Anyone want another picture of a GM? Too bad! I forgot to take one. Whoops! I’ve got a lot of pictures to post today though, so it’s probably best I leave out the Monsta.
Today was my day off from working out. I woke up early, had a big cup of java and a big Monsta, then basically wasted a lot of time staring out the window at the marine layer that covers SoCal every June. And then I drank more coffee.
The roommates went on a mini-vacation down to San Diego, so I have the house to myself! Before they left, they were kind enough to leave me with a lovely scramble.
This has one egg, zucchini, bell pepper, spinach and….
Look who’s back! HOT SAUCE!!!!
Lunch was a repeat, not that I’m complaining! I had half a cup of leftover chana masala (which really soaked up the spice after the first day!) and half of this piece of TJ’s garlic naan.
Lunch today, and more for lunch tomorrow!
Thursday is Farmers’ Market day! I went out and spent an hour wandering the rows:
I brought back a massive bounty!
Yes, that is Dear John, the movie – because tonight is DATE NIGHT! Cheesy films and good food, baby!
For dinner I made broiled tilapia with homemade chimichurri sauce. I used to buy a chimichurri sauce from the farmers’ market until it just got to be too darn expensive ($5.25 for a 9.2oz jar – it lasts for only about 2 marinades), so today I decided it was time to improvise and make my own based on the ingredients they used in theirs. The following wasn’t completely measured, so it’s a guesstimate turned into measurements:
Chimichurri Sauce a la Bexter
2 cups of fresh parsley
3 tbsp fresh oregano
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
Twist of freshly ground pepper
Pinch of chile pepper flakes
1. Rinse and dry the parsley, then tear off the leaves and toss them into a food processor.
2. Rinse and dry the oregano, then strip the leaves from the stems by pinching the top and sliding your fingers down against the grain of the stem:
3. Measure about 3 tablespoons of the leaves into the food processor.
4. Crush 4 cloves of garlic with the blade of a knife, roughly chop, then put into food processor.
5. Pulse the food processor a few times, then add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and chili pepper.
6. Blend until all the ingredients are incorporated.
7. Bottle and refrigerate the chimichurri sauce.
For dinner I coated the tilapia in my fresh chimichurri sauce, then placed it under the broiler for 4 minutes per side. Being the genius that I am, I forgot that olive oil has a really low smoke point and ended up opening turning on the oven fan to get rid of the small amount of smoke that billowed from the foil….Whoops 🙂 Then I topped it with another spoonful of chimichurri sauce.
I threw together a salad of fresh mixed greens with farmers’ market strawberries that I sliced and soaked in a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, and topped it with some pecans I toasted in a pan over medium heat for five minutes. De-freakin-licious!
I finally got around to watching Dear John! It was… fine. Nothing thrilling, not as good as the book, but movies hardly ever are. Now I’m watching Glee reruns and trying to figure out Blogger’s new format. I JUST got used to the old one! I’m technologically-challenged as it is, are they trying to drive me crazy?
Oh yes, and I picked up a little something for dessert to go with the strawberries.
Yes, those are the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream bars I’ve been lusting after for so long! I have really, really bad news: They’re AMAZING. Only 100 calories, 3.5g of fat! Not bad! I stopped at one, which is a healthy number, but that was an hour ago… I’ll probably have to have another and make sure that the first one wasn’t a fluke. I should actually, definitely go do that now…
Whoops….
We got seated inside at one of the long tables, but after a few minutes of screaming at each other trying to be heard, we requested a swap for a table on the patio.
I ordered my favorite: Chesebro IPA. 9.8%ABV and soopah hoppy!
Kaitlin being a super-creeper and getting WAY better, clearer pictures than I got. I’m not jealous of her camera or skills at all…
From left to right: Dan, Monica, Katherine and Amanda.
Left to right: Danielle and Kelley.
Jessie!
Andy!
We spent the entire night drinking delicious beer, consuming wonderful food, but most importantly, talking incessantly about beer, blogging, food, life in general, and having the most amazing, fun Friday night with new friends. I never would have thought that I would be spending a Friday night with some people that I met on the internet, and ENJOYING myself at that, but I’m hooked! 
And then Amanda did the downward dog.
And our night was complete.
