Monthly Review: February 2013

This past month has flown by for us, check out what photos I have captured on my iPhone!

Interested in what we’ve done in past months?
2012: May June July August November December
2013: January

The month of February started off with my birthday on Groundhog’s Day!  Sam made me a delicious Birthday Fruit Tart (just like last year!).  Do you have friend’s birthdays coming up?  Check out the Cherry-Chocolate Birthday Cake or this delicious steak meal!

With other Back on My Feet members I ran the Love the Run You’re with 5K, sponsored by Pacers!  Although it was a little cold, we had sunny weather that was perfect for a morning run.  In March, I’m running the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in DC.  This Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole is a perfect post-run breakfast!  What races did you run, or are planning on running?

Our friends Stephanie and Jack were out of town, so we got a chance to spend time with their dog Mia!  Isn’t she adorable?  Do any readers out there have dogs?

For my birthday lunch, my friend Jess took me to the new Matchbox on 14th.  The restaurant has an open feel, and very well lit- it was great to try some new things on their menu.  I know the sliders and pizzas are the most popular, but do any of you have any favorites?  I’d love to hear suggestions.

Jess and I also made these fun cookies for our husbands for Valentine’s Day!

If you’d like try a new cookie recipe, try the Sesame Seed & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies I made!

The most exciting news for us this month: we bought a new house!!!  Our 1 bedroom condo sold and we’ve moved to a bigger house!  Yay for extra space!  Still in DC, just a different neighborhood (which means, more adventures)!

With the move, we had to say good-bye to our fifth floor kitchen.  This is where the blog started, but don’t worry, we’ll be sticking to the original blog name.  The last food we made there were the Sesame Seed & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

As we’re slowly unpacking all of our boxes, we also got some new housewarming gifts!  Thanks Aunt Kate for these awesome OXO containers- a perfect gift for a new pantry!

We’ve already had some visitors this past week, our new kitchen and living room layout is perfect for entertaining.  Need some ideas for foods to make when you have visitors?  (Above is the Apple & Smoked Cheese Pizza.)

Appetizers: Apples, Blue Cheese & Honey; Fig & Arugula Flatbread; Fresh Corn Salsa; Roasted Mushrooms with Parsley; Spinach & Artichoke Dip;

Entrees: Beef & Rice Stuffed Zucchini; Vegetable Coq au Vin; Baingan Bharta; Bok Choy & Mushroom Bulgur; Lamb, Carrot & Turnip Stuffed Cabbage;

Brunch: Mushroom Shallot Frittata; Smokey Quiche; Zucchini Bread;

Dessert: Baklava; Blueberry-Rhubarb Crumble; Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate; Rum Raisin Ice Cream; Tart Cherry Pie;

I finished off the month by checking out a new restaurant in Chinatown- Daikaya (the new ramen spot).  The downstairs opened up on February 14th, and currently they are serving 4 different types of traditional ramen soup.

Over the last 5 years I have learned that DC is a small city.  Turns out my new friend Carol, who I met at Back on My Feet, knows a fellow DC blogger who has been participating in the Food Matters Project.  Also a runner, Meg has her own food blog, Fledgling Foodie.  It was wonderful to finally meet her, and it’s always nice to have more foodie friends!

Can’t wait for all new things in March!  Do any of you have any fun plans?

June Review

It seemed like a lot of people liked the May review, so I think I might make this a regular post each month.  So what photos did I capture on my iPhone this month?

As I’m sure everyone has seen on Pinterest, drinks in jars are the cool new thing!  My friend Carrie loves this idea, and we cooled off with mimosas one night (grapefruit juice & prosecco)!

Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market finds!  My favorite from that week were the peas- could not stop eating them!

Blueberry picking at Butler’s Orchard with friends, what a great way to spend a Saturday!  Also, it’s a great excuse to make a blueberry-oat crumble!

Another week of deliciousness from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market!  This weeks favorites were the squash blossoms for a frittata and more peas!

Sam and I were dog and cat sitting one weekend.  We tried out an new coffee place, Pound the Hill and made a blueberry-oat crumble!

An amazing dinner at Hank’s Oyster Bar!  They have 2 locations- Dupont & Alexandria!  We went sailing that afternoon, so the oysters were a perfect finish to a great Sunday!

We went to a fabulous dinner at Jose Andres Zaytinya with a friend who is spending 2 months in Turkey!  This is one of the top 10 restaurants in DC, should be on everyone’s list to try!

More goodies from the Penn Quarter Farmers Market!  The delicious tart cherries were made into a pie, just like last year!  We devoured the green beans dipped in hummus, a perfect snack!

We celebrated my friend Becky’s birthday with a Cherry-Chocolate Birthday Cake in Baltimore!

