Challenges to the "eating well" portion of the healthy living plan

When it comes to the "hey, perhaps choose a vegetable over mac n' cheese!" debate that goes on in my mind, trying to figure out what to put into my body on a daily basis, it really helps to limit the whole eating out extravaganza.  Much easier to control myself and make healthy choices when a crisper drawer full of veggies stares me down.  However, there's a ploy out there from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington known as Restaurant Week that kinda gets in the way.  It's hard for me to resist three course, relatively reasonably priced meals at some of DC's finer dining establishments.

• Masa 14 - Wednesday night helping of shrimp ceviche, pork buns, meatballs, and chocolatey goodness
• Cedar - Friday night helping of butternut squash soup, short ribs, and chocolatey goodness
• Oceanaire - Saturday night helping of clam chowder, pollock, and chocolatey goodness (I'm not predictable AT ALL when it comes to desserts)

Tack some wine onto all of those, of course.  Back on the wagon again shortly.  You know, after I finish this pizza for dinner.  And live without a kitchen for a week and a half or so as soon as this move commences, which is coming up remarkably soon.  Holy schmoly.

The most ridiculous meal ever

That guy I'm going to marry (hmmm, maybe I'll just call him that instead of "the boy" or even "Craig") had a birthday last month, and because I'm such a delightful girlfriend-now-fiancée who wanted to plan a wonderful birthday dinner and eat dinner at this place myself because it's supposed to be basically the most amazing dining experience in the entire D.C. area and possibly of your life, I hit redial for the reservation line at Komi on November 18th from 12:00 to 12:45 until I finally got through to a human being.  You see, they open up reservations at noon one month to the calendar day before your hopeful-please-let-us-get-in dining date.  Ridiculous.  It's a tiny, tasting-menu-only, highly revered restaurant with only 38 seats, and yes, I managed to snag us a reservation.  Phew.  Craig's excited for this dinner...(trust me, that's his excited face - he's pretty even-keel the vast majority of the time)...

Dinner was...deliciously amazingly delicious.  And LONG.  We were there about 2 1/2 hours.  And we had five different people explaining and pouring and serving and taking care of us all night long.  My only other tasting menu experience was on engagement night when I was too "eeeeeeeeekkkk!!" to really appreciate it (and I'll tell you about it anyway, I promise), but this was pretty wonderful as far as dining experiences go.  Overall verdict:  1000x yum.

I "interviewed" Craig (less than a month later...not bad for the blog considering Spain hangs over my head) for some of his favorites from dinner, and here's what I got:

• spanikopita
• it was all good except for the brussel sprouts

What can I say - he's a man of few words and FAR LESS reactive/over-the-top crazy than I am about...pretty much everything.  Oh, the food...

I interviewed myself and found out I LOVED the following from the Greek/Mediterranean-influenced menu:

• the slightly-salty-but-in-a-good-way crudo course (pictured above), especially the one with the crispy caper berry garnish
• tiny, adorable lobster rolls
• the teensy half-smoke served with an IPA as part of our wine pairing - it was so D.C. and SO tasty
• mascarpone-stuffed Medjool dates - it sounds really simple, but it was kinda amazing
• our "main dish" - roasted goat with house-made pita and a host of garnishes, including tzatziki, hot sauce, and oregano sea salt that I couldn't stop sprinkling on every bite.  Yeah, and I asked for more bread.  It. Was. SO. GOOD.
• frozen, tiny baklava for a dessert tasting

And after all of that and much, much more...we were incredibly full.  With very happy tummies.  And we had a fantastic wine pairing with all of this, which only made it that much better.  Everything's better when you start with bubbles and finish with a dessert wine that's actually delicious and not crazy-sweet.

OF COURSE I had my camera perched in the seat next to me, discreetly sneaking in shots here and there so I could attempt to remember what we were eating since we ate about eight million things...and then I was politely informed by one of our many attentive waitstaff that Chef Johnny would prefer that I enjoy his food the moment it hits the table.  Basically - please don't take pictures.  Ok, that's cool by me, even though I seriously doubt the food loses any of its deliciousness in the two seconds it takes for me to capture it for posterity and memory's sake.  Upon voicing this ("I really just want to remember everything we ate!"), our kind waiter had Chef Johnny write up the evening's menu for us.  Which doesn't quite cover it when everything is described in one word, but it definitely helps.  Thanks, Chef Johnny!

