Unpacking Extravaganza

Whew! Lars and I had a very productive day yesterday. We unpacked the entire kitchen and made some delicious meals.

After he taught, Lars and I headed over to our new neighbor’s house: Great Harvest Bread Company. Lars and I bought their Asiago Pesto and hamburger buns. Lars also stopped by our local wine and cheese shop for some peppered turkey and cheese. Along with our straight-from-the-oven Aisago Pesto bread, this made the best sandwich for unpacking-energy. We also got our greens in with a side salad.

Inside the bread bag: Asiago Pesto

For dinner we had the hamburger buns with cheddar and sautéed onions. These buns were fantastic, because they had this nice sweetness. I also prepared a simple sweet potato recipe from Eating Well. The fries came out decently considering the model of our oven is “Hot as HELL.” The temperature is actually higher than we tell it to be. We’ll make it work, Tim Gunn. To cool off these fries, I had a beer.

Well, here it is: our kitchen. This took forever. It is a small kitchen, but we have made the most out of the space we have. Further, this is an older house.

We have a rather large pantry room next to the kitchen. It is nearly complete, but we still need to find a microwave. Any suggestions for a decently price and effective microwave?

The kitchen…

In the corner, next to the sink, we have a built-in cabinet area. We were able to fit in all our cookbooks and most of our plates, cups, and bowls.

It also houses Lars’s homemade punk canisters. He is so talented.

My Aristotle bookend keeps the books in check.

Our sink is old school, but I think it is cute.

Here is the 75-pound kitchen island I bought from IKEA to serve as counter space. This was a bitch to put together, so it is our pride and joy.

The best part about unpacking the entire kitchen was that I finally unearthed my coffeemaker. This morning I tried Trader Joe’s Chicory Coffee. Yum. I also had some toasted Asiago Pesto bread, an apple, and strawberries.

I was excited to use my colander this morning to rinse the strawberries. It is super tiny and cute, and perfect for rinsing berries.

Well, back to unpacking. More pictures to come!

Toasted

Sorry, I have been missing. Though, it is for your benefit. I have been a hot, moody mess. The three best words to describe my mood for the past few days is: indecisive, tired, and numb. I am constantly tired, which is not helping me concentrate. Coffee isn’t even working. I don’t know what my deal is, but I may soon go to the doctor to find out. I’m happy, though. I don’t now. I am talking about this because for me mood and food are so tightly intertwined. I have been impressed with my restraint, though. If this were last year I would be on the couch, watching Lifetime, eating a pie, and most likely crying and/or drinking. So, go me!

In other news, it is Lars’s birthday weekend. I’m trying to be extra happy and energetic for this event. I do have to admit I am slightly jealous. I was sick on my birthday, and he gets an entire weekend. Okay, complaining over.

Yesterday for lunch we had some of our leftover pork and a handful of almonds. I just know you want a picture, but I passed. Again, for your benefit. I am such a nice blogger. I also ate a Luna Protein Bar (Cookie Dough) on the ride from Indy-ish to Cincy.

We stopped at Starbucks for a latte. I accidentally forgot to add “iced” to my order. I didn’t finish this latte; too hot! Sorry for the pic; facing the sun!

We met Lars’s family for dinner at Gordo’s Pub and Grill. The decor was lame, but the food was fantastic. I had a hamburger with roasted veggies. I only asked for ketchup and mustard on my hamburger and I’m glad I did. The beef was mixed with an onion mix, bacon, and herbs. So, although my toppings were minimal, it allowed the juicy, flavorful taste of the hamburger to come through. I didn’t finish my veggies, but I ate two pickles!

After dinner, our waitress brought in the cake. It was made by Servatii Pastry shop, a German pastry shop in Cincy. It was yellow cake with a vanilla frosting. Lars loves the frosting because it is made with some special shortening, or something. What you do need to know is that it was awesome.

After dinner Lars and I watched Please Exit Through the Gift Shop, a very funny documentary about street art. It is in my top five documentaries now.

Lars and I had the best sleep of our lives when we got to Lars’s Mom’s house, and slept in until 9:30. It was freaking awesome. But then the morning took a dark turn. We went to this local coffee shop that Lars and his mother love, but I dislike because of a few bad experiences. Oh, sidebar: Lars always has the best meal of his life, and I always have a crappy experience. Lars got a yogurt parfait (a sad one in Yoplait cup) and I asked for PB&J on a wheat bagel. They were out of bagels. So, I asked for it on wheat bread. They were out of peanut butter. Thus, I ended up with a jelly, grilled (?) sandwich.

I ate barely half. Also, the jelly tasted like lumpy grape juice.

Worst Sandwich EVVVVER.

Oh, I also had tea to wash down this crap-wich.

