Hello Friends!

Apparently storm # 2 is on it’s was to DC this afternoon so we can all get ready for some fun with that. Sorry my blog posts have been a depressing weather forecast lately. I am starting to feel rather bitter about the whole thing!

I must get my bum in gear early on this week because if I do end up being able to go to Cleveland this weekend I doubt working-out will be a top priority. Although staying in my cozy warm house was very tempting last night I forced myself to bundle up and head to Body Pump. It was nice actually – a very small class and since the usual instructor wasn’t able to make it out we had a funny little gay man instead and I kind of loved him. Although my thighs kind of hate him this morning .

After my work-out I came home for a nice veggiefied dinner.

Spinach, bleu cheese, yellow pepper, beets, tofu, tomato and basil humus, pecans, a little sesame dressing and a little hot sauce. Yummmm. So delicious, only after dinner I looked down at my shirt and realized I must have eaten like a monster. There was dressing all over my shirt! How humiliating.

In other sad snow-related news, I just found out culinary school is cancelled until next week. I have the winter blues all of a sudden.

- Beth

SOME (most) people have a snow day. I do not. Poor me .

Although I’m sad my weekend hasn’t been extended, there’s nothing like a nice warm bowl of oats in the morning to cheer me up .

• 1/2 cup oats/vanilla soy/water
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• tbsp. of flax
• tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 tsp. almond butter

My bananas aren’t ripe enough to make a good bowl of oats yet, so instead I had a bit of oj alongside. Can’t miss out on the fruit!

So let’s see, it should be a quick 4 1/2 day work week for me. Today is normal, tomorrow is Food Writing class, Wednesday my Food Writing assignment is due, Thursday is Culinary School and Friday I take off mid-day with my little sister’s bf to go home to Cleveland! My birthday is the weekend after so I’ll be doing a bit of early celebrating with my family and friends at home. FINGERS CROSSED the snow is officially done (although forecasts say otherwise) – I just want a nice smooth drive for our trip back!

As for my Food Writing assignment this week, we are writing on a foodie trend again, only this time it has to be ultra short – a mere 200 words. ( A lesson in self-editing). I’ve decided to write on cracklings as the new bacon. The Washingtonian says bacon is out and cracklings are in for 2010… This is interesting to me because although bacon has had A LOT of hype these past few years I’m not sure it’s going to dip in popularity anytime soon. However, I have managed to find cracklings on a number of menus in DC so I’m starting to think they may be on to something!

What does everyone else think?

Anyway, hardly a healthy foodie blog topic but perhaps you like to know what I’m learning about outside of the blog world every now and then too .

See you Tues.

- Beth

Happy Sunday!

The snow has finally stopped so I was able to venture out this morning and survey the damage. There are SO MANY downed trees including a giant branch in the middle of our yard. DC has its work cut out!

I decided on a snowy hike over the gym this morning because I thought some fresh air would be nice. It was a little dicey but with all the sun and fresh snow, well worth the adventure. After shoveling our drive and taking a nice hot shower my roommates and I ventured out together for our pre-Valentine’s brunch. Our original plan was to go to Ris, but since that remained closed today we headed to Urbana instead. I had never been there before but it’s Nicole’s favorite place which was a good enough recommendation for me!

And I was especially convinced when we discovered  build-your-own bottomless mimosas on the menu .

For brunch they had an excellent 3 course deal: soup/salad, sandwich/pizza with dessert and coffee.

First up, Kaboucha Squash Soup – almond coconut foam with crushed almond biscotti and toasted pumpkin seeds.

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered this on the menu. Easily the best part of my meal.

And then, a Tomato and Watercress Panini - balsamic grilled red onions and St. Andre triple cream cheese.

Also, divine. Triple cream cheese? Yes please.

And thennn coffee and a cookie, unpictured cause I was too busy eating it .

All that deliciousness for a mere $14.95! So the service was a bit spotty but given the snow storm of the century I can imagine it was impossible to avoid a bit of understaffing. And our waiter was very nice about it. Let’s be honest, given the mimosa situation we weren’t in much of a rush anyway.

So yes, there you go. Just like that the weekend has come and gone. I had lots of fun spending some much-needed time  with my roomies actually, so I feel the snow did not waste my weekend after all.

See you tomorrow!

- Beth

Aaaand we’re officially snowed-in .

I have been determined to work-out this weekend, despite the weather. 1. Because I can’t sit still inside the house unless I’ve worked out some energy and 2. Because I’ve been so busy with other things during the week it seems like Fri/Sat/Sun are the best chance I get. And I have to make them count! Lucky for me, although the rest of the city has been shut down, for some reason my gym was still open both last night and this morning. So I’ve been strapping on my snow boots and forcing my way there. It’s kind of neat to see the city like this: not a single car on the road and the few people who are out are walking through the middle of the usually very busy streets. It feels kind of like the end of the world! Except I’m sure things will be back to themselves come Monday .

