May 2012

Foodie Pen Pals

May 31, 2012

Every month I get so excited about what will be in my Foodie Pen Pals box. It feels like a present, full of things I know I am going to love. This month was a box filled with Trader Joe’s goodies. All things I had never tried! Amazing considering how much I love shopping there.

 

May Foodie Pen Pals (2 of 3)

 

 

This flower pepper is so fun! Such a unique flavor that adds that certain something to a dish.

Larabar (3 of 3)

My Foodie Pen Pal this month was Talia from Bite Size Wellness. All about healthy living, I love her pampering tips. She sent an awesome package! Thanks Talia.

 

Want to join Foodie Pen Pals?

1. On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to promptly contact your penpal for a  mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.  (This means you need to send out an email within 72 hours to make contact!!!) Please be mindful of your matches dietary restrictions if they have them. ie, if they’re gluten free, don’t send them wheat bread…or if they’re vegan, don’t send them bacon…it’s also nice to ask if there’s anything they really don’t like, so that you’re not sending them a package full of coconut stuff if they hate coconut…Consider asking your match if they would like to receive healthy snacks, treats or a mix of both.

2. You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. This will ensure everyone receives their goodies in time to post about them. PLEASE make sure you get your box in the mail on time. Feel free to mail it earlier if you can. It sucks if someone can’t post on the day everyone else does because they haven’t gotten their box yet.

3. On the last day of the month you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!  I will also hold a linkup party on my blog so that everyone can add the links to their posts and they’ll all be in one spot, making it easy for you to hop around and check out what other people got! Feel free to write your post as soon as your get your goodies if you want, just don’t publish it until the end of the month.

4. The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15.

5. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

6. You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (US participants- Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!) If you’re mailing something breakable, please make sure it is well cushioned to avoid breaking!

7.  If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for the blogger to feature on their blog to show off what they sent you.

8. If two readers get paired together, no one has to worry about writing a post :) Just enjoy your goodies.

9. BE SURE TO THANK YOUR PENPAL FOR ALL OF THEIR THOUGHT & EFFORT!  Seriously, this should be a no brainer but you’d be surprised how many people I hear complaining that their penpal never even said thank you or even let them know they got their box.

10. If you’re on twitter, you can use the hashtag #foodiepenpals when tweeting! Tweet up a storm, friends. Don’t forget the "s" on the end- #foodiepenpals, not #foodiepenpal.

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Last Thursday night Scott and I had a date at Swirl to have an exclusive tasting with the winemakers of Familigia Meschni wines. They live in the Twin Cities and have their winery in Argentina, all of the wine they produce there is shipped to Minnesota, a bit in Massachusetts and Missouri. Those are the only place you  can find it. With no formal training, a husband and wife team set to recreate a childhood dream. Eugenio, of Italian descent, grew-up with his grandfather and father in the wine making industry and ended up owning a winery in Argentina after moving to Minnesota. Such a wonderful story. A charming, funny, real couples who has just a few rules:

 

  1. Make wine in small quantities
  2. They would drink a whole bottle of whatever they make themselves (I love this rule!)

 

 

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We tasted 6 unique wines:

 

The Whites

Premium Unoaked Chardonnay ($14.99), a balanced Chardonnay that has notes of apples, pears, honeydew melon and mandarin orange peel. They only made 850 cases of this wine so you can tell just how dedicated to quality they are.

 

Premium Sauvignon Blanc ($14.99), a wine that an an amazing nose and was very crisp. I don’t love Sauvignon Blanc but this had minerality and citrus

 

Premium Torrontes ($14.99), a Torrontes like no other. A tiny bit bubbly, notes of peach, flowers & apricot and perfect with spicy foods. I love love love this wine, as they referred to a “patio pounder”. I blogged about my love of the Torrontes last year because I came across a bottle on sale and I am sucker for a cool looking (and orange!) bottle. If you are ever in any of the states they sell this, come to visit me, or I come to visit you I promise to bring this wine.

 

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The Reds

Premium Malbec ($14.99), a beautiful garnet color, and just an easy drinking malbec. Sometimes a simple description is best.

 

Premium Malbec Syrah, I love this so much I might stock pile bottles of this. A strong berry and floral bouquet and a great wine to pair with grilled or braised meats.

 

Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva ($19.99), the Reserva, the best was saved for last, a red wine that bites and a full of blackberry and black currant. A wanted to linger with this glass and take spend the night discussing life and love with the winemakers.

 

 

A perfect Thursday evening and even better was they they were down to earth, real wine drinkers who just want to share their passion for wine.

 

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Avid reader is definitely a term I would use to describe myself, I tend to read a  book or two a week and page through at least a few magazines. I somehow ended up with a Better Homes and Gardens subscription and I at least flip through it every month, I love the decorating ideas and that have great recipes.

