Remember these fellas?
Well, my friend Tiffany and I were driving around town when we snagged them off of the curb, about to be tossed! I think it is important to note that Tiff. was about 7 or 8 months pregnant at the time… what a true friend!
Well, it has taken me until now (um… a year later) to actually do anything with them.
Baxter, get out of the way!!
Chris and I have recently begun a Saturday morning tradition of going to a local diner, Pop’s. I am so excited for these mornings that we are able to spend together. Sometimes we bring our bibles, sometimes we bring whatever book our small-group is going through at the time (right now it is this book), sometimes we bring our my calendar and talk about what events are coming up…. but mostly we just bring our appetites. 
There are only two locations, but if you live in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake, then you are probably only a quick 5 minute interstate trip from one – Lucky you!
Now, Pop’s is not a cute old diner with a lot of history (which I have yet to discover here in this busy, sort of dirty, city that I live in – let me know if you know of one). However, it does have its charms…and one of the best things is that it has been mostly undiscovered by ‘locals’.
(haha, I’m not sure why I don’t consider myself a local, seeing as how I was born and raised here in Hampton Roads…maybe it’s because I have always secretly wished I had grown up in a smaller town and don’t associate myself with these ‘city folks’).
A local Porsche club has also found Pop’s and deemed it their favorite meeting spot for Saturday mornings.
This is the only shot I was able to get, but the Porsches filled up this lot and the neighboring lots.
not sure if this one is a Porche…. but it certainly is cool looking
(and I certainly wouldn’t have parked it next to that van, which will most likely have kids jumping in and out of it, flinging doors open all willy-nilly)
What is your favorite local hot-spot?
So, I’ve been craving guacamole for a few weeks now
(no, i’m not pregnant…for those of you out there thinking it!)
Anyway, if you know me at all then you know that cooking
really isn’t my thang.
I try… I really do!
I think I’ve finally pinpointed the things that make cooking difficult for me:
1. Actually making a decision on what to cook
(If you were to look up “indecisive” in the dictionary,
my mug would be there)
2. The multitasking required
If the directions include the phrase ‘set it and forget it’, then I might be able to deal. However, if the recipe requires tending to the oven, periodically checking on whatever is cooking to ‘monitor’ the progress or to ‘see if it is done’, and simultaneously preparing the ever-important side dishes…forget about it. I get side-tracked going from the kitchen to the front door.
OK, that’s only 2 reasons…. I guess that’s no excuse.
I had better get in the kitchen and start earning my keep!
Speaking of getting side-tracked….
I made guacamole last night.
Now there aren’t really any ‘true’ measurements for me to share for this recipe because guac is one of those things that you can change depending on your personal taste and the amount you want to make.
In my guac I included:
(little/no green on the outside, only brown. no white patches on the outside. not too mushy, but just the slightest ‘give’ on the skin when you squeeze….)
– I speak from experience…let’s just say this wasn’t the first time this week I had tried to fulfill my craving for guac –
(I’m pretty sure it has an actual label, but that escapes me at the moment)
(make sure you chop the pieces really small or else you will get a giant bite of pretty much just onion, and you will make a face, and your husband will laugh at you….just sayin’)
(It only comes in a bundle…so just add as much as you want)
(It’s a clove, right?)
Cut your avocados in half and use a spoon to scoop out the insides and the giant pit. The inside should be super soft, and separate easily from the …um, shell?
Chop up any other ingredients you want to add.
(roasted peppers or chiles, salsa, black beans….anything really)
Stir in onions, tomato, cilantro, and garlic.
I like to use a knife to stir/cut the avocados up without making them too creamy. That’s just a personal preference…. I like my guac chunky.
If you want smooth guac, then by all means, mash it up!
Add salt and lime juice to taste once everything has been mixed together.
Grab your chippies and get to it!
If you had told me 7 years ago that I would be one of those people who
enjoys Sushi on a regular basis… I would have guffawed in your face!
Ya see, I have this rather strong aversion to eating any food
that even remotely resembles it’s ‘alive’ form.
I think it stems from an experience I had as a little girl.
I remember going to a rehearsal dinner as a flower girl where they
plopped an entire (and I’m sure very expensive) lobster on my plate,
beady – bulging eyes and all!
I mean, who would do such a thing?!
Whether that was the experience that turned me into a selective eater or not,
I had always avoided certain foods – sushi being one of them –
that is, until I met my husband. Mostly against my will, he ‘broadened’ my
food experiences, to include all sorts of interesting ethnic dishes.
I have to say, after 7 years of ‘broadening’, my mind has been completely
changed about sushi (not so much with other foods, though).
Now, if you’re thinking about stepping out of your comfort zone and trying some sushi,
let me suggest you look for the rolls that say ‘tempura’:
TEMPURA: [tem-poo
r-uh]
–noun – Japanese seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried.
YUMMO!
I mean, who doesn’t like deep fried?
Here are some shots from our most recent sushi date:
I didn’t intend for the drink shot to be blurry,
but I kind of like the fuzzy look, it really shows the colors on the lemon.
yummy ginger dressing on my salad
Chris’ spicy tuna and yellowtail rolls
my Volcano tempura roll
dbj
(that’s right, I brought back the Don’t Be Jealous acronym)
