Someone told me once that sandwiches always taste better when someone else makes them.  For quite some time, I believed that theory. But this week, I proved that theory wrong, in a MAJOR way!

While I was putzing around in my kitchen the other day, opening the fridge door and all of the cabinets in hopes of having a yummy meal just fall out and land on a plate in front of me, I decided that instead of hoping and wishing, I would actually take action.  Heck, I wanted some sort of a hot sandwich but was just out of all the normal ’sandwich’ ingredients.  Other than a few slices of bread and some cheese, I really didn’t have anything else.

And, a grilled cheese just wasn’t going to cut it that day…(I know, someone should have taken my temperature)…

With nostalgic thoughts of the recipe I made for a brunch potluck last week, as well as the leftover ingredients, I decided to reinvent those same flavors into a panini.  It was one of those times when I was about 98.9% sure it would taste good, but a little sliver of me considered it might also taste like kitty litter (not that I know what kitty litter tastes like, but I am sure it’s not-so-much).

Ding-dang! I nearly passed out this was so good.  No really, it was so good that I had to tell my fridge all about it, since I was the only one home at the time.  I guess in times like this, it would have been nice to have a pet

I Heart Pear, Havarti & Raspberry Jam Panini
Makes 1 serving

• 2 slices of bread (I used Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane – I liked how rustic/artisan it looked)
• A few slices of pear, thinly sliced (I used a d’ Anjou pear, but any kind would work)
• 1 1/2 TBSP of hummus (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
• a good schmear of raspberry jam (you could use strawberry here, too, or any other flavor that floats your boat)
• a slice of Havarti cheese

1. Top one slice of bread with hummus and the other with the jam.

2. Layer the side of bread with the hummus with your pear slices, then top it with the cheese.

3. Sandwich (or in this case, ‘panini‘) the two sides of bread together and then grill.  You could use your grill pan, your George Forman, a frying pan with a heavy object placed on top for that pressed effect, or your panini maker.

4. Prepare to be wowed (or prepare to talk to your kitchen appliances if you’re like me).

Swoon! I love the combination of the subtly sweet pair, the tart raspberry jam, the buttery Havarti with the creamy and savory hummus, all inside the chew and hearty texture of the Tuscan pane.  If you like sweet and savory, this one’s for you.

Make one for yourself; we all know (now) who makes it best!

Ever fall for a story, a line or an urban myth?  If so, what was it and how did you finally find out it wasn’t true?

Namasté,
Nicole

The other day while I was chatting with my new family member, Greg, he mentioned that he noticed from reading my blog that I got a new griddler/panini press (the same one he owns) and asked me how I liked it.  I couldn’t stop raving about my new Cuisinart Griddler.  I just kept saying how amazing my new kitchen gadget was and how much I enjoyed cooking with it.  But then it hit me.  I suddenly felt as if I was betraying a loyal friend.  I felt as if I was dissing on my pal, George (my George Foreman Grill), and I just had to rectify the situation.  That said, I decided to put together this little ode to my Georgie (thanks for the inspiration, Sarah.  I hope I made you proud!) I hope it does you justice, my good buddy.  Because Georgie, you saved me when I was at my lowest.  And when I say ‘my lowest’, I mean my hungriest of hungers!

You came into my life as a gift, when I was in college and oh so young,
I didn’t have a clue on how to cook and club songs were the only music I had sung.

When I cooked my first turkey burger, I watched the fat and grease drip onto that oblong tray,
I said to myself, “There’s not a chance this food is going to taste good.  No how, no way!”

I wasn’t aware of the power you contained, nor the magic that you held inside.
When I took a bite of that burger, to be honest with you, I practically cried.

You won me over with your sizzle, your speed and your semi-simple cleaning process,
You’ve been so good to me over the years and for that reason, I feel I have to confess.

This is something I’ve avoided saying, and certainly is not going to be easy.
But I bought a new griddler/panini press, and to say the least, it’s off the heazy.

You were starting to look a bit long in the tooth.  I’m afraid to say it, but it’s true.
I had to listen to Beyoncé when she so appropriately sang, “Lemme upgrade U…“

I didn’t want to keep this from you, Georgie.  It’s not fair to leave you in the dark.
While my new love is making me quite happy, you’ll always be king of the sexy grill mark.

So please don’t be mad at me.  I’m not saying goodbye, for I know I will see you soon.
My love for you runs deep, even if everyone reading this thinks I’m one hugh jass loon!

To complete my ode to George, I thought I would include some pictures of Georgie in action and the magic he recently created for me.  And, I thought that now would be a good time to formally introduce you to my new friend, C.G. (short for ‘Cuisi Grid’).  Thank you, George for all your wonderful years of service to me.  It’s been real but when Williams-Sonoma has a sale, how can you deny it?

What was the first kitchen gadget you fell in love with?  What kitchen gadget is on your wish list?

***Wanna know what a peanut butter baby is?  Go visit Chocolate Covered Katie to find out and you can help this blogger do some good.  You can help Katie spread the word and some chocolate-covered kindness!***

Namasté,
Nicole

No, this isn’t a post on the 2009 World Series Champions, The New York Yankees.  I think my family, both immediate and extended, would definitely might give me a stern talking to if that were the case.  This past weekend, my family and I traveled to New York City to celebrate two very special occasions, my mother and father-in-law’s 40th wedding anniversary and my niece Casey’s, 5th birthday.  Not that we need special occasions to celebrate in order to go to New York, but since they happen to occur on the same day, it just makes the trip that much more extraordinary.

(sidebar – Guess who I saw while waiting to board my flight to New York?  Ellie Krieger! Can you believe it?  I so badly wanted to take her picture but since she was VIP, she boarded before anyone else and I missed my chance.  But, when I walked by Ellie to get to my seat, I smiled and she gave me a head nod.  Then I shouted, “check out HealthyChow.com…”  Just kidding, I wish I had the nerve to say that!)

While Times Square was our meeting place and where our hotel was located, we were all coming from different directions and via different modes of transportation.  Ellen and Dan, my mother and father-in-law, were coming from Springfield, MA via train, my brother and sister-in-law were coming from Atlanta via plane with my nieces, my other siblings-in-law were driving in from Boston, and Patrick and I took the shuttle.  Needless to say, by the time we all finally arrived at our hotel, The Millennium Broadway, we were excited to see each other and excited to see the big city.

