Bowl of Berries

Yes you read that right, Friday night Scottie and I went to Lord of the Dance.  To our credit, we did not pay for said tickets, we got them free from our run club and when you are looking for cheap entertainment you will do just about anything, even going to see 1.5 hrs of Irish dancing and some of Harnett County’s finest in the audience.  You will note Scottie’s picture, He was enjoying a Crown on the rocks which made the show more bearable, I had a nice plastic cup of merlot- classy.

We go to a few shows a season and this audience was like none other.  People were much more dressed down, which made me sad because I always feel like when you go to the theatre it’s important to dress up a bit.  Not sequined gown dress up, but nice pants and a top,  maybe some lipstick for the ladies- I dunno maybe it’s just me.

The show had a very loose “storyline” with the evil dancer trying to steal the title and the shiny boxing belt from the angelic good dancer, who looks like he is quite the ladies man with his longish blonde locks.  The girls come and prance around and there is a gold “sprite” that showed up every once and a while, I could never figure out her purpose.  The dance acts were broken up with a Celtic singer, who was sorta like the entertainment in between the baseball innings where everyone goes to the bathroom or gets more peanuts, I felt bad for her because people would get up when she came on to sing.  Then there was the dueling violin players who got everyone from the country excited with the “Irish ho-down” hey I am all about some cool violin work, it wasn’t bad but I have heard better.  I determined Irish dancing is like “stepping” for white people, the rythym is what is appealing and everytime the dancing got extra loud and rythymic the crowd would go wild.   There was also a “sexy” dancer who I guess was sorta the whore of the show trying to seduce the hero dancer, it was weird, I can’t say I liked her.  But the guy sitting next to Scottie, who happened to have binoculars (we weren’t that far back from the stage), really zoomed in on her.  He was weird, and sitting by himself.  But I won’t judge.

The show was only about 2 hours, and that included the 20 minute intermission.  It was pretty much the same dances but different costumes.  As we were leaving one of the guys sitting near us (not binocular dude) commented that this was the 5th time he had seen the show and that we MUST see Riverdance.  Nah, I’m good.  I checked it off my list and don’t think I will rush to see another show.

Since it was still rather “early” and Scottie was a bit hungry I suggested checking out the Busy Bee Cafe.  I had heard good things about it and it was really the perfect place to go after a show.  I love the interior, it is open and airy and just refreshing.  We sat ourselves and someone promptly came over and gave us menus and took our drink order.  I decided to get a salad and Scottie got the burger with a side of mac and cheese.  My mixed green salad was not too small, not too big…just perfect; dressed with a light vinaigrette, with dried cranberries and a wedge of Camembert cheese, yum!  Scottie’s burger was a perfect medium rare and the side of mac and cheese was some of the best I had every had.  We loved it so much, he ordered another side of it, which came out in a bigger bowl…best $4 ever!  I would come and have a salad and mac and cheese and would be set!  These are not Applebee’s sized portions so be aware, but I found them to be perfect.  I was satisfied, not stuffed.  We will certainly be going back, especially for some late night grub as the place stays open until 2am and I am pretty sure they serve food until closing.  Next time we will have to try out the outside patio which I have heard is very cool.

Overall, not a bad Friday night!

I decided after the half marathon that I needed to be properly fit for some new running shoes.  You see I purchased a new pair of Nikes a mere 2 months before the race and broke them in but noticed when I went on longer runs or when it was hot outside I would get these horrid blisters on the inside of my big toes.  I could not figure out what was going on and it really bothered me about 6 miles into my 13 mile race.

So while we were in Virginia Beach I decided to get fit for shoes.

And I came away with some new Saucony kicks that I LOVE.  I also learned that if you run long distances you should go up 1/2 or a full shoe size.  I had no idea!  I seriously thought the saleslady was smoking crack because my feet were swimming in these things.  But they felt really nice and I trusted her expertise.  I tried them out that Monday and they felt great!  Two weeks later I am really loving them and look forward to running a nice long distance this weekend to really put them to the test.

