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Slice of chocolate chip zucchini bread

Long Weekend Recap

written by Parita 16 Comments

I’m so thankful that Vishnu’s brother and parents came to visit this past weekend.  Otherwise, I would’ve had to spend the majority of the weekend by myself.  We all wished that Vishnu didn’t have to work on both Saturday and Sunday, but it actually ended up being ok because he got to spend time with us in the evenings.  Better than nothing!

A weekend with the family always includes delicious food (most of which went undocumented).

My MIL and I tag teamed lunch every day.  We made chickpea curry, veggie stir-fry, and risotto at home (all on different days of course!). 

I also made another loaf of my chocolate chip zucchini banana bread.  It was a huge hit!  We pretty much ate half of it as soon as it came out of the oven.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread Round 2

We also ate quite a few meals out.  Of course, we had to take everyone to Datz.  Unfortunately, the food wasn’t as good it was the last time we ate here.  We also tried a new-to-us Thai restaurant called 9 Bangkok.  While everything was delicious, my Pad Thai and my MIL’s basil curry was waaaaaay too spicy.  Thankfully, they took both dishes back and brought out mild versions.  Much better!  And finally, we celebrated my FIL’s birthday with a Greek meal (his choice!) at Acropolis Greek Taverna.

A few snaps of my meals…

Kale salad - Datz

Kale salad at Datz

Pad Thai - 9 Bangkok

Pad Thai at 9 Bangkok

Greek salad - Acropolis

Greek salad at Acropolis Greek Taverna

In between all the food we ate, we also managed to fit in a couple of great walks.  On Saturday morning, we walked our usual trail by the water.  It was nice to show Vishnu’s parents our neighborhood!

St. Pete by the water

And on Sunday, we headed to Treasure Island to walk on the beach.  No one really thought we were going to make it to the beach because of all the rain in the forecast, but we were blessed with a beautiful day and made the most of it (1.5 hours of walking!).

Florida sky
The rain didn’t stay away for all that long though.  So that’s when we relaxed at home and watched movies – Bollywood one afternoon and Fed Up the next!

I’ll do a more comprehensive review of Fed Up in another post, but I highly recommend it.  In fact, my FIL is going to tell his patients to watch it.  It’s eye opening on so many levels.  A must watch documentary if you ask me!

Other than all of the above, we really just spent good quality time together – talking, laughing (a lot!), and relaxing.  I miss the fam and am already looking forward to the next time we all get together!

Family

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Written on September 9, 2015 Related:Family, Food, Restaurant, Weekend

Weekend Recap – Bits and Pieces

written by Parita 10 Comments

Another Monday, another weekend recap!

FRIDAY

Our Friday evening wasn’t all that exciting.  Unless you count a mini Modern Family marathon and eggplant parm exciting.

Eggplant parm

I followed Andie’s recipe and was really happy with the way the dish turned out.  Especially the crunchy breadcrumb topping!  I know my globs of cheese aren’t all that attractive, but the combination of fresh mozzarella and parm was perfect!

Vishnu went to bed a little earlier than me because he had work the next morning.  I stayed up and waited for our friend Rohit to arrive.  Rohit drove up from Miami to visit for the weekend.

SATURDAY

Vishnu left for work at the crack of dawn, Rohit left to meet up with another friend around noon, and I enjoyed a Saturday at home.  After knocking off some of the must do things on my list (cleaning, a work out, etc.), I relaxed and watched TV for 1.5 hours.  Time well spent!

That’s not all I did though.  I also curled my hair.

Curls

Excuse the half selfie and my huge eye!  I’m not a fan of taking solo selfies, but I wanted to share how my hair turned out, so this seemed like a good compromise.

Anyway, you guys!  I have to give my new curling wand (<—affiliate link!) a shout out again.  It’s AMAZING!  I’ve never felt comfortable curling my hair before because it always ended up looking like a huge nest on my head.  But this wand changed everything.  And at this price, it’s practically free!

Moving on…

The reason I put some effort into getting ready was because we had dinner plans with Rohit and his friend.  We met them at a new-to-us restaurant in Tampa called Datz.  Holy moly, this place is good!  The menu is full of comfort food dishes made right – pastas, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, etc.  There is literally something for everyone.

Datz - black bean burger

Horrible lighting equals horrible pictures!

Not sure what’s going on with me, but I ordered yet another burger!  As you can see, the portions are huge.  I managed to eat half of the bottom bun, the patty itself, and a few chips before calling it quits.  Absolutely delicious though!

SUNDAY

Sunday started with a quick Target and Trader Joe’s run.  Did you guys know that Trader Joe’s has it’s own coffee grinders?  I did not!  Basically, customers can pick a container of whatever beans they want (most of TJs coffee is in the whole bean form) and grind them in-store.  Amazing!

Trader joes coffee grinder

I was all ready to make us lunch when I got home, but Vishnu and Rohit suggested we grab brunch at Red Mesa.  Who am I to say not to a Mexican inspired brunch?

Red Mesa brunch

I decided to go with a scrambled eggs dish, but the real star of the show was the black beans.  So much so that I ate all the beans and only a fourth of the eggs!

The rest of our day was spent doing a few things here and there to help us prepare for the week.

And there you have it – bits and pieces from our weekend!

Thanks for reading and have a good Monday!

Written on August 24, 2015 Related:Food, Restaurant, Weekend

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