Miller Photography]

and this . . .

[source]

This one on the other hand, may be a fire hazard . . .

Anthem is at the South end of town and sits pretty high so that it has a gorgeous view of the valley.  Not sure why we always seem to choose the spots looking at the strip from afar

Anthem invited me, my groom and wedding party for an Open House showcasing their wedding venue which included different vendors they prefer and free samples of their appetizers and cake.  I’m always up for that.

The dining room was just gorgeous and I think I got a bit googly-eyed to be honest.  (Thank you to Kristen who let me use some of her pictures since I was a doof and forgot my camera memory card).

There were a few photography vendors.  Chris actually found some friends from high school in one of the books!

This cheese was outstanding!

A little bubbly.

I guess you can have balloons and even fireworks.

cool drink favors.

I thought this potato bar was the coolest idea ever.  Basically the chef scoops out whatever kind of potato you like into a martini glass (purple, sweet, or russet) and then tops it with your favorites.  This would be awesome for a party, not just a wedding.  I think you can guess what party I’ll be having next *wink, wink*

Chris and I definitely want to have some kind of live music during the cocktail hour, especially jazz or a crooner type.

Imagine sunflowers and probably smaller

And the cake was ah-mazing!

Quite a big sample to try and I couldn’t resist them.  We liked the almond with strawberry mousse a lot and she said she makes a banana cake with peanut butter mousse too.  I’m sold!

We didn’t get too many pictures from the outside, but here are some others from the Anthem site . . .

Well there you have it, what do you think for a first wedding venue choice?  I was actually surprised at how reasonable the prices were too.

I also want to say thanks to Kristen for joining us and being one of my bridesmaids!!!!  I can’t wait!

There’s actually another bridal show I found on Sunday and I may go just for fun!

Any wedding ideas/advice from those of you who have been there?

These are the coolest pieces of bread to hit the market and they are very versatile to use for all sorts of quick recipes.  While the ingredients list is a little longer than I’d like, they are only 100 kcals, have 5 g of filling fiber, and taste great.  As a Foodbuzz tastemaker I was sent a few packs to review and share my favorite grilling recipe with them!  Soooo here goes 

Because I’m all about the unconventional things to grill . . . because I love pizza . . . because I love anything mini and cute . . . why not grill them as mini pizza thins?  It was delish and super easy too!

You could really use these for all sorts of things like sandwiches and burgers of course, breakfast or patty melts, baked into crispy chips for hummus, etc.  I’ve seen many of you out there get creative with them as well.

Instead of a pasta sauce base for the mini pizzas, I whipped up some vibrant pesto to use up some basil I had in the crisper.  Basil made into pesto = love.

Quick Pesto

• About 1 container TJ’s basil (a few bunches had gone icky and I had to pick them out)
• 2-3 cloves garlic (mine were on the smallish side)
• 1/4 cup roasted pine nuts
• 1/4-1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil + a good splash of white balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Buzz this in a food processor to mix well.

Chris helped to slightly grill each sandwich thin on a low flame, just to get a slight golden color and crisp.

I sautéed some tofu cubes (2 blocks from TJ’s) and mushrooms (8oz) in a little olive oil in a pan, and then summer squash (3 yellow) and cherry tomatoes (1/2 small carton).  This is always a great topping for pizza!

Once the thins were done grilling, I placed about 1-2 tbsp of pesto on each sandwich thin (I made 12), topped with about 1/3 cup of veggie mix, a handful of mozzarella and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Ready for grilling!

Chris placed them on the grill for a few minutes for the cheese to melt, and put them on the upper rack if they were getting too charred.

These were so good!  Pair them with a nice side salad and you’ve got yourself a meal!  They would also be great as an appetizer at a party cut into smaller pieces.  Another dessert pizza version we wanted to make, but didn’t get the chance to, was using nutella as a base and then topping with chopped fresh figs mmm

Have you tried Oroweat sandwich thins?  What is your favorite creation to make with them?

Many times taking a full vacation out of town is not always feasible or affordable, so to celebrate our 4th anniversary Chris and I decided to have a mini staycation at the M Resort!  It’s fairly close to us, easy to get to, and is a beautiful hotel.  It’s also not too far from the Strip either, but we kind of like being off the hustle and bustle of the strip ‘looking in’ from afar.  It turned out to be a quick trip, and I wanted to stay longer of course, but it was fun and gave us a little break time together.  

After getting off work, we packed up and made the whopping 40 minute drive over to the M after dropping Buster the Basset off to the vet.  Poor guy, he always gets so excited to go for a car ride when it’s usually going to the vet or getting a bath.

I was so impressed with our room!  It was gorgeous and very spacious.  I haven’t been to a ton of hotels on the strip, but this one by far is at the top of favorites.

