pumpkin oatmeal

Today was a picture perfect fall day. Temperatures were in the high 60’s to low 70’s, there was a nice breeze and the sun was shining brightly. Today was one of those days where I am so happy to live where I live and enjoy a day like this. I don’t want fall to end!

I know the cold harsh winter is on its way (No!), but until then, I tend to cherish every moment of this beautiful fall weather. Today I celebrated by going on a challenging bike ride. I’m swapping one of my run days for biking in effort to heal my injured ankle. Speaking of the ankle, after a couple trips to the wonderful Dr. Kari, it has been determined that it is not my tendon but my ligaments. Good news: it’s not going to kill me and I will be able to do the half marathon in 4 weeks (OMG!). Bad news: ligaments take longer to heal than tendons. Hence, the bike. It was a fabulous day for a ride! In fact, I didn’t once wish I was running. It was nice to have a change of pace and just go all out on the bike.

I digress. Back to fall. Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the weather, the leaves, and the food that comes along with it. I’m a big fan of soups, stews, and anything warm and comforting that I can eat while wearing cozy pants.

One of my favorite ingredients during the fall months (heck, all year really) is pumpkin. I love everything about pumpkin …. well, except one thing. Pie. I really do not like pumpkin pie. I’m not sure why as I love everything else with pumpkin in it. One of those quirky things about me.

Currently, I’ve been enjoying pumpkin oatmeal. As you may know, I’m a big fan of oatmeal. The pumpkin version of oatmeal is super easy and such a treat. It screams fall. Please try it. It’ll make you a believer.

Pumpkin Oatmeal for One

Note: You can do this either on the stove top or in the microwave. If I use the microwave, I opt for quick cooking oats and if I’m using the stove top, I use regular rolled oats.

1/2 cup oats (quick cooking or regular are both fine)

3/4 cups water

1/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling). I use Libby’s, but you can use any kind you fancy.

1/4 cup milk (cow, soy or almond)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp. maple syrup or brown sugar (Honey, agave, or plain sugar are fine too. Maple Syrup is my favorite.)

Microwave:

Combine oats and water and cook in a large bowl (so it doesn’t boil over) and microwave for 1 minute. Add pumpkin and milk and cook for another minute or until it is at desired consistency. Add cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and syrup and any additional toppings. Enjoy!

Stove top:

Combine oats and water and cook over low heat until most of the water is absorbed, stirring often. Add pumpkin and milk and cook until it is at desired consistency (about 3-5 minutes). Pour into a bowl and add spice and syrup and any additional add-toppings. Enjoy!

To jazz it up even more, try topping your oats with one or more of the following:

• toasted walnuts, pecans or other nut of choice
• flax seeds or chia seeds (my latest obsession)
• a dollop of greek yogurt or more milk
• dried cranberries
• banana slices

Question: What are you excited to eat now that it’s fall? Any fall recipes you’d like to see?

my healthy lifestyle

This past weekend I went to cheer on my friend Meghan as she kicked butt at the IronGirl Duathlon.

You probably guessed by the name that it is an all-female event. There were females of all ages. In fact, I saw a 71-year old cross the finish line! There were all shapes and sizes of women as well. I know everyone of them had a story and somewhere in the story there is something in them that strives to live a healthy lifestyle. I’m willing to bet that a “healthy lifestyle” means something different to each of them.

I participated in this event back in 2006. It was a great experience and I loved it.

I’m in the middle and apparently clapping because I’m happy to be done.

There were a few cheesy moments at the IronGirl. I remember crossing the finish line and hearing the announcer (after butchering my last name – a common occurrence) say, “welcome to your new healthy lifestyle”. I thought it was so funny. Apparently, I wasn’t healthy before that event.  It did make me pause and think that I was definitely healthier than I had been in the past. Today, I think I’m the healthiest I’ve been in my life. A lot of that has to do with my definition of healthy. At most points of my life, I’ve considered myself a healthy person. I have always been active and I’ve always considered myself a healthy eater – though as I said, my definition of health has shifted.  It has morphed and changed greatly throughout my life.

I have gone through all sorts of phases and fads – who hasn’t? Okay, if you haven’t, don’t tell me. I would like to believe that I wasn’t the only one who loved the Snackwell’s fat-free products. Anyone?

That whole fat-free craze was a doozy and I was completely sold on it. I really thought that as long as it didn’t have fat in it, it was good for me and I could pretty much eat as much of it as I wanted to.  What? An entire box of honeycomb cereal isn’t healthy? Bummer.

Around the time of the Irongirl back in 2006, I was really starting to get in shape. I was biking a ton and was starting to get into running.However, my diet wasn’t the best. Don’t get me wrong, I ate plenty of whole grains, fruits & veggies and lean meats, but I was also eating a ton of processed food. I was trying to lose a few lbs and got into the habit of eating things like fat-free/sugar-free pudding, fat-free/sugar-free yogurts, reduced-fat crackers and cookies, fat -free cool whip, and I was buying splenda by the case. No joke. I was literally a giant chemical. To me, I was healthy. I did lose some pounds, I was working out regularly and thought I was eating so many “healthy” things.

