Today was the highlight of my week! I have been looking forward to it and it was much more fun than I could've ever imagined. As we planned.. Eileen and I were going to cook dinner for us and her husband - here we go!
Eileen has been a good friend of mine for about four months now. We met at my yoga studio when she returned to her practice after having two knee replacements (reason one she is my role model). I view her as a much older, wiser version of myself. I'm so blessed to have her in my life and she truly inspires me more and more each day.
So.. today after yoga, as usual, we went to the Thinking Cup (which we have been making a habit of, it's just too good) and had our daily dose of joe. We then moved on to the local produce shop and meat market (the North End is just filled with local gems). After dropping those off at Eileen's apartment (which I call penthouse because it's gorgeous) we took a nice, brisk walk to our favorite spot Whole Foods to grab the rest of our ingredients for our dinner.
We actually got a bitttt carried away, as I picked myself up a new Jade yoga mat and a gym bag with a yoga strap attached (which were both so necessary!) Oh.. and some new Desert Essence Coconut Shampoo & Conditioner that CCK reviewed as the best shampoo so I'm going to give it a try!
Finally returning to the "penthouse" - we began our feast.
On the menu:
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| Pork Chop stuffed with Cornbread Stuffing |
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| Cornbread Stuffing (with assorted mushrooms, onions, sage, and pecans)* |
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| Marinated Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes topped with Toasted Pecans |
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| Apple Tart!* |
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| A little extra treat.. Sunflower Seed Granola Bars (with cranberries, flax seed, and almonds) |
3 hours later....
Dinner was served! What a great success.
The best part about this meal was the experience. Like I spoke about in my post about the benefits of cooking at home and enjoying it - it's about making memories, having fun, and spending time with those you care about. There were some not so skinny ingredients (like butter & cream) used but it was a wholesome meal made with local (and mostly organic) ingredients.
This meal was made with two light hearts and laughter. It was enjoyed in a peaceful environment over candlelight - that's what made it healthy, hearty, and delightful.
Note:
* For our Apple Tart we used Amy's Freaky Good Apple Tart recipe but used a homemade crust Eileen had pre-made and replaced the 1/4 cup of sugar with equal parts organic honey.
* The Cornbread Stuffing recipe was based on Martha Stewart's Cornbread, Wild Mushroom, and Pecan Stuffing recipe but we totally winged it. We used onions instead of shallots, left out the wine, and replaced rosemary and thyme with sage.
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