Saturday (his: Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes, Garlic, Capers and Olives

Another humble attempt at making a home-cooked meal for one. I biked to the grocery store to buy the tuna, tomatoes, capers, olives and anchovies and I followed this recipe. Penne pasta noodles probably would have been better than these spiral wheat noodles, but it still turned out okay. Not as great as the one I had during the summer! I wonder why? 

Friday (his): Sad pasta and gazpacho

From my summer subletter I inherited two big 2 lb bottles of Prego spaghetti sauce and a few bags of spiral pasta noodles. So I decided to make this sad pasta. At least the gazpacho was good. The last time I made it here I think I forgot the lemon zest. It's a start.

Thursday (his): Burger night at the Top

I know, I know. It's been four consecutive nights of eating out since getting back. I promise this will change. It's just that dinner is the best time to meet people and catch-up. Tonight it was the Top Burger with sweet potato fries. Not bad for a fancy burger, but I think I still might prefer the burgers at Buddha Belly and Mack's drive through. Friday night I'm eating in!

Monday through Saturday (Hers 8/22-8/27): Chicken, spaghetti, fruit, rice, salad, cupcakes, beef, potatoes, rice

Now that I'm back in a long distance relationship, my life is slowly going back to what it was like in May, April, March, February, January...etc. It is sad cooking for one again, but as a really strange creature of habit, there is something comforting about getting back in the kitchen and cooking my little meals. Strangely, I seemed to have cooked less this summer than I did during the regular year because I actually had someone to go out and eat with. When it's just me, I take a lot of pleasure and comfort in preparing my meals and putting half my food away for the next day's lunch. I'm back to eating chicken after a long hiatus. I blame the amount chicken I ate in college to by inability to enjoy it for the last 7-8 years. I also made spaghetti with meat sauce because my little sister was coming and I have no idea what to feed her except that. I'm going to let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Wednesday (his): Kung Pao Chicken at Hot Wok

Had dinner at Hot Wok with some friends. Needless to say, this Kung Pao chicken paled compared to Famous Joe's version. Eating here made me miss Prosperity Dumpling, too. Still, Hot Wok is the only decent Chinese take-out/dine-in place in Gainesville. The workers are younger and have a punkish vibe to them. The front person is a young woman and the kitchen guys all sport longish hair (I'd say mullets but I'm not quite sure what style it is) and wear jeans and cut-off t-shirts. I like to think they're in a band. Wok N Roll!

Tuesday (his): Pre-Workshop Dinner, or, A Return to Long Distance Dining

The three month hiatus on this blog meant that us long distance diners were no longer eating long distance, but eating together! It was great! It was lovely! It was as it should be. If only we had made a shadow blog for all the great things we ate and time we had.

However, as the picture above and this post attests to, we're back to eating long distance. Tonight was pre-workshop dinner at Leonardo's, a popular joint close to campus. I actually had the Veggie Pizza. (My cell phone won't send a pic to my e-mail, apparently) I suppose it was the appropriate dinner to return to, though I hope to not be eating so much pizza. (Last night I bought veggies for gazpacho on a late night grocery store run)

Sunday (hers): Homemade hummus

You may or may not be aware that I am really into garbanzo beans and have 8 cans sitting in my pantry. There would be more if I could carry the cans home from the market! I decided to make some hummus (tahini free) since I had the beans and the pita bread. It is so easy to make and so tasty. All you need is one can of garbanzo beans, juice of a lemon, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, 1 garlic clove, parsley, and some paprika to top it off.

Saturday (hers): Leftovers

Ok, I am totally aware that this picture is unappetizing and disgusting looking, but it's the truth. I ate some pita bread and my leftover steak for dinner. It tasted better than it looks....trust me...

Friday (hers): Retreat!

Went on a retreat for my work on Friday and stayed overnight at this bizarre conference center/country club near White Plains. I totally loved the location because it was different and I got my own room and did I mention there was a pool and an open bar and free food all the time, including gummy bears and individually wrapped jelly bellys? Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of our dinner, but here is the room where some of the meals were held. The dinner was in a private dining room, which I cannot find a picture of. I had seared tuna and soba noodles, mashed potatoes (2 servings), and hard boiled eggs.