Things started to change for me the next year. I started reading more about the food I was eating and taking a look things like partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. Meghan and I even gave each of those things up for lent and after each of those 40-day segments, I never went back to including them into my diet. I also read a couple of key books:  Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. (Side note: I read of each of these on a vacation. Brette really loved it as I was shouting out facts about how much feces is in meat as we were lying on the beach!) Both of those books were so inspiring and motivating for me to clean up my diet. I really took a hard look at what I was putting in my body and started to put more focus on eating real food. I was also paying attention to where my food was coming from and how it got to my plate. This was a turning point. My definition of ‘healthy’ started to change drastically.

St. Lucia – where I read the Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Over the past year or so, it has changed even more as I’ve realized health is not just eating well and exercising. To me, it’s a much more complete package. I believe it can be different for everyone. Living a healthy lifestyle does not mean you have a perfect body or that you are a mega-athlete. At least not to me.

Here’s how I define my healthy lifestyle.  I will admit, I am far from perfect at all of them; they are a work in progress. It is all about the choices we make every day. I try to make choices that reflect the following:

• I eat real food. I do have a focus of whole grains, lots of veggies and fruits, and lean proteins. I don’t eat to much processed food and I try to listen to what my body tells me. With that said, I don’t think any food is really off limits. I think things like cookies, chocolate, red wine, butter, and all things bread have their place in a healthy diet.  I think eating a variety of foods helps me not get bored and it can help me keep things in moderation. I also know where my food comes from. When I do eat meat, I’m picky about it. I’m not interested in a side of anti-biotics. I keep it local as often as a I can. All the cool kids are doing it.
• I work out. I do it because I like it and it makes me feel good. I’m also very competitive so training for various events makes me happy. Exercising is also a great stress reliever for me and I tend to have more energy when I work out regularly. And it’s a great thing to do with friends!
• I stay connected. I’m blessed with a wonderful family, truly awesome friends and hands-down, the best husband ever. I think having an active social life and a strong support system is one of the most important healthy habits. I know these people have my back and that’s huge.
• I am nice to myself. I will admit, this is the hardest one for me. I am constantly reminding myself that negative self-talk does not make a healthy life. So I don’t have rock hard abs. Never have and never will. However, I’m very strong and athletic. Not to mention, I make a killer cioppino. Take that abs! Seriously, we can all take a lesson from this one. Be nice to yourself and remind your friends to do the same.
• I dig the outdoors. The past few years, I’ve been doing quite a bit of gardening. I think it’s very therapeutic. It also helps with number one on this list – eating real food. I also spend a lot of time biking and running outdoors. It is so good for the soul. I get to enjoy the beautiful parks and trails that the Minneapolis/St. Paul area has to offer and it is a great opportunity for “think” time or just to clear your head.

So, that is what I’m doing to lead a healthy-lifestyle. I’d love to hear your opinions and what healthy means to you? We are all on our own journey and I do not believe there is a right or wrong. Though I might challenge you if you are still buying splenda by the case….

chez pat

My husband’s in the kitchen right now preparing something he’s calling Ghetto Apple Turnovers. It’s for his apple potluck at work tomorrow. Here’s the recipe:

Ghetto Apple Turnovers

1 pkg. pillsbury crescent roll dough

1 apple

cinnamon

sugar

Directions: Get your wife to peel the apple at 9:00pm because you’re “just not good with a knife. YOU KNOW THAT!” Separate the crescent dough into triangles. Have your wife slice the apple into bake-able sized slices. Place one apple slice inside each dough triangle. Toss some sugar and cinnamon on the apple. Roll the dough up around the apple slice. Sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake in the oven at something like 350 degrees for however many minutes it says on the dough package. Eat and enjoy (and share with wife.)

gourmet dinner club: amuse-bouche

Amuse what?

The theme for the latest gathering of my Gourmet Dinner Club was amuse-bouche. An amuse is a one-bite appetizer. That’s right. Just one bite. Every flavor must come through in that one bite.

This was a stressful one for me. I really wanted to come up with something on my own and not go with a recipe. I mean, it’s just one bite, right? Yep, just one bite. That’s the stressful part.

What we ended up with were lots of fabulous one bites. This group amazes me every time we get together. The food (and wine) is always wonderful, different and so much fun! My friend Kari was hosting and we got to enjoy her gorgeous backyard space.

I thought long and hard about what to make – running gives you lots of time to think about important things likes this. I knew I wanted to take advantage of the current Minnesota produce and create my one bite out of things I could source from the farmer’s market. I finally came up with an idea based on one of my favorite salads. In my mind it sounded delicious, but I’ve been burned by that before so there was no guarantee.

The base was a slice of honeycrisp apple (which I currently cannot get enough of). On top of that, I piped some blue cheese mashed potatoes (which were warm) and on top of that sat a chunk of smoked trout. Nestled below the trout was a tart dried cherry (from Seattle!) and I put another one right on top.

I must say, these were a big hit and they tasted just how I imagined them too. The sweet crisp apple against the creamy pungent blue cheese potatoes along with the smokiness of the trout and then the tart cherry….flavor fireworks going on in my mouth.

Next to my dish above is a lovely roasted tomato soup with crab that Kari made. Yes, it was a little more than one bite but we gave her a pass since it was so delicious. :) She used a variety of tomatoes all from her garden. Her tomatoes kick my tomatoes ass.

Aren’t they beautiful?

Let me give you the run down of all the other delectables that came to the table.

Shrimp and pea pods – showing that simple can be perfect.

East and west coast oysters – complete with two different dipping sauces. This was a such a treat! Liza had never experienced an oyster before….

She’s a believer now.

Lee on the other hand….not a believer. She avoided those slippery little suckers.

