I have so much to share with you guys, but with the kids being home for summer I have been busier than ever!  Here is a little something 'spesial' to hold you over till I get back to typing...  :o)

Happy Wednesday!

So after my Whole 30 venture I have been a little more concerned about what goes in my body....but with that being said I'm not a super freak -- yet.  :o)  I still LOVE dessert and salty things, I'm just being a little more cautious about what is giong in, especially since I'm trying to become a runner (when does the switch actually flip and one owns it and says "I am a runner"?  I'm still waiting for that day).   So one day about a month ago I was searching for a better alternative to my typical type dessert, Texas Sheet Cake, when I ran across this Martha Stewart recipe and thought I would give it a whirl!  I adapted it just a tad and I am pleased to announce that it is a winner in my book!  Even the kids love these, but really, who wouldn't?

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup natural peanut butter, almond butter or sun butter  (I've tried it with all flavors and peanut is our family favorite, even though they are all good!)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup dried cranberries, cherries or other dried fruit you love  :o)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I use dark)

In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, nut butter of choice, and coconut oil. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cereal, oats, and dried fruit.  Let sit for about 5-10 minutes and add chocolate chips.

I used a small melon baller to drop the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper the first time, then I made bars the second time and the third time I used mini muffin tins which is what Martha suggested in the first place.  I totally should have listened to her because that was the best way to do it. 

Once you pick which way you are going to drop them, pop them in the fridge for about 15 minutes to let them firm up a bit....actually, just leave them in the fridge and when you need a littel something just pop one in your mouth.

Round 1
Just dropping them with a melon baller.
I couldn't decide which picture I like better, so I'm showing you both of them.  :o)

Round 2
I made them into bars.
They are not stiff enough to make bars out of.
They fall apart when you cut them, but aren't they pretty?
Bars win for beauty.

Round 3
Winner, winner chicken dinner!
The little muffin tins were the best way to go!

Happy eating!

What the WHAT, WHAT?!
That's an oxymoron if I have ever heard one!

BUT.....aren't they things of beauty?
I mean look at them....beautifully browned pancakes.
It really makes you think you are going to be munching down on some pretty tasty gluten.

But don't be fooled, this is NOT a pancake; just eggs & bananas in pancake clothing.
Before serving to my family I made sure to warn them:
"These are not pancakes.  The texture is different.  Don't expect to bite into a pancake, but just know they are good."
(My family knows if I don't approve of something it doesn't make it to the table - and with this new Paleo venture several things have not made the cut...)

I was nervous. I watched as they all took their first bite. 
Hubby wasn't thrilled, but continued eating.
BUT THE KIDS.....the kids GOBBLED them up and ask for more!
WHAT?!?
True story. 
GOBBLED.THEM.UP!
They didn't even use syrup.
Ate them straight.
Ahhh, that warms this mom's heart.

Super hard recipe:
8 eggs
4 bananas

Toss in a blender and blend till the bananas are total mush.

Fry in coconut oil -  just like normal pancakes.

Top with Almond butter.

You're welcome. :O)

I drooled a little while typing the title - seriously - I should take  a picture of my shirt to show you, but I'm not going to because that is just gross.  Now I'm having some for breakfast - sweet potato soup, not drool. 

I made this recipe because Boy 3 had his tonsils taken out last week and there was no way I was going to let him live on popsicles alone for 2 weeks like his ENT suggested - because if one is eating popsicles, all are eating popsicles and since I don't do those high fructose corn syrup sticks anymore and 'good' popsicles are hard to find and when you do find they are super expensive and one can only make so many popsicles at a time with the limited resources one has....well, you see I could go on and on.....

Just make the soup, it will TOTALLY be worth it with or without tonsils.
And it will take you less than 30 minutes start to finish.

What you will need:
2 TBL coconut oil
1 small onion - diced
2 celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
4 medium size sweet potatoes - peeled and cut up  (I used 2 raw, and 2 that I had previously baked) 
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 can coconut milk
A big pot
A pink plastic spatula for mixing
A stove top
An immersion blender

Melt coconut oil in the 'big pot' and toss in onions, celery and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, raw diced sweet potatoes,  cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are nice and mushy.  (This is where I added my already cooked sweet potatoes.)

Remove pot from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth (If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a blender).  Put soup back on the stovetop on low heat and add coconut milk and mix with pink spatula until nice and creamy.

Put soup back on the stovetop on low heat -  add coconut milk and mix with pink spatula until nice and creamy.

Yes, breakfast.

