Celebrating Cath

Yesterday marked the 30th birthday celebration of one of my best friends, Cathleen.

Cath and I were roommates in college and have been friends for many years now. It's hard to believe we met when we were 19 and are now celebrating each other's big milestones nearly 10 years later.

Cath wanted to spend her day on the water, so we all met up at a marina/restaurant/bar in Lacey, a town about 20 minutes from my house, called Latitudes. They recently revamped their outside area and it is so cute. It's filled with sand, palm trees, brightly colored tables and little hanging lights. We were a small group for the afternoon, with the rest of the gang arriving in the evening.

From left to right, that's Heather, Cathleen, me and Nicole. Heather and I didn't want to  bring our babies to Latitudes, so our husbands took the kids to a BBQ and let us unwind with the girls for the day. Such great guys. :)

Fun tropical drinks were to be had, including a coconut rum, pineapple juice, lime and club soda concoction. I had two of these...dangerously good!

I also had one of their signature key lime pie martinis, complete with a graham cracker rim. Unknown to us, happy hour lasted all day, so our fancy cocktails were only $4. Sweet!

Eventually we needed some sustenance and Latitudes has great seafood, so I was looking forward to trying a few things. Heather and I were the only two girls without our significant others with us, so we decided to be each other's dates and order two things to split. 

We started with an appetizer of peppercorn Ahi tuna crostini and pickled cucumber relish, which was so fresh and delicious. The wasabi sauce drizzled over the top really made the dish. For our entree, we split a crab cake sandwich.

The lump crab meat was tender and sweet, and the patty had very little breading. It also came with a chipotle dipping sauce. My kind of crab cake! 

We ended up hanging out all day, and eventually a bunch of our other friends showed up after dinnertime. Since Latitudes is also a marina and you can drive your boat there (if you have one) instead of your car, our friends Dan & Jen showed up around dusk on their boat. Cath begged for a sunset boatride to cap off the night, and Dan willingly obliged. 

It was so nice to spend the day with good friends after a fairly long and stressful week at work. It was just what I needed to unwind.

Happy birthday Cath, love you!

Weekend, Baby

Happy Father's Day! How's everybody's weekend going so far? As per the usual, things around here have been both busy and fun.

After work Friday night I headed up to Freehold, NJ for a final dress fitting with my good friend Lindsay. She looked gorgeous in her wedding gown, and they just had to put a few finishing touches on before they packed it up to take it home. I can't believe the wedding is in less than a month, we're all getting excited!

By the time I got home from the appointment around 8:30 PM, neither Matt nor I were in the mood to cook and we were starved. Sooo we cheated and ordered in. Indian takeout and cold beers, oh yes.

I love Indian food because there are so many vegetarian options. This time I opted for a dish of chic pea and Indian cheese dumplings in a spicy coriander sauce with cashews. Spooned over basmati rice with a side of grilled naan, it was seriously amazing. Especially when paired with a hoppy Indian Pale Ale.

We ate our meals perched on the couch watching the finale of Hatfields & McCoys on the History channel. Seriously, if you haven't watched that mini series yet, it is so worth it. It's the true story of an epic feud between two southern families after the Civil War, and it's really amazing how crazy things were back then. Laws? No such thing. So glad I didn't have to live during that time period!

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Saturday

Saturday's breakfast was really nothing special (yogurt, fruit and toast), so I'll spare you the details.  After our bellies were filled, our little family piled in the car to go grocery shopping. Someone had to use the motorized cart like an 80-year-old man. ;-)

A few weeks ago I tried using Peapod grocery delivery, which I liked, but Matt and I both really enjoy grocery shopping and prefer to do it together when we can. Even if it means driving a scooter. Ha! 

Our first stop at the store was to Dunkin' kiosk for some coconut iced coffee. Gotta start the morning right.

I nabbed some good eats while at the store, and have some fun meals planned like grilled swordfish with fresh corn relish, and falafel with pitas and yogurt sauce. Can't wait!

After shopping I took a little "me time" and left Riker at home with Matt while I spent an hour at the nail salon for a sorely needed pedicure/manicure. Sweet relaxation. 

Then it was off to celebrate my good friend Cathleen's 30th birthday! 

A great Saturday, for sure. :)

Spinach Pasta Two Ways

Are you sick of seeing pasta around here yet? Don't worry, I've moved on after eating it for two weeks straight, but not before sharing these two quick sauces with you. If you're looking for a new way to use up spinach, or just like the look of a summery green pasta, these are for you!

Linguini with Fresh Spinach & Olive Oil

I won't fib and say this one is good for you (nice to meet you olive oil and butter), but it does include fresh spinach right from the garden, is super light, and is the perfect coating for doughy, freshly made pasta. Of course you don't need homemade linguini to enjoy this super fast sauce, it'd be good on any old make or shape.

To make this sauce, I grabbed about a cup of fresh spinach from the garden, washed it and gave it a spin in the food processor. Then I added the pureed spinach to about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of butter that had been warming on the stove. I also tossed in two cloves of minced fresh garlic, salt & pepper, and dash of crushed red pepper flakes. 

It's as simple as that! Let it cook gently until everything is fragrant, then toss over warm pasta.

After tossing the sauce with the pasta, I grated lemon zest and squeezed fresh lemon juice over the top. This sauce is super fresh and light. No parmesan needed!

"Creamed" Spinach & Pierogies

This little mound of greenery came about by accident, but had the consistency of spinach-artichoke dip or the creamed spinach you might get at a steakhouse. Minus all the fat!

I started by sautéing half a yellow onion in 2 teaspoons of olive oil until they were soft and translucent. Then I added a whole bag of frozen spinach. Rather than cooking the spinach in water, I poured in about a half cup of white wine I had sitting in the fridge.

I planned on tossing this mixture with pierogies, but I really wasn't feeling it. I wanted something smooth. So I poured it into the food processor, blended it up and added a little half & half and pasta water to smooth it out. Then back into the saucepan it went, along with 2 wedges of The Laughing Cow Light cheese, salt & pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch of nutmeg.

Once it was all melted together, I just poured it on top of a bag of cooked pierogies and called it dinner. 

That's a whole lotta green!