On the bridge heading to Times Square

The lobby area of the Millennium Broadway Hotel

The Dolls with their dolls

Thanks to Travel Agent Pat, our hotel could not have been better situated.  We were literally in the heart of Times Square and within walking distance from anything we could possibly need.  But then again, when you have a bird’s eye view of the heart of New York City, what more could you possibly need or want?

View from our room

Another angle…

Check out all those taxi cabs!

Are those people or ants?!

I think my nieces, Casey and Taylor, love being in NYC!

Well, there was one thing we wanted and needed and that was a quick bite to eat.  We had all been up since the crack of dawn traveling, so some much needed food was definitely on the menu (lame pun intended).  With the suggestion of the concierge, the eight of us walked across the street to the Cranberry Café.  It was a hungry traveler’s dream come true! The deli offered every kind of hot and cold sandwich, wrap and sub you could imagine while there were also stands for custom made salads and pre-made sushi.  And if sandwiches, sushi and salads didn’t float your boat, there was also the largest of hot bars and a pretty hefty salad bar.  And if you wanted even more bars, there was a whole wall filled with protein/convenience bars.  Because I was overwhelmed with all the choices, I decided to make it easy on myself and went with the salad bar.  I really got a nice myriad of everything – just the way I like it!

Once we purchased our food, we ventured upstairs to the dining area and had a relaxed lunch.  It was a ’seat-yourself’ type of restaurant and we grabbed the largest table we could find and chowed down!  While we were all so excited to catch-up with one another, I don’t think a word was uttered from anyone (including the kids) for at least 1o minutes.  We really needed the nourishment and the Cranberry Café definitely fulfilled that need.

Hungry!

My lunch: romaine lettuce, cucumber slices in vinaigrette, grape tomatoes and 1 small mozzarella cheese ball, a hard boiled egg (minus the yolk), salad of chick peas, red kidney beans, peas and carrots, grapes and cantaloupe

Travel Agent Pat’s Lunch: YUM!  Nothing like corned beef on rye! Hi Billy!

After lunch, one of our hotel rooms was finally ready for us to check in and we were able to freshen up and head back out into the city.  I couldn’t believe how many people were out and about.  You would have thought it was a holiday or that there was some event going on in Times Square, but it was just an ordinary Saturday afternoon.  Because the weather was unseasonably warm, we were able to walk through the city with just light jackets.  It felt like spring and we certainly had a spring in our step.  Just to be able to be in a wonderful place such as New York with our family was enough to put a permanent smile on our faces.

David and Dan

Me and Patrick

After taking a tour of Times Square and the Marriott Marquis hotel’s upstairs lounge, my sister-in-law along with her boyfriend, and my brother-in-law along with his fiancée, arrived and finally, the whole clan was here!  Since one of my brothers-in-law and his family live in Atlanta, we don’t always have the entire group in one place, at one time.  Thus, to have everyone together in one spot was a momentous occasion on its own.  I grew up with only my twin sister and while we were always thicker than thieves, it’s nice to be a part of a large family.  I love the different dynamics that occur within a big family and I love having a large group around.  Nothing is ever boring and there’s always something new to learn about another person.  With my extended family, there are always plenty of laughs, fun, good times and a shoulder to support you whenever you need it.  It’s truly a magnificent feeling to have.

Look at all those floors!

For our first family dinner in New York, we decided to go casual and quite local.  We headed across the street to Connolly’s Pub and Restaurant.  Since this restaurant is right in the middle of the theater district, it was packed when we arrived at 7:30pm.  But since there was now 12 of us, we managed to snag the front tables and basically had the whole front area of the restaurant to ourselves.

Taylor and her grandparents

Kevin,Vanja and Taylor with Casey climbing the stairs in the background

Greg, Carolyn and Taylor - so cute!

From the ATL, David and Lisa

Your girl, Healthy Chow, and Travel Agent Pat

Connolly’s is an Irish pub with live music and pretty good food.  In addition to their traditional Irish dishes like beer battered fish and chips, Irish beef stew and bangers and mash, Connolly’s also serves burgers, wraps, salads and other comfort food dishes.  Everyone seemed to find exactly what they were looking for within minutes and the friendly Connolly’s staff was able to serve our enormous and hungry party almost immediately.  I ordered the Mediterranean grilled vegetable wrap with eggplant, zucchini, tomato, mushroom, roasted red pepper, carrot, romaine lettuce, goat cheese and a balsamic glaze on a honey wheat wrap.  All the sandwiches and wraps came with french fries and while they did sound and look good, I asked if I could substitute the fries for a vegetable.  The vegetable was a carrot and parsnip purée and it was delicious! I think I preferred my side dish of veggies over my sandwich.  Wow!  Those must have been some vegetables!

Once we all finished eating, we decided to have a few more drinks before calling it a night.  Since it was Casey’s birthday the next day and Ellen and Dan’s anniversary, we had a day filled with festivities planned and wanted to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Plus, Casey’s birthday breakfast was set for 9:30am and we could not be late for our reservation.  But we were all pretty tired from traveling, so we were ready to hit the sack.  Our first day and night in the big city was great and if it was any indication of how the rest of our weekend was going to be, we were going to have a blast.  The city that never sleeps seems to have some sort of a power over the people.  And we were ready for this city to take us over…

“These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for New York, New York, New York…”

***BTW, while we were celebrating Dan and Ellen’s anniversary and Casey’s birthday in NYC, it was also MHC’s boyfriend’s birthday in Boston.  Happy belated birthday, Darrell!***

***Don’t forget to come visit me tomorrow to see what else Healthy Chow and the gang did in New York…stay tuned…***

Do like visiting and exploring big cities?  Do you like to have things planned and mapped out or do you like to plan as you go like me when you’re on vacation?

Namasté,
Nicole

When Allie posted on her blog a few of weeks ago (yes, this is a tad late – I originally wanted to post this that week I couldn’t post photos – sorry!) that she was the host of the Blogger Secret Ingredient and that her ingredient of choice was almond butter, I just knew I had to enter.  I really love all nut butters and feel like they can be put on anything.  Plus, if you’re a fan of the sweet/savory combo (I realize it’s sort of a ‘hate it’ or ‘love it’ type thang), then nut butters can basically be worked into anything and everything and will make your creations taste out of this world.  Consider working nut butters into your pasta dishes, spreading them on fruit and/or dried fruit, as a topping for your yogurt or hot cereal and my personal favorite, in a crazy sandwich or panini combination.

