WordsThis Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! Here's a midweek mishmash.

Kale Chips -- Have you tried them?? We first used kale in a white bean chicken chili recipe when Publix was out of the called-for Swiss chard. It was a successful substitute, so we tried it a few more times in different types of recipes. Using it in a soup or stew was the best. But then! I read about kale chips and how they're so delicious and so easy and so nutritious and... But, really, leafy greens? Delicious? We're all supposed to be eating more of them, but I consider most (spinach excluded) to be the type of thing you eat because you know it's good for you. Not because it tastes delicious. But, guess what. Kale chips are delicious! Try 'em and see.

(Tear one bunch of kale into "chip-sized" pieces. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Season to your likin'. Our likin' is salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, or until they start to brown around the edges. They should sound crispy when you jiggle them.)

The Royal Wedding -- Are you excited or are you a hater? We've spoken with folks from both camps lately, but I think we fall more in the excited category. Andrew is looking forward to it for its historical value (and probably because the Today Show will get off it), and I'm more into the romantical side. What does it hurt to get a little caught up in the festivities? If only I had a fascinator to wear!

The Voice -- Did you watch it? Aside from Xtina looking Snooki-fied (a truth that was pointed out by A and corroborated by a search of the Twitterverse), what did you think? We've tapered off on Idol this season, and I was intrigued by the premise of the show based on the commercials. But, I wasn't sure whether another singing competition show was really necessary. However! You have to admit, those chairs are pretty b.a. (Don't they kind of remind you of this? Go, go gadget voice!) Javier was our favorite, along with Cee Lo's glasses.

The Weather -- It seems as though March 2011 came in like a lion, went out like a lion, then came back disguised as April 2011. We're allegedly in for another round of monster storms tonight. I bet the insurors of the Westin Peachtree Plaza haven't taken a breath since February. I just need a non-villainous rain shower to come along and help with this!

Hope you're having a good week! Halfway point - yay!

Menu Monday

Happy Monday! We're making four dinners this week. FYI - most of the dinner recipes we use make enough for lunch leftovers. Another great way to save a buck!

Beef Tostadas from Last Week

• Chicken Parmesan over Pasta with Roasted Broccoli
• Pork Chops with Apples & Onions with Smashed Garlic Potatoes & Roasted Green Beans (FN Mag)
• Spicy Chipotle Meatballs over Rice with Kale Chips
• Salad & Baked Potato Bar with All the Fixin's

Happy...

...Easter, everyone!

Love, Whitney and Andrew (the latter, your actual blog-poster this time!)

Photo Credit: The soon-to-be GSU Grad Tim

Go With Whatcha Know

After last weekend's errand-packed Saturday, we woke up today with no plans. Based on our day in pictures, I think you'll see that we just went with what we know best.

Breakfast
{This is how we roll. Cinnamon roll. I got up at 5:30 this morning to make the Pioneer Woman's recipe from scratch!}

Patio Lunch at Doc Green's
{Did you really believe I got up at 5:30 and made PW CRs? Thanks, Pillsbury! Anyway, they were having a pet-friendly Easter celebration at Atlantic Station that included adoptable puppies who were wearing "ADOPT ME" vests with money collection pockets.The dollars practically flew out of the wallet.}

Afternoon Snack at Planet Living
{Does anyone else from the Boro remember Emack & Bolio's? This smoothie tastes exactly like the E&B Citrus Cooler, which was only the best thing they had! Rachel can attest.}

A Dinner of Epic Proportions
{Chicken, Ribs, Pork Sandwich, Potato Salad & Cole Slaw}
{From Fat Matt's You are what you eat.}

Pretty soon, we're going to have to start knowing the gym.

 

There's No Catchy Song About Thursday

The post-work fun quotient was high today.

1. We officially welcomed a new family member! She was a long time coming. But, we do miss you, Saturn! (Kind of.)

2. We enjoyed another Thursday-night-dinner-out; only this time, we joined some fun folks for patio food and bev at Tap!

The View

The fun folks:

Neighbors 4 life!
{Amer, W & A}

Emily & Josh

Amanda and Ed, who we took turns envying since they just got back from Disney World, showed up after this photoshoot and are therefore not included. They were fun, too, though!

