Tag Archives: veggies

Farm to Shaker: CT Bartender’s Challenge

You can check out parts one and two of my weekend with Heather visiting in case you missed them!

You may remember when I announced that I had been chosen to serve alongside the founders of Ripe (JD Altobello) and Onyx Moonshine (Adam von Gootkin) as a judge at the first Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market Farm-to-Shaker CT Bartender’s Challenge. There are really too many good things about this opportunity for me to gush about. The moment I was asked to take part in the event, I felt officially recognized as a knowledgeable source of information about my local area – and a source with good taste at that! It really validated all the hard work I’ve put into this blog, and also assured me that I am portraying an accurate version of myself each time I post. I am so enthusiastic and passionate about sampling interesting craft cocktails, and the fact that JD of Ripe knew this after only meeting me once (at Taste of the Nation) means my blog has been speaking the truth to its readers!

I’m also so happy that my parents and Heather were able to be present at an event that was so special to me! And every time I looked over at Heather chatting with my parents, I couldn’t help but smile. I just love seeing people I love getting along #sap. It particularly meant a lot to me that Heather came to the event and stuck it out the entire time, because while cocktails may be my thing and while she and I may get along famously, they certainly aren’t her thing as well and the food being served (by Morton’s!) was mostly not vegan-friendly!

Thanks BB!

Love ya, ‘rents!

I met up with my fellow judges before things got going, and was so happy to find that I’d ALSO be judging alongside a pretty amazing individual I met at the Mohegan Sun Wine Fest – Signature David, master mixologist! He frequently appears on FOX61 showing off his crazy concoctions.

David’s repping Onyx!

I’ve met Adam of Onyx at several events in the past! It was great to see him again and get to drink so many different cocktails with his wonderful, smooth moonshine.

He mixed up a very special blend for all the guests – Apple Cider Onyx Moonshine! Holy crap this was SO GOOD. And unlimited!

Heather and I were chatting with JD of Ripe and found out that he is a vegan! So when the watermelon, beet, and goat cheese salads over arugula came out, he was able to secure a cheeseless version for himself and Heather.

Vegan power – cheeseless salads! 😛

I also had the chance to work with the event’s emcee, Chion Wolf, of WNPR!I am a total NPR nerd – my addiction began after I graduated from college and started a job with a semi-lengthy commute. Now I listen even when I’m not in the car! In fact, playing NPR’s app on my iPhone and coloring in my bed are two activities that, combined, equal a number-one stress reliever for me. I was so happy to be able to share that with Chion at the event.

You can just tell from looking at her that she’s extremely cool.

And I’m so glad I did, because she was visibly touched to hear that fact and added that she doesn’t often get a chance to meet listeners and even sometimes forgets when in the studio that there are people out there listening. Well Chion, I know that I and many others are listening with great attention!

Sneaky shot – I love her style!

To hear her introducing me as a judge – and reading out loud my blog’s “sidebar” description, felt so epic!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/ocJNeErmT4U]

Each competitor from an area CT restaurant would need to use in his/her cocktail the Onyx Moonshine, Ripe juice mix, and two of the many secret ingredients from the day’s farmers’ market that JD had picked out.

Everyone’s favorite ingredients!

The ingredients spread!

Some were pretty typical (strawberries), and some were downright weird(brown cucumbers? tomatoes that looked like plums?)

That orange/tan thing is a cucumber!

Local honey…bitter melon…hot peppers…oh, and apples.

The winner was to receive this shaker trophy!

The competition got rolling so that we could find out who that winner would be! The competitors were listed for the event attendees, who were to submit their favorite drink at the end on a ballot so that we judges could take the Peoples’ Choice vote into consideration.

Competitors from the following restaurants (in order of above list): Morton’s, Max’s Oyster Bar, Zula, Firebox, Pond House Grille. I’ve been to every one!

First up, we had Suzanne of Morton’s (Hartford, CT) mixing up a cocktail of raspberry, peaches, and sugar muddled into a combo of Onyx and Ripe’s Pure-Squeezed Agave Punch. She shook it all up and added a splash of club soda.

I could tell just from the ingredient list that the drink would likely be too sweet for my sugar-sensitive taste buds, and I was right. While my mom enjoyed it (she doesn’t like any kick in her cocktails), I craved something more unique and was disappointed that Suzanne chose two very “normal” secret ingredients – raspberries and peaches. However, I still love that she incorporated muddled fresh fruit into her beverage and the presentation of the full-size version was flawless!

While Suzanne’s away, her drink will stay! 🙂

I totally loved the next cocktail, and that’s not just because it was prepared by Chef Scott Miller, Exec Chef of Max’s Oyster Bar and the maestro that prepared a gorgeous meal for Jeff, me, and many others at the Max Chef to Farm Tomato, Tomato dinner a couple of weeks ago.

Scott mixing it up.

A mason jar was an appropriate choice in which to display the full-size version of Millers’ Muddle Maple Moonshine cocktail, which consisted of maple syrup, Onyx, Ripe’s Agave Lemon Sour, blueberries, lemon, club soda, and a splash of beet juice!

Scott and his creation.

I’ve gotta give Scott props for not sacrificing taste for convenience. He was muddling blueberries into EACH sampler cup for each audience member, instead of muddling them and the syrup together in a big batch and pouring the results into all the cups. That’s dedication!

Syrup waiting to be joined by blueberries in sampler cups.

The drink was pretty incredible. I was worried that the syrup would make the drink too sweet for me again, but the use of a sour Ripe mix balanced out the syrup’s sweetness perfectly. I also like the sour added by the fresh lemon. And of course, the unexpected choice of beet juice as an ingredient totally impressed me. It was meant to add color to the cocktail, but also added a special something in the flavor department.

 Next up we had Albana of Zula, whose current cold inspired her to choose the soothing ingredients honey and cinnamon cloves to her cocktail, as well as fresh lemon! Mixed with the Onyx and Ripe’s Agave Margarita mix, and combined with a very careful presentation, Albana’s cold certainly ended up leading to a great drink.

Another participant who wasn’t going to let hard work get in the way of presenting a pretty drink!

Mmm. Calming and the cinnamon added a hint of autumn! The other judges loved it too. This was gonna be tough…

Albana and her creation! You can’t tell she has a cold!

The judges before taking their first sips of a drink!

I was way excited to see what Samantha of Firebox would have up her sleeve because I once had one of the best Manhattans EVER there! It’s a farm-to-table restaurant and its chefs and bartenders are very used to working with only the most local, fresh ingredients.

Strikin’ a pose!

Though simply presented, Samantha’s beverage tasted great enough to stand out among the competitors! True to Firebox form, she didn’t need many ingredients to make something great – just Onyx, Ripe’s Mojito Mix, and fresh ginger-peach iced tea. I commend her for the way she used her chosen local ingredients!

Finally, Michael of Pond House Grille added a touch of science to his cocktail submission! Pond House uses liquid nitrogen in its restaurant as part of the presentation of some menu items. They view food and drink as works of art – hey, me too!

Michael and his smokin’ drink.

He muddled cilantro, Anaheim peppers, and fresh lemon into Onyx and Ripe’s San Marzano Bloody Mary Mix. Oh, and a splash of liquid nitrogen – NBD.

We judges were fearful of taking our first sips because we didn’t want to get “burned” by the liquid nitrogen’s extremely cold temperature!

Adam illustrates his fear.

Intense discussion.

I ended up enjoying the Bloody Mary and its pepper-y kick. I also appreciated the addition of the lemon juice. However other than the presentation, it wasn’t set apart from other Bloody Marys I’ve had in the past.

Whooooo will win?

The judges huddled outside to deliberate while the crowd submitted its votes for Peoples’ Choice.

A clearly intense conversation.

The crowd inside the beautiful new barn which served as the competition’s location.

Don’t worry, the judges and the members of the crowd were still coherent enough to accurately critique the cocktails, since they’d paired them with food from Morton’s!

The previously mentioned watermelon, beet, goat cheese salads. My mom’s favorite part!

Oh. Em. Gee. Melt-in-your-mouth filets read for assembly onto sliders.

Morton’s Executive Chef himself did the grilling!

My dad practically dive-bombed the filet slider platter!

Chocolate mousse cups – didn’t have a chance to grab one!

After hearing the Peoples’ Choice pick and considering our own opinions, the judges arrived at a decision on the winner. But he was MIA! JD and I knew where he was though, and nabbed a golf cart to go grab him.

It’d been forever since I’d taken a ride in a golf cart!

Our winner was actually across the way cooking up a dinner for over 100 people. Yup, it was Chef Scott Miller, and he was working on the Nathan Hale Homestead Chef to Farm dinner! Luckily we were able to “drag” him back over to the barn to accept his shaker trophy.

Scott and the event sponsors JD and Adam.

A well-deserved win for Chef Miller! And you can re-create his winning cocktail at home using the recipe below – or order it up yourself at Max’s Oyster Bar, because it’s going to be added to the cocktail menu! I hope it’s still served in the mason jar!

Miller’s Muddled Maple Moonshine (thanks Max Restaurant Group for the recipe!)

Ingredients: 

  • 1 Tbsp Connecticut Maple Syrup
  • 1 oz Native Blueberries
  • ½ Lemon, Squeezed
  • 1.5 oz Onyx Moonshine
  • .5 oz Ripe Agave Lemon Sour
  • .5  oz Club Soda
  • Splash of Beet Juice

Instructions:

  1. Muddle blueberries with maple syrup and freshly-squeezed lemon juice in a pint glass.
  2. Add Onyx Moonshine and Ripe Agave Lemon Sour mix.
  3. Add ice cubes and shake well.
  4. Pour into mason jar, splash with club soda and beet juice.
  5. Garnish with 4 blueberries on a pick and a lemon wedge. Drink up!

The 1st Coventry Farmers’ Market Farm-to-Shaker CT Bartender’s Challenge was a great success, and all in attendance seemed to have an enjoyable time. Adam was even joking that we should call this contest a summer edition so that the wait before the next edition wouldn’t be too long! I’m all in favor – especially if I can judge again!

