Food truckin'

I'm in a Puerto Rico state of mind. This morning, upon seeing that the high temperature for today was to be 50 degrees, I thought, time to ditch the coat and the pants! This is skirt weather! Fifty degrees is kinda like 80, right? No. After also forgetting to put on deodorant, I hopped outside and thought, maybe it's still coat weather..and popped back inside to grab a thin coat. Then halfway down my walkway, I ran back inside to get my scarf. But my legs, my poor legs froze to death.

And they continued to freeze to death on my walk to Farragut Square this afternoon to indulge in some food truck action. There are dozens of food trucks in the DC area now and to my good fortune, my coworkers are as down with food truck adventures as I am. We've all but sampled the fare from every truck but PiTruck, Eat Wonky, DC Empanadas, District Taco and this new Latin truck. For a running list of the food truck frenzy, check out www.foodtruckfiesta.com.

Today I decided to go with the Sauca truck's Beef Shawarma. I couldn't have picked better! The meat was thinly sliced, well seasoned, tender and covered in Chimichurri and Tahini sauces. The whole bundle was enveloped in a fluffy, doughy pita.

I've also tried their Mumbai Butter Chicken and the Medi Veggie which were equally as good. Be sure to check the Sauca truck out when you can. They have three trucks roaming the area and I saw recently that they have recently introduced some sort of kababs.

Torrential...tears

I'm sad. It's Monday, so that's not surprising. But today, I'm especially sad. For one, I spat in the face of all things healthy by sustaining myself on trans fats and empty calories all weekend:

• McDonald's cheeseburgers, fries
• Cheetos
• Choco Tacos
• Beer
• Pizza
• Chocolate cake
• Quesadillas

I am filled with regret and sadness today as my pant waistline isn't agreeing with me at the moment. I am also upset at the forecast for my upcoming trip to Puerto Rico this week. Have a look for yourself.

Why?! How is that possible! I haven't gone on a "real" vacation in almost two years, if not more. And the one time I do, it's supposed to be raining the ENTIRE time. On top of that, today is filled with thunderstorms and heavy rain and I can't seem to find my umbrella anywhere. But what good does that do me now? None. I guess I should get used to it since I will soon be enjoying a rain-soaked vacation. Awesome.

Crack of the Month

There are soooooo many things that I love to eat and drink. But from time to time, I zero in on one particular item and become obsessed beyond obsessed. I like to refer to these items as my "Crack of the Month." Sometimes, the months get crazy and there's a different Crack of the Week, but for the most part, I am consistent.

The Crack of the Month for February comes in a liquid form. Starbucks, you kill me. I don't mind so much the empty calories of your sugary drinks, but the price? Come on! I could get a six inch sub for lunch for the same price as my Tall latte. That said, I am NOT a coffee drinker. At. All. I love the smell of coffee, I love coffee flavored things, but straight coffee? No, thanks.

Around the holidays, my opinion was slightly altered. Since there's a Starbucks next to my office, most of my coworkers hit it up multiple times a day. And the holiday season was even  more intense what with Starbuck's featured seasonal flavors.  Pumpkin spice latte...white chocolate peppermint mocha latte...gingerbread latte. Yes. I was easily hooked. What put an end to that party was the funds. I couldn't stomach the price for liquid crack.

But, now that the seasonal lattes are gone, I decided to try something new. The cinnamon dolce latte. Oh. My. Oh. Liquid crack, I tell you. I have no idea what's in it, but assume there's some cinnamony-caramelly syrup in there. To make myself feel better about this indulgence, I always ask for it with skim milk and no whipped cream. Then I ingest the liquid crack and dig out my smile.

I heart you, Kobe

I love me some Kobe. I could stare at Kobe's glistening glory for hours...if it weren't that Kobe would get cold. Kobe beef (not Kobe Bryant...I hate that kid), for those who haven't had the opportunity to experience it, is some of the tenderest meat on the planet. I first enjoyed it at BLT Steak in DC in the form of a burger. While the price was ridiculous for a lone burger, it was the only way I could fathom affording that cut of meat. The menu there charged $20 per ounce of Kobe if you were ordering a steak.

Hailing from Japan, these animals get some extra TLC that goes a long way. I've seen YouTube video of  Japanese farmers massaging the cows and feeding them beer to relax them. No wonder they're so tender.

Last night while dining at Wolfgang Puck's The Source in honor of my little brother's birthday, I got to experience the Kobe again. I ordered the Kobe Short Ribs for my main meal, and despite the fact I could've easily eaten two platefuls, I was taken away to a happy place. The ribs were de-boned and resting on top of pureed Indian-style lentis and a saffron raita. The sauce in which they slow-cooked was silky and layered with depth upon depth of flavor.

Although that happy place faded after the quick five minutes it took me to consume my humble portion, at least I snapped a picture of it to carry with me forever. Me thinks that after months of pondering, I have at last found the picture I will put in the locket I've started wearing again. Too weird? I think this shot would nicely complement the picture of Sebastian that's already in there.

