Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Vegas Weekend

  On my last day in West Chester, I stopped at Carlino's for some delicious homemade Italian eats.  When I went up to the pizza counter, I saw the type of pizza that I had been longing for.  A delicious slice of veggie heaven.  I also checked out the dessert counter and took home a pumpkin cupcake.  Anybody who knows me, knows I love anything pumpkin-flavored.
 The veggie-filled pizza had broccoli rabe, red peppers, onions, artichokes, olives and mozzarella.
 Check out those desserts.

 That pumpkin cupcake looks amazing, doesn't it?  Amazing it was not.  That bite was my first and only bite.  I have a very high standard for cupcakes;  I'll pay $4 for a cupcake but it better be good.  This cupcake was dry and did not have the least smidgen of pumpkin flavor.  The frosting was also like pure butter and not in a good way.  Like eating buttercream without the sugar.
 So, the pizza was actually the night before last.  The picture above is my last cooked meal.  It was called use up everything in the frig.  Brown rice with bell pepper, carrots, broccoli and snow pea sprouts.  I seasoned it with tons of garlic and some soy sauce.
   After driving home the 7+ hours to WV, I did not feel like cooking at all.  I ended up eating this frozen Trader Joe's channa masala.  It was really good, and that's some brown rice to go with it.
 This was mine and Andy's 1st dinner together since I got home.  We whipped up taco salads for dinner; Andy's with meat and mine with soy crumbles.  We added corn, scallions, tomatoes, Greek yogurt and salsa.  We also stopped at Qdoba to pick up some chips and guacamole.  No need to make my own when I can be lazy.
 This was my breakfast the other morning....basically amazing.  Nature's Pride fig and flax waffles with pumpkin yogurt (plain Greek yogurt with pumpkin, cinnamon, and honey) and a drizzle of wildberry syrup. I also threw in 2 egg whites for protein.  That's some delicious Peet's coffee in the seasonal mug.

 On the go lunch to the airport.  Boca black bean burger on an Ezekiel english muffin with mustard, lettuce, tomato and avocado.
 Saw these in the airport....I would've bought them except that they were on the pricey side, and obviously not something I truly needed.
   Even though it was a short business trip, I still had a lot of fun.  But I am officially sick of Vegas.  3 times in one year is more than enough for me.  The above picture is of Tacos and Tequila, the little restaurant in The Luxor.  The food was pretty good, and they had great salsa.
 Funny picture of the hot sauce.
 And because I'm immature, a picture a funnily-named art gallery.
 Dinner with the hubby last night.  It feels so good to cook in my own kitchen.  I made some long grain brown and wild rice with roasted broccoli and sauteed shrimp.  I also bought a whole wheat baguette and made garlic bread.  I've had a spice mix in my spice cabinet forever that is supposed to be sprinkled on bread, and boy was it good.  Glad that I finally got to use it.  Salad on the side with romaine, bell pepper, scallions, avocado, green olives, radishes, and balsamic vinegar. 
The 2007 Napa merlot was amazing.
Today's lunch was a tikka masala burger with leftover rice and broccoli from last night.
Have a lovely day!




Saturday, September 25, 2010

Pre-Vegas Post

Sorry for the lack of posting.  My last week of my rotation was busy with me trying to get things wrapped up, and I left for home at 5AM on Friday.  I'm leaving for the ACEP scientific assembly in Vegas today in an hour, so as soon as I get back home on Monday I will post.  Enjoy your weekend!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Last Week

I'm now finishing up the last week of my rotation here in Delaware.  I have to say that it's been awesome.  My last day is on Thursday, so it's kind of bittersweet.  Can't wait to see my husband and puppy but it's been really nice working here.  I've also realize that at work in the ED, I get so caught up in what I'm doing that I forget to eat.  For example I had 2 egg whites on a biscuit yesterday morning around 6:30AM but didn't eat lunch until 2PM when an attending mentioned it to me.  Lunch was also uneventful.
Yep....a bagel with cream cheese and an iced tea.  Not very exciting.  Since I'm leaving here on Friday, I'm not going grocery shopping, even though I have no dinner food.  Jazmine Thai, the local Thai restaurant was the answer.  There were so many awesome options on the menu, but I decided to go with pad thai.  I love it so much, that I didn't want to be disappointed by anything else.
How cute is that carrot on the side?  That's also a dollop of spiralized beet beside the carrots.  Soooo good.  The tangy lime wedges and freshly chopped cilantro really made the dish.  There was so much food that I couldn't eat it all....meaning more for lunch today.
Today's breakfast was oats....but I wasn't feeling them so I didn't eat very much.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Where's the Funnel Cake?

  Courtney and I got to experience the restaurant festival here in West Chester, PA.  Talk about amazing.  The food at this restaurant festival was all about the "foodie experience."  I was about to fist-pump in the street because there were no funnel cakes to be found (okay, there was one place with funnel cakes).  Funnel cakes are out and crab cakes are in.  Festival food of the caliber I saw today has never graced the streets of Huntington, WV.  I will just let the pictures do the talking.
Pumpkin yogurt!!!  Also original tart with mochi and raspberries.  Pumpkin was killer!
You read that sign right....wild boar chili, buffalo tacos, teriyaki kangaroo, and elk burgers.
Courtney's 1st time eating raw oysters....she likes it!  Hey Mikey!
Crab, spinach, and sausage stuffed mushrooms.
Roasted pork with spicy red peppers and broccoli rabe...
Thai iced tea!