I also couldn’t help but to pick up this lovely shirt Gotta represent!

And finally, on our quest to complete a triathlon, Scottie and I picked up two bikes from his parent’s house, circa 1989!  One is unrevivable but this one is Scottie’s new project:

He will be refurbishing it so that I can ride it.  I am slightly nervous as this bike is unlike my mountain bike but hopefully after a practice ride this weekend I will feel better.  Everyone seems to name their bike, especially their road bike, and because Scottie has called this project the Franken-bike I think I will name this bike, Frank.  Hopefully he won’t let me down and won’t kill me and will take me through my first tri!

Every Friday after receiving my Papa Spud’s email I get the menu together for the next week.  I pencil in any after work meetings or activities so that I know if dinner needs to be quick or if I have more time to prepare.  This is a meal that can be put together quite easily and if you prep your veggies when you buy them (Like I do- and Rachael Ray too I guess) it takes even less time.  I actually marinated this chicken then Scottie and I went for an hour run and it was ready to grill when we returned.

I chose to make mine into a salad with a half a pita on the side but as you can see Scottie loaded up two pitas.  The whole wheat pitas cracked a bit though, and I don’t  know if they were a bit dried our if this is just the nature of the product.  I haven’t had this problem with white pitas.  Regardless, they were still tasty.  I need to work on my tzatziki sauce as I added WAY too much garlic and it was almost  bit unpleasant., so I won’t post that recipe. The leftover chicken was great on a salad for lunch the next day and you could even use the marinade alone and grill them up with some veggies for a healthy dinner.

Thanks to Elly for the recipe!

Chicken Gyros

1.25 lbs. chicken breasts
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper

tzatziki
sliced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
sliced red onions
4 pocketless  Whole Wheat pitas

Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the grill.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and then grill until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending  what size chicken you are using. Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.

Meanwhile, heat your pitas, I threw them on the grill for a few seconds to soften them up. Top the pita with the chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and enjoy!

My family has been raving about this restaurant in Norfolk called Tortilla West.  I think someone from the fam goes just about every week.  They call it “gringo Mexican”  because there doesn’t seem to be anyone of Mexican descent actually wokring there, I will call it “nouveau Mexican” because  they offer a trendy twist on classic Mexican favorites.  I made a point of taking a half day on Friday so that we could eat here at a decent hour, and I could see what all of the hub bub was about.

They have a pretty nice drink menu with lots of cool beers on tap but I honed in on the Ginger Peach Margarita.  This was nice and sweet, not tart like traditional lime margaritas.  And you gotta love the big glass of goodness.  I held myself to only one of these babies. (I planned an 8 mile run for the next morning and didn’t want to deal with the wrath of hungoverness)

Then we ordered the crab and shrimp nachos as an appetizer for the 6 of us as well as chips and salsa.  As you can see Dad and Steph were ready to dig in.  These things were mighty tasty, though you can’t go wrong with crab meat and cheese!  Watch out for the jalapenos, they aren’t like the weak things you get at Harris Teeter these tpeppers mean business and they were soo good!  They also had a nice spicy salsa that I would imagine is homemade judging by it’s chunkiness and fresh flavor. Oh and they put Old Bay seasoning on their chips- so good!

*Why must Scottie always pretend to eat my head in pics?

For my entree I ordered tuna fajitas.  The picture turned out pretty dark so I thought I would post the pic of me two fisting one of my fajitas and I think one of my Mom’s tuna tacos.  I had inhaled one of her tuna tacos and some of Scottie’s burrito before I even got one of mine down!  I ate the rest of my tuna, some veggies and some beans (their black beans are divine!  their rice- not so much) before I threw in the towel.  I loved the seasoning on my tuna and it was cooked perfectly rare.  And I have to mention the jalapeno mac and cheese my Dad got, this stuff was amazingly creamy and spicy and went perfectly with his Cuban sandwich. We contemplated dessert but I knew that would leave me miserable so I left well enough alone.