Thank you Jan over at Jan's Sushi Bar for this FANTASTIC recipe! 
This recipe is Whole 30 compliant and knocks it out of the ballpark! 

From a local pizza joint.
I like their slogan.

Seriously, I'm rolling.

Sometimes we just have WAY too much fun!
Kelly (blue shirt) was our fearless leader for this lunch bunch.

She took us to what I thought was called Campkah.  I mean look at the sign below.  Wouldn't you think that is the name of the place?  But no - if you do a search you will realized that the real name is Samarikant.  If that isn't confusing enough for this North Texas girl....the food is Uzbek.  Really?  I thought it was Russian.  I had to Google Uzbekistan.  I'm sorry if that just made me look less intelligent, but really, I am lost.  SO what I have learned is that Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, south of Russia. It shares most of its borders with Kazakhstan.Uzbekistan is in Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan.  Are we clear now?  That is the food I ate on this day.  I'm still not sure of everything I ate, but I was VERY happy with the end result.  Oh and Kelly used to live in Mongolia....that is why she picked this restaurant.  (WHAT?!?!)

To my delight they had amazing Russian vodka at super low prices!!  The bottles were only 10,000 won each.  Of course since we were here we had to partake in Russian/Uzbek (still super confused) tradition and share a bottle.  We also tried the beer.  I like how they number their beers.  9, 7, 6 & 3.  3, a lager was my favorite.  One of those was a dark beer which I tried and liked & was totally shocked that I liked it because on a normal day I do not like dark beer.  Maybe it was the vodka?

After the vodka we considered smoking the hookah pipe, (you know - when in Rome, or Russia or Uzbekistan...) but in the end decided against it and we just forced Kelly to pose for a picture.  :o)

I'm not really sure what all the foods are in the next pictures, but I can tell you that as I am writing and looking at these pictures my mouth is watering.  The food really was delicious.  Most of the food items have lamb in them, but if you don't know what you are eating you will devour it and not even know you just ate lamb...just ask the 2 girls at the table that "don't eat lamb".  They had no idea and only freaked out AFTER we told them what they ate. 

I do have to make a special mention about the kababs.  HOLY GOODNESS.  Best kebabs I have ever eaten!  We ordered lamb and chicken.  I thought the lamb was good...totally tender,amazing flavor and just totally goodness all the way around.   BUT THEN I tried the chicken kebabs.....totally blew the lamb kebabs OUT OF THE WATER!  They were so moist that the juice would squirt out as you took a bite.  They were tender, juicy and just melted in your mouth.   If you go make sure you order the chicken kebabs!

To get there:
Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station (you can get there using subway lines 2, 4 or 5!) 
Take Exit 5.
Go right and turn left at the intersection at Mareunnae-ro Street.
Go straight a few steps and you will see a very small alley - turn right down this alley!!
Do you see it???  There is a car in the alley....easy to miss right between megobuks and that orange sign.

Go straight until you come upon the restaurant. 
If they make you go into a different restaurant, don't worry, they own them all.

Address - Gwanghee-Dong-1-ga 162 Jungu-Seoul
Phone - 02 2277 4261
Price - starters W2000, mains W10,000
Hours - 9am-midnight

Happy eating!

Thank you Dalia!!
You had me at:  "Would you like to come over for breakfast?"
Just looking at it made my mouth water.
After my first bite I about fell off my chair.

Dalia is one of the best cooks I have ever met.  She is AMAZING, but never gives herself much credit.  She is one of those cooks that just does it.  No measuring required, she just cooks (while bare foot, dancing & lauging!).  So this recipe isn't an exact science as I was taking notes while watching her as we laughed and talked, but I'll share with you what I do.  My ranchero sauce is not nearly as good as Dalia's.  

Ranchero Sauce - which by the way is Whole 30 approved - clean living baby! (However after the ranchero sauce all bets are off.)

4-5 cups of water
2 pablano peppers
4 medium size tomatoes
2-4 jalapenos depending on how spicy you like it
1 medium onion
1 bunch cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste (only if not spicy enough for you!)

Cut peppers and onions into large pieces and then toss all ingredients (except the salt, pepper & red pepper flakes) in a pot - leaving tomatoes whole and boil the heck out of it.

Once everything is nice and mushy turn off heat and blend with an immersion blender till nice and smooth. 
Add salt and pepper to taste.  And BAM, there it is......Ranchero Sauce! 

Ranchero sauce saves in the fridge for at least a week - maybe longer I'm not sure as it never last longer than a week in my house.  Serve it over anything that needs a sauce.  :o)

To make Huveos Ranchero:
fried Corn tortillas
refried beans
fried egg
cheddar cheese
ranchero sauce
lettuce
tomato
avocado

Layer beans on fried tortilla, add fried egg, cheddar cheese & lots of ranchero sauce.  Server lettuce, tomato & avocado on the side.

