I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and the new year has gotten off to a lovely start. I can't believe we're almost to the half-way point for January already. The time to discuss resolutions and whatnot has passed. Instead, I wanted to share my three goals for 2014.

1. Have friends and/or family over for dinner at least once a month. This may mean a simple weeknight meal consisting of a robust antipasti plate or it may involve a Saturday night dinner party where I try out a new recipe or two from the cookbook library. Regardless, I want to cook more and share those meals with the ones I love.
2. Take more photos. Keith and I have spent many conversations about finding a hobby. I think one of my hobbies is going to involve my camera and capturing more memories. To help hold me to this, I'm planning to start a series here picking up on what so many other bloggers do called Silent Sundays. I want to share a photo that captures what the week held or maybe that day, but you'll see at least one photo sharing a quiet piece of our life. 
3. Find a new job that bring me fulfillment. Near the middle of December, I learned the department at my current firm is going through a reorganization and as a result will leave me without a position come the start of the second quarter. (Yes, this explains for some of the silence.) After thinking about it for a bit, I want to stay in my current field. And I want to do a measured search that lands me at a new place where the culture and work-life balance is just as good of a fit as the work matching my skills. 
4. Bonus! Live a healthier lifestyle. I'm in marketing folks, so you had to expect a bonus goal. We've talked before about wanting to be healthier. Well, this year Keith is on board as well. We refuse to use the dreaded "D" of diet, but instead plan to eat more whole foods during the week and only on weekends cheat. It also means more exercise. Back in my 20s, hitting the gym and lifting weights every morning worked for me. Now that I'm maturing, I don't find that as rewarding. Expect to hear about my trial runs of various classes, etc. To start, I've signed up for Power Yoga classes at the studio close to home. Hopefully, that will help me find something I love and enjoy while also taking me a little closer to the goal. If not, on to the next option.

I love pie. There's something so very comforting about it. I'm sure this is attributed to my grandpa baking a different pie whenever I'd come home from college. This continued even after I moved out to Washington, DC. Grandpa would bake apple, chocolate cream, blueberry and every once in a while butterscotch. We'd sit, eat pie, and catch up on life. 

Sometimes you just have to take the time to nap, catch up with friends, run errands, and make a home cooked meal. And that's what this past weekend provided us. Well, the weekend started on Friday night with ambitious plans. Andrea and I thought we could eat all of these in one night after eating deep dish pizza.

Well, the effort failed miserably. We didn't even manage to finish one apiece. Instead, there are two whole cupcakes sitting in my freezer for the night we decide to stay in. Since I kicked the weekend off in a food comma, I basically tossed the original plan of home projects out the window. Why not continue with this theme of baked goods? Good idea, right? That's why I baked some pumpkin chocolate chip bread.


Since Sunday was the first truly chilly day in the District (I don't believe we broke 60.) with the threat of rain lingering, I figured I might as well make a big pot of chili too. Looks like we'll be eating this for at least two more meals. When will I remember that you cannot make just a little bit of chili?

I think it's safe to say fall has finally made it's way to the nation's capitol. And it is glorious...the leaves are slowly starting to change, there's a chill in the air, and football has returned with the real refs. Can you tell this is my favorite time of year?

I don't know what it is about this weather, but I want to spend serious time reconnecting with my kitchen. After the extreme heat and humidity, I guess having a small galley kitchen with a window that doesn't open can do that to a girl. Tonight I skipped the gym to rush home and get a stew simmering on the stove and a pie baking in the oven.

In addition to rekindling the romance with my kitchen, I also like to spend a little quality time with my growing collection of cookbooks. Sometimes there's inspiration in those books and others I like to just eat with my eyes especially when it's one of those wonderfully photographed ones.

We have been counting down until the return of the NLF since February 6, 2012. And long as last, the wait is over. Keith and I agree that Sundays during football season on meant to be spent lounging around the house eating junk food and watching every play. Keith also monitors his three fantasy teams, which I've finally made peace with. I'll spare you my fantasy football rant for another time.

As part of his efforts to woo me, Keith took me to Hermosa Beach in California for our first Valentine's Day together. While out there we visited one of his college buddies, who told us how he and his wife received an ice cream maker for a wedding gift. They envisioned making ice cream with their family and building all these wonderful memories, when in fact they've made ice cream once and stashed the ice cream maker away in the back cupboard. 

All that salsa left us thirsty so there were a few cold ones. And to say I was super excited would be an understatement when I found Boulevard Brewery’s unfiltered wheat out here. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve wanted one of those beers since I moved out here eight years ago. Thinking we might have to go back this weekend with hopes of snagging another six-pack.



One of the best wedding gifts we received was the Super Deluxe edition of Scrabble from my sister. I cannot begin to tell you how many rounds have been played. When Keith and I first started dating there were many nights playing Monopoly since that was one of the few board games we had, so I’m relieved the collection has expanded.

This weekend we plan to continue this pattern of lazy. I’m planning to put another wedding gift to use and make ice cream. And maybe we’ll mix it up a bit and switch up the board game or perhaps I’ll tackle the pile of books on the nightstand since I’ve made several new acquisitions.

Do you have any big plans? Or is the heat just getting to you too?

Just when I thought we couldn't top last Saturday, I think we did this past weekend.

Do you find short workweeks more exhausting than a full one? Maybe it’s just me. I feel like we’ve tried to fit in as much as possible this week, but then that did help it pass quickly and bring us to the weekend.

What plans await you this weekend?

