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As I mentioned in a previous post, we recently returned from a vacation, and like any good food blogger, I took lots of photos to share with my readers. We were in Romania (and took the trip) because our dear Romanian friends got married. Adrian, the groom of the couple, was Husband's roommate in grad school, and Husband likes to tell the story of the day he asked Adrian about the food in Romania.
Continue reading "Food Tour of Romania: More than cooked food" »
Husband and I recently returned from a fabulous two-week long Central and Eastern European vacation, and I have to admit that we ate very well, too well. And lots of meat. And potatoes. And we may have fit in a few of the rare vegetables in that part of the world if it weren't for the E. Coli issues. In any case, when we returned home, I felt the need to detox and will continue working on that for the next couple months. I made this lovely quinoa salad as a side for our healthy grilled chicken breasts and turkey burgers, and it is the neverending tupperware container. I think we've eaten it with five meals, and it's still there. Lucky for us that it's delicious and works with everything.
Continue reading "Summertime Quinoa Salad: Have your protein and eat it too" »
I know it's getting hot out, but there's always a time and place for oatmeal. It's one of my favorite breakfast comfort foods that doesn't get me into trouble like a giant bagel, a doughnut, or a stack of pancakes. Jenn, the all-around amazing blogger, runner/cyclist, dog mom, digital PR person, gluten free cook, and really great friend, sent me this blog post with a steel-cut oatmeal recipe when I asked her about healthy breakfast options. I make my oats on a Sunday night then have them all week (they just need a quick pop in the microwave). Thanks, Jenn!
Husband used to bring me home tchatckis from his business trips, which was cute and funny, what with the plastic dolphins, stuffed "animal" palm trees, and the Berliner Bar (Berlin Bear) holding a piece of the Berlin wall. But then, magically, he started bringing back real gifts, things that I could wear in public or things that are delicious to eat.
Continue reading "Fassbender & Rausch: Germans know their chocolates" »
I've eaten a lot of bars in my life. Starting with Quaker Chewy bars as a child; those were my afternoon snack nearly every day. Then in my low carb phase, Adkins-friendly bars. After that, Zone bars for meals on the go. Finally, I eat a fiber-enforced bar for breakfast now. I figured it was about time to make a bar of my own. I've seen lots of recipes and decided to start with this one. I can say with some certainty that I have some practice to do before this becomes a regular thing. Sticky hands, messy baking sheets, and dry granola bars are not my idea of convenience. I'm open to suggestions for other recipes.
Continue reading "Homemade Granola Bars: My first attempt" »
Hi, I'm Liz, and I'm a phonatic. Meaning, I'm member of a group of people called The Phonatics that like to get together every so often and eat pho (Vietnamese beefy, brothy soup). Lead by our fearless leader Felicia (@FeliciaCago), we meet at a cost effective but good Vietnamese restaurants and down spring rolls and slurp pho for hours. Breaking tradition, Felicia hooked us up with upscale and award-winning Saigon Sisters in the West Loop for a discounted four-course extravanganza food and drinks! We all started with Saigon Sisters Signature Pho (Beef, Chicken, or Vegetable).
Continue reading "Saigon Sisters: The Phonatics get classy" »
Today is the third day in a row that I've shared fun and delicious desserts. I'm not promising anything, but you will probably have 1,000 more friends if you make these and bring them to work, school, a party, the DMV, etc. And, of all the desserts I've shared so for, I really stand behind these. They are super easy (seriously), and you have to give them away because if you don't, you will eat every last one of them.
I got to make a bevy of desserts for our recent housewarming party. Even though I know these thumbprint cookies are more of a "holiday" treat, I've never made them, and they looked so good. Plus, I could use some fresh spring fruits to make the filling. They're really easy too, and that never hurts when you're throwing a party.
My final dessert to share (for now, at least) are these fun and happy cake pops. I saw a similar recipe for cheesecake pops in Food Network Magazine, but instead of buying the frozen cheesecake at the grocery store, I bought frozen pound cake instead. My one suggestion is to purchase proper popsicle or lollipop sticks instead of these cheap drink stirrers. They look incredibly festive but slide right off the stick when you try to pick them up. Luckily, at a party no one cares.
