Little girl gives herself a pep talk

Need a smile?

I think she's on to something.

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Petes Eats

In case you haven't noticed, I've become obsessed with trying new recipes these days. Well, obsessed with eating, in general. So I've decided to add a new post theme, which I have eluded to once before: Petes Eats.

One thing I'll note about this recipe is that the chives are a must. They really add a lot of flavor. Since chives are usually sold in packs that would feed Jon & Kate + 8, I've thought of a couple ways to use them in other ways - mix with cream cheese and slather on a bagel with some turkey or add to a weekend omelette. Yummm...

Also, I'd like to try and compare this recipe with Martha's Rigatoni with Goat Cheese Pasta.

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients
2 bunches asparagus (2 pounds total), tough ends removed
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
12 ounces cavatappi or other short pasta
1 small log soft goat cheese (5 ounces), crumbled
2 to 3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Place asparagus on a large rimmed baking sheet; dot with 1 tablespoon butter, and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, tossing occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes; cut into 2-inch lengths.

While asparagus is roasting, generously salt boiling water. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Set aside 1 1/2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese, remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth. Add goat-cheese mixture and asparagus to pasta; toss to combine, adding more pasta water if necessary for sauce to coat pasta. Serve pasta garnished with chives.

Like kids in a candy store

About a month ago, my parents went to Hawaii for the first time. Since I had my first trip to paradise last summer, I was completely won over by everything to do with Hawaii... even the sun-induced blisters. (Mads and Autumn are going in the next couple months and I'm trying to think of a way to fit in their suitcases.)

Anyway, throughout their whole trip, I received dozens of texts along the lines of: That's it--we're moving here, we're buying a place, on our way to the LUAU, drinking a tasty lava flow, it's 90 degrees and sunny!!, etc. Needless to say, they were having the time of their lives.

Then I saw the photographic proof of all of the fun they had and I thought I'd share. Makes me want to go back. Like now.

Dear Expedia,
Please post another slammin' deal on air and hotel to Hawaii.
Thank you,
Petes

Simply a bowl.

I've been eyeing this bowl at Anthro for a couple months now. The blues and oranges would go perfect with my kitchen. I find it odd that I couldn't stop thinking about a bowl. So I went on down to U-Village this weekend and bought it. It was $10 well spent.

Do you ever find yourself eyeing something completely random?

TGIF

I'm stoked for this weekend.

Why? Well, because after this weekend I won't have a stay-at-home-and-get-stuff-done weekend in a LONG time. The next three weekends will be taken over by work trip to DC, Memorial Day weekend in LA (visiting Suze with Stephers, yay!), then running my longest run ever, 20 looooooong miles. On top of that, the training schedule during the week is even starting to get out of control (10 miles on a Wednesday?!). Therefore, all of my errands will be taking the back seat the next couple weeks.

So what will I do this weekend, you ask? Hmmm, where to begin.

• Get a haircut with Sofia. She's the best stylist ever.
• Wash my car. Poor thing has had enough of the tree pollen already.
• Change my oil, but never at Jiffy Lube. No fiascos needed, thank you.
• Run.
• Plant my garden!
• Continue the hunt for a perfect dress for July weddings.
• Date night. (any ideas?)
• Maybe give this Stuffed French Toast recipe a stab? Steph said is was yummy. Yummm.
• Enjoy the sun with a glass of vinho verde. I tried one called Casal Garcia once with a pretty lace label and it was delish. (If you've never tried vihno verde, you must. It's a little more tart and refreshing than white wine and has a slight effervescence. Or bubbly... got caught up in wine jargon :))

via

Fresh, flavorful and surprisingly filling.

I'm beginning to wonder if I should change the name of my blog name to Petes Eats. I think I'm showing my eats more than speaking these days. But I can't resist showing you this fresh and tasty salad I had for dinner last night. After my 8 mile run, my body was majorly craving fruits and veggies and this hit just the spot. I mentioned it last summer, but now you can see how it actually comes together.

Avocado and grapefruit salad

(Please note: this is for 4-6 servings. I guesstimated for one serving.)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (Erika's note: I used very little salt and I think it came out quite nice.)
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
4 ripe avocados
2 large red grapefruits

Directions
Place the mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.

Before serving, cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the seeds, and carefully peel off the skin. Cut each half into 4 thick slices. Toss the avocado slices in the vinaigrette to prevent them from turning brown. Use a large, sharp knife to slice the peel off the grapefruits (be sure to remove all the white pith), then cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments.

Arrange the avocado slices around the edge of a large platter. Arrange the grapefruit segments in the center. Spoon the vinaigrette on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

Adore

A couple weekends ago, I went north for my Grandma Pete's 83rd birthday! She's my grandma who I used to camp with at Thousand Trails (or Thousand Trailers, as I used to call it), beat me in breath-holding contests at the pool, make us dozens of swedish pancakes, play Skip-Bo for hours, teach me how to make grandma's flat bread or even just refresh my clog collection whenever I would outgrow a pair.

Basically, she's fantastic.

Back to story-- I showed up to the birthday party before she was back from lunch, so I was browsing through some of her old photo albums. I couldn't help myself from taking pictures of her pictures. I adore this picture of her and my gramps. Don't you love it?