A day of great food!

For this blog post, I must start in the middle before starting at the beginning.

For lunch today we went to Leftovers. All the reviews say it is the best and everyone I have talked to recommends it.

I ordered the sweet potato crusted Wahoo fish over a salad with mixed greens, green beans, mango, and onions with a key lime garlic dressing. Weird I know. I almost didn't order it because I thought the flavors seemed strange. It turned out to be one of the best salads I have every tried.

Huck ordered the parsnip and onion crusted fish with mixed greens, pears, and an apple dressing.

We both agreed they were both incredible and we will go back again. SOON!

After lunch we went to the beach. We brought Oopie with us, today. 

"I'M FREE!!"

We let him run free today, and he did a great job staying with Huck. I wasn't surprise. He follows Huck every where! 

He started paddling his feet as soon as Huck picked him up. 

Now back to the beginning. 

This morning we rode our bikes to the Abacoa Community Garden. We helped plant Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, remove weeds, and make wood stakes to hold up the tomato plants.

I enjoyed talking to the people in charge of organizing the garden about ideas for my articles and recipes. They all seemed really excited about my idea. They also talked about me doing cooking demos for up coming events. 

The best part of the morning was getting to harvest some veggies to take home with us. I picked some Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, green onions, bell pepper, 3 different types of eggplants, sage , orange cherry tomatoes, and regular tomatoes. I will work outside for 2 hours for fresh food any day. 

  I used the swiss chard and Japaneses eggplant for dinner tonight.

Swiss Chard

• 3 Cups Swiss Chard- Chopped
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic- Chopped
• Crushed Red Pepper to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Heat pan over medium heat. 
• Add oil and garlic. Make sure not to burn the garlic. 
• Add crushed red pepper and chard. 
• Saute until greens are wilted. About 5-10 minutes. 

Panko Crushed Baked Eggplant

• 1/4 Cup Fat Free Italian Dressing
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 2 Japaneses Eggplants- Sliced 1/4-1/2 inch thick
• Cooking Spray
• Jar Pasta Sauce
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
• Mix together dressing and salt and pepper. 
• Coat eggplant in dressing and coat with panko. 
• Add to a lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. 
• Spray tops with cooking spray and cook for 15 minutes. 
• Serve with sauce. 

We enjoyed our dinner with steaks with mushroom and onion sauce. 

Mushroom, Onion, and Beer Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Al Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Beer
• 1/2 Cup Water or stock. 
• 1/2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Cup Mushrooms- Sliced
• 1/4 Large Onion- Chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Remove steak for pan and add mushrooms and onions. 
• Mix together A1, beer, and water.
• Add mixture to pan and stir up all pan drippings on bottom of pan. 
• Add butter, salt, and pepper and allow to reduce and veggies to soften 3-4 minutes. 

I'm not sure which was my favorite... The eggplant or swiss chard?!? Both were great! 

Now after a long day, it is time for bed! Goodnight!