Tag Archives: All Spice San Mateo

Blogger fun over Indian food

Where did the weekend go?

We had our Babymoon and it was fabulous – just what we needed.  Recap coming tomorrow Winking smile

As I mentioned last week, I met up with Shayla from The Good Life Open-mouthed smile  We are trying a new contemporary Indian restaurant called All Spice in the SF Bay Area

Shayla already provided an excellent recap here, so I’ll do an abbreviated version below:

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Top left was an amuse-bouche red pepper soup that was fantastic – I easily could have eaten a bowl.  Next was a fritter stuffed with mushrooms (<—I HATE mushrooms and didn’t even know they were in there!) – this was one of my fave items of the night, served atop curried chickpeas (a la chaana masala).  And finally a ricotta cheesecake with pureed beets (the app special of the evening) – this was good, but probably my least favorite item of the entire meal.

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And for our entrees that we split, we chose the Hara Kebab, which wasn’t a kebab at all, but more like Indian gnocchi with brussel sprouts.  This dish was so very yum!  And that crazy beast next to it was the Eggplant Dosa.  And while I’m also not a huge eggplant fan, I thought this was fantastic – slightly smoky with some tomato chutney within.  And oddly enough this huge serving was the cheapest on the menu – go figure Smile with tongue out

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We snapped a photo after our meal: Shayla, me, and belly!  It now deserves it’s own shout out, haha!

And though we were tempted by the desserts at All Spice, we made the right decision and headed down the street aways for Yogurtouille Open-mouthed smile for the win!

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We taste tested the strawberry shortcake flavor and thought it was delish, but we’re all about our chocolate toppings so we kept it simple with vanilla and then loaded up – best parts?  Coated animal cookies and marshmallow drizzle!

Just like the last time I met up with Shayla, we had a ridiculously good time.  This girl is freakin’ awesome.  Period.   We have so much in common and we’re already looking forward to a low key pedi date next time Winking smile

I did get to thinking about how interesting it is to meet new people in my ‘current state’ (aka pregnancy). 

While I still feel like myself, I feel like there is this elephant in the room that ends up being very much the focus of my thoughts, my conversations, and my being. 

Normally I’d meet up with someone for the first time, decked out in cute skinny jeans, funky heels, flattering top, and feeling pretty confident.  Now I realize I’m meeting people with a fuller face, wider hips, and clothes that aren’t quite standard.  It’s just an odd feeling.  I can’t quite describe it.

And of course, I’ve got baby on the brain so inevitably so much of what comes out of my mouth is about the little one inside me.  I really try to keep that balanced and not overloaded, but I have no idea if I’m doing a good job. 

It’s also a bit unique not to be able to socialize over vino!  There’s no, hmmmm, buffer if you will.  Nothing to ease the nerves and potential awkwardness.

All that being said, I’m glad it’s Shayla that I’ve met for the first time because there were no reservations, no awkwardness, no feeling bad about too much baby talk.  Pretty awesome if you ask me Winking smile

Tell me, what did you do this weekend?

Have you ever hard contemporary Indian food?

Do you find certain events in your life change your persona a bit?

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WIAW: Indian food meet-up and blogger “sweet swap” recipes

Clever title eh?  When in doubt, just throw it all up there, right?

My big ‘eats’ disappointment this week was scheduling a special lunch date to Hobees so I could devour some seasonal carrot cake pancakes only to be told they didn’t serve them for lunch.  Um say what?  It’s a diner and you serve breakfast all day.  Sigh.  I ‘settled’ for sweet potato pancakes Winking smile

This isn’t exactly What I Ate Wednesday, but I’m sure Jenn and Peas and Crayons won’t mind!

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Guess what I’m doing tonight though?  I’m meeting up with the gorgeous and sweet Shayla from The Good Life Open-mouthed smile  We are trying a new contemporary Indian restaurant called All Spice in the SF Bay Area (<—go ahead and click to see the menu!).  It’s Shayla’s first foray into Indian food and I’m happy to lead her to the dark side…mwuahahahaha.  We have already talked about ending the night with froyo.  We’re well-balanced like that.

And in lieu of Amy and Jess’s 2nd Blogger Sweet Swap, I made something special for my paired-up-partner Elizabeth at Random Stupidness, I made something based on her desires.  She noted she was a fan of chocolate – dark, no milk!—and, of course, pumpkin!

One of my favorite pumpkin recipes just happens to be the photo header in my blog and is courtesy of YumSugar.com.

So without further adieu, I show you Fluffy Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies:

You’ll have to click for the recipe, but note my substitutions:

  • I did not have any nutmeg, so I just doubled my cinnamon – because you can never have enough cinnamon!
  • I used 1.5 cups of dark chocolate chips (no milk)
  • Yield was about 36 cookies (hard to know when your hubby keeps stealing them off the cooling rack!)

Pictures of the yumminess:

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Are you participating in the Blogger Sweet Swap?  If so, what are you making?

Have you made a new blend (blogger friend)? 

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