we love rick’s

Rick’s on Main. It’s fantastic. We LOVE it. We’ve been three times since “moving” here, which averages out to about once a month. It’s certainly a splurge, but it’s so worth it. The food really is THAT good, and you cannot beat the atmosphere, especially if you sit outside (like we did) on a nice night. We were celebrating the meeting of my weight-loss goal and me going back to school. And we won’t have many more chances to sit outside around here, as the weather will cool off in less than a month…

We started out the evening on a mission: to take a new photo for my blog “gravatar,” which is the photo of me you see on the right. So, I got all dolled-up (Rick’s is nice, so I would have dressed up anyway, but I pulled out all the stops thinking my image last night might be posted on the internet for the world to see) and we started by taking some shots in Andrew’s parents; yard before leaving.

This is the best photo we got, and I wasn’t even smiling! Drat. Better luck next time. The lighting just wasn’t right.

We arrived at Rick’s and got a table outside. The temperature was in the upper 70s and beautiful. I ordered a glass of the Concannon Chardonnay, which the server said was only slightly dry, buttery with oak-y undertones. The last time I was at Rick’s I got a glass of the Lotus Chardonnay, which is crisper and fruiter. While I’m no wine expert, or even very knowledgeable for that matter, it was neat to taste a difference between the fruity, crisp wines I normally drink and the Concannon. It was incredibly smooth, and, well, buttery. It lacked the “bite” I’m used to, and I think I learned that I do prefer the crisper, fruitier wines. Next time: Lotus!

To start, we split the Pepper and Onion Stack. It was a fried yellow bell pepper bottom, topped with a fried poblano pepper ring (middle), topped with a fried onion ring. All this sat on tomatoes and fresh mozzarella drizzled with a balsamic reduction, which I ate most of. YUM. Inventive yet tame enough for Andrew.

We also split the Fall Creek Salad, which was Andrew’s choice. It was full of blueberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges and dried cranberries. My half also had feta, and this was served with three tiny wontons filled with cream cheese.

For dinner Andrew ordered the Espresso-dusted tenderloin, topped with fried shitake mushroom strips and sweet potato fries. I love that he likes sweet potato fries.

I was in the mood for salmon (I usually am at nice restaurants) and ordered the wild Coho salmon with yellow tomato and olive “relish”, atop a creamy garlic and asparagus risotto. INCREDIBLE. After our appetizer and salad, I wasn’t very hungry anymore (grrr), so I took much of this home. And the salmon fillet was GIANT. So, I’m looking forward to that for dinner tonight!

After dinner I was thinking about ice cream (Andrew had mentioned it earlier), why I’m not sure since I was FULL TO THE BRIM. Seriously, what is wrong with me?? Thankfully, Fowler’s is on their fall hours now, so they weren’t open, and Andrew suggested we walk to Taste for some late-night tea and coffee. He got a latte and I enjoyed a cup of warm ginger peach tea.

The jacket above is one of my best Goodwill finds; a Gap almost-brand-new navy blue blazer. LOVE IT.

my new favorite breakfast

maple/banana/nut butter toast!

Seriously, it is THE best.

I’m on a maple-kick right now, inspired both by my Justin’s Maple Almond Butter and the unopened maple spread that has been sitting in my pantry since last fall when Andrew and I spent a week in Quebec.

Get thee to a grocery store and find some maple spread as fast as you can! It is THAT good. You won’t find the specific brand I was using, but you might be able to find something like it, either with the maple syrups, honey or in the jam aisle. Or in the specialty/gourmet/organic foods section. And if you absolutely can’t find it, just drizzle some (real) maple syrup over the top.

Here’s what I did:

Toast a slice of whole grain bread, spread with your maple butter/spread/whatever you’re using, top with half a sliced banana, then drizzle with whatever nut butter you currently have open. Almond butter isn’t as rich to me as some peanut butters and sunflower seed butter, so I find it pairs well with other things. If you’re using syrup instead of maple butter, spread your nut butter on your warm toast, then add the banana and syrup.

I had this for breakfast two or three times and just raved to Andrew about it. He’s Mr. Picky and rarely strays from plain jam on toast, so I was floored this morning when he requested this concoction for breakfast! I called later to see how he liked it, and he said it was “outstanding.” This is big, people.

pineapples and mangoes…all the way from texas!

Someone in Texas loves me 🙂

My dear friend, Heather, sent me a little care package filled with all sorts of yummy things that remind her of me. Actually, she had a CD she needed to mail to me, so she thought she’d include some goodies…except that she forgot to put the CD in there! That is so Heather 🙂

It was a pineapple/mango-themed box with a few other goodies. Can you believe she sent a two-liter of soda?? In a box. From Texas. Apparently it’s big down there. Well, everything is big down there.

I’ve already tried the “Just Mango” bits in a cup of tea. Neat!

Lemon Bars…ahh, this is a joke between Heather and myself that WILL. NEVER. GO. AWAY. In a nutshell: in a rare moment of imperfection (ha!), I had to throw away a WHOLE BATCH of from-scratch lemon bars I’d made for her and my joint going-away party. I just had to re-do them! I thought I’d figured out what I’d done wrong, but after peeking in the oven at the second attempt, found that the same tragedy was about to occur! Heather and I quickly grabbed the sheet pan and hurriedly started fixing the still-hot shortbread crust with our bare hands! The memory should sting, but it doesn’t, and I grew up on these Krusteaz-brand goodies (my mom was a fan). So yes, I’ll give the box a try next time.

The note says, “My princess, you are purrfect.” All I can think about when I see the cover of this card is Antonio Banderas’s voice as Puss in Boots from Shrek, saying that phrase in a sultry way to the white cat. I love it.

Aww, she doesn’t want me to get sick! I agree, the Emergen-C powder drink packets are awesome. They come in all sorts of flavors now, but I used to have the orange and raspberry stashed away.

Yes, Heather does know me well. I LOVE off-the-wall grains for cooking. Hello amaranth and teff flours!

Boy, does she know me well! What could be better than mango jam? PINEAPPLE and mango jam! I cannot wait to try this stuff…

Thank you, Heather, for all my goodies! Give my love to Margaret and Silas–we miss all three of you so much!