Tag Archives: friends

Not-So-Tea-Infused Veggie Burgers

Don’t forget to enter the Mohegan Sun giveaway for an autographed copy of Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice’s newest cookbook! If you live near the casino, you can even meet her to get your autograph. You have until tomorrow (Friday) night at 11:59PM EST.

I have a ridiculously packed, planned-in-advance calendar. I’ve actually been making a conscious effort to make LESS plans. But for now, the next couple months’ worth of weekends are chock-full of summer class, trips, and local events and outings that I’ve already scheduled, some as far back as February or March. This past Saturday evening’s girls night with Kim, for example, has been on my calendar for almost two months. Not a joke – that’s how long it took to find a Saturday night that worked for both of us! But we planned, we waited, and we (finally) cooked. It was time for another tea-infused cooking adventure with the Alice’s Tea Cup cookbook.

Oh…and vino.

This time, Kim and I decided to make the tea-infused Alice’s Veggie Burgers. The book has a recipe for both beef and veggie burgers, but the veggie variety sounded way more interesting! The tea to be used was supposed to be a variety called pu-erh, but we both had no idea what that was and Wikipedia didn’t offer any ideas for a comparative type, so we just used an earthy loose-leaf tea from Daybreak. Kim handled boiling the water in her cute tea pot and steeping the tea.

Kim probably has one of my favorite kitchens ever. I adore cooking there. And you guys know I don’t really cook.

Kitchen cuteness.

Kim finely diced some of the above garlic, along with five or six small mushrooms, and sauteed them in EVOO. I handled cracking two eggs to separate the whites (used in the burgers) from the yolks, microwaving and mashing the frozen cauliflower (awkwardly packaged in a bag that asked me to “massage” before heating and to not “penetrate” the bag in any way), and rinsing and draining the black eyed peas. I combined all of that in a bowl with sea salt and ground black pepper, instant oatmeal, the tea, and the sauteed mushrooms and garlic.

The recipe called for us to mix the above with our bare hands, but it seemed to us that this method would not produce a sticky-enough product. So, I took to the bowl’s contents with the “masher”. After a few minutes, I had a nice mushy combo that was ready for patty-forming.

Making the patties with our hands was way-fun, just like when we mixed our tea-infused berry scones with our hands!

We struggled at first to fit four patties onto the pan, but man we were getting hungry, so we managed to do it!

We had a bit of a fail when we realized the reason the patties weren’t searing on each side after six minutes, like the recipe said they would, was because we had the burner set on the lowest heat setting. We were finally cookin’ (ha) once we fixed that.

Each side got nice and crispy (burnt in some cases, but I dibsed those, I love carcinogens). We also melted some smoked cheddar on top, and Kim fixed some Alexia frozen sweet potato fries in the oven. I decided last-minute to chop up some veggies after spying some olive hummus in her fridge! I also threw arbitrary amounts of garlic powder and ground black pepper on the rest of the cauliflower so that I could mash it all together and add extra bulk to my burger.

When the burgers and fries were almost ready, we poured some Noble Vines 337 Cabernet Sauvignon that Kim’s dad picked out for us. It was a really good Cab Sauv! I often don’t prefer them because they are sometimes too light for my tastes and are more similar to Pinot Noirs. But this Cab had a Chianti-like dryness to it. Plus, a lighter red like a Cab definitely was OK for a meal with no meat involved. As soon as the wine was poured, we had to take domestic housewife pictures.

Do housewives often cook in workout gear?

Finallyyyyy everything was ready. Kim and I were chomping at the bit (didn’t even let the cheese melt on the burgers) but somehow managed to be patient enough to take a “proud table display” photo before diving in.

After taking this, we decided it was awkward to sit across from each other, and she moved next to me.

So how’d the burgers turn out? I’m not going to bother telling you the sweet potato fries were awesome – well OK, I guess I just did. Love Alexia’s frozen fries, especially with both Grey Poupon and French’s yellow mustard! Our veggie burgers didn’t taste tea-infused at ALL. We may as well have just saved the tea for drinking. I feel like the Alice’s cookbook recipe creators just threw tea in there to say the burgers were tea-infused. I’m not sure why it was included because I’m sure they tasted the burgers before selecting them for the cookbook. Maybe if we’d used the actual Pu-erh tea?

Multiply this plate by two. And the wine by three. 😉

However, the veggie burgers were amazing. They tasted so hearty and were extremely satisfying. This was my first time having black-eyed peas and I loved them! I’d definitely like to cook more with them in the future. The smoked cheddar was of a really high quality and was fun to pair with the wine (along with everything else).

Despite the presence of the aforementioned food and wine, the best part of the evening was hanging out with Kim. We shared the girliest of girl talk and watched “I Love the 90’s”. We learned new things about each other and deepened our friendship, cheesy (smoked cheddar cheesy) as it sounds. And it all happened over preparing and enjoying a meal together. It was truly an evening of enjoyment.

Have you ever cooked with black eyed peas? Any recipes to share?

What was the last girl’s night you had? Or boy’s night for my male readers 😉

Have you ever heard of and/or had pu-erh tea?

Max Fish 2nd Annual Tiki Dinner

Ahh, my latest foodie event has come and gone, and now it’s time to recap for you all! I was definitely getting a lot of Instagram love (just recently joined, follow me @CaitPlusAte!) as I live-tweeted and shared the food and drinks I was having during this tasting dinner, which was held this past Thursday evening. The host was Max Fish, one of the excellent restaurants in the Max Restaurant Group of CT and MA. You may have seen it pop up on the blog when I went there for late night happy hour during my 23rd birthday, as well as in this post in which I attended an oyster and wine tasting there, left, and then came BACK for more food during late night happy hour!

After reading my recap of the oyster and wine tasting, the manager of Max Fish, Brian Costa, was kind enough to invite me to a future event. I selected the 2nd Annual Tiki Dinner, 5 courses of food and cocktail pairings. I have never done a multi-course dinner with cocktails, so I was DEFINITELY intrigued. My readers know I love me some classy cocktail imbibing.

The tiki bar – all the cocktails were made in front of us.

My usual foodie companion Jeff and I arrived on time for the event’s start at 6PM, but the first round of drinks was not served until 6:30PM. This annoyed me because I really rushed from work to fight traffic and get to the event on time, but as people trickled in the waiters used the first half hour to ask us if we wanted to purchase any additional drinks before the dinner started. I can understand a restaurant wanting to make additional money off of drinks. Also, it seemed that many of the attendees didn’t show up until 6:30, so starting right at 6 might have made them upset since they’d have missed the first course but been charged the same amount of money as everyone else. Still, I am just a punctual person, and my outlook is if you say an event starts at 6, that’s when it should start. Or, the flyer could have mentioned that the first half hour would be a “cocktail hour” of some kind and include passed appetizers, like the tasting dinner menus at CW’s Chops n Catch do. Just my two cents 🙂

Brian welcomes the guests.

Unfortunately the event was moved from the patio to indoors due to the extreme heat CT was experiencing that day. That bummed me out because I am essentially allergic to AC (AKA it’s always too cold for me) and it also resulted in seating being cafeteria-style at long tables to ensure enough space for everyone. Jeff and I were not fans of that, but we did end up sitting across from a fun couple on a blind date and they were cool to talk to, so it all worked out! OK, I swear this dinner was awesome – I sound like a Negative Nancy right now. Let’s get to the good, and there’s plenty of it.

Bermuda Triangle (aka a Dark ‘n Stormy plus honey and lime).

Course One’s drink was a variation on one of my favorites, the Dark ‘n Stormy, called the Bermuda Triangle. There was a lime “sunk” at the bottom like a “ship” – cute! It also had honey added. I loved the color variation in the presentation and was so excited to take my first sip that I did so without stirring the rum at the top into the drink.

Most attractive face EVER.

OOPS! After mixing the drink’s ingredients and taking another (cautious) sip, my facial expression certainly changed.

Getting into the tiki vibe with our sunglasses. And OK, it’s not mixed yet in that photo.

Course One’s dish was a plate of conch fritters with lime-coconut aioli, candied ginger, and hearts of palm.

THIS WAS SO GOOD. The aioli was so amazing, and Jeff and I were both glad that the dish was served with plenty of it. The fritters were way flavorful and the fried exterior didn’t overpower the seafood taste of the interior. The greens were excellent too, even though they weren’t even listed on the menu as a part of the dish – so they made for a nice surprise. I’d never had hearts of palm before but remembered seeing them on Allie’s blog. They were way saltier than I expected but that made for interesting flavor combos on my plate! The Bermuda Triangle also paired well with this dish, especially given the fact that both it and the food had both lime and ginger flavors.

