Monday, February 6, 2012

Random thoughts of food and baby M

I know this is a cooking blog, but sometimes I like to ramble my thoughts out:

I have had some new local foodie discoveries I want to share:

1) Sit Stay Cafe on 11th St. in Huntington Beach http://sitstaycafehb.com/
This place is awesome. My husband, as well as other friends, have been raving about it for years (I think it used to be called Enchanted? or something like it), but I had my first experience this weekend. It's a quaint coffee shop a few blocks from our house with a neat little patio/sitting area, wi-fi, dog bowl of water, and, most importantly..... dunh dunh dunh.....jalapeno cream cheese. OMG I had a breakfast bagel sandwich to die for (bacon, egg, and cheese, with jalapeno cream cheese, on a toasted everything bagel). YUM!

2) Breakfast burritos at Sancho's Tacos on 6th St. and PCH in HB
My most recent pregnancy craving has been breakfast burritos, so I am on a mission to find the best. And I think I may have done just that: the Flaco Burrito: egg whites, sauteed spinach, onions, and mushrooms, artichoke hearts, avocado... and I added chicken breast and pepper jack cheese. It was succulent. Very large, but so good, that I found it very hard to stop eating after one half, which was huge. I recommend it with the green salsa. As Victoria Beckham says, it was "major".

Pregnancy stuff:
1) I have to brag because I feel so lucky, but I am having the best pregnancy so far. It's been so great! I have been so so lucky not to be sick or nauseous at all! Worst symptom in the beginning was just being tired, but once you realize you are going to be tired for the rest of your life, it's not so bad. My other symptoms are the weird ones no one talks about (probably because I don't think they are quite as common): nose bleeds, bleeding gums, round ligament pains....but other than that, just feeling awesome.

2) I have never really liked going to the doctor, but now it's actually fun. Each month we get a nice little update on how our little one is doing. Baby is over 16 weeks and counting, and the size of an avocado, although it already feels like the size of a melon. Heartbeat is great, and no problems so far!

3) I like being a designated driver. It's fun. I hate feeling left out, and this way, I still get to be a part of the partying. I have this over whelming desire to go dancing. I made James promise to take me dancing soon, if we can find a place that is bumpin' at 9pm, when my night time energy is peaking. I am really happy that, for the most part, I feel like my normal, social, party self, just sober version. Ha!

4) The bump is fun to show off now. I know, I know, I need to take some pics to share, and promise to do soon.

Last but not least, I can't wait to go to Michigan this weekend and see the fam! So excited. Except for the fact that I have spent my last couple of days at the beach in 75 degree sun, and now I am traveling, on purpose, to 35 degree grey. Oh well, we will make the most of it!

xoxo

No-fry Meatballs

I'm not going to post a recipe for the actual meatballs here, as everyone seems to have their own. But they are always a combination of meat (ground beef, lamb, turkey, or veal, or a combination), breadcrumbs, garlic, eggs, milk, spices.

Instead of frying your meatballs, here is a trick I learned that keeps them super super moist and delicious:

After you form your meatballs into balls (think slightly larger than a golf ball), in a medium sauce pan, heat up your favorite tomato sauce (mine is in this blog), to a simmer. Place your meatballs in the sauce, and cook in the sauce for 20 minutes or so (longer for larger meatballs). They are amazing!

Tip of the day (learned the hard way): make sure you have enough sauce to cover the meatballs, but also make sure you have a big enough pan to keep the sauce from splattering all over your range top. Lesson learned!