When I was a kid, I remember my uncle making this unusual sandwich and saying to myself, “is he nuts?“  For some reason, I was intrigued by his non-traditional sandwich making ways.  I then took a bite and I was instantly in love.  My uncle’s sandwich of cinnamon raisin toast with peanut butter and ham was unbelievable.  The saltiness of the ham was tamed by the sweetness of the cinnamon raisin bread and the peanut butter just tied the two together.  To this day, that is still one of my favorite sandwiches but I know not everyone ‘gets’ it.  But that just makes the sandwich that much better in my mind.

That said, I decided to come up with my own updated version of my uncle’s sandwich and enter it into Allie’s contest.  It was the perfect opportunity to recreate one of my favorite meals and to enter into my very first BSI contest.

My entry for BSI: Almond Butter was….

Creamy Nut Buttery Fig Panini

• 1 tortilla wrap (I used Joseph’s Flax Oatbran & Whole Wheat tortilla wrap)
• 1 TBSP of nut butter (I used Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, but Almond Butter would work just as well.  Allie welcomed any type of nut butter in her contest)
• 1 TBSP of ricotta cheese (I used nonfat; you could use any kind)
• 1 slice of ham (I used Applegate Farms Slow Cooked Ham, but prosciutto would be swell, too)
• 1 dried fig, chopped into bite sized pieces (I used Trader Joe’s Turkish Smyrna Dried Figs)
• drizzle of agave nectar

Spread the nut butter onto the wrap, spread the ricotta, then layer the ham and finally, layer the fig pieces.  Drizzle the agave nectar over all and wrap like a burrito.  If you’d like, you could also fold your wrap in half like a quesadilla.  Place onto your indoor grill, panini maker or frying pan with a heavy object such as a filled tea kettle placed on top, and heat and press for a few minutes until everything starts oozing out!  Once cooked, cut in half (or in multiple wedges if using the quesadilla method) and savor the goodness!

The result?  Delicious! It tasted just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, except much more sophisticated! The sweet and savory flavor was a bit more subtle than the sandwich my uncle created but more complex for the palate.  The dried figs and agave nectar complemented the peanut butter and ham and gave the entire panini a tart and mildly sweet taste.  The ricotta balanced it all out and added to the creaminess of the peanut butter.  I chose the Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseed because of it’s saltiness and the fact that there are chunks of peanut and flaxseeds which helped to add to the depth of the sandwich.

This panini was so easy to make and was quite filling.  I love simple panini/sandwiches that have a crazy little combination inside.  They’re fun to test out and even better when they end up tasting yummy like this one!  I want to thank my uncle for giving me the inspiration to make this wonderful sandwich and I want to thank Allie for giving me the outlet to revamp my family classic.  I had a great time brainstorming my idea for the contest, but I had an even better time tasting and eating my entry.  Come on now, nuthin’ is better than nut butter.

What is your favorite type of nut butter?  What is the most unusual meal/dish you’ve made with a nut butter?

Namasté,
Nicole

***Speaking of nuts, check out what my sister dressed up as for her office’s Halloween party/costume contest! Pretty scary, huh?***

Chuckie from Child’s Play!

A pie eating contest?

My sister’s nametag

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know I met a new orange gourd, fell in love and now we are running off and having a gang of gorgeous gourd-y babies.  Hehehe, I don’t know, but sometimes I think Healthy Chow is losing her mind! Anyway, I recently prepped and baked a kabocha and with the cooked and well-seasoned pieces, I made some meals that were reminiscent of these posts.  If convenience is king (or queen), then I’m a huge fan of the Royal Family.  You really can’t beat whipping up a fantastic tasting and healthy meal in under 30 minutes.  Hey, no wonder that Rachael Ray is so dang popular (I promise I won’t say ‘ee-vee-oh-oh’ or ‘into the hot tub these kiddies go’ in this post)!

OK, so let’s recap what I already made with my first ever kabocha.  After baking the cubed kabocha in olive oil and a ton of spices and seasonings, I made a simple whole wheat pasta dish with baby spinach, cannellini beans and ricotta cheese.  And, with almost the same ingredients I used in the pasta dish, I converted the recipe into omelet form.  But what else can one do with a squash? Hold onto your socks and I will show you…

Wrapped Up with Kabocha

If you like pressed sammies, paninis, wraps or toasty burritos, then this little delight is for you.  On a Joseph’s Flax, Oatbran and Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla, I spread 2 tablespoons of Cedar’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus along with a Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese wedge.  Then, I layered a handful of baby spinach and a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  I rolled it up in a burrito-style fashion and toasted it on my panini press for a few minutes until the top started getting all roasty toasty.  Once the cheese starts oozing out and sizzling on the panini press (actually, don’t wait for that!), remove your wrap and cut in half to allow some of the heat to escape.  Once cooled, it’s time to devour! Oh me, oh my!  The warmed kabocha against the creamy hummus and swiss cheese was sensational.  I didn’t think a wrap as simple as this could taste so extraordinary.  Plus, how can you not love those colors together?

Everything in the Pot Kabocha Stir-Fry

With my last remaining pieces of kabocha (sniff, sniff), I decided to not only polish off my orange fibrous gourd, but I also decided to use up the remnants of anything else I could find in my fridge, freezer and cupboards.  That said, I began my hunt for anything that would taste good (fingers crossed) with my kabocha in a stir-fry.  I found about 4 oz. of Trader Joe’s firm tofu, about a cup and a half of Trader Joe’s frozen broccoli (thawed), some sliced white mushrooms, some raisins and a macoun apple.  In a large frying pan, I heated up 2 teaspoons of Smart Balance Light.  Once melted, I added my macoun apple, which I chopped into bite-sized pieces.  I then added some more spices and seasonings (it couldn’t hurt, right?): ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, white pepper, curry powder and dried cilantro.  Once the apple pieces began softening and drowning browning in the pool of spices and seasonings, I added the mushrooms.  Once those cooked up a bit, I added the rest of my ingredients.  After everything has been stirred together and warmed, it’s done.  If you could have only smelled the cooked apple with cinnamon, nutmeg and curry – to.die.for.  And was this ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ stir-fry a success?  Uh, hell to the yeah! It was everything I could ask for in my final kabocha dish.  What a way to go out!  Gangstah!