The dish and the drink.

Course Two’s drink was the Tiki Torch, another beverage shrouded in “mystery” to me when I first read the menu since its name gave away nothing about what would be in it.

Phone is hiding in the background waiting to tweet, as always.

Based off how it looks, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that it was made with rock candy syrup! The crushed ice definitely mimicked the rock candy look. The Tiki Torch also included dark rum, lime juice, and an Italian liqueur Amaro Montenegro. Fancy presentation! Jeff and I loved the glass and the garnish. I also was pleasantly surprised that the drink wasn’t too sweet.

We both got lei’d!

Course Two’s food is brought to you by Instagram, because I’m a bad blogger and forgot to take a photo of it with my camera.

Yup, that’s raw tuna! More specifically, spicy tuna poke of raw tuna, sriacha aioli, mint, avocado, lotus root, and thin sesame crackers. Kinda reminded me of fancy tuna nachos! Of course Max Fish knows how to do tuna. It was so perfect, especially with the sriacha. Both the food and the drink were delicious, but did not necessarily pair together in any particularly noticeable way.

This one wins the prettiest presentation award.

The candied cherry on top of Course Three’s drink, the Red Bitter Mai Tai, was so amazing that I could honestly perhaps call this my favorite drink of the evening BECAUSE of the cherry. Maybe that’s a bit extreme, but damn it was good. Max Fish’s take on the mai tai consisted of Sailor Jerry’s rum, triple sec, lime juice, and CampariIt was a bit sweet for my usual tastes (the triple sec had me wary) but I still finished it 😀

Perhaps that explains the widening smiles.

Course Three also consisted of my favorite dish of the evening, a sampler of mixed Hawaiian dumplings. Right off the bat I knew I’d love them because of how thin they were. Plenty of filling – the GOOD STUFF! Jeff was accidentally served double of one type of dumpling, but the error was remedied fairly quickly.

The dumpling on white sauce (tahini) had shrimp and chile, the dumpling on orange sauce (kaffir lime sauce) had lobster, and the dumpling on brown sauce (Kahlua sauce) had duck. The center was garnished with a cabbage mix. The duck was by FAR my favorite. I just love duck and how fatty and flavorful it tastes! Its sauce was dynamite too. My favorite sauce, though, was the tahini with the shrimp. The shrimp was far from bland, but compared to the other two fillings, it was the most unique. The lobster was…lobster. How can you go wrong? Each dumpling’s soft texture paired really well with the crunchy cabbage. Again, this food and drink pairing didn’t necessarily “go together” to me, but both were delicious (yup, I used that forbidden word) in their own rights.

This one got the biggest Instagram reaction from you guys!

The main course’s drink (Course Four) had a self-explanatory name – the Coconut Mojito. Isn’t it beauuuutiful? And so much mint, which I used my straw to “muddle” throughout that lovely tall glass. The coconut flavor wasn’t too much, especially since I muddled in the mint. A perfect balance! Unfortunately I could not finish this drink – I’d already had my fair share. But it actually paired perfectly with every component of the main course. And there were MANY!

At this point it starts getting dark outside and so my natural light leaves me, and my photos get a bit less pretty.

Um, yeah. This one was NOT a small plate! Served buffet style…unfortunately I missed the money-shot of the full pig coming out to be carved, but I did catch a shot of the carver in action. He worked quickly and expertly.

Each table went up to fill its plates with Polynesian-roasted suckling pig, grilled pineapple, orange sauce, sticky rice, and steamed buns. 

I was sure to get a little bit of everything, as you can see from my plate a couple of photos up. That pig was perfection!!! I loved it with the mojito. I also put some on top of the steamed bun and added the sauce to that combo. Amazing! I want to have a full pork sandwich on a steamed bun. The grilled pineapple was good but definitely overshadowed by the more unique parts of the plate. I don’t even really like rice (it bores me), but the sticky rice had an interesting texture and so much flavor. I’d definitely order it out another time.

Ahhh ugly photo alert.

The dessert course drink (Course Five) had another self-explanatory name, the Tremont Rum Manhattan. At this point Jeff and I were definitely feelin’ our cocktails, and we took a sip of this guy and looked at each other in shock. Damn, it was strong! We both decided that for our livers and our safety, we probably wouldn’t be able to finish the last round. However, I’m glad I had a few sips with the dessert food because the strong rum paired AMAZINGLY with the sweet cold fusion guava sorbet, edible orchids, and pineapple upside down cake!

Definitely wasn’t blown away by this dish’s presentation, but certainly was by its taste. I dipped the flower in the sorbet and ate that first! It didn’t have much of a taste to it, but a nice crunch, always something that I like. The sorbet was tasty but soooo sweet! My favorite part of the dessert was dipping the cake in the sorbet. It was so spongy and I could definitely taste the pineapple.

Thank you, Max Fish! Also, we did not plan to both wear stripes.

Brian, the manager, came by after our meal to make sure we had a good time and enjoyed ourselves. Definitely nice to see! And we certainly had plenty to rave about, so I’m sure he was pleased too. Another successful tasting dinner for me – thanks Brian!

Does it bother you when events don’t start on time?

Which dish would you most want to try? Which cocktail?

Have you ever attended a tiki or luau themed event?

Shake Your Soul Dance Yoga

Hey guys! How was your weekend? I spent mine continuing to smile thanks to your support. It really helped me to have all those new mantras and the abundance of encouragement as I went into the weekend! I’m also pleased to announce that I had the last day of my double-weekend summer class yesterday, and have banged out three credits! Just three more to go this summer!

I’m trying to be optimistic because this morning, I have a REALLY bad case of the Mondays. At first the fact that my alarm was accompanied by a clap of thunder made me happy – I love thunderstorms, especially morning ones, because they are always a surprise. But once the rain came down during my commute, I realized it wasn’t an ideal time to have a thunderstorm. Hello, traffic! I also had to pull over to refill my tank at a Shell station, and as I got to work putting my credit card in the pump, the clouds decided to dump a Six Flags water park-sized bucket of rain from the skies. Then the pump decided to decline my card twice (there was no reason for it to do so).

Not as psyched as these fine folks. Source.

I dashed back into my car now soaked to the bone, and ready to burst into tears. Instead I took a deep breath, pulled out my umbrella, and pumped my gas using a different credit card. And it worked. And now I’m drinking black Mudslide coffee from Peaberry’s and trying to keep calm and carry on, as they say. At least I have this blog as an outlet.

But I want to share my thoughts on the new fitness class I mentioned that I was trying on Friday, Shake Your Soul dance yoga! The class was held at Granby Yoga in Granby, CT (I highly recommend this studio for any local readers, the Wednesday power class with Laura is amazing) and was full before the day of the event even arrived. It was only $22, which I felt was totally worth it to try such a unique class that combined two of the things I love, dancing and yoga. The instructor, Jayne Dean, is a Certified Expressive Movement Therapist and certified by the creators of Shake Your Soul, the Levin Institute.

Some examples of benefits of Shake Your Soul include:

  • release of body tensions and movement of body fluids
  • learning to trust the body’s “intrinsic ability to dance” (I love that!) and feeling more comfortable in your ski
  • cardio workout and strengthening of core and lower body

I definitely have to say that I felt all those benefits during the class. Usually on Fridays I go to Group Step and sweat my face off, but I still got a bit sweaty during dance yoga. More importantly, I also had FUN. I’m a huge fan of dancing (anyone who saw me doing Ilyse Baker‘s cardio dance at Reebok knows this) and my favorite songs were the hip hop ones (I recognized Black Eyed Peas and Talib Kweli), especially since Jayne gave us the chance during that part of the class to just freestyle and dance as we wished. We also did group and partner dances, line dancing, and African dance!

Our teacher, Jayne, in action. Source

I have to admit that I felt a bit guilty about doing a workout that was “less intense” than my typical Friday fitness class, but I did something new and something that I love, so I was trying to and still am trying to reflect on that fact and feel proud of myself for going outside my box and breaking routine. It’s not easy for me to do that! I danced my hardest and tried to make each “move” as intense as my body felt comfortable with. My quads were DEFINITELY burning during the plie squats and lunges we did. Many of the moves also combined cardio and strength because not only were they quick with lots of arm movements (cardio), but they required us to stay low in our legs (strength). And if you think about it, that makes perfect sense since dance is one of my favorite ways to get cardio in and yoga is a great way to strengthen the body.

