Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts

7.21.2010

Indulgence

The past few weekends I have shared my apartment with some of my favorite people. My mom and sister from NJ, Elizabeth from Portland, ME, Matt and his parents from MA., Tricia, Kristen and Ashley from Salem, MA, Boston, MA and Ipswich, MA and Matt's brother Ryan, and his girlfriend Tessa from Boston. Wow!

All were welcomed with open arms because I like to give big hugs.






Meals were savored ...




...whales were watched...



...glasses were raised and toasts were made.







Surrounded by seashells...




...adorable pups...


...and friends...




...sometimes I wish these indulgent weekends of visitors would never end.



PS. A lot of these pictures (sunflower, whale watch tour, little pup) were taken by my mom, beautiful right!?

7.15.2010

Fun in the sun burgers





With temperatures approaching 100 degrees last Friday, the cool breeze and chilly but not frigid water offered relief from the heat. We frolicked, we walked, we swam, we read, we baked (yeah, oops! when the breeze coming off the water masks the suns rays you don't feel the need to reapply) and we worked up quite the appetite.


This past Christmas my mom gave me a cookbook from the highly acclaimed Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY where Lindsay goes to college. The Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook has won the James Beard/Kitchen Aid Cookbook Award and my copy is even signed by the author, Lisa Williams! Super cool mom! I have dabbled with a few soup recipes since December 25th, and thoroughly enjoyed the distinctive quality, bold tastes and health benefits of each creation, but mom is the experienced Moosewood diner and recreator. So, she took the reigns on dinner. Together we chose the Chili Burgers but before you envision thick chili and juicy meat, open your mind to beans, oats, tex-mex seasoning, protein, flavor and texture.

Moosewood Chili Burgers:


What you will need:

  • 1 cup chopped onions (we used 1/2 a red onion)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup peeled and grated carrots
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 3 cups cooked kidney or pinto beans
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp ketchup or 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • salt and pepper to taste

First saute the onions and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes or until the onions begin to soften. Add the carrots, chili powder, and cumin and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. While sauteing, smile and pose for the camera like the beautiful lil' lady pictured. Set aside your mixture when all the flavors have combined and your mouth starts to hurt from smiling.




Mash the beans in a large bowl with a potato masher or get into it with your hands. It might feel gooey but its the best way to mash and mix. Add the mustard, soy sauce, ketchup or tomato paste, and the sauteed vegetables. Mix in the oats. Continue to use what your momma gave you, your hands. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wash and dry your hands and then moisten them up again and form the burger mixture into patties. Our mixture yielded about 8 patties. (You could make them smaller or larger depending on your personal preference of course!) Lightly spray or oil a nonstick skillet and cook the burgers on medium heat for 5-8 minutes on each side or until a nice shade of brown covers these beauties.

We enjoyed our chili burgers on toasted Ezekiel muffins. Toppings at the table included fresh salsa, sliced avocado, and spinach. Lindsay composed a wonderful salad to elevate the meal, decorating Olivia's Organic spinach with sliced red onion, Ocean Spray craisins, walnuts and feta cheese and dressed the salad with a Light Balsamic Vinaigrette.



After a day in the sun, the chili burger vividly engaged the senses and proved you can make smart healthy choices and enjoy the results. Moosewood's attention to nutrition and delicious food emanates from every page with every recipe and the chili burgers on page 173 did not waver from the Moosewood mission nor sacrifice an ounce of flavor to provide a healthy enjoyable meal.

I love the gifts that keep giving, aka cook books. Thanks again mom!

6.27.2010

Why say no when it feels so good to say yes?

Body pump, bng iced coconut, beach, burritos. In that order.