I got the strip view room and boy oh boy what a view!  I sure wish I had a wide angle lens!

By far my favorite was the bathroom.  You can sit in the relaxing tub and look out over the gorgeous view of the strip.  Love.

Oh and yes it also has a shade that can come down automatically if your other half wants to light up the bathroom while your still trying to sleep.

. . . and a TV in the mirror if you want to watch TV 24/7.

Pretty snazzy carpet.

For a little extra I ordered some chocolate covered strawberries and they were kind enough to also hand write a note to Chris for me

The M Resort has many restaurants to choose from that all looked really good, but we decided on the buffet because it is $22.95 (M-Thur) with complimentary wine/beer.  You really can’t beat that.  To be honest I do not go to buffets and I avoid them in Vegas at all costs because many of them are not good.  The ones that are good are outrageously priced and I could never eat enough to justify the price.  The M Resort buffet is pretty darn reasonable and the food was actually delicious.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Buffet tip #1: Don’t get all googly-eyed and just load up your plate with everything.  Look over everything they have first (and take pictures if you’re a blogger), then make a few selections based on what you are really craving.

There was a ton of food to choose from and I couldn’t possibly have taken pictures of it all, but here are a few . . .

Lots of salads.

Chris said the tabbouleh was just ok so I skipped that one.

Mahi Mahi roasted on what looks like a bamboo stick? neat and yummy!

The sushi was delicious!

Buffet Tip #2: Keep the first round on the smallish side, with bites of what you are craving.  That way if you go back for second rounds, which is more than likely, you won’t go overboard.

My first helping favorites . . . sushi, cucumber salad, chicken teriyaki + fried rice, caprese salad, and the tri tip was fork tenderlicious.

Buffet Tip #3: If you’re not crazy about something upon first bite, don’t eat it!!  The bread had too much black pepper in it for me so I set it aside.

Buffet Tip #4: If you are going to go back for seconds, keep it on the smallish side and if you’re pleasantly full don’t go back.

I failed on this one because I was pleasantly full first round, but I was on a sushi kick and it was delicious.  ah well.

I also had a complimentary glass of Chardonnay with dinner.  It was actually pretty good and not too oaky.

Buffet Tip #5: Try not to walk by the vast array of tempting desserts lurking and calling your name.

Ok, we can just as well throw this one out the window!! ha!

The best we can do is pick a few that look good and take a few bites from each.  That way you can savor the flavor and try not to get every. single. one.  There were just too many beautiful choices and they were mini!!  I’m a sucker for mini desserts.

By far my favorite was the pistachio mousse and then I took a few bites from each of the others.  Deee-lish!

After finishing up with dinner we met a friend and headed over to the Hostile Grape for a little wine tasting and live jazz.  I love wine and jazz, especially when they are together.

You go down a flight of stairs to a cellar-like room that is filled with comfy couches, wine tasting kiosks and live music.  It’s a great place to hang and chat.  It wasn’t too crowded for a Thursday night and it’s a lot more packed on the weekends.

The decor is really neat.  Posh. Sophisticated. Sultry.

Cool ceiling.

I started with a Lake Mead Cocktail hehe or you could call it water and ice.  They also have an array of cheese platters and wine flights to choose from.

We perused the kiosks and chose a few to sample.  I wish they had a description of the wine characteristics somewhere or signs with the different regions of wines.  I like to know what I’m getting ready to taste, or at least have an idea of what to choose from.

I settled in with a small glass of this Zinfandel.  I was feeling something fruity and it still had a nice round finish.

We chatted it up for a few, listening to the relaxing sounds of jazz.  I really enjoyed it.

We said goodbye to our friend and then we, well Chris, somehow had the idea to gamble.  I have never gambled in my entire life before this, besides MegaBucks maybe once or twice.  Even though I have grown up and lived in Vegas all my life, I never had the desire.  I don’t know I just don’t see the point in chancing the loss of your hard earned money for that one fat chance that you may win?  I just don’t like that feeling.

We decided to play some blackjack which isn’t too hard and doesn’t have terrible odds.  It was actually fun!  It’s nice to chat with other people and we found a $5 table that is somewhat reasonable.  I also enjoyed a complimentary black russian cocktail.  I never knew for the longest time that you get free drinks at casinos when you gamble!  Imagine that.  I didn’t take any pictures of the casino of course because I would have been escorted out or arrested, but it has really nice decor.

After we played blackjack for about an hour and our money was almost gone, Chris decided to play his luck with some craps and we actually ended up breaking even + enough for breakfast the next day!  woop!  I don’t mind gambling as long as that happens whew.

Soon enough it was way too late, er early and I was pooped!

Sure didn’t mind falling asleep to this view though  . . .

Or waking up to this the next day . . .

