Mediterranean Omelet

I am a recent inductee (within the last year) to the world of artichokes. I was first introduced to them by our friends, Patrick and Gioia. Skeptical as I was, I couldn't get over the delicious flavor and salty taste. They are very convincing little buggers.

Gioia prepared hers as full artichokes, stuffed with deliciousness. You would break off a section and scrape off the stuffing with your teeth. So yummy.

Since then, I've been more apt to try out various meals with artichokes, something I never would have done before. Last year, on a weekend away with my Hubs, we discovered artichoke omelets and just about died. Delicious.

The trend I've seen is that if the omelet includes artichokes, it is usually referred to as a Mediterranean Omelet and usually also contains spinach.

Friends, we bought artichoke hearts ourselves at the store this week. Call that a milestone in the marriage if you want to. :)

So tonight, I made my own Mediterranean Omelet.
I included spinach, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella cheese.

How's that for domesticated? :) 

Caprese Salad Deliciousness

While up yonder in Nor Cal land over Labor Day, the G and I went to the little town's Farmer's Market to sample some delicious eats.

We got tri-tip skewers, tomales, blueberry pie, and caprese salad.
I'd never heard of caprese salad before, but I'll tell ya what. It rocked my world.

It's a simple little combination of tomato, salt, mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil or balsamic.
So simple.
So good.
So fresh.

So...easy to make myself! :)

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.....ever....will I claim to be a chef.

So when I can find something easy to make, by golly, I make it.

Ready for this recipe?

Get some tomatoes. I got red ones. But the yellow ones are so sweet and scrumptious. Next time.
Get some salt.
Get some mozzarella. Preferably the big block.
Get some basil. I prefer to chop it up. Makes it easier to eat.
Get some olive oil.

Slice the tomatoes. Put on plate. Sprinkle with some salt. Slice the mozzarella. Put on top of tomatoes. Chop the basil. Put on top of mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil or balsamic.

Here's another fun option. Eat chilled, or eat heated! Yowza's!

Tonight I tossed mine into our little toaster oven for a couple of minutes, let the cheese melt a little, then pulled 'em out and sunk my fork into those puppies.

Scrumptious.

I dare ya to try it. :)

Last Event and Yogurt Galore!

Today was deeee-lightful!
De-LIGHT-ful!
De-light-FUL!

Today started early and a little panicky, as most event mornings do.
There were balloons, registration sheets, extra student nametags, all topped with a dollop of stress.
And, as most events go, once the check-in table was set up and the first person checked in, it was all downhill from there.

Events have this weird, and extremely consistent way of building, building, building, building...
Lots of preparation...
And then the first person checks in and it's like you're on a roller coaster ride from there. You can't stop it. It's gonna happen whether you're ready for it or not. So you go with it and it's seriously the best part of my job (besides all the great people I work with). Event days are just electric. It's go time, and everything you've prepared for is being put to the test. Totally exhilarating.

The year has been long. The fall season started off a little differently than expected. My coworker/boss left right before the school season started in August. We weren't able to hire someone else for her position until the first of December so all of Fall was just filling in where she used to be. The rest of the year has felt some of those effects, just like a big game of catch up. To finally make it to the end of the year and know that in three months we're going to start this whole thing over again with a clean slate is so refreshing. I get another shot to do my job better. That's pretty exciting.

I had a great event team this year, girls that I couldn't do any of this without. They call me Captain, but this boat would sink without them. :) Once we finished cleaning up from the event today, we headed to Berry Cool to celebrate. For those of you that aren't familiar with California, they love their frozen yogurt. There are so many different frozen yogurt places out here. Yogurtland, Joghurt, Golden Spoon, Pink Berry, Berry Fresh, Berry Cool...the list goes on and on. There's seriously a frozen yogurt place on every corner. And most of them are serve yourself. You pick up your cup, walk through the flavor line where there are usually 10-12 flavors, and then add as many toppings as you want, from fruit to chocolate, to gummy bears. Then they determine the price based on how much your container weighs. It's seriously awesome.

Clockwise from Left: 

Michelle, Maraya, Beth, Heather

Biola Admissions Events: Michelle, Maraya, me and Heather

You girls are the best. Seriously. 

Thanks for filling my days with laughter and for constantly being such a source of joy. 

You are all so amazing. 

What a team. :) 

Burger Joint Run Down

Mr. Suhr has a favorite food. 

