Breakfast

I'm not a morning person.  The allure of the duvet is much stronger than my desire to brave the cold morning.  This means I'm usually rushing about in the morning to get ready for the commute to work.  Today we decided to head in a little later than normal and I unexpectedly had time to make us breakfast at home.

Mushroom and pepperjack cheese mini omelet, half an orange, mini cinnamon raisin bagel toasted with cream cheese, and a bowl of tonjiru miso soup.  With a warm and full belly we set off to face the day. 

Post-Rehearsal Snack

I met the girls for a delicious dinner at Lyon Hall while my boyfriend was busy rehearsing with his bandmate out in Vienna.  I decided it would be nice to make him a little snack when he finished up.  Since it was pretty late, I tried to keep it on the light side.

 Roast beef with horseradish, grapes, olives, cheddar, mozzarella, Parano cheese and celery sticks.

I also made a few deviled eggs with salmon roe because he loves ikura.  With a little white wine, he was a happy boy.

If you haven't tried Three Wishes from your local Whole Foods, I recommend it.  It's WF's answer to Trader Joe's 2 Buck Chuck.  The wine is made in California, yet the Chardonnay is not too sweet nor oak-y.  The best part, they're $3.99 each.  So pick up a bottle, or 4 like me.

Today's Bento

Leftover dressing topped with turkey and a mushroom gravy. 

Mixed vegetables with mango and cranberry chutney.

Today's Bento

With the arrival of colder weather, we've been eating a lot more lately. Even though we went for an hour run and took an 18 mile bike ride this weekend, it's good to adjust food content and quantities.  To lighten up today's bento, I made a meat-free lunch with half the amount of rice and more fresh fruits and vegetables.

 Umeboshi, quick-pickled cucumber, grapes, persimmon, mandarin orange, spicy bean sesame sprouts with pickled ginger.

Sauteed cabbage with shiitake mushrooms, garlic and ginger; edamame, and rice topped with salmon furikake.

Today's Bento

After a few hodge-podge packed lunches, I finally put together a nice bento for my boyfriend.  There's a mixture of all of the food groups and hopefully it'll satisfy him during his lunch break.  It's especially nice to bring a bento when it's a messy and rainy day and I needed to borrow his umbrella.

 Sweet potato fries, cucumber with miso paste, bratwurst, sauteed cabbage and red pepper.

 Orange wedges and Japanese potato salad.

In hindsight I should have put the cucumbers in the bottom section. 

Hopefully he'll take them out before he reheats the top half.

The Big Night

Ok... we weren't crazy enough to make a timpano, but we did think that we'd have a forking good time trying to make some gnocchi. Handmade gnocchi in August in DC...what were we thinking? It was a mini-fail but we had plenty of other delicious things for the joint birthday-bon voyage party.

Crostini two-ways: fresh fig with gorgonzola and honey, and artichoke tapenade

Wild mushroom and bechamel lasagna. This was my experiment in creating a meatless, red sauce-less lasagna.

Insalata caprese

Cantaloupe melon wrapped in prosciutto with fresh mint

Orange, olive and red onion salad

Fresh peaches with mint and onion

Setting up the table

Baked and Wired cupcakes in assorted flavors

The full table

Assorted salads, crostini and lasagna

Antipasti platters with salumi, roasted peppers, eggs and tomatoes; grapes, cheeses and olives

Clarendon's Lyon Hall

Finally stopped in Lyon Hall. http://www.lyonhallarlington.com/ I had heard some great things about it from my favorite bar manager in the neighborhood, but also some middling reviews from friends. Well...I really liked it. Partially it was the company and perfect weather for sitting outside, but the service was very enjoyable. We had to wait a few minutes at the bar for a table outside. The bartender was informative and poured tastes of a few draft beers to help my friend decide what to drink.

Peach and heirloom tomato salad. The waitress highly recommended this. The tomatoes were flavorful and ripe and the sweet peach was a nice contrast. Wish there was a little more peach.

Mussels and frites. J'adore les moules et frites. With a white wine, garlic, parsley and leeks, the broth was so good I couldn't resist dipping the housemade bread into it.

Herb spaetzle with sauerkraut, gruyere and ham. The spaetzle were good, although the aroma of the sausages at nearby tables was more enticing.

***

The menu has some lovely cheeses and draft beers that I would like to try. The prices are also pretty moderate. I'd like to bring my better half here to try out the black pudding or lamb sausage. The inside is pretty vibrant and loud, but the patio area is much quieter and relaxing.

Hiking Adventures

Recently we started hiking different trails in the Shenandoah. It's wonderful to get out in woods, traverse some challenging elevation changes and enjoy some clean, fresh air. In addition to carrying enough water and mugi-cha, we like to bring something good to eat for lunch.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar bento set is perfect for packing lunch for bigger appetites.Hello Kitty bento set works well too.
hand-made onigiri with salmon and shiso furikake

kiwi fruit, blueberries and a tangerine

mixed fruit, grape tomatoes, edamame and onigiri