So It's Been A While...

Happy Monday!

Well, I guess I haven't blogged since...September 16th?  Ahh, September.  Warm weather, baseball games, and pool lounging.  I miss you.

January is...nice...too.

After Jonas came in and dropped 2+ feet on us here in NJ, it's officially our first SNOW DAY!

*insert hand clap for Snow Days*

Actually, it went a little more like this:

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Cait and I went to Farmicia in Philly for Restaurant Week.
We ordered the most delicious food in the world and then...at 7:30 pm the glorious text message came in!


"YES!!!  WOO HOOOOOO!!  SNOW DAY!"

Does anyone else hear the choir of angels sing when they get the Snow Day Text?

Yup.  I screamed in a restaurant.  Then I did a little dance.  People stared.  People judged.  People were obviously jealous :)

Back to Farmicia!

After being cooped up for 2 days due to Snowpocalypse 2016, Cait and I were itching to get out of the house.

I've been dying to try Farmicia since I read about it on Julie's blog a few years back.  When I saw it on the list for this year's Restaurant Week, I jumped on the reservation train and booked it.

The snow definitely impacted RW because there were 3 other tables of people and this restaurant books up FAST!  Even for a regular weekend it's hard to get a table.

Neither of us could decide what to order.  We've been poring over the menu for weeks now in preparation, but everything looked too delicious to pass up.  We decided to go splitsies to maximize our choices.  Full menu can be found here.

We of course rolled with champagne cocktails to start.

Grace Kelly for me and Cloud 9 for Cait

Next, we went with roasted brussel sprouts.  We totally fangirled over these.  Weird?  Don't knock it til you try it.  They had pomegranate and dijon.  Hoooomygoodness.  FaceRocked!!

Next, a wonderful man brought around bread.  A bread man.  What a great thing to have at a restaurant.  I ordered the multigrain and Cait got the rosemary.  (When he came back we both eagerly jumped for seconds) I like this idea because often times I find myself uncontrollably eating the bread, even though I'm not a huge bread girl, just because it's there.  This way it was an easy way to avoid the extra 4 slices that I usually end up eating.

I rolled with the shrimp, spinach, capers and garlic aioli.  I could have eaten 1,000 of them and not been bored.

For the main course, Cait ordered the Roasted Eggplant Cannelloni.  I ordered the Blackened St. Peter's Fish.  'Twas daaalish.

For dessert we ordered Creme Brûlée and a Flourless Chocolate Torte with Esperesso ice cream.

Demolished.

**Notice the apple centerpiece**  We wanted to eat it, but we figured that would be bad form.

We both got the cardigan memo

We also made friends with a lovely couple who enjoyed dishing about Real Housewives (is anyone else watching RHOP and loving it like me?), The Bachelor, and SNL.  One of them even ended up working at the same place as Cait.  Small World!

We both left dinner saying the same thing, "We'll be back."  When you will pay full price for a meal, you know it must be good.  Now the tough part begins...what will we order??

I would highly recommend this restaurant.  It's a delicious place located in Old City.  It has a fun, casual vibe with plenty of options.  Perfect for a Girls' Nite or a date night.


For more info:  http://farmiciarestaurant.com

XOXO,

E

AMADA! Ole

Happy Friday!

Sorry for being MIA yesterday!  I had full intentions of posting, but life got in the way.


Today was a busy one and it's only 1:15!  My second favorite spin instructor was subbing at 5:30 this morning so I decided to get up at 4:30 so I could lift from 5-5:30 then spin and then finish lifting after class.

Spin was a schweaty, hilly, sprinty combo…just the way I like it :)

I had to get up super early today because I had about 4 commitments before 11.  I had 2 1st grade tutorees to meet with, grocery shopping, and a wax.  Crazy busy, but I love moving 1,000,000 miles per hour!

I also had to bake some Paleo Chocolate Banana Bread for my weekend of crazy!  Jaclyn has been kind enough to re-invite us for a Lake Day and my old neighbors (and girls I used to babysit when they were little) invited us down the shore for the day.  I like to make breakfast for the people I visit as a thank you.  Everyone loves chocolate banana bread, right?  Especially when it's healthy but doesn't taste like it at ALL!  (Even my dad, the unhealthiest eater on the planet, loves this stuff!)

Now I'm getting ready to head outside for a healthy dose of Vitamin D, but before that let me tell you about one of my favorite Philly traditions!

RESTAURANT WEEK!

Restaurant Week is a special tradition here in Philly (and other cities).  It happens twice a year and each time 100s of restaurants participate in a $35 prix fix special menu.  You can read about my experience last time here.

This PRW, a co-worker and I went to Amada.  We had never been here before (a must if you are participating in PRW) and we were excited to try out this new to us Spanish restaurant.

This restaurant let you select 2 apps, 2 main courses, and 1 dessert.  Everything was served "tiny bites" style.  This is my favorite style of dining because you can try a bunch of bites without feeling stuffed.

The menu!

Sangria Temporada (white wine with mango and passionfruit!)

I by accident ate my friends app because I thought it was like a bread basket…womp womp bad friend

Ensalada Verde…pretty much the most baller salad

Look at all the plates!

My feast

Rice and Asparagus Risotto 

Gahhhlic shrimpies

Chocolate tart with pistachio and orange

I forgot to photograph my cod and tomato bisque…soooooooooo fabulous!  

Also, fun fact, not once, but TWICE, a server brought us the wrong food and then returned and said, "Oh, wait, this isn't yours, but you can keep it!"

THANK YOU FOOD FAIRY!  

