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Homestyle January

Our monthly dinners kicked off this weekend at D&V’s place. 2011 marks year 2 for this ongoing event and we continue to have a great time.

Vanessa and Lisa

Vanessa and Me

This time, I made the mistake of not taking any pictures of the food! Rookie mistake of a newbie blogger. What was I thinking? Well, I was thinking about (and eating) the rosemary and olive oil bread they served from Bread & Cie, along with Brie and Irish Cheddar. True to form, I got my bread and cheese on (sorry Paleo)… but the good news is that I indulged LIGHTLY, a skill I am learning. And still lost weight the next day on my weigh-in. That’s how it’s done!

Here was the menu for the night, which was so good!

  • Baked Salmon
  • Au Gratin Potatoes
  • Jalapeño Cornbread
  • Asparagus
  • Prosciutto wrapped Shrimp with Pesto
  • Coleslaw
  • Cheesecake

I don’t remember the red wine we had… I know I picked up a few bottles from Cost Plus World Market, but I guess neither were memorable.

We ended the night by learning a new game called Sequence! Next month we are planning to make French food at our place… so excited! Please send French wine recommendations!

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Paleo Punks

Paleo Friendly Food

Paleo Friendly Food

My husband has officially turned us into cave people. I am the first to admit that my cheese head tendencies make me want to do the Atkins version of low carb eating. But I know that the Paleo lifestyle is much healthier.

I come from a big Italian family where bread, pasta, butter, and cheese runs through our veins. But I also know that all of those refined carbohydrates are terrible for us. Boooo!

To help with inspiration, we watched Super Size Me last night. Neither of us are McHeads but it was eye-opening anyhow. Morgan’s vegan girlfriend cracked me up and I was happy that in the end, he was going back to protein (read: meat!).

I am going to give this a real shot. Especially since we are joining a challenge at our gym where we will be required to weigh in weekly for the next 3 months. Having to be accountable to someone is helpful. I don’t want to say that I didn’t lose a pound because I was snacking on cheese and crackers for the past week!

With this new way of eating in mind, I made a kale salad today. I first tried it at People’s Market in Ocean Beach, CA and thought it was good. Here is how I prepared it:

Kale Salad

Kale Salad

Kale Salad


2 bunches of kale
2 tomatoes on the vine
2 green onions
1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt to taste
juice of two lemons

  1. Wash the kale thoroughly, then drain. Remove most of the middle stalk with a knife, then chop the leaves down to about 1″ size. Place in large bowl.
  2. Chop the tomatoes and green onions, set aside.
  3. Juice two fresh lemons, set aside.
  4. Drizzle olive oil over kale and massage the kale until it is less rigid.
  5. Add salt, massage.
  6. Add the avocado, continue to massage the avocado into the kale to coat the leaves.
  7. Add the tomatoes and green onions and mix together.

This can be served immediately or placed in the refrigerator and served later. It’s so good that it just makes me want to continue to eat healthy!

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Northern Cali Christmas

My husband and I road-tripped to wine country to spend time with my mother-in-law for Christmas. Our stay was so nice, it always is. While we have quite some time before we retire, we do talk about living in that area someday. And not because it’s warm! But because it is so peaceful.

From Sonoma we headed to South Lake Tahoe to stay in a lovely cabin we rented… but before we got on the road we stopped at the Glen Ellen Village Market to get some snacks. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick up a few bottles of local wine. Of the bottles we purchased I saved a few for when we returned home, one of which we enjoyed with our home prepared dinner on New Year’s Eve: 2008 Pellegrini Carignan – Redwood Valley.

Wow this wine was fantastic! We paired it with excellent cuts of filet mignon and rib eye from Siesel’s Old Fashioned Meat & Deli located in Bay Park, San Diego, along with rosemary garlic potatoes and squash. This wine was amazing with our dinner! So good that I Googled Pellegrini Family Vineyard and bought two more bottles right from the vineyard!

Dinner on New Years Eve 2010

Filet Mignon for NYE 2010

I made a statement to my husband on New Year’s Eve that it’s good to be older… We are only in our 30s, and God willing have a lot more time on earth with each other. But what I meant by that is we no longer feel the need get gussied up, go out, spend a bunch of money, only to be hung over the next day! Ah yes, aging isn’t so bad!

Happy New Year to you and yours! I hope 2011 is one of the best years of your life!

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Pho Shizzle!

Vegetarian Pho

Vegetarian Pho

I am addicted to vegetarian Pho. I like to think I know a thing or two about it. Really, I don’t. I just know where to go to get a great steaming bowl of it. Pho Van in San Diego is my favorite place.

Pho is my go-to meal for when I’m sick, or if I feel even the slightest sense that a cold is brewing. That’s not the only time I eat it though. If I want something warm, fast, and healthy, it’s always a good choice.

Pretty soon, my husband is going to have us on the Paleo Diet. Or, what I refer to as the caveman diet. You can only eat fruit, vegetables, and protein. We are waiting for the book to arrive in the mail so we can get the full scoop on all the scoops we won’t be having.

But I realized that I can still have my Pho, sans noodles. Whew!

Anyhow, like I said, I don’t know much about what makes one bowl more authentic than another. But what I will say is that I enjoy it most just how it is pictured above: with lime, lots of Thai basil, jalapeño, mushrooms, carrots, bok choy, crunchy broccoli, plum sauce, and sriracha.

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Hot Fudge Sundae

My husband and I enjoyed a night with my co-workers for my company’s annual holiday party. It was fun! They had casino night set up, raffle, etc. I won a bottle of ONEHOPE 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. I had it before so I wasn’t disappointed in my win!

Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy

Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy

Afterward, we went out with my work “brother” (we all have that co-worker who we affectionately refer to as a family member) and his fiancée. They live in Orange County so since they were out-of-town folk, we took them to Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy, San Diego.

My husband and I both said that the next time we go we are going to get the hot fudge sundae. And we did! The menu describes it as: Very Vanilla Bean ice cream, brownie chunks with nuts, warm housemade chocolate ganache, and whipped cream. It is SO good! And more than enough for two people.

I also had my favorite tea: Rooibos Bourbon. I can’t find the tea for sale on the Extraordinary Desserts online store but this is probably the same or very similar. It is such a smooth, luxurious tea! Love it!

If you live in San Diego, Extraordinary Desserts is a great place to go and if you have friends in town, take them here!