Black Sheep Restaurant

So my friend Megan came to visit this last weekend and her friend James who is from Utah but served his mission in Richmond told us to go to this restaurant. Following me?

We went for Saturday brunch and it was the best place ever. Just sitting in there made me want to open my own restaurant. From the unique/random salt and pepper shakers to the artwork on the walls, everything was just so adorable! I also got a kick out of the chef's who kept walking out of the kitchen. They were young, very bearded looking hippies, with bandanas on their heads. I wanted to go back and check the kitchen out. Maybe next time I will ask, I almost always have a hairnet in my pocket these days.

Unfortunately I am not the best at remembering to take pictures so when I go back, and I will soon, I will snap some more. Here is what I got:

This is the delicious french toast that Megan got. I was told this was the best thing to get but as usual I chose the food with bacon and cheese. Salty vs sweet? Salty for sure! But anywho, this was huge slices of french bread french toast with hazelnut spread and a banana and homemade orange syrup. I ate some of hers, it was delicious.

When I requested my daily diet coke, the waitress offered me their alternative to diet cola, diet Cheerwine. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it came in a bottle, and that it is a product of the south and a local favorite. Here are some random facts about it from the ever trustworthy Wikipedia. "Cheerwine has a very sweet cherry flavor and an unusually high degree of carbonation compared with many other soft drinks. Cheerwine is available in most of the southeastern United States, from West Virginia south to Georgia, but is better known and has been a longtime favorite in the Carolinas and Virginia. The "Retro Cheerwine" variant is sold in glass bottles and is sweetened with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup."



And lastly this is what I got. The sandwich is called "Ms E" I think. It had bacon, avacado, cheese, and some horseradish spread. It was spicey and delicious. It came with a side of corn pudding. I never had corn pudding until I moved to Virginia but I am hooked, it is weird looking and an ineresting combination but it is slightly sweet and gives the appearance of being healthy.

Miss you Megan! Thanks for coming. Anyone else coming to visit?

Sarbear

I can't Resist

So you know those parents that all they do is talk about their kids all the time. Well I am that parent with but with my kitty cats. Please humor me by looking at yet another kitty picture.
Whenever I got to the bathroom, Fritz comes running in first. Once I flush, Giuseppe is next to follow. They can't get enough of it!

I hate what Virginia does to me...

This picture does not accurately show the itchy torture I have suffered this week.

Just Some of My Current Favorite Pictures

I really like this picture because it looks like something from "Saved By The Bell" and that we have all been friends forever. Really most of these people just met, but they are all my friends I got together with when I came home.

Just waiting for me to get home from work

Headed for a night out in DC

Love it!

I had a kind of rotten past 24 hours and one of the major stresses that was included in this was the kitty cats (cough mine cough) keep going to the bathroom in my room minus the litter box. Part of the reason this keeps happening is because none of the doors in our apartment actually
close for various reasons, mine being that it does not have a knob. So I chipped off the paint that had cemented it on, took out the screws, took off all the hardware, and ran down to Pleasants, the neighborhood hardware store.

After telling the man that I need a door knob, and finding out there is more to it than just the knob, he so politely tells me that I am going to need tools to do it. Duh man! He doesn't know I have a pink tool set. But he also told me it wouldn't be easy and maybe I should ask someone (like a boy) to help me do it. Being the wonderfully pleasant but headstrong person that I am, I told him I was getting the door knob set and would install it and that was that. And 20 minutes later, this is what happened:





The video clip is a little sideways but you get the gist. It even has an old school key hole (shown above) and an old school key to lock and unlock it. Love it!

Thank you hardware store man for that little push. And eat that landlord who doesn't fix anything! I will be sending you the bill including parts and labor.

