Let the Summer Begin

This summer is all about concerts that I can't wait to see.  And I feel like Hot Chip completely lived up to my expectations.  I can't say the same for a couple of other shows but they do not need to be mentioned.

Phor and I stood on the second level where we usually have loads of room to dance and the sound is perfect.  This concert was odd with the family of four including two kids under the age of 12 standing behind us.  The kids were bored but the parents just didn't care.

Regardless, we danced a lot.  

If you don't know Hot Chip, please watch this.  It's an old song but so very good.  Sorry for the advertisement in the beginning but the 30 second wait is worth it.

Cleaning

I did this thing where I didn't eat processed sugar for 21 days.  For me, this was like learning the impossible is possible. There have been a lot of good and maybe kind of great changes in my life recently and this whole learning what kind of food to eat is a big positive. 

The big emphasis during the 21 day not eating sugar was eating a lot of vegetables.  There is one recipe in particular that I love.

Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Greens

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1-2 large apples, cored and sliced into eighths
6 cups loosely packed greens such as kale, chard or collard greens, stems removed and torn into 2-inch strips (I also love using broccoli which I roast with the potatoes)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Toss potato slices with 1 Tb olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet (or roasting pan) and bake until cooked through and slightly caramelized, about 30 minutes (20 minutes more if you include broccoli).  At the same time, in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, melt 1 TB olive oil.  Add apples and saute until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

In a heavy pot over medium heat, combine remaining 1 TB olive oil and 2 TB water.  Add greens and saute, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Lower heat to low and add sweet potatoes and apples.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, 3-4 minutes.  Salt and pepper and serve hot.

Kites, MLK, Easter

And I'm back.  I've been thinking about this site and collecting stories and pictures to post but I just haven't been sitting in front of my computer much in the past month.  But I still want to catch up since I was last here.

My nephew was in town Easter weekend with some of his friends.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him actually smiling but he was here.  It was also the opening weekend of the cherry tree blossom festival where some of the trees were blossoming if not the cherry trees.  

The opening weekend is also the Kite Festival on the Mall.  I was there late in the day but there were still a lot of kites in the air.

This was weekend where I was able to not wear a coat for the first time after a very long winter.  I took advantage of it and called Phor who met up with me for a long walk.  I finally saw this monument which evokes some strong feelings from people and not all of it is positive.  It's still something that should be seen.

But this is only positive.  I love the sunsets in DC.

Easter wasn't a grand meal for us as Jon and his friend were traveling back to school but I made a frittata with bacon, feta, sweet potatoes, and onions, and a breakfast crumble with apples, pears and cranberries.  Happiness.

And happy Arrested Development day to all those who are binging on it today.  I'm going to take it slow and steady as it's taken a long time to get here.  It is a day for happiness for everyone.

A Few of My Favorite Things 2013

One last addendum to the birthday festivities.  My friends know that I

1) love food (especially peanut butter eggs the size of my head)

2) love preparing food

3) love displaying food (especially food I've made)

2013 birthday mentions are officially over.

You Should All Be In DC Right Now

It took long enough but Spring finally arrived in DC. (And summer kind of considering tomorrow will be 90°F.)

Marcilyn and I went on a walk by the tidal basin to see some of the cherry blossoms.  They were on their way to being at full bloom.  I love walking around most parts of DC this time of the year because it smells like flowers - cherry, magnolia, hyacinths. 

The DC Celebration: Last of the 2013 Birthday

I feel like my birthday happened ages ago but it's just taking me a while to post about it.  This should be the last post but you can now tell that I like to spread out the good times as much as possible as it gives me good excuses to spend time with friends.

My favorite thing to do for my birthday is to throw a dinner party and spend time around the table laughing and telling stories.  This one did not disappoint. 

Apologies for the low light but that was the mood of the night. 

I made Mushroom Bourguignon with portobellos and it was perfect.  I didn't miss the beef at all.  The asparagus was a little soggy because I didn't judge the cooking times very well.  The water for the egg noodles took forever to boil.

I finished the meal with a grapefruit olive oil cake.  I love olive oil cakes and this one was delicious.  I served it with broken bits of good chocolate.

We all left very full and tired from laughing so hard.

An Afternoon at Gramercy Tavern

Trish and I celebrated our March birthdays with lunch at Gramercy which is one of our favorite places in NYC and somewhere we've been before.  It's one of those restaurants that is always  wonderful. 
 

We started off by eating lots of vegetables - kale above and brussels sprouts below.  We were balancing out the main course.

Which turned out to be one of the best cheeseburgers I've ever had.  Even the condiments were fancy.

I'm posting the menu so you can see how crazy difficult it was for us to decide on what desserts to order.  We always share which kind of helps but it was a struggle to pick just two.  We went with the banana cream tart and the lemon icebox pie.  

I really love our meals at Gramercy.

I was also super happy to see the hyacinths out at Union Square market.  This was one of those moments that I was really sad to no longer have a home in the city with a vase waiting for these beauties.