Burgers. 

Any kind. 

Put a big, delicious steak in front of him and he'll choose a burger every time. 

We're always trying to find the next best burger. 

Some of our favorite places recently (out here on the West Coast) are: 

The Counter. Located in Irvine (there are more than one), this is a great little place 

where you get an awesome menu and get to pick your own toppings. 

And there are LOTS to choose from.

They say they are "the 21st Century's bold answer to the classic burger joint."

Here's a sample of the menu: 

And here's what a typical Counter burger looks like. 

Massive. 

With the ability to pile on the toppings, these things just keep growing.

This was Garrett's from last time we were there. It's a 3/4 pound lamb burger, corn and black bean salsa, pepperocinis, onion straws, caramelized onions, and fresh mozzarella on a soft pretzel bun. 

My favorite combo is something like the chicken, with jalapeño jack cheese, organic mixed greens, roasted corn & black bean salsa, housemade guacamole, sun dried tomatoes, 

and roasted garlic aioli sauce, all on a multi-grain bun. 

So good. 

Another burger place we recently went to with one of Garrett's RA's, Nathan, and his fiance, Jessica was a place in Santa Monica called Umami Burger. 

Their claim to fame is that they have created the fifth taste. 

The first four tastes are sweet, sour, salt and bitter. 

The fifth, Umami, can be simply described as savory. 

More information on it can be found here. :) 

Our Umami experience was definitely a repeater. We will be back. :)

Burgers, smushed potatoes, onion rings, sweet potato fries, and shoestring fries. 

Garrett and I split an Umami Burger, which had all kinds of crazy stuff on it. Apparently, the idea is that all the different flavors give it one unique taste that is super complimentary. 

We also split the Port and Stilton Burger. 

The burgers even have a U stamped on top! Neat-o!

One of Mr. Suhr's current RA's and his fiance, Nathan & Jessica. 

3 out of the 4 of us started off ordering water until the waiter told us that all proceeds from the bottled root beer went directly to an animal shelter. Jessica and I are all about saving the animals. :) 

All four of us ended up with root beer. 

Last, but most certainly not least....the burger of all time. 

I know without a doubt that I have found my perfect burger. 

I ate it one night at a teeny tiny place called Father's Office. 

(The website, unlike the burger, leaves much to be desired.)
This little establishment is in Santa Monica and holds maybe a total of 35 people inside. 

It's not big at all, and you really have to fight through the crowds 

to get to the counter where you place your order. 

There is one burger on the menu, and you can't make any substitutions. 

Luckily, you don't need to. It's seriously that good. 

It was on a soft, wheat & grain roll, it was perfectly cooked to a nice medium rare, and it had a blue cheese spread, carmelized onions, and fresh baby spinach. Sounds simple enough, but I can't tell you how good this burger was. Served with a side of garlic shoestring fries.

 I seriously could eat one of these on a very regular basis. 

And though this post may not show it, I'm not that much of a burger girl. 

I am, however, a little hungry...

This may have been the longest I have ever thought about the subject of burgers...ever. 

I'm sure Garrett could say otherwise. :) 

To do: Paddleboarding- Check!

Every year or so, :), we do an adventurous outing with another one of the RD couples on campus. 

I think in our heart of hearts we intend to go more often. 

'Cause every time we go, it is a stinkin' fun time. 

The Powells like to show us around their favorite California places. 

Last time it was snowshoeing. 

This time, it was paddleboarding in Long Beach! 

It was the four of us, and the Rae's, our next door dorm neighbors. :) 

We got a quick lesson from Mr. Powell, and before we knew it, 

we were testing our skills, or lack thereof. 

Go, Suhr, go! 

A little wobbly, but lots of fun!

Four paddleboards on top of a Honda Civic.

After circling the canal a couple of times, we worked up quite an appetite. 

We headed South to Seal Beach and put our names in at Beachwood Barbeque. 

What a FABULOUS place. 

It felt like good home Southern Cooking! 

BBQ Chicken, pulled pork, corn on the cob, cole slaw, corn bread...wowzers.  

And my FAVORITE part of the meal....

Fried Pickles!

So, so, so, so, so good. 

This is one of those appetizers where no one was being polite in 

making sure everyone else got their fair share. 

It was a fight to the finish! 

Delicious. Yum. 

Thank you, Powells!