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It's a sunshine day!

July 6, 2009 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | No comments

Wow, is it gorgeous out! Do you guys remember that “It’s a sunshine day” song from The Brady Bunch? I used to watch that show alllll the time.

I hope that you all had a good day. Mine was not too bad at all! Started it out with a very filling smoothie complete with Nasoya Chocolate Silken Creations, chocolate soy milk, spinach, Chocolate SuperFood, and a half cup of pumpkin. It was rich, smooth, and delicious, but I could only finish 3/4. I plan on freezing the rest and eating it like ice cream a bit later tonight. Yum!

My run home was a-mazing! I stretched after about a mile and it made all the difference in the way my knees and ankles felt. There are times when I feel like I am in great shape cardiovascularly but my legs just ache. I loved how warm and sunny it was out. It feels good to sweat!

Supah fast

On the way home, I stopped at the Newmarket Produce stand near my house and went a little crazy:

Summer bounty

I was craving cherries the entire run, so I bought some more. I crave the strangest things when running, today it was fruit, but sometimes its skim milk. Weird, huh? Do you guys crave anything while running? The funny thing is when I actually finish, I usually can’t eat anything.

I am off to do some strength training, then to make some Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers and salad topped with a little bit of this:

Homemade hummus

I LOVE making my own hummus and white bean dips. Eaten hot or cold, they are delicious with veggies, bread, and even alone! My recipe:

2 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and simmered on low for about 30 minutes in a pot with the soaking water + 3-4 cloves of garlic, fresh ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper

3 cloves of raw garlic

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/3 cup water

I cook some of the garlic to take some of the bite out of it, but also include a few cloves of raw because I love a garlicky kick! I just blend this all together until super smooth in my Cuisinart. If I have it on hand, I throw in a few drops of sesame oil as well.

Ok, that is enough for now. I hope you all have a good evening. With The Bachelorette and Weeds, it is a super fun tv night for me! 🙂

Tags: amazing grass, hummus, running, Vegetarian

Eating in Lake Lucerne

July 2, 2009 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | No comments

View from one of our hotel windows

On our winter trip across Europe, the hubby and I traveled from Amsterdam to Vienna to Munich to Lake Lucerne Switzerland. Not only would I recommend this series of cities to anyone, but I really can’t wait to do it all over again!
Driving from Munich to Lake Lucerne was a ridiculously beautiful trip. The mountains, perfectly paved roads, forests, and cute architecture kept me entertained while E drove our adorable little VW, zipping along on roads without speed limits. We stopped at a rest stop at the Swiss/German border, and I was dumbfounded. It was beautiful, almost like a ski lodge, and motorists were relaxing with cups of espresso, wine, beers, and full meals. It was a far cry from the McD’s and an overcrowded restroom here in the states!
Entering Switzerland, we drove through some absolutely breathtaking countryside, with sheer bluffs into lakes/rivers, and rocky snow capped mountains on the other side. Before we knew it, we had pulled up to our hotel, Hotel Drei Könige.

Holiday decorations

Situated on the corner of a centrally located street in Lucerne, this hotel was perfect for us. Our room was large and offered windows to the street on several sides. It also had a fan! I can not sleep without some sort of white noise, and after over a week without, I finally had it back!
Our view from our window was of Gutsch Castle and Gutschwald, and I literally spent about an hour just looking out onto the street and up at the mountains. Switzerland is SO beautiful, and the air is so clean.

Lake Lucerne at night

With food always on my mind, I had a couple of things I wanted to try in Switzerland:
Alpine Macaroni – a cheesy noodle dish with apples, onions, and potatoes. Hearty, creamy, salty, tangy, and sweet. Yes please!

Raclette- heated cheese served melty and hot with potatoes, gherkins, and bread. Give me anything with potatoes and pickles, and I am a happy gal, but this nutty, slightly salty meal really provides a feast for the tastebuds.

Fondue- gruyere and emmental cheeses, mixed with cherry kirsch liquer and garlic, served with bread. I loved the garlicky, sweet, and creamy taste of the fondue and the way the crisp wine cut through the creaminess.

All paired with Swiss white wine, Neuchatel.

I managed to eat all 3 of these things during our few days in Lake Lucerne, and while I do not have photos (sorry!) I can remember the sensory experience that Swiss dining brought to me. My favorite dish, surprisingly, was not fondue, but the Alpine Macaroni. I ordered this in a very cosy little restaurant with dim lighting and stone walls. I was completely surprised by how much I liked Swiss white wine, and when I was presented with a metal pot of Alpine Macaroni, I was in heaven. It is a simple dish of noodles, cheese, potatoes, onions, butter, and chopped apples or applesauce. Such a sweet and savory unexpected combination that really stuck to my ribs!

that's me

Our time in Switzerland was not cold at all, even though it was January, I ended up taking my coat off at times, especially when we were climbing up to Gutsch Castle and exploring the hillsides and city walls of Lucerne.

