Grandparents date night

What is going on here?

I’m a little confused by the new wordpress update that’s happening right now…it’s making it hard to focus on what I’m actually typing.  Like when you can hear your own voice echoing in your phone and then suddenly you can’t talk because your delayed words are all you can focus on…sooo…this salad was a spin on my usual.  Only I did what I promised (#shelfcooking) and used the ginger miso dressing already in the fridge rather than buy the Nugget Thai one that I really wanted instead.  The miso one is fine but not one I’d buy again.  It’s different than the Red Shell Japanese miso dressing I used to buy at Costco, which I loooved and would happily douse all over ever vegetable I could get my hands on.

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In any event, it was still a yummy lunch because hello, there’s avo and nuts and roasted squash and kale going on, so even with the weakest link dragging it down a touch, it’s still a sure fire hit.  

Rather than make dinner during nap/quiet times I prepped a huge pot of chili for lunches.  My parents were coming into to town to hang out with the kids and take them out to dinner so Kyle and I could go on a movie and dinner date (!!!!).  Hooray for some one on one time!  I don’t know who was more excited, us or the kids.  

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I know it looks like ground beef but it is actually Quorn’s vegetarian crumbles!!  I have had them in the freezer for a while.  They were super easy to use.  I sautéed shallots and garlic in olive oil (plus Italian seasonings, chili powder, salt and pepper) before adding the quorn, which thawed in no time.  Then I added some broth with dried kidney and black beans before closing the instant pot lid for some pressure cooking. 

Later I added tomatoes (frozen from the garden’s summer supply) and more broth with quinoa.  Easy peasy!  This is by far the biggest pot I’ve ever made.  It’s just shy of the pressure cooking max line, so it will provide LOTS of lunches.  

So far it’s been met with rave reviews and nobody (including Kyle) has even noticed it’s not beef.  😛

For dinner we went to Echo & Rig, which I’ve now been to three times, but Kyle has never tried.  I’ve been talking it up for so long I was SO excited for him to finally go with me.  Unfortunately the service was really off.  The restaurant was busier than I’ve ever seen it (and it was a Tuesday night!) and we had to wait forever for every little thing…to get a waiter, to place our order, and – worst of all – to get our food!  They weren’t too good about communicating which is why it was especially annoying, but in the end I realized they had a group of 50 which was really jamming up the kitchen.  Boo.  The food was as great as I remembered (the photo above is the leftovers) but the experience really soured my opinion of the place and for Kyle’s first time there he wasn’t very impressed. 

We shared everything, including the Spencer steak and the rib eye cap (our fave) which came with sauces of our choice.  We chose a bearnaise and a red wine demi which were good, although anything and everything is good with a bearnaise, so I tried not to use that too much because it kinda overpowers the flavor of whatever you’re eating. 

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We also got a few sides (all of which I’d gotten before), including the portobello fries (FAVE!!), butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts. 

The biggest bummer was that the house made potato chips (which are suuuuper delish) didn’t make it into our leftovers bag.   I had a ton at the restaurant but was SO FULL by the end of the meal that I wanted to take the rest home to enjoy later when I wasn’t stuffed.  I was very bummed the next day when I went to eat them for lunch and they weren’t there.  🙁

The Brussels and the mushroom fries were for sure the highlight.

Meanwhile, the kids enjoyed burgers at Crepeville with my parents and Kyle finally saw his first movie in Davis!  What a night!  I’m very thankful that my parents came to Davis so we could have a night out, but I’m pretty sure this will be the last time it happens since my sister’s due date is just around the corner…shared grandparents here we come!