One Plate is Not Enough

Posted by Nicole

Howdy, happy weekend! Lauren, my mom, and David were out of town today, so I had the perfect excuse to spend a few hours relaxing at my dad’s house. I drove over juuust in time to convince them to make dinner for me ;)

Lauretta got started with dinner prep, and I decided to contribute to the spread. I adapted a recent recipe I saw for cauliflower pizza bites.

I swapped a few ingredients, de-veganized it with some fresh asiago cheese, and hoped for the best. They turned out a little watery (probably because of the pasta sauce), but the Italian flavors were delicious!

In addition to the baked cauliflower, my dad grilled up some salmon and portobello mushrooms. My dad is an avid steak enthusiast and I know it pains him to make mushrooms “steaks” for me… But I appreciate it!

As for the rest of the dinner, there was salad, sautéed vegetables, garlic bread, and rice pilaf.

My first plate was filled with salad and ranch dressing, a portobello with garlic horseradish sauce, pizza cauliflower, and some sautéed veggies.

It was delicious, but I still went back for seconds. When it comes to dinner at my dad and Lauretta’s house, one round of dinner and dessert is not enough. Two more portobellos and some more salad, andddd a piece of garlic bread. And then I was happy.

We ate dinner “American Style” aka in front of the TV. At least our TV dinners were more than microwave meals, though?

We watched “Water for Elephants” and as weird as it was to see Robert Pattinson get romantic with Reese Witherspoon, the movie was a winner.

By the way, the omgImsofull feeling from dinner disappeared after about an hour, meaning it was time for dessert! Strawberry + chocolate milkshake chip swirl ice cream = chocolate covered strawberries.

And you bet that bowl was refilled. Ice cream is a three-course meal.

After dessert, we started watching “Just Go With It.” It was predictable, but entertaining. Jennifer Aniston somehow manages to be perfectly bronze all.the.time. without the wrinkles. How?????!! My dad’s theory is that she has a spray tan booth in her trailer. I gotta get myself one of those.

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I swear I do more than just eat and watch movies……. okay that’s kind of a lie.

From the past few days:

- I went to UC Davis with my friend Jessi and got to spend Thursday night back in a college atmosphere. It was quite a different experience from what we get at USC and UofA (most notably the livestock on campus), but we had fun checking out their nightlife.

- I made some interesting salads. One consisted of vegetable korma and sesame seaweed kale salad from Whole Foods, and then combined with some spinach back at my house. The other was a mix of marinara, spinach, nooch, carrots, and mushrooms.

- The salads were balanced out with some treats… Duh. The best Arctic Zero flavor, made better when topped with fresh peanut caramel nougat from the cupcakes Lauren made (and some Cake Boss). That nougat is a dangerous mix of sweet, salty heaven. Umph. And whoever invented the “don’t watch TV while eating” rule was crazy in the head. I love watching TV and eating at the same time… and that will never change.

- I also made some “healthy cookies” and learned two valuable lessons. Do not make cookies when you are the only one there to eat them. Do make sure to eat the cookies fresh out of the oven because warm chocolate chips are to die for. These lessons kind of contradict one another… Oh well. Let’s focus on the second lesson.

- I bought some shoes. “Some” as in two pairs, so not tooooo much damage. I just couldn’t decide.

- And I’ve been trying to keep myself accountable and hit the gym. This week went pretty well, but I’m losing my steam. Today I biked and ten minutes felt like an eternity. Guess I need to hit up my workout buddy (that means you, Laurenzo).

That’s all I’ve got for now. Big props to the sis for running, rocking, and hopefully finishing the half marathon tomorrow morning! I can’t wait to hear all about her Portland trip and live vicariously through the hipster scene.

- Nicole