Jayne does other classes around CT, and Granby Yoga wants to have the class again, so I hope I get to do Shake Your Soul again soon. You can look for a teacher in your area here! And I’ll be sure to mention when I’m going again, in case any local readers want to join 🙂

If you want to see examples of Shake Your Soul dancing and student perspectives, check out this cool video from Kripalu! I wish I had videos or photos from my event…maybe next time I can ask Jayne to snap some shots for me!

After the class, I went to a friend‘s birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant, J. Gilbert’s, and got a dish there that I’d never tried, the Lobster Cobb Salad! I also enjoyed a couple glasses of red wine. Again, I felt a bit guilty getting the wine after doing a less intense cardio workout for the day (and I’d taken a rest day the day before), but once I was with my friends I relaxed a bit. I also talked to my mom before dinner, and as usual she had plenty of encouragement for me. She also told me she was proud of me for skipping Step in favor of something new and unique. Hearing that really perked me up and helped wipe my mind of annoying guilty thoughts so that I could enjoy dinner!

Greens, balsamic vinaigrette, lobster, sweet potato straws, avocado, hard-boiled egg, corn nuts, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and mango salsa. Boo flash.

Started with a glass of Syrah! Like my post-yoga-dance look?

Had to embarrass Jeff with this photographic evidence of his death grip on my shoulder.

Is it hard for you to try a new fitness class (and break your normal routine)?

Have you ever done some kind of dance yoga workout?

What was the best dinner you had this past weekend?

Who are your sources for support if you are struggling with food and/or exercise-related guilt?

What’s the worst case of the Mondays you’ve ever had? How’d the Monday turn out?

Summer with a Side of Guilt

Summer is officially here! What comes to mind when you think of summer? I think of warm weather, beaches, family, friends, concerts, sunglasses, flip flops…and parties. Now, get that image of a keg out of your head. That’s not what I mean.

I prefer homemade sangria to a keg.

I mean summer parties, whether in the form of barbecues, bonfires, backyard grad parties, festivals, tasting events…frequency of all of the above really kicks up in the summertime. I already know this from personal experience over the last month – and it wasn’t even summer yet.

Cabernet, strawberries, oranges, and lemon seltzer.

With these parties come the usual suspects – food and drinks. Suspect is probably a poor choice of words though.

Yup, I made that!

It’s a poor choice of words because thinking of the food and drinks at my beloved tastings, BBQs, and shindigs as bad guys is exactly what I’m struggling with…and trying to get away from.

I’ve found that in the back of my mind, as I sip on my sangria and roast my marshmallows, I’ve been battling those nagging feelings of guilt over indulging. A creeping fear that I will enjoy doing so to such an extent, that it will become a daily habit (and hence, no longer an “occasional splurge”).

Kim and I have bonded over our sangria love since we first started hanging out!

Which stinks, because what I really want to do is tell those thoughts to go to hell so that I can have fun with my friends and relax. In fact, Jeff and I have even created a little inside joke hashtag that we can throw out at me when I need to do just that – #CalmDownCaitlin.

Sometimes at summer festivities, I start feeling overwhelmed. I look around at all the good food and refreshing drinks, and I want to try it all. It’s OK to try it all! Then my over-planning mind kicks in: But what if I get full first and overeat? What heavy ingredients are in that dip? How much juice is in that sangria?

White and red sangrias, the right courtesy of yours truly.

Nothing better than crusty bread and cheese!

I am often able to find myself distracted enough by good times to quiet my mind and enjoy myself in the moment. I’m glad I haven’t been missing out on anything.

Yeah, I overloaded on the fruit in the drink.

But often times when I get home from a BBQ or a tasting event, I start dwelling on what I ate. On if it was really “necessary” for me to have a second helping, or if I really “needed” to have  a third glass of wine.

Memorial Day BBQ Dinner

Father’s Day BBQ drinks – white & red wines

OK, maybe I physically don’t need dessert, or cheesy dips, or creamy potato salad. But when I’m surrounded by family and friends enjoying those things, and when I find myself looking at them with envy, that doesn’t matter. It’s what I WANT, not what I SHOULD do, that can guide my decisions and my actions.

Family friends gathered around the dominoes table.

The problem is that I don’t trust myself when I’m surrounded by stuff I get excited about – stuff like this:

But just because I love all the food and drinks at these parties doesn’t mean I’m going to go crazy and eat everything. In fact, it means  it’s the PERFECT time for me to just sit back, enjoy myself, and try the foods that I want to try. Eat the potato salad that I want to eat, despite the fact that it’s got bacon on top. I mean, these fabulous parents are grilling us all this amazing meat and seafood, so why not throw some steak onto my plate next to the chicken?

I honestly am usually more of a savory food lover than a sweets lover, so why not have a bit of that Coca-Cola chocolate cake (below right) if I want it? Eating it will not make me want to eat it every single day from then on out.

There’s a reason everyone, me included, looks happier with an ice cream cone in hand. Ice cream is worth it. Happiness is worth it!

How cute is my friend Erica with her homemade strawberry ice cream?

No use crying over spilled milk, right? So no use feeling guilty over strawberry shortcake either. OK, that was a reach. Go with it.

When I’m smiling like this and having a good time, does it really matter that I’m not being “perfect Caitlin”? That I’m not eating clean? It’s just one day – one meal, even.

My friend Colin, stickin’ his butt in my picture.

I don’t want to look back on my summer, or any time in my life, and regret holding myself back. There are already periods of my life that I feel that way about. I don’t want there to be any more. How can I hold myself back when there are so many good times to be had?

Not sure if this qualifies as a good time.

What’s the benefit of living a physically healthy lifestyle if I can’t be mentally healthy, too? I’ll have this body for the rest of my life, but I’ll also have this mind. And the guilty feelings that invade it and scold me for following up dessert with another glass of red are not healthy.

I want to let go. I want to let the good times roll. I want to come home at the end of the day, take a deep breath, and tell myself that I wasn’t perfect today – and have that be a GOOD thing. I want to CONGRATULATE myself!

About to enjoy a s’more!

Because I deserve to laugh at moments like this…

I deserve to sit around a bonfire and play Catch Phrase with my friends…

I deserve to say “yes” when someone asks me if I’d like a s’more…

Perfect roasting position.

I deserve it all! And that’s OK.

Father’s Day…where are the fathers?

Do you have certain times of the year when indulging stresses you out more than usual? I know the holidays are another time that many worry about.

Do you have any suggestions that have been helpful to you for dealing with feeling guilty over not eating “100% clean”?

What ways are you kind to yourself mentally?

Bakin’ and Drankin’ with Tea

Happy Monday! I’m not feeling too happy that it’s Monday but maybe if I repeat that greeting enough, it’ll actually rub off on me. Enjoy today’s baking (gasp!) post and also be sure to check out my Healthy Page interview!

Have you ever heard of Alice’s Tea Cup? It’s an NYC restaurant (it seems all the best are there!) with a few locations. This place serves up both food and drinks made with tea (the closest thing we have to that here in CT is Tisane in Hartford, which is certainly excellent). Of course, they also serve tea on its own, but if I can make loose leaf tea at home then I’d much rather have a unique infusion creation!

All-star ingredient lineup.

Luckily the founders, Haley and Lauren Scott, have made it possible to have more than just Alice’s Tea Cup teas in your own home. They published the Alice’s Tea Cup: Delectable Recipes for Scones, Cakes, Sandwiches, & More from New York’s Most Whimsical Tea Spot, a cookbook full of recipes drinks and food fit for all meals, some with tea and some without.

I used Splenda instead of sugar and fat-free buttermilk instead of regular to lighten the recipe up a bit! We also skipped the heavy cream and sugar topping.

I can thank my friend Kim for the small amount of tea knowledge I possess…of course, the above copy of the cookbook is hers! She told me about it and we immediately made plans to get coffee at Daybreak and select one dish and one drink to whip up at a later date. Our requirements? A) Delicious (oops, according to my Foodstock education I just made an error in using that word!) and b) tea-infused. Perhaps being in Daybreak, a place with wonderful scones, inspired us to pick out the above recipe for Berry Bunch Tisane-Infused Scones. Or perhaps we just picked them out because we love scones and tea. Whatever the reason, a date was set, groceries were purchased (see the first photo), and we met up at Kim’s house to do some cookin’! (Please, don’t be TOO surprised to see me in the kitchen.)

