Tag Archives: Food and Wine Wednesday

Seafood Heaven!

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

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There are two people in my family who are terribly allergic to seafood. Makes their lips swell, and then they itch like a gazillion ants are crawling all over them! You can almost feel it, huh?

Thankfully, I don’t fall in the stare-longingly-at-plates-of-shellfish category. Nor do I fall in the ewwww-it’s-fish category. Which pretty much means that there’s more for the rest of us! Aren’t I mean? 🙂

But going out to eat is another thing altogether. While I’m admittedly a steak eater (I likes me some meat!), I sometimes bow down to the need for variety and will order an aquatic creature on my dinner plate instead. Here’s what it looked like on one of those occasions:

Scallops, halibut, and shrimp. YUMMINESS on a plate! And, yeah, I ate the whole thing!

Do you like seafood? Any kind in particular? Please share!

Happy Food and Wine Wednesday,
Melia

 

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Valentine’s Chocolate Treat, Anyone?

08 Wednesday Feb 2017

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Oh, who am I kidding? This is a treat for anytime you want to indulge in something nummy-tasting that’s semi-good for you!

See, I’m a chocolate hound. Like, seriously, when is something better without 20170102_110143chocolate on or in it! And that includes…ummm…never mind… That’s a topic for another post! 😉

Where was I? Oh, right…As someone who likes to follow a mindful, healthy lifestyle, chocolate kinda doesn’t really fit. Not that I haven’t ignored “the rules” completely and indulged! But when there’s a special holiday, a real reason to indulge, then what’s a girl to do?

Scouring the internet, I found a recipe for a double chocolate cookie that is sooo delicious, I don’t miss the fact there isn’t any gluten in it at all! The secret is in the cocoa powder. It acts just like flour in binding the cookie dough together, and is so amazing, I don’t know that I’d make any other of its kind from now on!

Want the recipe? Well, since I didn’t develop it myself, I’m going to have to send you to Rachel over at bakerita.com. You’ll find the link to the Paleo Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies here. If you whip up a batch, let me know how you like it, ‘kay?

(And, yeah, for the record, a single girl can like Valentine’s Day! Even if it’s only for the chocolate… 😉 )

Happy eating,
Melia

Breakfast of Champions…Not!

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

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Morning meetings at The Male Observation Lab are generally very early (sometimes as early as 5:00 AM!), and have a densely packed agenda. Often times, we feed the dudes so that they’re perked up and ready to roll. Which also makes it hard to please everyone…

There was a time when I hauled out fruit and yogurt, and had to contend with the raised eyebrows, not to mention hauling most of the food back with me. (Yeah, I got the message loud and clear!) Nowadays, here’s what a typical field meeting breakfast looks like:

20161104_0731071Coffee and assorted sugar-laden pastries. Nice and simple. And while it isn’t exactly the breakfast of champions, at least these get eaten!

Do you have early morning meetings where you work? Any food offered? The coffee and pastry variety or what? Please share!

Happy Food and Wine Wednesday,
Melia

Authors Who Brunch

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

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Last weekend, I met with some author-pals for brunch at Sanborns. What a pleasure it was to get together, especially when there were a couple I hadn’t laid eyes on in over two years. Two. Years. How the *BLEEP* did that happen?

We talked publishing — yeah…wowza…

We talked writing — HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Kristina McMorris for making the New York Times bestseller list!

And we talked about the ahmazing food at Sanborns. Like, seriously great food! Being on Day 27 of Whole30, I could only stare enviously at Terri Reed’s Bo-Bam, a German pancake filled with bacon, apple and maple syrup, and sauteed with a shot of bourbon. On my other side was Jenna Bayley-Burke and the Eggs Benedict she’d ordered. Smothered in lots and lots and LOTS of mouth-watering Hollandaise sauce.

I’d say the experience was total torture, except I had a plate of scrambled eggs with spinach and sundried tomatoes. Soooo good!

Guess this means I’ll just have to make it back there…Damn!

Have you been to a new-to-you restaurant that you fell instantly in love with? Tell us how it happened for you!

Happy Food and Wine Wednesday,
Melia

Sweet Temptations

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

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Welcome to Food and Wine Wednesday!

As some of my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers know, I’m on the Whole30 Program. Currently at Day 24 as of today! Can I get a fist bump for that?

While I’ve been eating mostly clean for three years now (or is it four?), I’d noticed that the past few months I’d caved to life pressures and had increased my intake of carbs. Mainly in the form of chocolate, red wine, and tortilla chips. That’s right. The tortilla chips was the wake up call for me! So 24 days ago, I started the journey to clean up my eating, and I’m going strong! No real threat to the program…until a meeting at The Male Observation Lab last Monday.

See, every year there’s this day in the spring where we gather all the supervisory-type folks and sit their butts in a chair for roughly eight to ten hours and share stuff with them. Super interesting stuff. Stuff critical, or at least helpful, to their jobs. (Believe me when I say this is a challenge for construction dudes used to being out in the field and moving all day!) Anyhoo, there I was, happily minding my own business, when at the morning break, this shows up:

Fresh baked, still warm, mouth-watering cinnamon rolls.