Thank you to the Coventry Farmers’ Market, Ripe, and Onyx Spirits for involving me in such a unique event. It was right up the Cait Plus Ate alley!

Have you ever been to a cocktail competition?

Which cocktail would you most want to try?

Has your blog ever brought you any exciting local opportunities?

Max Chef to Farm: Tomato, Tomato at Rosedale Farms

Don’t forget to enter the Love With Food giveaway if you haven’t already – it ends tonight at 11:59PM EST!

The Max Restaurant Group of CT and MA is no stranger to putting on fabulous foodie events. I myself have attended a couple different ones at Max Fish in Glastonbury, CT. They’ve certainly outdone themselves with their Chef to Farm dinner series, though. Fodor’s Travel even declared the series to be one of the top five chef-to-farm dinner programs in the country.

This past Friday night, Jeff (he also accompanied me to the other two Max events I’ve been to) and I attended the Tomato, Tomato dinner, one of several that have been and will be held at Rosedale Farms & Vineyards in Simsbury, CT.

I was extra excited to go because I have been wanting to visit Rosedale Farms for awhile now since I’m a total wino. They are part of the CT Wine Trail and I even have a tasting Groupon that I still need to redeem.

A tent was set up with a tasting table underneath, and Jeff and I wasted no time in grabbing a glass of vino. Jeff chose the white, 2011 Simsbury Celebration (100% estate-grown Seyval Blanc), and I chose the Farmington River Red (California Petite Sirah). We are very predictable.

The Farmington River Red was wonderful! I love Petite Sirah. Jeff is still getting “used” to red wines and he really liked how smoothly it went down. I in turn am learning to enjoy whites and I was skeptical of the Seyval Blanc since I sometimes don’t enjoy other whites like Sauvignon Blanc, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. It seemed to me to be a refreshing balance between a Pinot Grigio and a Chardonnay.

HAD to get a John Deere pic!

Rosedale is truly a beautiful place. The evening sun cast a calming aura as it slowly set over the vineyard vines, flowers sprouted out of the ground almost everywhere I looked, and the barns’ exteriors displayed whimsical artwork (as seen in photos above).

While some patrons sipped their wine and enjoyed passed appetizers at tables adjacent to the wine tasting tent, others took rides around the farm in a tractor-pulled wagon with their glasses and snacks.

There were not quite enough tables set up for the pre-dinner fare, but Jeff and I made do and ended up sitting down with a really nice couple that so happened to be at our assigned dinner table later – funny how that works out! It also seemed that there was an abundance of certain appetizers (I must have been offered an oyster about a thousand times) being walked around by waitstaff, yet not enough of others (I had to eventually seek out waitresses carrying a couple of items and ask that they come by our table so that we could try those apps).

Stonington Red Shrimp Ceviche: Prudens Purple Tomato, Lemon Verbena

However no one went hungry (far from it) and the waitresses were friendly and responsive! Jeff and I did end up getting to sample each small taste during the reception. The presentations on some of the dishes, particularly the oysters, were beautiful.

Noank Oysters with Cherokee Tomato Black Pepper Mignonette

I am still stuck off-board the oyster train. I have tasted pretty much only expertly-prepared varieties, yet have never really enjoyed any of them! I give credit to myself for continuously trying but I don’t think I’m an oyster girl.

And I clearly can’t “smoothly” take an oyster shot.

Other appetizers were not as gallantly presented, but their tastes spoke for them plenty, like the below mini-BLTs. Crusty bread and juicy tomato made for a dynamite combination. The tomatoes were so very flavorful that I could’ve eaten these without the bacon. But of course, bacon makes everything better.

BLT with House Bacon, Hydro-Bibb Lettuce, and Heirloom Tomatoes

I was trying not to taste more than one of each appetizer since I wanted to save plenty of room for the upcoming multi-course dinner, but the one bite I made an exception for was the below grilled flatbread. After all, pizza is my favorite food.

Grilled Flatbread with Housemade Ricotta, Pesto, Basil, Confit Tomato

The ricotta, made in-house at Max’s Oyster Bar, was some of the freshest and most flavorful I’ve ever sampled. It was actually made WITH basil, which was subsequently strained out of the finished-product, explaining how strongly basil-flavored the flatbread was. To the naked eye it appeared to only have a few shaved pieces of basil providing that flavor, perched atop the rest of the fantastic ingredients. I happily had two slices.

Cato Corners Veal & Cheese Meatballs with Sungold Tomato Nage

I adored the presentation of the above veal meatballs, and adored their taste even MORE, thanks to the decision by Chef Scott Miller (Max Oyster Bar’s Exec Chef and the chef behind this dinner) to use both lamb and cheese fresh from Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, CT. The sungold tomato nage was not only made with tomatoes straight from Rosedale Farms, but with their white wine as well! As soon as I learned that, I knew I really wasn’t going to get a meal more local than this unless I literally went out to farms, purchased the ingredients, and prepared the dishes myself.

The jar on the left contains what I’ll call a Tomato Aioli.

The veggie crudites had been set up self-serve style on a beautifully decorated garden-themed table. The tomato aioli paired with them was fantastic! I grabbed one veg plate and one aioli plate for Jeff and I to share.

The wooden plates on the right fit extremely well with the evening’s farm-fresh theme, and were nice and light for easy carrying.

I was more than ready to chow down by the time the crowd was ushered through the vineyard’s aisles, abundant with perfect purple grapes. By this point Jeff and I had shared another glass of the Simsbury Celebration white wine.

The meal was literally being prepped before our very eyes, and long tables were set up under a white tent, giving attendees gorgeous views of the farm fields at sunset.

Chef Scott Miller and his team at work.

Plates at the ready for assembly.

View from my spot – head of the table! 😀

At each seat, a creative cocktail was already waiting – now that’s my kind of table setting!

The rest of the touches at each setting – linen napkins, mason jar centerpieces – weren’t too shabby either.

The cocktail, dubbed by its creator (Beverage Director Brian Mitchell) to be called the Mojitomato, was actually a twist on one of his favorite classic beverages, the gin and tonic. Yup, those are Rosedale Farm tomatoes floating in that mason jar (MASON JAR LOVE), which also contained herbs like basil and tarragon. And a salt-and-pepper rim was the perfect touch! My only regret is that I didn’t drink that guy faster since by the end of the evening it had become quite watered-down by the ice, but I refused to give it up each time the waitresses came around to collect glasses.

We were seated adjacent to the beverage station…I swear I didn’t plan that! 😛

Beverage Director Brian Mitchell got to work prepping the mini dessert cocktails very early on in the dinner.

Both the owner of Rosedale Farms & Vineyards and Chef Scott Miller welcomed the crowd before the amuse bouche was served. We learned that Rosedale goes back five generations, and produces six different wines. Chef Miller explained how his desire to know where his food comes from, and how much better he feels when he does know, have driven him to design and create these Max Chef to Farm Dinners.

I love when chefs jazz up a classic comfort dish like Chef Miller did with the amuse-bouche!

Brodetto of Heirloom Tomatoes with Cato Corners Farmstead Cheese Panini

Yeah yeah, I know, it’s a grilled cheese and tomato soup. And it was way better than mom used to make #sorrynotsorry

Feelin’ dainty!

See the leaf garnish on the plate? Jeff and I decided that it looked like a tree star from “Land Before Time”. Anybody? Well, it turns out that garnish was not a tree star, but a grape leaf from the vineyard! Straight from vine to Jeff’s palate!

So Little Foot.

The first wine served with the main meal was Rosedale Farms (all the wines were) Three Sisters made from 100% grapes grown in the Rosedale Vineyards (77% Cayuga, 23% Seyval Blanc again). The Cayuga grapes made this a sweeter white than the first we sampled, but I actually liked it more. It seemed closer to the Pinot Grigio end of the spectrum to me, and thanks to Heather, I’ve been becoming Pinot-obsessed.

Each time the waitstaff refilled the cute wooden bread boxes, they did so using a different variety of bread from Hartford Baking Company, the West Hartford cafe and bakery that I visited with Heather and Jenny last month. My carb cravings were in full swing at this dinner. I kept feeling like I needed some starch to absorb the alcohol in my stomach, since the meal’s courses were not very starch-heavy!

Tomato & Watermelon with Sankows Aged Feta, Basil, Olive Oil Powder, Spherical Olives

The above first course actually used both regular AND golden watermelon, which I had no idea even existed! That black olive on the plate isn’t your average olive at all, but an encapsulated version. Chef Scott Miller created something that looked and tasted like an olive, but was not an olive. Instead, he pureed kalamata olives and combined them with a mixture of xanthum gum (a popular smoothie addition in the blog world!) and calcium lactate. Then he bathed it all in a bath of water and sodium alginate. The result? The above encapsulated olive! So. Cool.

And the baby watermelons were cuties too!

The second course starred seafood, so I was so very excited! And not just any seafood…seafood that was harvested TWO days prior from Stonington, CT!

Little Neck Clams, Monkfish Fritter, Calamari with Lobster Broth, Porgi with EVOO

The monkfish fritter was definitely my favorite part of this dish, and the lobster broth was a close second. Mopping it up with thick, white Hartford Baking Co. bread (complete with an asiago cheese crust) was beyond words perfect.

The crowd under the tent later in the evening.

The wine paired with the seafood was appropriately another white, a Riesling called Serendipity. Just a touch sweeter than the Three Sisters, and I loved it. I have been Riesling-crazy this summer!