Breakfast at the buffet was delicious as well with lots of selections.  Here’s my plate + 1/2 slice of macadamia nut french toast (not pictured).  I didn’t eat all the bacon because I like it crispier.

I had a 1/2 cup of coffee with a side of chocolate milk.  I love chocolate in my coffee.

I saw this at the coffee shop nearby and I just had to take a picture.  I think that is the largest danish I have ever seen!

I had to make a quick stop into work for part of the day, but that wasn’t too bad.

We certainly had a really nice time at the M Resort and wanted to stay a few nights longer.  I really wanted to hang out by the pool and catch up on some rays and reading.  We would definitely come back here in a heart beat!  Sure wish they had more ‘locals’ deals though.

Hope you have a nice weekend friends!!!

Do you have a favorite staycation spot?

Hello!  Chris and I made a bee line for Mt. Charleston last Friday to get in some good ol’ camping and biking.  We kind of got everything together last minute, and it was a pretty short trip, but we had fun!  It was nice to get out of the Vegas heat and not have cell phone service for a little while.  Sometimes it’s just nice to sit out in nature with a book in hand, a cool breeze at your back, and nothing but whispering trees and chippers climbing up your leg wanting more pistachios.  

Since I had Friday off last week, most of the day was spent scrambling for last minute food items for our trip.  Usually Chris thinks you can just hop in the car and go camping in a flash, but there is a lot more packing and crap getting than one might think.  Well, we had borrowed a lot of the gear of our last camping trip, so we still had to purchase another sleeping bag, propane, grill, blow-up mattress, pump for said blow-up mattress, propane lamp, fire wood, and various other miscellaneous items that you must buy while in the camping section of a Big 5 Store.  After we finally got all of our junk in the trunk, along with all our bike gear, we were off at about 4pm, geezsh!

It takes about 1.5 hours to get up to Mt. Charleston from where we live and we just had enough time to get the tent set up, blow-up mattress pumped, and the fire started before dark settled.  It is a really nice campground and even has a nice bathroom and running water.

The site was a little slanted, but we made due.  Chris likes taking the job of making the fire like a manly man, so I happily took some pictures to document our trip.

Once the fire briquettes (fire cheaters) were nice and hot, with the help of the lighter fluid (we’re really roughin’ it), it was time to get the dutch oven pre-heated.  I LOVE this thing for camping.  You can literally make anything and everything in this one heavenly pot.

My absolute favorite meal for camping is cornbread topped chicken pot pie.  I had already prepped everything at home before we left, so I just had to throw everything in the pot once it was heated.  Nice!

There are only a few modifications that must be done for making this at higher elevations and in a blasted hot oven on a bunch of hot coals.

• Decrease baking powder by half in the cornbread section of the recipe.
• Add about 1/4 cup extra milk in the cornbread mixture.
• Add about an additional cup to 1.5 cups of liquid for the pot pie base because it can evaporate quickly!

We were really roughin’ it though because amidst the chaos of trying to get everything together, we totally forgot to bring the BBQ utensils . .  doh!  So Chris used some sticks to handle the hot cast iron and managed to not burn himself.

Briquette chopsticks . . .

Wonderful light from the propane lamp . . .

Nothing like a warm bowl of goodness, snuggling by the fire in the chilly night with your man

Oh yes, did I mention we forgot our chairs?

woo-hoo!  Time for s’mores!!  This is the ultimate camping must have and I always look forward to s’mores while camping.  At least we didn’t forget those!

More resourceful use of sticks since we forgot our skewers.  They worked pretty good actually.

I think I woke up about 8 times during the night randomly, and the wind started to pick up, but we were up at the crack of dawn getting ready for the day.  I made some scrambled eggs, wrapped up with turkey meat and cheese in a ww wrap.

We also had some fresh fruit and cottage cheese on the side.

mmm TJ’s fresh OJ is the bomb.

While Chris went down the mountain to meet a friend to blast back up to get ready for the Mt. Charleston Race, I waited and messed around the camp site and read a few of my books.  It was really nice to just sit and have nothing else to think or worry about.  I even made friends with a little chipmunk.  I made the mistake of giving him a pistachio and then he kept coming back and even started crawling up my pant leg!!  crazy.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of that.

Once they got back and took a quick break, we all left for a 25 miler.  The views were gorgeous and the weather was a bit warm and gusty.

There are only really 2 ways to bike around Mt. Charleston though . . . straight up or straight down.  There was certainly lots of good hill training and it felt great to get in some killer climbs.  The downhill was a bit scary though because it was so gusty.

After our ride we packed up and headed back into town that evening.  I really didn’t want to come back and always look forward to another camping adventure.  I just hope we can remember more things next time . . .

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Many thanks for all your wedding wishes!  We have started looking at different options to see what’s out there and I will let you know and I’d love your help in our decision

Have a great week!