New Recipe

I am currently on a new rotation that is very easy and I like to refer to it as "vacation rotation." This means I have a lot of time to sit and ponder things of my liking but still look like I am doing something related to nutrition, so I usually look up recipes. I also am currently working on a project with a farmer's market developing recipes for current produce that needs to sell, so things are working quite nicely. One of the vegetables that I am working on is cabbage. I will admit that I don't eat much cabbage but not because I dislike it, just because I don't know what to do with it.

I have a favorite Rachel Ray recipe that I have made but I don't know what it is called, or exactly what is in it but it has chicken broth, green onions, egg noodles, ground turkey meatballs, and lots of paprika. It is some kind of Scandinavian soup, I think. Anyway the point is I got the brilliant idea to substitute the egg noodles with cabbage shreds and my new recipe was born. It probably has already been done but this was my own little epiphany for today so I came home from work to make it, and I am taking partial credit for it. I don't like to think of cutsie names so I am just going to call it what it is. The recipe was quite simple, and this is how it went:

Sarah's Turkey Meatball Cabbage Soup

Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (approx 4 links)
Plain Bread Crumbs (approx 1 cup)
1 egg
Fresh Garlic (approx 1 tsp)
Green Onions (approx a small bunch)
Half a Medium Cabbage
Paprika
Pepper
Bay Leaf

1. It's all about the pre-preparation in this recipe. Cut your scallions on a diagonal and set aside. Slice cabbage into thin ribbons and set aside.
2. Remove turkey sausage from casing and mix with fresh garlic, egg, and bread crumbs. I added pepper and paprika at this point but no salt is really needed. Form into meatballs the size of a ping pong ball and set aside.
3. Bring chicken broth to a boil and add bay leaf. Add meatballs and cook for 2 or 3 minutes and then add cabbage and onion. Add some paprika to the broth. This helps add a little flavor and also a great color. Cook until meatballs are cooked through and cabbage is to desired softness.

Notes: It doesn't sound like much but it really is delicious. I added some orzo too because I love my carbohydrates. Some potato cubes could be good too. I also thought about adding yellow squash at the end for color, or maybe purple cabbage too. I also think red pepper flakes would be good to add some more spice.


It may be really hot because it is summer but you should try it sometime. And tell me if you like it...

Diary of a Mad Vegan Girl

My roommate has to eat like a vegan for a month and then do a gluten free diet for a month as one of her intern projects. I told her I would do vegan for a week with her just casually but now I am kinda getting into it. While we are on the subject, I am not entirely sure how you say vegan in a politically correct way. Is someone a vegan? Do they eat vegan? Is vegan considered a diet or a lifestyle or both? I am not sure. For some reason I feel like it sounds almost like a swear word, not sure why. Anywho...I think you get what I am trying to say...kinda.

So yesterday was the first day of my venture. It started out pretty easy. An apple for breakfast, and veggie salad for lunch. But around 4 o'clock I started to get hungry. I headed over to the neighborhoood natural food market, Ellewood Thompson's, and browsed around for my foods. After half an hour I had a small basket and a 26$ bill. Being vegan is kinda expensive. I ended up with dried soybeans and lentils, roasted pumpkin seeds, vegetable broth, chick peas, tortilla chips, and rice milk. And dinner was born...pumpkin seeds with hummus and tortilla chips, with cherries on the side. I was mildly satisfied.

Later that night at Beanies house she let me know that Miranda can do this diet just fine, but I was going to have some trouble... what the beep?! I guess she does know by now that I can eat like a football player so she wasn't completely unwarranted in saying that But for those of you who know me really well, you know I like a challenge. Now I have extra incentive.

Today at work I browsed the cafeteria looking for something to eat besides raw vegetables. I always assumed being vegan= being healthy, but also a little crazy. Now I am starting to doubt this as I filled my plate with potatoes and bread and ketchup. I am definitely going to be getting my fill of carbs. The chef assured me the bread had no animal products but I did detect a delicious buttery taste. I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I am going to have to be more careful. Fruits and veggies and seeds, fruits and veggies and seeds. Stay tuned for more vegan adventures, and possibly some recipes.