I had a great week.  Every morning I got up, spent at least 45 minutes on the treadmill, came upstairs, made breakfast, drank my coffee, went to work, came home, made dinner...all just like a normal person.  No airport, no hotel, no rental car...this is how every week should be.  So, all that cooking over the week, left me a little less willing to cook this weekend, so I made some quick dinners the past two nights with stuff I found in the fridge.  No real planning, just chop and go.
I'd been doing some cleaning and some minor remodeling on Saturday (by minor I mean, new window treatments and pillows in the bedroom, along with some new picture placement).  I have over the past few weeks been trying to alter my eating habits, so I've been following the Weight Watcher program.  More than anything, I think it really opens your eyes to portion size, and the best part of it is that you can actually eat anything you want.  So, tired from working around the house, I topped 2 Blue Corn and Flax Seed tortillas with 1/2 cup vegetarian refried beans mixed with a little salsa.  Then I sprinkled about 1/4 cup shredded cheese over the two and baked them in a hot oven for about 10 minutes.  Crispy, and delicious, it was exactly what really delicious. I spent some time this afternoon working on a blog post for the new design blog I am going to be a part of.  I'll let you know when it goes live.  Stay tuned. Tonight I boiled some whole grain penne (2 ounces =5 points) and then cooked up a bunch of vegetables....onion, carrots, green peppers, smashed up a couple veggie burgers, diced tomatoes and a little tomato sauce, seasoned perfectly with some garlic, basil and oregano and in about 20 minutes I had dinner.  Now, as Sunday winds down, I'm getting ready to head to Arizona in the morning...all good things must come to an end I guess. 
Oh, and if any of you are wondering....since I started altering my eating habits and exercising I've lost 13 pounds.  Progress.

8 planes in 7 days, thats what I finished up on Thursday night.  Such a busy week back from vacation.  The weekend was a bit uneventful.  Went to the symphony on Saturday night and dinner at The Avenue Grill as usual.  One martini, 2 chicken potstickers and some pesto coasted salmon, crispy polenta and roasted vegetables.  Dan made bread, beef stew and spanish rice this weekend, all pretty good.  I'm lucky to be home this week, so I made dinner tonight.  It was a Weight Watcher recipe, and it was delicious and quick.  Here's the run down.
Beef Fried Rice with Fresh Ginger
3 spray(s) cooking spray, divided      2 large egg(s), lightly beaten      12 oz lean sirloin beef, cut into thin strips    1/3 cup(s) low-sodium soy sauce, divided      4 cup(s) packaged coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)      1 cup(s) frozen green peas, thawed    2 Tbsp ginger root, fresh, grated, or less to taste    1 Tbsp minced garlic    3 cup(s) cooked white rice      1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), sliced      1 small jalapenٌo pepper(s)      
   Instructions

• Coat a 12-inch or larger nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add eggs; tilt pan so that eggs cover bottom. When eggs start to set, break them up into pieces with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat until eggs are cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove eggs to a bowl; set aside.
  
  Rinse skillet or wipe it clean; coat with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Add steak to skillet; toss with 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Stir-fry until browned, about 6 minutes; remove to bowl with eggs.
  
  Add coleslaw mix, peas, ginger and garlic to same skillet; stir-fry over medium-high heat until coleslaw mix is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and remaining soy sauce (1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon); reduce heat to medium and cook, tossing, until heated through, about 1 minute. Gently stir in cooked egg, steak and scallions; heat through. Yields about 1 3/4 cups per serving.

If your a Weight Watcher follower, each serving is a value of 9 points.

