Martha’s Vineyard 2012: Lilly & Lobster

Greetings from Martha’s Vineyard!

I’m on my yearly trip over to the island with my best friend and her parents.  I’m a lucky girl, they keep adopting me year after year for this trip ;)

Our trip started off as usual with a drive down to Woods Hole to hop on the Steamship over to Vineyard Haven.

Think we packed enough??  This was my stuff and Jocy’s stuff…me for 4 days, her for a week.

We thought the pile was pretty entertaining. 

Yesterday morning I decided to hit up the local Crossfit Box here on island…

(source)

I’m glad I went!  It was a pretty small gym, but everyone was really nice and I had a great workout to kick off my little vacation.

After a good warm-up consisting of sit-ups, over-head squats with PVC pipes, push-ups, and burpees we did this WOD:

• 800M run
• 30 ground-to-overhead (I did clean and jerks with 65lb)
• 30 burpees

It was a nice sweaty workout and I was back to the house less than 1 hour later!

Then after getting ready we decided it was lunch time.  We hit up one of our FAVORITE spots in Edgartown: The Atlantic.

I know I’ve said this before, but Jocy has got to be my favorite eating buddy because 99% of the time we love the same things and we both love sharing!

We split the tomato bisque

(they even pre-portioned it out into individual bowls for us)

and it comes with a mini grilled cheese with multiple types of cheese in there…including goat.

It’s just heaven

Somehow this grilled cheese and tomato soup has become probably become one of our Top 3 favorite meals on the island!

Then this happened….

I texted that picture to Brian…he said I wasn’t allowed in that store.

But he didn’t say anything about this store…

I only have 1 Lilly dress, from many years ago, and I wasn’t planning on it, but we decided to try stuff on :)    

And I did buy one….any guesses???

 

If I could have purchased them all I would have…

 

Ok I’ll tell you…the Navy one in the middle!  I was deciding between the Navy one and the one with the Yellow top.  The yellow was more comfortable, but the Navy fit like a glove and I could probably get more use out of it!  I was worried about the low back (see bottom right corner) but the dress is actually tight enough that I could go sans bra!  Woo hoo!  The dress is actually an Emma Graham dress, I got it at In the Pink which usually sells all Lilly Pulitzer stuff but they had a few of these too…the pink one I tried on (also LOVED that one) was also Emma Graham!

The day concluded with purchasing some delightful cheese, olives, and salami from here:

And finally this beast for dinner…

Jumbo lobsters were on sale at the Edgartown Seafood Market.  Joc and I treated her parents (and us) to a nice 5 pounder!!  We had it cooked and then her and I took all the meat out.  We were going to have hot lobster rolls.

That would be the lobster next to a standard point and shoot. 

 

Mmmm Mr. Lobster you were delicious.  I was a little worried because I have heard larger lobsters can have tougher meat, but not this one!  Tender and flavorful!  We had a nice big salad and I had a pile of lobster meat.  We feasted :)

Time to head to the beach!  Have a lovely day!!

Sweet and Savory Pancakes {paleo}

I experimented with a couple pancake recipes this weekend, both of which would fall under the “paleo” category.  Of course then I went a head and had maple syrup on the sweet ones, and cheese on the savory ones…but really, who wouldn’t? 

First on Saturday, I made some Almond-Coconut pancakes!



Almond Coconut Pancakes
serves 2

• 1 cup Almond Flour (or Almond Meal works too)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (or unsweetened coconut, I actually had some organic unsweetened defatted coconut that I used)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3-3/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk (I used vanilla flavored unsweetened Almond milk)
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil (melted if needed)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine almond flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together to combine.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork then add almond milk, coconut oil, and honey.  Mix to combine, then add wet ingredients to dry.  Stir until mixture is combined.  If your batter is looking too thick, or thickens upon standing, add a little milk until it's pancake batter consistency!

Heat a griddle or skillet over med heat.  Use coconut oil or grassfed butter to grease the pan.  Once the pan is hot, add batter in desired size, cook until edges look done then flip.  Adjust heat while cooking incase the pan gets too hot.  Cook 2-3 more minutes or until pancakes look done. 

Serve as desired! 

Like I said we had real maple syrup, banana sliced, and Brian had butter on his (I’ve never been a fan of butter on pancakes). 

These were light, and had a nice subtle coconut flavor to them!  Really delicious.  I’m think next time I might add 1/4 tsp almond extract to really make the almond flavor come out as well. 

Brian loved them too, and he could care less about them being Paleo/low carb.



My savory pancake recipe was a true experiment, as I’ve never made anything like them before.  
I was flying solo this morning, Brian had gone up to NH for a friend’s b-day Sat night-Sunday, I stayed home with my new cold that came about Friday :/

I was hungry but had no idea what I was in the mood for.  Then I spotted a leftover, fully cooked sweet potato from the other night!  I also wanted an egg, and maybe something with cheese and hot sauce. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve made potato pancakes but I do remember egg was the binder.  I guess this would be more like a mashed (sweet) potato pancake!

