Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Mile-a-Day Challenge + WIAW

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Waking up to an alarm was cruel and unusual punishment this morning.

 

Thank god it’s a short week because after so much time off (or at least out of the office), getting back to normalcy hurt a little.  Like a good back-on-track human, I only hit snooze 3 times before getting up and hitting the gym for a quick Body Rock workout and a 1 mile run.

 

1 mile everyday is January is my goal.  It’s about the longest I can stay on the dreadmill and I refuse to run outside when it’s 22 degrees outside.  When I saw the January Mile-a-Day challenge on The Sweaty Betties, I knew it was the perfect fit for me.

This is my way of *hopefully* maintaining some semblance of running shape while on my running “break.”

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Another benefit of a short week is that it feels like What I Ate Wednesday came faster!  Happy 50th, Jenn!!!

 

 

I’m in full-on snack mode.  I want to eat veggies and protein, and I want to eat them often.

 

Breakfast:

Post-workout breakfasts are usually cold, but this morning was a mini workout… and it was only 22 degrees outside.  A warm Pumpkin Zucchini Muffin topped with melty peanut butter and a side of hot green tea hit the spot.

 

 

 

Lunch:

“Meat” loaf leftovers!  This vegan loaf was even more awesome on day 2.  The flavors came together even more and provided a delicious, warming work lunch.

 

In case you missed it, check out the recipe for my (vegan!) Asian-Inspired Sweet Potato Lentil Loaf here.  I can’t tell you enough to try it – I can’t believe it took me so long to make one!

Today I ate it with raw zucchini sticks (if you on’t already eat it raw you have to try it) and red pepper hummus.

 

Dinner:

Since I’m obsessed with my new discovery – miso – I made a miso soup!


 

This was an amazing, hearty noodle-filled soup with plenty of green and just enough spice to make my nose run.

Recipe to come tomorrow!

 

Snacks:

Most people are probably the opposite, but I snack MORE when I’m a work.  It is my equivalent of a smoke break. 🙂

 

Cutie + lots of water

 

Primal Vegan Jerky

 

Think Thin Cookies n' Cream Bar

 

Attempt #1 at a Protein Microwave Muffin. #Fail

 

***

I was feeling under the weather… but I SWEAR the miso cured me.

Are you doing any January challenge?  Want to run with me? 🙂

Do you snack more at work or at home?  The same?

 

Chili Time + WIAW

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Three days ago it was 70 degrees.

 

 

Yesterday morning I braved the airport amidst snow flurries.  Ok, ok, it was more like slightly freezing drizzle.  I hope this doesn’t mean we have a crazy, ice-filled winter!

 

Today I’m lucky because not only is it my favorite What I Ate Wednesday:

 

It’s also Spicie’s Foodie‘s November Your Best Recipe reveal!  Click here to check out my Red Wine Cake Balls and everyone else’s best dish of the month on her blog.

On to the eats!

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Pre-Flight Breakfast:

I love to make muffins, but never am able to eat a dozen alone while they are fresh.  My solution is the freezer.  You can always bet I have 3-4 muffins varieties just 30 seconds away from being breakfast-ready.  Perfect for those of us who aren’t morning people.

 

 

My pre-flight rush breakfast involved these Pumpkin-Zucchini Muffins (low sugar!) and my recently concocted Cinnamon Cacao Nut Butter.

Scarfed down in the car to fuel a morning jaunt through Concourse A. 🙂

 

The beverage portion of my breakfast happened in the airport – my traditional Starbucks coffee treat and some water.  Flying dries me out!

 

 

 

Lunch:

Having landed wayyyy before our meeting was to begin, my boss and I stopped in a Starbucks (this time I had an unpictured Orange Blossom tea) to get some work done… followed by a surprisingly delicious lunch near our destination.

Bocci is a new Italian spot in Clayton, MO (a suburb of St. Louis).  Their northern Italian-style soups hit the spot after walking through some serious cold St. Louis wind!

 

 

I ordered the Aquacotta – a tomato soup with mushrooms, onions, basil… and a poached egg!  Italian egg drop soup?!  I broke the egg and the yolk ran out, adding a wonderful creaminess to the brothy tomato.  With copious amounts of Bocci’s crack foccacia-like bread sticks dipped in olive oil, balsamic, and parm.

