Cake time!

It has been a busy month and I have a lot of posts to catch up on. Lets start with cakes. I made a couple of cakes for birthdays this month!

Andrew's Jumbo Slice Cake!

And Carter's 2nd birthday! I can't believe he is already 2.  He's so much fun now!

 More to come soon!

Weekend with the Parents

 My parents came to visit and we had a great time exploring the city. We walked around the city, had lunch at Founding Farmers, dinner in Chinatown, spent an afternoon at Mount Vernon, walked around Great Falls, went to the Fish Market, and our favorite crabcake place G&M.
I absolutely loved Mount Vernon. It was so beautiful and I think everyone knows I want to live on a farm someday. What a nice relaxing weekend with the fam. =)

 

 

Sunday Funday

Things I love: farmers markets, vegetables, my first good tomato of the season, creativity, good friends, my new herb garden, relaxing by the water,  a beautiful sunset after it rains, and having faith.

I went to Eastern Market for some produce for the first time this season. I have gone a few times this spring, but never had time to get much. I left with some tomatoes, green beans, arugula, asparagus, a carrot, strawberries, fingerling potatoes and spring onions. I made a salad out of everything except for the strawberries. I briefly simmered the potatoes, asparagus and green beans to cook them a bit, then added the rest of the ingredients. I made a lemon basil vinaigrette for the dressing. And the best part is I am going to get to eat this all week! Yum!


Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
Juice from 1 lemon
~1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and enjoy! (I don't use a typical 3:1 oil to vinegar ratio because I like the mild lemon juice/ vinegar flavor.)

  

I ended the day at Cantina Marina on the SW Waterfront with my good friend Katie. It was nice to chat and relax by the water, and enjoy some fish tacos and margaritas. I must say that the jalapeno margarita is pretty tasty. And while this place can be a little pricey (like everywhere in DC) the atmosphere was great! 

 

My Weekend in Food

It was a beautiful weekend here, and I started it off with a trip to Baltimore to visit my dear friends there who I miss a lot. Stephanie and I went to dinner at a new pizza place in town and it was quite delicious. Below is our salad of arugula, red onion, feta, pecans, cranberries and balsamic vinaigrette and our pizza.

 My next stop was my old house for a spring party. After most people left Karina decided to make some homemade pizza (at 3am) and it was very tasty. Then in the morning, Karina and I made some coconut-pecan pancakes with blueberry topping. Yum-o! I miss that house and it was great catching up with the girls over breakfast!

I was also able to celebrate my good friend Katie's birthday with her on Saturday, and as usual she put on a wonderful barbecue with lots of  great things to eat. My favorite was probably the homemade onion dip!

 Sunday I had a healthful breakfast of granola with fresh mango and strawberries. Then I met my friend Ali at Eastern Market and we went to Tortilla Cafe after exploring a bit. I opted for the vegetable burrito this time, which was good, but I still prefer the pupusa's and plantains!

Overall, it was a great weekend. Good friends and good food- what more could you want?

Cinco de Mayo

Vegetable Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

1 red pepper, roasted, diced
2 large carrots, shredded
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 can black beans
1/2 cup garden veggie cream cheese
12 corn tortillas
1 large jar salsa verde or green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover bottom of a baking dish with half of the salsa verde. Combine first five ingredients in medium bowl. Warm corn tortillas and fill each mixture with equal amounts of cream cheese mixture. Roll and place in baking dish. Cover with cheese and bake until bubbly, about 20 min.

Roasted Veggie Fajtas

Easter Brunch

I am sorry once again for the amount of time since my last post. I know it has been difficult without me, so I will try my hardest to get back on track. I will start with Easter brunch.

My wonderful friend Kate and I decided to make brunch for Easter at her place and invite a few friends over. We had a nice spread-- roasted vegetable quiche, cheesy hashbrowns, deviled eggs, fruit salad, carrot cake cupcakes, and oreo truffle eggs. The Easter Bunny even came and left some eggs for us to find and we got to color our own.

Kate is such an amazing decorator and got cute plates and table settings. The weather turned out great (a little warm I guess) and it turned out to be a wonderful day!