Do you enjoy camping?  Any funny camping mishaps?

Happy Wednesday!  This Asian-style peanut butter sauce is very versatile and can be used in all sorts of things.  I mostly like it with roasted veggies, noodles and tofu, but it would be a great marinade for chicken or for a satay dipping sauce  for a party with chicken skewers.  I really just like it I think because it is heavy on my favorite peanut butter flavor.  I will also warn you that this is not the lightest sauce in the world, but it is full of healthy fats and sure tastes good!  

This time around I wanted to use spaghetti squash for the base and also made some soba noodles for Chris.

For the spaghetti squash, since it was pretty big, I cut it into 4 chunks, drizzled it with olive oil, salt and pepper, covered it with foil and roasted it at 400 F for approx. 40-45 minutes.  This squash is super easy to make and many of you throughout the blog world already have made it.  I love how when you scoop it out it’s stringy like spaghetti!  Such an inventive name for it, no?

For the rest of the dish I sauteed some summer squash that I got at the farmer’s market called pattypan.  Have you seen these before? They look like little stars or spaceships to me.  Very strange looking creatures they are.

And looking closer I spotted a bug!  I actually like seeing a few bugs on my produce which indicates no chemicals were used

In addition to the squash, I threw in 2 chopped blocks of TJ’s Teriyaki tofu into the pan as well.  Once those get nice and seared and golden, I add the sauce to the pot!

Asian-Style Peanut Butter Sauce

• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1.5  tsp  grated peeled fresh ginger (about a 1” cube) or you could use powdered ginger
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 – 1/2  cup  natural-style peanut butter
• 1/4  cup  low-sodium soy sauce
• 3  tbsp  rice or white wine vinegar
• 1  tsp chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)

Simply mix all together in a small sauce pan or you could microwave it until softened.  Then pour it over the sautéed veggies and tofu and serve atop the spaghetti squash or soba noodles.  Yum!

It’s a great flavor combination and I could pretty much eat peanut butter any time of day.

Messy but good!

Another one of my peanut butter sauce inspired favorites is a similar version of this but with a curry peanut sauce.

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I know many of you were interested in the metabolic efficiency topic, and I hope to get that up by next week.  It’s really interesting and I do think there is something to this.  I am now moving into the competition phase with more grains and sports nutrition products when needed, but the focus is still on fruits, veggies, healthy omega-3 fats, low-fat dairy and lean protein.  I do believe that I was one of those that justified a pretty high level of carbohydrates most of the time, but that really isn’t necessary and periodization is key.  We’ll see how this goes as I increase intensity, while supposedly metabolizing more fat for energy.

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Don’t forget to vote for LIVESTRONG in the Almond Breeze Taste and Make a Difference Challenge!  I think we are in last place so hopefully we can remedy that by August 22nd when it ends.  All it takes is ONE click in the widget on the right to help if you haven’t done so already. And if you have . . . THANK YOU!

***Let me know if you click or have clicked already and I will be choosing 2 readers next Friday to win a free coupon for the refrigerated version of Almond Breeze.  Love this stuff!

***For an additional entry leave another comment letting me know you tweeted too!

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Have a great week, almost Friday!!  In other good news . . . . After 4 years together, this September 26th, Chris and I have finally decided it is time to start planning for our WEDDING!!! We still have to save up and it will be pretty low-key, but we are thinking April or September 2012  You guys will have to help me decide on a place once we narrow them down or if we can even find a place that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg. 

I believe we are going to be heading to Mt. Charleston on Friday for some good ol’ camping, along with the silence and serenity of nature and some cycling.  Should be fun, but I’ll have to deal with no Twitter and blogs  I swear I’m addicted!

Is there one food you could eat anytime of day?  (Mine is peanut butter if you couldn’t guess!)

Yes, that is a strange combination, but this weekend I was mostly busy prepping and planning for a friend’s baby shower, as well as catching up on season 5 of Weeds. Oh my gosh!! That show is ca-razy! Does anyone else watch it? We don’t have Showtime, but the season premiere is starting and I sure wish we did! I guess while we’re on the topic to tv shows, I’m also super excited about the start of ‘It’s Always Sunny’ in September. That show is pretty crazy funny too. Honestly, I don’t watch that much tv because it takes so much time and once I fall into our old, dilapidated couch I can’t seem to pry myself up. I’d rather not get stuck if I can help it, but every once in awhile it’s fun to get lost in a fictional story where the lives of the characters are much more crazy, twisted and down right funnier than mine. Read on, there’s lots of pasta salad and mini cupcakes to be made!  

When I first found out that my friend from school was having a baby shower I immediately wanted to help! I always enjoy making large batches of yummy food and enjoying it with friends. It wasn’t like your typical shower where about 20-something women get together and play random baby games like guessing the melted candy bar in the poopy diaper.  It was much more casual with family, friends and couples invited to socialize at her church and hang out.  Even though we were expecting about 70 people (yikes), it was going to be in the afternoon so snacky, appetizer items would suffice.