Moment of Boss Appreciation: You’ll notice I got a pic.  My boss didn’t even flinch when I whipped out the camera to go paparazzi on my food.  My job satisfaction went through the roof today.

 

 

Dinner:

I made my first chili!  It is a vegan tempeh chili… with 2 “secret” ingredients.  I could have made it hotter, but that’s nothing a little Sriracha didn’t fix!

 

 

Short on time so the recipe will come tomorrow!

 

 

Snacks:

We landed right at dinner time, but I wanted to get a workout in.  I downed a Sweet Tango Apple to tide me over until chili-time.  Sarah introduced me to this variety – if you ever see one grab it immediately!  Of course I had my pretzels on the plane too.

I also had a late-night protein shake for dessert:

 

 

Strawberry-Banana Shake

  • 1 C spinach
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 Strawberry EAS
  • 1 tsp ground flax
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Ice

 

***

Check out Peas and Crayons to see how everyone else celebrated Hump Day on Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

Did you get any snow?

What is the best thing you’ve eaten post-Turkey Day? (P.S. Quit eating leftovers!  6 day post-meal that meal is growing bacteria!)

 

Curried Carnival Lentil Stew

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Have you ever seen a Carnival Squash?

 PYT, pretty young thing…

I have to admit that I am shallow.  I chose this squash knowing nothing about the Carnival variety other than it is one attractive squash.  It’s pretty… and who DOESN’T like pretty things?  This is one squash you can judge my the cover – it was reminiscent of an Acorn squash, but had the sweetness of a Butternut.

Don’t mind the classy paper towel…

Even better: it can be microwaved and ready to eat in less than 10 minutes. Side note: do I use bold too much?   I feel like I overuse bold… but I am bold.  Hear me roar.

Indian-inspired dishes are a staple in my kitchen, so I made this Carnival a curried affair.  My curry is an extra-hot variety, but you can buy a more mild powder.  I, of course, added extra heat with red pepper flaked across the top.

 Breaking out of my brown food rut, I used red lentils in this curry.  They were fantastic!  I always heard the lighter colored (non-black or green) were mushier, but I left them al dente and added them to the mix in the last few minutes to ensure the bite remained.

The other flavors in this dish really made it pop – the sweetness from the cardamom and the richness of the cinnamon compliment the curry.  Adding a little basil at the end provides a pleasant surprise with every bite.  I really love basil in spicy Asian dishes. 

It is also delish topped with these Cardamom Roasted Seeds.

 

Curried Carnival Lentil Stew

Curried Carnival Lentil Stew

  • 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  • 2 tsp hot curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 C low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup red lentils
  • 2.5 C (1 medium) Carnival squash
  • 3/4 C water
  • 2 C spinach
  • 1/4 C basil
  • S & P, to taste

Stab the squash 3-4 times and cook in microwave 8-10 mins, until soft to touch.  Cut in half and remove guts/seeds.  Separate from skin and dice into ~1/2 in cubes.

Over medium heat in large pot, saute onion in olive oil until turning translucent (3-4 mins).  Add minced garlic and saute for additional 2-3 mins, until fragrant.

Stir in curry, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon and cook another 1-2 mins.  Add broth, cider, and lentils and bring to a boil.  

Reduce heat and cook for 7-8 mins. Stir in squash, adding water as needed.  Allow to cook ~5 mins, then add spinach and basil.  

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until spinach is wilted (~5 mins).  Salt and pepper, to taste. Makes 2 servings.

***  

Now I have the entire MJ catalog stuck in my head… Thrillllller!

What is your favorite squash?

For those of you who are old enough to have caught the reference, what’s your favorite Michael Jackson song?

Pumpkin Pie BYOgurt + WIAW

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Some things make being on the road all week a little better.

 

Check out the Roasted Pumpkin in the top left corner of this screen shot of today’s FoodBuzz Top 9 – its my roasted pumpkin from this post!!!  🙂

Another thing that makes a long week brighter is my favorite weekly event – Jenn @ Peas and Crayons‘ What I ate Wednesday.  Here’s my WIAW (technically Tuesday… but whatever).

Breakfast #1:

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffin… recipe coming soon to a blog near you!