She did make me a believer of radishes with herbed butter. It’s so Ina Garten!

I love any bite that includes a crusty piece of bread. Here are two that are so simple and easy, but incredibly tasty.

On the left is hummus topped with an avocado slice and some cracked pepper. Can we have a moment of silence for the awesomeness of hummus?

Thanks.

If you haven’t tried making your own yet, please go do it right this minute. It will take you about 30 seconds. Need a recipe? I happen to have one here.

On the right side of this platter is crostini with goat cheese and cardamom grape jelly. Sounds a little weird, right? These babies disappeared quickly. It was such a unique flavor combo but they were super tasty. Kari found the jelly at the Mill City’s Farmer’s Market.

Amanda not only brought an amuse, but a baby!
He slept through the whole thing so Amanda was double fisting it with wine and the baby monitor. Her amuse was a spread consisting of prosciutto, cheese and some sriracha and cayenne for spice. I must admit I had to have a few plain crackers as a chaser as they had a definite kick! That Amanda loves her spice. Seriously.

Not to self: learn how to focus your camera. You’ll notice a few blurry photos in the mix today. I’m working on it. Really I am.

One of my favorites of the night was the Honey Parsnip Soup that Liza made.

Aren’t they adorable? Those are sweet potato crisps sticking out of them. I cannot wait to make a huge batch of this soup so that I can eat a big bowl – instead of just the shooter!

Liza was kind enough to share the recipe which she found here. Parsnips are in season right now so it’s the perfect time to make this. I’d also make a few extra sweet potato crisps for good measure.

Can we talk dessert?

We were lucky that we had two!

Kari made a classic fresh fig and gorgonzola bite.

It’s super easy and super impressive. Top a halved fig with some good gorgonzola and pop in a hot oven until melted. Yum.

Then along came Michael. Michael is new to the GDC and after his dessert, we will never let him go. First, let me introduce Michael.

Michael is even cuter when he’s in focus. He also brings creme fraiche. We like that about him.

Michael made a tomato tarte tatin. This was hard for my mind to get around – the whole tomato in a dessert thing. I know it’s a fruit, but to me tomatoes are savory. I like them sliced with salt, in soups, in salads, topped with mozzarella or on a sandwich. In a dessert? No way! My brain could not fathom this. However, after my ‘one bite’, my brain didn’t give a damn. It just wanted more.

Can you see the gooey, sticky goodness? It happens when you cook tomatoes with butter and sugar. Why have I not done this before?

Do you have extra tomatoes in your garden? Make this. Michael brought us all copies of the recipe and I found it online here.

Don’t like tomatoes? This might be one way that works for you. I really thought a fight might break out as we were snatching up the last bites. It can get kind of crazy at the GDC.

See? Shelby event wanted in on the action.

Fun times were had by all and Kari was an excellent host…who I do not have a photo of from the evening. Take my word for it. She’s beautiful and awesome and a fantastic chef.

***I realize I did not do a post about our Indian themed GDC from August so I’m going to have to recreate that one. I must create more time in my life to blog! :)

What have you been cooking up with your friends? Have any of you tried an amuse-bouche theme?

i am a runner

Sometimes I still giggle when I call myself a runner. If you would have asked me to go for a run 10 years ago, I would have laughed out loud and told you how much I hated running.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like exercise. I’ve always been extremely active. In high school, I played competitive volleyball and softball and loved it. During the first practices though, I loathed the running part of conditioning. (Any LHS peeps reading remember running laps around the stairs? I hated those).

During college, I continued to play intramural volleyball and softball and worked out on a fairly regular basis. It was never running though. Either team sports or something like the elliptical machine – anything that was NOT running. Next came my love affair with biking – a step into the solo sport arena. I still vowed to never be a runner. Those people were crazy.

Then a turn of events. It all started with an agreement. I talked my friend Jackie into doing a 300 mile bike tour as long as I did a 5K (5 days vs. 30 minutes? Nice). That was a huge deal for me. I know there are many people out there that can just go out and run 3 miles even if they haven’t run in a long time or ever. I’m not one of those people. It took me a while (and a lot of encouragement) to get up to the 3.1 mile mark. BUT, I did it! It was tough, but it was a great accomplishment. Once it was over, I did not feel the need to run any further. I did continue to run the shorter distances as a challenge, but I never really loved it or felt that runner’s high that I so longingly wanted.

Fast forward to 2007. Two key events happened this year to get me to run longer distances.

The first was an injury. I was starting to have a lot of knee pain during and after my runs. I went to a psychical therapist to have it checked out and get some suggestions on how to fix it. He spent quite a bit of time watching me run and having me do all sorts of exercises. He gave me some suggestions and then said something I will never forget.

“You will never be a runner”.

He didn’t know me well. I never wanted to be a runner until he said those six words. There is nothing that gets me going more than someone telling me I can’t do something. Just thinking about that meeting right now has the hair on my neck standing up.

Around the same time this occurred, we were propositioned by our good friends, BK and Carin. They are serious runners. Carin has run multiple marathons and BK had just completed his first. They were looking for a new marathon to run and were considering one in San Francisco. They asked us if we wanted to come along for the trip. I answered immediately. “Sure, we’d love to go and cheer you on!” That wasn’t really what they had in mind. They wanted us to consider running the full or half marathon. “What? Crazy talk! That is way more than a 5k!”. After much discussion between Brette and I, somehow we talked ourselves into it with a little shoving prodding from our friends. I liked that it would be in San Francisco where the weather was cooler and we were both amped about running out and back over the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was during the training for that event that made me start to like running.

