Tag Archives: Valentine’s Day

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

February 2013: Birthday Cards

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!

February 2013: running race

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?

February 2013: Mia

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?

February 2013: Matchbox

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.

February 2013: Valentine's Day

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!

February 2013: new house

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)!

February 2013: old kitchen

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.

February 2013: organization

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!

February 2013: pizza

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;

February 2013: soup

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?

Happy Valentine’s Day 2013

Tune in tomorrow for some exciting news!  Until then, enjoy some chocolates & wine tonight!

Valentine's Day

Need last minute Valentine’s Day dinner ideas?  Check these out:

Appetizers:
Apples, Blue Cheese & Honey
Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Sides:
Shirmp ‘n Grits
Butternut Squash & Pomegranate Panzanella Salad

Main:
Filet Mignon with Bourbon Sauce
Apple & Smoked Cheese Whole Wheat Pizza
Vegetable Coq au Vin
Brazilian Fish & Shrimp Stew
Green Pea & Pancetta Linguine
Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese
Mac ‘n Cheese with Peas & Prosciutto
Rigatoni with Vegetables, Figs & Blue Cheese
Clams and Linguine with White Wine Sauce
Eggplant & Broccolini Pasta Salad

Dessert:
Baklava
Blackberry Coconut Tart
Blueberry-Rhubarb Crumble
Chocolate Mini Lavas
Fruit Tart

Happy Valentine’s Day!

If you take away all of the commercial hype about Valentine’s Day, I think it can be quite a nice day.  Take a few moments to spread some love!

I hope you called your friends and family to tell them that you love them!  Wore socks with pink and red hearts, and enjoy some delicious chocolates!

This was a perfect recipe- it had 2 servings (so there were no seconds to worry about)!  Although if Sam wasn’t going to eat his portion, I was willing to “take one for the team” and eat it for breakfast tomorrow…with some ice cream on top!

Lots of love and hugs to all of our readers- thank you so much for sticking around!!!

Next up- Lobster & Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese!  Double yum!

Chocolate Mini Lavas
Adapted from: A Meandering Mango

pinch of butter
2 tbsp sifted flour + 1 tsp flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar + 1 tbsp more for decoration
1 tsp half and half (or milk)
3.5 oz dark chocolate*
1 tsp espresso, ground
1 tsp vanilla
scoop of vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 425ºF.  While the oven is heating up grease 2 small ramekins (size: 4 oz) with butter.  Then dust the inside of the ramekins with 1 tsp of flour (1/2 tsp for each ramekin).

Add the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Slowly, add the powdered sugar while mixing the ingredients.

In a double boiler, melt your chocolate and add the half and half.  Once the chocolate is melted, add the ground espresso.  Mix it well before adding it to the egg-sugar mixture.  While mixing the chocolate-egg-sugar mixture, add the vanilla.  Finally, slowly add the flour.  Once all of the ingredients are mixed together, divide the mixture between the ramekins.

Bake for 7 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and allow them to rest for about 5-10 minutes.  Then tip them out of the ramekins onto your serving dish.  Sift some powdered sugar on top for decoration.  Feel free to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream with this delicious treat!

*We used a fair trade Costa Rican chocolate- 71% Cacao Dark Chocolate; try using the best you can find*