Pre-gym I fiiiinally made one of Kath’s oatmeal pancakes, which I always mean to do but haven’t.

This is 1/3 cup of oats, 1 egg, 1/2 a mashed banana, cinnamon, vanilla and 1/2 a tsp. of baking soda. On top, I put the other half of my banana with some pb & j. Really yummy. My favorite thing about mashed banana in pancakes is it adds a kind of doughy density which I’m sure not everyone likes but I just adore.

It’s actually nice to be snowed-in in a way…I caught up on lost sleep with a nice 10 hours last night, have had some productive work-outs and now I’m going to snuggle down with some tea and try to knock out my food writing assignment for the week. It’s good to be forced into taking it easy sometimes, you know? We’ll see what kind of snowy excitement is in store after this evening - 4 roommates with blankets, wine and movies perhaps??

See you tomorrow (probably with a severe case of cabin fever!).

- Beth

DC is about to get a total SNOWPOCALYPSE! Businesses are closing, schools are already closed, people are rushing home and most tragic of all, tomorrow’s roomie Valentine’s brunch is cancelled .

But that’s today and I haven’t seen you since yesterday. So let’s start there.

Culinary class was wonderful, as always. We did vegetables yesterday and made broccoli with cheesy bechamel - and there is a better name for that that isn’t in my notes! – haricots verts, brussels sprouts in bacon and chicken stock, ratatouille, butternut squash purée and roasted beets and goat cheese salad. Of course we tasted them all during demonstration and of course they were all wonderful.

Then we moved into the kitchens and made our own butternut squash puree, ratatouille and beet and goat cheese salad. They turned out pretty beautifully if I do say so myself!

Then I met a friend for drinks, missed the metro and got stuck in Gaithersburg for the night. So that didn’t go as planned! But at least I got to eat some delicious oatmeal pancakes in the middle of the night which kind of made me feel not so bad at all about my awful luck . Wouldn’t it be nice to have a picture of those too?

For a lovely Friday lunch today, my friends and I headed back to Zola Wine Kitchen. As you may recall the only other time I’ve been I was kinda disappointed. But I was also kinda determined to give it another try since the concept seems just so fabulous. And this time it was a success!

Caprese Sandwich on Focaccia - heirloom tomatoes, house made mozzarella, balsamic aioli, basil, mixed greens with goat cheese tots. Very, very yummy indeed. The bread was crisp and buttery and house made mozzarella? Heavenly.

So! Truly all I want to do is go home, SHOWER and sleep all weekend. And as luck would have it I think Mother Nature is about to make it so that’s all I get to do anyway .

See you when I’m snowbound!

- Beth

How sad is it that on Thursdays I have no time to cook because I’m too busy with cooking school? Ironic.

I was up with the sun this morning getting ready for my day. When in a time crunch, cereal is my best go-to. I still like to soup it up though .

A cup of Special K granola (love) and vanilla soy milk with a tbsp. of wheat germ, a banana and a peanut butter spoon. Mmm…

Did you know DC is predicted to get 16-24 inches of snow this weekend!? WHAT IS HAPPENING in DC lately!? I was told the winters are mild. Which they have been – except for the occasional absolute dumping of white stuff. This will be the third time it’s happened this winter! I’d also like to know, Mother Nature, why this keeps happening on a Saturday. I would like a grown-up snow day; I do not like being stuck inside during my precious free days.

Anyway! Back to work for me. Culinary school tonight (we’re doing vegetables!) and then I am perhaps meeting my friend who lives out that way for drinks. Better socialize while I can…

See you tomorrow!

- Beth

Life is officially in full swing this week! On top of my regular job, Culinary School is fully underway and today our first article is due for my Food Writing Class. Throw in a few other things like Monday’s recreational cooking class and this morning’s impromtu breakfast with my Uncle in town from England and I am one busy bee! I am so happy to be busy doing what I love, don’t get me wrong, but I am stressing a bit about fitting it all in.

One thing that I’ve been missing are my regular work-outs.  I usually make a point to exercise at least 4 days a week – the past 2 weeks I’ve only made it 4 times total. I guess I need to just accept I can’t do it all. If I miss out on the gym a bit while all of this is going on, the few months I’m doing this aren’t much in the long run. Last night I had about 20 minutes of free time between working on my article and our class chat and I managed to get a bit of strength training in. Something is always better than nothing, right? I hope that as the weeks progress I become more skilled at getting everything accomplished. But if not, I can only do my best!

Phew. Sorry. I will get a grip soon .

So! For my first Food Writing assignment, we need to cover a food news or food trend topic. I chose to cover Pinkberry knock-offs coming to DC as I noticed in the Washingtonian that they have been listed as one of the top foodie trends of 2010. I’d like to focus my writing on topics that are of interest to DCites in my age demographic, because that is the audience I’d most like to write for once my classes are complete.

