More Good Eats & a Grocery Hike

posted on: 1.31.2011

Breakfast


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apricot jelly croissant & a cappucino


Lunch
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risotto

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carrot salad & spinach quiche

Dinner
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chickpea tomato noodle soup

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salad, fried cheese/veggies, vegetable tempura, & a slab of cheese (not sure what kind, but it was absolutely delicious)
 



<-- most streets in Italy look like this, or even more steep

imagine walking about a 3 mile round-trip on this just to get groceries, after an entire day of walking around + morning workout

30/30: Day 1

one


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So, I’m kinda running out of clothes, and laundry might not be for awhile . . . 30 for 30 starts a day early!

Sunday

posted on: 1.30.2011

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breakfast: Special K bar & lemon yogurt from a grocery store in Arezzo
I was so hungry all day; actually finished the whole box of these bars, and I just got them yesterday..

For lunch, we walked around forever trying to find a place to eat because all the shops close from 1-4pm. I went to one open shop and told the lady "sono vegetariano" and she handed me a tomato/mayo sandwich. . that had TUNA it in, ick. And whoops, forgot to take a picture...I was so hungry I ate it on the walk back to the center!


Dinner
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 bread appetizer 


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 spaghetti, beans, and slice of baguette with a tomato slice & mozzarella

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 salad

And a little orange for dessert.


Mafia!

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30 for 30 items


I thought that studying abroad for 3 months would be a great time to do the 30 for 30 challenge, since I would only be able to fit everything I needed into 2 luggages.
So, here are my items for remix!
 
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             9 tops                                        3 bottoms

P1020200         P1020204
            4 pants                                        3 sweaters
   
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            3 dresses                                  3 jackets
   

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                    4 shoes

 = 29 items. . . because I might decide to add another item in.

Arezzo

posted on: 1.29.2011

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breakfast: croissant from a cute little cafe near the Santa Chiara Center
Just walking to this place and back was quite the workout! (45 degree roads) 



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After breakfast, we caught the 11am train to Arezzo, a town about 10 minutes outside Castiglion Fiorentino. After taking a tour of a few important landmarks and two churches, we were left to get lunch on and explore on our own. We found this pizza place where I got a slice of zucchini and a spinach pizza pocket type thing. It was pretty good, but I wasn't totally blown away.
We walked around for a few more hours, exploring the city. Oh my goodness, it was SO COLD. 
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first gelato in Italy!
amarena & mascarpone. mmmm

Dinner back at the center was delicious as usual.


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 typical pasta appetizer

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salad, lentils, and fried egg/potato
 
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dessert: cake topped with apple slices

Day 2

posted on: 1.28.2011

Ah, I just woke up from a nice nap. The Italians have a period of “siesta” from 1-4 everyday where they just close their shops and take a break/go home/eat with their family. How awesome is that?
Backtrack to yesterday . . . I was too tired/nauseous to actually write anything.
I got to the airport around 8, and then we went to sit outside the gate. Not too long after, we found out the flight was going to be delayed because of bad weather in Newark. It was going to be around 1 instead of 10:45.
12:45 pm – boarded the plane
6:30 pm - landed in Newark
7:00 pm – boarded the connecting flight
10:00 pm – finally leave for Rome
12:30 pm here – arrive!
1:00 pm – get on a bus
4:00 pm – arrive in Castiglion Fiorentino and walk to the Santa Chiara with carry-ons in tow.
There was check-in, a quick tour of the area around the center, and dinner.
The views are so amazing. . I wish I could go outside more, but it’s SO windy and cold
 
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my room

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lunch! We get bread before each meal and fruit after.
Sorry about the blurry pictures. Maybe it’s the lighting in the dining room?

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first Italian concert!

Finally Made It!

posted on: 1.27.2011

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waiting for our delayed flight. . 

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the alarm went off and power went out. . um, what.

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very rough first pic(s) in Italy!

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quick tour of town

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dinner!

Ready!

posted on: 1.25.2011

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Italy bound tomorrow!

Eccitazione!

posted on: 1.23.2011

source: autowriter

So much to be excited about! ITALY IN 3 DAYS.
Yesterday, I had a meeting with the editor of my neighborhood's lifestyle magazine, and now I have a job to look forward to when I get back!
And, vegan pot pie. Yum. I love Amy’s pot pies, and was inspired to make one.
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 c chopped vegetables (I used carrots, potatoes, edamame, corn, & tofu)
  • 1 c vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • black pepper
  • 3 tbsp arrowroot flour
For the crust, I used
  • 2 1/2 c all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c cold water
  • 8 oz Tofutti (vegan cream cheese)
I started off making the dough. Add all the flour into a food processor. Add in a few pats of the Tofutti and set it on low. Periodically stop the processor to add in the rest of the Tofutti, several tablespoons at one time. Next pour water in slowly, stopping to scrape the sides down if necessary. Towards the end, it got really sticky, so I had to take out the dough and do a little bit of kneading. The point is to touch the dough as little as possible though. Once this is finished, wrap it in some plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Mix the arrowroot flour into the vegetable broth. On medium heat, add a little bit of oil to a pot and dump your veggies in, tossing it to coat. Add the garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and some ground black pepper. Pour the veggie broth/arrowroot flour in, and stir continuously as the broth will start to thicken, and you will want to avoid clumps.
Take out the dough and form it into oven proof bowls/dishes, or into one pie dish. Spoon the vegetable mixture in, cover the top(s) with leftover dough.


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extra dough + frozen strawberry = strawberry turnover