Savory Sweet Potato Pancake
serves 1

• 1 small cooked sweet potato
• 1 egg, beaten
• hot sauce (to you’re liking)
• 1/4 tsp dried garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1-2 tsp butter
• optional: cheddar or gouda (or your favorite) cheese, about 1 slice or a few small slices if it’s cut from a large chunk.

Cut your cooked sweet potato in half then scrap out all the flesh into a small mixing bowl.  Mash with a fork to get rid of any big lumps.  Add the beaten egg, hot sauce (I did about 4-5 shakes, wish I did more!), and garlic (I used Garlic Gold).  At this point you could really add any other seasonings you might want! 

Heat a small skillet over med-high heat, melt some butter in the pan, just enough to have a nice coating on the bottom.  Once the pan is good and hot, make 2 equal size pancakes with your batter.  Cook 3-5 min per side until cooked through and golden browned. 

Add cheese on one half and place other pancake on top.



Serve with sour cream if you like!  I actually added some more hot sauce on top too.
I really loved these!  I think next time I’d grate the cheese and add it right into the batter. 
If I had to eat them without the cheese or sour cream, I’d like some sliced tomato with them to add a cool refreshing contrast to the pancake. 



For a breakfast “dessert” I had some blueberries and banana



In other news, I have an important decision to make.  I ordered some new sneakers for Crossfit and of course it’s down to the colors ;)



My initial favorite was the pink/green, but I’m actually leading towards the purple/orange ones!  Thoughts?  I’m picking one by the time I go to Crossfit tomorrow night!
And for fun, and Outfit post!

  

One of these days I’ll take a nice "fashion” shot, outdoors with the wind blowing in my hair and the sun casting a nice glow on my skin. 
But for now, it’s iphone in the office bathroom…  yeah. 
This outfit was revolved around that blue skirt…love that skirt.

• blue pencil skirt – Ann Taylor
• grey cardigan – Old Navy
• magenta shirt (which you can’t see) – Banana Republic
• mustard scarf – Target
• grey/yellow/gold t-strap heals – Seychelles from Nordstrom

If you have tomorrow off…lucky you!  I’ll be heading back to work like normal.  At least traffic will be a lot better.

Time for some frozen yogurt and then getting to bed early!  I hope :)

What’s your favorite thing to put in or on pancakes???  Maple syrup…all the way, the real stuff of course.  I look for any excuse to put maple syrup on anything!!  (except savory pancakes that is)

A Monday Mélange

Happy Monday Friends! 

What better way to start off the week than a nice post chock full of randomness!  But really, these are my favorite types of posts :)

So the weekend:

I had two Birthday’s to celebrate this past weekend…and exactly 29 years apart!

My friend’s daughter turned 1!!

There’s nothing better than watching a 1 year old go at it with her very own birthday cake!

She was particularly fond of the frosting…my kind of girl!

Later that night it was back into Boston to celebrate a friend’s 30th! 

I swear 30th birthday’s are the new “wedding” of 2012 for me…I have 30th birthday parties the next 2 weekends as well!

Saturday the party started with dinner at Marliave in downtown Boston.  I’ve never been before but it had some great reviews and it turned out to be a great spot!

It’s in a very old building downtown and they like to play up the old 1920’s speakeasy vibe.

I ordered the Tres Curieux and it was one of the best drinks I think I’ve EVER had!!  Perfect “Bridget” cocktail…tart, citrusy, not too sweet, refreshing, and best of all can’t taste the alcohol ;)

I had 2.

I’d go back just for this drink!  After dinner we headed over to Ned Devine’s for some drinks, music, and dancing!  I haven’t been there in a while…and still not my favorite place.  I felt slightly old too haha…but man the people watching was top notch!  And why are so many girls wearing like super tight super short black skirts!?  Like SOOO short, I was wondering if they were shorts or skirts?!  Ok, now I just sound old.

Side note:

I hung my super cute new kitchen-theme calendar my bff got me for Christmas

It’s from Anthropologie, and each month has an adorable water color image!  

Speaking of Anthro…I was LOVING my outfit today, unfortunately I had no luck with a photo.  I was too busy this morning, and Brian wasn’t home when I got home, then I had to run off to Crossfit.

So it was this Anthro dress I got 50% off after Christmas

Gold belt, red cardigan (Banana Republic)

(my sad attempt at the photo)

Fun off-white knit tights and navy wedges (Nine West)

New hair do!  Got my 12-week cut and color this weekend too!

Love that “new hair” smell and feel!

Some Food?

How about super fast, super convenient stir fry!!

I know I’ve mentioned it before but keeping a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer is a great staple to have in the house.

