I'm Baaaaaaack!

Dearest readers,

Apologies for my extended absence over the past...FIVE months?! There have been a lot of changes in my little food-loving life, most of which will earn their own posts, but to get you all caught up...

In May, I left my job and so many wonderful friends in Charlotte to return home to California. I'm starting a graduate program in Public Health at Berkeley in just under two weeks from today, and have spent the summer relaxing and unwinding in preparation for this new chapter. Rob and I drove from Charlotte to Santa Barbara in less than 4 days with Tucker in tow. That adventure kicked off a summer of change that I can't believe is coming to an end. Rob transferred to his company's office in SF which made both of our lives a little easier. We have settled into a little home in Oakland (more on that in a future post). My family took an amazing vacation to Turkey, which of course will get its own post.

For now, a couple of thoughts:

Change is hard, but I've found that it's most important to trust yourself when making big decisions that will shake up your world.

I was deciding between graduate programs in all different parts of the country, including one in the city where my best friends live; one just two hours from the life I had built in Charlotte and from where I thought Rob would be living; and one, Berkeley, that promised frequent visits to and from family in California. Over the past five months, I've made a lot of decisions with a lot of help from others, but ultimately, I had to learn to listen to myself and trust that things will work out. The best advice I've received all year is don't look back and regret your choices; instead, move forward knowing you made the best decision you could have at that time.

The last few months have left me feeling like a very lucky girl.

Vegas

I've been absent from blogging for a few weeks now and can't believe it's already March. So far, 2013 is racing by and I can't find the "Pause" button. Here are some photos from an amazing weekend in Las Vegas with Emily and my parents, eating delicious food and seeing some very interesting (sometimes beautiful, sometimes sketchy) sites.

View from the plane - hello, desert

Playin the slots like a champ

Red Rock Canyon hike

Smokey Robinson and some Aussies

Red Rock Canyon

Branzino crusted in sea salt at Milos

  

Carving the fish

Happy birthday, Mom!

Happy (noseless) Emily

The fish is flown in fresh every day

Rock Shrimp at Sushi Samba

Sea bass (wish I had a better picture) and steak with mushroom curry 

Sushiiiii

Tuna tacos and little dumplings with pumpkin

If only the country were smooshed together and I could visit her every weekend. Love you, Em!

Toggy Tuesday: Where is spring?

We've had some crazy weather in Charlotte. It was 60 degrees on Friday (like, I ran outside in a t-shirt and shorts) and then snowed on Saturday. Since then, it's been windy, raining, and cold. This weather would have been welcomed with open arms for a three-day weekend, but oh wait, Rob and I both had to work on Monday instead of celebrating our Presidents. Bummer. We moped a little but had a really fun weekend anyway, full of delicious eats (pork banh mi at Peculiar Rabbit for all you Charlotte peeps) and beautiful friends.

My main squeeze Caroline

  

Snowy Charlotte

Homemade pizza (whole wheat dough, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes) with balsamic asparagus

Now on to better and brighter things...this weather makes me crave spring and summer. I love bundling up and drinking tea and making fires, but I'm so ready for summer weather. Sorry for the overly optimistic list below, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for warm days ahead!

1) This American flag bikini from Target. Every girl needs one, and no girl should have to pay top dollar for something she'll probably only wear for Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July. This is the perfect middle ground.

2) These new Lululemon headbands: I think this thick, moisture-wicking headband will be perfect for the sweaty summer weather. I love the colors (especially bleached coral) and am most definitely going to buy one next time I head to the mall.

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3) Summer salads. I love Pinterest for a lot of reasons, but today I love it because it's getting my excited for all the light and delicious food I'll be eating when it gets hot outside. How delicious does this look?

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4) I'm sure some people think these are dumb, but I adore these little state necklaces. A bunch of friends here have North Carolina ones, but I'm a little partial to this cute California one from Etsy.

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I also think these from Nordie's are super cute!

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Toggy Tuesday - February!

New month, new faves. Here we go!

