Good Eats

After grabbing some vino at Hub51 with Lindsey and Em, Shannon and I decided to hit a new hot spot in Chicago for dinner.


Paris Club: http://www.parisclubchicago.com 


French chef with small plates and fun hip decor. I will say, I'm not usually a big fan of french food, but this was good! We ended up ordering:


Braised Brussel Sprouts with raisins-this was my fav!
Tuna Tartare Francaise
Grilled Whole Artichoke 
Chicken Pillared


Kinda stuck to some simple dishes, but all seemed relatively healthy!


Finally the sun came out in Chicago on Saturday! Thank god! We decided to grab some brunch where we could enjoy the weather. We decided on Taylor's choice, Tempo Cafe!


Sat right in front and people watched our way through brunch. We all got a 3 egg omelette's that was served in the pan. Delicious, but waaay to much food! Next time, I will definitely be splitting my dish!

Protein Plus Shrimp

I have finally made it to Chicago and been loving it! Mostly because my sister and I have really been rockin the kitchen! I've made so many new recipes that have been so fun, and also visited some great restraunts. Heres a little recap of some recipes:

Protein Bars

2 cups Peanut Butter
3/4 cup agave or honey
3 big scoops of protein powder
1 scoop of fiber boost if you have it

Add if you want:
Sunflower seed
Pumpkin seed
Flaxseed
Chia seeds

Here's a recipe from Kath Eats Real Food Blog that we tried, and even added chicken! Great soup for the week!

Shrimp Coconut Kale Soup

http://www.katheats.com/

Ingredients (3-4)

• Olive oil in the bottom of a pot
• 1 head collard greens (or kale or spinach), trimmed into bite size pieces
• 3 cups veggie broth
• 1 can lite coconut milk
• 3/4 lb peeled shrimp
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Coconut flakes + sriracha to garnish

Instructions

• Heat oil and add greens.
• Lightly sautee.
• When wilted, add broth and coconut milk. Bring to just under a boil.
• Reduce heat to low.
• Add shrimp and spices, stirring. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through and bright pink. Do not overcook!
• Garnish with coconut 

Chicago

HERE I COME!!!!!

Fig & Olive

Another great stomping ground we came across in NYC. Fig & Olive embossed every dish with olive oil, and some with fig, my fav! We started with the cheese platter, served with fig and olive walnut, tapenade & marcona almond. There were 6 cheeses presented:

Fromage de Chevre(Goat) 

Gorgonzola Dolce (Cow) 

Rocchetta (Cow, Sheep, Goat) 

Caccio de Roma (Sheep) 

Manchego (Sheep) 

Taleggio (Cow) 

For dinner, I ordered the Sea Scallops & Truffle Artichoke Tapenade...truffles delight!

Bundle of Joy

Wildcat Girls





I recently attended my first friends baby shower, baby Phoenix! Shes not here yet, but after the shower, hopefully her mom feels a little more prepared for her arrival :) It was a beautiful day in San Diego, and the baby outfits and gadgets couldn't have been any cuter!







The City that Never Sleeps

Earlier this summer I took a short trip to NYC. Immediately when I arrived, I was in pure awe of the real city life that LA lacks. So much action and so many people, basically sprinting to their next destinations...I couldn't help but wonder what kind of life the New Yorker passing me was leading.


My one request for my quick vacation was fun, hip, and delicious restaurants.... and boy did we nail it!  Here's a little breakdown of what was in store...

Thursday Night: The Standard Grill in the Meat packing District www.thestandardgrill.com. Let me just say trenDY, and just what I was looking for :) The restaurant was filled with beautiful people, fashionable clothes, and tasty dishes! We ended up ordering the steak, swordfish, and side of potatoes covered in melted cheese..WOW RICH but hit the spot!

Pure Barre