Tag Archives: salad

Country Clubbin’

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So my Bucket List [mis]adventures continued last night…

I’d been craving this Warm Spinach Salad (it might sound crazy to crave a salad, but this thing is just awesome..) from a country club a couple of town’s away from my mom’s, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to go grab some great food and drink on the patio by the golf course.

Yesterday was pretty much the perfect day. It was cool in the morning – a reminder that fall’s just around the corner – and warm but not hot in the afternoon. Even bigger plus…no humidity and no bugs! Weeee.

We got there, and I was so pumped to get my salad…buuuut it wasn’t on the menu. Bucket list bummer.

The more I thought about it the more I realized it was probably on their fall/winter menu.  I mean…it is baby spinach  a warm bacon and mustard vinaigrette, hard-boiled egg, sliced mushrooms and bacon bits. Hey! I never said it was a “light” salad!

While I was bummed not to see the salad on the menu, I decided on their mahi-mahi – which was beautiful. The fish could’ve used a bit more seasoning but everything else on the plate was great – especially the sweet potatoes.

Also, I totally ordered (and subsequently spilled a bit…did I mention that I can be klutzy?) an embarrassingly bright green cocktail. 

Very Ecto Cooler of them… it was really good though.

So while the outing didn’t go exactly as planned, it was great to sit outside on the patio, enjoy a drink and soak up the final days of summer.

  • What’re some of your fave places for outdoor dining?
  • What’ve you got planned to take advantage of summer as it winds down? 

Keeping Your Cool

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Hello, hello lovahs! How are you guys?

It’s been a crazy past few days – hence my absence (although, let’s be honest – posting regularity is not exactly my calling card as of late :) )

It’s been a combination of hometown team craziness and low key family (and fatherhood) celebrations. Along with being busy – the weather’s been pretty warm and humid so that’s called for cool and quick meals that fit into that whole “I’m trying to be good to my body…aka I’m going to be living in my bathing suit in a couple of weeks” mentality.

Friday – I opened the veggie drawer and two beautiful ears of corn on the cob were just calling to me. Corn – especially corn on the cob – is easily my fave veggie. The combination of crunch and sweetness (while still being nutritionally fab) is just a match made in heaven.

Now, I’d had Ina’s lobster & corn salad on my mind since it first touched my lips Memorial Day weekend…but well, lobster is not exactly a staple in my fridge. My fridge would be full but my wallet would be empty.

However, my lack of lobster wasn’t going to stop me from making myself (and mi madre) a quick, cool and filling corn salad. I sort of just winged it and it came out really well!

Corn salad:

  • 2 ears of corn on the cob (I would have used more if we had them) – blanched in boiled, salted water for 3-5 minutes
  • 2 vine-ripened tomatoes – chopped (I discarded seeds/mush)
  • 1 orange pepper – thinly sliced
  • 2 cups of baby spinach – to make it interesting I sliced the spinach into strips
  • 1/2 of a medium red onion – it was pretty oniony, and though I love onion I might hold back a little next time

Additions of fresh herbs, more veggies or proteins would be awesome

Dressing (it looks like not enough dressing but it was just enough to flavor and slightly bind the salad without it being gloppy):

  • 2 tsp of lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp of light mayo
  • 1 tsp of Dinosaur BBQ‘s Cajun Foreplay Spice Rub (it’s a nice combo of spicy, salty and sweet but you could use whatever combo of spices you like)

Saturday – I was up bright and early meeting friends in Copley Square to celebrate the Bruin’s and their Stanley Cup win!! It was craziness – so busy. Plus, it was super hot … They had predicted overcast skies and rain… so needless to say we weren’t prepared for the heat.

However, regardless of the fact that we were in desperate need of shade and water, it was a blast. My throat is still a bit scratchy from screaming so much.

I'm the tall one - in case you didn't know :) haha

We had a great group around us – including a bunch of dudes who were all decked out.

Over a million people attended the parade…craziness.

Father’s Day on Sunday was decidedly lowkey. I got to spend it with a bunch of family – and of course my dad. We just did burgers/hot dogs, cold salads, etc. It was nice to just kick back with a cold beer and relax.

For Father’s Day – I made my dad a jar of my Grammy’s hot fudge sauce and meringues.

I piped the meringues this time and they came out perfect! Plus it’s fun to pipe stuff. :)

  • What’d you do this past weekend?!?

Memorial Day Weekend

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Hello, hello. I hope everyone had a wonderful (and remembrance-filled) Memorial Day weekend.

I was lucky enough to get together with a few of my family members at our beach house; we enjoyed the sun (it was hotttt), the company and had some fantastic meals filled with amazing conversation.

Saturday night – we had this amazing lobster and shells salad that my aunt and uncle made. An Ina recipe, it did not dissapoint!!

The salad, piled on top of a bed of greens, made for the perfect, light end to the day. I went back for seconds…and maybe a tiny helping of thirds. So. good.

(Cell phone quality pictures? Yay…. haha)

For dessert there was pie, a few cookies (Tates – which are so thin and delicious), and vanilla ice cream. We had blueberry and blueberry/apple crumb pie. They were both so good – but my fave was the apple and blueberry combo.