Roasty Toasty Kabocha Seeds

And finally, do you remember the mess of kabocha seeds and pulp I had from my prepping experience?  Well, those teeny babies did not go to waste.  Healthy Chow has issues with wasting food (sound familiar, Allie? ) and thus, decided to make use of every bit of her kabocha.  You should see what I did with the green peel…I made a really groovy hat.  Just kidding, folks! But let’s get back to biz’nis, shall we? After rinsing the seeds and getting rid of all the stringy pulp, I used the same tray (and aluminum foil) that my kabocha pieces were cooked on and spread out my seeds in a single layer.  I sprayed the seeds with some cooking spray (you could use olive oil) and sprinkled them with salt.  Then, since the oven was still hot, I turned down the temperature to 325 degrees and cooked my kabocha seeds for 10 minutes.  And if you forget to take your seeds out of the oven (like me), have no fear because they start popping like popcorn kernels and will scare the bejeezus out of you.  Once they are cooled, you are free to eat.  They are great as is or feel free to use them as a topping for your oatmeal, soup or yogurt.  Just store them in an air-tight container and they should keep for quite some time, if they make it that long!

I know that from one kabocha I was able to make quite a few meals.  However, I was actually wishing there was more once my last bite of this delicious squash was gone.  The tender texture and sweet taste of my new found love was more than mildly addicting (OK, that sounded weird).  I’m just so happy that I took the time needed to properly prepare and cook my gourd.  After reading some of the instructions online, I was worried that this krazy little thing called kabocha was not going to be worth the trouble.  Boy, was I wrong! I guess if you just take the time to learn about something and are patient during the learning process, good things will come your way.  But the first step is to try.  Besides, I think when you make something on your own, it has the tendency to taste better – even if you aren’t a Food Network star.

What’s the biggest disaster you’ve ever had in your kitchen?  How did you react?  What did you do to recover?

Namasté,
Nicole

OK, three down and three more to go!  If you read last Friday’s post, you’ll know that I created six different meals made from the ginormous vat of grilled chicken I brought home from my sister Michelle’s house.  I featured the first three meals I whipped up in last Friday’s post and in this post, I am going to show you the remaining three.  Are you ready? Is your tummy ready to grumble?!

So, let’s recap.  I did an easy-peasy grilled chicken with salad greens.  I ‘Greek-ified’ my would-be ordinary pita pocket by adding my version of cool and creamy tzatziki sauce.  And finally, I made my idea of comfort food by combining the grilled chicken with jazzed up tomato sauce, melted mozzarella and whole wheat ravioli.  What could I possibly do with the rest?  Let’s have a look…

1) Grilled Chicken Quesadilla – Very much like Healthy Chow, my husband, Patrick, likes to eat.  And when he’s hungry, his window for going from mildly hungry to starving (remember this post?) is quite the small one, very much like Healthy Chow’s.  So when Patrick needed lunch in a hurry one afternoon, I decided I would make him a healthy version of a quesadilla.  To make the quesadilla, I took a whole wheat pita and sliced it horizontally, resulting in two pita discs.  On top of one of the pita discs, I layered:

• grilled chicken, which I cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup of red kidney beans
• 2 TBSP of reduced fat cheddar cheese

I then took the other pita disc and layered that over the pita with the chicken, bean and cheese mixture.  Carefully, I placed that in my George Foreman grill and grilled it until the cheese started oozing and the top of the quesadilla started getting toasty.

As one of the sides for the quesadilla, I whipped up a quick guacamole by mixing the following:

• 1/2 of a small avocado
• few dashes of dried cilantro
• few dashes of adobo powder
• few dashes of garlic powder
• few dashes of onion powder
• few dashes of cayenne pepper

For the other sides, I used Trader Joe’s European Style Plain Nonfat Yogurt (a healthier substitute for sour cream) and organic salsa.  The result was much better than what you’d find at a place that rhymes with ‘Paco Hell’.

¿Qué Pasa? Quesadilla

Look at those awesome grill marks…

Amazing avocado

All together now…

Any one in the mood for a margarita?

2) Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, Goat cheese, Dried Figs and Spinach – This sandwich was my favorite.  I loved the combination of the sweet dried figs and creamy goat cheese.  It was definitely what you would call a sandwich! For this meal, I took the grilled chicken breasts and sliced them lengthwise. Then, I began making the marinade for my portobello mushrooms.  I used:

• 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBSP of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic
• few dashes of garlic powder
• s&p

Once my marinade was made, I dropped my two already washed portobello mushroom caps into the mixture.  I let them marinate in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  While the shrooms were marinating, I started chopping up 1 1/2 dried figs (I used Trader Joe’s Turkish Smyrna dried figs).  Then, I sliced a whole wheat ciabatta loaf in half lengthwise and cut each half into fourths (thus, making four small sandwiches).  I then spread about 1.6 oz. of goat cheese (I used Trader Joe’s brand, about a 1/3 of the 5 oz. tube) onto the sliced ciabatta.  Next I layered the chicken pieces, the baby spinach and the dried figs.  While these were resting, I began grilling my portobellos on my George Foreman grill.  It took about 3-5 minutes for my mushrooms to be grilled.  Once grilled, I sliced them into tiny slivers and placed a few pieces on each sandwich half.  Finally, I sandwiched the two pieces of ciabatta together and placed the sandwich onto the Foreman and grilled for a few minutes until the bread started getting toasty (it’s a pretty thick sandwich, so it may take a few extra minutes).

This sandwich made my mouth sing! I loved the warm creamy goat cheese against the crunchy ciabatta with the sweetness of the dried figs, the mellow tasting portobellos and the garlicky chicken.  There was so much flavor in this sandwich and everything blended so exceptionally!

My favorite sandwich

Mushroom madness…

Grilling…

Grilled.

Sliced.

