Ruby, She Wrote

Today was the first time in a long time that Ron and I went to Philly. We love it there but things during the summer get so busy!

We went down with two goals: eat Texas style BBQ and see the “Late Renior” exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mission accomplished.

Percy Street BBQ more than lived up to the hype! It was so damn delicious. Ron ordered a beer and it came in a mason jar! I ordered a delicious blackberry mint julep. Yes, please. Ron got the pork spare ribs with a side of jalapeño corn bread. I got the (amazing) beef brisket with corn and Cole slaw which I shared with Ron. SO GOOD! The homemade sauces were all delicious but ultimately unnecessary. The smokey flavor in the meat was so delicious we didn’t want to cover it! For dessert we split a root beer float which also came in a mason jar! We will definitely be going back there!

This is my friend, Frank. I have known Frank since kindergarten. Frank lives in NYC and works in PR. Frank is part of a focus group for Mercedes-Benz called Generation Benz. Frank got this beautiful Mercedes E350 for the weekend. He decided to come visit me.

So, what is a gal to do when you are asked to take your city friend and city brother, Ryan, on a country tour?

Well, obviously, you start at the farmer’s market.

Then, you go to a pub. A gen-u-wine British pub that was built across the pond and brought, by boat, to Reading, PA.

We had crab cakes and black and tans to celebrate.

Then, we needed to do the right thing. We needed to toast the beauty of German engineering. And, while it is perfectly acceptable to toast with Guiness, the proper and more “Mercedes” thing to do? Go the winery that produced the only Gold Star Champagne in America.

Enter, J.Maki Winery in Elverson, PA. Yes, they really are the only champagne makers in America to receive a Gold Star rating IN FRANCE. In case you didn’t know, they are VERY picky about their champagne in France.

We toasted.

Then, we were hungry. We needed organic, local yumminess. It’s a good thing that Lancaster County is just a pleasant drive through farm country away. We found ourselves at John J. Jeffries.

John J. Jeffries is AH-MAY-ZING! There really is nothing better than local, seasonal food. NOTHING.

Except maybe being driven around like a movie star in Mercedes.

Not much to report here. This summer has flown by so quickly. Before we know it, it will be Christmas. That is just how it goes. For the past 2.5 weeks, we have been dog-sitting another lab named Riley. He is super sweet and has grown attached to our family. He loves to snuggle with Ron and wrestle with Colby. I know that when his parents return from Africa, he will be happy to see his mom and dad, but sad to leave us. I will miss him, too. Ron, not so much. But I suppose if he woke me up at 2 am every morning to pee, I wouldn’t miss him either.

For dinner on Saturday, I made a roast chicken. Mainly because I hadn’t done it in so long and we had a bunch of sage and thyme left over from the blueberry ribs Ron made a few weeks ago. All I did was stuff the bird with sage, thyme, lemons and garlic and oiled it up and cooked it. It was delicious.

So, I started this blog to talk about food and the gluttonous life I lead most of the time but over the past month so crazy things have happened that have made me look at my life. One thing, I started doing acupuncture. I really dig it. It is a big stress relief and it helps with my tension and anxiety levels. It also has a lot of positive upsides when used to treat infertility, which Ron and I are struggling with. I also started yoga last week. I have been meaning to go to yoga for ages. On Monday morning, I opened the website of my local studio to find the schedule of classes and then ran off to the market. At the market, I spied a guy wearing a tshirt from the yoga studio. I am not a shy person, so I said hello and told him I was thinking about going that night. He said that I totally should since he teaches the classes and owns the studio. Do you ever feel like the universe is sending you a message? Well, I felt that and decided (for once) to listen. I went and IT. WAS. AWESOME.

I will be the first to admit that I was always skeptical of people who go on and on about their exercise routines and how much the looooove it. I mean, gag me with a spoon. But, I really love my teacher. His name is Ron which might have something to do with it. The other thing is that he approaches yoga from a mental perspective, which helps me de-stress and refocus. I had such a fun time at yoga class, I have seen improvements in a bunch of aspects of my life. As in, I actually want to go for long hikes. I know, crazy.

I have also taken the advice of both my doctor and acupuncturist and given up dairy. It was such a huge part of my diet, I was pretty sure eliminating it would be impossible. I am almost there. I have not had cheese or milk/cream in a week. I have not yet eliminated butter. I am working on it, though. I am waiting to get to Whole Foods Market to get some Earth Balance before I jump off the butter train (it is sweet corn season in PA, after all).

Anyhow, off to yoga class!

I intended to write more about this dinner. But I am so full.

I am working from home today so this means I couldn’t just run out and grab and quick bite near my office. Instead, I needed something quick and easy so that I could get back to working on projects. I whipped this baby up in less than 5 minutes. The sammie consists of one slice whole grain bread from a local baker, one slice sharp cheddar cheese, one slice local tomato, and one egg. It was heavenly.

paella recipe

As you may or may not know, I grew up in the melting (literally) pot of Miami, FL. I know good paella. I miss good paella. I decided to make something in my own kitchen that would satisfy my craving. And while this poor man’s paella was not outstanding, it did taste pretty yummy.

We are leaving tomorrow for a week in Israel. I can’t promise that will be updating frequently, but I will promise to try. Cheers!

Today, while at the local orchard/market, I came across my favorite June treat- cherries. So, we made this:

Click Here for the recipe.

Tonight we headed to our favorite restaurant, Iron Hill Brewery. We drank, had sweet potato French fries and ate crab cakes and chicken breast. Oh la la. I love date night. And savignon blanc. Yes. That.