The first thing I did was find a new physical therapist. :) She helped me so much. I told her I was going to be doing a half marathon in 11 months and she was supportive and encouraging from the start. I basically had to re-learn how to run because my gait was all messed up. This was a major mental challenge, but as the weeks went by, it became easier and easier. I was also doing specific exercises to strengthen my quads and my glutes. Once our official training plan started I was good to go. Somewhere in my training I began to look forward to running. Pretty soon a 5 mile run was no big deal – in fact, I thought it was easy. I started to zone out and use running as a stress reliever. Who knew?

The San Francisco half marathon was a great experience and I was beaming crossing the finish line. The rush is so hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it. That was the hardest I had ever pushed myself physically and I cannot wait to experience it again. I can’t thank BK and Carin enough for their encouragement. I know we were a tough sell but they were very persistent and I love them for that.

Our crazy runner friends enjoying themselves in wine country...before the San Francisco Marathon.

It wasn’t until after that race that I started calling myself a runner. I’ve never been a very fast runner so I felt like I had to prove myself before snagging that label. My opinion on this has changed. If you run (no matter what speed) on a regular basis and enjoy the benefits, I consider you a runner. If you have multiple pairs of running shoes in your closet, you are a runner. If you look forward to the next issue of Runner’s World, you are a runner. If you’ve experienced thigh chaffing, runner’s trots, or nipple bleeds, you are a runner.

That brings me to today. I’m currently signed up for 3 races this fall.

The main race I’m training for is the Mankato Half Marathon on October 23rd. It’s a first year event and it has a special place in my heart already. I grew up in Mankato and my parents still live there. My parents know that I do all sorts of runs and crazy bike tours and I think they might think I’m a little nuts. I know they are proud of me, but I don’t think they really get what a big deal events like this are since they’ve never seen one. Not this time. I’m so excited for them to see me run and most importantly see me finish! I’m also excited to run through my home town on a course that is on a gradual downhill almost the entire way. Fast course? Yes please.

My awesome parents.

Race #2 is the Monster Dash 10 mile. It’s one week after the half marathon. This one is more for fun (I hope). I’ve done the Monster Dash 5K many years and it’s such a blast! They’ve recently added a 10 mile and a half marathon option. The course is in my stomping grounds on trails I run all the time. What makes it even more fun is that a lot of people dress in costume! I’m planning on wearing a costume and running with some friends and just having a good time; not worrying about time.

Race #3 is the Diva Dash 5 mile on November 13th. I’m running this with my friend Carin to celebrate her birthday. Only a runner picks a race to run to celebrate her birthday! :) I’m just excited I’m now one of her running friends. This one is also for fun – unless I get full of piss and vinegar and want to go all out. I have a lot of time to think about that one.

What am I doing for training? Well…training. I’m not one to just wing it when it comes to something like a half marathon.

Since Hal Higdon was so good to me the first time around, I’m using his intermediate half marathon training program as a guide this time with a few tweaks. I’m running about 4 times a week. Each week includes a speed workout, an easy run, a pace run and a long run. In addition to running, I’ve been going to yoga twice a week and heading out on an occasional bike ride. Adding in speed work is a big change for me. I want to run a PR (personal record) at the Mankato Half which means I need to run faster. In order to run faster that day, I need to practice running faster.  I can already tell it’s paying off. I really enjoy the speed workouts – especially the sprinting. My body is starting to realize it’s able to move faster than it has before. My goal is to finish in 2 hours and 11 minutes which is an average pace of 10 minutes per mile. This would be 10 minutes faster than in San Francisco. I will be walking on air if I can make that happen.

I’ve been training with my friend Willa who is also doing the Mankato Half and when he’s willing, I’ve been running some with Brette (who claims he is also running Mankato). It’s been so much fun and I feel myself getting stronger.

Willa and I after crushing our previous 5k records.

Then I hit a snag this past week.

My ankle started to bug me. Then it started to bug me more. Then it started to go up the inside of my calf. It hurt most when I was running and right afterward. This could not be good. On my long run this past Sunday it was at it’s worst and I was worried.

After much research I have self diagnosed myself with Ankle Tendinitis. All the symptoms match. So, I’m doing what I would tell someone else to do. I’m resting and taking care of it. I’m taking the week off of running (which is killing me). I’m icing 3-4 times per day, staying off of it as much as possible and incorporating ibuprofen into my diet to help with inflamation. I’m really hoping that does the trick and I’ll be back running next week. I’m trying not to let it get to me too much, but it’s hard. Running is such a mental game and not running is even worse!

Have any of you had an injury like this? Any advice?

So, now that you know way more than you ever wanted to about my journey to being a runner, you can look forward to more posts about my training ups and downs and race recaps that might even inspire you. I’m convinced there is an athlete in all of us…waiting for the right opportunity.

restaurant review: Heartland Restaurant

There are benefits to dog-sitting. And I’m not just talking about the joy of having another dog in the house along with that dog’s quirks and that dog’s hair.

We recently dog-sat for our friend’s black lab, Dakota. As a thank you, they wanted to take us out for dinner. We would never argue with that – in fact, that is a rad thank you gift. They really wowed me when they said they wanted to take us to Heartland. They had recently dined there and said to each other, “Jen and Brette would really like this place”.

