good times, great oldies

This past weekend, I got to spend some quality time with a few of my wackiest oldest friends! 

Thursday night, we met up at Shannon & Russ's for a bottle of wine and some cheese from Cardullo's. Afterward, Jordan, Trinity and I headed out for dinner and ended up at Sacco's for bowling, pizza and beers. We ordered the special, which was a pear, arugula pizza with a white cheese sauce and a mushroom, goat cheese and peppers. They were so good...

...and a nice compliment to our beertinis (its a Boston thing... that we invented). Some other things happened after that, but I'll just leave you with a photo of the beertinis...

its just beer

On Saturday, I took Trinity, Jordan and Andrew to my favorite breakfast spot, Uncommon Grounds for some eggs benedict and a short stack.

 (clockwise, from top left: salmon, crab cake, spinach & feta)

It was a crazy fun, unexpected weekend, one that I desperately needed.

I spent most of my calories on lunch today, so for a light dinner, I made a tuna salad. Instead of preparing it the traditional way with globs of mayo, I opted for a few healthier add-ins. I mixed in some whole grain mustard, a little horseradish, s+p and chopped tomatoes. Then I scooped it onto a bed of arugula and drizzled a little oil and balsamic vinegar over it. Deee-licious.

I can't wait to eat the rest tomorrow on a sandwich.

Finally, I have some sad and happy news. The sad news is, after three years in Boston, I have decided it's time to move on. It's been an incredible three years, and I am so, so sad to go. But it's time. The good news is, I'm headed back to Florida. Back to my family and friends, back to non-rocky, warm-water beaches and back to teaching. I am so excited.

This should mean exciting things for FeDish! I've learned a lot about food and cooking over the past three experimental years, and it will be fun to apply my Boston-influence to the way we cook down south. I'm also really excited to cook for my Florida people.

So, needless to say, there is a lot of partying to be done between now and then. Sanne's birthday is tomorrow (and its restaurant week!), and this weekend, I'm getting my favorite Indians together for some cooking and dancing! Stay tuned!

m

turkey, two ways

My friend Madaline introduced me to the most delicious thing, Picadillo. It's ground beef, black beans, peas sauteed in mojo sauce and yellow rice. You're supposed to make a humongous pan of it and eat it for days afterward, and it gets more and more delicious with every passing day. I was thinking about picadillo tonight on my way home from class. But, for the very first time in my entire life, I am sort of... counting calories. So I decided to make a healthier version of this dish. Truth be told, I've been wanting to do this since the nutrition episode of The Biggest Loser, about a month or so ago. But I literally have not cooked anything that would constitute "health food" since then so...

I started with ground turkey. I put aside enough to make one patty, for another dish, which I'll tell you about shortly, and threw the rest into a lightly sprayed pan. No butter, no oil. Also, I decided to forgo the mojo sauce. First of all, I haven't seen any since I moved to Massachusetts. Secondly, I thought I could season it in a more health-conscious way. So I used lemon juice, chopped cilantro, garlic, a little chili powder, and pepper (no salt!). I didn't have any onion, otherwise I would have thrown a little of that in. But it still turned out awesome.

accidental effects

I decided to save my picadillo for lunch the following day. For dinner, I mixed a little of my chopped garlic, cilantro, pepper and balsalmic vinegar into a small turkey patty. I sprayed my pan again and cooked the patty until medium. When it looked almost finished, I sprinkled a little cheddar cheese on top. I served it sans bun (just like Bob Harper likes it) on a bed of arugula and tomato slice, with a little dab of whole grain mustard and a side of red wine (for the heart).

I'm really happy with the way my turkey dinner (and lunch) turned out, and even happier that I saved myself like, 700 calories by skipping the butter, oil, salt, beef, bun, rice, etc. Here are some more healthy substitutions for you. Are there any missing from this list that you use?

m