Hello, I want that mug.

Kim didn’t have any tisane on hand, but her mom recommended a Celestial Seasonings Blueberry Breeze Green Tea (sadly looks like it’s been discontinued, but the website offers suggested replacements). As soon as we put it into the hot water to let it steep, we knew she’d chosen a winner! A pleasant blueberry smell filled the room and was a nice “background” to our scone-making.

Dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) were combined in one bowl…

…and wet ingredients (buttermilk, vanilla extract, and the blueberry tea) were combined in another.

Oh lookin’ SOOO domestic!

Keeping the wet away from the dry for now, we had to work the butter and blueberries into the batter carefully with our hands (to avoid too much berry-squashing). Um, don’t have to ask me twice! This was so much fun.

NOW it was time to make a well in the dry ingredients, butter, and berries and add the wet ingredients.

Attacked it all with a rubber spatula…don’t worry, hands would get to come into play again. The rubber spatula was gentle enough to keep most berries un-squashed.

Fun dough playtime! We sprinkled a cutting board with flour and got to work cutting the dough into scone shapes.

Couldn’t resist.

There were no photos taken of the scone-cutting because it got VERY sloppy. The Scone Monster made an appearance though.

Even with her around, we still managed to get a few trays of only slightly haphazard-looking scones into the oven.

The scones baked and we got down to the drankin’ portion of our tea party. Tea and a little something else that is…

This couldn’t have been easier to make! Kim brewed the peach tea before we even started on the scones, and then we added the Splenda (instead of sugar) and stirred. It made a nice simple (literally) syrup that we were able to let cool and coagulate (fun word!) in the fridge while we worked on the food.

Once the syrup was done, all we had to do was add it to a pitcher of Prosecco with a splash of OJ, and we had Peach Tea Bellinis! We also had the idea to add our leftover berries to our drinks!

Despite a few incidents with the oven timer (AKA forgetting to set it, that’s what happens when your mind is stuck on bellinis…), our scones came out looking like REAL scones! So proud.

Pretty darn close, right?!

Side-by-side comparison.

We each took a bite and literally swooned. They turned out so well!!

Kim’s mom joined our little tea party, but her dad was too busy being a manly-man and attacking trees with a chainsaw to notice. Typical dad behavior!

We also asked Kim’s cat Cali to join us, but she not-so-politely declined.

“Too cool for tea parties. Don’t talk to me.”

Don’t worry, our meal wasn’t just carbs and alcohol and fruit. Kim’s mom donated some tasty rotisserie chicken she had on hand in the fridge. I had completely forgotten how much I love rotisserie chicken. A super random, but super lean and protein-filled, addition to our meal!

But maybe not as pretty as the rest of the meal….

Now you can continue to be impressed…it was a nice day, so we got a cute setup going outside. Complete with background music AKA Mr. Bronson’s chainsaw.

You like?

Baking buddies!

It was really rewarding to sit down with Kim and her mom, savor our drinks and scones, and enjoy and appreciate our work in the kitchen. OK, so I may be too lazy to cook, and I do still prefer to pay others to do it for me, but I understand the pride one gets from putting something special together!

I helped myself to a few scones, some chicken, and a few bellinis…when in Rome, right? Or, when in Kim’s backyard on a Sunday afternoon. And since I’m more likely to be there than Rome, I’m gonna roll with that.

Have you ever made a food item or alcoholic beverage that used tea as an ingredient? Or been to a restaurant that does the same?

What is your favorite kind of scone?

What’s the last baked good you made? The last cocktail?

Wesleyan Foodstock 2012

Please enjoy a recap of a fun event I attended that completely deserves its own post…despite the fact that it was over a month ago. Check out more of my latest adventures here and here!

For the first time ever, Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT hosted a brand-new (and free!) event called Foodstock. Take one look at the list of speakers and you’ll see why I was so excited to attend – and learn.

Props to whoever designed the event logo…very hippie-esque.

You also may notice that this event took place back on Saturday 5/5…oops. That was right around the time of my Fitfluential adventures, and life has been go-go-go since that week, so I haven’t had a chance to share my Foodstock experience! But despite the fact that it’s been over a month since that educational day, I want to write about this because I left campus feeling truly thankful to Wesleyan for putting on the kind of event I never dreamed I’d be able to attend after just a fairly short car ride.

Ruth Reichl and Faith Middleton

I attended with Bethany of More Fruit Please (she lives about 5 minutes from me!) and we arrived just in time to catch WNPR’s Faith Middleton interviewing Ruth Reichl, the highly accomplished Editorial Adviser to Gilt Taste (and former food critic and Gourmet Magazine Editor-in-Chief). She’s also written four memoirs, which have gone on my Goodreads to-read list, of course. Despite the fact that I am an NPR fanatic as of this past winter, I had never listened to Faith’s show before. I really loved her conversational, laid-back interview style and the way she carried herself, with such confidence, grace, and intelligence. She and Ruth discussed the great inequality that exists between classes in America when it comes to the way people eat. A story was told of a woman Ruth knew who lived on food stamps for a period to see what it was like, and reached a point at which she was crying in the middle of the grocery store, weighing a sweet potato and realizing that despite the fact that her body was craving its nutrients, she simply did not have enough money to buy it. I don’t remember everything Faith and Ruth talked about, but I certainly remember that.

Eric Asimov and Faith Middleton

Next, Faith interviewed Eric Asimov, chief wine critic at The New York Times (and a Wesleyan alum). This was one of my favorite sessions of the whole day (hello, wino). Eric has such a passion for wines and a lot of his conversation with Faith resonated with me. I wanted to just jump on stage and join in! He spoke of local neighborhood wine shops and losing them and the associated experience to the big box liquor stores (hello, I love you, Sonoma), and savoring wine and food pairings, and how some people out there are way too snobby about wine and scare others away from drinking it and trying different kinds.

Luckily, I got the chance to speak with Eric about all this after the interview wrapped up! I also was able to walk up to the stage after the session’s end and shake Faith’s hand. She has a whole show about food called Food Schmooze and is even hosting a Martini Competition at the end of this month! It looks like an amazing event, with tons of CT restaurants and their mixologists participating. I like how there is a lower price for DDs!

Some of the students on the planning committee thanked us for coming before we broke into our “lunch break”. There was a designated period during which no sessions were running, so that local vendors and food trucks could serve up lunch and patrons wouldn’t have to worry about missing any speakers. Bethany made the local vendors gathered in Wesleyan’s student union, Usdan, our first stop.

GOOO CASEUS!

Cutest magnets!

Adorable kitchen goodies.

These vinegars and oils from The Kitchen Store were so tasty.

I sampled some of the olive oils on bread and purchased a baby bottle of the garlic-infused flavor, of course!

Check out this amazingness from Nora Cupcake Co!

Sticky Nuts were there. As in an edible kind. Is it sad that I didn’t get the innuendo behind this company’s name until Rachel responded to something I tweeted from the event about them? I was a bit afraid of what would happen when I Googled them just now to get their website’s link.

The PB Fig flavor was so amazing!

There was the smallest farmers’ market in the world going on outside the student union (I believe it was an awkward between-spring-and-summer-season weekend), but there were still a few troopers out there.

Perk on Main had a crepes station set up.

They also offered breakfast burritos for those who wanted savory.

Some really talented musicians serenading us, and the pastries under that tent.

Urban Oaks Organic Farm of New Britain, CT.

They sold edible flowers!

In one of the campus parking lots nearby, a bunch of food trucks had gathered – it was such a cool concept, like mixing a food truck fest into a food learning fest! Hmm..what to choose?

Mamoun’s of New Haven (I’d had their turkish coffee before while waiting to sober up…but hadn’t had their food, ha)

The Whey Station had a huge line!

Loved the colors on Lucky Taco‘s menu.

Munchie’s of New London, CT

An oven that looked straight out of a restaurant!

Aw! The Good Humor man! #throwback

An option I seriously contemplated, Ethiopian from Lalibela!

I was having a hard time deciding between the Ethiopian food (above) that I’d never tried before, and the famous falafel (a food I already know and love) of Mamoun’s that I’d heard so much about. I ended up going with a falafel pita, and Bethany got a gyro after The Whey Station line proved to be moving too slowly. Oh man it was amazing – the best falafel I’ve ever had! Bethany put together the below “montage” for me 🙂

Bethany enjoyed her gyro as well!