They know us too well. I’ve been wanting to go there for years – literally. Since the first time I heard about Lenny Russo and his local amazingness, I’ve wanted to eat there.  I’m not really sure why I haven’t. I kept thinking I needed to save it for a special occasion because I was certain it was “super fancy”. Lenny was nominated a James Beard award this year for Best Chef – Midwest…he’s kind of a big deal. He’s been on the ‘local’ seen since forever. Since before I even knew there was a local scene and never thought about where my food came from. He has always known it’s the cool thing to do.

Heartland recently moved to a new location in downtown St. Paul, right across from the farmer’s market. Since I never experienced the previous location, I cannot compare the two, but I will, of course, share my opinion of the new location.

Another cool thing about Heartland is they recently opened their Farm Direct Market in an adjoining space. They will be selling products from the farms they work with along with things they make at the restaurant… soups, stocks, etc. Neat, huh?

Back to our evening. Meet our gracious hosts, Chuck and Jaime:

Aren’t they cute?

Fun fact: I think the whole first year I knew Chuck, I didn’t know his real name. We just called him “the freshman”.

I guess that’s what you do when you’re a super cool junior in college.Hopefully I’ve grown up some in the last 13 years.

I’ll be dividing my review into our standard three areas: atmosphere, service, and the food.

The Atmosphere:

The restaurant is a lot bigger than I had anticipated.  There was plenty of room to have the tables spaced out a bit so that you weren’t sitting on your neighbor’s lap. The noise level was perfect. Lots of “buzz”, but  quiet enough that our fellow diners didn’t have to listen to the in-depth discussion about how to organize and divide MN Twins season tickets for 2011.

Everything was very clean and I loved the big island in the middle of the dining room where the servers could get new silverware, wine glasses, and the wine itself. Just like a home kitchen, it seemed to be the hub.  The decor was very comfortable and homey. Nothing stood out to much which was somewhat comforting to me. Sometimes fancy or wacky decorations make me feel to ‘uncool’ to be there.

Not the best photo, but you can kind of see the island over Brette’s shoulder.

Service:

Our server, Matt, was wonderful. Now, I need to come clean on this. Matt could have provided the worst service ever and I would still say he’s wonderful. His Barry White voice was almost hypnotizing. I loved listening to him talk. I was tempted to ask him to explain every single dish on the menu. Lucky for us, he also happened to provide good service and was very attentive.

Although Matt was attentive, it took an incredible amount of time for our food to arrive. We had a 7 p.m. reservation and our first course did not arrive until 8:30. We were there until about 9:40. Had this been a Friday or Saturday night, I would not have cared as much, but it was a Wednesday, so it seemed a bit much. I don’t know if this is a normal thing at the Heartland or if they were a cook down. It certainly wasn’t a deal breaker.

The Food:

I think the opinion was unanimous. The food was fantastic.

Their menu changes every single day based on what is available from the farms they work with. I love that.

They have two pre-fix options; the flora and the fauna. This makes it so easy for a vegetarian to get a great meal without stressing over the menu and asking for substitutions. I ordered the flora since it was just easier and I didn’t have to make any decisions on the rest of the menu; where everything looked amazing.

My first course was a wild rice salad with preserved blueberries, butternut squash, a mizuna pistou and arugula sprouts.

It was beautiful and I loved it. The blueberries were so fun to find. They blended in with the wild rice so you couldn’t really see them, so it was always a surprise to bite into one.

My second course is the number one reason I went with the flora pre fix menu. A Savory apple bread pudding with a goat cheese béchamel and shoestring butternut squash.

If you do get to Heartland and there is a version of this on the menu – please get it. It was all I could do not to lick the plate.

I couldn’t wait for the photo – I had to try the béchamel STAT!

It was the perfect size portion. I mean, I wanted more of it, but it would have put me into a coma. The bread was just soft enough to absorb flavors, but it didn’t disintegrate in your mouth. I loved the soft apple chunks along with the crispy butternut squash on top. The textures were perfect. I might just have to try to recreate something like this.

My dessert course: Gateau marjolaine, sheep’s milk ricotta,zestar apple, hazelnut genoise and brandied prune. If you’re like me, you don’t know what half of those things are. Just know you’ll like it.It’s a big cookie sandwich! What made the dish really stand out was the brandied prune – which I was originally very skeptical of. If you had a little bit of it with each bite, it made everything else taste better.

I liked everything that I ate.

The boys both had the Fauna pre-fix menu and raved about the catfish and the lamb dish. Jaime went the ala carte route and really liked the broccoli soup and the wild boar chop. I think it’s fun to say, “I’ll have the wild boar chop please.”  :)

As a table we shared an appetizer of Wild Boar Braunschweiger. This is no grocery store mystery braunschweiger. This was made in house and was very tasty with the other accompaniments on the plate.

I would definitely recommend Heartland. The food is fancier than your local pub, but it is delicious and reasonably priced. It’s a great place for a special occasion, but I think also perfect for a Wednesday evening with friends. Sometimes a little bit of fancy is a good thing, especially when it tastes this good.

Have you been to Heartland? What did you think?

an evening at Spruce

In honor of Jen’s birthday, I invited her to spend an evening with me at Spruce flower shop for one of their ‘Vessels and Vines’ classes. (I originally blogged about Spruce back in May.)