Grass-fed Beef with Sauce Choron & Torpedo Onion, Fried Green Tomatoes, Charred Corn Relish, Rosedale’s Ratatouille

Don’t worry, the above main course was served with a red wine, a pleasant pairing indeed. This food didn’t need any wine to make it taste good though. The beef was reddish-pink when I cut into it (just how I like it) and that sauce – ah! I could taste the freshness of the Rosedale Farms in the ratatouille and in the torpedo onion, which I would have loved even if it hadn’t been presented in such a cool fashion, with the widest rings on the bottom and gradually building to the thinnest on top. I have also been waiting to try fried green tomatoes for so long, and was glad to do so! However I’d say they were the least memorable part of the dish – I hoped I’d be able to taste the tomato, but the savory (albeit tasty) breading overpowered the veggie.  Maybe I got a thinner pair of tomatoes!

Cato Corners Cheese with Tomato Tarte Tatin

Forgive the photo above – it was taken with an iPhone using the most-hated FLASH! Instead of a cheese plate, Chef Miller took it one step further (though i was hoping for a good old fashioned plate of varied cheeses, I have to admit) and crafted the above small plate. The tomato flavor of the tarte was so very rich and paired excellently with the fresh Cato Corners cheese…and the red wine.

Tequila dessert cocktail!

We were informed of the proper way to drink to above dessert cocktail (El Jimador tequila, Ripe, chartreuse)…bite in the tomato, then sip it down! It was a delicious concoction and I love that Brian Mitchell used what he called a “saltier” tequila, because I love me some salt!

CTomato LN2 Gelato with Dark Chocolate Torte & Encapsulated Basil

Dessert was food science at its best because not only did we get more encapsulation action, but we also got tomato gelato, which was rock-hard when served. So rock-hard in fact that when Jeff tried to slice his scoop in half with his spoon, it squirted right off his plate and into the grass! Luckily he has a good foodie friend like me to split my scoop with him – though Chef Miller was kind enough to offer him a replacement scoop too! I adored the unique taste of the gelato, because its cold ice-cream-like texture screamed “sweet” to me, yet the flavor was shouting “savory”. The ensuing battle between the two made for a food experience that I’m sure cannot be easily replicated. The dark chocolate torte however, though the most traditional component, was certainly my favorite. So rich, so simple. It’s hard to beat chocolate!

Chef Scott Miller and I! What a view behind us!

Chef Scott Miller and Beverage Director Brian Mitchell were both kind enough to pop in at our table throughout the meal and answer any questions I had about what I was trying. I wouldn’t have been able to give you the details on the encapsulated olive, Mojitomato, and other tastes without their input, so thank you!

Breathtaking view from my seat.

At the end of the evening, the crowd applauded for the chef and his team, Rosedale Farms, and the attentive waitstaff. On the way out, each patron got a set of goodies to take home – bibb lettuce and tomatoes also fresh from Rosedale, and a bottle of Ripe Bar Juice‘s San Marzano Bloody Mary Mix! Score – I can see this coming in handy during TN football game parties this season!

Great job, team!

Showing off my goodies once I got home!

What a magical evening. Local food, good friends, fabulous drinks…it was the perfect evening for an everythingarian foodie like myself. Thank you, Max Restaurant Group!

If this post made you hungry for some Max Restaurant fare, you’re in luck – from 8/27-9/2, the Glastonbury locations Max AMore and Max Fish are celebrating Taste of the Suburbs East of the River with prix-fixe $20.12 menus. From 9/3-9/9, Max A Mia will be offering a $20.12 menu for Taste of the Suburbs Farmington Valley!

Have you ever been to a dinner on a farm or vineyard?

What’s the freshest farm-to-table meal you’ve ever had?

Which dish would you have wanted to try the most?

CT Bloggers Take Over J. Timothy’s!

Have you entered my giveaway for a Knoshbox of local foodie goodies? Don’t forget to do so – you have until tomorrow night (Saturday 8/25) at 11:59PM EST!

J. Timothy’s Taverne in Plainville, CT may be housed in an old building (as in…built in 1789!), and has even been open since 1985, but that doesn’t mean the restaurant’s marketing practices haven’t grown and evolved with the rest of the industry. Social media is a big part of the popular spot’s advertising and public relations strategy; its active Facebook and Twitter accounts (run by a SUPER fun woman named Nikki) spread the word about food specials, gather customer feedback, and…develop relationships with area bloggers!

Last month in the J. Timothy’s loft (this restaurant is HUGE…we’re talking multiple levels, banquet rooms, a bar area, and more), a group of Connecticut Bloggers gathered for a meetup hosted by the J. Timothy’s Taverne marketing team. Not only was it a chance for me to try out a new-to-me restaurant (legendary for their wings, and also frequented by the infamous and elusive West Hartford PR Girls), but I also got to finally meet so many of the area bloggers I’d been tweeting with for so long!

Katie of The Simple Songbird and me. She works in the same town as I do and lives just fifteen minutes away too! I also called her Diana when I first saw her. Holy awkward!

Dominique of Craftfully Cooks is a fellow Fitfluential Ambassador! Love her top.

Maria of Pappa Don’t Preach is a fabulous fellow fitness enthusiast. She shares my arm day obsession (arm day = holiday!) and we talked arms during dinner 😀

All of us plus Hilary (in pink), the talented chef and artist of My Own Blog Review and owner of Mews Boutique.

So after taking the above photo, we decided to be the blogging version of the Spice Girls. What do you all think? Perhaps I can be Posh?

I mingled with the ladies and the rest of the bloggers in attendance while drinking a glass of Duck Duck Goose Shiraz-Cabernet and sampling a little bit of everything from the above app plate. My very favorite items included figs and some kind of fabulous bacon-like meat. The wine list at J. Timothy’s impressed me, especially since their main gig is beer (particularly craft and/or local). I’ve only had Duck Duck Goose at a Sonoma Wines & Spirits tasting and had never seen it offered by a restaurant before.

Passed app – beef tenderloin crostini with gorgonzola sauce. Of course I was the only one trying to get some of that veggie garnish in the center on my plate too!

I also sampled a few of the above craft beers from the summer beer list. Small sips of each were all I needed…still working on liking beer!

The owner of J. Timothy’s (left) and Mark of Relic Brewing (right).

The owner of J. Timothy’s took the time to come up to the loft and greet us Connecticut bloggers, and then Nikki kicked off the evening’s event by telling us why the restaurant uses and believes in social media. She also shared examples of marketing research the Taverne performs on a regular basis. I was particularly interested to learn that focus groups of parents seemed to agree that when taking children out to eat, they are NOT looking for healthier kids menu items. In fact, going out to eat is seen as a treat, so therefore the parent is more OK with letting the child treat him or herself to a more decadent or heavier meal than would be served at home. I can definitely see why that would be the line of thinking behind selecting a kids menu meal…but also think it’s good to have the healthy options there in case the child chooses one of those! The focus group found, at least, that parents do want to see more healthier sides. That’s some balance – perhaps a burger with some veggies 🙂 I could go on about this topic forever!

The CT Blogger power couple and starters of the website, Wendy and Greg Limauge, live-instagramming Nikki’s talk.

The main event – a tasting of the J. Timothy’s menu – began. I took one look at the list and felt a bit overwhelmed. SO. MUCH. FOOD. How full would I get? What if I overate? What if I lost control? Those thoughts immediately intruded, but I was aware of them, and checked in with my body. I was hungry, ready to eat, and could just sample a little of everything and stop when I was done. I could do this! And hey…it all sounded pretty damn good.

Wings may not be the most unique app, but you can’t go wrong ordering them when dining at a restaurant like J. Timothy’s Taverne, famous for their wings! And we got to try all the flavors – Original Buffalo, Honey Gold BBQ, General Tso’s, and Teriyaki. My favorite? The General Tso’s! The bleu cheese sauce was also fantastic, but I always have issues with that when it comes to wings with bones. It ends up a huge, albeit delicious and fun, mess.

I really like the way J. Timothy’s served us the food. Each dish came out on a family style serving plate that was passed around the table. I could get the specific bites and tastes I wanted to put on my own smaller plate, and in the perfect amount that let me feel comfortable. The serving method totally helped me sit back and enjoy the event without the intrusive thoughts telling me I may lose control.

Butternut squash ravioli.

After the wings, a starter from the regular menu came out that will probably get a lot of my readers excited – butternut squash ravioli in sage & brown butter cream sauce, sprinkled with walnuts. I definitely wish there had been less sauce because I could hardly taste any of the butternut squash filling! But collectively, the dish was delicious and the crunchy walnut texture contrasted with the soft, pillow-like ravioli (yes, most overused description for ravioli, so sue me) in an interesting way that was just enough to set J. Timothy’s version apart from others I’ve tried.

Scallop Waldorf salad.

The salad we sampled, the Scallop Waldorf salad, was probably my favorite dish of the evening. More walnuts are always a good thing, and the greens weren’t too dressed, something restaurants so often do. I would have preferred pears to apples but that’s the weirdo in me that doesn’t like them (don’t yell at me). I wanted more scallops! Right, Meg?!

Pomegranate pork tenderloin, spinach, & mashed taters.

OK wait…THIS may have been my favorite dish. The salad was certainly more “comfortable” to me, but I can’t lie, the above grilled pork tenderloin bacon-wrapped medallions in a pomegranate balsamic glaze, paired with sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes, was comfort food at its best. I so wish I’d had more room to have more pork, and it’d been eons since I’d eaten any “legit” mashed taters. Of course I wanted to take more spinach off the platter, but left enough for my companions

Mark of Relic Brewing handed out beer samples to pair with certain courses. My favorite – and the most interesting beer I’ve EVER sipped – was the lavender & honey brew. I could truly taste the lavender and even finished my entire sample (something I don’t often do with beer) just because I wanted to keep experiencing that taste that I knew I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

Haddock au Gratin

I’m always ready to gobble down a good piece of fish but was disappointed that the haddock au gratin came absolutely DROWNING in cheese. I love eating cheese with crackers, fruit, wine, pizza, etc. But when it comes to my meat and my seafood, I don’t want a ton of greasy cheese clouding that fresh meat or seafood taste. I want to taste my protein! And I do have to be honest here – melty pools of cheese like the kind featured on this haddock certainly make me nervous. I wonder how much “hidden” fat is in there, and worry about the consequences of eating said fat. I picked off as much of the cheese as I could, but at this point I was getting really full anyway and knew I wanted dessert, so I didn’t finish this dish. It was definitely my least favorite of the meal.