I happen to think this might be the best sandwich in all of Atlanta. I can't even comment on "the food" at Tap, because this is the only thing I've ever had there. Blackened chicken with shredded lettuce, radishes, green apple and creamy bacon bleu cheese sauce...doesn't that sound random but delicious?

Aside from a repeated assault by a beetle there at the end, it was a great night for dining al fresco!

3. It's a Real Housewives night. (One of us may or may not score this higher on the fun quotient than the other.) Pretty soon I think RH will be on every night of the week, covering most major metropolitan areas.

4. Tomorrow is Friday! A very good Friday.

5. Next week this time, we'll be packing for the b-e-a-c-h & the Boro!

Hope you've had some fun this week, too. :)

(That emoticon is just for you, Amer!)

Wordless Wednesday {country bunny/city bunny}

Menu Monday

Happy Monday! Time to plan dinner for the week...again...

{This was last week's roasted chicken with lemon-garlic green beans and potatoes. We enjoyed it and thought it had more flavor than we expected. We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in, skin-on, and we brushed them with some Dijon mustard during baking. It helped vary the flavors a little bit since everything was tossed in the same marinade to start. Based on some reviews, we only used one lemon--half sliced and half juiced--and it added plenty of zest without being bitter. So, all in all, we gave this recipe one thumb up for taste and another up for ease of preparation/cleaning!}

Here's what we're going with this time around:

• Baked Farfalle with Escarole & Zucchini in Herbed Tomato Sauce (FN Mag)
• Beef Tostadas with Mexican Rice & Guacamole
• Asian Pork with Snow Peas, Red Peppers & Soba Noodles
• BLT (Bacon, Leek & Tomato) Mac & Cheese with Salad
• Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken (breasts not legs) over Brown Rice (not pasta) with Sauteed Spinach

Hope you have a some good eats this week!

All About Andrew

This weekend was all about Andrew! He deserved it since he spends a lot of weekends pretending like going to Ann Taylor Loft is a fine idea for a Friday night. Bless him!

On the schedule for yesterday: new (to him) car and new (for the first time) glasses. We have been in talks (and $avings mode) for months now, and it was really time to take the plunge on both counts.

First up was car shopping! We had done a lot of research in advance--which is probably not a big surprise if you know me. So, we went out with a pretty limited scope of what we were looking for. Back when we were searching for an apartment, we looked at a lot of places but ended up coming back to the first one we toured. So, we knew not to spend weeks on end looking at lots of similar cars if we found something we liked that was as reliable as a used car can be.

(Not the car.)

Well, we immediately found something that met all the items on our checklist, so we took a test drive (on 85--glad it was A and not me), asked many more questions, and left with a plan to do more research and think about it.

Then, it was on to the spectacles. These were my choice...but I admit they are "a lotta look," as I like to say.

Ironically, after the eye doc assessed his failing vision, she asked Andrew, "Did you drive here today?" Not only did he drive us there, but he drove several cars belonging to someone else on the interstate that morning!

Here he is after:

He looks exactly the same, because much to my surprise, he came out wearing contacts! He doesn't even like to watch me put my contacts in, and I would give you a ten dollar bill if you could get even a single eyedrop into his eye. He just does not like the idea of anything touching his eyes.

The jury is still out, but the court will reconvene on Thursday to decide whether the contacts are staying. Glasses still to come, either way.

After all our grown-up errands, we decided we could use a treat. So, we went to have drinks and some appetizers with Jason & Laura. (Actually, do they still count as appetizers if we ate Chick-fil-A beforehand?) We went to HobNob and had a great time! Here's your blog debut, guys. ;)

Today, we decided to go ahead and make a move on the car. We did some more research on this particular car last night and this morning, and even though that felt like super-quick turnaround time, we were okay because of everything we had done in advance.