Almost done…

I wish I had one to eat right now…

3) Grilled Chicken with Couscous, Grilled Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, Cucumber, Tomato, Capers and Feta – For my final dish, I decided to go with one of my favorite grains, couscous.  I love how fast couscous cooks up and how it tastes great with just about anything.  That said, here is what I used to make my couscous salad:

• grilled chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups of cooked and chilled couscous (about 1 cup uncooked)
• leftover sliced grilled marinated portobello mushrooms (how do you like that one, Robin?),
• 1/3 cup of peeled chopped cucumber
• 1/3 cup of chopped tomato (with the guts removed)
• 1/2 of a small chopped onion
• 2 TSP of capers
• few dashes of dried dill
• few dashes of dried parsley
• 2 TBSP of roasted red pepper salad dressing (I used Kraft’s, but any vinegarette salad dressing will do)
• feta cheese (I used Trader Joe’s brand, fat free)
• s&p

Combine all your ingredients in a large bowl, except the salad dressing.  Blend well.  Once everything is blended well, add your salad dressing and mix again until everything is coated.  Cover your couscous salad and let it sit in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.  Once it’s chilled, it’s ready to eat!

Picture time again…

Getting in the mix…

Time for a stir…

The dressing

Suddenly salad…

Phew!  That was six meals made from cooking just once.  Can you believe it?  I really did enjoy putting my energy into the creativity of coming up with a new recipe versus putting my energy into cooking the chicken.  Having the step of already having cooked chicken was quite convenient.  That said, it’s always best to think and plan ahead.  Cooking more of a certain ingredient or prepping in advance really helps to make cooking more fun and less time consuming.  When you know you already have the majority of the work done for you, it’s easier to make a home cooked meal versus running to get take-out.  It also helps to take the stress out of figuring out what to make for dinner and/or lunch, which leaves you with more time to lounge and hang out in your backyard.  Or in my case, more time for me to hang out at Fenway Park.

What’s your favorite way to make meals in advance?  How do you save time in the kitchen?

Namasté,
Nicole

I’m a city girl (for now).  I live within walking distance from just about everything I need – a grocery store, restaurants fancy and not-so-fancy, coffee shops (both locally owned and major franchises), a reputable hospital, a couple of malls and most importantly, three different Trader Joe’s.  I’m also steps away from public transportation, so if I can’t get there by foot, there’s always the T.  And oh yeah, the Red Sox play right around the corner from my house.  Needless to say, I live in a great area.

Image Credits – destination360.com

However, while I love where I live and I’m not quite ready for my large house (but a large kitchen would be nice), sometimes I do long for a driveway, my own backyard to hang out in, a basement for storage (Healthy Chow has a lot of stuff) and most importantly, a place to grill.  Don’t get me wrong, I would never say a bad word about my beloved George Foreman grill, but the Foreman just doesn’t give my food that charcoal-y taste.  Don’t hate me, Mr. George Foreman grill, you know I love you…

So the other day when I was rummaging through my freezer, I noticed that we had about a bazillion pounds of chicken breasts (OK, not that many, obvi).  There was seriously a huge mound of poultry just sitting there and it was starting to look a little like Frosty the Snowman (and not in a good way).  That said, when my sister, Michelle, offered (OK, I invited myself) to let us use her grill at her house in the country, I said yes without any hesitation.

OK, so Michelle doesn’t really live in the country.  I like to kid.  She actually lives in Wayland, which is a suburb located only about 20-25 minutes from Boston.  I say she lives in the country because her house has so many trees surrounding it, because there is a lake about 15 yards from her backyard and because she has wildlife such as deer and snakes paying her visits on more than one occasion.  WOW!  Although Michelle doesn’t live very far from me at all, it feels as if our homes are worlds apart in terms of similarities.  So when Healthy Chow gets the chance to cook in a big kitchen, she hops right on it!

The frozen chicken breasts were almost completely thawed by the time I loaded them up in my cooler in my car.  By the time we got there, they were just about ready for marination.  We used Italian dressing (unsure what the brand was), some fresh garlic, dried oregano, dried rosemary, fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  We let the chicken marinate in that mixture in the fridge for a few hours as we hit the mall.  By the time we got back, the chicken was ready for some country grilling.  You’ll have to excuse Healthy Chow – she forgot her camera at her home in the city and thus, you’ll just have to envision chicken sitting on an open flame.  I would imagine it being something like this:

Image Credits – eHow.com

When I got home, I remembered (finally) to grab my camera and take a picture of the grilled chicken in real life.  I think you’ll be happy with the results.

I told you there was a lot of chicken…

With all this chicken already prepared and cooked, I knew we could make more than a few quick meals out of this platter of poultry.  It was just a matter of how creative I could get.  I had to channel my inner Robin Miller; I knew she was deep down inside there, somewhere.  Here are a few pictures of how my grilled chicken became ‘Quick Fix Meals‘:

1) Grilled Chicken with Festive Salad Greens and Feta – This pretty much explains it all.  For our first meal, we sliced up and heated the chicken and ate it over a humungo salad.  It was honestly put together in a few short minutes.  But the simplicity of this meal was what really made me happy.  Grilled chicken cooked on an outdoor grill is divine.  The chicken was cooked to perfection (Thanks Jonathan!) and was juicy and tasty enough where I didn’t even have to add dressing to my salad.

I let Patrick be in charge of the chicken and I think he may have thought we were having guests over.  Boy, that’s a hecka lota chicken!

The salad contained romaine lettuce, baby spinach, baby carrot slices, cucumber, tomato, grilled marinated eggplant and broccoli slaw.

So simple, yet so good!

2) Pita Stuffed with Grilled Chicken, Tzatziki Sauce, Romaine Lettuce, Tomato and Cucumber – This was for lunch one Saturday afternoon when we had both had just come home from working out (Healthy Chow – yoga and Patrick – run around the Charles River) and we wanted something quick and on the lighter side.  I remembered recently eating at a Greek restaurant and having tzatziki sauce to dip my pita bread into and I wanted to recreate that for the sauce in our sandwiches.  To make my version of tzatziki, I combined the following:

• heaping 1/4 cup of nonfat plain yogurt (I used Trader Joe’s European Style Plain Nonfat Yogurt)
• 1/4 cup of chopped cucumber (peeled and seeded)
• 1/2 tsp of chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp of lemon juice
• few dashes of dried dill
• salt and pepper

After mixing the above ingredients in a bowl, I let it sit and chill (literally) in the fridge for about 30 minutes while we showered and changed for lunch.  Once chilled, I heated the chicken, stuffed each whole wheat pita with romaine lettuce, cucumber and tomato slices and then poured the tzatziki sauce over the sandwich innards.  For a side, I sautéed some summer squash with thyme, lemon juice, garlic powder and salt and pepper.  It was the ideal lunch!