Then to make your life even easier, once in a while it’s ok to cheat it and have the lovely folks at Whole Foods chop your veggies.  I admit this is the first time I’ve ever bought their pre-cut “stir fry” veggies, but it was nice for a change. 

Add in 60 second Brown Rice…and dinner is served in NO time!

We did a quick stir fry with the following:

• chop 2-3 cloves garlic and sauté over med/high heat
• Add your veggies 
• start to season:  I used soy sauce, ground ginger, juice from 1/2 of a large orange, plus some zest, siracha sauce.
• Cook for 4-5 minutes, then add in shrimp.
• Add any more seasonings and sauces that you want.
• Cook until shrimp are done, if I don’t have a lot of liquid in my pan I’ll throw on the cover for a few minutes too.
• serve over brown rice

Boom!  Dinner.

As I said in my last post, usually on Sundays I cook a longer, more thought out meal, but that just doesn’t always happen.  Then nights like tonight where I go to Crossfit from 7-8pm, these fast dinners are REALLY helpful. 

Well I think that about does it for 1 post.  Have a great night!!

What’s your favorite seasonings/sauces to use in stir-fry's??  I always go right to the soy sauce, but it would be nice to switch it up!

Homemade Pork Pot Stickers

Well the long holiday weekend is over, and it was back to work for me and I’m sure most of you!  I was lucky enough to be able to do some field work this morning (i.e. I was outside and it was GORGEOUS out today!), so my first day back was alright ;)

I recently received a few coupons to try out some Nasoya products!  I cashed in this weekend, and was most excited to try out the wonton wrappers!

Wonton wrappers are one of those products I’ve seen on countless blogs and it seems the possibilities for them are endless.  However, I wanted to start simple and decided to try my hand at some homemade pot stickers!

I remembered seeing Elina’s video a while back and it seemed pretty simple. 

I browsed a few recipes and ultimately combined them to make my own version using ground pork (I tend to steer clear of poultry the days following Thanksgiving weekend…turkey overload).

Pork Pot Stickers
Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/2 lb lean ground pork
• 1 cup finely chopped Napa cabbage
• 1 cup finely chopped Bok Choy
• 1 T low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp fresh peeled, minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup diced shitake mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions
• 24 wonton wrappers (such as Nasoya)
• 2 tsp canola oil, divided
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• Dipping Sauce of choice! (such as Trader Joe’s Gyozo sauce)

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-med/high heat, spray with canola oil cooking spray, add pork and cook for 3-4 min until meat is mostly cooked.  Then add garlic, ginger, and mushrooms, and continue cooking 2-3 min more.
2. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, cabbage, and bok choy.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until the cabbage and bok choy begins to wilt.
3. Add lemon zest and scallions, cook for another 2 min.  Turn off heat, and set aside.
4. Now you’ll want to prepare a “wrapping station”: get your wonton wrappers ready, have a small bowl of water for dipping your fingers, and have your filling nearby.  Wash your hands!
5. Take 1 wonton, spoon a small amount of filling (just under a Tbsp), and place it in the center of your wonton wrapper.  Wet your fingers in the water, and rub water around all 4 edges of your wrapper.
6. Bring corners of wonton wrapper together and press the edges to seal in the filling.  You create a triangle shaped pot sticker.  Transfer to a platter and continue until all the filling is used up.
7. At this point you can re-use your pan and just wipe it down with a paper towel.
8. Heat the pan at med heat and add 1 tsp canola oil.  Add 12 of your pot stickers to the pan seam side up, and cook for 1-2 min until the bottoms start to brown.  Then add 1 cup broth, cover, and cook for 4-5 min or until wonton skins look softened and cooked.
9. Repeat step 8 with remaining pot stickers, pouring out excess broth after the first batch. 
10. Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce!

These were AWESOME!!  Loved the filling even on it’s own! The hint of lemon was so delicious.

Notes:

• I shredded my cabbage and bok choy in the food processor.
• I also chopped up extras of all my veggie ingredients to make a lo Mein to go with the meal!  I used Lizzy’s recipe as a a guide, minus the shrimp, and just using the veggies I had chopped up plus some broccoli and broccoli slaw.  I used the Nasoya Chinese noodles for the lo mien. 

Veggie Lo Mein actions

The pot stickers were really the star of the meal!   

Next time I’m making a huge batch a head of time, having a wonton-filling assembly line with help from Brian and just keep these babies in the freezer.  If you want to freeze them, fill them, seal them, then freeze them on a cookie sheet first then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container.

Now on a random note I HAVE to share a new purchase with you.

So I realize this isn’t exactly a “share worthy” outfit, but the item I wanted to show you was my fun new leggings!!

They are from Nordstrom (hosiery dept), Navy blue with a fun Nordic print on the lower leg!  They also come in grey.  I love them.