.i'm a derbytaunt!.

bella constrictor is being presented to the public TONIGHT!!!!


i've been baking for the bakesale like a mad woman. mmmmm vegan banana bread . . .

.the meal.

like i said earlier, the man-friend and i went out to the garden grille (an all-vegetarian restaurant in town) for our 6 course valentine's dinner. not only was the food delicious, but it was GORGEOUS too!the back of the menu listed all the aphrodisiac foods used and told a bit about their history.

course #1:
roasted red pepper and leek soup - with sambuca "creme fraiche"

course #2:
Salad.

My salad was: Beet infused Soba noodles with edamame, shitake mushrooms, easter egg radish, lotus root and avacado with a star anise soy reduction. i could have had only this for the meal and been full.
the man-friend's salad was:
Blood Orange and Thai Coconut - with sunflower sprouts, baby arugula, macadamia and couscous with tarragaon prickly pear vinaigrette. i kept stealing his coconut.

course #3:
Small plates

the man-friend's small plate was:

Nori Encrusted Oyster Mushroom Calamari - with kumquat and cara cara orange marmalade, daikon carrot hijiki salad with chili oil.

verdict: BEST COURSE OF THE NIGHT. i just wanted to switch plates with him, it was so good! (yes, that flower was edible too)
my small plate:
Smoked Eggplant and Black Trouffle Mousse - with balsamic shallots, red leaf endive on a tomato poppy seed cracker.
it was good, but not as good at that calamari.
course #4:
Intermezzo:
Champagne with Strawberry Passion Fruit Sorbet and Pomegranate Seeds.
this bubbled and fizzled in your mouth. yum!
course #5:
Entrees:
we both got the same entree (the other option was tofu and black rice and i am trying to stay away from so much tofu and soy . . . not so great for a person).
so, we got:
Handmade Palm Ravioli Trio -
1) house dried tomato with arugula fennel pesto
2) trumpet mushroom with rosemary cashew cheese (yum!)
3) braised cannelini with spinach
all served with roasted asparagus, pink vodka sauce and fresh basil.
(and there were rose petals on the plates) course #6:
dessert.
The man-friend's dessert:
Chocolate Ganache and hazelnut Banana Heart Cake - with cinnamon chocolate creme and blackberry chambord sauce (we still have some of this cake in the fridge!)
my dessert:
Coconut Tapioca Pearl Custard - layerd with mango mousee, strawberry papaya and apple mint.

there you have it. our lovely, delicious, vegan, meal. we were so stuffed. but so happy! it was great! At one point during the meal, the man-friend said, "I was worried when you said that it was all vegan that it would taste boring. but this is defnitely NOT boring!"

that's right. our valentine's day was not boring.

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what did you do for your day?

.my love and i.

so, i will totally devote an entire post to the meal, but the man-friend and i went out to the most delicious, vegan, 6 course, aphrodisiac dinner at the garden grille on valentine's day . . . mmmmm!!! best part? mushroom "calamari" with chili oil. afterwards, we took some awkward photos to try to commemorate the fact that we actually got dressed up and spent some time together.

I think there is an elephant stalking us . . .

the best shot we could get. we need our own personal photographer!

valentine shoes fancies

we have hardly had much time together lately since he's been studying for his exams. BUUUT, as of last friday, he is officially ABD for his PhD! this means he wont be spending every waking hour of his life cramming information in to his brain - only 40 hours a week. this also means that he and i will get to (hopefully) spend some more time together. we are looking forward to a trip to NYC pretty soon and, even sooner, breakfast together tomorrow morning! i love him.

speaking of spening all his time studying, this is what you get:

an 80 pound alaskan malamute who squeezes himself underneath your desk because he loves you and wants you to play with him instead of study.

sad face. luckily, now that the man-friend is done with his exams, he and the H-bomb will get to go hiking more often! maybe they'll let me tag along when i'm not at work? (i feel like i am aaallllways at work!).

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this weekend was nuts. a friend visited from out of town, REI president's day sale, valentine's day, several birthday parties, celebrating the ABD status of a certain man-friend, lots and lots of working, sleeping and eating . . . needless to stay tomorrow's day off will be sublime. on the agenda: sleeping in, breakfast with the man, bottling up some kombucha with juice, cleaning the house, organizing my life, roller derby practice. oh and did i mention lots of relaxing? yes. that's definitely on the agenda.

.smooth.

remember how i said i was going to make a kefir smoothie? well. i did and it was delicious. so yummy, that i had to share!!!

kefir is a delicious fermented, cultured dairy product. it is sort of like yogurt in a sense because it has live cultures and is super good for your immune system. but it is more of a beverage than yogurt (more liquid of a consistency). read this for more awesome info about kefir, what it is, what it does, and why you should love it.

here's how i made my smothie. a sort of DIY tutorial, if you will.

i started with a blender/juicer and added chopped up organic mango, organic banana and some organic frozen berries.
then i added some flax seed meal {about a TBSP}
flax seed is a great source of fiber and healthy fatty acids. adding a small amount to smoothies is a great way to add fiber to your diet. i also use ground flax seed meal as a substitute for eggs when i am baking for my vegan friends {heat 2-3 TBSP of water with 1 TBSP of flax until it takes on an egg-like consistency. this = one egg}. read this article for more about the awesomeness of flax.
anyway, after adding the flax, i added some local honey {local honey is GREAT for reducing seasonal allergies read this short article for more info on the benefits of local honey} , poured in the kefir and blended it up! it was pretty purple with bits of delicious mango floating in it! the banana and frozen berries gave it a great texture. the honey made it sweet like dessert, but really it was a great big helping of good-for-you fruit and cultured dairy!
remember to compost your fruit and vegetable scraps! {and pay no attention to the dog-hair balled up on my kitchen floor. i sweep EVERY DAY! malamutes are just fur-factories}.

there you have it! my nutritional overdose of information. that smothie was delicious. and served in an alaskan amber pint glass {procured fair and square from the summer i lived in juneau, ak}. my favorite beer, mmmmmm.

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spent the morning working in the massage studio and then ran errands in the FALLING SNOW after all my clients left. hit up the bank, post office, grocery store and . . . urban outfitters and details {a local socks/tights/legwarmers shop . . . they had a winter sale! legwarmers for $6!!!}. urban outfitters is weakness of mine. i got m ward's album "hold time" on vinyl for $4.99!!! yummy. i also picked up some arnica gel and homeopathic tablets . . . roller derby practice made me a little sore last night . . . remind me to tell you about "blood and thunder" sometime. so fun!