We drove back home to Indiana, but stopped at Petit Chou in Broadripple (the hipster part of Indy) for some brunch/lunch. THIS PLACE ROCKS.

Lars had the Broken Yolk (I am warning you I sometimes spell this yoke for some reason) Sandwich with avocado and bacon. This is his favorite thing to order here. It is awesome.

Best Breakfast Sandwich in Indy.

I got the Tomato Artichoke Soup. The soup’s awesome taste made up for the fact that I was handed cinnamon-buttered toast instead of the dry toast I requested. Although, the cinnamon toast was the bomb (on broiche). I didn’t eat the bread that came on the soup.

Sorry, it looks messy. I basically put my face right in it. Yum!

My Favorite Mistake

For the rest of the evening I will be thesis writing/deleting/rewriting, while Lars goes to a local food festival. What the F!

I’m going to have one more slice of cake. Don’t judge, I’ll eat a light dinner. And just so you know, I almost ate a second piece of cake before bed yesterday. I said no. Score! I’m talking to my self now, right? Haha, nothing like a misdirected pep talk.

What do you do for a pick-me-up?

Huh?

I am having one of the days when I am totally unable to function. I woke up feeling sick again, so I laid in bed all morning like that sick kid in the attic from The Secret Garden. Not to be confused with Flowers in the Attic, which is an entirely different sort of movie.

First things first. Breakfast was toast. I finished up the Cinnamon Explosion bread. Therefore, the breakfast posts may get more interesting. I ate my slice with jam and almond butter (a.k.a. nut crack), but made Lars (by request) Cinnamon toast. Did anyone eat this a lot in their childhood? You know, buttered toast with cinnamon and sugar. Anyway:

His

Mine

For lunch, I had another flatbread pizza with pepperoni, cheese, olive oil, and tomatoes. I also a little bit of the yummy soup Lars’s neighbor brought me when I was sick (not pictured).

The cheese burnt a little, but it was fantastic and fast.

Lars and I are going the farmers market today, so please stay tuned for a much more interesting post. I did want to bring up this interesting article I read in the Food section of the Huffington Post. I guess this ice cream man (in Washington) pulled a knife on another ice cream man, because he was on his turf. I hope no kids were around. I imagine him as a child, beating up other kids on his lemonade stand turf.

On a more positive note: What was your favorite ice-cream treat as a child?

Coffee=Deep Thoughts?

Hey ballers!

I’m coming at you from the coffee shop AGAIN, and I’ve noticed my most thoughtful (?) blog posts pop-up while I am in the coffee shop. A start of a series? I don’t know, maybe.

For breakfast Lars and I threw together some stuff, because he has to teach at 9:50. We made toast with the Cinnamon Explosion Bread (Great Harvest Bread Co.), which I topped with almond butter and Amish triple berry jam. No mishaps with the almond butter this time, maybe it was just a bad first date. I also had some blackberries (I love these) and scrambled egg beaters. It was a good, filling breakfast.

Then it was down to business. My thesis revisions are due tomorrow evening. Boo, boo. So, I got a bottomless coffee at the coffee shop (for future reference, this means I have a lot of work) and an Askinosie Dark Chocolate “itty bar.” And in better news, my Pandora station is playing the soundtrack of my life (Arcade Fire, MGMT, Interpol, etc.). I love this website. I may have to play my classical music station so I stop drumming on the table, it is making me the subject of people watching. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Okay, so the subject of today’s post is coffee shop etiquette (although it applies to a lot of places).  Though, I’m really just venting. These are things that bother me at coffee shops! This list has been complied over 2 years. I mean business, people.

1. I think it is rude when people bring in a coffee (like it’s full) from another coffee shop.

2. I hate when the shop has set up a station for trash and dirty dishes for self-cleaning, and people don’t use it. They just leave their crap on the table. Then when someone new walks in, there is that awkward “is this seat taken” deal.

3. Don’t go there to study and not buy anything!

4. If you are one person sitting at a table meant for six, be prepared to share with other customers. Well, I do.

I’m off my soapbox. Do you have any pet peeves about anything? Feel free to vent. Let it out.

Gearing up for Derby Pie

I got all my errands done! Then, I decided to dive into my cupboard and see what was left for dinner. I found some Balsamic Vinegar.

I found a recipe for Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Chicken on EatingWell.com. It was a decent recipe. I had to substitute red currant jelly for strawberry jelly (only thing at the store), and I had to play around with the cook time because I used boneless, thinner sliced chicken. I thought it was good, but I probably will not make it again.

My chicken was accompanied by the brushetta from lunch and a salad with my favorite dressing.

