A Weekend of Delicious Food and Even Better Weather

It was a gorgeous weekend in LA. I made a concerted effort to stay inside as little as possible so I could soak up all the sun. Because of that, time in my kitchen was minimal, and Travis and I ate a few delicious meals out.

Saturday night, we made reservations at Wildcraft Sourdough Pizza in Culver City. I’d heard great things about this place, so I was really excited to try it. As the name says, they make their pizza crust with sourdough, which I thought was really cool. We tried their Veggie pizza. It had shallots, mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic chips, peppers, and more.  We also ordered their garlic knots and chopped salad. In conclusion, everything was delicious.

My only tiny qualm was that the pizza dough wasn’t very crispy at the bottom, so I think next time I would ask them to keep it in the oven for an extra minute or so. This girl likes burnt crust…I know, it’s strange.

(Sorry for the AMAZING dark restaurant photo…)

Even though we lost an hour of sleep on Sunday morning, I luckily woke up ready to tackle the day. In the morning I spent a few hours cleaning and doing laundry. At around 10AM, I finally sat down to a batch of my favorite protein pancakes with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter and a great cookbook. I perused through it, looking for recipes to make for dinner this week.

It was such a gorgeous day and after the rest of our laundry was done, Travis and I walked to the nearby Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. It was one of those days that I was feeling rather inspired, so I wanted to throw everything into my cart.  Luckily, we were walking home, so I eventually snapped back into reality and realized that buying the entire store was probably not the best idea.

 

After grocery shopping, Travis suggested we go grab lunch somewhere outside. We decided to go back to a little spot we’d tried once before, Courtyard Kitchen on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica.

One of my favorite aspects of the LA food scene is how many restaurants offer outdoor seating. Sunday, in particular, the weather was so gorgeous that I truly felt like I was on vacation. I was just in pure relaxation mode.

Travis and I both ordered the chicken salad sandwich. It was served on a dark raisin bread that reminded me so much of my favorite bread they serve at the Cheesecake Factory. The chicken salad at Courtyard Kitchen is delicious and they make it with NO MAYO, so that is a huge win in my book.

Sunday was also the LA Marathon and the finish line was only a few blocks away from our apartment. After lunch, we went to go check it out, but I almost immediately regretted it. Most people already finished the race at that point, so it was a zoo with everyone trying to find their families and get home. There were runners, families, police, and cars everywhere. I felt that no matter where we stepped we were getting yelled at by the police to “stay inside the lines!” or “not cross the street!” I appreciated that there was tight security, but it was certainly exhausting trying to walk even just a block.

When we finally got out of the chaos, we took a moment to walk along the path that overlooks the ocean. It was such a gorgeous day, and I don’t even think this picture does it justice. I feel very lucky that I live in such a beautiful place.

I spent the rest of Sunday cooking a yummy Mediterranean dinner.

Travis’ sister, Justine, came over and it was so nice catching up with her. Whenever Justine comes over she always brings the best desserts, but this time I insisted she just bring herself. Of course, she didn’t listen to me and brought a box of Magnolia Cupcakes! Let’s be honest, I could NEVER say no to a good cupcake. She is always so thoughtful.

Here is a peek of one of Sunday night’s recipes:

Muhammara: a delicious roasted red pepper dip served with warm pita. Check back in later in the week for the recipe!

 

What did you eat this weekend? Did you try any new restaurants or recipes?