Pulled Pork Sandwich & Mango Soft-Serve

This Memorial Day felt like summer vacation used to feel. A random weekday with nothing better to do than go to the pool. As you’d expect, a family was having a cook out in the park next to the pool and it smelled amazing. So I decided today was a perfect day to try my hand at barbecue.
I always thought pulled pork had to take hours and hours, and cook in some kind of outdoor pig smoking chamber. Apparently not! All you need is a big pot, and a couple hours to look over the pork shoulder as it simmers away.

Cutting the pork into large pieces cuts the cook time down a ton, and it definitely didn’t take away from the tenderness.

It might look strange but that’s just the chicken bullion. I followed this recipe and would definitely make it again.

For a light and refreshing dessert on this 95 degree day, I attempted mango creamsicles.


I adapted mine from Bon Appetit’s Peach and Cream popsicles…but either the consistency of the mangos or the not-so-cold freezer forced me to make it soft serve.

Definitely not the end of the world because it was still SO good.

Mango Soft-serve:

2 mangos, diced
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
splash of milk

Make a quick simple syrup by adding the water, sugar and vanilla bean to a pot and cook until sugar is dissolved. Throw out vanilla bean and cool the syrup. Once cool, add all ingredients to a blender, then freeze in cups or ramekins for individual desserts.

Memorial Day Walking Tour

Our biggest adventures in DC usually happen on accident. They start out as innocent: a quick walk to Starbucks to catch the bus to Dupont Circle, we get impatient for the bus and decide to walk the whole way, and then there’s no looking back. This is how we ended up walking 11 miles on Saturday.

One of my favorite outdoor bars is the The Occidental outdoor lounge at the Willard Hotel downtown. We tried to kill some time by exploring the old Post Office Pavilion. The line was too long and full of boy scouters so we headed in a different direction until we stumbled on the National Botanical Garden.

It’s such a hidden gem, and it’s HUGE. There was a room dedicated to spices that were all displayed cutely in large fake flowers.


Those orange pods are cacao {future chocolate!} The garden was a beautiful little oasis in the middle of downtown.

Then a loop around the Capitol just for fun. When I’m exploring DC, I try to avoid groups of people in matching T-shirts as much as possible. This is easier said than done. In our efforts to avoid a group of singing, color-coordinating teens, we ducked into a nearby bakery, Paul’s.


Right outside, a group had gathered to watch a man speak about either Native American issues and/or veterans and war crimes. I really couldn’t tell.
Another 15 block hike back from the Capitol to The Occidental for a refreshment in their lounge patio.

Walk another 14 blocks to Commissary for their happy hour? Sure!

Hello, delicious watermelon margarita. On the walk home from Logan Circle, we saw the coolest corn hole set. Everyone has their unique way of celebrating Memorial Day.

Happy Memorial Day!
And Happy Birthday, Melissa!! Little does she know, I’m about to surprise her in bed with Starbucks.

Overnight Oats

I used to have oatmeal almost every morning, but in the summer a bowl of hot oats is too much to handle. This was a refreshing alternative! 
Right after dinner last night, I put together a bowl of “overnight oats” and left it in the fridge overnight to do its thing.

The mixture:
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup almond milk (or any other kind of milk)
splash of vanilla
pinch of salt


This morning I topped mine with half a sliced banana, frozen mixed berries (thawed), granola and shaved coconut. On the side, I had a glass of lemon water, which I read on back to her roots is supposed to be good for digestion and purification.
Speaking of healthy, I went for a run after work today (I’m trying to keep it up!). Unfortunately, running was hard today. Some days are just harder than others. So it was brief and ended with a 20 minute homemade workout in my room using moves such as this:

and:

Since dinner was still a couple hours away, I made an afternoon snack: cherry and grape tomatoes, torn basil, goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and basil olive oil. It felt indulgent because of my for goat cheese. Dinner tonight is at one of my favorite fast-casual restaurants! Surfside.

Goat Cheese Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Disney World!

I just returned from my first-ever (probably not last) trip to Walt Disney World.

We had a fun group



It sure is like nowhere else on earth. My favorite ride, by far, was Tower of Terror – I rode it three times!

Another highlight was Epcot’s Countries. We visited Germany for an Oktoberfest beer, a Werther’s caramel and chocolate dipped pretzel and Japan for some authentic sushi and sashimi.


The parks are great, it’s the people that need some work. It’s hard to ignore how well the food industry has these people wrapped around their finger. If you can convince someone they need an ice cream bar before breakfast, you must be doing something right – marketing wise. One of the restaurants we went to did have red quinoa cakes. I was impressed!

The last day in Florida was devoted to laying out by the pool, after a brief trip to Downtown Disney. –> Lego Seamonster.

It’s always nice returning home and loading up on groceries.


I decided to make goat cheese pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and pine nuts tonight, after finding the recipe here.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti
12-15 cherry tomatoes
2-3 oz goat cheese
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
pine nuts, toasted
salt and pepper
basil

Toss tomatoes in olive oil and salt before roasting on a sheet pan at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, boil pasta until al dente. Drain and return to pot. Add in a drizzle of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, half of your goat cheese, and parmesan. Plate and top with tomatoes, pine nuts, basil, remaining goat cheese and any remaining parmesan.
Yummm.

Chicken with Apricot-Shallot Sauce & Tabouli

Finally, after weeks of trying to get together, Melissa fit me into her busy schedule . We made dinner at her apartment. Luckily, both of us suffer from small-kitchenitis, so we were used to stacking dishes on top of any and all surfaces while we prepped our delicious dinner of chicken with apricot-shallot sauce and tabouli on the side.

I found the recipe for the chicken on Apartment Therapy The Kitchn. It was quick and easy – so imagine how simple it would be in a real sized kitchen!

(Serves two)
You will need:
2 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, pealed and sliced thin
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tbsp apricot preserves
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook until cooked through. Remove chicken and cover with tin foil while you prepare the sauce. Add 1 tbsp of oilve oil to pan that cooked the chicken. Add shallots and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add chicken broth and scrape up brown bits from bottom of the pan. Once most of the broth has reduced, add the preserves and salt and pepper. Serve on top of the chicken.

Tabouli:
1 cup bulgur, cooked per instructions on package
cucumber, diced
grape tomatoes, halved
red onion, diced
feta cheese
mint, chopped
lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Cannoli from Whole Foods for dessert…yum! It was nice to catch up about trashy British novels to events coming up at work to questionable Greensboro weddings, all the while post dinner snacking on honey goat cheese and crackers. I even came home with leftovers!

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

The possibilities are endless. I follow Kath Eats Real Food, and she literally has a different breakfast concoction everyday. It gives me lots of ideas, such as this Saturday morning yogurt bowl.

Inside:
half of a banana, mashed
frozen berries, thawed
plain Greek yogurt
Trader Joe’s Maple Pecan granola
Trader Joe’s organic chunky peanut butter
sweetened coconut flakes

It keeps you so full! I breakfast creations.

I accomplished many things this Saturday, including laundry, organizing my important documents into a binder, and a trip to Trader Joes.
I’m loving tapas style meals these days… This time it was a whole wheat English muffin, half covered with basil pesto and white cheddar, the other with mashed banana, peanut butter and walnuts.

I whipped up a quick dinner of bulgur mixed with basil pesto, lemon juice, tomatoes and feta with a side of broccoli, before I went over to a friend’s house to watch a movie. It’s a good thing my dinner was so healthy because the smorgasbord of snacks we had during the movie was anything but healthy.

We watched The American President – such a great movie. A couple of True Blood episodes were sprinkled in and I must say… it’s SO addicting!