Saturday appears to be the busy day for us. Keith has plans to play a round at the Renditions Golf Course with some buddies. I think he feels like a pro for a few moments. That is until he snaps back to reality as he’s searching for his ball in the woods.

I’m kicking myself now, but I signed up for a barre class at the new Biker Barre on the Hill. Fingers crossed that I fall in love with this style of strength training and work myself back into some pants. (If you’ve taken such a class and have tips for survival, I would love to hear from you.) After all the hard work, I’m rewarding myself with a mani/pedi using one of the new Essie polishes.

The night wraps up with dinner at Art and Soul. Their fried chicken equals bites of heaven. Guess that’s why I’ll be working out in the morning. I really need to work on more than maintaining.

Who knows what Sunday will bring, but I’m sure it will involve some sort of lazy breakfast.  If only it could be spent with a book and a hammock like this. Enjoy your weekend!

Via Adam Meaney, Flickr

Whenever Keith asks where I want to eat if we go out for dinner, I first answer with Mexican. You can’t go wrong with tacos, guacamole, and margaritas, right?

Perhaps, I’ve gravitated more towards the Mexican because I know Keith can seldom find anything wrong with that choice. But my first love is Italian. Plates of antipasti, good olive oil and warm bread, and chewy delicious fresh made pasta – I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it.

I’ve watched them make pasta on the cooking shows and thought, I could do that. Really how hard can it be? Well, last night I took a pasta making class at one of my favorite little stores on Capitol Hill - Hill's Kitchen. (If you live in DC, like to cook or just like kitchen gadgets, then you definitely need to stop by and check this place out.) This class fills quickly so it’s taken me almost a year to finally make it.

I found the instructor knowledgeable and friendly. The class was hands-on, so my only picture is of the finished product.


For some reason, I thought there was olive oil involved. I was surprised to learn fresh pasta involves just flour, eggs, and salt. And it didn’t come as a surprise when we were reminded to use the best quality ingredients possible. As to it being just three ingredients, I still some how I managed to get flour and egg all over the place making it difficult to get other photos.

The class ran much longer than I anticipated, but then rolling pasta is hard work. Tonight I’m envisioning plates of pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil for dinner; I want to savor my hard work. Fingers crossed it turned out okay. Now the bigger question is do I buy a pasta roller?

Do you make pasta from scratch or perhaps you make pizza dough? I’d like to hear what you find to be worth that extra energy.

 

Oh, Monday. Never mind. I’m not ready for you. Can we try again tomorrow?

I found the weekend relaxing and refreshing. Keith on the other hand would describe his as fun, but exhausting. He made it back from Florida without any serious trouble.

Don’t know if you’ve checked out the Weather Channel or listed to ol’ Al Roker recently, but we’re getting fall-like weather here in DC. We were greeted by a chilling 48 degrees and a drizzle this morning. Bleh! Deciding what to wear was a little more challenging than I like on a Monday morning. Regardless, it was nice to know breakfast would be worth it once I got around.

Since we usually order Chinese takeout on Sundays, I don’t have to worry about dinner. Instead, I get a jump-start on the week ahead. Last night I was making a small batch of granola. I find it to be my breakfast staple and who knew it’s actually really easy to make? I use to buy it regularly out of the bulk bins at Whole Foods, but then I wanted to control what was going into or was not going into it.

Here’s my super simple approach to granola. (Details with quantities below.) I start with some thick cut oats, sliced almonds, agave nectar, coconut oil, and cinnamon. I’ve learned Bob’s Red Mill oats are the best for this. You could also substitute maple syrup or honey. Lastly, feel free to play around with the cinnamon. I’ve also played around with cinnamon and ground ginger with a pinch of nutmeg. Just find what works for you.

Dump your dry ingredients into the bowl and toss together. On the stove, melt the coconut oil and agave nectar together until it’s smooth. Pour this on the dry stuff and toss. You’ll then pour that out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. And seriously, don’t skip the parchment. I’ve learned the hard way. Then bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. You can toss every 5 minutes or so, but if you want those delicious clusters don’t touch it. Pull it out just when it starts to look golden. It will bake a tad more once you pull it out of the oven. Once cool dump into an airtight container.


I’ve found this recipe to be pretty flexible. Some mornings, I eat it like cereal topped with fresh berries and skim milk. Other days, I sprinkle it over Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries, which was this morning. Or you can enjoy it plain right out of the storage container for an on the go breakfast. I’m telling you it’s awesome! Not to mention, you can mix in dry fruit if you want like cranberries, currants, or raisins. You also have the option of topping it with fresh fruit, which is what I’ve been enjoying a lot lately.

Super Simple Granola

1 c. thick cut oats
1/2 c. sliced almonds (You could use pecans, walnuts, etc.)
1 heaping tablespoon of coconut oil (When it melts it gives you more.)
1 T. agave nectar (You can use more to taste. You could also swap for honey, maple syrup, etc.)
1/2 t. cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, almonds, cinnamon and salt. Toss to combine.

3. Combine the coconut oil and agave nectar in a small saucepan and heat until melted. Continuously stir to combine.

4. Remove the oil mixture and carefully pour it over the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly to ensure all of the oats and nuts are evenly coated.

5. Spread the sticky oat mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Be sure to pat it down and keep it rather close together.

6. Place into your preheated oven and back for 15 to 20 minutes. You can stir every 5-7 minutes or leave it alone to get the clusters. If you leave it be, start checking on it at the 15 minute mark to see if it’s ready.

7. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, pour into an airtight container or large sealable plastic bag. If you want, you can now mix in dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, currents, apricots, etc.

8. Enjoy!