It became a reality that we would soon be saying goodbye to the infamous Saturn SC-1, which is affectionately known as "The SCone" around here. We didn't take the ole girl to the dealership on Saturday, so she didn't even see it coming. I took a few pics to commemorate the occasion.

The lightnin' flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls...

Now, usually, I am the calm one in these types of situations. (Sorry, A.) But, for some reason...I could not handle the anxiety of this major purchase! We were both completely confident in the decision, but when we got ready to go, I just couldn't. (I mean really, we had stopped by CVS, and I considered measuring my blood pressure.) Then, in a move that is completely counter to my controlling nature, I made A take me back home and sent him off to the dealership alone! So much for my, "Let me do the talking!" plan.

He's been there for the majority of the afternoon, and there are a few details left to iron out. No car yet, but stay tuned!

I'm Gonna Live Where the Green Grass Grows

{watch my corn pop up in rows
every night be tucked in close to you}

Only...without the corn part. I thought I'd share my latest craft project! I got the idea from Shannon at Bless Our Nest. I'm not sure how I originally found Shannon's blog, but I love her style! Her crafty ideas are great (and usually very affordable), and her home decor is so light and "Southern cottage"-like, without being overdone or looking like every other house on the block.  So, that's where this "Growing Grass" project idea started!

I love green (evidenced by the fact that it appears in the decor of every room in our apartment), and it's just nice to be able to bring a little life into a city dwellin'. I don't have the best history with keeping large plants alive, but I did a little inventory.

• Herb Garden: Alive
• IKEA Lucky Bamboo: Alive
• Pothos Plant: Taking Over the Bedroom (It was marked "Care: Very Easy" on the Home Depot tag. But, that's beside the point.)

Clearly this is proof that my thumb is turning greener, so I thought I'd give this little grass-growing project a try. (My confidence was cemented by the sweet saleswoman at Whole Foods who reassured me in her Jamaican accent that, "Yes, it will grow! You just have to experiment with it!" I guess I looked a little unsure about the popcorn kernel-looking things she was flooding into a bag...) See below.

And, she was right. It did grow! I think these make cute little accents, and it only requires dirt, seeds and containers you already have or can get for a few dollars. Cheap! Here's a step by step with pictures in case you'd like to bring a little spring into your house.

Supplies
Wheat Grass Seeds a.k.a. Red Wheat Berries*

 Potting Soil
Containers of Your Choice
Water
Paper Towels
A Little Patience
*You can buy these in the bulk section at a store like Whole Foods, or you can order online. Mine were 47cents.

~

Directions

Step 1: Buy some wheat berries!
Step 2: Put the berries in a small dish and cover with clean water. Let soak overnight (8 hours).
Step 3: Drain & rinse the berries!

Step 4: Line a plate with a damp paper towel, and shake berries out in an even layer. Cover with another damp paper towel. Leave for another 8 hours or so, periodically re-dampening.* 

*Optional -- Shannon didn't do this step, but I read it somewhere else. I don't think it necessarily made a difference that I did it.  Also, the picture of this step is ugly. Moving on.

Step 5: Fill your containers with potting soil. Leave about a half-inch between the soil and the top of the container.
Step 6:  Place an even (but generous) layer of wheat berries on top of the dirt. Water.

Sunday

Step 7: Cover top of containers with a damp paper towel until sprouts start to appear.
Step 8: When you see sprouts, text your husband to say, "We have sproutage!!!"
{just kidding, but you can if you want.}

Tuesday

Real Step 8: Uncover and continuing watering and observing growth.

Wednesday - Thursday - Friday

Step 9: Display!




{After doing this project, I realized that I was probably drawn to it because I used to have a little glass vase of fake plastic grass in fake acrylic "water" in my college and subsequently grad school apartments. I carted that thing around for years, but in retrospect, it was probably as tacky as it sounds.}

Taco Thursday

Lately, we've taken to losing steam on the whole cooking-dinner-at-home deal by about Thursday. It's kind of nice, actually, to take a break on Thursday then have a low-key dinner at home on Friday night. Our default Thursday night pick seems to be Taqueria del Sol, but tonight we went to The Original El Taco. (If I'm not mistaken, it's also the only El Taco...) Dinner was good but overshadowed by the dulce de leche fried apple pie. yum

{Imagine a picture here. I didn't have my camera, and my Blackberry has decided it doesn't want to take photos anymore. Picture churro dough stuffed with apples and caramel sauce.}

Last night we did manage to cook at home and went to Target for hand sanitizer afterwards. The hand sanitizer's at work now, but these are at our house:

The rug is from Target, too. Different trip.