Cherry vanilla cheesecake bread pudding.

Luckily, dessert more than made up for it, especially since it was a two-parter! The above cherry vanilla cheesecake bread pudding was COMPLETELY amazing. The soft bread pudding and the crunchy shell it was served in balanced each other out perfectly. Cherry isn’t my favorite flavor of dessert, but this was quite yummy. The best and most decadent-tasting part of the dessert, though, was next…

Chocolate oreo truffles!!!

I did not want my truffle to end. It was definitely one of the best-tasting desserts I’ve ever eaten. Too bad it was so tiny! I wanted it back as soon as I finished it!

Me and the CT Bloggers queen, Wendy.

I left this event a bit more full than I am used to or comfortable with feeling. But I dealt with it – I went home, chatted with my parents, colored, listened to NPR, and went to bed. I didn’t miss out on anything and I had a great night out with my CT blogging friends. I’m so glad I finally got to meet them, and try a new restaurant at the same time!

Thank you to J. Timothy’s, as well as Greg and Wendy of Connecticut Bloggers, for organizing and hosting what I hope is the first of many more meetups!

Chobani Chow Time!

I’m back from the 2012 Healthy Living Summit in Boston! And so concludes my four weekends in a row away from home (though I’m going back to Boston this weekend on a day trip…I can’t seem to sit still). I will be posting about HLS itself soon, but firstly I wanted to recap my favorite part of the weekend: a tasting dinner I was invited to by my favorite Greek yogurt producer, Chobani! It was heartwarming to hear all my blends at HLS saying how excited they were to see me attend the dinner, and read about it afterwards, because they knew and event like this was just so ME. We may have just met in person, but my blends know Cait Plus Ate!

The dinner was held at EVOO, a classy and creative American restaurant in the same Cambridge neighborhood as our hotel. My invite promised a custom dinner complete with Chobani incorporated somehow into each course, made by their Chef Peter McCarthy.

Other bloggers, members of the Chobani community team, and I dined in a private room set up with two tables like the one above. I was pretty hungry upon my arrival, but luckily some of my favorite apps were already out for noshing.

Crusty bread and wonderful CHEESES.

Candied nuts and pickled veggies, including the good old standby, PICKLES.

I ordered a glass of red wine to pair with my cheeses of COURSE, and one of my seatmates, the beautiful Brittany (I’ll forgive her for being a Gator), got a glass of a tasty Muscat (you can read her recap of the event here...her pics put mine to shame!)

I adore her new short haircut! She’s from the same town my grandma lives in and I travel there each December, so we’re hanging out this year for sure.

My first app plate, and I noshed on more cheese and bread between courses! Red wine brings out my cheese cravings!

I was seated at a table with some pretty awesome ladies, including Rachel Wilkerson, who I  have always wanted to meet! I love her snappy style of writing and she is the definition of #sorrynotsorry to me (it’s even on her header). I was also happy to have more time to talk to Lauren, whose blog I’ve been reading for a couple years now, since I’d only briefly met her the day before.

Lauren and I – I have the pencil skirt version of her H&M dress!

Theodora made frequent visits to our table, and Ashley was kind enough to share her seat!

My other seatmate, Meghann, was kind enough to let me try a sip of her Jalepeno Margarita. Mmm! I hope she doesn’t hate me after using this photo!

Ashley, Courtney, and Lauren!

I had been a bit worried that Chobani with every course would be TOO much Greek yogurt for one meal, but the printed menus placed at each setting were immediately reassuring to me. I could see that the only thing I might get too much of during this meal would be delicious, local cuisine!

We were welcomed to the dinner by members of the Chobani community team, and were shown the cute “icebreaker cards” placed on the tables – not that we chatty bloggers needed them!

I still enjoyed checking out the questions Chobani had come up with. If you could be any flavor of Chobani, what would it be?

Meghann ponders the answer to this pressing question…

I had to restrain myself from filling up on bread and cheese, but it was worth it once I saw the first course – heirloom tomatoes, yogurt gelee, spearmint, basil, EVOO, and coarse salt.

The yogurt gelee was so beyond interesting! It reminded me of the Greek yogurt version of Jello – a really fun texture. The olive oil was so perfect with the tomatoes and basil. OMG, that basil! So freaking delicious – fresh from Eva’s Garden in South Dartmouth, MA. And the tomatoes were grown in CT – represent! I appreciate the effort put into listing out the source of each ingredient on the menu. Also enjoyed having some veg power incorporated into the meal!

What a beautiful dish! The second course certainly boasted the best presentation of any of the others. Pictured above is the lobster-vanilla yogurt succotash. May sound strange, but the subtle touch of vanilla was simply perfect and tasted so very natural. Nothing like an artificially flavored vanilla dessert, but REAL vanilla from the bean. It paired perfectly with the sweet local corn from Kimball Farm in Westford, MA. They also provided the zuchinni, which was so fun to eat thanks to the fact that it was spiralized! I was inspired to have a little more fun with my lobster friend.

At least any lipstick I left on him wouldn’t show up (if I wore lipstick).

Oh yeah…the lobster! How have I not commented on it yet? Well the meat was fresh and plump. Captain Marden certainly knows how to catch a good sea crustacean.

Before this dinner, I told anyone who would listen that what I was REALLY hoping for was an entree that would incorporate some kind of Greek-style cucumber yogurt sauce, perhaps over some salmon. What I received was even better – the third course consisted of seared yogurt and spice sous vide lamb loin with crisp eggplant and raita.

By then I’d ordered a second glass of wine, a boozy (in a tasty way) 2009 Zinfandel by Edmeades in Mendocino County, CA.

Most assuredly my favorite course of the event. Though the lamb was not as medium rare as the wonderful version I had recently at Millwright’s, the middle was still a nice pinkish-red hue. The sauce was so very amazing and everything I’d hoped for, but I’m pretty sure I most enjoyed the fried eggplant, coated in a grease-less breading that didn’t overpower the veggie’s taste.

While waiting on dessert, we learned more from Chobani about the company’s appreciation for the networks of bloggers (pat on the back) that they’ve built since starting just five years ago. Can you believe that in that short period of time, they ended up getting as far as sponsorship of the OLYMPICS?! In fact, Chobani only started incorporating traditional marketing methods (commercials, magazine ads) into their advertising plan a year ago. It’s not often that you come across a business that utilizes new media marketing to that great of an extent for that long.

At this point I was pretty full (I wasn’t even able to finish the second or third courses…too much cheese! :-P) but I of course found room to polish off about half of the dessert, a nectarine-basil crisp with frozen berry yogurt (the chef used Chobani Strawberry). The crispy topping was sooo warm; I love trying desserts with contrasting temperature components because they only make the experience of eating them that much more of a tastebud party (cheeseball). The frozen yogurt melted into the crisp and the warm nectarines beneath it until I didn’t know which ingredient began where, but that didn’t really matter. What mattered was that I stopped when I was just the right amount of satisfied, proved to myself that I can still attend these kinds of events and stay in control, and ENJOYED myself.

So fantastic to meet and hang out with Heather. She is so fun and I could listen to her NOLA accent all the live long day.

I’m so glad Chef Peter McCarthy had a chance to come into the dining room so we all could thank him for a job well done and compliment his cooking skills! He said the restaurant already uses yogurt in some of its dishes, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to include it in each course, but that some concepts had still been new to him. I couldn’t tell at all!

We mixed and mingled for a bit longer, then caught cabs back to the hotel. After all, it was 10PM, AKA my bed time.

Jazz hands, Theodora! Jazz hands!

Thank you to Chobani for getting us together for this event, and thanks to Chef McCarthy and the rest of the EVOO staff for a fantastic meal!

What’s your fave way to eat Greek yogurt (if you do)?

Which dish would you have most liked to try?

Have you ever used Greek yogurt in a unique way? Tell me about it!

Barcelona Patio Party!

This post has been a long time coming!!! You may remember the BBQ & Vino Party I recapped earlier in the summer, which took place at one of my favorite CT restaurants, Barcelona Wine Bar. The restaurant group owns establishments in several locations, including West Hartford (also home to its latest venture, bartaco). I love the fact that at all locations, monthly events take place about the appreciation and creation of creative, local tapas.

On July 30, Barcelona West Hartford hosted a Patio Party all about summer fare. Chef Jason Welch, who prepared that fantastic pig roast dinner I wrote about last month, once again outdid himself and provided a group of CT locals with a generously priced (only $25!) tasting menu, and performed cooking demos for each course.

Quite the selection for just $25, right?! And all of my favorite things! Veggies…seafood…steak…feta…

Jason welcomes his guests.

I didn’t know much about Jason’s work experience even after the BBQ & Vino event, so I was glad he kicked off the proceedings with more about himself and his backstory as a chef. He grew up nearby in Farmington, CT and later, even spent time cooking at a legendary NYC restaurant, Gotham.

RIP that dress, it got ruined in the wash after this event 🙁

In the above photo I’m holding the first course, a watermelon martini (watermelon puree, Hangar lime vodka, lime juice) and watermelon & cucumber salad (watermelon, cukes, feta, mint, Pedro Ximenz Sherry Vinegar).  The martini was okay, but I am just so picky with how sweet my drinks are…AKA I like them best as old man drinks; I was disappointed that I couldn’t taste more of the cayenne pepper dash that was thrown in there. However I have plenty of girlfriends that would’ve gone mad for that martini. I more so enjoyed the watermelon cucumber salad. Watermelon and cucumber with feta has been done before, but I’ve never tasted a version with the sherry vinegar (which can be found at Whole Foods). The perfect unique touch to a summer favorite.

