Eating out: The Cooks' House

The Cooks' House is a hole-in-the-wall local joint in Traverse City, one that I've been hoping to try since we first saw it. The awning says right on it, "local and sustainable." I love it already!

There's a story behind it, which was printed in the Detroit Free Press recently, but I forget what it is and the article is in my car... in Michigan. ;) The chefs/owner(s?) made sure to greet us and ask how everything was. They were quick yet thorough in answering our questions.

After being seated, we were served bread plates (a multigrain and an Asiago slice for everyone except The H) that came with butter and pig belly--the white piped stuff on the left of the plate. Flavorless, in case you were wondering.

We all had water to drink. I thought the bottle was funny...

My first choice was the spinach and fiddlehead salad with roasted beets. Delicious! The H said the fiddleheads tasted like fresh green beans. It was my first experience with them.

My mom started with the asparagus soup... no cream base here, no roux--just asparagus (and shiitake mushrooms). It tasted SO FRESH.

The H had a white bean-red wine soup that was literally, like Mom's choice, made of just those items. Incredibly simple, yet so very creamy and satisfying. I forget what my dad had... pasta of some sort with smoked rabbit and roasted vegetables, I think. It was good. :)

My entree was a risotto. Small-portioned, but rich.

The H and my dad both had the salad with roasted pork shoulder... I thought I had a pic of it, but oh well.

We all ended the evening with mounds of flourless (really!) chocolate cakes topped with homemade whipped cream and grated nutmeg. If I'd run the full marathon a few hours earlier, I'd have eaten two.

This restaurant is a little out of our price range (roughly $60 for the two of us) for an everyday dinner, but since it's 3 hours out of town anyway, it's not like we'll go there all the time. I can see us returning for another celebratory dinner, perhaps in a different season (we *do* have a fall anniversary...) to experience a new seasonal menu.

Overall, eating at The Cooks' House was a pleasant and relaxing way to spend the evening. Our outdoor table, privy to the gentle breeze and beautiful sunset as well as the lightly busy street, enhanced the experience.

Chicken apple sausage salad

The little guy and I have been busy this week! I went for my run first thing this morning, after a light first breakfast of sprouted grain toast, peanut butter, and fresh strawberries.

After my hard-and-fast 4 miles on the treadmill (Atlanta, I'm not a fan of your hills!) I refueled with a green monster (skim milk, chocolate whey protein, peanut butter, spinach, half of a banana) and coffee.

There is a park within walking distance, so we slathered up in sunscreen and spent the morning there swinging, climbing, sliding, and digging. After lunch in our room (turkey, strawberries, cheese, and rice-pasta macaroni--The H ate with us) we took his new inflatable turtle friend to the pool for his inaugural dip.

Success!

Dinner was quick and light, perfect for a sunny summer evening when we've spent all day playing.

Tonight's chicken apple sausage salad, which I've mentioned before, was made of the following:

Spring mix

Baby spinach

Granny Smith apple

Strawberries

Goat cheese

Chopped pecans

Pear-Gorgonzola vinaigrette

Sweet apple chicken sausage

Once everything was cooked, chopped, and mixed, we packed it up and walked to the picnic area at our hotel for a truly summery experience.

The little guy ate sausage, strawberries, apples, and cheese. He's not a big fan of leafy veggies yet, unless they're in a smoothie.

After a quick exploration to find the (very nearby!) gluten-free bakery I read about online, we stopped at the dollar store for a few odds and ends, then jetted back to the hotel for bed. Long day!

Half marathon race report

I ran my second half marathon on Saturday, May 29th. For the non-runners reading this, that's 13.1 miles. I smoked my previous time by almost 20 minutes and finished in 1:56:09! The end.

Short, sweet, and to the point--not my kind of blog entry. Haha! See photos and captions below for a more Kate-like experience.

My tried-and-true pre-race fuel: a peanut butter cup flurry. Makes me run like the wind! (No joke--I was aiming for a 2hr10min finish, and came cruising in at 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 9 seconds. That's an average of 8:51 per mile.)