Amy, the owner of the shop (who also happens to be my neighbor), offers these great floral arranging classes. What’s great about this class is that you bring in a vase of your own and then get to choose the flowers you’d like to use in your arrangement from the beautiful selection that Amy has on hand. In addition, there may be cake…

and wine (!)…

Here’s how the rest of the evening played out for us. First, we entered the cooler to select our flowers.

With a little help from Amy and her design expertise, I chose a couple standard mums in a very autumnal color, along with these gorgeous yellow flowers (don’t remember the name), and then a couple ivory roses as well. It was really fun to be able to choose whatever we wanted for our arrangements.

Then we learned how to cut the flowers. With box cutters! Yipes! Here’s me trimming a flower. I was nervous, but luckily didn’t draw any blood.

Then we began arranging our flowers, based on the size and shape of our ‘vessels’.

Jen, working on her masterpiece

Here’s how our arrangements turned out…

Anne’s

Jen’s

The best part? A week and a half later, and my flowers still look great. I’m not giving away many of Amy’s tips and secrets, because I think you should check out one of her classes for yourselves!

on the road: seattle part 2

Time for part 2 of our trip to Seattle. If you need to catch up on part 1, please go here.

Before we left for Seattle, everyone we talked to that had been there said we HAD to go to the market. That would be the famous Pike’s Place Market.

Now, I love markets. As you know I have a routine about the local markets here in Minneapolis.

This is one of those markets that is open every single day. I was most excited about visiting Pike’s Place. In fact, I made Brette promise me a whole day there. In the back of my mind, however, I wondered if I was going to be disappointed. It had been built up sooo much. It’s like being the last one to go see what everyone says is the ‘best movie ever made’ and thinking it was just okay. Brette was even more worried of this phenomenon than I was. He was expecting a number of vendors would be selling “crap” that they didn’t even make.

Thankfully, we were not disappointed. Just the opposite. We were ecstatic and loved everything about the market (except maybe the crowds) and went there not just one day, but every single day we were there. Sometimes more than once!

I learned from a vendor that you must prove that you make/grow/produce the product you sell. There are five vendors who have been grandfathered in but other than that, you have to prove yourself. I love that.

They have everything at this market from the famous fish guys, produce, jewelry, restaurants, flowers, honey, nuts, wood products and a zillion other things.

The famous fish guys

OMG Peaches! That’s how the guy described them to me and he was right, the first word’s out of my mouth were “Oh my God!”.

Brette’s favorite street performer.

Yes, we had two cameras along.

It was near the market that we found many of the more casual restaurants to enjoy. The food in this part of town is nothing short of amazing. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of the options around. Just follow your nose to whatever smells the best. Here are a few places our noses took us to.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese:

Brette picked this one for lunch. The menu had a number of sandwiches featuring cheese that they make right there on site – and you can even watch them make it! I started up a conversation with the gentleman behind me who turned out to be a local who worked near by. He goes to Beecher’s a couple times per week. He made me try a sample of their mac and cheese (well, made is strong word. It didn’t take much convincing) and he helped me decide on sandwich.  All of their sandwiches are of the grilled cheese variety. Mine featured their flagship cheese along with tomatoes and basil. Brette went with one that also had the flagship cheese along with soft shell crab. They were the perfect food to eat while standing against a wall and watching the hustle and bustle of the market. We were very satisfied. On a side note: the Seward Co-op is now selling Beecher’s Flagship Cheese!

Pike Place Chowder:

This is also right in the middle of the market craziness but absolutely worth seeking out.

They have a variety of chowders including a classic clam chowder, a manhattan version and even a vegan version!

We both opted for the special which was a crab and oyster chowder. Brette got his in a bread bowl and I opted for a regular bowl along with a market salad which was chock full of fresh veggies from the market. We didn’t speak much while we were eating. It was that good. It was piping hot with lots of crab and oyster chunks and the creamy broth was soul-warming and it didn’t come across as super heavy. This would be on my “must go back to” list for the next time I’m there.

Piroshki on 3rd

We first saw Piroshki at the market and then on the way back to the hotel we noticed they had another location right next door. I loved the name and I loved the smell coming from the door, so we stopped in for breakfast one day. The woman working who I assume was one of the owners was adorable. Brette could have listened to her russian accent all day long. She was great at helping us pick our piroshki.

So what are piroshki? According to the Piroshki web site, they are small baked or fried turnovers or dumplings with savory meat, vegetable or fruit filling. They use recipes from Russia where they were originated. We ordered a sweet and a savory plus coffee which she insisted came with cookies. Who was I to argue?

When I asked what her favorite savory was, she answered quickly that it was whatever one just came out of the oven. So, we went with that – the spinach, egg and cheese. Our sweet was a rhubarb filling in a butter flake crust.

a blurry view of the spinach, egg and cheese

I thought they were both super tasty and if I lived next door to this place, I would likely try whatever was fresh from the oven on any given day. I think Brette would too as long as he could listen to her talk.

Cafe Campagne

This cute french cafe was on many people’s list as a place to go. I like cute french cafes so it didn’t take much convincing. We ended up eating there twice. Once for breakfast and once for brunch. The service was not super fast, but I really enjoyed the food there. Our first meal wasn’t anything crazy spectacular but I loved that they had plain yogurt and house made granola. It was perfect for me that day. So was the chocolate croissant.

The day we were there for brunch was after our 8 mile run along the scenic waterfront. We were hungry and ready to eat.