I decided to make a batch of refreshing pasta salad, along with mini cupcakes.  It turned out fairly easy, even though I wish I had an industrial kitchen!

The pasta salad was simple with a light vinaigrette dressing since I pretty much despise those creamy, mayo-laden salads with more mayo than pasta or veggies.  ick.  I won’t give particular measurements because I kind of winged it and you probably wouldn’t want a recipe this large anyways!  I’ll put the approx. measures in ( )

• elbow macaroni (4lbs)
• various colored bell peppers, chopped (6)
• cucumbers, chopped (3)
• feta cheese, crumbled (4 cups)
• 4 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• large jar of marinated artichokes + the juice for the marinade
• white balsamic vinegar + olive oil
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, AP seasoning

That’s it!  Just throw everything together and let it soak and marinate overnight.  My kitchen was soooo HOT after this.  I had the burners going to boil all the pasta and the oven blasting for several batches of cupcakes.  It’s still pretty hot here in Vegas and in the 100s, so the house was a blazin’.

Now for the mini cupcakes, I took some help from Betty Crocker and yes, I used a box mix.  I don’t really mind them either, the dark chocolate mix is divine!  I did make my own frosting because I don’t like all the added ingredients in the store bought ones.  Cream cheese frosting is very very simple and very very good.

• 2 blocks of cream cheese (I used one light)
• 2 sticks of butta (oh yes)
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2-3/4 tsp of almond extract (I really like this flavor but it is optional)

Mix everything together until smooth and decorate!  I also added some blue food coloring until it was a light blue for her baby boy.

Buster the Basset always like to help in the kitchen just in case I drop anything  Usually I have to wake him up though.

I’m not the best decorator, but I was in a rush!

I adore anything mini!  Just for comparison . . .

The food was fab!  Everyone enjoyed the pasta salad and cupcakes.

I really liked the hummus selection too

One friend made chocolate covered pretzels with the date on them, very neat!

Guessing games!

Gifts!

The shower went really well and I liked how low-key it was.  There was a diaper raffle where if you bring in some diapers you get entered to win a gift card to a restaurant.  There were also some other guessing games like when the baby will arrive, how much it will weigh, etc.  Everyone had a nice time.

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After cleaning up and heading back home, Chris and I decided to go out to eat for once and made another low-key, but delicious selection with Al’s Garage.  It’s very informal and you can pick your seat when you walk in.  There are tv screens with sports all over the place and the walls are tagged with graffiti.  Fun!

Sometimes you just feel like a beer and a burger!  I ordered a blue moon and Chris got a deep, dark Guiness Stout.

For dinner you can build your own burger for $8.95 and sweet tater fries can be subbed for free, yum!

I got the ground chuck patty on whole wheat, with roasted peppers, mushrooms, onions and ziki sauce.  The patties are not freshly formed, but it was still delicious.  I just wish there would have been more ziki sauce.  I had 1/2 the burger with the bun and then the rest without the bun.

Then we decided to get dessert because they have deep-fried Twinkies, oh dear.  I can’t tell you the last time I’ve even had a Twinkie, but hey, got to try it fried at least one time!  I had 1/2 of it and it was actually pretty tasty, but rich.  Imagine that.

Once we got home, we had a marathon of Weeds watching and are on the edge of our seats for season 6!

Hope you had a nice weekend!  I honestly can’t believe where the summer has disappeared to.  Does anyone else know?  I managed to fit in a swimming sesh and body pump, but need to get back in gear . . . I’ve got a century coming up in October, eeek!

What’s your favorite TV Show?

I just adore salmon!  I think I could eat it every day and then some.  There is nothing like a perfectly cooked flaky, fatty fish, crusted with delicious goodness atop a bed of fresh greens, black beans, and oranges.  It sure is refreshing for summer!  The one and only thing that I don’t adore so much about salmon is the price, boo.  Oh yes and the other thing about contaminants, colorings added, and PCBs, major boo.  I try my best to get wild when I can, but man, $18/lb + is sure a steep hill that I don’t like to climb that often unless I’m eating out for a special occasion.  I’ll admit that I did buy farmed at Whole Foods this time because it was cheaper at $13/lb.  They say that it is sustainable with no added hormones.  It sure tasted good, you’ll see!  

I also believe that the benefits of eating fish 2x per week far outweighs the risks, just avoid those that are known to be higher in mercury (shark, swordfish, King mackerel, tilefish, albacore (“white”) tuna).  I wouldn’t recommend eating farmed salmon every single day either, as much as I’d like to.  I have been trying to eat more fish and most of the time I have my canned wild salmon from TJ’s and then try to incorporate fresh fish if I can.  I really want to get the cookbook Fish Without A Doubt to get even more ideas on sustainable fish recipes.

