Grande Finale

Well as August comes to an end...another fun birthday month wraps up....The grande finale this year was with my girlfriends for spa day at East Village Spa. There were plenty of massages and pedi's to keep us happy and relaxed. This was such a fun place for a get together. They were very accomadating and friendly. We ordered in lunch from Jason's Deli to be delivered. It was there before we got there! Talk about prompt great service. We ate, talked and laughed, got our spa services, then CAKE!!! YUM....Fresh Strawberry Cake from Let Them Eat Cake in Valley Junction. Yes it was as good as it sounds. No there is none left...sorry.

My girlfriends are CrAzY and I love them...they got me a Tiffany's bracelet for my birthday...ah there is nothing more fun than undoing the white ribbon of a Tiffany's box :) Makes me happy (ok sorry my superficial side was just was totally exposed, but really c'mon its fun).

Fresh From the Farm...errr Farmers Market

A recent trip to the Des Moines Farmer's Market produced some corn and purple potatoes! Purple potatoes, never heard of them...but they were good :)

That night I made some Bulgogi.

• soy sauce
• sugar
• rice vinegar
• saki
• sesame oil
• onion
• garlic
• fresh ginger

I marinaded the thinly sliced beef for about 4 hours, then threw it on the grill. I roasted the purple potatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then steamed up the corn. It was a great meal :) will have to repeat soon...maybe add some sticky rice next time.

 

More?

Ok...after this one... I will only have...hmmm maybe 2 more Birthday Blogs :)

Yesterday a few of us from work and other people went to Centro for dinner in celebration of my birthday and Melissa's (coworker) birthday. Dinner was wonderful! I hadn't been there in years. They do a lot of wood oven cooking and Joe is not a fan of that style therefore we don't go very often. I had Stuffed Chicken Breast "Wood-grilled chicken breast stuffed with spinach, ricotta cheese and LaQuercia prosciutto Americano, finished with Alfredo and roasted grape tomatoes, served over fettuccine" and a glass of Summer Sangria. It was a very nice evening. I got to meet a few new people and hang out with good friends.

2 of my friends bought me my perfume that I was needing more of!!! YAY...its one of those things you really want and will probably buy...but hate going out and spending the money, it was perfect timing.

More Celebrations

Birthday month continues...Monday I had the day off to relax. I ended up making homemade pot stickers and crab rangoons for all my work friends. I never want to make them for a normal food days because I smell like fried food afterwards. Since I had the day off, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

That night we went to Dave and Amy's for dinner. Amy made Korean BBQ ribs!!! We also had some steamed veggies, sticky rice, seaweed, crab rangoons and pot stickers....what a feast! I didn't take any pictures! Here are what the ribs looked like, I got the pic from this website.

Birthday DMI Style

On Sunday night, my actual Birthday... Joe got me a card and some Milano cookies...my FAV!! For dinner he went and got some Chicken Pad Thai from Cool Basil...then guess what?! BIRTHDAY CAKE REMIX ICE CREAM for dessert...how yummy was it? I "gotta have it" size, thats how yummy. But you will be happy to know even I couldn't eat it all :)

Birthday Chicago Style

So it was my Birthday! Joe and I hit the road with Holly and Jess and headed to Chicago on Friday to visit Stacie and Marcus. We got in pretty late so after some talking we all went to bed so we could get up early. Saturday, Joe and I had tickets to the Cubs game. Boy was it HOT!! We both got a little sun...and some free visors...how fun!

Holly, Jess and Stacie went out on a sail boat on Lake Michigan for the Boat and Air Show (jealous!). After the game we met up with them and went to Millenium Park. I had been wanting to go to see Cloud Gate...the bean!!! After that we headed over to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria for some delish Chicago Style deep dish 'za...YUM so good...sorry no pics because we gobbled it up!!

It was a super fun weekend!! I had a great time with some great friends...a perfect way to celebrate. Notice the Fisheye made an appearance this weekend,

Karen and Joe's Throw Down...watch out Bobby Flay

I decided to test out my almond butter with a banana. It was pretty good. The almond butter is really really sticky. I have been enjoying it on my whole grain english muffins for breakfast at work.

So my friend got a new house so we had a mini housewarmning over at her place this past weekend. Another one of my good friends was also in town. I decided to pull out my new Martha Stewart Cupcakes book and whip up some tasty treats :) I made the Tres Leches cupcakes with cool whip and cinnamon on top. Look at the 3 milk mixture just sitting there. Its hard to believe that all that milk soaks into the cupcake. The cupcake had a very interesting texture. I am not sure if I was a fan or not, but my friends really seemed to like them!

I also made Marble Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting.. yum, I think these were my favorite. You can't go to girls night without chocolate!

As you know Joe and I LOVE Tasty Tacos!! So we have been trying to make homemade Tasty Tacos for while now. On The Food Network, Bobby Flay has that show where he challenges cooks that have mastered a certain signature dish. So one of the episodes we happened to catch was the Puffy Taco Throw Down. We went out and bought the Maseca that Bobby used and attempted to make the puffy tacos. They were not really what we were looking for but still good. It was like a very fresh corn tortilla, we decided we need to be using flour for sure. So for now that is 2 attempts (we have tried a different recipe before) with many more to come, until we figure it out :) And I think Bobby might have us beat on Puffy Tacos.... my tacos didn't really puff too much.