Spiced.

Long, fun day!!!

We packed up lunch and took it picnic-style to the greenway to eat because we were kicked out of our house! (Also why I didn’t blog lunch ) We are not even sure if anyone came by to see the house. The shower curtain in the guest bath was pulled back so we think so. Didn’t see lots of footprints though

But we had such a nice day for a picnic!

Matt was in charge of packing up while I got dressed. His creation was perfect!! He was also in charge of being the hand model in my photo shoot

We each had a folded over Food For Life tortilla stuffed with half a homemade lentil burger (from Friday night), a Laughing Cow cheese and some jalapenos!!

Spicy yum!

We also had a whole container of apples and celery to dip into….

The last of a jar of Justin’s Maple Almond Butter! There was probably 4-5 tablespoons left and we polished it all off

Tazo Zen to drink! Loved all three of these new stevia-sweetened iced teas!! I think this was my favorite – it was minty!

Attempt at better lighting!

Dessert:

After lunch we planned a long greenway walk to kill some time. Here’s me starting out! So natural, right!?

We walked for over an hour! It was such a nice day and we just kept going. Plus, Emily + Casey were there running (crazies running the day after our half but they have a marathon to run soon!) and we met up with them for the last 25 minutes or so.

After our walk we hit up Trader Joe’s. I haven’t been in ages! Great Harvest is right next door so Matt usually picks up items when we need them. But today I got to browse. I wanted to buy tons of things but I’m trying to eat down our food stock a bit and resisted.

Once back at home, I snacked on two clementines (which were so cheap at TJ’s!) and a Coconut Banana bar by Teens Eat! They sent me a few of these with that pumpkin bread. Still very impressed by these ladies’ culinary creations! I think they will share the recipe on their blog Matt proclaimed: "We need to sell these at our bakery!"

For dinner this evening we had a date with Karen!! [Matt's mom]

We headed to a new eclectic exotic cuisine restaurant we’ve been wanting to try called The Blue Taj. Go check out their menu!

We dined on the patio – very cool ambiance!!

 

Karen and I split a sparkling water. She gave up wine at Christmastime yet we both love the feel of drinking something "special" from a wine glass. Sparkling water with lime is such a great compromise.

Matt drank a brew, per usual

A dazzling [that's for you Cara!] amuse-bouche was brought to our table upon cracking open the menus. This was pear, cranberry and some kind of dressing.

 

We ended up getting a handful of dishes to all share around the table. A few appetizers, bread and 2 entrees to split 3 ways. Everything was SO GOOD! Tons and tons of flavor. We were all very impressed.

I requested the Peri Peri Cauliflower with a Honey-Pear Riata 

SPICY!!

Plus the apricot-thyme Tandoori bread – like an apricot spread pizza!!

Vegetable Croquettes with a 3-lentil stew topping

Kaffir-Lime Shrimp with Zesty Tomato Crush

My collection

The main course was the perfect portion for sharing –

Norwegian Salmon with Allepy Ishtew Sauce and Spinach

And "New Dehli Style" Chicken. How GORGEOUS is that color!?

Basmati rice on the side. I had forgotten how delicious plain white rice is!! (Although I think there was some butter involved )

My plate! Everything was SO flavorful. I could tell there was rich cream in the orange sauce because I had to go back for more. It was really, really good!

We turned down dessert at the restaurant because Karen had brought over some nutty cheesecake she made this weekend!

Enjoyment was mandatory. The crust on this bad boy was out-of-this-world. Almost like toffee!? I loved the chunks of pistachios too! Sadly Karen did not like the recipe herself and threw it away! (However, there was nothing healthy about it either. Just good old cheesecake.)

 

‘Bout to start a 6-day workweek! This Saturday I have to get up at the crack of dawn again. But not for an exciting race – to drive an hour and a half to Columbia and attend the South Carolina Dietetics Association meeting as part of my internship. It’s going to be a loooooong week with only one day of rest and a big trip on the weekend. And on Sunday we already have plans for both meals! Yikes. Better implement operation stress-free living.

Starting now!

Nite!