Let’s get on with this recipe!  I can’t take all credit for this recipe, but I received the idea from a family friend and adjusted it a bit for what I had on hand.

Cumin-Crusted Salmon Salad

Serves:2 (this recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, but I was on a budget)

Ingredients

For the Salmon:

• 2- 6oz salmon fillets
• 1.5 tbsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• red pepper (if you want a bit of kick)
• salt and pepper

For the Salad:

• ~2 heads of romaine, chopped
• 1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small can mandarin oranges, drain but reserve 2tbsp for the dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• sprinkling of goat or feta cheese

For the Dressing:

• 3-4 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp of reserved mandarin orange juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (we like our dressings tart)
• sprinkling of salt, pepper, cumin and paprika

Directions

Mix all the salad and dressing ingredients together separately and then divide each among 2 (or more) plates.

Place all the spice ingredients together in a large shallow dish, then coat the salmon fillets in the spices.

Gorgeous salmon!

Sauté over medium-high heat (careful the salmon doesn’t burn) for about 5-6 min per side depending on the thickness and your desired degree of doneness.  I like mine with a slight pinkness in the middle, but not raw.

Then plate the salmon on the salad mmm

This was one of my favorite meals in a long time and it was so satisfying and fresh.

Look at that crust!  A few seconds more in the pan and that would have been burnt, yikes.  I love the pressure of cooking . . . one moment there is perfection and then 2 seconds later there can be disaster.  I’ve done that a lot with the broiler, ha!

Well, there you have it, an easy fresh fish recipe for summer.  Hope your week is going well!

What’s your favorite fish? Or if you don’t eat fish, what’s your favorite dish of late?

Any cooking timing disasters (i.e. forgetting about the broiler)???

Hello there!  I can’t believe that it is just about mid-August.  Where does the time go?  Seriously. Where is my ‘stop time so I can think’ machine?  I hope you all had a nice weekend and are soaking up the last few moments of summer.  I experimented with a curry recipe this weekend which didn’t turn out the best, tried to get organized with the randomness of my desk, had some contemplative moments about life, went for a bike ride, and attended a friend’s margarita party.  But first . . . . and foremost . . .

Holy Moly!

Chris made a slick move on me Friday evening and slipped this on the table without me noticing.  I couldn’t believe it and I about had a heart attack.  Our anniversary is coming up and his old boss was selling all his Canon gear, so he got dibbs on this macro beauty.

And let me tell you . . . I have no idea how to use it, ha!  I’ve been trying to read up and experiment, but boy I have a lot to learn.  I think the lighting is really going to be key because this lens is sensitive to bad lighting, which we have a lot of in our house.  I also have to get a smaller table because you have to be fairly far away for shot with a 100mm.

A few experiments . . .

I didn’t have enough fruit sweetness for this green smoothie in a bowl and it didn’t taste that good, but looks pretty!

Little hairs on the raspberry!  The lighting is pretty terrible, but you get the idea!  Now if only it was a 1-5x macro I would be able to see the hair on the tip of the hair hehe

I’ve been having a lot of yogurt in a bowl lately, mixed with a scoop of cottage cheese, Any Whey protein + nuts, fruit and peanut butter on top.  Oh yes and in a cute new bowl from Home Goods  Love that place!

This next one I was messing with aperture, meaning how much light the camera lets in.  This aperture is fairly closed at f/11, meaning the shutter speed has to be slower to let more light in and focus.

This next one, I widened the aperture to f/3.5 and see how it blurs the background and accentuates the raspberry?  Pretty neat, but I think I like the first one better?

I also got a little gadget called the puffer which helps with softening the flash.  I’ll probably only use this when I need to get portraits in weird lighting, but it’s pretty neat too.

The first picture of the bananas is just plain, nasty flash. ick.

The next one has the puffer attached and it’s not the best, but a bit better and softer!

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Ok, and now for my curry experiment. . .  It was ok, but not the best.  Le sigh.  I think it was the tofu I used though.  I wanted to try TJ’s higher protein tofu, but it was super firm and the texture wasn’t right with me.  I like when tofu is not too firm, but slightly soft. I’ll have to get a softer version next time.  The tofu was very bland as well.  I think I need to experiment with marinating it first because the second day the recipe was a bit better.

I don’t have a cool Tofu Xpress, but used a handy tupperware that was just too short for it and pressed it down with the lid and stuffed paper towels around it.

We shall try again next time.  BTW, the next day I toasted up a corn tortilla, topped it with the curry mix, an egg, and sliced avocado and it was tasty!

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Now for some margaritas!!!  I know India to Mexico? but hey it’s all good!