Breakfast #2:

Remember the Sweet Potato BYOB Greek Yogurt?  Same idea, same Sky mag (the new one wasn’t out until the flight home – SJP looks amazing in it!), different flavors.

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt with Fage.  I think the secret is using a thick yogurt (this may also help when getting through security!) and not being afraid to add spices/flavors.  Shout out to almond extract and ginger in this cup.  YUM.

You should have see the guys next to me on the plane wondering WTF I was doing taking multiple pics of my BYOgurt. 🙂

Full recipe at the end of this post.

The St. Louis airport was especially festive after the Cardinals big World Series win!

Lunch:

Lunch today was from a deli in the bottom of an office building.  It is barely worth mentions and certainly not worth picturing.  Over-salted but otherwise flavorless vegetable soup and a dry roll.

I would have rather had my Wild Mushroom Soup from last week.

Snacks: 

Unpictured pretzels and an apple on the plane.  I did get a shot of a gorgeous sunset.

Dinner:

Totally made up for lunch.

My boss and I had to work late.  Since we were at the airport already, we decided to check out One Flew South in the ATL airport.  It was recently featured in Food & Wine!

There weren’t any vegetarian options on the menu, but they did have tofu in a salmon dish.  I asked the server if they would make a tofu-only dish and they surprised with me an amazing tofu-veggie sauté.  It included sweet potato straws, butternut squash, snow peas, carrots, fennel, spinach, and shittake mushrooms over a parsnip puree.  Absolutely delicious.

Dessert was fantastic – Banana Pudding with ‘Nilla Wafers.  So much so that I forgot to take a picture until there was barely a bite left in the jar.

I had NO idea airport food could be this good!

Homemade Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt

Mix all ingredients together in bowl or recycled yogurt container.  For best results, let refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld.

Add toppings as desired.  Mine included: pomegranate seeds and these Cardamom Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Get through security and enjoy your yogurt-pie as a reward!

As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program, I have been entered for the chance to win a trip to Greece courtesy of FAGE. You too can enter to win one of three trips to Greece by entering the FAGE Plain Extraordinary Greek Getaway here: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway

***

As always, check out Peas and Crayons to see the tastiness everyone else ate today!

What is your favorite seasonal flavor?  Eggnog?  Hot Chocolate?  A pie of sorts?

What airport do you think has the best food?

Apple Pie Milkshake

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It seems that every fast food joint has turned fall desserts into milkshakes. 

Skip the fast food sugar-bomb and make your own (much healthier) version!

Apple Pie is fantastic a la mode… it’s only natural that is become part of the la mode.

Yes, my Apple Pie Shake is green.  If you haven’t tried it yet, now is the time to toss an avocado in your smoothie.  It adds to the creamy-milkshake texture and you cannot taste it.  (Recipe at the bottom of post.)

Breakfast:

To begin my WIAW, I had a post-workout Apple Pie Shake.  Perfect beginning to a warm fall day.

Words of shake-making advice:

  • Virtually anything can be frozen – including avocados and apples
  • Guar Gum is worth the expense – a little bit goes a long way and it makes the perfect shake texture
  • Don’t skimp on vanilla and cinnamon
  • Guard your apple when taking pic from your balcony

I only turned my back for a second when I heard a big “SPLAT.”  I looked around… where’s my apple???  Hmmmm… glance down… apparently my apple grew legs and jumped off my balcony.  It’s not that bad, apple!  

Odd craving for apple sauce…

Lunch:

Today’s lunch was gourmet.  By gourmet, I mean multi-course.

First a salad of arugula and spinach with carrots, cucumber, and a hearty scoop of chipotle salsa.  I love salsa as dressing.

Followed by my leftover “pasta” (spaghetti squash from this dish) and a quick batch of this tahini sauce.

Dinner:

I didn’t realize today was going to be a “make it again” day.  Typically I don’t repeat recipes… there are so many new ideas floating around in my head!

After the tahini sauce repeat, I re-made this Wild Mushroom Soup for dinner.  It was one of my favorites last winter – someone remind me to re-make dishes more often!

Don’t judge… brown food is impossible to photograph!

I made is almost the same way; however I did use fresh parsley and roasted garlic and added lentils for bulk.