I stared longingly. Which in and of itself is kinda weird, considering I don’t normally eat stuff with grains in it. (It’s that Paleo-like thing going on.) But that morning…oh, man that morning was tough. I’m not the least bit ashamed to admit I stood beside it, closed my eyes, and inhaled. Deeply. Filled my lungs with all that cinnamony-goodness and imagined all the yummy gooiness hitting my mouth…

Then I ate a hard-boiled egg.

What temptation have you been faced with that had you wanting to cave in so badly you couldn’t stand it? Did you?

Have an awesome week!

~Melia

 

Lift a Glass

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

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Welcome to Food and Wine Wednesday!

Okay, so, technically, I’m not posting anything specific about food and wine, but for me, this is definitely something to celebrate, so indulge me, pretty please? 🙂

Ready? Entangled Publishing gave MERGER OF THE HEART a new cover!

MergerOfTheHeart_recover_1600(1)

Isn’t it awesome?!

And here’s the bestest part of all: MERGER OF THE HEART is $.99 for a limited time! If you don’t have a copy, you can download one from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or iBooks.

My heartfelt thanks to the readers who gave this book a chance. I’m forever grateful to you all! I’m especially grateful for the reviews. All reviews are important to an author. (Hint!) 🙂

So. With all the cray-cray in my life, this is definitely a reason to lift a glass. Cheers!

20141011_120539~Melia

Take That, Martha!

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

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After the unseasonably warm weather we’ve had in the Pacific Northwest, fall came as a bit of a surprise to me. Like, really. Temps in the 70’s one day, then dropping to a high of somewhere in the 30’s a couple of days later…and holding steady. I guess the cooler weather’s gonna hang for a while!

Which, of course, means that it’s time for comfort food. Now, I’m not exactly a lousy cook, but I’m no Martha Stewart, either, taking hours upon hours to find, prep, and serve meals. Half the time I’m wondering if stuff in my fridge is still edible! And with two nieces at home and a full-time job (not to mention the being-an-author part), I don’t have that kind of time. Or energy. Or, frankly, money.

So in true non-Martha-Stewart fashion, my first comfort food of the season was chicken soup thrown together with, basically, leftovers out of the fridge that were an hour or two away from being tossed in the trash. (Oh, c’mon! Surely you’ve cut out the icky parts of a vegetable and used the rest! Right? Right?)

By now I’m sure several of you are cringing and have decided not to ever accept an invitation to my house for dinner. But, really, the results weren’t too bad, if I do say so myself!

20140626_182354How could the scent of garlic and onions say anything but “yummy home cooking?” Add in somewhat-fresh vegetables and diced up chicken, then some homemade chicken broth and I think it’s a winner! Hey, the fact the family ate it without complaint was a huge plus!

What’s your favorite cold weather comfort food?

Happy Food and Wine Wednesday!

~Melia

How Dudes Do It

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

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I work with construction dudes who are BRILLIANT at taking a set of construction plans with lines and numbers on it, couple it with specification books, and decipher it all. They then take all of that and work with project owners, architects, and inspectors to turn it into awesome stuff like bridges, and football stadiums, water treatment plants, and subdivisions. But put a dude in charge of breakfast meetings, and here’s what you get:

Can’t help but chuckle. 😀

What can I say? The dudes at The Male Observation Lab keep it real. And I’ll give them props for effort!

Happy Food and Wine Wednesday!

~Melia

Cheese Niblets

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

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Welcome to Food and Wine Wednesday!

With summer quickly coming to a close, so too, does our warm weather and the outdoor concerts that play throughout our part of the world. These concerts have become a bit of a tradition for Mr. A and me, and a great way to inject some mid-week fun into our lives. (Cuz there are never enough of those, right?)

One of the dilemmas we’ve had was figuring out what to eat. (Oh, how I love having a First World problem!) Warm afternoon…cool drinks..light food. Wasn’t this the perfect plate to share?

20150805_183124(1)Pretty. Delicious. And definitely something we’ll have again. And we might not bother to wait until next summer, either. (We’re such rebels! 😉 )

What’s your favorite cheese and fruit pairing? Please share!

Happy eating,
Melia

Beets Me

12 Wednesday Aug 2015

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Welcome to Food and Wine Wednesday!

A wonderful friend and I got together for lunch the other day at a place I had no idea served lunch. I had been there for some wine with another friend, but the food-thing somehow escaped me. Imagine that! 😀

Anyhoo, amongst the yummy offerings that day was this gem:

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A golden beet salad with hazelnuts and Chevre. I loved the crunchiness of the hazelnuts mixed in with the perfect texture of the beets, the punchy flavor of the goat cheese, and the spicy arugula…Ohmigosh was it good! Almost as good as the conversation and reconnecting with a dear friend.

I’ll definitely head back. Maybe next time, I’ll have food and wine!

What food surprises have you encountered recently?

Happy eating,
Melia