Legit, the wrap was as big as my head.

Totally dripped tzatziki sauce on my $13 Wal-Mart shoes while waiting for the next session to begin – fail! Good thing they were, well, $13 from Wal-Mart. Oh, the shopping I did at 1AM at the 24 hour location near campus in my UConn days.

#foodieproblems

Bethany decided to attend a different session than I did after lunch, so we parted ways and I sat in on a lecture/Q&A called “Writing So They Can Taste It” (do you see why this one jumped out at me?) with Molly O’Neill, a food writer and online food writing instructor. Molly’s sassy personality and to-the-point advice made the session so rewarding to me. I raised my hand and commented that I feel like I use the same adjectives over and over again when I’m blogging about restaurants, events, and meals. Molly laughed and said she’d heard that before – and that I’m right, I need to stop using adjectives like “delicious”. I so wish I had the extra cash to spend on some of Molly’s virtual courses – or in my dream land, cash to spend and vacation time to use on Cook n Scribble’s retreat to Alaska.

Throughout the presentation, photos from One Big Table, a book project to “create a portrait of America at the table”, flashed in the background.

Molly passed out a handout titled “Why Write About Food?”, which listed quotes that answered that very question. Some of my favorites:

  • “‘What’s good to eat around here?’ tends to go over better than ‘Had any good sex lately?'” – Matthew Amster-Burton
  • “The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a new star.” – Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (um, I agree)
  • “Food makes it possible to tell stories that can be difficult to tell (especially family ones).” – Anne Bramley
  • “You can write about anything while appearing to write about food. You can change the world…” – Molly O’Neill herself
  • “I feel powerless when I read most stories about the environment and politics and the economy, but when these subjects are framed by food, they still touch a raw nerve, but they can leave me energized and convinced that I can make a significant contribution.” – Simona Carini

Her lecture was extremely helpful and had several main messages:

  • It’s essentially not possible to make a living as a food writer right now, so if you’re going into it, be prepared to do something else as well. Be prepared to keep trying, to get rejected a LOT, and to constantly have to put effort in to even make a partial career of it. (May seem bleak, but I like her honesty.)
  • The world of new media (blogs, Twitter, etc) creates amazing opportunities and outlets for food writing. But again, the revenue is the problem. It works as a hobby, and is nearly impossible as a full-time career.
  • All food writers had to work another job to start. A lot of them still do. Accept that you will have to! And try to make the other job(s) somehow useful toward the food writing career, even if they give you something as nearly-unrelated as negotiating skills or plenty of free corporate lunches at fabulous restaurants 😉

Kashia Cave kicked us off.

After Molly’s wonderful presentation, I met up with Bethany again back in the student union to learn about The Business of Food from people who have made food their business, but in different ways.

Arturo Franco-Carmacho, one half of a restaurant-owning couple.

  • Kashia Cave founded My City Kitchen and even brought two of her students with her that day. She started out as a businesswoman, and still is, though she ended up creating a non-profit organization due to financial constraints. Her aim is to help kids learn healthy eating habits, channel creativity through cooking, and take pride in the food they eat.
  • Arturo and Suzette Franco-Carmacho ran restaurants in New Haven and currently run Tacuba Taco Bar and Swill Wine Bar, both located in Branford, CT.
  • Josh Goldin, a Wesleyan alum, co-founded Alliance Consumer Growth. This investor group finances healthy food and drink products from aspiring vendors, like the ones I’d spoken with earlier that day and the ones at CT Veg Fest.

Josh invests in the kinds of products you see in Whole Foods.

I can’t imagine being a restaurant owner, let alone being one with my husband! Suzette had some stories to tell and insights to share on being parents and running a restaurant. Imagine explaining to your daughter that a day in NYC for her birthday likely wouldn’t work because it’d have to be on a Saturday, due to school, and the restaurant just cannot be left on those kinds of days. These are the little things that we as consumers do not see! Josh’s job sounds so interesting to me. I’d love to help passionate people that just want to spread their healthy products to others, like the folks I spoke with at the Coventry Farmers’ Market and CT Veg Fest. Of course Josh also has to look for those who can make a profit, but it’s hard to make that balanced call. For example, his company passed on Zico! Oops! They’ve still had success with Plum Organics and Evol, both of which I’ve heard of (except Evol’s burrito was listed as the “not that” in Women’s Health’s “Eat This, Not That” feature – oops again!)

As accomplished as all the above mentioned speakers are, I was honestly most impressed by Jacob Eichengreen, the manager of Wesleyan’s student-run cafe, Espwesso, and a current Wesleyan student.

Interior of Espwesso.

The non-profit cafe is NOT run through Wesleyan Dining Services, and as a result the university does not allow them to be open during “peak” hours, so that all on-campus cafe needs are forced to be funneled into Wesleyan’s cafes. Therefore, Espwesso is only open from 6pm-12am, but they get packed! I can totally see myself studying there in the evenings during my college career.

Now that is a right price!

For Foodstock, Espwesso was able to make a rare appearance in the world of daytime operations. I’m so very glad because that meant I got the chance to try a cup of their locally roasted drip coffee – for only $1! Since the labor is provided through work study, Espwesso can offer high quality coffee at a low price.

I asked for my coffee with a splash of steamed skim milk, and Jacob himself (acting barista for the day), happily provided me just that – except the milk was anything but “splashed” into the cup.

Beautiful! Espwesso trains all its baristas in the art of coffee-making. They all receive a coffee education and go through training and tutorials to foster a true appreciation for the drink.

Jacob, about ready to get things going.

Attendees of “The Laptop and the Coffee Cup” had the chance to receive a similar coffee education from Jacob; he used a modified version of the training Power Point shown to his new baristas.

Added bonus – he also set out two different kinds of coffee for taste testing/comparisons. I drank both black and it was honestly some of the best coffee I’d ever had. I couldn’t get over it and had to go back for more. This occasion called for the breaking of my one-cup-a-day rule.

My favorite, from Supreme Bean Roasters in LA. Boo, I wanted to go buy this coffee somewhere local and take it home!

Darker roast from Klekolo World Coffee, right down the street.

I sat back and learned more than I ever thought possible in 45 minutes about my favorite bean (yes, I will declare coffee my favorite bean, even above the beloved black bean).

Just like all other food and drink, coffee seems to be LOADED with certifications and symbols. Some are legit, some are purely profit-driven. Just look at them all!

Did you know coffee is one of the most highly traded commodities in the world, right after oil? And that when coffee is decaffeinated, a LITTLE bit of the taste is sacrificed? But not so much that someone would really notice…and check out all the different stages of the coffee bean!!

A bit of a heated debate broke out after an attendee would not stop arguing against the points (good ones, in my opinion) Jacob made regarding why Espwesso doesn’t roast its own beans. I mean…they’re a student run cafe in the corner of an academic building, only allowed to be open 6 hours a day, opertaing on a limited budget and with a restricted amount of work study hours for staff. I’m not really sure why this man expected Espwesso to not only sell locally roasted coffee and improve coffee education among its employees and patrons, but also roast their own coffee and change much of their current operations to do so. I raised my hand several times during the exchange and defended Espwesso – I just wanted them to know how much I appreciate what they’re trying to do on the Wesleyan campus! I certainly think that a huge school like UConn could use a cafe like that. Trying to take on too much by adding coffee roasting would probably hurt the small cafe more than help. This entire session and discussion definitely made me miss my days as the assistant manager of a cafe at UConn.

Of course we got a photo in Espwesso with our coffee!

Bethany and I met up after our last sessions (she’d attended “Writing the  American Road”, about a couple that hit the road to tour restaurants and wrote about it) to walk back to our cars. It was a great day and I learned so much! I’m really grateful to Wesleyan for putting on Foodstock for free and educating CT residents on food writing, eating local, the business of food, coffee, and more!

Would you have been interested in attending any of these sessions?

Am I the only one who missed the innuendo behind the product name for Sticky Nuts?

Are you a Faith Middleton fan?

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Fun Edition

You’ve probably noticed my tendency to write very long, wordy blog posts. I can ramble on and on for hours about fun, food, fitness, and fashion. But today, let’s cut out the words, and let me just show you some photos of what my summer (yes I’m calling it summer right now) has looked like so far. And captions don’t count as words.

Beaching it at Hammonassett with my friends! I win the color prize.

Greg and I hanging out at a baby picnic table at The Burger Co in Glastonbury. I clearly had come from the gym (see my ZigTechs?)