Isn't that just the way Target works?

Funny & Foxy

Not much to say today...just two videos to share.

First, a funny. Have you seen this commercial? I think I find it hilarious because it's probably the kind of thing I would come up with if tasked with creating a commercial.

(and, sorry, SunDrop...don't plan on drinking you. just think your commercial is funny.)

~

Second, I am unsettled to report that a fox ran in front of my car this morning on the way to work. He cut right through the serenity of Morningside, just as sly as could be. At first, I thought he was a cat, but then I realized the proportions were all wrong. An extensive Google Images search later confirmed that he was indeed a red fox. All I could think of was this traumatizing video:


And, I didn't have a loaf of bread! Luckily, I had my car, but I really hope I don't see him again.

Menu Monday

Here's what we're eating this week!

One dish dinners excite me (and the kitchen staff Andrew), so I'm happy to be trying two new ones this week.

And, now, in no particular order:

• Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs with Edamame and Snow Peas over Rice
• California BLTs with Tomato Bisque
• King Ranch Chicken Casserole*
• See note
• Roasted Chicken over Lemon-Garlic Green Beans and Potatoes
• Spinach & Ricotta Dumplings in Marinara with Salad & Garlic Bread (FN Mag)

(fyi: I have a lot of great beef recipes, but we've been trying to eat less of it lately.)

The rigatoni with roasted broccoli and sausage was last week's "Winner, Winner, Chicken [Sausage] Dinner!" Definitely give it a try if you like to eat delicious food after exerting minimal effort. We like to use Al Fresco Sundried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage. (But, a word of warning: Stay away from the Sweet Italian variation unless you like torturing yourself eating licorice chicken. The fennel seeds are huge.)

*Don't tell Daisy that I'm only using her for her recipe. Viva la Publix sour cream! I've also had to abandon the beloved Ranch dressing mix because it contains MSG. We got a packet of Good Seasonings Garlic & Herb instead, but you can also make your own Ranch version.

Note: Updated to add that we ended up making this last night. Have you ever followed along with a recipe thinking, "Hmm...this doesn't seem right..." and then kept going? The 1/2c sour cream and 1c chicken stock ratio was way off, which I could tell while I was mixing it up, so we had a delicious casserole soup. Next time, I will probably swap those amounts to get a thicker sauce to start with. Soupy consistency aside, it tasted great!

Our Weekend

Hope you've had a good weekend! Yesterday we ran some craft-related errands around Buckhead (during the Braves game no less...20 Husband Points for A!), but those weren't too exciting or picture-worthy. The Great Urban Race was going on, though, so at least the pedestrians in the area were entertaining! It's not every day that you go into Whole Foods and shop between the great juxtaposition of those women in organic cotton who look glow-y and bouncy (without a stitch of makeup) and a man wearing tights, a red cape and a balloon headdress.

www.greaturbanrace.com

Today, we started our morning with some coffee and reading on our rooftop deck. It's about as serene as you can get right smack-dab in the middle of the city. We had the deck to ourselves until two ladies showed up with beer...at 9:48am. To each her own, I guess, but at quarter till 10 on a Sunday, I'll stick with my Starbucks.

Then we had brunch at one of our favorites -- South City Kitchen! We're a big fan of their pimento cheese (or to be phonetically accurate: puhmenna cheese), and we topped that off with a wheelbarrow full of carbs including corn muffins, biscuits, a hot brown and pancakes. Oh, and a side of bacon. And chips. Their sous chef was on Chopped recently, and he was working the line today! Looked just like he did on the telly.