Jason took the time throughout the Patio Party to make sure every guest got a good view during each demo. He brought around the above bowl of the marinade for the striped bass ceviche, which contained peppers, red onion, cilanto, and citrus (those last two are always my favorite parts of ceviche). The bass itself was purchased from a local farmer’s market that very morning!

Meg…try not to freak out.

While not the best ceviche I’ve ever had, because I prefer mine a bit chunkier and with a “medley” of seafood, I still adored Jason’s version. The marinade in particular was fantastic. To go with our food, Jeff (are you really that surprised that he went to this event with me?) and I took the suggestions of our great waiter Derek and ordered two different sweeter white wines to share – a German Riesling (2010 Riesling, Max Ferd. Richter, Zeppelin) and a French Vouvray (2010 Chenin Blanc, Bourillon Dorléans). Both were wonderful, but I adored the Vouvray because of its less sweet flavor profile. So refreshing on a summer night and perfect as a seafood pairing.

Cheers!

White wine and ceviche (remains), ain’t nothin’ better in the summertime 🙂

The next course was dynamite – don’t be fooled by its veggie description. The roasted sweet corn & fennel was tossed with Manchego cheese, as well as a heavenly, out-of-this-world cilantro-lime BUTTER! Now I normally eat my corn plain, right off the cob. But I also can’t deny that when it’s coated in fancy cheese and shmancy butter, it’s pretty damn delightful.

The “red stuff” is an essential in Spanish cooking, similar to paprika, called pimenton.

Jason continued to give us a small demo for each course, while the plates for us were made back in the kitchen. He also passed around a list for us to write down our emails so we could get the recipes later.

As I mentioned in my Millwright’s review, I adore swordfish, and the next course met my excited expectations! It was topped with a fennel-orange vinaigrette (I love how much Jason incorporated fennel into the menu, since its local supply was so fresh and bountiful at that time). I have paired pineapple and mango salsas with swordfish before, but never orange! A new fruit/fish combo for me that I really enjoyed.

Jeff took this photo for me while I was in the bathroom!

To go with our next course, we ordered some fantastic red wines that all tasted, I must admit, delightfully boozy 😉 Jeff went with a recommendation I’d gotten from my a friend who bartends at Barcelona, Anna. He agreed that the Cesca Vicent was a) wonderful and b) very me. Both true! Evan and I each got a glass of Malbec.

Around this time things started getting a little more silly 😛

Oh hey!

Everyone must do this on his or her way to the bathroom.

Had to pass the time while waiting for the last course…

You think this is weird?

…well yeah, it just got weirder. FACE JUGGLER #creepy

…which consisted of skirt steak, garlic spinach, sweet potato fries, and chimichurri sauce.

Holy crap! The meat was not as underdone as I usually like (I like it moo-ing) but that’s fine because the sweet potato fries were INCREDIBLE. Often thick sweet potato fries are too limp but Jason’s recipe? So fantastic – thick fries that still had a body to them. The spinach tasted so fresh…I just know that it was local. I love when no telling is needed to have confidence in where a food came from. Plenty of garlic on that spinach for my tastebuds too. They can never get enough!

One of my favorite outdoor patios ever. I feel like I take this same photo at the end of every Barcelona event.

The crowd was even surprised with dessert! It wasn’t listed on the menu, but I was pleasantly surprised to get another chance to indulge in Barcelona’s homemade churros with chocolate sauce. To go with them, Jeff and I ordered one of our new favorite wines – sherry. Just like port, I love me some old-man style sherry.

Just looking at that photo makes me crave a dessert and dessert wine combo while I’m in MA this weekend for the Healthy Living Summit…yup that’s right more recaps are coming your way next week! I am making the most of my summer and that is OK! And amazing 🙂

My bartender friend Anna and I – she is a West Hartford expert!

So thank you Chef Jason, Derek, Anna, and the rest of Barcelona’s talented staff (including Exec Chef Adam Greenberg) for hosting an affordable evening to remember of local summery foods, delicious drinks, and silly photos on your beautiful patio!

Barcelona West Hartford is closed in August for renovations,  but check out bartaco in the mean time!

Which of these dishes would you want to try most?

What’s your favorite part of summer nights?

Am I the only fan of sherry out there?!

Three Generations Dine at Max Fish

This post may have bad timing since I just recently published a post about how I don’t eat out EVERY night, but please forgive my contradiction because I have a home meal post coming up tomorrow. For now, you REALLY want to read this one. Like, really.

I don’t do a full recap of every dinner I have out (just photo dumps), especially if the restaurant has already been featured in its own post on the blog before. However, the meal I enjoyed last Thursday night at the Max Restaurant Group‘s seafood establishment, Max Fish, in Glastonbury, CT was so noteworthy that I had to do an entire post on it. Let the gushing commence!

Grannan and I!

My grandma (we call her Grannan) had arrived that afternoon from Florida, and my mom and I knew we wanted to take her somewhere special for dinner. Thankfully my family had plenty of points racked up from the Max restaurants’ free rewards program, Max Vantage. Ever since hearing about the Max Fish Tiki Dinner I attended, my mom has been dying to try their regular menu (she is already a fan of their award-winning happy hour), so we decided to use the rewards points there. Plus, they have an outdoor patio – I love dining al fresco! My grandma, mom, sister, and I decided it was the perfect spot to celebrate Grannan’s arrival.

Once seated we were immediately served the above sampling plate of seaweed and pickled cucumber salad. That certainly started the meal out on a high note! The combo was genius and the cucumbers were pickled just enough. Any more and they definitely wouldn’t have paired as well with the seaweed.

We also got a pretty great bread basket. The wheat rolls were just OK to me, but the other variety of roll contained raisins and caramelized onions. Those were so flavorful that they didn’t even need any butter – but that didn’t stop me from using a bit 😉 My favorite part of the bread basket actually wasn’t bread – it was the flatbread crackers with sesame and what I believe were caraway seeds. So satisfyingly crunchy and hearty.

Max Fish has one of those cocktail menus (pictured above) that I could study and debate for hours. They certainly proved themselves to be expert mixologists at the Tiki Dinner! I love wine, but felt like it’d be a cocktail appreciator’s sin to not order one (or two!) of these gems.

Happy with my choice.

It actually didn’t take me too long to decide on the Fish Hook, Max Fish’s take on the Manhattan, because of its main ingredient: Onyx Moonshine. I’ve spoken with the owners of this Manchester, CT-based company a few times at events, and they are a great group of people putting out an excellent, smooth liquor. As expected, the Fish Hook was amazingly refreshing and the orange peel in it looked pretty awesome as well. I savored every sip.

My sister was very surprised when she ordered a Diet Coke and it came out in an old-fashioned Coke bottle. Cute!

She may kill me for using this.

I was debating between ordering tuna and swordfish (the dinner menu is pretty epic…lots of menu indecision anxiety for me!…and cool sidebar – Max Fish has a gluten-free menu!), and that decision was made easier for me when my family and I had the chance to sample the rare yellowfin tuna.

Meg, are you dying?!

I was ecstatic that my mom, grandma, and sister were all willing to try it. And better yet, the madre and Grannan declared that they LOVED the rare tuna!

All gone!

I can totally understand why and I’m glad that their first taste was at Max Fish. The tuna was cooked to perfection, the exterior crusted in an adequate amount of sesame, and the sauce and slaw garnishes were the perfect compliments.

So proud of herself for trying – and enjoying – fish cooked rare!

Hannah was not the biggest fan – she is still in the stage in which the only seafood she likes is mahi mahi, what I like to call the “gateway fish” – but she tried!

She is not a seafood fan!

She much prefers the taste of Diet Coke!

When our food came out there was a bit of confusion with the food runner over whose plate was whose, and which fish was which, so my mom and Grannan’s dishes got sent back. But once we realized that everything had actually been correct in the first place, the kitchen was nice enough to warm the entrees back up before delivering them to the table.

Since I’d tried the tuna, I ordered the above grilled swordfish with pineapple-ginger chutney, local bok choy, and black sticky rice. I have been dreaming of that rice since the Tiki Dinner, and convinced my mom and Grannan to get it with their food too! I never eat rice – I find it to be extremely boring, and it makes me sleepy if I eat even a bit too much, like pasta does. This rice, though, is just the right hint of sweetness and its texture is so fun! I know that sounds strange to say about a food’s texture, but it’s really the first word that comes to mind. The pineapple-ginger chutney was so amazing paired with the sticky black rice. My only complaint is more like a regret – that I didn’t ask for EXTRA chutney! The bok choy was very well cooked, not too oily, and the swordfish was the thickest cut I’d ever received at a restaurant. The outside was nice and char-grilled while the inside was flaky. No knife was needed to slice off each bite – a fork was plenty.

Grannan’s entree

Mom and Grannan continued to make my everythingarian-self happy by taking my suggestion to get the sticky black rice with their entrees as well. They are very much like me when it comes to rice – just not that impressed. But also like me, they were over the moon about Max Fish’s rice! Being true seafoodies though, their favorite meal component was the grilled monkfish. The two of them could not say enough good things about how it was cooked. Grannan also swooned over her sauteed spinach (pictured above).

That right there is Hannah’s choice, the 10 oz filet mignon with creamy mashed potatoes. She also got a side of haricot verts to get her green on. She ordered the steak medium and it certainly came out cooked just as she’d asked.  I have to admit I’m glad she didn’t finish it all because this filet was beyond-words amazing. As in, it-rivaled-J. Gilbert’s amazing. Yeah, I said it. Hannah said those taters hit the spot as well – exactly what she craved.

Me and the sis!

I finished my Fish Hook right when my entree came out, so to go with my meal I ordered something refreshing, light, and citrusy – the French 75.  It was served in a fun, classy glass and contained gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Prosecco. Didn’t taste much like alcohol, and not a cocktail I’d usually order (a bit sweet), but it was still fun to step outside of my martini-shaped box.

The French 75, me, and a bunch of good bread.

We declined dessert because we were all quite satisfied, so our waitress brought the check, along with some nice warm towels topped with fresh lemons for cleaning our hands. My mom adored that fancy ending!