Ladies loving the BYOB with no corkage fee!

Family seeing my little brother off to junior prom! Where’d my face go?

Hey it looks like he kinda likes me!

Siblings <3

Trying to be cool with my sis and her friends.

Isn’t his date so beautiful?

My wonderful dad and I at dinner after we saw my brother off.

Before dinner at Puerto Vallarta, with my sister!

Mom came too 🙂

Skinny margarita!

Kicking of the CT Wine Trail 2012 passport at Chamard Vineyards in Clinton, CT.

Gorgeous day for the vineyard, I love Chamard’s scenery. And it’s conveniently on the way home from Hammonassett!

My first trip to the WeHa Reservoir, thanks for showing me around, Jenny!

At Tullycross Tavern to use a SaveNowCT deal!

My amazing meal from that night, a butternut squash flatbread with arugula, grilled chicken, and goat cheese. Paired with Jacob’s Creek Shiraz.

Just read that and you’ll understand why I’m making that face.

View from my table at Besito’s, after work on a Wednesday.

Margarita angel?

Fellow drinker and judger, Rachel, AKA namer of this blog.

The flower vases were actually empty Patron bottles! 😉

My roasted salmon with fried bananas, black beans, sauteed greens, plantain chips, pineapple salsa, and mole sauce was FANTASTIC.

Rachel’s steak tacos – I liked the steak a lot! She didn’t haha

Ben’s chicken enchiladas. Chicken was average, sauce was amazing.

FREE CHURRO.

Triple fisting Onyx Moonshine at Art After Hours!

Best picture ever, taken by tipsy Hartford corporate men.

Balloons make us happy!

They make wine glasses for camping? Maybe I could handle roughing it…

Art After Hours Block Party at Wadsworth in Hartford.

Blood Orange Marg at Barcelona in WeHa!

And of course I ordered a wine flight.

Tapas!!! Olives, bok choy, swiss chard.

The outdoor-but-not-outdoor seating area is beautiful!

AHHH! It was really hard not to write words here. I wanted to go on and on about all the fun I had during each photo. But I also don’t have enough TIME to share all these photos with you guys if I want to write about them too…so I’m choosing the visuals 😀

If you’re a CT local, have you ever been to any of these spots?

Do any of my summertime festivities look similar to yours? Tell me more!

Glastonbury Rotary Club Lobster Fest 2012!

I went to bed at midnight on Saturday. If you know me, then you know this is a big deal. The last time I was up past midnight was the night of a trip to Mohegan Sun with my friends. So, what occasion had me awake past my usual 10PM bedtime? None other than an event I have looked forward to every year since I first started attending a few years ago, the Glastonbury Rotary Club’s Lobster Fest.

Outfit for the Evening:

Necklace, Bracelet: Charlotte Russe

Watch: Fossil

Top: Ahh! I don’t know! It’s my sister’s 😀

Jeans, Belt: American Eagle

Shoes: Forever 21 (Heather borrowed them when she visited!)

I spy…a floating lobster!

Every June, citizens of Glastonbury and surrounding towns gather under a huge tent with their own snacks, desserts, and drinks. Tickets are $50 apiece and will get you a meal of corn on the cob, salad, a roll, and lobster or steak. Steamers are also available.

My dad’s tray, which I so lovingly waited in line for 😉

The lines for food this year were the longest I’d ever seen! It had been cloudy earlier in the day, but thankfully it cleared right up and, for the first time in a few years, the Fest didn’t end up getting rained on later in the evening!

I got an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at the Rotary Club volunteers in dinner prep mode!

Prepping those steamers.

Plenty of water for lobster cooking.

Now that’s a grill!

The table of lobster “crackers” was definitely the most intense work station. These folks weren’t stopping for anything! And I could see why – the pressure was on with the huge food lines, which were wrapping around in a couple “layers” of people at the busiest point.

Maria is the tweeter behind @GlastRotaryClub!

She’s also QUITE the lobster cracker.

Each group of ticket holders was assigned to one of the tables under this HUGE tent!

Our family friend Mrs. Trett brought her famous guacamole, and my mom contributed her delicious black bean and pico de gallo salad.

Another couple at our table, the Peerys, brought my favorite food of the evening, a shrimp curry dip topped with crunchy cracker crumbs and almonds! It had a cream cheese base and the curry flavor made it so unique. All of that crunch was pure satisfaction.

For dessert, our table didn’t have a lot, but the below bowl of Cool Whip, blueberries, strawberries, and pound cake went fast! I skipped out though – I’d been eating fruit ALL day and was quite fruited out.

My beverage of choice was a bottle of wine I’d received from my intro package of reds from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club, called Saracosa Toscana 2009. I don’t usually dislike red wines, but I was just not a fan of this! It just tasted…blah. Nothing special, not dry, not robust, a weak body…someone ended up drinking it but it certainly wasn’t me. Luckily my mom had brought her standby favorite wine, Avalon Cabernet 2009, and was up for sharing it with me. With my dessert (a chocolate chip cookie and the top of a FABULOUS coconut rum cupcake), I also had a glass of Relax Riesling, one of the few sweet whites that I enjoy.

Showin’ off that Reeeeelax.

Some tables REALLY go all out with the food, drinks, and decorations. I saw light-up drink glasses, frosty dispensers filled with sangria, huge summer-themed balloons, and…tiki huts?

I made laps around the tent all night and ran into neighbors, high school classmates (it wasn’t as awkward as you’d think it’d be!), and…Olivia! Not a coincidence, I knew she’d be there, but we hung out periodically throughout the night and it was great to see her again. Side note, I’m obsessed with the dress she wore, only $22 from Nordstrom Rack!

Check out the flip flop balloon behind us!

I sit with my parents and our family friends every year (if you couldn’t already tell from my food descriptions), and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I LOVE MY DAD!

And he loves me 🙂

In addition to loving this lovely mama of mine.

My favorite part of the Lobster Fest every year isn’t the food and drinks (I swear). No, it’s the DANCING! I haven’t had a place to go and dance like I did last night, just losing myself in amazing music, since graduating from college a year ago.

I spy my mom…

There were your hit or miss songs, but the DJ did a pretty good job. Every year at the Lobster Fest, attendees go crazy for the music and dancing, no matter what generation the dancer or the song is from. I LOVE IT! Seriously, I can’t get over how much fun this night was, I keep smiling to myself like an idiot whenever I think about it. I danced with both of my parents, Olivia and her boyfriend, and high school friends throughout the night.

You know there’s trouble when the kissy face comes out.

And the duck face!

Too busy dancing for focus!

May or may not have been glow stick raving occurring.

When my parents and I got in the car to head home, I could hardly believe my eyes. It was past 11PM! The amount of surprise I had over this just goes to show you what a grandma at heart I am. But I felt so full of energy and so, so happy! I’d had a stressful day previously and the Lobster Fest was just what I needed. Thanks to the Glastonbury Rotary Club for putting on the best Lobster Fest yet!

Have you ever attended an outdoor summer festival like this?

When was the last time you went all-out and had a night of crazy dancing?

How late do you stay up on weekend nights?

Blending at the Coventry Farmer’s Market

Check out fellow FitFluential Ambassador Tara‘s recent link-up of body weight workouts! It includes my hotel room workout 🙂 perfect for your summer vacations!

Color Me Rad Giveaway WINNERS!

Thank you those who participated in the giveaway for two free race entries to a Color Me Rad 5K! I received 38 total comment “entries”, and used a random number generator to pick the two winners:

Congratulations to Valerie and Angela! Please email me at caitplusate@gmail.com so that I can send you your promo codes to use at checkout when you are registering for your race!

Now on to today’s post…

So you may read this post’s title and say…blending? Blending what?! Blending with my best blend, Heather! She came to visit me last weekend, and we had an amazing, fun-filled Sunday. It really turned out to be a fantastic time, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that it started pouring the rain when it was time for Heather to drive back to MA. The weather knew how I was feeling!

Matching shorts/dress colors were a total coincidence!

I took my flower child (she pulls off that look!) to her favorite Glastonbury spot, and one of mine, Daybreak Coffee Roasters! Last time Heather visited she fell in love with the local cafe, so a trip to get their coffee and blog AKA what I do many weekends was at the top of her list.

She selected Southern Pecan, made in the French press!

My usual coffee with a splash of steamed skim and sprinkle of cinnamon in a big old mug! I had the Creme Brulee, mm.

