My Goal is Simple

a blog about my life a few people read

Tag: food

September 6, 2011

Our Labor Day Weekend

I hope everybody had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. We’re back from Wilmington and for those keeping track, this means that in a span of 7 days, we went from hanging out on the Pacific in Alaska to chillin’ at the Atlantic in North Carolina. We’re tired but happy that we gathered the energy to make the trip back east. It was nice seeing Clay’s parents and we had a blast at the wedding of dear friends. Clay and I made our way up to Raleigh on Saturday morning and stayed through Sunday afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we headed downtown for lunch and a drink.

We ended up at The Raleigh Times Bar. Believe it or not, despite living in the area for two and half years, it was our first time at the place. We’ve heard people rave about it before and decided that we couldn’t pass it by this trip. I opted for a wheat beer and Clay went with a fall blend that our waiter described as Thanksgiving in a glass.

Clay had beef steamed pastrami with house made kraut, melted gruyere and spicy brown mustard on rye. I had a blackened chicken romaine salad, which had grilled romaine hearts, cherry tomatoes, red onions, garlic croutons, and an avocado jalapeno dressing. Both were delicious. And the fries were perfect with malt vinegar and our beers.

After walking around downtown, we headed back to our hotel and got ready for the wedding. The ceremony and reception were held at The Rand Bryan House, a historic 19th century residence. The bride was beautiful and the groom quite dashing in his uniform. It was nice seeing friends again and having a child-free evening.

After brunch on Sunday morning, we drove back down to Wilmington, excited to see our little guy. Grandma and Grandpa gave him a glowing report card and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Weston. We relaxed Sunday afternoon and then all went to Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn for dinner. Anyone who is familiar with Wilmington has more than likely heard about this quirky gem. If you’re ever in the area, you must have a burrito here. Delicious.

In my world, it doesn’t get much better than the pineapple salsa at Flaming Amy’s. It is simply pineapple, cilantro, salt, and jalapeno peppers. One of my goals this week is to make this creation myself. Lofty goals over here people, lofty goals.

After dinner, we went for a walk along Carolina Beach before heading back to Clay’s parents. Before bed, we watched an interesting CNBC documentary about American Airlines that painted a pretty dire picture about flying in the United States. Having flown a fair amount as a child, the differences between then and now are quite jarring. Flying certainly isn’t what it used to be and I have to wonder how much worse can it actually get.

We woke up at 4:30am to catch an early flight. After a layover in Atlanta, we arrived at DFW around lunch time. Luckily, the weather didn’t impact our trip at all and we were delay free the entire time. It was a quick trip to North Carolina but one that we’re glad we took. But we’re looking forward to staying put for the month of September and exploring the local area a bit. The temperatures will be in the 80s this week so I think we’re going to spend a lot of time outside. Hallelujah!

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September 2, 2011

Food (and Drink) of Alaska

As you read this, we’re on the road again to Dallas/Ft. Worth so we can catch a flight to Wilmington, North Carolina. This will be a quick trip – we’re attending the wedding of a soldier from Clay’s company this past deployment. I just love military weddings and always get excited at the chance to see my man in his dress blues. Last time we were dressed up for a military event, I was 8 weeks pregnant and unable to partake in a lot of the festivities. Not this time. The little guy is going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa and we’re heading up to Raleigh to party with friends and celebrate a marriage. Have I mentioned just how much I love weddings?

But moving on to what we ate and drank in Alaska. In full disclosure, I gained about four pounds this trip but it was worth every calorie consumed.

I had a mango pineapple cupcake in downtown Anchorage at the Market & Festival by the water.

We had bear breakfast sausage from a bear that Aaron shot (hunted) himself.

Weston (much to my horror) loved it.

Clay said it was okay.

I hated it.

I made sure to consume an adequate amount of beer from the Alaskan Brewing Company.

You know, to support the local economy.

It’s my civic duty, ahem.

I even cooked! This is fresh halibut (courtesy of Aaron) that I made with a garlic butter sauce. Yes, it was delicious.

Clay and I ordered pasties at The Roadhouse in Talkeetna. I had mine with a salad and Clay chose the Hungarian mushroom soup. However, I didn’t know they were filled with reindeer meat. Once I learned this fact, I couldn’t eat the rest of it. Sorry, Rudolph.

An elephant ear with cinnamon and sugar at the Alaska State Fair.

More beer.

Smoked salmon spread from The Moose’s Tooth.

Margherita pizza from The Moose’s Tooth. It was seriously one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had. And this is coming from a girl who prefers NY style, extra greasy, with cheese sliding down my arm after doing the fold over.

Halibut fish & chips at Humpy’s Alehouse.

(source)

And finally, the best thing I ate in Alaska was Copper River Salmon that Aaron caught himself. I prepared it simply, pairing it with garlic rice and roasted tomatoes. I forget to take a picture! So here is a picture of the Copper River instead. Such a beautiful aquatic creature. And quite delicious too. Here is the funny thing – I hated salmon up until this trip. It turns out, I had just never had good salmon before. Funny how life is sometimes.

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August 11, 2011

Homemade Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt

Last week, we purchased a life changing appliance for $29.99. We’re a fan of ice cream and frozen yogurt in this house and with our love of natural and fresh food, we were wanting to dive into the world of homemade ice cream. So we bought this little guy – the Hamilton Beach Half Pint Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker.

We opted for a small individual ice cream maker rather than the traditional full-size model because we didn’t want ice cream just sitting in the freezer, waiting to be consumed. With this model, we can make one serving of ice cream in about 10 minutes. When we eat ice cream, we usually share a bowl anyway (yes, we’re that annoying couple), so this contraption is perfect for us.

action shot

And most importantly, we have full control over the ingredients. When we would buy ice cream from the store, we went with the Breyer’s Slow Churned line because it is less fat and all natural. Sadly, there are a lot of other brands out there that can’t say the same; I continue to be amazed at the junk some people put into their bodies. And for the most part, it doesn’t even taste near as good the fresh and natural counterpart. Everybody deserves to eat great tasting food!

strawberry ice cream

And boy, is fresh ice cream great tasting. And so is frozen yogurt. In fact, I may prefer my homemade frozen yogurt because I know how much less fat is involved! I find that greek yogurt is best kind to use and after adding a little bit of honey, milk, and vanilla will result in a TDF (to die for) dessert. But don’t get me wrong – homemade ice cream is still damn tasty.

Clay is TDY this week so I may or may not have had frozen yogurt for dinner the past two nights.

Shhhh…

Do you make ice cream or frozen yogurt at home?

I was not paid for this post and I am not endorsed by Hamilton Beach. I just really like homemade ice cream. The Amazon reviews are wide-ranging on this product but we decided to bite the bullet because of the small size. So far, we’ve been very pleased with it and find it very easy to use.

 

 

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