Jessica–  friend and fellow blogger– is fostering kittens!  At the time I was there, all 4 still needed a home- I almost wanted to bring one home with me!

Last weeks goodies from the Penn Quarter Farmers Market.  Check out what I made with the beets– a perfect mid-day snack!  Tomatoes, peaches and nectarines are finally here!

Finally, while visiting Williamsburg, VA for a weekend we spotted these lemon ball cucumbers at the Williamsburg Farmers Market!  They taste just like a cucumber, but in a fun shape and color!

Busy Weekend & a Blueberry Oat Crumble

I apologize for the lack of posts in the last week, but it’s been a busy weekend!  But don’t worry, this does not mean we have not been cooking or baking.

As you might have noticed, due to the craziness, there was no Food Matters Project post this week.  This weeks host was Margarita, from Let’s Cook and Be Friends, and she chose the Chocolate-Cherry Panini.  She’s wonderful about commenting on all posts- I always love hearing from her!  Although we didn’t make Mark Bittman’s recipe, definitely check out what the other bloggers did!

So this last weekend Sam and I were dog-sitting and cat-sitting!  It was a lot of fun hanging out with our furry friends:

Wayne was hanging out with us for almost 2 weeks while his parents were having fun at weddings.  He was trying to do some yoga moves with me, the Downward-Facing Dog was giving him some problems!

We also enjoyed a lovely weekend with Mia, her parents were also at a wedding!  (wedding season is upon us!) Can you tell she was eying something delicious on the table? (chips & salsa)

Our plan on Saturday was to make burgers and enjoy our friends porch in the lovely Capitol Hill neighborhood.  The weather was absolutely amazing, and I wanted something easy for dessert.  We still had leftover blueberries from my visit to Butler’s Orchard, and a crumble just had to be made!

I have very fond memories of blueberry picking with my parents.  I spent a couple of summers at Cedar Lodge, a horseback riding camp, eating s’mores.  The camp is located in Michigan, which is definitely a blueberry state!  At the end of every summer, when my parents picked me up, our next stop was one of the blueberry farms which you can find right off of I-94.  We always drove back with a couple of buckets of blueberries that we snacked on as we sat through the Chicago traffic!

Blueberry Oat Crumble
Adapted from: Bake Your Day

This dessert is also perfect for breakfast- especially when it’s a little cold!  It’s not just a summer dessert, but can always be made from frozen fruit (defrosted) throughout the year.  If you don’t have blueberries, definitely give this a try with any fruit that’s in season!

2 1/2 cup oats
2 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup canola oil
3 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Meanwhile, grease a 9’x13′ baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine and stir oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.

In a small pan, over medium heat, melt the butter.  Once it’s melted, add the almond extract and vanilla, stir well.  Next, add the melted butter and canola oil into the large bowl of dry ingredients, stir well.  Lastly, gently fold in the blueberries.

Transfer the mixture into the greased baking pan.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.  Allow to cool completely before cutting.  It’s wonderful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

May Review

Some bloggers have been doing monthly reviews of what photos they have on their phones.  I thought this would be fun since I’ve been using my phone quite a bit to capture food!

My friends made reservations to visit the pop-up restaurant Bandolero early in the month.  The owner of Tackle Box allowed Mike Isabella to take over the space until he could open up his restaurant in Georgetown.  When we visited, a $65 five-course tasting menu was available, and it was very delicious!  Last summer, Sam and I tried Graffiato and loved it, and I enjoyed the Mexican menu just as much.

The official Bandolero in Georgetown opened up about 2 weeks ago.  I’m looking forward to stopping in one day and trying out the margaritas on tap!

Above are this month’s Farmer’s Market finds!  Lots of yummy things to taste and cook with from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market!  Check out the kohlrabi salad I had made!

Sam and I enjoyed a lovely evening outdoors at Kushi.  This was the first time there, and the sushi was delicious!

I went to the Lady Antebellum concert with friends, to celebrate a birthday- perfect Sunday evening!

I made some new friends at the Eat Write Retreat 2012 food blogger conference!  One evening I had dinner with Jessica (Feastie) and Emily (Em-i-lis), and we had a chance to play with Percy!  Isn’t he the cutest?!?

For Carolyn’s birthday we went out to dinner, and got to celebrate with a delicious dessert!  I also made her some Peanut Butter & Jelly cookies, yum!

As we do every year, Sam and I went strawberry picking!  Yum!!!  If you still have strawberries in your kitchen, you should try this dessert!

My friend Stephanie and I took a pasta class at Hill’s Kitchen.  I feel more confident in making pasta, can’t wait to put a delicious recipe on the blog.  I think it’d be perfect with Sam’s summer sauce!