After a few hours of tech time and caffeinating (that should be a real verb) ourselves, we set off to a destination I’ve been dying to show Heather, the Coventry Farmers’ Market. This is by far the best farmers’ market I’ve EVER attended – and it must have been everyone else’s best as well, because we ended up waiting in traffic for about 30 minutes on the windy one-lane road leading to the parking area! Finally we found a spot on the side of the road and walked the remaining 1/2 mile…fine with us, it was a gorgeous day. A tip to any CT residents who want to attend – it starts at 11AM, but aim to arrive by 10:45AM at the LATEST!

Matching Oakley bags from the TIU Meet-Up to carry our stuff – pure coincidence!

One of my very first blog entries was actually about the products I found during my first trip to the Coventry Farmer’s Market! How funny – last time I went I was a new blogger, and now I have all these amazing experiences and new friends under my belt as a result of starting Cait Plus Ate. Who knows where I’ll be next time I go?!

BB takes pics and the crowd lines up at the Agave cart.

We were in heaven! The market was hoppin’ – it was opening day of the season after all.

Loved the wooden signs decorating the RIPE natural drink mixers booth. Unfortunately those were the names of mixers, not actual drinks.

There were many food carts! This cart even served up a tofu roll.

Heather enjoyed a fresh fruit smoothie from Raw YouNiverse, and I enjoyed a sample of their kale chips ($10 a bag though…)

The Fish Market is there each year with the freshest of seafood.

These stuffed breads sounded to die for!

Freshly baked pastries and loafs.

Gourmet truffles and coffee.

These nice folks from Norm’s Best let me sample marinated mushrooms, jalapeno jams, and award-winning BBQ sauces.

Loved the way these jams and jellies were packaged.

Sampled some amazing maple garlic salt (yup) and maple peanut brittle here.

Beautiful bottles of oils and vinegars!

Adorable tea packaging.

I’m such a salt fan that I had to pick up a tiny jar of smoked sea salts. Any new kind of salt is a must-try in my book! Can’t wait to try this on a meat or seafood from the grill.

Beeswax candles – they smelled amazing!

I purchased one the above votive beeswax candles from Swift Farm. The man working there gave Heather and I some very interesting info on candles. I burn them every morning and evening, and usually buy them from Bath & Body Works. Those are parafin candles. Apparently they are not only the most common, but also the most HARMFUL to the air. According to the Swift Farm rep, the second-best form of candle to burn is soy, but most are NOT non-GMO. That leaves us with the best kind to burn – 100% beeswax, completely natural. And they really do smell fantastic! I’m going to “burn through” the rest of my B&BW candles, but what he had to say was interesting and I’ll have to reconsider whether or not I want to purchase any more from there in the future.

I also bought a natural lip balm from Swift Farm. The ingredient list is amazing: almond oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, comfrey oil, vitamin E oil, and rosemary & peppermint essential oils. It feels so soft on my lips, smells great, and gives a slight, satisfying peppermint tingle. Crazy though how those with nut allergies would need to avoid this lip balm. I could easily forget about the almond oil and am worried I’m going to give some to a nut-allergic friend who asks to borrow some!

Pita pizza and the fated last tabbouleh!

Last year I visited Iffat, a hilarious, friendly man who runs the Lazizah Bakery in Yantic, CT. They are famous in the state for their falafel, but don’t sell it at the farmers’ market because Iffat would have to make it in Yantic and bring it to Coventry since the fryer isn’t portable. He’d rather NOT sell a lower quality version of his most famous product than make the money he could probably make if he sold pre-made falafel. I admire that!

Iffat was just as fun as he was last year, calling Heather and I “beautiful girls”, and answering my questions about the above herbed pita, which I purchased and made into a FAB shrimp pizza for dinner a few nights later with my mom.

 There was just one case of tabbouleh left, one of Heather and I’s favorite Mediterannean foods, so we decided it was fate that we split it!

It was impossible not to take the Strawberry Salsa and Dandelion Green & Carrot Top Pesto home with me!

I had told her all about Yummy Hummy, another booth that impressed me last year. We sadly arrived too late to get the carrot & ginger hummus we’d heard would be offered (of course, it was sold out!) but there were still some unique products left that I snatched immediately – strawberry salsa and dandelion green & carrot top pesto!

Heather called this the best hummus she’s ever had – says a lot coming from someone who considers it a food group.

Heather purchased some hummus and swooned over it. Yummy Hummy is a great, humble company and they make so many unique hummus flavors! Others that I hope to find at a farmers’ market to purchase someday: spicy sesame, lemon cilantro, summer squash & curry, beets & scallions, pumpkin spice, acorn squash & black pepper, and MOJITO!

PICKLE PARTY.

Last season I purchased dill pickle chips from Christine’s Country Kitchen, so I knew I wanted to try to get different selections this time around. Plus I’ve only grown MORE adventurous with food in the last year, so it makes sense that I ended up expanding outside of my pickled horizons. Of course I selected a jar of garlic pickles first, but I followed it up with sugar-free pickled beets and sweet & spicy mustard! I’ve been rocking the pickles and beets in my salads…I still don’t think I enjoy eating beets alone, but am now at the point that I’m loving them in my salads. I’m a mustard fanatic and sampled many at this booth, but ended up choosing the sweet & spicy.

The most touching moment of the day came courtesy of Shayna B’s Gluten-Free Bakery. All their treats are also VEGAN, which was great news for Heather, who had not had the best of luck at the farmers’ market finding baked goods or any breads that fit the vegan bill.

Quinoa, bunt cakes, and strawberry tarts.

We started chatting with the owner and she was so kind and appreciative of our passion and desire for healthy, natural, wholesome food. We each received a sample of the Wendy Bites, in the bottom row of the picture below, made with fantastic vegan and gluten-free-friendly ingredients like garbanzo bean flour. A nut-free version without the almonds was even available, though I have to admit the bites I had with the almonds were the best ones 🙂 Heather decided to buy a package of Wendy Bites, and when we came up 50 cents short, they let us purchase the Wendies anyway! We couldn’t believe how kind the folks of Shayna B’s were and could tell that they really, really just wanted their treats to reach as many happy people as possible.

Fresh vegan and gluten-free granola and Wendy’s Bites.

After visiting Shayna’s we decided we’d spent enough of our life savings for one day. My bag sure was heavy!

SOOO much loot. Shoulder raisin’ it!

On our way back to the car we remembered that there were BABY ANIMALS at the market that day! We passed them at the entrance and stopped for some playtime.

Making the same face as this llama, inadvertently.

The kind of picture that could get me on a most wanted list.

Self-taken Caitlin and a llama photo fail.

I wanted to take him home with me!

Just a goat on a leash!

He kept trying to eat my shorts!

He really wanted to eat my Forever21 rose ring!

A little more success taking self-taken photos with the goat.

See, I’ve been known to rock the poses with farm animals before. Behold, my last trip to the Central Park Petting Zoo…

Come on alpaca, didn’t you get the kissy face memo?

Photo-bombing this sheep pic.

After I was done making a fool of myself, we walked back to the car and went to West Hartford’s quaint Blueback Square, another CT gem I wanted Heather to visit, to meet up with our girl Jenny. I met her through Heather and am so grateful – she rocks and we’ve already become fast friends.

We snagged iced tea from the Green Tea House and took it outside to enjoy the last rays of sunshine before the impending downpour.

The blend I selected – not as good as the Banana Split/Monkey’s Chocolate combo from last time!

So fabulous to chat and sip with these girls. Great end to the day – actually, the day ended with Heather and I literally jumping into my car and closing the sunroof right as the downpour began, but you know. Good friends, good timing.

Babes in Blueback.

After Heather (sadly) departed, I laid out my farmers’ market finds and immediately started planning how I’d incorporate some into that evening’s dinner.

I topped a leftover salmon burger with the strawberry salsa, and my mom roasted up the zucchini and squash (I got a ton for just $3.50). OMG! An amazing, amazing meal. I was in heaven the whole time.

Capped off with a glass of rioja. Also had a turkey burger and beans.

What’s the best find you’ve gotten at a farmers’ market?

Farm animals…love ’em or hate ’em?

CW’s Chops ‘n Catch: 2fly Wine Dinner

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a free race entry to a Color Me Rad 5K – ends this Sunday 6/10 at 11:59PM EST!