Weekend of Fun

  This is going to be a long post, but I had a really fun weekend with some good friends.  I lucked out and ended up having the weekend off so I was free for fun activities.  I drove down to Baltimore and met my friend Tristan who is doing a rotation at University of Maryland. Our other friend Courtney drove up and joined us.  (Courtney also wanted to see the children's hospital in Delaware.) 
Dinner in Baltimore was quite the experience.  Tristan claimed that he had been in Maryland for 3 weeks and hadn't yet had a crab cake.  We walked to Fell's Point, to a place called Duda's tavern.  You really could have walked right past this restaurant without noticing it.  It was packed, and a definite hole in-the-wall.  Our dinner was not only delicious, but reasonable priced.  Tristan got crab cakes, I got fried cod and fries, and Courtney got a steak with brie and almonds.
  The beer above was the choice beer for the evening.  Courtney was determined to find some pumpkin beer and lo and behold there was pumpkin beer on draft.  Enter Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale....if you are a pumpkin beer lover, I order you to get in your car right now and buy some.  You will not be disappointed. 
  We went out dancing for the rest of the evening and had a great time...maybe even a little too great.  So, we also met Michael Phelps at the bar.  He is a jerk.  Not even the least bit friendly.
  Courtney and I drove back up to Delaware Saturday morning and knew we needed a great lunch spot.  We both wanted fresh salads or something.  We stumbled across a restaurant called "Fresh Thymes", a local vegan/vegetarian/carnivore friendly establishment specializing in local, organic, and fresh foods.  WOW!  This place ranks as one of the best places I've ever eaten.  Courtney and I started with a cup of fresh tomato soup.  This was basically a bowl of pureed tomatoes full of various savory herbs.
I ended up ordering the grilled cheese:  artisan white bread with garlic and chive cheddar, and tomatoes.  The salad on the side was mixed greens, red onion, apple, and a fresh lemon balsamic dressing.
How cute is this restaurant?
  Courtney's meal was a wrap made of lox, guacamole, blue cheese, onions, tomatoes, and field greens.  Also delicious.  And that's me in the background dipping my grilled cheese into the tomato soup.

  Obviously food has been the theme of this trip.  We ended our festivities at Limoncello, a local West Chester Italian restaurant.
The meal starts out with bruschetta and rosemary garlic focaccia bread.
I ended up going with the spinach stuffed manicotti.
 Courtney had the chicken sorrento.  Chicken over capellini served with artichokes, roasted red pepper, and olives.  Hers was by far the best dish of the night.

  Leah went with the Limoncello chicken; chicken breast over pasta with crab meat and asparagus.
  Hope everyone has a great day.  We're off to the restaurant festival!
 

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

RIP Cashew Butter

  Yesterday was another uneventful day.  I hope I'm not boring everyone.  I wish I could tell you the really awesome stuff I see in the ED, but  I don't want to break any HIPPA violations. Last night was a semi-busy night with a few traumas thrown in.  I went for a 4-mile run yesterday....I should say a walk/run because my pumpkin patch trail has KILLER hills.  Killer as in, "If I did this every day I would have the best butt in town."  I am definitely sore today...thanks to running up the hills to Hades combined with P90x.  Lunch yesterday before work was an amazing salad and the rest of my Primo Hoagie.
   Check out that salad beast!  This was a peppery bed of arugula with carrots, red bell pepper, snow pea sprouts, and avocado topped with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
  When I was at the hospital last night, I decided that I really needed some coffee.  Anyone who knows me knows that it's not even so much a matter of having the caffeine, but just that I LOVE coffee.  My family on my mom's side are to thank for this; any family event requires that there be more than one coffeepot going at once so there's enough coffee for everyone.  We are hardcore coffee drinkers.  I'm talking, 100 degrees outside at a BBQ, but I'm going to have coffee with my dessert.  I would also like to add that I'm a self-professed coffee snob.  If the coffee's not good, I'm not drinking it.  That being said, last night when the resident told me where I could get us some coffee, I was hesitant about the quality.
  I told her I would grab her a cup and she said she wanted a vanilla coffee with cream.  Vanilla?  There were flavors in the lounge?  So as I made my way up to the surgery lounge, feeling like the new kid in the lunchroom, I spotted Keurig coffee makers.  Lo and behold, there were tons of coffee/hot cocoa/tea K-cups!!!!  That coffee is excellent.  I tried to hide the excitement from everyone in the lounge.  Didn't want to look any less cool than I already felt up there in surgery land.
You can't tell but there was regular and decaf of every flavor.  Pumpkin spice, French vanilla, Vanilla Caramel Brulee, and many others.  However, I was blinded by the pumpkin spice and knew it had to be mine.  Divine!!  I will be making frequent trips up there during my shifts. 
  When I got home at 2:00, I ended up eating some leftover pasta from the other night.  Wasn't really feeling it, but I hadn't eaten since lunch.  I know, I know.  Not good to be waiting so long between meals.  Normally I would yell at anyone doing such a thing, but the ED is a land where time flies by and your stomach has no time to register that it's hungry.
  Breakfast this morning was lovely, but hear me out.  I used my usual oatmeal but added chopped bananas and an egg white while it was cooking.  Egg white, you say?  The lovely Jenna over at Eat Live Run has used egg whites in her oatmeal before, and I'm a huge fan.  You just whisk them right in while the oats are cooking, towards the end of the cook time.  You don't taste eggs, but they give a really nice boost of protein and add creaminess to the oats.  I also had a near empty cashew butter jar that I served my oats in.....if you read blogs you'll understand this...OIAJ.  Oats in a jar.  If you haven't tried it, do it immediately.

Today's Oats
-  TJ's oat mix
-  egg white
-  cashew butter
-  1T chocolate chips
-  1/2 banana
-  Salted peanuts (this was a brilliant addition....salty + sweet)
Have a good day.

My Schedule:
4-Midnight work
6:30- leave work to go to Journal club at Tyler Fitzgerald's in Wilmington, DE