Cooking up a Storm

Generally the last thing I want to do during the sweltering days of summer is spend my time in the kitchen, but lately I feel like all I've done is try out new recipes!  My friends definitely aren't complaining - they have been the beneficiaries of most of my experiments.  Can't say it's a bad gig, they come over on a Saturday night, drink wine, and chow down on filet mignon and mango guacamole, all the while I'm perfecting my culinary skills (and trying my best to use all of the servingware we got from the wedding).  And really, I can claim it's research for my future career as a cookbook author!  My ingredients are a tax write-off, right?  Also, pardon my point-and-shoot photography.

Fresh rosemary rolls in a cast iron skillet

"Bull Bites" - a favorite of ours from Axel's Bonfire, top sirloin with just the right amount of kick

Chicken kabobs and grilled Yukon gold potatoes - a summer staple

Insanely sinful macaroni and cheese pizza

 Fresh pico with 5 peppers

Chicken sesame stir fry with cous cous

Baked southwest macaroni and cheese

Life is Beautiful

After an especially trying week at work (despite my slow schedule, or maybe because of it...), I was in desperate need of a relaxing weekend.  My idea of relaxing isn't necessarily the same as most people's, but the weekend was perfect nonetheless.  It didn't hurt that the weather was absolutely beautiful after such a dreary week!

I enjoy myself the most when I feel like I'm bring productive, so of course the weekend started with a well thought out to-do list.  The thought of sitting around and doing nothing is absolutely not relaxing.  It is stressful.

I managed to get my butt up at 7 both mornings to run by the river, which in my book always sets a good tone for the day.  Even though I still detest running, starting my day with a workout always puts me in a better mood, and the path by the Mississippi just can't be beat.  Minus the knee pain.

Mike and I headed to the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday to enjoy the beautiful weather and pick out future pets.  Once we're exceedingly wealthy, I feel like we'll be able to have ridiculous animals.  I settled on prairie dog.  Hubby is pushing for a walrus, but I think a village of prairie dogs is much more practical. 

I absolutely ADORE Groupon.  If you aren't familiar with it, Groupon is a daily e-mail service that sends out an awesome coupon for a local restaurant, store, or other business each morning.  I seriously am giddy when I wake up each morning and check my e-mail to see what is offered.  For more details, check it out here.  Anyways, I have lived in St. Paul for almost two years and have always wanted to try Senor Wong, the Latin/Asian fusion lounge and restaurant about two blocks from my place.  Hubby isn't the most adventurous when it comes to cuisine, so until now, it had remained on my short list of places to go.  Luckily for me and my taste buds, Senor Wong showed up on Groupon a week or so ago.  For $15, you received $35 worth of food and drinks at the swanky restaurant.  I couldn't pass that up, so we walked the two blocks to the Kellogg building for dinner. 

I didn't bring my camera to the restaurant, so you'll just have to take my word on how delicious the food looked and how cute the restaurant was.  Definitely worth checking out if you're ever in the Twin Cities area and craving pad thai and/or chicken flautas! 

Sunday was another relaxing day, filled with errands (I love grocery shopping...sick, I know), cooking, and indulging in wine and amazing pizza with good friends.  My favorite gourmet grocery store had Minnesota Bushel Boy tomatoes on sale, as well as the most perfect mozzarella I've ever had.  Triumph of Cheese comes from Wisconsin (Midwest pride!) and has just the right amount of saltiness to add real flavor to a dish.  I absolutely couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a great caprese pasta salad with those, some orichette pasta (everything is better when it's ear-shaped), and basil from my little windowsill garden.  Drizzle on some balsamic reduction and you have yourself a great fresh lunch. 

With my second pound of tomatoes, I made a batch of my world famous salsa.  My friend Megan (finally) turned in her last project of the semester for grad school, so she was free to join us for snacking, followed by several bottles of red wine and two awesome pizzas from Roadside Pizza.  They have a great 2 for 1 special on Sundays, so that has become our little tradition.

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend and was able to come back to work feeling completely refreshed.  Oh glorious summer, how I have missed you!

Yet Another Item on the Life To-Do List

The recent lull in my generally chaotic life has let me to seek a new project.  My new kick has been dreaming up ideas for a cookbook.  While I've always fancied myself a pretty good and creative home cook, it has only been lately that I've had aspirations to do more (i.e. when I decided that I wanted to be a caterer after doing all of the food for my own wedding reception - see pictures).

I have a pretty extensive collection of cookbooks, but I often find that I need to browse through pages and pages each weekend in order to find things to make for lunches the following week.  My idea is this: a cookbook full of recipes that busy professionals can make to pack for lunches.  One of my favorite things to do is cook with my girlfriends on Sundays and package everything up for meals during the week.  It saves tons of time in the mornings and, since my lunches are so delicious (and often healthy!), I'm rarely tempted to go out to eat during the day!  

I have tons of ideas for said book, but I don't want to spill everything for the whole internet to steal :)  Perhaps if I get ambitious this weekend, I'll document my cooking day with the girls!

Levenger Love

Being an absolute organization freak, my week month has been made by the Circa notebooks from Levenger.  My mom introduced me to Levenger at an early age, and ever since those youthful days of coloring with my highlighter pencils, I've loved to indulge in their high quality "tools for serious readers."  And yes, I know this makes me a raging nerd.