Pie makes everything better :)

On Sunday, we had a wonderful meal of grilled chicken, salad and rice pilaf. An amazing meal outdoors, next to the Atlantic – doesn’t get much better.

Pretty patriotic. haha

Hope you all had wonderful weekends, wherever you are!!

Baking

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Whew – it is HOT out there!! It fluctuated between 92 and 96 degrees today…I’ve never been more thankful for an air conditioner. Plus, if I hadn’t had an AC – I probably would have spent today holed up in a coffee shop or a library.

I woke up at 5:30am parrrrched! I don’t run my AC overnight, and I had to get up…chug water (I felt hungover) and turn that sucker on!

I managed to sleep for a few more hours (turning off my AC at around 6:30), and even though it was warm (read: 80 degrees) – I wanted a cup of coffee. There’s just something so comforting about it. For those wondering, my creamer crisis has been resolved. haha Yum. Perfect.

After a warm cup of joe, I wanted something cold – and I decided to deviate from my oats. A smooothie was in order, and I decided I wanted to have fun with it. I had fresh mango, strawberries and raspberries in my fridge so I decided to make a tie-dye-esque (enough hyphens for ya?) I did the mango first with water, a little Truvia and TJ’s orange, peach, mango juice. Then I did some POM, raspberries, strawberries, some Truvia and a teeeeny bit of vanilla. …and layer and swirl! haha

I had envisioned it swirling more in my head, but it was still pretty, delicious and it reminded me of my recent trip to Vegas – sans the booze…though – as an afterthought- this would be AWESOME with a little rum or vodka!

I did course work all morning, and was very ready for lunch when the time rolled around.

Arugula, tempeh, Babybel light, snow peas, mixture of mustard and balsamic dressing

Midafternoon munching?… pudding cup! Dulche de leche goodness.

I worked on a lab throughout the afternoon and was pretty darn productive – my apartment was sort of baking in the sun at that point so I upped the AC…this also gave me the opportunity to use my oven and bake up some sweet potato fries and some barbecue tempeh!

So good – had some (read: a lot) of snow peas with this as well…they just went unpictured.

I plan on spending my evening cleaning, hydrating, getting caught up on work/e-mails, and planning my weekend! haha …is it Friday yet?? :-P

Hope you are all splendid and someplace cool!!

And they're off!

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Evening lovelies! I was lucky enough to have today off (thank you Patriots Day/Marathon Monday!). Unfortunately, I was not in the city for the marathon. The amount of traffic going into the city today is tremendous and it would have been, unfortunately, a huge hassle – so I decided to stay at home one more day. No complaints here – although of course it would have been fabulous to cheer on all of those runners.

I cannot imagine running 26.2 miles.. I, personally, know 3 people who ran and completed the race. Pretty amazing stuff.

Let’s back-track a little bit. Last night – I hung out with my mom and we made cookies. Dark chocolate chunk cookies – if we’re going to be precise. They are ridiculously good and are definitely the type of cookie that warrants an ice cold glass of milk on the side. They are a definite indulgence, but so worth it!

Today, I did the usual. Woke up – had a coffee and put together Mighty Maple and jam on some toasted Arnold’s sandwich thins. Yum.

Some browsing of baking was also involved...

I spent most of the afternoon out and about – doing some errands and taking advantage of the tax free-ness of New Hampshire. First stop was Starbucks – I got myself a little latte and a big ole bottle of sugar-free hazelnut syrup for my coffee. It was so much cheaper than I thought it would be, and I know, I know…sucralose…moderation will be key with this.


I picked up some new mugs from the Christmas Tree Shop! No picture right now…but you will see them soon enough! haha

My next, obvious, stop was Target!! Ohh Tarjaaay, how I’ve missed you!! I picked up some weights (explanation in a second), some new eyeliner, shampoo and True North’s Almond Pecan Clusters.

Going back to the weights…yep..I’m starting a more “formal” workout routine (not 100% on what it will be yet…I’ll let you know when I get it totally figured out)…I guess you could call it. I hope the fact that right after the semester ends I will have a couple weeks to make a habit of it and just have it be a natural part of my day.

The way I look at it is, this summer I will be at my job most of the time…and most of that time will be at a desk, which is a lot less active than I am now…put other things into the equation like business lunches, snacks people bring to work, etc…and it’s probably a good idea to make sure that activity is built into my day.

Voila. Nothing revolutionary, but a new routine for me.

Dinner tonight – my mom and I whipped up a foccacia recipe that turned out to be a little bit more like beer bread than like foccacia. That’s okay though – beer bread is delicious (and less oily)…especially studded with herbs and sun-dried tomatoes! :)

I'm pretty proud of my little point & shoot for this photo.

The bread went with a dinner of left over chicken saltimbocca with prosciutto, mushrooms and marsala wine and a cranberry and walnut salad. The chicken isn’t the most appetizing looking (though SO, SO good).  Therefore, the salad will speak for the meal. haha

I hope everyone’s week has gotten off to a good start!!