how I spent my Thursday

…NOT studying, I can tell you that.

I baked instead.

Well, first I blogged at 4:30 in the morning, because that’s when the dog got me up.

And then I swam, followed by a marathon-shopping trip to Wegmans for a few essentials (we were almost out of milk already!) and goodies for Andrew’s Easter basket. I got myself a coffee and put my feet up at one of their cafe tables to chat on the phone before I even ventured into produce. Can you tell I’m on a break from school?

Well, as the clock neared 11 (I arrived just after 9 a.m.) I realized I’d better go going or I’d never get anything done. I raced home to whip up Steakhouse Side Macaroni and Cheese, a recipe that caught my eye in last month’s Cooking Light.

It’s just what the name says; it incorporates all the famous sides from a steakhouse (creamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms and an iceberg wedge with bacon and blue cheese) into one dish. It was good, but not fantastic. It was almost a little weird–if you’ve craving that traditional, orange-cheesey mac, this is NOT IT. But it was yummy and fun to put together. And (relatively) healthy.

And THEN I baked. And baked.

My desire to “send Abigail and Grandma home with some goodies” after the Easter weekend has turned into making goodie bags for all my nearest and dearest here.

Susy just gave me the Clinton St. Baking Company cookbook, so I tried their ‘brookie’ recipe. Easy and so good. I mean, what’s better than a cookie and a brownie mixed together? I’d also pulled out a recipe for some sort of mocha muffin awhile ago, making a mental note at the time to make them for Abigail when she was home from school, so I whipped up some mini-muffins to spread the wealth.

I even went all out and got Easter baggies and treat boxes. If only I could spend ALL my time doing stuff like this… I have a few more things to make this weekend before I’m finished: almond butter bars (recipe will be added here soon) for the goodie boxes, as well as some savory muffins and Pioneer Woman’s Tres Leches cake for Easter Sunday. Some lucky ducks are going to get some sweet surprises this weekend!

And then I did the dishes.

After fitting in some co-op work, a dog walk and–eventually–some studying for my Micro test, I headed back into the kitchen to make dinner. At 8 p.m. Because that’s when Andrew came home. Good grief.

I didn’t take a photo, but I made Pioneer Woman’s Sloppy Joe’s (I’m on a never-ending hunt for the best recipe from scratch) to see if they were better than our current favorite, Cooking Light’s version. They weren’t, but they were still very good. Very similar. Amazingly, Andrew professed a love for CL’s recipe, which is just fine with me, since it’s probably healthier.

Andrew’s off tomorrow, so I’m planning a workout, then brunch, then more baking/studying before meeting a friend for a mid-afternoon “snack/lunch” at Danny’s, a local favorite. Then, it’s pizza and wings and HOMEMADE APPLE PIE (it’s been in my freezer just waiting for the perfect occasion) at the Layer’s house with Abigail and Grandma 🙂

Zebb’s

We were feelin’ a night out yesterday since we’d been in all day. Well, that’s not true–I did my usual Saturday morning routine of: eating a huge breakfast, hitting up Wegmans around 8 a.m. (before it gets busy), then swimming at the gym and returning home at 11, and Andrew was at the office from 10-3–but when it was pushing 4 p.m. and both of us were still in sweats, we needed a change!

We headed out for a visit at the in-laws’ before stopping at Taste for coffee (decaf for me), then running some errands at the Verizon store (clear display covers for my phone–post coming soon to show you my new case!) and shovels at Lowe’s. You know, because we live in Buffalo now and it snows here…a lot. We’ve gotten by so far this year on a metal dirt shovel and we’ve been lucky to have a mild winter. (I think God is smiling on us transplants since we don’t have a garage for our cars–NOT fun.)

Anyway, we ended up at Zebb’s, a sport-bar-like place I drive by all the time and that Andrew frequented a bit in high school.

It’s a bar and grill and they’re known for their burgers. They also have entree’s, wings (of course) and sandwiches.

We asked to sit in the bar area and were seating long before some who had arrived before us. We also had some of the best service I’ve had in awhile, if not ever. Colin was awesome.

We both ended up with Blue Moons (the pint for me, the tall for Andrew) and a sample of Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat because, well, I wouldn’t be ‘me’ if I didn’t have a sample of something. The cherry wheat was good, but not as good as a Blue Moon.

We got wings as an appetizer. I swear, since moving here, I’ve eaten more wings in these few months than I ever have before in my life. This is, of course, both good and bad. Good for my sense of ‘culture’ and assimilation into my new surroundings; bad for my hips. And thighs. And arteries.

I saw the “ZebbOriginalWings” and immediately wanted them, but the bleu cheese turned Andrew off, of course. Awesome Colin said we could split an order and I eagerly anticipated their arrival.

And yes, they were everything I hoped for, and more. They had enough “buffalo” flavor to fulfill that ubiquitous ‘wing taste,’ but with a kick of something more. Not spicy, just really flavorful. The bleu cheese wasn’t a dominant flavor, and Andrew was brave enough to give it a try. We just might be ordering those next time…we both ended up saving the sauce to dip our fries!