If you aren't familiar with body pump, let me paint a picture. Improves strength, bone density, and general fitness and burns 600 calories in 1 hour. No brainer. Each class is 60 minutes of cardio strength training designed to work the entire body. Large and small muscle groups are challenged by using a barbell and your choice of a different weight selection. The workout is fast paced but led by energetic and encouraging instructors and great music (a different song for e. muscle group). Every three months the fantastical fitness minds behind body pump release a class with new tunes and choreography to surprise the muscles and forgo boredom. The gym I belong to launches the new classes on Saturday. I have never attended a launch "party" but have heard good things. I have often speculated that the instructors drink red bull prior to the 5:30 Tuesday/Thursday classes and if that is true, before Saturday's launch they drank 2 or 3. They woke me up; 74 is a doosy. Lunges and I don't get along and 74 didn't and won't improve our relationship. Longest, most grueling lunge track of body pump history. Not a fact, but it has to be. Ouch. I LOVED the back track and the squat track. I could clean and press my way through anything. Don't test me on that though. The bicep track to Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow was awkward. Everything about it. Maybe because it was just the first time? Time will tell until then I'll be popping advil and hoping I don't hear Boom Boom Pow until Tuesday.

After a refueling breakfast of creamy oats (1/2 c oats, 3/4 c milk, 1/2 smushed banana for substance, chia seeds, lil scoop of pb, blueberries and strawberries) Amanda and I grabbed our breaking new grounds iced coconuts and headed to the beautiful beaches of Rye, NH.


Hawaiian tropic 10 did not fail me and neither did the forecast. Saturday was a very pleasant day at the beach.


Our roomie day continued with a date at Loco Coco's in Kittery, ME. Saturday marked my first visit to Loco Coco's because I am avid burrito buyer at Dos Amigos. I almost feel as though I cheated on Dos but comparing the two isn't exactly apples to apples so I must get past the guilt complex. And why say no when it feels so good to say yes? And I might get Dos tonight.

Moving on.


Loco's is separated into different parts. The recent expanded dining area and bar both equipped with waitstaff and the main dining area where you order at the register, find a table, and wait for your name to be called. Last but not least you can always take your fresh order to go. Last night Amanda and I sat in the bar.





Sipped on a jalapeno margaritas which were a little TOO spicy for my liking.




...and devoured monster burritos with chips and guacamole.




With so many different burritos to choose from I had a tough time deciding. My go-to at Dos Amigos is usually the sweet potato, pulled pork or chicken burrito....I guess I don't really have a go-to, huh? All of Dos's burritos are generously filled with rice, black beans, lettuce and cheese, with the choice of salsa, white or wheat tortilla, and sour cream or yogurt. There are only a handful of burritos on Loco's menu with these same ingredients. In fact the burritos at Loco's are quite creative: the Chicken Fajita burrito with sauteed green and red peppers, onions, chicken, sour cream, the California Burrito with steak, french fries, jack and cheddar cheese, lettuce, guac and sour cream, the shrimp burrito with cabbage, zesty sauce, avocado sauce, salsa, and sour cream... so like I stated earlier, comparing Dos and Loco's is like comparing apples to oranges.

Sorry to keep the valuable information, I enjoyed the shrimp burrito: grilled, light on the sauces with no sour cream please. DELISH. The shrimp was refreshing, the salsa was authentic and fresh, the avocado sauce creamy and cool, the zesty sauce, ZESTY! I hate when I order a shrimp dish and the shrimp comes sans taste. Loco's knows authentic Mexican food and delivers a variety of complex flavors all rolled up in freshly made flour tortillas.

An exciting perk to Loco's; it has a salsa bar with freshly made salsas ranging from fiery hot to smokey chipotle to a cool, refreshing avocado. I ordered a side of traditional guac and got into the avocado sauce. No messing around.

Dinner definitely tantalized the tastebuds but there is one minor complaint. Check out the pepper top Amanda pulled out of her Chicken Fajita burrito. Nasty.


Even though it isn't right to compare Dos and Loco's I will. I prefer apples to oranges and will always be a Dos Amigos girl at heart. If you are in the area, don't take my word for it though, try both!

And I'm done. It's snack time.