Bella Luna with Mom

Working in a pre-kindergarten, I am constantly snacking on cookies, crackers, cheese, muffins, and the likes. I was in dire need of some greens, so I went for a salad. This is probably my favorite salad in the neighborhood, and has been for quite some time. The fried mushrooms are to die for.

She was shocked I actually ordered white for once (I should have gone with the red though).

Went on a little dinner date with Mommy last week.

After Dinner Poppers

Ain't nothin' like some after dinner jalapeno poppers. These could have been a bit spicier though.

Belated Birthday Nate

My Chicken Adana Kebab with an arugula salad.

Nate with his Mussaka.

Nate got dark Ephes beer, I got light.

Last Tuesday, Nate and I grabbed dinner to celebrate his birthday which was the previous week. He requested some place "pseudo-exotic," so I suggested a Turkish restaurant in the neighborhood.

Breakfast for Dinner

Will and I had some business to discuss, so he came over and had dinner with me and my parents. Gina's birthday celebration had been the night before, and as my mom and I had both purchased entire cartons of eggs for our respective baked goods, we had a lot of them left over. Here's a look at our brinner: (1) an omelette with roasted cauliflower, broccoli rabe, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, jalapenos, asiago cheese, and seasoning (2) a romaine salad with mushroom, pecans, yellow and red peppers, onions, seasoning, and Italian dressing (3) organic whole wheat bread, and (4) some wine.

Family Dinner for Gina's 22nd Birthday

...and the birthday brownie cake with raspberries and chocolate whipped cream.

...pumpkin-walnut muffins with cream cheese icing (my mom really took the reigns on this meal, but this was my contribution. I had first tried this recipe out for my friend Jordan's birthday back in October, as I am a big fan of pumpkin and the season was just right. Since then, I have tried several variations of the recipe. I only put icing on some for those who were sweet of the tooth- it's cream cheese icing with nonparels)...

And last but not least, dessert: spice cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-peanut butter chip cookies...

Round 1.

...and this spicy chicken, sausage, mushroom, and pepper dish. It's one of my family's favorite recipes from my mom's repertoire.

The main meal consisted of this salad (shown undressed)...

...and Italian bread.

...mixed salted nuts...

We started off with some appetizers: a cheese platter...

As many of you know, it was my sister Gina's birthday on Wednesday the 26th. This past Sunday, she came home and we had dinner with my parents, aunt, uncle, and grandmother.

Il Moderno with Shannon

Pollo mole poblano with a side of red rice and beans (my dish).

Shannon's meal. Was it an enchilada or burrito? I can't remember what she got exactly, I'll have to ask her.

Frozen margaritas.

A little dinner date before Asher's birthday. We went for Mexican. I have been eating a lot of Mexican lately, but for some reason, I never seem to get sick of it.

Blossom with Sam and Lydia

And I ordered the tofu scramble (same as Lydia) which came with a tapenade-like sauce, baked sweet potatoes, mushrooms, buttered 7-grain bread, arugula salad, and ketchup. As usual, I also requested some hot sauce.

Sam had this beautiful quinoa salad (the leftovers went back with Lydia).

I ordered some breakfast tea and it came in this pretty little green teapot.

We shared some sweet potato fries, which satisfied a serious craving Sam had all morning.

I hadn't seen my high school bud Lydia in quite some time. Today, her, Sam and I set up a lunch date. We all arrived at Lydia's apartment coincidentally and hilariously all dressed in dark jeggings and green sweaters of similar hues and cuts. We ate at the vegan restaurant Blossom; it was scrumptious.