Ready for the tzatziki…

Cool as a cucumber…

Check out all that color, Ma!

3) Grilled Chicken with Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese and Whole Wheat Ravioli – Patrick and I were in the mood for some pasta and gooey cheese every one night but I really didn’t feel up to making anything elaborate.  Ding, ding, ding!  Cue the frozen ravioli!  This was another item that I had forgotten all about until I spotted the bag in my freezer the day I was getting my chicken.   That said, I grabbed my mozzarella cheese, my jarred tomato sauce and my almost forgotten whole wheat ravioli and went to town. While the ravioli was boiling, I heated up the chicken with some melted mozzarella on top along with some tomato sauce that I jazzed up with some dried basil, garlic powder, and dried oregano.

How could I forget I had ravioli?

Hmmm, melted cheese…

Patrick and I shared this plate of food.  I just kept it on one plate for easier picture taking.  Not pictured was the side salad of baby spinach and cucumber we had.  Gotta get in those greens!

There you have it.  The first three meals made from cooking (grilling) just once.  I felt as if these three were all pretty different from one another and definitely ones that could be put together in a matter of minutes.  By having the chicken already cooked, I didn’t have to stress about defrosting it, making sure it was cooked all the way through or having to marinate or season it.  With just a few simple ingredients that I already had on hand in my fridge and pantry, I was able to have my ‘Quick Meal Fix’.

Stay tuned for my next post, as I will show you part II of 6 Meals Made From 1…

Are you a city dweller or do you live in the suburbs?  Do you like living where you are or do you wish to move elsewhere?

Namasté,
Nicole

I’ve always liked meat.  OK, that sounded weird.  I meant, I’ve always liked eating meat.  I grew up eating everything and anything.  As I mentioned before, in my household my grandmother made all sorts of traditional Chinese foods, so ‘different’ foods (ex: organ meats and other edible animal parts) don’t really make me flinch.  But recently, I’ve been wanting to eat meat less and less.  I’m not sure of the reason why but the idea of centering my meals around a gigantic piece of poultry, pork or beef, just doesn’t appeal to me the same way it used to.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m certainly not a vegetarian.  And the omnivore in me is still alive.   But with so many delicious and creative meatless options available these days, it’s easy to not be so meat-centric.

That said, one of my latest interests has been experimenting with various grains, beans and meat substitutes.  So when I saw that my grocery store was having a sale on tempeh, I jumped at the chance to buy some.  I’ve had tempeh before but it never really ‘thrilled’ me.  In the past, I’ve stir-fried it with some soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil after taking it right out of the packaging.  It always seemed kind of hard and chewy to me and as if I was missing something.  But when talking with my sister (who is a much better cook than Healthy Chow), she mentioned that I should try steaming the tempeh first before stir-frying and/or baking.  And that the steam will soften the grains a good deal and thus, allow the flavor to seep in better.  What a genius!
***Edit: I was just informed by my sister’s friend, Susan, that the tempeh should be steamed for 30 minutes to ensure thorough cooking.  Once thoroughly cooked, the tempeh will soften and thus, will be able to soak up any flavoring.  Also, the steaming will get rid of any bitterness.  Thanks Susan!

Instead of stir-frying my soybean cake (or brick) this time, I decided to incorporate another goodie I’ve been anxious to try.  Plus, I had a can of pineapple slices that was starting to collect dust in my cupboard, so I wanted to use that as well.  Thus, my mini recipe of Tempeh’d By the Fruit was born…

• package of Lightlife Organic Three Grain Tempeh (8 oz.)
• 2 TBSP of Annie’s Naturals Organic BBQ sauce – smokey maple flavor, plus more for dipping
• pineapple rings (canned or fresh)

The Three Musketeers

1) Take the tempeh out of package and place into steamer with about a half of an inch of water covering the bottom of the steamer.

Hefty, hefty!

Thanks Mom for the Tupperware!

2) Microwave the whole block of tempeh for a minute and then flip.  Microwave the other side for another minute.  Then, cut the block into thirds and steam again for another 45 seconds to a minute.  This will soften the tempeh and also remove some of the bitterness that some people taste with tempeh (not me, I don’t find it bitter at all for some reason?)

Gettin' my steam on!

Nope, I'm not a Rice Krispy Treat...

3) Brush on 2 TBSP of BBQ sauce onto the tempeh.  Make sure to cover each piece in it’s entirety (using your hands would be best here - yeah, your hands are gonna smell).  Then, refrigerate for an hour or so.

Smothered.

4) Right before you decide to heat up your grill, take out the tempeh from the fridge and let it warm up a little.

5) Place the tempeh on your grill and let it cook for about 5 – 7 minutes.  Don’t forget, this is not meat, so you don’t have to worry about it being undercooked.

6) Take your tempeh off of the grill once you get those sexy grill marks.

Don't cha just love the grill marks?

7) Place your pineapple rings onto the grill and let them cook for about 2 minutes.  I had to flip mine even though I was using a Foreman, and this is not usually necessary.

More grill marks...

8 ) Place your grilled pineapple ring on top of your grilled tempeh and then place both on top of a toasted piece of bread, a salad, brown rice, anything you want!

All of the sudden, I feel like I'm in Hawaii!

Look at all the circles...

Gulp!

I loved the smoky tangy-ness of this BBQ sauce.  Plus, since it was all natural and didn’t have all of those ‘extras’ like most of the other BBQ sauces at the grocery store, I felt good about putting it on my organic tempeh.  Steaming the tempeh was definitely key in this recipe.  The softened tempeh was better able to soak up the sauce and thus, it was much more flavorful.  Also, the tempeh was not as chewy and after grilling it for a few minutes, the consistency was more like a ‘burger’ than a soybean cake.  To top it all off (get it?), the grilled pineapple gave the recipe enough sweetness to balance out the smoky flavor.  This was certainly a unique flavor combination and one that is worth repeating in my near future.  Are you tempeh’d yet?

Do you remember the group, Squeeze?  If so, what’s your favorite song?  If not, are there any food related songs that you like?

