Hungry Times Two

God I love summer. It's the simple things.

It's a sign the Four Horsemen are clip-clopping our way: Breast Milk Ice Cream. I have no words for this. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Confession: Visiting Richmond, Va. this weekend, I had a couple moments where I seemed to channel my late grandmother of fabulousness , Coxey . Whenen taken aback by a sinfully wonderful dessert or food, she would exclaim (with hand to her chest as if clutching a strand of imaginary pearls) "My my, that is almost too rich to eat." I held off from breaking out her famous little expression but if the truth be told, I would have worn myself out using it. I didn't know it before I visited, but Richmond has some pretty amazing restaurant offerings. Big ups to my friend and resident of Richmond, Victoria, for selecting unique and gobsmackingly -good places. Let's get started with Lulu's , which started our trend of visiting comfortable, intimate cafes with lots of original, local-themed artwork this weekend. Though originally we planned on visiting the Shockoe Bottoms Tomato Festival, the 106 degree weather killed that plan, so we hit up Lulu's for some A/C and co...

Just because I want to know this has happened to someone else before... Ever made a disastrous food run? Around 1pm today, I started craving something sweet and icy. Frozen yogurt came to mind, but there's not a place nearby. Ice cream? Too heavy. The Safeway store up the street seemed to be safe bet to find something in their freezer section, so I headed out, making a stop at the restroom beforehand. I exited my office building, hanging a left out of the door, when I felt...a soft breeze. Puzzled, I looked down to see my dress hiked up on the left side and TUCKED in my underwear. Cursing, I quickly whipped the offending dress back into its proper place and, head cast down, moseyed on to my destination. I'm pretty confident both people manning the front counter at work saw my backside sans coverage, as did some smokers who hang out near the front doors. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah . What did I buy once I commenced the Walk of Shame? A $2.50 carton of Safeway brand fat free Lemon Sorbet,...

The sun is coming out and spreading its delightful warmth all around. The days are getting longer. Sunglasses and sandals are making their debut. For those in D.C. who want to put the Snowpocalypse blizzards and the frigid winter waaaaaaay on back behind them, this is most excellent news. It's spring, and with the sunny days come a need for cold and sweet treats. Sweetgreen is the place in D.C. to get them. With several locations in the Metro area and some mobile trucks dishing out the goodies, this place is a haven for those of us who hold a special place in our hearts for frozen yogurt. Forget the ghetto Dairy Queen blizzard or the played-out Starbucks Frappuccino - my cool treat of choice is Sweetgreen's yogurt topped with granola, blueberries and coconut. Chopped mango fits in well, too. Their deal is that they offer one kind of yogurt only - a kind of tangy vanilla-esque white and creamy goodness. Then you pile on the tasty stuff - all kinds of fruit and healthy toppings....

A certain male who posts to this blog unfortunately had dental surgery Tuesday due to an infected abscess and forthcoming root canal. With stitches and swelling, it's not pretty, as Scott does look like he's hoarding nuts for the winter in his right cheek, poor thing. As a result, grocery shopping on Tuesday eve was a challenge, especially when trying to navigate a Kroger store besieged by Southerners freaking out over the so-called "snowstorm" coming today. (Alas, no freakin' snow. Figures.) The bread and milk supplies were, of course, depleted, but so were the mushrooms and salad greens. Who knew us Dixie types considered the healthy stuff to be essential snow day fare? In my rush, I neglected to bring my list of "soft foods" that the dentist's assistant recommended, so I had think on my feet as I wheeled around the uber-crowded Kroger. I came up with a couple ideas, which were: - Scrambled eggs and grits. Breakfast for dinner - one of the ultimate...

Sigh. Mangoes aren't local. Double sigh. But I couldn't help myself last night. Besieged by a "sale" of $1 very ripe mangoes at Kroger, who was I to resist ? I purchased two and took them home and chopped them, eager to enjoy a sliver or two over a small bowl of vanilla bean ice cream. Note to those who co-habitate: check your rations first before you get too excited at the grocery store. My SO turned into the SOB who ate all the ice cream in the freezer. Thus, no yummy dessert. I could have eaten the mango with other dairy, such as cottage cheese or Greek yogurt, but it wouldn't compare to luscious, juicy mango over creamy and cool vanilla. One drawback to the mango: its fortitude of reluctance to free its tasty flesh from its pesky pit. I usually wind up scoring the mango skin about five times and then peeling it back in sections but then when I get to the skin-free fruit, it becomes one wet, pulpy mess. I recall seeing a method for inside-out mangoes once upon ...

Warning: Sensory overload!!! So not only did I have the pleasure of *finally* catching The Dark Knight today, but I also made it to the Miss Martha's Ice Cream Crankin ' with the two Js and K. This counted as my lunch. Yes, I am still a child in many respects, and the child in me LOVED eating ice cream for a late lunch. Good grief, those people must have been jacked up on their own sugary goodness, because this year the scoopers dished out some majorly large tastes of ice cream. They give you a small cup the size of about two hockey pucks (sorry I'm no good at measurements) when you pay for your ticket, and this time around, our cups were overflowing. The great thing about small portions is that your palate can appreciate a diverse range of tastes more than being swamped by huge amounts of flavor. Good thing there were tons of trash cans around, though I hated to toss out the remainders. My favorite flavors: Watermelon Sorbet (of course!) and Ginger Cream. Least: Corn (I ...

I can’t seem to get away from the topic of watermelon, as a huge chunk of watermelon is resting on my desk as I type this. Oh well, it’s summer – ‘ tis the season, right? Speaking of seasonal summertime treats, for those of you in Nashville, you’ ve got to get over to Miss Martha’s Ice Cream Crankin ’ at 4 p.m. this Sunday. Check out the details here – but it’s a Purity Dairy-sponsored event with proceeds going to the Martha O’Bryan Center which works with low-income families. $10 gets you all the homemade and Purity ice cream you could ever ask for. Scott and I have gone for the past two summers we’ ve lived in Nashville. Yeah, it’s hotter than hell, and yeah, the ice cream melts so much that I would never, ever suggest you wear white or something you deeply care about to this event. A bib would be a must-have. But, it’s awesome. Lots of church groups and civic organizations compete for the best flavor, there’s live music, and it’s held under the big shade trees in a churchyard on...