Sunday, July 8, 2012
Ode to Brunch
My eyes are squinty and numb from studying the tiny print on my hundreds of history certification flash cards and my legs has fallen asleep from being cross-legged on the bed for far too long. Its kinda been a sucky day since I've dedicated it solely to studying (time to crack down!). But I did have a fabulous brunch today which has kept me going all the way from Hamilton to FDR (still on the American history pile, sigh).Me and the room-mate headed over to Etienne Brasserie
In the heart of Downtown, this restaurant has been open for about a year and half now and its warm and sophisticated interior has been beckoning. Finally I got to experience this quaint restaurant.
They have a fabulous brunch menu thats compact, but with plenty of variety. Everything from French egg breakfast sandwiches to Biscuits with mushroom gravy.
I decided on their eggs benedict. So so so good. There's had the traditional english muffin and poached egg, but instead of canadian bacon there's avocado, tomato, and smoked bacon. Of course topped hollandaise sauce. It came with a heaping side of the best home fries I've ever had. Super crunchy and flavorful with bites of red pepper and sweet onion.
All of this was $11, which isn't bad considering the quality and the fact that brunch felt all the more luxurious due to the upscale interior.
This was the best meal I've had in Athens in awhile. I can't wait to go back. I've heard the have a pretty awesome lunch menu as well!
Peas and Blezzins
Labels: Athens Restaurant Review, Classic City Living
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Baking Adventures..Pinterest Addition
I have something to admit...I'm a Pinterest Addict. It's the first website I open when my computers up when I'm doing some casual browsing and I check it right along with my email. But seriously Pinterest is amazing...I love all the neatly arranged images of crafts, clothing, food...and everything in between. So many ideas and not enough time!I've managed to do a few Pinterest projects and I thought I would document the results.
After my delicious splurging in Charleston I have cut back and really tried to get in the mindset of some healthy weightloss. One of the things I miss the most is dessert, because low-calorie chocolatey desserts are hard to come by but then I stumbled across the Diet Coke Brownie pin awhile ago and it sounded to good to be true. 100 calorie delicious brownies.
Well I tried it today and here's the scoop
This recipe couldn't be easier. One can of diet soda and a box of brownie mix. I used Betty Crocker's fudge brownie mix and Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper. I used about 2/3 of the soda because my mix was looking a little too watery. I hit it with the hand mixer till the lumps disappeared. As you can see I baked these in a pretty deep dish so I had to add about 20 minutes to the cook time.
Honestly, they were better than I expected. There was definitely a slight after-taste of diet soda, but the brownie still had all the chocolateyness on any brownie I've ever had. The only major downside to this recipe, other than the diet soda after-taste, was the texture on the edges. It was super chewy and really unappetizing, but the center pieces were nice and cakey.
For the calories and how easy this recipe is to throw together it was definitely worth it. I wouldn't make this for a party or for other people (besides fellow calorie-conscious folk).
Peas and Blezzins