The Best Pizza Ever!

Saturday:

Somehow it was another busy day for us. What happened to our peaceful and relaxing weekends? ;-) On the bright side we have selected a marina in Baltimore now which is fantastic. Dan and I are both looking forward to having the boat downtown. It will be nice to have her close rather than driving more than an hour and crossing the Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore as we have done in the past.

To celebrate crossing another item off our to-do list we went to dinner. Have you noticed that we need very little provocation to go out to eat? ;-) Even though Ian is off you know where we went right? We really can’t stay away it seems.

The weather was a little warm so many patrons wanted to eat inside last night. Wimps! Needless to say we sat outside. It was incredibly nice outside I have no idea why anyone would have wanted to be inside last night.

Dani (Ian’s sous chef) made a us a vegan version of the antipasti plate they have on the menu. This version included: marinated mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pickled banana pickles which I love, olives, artichokes with dill and chickpea salad. Delicious as always. We both loved the marinated mushrooms in place of the roasted peppers.  :-)

I made up our pizza tonight from items on the menu. Dan and I both think this may be one of my best creations yet. This whole wheat pizza crust included: a base of cilantro-lime sauce (that they serve with the samosas), caramelized pineapple, candied jalapenos, greens tossed with lime juice, avocado slices, pickled radishes and sliced almonds. We both loved the all the contrasts specifically: heat and cold temperature variation, soft and crunchy textures, and sweet and hot flavors. It was a winner all around. Now I may have to make my own cilantro lime sauce and candied jalapenos so I can have something similar at home.

We had a chance to chat with Aimee and her fiancé Michael this evening. It is always great to see them both. Michael grew up on the water and he is all set to sail. Aimee on the other hand isn’t too sure but she said she would try since it was important to us. One day we may just have to adopt those two.  :-)

Sunday:

It was a great trip to the farmers’ market this morning. We came home w/ peaches, beets, basil, zucchini, tomatoes, green onions, purslane, lambs quarters (a wild green), collards, raspberries, spinach, kale, yellow French beans, banana peppers and cucumbers. I managed to stuff 4 large reusable grocery bags with local produce. It always looks like we are feeding an army when we leave the market.

I made Dan a green smoothie but with some acai and frozen berries in addition to the kale, banana, cinnamon, powdered ginger, wheat germ and freshly ground flaxseeds.

My smoothie was more veg and less fruit. Here is what I did: fill the Vitamix container about 2/3 full with raw kale. Next I added 4 carrots that I have roughly cut into chunks. I also added a big spoon of wheat germ and another spoon of chia seeds. A splash of acai juice, ½ lemon (peel removed) and some cinnamon went in next. I buzzed this until it was smooth. While it tasted good it was an unpleasant muddy brown color. This happens often when I make uber healthy smoothies. When it does I add frozen wild blueberries, about a cup this time) and process again. The blueberries are there to add a little sweetness but mostly color. What do you add to your smoothies to change the color?

After breakfast we had to deal with a plumbing issue for my parents. Why is it that these things always take longer than you expect them to?

Other than that there were just errands and miscellaneous tasks. I am really hoping Monday will be a little more laid back.

Happy thoughts:

• We are thrilled to have the local marina finalized. That is one huge item crossed off our to-do list. We have been checking places out for the last three weeks and think we made the right decision. Only time will tell right? *finger crossed*

• The trip to the farmer’s market was fantastic as usual. Rudy is excited about the boat and will definitely be joining us when he can. Pam sailed in college and is also game for a trip though her husband is a power boat sort of guy…we still like him though. ;-)

• It was good to cross the plumbing issue for my folks off our to-do list. That has been hanging around since earlier this week.

Signing out:

Needless to say we have a lot to do this weekend so I really shouldn’t be spending too much time on the computer. I should have time to write another post tomorrow. I hope you are having a fantastic weekend. Talk with you again soon! :-)