Adventure Begins in the Kitchen
It’s been non-stop dreary since I arrived in DC on Tuesday.
And usually dreary weekdays at home equal movie time with this guy.
But since I’m not home, I ordered delivery (again) and tried to replicate an HLS meal as closely as possible. Cremini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, artichokes, truffle oil, and Daiya pizza on whole wheat crust from Zpizza.
Now back to work! One more day o’ meetings til the weekend!
Have any fun plans for the weekend?
Simply put, today was terrible. Like 9 hours of back to back meetings and thinking that you have the chicken pox terrible. What? Chicken pox? Yes… Chicken Pox. Never had ’em. But more realistic than pox was probably the woody photo shoot from Saturday.
Apparently I was attacked by something from the nature world. So it looks as though I’m neither athletic nor outdoorsy. Thank goodness for being cook-y and crafty, right? Oh, and Calagel, thank goodness for that, too. I put my label reading skills to the test to find which product had the most of everything relief related. Calagel won and it worked. Highly recommend the stuff. Saved my life.
When I got back to the hotel, I placed a delivery order with Urban Thai, knowing they already had my address on file. Yum tofu and supposed-to-be vegetarian pad thai. Here’s to hoping my leper-ness goes away before my weekend with Emily!!!
Are you the one that always gets bitten in a crowd or are you the luckier sort that leaves the nature scene bite free?
I’ve posted up at the same Crystal City hotel spot frequently enough to know the lay of the land, but not long enough to stop thinking that Crystal City is a goofy name. Don’t you think Crystal City should look like the picture below and not the picture above?
Crystal City… Emerald City… Potayto, Potahto.
And since I’ve crossed the line of feeling familiar, I braved walking the dusk streets rather than ordering delivery. This was a big step for me. I’m afraid of the dark. Like… more afraid than any little kid you know.
I read every street-side menu and finally decided on one of the seven Italian restaurants on the strip: Cucina Vivace. The chilled tomato and roasted pepper soup and linguine with olive oil, spinach, and herbs caught my attention.
I could have done without the soup, it was a little chunkified for my liking, but the pasta was super fresh, delicate, and well seasoned. I felt really terrible leaving my leftovers but, like I told the waiter (who thought my flashy camera was an indicator that I was important), leftovers and hotel rooms don’t quite mix.
Have you ever noticed a difference in restaurant service when you’re with camera as opposed to without?
I’d be lying if I said I had high expectations for dinner tonight. I was hoping for an empty pantry miracle and the fact that I was able to create something edible, well I’ll consider that the miracle.
Hulled barley leftover from my fourth blog post ever? Ok!
Once I passed the shock that a. the barley was still good and b. I could pinpoint the exact moment I last used it, I dumped a couple cans of beans, oil and vinegar, and some spices in a cast iron pot and then gracefully spilled the spices all over the floor. Oops!
This recipe wasn’t tasty enough to share. But! I do think the barley and bean combo was delish and would love to hear your suggestions on what ingredients I could have added to make it a share worthy dish.
