Catching Up

I am here!  I just got caught up in all the things.  I have to figure out how to work in my blog time too. I have loved being back and I don't want to lose it again.

In case anyone is still wondering about the question I last left you with....what I was my plan for this bowl of yum - chicken, pea shoots, carrots, cucumber and Thai basil?

A few pieces of each were lined up on a rice paper wrapper.

 Summer rolls!!

 The perfect summer lunch.

Apparently early August was The Wrap Era. I seemed to be wrapping everything. This one is leftover turkey burger and veggies, with a bit of hummus to hold it together.

Grilled chicken, tomatoes, onions and spinach. In addition to holding everything together, the hummus "glue"makes all the difference in flavor.

Grilled chicken and leftover peach salsa. It was tasty, but got a bit soggy by lunch time.

I made a batch of one of our all time favorites - Salsa Verde Chicken tostadas. Red cabbage with cilantro and lime juice to top it off.  I used the salsa verde I wrote about in my last post - it was perfect! It isn't a character glass, but I couldn't resist these vintage daffodils,

We had a grilled pizza party this weekend.  I love this white pizza topped with greens and crispy pancetta.

We cut up a buffet of toppings and everyone built their own pizza. We cooked the pizzas on the grill. Grilling gets a little crazy, but so worth it. Afterwards, I collected all the leftover cut up veggies into one container. The next morning I used them in a super simple veggie egg scramble. 

I had a little bit of dough leftover. This morning I made breakfast pizza with spinach, tomato, mozzarella and sausage.  An egg is carefully placed in the center before baking.

Bake for at 450 for 10-12 minutes until egg is set. I wasn't sure how cooked the yolk would be - it was a perfect like my favorite over-easy eggs. Then spreading the yolk around the top was so decadent.

I was definitely a fan and will probably play around with this concept in the future.  I would like some fresh herbs next time. Unfortunately, my husband was not into it. I knew I was taking a chance with fresh tomatoes and spinach, but I was hoping the egg and sausage would win him over.

Food has been a bit unbalanced with a few too many treats again. However, I am not throwing out whole days because of them, so that is progress.

Loving the farmers' market this time of year...as long as we get there early before it gets too hot.

I am still enamored with these tiny eggplants - the color :)

Speaking of color, there are so many varieties of  tiny tomatoes in the market. Thankfully, the squirrels are finally allowing me to have some of the Sun Gold tomatoes from my garden, so I didn't buy any of these.

 Who knew there were so many kinds of garlic??  I bought three varieties to sample.

 I snapped a quick picture of the description to help me remember why I chose what I chose.

 My three.  I have to be honest. I should have written down which three I chose. I am already not sure :(

In addition to the produce, there are some beautiful handmade items. The colors of this yarn makes me wish I were a knitter.

 I am not sure why I didn't buy this shark. It feels like something I need, but where would I put it??

My haul from the week before last - tomatoes, English muffin bread, eggplant, peaches, chard, beet, zucchini.  I am ashamed to admit I wasted another beet. I love beets, but apparently I am too intimidated to actually cook them. In the green box are ground cherries. Inside each papery husk is a sweet/tart little fruit.

I didn't get a close up of the ground cherries, but I found this picture and description on Sage Garden Greenhouse's website.  "Sweet, tropical-tasting gold berries wrapped in paper husks add magic to your garden.Bushy plants grow 2.5 - 3’ tall. When ripe, the husk around the fruit becomes papery dry and the fruit falls off the plant to pick picked up from the ground. Some people place a tarp underneath the plants to make harvesting easier, but either way the husks keep the fruit clean. Native to Central and South America. Use as you would a common tomato. Can be eaten raw, used in salsas, salads, as a flavouring, and in jams and jellies. Fruits are excellent in desserts. Fruits dry well." 

This Green Zebra tomato was perfectly ripe and delicious in a wrap pictured above (with Grumpy Bear glass and a side of cherries).

In an out of my comfort zone move, I tried my first clothes swap last weekend. Everyone brings clothing they no longer want.  Then for a $5 donation you can take as many "new to you" clothes as you wish. My niece invited me last minute and I didn't have anything to take, but they accepted can goods if you didn't have clothing to share. I was concerned I wouldn't find anything in my size, but I did pick out a couple of things (I will post pictures when I wear them). I also got a couple things for my sidekick - shoes and a cute hat for winter. My niece got a couple bags of goodies. The poor workers were hanging items as fast as they could as more people came in. I didn't think I was going to get my niece out of there - she was constantly rechecking racks for new items. They had a good turnout and I saw plenty of happy "customers".

Last week we had the opportunity to go to a practice round of the PGA Championship golf tournament held this weekend in St. Louis. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm ruined our plans. We ended up exploring a neighborhood I've always wanted to check out. It is called The Hill. It is known for its Italian cuisine - restaurants, delis, bakeries and grocery stores. Baseball greats like Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up there. We picked up a few things to take home.

