Memorial Day Food Frenzy!

Well, yes, it HAS been awhile...but I've been extremely busy with graduations and parties and such! I haven't forgotten about what's important, tho, so I have some pics of todays picnic for y'all...

First, these are the most delicious ribs courtesy of my friend John and his neighbor, Patrick! They were going nuts on the grill today and made ribs, chicken breasts, pork and corn on the cob. It was quite a spread. You may be wondering what I contributed...??  With quite alot of help from  my sous chefs, we prepared Spicy Mustard and Green Onion Potato Salad and Eclair Dessert. There weren't any leftovers of the potato salad to show you, but I did get a pic of the Eclair dessert before it was finished off! Oh, we also prepared our favorite recipe of fresh parmesan butter with spices on the corn cob before wrapping it in foil for the grill...but that hardly counts as a skill! Anyway, it was wonderful and alot of food was consumed by all. Enjoy the pics and when you're in town, come over and I'll make the potato salad for you, too!! :-D

Raw Food is the bomb!

I had my first experience with raw food today! Yay to being healthy! This is not something that comes easily to me, so I was skeptical and actually more than a little excited about trying it out. I went to a place called Grassroots in Tampa on North Florida Avenue and let's just say it's in an interesting neighborhood, but more than worth trekking over to find it! PLEASE go try it out! 

I had the pleasure of getting together with an old college friend that I hadn't talked to in a year so we had time to have a nice chat and catch up and all the while she filled me in on the benefits of raw food, enzymes, supplements, wheat grass, etc. It was very enlightening...Zzzzzzzz! No, seriously, it WAS interesting, just a bit much for the first visit. I was still processing the fact that I was eating 'RAW SUSHI' which in actuality only had the ingredient of nori (seaweed) to hold in all of the raw veggies and sprouts that filled it. Not quite the sushi I'm used to consuming - but tasty! REALLY!! 

We also tried the Chik sandwich, non-chicken, of course! It came on a basic whole grain bun and is a sure bet for the skeptic - along with the vegan hamburger or hotdog! But I have to say my absolute favorite was the vegan burrito. Instead of a heavy tortilla, it is wrapped in romaine and the interior was filled with grains that were ground into a paste that had an incredible flavor. I could've eaten this for dinner, too! 

On a sad note, the signature sandwich comes on homemade onion bread that wasn't ready yet and wouldn't be for another hour...it was 1 pm when we arrived... hmmmm. But, the green smoothie chock-full of veggies and fruits was very good, although I must admit, I just tasted it and proceeded to order the green tea with ginger which I thoroughly enjoyed!

I must apologize for the lack of pics (sorry C!), I suppose my only excuse was getting caught up with my friend and forgetting my duties! I will work on that and try not to let it happen again!

So, for tonight, go RAW!!

A bite of the Big Apple!

Another day, another city...but, this time it's the best city on the planet...serving the best pizza on the planet (according to Zagat!) which is why I HAD to try it... I thought, "How can it be the best on the planet?? How is this possible??" Let me tell you...it's undeniable! Wowza! Lombardi's Pizza on Spring Street in New York City is awesome. Absolutely the most flavorful, perfected crust, yummy ricotta, amazing crushed tomato sauce... running out of adjectives here... but you can see, I'm hooked and can't wait for another trip to try a different combination! 

Then, to make a great meal even better, cross the street when you're done at Lombardi's and serve your sweet tooth some delicious rice pudding at Rice to Riches! Yes, made famous in Sex and the City, it now stands on it's own as a dessert highlight!

You'll laugh when I tell you one of our best meals in the city was from the Rickshaw Dumpling truck. No lie! And right next to their red truck sits a ratty old white truck that just says dessert truck on it... making the cities best truck creme brulee, goat cheese donuts with chocolate sauce, molten chocolate cake with vanilla creme sauce and these were so good I can't remember the other two desserts they offered - all for $5 each! It's a bargain and they package it up for you to take to your hotel, although there were about 15 people standing around eating it right there on the street corner! 

I LOVE NEW YORK!!!!!