Summer came and went just like that. Anybody else feel like the season slipped right through their fingers? I mean, I barely ate enough peaches! I only ate one s’more! I went to the beach twice, and I live just ten minutes away from the water. Come onnnnnn. Anyway, here’s a recap of the things I did enjoy over the last couple of months. Bon app!
Peaches and raspberries, both from the local farmers market. Every Saturday, I make my way around the market and try to buy something new to me, or at least from a farmer new to me. There is one exception to that rule, however - at the end of my market trail is a farmer who sells the most juicy, sweet, and perfectly plump and ripe stone fruits during the summer. We know each other at this point, and that makes me so very happy.
I’ve cut my coffee consumption in half because it was hurting my stomach and making my high stress levels these days only worse, but here’s a picture of a gorgeous and delicious dark chocolate mocha I made back when my coffee consumption was at an all-time high. Maybe someday when I feel like I can handle the extra caffeine I’ll create a recipe like this for the blog. I’ll also need an espresso machine… hmmm.
I’m into the whatever’s-in-the-fridge kind of dinners these days. Leftover sweet potato? Toss it in there. Kale? Massage it with some olive oil and toss him in there, too. Oooh! Finally! A nice avocado! The fried egg on top is self-explanatory. Duh. Then a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, a dash of hot sauce, and a drizzle of tahini to finish things off. This is becoming an ideal dinner!
Banana bread - a classic breakfast-y baked good, especially in my world. If there isn’t a loaf of banana bread already made or one in the making, I must be sick or something. And now I have this brown butter banana bread recipe and I’m wondering how I ever lived without it?? I highly - very highly - recommend the cream cheese frosting, and if you’re out of the juicy summer peaches the recipe calls for, don’t fret. You can certainly swap those for some homemade raspberry chia seed jam (recipe here) and let yourself fall in love with the combination of brown butter banana bread + cream cheese frosting (a healthy one!) + raspberry jam (again, a healthy one!).
One of the biggest perks of my job - other than meeting and connecting with tons of cool healthy foodies all day - is that lunch is provided for me every single day and I can choose from anything off our menu at Nourish. Before I actually started working, I was all prepared to pack a lunch everyday just as I did when I was in school, but this is so. much. better. Pictured above is our eggplant caponata grilled cheese (one of my top 3 favorite items on our menu) and a classic caesar salad.
Given that I don’t need to think twice about lunch five days a week, you might assume that I’d be all jazzed up for dinner - creativity wheels spinning away with ideas for what to make. NOPE. I usually come home with an exhausted brain after a day full of human interaction and recipe development, so lately, I’m keeping dinners simple. Seared broccoli and Banza mac n’ cheese is easy, comforting, and ever so satisfying.
Of all the delicious restaurants in SLO, Taste is one that stands out from the rest. It caters to those of us who want one of everything on the menu - pick 2-4 items for a taste of whatever is catching your eye. You’ll pick from the long list of sliders, mac n’ cheese, brussels sprouts, and salads. Just make sure to give yourself enough time to actually choose because it can be difficult. While you’re making your decision, munch on some of their sweet potato fries because they’re really dang good. I also recommend the salmon sliders and the lamb slider!
Did I mention how much I love my weekday lunch situation? No? Oh, well ITS AWESOME. I consider it a blessing. While I love love lovvvve our sandwiches at Nourish, sometimes I just need a plate of veggies and meat. This is our Italian roasted cauliflower salad with arugula, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and an apple cider vinaigrette, and our fresh corn salad with cucumber, cherry tomato, basil, and a lemon vinaigrette alongside our roasted tamarind glazed turkey. I felt like both salads needed some feta, so I added the feta. Boom. Lunch is served.
I like my lunches and dinners to be exciting and adventurous these days, but I stick to this for breakfast most of the time. Some 5% Greek yogurt, homemade raspberry jam (same recipe as above), and sliced banana. The sweet and slightly tart jam combined with the silky, tangy, rich yogurt is just sooOoOOoo good. Later on in the morning, usually around the time I get to work, I need a little something starchy to nibble on so I bring one of these dark chocolate chunk zucchini muffins or some banana bread or something to hold me over until lunch. Ask my why I love mornings so much and the food is one big part of that!
Okay I lied a little bit. Of course, there are some mornings when I just want peanut butter toast and, for whatever the reason, those mornings are usually weekend mornings. Breaking Bread Bakery, a local bakery in SLO, makes THE BEST whole-grain bread and it’s hard to have good toast without it now that I’ve become accustomed to its perfection. Quality bread, RX Bar nut butter (or regular, but I like the subtle flavors here), and banana - simple, easy, and satisfying. In case you’re curious, I used those last two very ripe bananas and the last of the nut butter in the RX jar to whip up a crazy-good banana bread. Coming soon!
Do happy hour the right way and get an order of sweet potato fries. Do it. My favorite spot for happy hour these days is Lido at Dolphin Bay - fantastic service, great happy hour prices, and a gorgeous view of the ocean. It doesn’t get better than that!
Last but most certainly not least - Old San Luis BBQ. It’s a 7-minute walk from my apartment and I won’t say that wasn’t a small reason (one of the many) Grace and I picked this apartment. Priorities! I know it’s a barbecue place, but it’s worth mentioning that their sweet potato fries are the best in town. The very best. In terms of actual barbecue, I love love love their pulled pork slider - that and the bbq chef salad you see Grace digging into in this picture are my go-to orders. I did branch out, though, and try the tri-tip which is also fantastic. But pulled pork.
I eat a lot and take pictures of whatever I’m eating just as often. It’s quite fun, actually. Thanks for reading along! I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I do! See ya’ next time.