Defeating dust and dirt

For a while now, I've wondered what to do about recurring dust and dirt on bathroom mats and rugs throughout my house. No matter how often I clean, dust and dirt remain the fourth roommate in my house. It irritates me how quickly my white bathroom mats look like they've taken a trip in a storm drain so soon after a wash.

When I lived in DC, my roommate and I had separate bathrooms and we both chose dark, solid colored bath mats to match our color schemes. Thinking that those mats would hide dust better proved wrong since the white dust was showcased even better on a dark background. Upon moving to Silver Spring into an old school black-and-white tiled bathroom floor, I chose white bath mats to match thinking that black would show the dust and dirt (DD) far worse.

Well, again, I was wrong. I know this is why offices and apartment complexes (and normal, intelligent humans) choose neutral colored or patterned rugs to hide DD best. But between white/light rugs and dark rugs, I guess I would choose dark.

And yesterday after deciding to wash the white bath mats, I solved this annoying situation for good. Everyone knows to wash whites and colors separately. I know that. But, for some reason, I believed that my Tide COLOR SAFE detergent meant that whites and colors could mingle freely without fear of marriage. Wrong again. Upon washing the white mats with the multi-green-colored runner rug from my living room, my pretty white bathmats instantly turned green.

At first I was horrified. But that soon faded. Since I happen to be in a "green" phase right now where I can't stop myself from buying anything with green in it, clothes wise and otherwise, this in my mind is a victory. I currently have a dark green coat, a dark green purse and several variations of green clothing. Obsessive, yes. But, I can't get enough of the green! And now I have pretty mint green bathmats that actually match the strange, old school green and white tiles in the bathroom. I'm also thinking that the dust won't show up as well since the light green will hide light and dark DD quite well.

Victory! Go green!

So this is love?

Ever caught yourself incessantly daydreaming about a special someone? Ever had a hard time concentrating on getting work done because someone else is running through your mind? Well then, my friend, you may be in love.

I thought I knew what it felt like to be in love, but I guess I was wrong. All these years I thought I knew it when I felt it, but I guess I was mistaken. Ever since my trip to Chicago a few weeks ago, I CANNOT stop thinking about Edwardo.

I toss and turn at night. The notion of productivity at the office has vanished.

Edwardo made me a delicious stuffed spinach pizza. And it played the lead role in the food escapades of my weekend away with friends. From the moment it arrived at my friend Christine's door, something in me changed. I took one look at it and am now blind to anything else.

Look at that! The spinach on Edwardo's pizza was crispy with hints of garlic. The cheese was gooey and ooey. The marinara sauce on top was layered with flavor and texture with Parmesan cheese melted about. And the crust. Oh, the crust. It was perfectly crispy, doughy, and buttery.

The pizza was huge. We each had one full slice plus a third of another piece for our dinner Friday night. I was impressed with the restraint shown by each of us, especially myself. But not a second too soon after returning home later that evening, not a word was spoken as we headed towards the fridge. Like robots, we opened the fridge in silence and split another piece.

The next morning, before heading out to brunch, the pizza box emerged yet again. Third of a slice for everyone.

After brunch, since it was raining, windy and cold, we headed back to the apartment and found the box of pizza waiting patiently for our arrival. Out came another piece. Then came a nap. Then out came the box again. Thirds for everyone.

Then as we gussied up for a dinner out at a trendy Mexican restaurant downtown, Christine took out the last piece of pizza and ate it. Part of me cried inside. I wanted to scream. I hadn't wanted this dream to end. But it did. It was over. Done.

And to this day, I can't stop thinking about how good that pizza was. Fresh from Edwardo's oven, it was perfection. Served cold for breakfast, it was divine. And slightly warmed up for snack time, it hit the spot. Buttressed by batch upon batch of homemade chocolate chip and Reese's peanut butter cup cookies, my final winter trip to Chicago was as good as I had imagined it would be.

Now, I think owe it to my yearning heart to host a Chicago pizza night soon at my house so that I can be reunited with my true love and share that goodness with my friends. Luckily, Edwardo's ships to locations outside of Chicago. As does Giordano's and Lou Malnati's. Maybe I will order one of each!

More to come on the rest of the Chicago wintry experience!

All I want for Christmas...

I usually don't ask for much for Christmas and tend to prefer surprises from my family members. But as the years have come and gone, so too has the creativity and the element of surprise. For my older brother Jeff and I, lists have become common place. Although my list is pretty short and unexciting--I requested a small vacuum cleaner this year--it helps save the time spent thinking up good ideas for adults who usually don't "need" much.

When I asked Jeff what he wanted for Christmas this year, he rattled off a small list of options. But, while the vagueness of his list was somewhat surprising, I was moreso surprised at his choice specificity regarding the last list item.

• Mac book accessories
• hockey accessories
• swim accessories
• marriage accessories (ear plugs, "yes dear" recording)

Marriage accessories? Yes. I shall get to work on making that recording. Anyone know where I can get a good set of ear plugs?