My friend had a margarita-inspired party to show off her cute margarita glasses she got at Pier One for her birthday.

There was lots of tequila involved and she definitely has the good, aged stuff.  That black bottle is sourced from her home town. Very neat!

Kristen made a killer black bean salsa that was very tasty and she said it was super easy.  Go check it out!

So here was my first one, but I didn’t like the flavor of the mango mix too much and only had a few sips.  Those glasses are so huge!

I started with some chips and salsa.

And then it was time for some Mexican lasagna mmm this was good.  This would be a great recipe for the week because it make a butt-load and would be tasty for leftovers.

The filling of ground beef, spices and beans was layer between cheese and lasagna noodles.  Kind of like an Italian-twist, no?

Oh yes I went for some more salsa! munch munch munch

Here was my second attempt and the strawberry mix was much tastier and the liquor was sure smooth.

A little messing around Photoshop which is another thing I have absolutely no idea about.  That program is sure neat, but there is so much to learn and takes lots of time.

We are silly!  It’s funny when we get together because we take a bagillion photos while everyone else must think we’re crazy.  It’s fun!

Oh yes and dessert!!  Our lovely hostess made a chocolate cake version of Tres Leches.  It was moist and lover-ly.

Awwww Louie!!  Isn’t her doggie cute?  He’s such a ham.

I actually made it to body pump this morning with Kristen and her sista, it was fun!  Then I ran around for some errands and did a bit of cleaning.  Now, I better get dinner going.  I’m thinking cumin-crusted salmon salad.

Did you vote for LIVESTRONG yet?  We can do better than 5%!!! Time is running out, tell your friends, yell in the streets!   or just click for LIVESTRONG on the widget on the right to help Almond Breeze distribute 25,000k to help those with cancer.   Many thanks

Have you had any fun parties inspired by a theme?

I guess I’ve been on an quinoa kick and whipped up another delicious dinner with the funky red quinoa stuffed into a kabocha cup.  I don’t know why but I’ve also been on an egg kick lately.  When nothing else sounds good, I think of a nice runny egg or two on top of something. Strange? I guess I’m getting my choline fix.  Or egg whites, oh yes egg whites, I’ve been microwaving those up a lot too.  Not sure what it is about them, but I am loving them at the moment!  Let’s see what this creation entails  

Kabocha is surely one of my favorite squash varieties to cook up.  I will even turn on the hot oven in the middle of summer for it.  Oh yes, it’s that good!  It’s very similar to an acorn squash, but a tad bit sweeter, just not as sweet as a sweet potato.  It almost has a creamy like consistency with little fibrous threads.  Even though it is tougher than steel to cut into when raw, the skin is actually really tender to eat after roasting and adds some more fiber.  I found Melissa’s site for kabocha’s nutrition facts although the macros are not in the right order.  Seems to be right though.

I always seem to have quinoa hanging around and then add whatever I have in the kitchen to it.  Simple!

This time I added some frozen chopped spinach, a couple sautéed chicken sausages from TJ’s, cranberries, pine nuts, parmesan and various seasonings like garlic powder, all-purpose, salt, and pepper.

Once you can actually break that steel-like skin and cut it up, you can scoop out the seeds.  I’ve never tried roasting those before.

I roasted mine at 375 F for about 40-45 minutes.  I like to sprinkle them with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and then cover them with foil to help keep them moist.  If they don’t stay moist, they won’t soften no matter how long they roast.  I’ve found this out the hard way!

While those are cooking I simmered 2 cups of quinoa with the frozen spinach in 4 cups of water.  Once that was done, everyone else went into the pot.

Then simply scoop the quinoa mix into the kabocha cup Voila!

I topped mine with some more parm and pine nuts.

It kind of looks like a Pac Man, doesn’t it? hehe and it likes to eat quinoa

This was great for leftovers too.

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I got some other goodies in the mail that I want to share with you!

Mitzi the Nutrition Expert sent me some McCormick spices to experiment with since I won her giveaway.  I adore herbs and spices so I’m excited to get cookin’!  I have my eye on the curry powder for a dish later this week.

Another gadget I’m excited to use is the Cherry Chomper! haha isn’t it cute?  Big thanks to Heather for sending it my way.  I am loving the cherries at the farmer’s market so this will be great.  I could imagine that kids would go crazy over this too.  Well, I am a kid at heart

Well, that’s about it from here, it’s almost the weekend!  Yay!  My friend is having a margarita inspired party this weekend and I hope to get another bike ride in

Any foods you’ve been on a kick with lately?

I completely spaced that I was going to announce the winner of my reGen giveaway!  oopsie.  I also had to work on Saturday, so it’s been a little busy.  The weekend is coming to an end once again, so I’ll do a quick re-cap of randomness and share a nice dinner we had a Nora’s Wine Bar for a friend’s birthday.  

