Confessions of a Pinterest Monster

This week has been, well, better, to an extent. I still haven't made friends here or really accomplished much of anything, but I haven't cried in frustration or anything like that. I've been trying really hard to be productive, but I find myself falling into a schedule that leaves me bored and lonely at around 2:30/3 each afternoon. The sadness of realizing that it was exactly a month ago that I left my Philly life, one of the happiest points in my life, is kind of dragging me down today.

My aimless internet wandering has increased tenfold towards moving to California (thanks, Pinterest!), and I've been really trying to stick to the non-knitting goals I made before moving here. I'm actually using the recipes that I pin to my "concoctions" board and most of them have lived up to their pinning hype. What are some awesome things I've made these past 2 weeks?

Tomato Basil Chicken

This one my mother actually recommended to me. She made it while I was home visiting and it was delicious (and Weight Watchers approved)! I've been a fan of SkinnyTaste for awhile and absolutely love her Spaghetti with Chicken and Grape tomatoes. But all that chopping takes so much time, so I like to think of this as a much faster version for one of my favorite diners.

Prosciutto wrapped melon

One great thing about Philly is that they have a TON of good recipes. When I left home the first time, it was safe to say I was one of the pickiest eaters I knew. We spent last autumn living in a crapped studio "apartment" (ok, it was a swanky hotel), so we tried to go out as much as we could just to avoid wasting away/killing eachother. We settled in as regulars to a few spots (Wrap Shack, Bards, Tria), but when we wanted a fancy night out, we sometimes opted for Tapas. And one of my favorite Tapas places, Amada, served up Jamon con Melon. Even though this dish isn't the same (the Amada version was a piece of melon with ham, like, infused into it), this was a delightful afternoon treat I made for myself. And you'd better believe I cracked up a beautiful red wine to go with it.

Cashew Chicken

Whenever I find an Asian recipe that I might be interested in, I almost always see the ingredient list and run away. This cashew chicken was no exception, but I pinned it awhile back and thought maybe I should just go for it. Add to equation that I'm (currently) unemployed and cooking makes me happy and you've got a winner! And that's exactly what the recipe was. Sure, there are a lot of ingredients. But now that I have purchased all these oils/spices/etc., I can make so many other recipes! 

Sesame Noodles

Like these super simple (and yummy) sesame noodles.

Oven roasted cauliflower

And this delicious cauliflower. 

(I'm not going to lie. I fried half of my cauliflower to make fried cauliflower ala Zahav, another amazing Philadelphia restaurant. It was pretty spot on)

So, yes, I've tried all those new recipes in two weeks. Because life is too short for boring food :)

Becoming a California foodie isn't the only thing I've accomplished. To cancel out all the good food I've been making (and all the good wine I've been drinking), I have managed to amp up my workouts. I spend at least 45 minutes every morning doing something active. My foot has just about given up completely on running, which is heartbreaking since I love it so much, but I'm trying not to let that get me down. If I have to walk most of my half marathon, then so be it. The weather here has SWEATER WEATHER almost every evening and some mornings, so it's been great for being outdoors. 

And we brew our first beer tomorrow! A summer ale kit we bought after taking a homebrewing class at Steinfillers last weekend. If we manage to do that right I think the next beer will be either an Octoberfest or a Pumpkin Stout.

First one of the season last night (JULY 30)

Still working on this whole designing thing. Spent some time brainstorming and researching last week. I've been glued to this swatch for the past two days and need to swatch another idea sometime this week. Crossing my fingers I can finish up a few things before Plucktember.

Pretty sure this is Primo Fingering

Excited about all the new things these comings weeks will bring. In dire need of an adventure, though.