I ordered: OMELETTE AU BASILIC French rolled omelette filled with basil, topped with fresh tomato compote, served with chicken and pork sausage. It was hands down the best omelet I ever ate. Perfectly cooked so it just melted in my mouth. The make their own sausage and after not having meat for so long, it was a great way to get reacquainted.

Brette ordered: BURGER D’AGNEAU* Lamb burger with grilled balsamic onions, roasted red peppers, aïoli and pommes frites.

He pretty much went into a food coma afterward. To say he enjoyed himself would be a massive understatement. He didn’t make it all the way through the mound of pomme frites but it was a very solid effort.

I would go back to Cafe Campagne (am I sounding like a broken record yet?). I loved the atmosphere and I half expected to be able to speak french just from being there.

Now for Safeco field.  We’re pretty big Twins fan and we love being able to go to games at different stadiums. We really liked Safeco, but it’s not as nice as our brand new Target Field here in Minneapolis. I know, I know. They are 10 years apart in age and the new one is always going to be nicer. I get it. Still, have you been to Target Field? It’s so awesome!

It was a nice cool night for a game and of course while we were there we had to try the stadium food specialties.

I heard a rumor they had sushi. I was expecting the pre packaged sushi you find at the grocery store, but was surprised to see the gals at Rice n’ Roll, rolling sushi to order. Sure, it took forever, but it was darn tasty. How many times can you eat sushi and watch a live baseball game?

Brette followed his nose to the field specialty – the garlic fries! Good gads, the garlic on these suckers was crazy! There was easily a whole head of garlic on these fries. We did not make-out like teenagers that night.

Instead we watched the Twins BEAT the Mariners and had a leisurly stroll back to our hotel.

Why yes, we are wearing the same sweatshirt. No, we did not communicate clearly what we were packing for the trip.

One last food find I must mention for Anne’s sake. I missed her on this trip as she and Pat are great travel buddies. One thing about Anne is that she can sniff out ice cream shops better than anyone. Being on my own, I had to make her proud.

I found one! It was even Gelato! It was pretty fantastic too. I tried a dish of the chocolate along with the marscapone. Anne – it was great. I was only sad you weren’t there to enjoy it with me!

This was such a wonderful weekend getaway. We really liked Seattle despite the hills we were not expecting. I had no idea Seattle was hilly. Why didn’t anyone warn me?  I could spend a whole post just on the hills and the giant one Brette forced me to climb.

If you have a chance to visit Seattle, I would highly recommend it. How can you not love views like this?

on the road: seattle part 1

I love Minneapolis. It’s the best city to live in. Period.

If you are disagreeing with me, you clearly haven’t lived here in September when the weather is perfect and beautiful, so I will forgive you.

However, there are some periods during the summer months where the heat and humidity are absolutely stifling and horrid. I especially love those days where I choke on air. Lovely.

It’s during this time of year that a trip out west is the perfect getaway. Seattle has been on our list of cities to visit for quite some time. As we (and when I say we, I clearly mean Brette) checked out the MN Twins schedule for the year, we realized they were playing in Seattle over a weekend in August. Perfect. We now had a bigger reason to visit. We do love checking out other stadiums and I love to cheer on my boyfriend Joe Mauer.

So a few weeks back, we headed west to Seattle and to no surprise, we loved it. The weather was amazing. It was in the 60’s with a slight breeze pretty much every day. Perfect for jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoody. My favorite uniform.

We stayed at the DoubleTree Artic Club Hotel. It was about 30 feet from where the light rail dropped us off and a walkable distance to everything we wanted to get to. The building is super old and incredibly charming. Although our room was small, it had all the ammenities we needed.

We would recommend this hotel to others and we would happily stay there again. The mini french press is what sold us. :)

We didn’t have much of an agenda while we were there – we were looking for some relaxation, not an “on the go non-stop ” trip. There were  a few things we knew we wanted to do: spend some quality time at Pike’s Place Market, cheer on the Twins and check out SafeCo field, and of course, enjoy great Seattle food.

We succeeded.

I, of course, asked for restaurant recommendations from anyone that would listen to me. We limited ourselves a little because we didn’t rent a car. We went everywhere by foot. This was not only economical and environmentally friendly, but it also let us enjoy the food even more. We were walking it off, right?

We hit up both super casual places and a few nicer places. I think we got a good mix of what Seattle had to offer. We typically get to know a city through it’s food. I feel like I got to know Seattle very well and I like it a lot.

I’m going to share some of the nicer restaurants we went to in this post and in my next post I’ll share the more casual places and let you in on some of our other Seattle observations.

By nicer restaurants, I don’t necessarily mean fancy. They are just more the sit-down dinner types of places.

I’m listing them in order of when we ate there because that’s just how my brain works.

Matt’s in the Market

This place was recommended by a few different people and for good reason. It’s right on the corner of Pike and Pine in an old building on the top floor. It’s kind of hidden really. We had to ask a few people where to find it. We were there on a Wednesday night at about 7:30-8:00 and managed to get the last 2 seats at the bar.  The atmosphere was really nice with great view of the market. The wait staff was very friendly and the food was a big win.

I had the Heirloom Tomato Salad with Watermelon and Ricotta Salata followed by their Gazpacho with Crab and Olive Oil Toast. I really enjoyed both dishes. I typically like my gazpacho chunky and this one was completely smooth. I wasn’t sure I’d like that, but the olive oil toast on top for dipping sealed the deal.

