Shhh.. quiet free zone

I made the most delicious lunch yesterday, and it was very simple to make! All I needed was a prepacked box of gluten free noodles, pad thai sauce (that is included), and some chopped up veggies!

this is my most recent, delicious GF find! I love their noodles! I had the schezuan sauce the other day but I think I prefer the pad thai.

I added in some baby corn, red onions, and sugar snap peas (I love em for their crunchy texture!).

chopped up oven roasted chicken breast

sauteed the veggies first in EVOO, then added the shredded chicken pieces

Next, I added in the pad thai sauce to heat everything thoroughly

Lastly, I mixed in the noodles and did my best to coat every strand with the pad thai sauce!

SO freaking good! I was either really hungry from my 45 minute treadmill run yesterday or it was just that good!

After lunch, I went to the library for a couple hours of some uninterrupted studying. Apparently, the study "quiet free" zone only applies to respectful people! I decided I might be better off studying at home or at a real library-- I went to the Camden library near Kings Cross and my observation was that this location sure brings out some crazies!

I stopped at Pret for an afternoon snack. If you haven't tried Pret's mango slices, I would highly recommend trying it for a sweet, healthy treat. I also couldn't help but indulge in my other guilty pleasure; salted popcorn!

T prepared dinner yesterday so I could be lazy. Hey, at least I peeled the potatoes; I mean who really finds peeling enjoyable?

salmon and prawn fisherman's pie with mashed potatoes, and shallots in a tomato creamy sauce

 

I could honestly slurp this amazing sauce on its own!

My portion control will was tested and I lost!! I had 2 big servings :-)

my addition to the meal= sauteed mushrooms in siracha and soy sauce

dessert was some gluten free goodies. We tried some new TruFree biscuits that were really good but small. We had one of each Bourbon biscuits and Custard creme.

New reading material from the library! I know I still have to finish Optimum Nutrition, but I couldn't help myself.. I started reading the one on the left and can already tell it's going to be a can't put down.

breakfast then no it's gym time. Ha! The weather is so crappy, I think I'm just going to do some Zumba and pilates at home.

Agenda: Zumba, lunch, study, teach, salsa class!

Islington Pub Crawl

On Saturday night, we went on a pub/bar crawl around our Kings Cross/Islington hood. We stopped at the following places:

1. The Canal
2. The Draper's Arms
3. The Albion
4. Ethiopian restaurant for din din
5. Back to the Canal
6. The Driver
7. Be @ One

We also enjoyed the last few days of summer. The weather was pretty dang beautiful this weekend!

I stuck with wine/cocktails for the night. Occasionally, I snuck in a few sips of beer (shhh!!)

Dinner was at Merkato restaurant. We've been here a couple times and its always been a pleasant dining experience. Unfortunately, we had a few minor hiccups this time around.

We ordered a bottle of their in house honey wine. It's usually sweet with a touch honey but this bottle seemed to have gone bad; it had a vinegar taste to it :(

at least their beer was decent!

The food service at Merkato was unbelievably sloooooooow. I think we had to wait 45 minutes for our food!! They apologized for the slow service but didn't really acknowledge it til we grew impatient. I don't like it when restaurants ignore the fact that their food should have come out 30 minutes ago!!

Thankfully everything was as delicious as I last remembered it. Btw- most injera's are gluten free since they are made from teff flour. I didn't ask if any other flour was added to it because I just didn't want to know! Ignorance is bliss (this time around) :-)

We all inhaled our food, stopping every now and then to remark how tasty it was. I must have gotten lazy after this because I didn't take any more pictures throughout the night. Somehow, our group of 6 grew to 10+.. We ended our night at Be @ One, and this time, I had a better experience and kept my new Iphone close to me!

Side note- the bartenders at Be@1 are super friendly but the free shot of Jose Cuervo tequila at the end of the night was definitely unnecessary! Needless to say, my Sunday was completely ruined.. My bum was glued to the couch for most of the day.

Somehow I was able to peel myself off the couch to make myself a GF lunch. I added in some sauteed onions, chopped up cucumbers and spring onions to Tiger Tiger's gluten free noodles.
http://www.tigertiger.info/gluten-free

Tarek totally spoiled me and brought back bbq from Pitt Cue. It was the last day they were serving bbq from their truck since summer is almost over.
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2%3A30101/pitt-cue-co

juicy pulled pork on a bed of coleslaw

I also had some beef ribs- DELISH!

with some eggplant on the side

gluten free macaroons! I think I died and went to macaroon heaven :) Someone please tell me how I only discovered macaroons 2 years ago when I moved here to London- they are so good!

the green tea one was my favorite! I couldn't tell the difference between GF and regular ones.. In fact, I'm not even sure if the regular ones are made with any type of flour. Maybe they're just naturally gluten free?? hehe.. Either way, I'm not complaining!

the sesame one was decent..

hot sauced/ketchup scrambled eggs w. GF toast and it's time for the gym yo!

Thank you Steve Hatt

and huge thank-you to the hubs for preparing this lovely sushi lunch

I came back from the gym SO pleasantly surprised. I was craving sushi-- how did he know?!? :-)

this was T's take on a baked scallop dish that we had at Mai Sushi. The scallops were baked in a delicious spicy mayo sauce with roe on top. OMG.. it was/is drool worthy!!

a whole lotta fresh fish

and freshly shucked oysters!!

Seriously, if you've never had an oyster, you're missing one of the greatest slippery experiences in your life. They are so delicious!

asian inspired oysters with mirin, sesame oil, and roe

beautiful aren't they?!

so sad when they are all gone :(

T made us chirashi bowls with most of the fish

yay I love ginger- such a wonderful palate cleanser

salted cooked mackerel and after all that heavy white rice, time for a nap!