Happy New Year

Well Happy New Year, sorry for the lack of posts on my part. Might as well explain myself, for those who care. A few things contributed to this...First came the start of the holidays which if you are going out to eat then you just haven't gotten invited to enough holiday parties. This time of year is perfect for overeating small snacks and hearty comfort foods. So, first there was Jive Turkey 2008 an annual holiday party that I have attended for the last few years hosted at T's posh West Seattle digs. This year was pretty amazing...nothing like over eating, drinking and dancing in someones living room.

appetizers included m.'s special deviled eggs, they were bomb

picture of my plate mac and cheese, stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes,
brussel sprouts. so glad my friends can really cook! Shout out to the amateur chefs

Second up was the great Seattle Snow Storm of 2009 which caused me to barely leave my home for a week and a half. Therefore going out to eat wasn't a top priority. Now, I love a snow day here and there just as much as the next guy. Waking up and running to the window in hopes that school would be closed is a fond memory of mine from growing up in Wisconsin. My current job operates on the same schedule as Seattle public schools, so I was out of work for a week and a half. Wow. I will give the city a D on how well they performed in this weather.

picture of snow at cal anderson park by my house
later that week i shared a nice cup of hot chocolate spiked with everclear with l.
ps. dont ever try this drink

One thing we did do during the blizzard was make a gingerbread house...it was a lot harder than I thought and quite messy. L. was not sure what the point was but by the end, we ended up making an amazing piece of artwork and having a good time.

if you cant tell from the theatrical lighting this was inspired by the
infamous stop motion animation flick Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Third, it was Christmas Day dinner at my Mom's. Everyone in the family was in charge of bringing a dish. I seem to have forgotten to take a pic of the apps, by B. which were really nice spreads as well as the kick ass sundae bar prepared by little B. Great job by all, I must say.

I made cornish game hens stuffed with bacon cornbread, L. made broccoli mashed potatoes,
other L. made polenta with veggie chorizo, and B.'s mac and chesse and squash.

And FINALLY, I have been on a detox since January 5th, a raw food detox to be more specific. The eve of starting the insane detox I shared a "good-bye cooked food" meal with some close friends at Honey Court. I also purchased some of their chili hot sauce to go. I cannot wait to eat that after the detox.

you know the regular stuff: chow mein, honey walnut prawns
aka mayo covered swimming rats and a few other things like the
interesting ginger chicken that is front and center of the photo.

Now on a solid day 6 of this raw diet I feel pretty good, a bit tired but not hungry. I also got a cold, which I am sure is because all the stuff is trying to leave my body. Needless to say it makes it really hard to go out to eat. A quick idea of what I have been eating includes: raw cereal made up of raw almonds, shredded apple, shredded coconut, a little honey, cinnamon and a splash of almond milk. This is actually so good, I do plan on eating this when the detox ends. If you want to check out some of the recipes check this site. I mean Rawchos? WOW. Another item I enjoyed was the raw spaghetti I made the other night which is pictured below.

Rawghetti

A final, big shout out to Juice It in downtown Seattle who hooked me up an amazing raw lunch today. I did however forget to take my phone for any pics. The place is a hidden gem for those trying to eat raw or healthy downtown. I will be back to dining out soon enough. I have a list of places I have wanted to check out.

See you soon.