However, I realized that writing an article on Pinkberry knock-offs in DC is hardly going to work if I have never actually been to one! It had to be fixed.

A small chocolate fro yo with strawberries and granola. It was good but really? I prefer ice cream . If you are going to spend the money/calories on dessert once in a while I say eat what you really love. However apparently I am in the minortiy because this place was hopping! Particularly with 20-30 y/o females. Women sure love their frozen yogurt – even in the winter.

How about everyone else – Any fro yo fans out there? What is it that makes it so appealing to you? Enlighten me!

In conclusion, please allow me to share the gorgeous scene outside of my apartment this morning. Because even on the busiest weeks, we must take time to stop and enjoy the scenery .

- Beth

Be forewarned vegetarians: you may want to skip this post .

BIG NEWS: Last night I hit a major culinary milestone – I deboned a whole chicken! Embarrassingly, I am completely squeamish around raw meat so working with an entire chicken has always seemed like a big hurdle. I’m happy I was forced to just suck it up and do it. It was actually quite fun!

As mentioned, my roommate Allison and I took the Knife Skills class at CulinAerie. I’d never done a class there before but when a friend offered me 2 certificates that she couldn’t use I was pleased to take them off her hands . Particularly because after my “real” culinary class knife skills session I realized I could do with a lot more practice.

CulinAerie is adorable by the way. Here’s our little station all set up for the evening.

We spent the first bit of class time learning how to do various cuts on an onion, carrot, pepper, tomato, melon etc. Who knew there was such an art to it all? I must say though, everything looks a whole lot nicer (and is prepped a lot faster) with some good knife skills.

Then we learned how to cook what would be the evening’s supper – Chicken with Grainy Mustard, Cream and Tarragon. And of course that all begins with a deboned chicken. After watching the demonstration this little guy showed up on our board.

Not so intimidating right? Allison and I took turns on each side and while it wasn’t exactly a breeze – the instructor did at one point stop by and say “What are you DOING!?” (hehe)  – it was totally manageable.

Then we cooked!

Along with a little red wine, this was insanely delicious. And something that could easily be recreated at home.

A very fun night with my very fun roommate. And a big thank you to Rachel for the free class .

- Beth

Morning!

This weekend I wanted to practice the soup making skills we learned in culinary school, so last night I made my newly beloved mushroom soup for dinner. Aside from a few steam-induced blender explosions things went well .

It was a bit more difficult without having all the professional equipment but the overall product was very yummy, especially with my newly purchased truffle oil on top. I think I will be using it on everything from now on!

Alongside the soup I made a grilled cheese out of fresh mozzarella.

I love how deliciously subtle good mozzarella cheese is. This sammie was wonderful .

After work tonight, my roommate Allison and I are off to a knife skills class at CulinAerie. I’m really looking forward to it because I’d love to do some more work on my technique now that I have a nice foundation from cooking school. I’ll be back with a recap (and hopefully all of my fingers) tomorrow!

- Beth

Now that was an adventure. We set out for Frederick at 4PM yesterday, and didn’t get in town until almost 7:30! The roads were horrendous last night . My friends and I had booked a hotel room anyway since Frederick is kind of our of the way and we wanted  to avoid any drinking and driving - given our travel time, thank GOD we did!

By the time we did get into town, we were more than ready to get the fun underway and drank a few bottles of champagne before heading out to dinner. We were in much better spirits after that!

I looked into a bunch of places to eat while we were in town, but as soon as I saw  the menu for Acacia I knew that’s where I wanted to go. Luckily my friends are agreeable .

We started dinner with a lovely glass of malbec and ”a gift from the kitchen” – tuna with heart of palm and black truffle salt.  Black truffle salt, I love you.

And then some lavash.

For our first course, my friend Abby and I shared the Lobster Monte Cristo - butter poached maine lobster on cardamom scented french toast topped with fontina cream and dorsey’s crispy country ham.

I loved this because it was so different – I’ve never had anything like it before. The lobster was deliciously tender and the ham was really light and crispy which made for an awesome balance of textures.

And then came the main:

Kung Pao, which is not on the online menu but basically a traditional chicken/peanut kung pao with tempura lobster and broccolini. The lobster was amazing and I loved the tempura preparation especially. The rest was good, but nothing out of the ordinary which was kind of a shame.

 All in all, a very good meal. And the service was so sweet. The heavy snow plus our late arrival meant we were among very few other diners and they really gave us VIP treatment!

And then we headed across the street to meet up with everyone for Anna’s birthday celebration. It was such a shame it snowed so much because it meant a lot of people couldn’t make it. But our little group managed to have plenty of fun anyway!

So! I need to get my act together this upcoming week. I think my newly very busy schedule is going to take some getting used to and my time management hasn’t been the best this week. I think I’ll go write myself out a little look-ahead agenda now .

See you for Productive Monday!

- Beth