And Max Fish had one more surprise up its sleeve…after-dinner drinks! Again, though it was a sweeter beverage than I’d normally order, I enjoyed the below Strawberry Caipirinha, AKA Brazil’s national cocktail, made with strawberry, cachaca (sugar cane rum), raw sugar, and lime. Hence the lime and strawberry garnishes! This drink made me feel fabulous and was perfect for a warm summer evening like the one we were enjoying that evening.

Lighting doesn’t do it justice – it had gotten dark!

Thank you so very much to Max Fish for giving my grandma an amazing welcome-to-Connecticut dinner to kick off her visit from Florida. We promised her a great seafood dinner and the restaurant certainly delivered! I highly recommend Max Fish for any occasion – or even none at all. If you’re trying to save money, their happy hour is a great way to try a lot of their food options at a discounted price.

And don’t forget to read up on the Max Restaurant Group’s Chef to Farm Dinner Series, which already has generated buzz nationally. I’m planning to hit up one of the August dinners, but there is one coming up as soon as the end of July in Simsbury, CT! Click the link, take a look at the menu, and buy a ticket once you recover from passing out (since it’s so amazing).

Do you have a favorite seafood spot near you?

Which foodie photo is your fave in this post? I won’t judge you if you name a beverage 😉

WIAW: Restaurant Photo Dump

The Barre: A Real Food Giveaway ends tonight at 11:59PM EST – don’t forget to enter!

I am blown away by your support on my post yesterday. I have to admit that when I woke up that morning, I felt so beyond low. I have never felt that level of hopelessness before. I had no idea how I was going to get through the day with my mind being SO damn mean to me. But making my #AmazingMe list helped, and the comments I got on the post truly made me teary-eyed. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog, commenting, and sharing with me your own feelings about negative thoughts and holding ourselves to ridiculously high standards. I already am seeing some lists pop up – and I am going to read every single one!

Becki is going to blog her list – can’t wait!

And talk about timing – Lindsay published an amazing post today in which she fights her brain’s negative body image thoughts with specific positive thoughts about each part of her. It’s clear that every part of Lindsay combines to make one AMAZING blogger who dreams up the best recipes and runs a huge, and growing, Foodie Pen Pals program!

So today I have both old and new restaurant food photos to share, so thought another WIAW Photo Dump was appropriate! I can’t really bear the thought that some of my restaurant photos, even the ones from months ago, will go unseen by my readers. Thanks to Jenn of Peas & Crayons for making sure this delicious party happens every week.

Like I’ve said before, I haven’t really been doing posts of what I ate each day, but I DO take a lot of photos at restaurants. Sometimes they pile up on me and there are too many to share after each time I go out to eat! So without further ado, here are photos I’ve accumulated from February to now that haven’t been seen on the blog yet. These are things I (and my friends) ate and drank, and I’m sharing them on a Wednesday, so it’s totally WIAW-worthy 🙂

Best miso soup I’ve ever had, from Miya’s Sushi in New Haven, CT. Made with seaweed foraged from the Long Island Sound!

Samples of Miya’s sake! Best ever. One was super salty (meant to taste like the ocean) and one was sweet.

Me and a full-size sake at Miya’s, back in March.

Array of Miya’s sushi – all automatically made with brown rice. One roll had brie, and one was wrapped in grapeleaves!

Some of the best fries I’ve ever had, with ketchup, mayo, pesto aioli, and mustard, at Rudy’s in New Haven, CT.

Pear vodka martini on Franklin Ave in Hartford.

Amazingly yummy bread sticks and EVOO/tomato-based dip at Carbone’s on Franklin Ave in Hartford.

Ahi tuna with balsamic vinegar at Carbone’s – so amazing!

Grilled veal scallopini from Carbone’s light menu, served over sliced tomatoes, lemon, baby arugula, and cilantro pesto. My first time having veal and it was a winner.

Jeff’s dinner at J. Gilbert’s this past Thursday – veggie platter of mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, corn on the cob, zucchini, and black beans/corn in a red pepper. CRAZY AMAZING I’M GETTING THIS NEXT TIME.

A red blend at J. Gilbert’s this past Thursday, and some of their amazing sourdough bread.

J. Gilbert’s special on Thursday – had to get it – grilled swordfish with red wine demi glace and chive butter on the side. Sides were grilled asparagus and a baked potato with mango salsa. I can’t get over it still!

BIG glass of Merlot at Matthew’s in Unionville, CT on Saturday. Eating a caper and salmon cake sent out complimentary by Matthew himself.

I think you can also tell that the last photos are more recent because I’ve gotten a little better with my camera! Wow, my inner arm in the above photo is also quite ghostly. Looks like I need to do some arm flipping next time I tan.

And now that I’ve dumped all my restaurant photos, maybe this will make room for more daily eats photos in addition to the restaurant photos as well! Is that something you guys would be interested in?

I also want to leave you today with one of my favorite quotes of all time that I remembered this morning:

“Sweet are the thoughts that savor content; The quiet mind is richer than a crown.” – Robert Greene

Which of the photos looks the most appetizing to you?

Do you enjoy my way of doing WIAW, aka photo dumps? Maybe I’ll do a traditional WIAW one of these days!

Have you made your #AmazingMe list yet? Don’t forget to share it with me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, the comments…sky’s the limit!

Not-So-Tea-Infused Veggie Burgers

Don’t forget to enter the Mohegan Sun giveaway for an autographed copy of Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice’s newest cookbook! If you live near the casino, you can even meet her to get your autograph. You have until tomorrow (Friday) night at 11:59PM EST.

I have a ridiculously packed, planned-in-advance calendar. I’ve actually been making a conscious effort to make LESS plans. But for now, the next couple months’ worth of weekends are chock-full of summer class, trips, and local events and outings that I’ve already scheduled, some as far back as February or March. This past Saturday evening’s girls night with Kim, for example, has been on my calendar for almost two months. Not a joke – that’s how long it took to find a Saturday night that worked for both of us! But we planned, we waited, and we (finally) cooked. It was time for another tea-infused cooking adventure with the Alice’s Tea Cup cookbook.

Oh…and vino.

This time, Kim and I decided to make the tea-infused Alice’s Veggie Burgers. The book has a recipe for both beef and veggie burgers, but the veggie variety sounded way more interesting! The tea to be used was supposed to be a variety called pu-erh, but we both had no idea what that was and Wikipedia didn’t offer any ideas for a comparative type, so we just used an earthy loose-leaf tea from Daybreak. Kim handled boiling the water in her cute tea pot and steeping the tea.

Kim probably has one of my favorite kitchens ever. I adore cooking there. And you guys know I don’t really cook.

Kitchen cuteness.

Kim finely diced some of the above garlic, along with five or six small mushrooms, and sauteed them in EVOO. I handled cracking two eggs to separate the whites (used in the burgers) from the yolks, microwaving and mashing the frozen cauliflower (awkwardly packaged in a bag that asked me to “massage” before heating and to not “penetrate” the bag in any way), and rinsing and draining the black eyed peas. I combined all of that in a bowl with sea salt and ground black pepper, instant oatmeal, the tea, and the sauteed mushrooms and garlic.

The recipe called for us to mix the above with our bare hands, but it seemed to us that this method would not produce a sticky-enough product. So, I took to the bowl’s contents with the “masher”. After a few minutes, I had a nice mushy combo that was ready for patty-forming.

Making the patties with our hands was way-fun, just like when we mixed our tea-infused berry scones with our hands!

We struggled at first to fit four patties onto the pan, but man we were getting hungry, so we managed to do it!

We had a bit of a fail when we realized the reason the patties weren’t searing on each side after six minutes, like the recipe said they would, was because we had the burner set on the lowest heat setting. We were finally cookin’ (ha) once we fixed that.

Each side got nice and crispy (burnt in some cases, but I dibsed those, I love carcinogens). We also melted some smoked cheddar on top, and Kim fixed some Alexia frozen sweet potato fries in the oven. I decided last-minute to chop up some veggies after spying some olive hummus in her fridge! I also threw arbitrary amounts of garlic powder and ground black pepper on the rest of the cauliflower so that I could mash it all together and add extra bulk to my burger.

When the burgers and fries were almost ready, we poured some Noble Vines 337 Cabernet Sauvignon that Kim’s dad picked out for us. It was a really good Cab Sauv! I often don’t prefer them because they are sometimes too light for my tastes and are more similar to Pinot Noirs. But this Cab had a Chianti-like dryness to it. Plus, a lighter red like a Cab definitely was OK for a meal with no meat involved. As soon as the wine was poured, we had to take domestic housewife pictures.

Do housewives often cook in workout gear?

Finallyyyyy everything was ready. Kim and I were chomping at the bit (didn’t even let the cheese melt on the burgers) but somehow managed to be patient enough to take a “proud table display” photo before diving in.

After taking this, we decided it was awkward to sit across from each other, and she moved next to me.

So how’d the burgers turn out? I’m not going to bother telling you the sweet potato fries were awesome – well OK, I guess I just did. Love Alexia’s frozen fries, especially with both Grey Poupon and French’s yellow mustard! Our veggie burgers didn’t taste tea-infused at ALL. We may as well have just saved the tea for drinking. I feel like the Alice’s cookbook recipe creators just threw tea in there to say the burgers were tea-infused. I’m not sure why it was included because I’m sure they tasted the burgers before selecting them for the cookbook. Maybe if we’d used the actual Pu-erh tea?

Multiply this plate by two. And the wine by three. 😉

However, the veggie burgers were amazing. They tasted so hearty and were extremely satisfying. This was my first time having black-eyed peas and I loved them! I’d definitely like to cook more with them in the future. The smoked cheddar was of a really high quality and was fun to pair with the wine (along with everything else).

Despite the presence of the aforementioned food and wine, the best part of the evening was hanging out with Kim. We shared the girliest of girl talk and watched “I Love the 90’s”. We learned new things about each other and deepened our friendship, cheesy (smoked cheddar cheesy) as it sounds. And it all happened over preparing and enjoying a meal together. It was truly an evening of enjoyment.