I've used this not-so-clean method of carb loading all throughout my training. It got me through my 25K (15.5 miles) in 2 hours and 26 minutes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Race day! All dressed up and nowhere to go... oh wait, not true. I have a finish line to get to, 13.1 miles away!

Forgive the under-eye circles. The time on the clock started with a 4 and the night before was a restless one. Would I be able to maintain my pace? Would I meet the expectations everyone else had for me? Eek! So much to think about! No wonder I was distracted for literally the entire race. My mind was ALL over the place, which actually made the distance pass quickly. Thoughts were random and feet were flying!

I did eat my usual pre-run breakfast of toast and peanut butter (I brought my own!) with honey and a banana. Again...why mess with a good thing? Nothing new on race day!

I'm in there... waaaay in the back, all tiny and stuff. The H took this as I was nearing the final stretch before the finish chute.

Finished! And looking gooood. :D This is me and my awesome runnin' mom. It was also her second half marathon.

Why yes, I would like to sit down.

And yes, I smiled like that all day--it was RACE day!--except for the time I yelled at The H when he was being all nice and supportive and encouraging and trying to help me kick at the end. I was hurting, what can I say?

After the race, I took a short nap before The H and I went to our two favorite wineries and out to dinner with my parents. Dinner will be a separate post--we splurged at a local, sustainable restaurant I'd been hoping to try for quite some time. It did not disappoint! Stay tuned.

Hello, Atlanta!

Did you see that? Atlanta. Yes indeed, the machines are on the move again. 12 days this time, like our trip to DC/Alexandria.

The area we're in is quite familiar to us; this is the third time the little guy and I have been to this hotel with The H. It is, like the one in Alexandria, a full-kitchen, extended-stay hotel. I didn't bring as much food with us this time--no protein powder or steel oats--because I didn't want to stress over how many portions to measure and all that. I just added those things to our "buy when we get there" shopping list.

This week we are fortunate enough to be near a Trader Joe's, which I adore. We decided to pick up our groceries there instead of Publix or another grocery store. Here's what we got, for just about $100 (12 days, 3 people).

Milk

Chocolate protein powder

Half and half

Yogurt cups

Cottage cheese

Chicken apple sausage

Roasted garlic chicken sausage

Marinara sauce

Brown rice pasta

Cabernet Sauvignon

Spinach

Spring mix

Frozen "Brittany Blend" veggies

Pear-Gorgonzola vinaigrette

Crunchy peanut butter

Sprouted grain bread

Wheat free waffles

Applesauce-carrot squeezies

One dozen jumbo eggs

Frozen edamame

1 lb fresh strawberries

Mild cheddar

Turkey lunchmeat

Steel cut oats

Chopped pecans

Goat cheese

Rice noodle bowls

Mac 'n' cheese--regular and rice pasta

Cheese sandwich crackers

What do I plan to make with all this? You'll just have to wait and see... I do have a mini meal plan in mind, and we'll supplement with eating out and the buffet that the hotel sets out Monday through Thursday evenings. And I've just learned that there's a Five Guys nearby, so rest assured that I will be keeping up with my running as well--The H is sure to request that diet-buster sometime in the next two weeks!

Summertime lunch

The other day, when the little guy and I were out running errands, I was **thisclose** to grabbing us fast food and going to watch planes land at the airport. But I resisted. Besides, he got cranky and needed a nap pretty much as soon as we got home. So there went that idea, but we still needed to eat.

His current favorite is cottage cheese and "sawbayuhs" (strawberries!), so that was easy enough to pull together. I gave him some pretzels on the side for crunch, and unearthed the last squeezable applesauce (from our DC trip) in the fridge. He ate everything except a few pretzels.

My own early-afternoon snack (I had more to eat later) was cottage cheese, fresh fruit, and some Canadian turkey bacon, which the little guy shared with me.