Overall, I now know what the big deal is, this place was really good!  It might become a regular stop when we head to the beach for a visit.

I know my Mom is dying right now!  She hates Peeps with a passion!  I am not a huge fan either but one of my co-workers brought some in and I thought what better way to use them but to make Smores!  Two graham crackers, two squares of chocolate (or more if you aren’t trying to be good) and a Peep in the microwave for 15 seconds (no more or you will be clenaing up the microwave!) and you have yourself a fun treat!  The sugar from the Peeps adds a bit of a crunch and melts quite nicely.  So don’t save those Peeps until next year- make some Smores!

Now I am just waiting to crash from this sugar high!

is impossible with donuts in the office!  Yes there are four boxes of donuts in our breakroom and there were a total of 10 people in the office today.  The Directors take turns bringing in breakfast on Wednesdays and there was a miscommunication this week and two people both brought in donuts.  Needless to say the guys are in heaven, I sniggled a donut hole and it wasn’t nearly as tasty as I wanted it to be.

This week is nuts and I had not planned on it being so nuts.  I have had something every night this week; Monday Nog Run Club, Tuesday Jaycee Meeting, Wednesday HOBY meeting, Thursday running workshop, Friday going to Va Beach after work!  Whew.  Needless to say it is requiring a bit of planning to get dinners made, things organized and somehow I need to find time to pack.  But all of these meetings mean I haven’t been able to run which is making me cranky so I may get up tomorrow and try to run before work.  This has proved in the past to be not very effective for me, but we will see.  I am hoping the weather is ok for a Saturday run in VB, its nice and flat and I can bust out 8 miles pretty easily :)  I am planning for a slurge meal on Friday night at a  nouveu Mexican place my family has been raving about, I am already craving a good margarita and some salty chips!  Oh and since it is Easter, my Mom the Easter Bunny will be paying us a visit so I am looking forward to my favorite Reese’s PB eggs!

Let me tell you, maroon is a VERY hard to color to create, even with Scottie staring at a color wheel for an hour I still ended up using an entire bottle of red and blue icing tint.  Quite frustrating and if I ever figure out the correct ratio, Imma bottle it and sell it for millions!  Regardless I think I came pretty close and the more I stared at the cake the more I liked it.  The orange definately made it feel more “Hokie-like” and I think my lettering is getting much better!

It took me a solid 6 hours to finish this, broken up over Monday night, Tuesday morning and Tuesday night which will help me in my future pricing of this cake.  This was made for a VT Alumni fundraiser tonight- I hope everyone likes it!

The cake was simply vanilla butter cake on the bottom, chocolate buttermilk cake in the middle and one of each on the top.

I don’t know why I felt the need to make lentil soup, but I am certainly glad I did!  I have stocked up on all sorts of lentils at the Whole Foods bulk bins and now I am figuring out what to do with them!  Lentils are super healthy and provide fiber as well as protein so they have become a staple in the vegetarian diet but meat lovers will love their filling and hearty nature.  They are also super easy to cook as opposed to beans which  need to be soaked for hours then cooked.

I used the Alton Brown recipe as the basis for the recipe but threw in green peppers since I had some in the fridge, I used half chicken broth and half water to cut down on sodium and cost and added in a squeeze of lemon juice at the end as recommended by Rhodeygirl.

Since I have never had lentil soup I have no idea if these changes enhanced the soup but I will say that I LOVED this soup.  I added a slice of whole wheat rustic bread from TJ’s toasted with some muenster cheese and I was a happy camper!  Scottie added more pepper as well as salt and hot sauce but I loved the simplicity of the soup.  The pot also made about 6 servings fpr less then $5, so I will probably eat this for lunch for 2 days and then freeze the other quart for later.  What a bargain!

Lentil Soup
Adapted from Alton Brown

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 quart of water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
juice of half a lemon

Directions

Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, peppers and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and pepperand stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Just before serving, squeeze half a lemon over the soup and stir. Serve immediately.