First stop the Missouri Baking Company. I could not resist the Concord Grape Coffee Cake - word is the grapes were grown by a gentleman right there in the neighborhood. It was tasty but the seeds in the grapes were a bit tedious and the cake part got a bit too soggy from the juice. I wonder if I can get back there before peach season is over...

Gioia's Deli is know for its hot salami. (hot as in temperature - not spice). The guy in the white hat did a great job introducing us to the menu.

 My husband chose the Italian Trio and I got the Hogfather. You have the option to top your sandwich any way you want, but sometimes you just have to go with the menu The Italian Trio was Mortadella, Genova & Hot Salami. Served on Garlic Cheese Bread and Garnished with Pepperoncinis, Onions and Vinegar & Oil. "Cathy's Favorite." It sounded too simple and we were tempted to add on. It was perfect just they way they made it. I  got a kick out of the little pig nose on my Hogfather sandwich.

I have a thing for fire hydrants and love the different paint jobs in various communities. These red, white and green ones were everywhere.

I was intrigued by these long narrow houses and would have loved to go on a door to door tour. I couldn't help imagine growing up in this neighborhood in the 50's. Nonnas cooking huge Sunday dinners and kids spilling of the porches. Apparently the houses are rarely offered on the open market and the neighborhood is still over 75% Italian-American.

I would have liked to have walked around a bit more, but we were dodging rain as it was. Not to mention, is it creepy to just stroll around random neighborhoods?  Next time we will need to try one of the many restaurants. I will let you know if I talk my husband into a return. I just checked and their are walking tour plans online, so it must be okay :)

There are a few more things I want to include from the last week or two, but if I don't get something posted it will be another week or two.  Life marches on :)

Love the Veggies & A Weigh In

I admit it, the number wasn't exactly what I wanted to see. After losing 5 pounds last week, I am down another .6 pounds. I know a loss is a loss. However, when you have as much to lose as I do, you want bigger numbers each week. I have a number in mind I am hoping to hit by the end of March. I can still get there if I stay on track...which is exactly what I intend to do.

I was home a little earlier than normal and decided I needed to get that leftover Korean Chicken used up. My sister-in-law sent me these rice paper wrappers. I had plenty of veggies. Everything came together to make Summer Rolls. I julienned all the veggies.

I found a dipping sauce recipe online that seemed to be very similar to the ones that my sister-in-law has made. I had all the ingredients on hand. I even have my very own rather large bottle of fish sauce which has very pungent odor (in other words it stinks), but when used with other ingredients adds another dimension (in a good way). I bought that bottle for my Cambodian egg roll recipe and it lasts forever. Fish sauce is usually made from anchovies and salt and allowed to ferment for a year or so. It is an essential ingredient in Southeast Asian cooking.

I don't remember my sister-in-law using the chili/garlic sauce in her dipping sauce, but I enjoyed it. I used the sauce right away tonight, but the flavor of the leftover will meld together even more.

Now it is time to work with the rice paper. The sheets are very hard and brittle. (I forgot to take a picture while I was making them. Since my phone was tethered to the computer I just brought in to take a picture...and you get a gratuitous bonus shot of the LEGOs.) 
Each sheet has to be dipped in warm water individually to make it pliable, but too long will turn it into gelatinous goo. I placed it directly on the counter.

All the julienned veggies and chicken are stacked on the softened rice paper. I also added rice vermicelli (you can see it on the bottom of the stack). It is basically a noodle that is cooked like spaghetti.

Then starts the rolling process tucking the ends in as you roll. You can see the rice paper is sticky.

A few more times through the process and you have this delicious dinner that more than finishes the requirement for a five veggies/fruits challenge :)  Maybe I sound like a little piggy, but I ate six of these rolls and sauce (calories from sugar) for a total of 471 calories.

I love how colorful they are. I would have added carrots, but didn't realize I was out. You can also see the noodles right by my thumb. The chicken worked very well with the veggies.

My husband had salsa verde chicken tostadas. I knew summer rolls would not be his thing. It worked out well because I already had leftover salsa verde chicken, so throwing together the tostadas was super quick  - leaving me more time to create my dinner :) Another advantage to advance meal prep.

I am trying to get some of the herbs my sister-in-law to root in water. Hopefully enough survives to get a start going for my garden. This herb was delicious in the summer rolls.

After dinner we watched tv for a few minutes. Well, my husband tried to watch, but his lap dog gets in the way :)

I have been very good about not getting into the candy at work, but today that tiny Twix would not be ignored.  It is tracked :)

I wore one of my new tops to work today. Please don't notice that it is pulling a bit more than I realized around that "tummy roll" area. Still photos always seem to catch things the eye doesn't. Anyway, it will look even better soon. I wasn't going to post the picture, but I think it will be good for comparison later.  I also wore a new pair of pants - next time I will remember the belt. As the day wore on they got a bit too relaxed :)

I can't believe I tried the top on at the store and got completely dressed this morning before I noticed this sleeve detail. I thought the seam had split. I am not sure I totally love that detail - it is a bit confusing.

Another recommitted week in the books. Overall, I am happy with the track I am on. I am determined to get a couple walks in this week...don't let me off the hook :)