Namasté,
Nicole

Are there any foods out there that you’ve seen thousands of times and have considered trying millions of times and yet still have not eaten?  Well, there are many foods that fit that description in my life but one in particular is falafel.  I know, I know!  Can you believe it?  Up until the beginning of this year, I had never had falafel.  It’s not as if it doesn’t sound appealing to me or as if I don’t ever go to Middle Eastern or Greek restaurants.  For some reason, when I am having Greek cuisine, I tend to lean towards the salad with grilled chicken or the rotisserie chicken with the hot sides (I don’t know why, but that term always cracks me up!).  I think I order the grilled or rotisserie chicken because it usually is accompanied by vegetables and/or a salad.  For years, all I ever ordered was grilled chicken with a salad because to me, that was what I considered ‘healthy’.  Don’t get me wrong; I know that it is healthy.  However, after many moons of ordering ‘the usual’, I would end up feeling unsatisfied after my meal was finished.  I would start picking at Patrick’s plate and wishing that I ordered something a little more fun or just something different from poultry and leafy greens.

About a week or so ago, while trying to figure out what we wanted to eat, we ended up driving right outside the Boston area.  You see, for Patrick and me, it’s seldom that we have an actual specific place in mind at which to dine.  We usually end up driving around until one of us shouts out the name of a place the other agrees to, or we end up just going to one of our favorites.  That afternoon, we decided to pay a visit to one of our favorites.

Esperia Grill is a Greek restaurant located in Brighton, MA.  It’s owned and operated by a lovely family and that’s just the feeling you get when you’re dining at Esperia Grill – family.  Tim manages the restaurant and does everything from take food orders, prepare the take-out/delivery meals, clean tables, walk the entrées from the kitchen to the tables and of course, schmooze with the guests.  Tim’s wife, Georgia, is the head chef and can also be seen making everything from the fresh Greek salads to the delectable moussaka.  When you walk into the restaurant, you are immediately greeted by either Tim, or one of his sons and the wafting smells from the meat roasting on the tall vertical spit.  Esperia Grill is a place where when you walk up to the counter to order your meal, you immediately start second guessing yourself because everything looks and sounds so wonderful.

Instead of ordering my usual, I decided to mix it up and order something a bit uncharacteristic for Healthy Chow.  When I was dining at another Greek restaurant earlier in the summer, I had tried the falafel and was impressed by just how tasty and filling this vegetarian dish could be.  After seeing the fresh components for pretty much all of the meals housed in the hot and cold cases at the front of the restaurant, my mind was made-up and the deal was sealed.  I just had to try the falafel wrap (plus, it even said so on the chalk board!).

There are about 12-15 tables at Esperia where guests are able to seat themselves.  Once your food is ready, it is brought over to you by Tim or one of the friendly servers.  Usually at restaurants where you don’t have a designated waiter/waitress, in my experience, the tables are usually left a bit dirty and the dining area itself is a bit unkempt.  However, at Esperia Grill, you could literally eat off of the floor (not that I would have, but I was pretty hungry).  The tables are constantly being maintained and the guests are constantly being catered to.  Plus, the atmosphere is quite eye catching.  The restaurant is well lit and has some unique decorum that will keep you interested until your meal arrives (which is not very long).

My falafel wrap was fala-nomenal (hehehe)!  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but from my previous experiences there, it was sure to not disappoint.  And, I was far from being disappointed!  Just check out those sexy grill marks on my wrap:

Talk about being hot off the press!  My wrap was filled with a thick and creamy garlicky hummus and falafel so rich in flavor, that I wouldn’t even be able to begin to guess what was contained in it.  I’m assuming it was the usual ground chickpeas, breadcrumbs and garlic but everything else I can only conclude as being ‘magic’.  The actual wrap was soft and thin and was the perfect vehicle for my Greek deliciousness.  I really wanted to save the other half for my lunch the next day, but I just could not stop myself.  I savored every last bite!

Patrick ordered the gyro on pita and while his looked as equally as divine as mine, my fork never wandered over to his plate.  I was so completely happy with my meal, that I never once wished I had ordered something else or longed for more food.  I guess it goes to show that when you order something you want versus something ‘you think you should order’, you end up being more fulfilled and simply more full.

I’m so glad that I ventured from my norm and ordered the falafel wrap.  It was such a fantastic treat for me and while it was rich and indulgent, it was exactly what my body wanted that day.  And when you listen to your body and allow it to speak, instead of always letting your mind get the first word, you might just learn something.  I certainly did that night at dinner and to that, I say “opa!”

Random question: Do you ever crave something sweet to eat after having a meal that is loaded with onions?

Namasté,
Nicole

Do you remember your prom?  I do.  I spent so much time thinking about it, shopping for the ‘perfect’ dress, dieting, dreaming of the ‘best’ hairstyle, finding the matching ‘perfect’ shoes for the ‘perfect’ dress, making sure I had the limousine reserved, making sure my corsage was just ‘right’, making sure I had plans post-prom, making sure my date had a tux that matched me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…And after all that, the night just turned out mediocre.  I mean, nothing bad happened but nothing all that wonderful occurred either.  I guess that goes to show that sometimes it’s better to go with the flow than to plan every last detail.

This past weekend, Patrick and I were undecided as to what we wanted to do.  The weather was way too nice to be sitting indoors and yet, we didn’t have any reservations or plans made to travel.  After we both had our morning workouts, showered, had breakfast and got our acts together, we decided we just had to go ’somewhere’.  That said, we jumped in the car and Patrick randomly asked, “Hey, wanna go to Newport?”  It seemed like a good idea to me!  So, I said yes, and we hopped on the highway.

If you’ve never been to Newport, RI, it’s about an 45 minute to an hour drive from Boston.  Many Bostonians/New Englanders rent houses in Newport for the summer and spend their weekends there with friends hanging out on the beach and simply enjoying the hot weather.  Because it was Labor Day weekend, the unofficial last weekend of the summer, we weren’t sure what the traffic would be like.  We didn’t hit much traffic at all and we made it there in about and hour and 15 minutes.  Not bad!

Because we got such a late start and had eaten a late breakfast, we held off on having lunch when we arrived and decided to take full advantage of the fantastic weather while it lasted.  But what were we going to do?  We weren’t prepared for the beach (we didn’t have swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, or flip-flops) and wanted to do something a little more exciting than just walk around the shops.  So, we kept driving until we saw this:

Sachuest Point is located in Middletown, just a short drive from Newport.  We sort of just stumbled upon it as we were driving along the beaches.  People were walking and biking along the road and we just decided to follow where they were going.  Boy, did they know where they were going!  Sachuest Point was as equally breathtaking as it was interesting:

The refuge sports a newly renovated visitor center, over 2.5 miles of nature trails, viewing platforms, and a number of Refuge volunteers present to help visitors and to help in management of the refuge.

Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge is renowned for its fantastic saltwater fishing, and the presence of the largest winter population of harlequin ducks on the East Coast.

The visitor center had information on the Refuge, as well as the various bird and plant species that one might find on the trails.  There was even a mini-theater available that showed videos on the history of the Refuge.  We didn’t stay to watch but it was nice to know there was so much available to see and learn – all for free!

The sun sure did sneak up on us that day.  Because I wasn’t paying attention to misjudged the weather, I was dressed in long jeans and told Patrick to wear a long sleeved shirt.  I held out for as long as I could before I finally had to admit to Patrick, “yes, I goofed.  It’s an absolute perfect summer day and I’m literally dying in my jeans right now…”  Luckily, the slight breeze from the ocean managed to cool us off a bit and we were able to fully explore the trails.  It was so cool and like nothing else I had ever had the chance to experience.

We walked around the trails for about an hour until we decided to start hiking on the rocky cliffs that beautifully lined the water.  I was a bit scared at first, thinking I was going to slip and fall and plunge to my death, but Patrick tested it out to make sure it was safe.  What a guy!

“Oh cool, my iPhone works out here…”

My Captain Morgan’s pose…arrrrgh!

Two roads diverged…

When I saw this, I knew I had to capture it.  I felt it was so symbolic of how our day started out.  If we had made rushed plans or reservations to go and stay on the Cape or some other New England summer hot spot, we would have missed out on the spontaneity of going on our spur-of-the moment car ride to Newport and may not have had as good of a time.  Instead, we chose to relax and not stress about our plans and everything seemed to just fall into place.

By the time we finished walking and hiking, we were famished and in desperate need of water.  We pulled over to a convenience store and chugged a bottle of water and then drove until we laid eyes on this:

We split a jumbo-sized frozen lemonade and I swear, this tasted like the nectar of the Gods! It was so light and refreshing and the perfect snack after our sweat-induced hike.  We drove along the beach roads looking at some of the most gorgeous homes I’ve ever seen.  But because I was so enthralled with my frozen lemonade, I neglected to take any pictures. Sorry! But the lemonade sure was dee-lee-shus!

We then decided to head back into town to get an early dinner.  At this point, I just needed food.  So, I was pretty easy going on our dining selection.  We found free parking and this:

Tickets Bar & Grille was a cute little restaurant in Middletown that was right across the street from the beach and had outdoor seating. Perfect!  They had the usual bar/pub fare – pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, finger food, salads, etc.  I chose the vegetarian wrap that contained zucchini, roasted red pepper, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and came with a choice of either cole slaw, potato salad, french fries or sweet potato fries. I chose the sweet potato fries – obvi!  Patrick went for the classic turkey club and regular french fries.  It was sheer bliss for Healthy Chow!

My meal was huge!  It basically was a sandwich and a half.  I love that fact that it was chock full of vegetables but in hindsight, I think I should have asked them to go lite on the cheese.  It made the sandwich a bit too greasy.  The vegetables could have also used a bit more seasoning, but it did the job.  The sweet potato fries were cooked just right – of course!  They were crispy, not too salty, sweet enough and hot from the kitchen. They more than made up for the average tasting wrap.

Patrick’s turkey club was quite good.  The whole wheat bread was toasted just right and the crispness of the bacon, lettuce and tomato was a nice complement to the moist and juicy turkey. His french fries weren’t so bad either, but I preferred my sweet potato fries.  We also had just the right seats for people watching; we were across the street from the infamous Atlantic Beach Club.  Let’s just say if I was eating crackers, there was more than enough cheese!  Gadzooks!  It was a scene but the perfect entertainment for our late lunch/early dinner.

After we finished eating, we drove over to Goat Island.  This is where all the mega yachts are docked.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many yachts of this stature ever.  They were all quite extraordinary, to say the least.

With only a few more hours left until sundown, we walked into the center of Newport to explore some of the shops.  There was such a buzz in the air.  I guess everyone wanted to take in every last second of the pleasant weather.  I popped into a few stores and ended up hitting a fabulous sale at Kristina Richards.  Everything was in my size, which is never usually the case, but I managed to narrow my choices down to this:

If you can’t tell, it’s a knee-length blue dress with 3/4 length poet sleeves and a pretty back ruffle. Score!

When my shopping finally started to wind down, we knew what we needed next.  We had worked so hard walking, hiking, and shopping that day that we felt we needed to end the day with a sweet treat.

I chose to have a little bit of frozen yogurt with my purple sprinkles. Jeez!  But they were the best darn sprinkles ever…maybe that’s why they named their ice cream shop, ‘Sprinkles’!  To boot, sprinkles are complimentary…how can you resist that? But in all seriousness, this was one of the best frozen yogurts I’ve ever had.  It was creamy, had bits of mocha blended in, tasted just like a cappuccino and if I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was eating ice cream.  Patrick suggested I order a large so that we could share.  It was a great idea, except I had about 80% of it.  But that’s OK, because I enjoyed every bite of it!

We strolled around while savoring my our frozen yogurt and I was amazed to see so many people were still buzzing about town.  There was live music playing (there was a concert going on in a nearby tent), the shops were still open, people were drinking and dining in the outdoor restaurants and bars, college football was on television and people were simply happy to be spending their ‘last’ few moments of summer in such a relaxing, yet fun atmosphere.

What a perfect way to ‘end’ our summer.  I think at the beginning of summer, we, New Englanders, were a bit stressed due to the lack of sunny and warm weather. However, once we sort of ‘got over’ that, the hot and humid weather kicked in and summer was in full swing.  I think when we focus too much on how something ’should be’ or how it ‘ought to be’, we tend to lose sight on allowing things to just ‘be’.  I expected my high school prom to be such an unforgettable night and hoped that it was going to be something so magical.  Perhaps if I would have just gone in without having any expectations, I would have had a better time.  Patrick and I jumped in our car that afternoon just looking to get out of the city.  We weren’t sure where we were going to go exactly or what we were going to do.  But, we knew we had great company and the whole day wide open for anything and everything.  And sometimes, that is the best road to take…

What did you do this Labor Day weekend?  Do you like having plans or would you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants?

Namasté,
Nicole