I love my CW’s Chops ‘n Catch tasting dinners!!! I’m actually out of order here because I have yet to recap the last one I went to over a month ago, but this one was more impressive anyway (don’t worry, I’ll eventually share the other one as well) and also is special to me because the featured wines were from 2fly, a company owned by the former president of the pool club my family belongs to and a fellow Glastonbury resident, Chris Didden.

Tasting essentials – menu, 2fly’s wine makers, and wine tasting notes.

I attended the tasting with my foodie friend Jeff (he was at the BBQ Fest with me that weekend too), who has attended most of the other Chops n Catch dinners with me as well:

I was running low on time before the dinner, but still squeezed in the 20-minute HIIT the Beach workout from the Tone It Up Beach Babe DVD (signed copy #brag), followed by about 5 minutes of abs. A small workout is better than no workout at all folks, and that HIIT is efficient!

Duck spring rolls and local shitake, goat cheese, and spinach napoleons.

As usual we started with passed appetizers…

Better spring roll view, paired with a ginger soy miso sesame vinaigrette.

I was psyched to see the napoleons topped with such ginormous olives! The local shitake mushrooms AKA the bottom were the best layer. Such a meaty, hearty texture. I think I’m officially over my former mushroom aversion. The duck spring rolls were so, as Jeff put it, “duck-y”. I’ve never had duck meat in such a pure form, without any sauces, just letting its own flavor stand out. Of course I did try my second (and last) bite of my spring roll in the sesame vinaigrette, which was also delicious, and I came up with the genius idea to hoard the rest of the dressing for other courses. Our waiter got his hand slapped (kidding) when he tried to take it away.

2fly Chardonnay 2010

2fly sells wines from others, but they also have their own private label, which I’ve sampled before at Sonoma. The 2010 Chardonnay was given a nice, slightly sweet flavor from the soft citrus. That paired very well with the first course: spinach & local ricotta gnudi with artichoke tar tar and Parmesan broth. 

Served with a nice hunk o’ bread, drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

The broth and artichokes, in particular, were my favorite part of the dish to pair with the Chardonnay. The citrus contrasted well with the saltiness. The local ricotta was enjoyed mostly on its own or atop the bread, which sadly got soggy because it was served in the soup. Beautiful presentation, but I’d still prefer to have seen it served on the side since I’m such a crunch fan!

After the first course we were served the usual delicious CW’s garlic knots with a sweet and salty maple butter, which I wish had been more warm and soft for easy spreading! Still fantastic though. I preferred dipping my roll in both the sesame vinaigrette and the leftover Parmesan broth. Definitely the best broth I’d say I’ve ever tried – usually broth-based soups are so boring and blah to me.

I’ve been excited to try wine from the Gewurztraminer grape since CT Food and Wine recommended it to me on Twitter a few weeks ago. Even if it’s white wine, I’m excited to try it if it’s made from a new-to-me grape. I actually liked this guy! I really could taste the hints of lychee! And that makes sense, because the 2fly reps at the dinner told us this is a wine that pairs very well with most Asian dishes.

Korean glazed BBQ pork belly, dumpling croutons, plum dressing, daikon sprouts, mizuna, wasabi powder

I’m still getting used to even slightly spicy foods, so when I say the wasabi powder wasn’t even that spicy at all, you should believe me! I enjoyed coating the greens in it. The daikon sprouts were also very good dipped in that sesame vinaigrette from the passed apps – yes, we were STILL hoarding it at this point. The plum dressing on the mizuna greens wasn’t what I’d pictured (I guess I kept seeing a jam in my mind) but tasted SO perfect, really just the right amount. The croutons tasted like the exterior of a fried egg roll – mmm 🙂 of COURSE saving the pork belly for last, it was so so great, also good dipped in the vinaigrette. It really did feel completed by the Gewurztraminer.

One happy foodie/wino.

Jeff and I initially were torn between the two entree choices because one had a great main component and one had a to die for side component. Then I realized there was an easy solution – get one of each and share! As my sister would say, “Le duh.”

Gaucho-style skirt steak with Chimichurri, greens, and sweet potato/yucca/Manchego cheese gratin (the to die for side).

Swordfish au poivre (the great main component), greens, and roasted garlic/spinach smashed Yukon gold potatoes

Each dish was paired with a red wineConte Estate Gondola Grenache-Shiraz Blend for the steak and 2fly Shiraz for the fish. Now, I always drink red with my seafood, but that’s just because I’m a red wino. It’s often paired with whites. So I was pleased to see the swordfish with the Shiraz, but curious as to the reasoning behind the pairing. The 2fly rep called it one of the lightest Shirazes out there, and after taking one sip I immediately could see why it was served with the fish! Definitely light – I’d call this a Shiraz for someone who normally wouldn’t like Shiraz (and also one for those who do AKA me). I also liked the Grenache-Shiraz blend, definitely went better with the steak than the 2fly Shiraz would’ve.

The steak was nice and pink! It was great in the Chimichurri. The show was SO completely stolen by the gratin though…it should have been illegal. Or not, because then I wouldn’t have gotten to eat it. The sweet potato and Manchego combo – there are just no words!!! Everyone should try this side once in his or her life. I couldn’t get enough.

Agh! Sauce about to spill!

As I predicted when I saw the menu for this dinner, the potatoes were…potatoes. They were delicious but definitely the least unique part of the entire dinner. I’ve had way better mashed potatoes – I just feel like I could’ve easily recreated these at home, and I was not at CW’s to try that kind of stuff! However, the swordfish made up for that by being crusted in a perfect pepper portion (say that 3x fast!) that put the perfect kick into each bite. Jeff said it was the best cooked swordfish he’d EVER had! The sauce on this plate was OK, but reminded me a little too much of gravy. I felt like a great effort was made to pair the sauce with the potatoes, when I would have much rather tried a sauce that was selected with the swordfish in mind.

The 2fly guys at this dinner were so friendly, informative, and heavy-handed with the pouring (BIG fan). At some of these functions, the reps don’t really know when is an appropriate time to speak about and “sell” the wines, and when they should just leave the diners alone. These guys knew though! They even took the time to sit down with Jeff and I both during and after the dinner for chatting about food, wine, Connecticut, life…whatever it was, it was great fun (and a good way to wait things out and sober up a bit before driving home).

My second CW’s prize!

They even did a quick trivia giveaway for a bottle of the 2fly Shiraz – which I won! That makes my second big win at a CW’s tasting dinner!

I felt like I was being eased into different types of wines during this dinner. For example, during the entree I tried a Shiraz (an old favorite) and a Shiraz-Grenache (a blend of an old favorite and a new one). Then I was hit with the Grenache all on its own for the dessert course! I expected some kind of port (I was actually hoping for that) or an ice wine (I hate those, NOT hoping for it) and the Grenache was a surprise to be paired with dessert. However, it was a red wine, so nevertheless I enjoyed it. I think it was the most arbitrary pairing of the meal though.

Choc-covered cherries jubilee, local Royal vanilla bean ice cream.

The dessert was sooo good. I liked how it came out already melt-y, like a cheeries jubilee soup. They’ve used this local brand of ice cream, Royal, at other CW’s dinners and it gets me every time how GOOD their plain vanilla is. No wonder that was the only flavor of ice cream I’d eat until, oh I don’t know, age 12?

Don’t remember why Jeff was doing this. Many glasses of wine had been had by that point.

Like I mentioned before, Jeff and I stuck around after we paid the check ($45 each – SOOOO affordable for all the food and wine we received), and we were well-rewarded in several ways. One of the 2fly reps ended up gifting me a 2fly hat, which I gave to my dad!

Can you see the wine in my eyes? Ha.

Trying to look like a cute chick in a hat, not successful.

So then I got up to go to the bathroom, and on my way ran into the man, the myth, the legend – Corey Wry himself! 

A foodie idol!

I’ve spoken briefly with Corey before, but this time I got to really thank him for doing these tasting dinners at such an affordable price, and also for being accommodating to non-beer-drinkers like myself and offering wine pairings during his beer dinners. He even said I could pair the courses during the next beer dinner with different whiskeys and bourbon instead! Um, OK!

Didn’t plan the whole striped thing.

Jeff and I left with huge smiles on our faces! Thanks to Corey and CW’s Chops ‘n Catch for hosting another great event, and to 2fly Wines for creating such complimentary wine pairings for Corey’s food!

Have you ever tried Grenache or Gewurztraminer? 

Have you ever met one of your foodie idols?

Which course would you have enjoyed most? (Meg, don’t bother answering, I know it’s the swordfish.)