Just got back last night from a fantastic week in Costa Rica.  We spent a week near Playa Santa Teresa on the southwestern side of the Nicoya Peninsula.  Rainy season is just finishing up, and we had some really great weather.  I heard rumors that it was snowing at home in Denver, and while I was quick to put it out of my mind, returning to DIA and walking to the car last night slammed me, quite rudely, right back into reality.  The snow is still hanging around, it's cold and windy.  Just to prolong our vacation, I'm sitting here next to the fire, and we are planning a dinner of fish, beans and rice to keep ourselves in vacation mode, until the dreaded Monday comes.  Anyway, back to vacation.  I read a book that any one who loves a dog should absolutely read...Garth Stein's Art of Racing in the Rain.  It's a charming book written from the point of view of Enzo, the family dog and his life with his family.  We ate, we laid around, we slept, we went to the beach, we hung out around the pool, all in all an incredibly relaxing time.  I made the mistake of trying to carry on a few shells that I collected on the beach and the security officer confiscated them.  Bummer.  I've posted lots of pictures on my facebook page, and I'll be adding some to the gallery page here on the site.  Now, I just start the countdown to the next vacation in December and start getting ready for the holidays.

I spent the last two weeks in Illinois, with a few days in Iowa thrown in, and got to enjoy Fall at it's finest.  The leaves turning were so beautiful.  Saturday I got back to Denver, for what will surely be the longest week of the year.  Isn't the week you're leaving on vacation the one that takes the longest????  Anyway, Saturday night we went to dinner at Watercourse Foods.  It was one of those places that had been on my list of restaurants I wanted to try, but just hadn't gotten to it.  Watercourse Foods is a 100% vegetarian restaurant.  The thing that attracts me to it, is that it's vegetarian, COMFORT food.  So many things sounded so delicious, and I was torn (what's new) about what to order.  I settled on a Thai Stir Fry with crispy tofu.  Brown rice, tons of vegetables and a spicy peanut sauce.  It was so filling.  Dan had a Country Fried Seitan with mashed potatoes and country gravy.  It looked like something straight from Paula Deen, and it too was delicious.  It is definitely on my "visit again" list...here is a link to their website.  http://www.watercoursefoods.com/
And now, this long week before vacation begins and the countdown to Costa Rica is on!

What a perfect week of fall weather.  I've been home in Canton all week and couldn't have asked for better weather.  I went of the Spoon River Scenic Drive today with my sister and Jacob.  Completely underwhelmed.....I remember growing up as a kid, all the handmade crafts that people spent months creating to sell on the 2 weekends of the drive.  What used to be an opportunity to see how someone could turn a milk weed into wall decor, or make owls out of sunflower seeds, or whatever it was that the crafty, artisans were making has turned into miles and miles of other peoples junk and mass produced "crafts" that are created in a factory to resemble a handmade item.  For the past few years, it's been a bit of  a mix, but what kept me going back was the food.  Food off a trailer can not be beat.  Walking tacos, corn dogs, pork chop sandwiches, elephant ears, funnel cakes, apple fritters, all of it at your disposal.  Today, I ate some kettle corn...wah wah.  But the beautiful fall weather was more than enough to make up for the rest.  When I arrived back at my mom and dad's, I whipped up a pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese icing.   It's a fall staple, deliciously moist  with just the right amount of spices to keep me relishing in the season.   (Another plus to the afternoon...its snowing at home in Colorado today...)

In my last post, I rattled on and on about the delicious pork chop I had at Tables.  Last weekend, we decided to visit one of our favorite haunts, The Avenue Grill, for dinner on Saturday night, and for some strange reason, I was drawn to the pork chop once again.  What is with me and pork chops all of a sudden?  Maybe it's because it seems like such a fallish kind of meal.  It's one of those comfort food kind of meals.  But, just for the record, if you're interested, the Tables pork chop, hands down wins, and although the chop at Avenue Grill was good, had I not had those delicious chicken pot stickers and those blue cheese dirty martinis to start off the meal, I may have been a tad disappointed (there is always a bright side remember). 

The past two weeks, I've been home in Denver.  I had the great opportunity to be a part of installing and decorating Denver's first ever St. Jude Dream Home.  The house is located in Castle Rock, Colorado and tickets are $100.  It's a great house, with a "Modern Farmhouse" feel to it.  Only 11, 000 tickets are being sold, so for $100 bucks, chances are pretty good.  This week,  was a busy week styling photo shoots for new products arriving soon.  I'm working this weekend at Escoffier in a "Clean Baking" class.  Mostly gluten free stuff, day one is over and went pretty well. The class continues tomorrow and then .....wah, wah.....off to Nebraska on Monday,and all the fun is over!   But (again with the bright side) following that I'll be spending 2 weeks at home in Illinois...working, but home nonetheless.  Then upon my return....only 4 short days until COSTA RICA, baby!  Oh, it can't come soon enough. 

