Hello, hello! Hope your Friday night is going well!
This afternoon, I did about an hour of grading for my online classes, and then Ryan and I headed out to run a few errands. We stopped by Pet Co. to get Baxter a fancy new collar…and had a little too much fun at the treats bar…whoops! We also oohed and ahhed over some kittens that were up for adoption…I want one so badly!!! Because that’s what we need around here—more animals.
After Pet Co., we headed to Barnes and Noble where I somehow found a new vegan cookbook: Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food, by Alicia Simpson…which begs the question: what’s wrong with me?!? I can’t stop buying cookbooks! I also got a very comprehensive book about juicing! I’m really excited to try some of the recipes in the book…and some of my own creation, of course! We stopped by the grocery store on the way home so that I could pick up some juicing essentials for the weekend!
When we got home, it was 6:30 (where did the day go?!?), so we got started on dinner.
A SUPER fancy dinner, that is!
Tonight, we had nothing going on, so we decided to cook a nice meal and put all of our new wedding gifts to use!
This meal was “fancy,” but it was actually super easy to put together…with the help of our Cuisinart, this meal came together in no time!
First, I made an Olive Tapenade:
1 cup of olives
3/4 cup of sundried tomatoes
1 cup of parsley
Combine in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
Then, I made a Basil Tofu Ricotta:
Ingredients
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 package extra firm Nasoya tofu
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves (you can use more or less, depending on how strong of a basil flavor you want)
1/2 tsp. salt (again, use more or less according to personal taste)
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
Directions
In a small sautee pan, warm the olive oil. Cook the onions and garlic for 8-10 minutes, until they are translucent.
In a food processor, combine tofu, basil, salt, nutritional yeast, lemon zest, onions, and garlic. Pulse until smooth. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
It turns such a pretty shade of green!
And that was that! We boiled some whole wheat Ezekial pasta, and dinner was served!
Our fancy table setting included our new crystal, china, and silver!
Our silver was a very generous wedding gift from my grandmother:
It’s the Marlborough pattern, by Reed and Barton. It was first made in 1906! My mom and my sister both have the same pattern, which makes it even more special.
Here’s our new china:
The gold-rimmed dinner plate is the china we registered for. The yellow bread plate is from a half-completed set that my parents got when they were first married. They never completed it into a full set, so when we were home for Christmas, my mom asked me if I wanted it. It’s basically just been taking up cabinet space for the past thirty years, and look how pretty it is:
And it actually goes really well with the china we got from our own registry!
I love our china…it’s pretty simple: just a single gold band:
We enjoyed our monogrammed napkins again:
I know some people think that registering for things like crystal and fine china is outdated and a waste…but it’s only a waste if you never use it, right? I say, register for what you want, whether it’s fine china, luggage, vacations, or charity donations! We had two friends who asked only for donations to Heifer International for their wedding, and I thought that was such a unique, special idea. To each his (and her!) own!
But enough about the wedding gifts…onto the important stuff: the food!
We tossed the fettuccini with the olive tapenade:
…and served the tofu ricotta on the side:
Wine was poured:
and pasta was enjoyed!
Truly delicious!
After dinner I made a delicious single-serving of vanilla chia pudding. Sorry, no pictures—I had already put my camera away for the night! I promise, I’ll make it again and take pics!
Now we’re snuggled up on the couch watching Glee—we just got the first season on Netflix! I’m so excited—I’ve been wanting to watch this show forever! We’re already two episodes in, and I LOVE it! I can tell that this show is going to be one of my new obsessions. It will give me something to do until Mad Men returns, because after all…at its core, my heart belongs to Don Draper.
Good night! Hope your weekend is off to a great start!
kbwood said,
January 23, 2010 @ 5:42 am
oh my goodness-gourmet dinner! love it!!
BEAUTIFUL eating plates!!
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) said,
January 23, 2010 @ 6:11 am
your china is beautiful as is your food & recipes. wow.
Friday nite dinner for most young newlyweds = paper plates, hot dogs, and a case of Bud. Not in your house, clearly
Anna said,
January 23, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
DOn’t worry– we have those nights, too! Well, with veggie dogs
And no…no Bud. Gave that stuff up after college
Karla said,
January 23, 2010 @ 11:27 am
Your table setting is so beautiful! I love it! What a lovely dinner!
I would buy a million cookbooks if I could too! Sadly I can’t really afford to, nor do I have the storage space!
In other news… OMG I LOVE MAD MEN!
Anna said,
January 23, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
It’s SO, SO, good, right?!?!
Heather said,
January 23, 2010 @ 12:20 pm
oo fancy dinner indeed! I wasn’t expecting to like Glee, don’t even know why I watched it for the first time–and I fell in love–so good!!
Estela @ Weekly Bite said,
January 23, 2010 @ 1:42 pm
What a lovely evening!! Beautiful china!!
I have a cookbook addiction too! I can’t stop buying them either
greensandjeans said,
January 23, 2010 @ 1:57 pm
How have you waited this long to watch Glee???!!! Your china is beautiful, I love the yellow set from your mom. I have a little bit of a cookbook problem too, but I try to keep it under control by frequenting the library!
Ginger said,
January 23, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
SO GLAD you’re using all your pretty new things!! I can’t believe how the Morning Glory pattern goes with your new china – who would have thought? We watched Tender Mercies last night, and I loved it, again!! I had forgotten how good it is – so sweet, and Robert Duvall is wonderful. Put that on your Netflix list.
Gabriela said,
January 23, 2010 @ 2:17 pm
That looks like such a delicious vegetarian FEAST! I’d love to try both. And your china and flatware is so beautiful…you’re right, as long as you use it it’s a great thing to have!
Kat said,
January 23, 2010 @ 3:33 pm
Looks great! I’m going to have to try that olive tapenade sometime.
Heather (Where's the Beach) said,
January 23, 2010 @ 3:41 pm
I’m addicted to buying cookbooks too. I feel a bit out of control. On top of that, I keep actively seeking out new recipes online as well. Your dinner sounds great! Another new recipe for me to try too!! LOL
kilax said,
January 23, 2010 @ 6:24 pm
What a GORGEOUS dinner! You inspire me! We did not get china, because we would not use it, but like you said – register for what you want!
We have been using everything we got. Except that juicer. HA HA HA!
I never wanted cookbooks so bad until I became vegan! Now I love to look at ideas! I really want to make Silverstone’s Saffron Couscous. We might make it tonight. Yay!