Clean Eating (ish) BBT Pasta

So I'm not quite sure what the deal with pasta is. Is it clean? Is it not? Some people say whole wheat pasta is fine, some people only eat rice noodles, some people use gluten-free. You know what I did? Bought the cheapest out of those 3 options- which happened to be the gluten free version. I recognized all the ingredients so I figured what the hey, why not give it a shot? 

Also I know bacon isn't necessarily clean but it's paleo right? I try to stick to 80/20 (clean/not clean) so it fit into my week perfectly.

Ok and can we just talk about something? I've been cooking clean for almost a year now. Which means Harrison has only eaten clean dinners for almost a year. There have been maybe 3 times that he (ok we) hated the dish- 3 out of probably 300 is a pretty good average - yet every single time he is super skeptical and all like "ok I mean I'll try this to be nice" and 5 minutes later this man has eaten 5 servings. This was one of those meals.

The Sauce (adapted from PPK)

• 1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
• 1 cup natural chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (ordered mine on Amazon!)
• Fresh lemon juice of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

The Pasta:

• 1/2 pack of Pasta Noodles (whatever you feel is best!), cooked
• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• 4 strips turkey bacon, cooked
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender and blend. 

Toss all the pasta ingredients together.

En.freaking.joy.

I don't know what about this was so good, maybe it was that I haven't had pasta in almost a year, but it was amazing.

Oh and wedding update: every time Harrison and I set aside time to send out our save the dates we get drunk and get nothing done. Which is fine. But really, we have opposite work schedules and the amount of times we have been to happy hour together in the last 3 years I can count on one hand, yet we have hit one hand worth of happy hours in the last two weeks. But hey, everyone tells us to enjoy our time as an engaged couple so I guess we are just taking their advice to heart? Tonight we went to a new place around the block from my work and Harrison got a fun-sized drink that I couldn't stop laughing about:

Tonight we're going to a wedding food tasting at Main Event Catering, can't wait!

Tell me: Any advice for wedding food tasting? What kind of pasta do you consider clean or DO you consider ANY pasta clean?

Linking up today at Delicious Dish Tuesday

Clean Eating (ish) BBT Pasta

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

DC Happy Hour- ON A BOAT

Picture from ridetheboomerang.com

Few things make one feel as glamorous as sipping cocktails on a chartered yacht. Thanks to The Boomerang, everyone can feel this glamorous for a mere $15 (which includes your first drink!). Here's my breakdown:

DC Happy Hour- ON A BOAT

Friday, September 20, 2013

$5 Happy Hour at Local 16

Average Drink Price: $5 (everything is $5)
Service: Great and fast! The bartender was really honest and recommended/discouraged certain menu items (i.e. stay away from the #4)
Good for Groups: Yes- and the service is fast enough that everyone in your group won't be waiting eons for drinks 
Mood: Chillin
Outdoor Seating: Rooftop patio
Try the: Signature Cocktail #3 and meatballs 

Local 16's $5 Happy Hour Menu

This is a great place to come chill out, specifically at 5:30 pm after the world's longest Thursday ever. We sat at the downstairs bar (too hot to go to the patio) and ordered a few drinks- the best by far was the #3 (pictured below). It was minty/limey/kind of mojitoey and super refreshing, and served in a mason jar which really gets some people excited--not quite my thing, but I did appreciate how big the mason jars are.

We at the hummus that was nice and flavorful, and the pita bread was fresh out of the oven (definite plus) followed by the meatballs--yall, the sauce was everything. So good. The bartender explained the process the sauce goes through to get that delicious and I lost focus after he said something about "setting for 2 hours", but it's awesome. 

Sidenote- did anyone else know that Local 16 owns Tropicalia? 

The #3. Just look how refreshing that is.

$5 Happy Hour at Local 16

Friday, August 30, 2013

Happy Hour at Poste Modern Brasserie

• Average Drink Price:$7 (all local!)
• Service: SUPER friendly, fast
• Good for Groups:YES- the courtyard bar has 24 seats and is surrounded by open space with lounge chairs and incredibly comfortable couches
• Mood: Classy, relaxing
• Outdoor Seating: Huge courtyard. In the winter they have fires and heat lamps going so everyone can still enjoy the outside
• Try the..: Sparkling Wine ($7), Rickey Bobby (not on the happy hour menu but worth all $12 of deliciousness)

Just look how comfy those loungers are

So I don't know how I've been missing out on this Penn Quarter outdoor spot for the last two years but Poste, located inside the Hotel Monoco (the dining room is where the Post Office sorting room used to be- they have preserved a lot of the historical decor, really neat) is AWESOME. Everything is from the DMV- the food, the beer (what up DC Brau!), the cocktails, everything. While it isn't one of the cheaper places to turn up in Penn Quarter, the courtyard and quality of drinks make it worth it. The loungers were sooo comfortable, the kind where if you're my height you scoot all the way back and your entire body is comfortably resting on the fluffy cushions. After a long day someone in our group may or may not have taken a little nap...

The only weird thing is the apparent "open seating" policy they have. The couches are big, so if your group is only taking up half of the couch then other people will come sit on the other half. A bro came up and joined us after his group left him and he had apparently been enjoying the local libations all day. Before he left he said "Hey I'm glad I came and sat with yall. You know what they say- You only YOLO once!" Ahh yes you only live once once. But all this to say there were fun people our age there having fun. As the happy hour wore on a lot of suits and fancy dresses showed up and we started to feel a little under dressed. I will most definitely be coming back to this Penn Quarter Gem.

Here's the happy hour menu (shoutout to the Poste menu maker who ordered the menu by price. Really helping a sister out)

Local Happy Hour Fare
~You don’t have to be local to eat local~
$4
Beer Nuts
sweet and spicy Virginia peanuts with Old Bay 
$6
P3 - Poste Pickle Plate
house pickled local vegetables, Polyface Farms egg with grilledpumpernickel, Port City Porter mustard and Chocolate City Copper Ale aioli
$8
Fried Rappahannock Oysters
herb crust, tomato jam
$8
Polyface Farms Wings
smoked and grilled chicken wings, Catoctin Creek Rye and apple butter glaze
$8
Maryland Blue Crab
crab and potato croquettas, Gordy’s Sweet Pickle and Old Bay aioli 
$8
Warshore Clams
chili braised kale, DC Brau “The Public” Pale Ale, bacon, grilled bread

Available daily in the bar and lounge from 4-7pm.
Please advise your server of any food allergies prior to ordering.

Local Happy Hour Libations
$6 Beer
DC Brau “The Public”
Port City Optimal Wit
Chocolate City Copper Ale (Draft)

$7 Spirits
Green Hat Gin
Catoctin Creek Rye

$8 Sparkling
Thibaut-Janisson Virginia Fizz
*share a bottle for $40

Please ask your server about our other daily wine and spirit Happy Hour
offerings.

Poste is a longtime supporter of local farmers, brewers,
distillers, and artisans who provide us the freshest possible
products. We strive to cut down on our carbon footprint
and give back to D.C. and the surrounding communities.
~
All items on this menu are sourced from D.C., Virginia,
Maryland, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
~
We hope you enjoy the local flavors and visit us often

Happy Hour at Poste Modern Brasserie

Sunday, August 25, 2013