by Eating Bird Food on September 2, 2010
Look who ended up at my place last night…
The lovely Katharina! How cute is she?
We’ve been planning to get together and cook for the longest time and last night our little plan fell into place. Since the warm days of summer are most likely limited we decided to utilize summer veggies, the grill, and the ability to dine outside.
The recipes of the evening were from the June issue of Food & Wine – Barley and Grilled Vegetable Salad which included Vegetables with Walnut Dressing. Thanks to Katharina who researched long and hard for these delicious recipes. 
We divided the prep work and were ready to grill the veggies in no time. It was nice having 2 chefs in the kitchen – turns out we work really well together. (Not that I was worried about that.)
With a tiny bit of help from Isaac we were able to get the grill started…apparently he has the magic touch because I was doing exactly what he did but it just wouldn’t start.
The vegetables looked absolutely beautiful…
I got a little camera happy.
They tasted as good as they looked. Yuummmm.
Apparently this amount of vegetables was meant serve 4-6 people, however we had no problem polishing off the whole platter.
Instead of following the recipe and mixing the barley, veggies, and dressing together in one big bowl, we decided to make our own separate salads…
The result – ah.ma.zing! The flavor of the grilled vegetables went well with the chewy barley and nutty dressing. Then there was the pecorino cheese, oh the cheese… it simply tied all the flavors together. I will mention the walnut dressing turned out to be more of a sauce than dressing. We’re not sure why, but it turned out to be too thick to drizzle as the recipe instructed. This wasn’t too bothersome and overall the recipe was scrumptious!! If you were looking for the perfect grilled vegetable dish for Labor Day weekend, here ya go!!
While dining, I went for a Skinny Dip, probably for the last time this summer…
I’ve mentioned this beer before. It’s a seasonal brew by New Belgium that’s light and perfect for warm weather. I only get it every once in a while because it’s not sold in VA – we actually picked up a 6 pack while in GA for a wedding a few weeks ago.
Who’s excited for the long weekend? This girl! Do y’all have any big plans?
We don’t. We’ll just be hanging out but I’ll definitely be hitting up the farmer’s market, grilling out again, and perhaps even getting in a run (my leg seems to be feeling better! Hooray!)
by Eating Bird Food on August 31, 2010
I’ve recently come across some new things I simply love so I thought I’d put a little post together to highlight them…
1. Aerie F.I.T. Seamless Tank:
Over the weekend I found this tank at aerie, the intimates sub-brand of American Eagle. I tried it on and bought it immediately!
New workout gear is a great motivator for me, but sometimes it’s hard to find flattering options that don’t cost an arm and a leg. This top fits the bill! It’s made of quality (lovely colored) fabric, has a supportive built-in bra and a slimming fit. <– Gotta love that!
2. CCNO Bars
This was another weekend find!! I ran into the Corann, the owner of CCNO bars at Whole Foods this weekend where he was giving out samples of all their flavors.
The bars are raw, vegan, wheat free, dairy free and soy free. Rich in Omega’s 3 and 6, each bar contains 1 teaspoon of organic coconut oil. Plus, they’re made right here in VA! One bite of the Ginger, their best selling bar, and I was hooked. I had a hard time choosing, but bought both the Power Greens and Ginger flavor! The Power Greens was consumed yesterday as a mid-afternoon snack. Although unnecessary, I kept the bar in the fridge during the day so the texture was cool and firm – perfect for a hot summer day.
3. Stonyfield Organic After Dark Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
How did I miss the fact that Stonyfield has frozen yogurt? I’m not really sure, but I AM SURE that the After Dark Chocolate flavor is delicious. Isaac brought me home this like pint on Monday evening as a surprise and I hate to admit it, but it’s almost gone. Luckily it’s good for me. It contains the live active cultures found in regular yogurt, the ingredient list is pretty short, and nutrition facts are on point – only 100 calories for 1/2 cup serving, no fat, and 4 grams of protein!
Highly recommend trying out the Stonyfield fro yo – I’m already excited to try some of the other flavors!
4. Sushi Bowls created by following this recipe from 101 Cookbooks
Seriously, this sushi bowl might be better than regular sushi!?! Isaac described it as tasting like a fresh and healthy version of orange chicken (the rice has orange juice and zest).
I described it as “Yum!”
Dangit, now I’ve made myself hungry.
It’s off to work for me, but get excited because I have a special friend coming over tonight to cook. Pictures will most definitely be taken. 
Happy Wednesday.
PS Check out this article about Food Blogging in RVA. <– I’m quoted in it!!