I had an amazing dinner last night at Tables.  I would almost never be the guy who goes out to dinner and orders a pork chop, but the menu description just sounded too good to pass up.  "Grilled pork chop, sauteed peaches, mashers, bleu cheese and parsley-tabasco vinegar glaze".  I can't begin to say how delicious it was.  The tuna tartar we had as an appetizer was just as good.  This morning I got up and made another carrot cake for Dan's Birthday today.  It came out of the oven with NO evidence of altitude problems....(people at altitude...can I get an amen?)  It's been kind of a quiet week, gearing up for a busy week of travel this week and looking forward to the Labor Day weekend next week.  It seems so hard to believe the summer is ending with the 90 degree temperatures we have been having in Colorado.  A few times I've had those moments when you feel the Fall coming... a few leaves blowing around, a cool morning.  It's my favorite time of year and as sad as I will be to see the summer end, it's always great to have autumn come. 

I spent the week in Denver this week, working and being creative.  It was good spend some time at home.  I had a couple great lunches this week...let me tell you about them.  Denverites are familiar with Udi's, there are a few locations scattered throughout the metro area.  We at lunch there a few times this week and each day I tried something different.  The turkey reuben is delish.  On Thursday I tried a new addition to their menu Tandoori Shawarma (sp?).  While the list of ingredients promised to be packed with flavor, I have to say I was a little bit disappointed.  The thing I like about Udi's is that no matter what you choose off the menu, it always seems like a healthy choice.  One of the most favorite things I ate this week was something I made myself, and I think it may be this weeks fascination...open face tomato caprese melt.  I guess I like it because most of the ingredients came straight from the back yard minutes before I ate it.  I sliced some fresh tomatoes on top of an english muffin, topped it with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, a little fresh mozzarella and melted it in the oven.  I sprinkled it with some freshly picked basil leaves and drizzled it with some barrel aged balsamic vinegar...heaven.
This morning (a Saturday morning...) I got up about 4:30am to finish a baby shower cake...I just got a call letting me know how much they loved the cake and how great they thought it looked.   I guess I'll relax tomorrow, that's what Sunday is for isn't it?  I'll be off to Albuquerque on Monday morning...back to the grind.

I've been intrigued a bit with sauces lately.  I had been on a peanut sauce kick for awhile, I've dabbled in pestos and chimichurris and recently had an affair with romesco sauce.  I think sauces are the key to creating meals with endless possibilities.  If you can make a decent sauce, your possibilities are endless.  Tonight I made a pasta dish with lots of fresh vegetables that I picked up at the market this morning.  Here is the best part, the majority of the sauce was made from pasta water that I cooked the mushroom gnocchi in!  You can't get much easier than that.  I boiled the gnocchi and set it aside.  I sauteed a small zuchinni and yellow squash until they were light golden.  I slice cherry tomatoes in half , tossed it all together in a large pan, added about 1 cup of the pasta water back into the pot, a cup of romano cheese, about a teaspoon of lemon zest and about 2 tablespoons of fresh mint.  It was an incredibly fresh pasta dish for a late summer dinner. 
Earlier in the day I made some refrigerator pickles.  My mom and grandma used to make refrigerator pickles and freeze them in plastic butter tubs.  The recipe I used wasn't the same one, so I got the recipe they used to make from my mom and I'll be making those tomorrow.  I have also been searching for several years for a recipe for cinnamon zuchinni, and I came across a recipe today that seems like it's exactly what I've been looking for.  Ive got an exciting and  busy week coming up, working in Denver all week, a very important meeting and at the end of the week I'm making a baby shower cake.  Lots to do and the summer is passing by so quickly.  I had a couple of days in the past couple weeks where I felt a hint of fall coming on....sad to see the summer go, but looking forward to fall.  It is my favorite season after all.  Have a good week everyone,

