Wow factor

You know I wouldn’t return to Davis without a trip to my parents’ Whole Foods right??

So obviously I grabbed the essentials – bulk organic decaf coffee, lemonade kombucha, and my favorite 9  grain kale salad.  I just realized I said this exact same thing two weeks ago when I was last there.  😛

I added candied pecans back at home and had two big bowls full.  I bought enough for another day’s lunch although in reality I wish I could have it every day this week.  It has all kinds of grains – rice, farro, lentils, etc. and almost as many slivered almonds.  I dream about it when I know we are heading to the East Bay.  And then every time we leave to come back to Davis I get sad all over again that we don’t have a WF anymore.  You’d think I’d be over it by now, but I’m not.  I’m really not.  Food is so important to me, I just can’t believe I live in a city that doesn’t have a Whole Foods!!!

We made good time back considering we stopped half way for back to school shopping for P.  It’s still VERY much summer in Davis, but we had the time and the outlets are on the way, so why not get some new Fall clothes for him in advance?  He has been rocking the same pants for a couple of years but is finally outgrowing things.  😉

Anyway, I made lunch for the kids and Kyle and then was very happy to have a box of yum from the salad bar ready to dig in to.

Thanks to my prepping last week, dinner was already done, too.

I had Kyle grill this flank steak on Thursday night and then packaged it up for later.

The recipe is from the True Roots cookbook.

Kyle’s afternoon snack: nectarines, mozzarella, balsamic glaze

BTW!  I started to update my site and make it more organized and pretty (and easier to navigate).  I have a search bar on my home page, but it’s not the best and I often have a hard time finding my own recipes on the site, so I can only imagine how impossible it is for anyone else.  NO MORE (I hope!?).  Although I’m not tech savvy or important enough to have a fancy recipe index, the new tab will at least allow you to see a photo of the recipe with a link to the post.  Go check it out if you want.

I also updated some pictures of me, because, well, I’m not 25 anymore.  😉

OK, back to the show.

Sunday.

With the dressing and steak already done, all I needed to do was slice oranges and assemble everything.

I almost forgot the almonds!  And then everyone was seated so instead of chopping them (like the recipe calls for), I just added the whole.  It was okay, but finely chopped nuts may have been nicer.

It was fine, but didn’t really “wow” any of us.  Well, that’s not true, the kids were very into it.  They love steak so it’s an easy sell, but I was also surprised (again) at how V liked the lettuce portion of the meal.  So now my theory is that as long as greens are well dressed she’s on board (the exception being the chard and kale she picks and eats straight from the garden).

The adults, however, were meh on the meal.  It was good, but needed something else to be cookbook worthy.  Kyle said I make better salads on the fly.  So there you go.

The good news is that it meant I had plenty of room for dessert.   TCHO was my “wow” factor.  Chocolate and TV…almost made me ready for the week to begin.  Who is watching Orange is the New Black?

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Comments (5)

  1. Tasha Neisz

    Hi Elise! I love caprese salads (especially with nectarine right now) but can never replicate the balsamic glaze at home that I get in restaurants. You could say I am at the intermediate level in the kitchen at best! Do you make your own balsamic glaze or can you buy it? Also, I bought the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook and asked for an IP for Christmas after reading your blog. I LOVE them both! Thanks for the great recommendations!

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  3. Elise (Post author)

    Yay! I have heard it is super easy to make your own glaze but have never tried 🙁
    I use the Trader Joe’s one, which is delicious. It has a couple ingreds that make me not want to use it every day – caramel coloring and modified food starch (??), but it’s inexpensive and great for the infrequent nature of the seasonal caprese salads. If you find a better one let me know!

  4. Ttrockwood

    I looked again for this salad at my whole foods and they totally don’t have it! ;( Maybe it’s unique to ca…?
    And i’ve made basalmic glaze but wouldn’t do it again! As it boils the entire freaking place smells like vinegar for-ev-er, and make your eyes water if you get close! It turned out great but , it’s One of the rare better off buying it condiments

  5. Elise (Post author)

    NOTED!
    Also, I think that salad is actually unique to just that specific area of WFs because last time I noticed it was outsourced from a company and then looked it up on my own and it was located in Richmond so it must just be a local connection that they have.

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