Thursday (hers): Fancy Steak

I decided to broil up my last Trader Joe's ribeye (sob) on Thursday. It was so delicious and fatty. I also broiled some brussel sprouts (not a good idea--got too crispy) and microwaved a couple of potatoes. Mmmmmmm. Wish I could eat like this everyday, but I would be broke and huge.

Wednesday (hers): Rooftop Celebration

My workplace had their end of the year party on Wednesday. The party took place on a rooftop. The sun was drenching us and the food and wine kept flowing! This photo is not representative of what I ate that evening at all.
What I ate:
Sushi
satay
olives (green and kalamata and grossly covered with orange rind?)
Slider
prosciutto (lots)
cheese (not sure what kind)
dried cranberries
mini ham and cheese sandwich
More I can't even remember now

I love free food!!!

Tuesday (hers): Kind of disgusting

Turkey dog (see background), last of Steve's Key Lime Pie, and a spring salad with balsamic and olive oil.

Monday (hers): Serendipity Celebration

This was definitely one of the most stressful dining experiences I have had in awhile. My little sister just finished her first year of college, so we wanted to celebrate by having dinner at Serendipity. Since she was only going to be in NY for one night, we had to go to the restaurant directly from the train station. Since she was going home for the summer, she had her 57lb rolling suitcase as well as a giant duffel bag in tow. Needless to say, dragging that suitcase uptown, up the subway stairs, down the Serendipity stairs, then up them again, and so on....was not pleasant. Anyways, I got the Bleu Burger, which is basically a burger that has some blue cheese melted on top. It cost 14.00 for this pretty mediocre. I can't complain about the price too much because we were obviously eating at a tourist trap and we were obviously tourists with our giant luggage.

Sunday (hers): HOT DAWG

Since I didn't have access to running water, I decided to eat microwaved turkey hot dogs on a paper plate. I am sooo good at improvising!

Sunday (his): Mini Brat Fest!

 My sister making the ramen cole slaw

 Cooking the brats

Ready to eat! Today was the second consecutive day of mid-50s weather in Madison. Heat wave! We celebrated by having a mini brat fest this evening. As you can imagine, it was delicious.

One dinner last week (his): Ian's Pizza!

Was working on campus into the early evening one day last week and decided I needed to have Ian's pizza. Those are two slices of their Salad Pizza. Pretty good, though I still think I prefer Papa Murphy's version.

First week lunches (his): Enhanced Ramen

This is what lunch looked like a few times my first week back. Top Ramen with slices of that left over pork roast. Very good! It was either this or sandwiches.

First day into town -- Thursday, March 28 (His): Fries at Graze

First day back on campus, I met up with our friends Leah and Mary at the new bar Graze. I had these fries in your honor. They were pretty darn good. That's a hot toddy because my throat was really sore.

First night in Madison (his): cuban style pork roast

On my first night in Madison, K & B made cuban style pork roast and we made tacos. It was very yummy and fresh tasting and there was plenty of good pork left over for lunch for the rest of the week....

Last night in Gville (his): fish tacos, chips n salsa, jack and ginger

That was Wednesday, April 26th! A longish, but enjoyable night of eating the above and later, hanging out with friends. The fish tacos were unusually tasty and well presented. Usually, there's something lacking and they come (if I'm at the bar next door) wrapped in to-go tin foil. But that night they did it right. G'bye G'ville. Hello, Madison!

Friday (hers): Ramen

I met up with my roommate for oysters, fries, and cocktails again, and I had one too many cocktails. I was so tired and out of it by the time I got home that all I could muster was instant noodles. It was "xo flavored," which means who knows what, but I liked it and would eat it again.

Thursday (hers): Trader Joe's Indian Food

I finally broke down and bought the frozen Indian food at Trader Joe's. It just looked so good and I hadn't had Indian food for so long....I have to admit that I thought the Panak Paneer was quite tasty, and would get it again. It's much fattier than I'd like, but it is cheese in a creamily consistent spinach sauce and it is frozen. Grossos can't be choosers!

Wednesday (hers): Calzone

I was supposed to go the Mets game with my roommate, but the rainy and cold weather put us out. I couldn't really imagine traveling to Queens for the game after work and sitting in the cold, so we decided to get a calzone from our favorite pizza/calzone place, and watch the game from the comfort of the living room. And guess what? The giants won.

Tuesday (hers): Steak

Ahhhh....anyone who knows me knows that I don't like eating out that much, and that eating in is much more comfortable for me. I was so happy after my weekend of only eating out to be back in my kitchen, cooking for myself and cooking what I know.