 

I came across a recipe for Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Glazed Date Sauce and knew I needed to make this. Chicken, prosciutto, balsamic, dates, cheese. What is not to love. All ready in 30 minutes and it was a perfect weeknight dinner.

 

If I could have bottled this sauce I would have, it would be so good on pork, swordfish, steak… I could go on and on about it.

 

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken

by A Fit and Spicy Life

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Keywords: chicken

 

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1/2 package of Boursin cheese
  • 1 oz package of prosciutto
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup medjol dates, chopped
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 cup water

Instructions

Cut chicken in half, they will become chicken strips.

Place a piece of cheese on each piece of chicken and wrap the prosciutto around the chicken so the chicken is fully covered on both sides.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook chicken cheese side up and cook 4-5 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet and place on a plate.

Add dates, vinegar, water to the skillet. Cook 5-7 minutes until the sauce reduces and becomes thick and syrupy.

Spoon over the chicken.

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Balsamic Date Chicken (3 of 3)

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Edition IV of a few of my favorite things, a random mix of some of the things I have been loving lately.

 

My love of cleaning is a well known fact, and my Mom is about 10x more of a clean freak than I am, so I was excited to tell her about microfiber cleaning clothes. No more paper towels to clean and I feel like these scrub, dust, clean glass, and just work better than old t-shirts. $10 for a 4 pack, they are washable (just don’t use fabric softener with them). These are from Target and I bought 2 sets, one for living area and kitchen cleaning and the others for bathrooms. I am not going back to paper towels for cleaning!

 

Evercare Pastel Microfiber Cleaning Cloths 4-pk.

 

Birchbox. Love this! There is something so fun about trying new products in sample sizes to figure out what you like/don’t like and what you might consider buying a full size of. $10 a month and it is full of bigger than normal sample sizes of products and it varies every month. I received a 3 month gift subscription from a family member and I know I will continue this. The May box was my first and the Stila Blue Glitter liquid eyeliner has garnered quite a few compliments.

 

This Month's Box

 

 

 

SkinnyCow Swirled Ice Cream Sandwiches

 

So good! A lower calorie ice cream sandwich that is so delicious. Love these! Scott has enjoyed them quite a bit too. They are slimited edition (I had to put that in there, it made me laugh. Yes, I am a big dork!)

 

 

 

Something I really want to try? A beer mimosa. It sounds so interesting and I think it would be really good. I got a random email with a recipe I thought I would share:

 

BOHEMIA MIMOSA by Chef Rick Bayless

Ingredients:

¾ cup (1/2 bottle) Bohemia Beer, very cold

½ cup (4 ounces) fresh squeezed orange juice, very cold

Orange slices for garnish

Instructions:

1.) Pour beer into a wine glass. Top with orange juice. Stir gently. Garnish with a small orange slice.

 

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Pom Pomegranate Lychee Green Tea

 

Slightly sweet, a bit tart, and so addicting. I may or may not have made a drink with this with vodka, and lychee’s that I found in the Asian aisle. It was delicious.

 

 

Anything new you have found and want to share? I love great products.

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Jake’s City Grill

May 26, 2012

Since the Twin Cities are really spread out, I often end up picking halfway spots to meet friends for happy hour. Jake’s was my latest visit for happy hour with my friend Bobby, we both were coming from completely opposite ends of the metro and picked Eagan to meet up. Catching up over Jake’s Amber [...]

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Fitness Friday: A Typical Workout Week

May 25, 2012

Fitness and working out is just part of who I am, every week I try to get 3-5 workouts in a week regardless of where I am. If I am home and have a less busy week I have no issues getting in 5 but add in life and work/social commitments and 3 can be [...]

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Flank Steak with Balsamic Mushrooms

May 24, 2012

The few times I have been out for a fancy dinner at a steakhouse I have always ordered mushrooms to go along with my perfectly cooked medium rare steak. Delicious flavorful mushrooms that I am sure were cooked with loads of butter, I figured I could make them a little bit healthier.   I started [...]

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Whiskey Wednesday: 2 Gingers

May 23, 2012

No Wine Wednesday this week but all about Whiskey instead. Delicious whiskey to drink straight or mix with my personal favorite, Ginger Ale. It just so happens the Twin Cities have a great new whiskey. Made by the former owner of The Local, a fantastic Irish pub in Minneapolis. He knows his whiskey.   Distilled [...]

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3 Going on 4 and a Giveaway

May 22, 2012

It is hard to believe that my little blog is going on 4. I started A Fit and Spicy Life in May 2009. Hard to believe it has been that long! With a blog post written pretty much everyday. Crazy! The many many hours spent cooking, working out, trying new wines and traveling all in [...]

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Couscous Currant Salad

May 21, 2012

A quick and easy salad, great warm or cold, and even better the next day when it has had a chance to sit and soak up all the flavors. A bit spicy, a hint of sweetness and packed full of flavor. I came across whole wheat couscous at Super Target and thought it would make [...]

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