Repeat Grillin'....

Can you say obsessed? I've discovered the grill and I love it! Trader Joe's has pre-made dough for just .99 cents and I feel like I can't walk past it without picking some up.

Tonight we took the one bag of garlic and herb dough, split it into two, and made our own little personal pizzas. Our pizzas look more like cheese and veggies, but I promise there is bread under there.

My pizza: 

mushrooms, onions, tomato slices, cheese!

His pizza:

 mushrooms, onions, cheese, tomato slices, bits of deli ham

I paired it with a grilled peach salad and greens salad. Peel the peach and remove pit. Brush on a little EVOO and some salt. Stick on the grill for a few minutes to get those nice grill marks on them. I topped them over a romaine lettuce head with a little olive oil drizzled over, some S&P, and a few sliced white onions. 

To make the meal complete I busted open my new bottle of rose from the wine tasting on Wednesday night. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wine tasted just like it did on Wednesday! It was light, juicy, and fruity. Just what is needed with a heavy meal like our pizza.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Lets get ready for a new week. It is going to be a good one, right? RIGHT?! RIGHT!

Preparing (Day 165)...

One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday is get my lunches all together and ready for the week. It makes it so much easier to grab n' go in the morning. Sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn't, but I like the process in general.

Today I made a pit stop past Trader Joe's and picked up some Israeli Couscous. I've had it plenty of times, but I've never actually made it. The texture is fluffy, a bit chewy and feels so much more filling than regular couscous.

I picked up some delicious looking tomatoes and cute little mini cucumbers at the store too. My little brain imagined a salsa-type, almost unblended gazpacho type topping for this couscous. 

My mix included: 2 tomatoes, 2 mini cucumbers, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/2 jalapeño, 1/2 yellow pepper, 1/4 onion, salt & pepper, and a little sriracha. 

I just chopped everything up and let it chill together as I cooked the couscous.

Before I packed it up for my lunches I wanted to make sure it was ok tasting. You know...quality control. ;)

The box of couscous made 4 cups and the tomato mixture was 4 cups. I just dumped 1 cup of each into my 2 c. containers and I was good to go! 

Notice there are only 3 containers, but my dish made 4 servings? I'm thinking my quality control got a little OUT of control this afternoon. ;)

I also baked up some bbq tofu squares in case I wanted to add a slice or two on the top of my salad. Baked tofu makes me smile.

All set and ready for the week! One less thing for me to do each night.

Question of the day: Do you have any time saving tricks to get ready for the week?

Workin, Workin, Workin...

Today started off bright and early. Well, not exactly bright, but definitely early! My job had an upgrade on our computer system and I worked from 2a-6a testing the upgrade before it went back to the users. Fun huh? At least it was from home!

When I finally rolled out of bed around 10am I was STARVING. I needed an egg and I needed it stat. I whipped up a fun little omelet, which is really just an egg foldover. Still yummy though.

In the mix: chives from the garden, grape tomatoes, red onion, shredded smoked cheese blend, and a little sriracha to top it off.

I'm making myself hungry looking at it again. There is something super satisfying about making breakfast on a weekend morning. I have to do it to get the day started!

Today is filled with school work and maybe a bit of grilling later in the day. Keep your fingers crossed for some decent weather.

Double Header (Day 164)...

No, no, no...not a double header baseball game. A double header at the gym! Surprised?! Me too!

I got my butt out of bed and to the gym for the 10am Zumba class. A new instructor (to me) and the chance to get sweaty first thing in the AM make me a happy girl. I realize 10am doesn't sound like the earliest class in the world, but come on...it is hard for a night owl like me!

Right after Zumba was Body Pump. I was sweating so much from Zumba still that I felt like I looked sad sweating while lifting just the 5lb weights. Ha! I'm glad I went but wasn't digging the instructor for either class. The Zumba woman wore way to much Zumba gear and didn't really announce her moves. It was more just free flow dancing sometimes. Peeps, I like structure. This is nothing new. Body Pump was fine since it is always the same moves, but the instructor kept singing half words into the mike. You know when you are singing along to a song, but you just say every other word. Same thing only amplified. Ugh.