Snacks:

It was a fun snack day!  In addition to my “OMG, I cannot get sick” Emergen-C, I tried a new product: Primal Strips.

It’s meatless vegan jerky made from seitan!

Observations:

  • 11 grams of protein
  • Only 3 grams of sugar
  • Ingredient list I can pronounce
  • Texture was a little weird (chewy, which I suppose is jerky-esque), but I got over it half way through the “strip” 
  • Loved the teriyaki flavor

Verdict: I’d definitely buy it again and would love to try other flavors!

Not pictured: I made another Apple Pie Shake as a bedtime snack.  Like I said, it’s a day of repeats.

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Apple Pie Shake

  • 1/2 large apple
  • 1/4 large avocado
  • 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
  • 1 handful spinach (optional – but I swear you can’t taste it!)
  • 1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any milk-substance)
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ginger
  • 7-8 drops NuNaturals Pure Liquid Vanilla Stevia
  • Shake of salt
  • Shake of Guar gum (optional, but helps create milkshake consistency)
  • Ice, to taste

Put it in a blender and blend until smooth!  Pour into tumbler and drink your pie.

I received the pictured Tervis tumbler as part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program.  It didn’t influence the fact that my shake was fantastic, but it did keep it nice and cold while I took a million pics of it. 🙂

***

Voting is now open on Facebook for Delta’s Biscoff Bake-Off.  Pretty please vote for my Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls by clicking here and “liking” my entry.  You can vote 1x per day!!!

As always, check out Peas and Crayons to see the tastiness everyone else ate today!

What is your favorite dessert-gone-shake?

Do you have “go to” dishes you make regularly?

North Indian Menu Vocab

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Ciao!  Today we were going to be in Cinque Terre, a mountainous area along the Italian Riviera… which I hear is stunning… but we were cramming SO much in that we decided to skip it.  Next time!  In stead we are on the overnight train to Siena.

We made lots of friends in Alba and the surrounding areas, many of which are from other countries – Japan, Mexico, America, Denmark, and Sweden (to name a few).  It makes me want to quit my job and move to Italia too!  I could work in a kitchen making creations like pumpkin soup with parmesan gelato. (Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds).

Today’s post is by Parita @ My Inner Shakti.  Funny enough, we went to MBA school together (Go Jackets!)… but I didn’t know she was a blogger!  Parita’s blog is a bright spot in my daily reading – she is one of the most positive people I know.  

Another tidbit: she’s recently engaged!  Visit her blog to read all about it and see the cool outfit you get to wear in Indian wedding ceremonies.

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Hi, Sprint 2 the Table readers!

My name is Parita, and I blog over at myinnershakti.  I’m honored to have the opportunity to guest blog for Laura as she wines and dines in Italy!  Who am I kidding… I’m honored and very jealous!

 

My blog is really about a hodgepodge of things that are important to me – exercise, food, travel, my fiancé, my family and friends…simply put, life!  One day, I’ll blog about a newfound recipe and the next day I’ll write about my upcoming wedding.  I love to keep my readers guessing!

 

Laura’s blog has become a daily must read for me.  And not just because we went to the same business school, but because it leaves me drooling, laughing, or some combination of the two.  Every.  Single.  Time.  If you’re an avid reader as well, the one thing you definitely know about Laura is that she’s a foodie – through and through.  AND she loves her Indian food!  So, when I read her email about guest posting, I knew exactly what I wanted to share with her readers – North Indian Menu Vocab!

 

Source

Dining at an Indian restaurant can be daunting… even for Indians, so I’m going to do my best to walk you through some of the more common words you’ll find on most any menu.  After reading this post, you’ll be ready to take on any North Indian restaurant. 😉

Let’s get started…

 

Ingredients:

Murg/Murgh – Chicken

Aloo – Potato

Mutter – Peas

Palak – Spinach

Chole/Channa – Chickpeas

Malai – Cream

Ghee – Clarified butter

Paneer – Curd cheese (absolutely delicious)

Masala – A spice mix that can range from mild to extremely spicy

Garam masala – A popular spice blend that includes black and white peppercorn, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and a bunch of other things.