Here we come a-caroling

Still playing catch-up on the blog, so hope you guys enjoy all of these holiday-themed posts.  At least they're making an appearance in January instead of May or something.  Phew.

My D.C. time is coming to a close rather rapidly, and did you know that while I have done A LOT over the last couple of years, there are still plenty of things that just aren't going to happen?  The week before Christmas, though, I got to check one more thing off the list - a visit to Ford's Theatre.  Now, while I missed the "live historic interpretations by professional actors and National Park Service Rangers" that go on during the day (here's hoping the actors do the acting while the Park Rangers provide info and not the other way around), I did get to do something pretty cool - see "A Christmas Carol" in all of its Christmas wonder. 

Craig and I braved the freeeeeezing temperatures and brutal wind for the short walk from my place to our wonderful pre-theater dinner at Poste, a nifty restaurant located in the original 1841 General Post Office.  We warmed up with some ridiculous French onion soup and other tasty things, then took a quick stroll through the lobby of Hotel Monaco to soak up a little Christmas cheer.

Christmas cheer in place!  Also, bundled up to face the elements

We froze our way over to Ford's Theater a couple of blocks away, where I managed to take my gloves off long enough to snap just a couple of pictures before my fingers froze and crumbled to the sidewalk in a pile of frozen finger dust.  Ok, I still have my fingers, or else these incredible robotic fingers that are fairly nimble when it comes to typing.

One of the randomly cool things you come across in D.C. - old call boxes all over the city that have been painted to reflect something of historical significance in the neighborhood.  It's a pretty cool project!  Obviously, Mr. Lincoln and his untimely end pretty much dominate this block of 10th Street NW.

We got there just in time to sneak in and unbundle ourselves before the show started, so I snapped a few pictures at intermission - the stage all decked out all 1840s London-style and the box where Lincoln was shot:

Just another night at the theater!  Oh, in a theater of great historical significance while being filled with Christmas spirit.  Pretty cool night.  Actually, it was very cold.  But you know what I mean.

To the depths of Virginia we go

Yet another end-of-September adventure just now getting its due on the blog.  Oops.  Which is good considering I haven't yet backed up to the beginng/middle of September that had that awesome trip to Spain.  Super oops.  But pictures are getting organized and captioned and I'll totally write about it.  Hopefully over this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday business, which I just can't wait for.  Where does all the time go, anyway?

Back to that September business...one lovely weekend fall afternoon the boy had the idea to make a bit of a drive out to Barrel Oak Winery, which happens to be in the middle-of-nowhere Virginia.  We're talking PAST Dulles Airport here.  Serious business.  But I'm always up for a winery visit!

It was lovely.  Just a nice weekend afternoon - beautiful fall weather, some tasty barbecue, and a bottle of wine.  I'll take it any day of the week.

Oh, and remember that puppy dog you met?  He came with us.  Here's what happens when you try to take a picture with him, I'm on the other end of the leash, and he gets mildly distracted.  Have I mentioned he weighs about ninety pounds?

Autumn light

Pencils of justice!

My sister made it out of the forest and came to visit last weekend!  We had a lovely time doing important things like exploring historically significant buildings, marveling at the awe of our nation's capital, AND...shopping.  Struck a nice balance, if I do say say myself.  One of her few DC-ish requests was a stop at the Supreme Court, which sadly isn't open to the public on weekends, so we hustled ourselves over there as soon as she got in on Friday afternoon.  Side note: it's kinda fun to hop in a cab and say "to the Supreme Court, please!"

We missed the last guided tour by a few minutes, but still had an hour or so to wander the hallowed halls of justice, which are so SO impressive...

...and we spent probably more time than is necessary admiring the set of self-supporting spiral staircases, which are just entirely too cool and lend themselves nicely to fun sister shots...

...and then we also found cool sculptures of the justices (justii?), and I had fun taking pictures of those because I take excessive pictures of absolutely EVERYTHING...

...and then because we were short on time, we cut short the educational/awe-inspiring part of the trip and headed over to the most important part - the gift shop, of course!  There we found quite possibly the most awesome board game ever...