Friday . . . wasn’t too eventful since I had to work the next day.  I did make a quick experiment in the kitchen with some sardines I’ve been wanting to incorporate into something.  I know, I know you probably think, sardines? icky.  But actually they aren’t too bad and packed with protein and healthy fats.

This pack has 220kcals, 12g of fat, and 26 grams of protein.  Nice!  I decided to mix it with a can of drained chickpeas and then added the juice and zest from one lemon.  That’s it!  I made a side of kale chips and micro’ed a little sweet tater as well.  I really enjoyed this dinner, but Chris said he would have liked it better for a side.

I’m sure the possibilities could be endless with additional flavor components to add to it.

I even added some grapes to it for lunch the next day.

And for dessert I had some peaches and cream (1% milk).  My grandma used to always make it for me with whole milk and a few spoonfuls of sugar  Both Chris and I were pretty pooped and actually made it to bed by 9pm!  That’s a record.

Saturday . . . I got to sleep in till 5:30am (whoo-hoo!) and made it for a nice 18 mile bike ride before work.  I was planning on 30, but I just didn’t have quite enough time.  The weather has actually been pretty nice here recently, well, nice as in 101F.  I cannot wait till it gets in the 80s, and then winter will roll around and I’ll be complaining it’s too cold

Even though I had to work, it wasn’t all that long and we were planning on going out to dinner with some good friends for a birthday in the evening. She wanted to try out Nora’s Wine Bar and we happily obliged.  We’re always up for trying out a new place of course!

It was a bit fancy but the food was really outstanding.  Many of the items are also local from the Mario Batali’s Farmer’s Market that I like to go to every Thursday.  Very Cool!

The interior was very nice and well decorated for sure.

The menu is really extensive and we had a difficult time trying to decide on what to order!

You can even sample wines if you like.  They give you a card when you arrive and you simply insert it into a slot and press a button for a sample size or a whole glass.  Fun!  I decided to try a glass of sauvignon blanc with dinner which was nice and refreshing.

We started out with the caprese appetizer with fresh buffalo mozzarella and marinated cherry tomatoes.  aaah fresh mozzarella how I love thee!

I had 2 of these.

For dinner I decided on the chicken thighs with a citrus sauce.  They were delish!

Chris got the wild boar ragu pizza which I had to have a few bites of and it was phenomenal.  It kind of tasted like a pulled pork pizza.

Our other friend got the same wild boar, but it was underneath a bed of nutty farro.  mmmm

Everyone said their dishes were really tasty.

It was so nice too that they brought an assortment of tasty desserts for the birthday girl!  They were all amazing and there was even an eggplant mousse.  I couldn’t even tell actually.  Oh yes and some pistachio gelato, milk and dark truffles, and a molten lava cake.

It was a great evening and always so fun to catch up with good friends again.  Even though it was a bit pricey, it was well worth it and I would definitely come back for another special occasion.

Sunday . . . Chris and I woke early again and barely made it to the ride that we posted for the Green Valley Cyclists.  It was a fairly flat 31 mile ride.  I’m kind of experimenting with metabolic efficiency, so I am trying to keep my workouts moderate for the next 2 weeks in the preparatory phase of training.  I’m also reducing the amount of grains in my diet and incorporating more lean protein, beans, healthy fats, and lots of fruits and veggies.  I’m basing this off of Bob’s Seebohar’s book ‘Metabolic Efficiency Training:  Teaching the Body to Burn More Fat’.  It’s actually really interesting as I have been working with and learning more about metabolic testing as well.  I can tell a difference in my definition, but I am really missing grains! (this topic will definitely be another post)

During the ride I hydrated with water + electrolytes.  After getting back from the ride I had a chocolate milk at the coffee shop to chat with other riders, and then when I got home I made this smoothie goodness.

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup Almond Breeze Chocolate
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 1/2 frozen naner
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 tsp peanut butter
• 1 scoop Any Whey protein powder

Chris also made me two eggs sprinkled with salt, which don’t look the best ha!

There was a lot of other munching going on today.  I think I had a handful of pistachios and cashews, grapes, banana, and I also made a munchy plate like this with avocado, carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, hummus, tofu, and muenster cheese.  And of course lots of hydration.

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Ok, now I’ll stop with the blabbering and announce the reGen winner!

Erin said . . .

Sounds like a great recovery product. I’ll definitely be trying it. Thanks much for the info! I just voted, too. 

Congrats Erin!  Send me your information and I’ll get that 4-pack out to you.

Don’t forget to help Almond Breeze distribute a large donation to charities and vote for LIVESTRONG! (widget on the right)  Every vote makes a difference in the fight against cancer

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I’m kind of bumming at the moment but hopefully will emerge stronger.  Thanks for reading, much love <3