 

Source

Breads:

Naan – Soft, thick Indian bread

Chapati/Roti – Thin, tortilla like bread usually made with wheat flour

Bhatura – Large, soft, puffy deep fried bread usually eaten with Channa Masala (chickpeas in a spicy masala sauce).  The smaller version is called a puri.

 

Appetizers:

Pakoras – Vegetables (cauliflower, onion, potato, chilies) coated in a thick batter and deep fried until golden brown.

Tikka – Tikka means chunks.  For example, chicken tikka is chunks of chicken marinated in a yogurt sauce and cooked in the tandoor.  Paneer tikka is one of my all-time favorite dishes. (Editor’s note – this is my fav too!!!)

Papad – A crunchy and spicy Indian tortilla generally eaten as an appetizer or alongside the main dish.

Tikkis – Cutlets made from mashed up vegetables.  My favorite way to eat tikkis is in a chickpea stew.

 

Source

Sauces:

Kadai – A yogurt based curry that includes onions, tomatoes, and bell pepper.

Korma – A creamy yogurt based sauce made with cream, nuts, and coconut milk.

Saag – Leafy greens cooked in masalas.

Makhani – A sauce where tomatoes are the stars of the show and butter and cream are the sidekicks.

Malai – A cream based sauce also made with onions, garlic, ginger, and garam masala.

Jalfrezi – A sauce made by frying all the ingredients and using little cream to thicken everything up.

Vindaloo – A spicy sauce made with lots of red chilies, cinnamon, cumin, and vinegar. (Editor’s note – I love this stuff!)

 

My favorite dishes:

Paneer Makhani – Cheese cooked in a tomato, butter, and cream sauce.

Navratna Korma – Big patties made with nuts, cheese, and an assortment of veggies cooked in a korma cream sauce

Palak Paneer – A mildly flavored dish made with a spinach sauce and cheese.

 

Well, there you have it – Parita’s very own guide to North Indian restaurants and cooking!  Even though this list isn’t all-inclusive, I really hope that it helps you the next time you’re trying to decipher an Indian menu.

 

Thank you so much for reading and thank you, Laura, for allowing me to take over your space for a bit!  If you want to learn more about me and my crazy antics, feel free to stop on by at myinnershakti!

***

 Indian food is my favorite (shhhh… don’t tell the Italians).

Do you ever go to Indian restaurants?

Is there a certain part of your town where the “ethnic” restaurants cluster?  In Atlanta it’s Dectaur for Indian (try Bhojanic!) and Buford Highway for Asian and Mexican.

 

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup

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Traveling a lot has made me pretty good at using up ingredients.

 

Despite the cool weather having gone by the wayside, I’m ready for fall and craving hearty soup.  My preference is a thick soup – to me, broth is often just taking up space in the bowl.

Exceptions made for really incredible broths, like the authentic ramen found at Yakitori Jinbei.  It’s not your college 99 cent ramen.

 

This soup really is everything but the kitchen sink – I had lot of veggies, fresh herbs, and some vegetable broth to use up, along with some forgotten dried chickpeas.  Soups are the easiest way to get ‘er done.

 

Don’t be afraid to play with spices and herbs.  Add some garam masala and your soup can have an Indian flavor… or some cumin and chilis for a Mexican flare… or herb it up for an Italian feel… or get some white pepper and mustard powder (or even pour a bier in it!) for German warmth… most soups are like blank slates!

This was sort of unintentionally vegan, though I’m sure it would be good with beef broth and/or shredded chicken.  I also like grating cheese on top of warm soup.  The gooey nuttiness that ensues is particularly satisfying to me… like a melty grilled cheese.

 

Bonus: I’ll have soup waiting for me when I land tomorrow night.

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Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 C vegetable broth (I used low sodium)
  • 1 C water
  • 2T apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp adobo chili powder
  • 1 T fresh thyme
  • ~8 basil leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • S+P, to taste
  • 1 C cooked chickpeas
  • 14.5 oz or 1/5 C diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 3 large celery stalks, chopped
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • ~5 kale leaves, torn apart
  • 2 C spinach

 

In a large pot, saute garlic with olive oil over low heat until just turning gold.  Add broth, water, spices, and herbs, stirring to combine.  

Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer ~15 mins so that flavors combine and intensify.