After brunch, we put off our grocery shopping to do a little sightseeing, staycation-style. We knew we needed to take advantage of the beautiful weather, and the Atlanta CVB happened to retweet a picture from the historic Oakland Cemetery. Easy enough! 

We opted for the self-guided walking tour, although the $10 guided tours were going on all around us, well within earshot. But, since I decided to wear jeans in the 80+ degree weather, it's a good thing we could go at our own [slow] pace. These pretty roses were right at the beginning!

(Click on any of the pics to enlarge.)

{Clockwise starting top left: Affectionately christened "ghost car"; Tweet the Mockingbird, one of the family pets buried in Oakland; Pretty flowers covering plots; The grounds}

{Apropos given recent events, both in the sports world and in our blog world: Bobby Jones (Complete with teed golf balls, golf shoes and Masters cups) & Margaret Mitchell}

Now, no offense to whoever made the gesture, but I'm not sure that Margaret Mitchell would necessarily appreciate Mardi Gras beads. But, who am I to say. Party on, MM! (Now, what I would appreciate is the set of coasters in the gift shop bearing some of Miss Scarlett's most charming Southern sayings.)

Other famous folks on our tour included Maynard Jackson, the rich Rich brothers who started Rich's (now Macy's), and the first baby born in Atlanta. (Actually, she was born in Marietta, because there was no hospital in Atlanta nee Terminus. But, the thought had never even crossed my mind that there would have had to be a first baby born in a new city. Just like a New Year's Baby...only she was a New City's Baby, I guess.)

Even though it was a little bit hot, A had the good sense to bring some waters in a cooler, and we had a nice time strolling around, enjoying the weather and scenery. It's free to go (and to non-street park--bonus!), and the very informative self-guided map was only $4. So, if you're looking for a not-so-expensive outdoor activity in ATL, you should check it out! It's conveniently located across the street from Tin Lizzy's, too, in case you might want to go get a glass of Sangrita or something.

Now we're re-stocked on groceries for the week (minus some elusive edamame), watching the end of the Masters and planning to enjoy our Sunday evening!

It's Friday, Friday...

...are you gettin' down on Friday?

I don't know about you, but we (along with Rebecca Black) are lookin' forward to the weekend (weekend)!

{you're welcome for that.}

Here's one reason:

Happy home opener, Bravos!

We've previewed Jason Heyward's walk-out songs on YouTube and have fully developed our taste buds for a Georgia Dog and a frozen peach margarita from the Tomahawk Tavern. (A & W, respectively.) We're not heading to Turner Field this weekend, but hopefully we will soon. Go Braves!

I'll also be working on a fun (and allegedly easy) crafty project. It involves trips to World Market and Whole Foods for supplies, which will be combined with existing goodies from Home Depot and a previous balloon delivery. How totally not random!

Hope you are gearing up for a great spring weekend!

Zucchini Muffins (or Bread)

These zucchini muffins are great for at-your-desk breakfast with coffee (W's preference) or even for just a snack (A's strategy). They're adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe. You can cut it in half  to make 12 muffins, which I usually do. (The 1.5 egg is the only tricky part.) After they cool, I wrap them individually in plastic wrap for grab & go ease.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Muffins
2 cups zucchini, finely grated (About 2 zucchini)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
(1 tsp honey - optional)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup oats

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins well.
2. Combine zucchini, sugars, oil, eggs, vanilla and honey in a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, oats and cinnamon.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Stir until combined. (It'll be lumpy!)

Wet, meet Dry. A lumpy marriage.

5. Pour evenly into muffin tins. (A 1/4 cup measure works pretty well.)
6. Bake 30-35 minutes*, then check. Bake longer if necessary. Muffins should be well browned all over and pulling away from the pan slightly, and a toothpick should come out clean.
*If you're making two loaf pans, the recipe calls for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes of baking.


Cool on a wire rack.
(Yes, I did actually take them out of the pan to cool them on the aforementioned and pictured rack.)