Lars and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Louisville, Kentucky tomorrow for an early birthday (it’s Friday) celebration for me. I have to wake up early and drive to his place in Indiana, and then we will drive to KY together. It will surely be a long day, but derby pie is so worth it. Plus, I’m sure I will have some interesting pictures of the glory that is derby pie. Thank goodness this is all the way in KY or I would be posting derby pie pictures for every meal. I’m sure that would make my blog less interesting .

What is your favorite pie?

Sicky Gourmet

Hello everyone. Thanks for all the get-wells. I am feeling a bit better. I have been watching crappy television and drinking plenty of water and tea!

I am moving out sometime soon, and I have so much crap in my cupboard. So, this post is brought to you by my cupboard. I found this tea for sore throats. Score! I was scared it would taste like potting soil. I had images of sitting in a tent in the middle of the desert taking this potion to cure my sickness, or whatever happens in the movies. It actually didn’t taste bad, and I think it worked! I drank this while laying in bed, but around 11 I was famished. So, I went back to the cupboard.

I toasted this baby bread (this has not been sitting in my cupboard ), and then covered it with Trader Joe’s Bruschetta. This was a nice lunch treat!

To help with the sickness, I made the soup. It was a little bland. It was less sodium, though.

While I’m sick, Bazzle the basil plant is better than ever. I haven’t killed it yet!

Well, I’m going to keep napping/relaxing/drinking tea! See you all at snack time. Happy Hump Day!

boo.

I woke up today with a sore throat and a stuffy nose. What the heck? I’m assuming it is because I slept in a freezer last night. I was planning to work out, but I am going to wait until I get back to school. I am going to go running. Isn’t that very exciting? I’m not too excited. All my fellow bloggers are kicking running butt, so that is an inspiration!

I didn’t want to eat breakfast, at all. I ended up forcing myself to eat, because I knew I would just feel worse if I did not. I am so excited about going back to my apartment with my food.

I was able to find a wheat frozen waffle so I toasted that and covered it with peanut butter. I also found a V8 fusion, which was great because I did have a craving for juice. Also, one of my cookies from last night got onto my plate. I don’t know how that happened.

To keep this post exciting, I thought I would share some of my favorites. Today’a category is FOOD.

• Breakfast Food: Eggs Benedict. Whenever I travel somewhere, I have to try their Eggs Benedict. I am on a mission to find the best Eggs Benedict in the United States. Thus far, New Orleans is in the lead. I’m sure this egg-cellent journey of mine will pop up on my blog!
• Favorite Dessert: Derby Pie. Anyone from Kentucky? This pie is essentially pecan pie with chocolate and bourbon.
• Favorite Restaurant: Anything that is breakfast-oriented. Going out for breakfast is my favorite activity, especially after an “interesting” night.
• Favorite meal of Mom’s: (my father doesn’t cook) Chicken Fried Rice, bread sticks (see last post), and potato chip chicken.
• Favorite Beverage: Coffee, Wine, Latte.

My question for you: What is your favorite breakfast food?

Eggs and Toast

My dog is like crack. I have been playing around with him all day, but I needed a good breakfast for some energy. My sister and I headed out to a local joint for some breakfast. I got scrambled egg whites, dry rye toast, and their world famous (well I think it is world famous) homemade strawberry jelly. It was good. Of course, I had to get coffee.

When she was little, my sister would only eat the white part of eggs made sunny side up. Even though she was fine with yoke being scrambled, when it is quite evidently in its circular yoke-form–no way! She had some of my scrambled egg whites and her mind was blown. I couldn’t finish the eggs, though.

Lars is coming into town and we are going to this delicious Jewish deli in Indy, Trader Joe’s, and H&M. Pictures to come . Sorry for the boring post. I hope you are having an excellent Sunday!

Oh, I finished Julie and Julia (film). I thought it was good, but too long. And Double Oh, is anyone watching Top Chef Masters. Who do you want to win? I wasn’t drawn to anyone this season…

Back Home to a Cute Dog

5 minute costume! I was Little Boy Blue. I wore my night mask because he fell asleep under the hay, or whatever. The party was interesting. I went into the party with a poor attitude, because it was the last thing I wanted to do last night. It was okay, but I had to wake up early to go to my brother’s graduation. I went to bed at 12, but the party was at my apartment. So, I got three hours of sleep. Oh, and the air conditioning broke. AND, my window is above where everyone took smoke breaks. I was in hell.

I woke up at 7 AM and hit the road. Before doing so I grabbed a quick “breakfast.” I got an iced coffee and a Kind bar at Starbucks, but only took one bite out of the bar.

I don’t know what my deal was, but I couldn’t eat. So when I made it back home I made some cinnamon sugar wheat toast.

But, this is what I really came home for.

I think our dog is adorable and so photogenic .

I hope everyone has a a great weekend. I’ll be back later today .