Add veggies to mix broth.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for ~20 mins, until veggies become tender.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste (I also sprinkled some red pepper flakes on mine).  Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Makes 3-4 servings.

***

8 more days and I’ll be in Italy eating lots of hearty soup creations!!!

What is your favorite “kitchen sink” meal or creation?

Do you prefer a thick or more broth-y soup?

 

BYOB Airplane-Style + WIAW

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Getting up and seeing the moon makes me tired.

I dutifully packed my bag and headed to the Midwest.

Perfected packing for a one day meeting:

  • Breakfast
  • Sweater (conference rooms are COLD)
  • BlackBerry (try not to lose it… again)
  • Heels (wear flats for running through the airport)
  • Laptop
  • Charger
  • Files to bake into cake later 

16 hours later I was back home in that South after a successful day of meetings!

I did forget one thing… I didn’t take pictures of anything I ate after breakfast.  Breakfast was really the only thing picture-worthy though.

Instead I’m posting a WIA Sunday-thru-Tuesday for WIAW.

Breakfast:

I brought my own… but treated myself to Starbucks while waiting to board the plane and eat.  Technically the client treated me, but who’s counting.

Tip: add a little sweet in your coffee without adding much in the way of sugar and calories by ordering a black coffee (in this case an Americano) with light whip on top.

Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to add a little “fall” flavor.

Need other ideas to entertain yourself while waiting to board?  Take pictures of unsuspecting travelers in matching Hawaiian shirts.  Priceless.

Upon boarding, it was time to enjoy BYOB on a plane.  That’s bring your own beer breakfast.

I finally copied took the advice of Sarah @ Smart Kitchen and made my own yogurt in a recycled cup.

Sweet Potato Greek Yogurt

This container of orange fall deliciousness is Sweet Potato Greek Yogurt.  I don’t understand how every yogurt maker out there doesn’t offer this flavor – it may be the best idea ever.  Do you hear me, Atlanta Farm Fresh???

Add some vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and it’s like pie filling you can shamelessly eat for breakfast.  Recipe at the end of this post.

Lunch:

Here’s the part where I add some previous meals to replace the eats that weren’t worthy of picturing. 🙂

Vegetable Chickpea Soup.  Vegan, gluten-free, and damn good.

This recipe will be up tomorrow!!!

Snacks:

Not pictured, but snack time was pretty junky good:

  • Chocolate-Toffee Think Thin bar (side note: I’m sad – they changed the recipe and they aren’t as good.  I won’t be buying them again. 🙁 )
  • A few of my co-worker’s chips
  • Fun Size M&Ms (free in first class)
  • Beer (again, cheers to the upgrade!)

Dinner:

I was craving pasta on Sunday night so I took a little trip to Decatur to give No.246 another chance (I was totally underwhelmed the first time).  Round 2 was much better!  I sat at the bar, which turned out to be a great decision. The bartender, Brenda made some great suggestions and I enjoyed our conversation

I began with a tasty salad of radicchio, endive, granny smith apples, walnuts, and bacon (not pictured).  The pasta I chose was a Trofie.  Trofie is made with flour and water (no eggs).  It’s hand-rolled into little squiggly shapes.  246 serves it with a chicken liver, pork, and beef bolognese.

At first it was just good…  then Brenda gave me some chili infused olive oil.  That kicked it up and notch and gave the dish the “pop” it needed to succeed.

Pairing: Nebbiolo, Damilano, Alba 2008 – this was a great suggestion from Brenda.  It is a bigger wine, stony/earthy taste.  It stood up well to the meaty pasta dish.   OMG I’m going to be in Alba in a couple of weeks!!!

No. 246 is on it’s way.  The basics are there, the kitchen just need to get over this apparent fear of spices.

For a more delicious eats, check out the round up at Peas and Crayons!

Sweet Potato Greek Yogurt

Combine everything in a blender (I used my Magic Bullet) and mix until smooth.  You may need to add more liquid to achieve desired consistency.

Top with nuts of your choice and enjoy!

Note: you can make this ahead – I did.  The flavors melded and intensified overnight.

***

Can you tell I’m ready for fall by the looks of these dishes?!

What foods (if any) do you bring on planes?  

What’s your favorite pasta dish?

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