Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

We had a bit of an unusual one. On Saturday we attended a yo-yo competition!…….

We heard about it online from someone that was hosting it and decided to drop in and see what it was all about. It was at PushPush Theater near downtown Decatur and was basically several hours of competitive yo-yoing! We got there towards the end so we got to see about an hour of competition and the winners announced.

There were kids of all ages with some pretty impressive yo-yo collections…..

One kid even won a $200 yo-yo! I didn’t realize there was such a thing as a $200 yo-yo, but apparently there is.

The competitors twist and flip the yo-yos so fast that I couldn’t even snap any photos of the action. It was pretty amazing to watch and I’m so glad we took a chance on checking out this unusual activity because it was a blast to watch and the music was rockin’.

I almost bought a yo-yo while we were there but I restrained myself.

That night we went out on a little date to a restaurant I’ve been hearing rave reviews about from so many people – Escorpion.

This place is known for their tacos and ceviches. But first, they started us out with an amazing salsa, you could tell that the ingredients in it were roasted and charred, very interesting.

The cocktail menu was too good to pass up. I got a drink called the El Chamuco that had tequila, blackberry and cassis in it. It was fantastic! So often drinks like this can be thick and syrupy, but this one tasted fresh and crisp. Jeff got a cocktail infused with rosemary. It had just a hint of herbal flavor without hitting you over the head.

The first thing we ordered was the tuna and watermelon ceviche with serrano chilis and smoked sea salt…

Isn’t it beautiful?!?!

This was incredible. We were both unsure of how the watermelon would go with the tuna, but combined with the sour and salty brine it was the perfect balance of flavors.

Then we got three tacos to share. Clockwise from the back these are goat, grilled shrimp, and beef tongue.

Unusual, right?

The goat had a flavor like it had been stewed in milk, very flavorful. The shrimp were perfectly bouncy and you could taste the slight char from the grill. The tongue was my favorite. If you’ve never tried tongue you are missing out, it is one of my favorite meats. It is meltingly soft and has a buttery flavor, delicious!

We also shared a pork tamale. Sadly, this wasn’t wonderful. Usually tamales have the problem of having too much masa and not enough meat. This one had the opposite problem, it was almost entirely a giant slab of flavorless overcooked pork with very little masa to balance it out. It wasn’t awful, just a little dry and heavy.

We were having such a good time that we ended up ordering two more cocktails to chill out with. Jeff got the traditional margarita which was easily the best margarita I’ve ever tasted, mellow and not too sour. I got a drink called La Dahlia that had hibiscus syrup in it. I felt like such a girl with my sweet pink drink. 😉

Overall, I was knocked over by how awesome Escorpion was. We will definitely be back!

A weekend of yo-yos and tongue tacos, definitely a little different. 😉

Do you have any unusual hobbies?

July 25, 2011 Alayna Discussion 3 comments

I’ve had a streak of really delicious meals lately. Here’s what’s been making my tummy happy over the last few days…

I used some of the baked apples I made recently over a big dollop of Greek Gods fig yogurt. That has got to be the most delicious yogurt I’ve ever tasted. It has real fig puree in it not just a flavoring, so it’s very earthy and thick. With some toasted buckwheat on top, this was a killer combination.

And I had that same yogurt again today over some strawberries, grapes, and pineapple. I topped it with some puffed amaranth and it was awesome! The grapes tasted especially amazing with the fig yogurt.

I washed it down with the last of our keemun tea. This tea has a deep roasted aroma like coffee beans or smoldering wood. Love the reflection in it!

And for lunch I had a salad with a side of jackfruit and a sliced orange…

I rarely enjoy the salads that I make for myself, but this one was fantastic! It was mixed baby lettuces, Trader Joe’s broccoli slaw, sprouts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, avocado, and Annie’s red pepper dressing. Tasted amazing and had great texture.

I am still so surprised by the flavor of jackfruit with every bite! It is so unusual but totally delicious. I’ve also been eating oranges like they’re going out of style. I’m eating 2 a day sometimes!

And check out this amazing and easy dinner we had last night…tostadas con huevos!

It was a flour tortilla toasted up in the oven and then topped with vegetarian refried beans, salsa, 2 fried eggs, monterrey jack cheese, and sour cream. Served it up with a sliced avocado.

And it could not be simpler to make…

Tostadas con huevos

A quick and delicious Mexican dish with fresh eggs as the star.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 flour tortillas
• 4 eggs
• half a can of vegetarian refried beans
• salsa of your choice
• 1/2 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
• salt, pepper, and olive oil
• serve with sour cream and sliced avocado

Cooking Directions

1. Rub olive oil over both sides of tortillas and season with salt and pepper.
2. Toast tortillas on both sides under the broiler until barely golden and crisp.
3. Fry eggs 2 at a time in a non-stick pan and set aside.
4. Spread refried beans over crisp tortillas, top with eggs, salsa and cheese.
5. Broil tostadas until cheese is melted and bubbly, careful not to burn the tortillas.
6. Top with sour cream and serve with sliced avocado if desired.

So much good food lately! I’m on a roll!

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten today?

July 9, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 6 comments

What a weekend.

After Jeff’s car incident on Thursday we spent most of Friday dealing with paperwork and other business to speed along the process.

But not the whole day. After all that nonsense we needed to unwind, big time.

This may or may not be the third pitcher of margaritas we’ve gone through in just this month alone.

Don’t judge me.

We spent the rest of that evening just relaxing and talking and munching.

Jeff and I love that car, we were both pretty stressed out by the wreck. I’m just glad he’s ok.

Saturday was a bit of the same. We were determined to enjoy the weekend despite the car problems so we decided to walk into Decatur for drinks and snacks to lighten our mood. We ended up at Leon’s, as usual, and just enjoyed the breeze sweeping in from the patio.

I had a Hitachino White. I love Hitachino’s beers and I was sad to hear that their sake distillery was severely damaged during the earthquakes.

Jeff and I snacked on some fries before splitting a sandwich and zucchini casserole.

That casserole is so insanely good. It sits in a puddle of thick onion jam and is accented nicely by the fresh arugula dressed with lemon and coarse salt. I could eat a few of those and call it dinner.

We didn’t go too heavy on the alcohol that day though because I had to get up really early Sunday to volunteer with Decatur’s Mile 13 hydration station for the Publix Georgia Marathon.

I woke up at 4:45 and got myself clean and dressed and snuck out the door while Jeff was still sleeping. I chomped down a Larabar while I walked into downtown Decatur to be there by 6am. It was so peaceful and beautiful walking through town in the quiet of the early morning when no one was around.

I got there and helped set up tables and move boxes, then all 35 of us divided into teams of 3 and spent the next hour lining up and filling cups of water or gatorade while others sliced oranges and tidied up the place.

I had so much fun helping out with the hydration team. It was exhilarating to wait anxiously for the first runner to make it down Clairmont Rd. He reached us just after 8am with a time of 1hr and 14 minutes for 13.1 miles! We didn’t see anyone else for 10 minutes or so after him, so he must have been flying!

I really enjoyed handing out water and cheering on the marathoners. Seeing them out there made me really want to be one of them some day. After my 5K this weekend I’ll officially be in training for a 10K. I haven’t selected one to run yet but I really want to get one under my belt so I can push ahead to possibly trying a half marathon later this year!

Check out the schwag I got for helping out.

This past weekend may have started out poorly, but it really turned around for us. Now I’m ready to finish up my last few training runs and rock it out for my race this weekend. Wish me luck!

March 21, 2011 Alayna Discussion 8 comments