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!

The Draper's Arms

Tarek and I had a date night Friday at the Draper's Arm's, a bib gourmand gastro pub within walking distance from our flat.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Bib Gourmands:
Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must offer menu items priced below a maximum determined by local economic standards. Bib (Bibendum) is the company's nickname for the Michelin Man, its corporate logo for over a century.

oh wheaty, textural bread.. how I miss you!!

After getting yelled at by Club Gascon (okay, they didn't exactly yell  at me, but I'm overly sensitive!), I'm trying not to take flash pictures out of respect to other diners who might find the bright light to be annoying. Thankfully, I was able to get somewhat decent pictures on my SLR.

We ordered the salt pollack brandade,which was realllllly good! It had the texture of mash potatoes and was perfectly salty, creamy, and delicious. The brandade was also complemented by a perfectly soft boiled egg- YUM!

pint of prawns with garlic aioli for a dipping sauce. The prawns were small compared to the ones we order at my all time favorite pub Cadogan Arms but they were still pretty tasty with the aioli.

T and I both ordered the braised ox cheek with black mustard mash, watercress, & crispy shallots. I guess we were both craving something hearty, which this dish met perfectly. We both agreed it would be a great dish to have in the wintertime.

We also had a side of triple cooked chips. They were REALLY fantastic. To have a perfect chip, it must be

• crispy on the outside
• warm and soft on the inside
• taste like a true potato (none of that oily aftertaste)

I was a bit disappointed by our other side of kale. They were very vibrant in their green color but tasted bland; I guess nothing that a little salt and pepper wouldn't fix! Overall, I really enjoyed our meal and would definitely go back.

Gluten free chocolate chip cookies

I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies the other day, so I decided to try out a really simple flourless choco chip recipe from a new blogger I found.
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/30/flourless-chocolate-chip-cookies/

3/4 cup GF oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons white sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/8 tsp salt, all ingredients blended together in a food processor to the consistency of flour

3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips

2 tablespoons soy milk + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

I was a bit skeptical about the crumbly texture but I think its because I added too much soymilk! Oops.. I did my best to form them into balls with my hands.

I got 8 decent size balls on the greased cookie sheet (ergh... I think we need to get a new one!). I popped them into the oven at 175 C for literally 5 minutes and they came out looking terrible but tasting amaazeballs!

IWANNAHOTONENOW!!!

I just couldn't wait to get my grabby hands on these bad boys. They were chewy, oaty, chocolatey, and delicious!

Oh yea.. they were gone in 2 days :)

Gotta do dem lunges!

I had quite the workout dilemma this morning that took me about an hour too long to figure out. I suggest that if you get easily unmotivated from going to the gym (like me sometimes), to plan your workouts in advanced, or perhaps the night before.

So, I've only recently started reincorporating working out my legs because they were just plain tired from all the zumba, salsa, and running I had been doing. Going salsa dancing 3 times a week and practicing zumba routines throughout the day left my feet achy and my entire lower body weak. Life's all about balance isn't it? I decided leg strength is more important to me right now than anything else so I cut down on the running and most recently the salsa dancing and zumba practice 24/7. Now back to my dilemma this morning, I couldn’t remember how I split up my legs routine in the past. Brain fart!! I was majorly confused. Should I lift all the leg muscles at once? Zone in on the hams and glutes? Focus on quads and calves? For some reason, I just couldn’t make up my mind! I referred to some internet sources for inspiration:

http://www.davedraper.com/lean-legs-for-women-workout.html

http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/weighttrainingprinciples/qt/onemusclesplit.htm

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/muscle-building.html

Here's the routine I ultimately settled with:  Most of the exercises were 3 sets, 10 reps

• Deadlift
• Dumbbell lunges
• Wide grip overhead barbell split squat (I held a 10kg barbell over my head with a staggered stance, left foot in front of right and lunged down for 10 reps each side)
• Barbell straight-leg deadlift (I made sure to concentrate on squeezing my glutes when lifting the barbell back up- this helps to engage your hip muscles instead of your lower back)
• Single-leg standing dumbbell calf raise (I placed my foot that was doing the raise on a 20kg weight plate)
• Curtsy lunge with dumbbells
• Calf press on leg press machine 3 ways- toes pointed out, in, and straight (15 reps, 3 sets)

perfect snack prior to teaching zumba: a sweet gala apple with crunchy peanut butta

Dinner last night: Simple to make and o' so delicious!

