Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and banana soft serve.

Yep. I went to the sports medicine doctor and finally figured out what's going on in my knees. I suspected patellofemoral pain syndrome a while back after reading about Caitlin's experience with it but wanted to make absolutely sure.

Treatment starts soon with physical therapy and they promised that they'd get me running again! Seriously, you have no idea how happy those words made me. I may not run fast but I sure do love running! I'm also getting custom orthotics for my feet to help with the plantar fasciitis pain. Things are looking up.

We won't mention how old this all makes me feel.

We are super behind in posts due to going back to work, school and a regular schedule. This drives me nuts.



I have been making tons of guacamole lately. I am obsessed. I added a 2 lb box of avocados to our CSA list for next Saturday.



And I bought some corn and black bean salsa from our local farmer's market. This is the BEST salsa I've ever had. We're planning on buying more from him later today.



I made steak tacos to go with the guacamole and salsa. I used a packet of Trader Joe's taco seasoning to give the steak some flavor.



Yes, I am holding the plate up in my kitchen....



Seriously delicious. I used an organic onion and bell pepper to give it a little bit of veggie power. Next time I might try an all veggie taco.



Andy made us margaritas using Trader Joe's margarita mix. Have you tried it yet? It's got decent stats and is so tasty! I love that it's not super sweet.



Dessert was banana soft serve. To make this please read Gena's post on banana soft serve I'm telling you this was AMAZING. I added a little vanilla extract and some white chocolate wonderful pb to mine and LOVED IT! I can't believe this was made with frozen bananas!



Seriously Gena, you have changed my life. I love dessert but don't need all that dairy. This is such a perfect and cheap replacement!

Has a blogger recipe ever changed your life? Please share!

Cooking with organics.

I debated doing another Vegas post but I am too excited about our organic produce.

Signing up for a weekly delivery of organic produce was such a lifesaver. Now, our house always have fresh, delicious produce. Plus, we don't get to choose what comes in the box so it's always a surprise!



For example, I got some purple basil. I could have made pesto with it but I decided to try hummus instead. First, get a can of chickpeas (garbanzos) and some olive oil. I suggest using fresh beans if you have the time. I do not.



Add in a cup of sun-dried tomatoes. I bought mine at a farmer's market. They aren't packed in oil but you can use the oil-packed kind. Just cut back on the amount of olive oil.



Chop 1/4 cups worth of basil. I used the purple basil from the CSA. It's dreamy but really any basil will work. Add more if you feel necessary.



Add the entire can of garbanzos to the food processor. Water and all. Process until smooth and add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped basil and process again. It should come together fairly quickly. Add more olive oil if you find necessary.

Eat it with fresh crudites or pita chips!



The organic grapes from the CSA were delicious. I wish I knew what to do with them besides eat them straight up.



Next up was the elusive spaghetti squash. I always read about other food bloggers using the innards as a pasta substitute but I hadn't tried it myself. I had no idea what this was when it came in the box.

I roasted it cut sides up for 30 minutes at 350.



While it roasted, I took this baby eggplant and sliced it.



And sauteed.



I used pancetta and olive oil from my misto to take out any bitterness.



Buy a misto. It's so much better than regular cooking spray.



Chicken meatballs were added to the mix.



And the spaghetti squash innards. They were so easy to scoop out. It was kind of freaky.



I topped my pasta with some buffalo mozzarella and chowed down. I loved it! I definitely wouldn't substitute spaghetti squash for pasta all the time (I love carbs) but it's a nice change of pace.

Andy's bandage is off. Do you want to see pictures? It's semi-disgusting.

PS! I am getting custom orthotics! Maybe I'll run again?

Buitoni Pasta Review and dinner ala Andy

I was recently sent a few coupons to try some of Buitoni's pasta from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. I was sent the product for free and will give an honest review.



I picked the Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti. I figured it'd be light and slightly cheesy.



I topped it with some vodka sauce and a roasted zucchini/squash mix. It was incredible. A serving is about six agnolotti which isn't super filling so bulking it up with veggies and sauce helped a lot.

Overall, I'd buy this product again for nights when I crave cheesy, carby and delicious pasta. Buitoni has some whole wheat versions as well that I'm dying to try.



Before Andy's surgery he made us a delicious dinner.



Grilled chicken & pineapple sausages with green bell peppers.



Refried black beans with jalapeno.



Salad made with organic red leaf lettuce, feta cheese, organic tomatoes, cucumber and a homemade salad dressing.



For the dressing, I combined 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (infused with blackberries and pear), 1 tsbp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp honey and some chopped garlic chives (maybe 1 tsp) I just mixed it all up in the measuring cup and poured it over our salads. Otherwise Andy did most of the cooking. He is a keeper.

FYI: I decided to try Jillian Michael's "No More Trouble Zones" again. My biceps are killing me. I need to get this DVD into my regular rotation again.

Do you crave carby meals like pasta?

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?