Eggo: Real Fruit Pizza.

Thank you for all the well wishes on Andy's surgery. The patient is healing just fine.



See what I mean? Not only did he post a blog but he watched a few movies, went with me to Trader Joe's and made coffee this morning!

Color me impressed. The whining has been minimal. I think I've been whinier.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I received some free samples of Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas.



They microwave on a "grill" tray for only a minute so it was a nice quick breakfast.



Here's what it looked like frozen. I expected the crust part to be a waffle since I naturally associate Eggos with waffles but it was more pita like.



Here it is cooked. Doesn't look that different does it?

Here's the thing...yes this makes for a quick and easy breakfast but it wasn't show stopping or nearly as crispy as an Eggo Waffle. I enjoyed the smell and the taste but the nutritionals did not impress me. These pizzas are about 300-400 calories which is fairly calorie dense for what it was. I think I'd rather take a note from Em and make my own fruit pizza. Still, I can see buying these for kids every now and again if you were in a rush.

Have you tried any new products lately?

Surgery is fun!

Yesterday I had surgery on my right elbow. I had a compressed ulnar nerve, which is commonly known as the funny bone. I made it super sensitive, where ii I ran into someone it would hurt and my pinky finger was constantly numb. The surgery is minor, outpatient surgery. They decompress the nerve by cutting away the area that is compressing it, basically. Now I have a giant bandage for 2 weeks and minor pain.

Thanks for all the well wishes. Send cookies!

New elbow

Thanks for all of your well wishes on Andy's surgery. He has some nerve damage (his ulner nerve) near his elbow. Hopefully the surgery will be successful and his nerves will feel good as new. It takes a few months to know if it worked or now. I'll have Andy post about it at some point.



In case you were wondering...leftover salad tastes amazingly delicious.



Especially when it's paired with a turkey, gouda, red pepper spread and seedy bread sandwich.



YUM. And yes, I totally use my Snoopy plates all the time instead of our nice dishes. I am weird.



But what I really want to share with you is my recreation of a favorite omelette. Andy and I frequent a restaurant out here called Eggs & Things. They have an omelette (omelet?) called the Eggs & Things and it's so good. It consists of 3 eggs, cheese, ortega chiles, bacon and sour cream.



I made some (they are a little ugly. I need to perfect my omelette flipping skills) by mixing 4 eggs with a little skim milk, pepper, chiles, bacon and cheese. Then I cooked the omelette, flipped it like a rookie and topped that bad boy with chiles and sour cream. I cut it in half because 4 egg omelettes are intense. We each had a half with some fruit and really enjoyed them. Eggs & Things still makes it better...



But our fruit bowl is better. It never sat underneath a heat lamp. We had some white nectarines and strawberries.



Andy contributed to this breakfast by making coffee. He is such a stud when it comes to coffee. I literally have never attempted to make coffee myself because his is so good. Our coffee maker isn't really that complicated...well maybe the espresso part?



And yes...Andy dumps tapatio on EVERYTHING.


Have you ever recreated a favorite meal from a restaurant? How did it turn out?

What is the most important thing?

If you were/are a fan of Arrested Development...you know that George Michael felt that breakfast was the most important thing.



My husband feels the same way.



Scrambled eggs, black beans and a nectarine.



Andy covers his in tapatio. Always. (Not the nectarine...but it wouldn't surprise me.)

We don't always eat breakfast together. Andy naturally wakes up an hour or so before me and usually does his own thing and I do my own thing. I assume this is relatively normal? So it's always nice and relaxing when we're able to eat breakfast together. This is why summer is awesome. No work, no papers to grade, no deadlines. It's refreshing. Until the patio gets so hot that I start to melt. Then it's not refreshing.


Andy is having minor surgery tomorrow morning. Send him some well wishes. We'd appreciate it!

Finally eating at home!

I'm still catching up on my blog posts so this is a little dated.

Sometimes I just crave salads. Typically when I crave salads like this, I want to go out to eat. I'm always too lazy to chop veggies myself. Well not anymore.

Andy and I have vowed to go somewhere next summer as we like to travel at least once a year and we need to cut back on dining out to save money.



So I chopped.



Tested a new salsa "dressing."



And made a huge taco salad. Ground lean beef, seasoned tortilla strips for crunch, tomatoes, feta and cheddaaaaaa. On top of some romaine of course.



Some avocado slices and jalapenos would have set this off.



I settled for some pom margaritas instead. We bought this at Costco. I am usually turned off my premixed drinks but this stuff is awesome. I love it. I am currently drinking a glass. It makes me smile.

What would be in your ultimate salad?

My dream salad has raspberries, avocado, red leaf lettuce, feta cheese, gorgonzola cheese, cucumbers, candied pecans and a light white balsamic vinegarette. YUM!

Eating in San Diego

California has a few breweries but none near where Andy and I live. Luckily we spent a week in Andy's old stomping ground...San Diego!

Andy, his mom Josie and I went to Stone Brewing Co. for dinner one night after Andy spent the day at a teacher's conference. Our friend Coral turned us on to the brewery and their awesome food.



I ordered pear cider since I wasn't in a beer mood but wanted something. It was delicious!



Andy ordered duck tacos with black beans and rice. He was thrilled.



I ordered Macaroni and beer cheese with sausage. It was rich, cheesy and amazing. I never have macaroni and cheese like this anymore and I really miss it.

Josie order the currant cider which was even better than my pear! Next time I'm getting that. Andy ordered the Stone IPA which he loves but I find a little hoppy. (I prefer pale ales or wheat beers.)