Makes: 24 muffins (or 2 loaves)

Wordless Wednesday {what we're reading}

Gone with the Wind

Last night, Gone with the Wind was on TV. So was a Golden Girls marathon. But, those seem to be on every night of the week these days, and having abandoned our my previous Monday-night commitment to Dancing with the Stars this season, we stuck with the old Adlanna classic. Well, fiddle-dee-dee!

And wouldn't you know, a great big storm was blowing into town just about the time Miss Scarlett showed up to Miss Mellie's party wearing "nothing modest or matronly." And, by this morning, many of the trees in present-day Adlanna were indeed gone with the wind. It was a MESS trying to get to work, but most people were being as patient and cautious as you should be when traffic lights are out and debris is littering the road. (I'm not looking at you, man who honked at me to hurry up and choose a.) dangling power line, b.) oncoming traffic, or c.) tree stump. I chose d.) none of the above, sit and wait for oncoming traffic to stop a.k.a. "Duh!".)

I thought about snapping some pictures, but all things considered, I filed that idea in my mental file marked "Unnecessary Risk." Fortunately, Fox5 Atlanta has this video I can share. This is the neighborhood I need to get through to go to work:

Storm Damage Heavy in Morningside, Decatur: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Amy & Kevin had lots of action on their street, too. Kevin, I think you should go buy a lottery ticket in your car today.

This afternoon, I stupidly went on my merry way back towards Morningside to get home. The roads were decidedly not cleaned up, and I even passed two sweet kids who had made homemade posters announcing, "NOT a DETOUR!" and "Use LENOX Road!" I smiled and waved to them like a goon as I continued turning down the very street that was "NOT a DETOUR!" (Well, great balls a' fire!)

Eventually, I returned unscathed after backtracking and abandoning the area entirely. But, I hope the Morningside neighborhood will be able to recover quickly. I l-o-v-e it and routinely covet its each and every idyllic house and dogwood tree!

Menu Monday: The Process

When I was a Real Housefiancee of Atlanta (a.k.a. unemployed), I took a lot of time to establish a weekly meal system that would both help us eat better and save us time and money.

I made a habit of checking the weekly sale paper (Publix in our case) to see which meats and produce were on sale. Since those seem to be the most expensive meal elements, it helps to plan around those to start.

Sidenote: This also ties in with one of the best pieces of healthy eating advice I've seen -- shop mostly the perimeter of the grocery store...meat, dairy and produce. Fill in with only minimally processed items from the interior aisles...pasta, rice, beans, stock-in-a-box, etc. We don't do all organic or "whole foods only," but this does help us cut down on processed food and stick to what we can make ourselves.

So, once the sale items are tracked down, I look for recipes or meal ideas that fit. RealSimple.com has a great recipe finder that allows you to put in what you have/what you want to make, and it comes back with easy recipes! I also like to use FoodNetwork.com/Food Network Mag, Real Simple (magazine), AllRecipes.com, Cooks.com, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and plain old Google searches.

Sometimes I use recipes from my good friend, Ina.

Then, I take some time--maybe 30 minutes or so--to choose recipes or varying combinations of meat-veggie-starch for four or five nights (depending on our plans for the week).

Sidenote #2: Having the menus planned in advance saves a lot of time, and I don't come home from work wondering what in the world we're going to eat. If I didn't have this taken care of ahead of time, the employees at the Lindbergh Chick-Fil-A would probably start to ask whether we even own a stove.

This is where you might think, "Wow. Settle down, Mrs. Type A." But, my next step is to make the grocery list, organized by the layout of our grocery store. When I had all the free time in the world, I just liked being able to shop in a practical pattern, but now that we are both working and have to shop on Sunday's when every other citizen of Atlanta is also grocery shopping, it just saves time. (Plus, if you don't go by the Oreos, you probably won't go buy the Oreos either, if you know what I'm saying.)

My list works like this:

• Interior Aisles (Starting on the right-hand side, zigzagging through -- and yes, after awhile I learned which items are on which aisles, and I put them in that order)
• Meats (These are on the far left of our store, so it's where you end up after the interior stuff.)
• Dairy (Along the back wall--heading back towards produce on the far-right)
• Produce & Bakery (Back right corner of the store, before zipping up to the cash register admiring how fabulous and organized we are until I realize we forgot a can of beans back on Aisle 7)

Does that make sense? Only in my crazy brain?

