It was gorgeous out!

We took a nap after the park and then got ready to go to dinner and a show! This was part of z’s Christmas present and I was super excited about it!

We had dinner at Station 4 which is only a couple blocks from Arena Stage in DC’s Southwest Waterfront neighborhood.

It was a really nice looking restaurant with a promising menu. Our server was a little strange and a little intrusive which was kind of odd. We ordered the Tuna Tartare as an appetizer which came with Sushi-grade tuna, cucumber, avocado, apples, yuzu-wasabi mayo, crispy wonton. Without the sauce it was a tad bit bland, but it was definitely fresh and tasted good.

z ordered the Osso Bucco with risotto which was a chef special of the night. It was a gigantic portion but I know he enjoyed it!

I ordered the Jumbo Blue Crab Cakes with roasted pepper with mango ceviche, corn purée and asparagus foam. The crab cakes were amazing. I couldn’t see any breading or filler and the flavors were great. I was a little sad that they didn’t come with any sides, but I left satisfied.

I had a little headache after dinner so we stopped by CVS for advil and ice cream! We ate the ice cream in the car to stay warm and then we walked to Arena Stage.

The show of the night: RED

According to the Arena Stage website:

A visceral, “superbly taut” (Chicago Tribune) battle of wills, Red drops you squarely inside the world of painter Mark Rothko and sets your heart pounding. At the height of his career, Rothko struggles with a series of grand-scale paintings for NY’s elite Four Seasons restaurant. When his new assistant challenges his artistic integrity, Rothko must confront his own demons or be crushed by the ever-changing art world he helped create.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the show. The two actors were superb and had such great chemistry. We laughed and I cried. It was intellectually stimulating with the right balance of wit and humor. It was really great!

Now I kind of want a Rothko in my house… ;)

“Seasonally inspired cooking with every item less than 475 calories.”

I ordered a Grenache in hopes that it would compare to the one we had on New Year’s Eve…It was good but it didn’t come close!

The appetizers looked so good, so we tried three different ones:

Ripe Plum Tomato Flatbread with fresh basil, roasted garlic and melted Parmesan cheese

Chilled Jumbo Tiger Shrimp with mustard sauce, cocktail sauce and fresh lemon and Roasted Yellow Beets with a wasabi mayo dipping sauce

The beets and dipping sauce were AMAZING! Probably my favorite bite of the night!

Second favorite bite: My dad’s Grilled Boneless Rainbow Trout with parsley new potatoes, roasted vegetables and broiled lemon

Mom ordered a blackened fish special. I can’t remember what the fish was, but it was also tasty!

z also ordered a special: Tuna Noodle Bowl with bok choy, mushroom noodles, and a soy ginger broth

Because there was so much seafood at the table, I ordered the Farmer’s Market Vegetable Plate roasted Bosc pear, butternut squash, grilled tofu and almond tabbouleh roasted beets! This was like…heaven on a plate! So many things that I love on one plate :)

We headed back to my parents house to play games and eat dessert! My mom knows that I’ve been watching my gluten intake, so she made me a gluten free banana pudding using gluten free cookies. It was so delicious!!

We had such a good time hanging out with my parents! Can’t wait to do it again soon :)

Fresh rolls and fish cakes!

Dirty martini!


Z ordered the salmon entree which came with brown rice and a fresh salad. The salmon was cooked really nicely!

I ordered the green curry with a seafood combo (mussels, octopus, shrimp, and scallops). It was spicy! I took half for lunch which is a bonus!

After dinner, we watched Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris which was really cute!

I love date night!

Good News: None of the tests were positive for allergic reactions aside from a tiny, tiny reaction to lobster. So after being nut free for close to a year…

Nuts are back in my life and I’m pretty excited about it!!

Bad News: I didn’t get a test for gluten intolerance. I only got the scratch test for wheat which showed nothing but I still plan to get tested for gluten.

I will continue to reduce my gluten intake until I get more answers about my tummy and skin troubles.

Hooray for nuts!!

