Grapes Glorious Grapes

Good morning and happy Friday!

I find it interesting how certain days have certain connotations.  It’s been nearly two years since I kept a Monday-Friday work schedule and yet Friday still feels like, well, TGIF.  And Tuesdays still always throw me off! (read here and here for more on my relationship with Tuesdays)

Let me back up a bit to tell you about my new favorite thing to make.  PIZZA!  I am officially over my fear of making dough.  It was me against the yeast and I triumphed!  And 9 of us feasted on delicious pizza fresh out of the oven with whole wheat crust.

I was so excited about digging into these suckers that I didn’t get the camera out until they were nearly devoured.

This one is topped with fresh roasted tomato sauce (yep, I made it that afternoon), roasted eggplant and red peppers, and feta.  It was my favorite.

This one is a nod to my sis’s favorite pizza at Dove Vivi in Portland.  It has pesto instead of sauce and a thick layer of caramelized red onions and fresh corn, all topped generously with sharp cheddar cheese.  Unique and super filling.

(sorry for the awful pictures, we ate on the porch and it was dark by the time these were shot.)

Yesterday was spent in the garden and the kitchen.  My pops and I harvested two big baskets of grapes which were promptly turned into juice.

Gorgeous, rich, FRESH, and delicious juice.  I started a big jar of Kombucha last week and am excited to mix these two into a  tasty tonic.

I also made roasted tomato sauce.  The washed tomatoes got rubbed with olive oil and thrown into the oven.  They smelled super yummy as they roasted away.  I strained, blended, added a tiny bit of sugar and salt, and canned, simple as that.  Roasting requires less chopping, concentrates the sugar, and pulls a lot of the water out of the tomatoes so the sauce ends up thicker.

Last night we attended a pre-wedding pig roast for a childhood friend.  What does a vegetarian at a pig roast eat for dinner?  Lots of celery sticks, some roasted onions, and three cups of beer!  We arrived late and missed out on the corn on the cob and roasted veggies.  There was also potato salad and cole slaw but I am not a fan of either.  Luckily, I wasn’t very hungry and really enjoyed the beer, it had been three months since I even had a full beer and this was a very tasty brew.  I was hungry by the time we got back to my sisters and needed a midnight snack before bed.  I had a carrot, a few pistachios, and a piece of Ezekiel toast with tomato sauce and mozzarella on top.  It is so quiet at her house that my ears rang from the silence when I laid down!

Between the kitchen and the party I fit in a very quick workout.  I started out with an “express workout” from Fitness magazine’s September issue.  (I tried to find a link but apparently it’s not yet posted on the website).  It was a great quick interval workout and it really worked my entire body.  By the end of the third set I was dripping with sweat!  I finished off with 50 push ups (mostly on my knees :)), some triceps extensions, and a quick stretch.  The whole workout was about 25 minutes.

It’s now nearly Friday afternoon and it’s been a gloriously slow morning but now it’s time to get moving.  Enjoy your TGIF!