I love the taste of roasted broccoli with simple seasonings. I just oven roasted these fiberlicious boys in EVOO, salt and pepper for 15 minutes and they turned out cooked but slightly crunchy- YUM!

more burgars! (that's my attempt at a Jersey accent)

more sauteed vegetables- I make sure to fill up on high volume, low calorie things like mushrooms, broccoli, and red onions. It is very hard to get fat by eating your weight in veggies! :) Not that you want to literally eat your weight in veggies.

love love love the smell of caramelized onions wafting in the house.. weird I know!!

I topped my burger with ketchup, dijon mustard, and siracha. It was perfect.

hot sauced and ketchup eggs prior to my legs workout this morning.

 

here's to looking at you kid.

more amazing protein smoothie in a coffee mug

I could never get sick of these!

Song of the day:  "Let it go"- from the Step it up 2 soundtrack.. haha I'm such a nerd!! :)

Top things I love about Fall

there's nothing better in the morning than Sonoma hugs!!

or a little **cuddles** in the lap!!! Check out those sexy polka dot pj's ow ow! Gosh, its almost as if I live in my pj's.... okay, that's a lie too- I live in my workout gear and gym shoes :)

I managed to delete all my pictures from yesterday while in the process of cleaning out my computer files this morning..BAH!!!

Last night at Bar salsa was super fun! I hadn't been in ages and it felt so good to go back. If you like Latin music, I would highly recommend going to Bar Salsa on Monday/Wednesdays (I've never been on the weekends but I'm sure its fun as well). They have salsa lessons both nights from beginners to advanced, and social dancing afterwards with a mix of music from salsa, bachata, merengue, and kizomba. The atmosphere is very laid back and people are just there to dance and have a good time. I didn't make it to the lesson last night since I was subbing zumba but I went afterwards and danced my heart out. Love :)


G T. L. time! I did about 45 minutes on the treadmill and afterwards spent the majority of the time stretching out my calves- they were killing me!

post gym smoothie

• almond milk/soy milk
• frozen banana (makes the smoothie creamy so there's no need for ice!)
• frozen blueberries, apples, blackberries, raspberries (1 cup total)
• agave nectar (for sweetness)
• scoop of chocolate protein powder (aid in muscle recovery)

Topped with muesli and dark choco chips-- so refreshing!!!

For lunch, I made some more pesce and sat down to catch up on some trash television aka Jersey Shore- don't JUDGE dooode, it ain't pretty!

tilapia filets seasoned with: Baked in the oven for 8 minutes at 200 C

• olive oil
• sea salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• ginger powder
• soya sauce (GF)
• siracha

vegetable medley of peppers and mushrooms seasoned with salt, pepper, and EVOO.

 Afternoon snackage since I'm feeling so peckish today..

yum!! I love these Mrs. Crimbles coconut macaroons- they are so chewy and delicious!!

Things I love about Fall (Since it is September 1, 2011)

1. Start of football season (and I'm not talking about soccer!!) and other sporting seasons
2. return of fall television (HIMYM, Modern Family, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-tehehe)
3. Changing of the leaves and the beautiful colors of Autumn!
4. Colder weather and comfy big sweaters
5. Pumpkins!! Pumpkin oats, pumpkin pie, pumpkin drinks, PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN <---- ooo now the spelling looks funny somehow!
6. the particular "fall" smell in the air
7. Beginning of a new school year (cheers to being 27 and going back to school!!)
8. Back to school means back to school clothing?? :)
9. colder weather aka hot chocolate time
10. I can finally eat hot soups and not feel guilty about it because its no longer summer!