Amada was awesome and I loved the cool, city-like atmosphere.  It was a modern restaurant with a cool bar vibe nestled perfectly in Old City.  I tend to favor Old City places more because I love the history and cobblestones.  Even if the cobblestones make walking in heels soooo much more difficult!  

I will definitely be returning to Amada in the future.  It was a great girls' night and I am totally going to miss my Wednesday Night Wonderfuls!  

Happy Friday!  I will be back to normal on Monday with a full recap of my I-can't-wait-for-it-weekend!

XOXO,

E

What I Ate Wednesday

Happy Hump Day!


How is everyone's morning going?  Mine is crazy, full of running around, and working--just the way I like it!

Today's post is going to be a brief one--I'm a wordy girl so this should be a welcomed break for you all :)


Today I'm going to Philly Restaurant Week with my friend from work.  We're going to Amada and I'm super excited.  I've never been before, but it looks great!  Restaurant Week is one of my favorite celebrations in the city because it lets you try different restaurants and their specialities for $35/person for 3 courses.  Most places offer more than 3 courses or give you little bites but let you select 2-3 per course.  As a huge food nerd, you can bet that I'm pumped.

Lately, I've been trying to mix it up in the food department.  I'm trying to suck every last bit out of fresh summer fruits and veggies that I can.  That means weekly trips to the Farmer's Markets to see what's fresh and new.  This past weekend, Deb and I went to a Farmer's Market in Philly and we bought Fairy Tale Eggplants.  Their name caught our eye and we decided they needed to come home with us.

I made eggplant boats after the farmer gave me the idea.

Soooo good and easy!

Here's the recipe:

1 Fairy Tale eggplant 

as many cherry tomatoes as your little heart desires (I think I used 6)

2 TBS crumbled goat cheese

1 TBS whole grain bread crumbs

pinch of gahhhhhlick

drizzle of balsamic 

Grease skillet with coconut oil (use medium heat setting)

Shell the eggplant and put all the "meat" aside into a small skillet

Bake the eggplant shells at 350 while you finish prepping

Slice tomatoes in quarters and place in skillet 

Add goat cheese, garlic, and bread crumbs

Mix thoroughly

Continue to combine until the cheese starts to get melty and gooey and the eggplant begins to brown.

Take off heat

Take eggplant shells out of the oven

Stuff eggplant shells with the mixture.

Try not to foodgasm

Lately, I've been sticking to the old faithfuls:

Greek salads

grilled chicken

orange glazed salmon

eggplant boats

oats for breakfast

Tonight I'm excited to spice it up at Amada. I'll give you a full recap tomorrow along with the tricks I use to keep a healthy lifestyle while dining out.  

I hope you enjoy your Wednesday!

XOXO,

E

Philadelphia Restaurant Week

Happy Snow Day!

We're off from worky work today.  I must say I am always a Snow Day Champion.  I want snow days more than anything.  I love waking up to a phone call that says you are off from work.  It's just so nice to roll back over and wake up at 9:30.

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Today I woke up and baked some completely unhealthy banana chocolate chip bread!  **I did squeeze some almond milk in there though so I can eat** #lactoseintolerantgirlprobz

Twas Delish

**Yes, RHOBH is on because I use Snow Days to clear the DVR**

Speaking of television, I'm addicted to Parks and Recreation!  I am on an Amy Poehler kick right now and have watched over 4 seasons in 3 weeks.  CHAMPION STATUS RIGHT HERE!

The famsquad and I are also watching Sons of Liberty on History Channel.  It's okay, (enter history major eye rolls here) I like that they are telling the stories of Revolutionists that are not as famous.  I would have done the backstories of each revolutionist then interwoven the stories through their friendships and relationships--but alas, they didn't call me :)

So this past weekend before the non snow ruined my weekend in Maryland with Amanda (snow party foul) Jess, my dad, and I went to Philadelphia Restaurant Week.  Last year we tried really hard to get there but with grad school and snow and student teaching, it wasn't in the cards for us.  Well, this year we made up for that.  Philly Restaurant Week (PRW) is a 2 week event where a huge number of restaurants put out a $35 dinner menu/$20 lunch menu chocked full of their well known dishes.  Reservations fill up quickly and sometimes you have to eat at 8:45 pm on a Friday night.  **cough cough us cough cough**

Jess decided on the restaurant and she made a baller choice.  We went to La Viola Bistro for din din.  She picked it because, "It has the most extensive menu."  AKA something picky Erin will eat.  She said she, "saw the salad with goat cheese and knew I'd like it".  Smart girl. 

It was crazy awesome!  The restaurant was super cute and fancy and cityish.  It is a narrow restaurant in Rittenhouse Square (fun fact the other La Viola is across the street) with many rooms that seem to go back forever.  They also have a downstairs party room.  I think there was a birthday party going on at the time.

Here are the deets of the eats.

2nd course was a pea soup.
Yummy yummy yummy!

Arugula, tomato, goat cheese, artichoke, and lemon/olive oil/balsamic vinaigrette dressing salad.
I've copied that salad this whole week for lunch.
Insane!!

Salmon with marinara sauce, mashed potatoes, and spinach.

Jess got a mushroom trio.  We didn't think it would seriously
be a pile of mushrooms.  It was a giant pile of mushrooms :)

Always smiling when it's a girls nite involving food :)

La Menu 

Padre and I got the Dark Side of the Moon cake.
Out of this world!

Dinner was great and the night was beautiful.  A light snow was falling and it was very chic.  How was your weekend?  How are you spending your snow day?

Love Love Love,

Er