A few months ago I wrote a blog about hearing a Taylor Swift song got me started on something...(www.gregorytalks.blogspot.com), and it happened again. This time it was Belinda Carlisle ( solo Belinda, not GoGo's Belinda).   It isn't so much that Belinda Carlisle got me on a tangent about anything, but in some weird, cosmic way it set off some sort of chain of events that had me remembering a million things from my childhood this week...I'll explain.  So, I was working in Nebraska this week...wah.wah.  ( I know, VERY glamourous...but hey, I did hear Lady Gaga was in Omaha this week working on her video or something for "You and I"), anyway, I'm in Nebraska, my IPOD planted firmly in my ear.  Now, usually I listen to a playlist I've created , or a specific artist (sometimes I start at the A's and force myself to listen to the songs in alphabetical order, without skipping any...I look at it as a lesson in tolerance...what was I thinking downloading that song?)   So today I hit the shuffle button and let the  thing play as it saw fit.  "Valentine" by Belinda Carlisle came on, and I don't know if it was the song, her, the heat outside, or what, but it immediately took me back to the summer of 1987.  I had just graduated from high school, and Belinda Carlisle was performing at the Peoria Civic Center.  I went with my friends, Amy and Stephanie.  I remember buying a 6ft poster of her and a button ( you all remember that jean jackets filled with buttons were all the rage back then...come on, who's with me?)  Ah, as I stood there listening to that song, I couldn't help but smile.  There is that part of you that wishes you could be a young, fresh from high school  kid whose whole life is still in front of them.  So, I went about my business and headed out for the hotel.  As I got in my rental car, a smell caught my attention....I don't know if it was the after effects of the Belinda Carlisle ?) or maybe it was just the Culver's across the parking lot, but I had this craving for a Little Chicken from Sea Fare...I KNOW, Right?  Ok, Ok, let me explain.  On north Main street in Canton, Illinois there used to be this small little restaurant (where HYVEE stands today).  In my parent's day, I think it may have been a Dog and Suds or something like that, but when I was in high school, it was Sea Fare.  Over the lunch break, they would serve  chicken strips and fries in a wax bag, so they were easy to grab and go. Sometimes on Friday, we would go all out and eat the salad bar, with the vanilla pudding (which was right out of the can).  Ahhhh, Little Chicken...I miss you.  Well, it was nice while it lasted Nebraska, but it's time to go.  I caught an early morning flight back to Denver and the early hour, coupled with the lack of sleep from a raging thunderstorm that moved through Omaha, I was exhausted by 3pm.  I thought maybe a cat nap might be in order so I flipped on the tv (mostly to use as background noise so I would fall asleep), but much to my surprise and delight what did I find...CHARLIE'S ANGELS!!! Not the movie version kids, the real life Aaron Spelling TV version.  I was disappointed to discover it was an episode from later years (after the shark jump) when it was Cheryl Ladd, Jaclyn Smith and Tanya Roberts..wah.wah.  In this very special episode the girls traveled to Hawaii and Kris was kidnapped.  Jane Wyman (Angela Channing on Falcon Crest) played a psychic that helped them track her down and rescue her from a derranged landscaper that wanted to kill her.  Ah, we've come along way in the drama department....THEN, wait for it.....Hawaii Five-O.  Not the new version, the old, back in the day version when Andy Griffith was young and played a street hustler.  At this point I got up and made Rocco's Crispy Pizza Crust from his book "Now Eat This" ( I mean this blog is called Gregory Eats, afterall)....I haven't been too impressed with much I've made out of the book, but I keep trying, and the crusts were actually pretty good and only about 130 calories.  Then, to top off my night...Hogan's Heroes.  I loved that show.  I always loved the idea of them getting away with stuff and the sneaky ways they would do it.   It's interesting to think now how a show like that would be received today, but we'll save that for another day.  I think it's always fun to think about how smells, and songs, tv shows or anything can trigger our memories, and next week I go home to where it all happened.  Sea Fare is long gone, but hey, there's always Brown's,   oh and Monical's...and Hannam's...have a good weekend and stay out of the heat (enough with the heat already!)