Pottery and Lovery
Hi there! How is your day going so far?
I am definitely taking it easy today with the calories after last night’s late party. Haha.
So breakfast was simple: a grapefruit, a wedge of Granny Smith, a few baby carrots, green peppers and a cup of detox tea. 
And lots of freshly-squeezed orange juice during the day (instead of my usual coffee)
I don’t usually like to eat late, but last night was an exception. I was personally invited to a fun-filled, romantic date night with The-Guy-Of-My-Dreams (Seriously. I dream about him at night!)
How did it happen? Well, just before I was getting ready to make dinner, a hot guy called me and told me to forget about cooking because he was taking me out to a fancy dinner. And what did I say? Yaaaaaaaay!!! That’s what! 
Our first stop:
Glazed and Amused—A “make-your-own-pottery” place. We’ve never been there before, but always wanted to go! See? Dreams do come true…if you have realistic, affordable ones 
We decided to make a “surprise” gift for each other. We both picked cute little soup bowls (the ones that have room for crackers on the side). And for a while I tried really hard not to peek, but it’s seriously impossible to not be interested when The Squarehead is doing art! He is SO hilarious!!
You should’ve seen/heard him mumbling under his nose the whole time! Just like a grouchy old man!
I guess he wanted to paint a sunflower (since that’s my favorite flower), but he says it turned out like a withering weed in the desert. What?
I kept reassuring him that I’ll love it no matter what, because HE made it….but ya think it helped?? The guy cracks me up. 
Stop no. 2 for the night was this fancy place. Some of my friends really like to eat here, so we thought we’d give it a try. So glad we did because they have amazing food, as we found out later. 
We decided to sit outside which was an awesome choice, because after a while we had the whole patio for ourselves! It was SO awesome! I love eating fancy meals on the streets! Haha. It felt a little bit like Europe. 
I got one of their vegetarian options, the Asian Bowl, with a side salad. Wow! It was SO amazingly good!!! Stir fry oriental veggies and sushi rice, topped with sliced almonds, wasabi sauce, bean sprouts and a pineapple ginger glaze. Yumm! Seriously the BEST restaurant meal I have ever had!! I’m not kidding you. 
The Squarhead decided to go with seafood, so he got their wood-fired oven roasted “Cedar Planked Alaskan Coho Salmon”, served on rice and oriental veggies. I stole a couple of bites when he wasn’t looking and it was truly phenomenal! Big bow to the chefs of 91! Amazing job on that salmon.
Stop #3 of the night was Starbucks, for dessert of course.
Their frappuccino blended beverages are SO good!! TS got a Caramel one and I got the Strawberry’n Creme one with soy milk, coconut flakes and nutmeg. Yummyyyyyy!!!!!!! 
Then we jumped on this speedy, wild red horse, and went home. 
No, not really. We just took a picture of it with a sigh
But we did go home! And opened some gifts. 
What a perfect night! And I don’t even have to kiss my handsome prince good bye!! He is here to stay! For ever and ever! Happily ever after!!! Yaaaay! A never-ending date. That’s what I’m talking about!
But right now reality is calling my name. And reality tells me that daydreaming doesn’t put bread on the table.
I’m working in a few hours and I still need to do a hundred things till then. Time to switch gears and get going. Zoomm-zoomm………….out.
Delicious Oriental-style Stir Fry
Dinner was awesome tonight! We made an oriental-style Shrimp Stir Fry.
I love shrimpies in any form, but this version was truly a winner! 
First we made the side dish: Mashed Cauliflower & Potatoes:
1. Microwave veggies for 20 minutes on high.
2. Drain and mash.
3. Add some garlic powder and sea salt for taste
(*you can also add some almond milk/soy milk if you want it to be creamier)
Then, we made the Shrimp Stir Fry:
For the ingredients we used:
1 bag (12 oz) of pre-cooked shrimp
3 spring onions, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup frozen (or canned) peas
1/2 cup frozen (or canned) corn
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
And for extra flavor we used:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and ground black pepper
(*Careful with it though. It makes it pretty spicy!)
Next:
1. We cooked the thawed shrimp (without any oil) until all the water evaporated from the pan.
2. We added all the other ingredients and spices in the order listed above.
3. Then we let the mixture sauté (on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes), stirring it occasionally.
And Voila! Magic just happened. Yumm!
Serve over mashed veggies (or brown rice) and top with soy sauce.
It was a total improvisation!! I’m so glad that it turned out not only good, but mouthwatering good! A keeper!
Buon appetito!