Monday (hers): Lobster Roll

I finally tried my first lobster roll ever! I went to a cute place called Luke's that has several locations throughout the city. I was with my friend, so we ordered the two person combo, which came with 2 crab roll halves, 2 shrimp roll halves, 2 lobster roll halves, 4 empress claws, two bags of chips, and two sodas (I got blueberry). I also requested a pickle on the side and the cashier was happy to accommodate. I got a frequent lobster roll eaters card, so maybe I'll be back.

Sunday (hers): Filet Mignon

My friend was interested in visiting a steak house while he was visiting, so we opted for a local, lower key one. I really liked the atmosphere and the food. I was only irked when the waitress failed to bring us our check at the end of the meal, even though we were the only ones left in the restaurant and they were clearly cleaning up and trying to leave....Anyways, I got the prix fixe, which came with soup or salad, choice of steak (filet migon, skirt, and something else...), and a dessert. I got the salad, filet mignon, and swapped out my dessert option for an espresso.

Saturday (hers): Sashimi

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of my sashimi dinner, but here's a picture I found on yelp of the restaurant I went to. This is not the best sushi place ever, but it's always consistent and tasty and reasonably priced.

Friday (hers): Frankies

My friend from jr high/high school came to visit me for the weekend. He was in the mood for Italian, so I recommended Frankies (duh). I got the meatballs (duh) but decided to mix things up by ordering the braised octopus salad. The dressing was really delicious. I also ordered a glass of their house red wine (not bad at all, pretty smooth). I was just sad to see that they had clearly raised the prices across the menu and were now being skimpy on the bread (exactly one slice per patron). Sigh. I might be "over" Frankies for now, but who knows, maybe I'll come back.

Thursday (hers): Same old story

Because my friend was visiting for the weekend, I knew it was important to eat in in order to save money and calories. There wasn't much left to eat, so I dug into my pantry and pulled out the trusty garbanzo beans to make a salad, and baked up some more crinkle cut fries. I know, I'm out of control.

Wednesday (hers): Happy birthday roommate!

It was my roommate's 28th birthday, so I took him to our favorite oyster-happy hour place. East coast oysters are just $1 a piece, and the presentation is fresh and lovely. We added a side of old bay seasoned fries and ordered cocktails. I had a bloody mary and the roommate had a dark and stormy.

Tuesday (hers): Boiled pork and chinese broccoli

This was a pretty healthy and "traditional" meal. It's what you do when you don't know what else to do.

Monday (hers): Salad and Fries

I got some mixed lettuce and arugula from the local veggie/fruit market. I added dried cherries and feta and dressed the salad with balsamic and olive oil. Since woman cannot live on salad alone, I made some ore ida crinkle cut fries with a side of homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.

Sunday (hers): Ribs

Ribs baked/broiled with salt and pepper. Yum!

Sunday (his): Chinese Easter

This sure wasn't like Easter dinners of the past six years! How I miss them. This was Easter dinner with my friends Andrew and Emma at the Chinese take-out (also, eat in) place called Hot Wok. I had beef chow fun in honor of you and because I felt like it. I actually liked the place. The Chinese dudes who were running the show were both fobby and punk, it made for a great combo and atmosphere.

Sunday (hers): Happy Easter!

Because I don't plan on making anything special for dinner tonight (cuz my special someone is not with me), I am just posting this picture of the deviled eggs I prepared earlier today. Happy Easter!

Saturday (hers): Chinese Broccoli, free pizza

Because I had some instant noodles around 5, I only made some chinese broccoli for dinner. It was pretty delicious. I ended up going out to a local bar later in the evening, and luckily, there was free pizza. It was really weird pizza that was super fluffy and bready, but you can't complain when it's free and you've had is chinese broccoli.

Friday (hers): Filet o Fish n Fries

Is it me, or is Mcdonalds getting cheaper? At my neighborhood Mcdonalds, you can get a 2 Filet of Fish for 3 dollars, and 2 big Macs for 4.00 every day of the week. Also, shakes are just 1.89. I always thought they cost more for some reason. And of course, the pricepoint for Chicken Nuggets has gone way down now, nationwide. 20 pieces for 4.99. It used to cost that much for 10. It's so cheap and so hard to resist.