1) Sparkling water, specifically La Croix: I can get a pack of 12 from the Teeter for $4 and love having these as something special. One of my New Year's resolutions was to stop drinking soda -- I didn't really have it very much before anyway, but I wanted to completely cut it out. Now, when I want something other than water or tea, I grab a La Croix. To be honest, the Berry flavor is kinda bad and the Peach-Pear is a bit questionable, but no matter - I like the fizz. Grapefruit is the best I've had so far!

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2) Breaking Bad: Rob and I are finally on the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad. If you haven't seen it, please go home right now and watch Season 1 (available on Netflix!). My interest in meth, which stems from my reading this book, is totally fueled by watching this show.

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3) This picture of Baby Hil: 

Boots, riding pants, black turtleneck, Barbour, Burberry sunglasses? Get it girl. We had lunch together on Saturday and she looked like a little movie star.

4) Flywheel: Have I talked about this yet? My friend Meg got a bunch of coupon codes for this spinning studio so I've have a bunch of free classes. The room is dark, the music's loud, and the bikes keep track of your performance so you can check your progress online anytime. I was a little intimidated at first (they give you clip in shoes and everyone seems super intense), but the people at the Charlotte studio are all very helpful and friendly. The workout is really hard, but I love that spin classes go by so quickly (when you have good music and a good teacher). If you have a Flywheel studio in your city, I suggest going and trying it out! Even better, the first class is free!!

5) Greatist Health Blog: Add this blog to your reader - trust me. There are good articles and podcasts about health-related news and research, interesting recipes, new workout ideas, etc...

Turkey burgers

I can't believe it's already February 1. January flew by and, as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, I can feel spring lingering just around the corner.

This week, I tried to keep my eats pretty simple after being so sick on Sunday and Monday. I made a batch of delicious "Mexican" turkey burgers Tuesday night that I've been eating the rest of the week:

Ground turkey
Sliced grape tomatoes (or any tomatoes you like)
Cilantro
Diced onion
Cumin

Mix all these together with some salt and pepper (and hot sauce, if you dare). Don't handle the meat too much, though, or else you'll overwork it and the burgers will become tough. I managed to get five burgers out of a package of meat. I sauteed three and broiled two - I think broiling was more successful as it cooked out a lot of the fat but kept the burgers juicy. After they were cooked, I quickly seared the broiled burgers to give them some color.

I topped mine with sauteed onions and tomatoes, TJ's corn salsa (my favorite), and sriracha and ate it on a bed of spinach. I loved the tomatoes in the burger!

Weekend in Raleigh

This past weekend, I headed to Raleigh with ma girl Ashton to visit our wonderful friend Erica (and to meet her very special boyfriend, Parker).

We arrived Saturday morning just in time for brunch. Parker and Erica took us to a chicken place called Beasley's. Now, normally I wouldn't order fried chicken, but they swore it was delicious and I can't say no to two people convinced this place is delicious. I got the Chicken Biscuit (fried chicken on a homemade biscuit with pickled green tomatoes and spicy mustard) and a side of beets in a citrus vinegar.

Erica and Parker both got a brunch special that they said was delicious - fried chicken on a biscuit with queso and a fried egg. Parker also got a block of pimento cheese mac n' cheese. Aren't they adorbs?

After brunch, we headed back to Erica's house and napped for a few hours. I awoke to the sweet sound of a chip bag opening, and we happy houred with some guacamole. After primping for the night ahead of us, we picked up Ali and Austin and headed to Centro for dinner. Centro is a very cool Mexican place in downtown Raleigh.

We started with a pitcher of delicious, fresh margaritas and I ordered the stuffed poblano pepper with rice, mint, and plantains on a bed of black beans. It was verrrrry delicious and the perfect dinner before a long night of beers and celebrating Marshall's birthday.

The next morning was a bit of a struggle, but we headed out for one last meal together. Erica and I split a frittata with avocado and tomatoes and an omelette with spinach, tomatoes, ricotta, feta, and mozz. Cheesy goodness. The home fries were amazing, as was Parker's outfit.

Sadly, upon my return to Charlotte, I came down with the stomach flu or some stomach virus that left me totally incapacitated for about 36 hours. My eats yesterday consisted of a piece of toast, a bowl of rice, and a popsicle, but I was just relieved to be able to keep any food down. Very happy to be on the road to recovery!!

Can't wait for Parker and Erica to make it down to Charlotte so Ashton and I can take them on a food tour of the Queen City.