...as well as PENCILS OF JUSTICE!!  How awesome are these?!?  Ok, probably not quite as awesome as I make them out to be, but any double-eraser pencil that basically functions as a Supreme Court gavel is pretty outstanding in my book.  These, of course, are the only thing we actually purchased.

Then, since we had some lovely late afternoon fall lighting in our favor, we had to do some Supreme Court photo shoots.  Good times were had by all, I assure you.

Then we went hunting for squirrels on our way over to Union Station....

...and stopped for some lovely shots of the Capitol, which also has its very own reflecting pool.  You're not so special, Washington Monument!

A delicate balancing act!

Upon our arrival at Union Station, we immediately had to ring the Freedom Bell.  And it actually did ring a little bit! 

After stopping by the convention center to pick up our tickets to see Paula Deen at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show (yes, the Queen of Butter!!), we headed in the general direction of home...and dinner...but not without a stop at a bar I've been meaning to vist, The Passenger.  It's a very cool bar that mixes very cool drinks and serves really tasty tiny olives and Marcona almonds.  I'm kinda in love.

Then we had some tasty Thai food for dinner and did exciting things like make a grocery list and go to Whole Foods (where we almost got stuck in the parking garage - not cool!) and chill to the "Gilmore Girls."  That's just how we roll.

We slept as long as Harry would let us (silly kitty!), then enjoyed some cake for breakfast along with LOTS of coffee and even more "Gilmore Girls," and then we pulled ourselves together and walked over to the convention center to take in the food insanity.  It will never cease to amaze me how people line up for free samples of ANYTHING.  Let's just say Amanda and I were big fans of the Northeast Beef Promotion Board (or something like that...I missed their actual name), where they were handing out STEAK NACHOS WITH GUACAMOLE.  And no one was lining up for this.  What is WRONG with you people?!?  At any rate, that satisfied us as we fought our way through the hordes and into the "theater" to check out Paula Deen in all of her buttery hilariousness.

And she did not disappoint.  This woman is a hoot.  I mean, truly ridiculous and quite entertaining.  We enjoyed her antics for about an hour and a half while also taking in the delicious smells of Thanksgiving that were wafting our way...cornbread dressing and glazed ham (I'm sure she would have opted for turkey, but seeing as how Smithfield owns her these days, it was most definitely a Thanksgiving ham) and sweet potato gooey butter cakes, oh my!

Then, time to escape the crowds and take in a quick afternoon snack at Busboys and Poets before heading home to embark on a tapas adventure.  We rounded up three kinds of Spanish cheese and a couple of cured meats and sliced French bread and scooped out quince paste and olives and grapes and then attempted to recreate patatas bravas (which I LOVED in Spain...and I'll tell you about them...I promise) and madengrilled chicken skewers and some of the most amazing cookies ever in the form of salted-almond honey wafers, which had me very concerned when we were attempting to make them happen...but they turned out to be delicious and amazing.  Oh, and of course there was sangria!  Then we had a couple of boys come over to eat all this food and watch football and have game night.  It was awesome.

Bobbing for apples, sangria-style

Quite a spread!  And yes, I made cheese signs out of sticky notes and toothpicks - it made me so happy. =)

Sunday was reserved for shopping adventures.  After all, what are sisters for?  Oh, and we also ate more cake.  Kinda perfect.  Great weekend.  Photo spread available here.

If I'd known you were coming, I'd have baked a cake

Oh, wait...I did!  Last weekend two of my best gals came to town for some much needed girl time (and a reunion of the never-formed middle school girl rock band Erin & The Karries/Carrys/Kerries), and I decided we needed a cake.  For breakfast.  That's how I roll.  Plus remember all those apples?  I have to do something tasty with them.  I give you cranberry apple cake, which was at its best in breakfast form with some whipped cream.

Now that I've addressed the cake...on to our weekend.  Oh, wait, one more specific food/beverage item.  There's a fabulously beautiful pitcher I picked up in Spain - I realize your first photographic introduction to it is happening right now, sorry about that - and there's only one thing to do with this pitcher: fill it with sangria.  Pour that sangria into three glasses, accompany with cheese and crackers and grapes, and proceed to have GirlFest Talk Session for hours.  That's what Friday night was for.

After starting Saturday with healthy breakfast fruit (ahem, fruit in cake form), fortifying ourselves with coffee, and generally annoying the cat...

I believe someone has claimed the bed...