Andrew had ordered a medium on the spicy-scale when we thought we were sharing, but Colin got the impression Andrew wanted a bit more heat than me, so he went ahead and bumped Andrew’s up to HOT… Talk about great service! Andrew enjoyed his wings, but they were no Pasquale’s.

Hockey is KING here, in case you didn’t know, and a tournament was on TV. Really, all sports are pretty big here–the Bills Stadium is just a mile or so from Zebb’s–and watching football and hockey is very much a part of life here in Buffalo. Guess I’m going to have to get a t-shirt…

Zebb’s is known for their burgers and topping bar (think Fuddrucker’s), and I’m a junkie for anything a restaurant is “known for,” so I went with the smallest burger and added cheese. I mean, doesn’t cheese just make it? A burger without cheese, to me, isn’t worth eating.

Speaking of eating… I was good and only ate two of my wings in order to save room (and calories!) for my burger and fries. But the angelic behavior ended there; I DEMOLISHED my burger and fries, with mayo, no less! I must have been hungry. And honestly, the burger wasn’t THAT good. Definitely not good enough to eat it all. Next time, I’ll stick to wings and fries 🙂

Meanwhile, it was snowing outside:

When we entered, there wasn’t really any snow on the ground. By the time we left, it was blizzarding enough for us to have to drive slowly and there was about an inch or so on the ground. It may sound odd, but I love that about living here–I love that you can go see a movie and come out to a completely different scene than when you entered. (This, I’m sure, will get old after awhile. But for now, it makes me smile.)

We’re going out, again, tonight to meet friends at Pearl Street (yay!), which might just mean more indulgent food for yours truly… Good thing I did a tempo run this morning before church!

a list

1. I start school tomorrow. I’m uncharacteristically nonchalant about this. I’m prepared and ready to go back, but not nervous in the slightest. Have I, dare I say it, grown up?

2. I made a friend today! Actually, one of Andrew’s friends. Is that weird? One of Andrew’s friends from high school found me on Facebook, started reading my blog (yay!), then emailed me. We really hit it off and met for coffee today, then the BOGO shoe sale at the local running store. She and I are very similar (which makes sense, I suppose, since Andrew and she were good friends) and are looking forward to a dinner date with our respective spouses.

3. Speaking of running shoes… I bought two pairs for what I paid last summer in Carmel for one. Sheesh. Good running shoes, for me, are akin to air, water and peanut butter, so at the end of the day, I’ll pay a pretty penny if I have to. But, scoring a good deal for your pair of choice online isn’t always easy, so I was jazzed that the shoe sale today yielded another pair of my current style and a trail runner with support for me to wear in the snow. SWEET!

4. All I wanted to do this winter break was cook and bake, but with three trips in as many weeks, I didn’t exactly have the free time I’d anticipated. However, I’ve been making up for lost time these last couple days! I’ve made two loaves of sourdough, a giant batch of sourdough waffles to freeze, pumpkin granola, ham stock with the leftover Thanksgiving ham bone (destined for ham bone soup tomorrow), pumpkin-cranberry rolls and a menu for the week chock full of new recipes, to include cod and mung beans (not together). I. CANNOT. WAIT.

5. I made the best kale ever tonight–Andrew said it was a ‘Top 10,’ which is saying something since he’s so picky. It’s a recipe I replicated from something I got at Earth Fare this past week in Ohio. I’m blogging about kale this week for the co-op, so be sure to check it out there for my recipe!

6. I also made some great cauliflower (Andrew said “he’d eat it again”) tonight using a recipe a gal we met while in Canandaigua sent me. It’s a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. In terms of cauliflower, it was fantastic.

7. I was reading the Jan/Feb issue of Cooking Light on the elliptical this morning. Mistake. EVERYTHING in there is awesome. (Except that I can’t make half of it due to Andrew’s dislike of cheese.) Sad.

8. This month’s Cuisine at Home is also a winner. Between the two of them, I found recipes for Pad Thai and Tom Kha Gai soup–my two favorite things to order when we go out for Thai food.

9. I’m trying to figure out a new gym schedule for next semester that includes a yoga class… All the good ones are at times I’m unavailable! It’s either going at night (not my first choice) or cutting it close between the gym and class. Decisions, decisions.

10. There is a pair of boots I’ve been drooling over since before Christmas, and I’ve been itching to order them ever since. Theoretically, I have the fun money to do it, but after all Hadrian’s trips to the vet, our traveling (gas, food, Starbucks…), random impulse buys (ahem, the shoe sale and those $20 LOFT pants that fit like a glove), I feel like I need to keep waiting. Again, I ask, does this mean I’ve grown up? (No, probably not, since I’m also daydreaming about this awesome J.Crew dress I found to wear to not one, but TWO occasions this year…)