Have you ever cooked with black eyed peas? Any recipes to share?

What was the last girl’s night you had? Or boy’s night for my male readers 😉

Have you ever heard of and/or had pu-erh tea?

Blending at the Coventry Farmer’s Market

Check out fellow FitFluential Ambassador Tara‘s recent link-up of body weight workouts! It includes my hotel room workout 🙂 perfect for your summer vacations!

Color Me Rad Giveaway WINNERS!

Thank you those who participated in the giveaway for two free race entries to a Color Me Rad 5K! I received 38 total comment “entries”, and used a random number generator to pick the two winners:

Congratulations to Valerie and Angela! Please email me at caitplusate@gmail.com so that I can send you your promo codes to use at checkout when you are registering for your race!

Now on to today’s post…

So you may read this post’s title and say…blending? Blending what?! Blending with my best blend, Heather! She came to visit me last weekend, and we had an amazing, fun-filled Sunday. It really turned out to be a fantastic time, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that it started pouring the rain when it was time for Heather to drive back to MA. The weather knew how I was feeling!

Matching shorts/dress colors were a total coincidence!

I took my flower child (she pulls off that look!) to her favorite Glastonbury spot, and one of mine, Daybreak Coffee Roasters! Last time Heather visited she fell in love with the local cafe, so a trip to get their coffee and blog AKA what I do many weekends was at the top of her list.

She selected Southern Pecan, made in the French press!

My usual coffee with a splash of steamed skim and sprinkle of cinnamon in a big old mug! I had the Creme Brulee, mm.

After a few hours of tech time and caffeinating (that should be a real verb) ourselves, we set off to a destination I’ve been dying to show Heather, the Coventry Farmers’ Market. This is by far the best farmers’ market I’ve EVER attended – and it must have been everyone else’s best as well, because we ended up waiting in traffic for about 30 minutes on the windy one-lane road leading to the parking area! Finally we found a spot on the side of the road and walked the remaining 1/2 mile…fine with us, it was a gorgeous day. A tip to any CT residents who want to attend – it starts at 11AM, but aim to arrive by 10:45AM at the LATEST!

Matching Oakley bags from the TIU Meet-Up to carry our stuff – pure coincidence!

One of my very first blog entries was actually about the products I found during my first trip to the Coventry Farmer’s Market! How funny – last time I went I was a new blogger, and now I have all these amazing experiences and new friends under my belt as a result of starting Cait Plus Ate. Who knows where I’ll be next time I go?!

BB takes pics and the crowd lines up at the Agave cart.

We were in heaven! The market was hoppin’ – it was opening day of the season after all.

Loved the wooden signs decorating the RIPE natural drink mixers booth. Unfortunately those were the names of mixers, not actual drinks.

There were many food carts! This cart even served up a tofu roll.

Heather enjoyed a fresh fruit smoothie from Raw YouNiverse, and I enjoyed a sample of their kale chips ($10 a bag though…)

The Fish Market is there each year with the freshest of seafood.

These stuffed breads sounded to die for!

Freshly baked pastries and loafs.

Gourmet truffles and coffee.

These nice folks from Norm’s Best let me sample marinated mushrooms, jalapeno jams, and award-winning BBQ sauces.

Loved the way these jams and jellies were packaged.

Sampled some amazing maple garlic salt (yup) and maple peanut brittle here.

Beautiful bottles of oils and vinegars!

Adorable tea packaging.

I’m such a salt fan that I had to pick up a tiny jar of smoked sea salts. Any new kind of salt is a must-try in my book! Can’t wait to try this on a meat or seafood from the grill.

Beeswax candles – they smelled amazing!

I purchased one the above votive beeswax candles from Swift Farm. The man working there gave Heather and I some very interesting info on candles. I burn them every morning and evening, and usually buy them from Bath & Body Works. Those are parafin candles. Apparently they are not only the most common, but also the most HARMFUL to the air. According to the Swift Farm rep, the second-best form of candle to burn is soy, but most are NOT non-GMO. That leaves us with the best kind to burn – 100% beeswax, completely natural. And they really do smell fantastic! I’m going to “burn through” the rest of my B&BW candles, but what he had to say was interesting and I’ll have to reconsider whether or not I want to purchase any more from there in the future.

I also bought a natural lip balm from Swift Farm. The ingredient list is amazing: almond oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, comfrey oil, vitamin E oil, and rosemary & peppermint essential oils. It feels so soft on my lips, smells great, and gives a slight, satisfying peppermint tingle. Crazy though how those with nut allergies would need to avoid this lip balm. I could easily forget about the almond oil and am worried I’m going to give some to a nut-allergic friend who asks to borrow some!

Pita pizza and the fated last tabbouleh!

Last year I visited Iffat, a hilarious, friendly man who runs the Lazizah Bakery in Yantic, CT. They are famous in the state for their falafel, but don’t sell it at the farmers’ market because Iffat would have to make it in Yantic and bring it to Coventry since the fryer isn’t portable. He’d rather NOT sell a lower quality version of his most famous product than make the money he could probably make if he sold pre-made falafel. I admire that!

Iffat was just as fun as he was last year, calling Heather and I “beautiful girls”, and answering my questions about the above herbed pita, which I purchased and made into a FAB shrimp pizza for dinner a few nights later with my mom.

 There was just one case of tabbouleh left, one of Heather and I’s favorite Mediterannean foods, so we decided it was fate that we split it!

It was impossible not to take the Strawberry Salsa and Dandelion Green & Carrot Top Pesto home with me!

I had told her all about Yummy Hummy, another booth that impressed me last year. We sadly arrived too late to get the carrot & ginger hummus we’d heard would be offered (of course, it was sold out!) but there were still some unique products left that I snatched immediately – strawberry salsa and dandelion green & carrot top pesto!

Heather called this the best hummus she’s ever had – says a lot coming from someone who considers it a food group.

Heather purchased some hummus and swooned over it. Yummy Hummy is a great, humble company and they make so many unique hummus flavors! Others that I hope to find at a farmers’ market to purchase someday: spicy sesame, lemon cilantro, summer squash & curry, beets & scallions, pumpkin spice, acorn squash & black pepper, and MOJITO!

PICKLE PARTY.

Last season I purchased dill pickle chips from Christine’s Country Kitchen, so I knew I wanted to try to get different selections this time around. Plus I’ve only grown MORE adventurous with food in the last year, so it makes sense that I ended up expanding outside of my pickled horizons. Of course I selected a jar of garlic pickles first, but I followed it up with sugar-free pickled beets and sweet & spicy mustard! I’ve been rocking the pickles and beets in my salads…I still don’t think I enjoy eating beets alone, but am now at the point that I’m loving them in my salads. I’m a mustard fanatic and sampled many at this booth, but ended up choosing the sweet & spicy.

The most touching moment of the day came courtesy of Shayna B’s Gluten-Free Bakery. All their treats are also VEGAN, which was great news for Heather, who had not had the best of luck at the farmers’ market finding baked goods or any breads that fit the vegan bill.

Quinoa, bunt cakes, and strawberry tarts.

We started chatting with the owner and she was so kind and appreciative of our passion and desire for healthy, natural, wholesome food. We each received a sample of the Wendy Bites, in the bottom row of the picture below, made with fantastic vegan and gluten-free-friendly ingredients like garbanzo bean flour. A nut-free version without the almonds was even available, though I have to admit the bites I had with the almonds were the best ones 🙂 Heather decided to buy a package of Wendy Bites, and when we came up 50 cents short, they let us purchase the Wendies anyway! We couldn’t believe how kind the folks of Shayna B’s were and could tell that they really, really just wanted their treats to reach as many happy people as possible.

Fresh vegan and gluten-free granola and Wendy’s Bites.

After visiting Shayna’s we decided we’d spent enough of our life savings for one day. My bag sure was heavy!

SOOO much loot. Shoulder raisin’ it!

On our way back to the car we remembered that there were BABY ANIMALS at the market that day! We passed them at the entrance and stopped for some playtime.

Making the same face as this llama, inadvertently.

The kind of picture that could get me on a most wanted list.

Self-taken Caitlin and a llama photo fail.

I wanted to take him home with me!

Just a goat on a leash!

He kept trying to eat my shorts!

He really wanted to eat my Forever21 rose ring!

A little more success taking self-taken photos with the goat.

See, I’ve been known to rock the poses with farm animals before. Behold, my last trip to the Central Park Petting Zoo…

Come on alpaca, didn’t you get the kissy face memo?

Photo-bombing this sheep pic.

After I was done making a fool of myself, we walked back to the car and went to West Hartford’s quaint Blueback Square, another CT gem I wanted Heather to visit, to meet up with our girl Jenny. I met her through Heather and am so grateful – she rocks and we’ve already become fast friends.

We snagged iced tea from the Green Tea House and took it outside to enjoy the last rays of sunshine before the impending downpour.

The blend I selected – not as good as the Banana Split/Monkey’s Chocolate combo from last time!

So fabulous to chat and sip with these girls. Great end to the day – actually, the day ended with Heather and I literally jumping into my car and closing the sunroof right as the downpour began, but you know. Good friends, good timing.

Babes in Blueback.

After Heather (sadly) departed, I laid out my farmers’ market finds and immediately started planning how I’d incorporate some into that evening’s dinner.

I topped a leftover salmon burger with the strawberry salsa, and my mom roasted up the zucchini and squash (I got a ton for just $3.50). OMG! An amazing, amazing meal. I was in heaven the whole time.

Capped off with a glass of rioja. Also had a turkey burger and beans.

What’s the best find you’ve gotten at a farmers’ market?

Farm animals…love ’em or hate ’em?

CT Veg Fest 2012!

Can you believe Connecticut didn’t have a vegetarian and healthy living festival of some kind in the Hartford area until this year? Me neither! Although if you’d asked me a few years ago, I probably would have scoffed at the idea of attending such an event.