Then, we come out with plenty of [relatively] healthful foods and know when we're going to eat them during the week. Do we necessarily want to take time out of our weekend to sit and read sale (web)papers, make lists and go to the grocery store? No. If we didn't, would we end up eating a lot of expensive junk? Probably. Yes. We've just had to make it a priority.

This Week's Menu:

• Baked Spaghetti with Bread & Salad
• Pork Tenderloin with Asparagus and CousCous
• Greek Chicken Pitas with Grape Tomatoes, Cucumbers & Tzatziki with Roasted Red Potatoes on the side
• Chicken Quesadillas with Corn, Black Bean & Avocado Salad
• Rigatoni with Roasted Sausage and Broccoli

What are you making this week? Any grocery or cooking tips?

Stone Mountain

(We're still working on getting the name and design of the blog situated, but why not go ahead and start posting? And, even better, why not start with a bunch of pictures??)

Yesterday, we decided to spend the day at Stone Mountain to celebrate our amazing accomplishment of being married for a whole six months! It was a really pretty day, even though it was still a little cool and very windy. (Sorry, no Skyride!)

Our days sometimes revolve around food opportunities, so before heading to the park, we stopped at Village Corner German Restaurant & Bakery. It's close to the park, and we actually spent our first Valentine's Day there. I think we managed to sit at the same table. :)

The reason we went the first time was that I was still obsessed with this:

Innsbruck, Austria - Study Abroad, Summer 2005

So, we I got a schnitzel fix, and we made our way to the park. We watched a glassblowing demonstration (fortunately the show piece didn't fall to its shattered death like it did last time we were at Stone Mountain), walked around some of the shops, and took the "scenic" railroad around the base of the mountain. Apparently they think they're Disney World these days. After we disembarked from the railway, we saw a sign:

 
So, naturally...

Umm...it wasn't very photogenic.
Build Your Own Funnel Cake with Strawberries & Caramel

Funnel Cake Lady on our toppings: "Okay. That's ....different."
Andrew on me taking a photo of the monstrosity: "This is going to be the most embarrassing blog debut ever."

I won't tell you how much we paid for it ($9), but we did walk it off by heading over to the Antebellum area for an afternoon rich in history and musty smells. On the way there, we passed two LauraIngallsWilder-esque people hanging up a laser-printed banner for the upcoming Frontier Days at the park. I pointed out the  authenticity of that scene, and Andrew--who, by the way, has requested to be called Marlboro Man on this blog (for all our many, many readers who also enjoy P-Dub)--told me to shut it. (Not really, but he did tell me to give them a break. Sorry, Ma & Pa Ingalls.)

We went through the old restored homes and gardens, trying unsuccessfully to snap some orb pics. Then, we made our way to the petting zoo, which was filled with the friendliest, most dog-like goats I've ever seen. One was standing on a stump and could wave on cue, and he also happened to be celebrating his second birthday. (His name was Bailey...Bailey Goat...say that with a Southern accent. Hilarious!) Hercules, the oldest one in the bunch, was 11 and took a likin' to lickin' Andrew. But, he was really only buttering A up for the moment he decided to take a chomp at his jeans. Fortunately, there was no damage.

Clockwise from Top Left: Have you ever seen a sheep's teeth?, Me with a goat (notice I am not participating in any petting), Hercules getting friendly with A, The Goat Whisperer in action

Luckily, there was also a well-equipped handwashing/sanitizing station with an automatic faucet (with the water spouting out of an old rusty pump, no less...again with the authenticity/don't be so cynical).

 

Once we had reduced our chance of "getting certain diseases" by washing up, we headed back to the car. Andrew had made reservations at one of our favorites (ONE midtown kitchen), and we had a great dinner! (Did you know you can eat fried fiddlehead ferns?)

  

 

Hope you had a good Saturday!