...we had a quick (and actually relatively healthy) lunch at Chop't (straight-up salads, ya'll!) in my neighborhood before heading out to Georgetown for an afternoon of shopping.  Since shopping is exhausting, we rounded out the afternoon with a random Erin-narrated driving tour of various parts of DC, then chilled with a down period at home.  More cheese, more crackers, and some Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Yes, please.  We then took Kerry to Virginia for the first time (check it off the list!) and picked up the boy for dinner - Mexican food at El Paso Cafe! 

All about that Mexican food!

We followed up our plates of cheesy goodness with dessert and wine at Grand Cru, where I apparently was rather focused on attacking my fondue.  Melted chocolate is pretty delish.

Chocolate, you are mine!!

Sunday adventures - we took a lap through the Air and Space Museum, pausing to reflect on such crazy things as people actually coming up with the idea to fly and to oh yeah GO TO OUTER SPACE.  Oh, and I made the girls pause in the middle of the street for a picture.  Don't worry, there's space for this...not smack dab in the middle of the vehicles...

We then headed over to the Musuem of the American Indian for lunch (I know, it's the only place I ever eat over there - it's just SO good!), and then a failed attempt to tour the Capitol.  I forgot it wasn't open on Sunday.  Oopsie.  And the Library of Congress isn't open on Sunday, either.  Drats.  But Starbucks is!  We walked over to Union Station, appreciating the beautiful fall weather and foliage along the way, and enjoyed some warm and tasty beverages.  Then, since nothing of historical significance seemed to be working out, we shopped again.  I'm very skeptical of this whole skinny jeans thing, especially on my non-skinny legs, which is why you need supportive and honest friends for the process.  I think it could be a possibility...

After further shopping adventures, we made our way home via the White House and a quick pass through the presidential portraits at the National Portrait Gallery.

After some tasty pizza at Matchbox, we dropped off Carrie at Union Station (boo - stay forever!), and then Kerry and I took our tired selves home and laughed our way through When Harry Met Sally.  I really think that might be my favorite movie.  Oh, and of course we stayed up too late and talked and talked and talked.  And Harrison did eventually warm up to everyone, even if he was being a little pushy about having lap space ONLY, no petting, thank you.  Silly boy.

I took a lot of pictures.  Check them out here.

A couple of my forever people here.  I think I'll hang onto them.  Love you girls.

Fall-tastic birthday celebration

Birthdays are...well, maybe not quite as exciting as they used to be.  However, I suppose this last one was landmark in its own way because I've now found myself at that mystical age that people seem to call on for a while..."oh, you're 29 again?" - hardy har har.  Landmark or not, for this one, nothing epic - I did a mini-celebration in Dallas and then spent the rest of birthday weekend here in DC hanging out with the boy.  My request for birthday adventures?  We made a journey through the countryside (full of beautiful fall leaves...

...and ridiculously expansive, likely expensive, country estates...these were not mere homes, no...estates is really the only way to sum it up) to Homestead Farm in Poolesville, Maryland. 

Why??  Erin, you grew up out in the boonies!  What's so fascinating about a farm?  Well, the acres of land present in my youth never afforded the opportunity to pick apples!  I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated with the idea of picking my own fruit. Maybe it's just something I'm destined to like.  I was a little sad that we were at the bitter end of apple-picking season...

...but there were still enough clinging to the trees to make it worth our while.  The farm was also all cutesy in its fall/Halloween-ish festivities with a pumpkin patch and scarecrows and cheesy wooden cutouts to ensure that I got a costumed look in for Halloween.

After searching out the apples and making the rounds, we headed out with a bag of apples, sack of peppers, acorn squash, and some tasty canned goods - pumpkin butter, apple butter, blueberry jam.  Yum!  I love food.

In the interest of education, I present to you some apple facts:

• Apples are a member of the rose family.
• Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.
• Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air.
• The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.

Fascinating, I know!  So I came home with these...

...which I'm resisting eating as plain apples, because that's just dull, and am instead turning into a lot of baked goods and random dinner items.

And don't worry, there was more to my birthday than just apples.  All of this was preceded by an amazing dinner on Saturday night at 2941 and generous gifts and then homemade chile rellenos (remember that sack of peppers?) after the apple adventures on Sunday.  That pretty much does it for me.