When I got done with class I was STARVING. I called The Scientist and he invited me over to watch the World Cup. Plus, he offered to make me lunch!

Mmm...carbs. Love it. :) Right after I fell asleep on his couch and woke up just in time for the game to be over and leave. Ha! I am quite the house guest. 

Tonight is my buddy, Lee, is throwing an "I'm unemployed and Broke" party to get her mind off of 1 year without a job. I'm happy to oblige!

Have a good afternoon!

Question of the day: What is your fave post workout food?! I'm a carbs girl. Well, I'm a carbs girl all the time really.

Party for All Occasions...

My friend Lee has been unemployed for a year. She has the best attitude about it. She looks for work like its a job in itself and is sure that something is just around the corner. I love her attitude and think I should adopt it for my everyday life. "Something is just around the corner!" She has taken this time off to get into a gym schedule, travel and catch up with friends. I'm proud of her and I know that work IS just around the corner.

To acknowledge (I hate to say celebrate) her 1 year of unemployment anniversary she threw a little get together. I brought along some yummy no bake peanut butter bars, but I forgot to take pictures. Recipe and pics to come soon!

There was tons to drink.

Plenty to eat.

Beer Pong too! 

Yes, Lee was shocked that she had beer pong at her house! ;)

Pro? Really? I had never even heard of Beer Pong till moving up North. Weird Northerners.

It was great for me to catch up with some of my friends. The Scientist came along for the shenanigans and people were excited to see that he is still kicking it after the surgery. 

This weekend is flying by! So much to do and so little time. 

Longest week evah (Day 163)...

Oh my gosh...this was seriously the LLOOOONNNNGGEST week in history. Work was going fine and nothing horrible was happening outside of work, but phew...it was rough getting up this morning!

I did have a little bag of goodies to look forward to at lunch though. Mmm...cold brussels sprouts are AWESOME. True story. Try it!

By the time I got home from work and took a nap, it was almost 9p! I had plans to make dinner for The Scientist and I but it just wasn't going to happen. Instead we hopped on the bus and headed into Harvard Sq for some good ol' mexican food and margaritas. Best #2 option I could think of!

At the bus stop I realized they had put up a new sign.

Nothing special about the sign, but I was draw to that little bit of writing on the right hand side. After a closer look I can see that it was added by a wonderful resident of our little town.

Deep man. Really really deep.

I hope you guys have a great Friday night! I'm peacing out to bed early so I can book it over to the gym for a double feature!

Feeling like Gumby (Day 162)...

If you follow me on Twitter (Check me out!) then you would know that I went to Slow Flow Yoga tonight at my gym. Holy not so flexible! I used to be a BIG fan of yoga. I went every single day in Connecticut and for some reason just got out of the habit when I moved to Boston. I decided a few weeks ago to get back into it a bit more so I pulled out the mat and found a class at my gym. I've tried a few but this slow flow one almost killed me! We hold each posture for so long that everything feels like I'm lengthening it. I realize that is the point, but I felt like Gumby when I walked out of that joint. I hurt oh so good...

When I got home I was craving two things...chickpeas and brussels sprouts. I made up my chole and naan meal and added some roasted brussel sprouts with onions on the sides.

Brussels sprouts are a fun veggie.Add a little olive oil and salt & pepper and you immediately get a party.

 When I roast them the key is to go just a few more minutes in the oven more than you think you would. Those little burnt marks on the sprouts actually make the best flavor on the veggie!

My little meal filled my plate to the brim and it looked so yummy! See some of those delicious looking burn marks?!

The best part of making this meal is that it all makes for some great leftovers. I packed up my extra and had lunch ready to go for tomorrow. Packing the night before is the way to go.

Hope you guys all have a great night! Hopefully I can pull myself out of bed tomorrow. ;)

Question of the day: Do you practice yoga? Are you a fan?

Wine Wednesday! (Day 161)

Noticing a trend? Wine Wednesday! I'm making it happen. Care to join me?


Check out my previous Wine Wednesdays here, here, and here. I've had the opportunity to check out some great wines over the past few months and tonight was no different. Lets get to it!