Even though my hyper-organized boss has been mocking me for my excitement, I can't help but obsess about these notebooks.  Not only do they have chic bookcloth and leather covers and great styling, but there are countless varieties of refill pages and you can quickly and easily move them around to suit your needs.  And the best part - you can get punches to make any paper fit on the binding rings!  While I've only had these for a week or so, I'm quickly embracing their functionality.

The smaller red one is for "personal" use - grocery lists, to-do lists, meal planning (woo hoo Vegas vacation diet), running routes, a spreadsheet for my bills, etc).  The larger one is for work projects.  I created this one from the Simply Irresistible kit which includes a sampling of products and a $40 gift card for future use, all for only $40!  I plan on upgrading this one soon with an awesome buffalo leather cover.  I'm practically salivating just thinking about it.

How cute is this monogram?

I was a little apprehensive about how the pages would hold up after moving them around, but after removing and replacing them several times, they hold up surprisingly well.  

My Circa notebook has been an organizational gem and I really can't wait to dive into it even more.  Yes, I realize that I just spent 20 minutes writing about a notebook, but it's hard not to when it's that smart of a product...just don't tell my college friends.

I love running, I love running, I love running...

I've recently decided that I'm going to make myself enjoy running.  Everyone I see running in St. Paul is so slim and athletic and looks so damn happy.  I'm determined to be one of them.  I was a decent sprinter (okay, in middle school), but I've never been much of a runner. 

I found a wonderful iPhone app called "Couch to 5k" that has 9 weeks worth of training plans programmed in.  It takes you through 3 workouts a week of running/walking intervals and even "dings" over your music to tell you when to pick up your pace.  Being a slave to organization of any kind, I love the structure that this app offers.  I had done the week 1 intervals a few weeks ago, so I started in today with day 2.1.  It was only 20 minutes of alternating 90 seconds of running with 2 minutes of walking, but I love the way I felt like I was actually making progress.  Running outside by the river is definitely better than running on a treadmill!

I should be done with the 9 week program by early June, so I'm going to register for a 5k at the end of June as extra motivation.  Beyond that, I'd love to do the Twin Cities Ten Miler in October and a half marathon in Vegas in December.  The question really is, can I convince myself that I love running enough to do it for 13.1 miles?

Cuban Cooking Week

Even though I just returned from Mexico about 3 weeks ago, I'm already itching for another vacation.  Whenever I get the travel bug, I start daydreaming about all of the wonderful foods that I've had on various trips.  One of the best meals I've had on vacation was at The Columbia Restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida.  I visited St. Augustine with my father and my older brother several years ago and we wandered into the gorgeous restaurant after a morning of exploring the fort.  It was sweltering hot outside, and I remember the restaurant being a wonderful air conditioned oasis.  The three of us each ordered the "1905" salad - featured prominently on their menu.  They made the salad table-side and served it with warm, soft, amazing Cuban bread.  Ever since that trip, I've been pining for it.  Luckily, I found that they published the recipe on their website.  Now if only I could have them ship some of their bread to Minnesota...

I have two other Cuban-inspired recipes lined up for this week.  One of my favorite things to do is cook all of my lunches for the week on Sunday afternoons.  This saves me so much time during the week and really helps me stay on track with my healthy eating plan.  One of the best websites I have found for healthy and delicious food is SkinnyTaste.com.  The author and I seem to have very similar palates, so I'm always ecstatic when she posts a new recipe.  The two I plan on making this week are chicken ropa vieja and turkey Cuban sandwiches.  I've made the ropa vieja before and used it in a burrito bowl the way the site did and it was absolutely awesome.  I planned on including pictures, but my camera's memory card seems to be disagreeing with me today.  Plus, Gina's pictures are much better than mine would be!

Latest Must-Have Items

The recent warm weather has me obsessing about spring.  I can't wait to retire my North Face for the year!

Bass Wayfarers - so delightfully classic and preppy.  I still need to find them in a store to try them on since my feet are so narrow!
Coach Spectator Tote - Mike got this for me for my birthday in green and white.  I am going to drag this around with me all summer - I just hope I can keep the white leather clean!
Sperry Topsiders - my absolute favorite summer shoes.  I got new tan slides for this summer and I can't wait to break them in.
The Limited Wrap Jacket - short sleeve jackets are perfect for my business casual office.  They're stylish and professional, but they are casual enough to keep you from looking over-dressed.
Lacoste Polo Dress - I can't say enough about how cute and comfortable these dresses are.  They are stretch pique, so they hug every curve perfectly and are insanely comfy.
Rainbows - enough said.  My favorite fratty accessory from my college days still pair perfectly with jeans and a polo or with a casual summer dress.
Burberry Polo - my souvineer from my last trip to Vegas.  I'm already planning what to buy when I return in August.

What I'm most excited about is the great monokini from Carmen Marc Valvo.  Two girlfriends and I are going to Vegas in August (again...) and I think something like this will be perfect for Wet Republic or Tao Beach.  As trashy as those places can be, I haven't been to either before and I think they're a necessary part of the Vegas experience.  I acknowledge that I won't be able to turn, bend, or move really, but it's just so ridiculously awesome that I can't pass it up.  That being said, I have a lot of work to do before this looks acceptable for the Vegas pool scene!