Brette was making all sorts of noise about his meal – he couldn’t stop talking about it. He had the arugula salad with crab, citrus, avocado and pine nuts, which just might be the perfect combination. He followed that up with the Black Cod served over potatoes and a grilled corn relish. It was a major win – he was so happy with his meal.

We would both go back to Matt’s and recommend it to anyone. Although casual dress was completely appropriate, the food was a big fancier than we expected. It’s not super cheap, but not crazy either.

Serious Pie

So, in Seattle, Tom Douglas is the man. The man at awesome restaurants that is. He has quite a few in Seattle and we had the pleasure of dining at two of them. It turns out he knows what he’s doing.

The first one we hunted down was Serious Pie…pizza pie that is. This place is a definite hot spot. We got there at about 8:30 on a Thursday night waited nearly an hour to for a seat. (they do not take reservations) It was a lovely night, so we hung outside and enjoyed the glorious pizza fumes coming from inside.

The service was great and on top of it. Our waiter did a great job of checking in with us the perfect amount of times and kept us informed of when our pizzas would be ready.

My pizza had chanterelle mushrooms and truffle cheese. This happens to be Tyler Florence’s favorite pizza ever. I must say, Tyler knew what he was talking about – it was awesome! I did not let one bit go to waste (though I did give Brette a piece). The crust was my favorite part – it was soft and chewy but not soggy at all. The mushrooms were fantastic and the cheese was creamy and perfect.

Brette opted for the sweet fennel sausage and peppers version. He was also in pizza heaven. Brette loves the fennel sausage and this one did not disappoint.

We were fat and happy when we left. We were also grateful for the mile walk back to our hotel.

Wild Ginger

We read about this Asian hot spot on a few blogs and had heard good things. I love asian food so was excited to try it one afternoon for lunch.

Brette thought the atmosphere felt kind of like a hotel. I kind of dug it. Very kitschy and asian-y.

Our waiter was nice, but I swear he was 12 years old. He did a fine job on the service no matter what his age.

I had the Monk’s Curry – a vegetarian curry featuring eggplant, hard spiced tofu, sweet potato, peanuts and other fresh vegetables in a spicy exotic Thai curry sauce.

It sounded perfect and I LOVE eggplant so I was super amped. The taste was pretty good,but I have had much better curry dishes in Minneapolis.  The biggest flaw to this dish was that it was cold. Not super cold, but not quite room temperature either. That majorly bummed me out. I mean, how hard is that to serve hot?  On the up side, I had the option of brown rice instead of white which was a nice touch. I wish more asian restraunts would offer that.

Brette had the Seafood Thai Noodles – Fresh wide rice noodles that are wok-fried with scallops, prawns, squid and mussels in a light soy sauce with hints of basil and chili.

At Asian restaurants, Brette will always order a noodle dish. He loves all things noodle. He enjoyed these noodles, but didn’t necessarily think they were anything spectacular.

While our food was not necessarily bad, we would not rush back to this place and if we’re in Seattle again, it will not be on our list.

Dahlia Lounge

This is another one of Tom Douglas’s restaurants and was specifically recommended by a number of people. I made reservations well in advance for our last night in Seattle. It was the perfect way to end the trip.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I found it romantic and comfortable with a little bit of modern mixed in. It was packed, but we weren’t on top of the table next to us and we could have a conversation without having to talk with outside voices. (I’m not a fan of restaurants where my voice is scratchy by the end)

Our server was very nice and let us take our time. I never felt like I was being rushed (another pet peeve). He gave some tips on the menu and kept our glasses full.

The food was fantastic.

We split the Tuscan grilled bread salad with pesto, olives, mozzarella, and spicy coppacola. I loved that they offered to split it – so it came on two separate plates. Perfect. It was delicious. The grilled bread gave such great texture and it soaked up all the juices of the dressing so it had great flavor. We were both loved this dish.

For the entree, we did something we rarely do. We ordered the same entree. Gasp! We typically shy away from that but we both really wanted salmon. We’re in Seattle for pete’s sake! So we both got the Washington king salmon with sweet corn~potato chowder, mustard greens, and bing cherries. Mine was perfectly cooked and the potato chowder was my favorite part. Brette thought his might have been a tad overcooked, but still really liked it and gobbled it down.

Dessert might have been my favorite part.I had the Triple Coconut cream pie with white chocolate and toasted coconut. Oh my heavens was this delightful. It got very quiet at the table. All of my attention was focused on this pie.  I reluctantly let Brette have a bite so he could experience how lucious and amazing it was. He was a believer.

Brette indulged in the Chocolate Budino Tart. He was sold on the soft gooey center. It was very good, but I think my pie stole the show.:)

This photo is from the Dahlia Bakery web site. Mine didn’t last long enough to take a photo!

I think this pie is a good place to end for now. Please drool as appropriate.

I’ll be back later this week with more photos, restaurant reviews and adventures from our trip to Seattle.

In the meantime, have you been to any of these places? What’s your verdict?  (I realize I have about 1 Seattle reader – (Hi Kate!), but maybe some of you have visited?)

pears

These beauties came from the Kingfield Farmer’s Market last weekend. Pat picked them up from the Sweetland Orchard stand. I went back yesterday to get more, but Sweetland wasn’t there. I was very disappointed! I’ve never tasted a pear so delicious- they were like eating candy, only way way WAY better than candy.