Source

Luckily my eyes have been opened to the wonderful world of my adventurarian lifestyle 😉 and even though I am not vegetarian or vegan, I still enjoy reading about other eating “lifestyles” and trying vegetarian and vegan foods. They are just as delicious as the rest! No bias here. After all, that’s what being adventurarian is all about. And that’s why I was beyond excited to attend the 1st Annual CT Vegetarian and Healthy Living Festival this past Sunday!

Registration and donation area.

Entry was free, but monetary or non-perishable food donations were encouraged, and it looked like a great turnout for both. I think that ideas for healthy living should be accessible for all, so Veg Fest organizers hit the nail on the head by making the donations optional. I donated money because I am able to do so, but those who cannot should still be able to attend something like this and learn about the options they have!

Erika, Bethany, and I.

I started out the event solo, but ended up meeting up with my blend Bethany and her sweet cousin Erica after they got out of the sessions they were attending when I arrived. Erica was awesome and even knows Jenn of She’s a Fit Chick, who was one of the first bloggers I ever discovered and is also an original founder of FitFluential! Small world.

I knew I was in the right place (the CT Convention Center in Hartford, to be precise) when I walked in, looked to my right, and saw this guy grinding out fresh wheatgrass shots!

I didn’t even know CT grew chickpeas!

I am not a huge beauty product hoarder (lucky for me, though I do hoard plenty of magazines about them) so I didn’t spend too many time at the all-natural beauty product booths, but there were plenty of them.

Soaps from CT Natural Soapworks.

Tower of yummy Fanciful Fox soap flavors.

The mother and daughter duo working this booth were handing out free soap “scraps”, so I got a piece of the green bar above, called Wise Guy.

Soap doubling as a centerpiece?! Gorgeous!

Loofahpalooza!

Just one variety of product offered by Hartford-based company Soul Purpose.

The small part of me that doesn’t have to be practical ALL the time paid $1 for one of the blue crystals below. The girl at the booth had so much faith in their ability to absorb only positive energy – I guess this specific kind is often used to clear negative energy from other crystals, that’s how many “good vibes” it carries. So I figured, why the heck not?! I tucked it into a pocket in my purse and have been carrying it with me since.

Erica, Bethany, and I also got to enjoy a free yoga class – they were running every hour on the hour! I had gone to Step that morning and my quads were sore from doing leg-heavy workouts the couple days before that, so the yoga felt good, and it was another great way to give free access to an activity that many may have been unfamiliar with, averse to trying, or doubtful of. Yay yoga!

Lots of speakers and cooking demos going on too, including a Smoothie Workshop for kiddos!

Whole Foods kids smoothie demo.

Now, let’s get to the products! I love that this event gave so many passionate vendors the chance to get the word out about the foods they have worked so hard to create. All that many of them want is shelf space at a grocery store – it seems like little to ask for, but shelf space is actually VERY scarce with all the big corporations out there (and their big wallets) – getting even a little bit of shelf space is a BIG deal. If you ever attend one of these kinds of events and try a product you love, suggest to your grocery store that they start carrying it – it often takes the voice of the people to convince a store that they should stock a product, because of course they exist to make money, and want to be positive it will sell.

I don’t use dressings on my salads at home (I find that I really don’t need it at all, since my beasts include about 10-15 ingredients on average, many liquid-based, and “marinate” in my fridge overnight) but if I did, I’d be all about purchasing one of the above bottles of Wholesome Creations salad dressings. The green tea and ginger dressing on a cup of greens blew me away.

Mama Micki’s was sold out of all three varieties of their vegan cookies by noon – a good sign for this all-natural bakery that is trying to get into stores! I sampled all three varieties – molasses, chocolate orange walnut, and oatmeal raisin sunflower seed (pictured above). I’m a sucker for a good molasses cookie, but have to declare the chocolate orange walnut the winner for its unique, complex flavor.

Soya Foods of MA had a generous amount of flavors of their Creative Chef Tofettis for patrons to sample – all of these are made with non-GMO soybeans!

I tried BBQ, Brazilian, Hot & Spicy, Lemon Garlic, Jamaican Jerk, Teriyaki, and a faux “chicken nugget” as well (not pictured).

Seitan is a meat substitute I’d never had and I loved how it perfectly mimicked the texture and taste of ground beef. Upton’s Naturals of Chicago offered traditional, chorizo, and Italian varieties. I tried all three and especially loved the chorizo – it would go great in tacos or atop a big pile of nachos.

Bethany and I totally adored these Kathy’s Kitchen SuperSeedz. Kathy and her partner had plenty of flavors of these pumpkin seeds on hand, as you can see from the sign above!

I sampled Original Curry, Coco Joe, and Cinnamon & Sugar. The Original Curry flavored seeds were awesome and the chocolate-y coffee flavor of the Coco Joe was perfectly balanced. The Cinnamon & Sugar were good (can’t go wrong with that combo) but not nearly as remarkable as the first two flavors.

Local chip-makers Pan de Oro of Hartford (I sent a bag to Diana for foodie pen pals this month) partnered up with Good Neighbors of NH (love that) and provided a carb-tastic vehicle for sampling of salsas, salads, and hummus.

I’ve bought Good Neighbors black bean spread before at Whole Foods and it was awesome. I didn’t know they sold falafel too – or as they call them, veggie burgers? Check out the cute snack pack offerings as well!

Love me some tabouli! I may be one of the few bloggers who can take or leave quinoa but it was still tasty. And LOTS of salsa choices, hand it over!

Oh geez, where do I begin?! I wish I hadn’t downed my hummus samples so quickly because I honestly didn’t taste a  huge difference between the flavors I tried (cilantro jalapeno, spicy chipotle, a couple others I can’t recall). However, the flavor I tasted was certainly delightful.

CT Veg Fest = free lunch!

One of MANY courses.

Check out this nifty magnet Bethany snagged for me from a booth! I notice the Splenda I use at home isn’t on there, oops, haha…

One of my favorite products of the day came from The Olive Oil Factory of Waterbury. Gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegar seem to be “all the rage” now, and I’m certainly glad because that means more and more unique varieties are coming out.

I opted to receive my samples on vegan brown rice bread in the spirit of Veg Fest, but a non-vegan bread was also available. I started with the below chocolate balsamic – it blew me away! Holy crap. I just wanted to drizzle it (or pour it…) over a mound of fresh strawberries.

I also tried blueberry, lime, and peach balsamic. All were so, so fantastic. The blueberry balsamic drizzled on a scone or muffin would seriously be the perfect weekend breakfast.

Another favorite of the day? Boston-based Biena Snacks Roasted Chickpeas! These have plain-Greek-yogurt-mix-in written ALL over them.

The Sea Salt flavor was good but compared to the other two, Lime & Chili and Cinnamon Maple, it was just blah. That’s because the other two flavors were so amazing! I’ve always wanted to try roasted chickpeas and am glad I finally was able to.

Pan de Oro had their own booth of course, but by the time I got there they had run out of all their new varieties of chips (I missed out on the GARLIC!!!). I still wasted no time in sampling the original flavor. Erica had stopped by earlier than me and purchased two bags of the garlic chips!

They were kind enough to sell their chips at a discounted price at the event (many vendors were doing this).

The Simply Bar is probably the most impressive bar I’ve ever seen, from a nutritional stats standpoint. I tried the Cocoa Coffee, which contains real caffeine, and enjoyed its taste as well! These bars are VERY low in sugar and saturated fat, unlike most bars I’ve seen, which remind me of candy bars.

Being a long-time blog reader, I’ve seen Sun Warrior and Vega proteins all over the place. I’ve never been that interested in protein powder though, so have never bought any. Perfect opportunity to sample some – expertly prepared by VeganProteins.com!

I liked the vanilla Sun Warrior protein shake! The desire to drink any more than a few sips, though, was not there.

And I had no desire to drink another sip again of the chocolate Vega protein shake. Sorry – not for me! However, I know that protein powders are something that is enjoyed by many a blogger and blog reader, and it’s great that there are so many vegan options. My twin Heather is a huge Vega fan and uses their powder to make protein pudding oats almost every day!

The Taza chocolate above had an amazing flavor different from any chocolate I’ve ever tried, because it is made from stone-ground cacao nibs. Due to the manufacturing process, the cacao nibs are not completely ground up, which leaves a lot of the cacao flavor in the bars. It’s very complex and hearty.

And check out all the benefits of Chocholistic chocolate! Its creator is Kenzie Harrick, a Certified Health Counselor with a sweet tooth and a passion for healthy eats. Those two things drove her to create “the only chocolate that you can eat every day that will improve your health while you eat it”. Like the Taza, the complex, rich flavor left me feeling very satisfied. I’d take this stuff over a regular candy bar any day (even a Twix!)

Cedar’s is the hummus brand of choice in my house and they passed out a ton of these nifty snack packs! Can’t wait to munch on mine.

Coconut butter is another product that’s been very popular in the blog world, but I hadn’t been able to try it until now. Nature’s Approved had the great idea of serving it up with a dallop of chocolate atop a graham cracker – just as good as any s’more! Well OK, maybe not, because there’s nothing like a charred-to-a-crisp marshmallow. But this was darn close.

Of course Vitamix was there, because it’s not a food event without Vitamix!!

I sampled a handful of freeze-dried corn from Raw Foods Central. It was really good – nice and sweet. I wonder how the peas would taste!

Litchfield based Boxed Goodes Pantry served their herb dips with fresh-cut bread. Not only did they taste delicious, but the packaging was so gorgeous and colorful. A set of jars in a kitchen filled with these herbs would really brighten up the place.

What a FUN event! Bethany and I are heading to Wesleyan University this weekend to attend 2012 Foodstock next. Loving all these FOODIE conferences!

Clearly we were prepared to get our yoga on!

Have you ever been to a vegetarian and/or healthy living festival?

Have you ever tried any of the products I sampled?

Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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