Homemade Thai

On Friday night, Rob and I were hankering for some ethnic food. After some lengthy deliberation, we settled on Thai. After a quick glance through the pantry, we realized we could easily whip something up with what we had instead of spending money on take out. Dinner turned out pretty delicious (especially the chicken), so here's the recipe!

Thai Curry Chicken with Coconut Rice and Brussels Sprouts

Rice:

1 cup of rice (I used sushi rice but you can probably use any kind)
1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
1 Tbsp. of red curry paste
Salt and pepper

Rinse the sushi rice many times in water, swirling it with your fingers. Put the rice in a pot and add the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and cook for ten minutes. Remove the cover, add the curry, and keep at a low heat for another ten minutes.


Chicken:

Chicken breasts (I used leftover rotisserie chicken which was perfect and easy)
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp powdered ginger
Salt and pepper
Coconut oil
Onion
Spinach
1/3 - 1/2 cup coconut milk
Lime

Sautee the vegetables in coconut oil and ginger. Add the chicken, coconut milk, and curry. Stir together until well combined and the flavors have settled (5-10 minutes). Squeeze lime juice over the food.

Brussels Sprouts:

B Sprouts
Ginger
Salt and pepper
Coconut oil
1 clove of garlic

Sautee the brussel sprouts in coconut oil and garlic. Add the ginger and cook until browned.

Enjoy!!!

Weekend Update!

This three-day weekend has been absolutely perfect. Friday night, I was totally exhausted (and so was Rob -- congrats on finishing his first full week!) so we ate in and watched Safe House with Denzel and Ryan Reynolds. Ehhhhh....decent movie.  For dinner, we had super easy chicken tacos. If you have a slow cooker, make this. It's cheap, foolproof, and delicious. Basically, put chicken breasts (or thighs) in the slow cooker with a jar of salsa. I used spicy salsa verde but any kind of liquid-based sauce will work. Then, we warmed corn tortillas in the oven and piled the tacos with black beans, spinach, tomatoes, Greek yogurt, and guacamole.

Saturday morning, I woke up and made oatmeal pancakes. No pictures, but they were decent -- just mix 1 banana, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup almond milk, vanilla and cinnamon together and cook like a pancake. Rob had to work, so I went to FlyBarre and then bought some new curtains. I guess I'm spoiled by Hilliard, but FlyBarre was not challenging whatsoever which was kind of a bummer. Then, we headed up to Davidson for lunch with Hilary and Collin at Tenders!

Vanilla milkshake for the win

Grilled chicken sandwich, fries, and creamy garlic!

After lunch, we swung by F to see David Levintow who is finally graduating this spring after a tumultuous freshman year plagued by a broken ankle and pneumonia! Yayyyy David! Then we went to the McKillop's house before the game for a beer and to hang out with Brendan's niece, Maggie. She sat behind us at the game and it was the first time Rob has spent more time with his attention focused on a girl instead of the game -- he and Maggie are best buds.

Sunday, I went to FlyWheel in the morning which was an amazing workout. It was a 45 minute spin class that tracks your distance, calories burned, resistance, speed, etc.....I have a bunch of free classes and can't wait to go back. Rob spent the afternoon making three pizzas - Mexican with the leftover salsa chicken and black beans, pesto, and just a plain cheese. They were all amazing. We took them to his co-worker's house around the corner and watched football all afternoon. So sad for Tony Gonzales, but excited to see the HarBowl in two weeks. 

I didn't have work today, so I saw The Impossible (emotionally draining), made some healthified banana bread muffins, and cooked an easy and pretty healthy dinner: spinach fettucini with roasted red pepper sauce and an arugula salad. 

Red Pepper Chicken Pasta

Sauce:

Broil two red peppers lightly coated in olive oil until slightly charred 

Slice the peppers and add 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp of goat cheese, 2 cloves of garlic & salt to a food processor or blender and mix well

Chicken:

I marinated the chicken in lemon, olive oil, balsamic, rosemary, and mustard. I just cooked it on the stove, but you can bake it if that's easier.

Cook the pasta and then mix it all together! I also added portobello mushrooms for some extra oomph.  Nom nom.