Fresh, light, and easy. Perfect for the record-breaking heat!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

OK, so these aren't the cleanest. But who doesn't need a "dirty" little treat now and then? ;)

This recipe caught my eye because it looks remarkably similar (taste-wise, anyway) to the chocolate-covered, peanut-butter-filled pretzel nuggets The H used to devour, but has since had to give up due to that pesky wheat allergy. I made them with a peanut butter whose ingredients list simply says "peanuts" and The H's gluten-free pretzels.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

from EatingWell.com via My Adventures in Becoming Domestic

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup finely chopped salted pretzels

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. In a small bowl, mix pretzels with peanut butter. Freeze for 15 minutes or until slightly firm and partially frozen.

2. Roll filling into balls about (about 1 teaspoon each) and place on wax paper-lined baking sheets (I used two sheets of parchment left from baking cookies earlier). Freeze for 1 hour or until very firm.

3. Melt chocolate (I used a double boiler) and coat each ball. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is firm.

I doubled the pretzels--the pb mixture was really quite runny with just 1/2 cup. I attribute that to my peanut butter, which is always rather thin, even after refrigerating. I also needed another 1/2 cup of chocolate for the last step. I ended up with about 32 truffles... or "peanut butter crack clusters."

Work quickly when you're coating these! Again, it could've just been my choice of pb, but these started to thaw/soften very soon after being taken out of the freezer. Their swim in melted chocolate didn't do anything to keep them together, either. What worked best for me was to use two fondue forks for the dunking and transfer back to the baking sheets.

Mine certainly aren't as pretty as either online version, but they sure are tasty. I used a 1/2 Tbsp measuring spoon for scooping the half-frozen mixture and didn't waste time rolling them into bally shapes. Obviously...

Enjoy--and have a glass of milk and napkin handy!

Honey mustard turkey meatloaf... on the grill!

Since it's been 9839654 degrees here for the past two days, with no indication of a cold snap, I decided against heating up the house with a hot oven today. And since I already had ground turkey breast thawed and didn't want burgers, I improvised and made, for the first time in my life, grilled meatloaf. Even The H would've liked it, and that's saying something when it comes to meatloaf.

I wanted to make everything outside, so the little guy could play and I didn't have to run back and forth between yard and house. Our dinner picnic was made up of Greek yogurt (for him), grilled sweet corn, foil-packet sweet-n-hot potatoes, fresh fruit, and this delicious meatloaf.

The recipe comes from a former acquaintance via my sister... I do not know the original source. I modified it slightly, shown in italics.

Honey Mustard Turkey Meatloaf

serves 6

1 1/2 pounds ground fresh turkey (1lb ground turkey breast)

1 cup bread crumbs (used oats, and not a full cup)

1/2 cup milk (omitted altogether--mixture was wet)

1/4 cup chopped onion (two handfuls of frozen minced onion)

1 egg, beaten (didn't beat ahead of time)

2 1/2 tsp yellow mustard

1 tsp poultry seasoning (used 3/4 tsp)

2 Tbsp honey (eyeballed it)

1 Tbsp brown sugar (subbed Sucanat)

1. Preheat oven to 350 (I used the grill). Combine 1 1/2 tsp mustard, honey, and brown sugar. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix turkey, crumbs, milk, onion, egg, 1 tsp mustard (I misread the instructions and put about 2 tsp in, but still made the reserved sauce as written), and poultry seasoning. Pat mixture into loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (I divided it between three mini loaf pans that I had sprayed with grapeseed oil).

3. Bake 40 minutes, then spoon reserved mustard sauce over the top. Bake 10 minutes or until no longer pink (I cooked it over a low, indirect heat until it was browned at the edges and cooked through).

Altogether, these guys cooked about 40 minutes start to finish.

The potatoes got a little softer than I wanted, and pieces stuck to the foil, but they were still tasty--sweet with a touch of oomph from the cayenne I shook on them. The corn was simply divine. We cut it off the cobs to make it easier to eat.

This was... SO good. I've made the recipe before, as meatloaf muffins, but that doesn't count, because it wasn't nearly as good for whatever reason(s). I am glad I have two more in the freezer for another day!

Sam the ham was just happy to be in the yard with his family, soaking up the sun. :)

Happy grilling season!