Sunday, February 26th, 2012 - Shinju Sushi

Nat: Sweet potato maki - Sweet potato tempura, spicy mayo, drizzled with eel sauce.

L: Vegetable tempura maki - Sweet potato, green onion, asparagus, green beans, spicy mayo, topped with eel sauce. I also had a tamago nigiri (sweet egg) and inari nigiri (fried tofu skin).

We also shared an order of edamame.

Strangely, neither of us were particularly hungry. The food was great, though not spectacular. They have an all-you-can-eat deal which we intend to try at a later date.

Monday, February 20th, 2012 - Nat's Brown Rice Dish and FriedButternut Squash

Nat cooked another fantastic dinner while I showered and practiced violin.

The recipe, titled "brown rice with tofu, dried mushrooms, and baby spinach", was from Power Foods (from the editors of Whole Living Magazine), with one minor change of fresh mushrooms instead of dried, due to availability.

Main ingredients included:
-Brown rice
-Fresh Shiitake mushrooms
-chopped ginger
-minced garlic
-dried red chile
-cubed tofu
-baby spinach
-chopped scallions
-cilantro

Nat also made the best butternut squash I've ever had-- it was sautéed in a good amount of butter and came out soft in the middle and a little crunchy on the surface. Yum!

Saturday, February 18th, 2012 - Pizano's

Preface: we were two hours overdue from our original projected dinner time, so our appetites may have given the food an extra boost in taste.

We started by sharing a Caesar salad, which came with Italian bread and little packets of butter, all of which we enjoyed with great delight.

Then we moved onto the main course-- the vegetarian special (pepper, onions, and mushroom) thin crust pizza. The thin crust pizzas were advertised as "as seen on the Oprah Winfrey show." It was good cheese and a particularly tasty crust, just as we remembered it!

We both happily gulped down our 312's with our dinner. Deeelish! And happy one year anniversary!

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 - Chant

We shared turkey basil rolls to start. The ground turkey was wrapped around something light, crispy and delicious. They were served over what I think was a mixture of hoisin sauce and something else. Best rolls ever.

Nat: Spinach and Tofu, Shiitake. Served with brown rice. The sauce was really good-- salty and sweet. Flavorful and healthy!

L: Chant curry chicken, with potatoes, all over rice. Three chicken thighs smothered generously with the sweet curry sauce. The chicken wasn't perfect but the sauce made up for it. perfect ratio of chicken, potato, rice and sauce.

I stuck with boring Sam Adams while Nat ventured to try Hitachino Nest's Real ginger brew and Belgian white. We both liked the ginger brew better.

Skipped out on dessert because we were both very full. They also gave Nat a rose because it was Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 13th, 2012 - Nat's Pilau

Orange Vegetable and Scallion Pilau

Nat borrowed from the Vegetarian Student Cookbook (Ryland, Peters and Small). She left out a large red chile pepper and for some strange reason, the recipe itself did not have scallions in it. I couldn't help cook because I was practicing violin.

Main ingredients included:
-Basmati rice
-Butternut squash wedges
-Carrot chunks
-Sweet potato circles
-Chopped onions
-Chopped ginger
-Chopped garlic
-Sliced almonds
-Coriander, cumin, turmeric
-Chopped cilantro and lime juice

We also had a spinach salad, with toasted pecans, dried cranberries and crumbled blue cheese. Lemony herb salad dressing on top.

Nat felt that the salad and pilau didn't really go together, but I thought it was delicious anyway.

Dessert was the chocolate truffle cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. They were a bit dry-- we weren't impressed. The creamy filling was good, though!

For wine, we had the Ancient Peaks cab, which is always a solid choice.

Friday, February 10th, 2012 - The Snail (Thai Cuisine)

Nat: Snail Noodles - Thin rice noodles, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, assorted vegetables with tofu. Light but flavorful!

L: Khao Soi - Steamed egg noodles with yellow curry, green onion, onion, and lime. The curry was creamy and went well with the chicken, which kept the chicken from being too dry. It didn't quite match the description in the menu, but was still delicious!

We also shared a spring roll appetizer (soft Thai crèpe, filled with scrambled egg, cucumber, tofu, avocado, and carrots-- in a plate of sweet and sour sauce, sprinkled with green onion). I ate some but not too much due the avocado, cucumber, and carrots. We also brought our own bottle of wine (Atteca / Old Vines 2009). Tasty!

Monday, February 6th, 2012 - Nat's Gallo Pinto

Nat made a delicious gallo pinto!
Ingredients:
1 1/4 Res pepper, diced
1 Small onion, diced
1 Cup medium grain white rice, w butter
1 Can black beans
4 Eggs, w butter (Fried, 2 each)
Grapeseed oil to coat pan
Cilantro

It was super yummy! Also smelled really good. Added some salt while eating to taste.

Saturday, February 4th, 2012 - Salonica

Nat: Spinach and feta omelette (hash browns and English muffin)

L: No. 3 Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled, hash browns, 3 turkey sausages, white toast and coffee.

This place has really great whipped butter! Nat didn't have any of my coffee because I put sugar and cream in it.