One of the highlights of the trip was a lake cruise, where my love and I got to relax, drink Swiss wine, and stop at the little towns around the lake itself. The weather was truly insane, pouring rain, then sun, so we were able to get an amazing sense of how the lake and mountains look in a variety of weather types.

Rainbow over Lake Lucerne

Lucerne Lion Monument

In a nutshell, our trip to Lucerne was full of great food and wine but also lots of walking and hillwalking, cruising, looking at art and architecture, listening to music (hello free concert by the Salzburg Chamber Orchestra!), and relaxing. We went in winter, but I am pretty sure this is a year round destination that I would like to visit again very soon! 🙂

Tags: Alpine Macaroni, Dining out, Fondue, Food, foodie, Lake Lucerne, Lucerne, Raclette, Swiss Wine, switzerland, Travel, wine

Bin Ends Fine Wine Flea Market

June 29, 2009 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | No comments

Monday is over, and it is a short week! Aside from having to work, this weekend was really fun. I got to play with lots of doggies and cats at the MSPCA and went to a fabulous tapas party Saturday night, thrown by a friend from Barcelona. I didn’t bring my camera, and I am sorry for my lack of food photos, but the spread was mighty.

Homemade sangria, chock full of oranges, apples, and blueberries, Estrella beer, tortilla española (omelet-like with potatoes and onions), pan con tomate, Manchego cheese, chorizo, olives, pulpo, and gambas al ajillo (garlicky shrimp). I had a couple of small plates of everything throughout the evening, along with an Estrella and about a glass and a half of sangria. I had a lot of fun “eating” my sangria. The fruit tasted like wine, and was so yummy! We had a really great time. I love that our friends are from so many interesting places and that we get to share our favorite food and travel experiences.

As I mentioned several times over the weekend, Sunday was Bin Ends’ Fine Wine Flea Market. We started off a lovely, cool, cloudy Sunday with a pair of ugly brown monster shakes. I had been looking forward to these blueberry/spinach/banana/pineapple/Amazing Meal packed dynamos, but for some reason, and I suspect it was the huge amount of blueberries, they took on a gelatinous texture that was hard to choke down. I still managed it because I was draggin and needed my nutrient blast! We spent the early part of the day at an area near our home called Castle Island, a fabulous place for running, walking, biking, picnics, and a great children’s playground.

Brown monsters- in our class-tastic free Stella glasses

We have 8 nieces and nephews with 5 nieces living in the Boston area. We got to see and spend time at the playground with all of them at once yesterday which provided some great family time and also a great workout!

From Castle Island, we went straight to Bin Ends. It was already crowded when we arrived at 1:10. While overall this was a great event, it would have been so much better if it had been outside. Our terrible weather unfortunately did not permit this. The result was a slightly uncomfortable space, but mostly because, as I experienced at the Coastal Wine Trail Kickoff, adults just become crazy around free stuff. I had my feet run over by carts a few times, and there were certain people that just really needed to pay attention to their surroundings.

Anyway. . .

as I said the event was great, and the staff at Bin Ends was awesome! There were 13 distributors with tables of wine, crackers, and water. Upon arrival, we received two tasting glasses and a tasting sheet/order form so that we could take notes and then order our wine. We tasted a LOT of wine. I have gotten good at pouring it out after a sip, and even still I know I drank a lot of wine. I won’t write about all of them, because there were many, but we did have some favorites and ended up buying 13 bottles. There were some GREAT discounts at this event, and if you live in the area I would suggest checking out Bin Ends for their variety of wine that is discounted on a regular basis.

Our favorite tables were Martignetti Companies, Sun Wine,Grateful Palate, and Old Bridge Cellars. We ended up spending the most time at these tables, and out of the 16 (!) bottles that we bought yesterday, the majority came from these tables.

Bin Ends

Some of our purchases included:

2006 Durban Muscat Beaumes de Venise – a lovely sweet dessert wine that I can see pairing perfectly with cheese or maybe an angel food cake with lemon curd sauce. We will likely save this wine for guests or to bring to a dinner party.

2005 Casa Santos Lima Pinot Noir – a very drinkable red from Portugal with a nice dark berry flavor

2005 D’Arenberg Ironstone Pressings GSM– a VERY dark red with berry and chocolate-y flavors. This was the most expensive bottle that we bought at $45, but it was down from $70, and its gorgeous velvety flavor will be enjoyed on a special occasion, perhaps our upcoming 3rd anniversary.

2005 Rejadorada Tinto Roble – have I mentioned my love of Spanish wine lately? This is just a really delicious wine, with a very long flavor. One website describes it like this: Plenty of fruit in the mouth – loaded with blackberries, black cherries and currants – this beginning and middle is followed by a finish of licorice, smoke, and earth. We bought several bottles of this, and will enjoy it for many dinners to come!