Happy eating!  :o)

Sinsa Subway station is located in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
As I have stated before this is one of my favorite areas in Seoul so far. 
Not too touristy, totally eclectic and loads of fun.
After stuffing our faces over at Pier 17 we headed out to see what else was happening on Garosu-gil street when we happened upon this awesome store.
I think I will bring Boy 1 here to shop for school clothes:

The worker girl (who followed us around the ENTIRE time - that's the way they roll in Korea, they want to be there to help if you have any questions or need anything) was wearing a shirt that says "I'm cute".
Isn't that cute?!

Everything in this store was a little spendy, so I was surprised to see this box of emergency underpants dispenser for sale.  Although I'm not really sure why anything surprises me here anymore.....

Need a teapot and teapot mask warmer?
No worries, they only cost 290,000 won, or a mere 261 USD.
I bought a few for Christmas gifts.

After a little shopping our exploration took us to this quaint little "Beer Storage" place.  I'm sorry I can't tell you exactly where it is, but if you find it you should totally go in. 

It is kind of like a 7-11 with indoor tables for drinking your beer.
You can get practically any type of beer you want and for Seoul it was pretty darn cheap!  Beers started at 2,500 won and went up from there.    You walk in, go to the self-service beer cooler, pick your own beer, grab a glass if you would like one and head over to your table.    They also have a snack counter where you can buy chips, crackers, dried squid or any other type of 7-11 food your little heart desires.

When you are all done put your empties in the bucket on your table, head over to the counter with bucket in hand and pay!  How fun is that?! 
How can you NOT love this country?

Oh my goodness, a little Louisiana in Korea.

Even though Pier 17 is not on a pier, but in a posh upscale little area near the Sinsa subway station, it is a gem of a find!
My girlfriend Beth has been wanting to try Pier 17 for MONTHS now so when we were discussing what do for our next date night we remembered....PIER 17!!!
And we are SO GLAD we did!
Even before we ordered we were totally digging this place. They deliver a cute little box to your table with napkins, gloves, wet napkins, hot sauce, forks, knives, spoons and they deliver a nice little bucket to put your leftover shells in, but when it arrives at your table it is filled with these groovy little scissors.  Way better than crab crackers.

I'm not going to mention any names, but someone had a hard time figuring out how to use these groovy little tools....we were a bit afraid he was going to take off a finger.  :o)    Notice his gloves?  Yea, that's the way we roll.

Pier 17 has an oyster bar...you can get fried oysters, baked, oysters Rockefeller (but they were green!), raw (when in season) or au gratin.   The fried were HEAVENLY.  Maybe it is because I haven't been eating much fried food lately, or maybe it is because they were DELICIOUS.

When you go, you must order a  SHARK ATTACK just for the pure fun of it.
9,000 won for a big 'ol blue margarita where a shark pukes red bloody (grenadine) goodness into your drink.
The drinks are sweet, but tasty.
Just as a side note:
Hubby ordered a Hurricane, everyone at the table except myself liked the Hurricane better than the Shark Attack.
But the Shark attack was way more fun! :o)

The oyster's Rockefeller were simply OK.  Not my favorite....they look cool when they came out, but alas save your money on these, a little on the bland side even with the green breadcrumb mixture.

The star of the show was the crawfish boil. 
YUM-O.
The seasonings were RIGHT ON.
All the seafood was cooked perfectly.
Nothing was overcooked or soggy.
I couldn't believe they got it right.
The only thing that could have made this better is if Hubby had not eaten all the bread.
We had nothing to sop up the juices with.

Great dinner, super fun night.
We ordered a party set for 79,000 won which was more than enough to feed the 4 of us.
It included, fried oysters, oysters Rockefeller, jambalaya and the crawfish boil....I feel like there was something else that came with it, but I can't remember right now.

The aftermath....

And just a little something to make you smile. :o)

To get there:
Sinsa Station exit 8.  Walk straight to Garosu-gil street - take a left.
Go one block (I think it is just 1 block, mabye 2 ) to Apgujeong-ro 8-gil street.
TURN LEFT.

Go to the 1st intersection and Pier 17 will be on your right....you actually need to turn the corner and it is RIGHT THERE.  Go up to the 2nd floor.

Address:
532-4 Sinsa-dong (13 Apgujeong-ro 10-gil)
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
02-549-5324
They accept reservations

Enjoy,
Trish