I’ve been meaning to do it for a LONG time but several factors (stupid doctors, money, health insurance, money, etc.) have been getting in the way. My eczema is not getting better and neither is my health, so I figured I would bite the bullet and pay out of pocket get tested!

I’m hoping they can do a blood test to see if I am sensitive to Gluten (which  I fear I am). I’m just hoping to get a lot of answers about what is going on with my body!

I don’t love gluten-free bread and I don’t want to have to eat it anymore. I will if I have to, but I want to eat this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

You get my point.

I’ll be back with an update soon…unless I’m eating biscuits.

I found a recipe for Baked Coconut Lentils on my Whole Foods App and knew I wanted to experiment.

Ingredients: lentils, onions, shredded coconut, ground ginger, Bragg’s liquid aminos (gluten free soy), turmeric, coconut spread, and…

dates!

I sautéed the onions in the coconut spread first, then added the spices. After the onions were soft and nicely colored, I added 6 cups of water, the bag of lentils and the chopped dates.

While the lentils cooked, I made an Indian-inspired marinade for the tilapia with plain greek yogurt, lime juice, curry, turmeric, S&P, and cumin.

The fish and marinade went in to the fridge to hang out while everything else was cooking.

After the lentils cooked for 30 minutes on the stove, I transferred them to the oven!

z cooked the tilapia when the lentils were almost ready to come out.

The pup stayed close to supervise…

Along with the lentils and fish we had a nice fresh salad!

YUM! The meal turned out great. Neither of us really tasted the coconut flavor which would have been nice, but it was still delicious. We had TONS of leftovers which is great for lunches!

Another night this week, z stopped at the store after work and picked up two beautiful swordfish steaks, herbs, and some red potatoes. Paired with some steamed green beans this was an awesome dinner!

This blog used to be about packing my lunch (which I still do every day), but I stopped taking pictures! Oops! For nostalgic purposes I snapped a picture of the lunch I packed on Friday when I was at a Professional Development training.

Sunbutter and peach jam on gluten free bread, banana slices, a honeybell, and a gluten free granola bar!

Things are good in general. Classes start this week so it’s about to get really busy. I can’t say when my next blog post will be but I was never really a daily blogger anyway…and hey, at least I’m consistently inconsistent ;)

peace out and congrats to the GIANTS!

Cozy Sunday.

The Giants won and Tim Tebow beat the Steelers. I’m not even mad…did you see that throw?

Sangria and guacamole. Can’t go wrong there…

Chile relleno with lots of cheese, beans, and rice. Delicious.

After our bellies were full, we headed to Epicure Café for some live music.

Hooray for Norman Rockwell (the band).

I also like Norman Rockwell (the artist).

The end.

A day that Louis will never forget.

The day his mom and dad…took his manhood!

He has no huevos AND he has to wear the cone of shame.

This picture is right after we brought him home. Poor pupster. 

We knew dinner would be awkward, so we ordered Thai and basically took turns eating.

Fresh rolls.

Tofu soup.

I also got catfish curry which was tasty!

Louis felt better the next day, but looked super pathetic trying to play with his toys.

He’s still on the mend but is almost 100% back to normal. He still wears the cone just so we have a reason to make fun of him to be safe!

Get well soon pupster!

Another bonus…we got a very special, homemade donut delivery!

I’ll give you one guess as to who dug in the bag first…They were fresh and delicious!

After breakfast we did what any normal person does on a weekend in January…We played tennis. Outside. Without jackets. The temperature was just unbeatable and we didn’t want to waste the sunshine! After tennis we made a salad and headed over to the G’s for our good luck foods of the year! I’m definitely liking this tradition. This is the second year in a row and it’s just so yummy!

Sarah made quiche, mashed potatoes, stewed black-eyed peas, and pork with sauerkraut!

Even this guy had some peas and sauerkraut for luck :)

For dessert…a delicious Linzer Torte, complete with “2012” on top!

Topped off with homemade whip cream…YUM!

A good start to the year!

Happy 2012 all :)