Tonight there were a few tasting going on at Gordons Wine. My friend, Cathy, and I headed up for the first round with Alois Lageder Wines of Alto Adige, Italy. 

The Director of Marketing and Sales for Alois Lageder Wines, Urs Vetter, was our presenter tonight. He was super informative and had some great one-lines that I thought were entertaining. Plus, he gave me a great geography lesson on Italy. Check out all the notes I took!

On the menu for tonight's tasting:

2008 Lageder Pinot Grigio

2009 Lageder Muller Thurgau

2008 Lageder Gewurtraminer

2008 Lageder Beta Delta Chard/Pinot Grigio

2007 Lageder Benfizium Porer Pinot Grigio

2009 Lageder Rosato Lagrein

2006 Lageder Lagrein

It is easy to see if you have read the blog for any amount of time that I'm a BIG fan of red wines.

Ready to find out the bottles that went home with me? Think you can guess? I bet you $1 you can't. ;)

Tonight's winners were Pinot Grigio and the Rosato Lagrein, which basically means Syrah Rose. Surprised?! I was too!

After the first tasting was done we had 45 minutes to kill. Cathy had a great idea...a picnic! We both brought some goodies and had our little dinner in the tasting room. 

In the mix: couscous, a version of spicy gazpacho, macaroni salad, grapes, hummus and pita, and sugar cookies.

Anyone else find it as funny as I did that I was snacking on grapes during a WINE tasting? I've kept the grape industry in business tonight!

Next up on the agenda was winemaker Hugh Hamilton of Australia. I seriously love an Australian accent. I try and try to replicate it and just can't make it work. Hugh had his down to a T. ;)

Huge brought along some great wines for us to try, all with fantastic names, including:

Jim-Jim Shiraz

Jim Jim Unoaked Chardonnay

Hugh Hamilton “The Scallywag” Chardonnay

Hugh Hamilton “The Rascal” Shiraz

Hugh Hamilton “The Villain” Cabernet sauvignon

Hugh Hamilton “Jekyll and Hyde” Shiraz-Viognier

See those Jim-Jim wines? Jim-Jim is Hugh's dog and even has his own website!

Since this tasting started at 8 my regular wine partner was able to meet up with Cathy and I...The Scientist! He always likes to make his presence known.For some reason I always get to take home some form of calculation whenever we do a tasting together. 

During our tasting we had a great discussion on rose wines and their gaining popularity. I'm certainly learning to love them and apparently Gordon's thinks everyone else should give them a try too! Nothing like being pressured into buying some wine.

Despite my love for Hugh's wines, Gordon's didn't have the bottles I was interested on hand to buy. Next time!!!

Grillin and Chillin'...

I have a grill in my backyard. I have no idea how it works. OR should I say that I HAD no idea?!

Tonight we broke in the grill and whipped up some grilled pizzas. I had my Zumba class till 7:30 so time was of the essence when I got home. Fortunately, Trader Joe's has some awesome pre-made pizza dough.

All I had to do was get our ingredients together and we were ready to start grilling. In the mix: mushrooms, red onions, mozzarella cheese, goat cheese, pizza sauce with garlic and fresh chives, and a few sprinkles of shredded smoked cheeses.

While our pizzas were cooking I grilled up some red peppers too. I love the flavor of roasted red peppers!

These pizzas were fast and delicious! There is something special about the flavor that comes from grilling outside. Granted they weren't the best looking, but really...isn't that they way it always works?!

*Someone* got a little nutty with the cheese on the pizza. We might need to discuss this addiction he has!

Ok, ok...I can forgive him this time. This pizza hit the spot after a long afternoon of sweating my booty off in Zumba. 

Korky even wanted to get in on the mix. Figures. He wants me to do all the work and just reap the benefits. Lazy bum.

Oh, I should mention that with our pizza we had a great Sauvignon Blanc. It was perfect for a night out on the patio! Recognize the bottle? It was one of the wines I *WON* a few weeks back. Yay for working through the wine stash!

Question of the day: Do you have a grill? What is your fave thing to grill?