Later in the week, I met with Coral and her adorable daughter Hannah. We went to Oggi's pizza which was new to me. I ordered the Santa Fe personal pizza. It was delicious. The crust was perfection. I ordered a salad on the side and ended up only eating half the pizza.

Next up, we went out to Sally's Seafood on the Water



Crab cakes were ordered.



And sushi! We all really enjoyed this place. I'm not huge into sushi but I tried a spicy tuna roll and enjoyed it.

Completely unrelated but worth mentioning, I have been considering signing up for my first half marathon on October 17th. I've completed three relatively slow 5k's but I alternated walking and running with all of them. Lately I haven't been running much at all. Knee and heel pain keeps me away.

Anyhow, I want to work with a podriatrist on my plantar fasciitis and see my current doctor about the knee issues and get their okay before signing up for the half. I still plan on walk/running because it works for me and I'm not concerned about my time. I really just want to complete a half marathon. It's a big dream of mine and signing up for a big race will keep me motivated to continue running. Still, with the pain and irritation I've been experiencing, I wonder if it's possible. I'd have 12 weeks to train using the Hal Higdon novice plan.

Anyway, I just wanted to know your thoughts. I will also see what the doctors think and let you know.

Anniversary cake!

The bakery where we got our wedding cake from is fantastic. For our one year anniversary, they made us a fresh cake to celebrate with. No frozen cake for us! (Our anniversary was July 5th...this post is a wee bit overdue!)

We actually kept the frozen cake but it looked gross. I threw it out. It was a bittersweet moment.



Here's our wedding cake.



The monogram is out of order. I forgave the bakery.



Because having a fresh anniversary cake was great.



Especially with a bottle of champagne from our wedding night.



Buttercream, fresh berries and white cake? YUM!

Being married is awesome. We vowed to get cake for every anniversary.

LA Food Fest

I have so much to tell you guys now that our Kauai recap posts are over. Andy and I are desperately trying to get back to reality. We are both teachers (well I'm aspiring to be...) and we have a few weeks of summer left before we start teaching again. I will be student teaching at the middle school level. I'm extremely nervous even though I love teaching and I love that age group.

I'm also hoping to drop some LBS before the school year resumes. We'll see how that goes. I surprisingly did not gain during our vacation but I am still feeling quite...puffy. I am no longer on any medication for my PCOS and it's a little unsettling. I want to lose weight and stay healthy naturally. Which is never easy for me since I love food so much. You'll see an example of that in a few...

Our Saturday started out with our first CSA pick-up. (Community Supported Agriculture) I found an ad in a local paper and decided to sign up. Once a week, Andy and I will go pick up a box of fresh organic veggies and fruits for under $20. (Ok $19.80 but doesn't under $20 sound better?) I figured this will be a great way for us to try new foods, eat healthier and cook at home more!



Behold the bounty!







Then it was off to the LA Street Food Fest. Here's Chris, Andy and me waiting patiently for it to begin.



My sister Sarah and her friend Alex came too.



The line moved relatively fast and we got in. The event was held at the Rose Bowl which was really nice.



We saw the ice cream trucks first and decided to grab some ice cream sandwiches from Cool Haus. We'd been to Cool Haus before during a food truck event in Glendale and knew we'd enjoy.



The line for Vegan Treats was short so I knew I HAD to stop by.



I got a bite of chocolate chip ice cream which was delicious. Vegan desserts are fab.



Then it was time for CoolHaus.



We were excited!

I got a strawberry jalapeno ice cream and Andy got peanut butter & bacon. Needless to say, Andy's was better.



The Fry Girl was offering up fried donuts so we stopped by. Fry Girl claims that these donuts have only one gram of fat each...really?







They were tiny hot and delicious. I had mine with cinnamon. Very good!



Andy wasn't about to eat fried food so he got an iced coffee from Don Francisco's. It was okay but a little too sweet.



Then it was on to the main event. Lines were forming quickly and we had to plan.





Crispy tofu balls? Okay!



I felt lukewarm about it. As did the rest of our crowd. It was decent but not thrilling.



While in line for some dim sum I met Susan Feniger. I was way too excited. I love Border Grill and I loved her on Top Chef Masters. I told her I was her biggest fan and that I loved her. I am a creep no?



Shrimp dimsum from the Dimsum truck. Very good.





We waited in the Monsieur Egg line for 45 minutes.



While in line one of my sister's friends shared a smore's cupcake with us. It was sort of dry but decent.



The egg dish. Sourdough toast with jam, tri tip, arugula, a poached egg and pesto.

Mine was cold and not that delicious. I was a little grumpy considering I had waited 45 minutes. Still, it's tough to cook for a crowd of 5,000.



Andy enjoyed his. His wasn't cold.



Ceviche from Gastrobus was good. It had popcorn on top...Andy hates popcorn so he took it off. Very good shrimp in the ceviche!





Border Grill was offering up Green Corn Tamales. YUM!



Creamy corn, salsa and crema in a snow cone cup. It was delicious, creamy and warm. Two thumbs up Border Grill.







After this, we parted and split some random things. Vietnamese pork sandwiches, beef satay sticks, tacos...all small bites (like 3 bites per item and we shared.)



We had some more bites of ice cream and left at 9.

Thoughts? It was $45 for parking, entrance and food. We just didn't get much food for that price. But we spent a lot more at the last LA Street Food Fest. Everything was small bites and the lines were fairly long. Water was not available. I think this type of event is just difficult to execute. There were several trucks that we wanted to try that either ran out of food or had lines over 45 minutes long. It was definitely a fun event and worth while but we decided that we might as well stalk the food trucks separately.

Much love to the organizers of the fest. I don't know how you do it!!!

Did you go to the LA Street Food Fest? What did you think?