While Andrew is in Italia, this is what I have been up to (I highly recommend clicking that link. If you want a good laugh): FREEDOM!!!!! (Actually, I really miss my A.Bello)

Grilling and baking with the fresh herbs I have been growing. These are some beautiful local sea scallops that I roasted with chopped dill, rosemary, thyme, basil, garlic, black pepper, sea salt and olive oil. Then of course I was petrified of under-cooking them so they’re unfortunately all knifed up. On the plus side, they were absolutely divine. I find there tends to be a fine line between just right and overcooked for scallops. I have yet to comfortably cook them without mutilating them to check their ‘doneness’.

Since Bello is away, I thought I would cheer myself up and treat myself to a small steak :D This is a 4oz portion of filet from a farm in Maine that I bought at Whole Foods Market. I worked for WF for many years and I really cannot bring myself to buy meat or fish anywhere else unless it is at a farmer’s market. LOVE knowing where my meat comes from. I think it is really important to know nowadays…
I marinated the steak for just about ten minutes in a vegan (haha) creamy Caesar dressing, the ‘Everyday Seasoning’ from trader Joe’s and some fresh thyme and rosemary. It was lovely. I wish I had taken it off the grill one minute earlier but it was still medium rare would you say? I like filet on the very rare side because it is such a tender cut of meat. I’m working on my red meat grilling skills :D

While I generally love to create my own baked goods… Sunday was a super lazy day after a crazy Saturday, so I picked up this mix. This gluten free Simply Organic Banana Bread mix uses brown rice flour and doesn’t call for any added oil. Just add eggs, water, mashed banana, and your add-ins of choice!

I added chopped walnuts and topped my muffins with Lily’s Stevia sweetened dark chcocolate (obsessed).

Voila!

Broke out the utility lamp and camera for picture taking. Both were collecting dust. I have it all set up in my kitchen now, so i have no more excuses!

Saturday I gave back-to-back wine tours. One in the North End and then a bachelorette party that night in the South End! Fun times! I absolutely love leading the bachelorette parties. The first stop on the South End Tour was at Gaslight so between tours I got there early and had dinner around 8pm. This was the arugula and goat cheese salad topped with blue crab. This isn’t on the menu together but the bartender was super sweet and offered to have it plated this way for me. I also had some sauteed spinach (SO much delicious garlic and olive oil <3 ) And yup, a cocktail. I enjoyed the Alexandropolitan: Berkshire Mountain Ethereal Gin, ginger liqueur, grapefruit and lime. Yay for local spirits!

Of course my extremely appetizing looking breakfasts haven’t changed ;) I’m still loving puffed cereals cereals from Arrowhead Mills such as their puffed millet and puffed brown rice. It really bulks up my breakfast bowls without adding a ton of calories. I love adding a crunch factor to my yogurt bowls but so many cereals are packed with loads of sugar. Green Vibrance is also on the menu pretty much every morning… along with sunflower seed butter, freeze dried bananas, and lately, fresh raspberries!

Lunches haven’t changed much either. (Wow I’m boring haha) Rice cakes or corn thins topped with hummus, whipped cottage cheese, and some veggies. Un-pictured are my lunchtime Kombucha and protein bar bites. Oh, and I am 1000% addicted to those seaweed snacks!!! You can find them at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. There are like 82272 brands of them available. I was thinking they would be great crumbled over some shrimp or scallops for dinner. Especially the wasabi flavored version. Next time!

Upcoming: The 2012 New Balance Falmouth Road Race!!!! On August 11th I’ll be running this famous race on the Cape! I still cannot believe I got in the lottery. I am beyond thrilled to be able to experience this race this year.

It is a 7-mile race and my original goal was to run it under an hour. Though my 7-mile run on Saturday morning clocked in at 57:38 (8:14 pace) Yay! So I think I can safely assume I’ll be able to pull off 55:00. I hope! There is so much positive energy on race days so I am hoping that boost of adrenaline will help my legs out a little bit!

Any suggestions for fun things to do during my week of singledom?? What would YOU do with a house all to yourself!?