This week's recipe that I tried was for Rich French Onion Soup. It sounded like a good idea since it had been raining and cold. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as great as it sounded. There isn't much too it but it just didn't have as much flavor as some other French Onion Soups I've had in the past. The one additional that I did like to this soup was its use of fresh thyme leaves. It was the only thing that saved this soup in my opinion! (Well that and the cheese!) This week was pretty crazy at work between getting ready for Halloween and with the Giants being in the World Series. There was an article in the Marin Independent Journal about the bakery and the special cupcakes we were doing for Giants fans. This is what I've learned from these cupcakes: apparently, a panda is the mascot for the Giants; People Love Timmy and Buster; I should "Fear The Beard" of their closing pitcher Brian Wilson who has dyed his beard jet black. These cupcakes have been an unbelievable success/stress for us but it's getting us ready for the busy holiday season! Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday and I can't wait for it to get here. I don't know where I'll be this year for it but I know that I will be with friends and family of sorts and perhaps have to have an extended Thanksgiving celebration which my mom has done in the past and cooked a second dinner at a later date just for me! I'm a lucky girl.

My day off from work started with my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the holiday season from Starbucks. On one of my last walks in Manhattan Beach with my friend Katie and her adorable baby Heidi, a man in Starbucks had given me a free drink coupon and I decided to use it today. I headed into the city to SOMA, which I learned means "south of Market" street. I had received an email from Yelp in regard to a free mobile spa event that they were hosting. They had me at free cupcakes! They were from Taste of Happiness which specializes in gluten-free cupcakes. I had never had a gluten-free cupcake to my knowledge and it surprisingly wasn't bad. This mobile spa was also offering free massages and bang trims. Since I currently do not have any bangs (and I was really only going for the massage anyways!), I opted for the massage from Suchada. My massage therapist proceeded to laugh and tell me that I had "a lot of knots" and then handed me her business card. It was a good but too quick of a 15 minute chair massage. Then, I headed over to Tartine Bakery and tried the lemon cream tart and the croque monsieur with smoked turkey that had been recommended to me by some co-workers. They had to heat up my sandwich and gave me my dessert first while I was waiting. Needless to say, the tart was demolished by the time my sandwich arrived. Life's uncertain, right?! I should always eat dessert first! And again for your viewing pleasure, a full sheet cake from this past weekend...MAZEL TOV!

I tend to behind on trends. Zumba became popular in the early 2000's and here I am, 2010, finally getting around to trying a class last week! If you haven't figured it out by now, I like to try new things and I'll usually try them at least once or twice. Last week I had an absolute blast with this class. It makes me reflect back upon my cheerleading days and the different choreography which was always interesting to me. Some of the moves are a little difficult to catch on to at first but this is a no pressure kind of class where as long as you're still moving and having a good time that's all that matters. Today I went to my second Zumba class and had a sweaty blast again! I think I will continue to check out these Zumba classes now that I know why they are so popular! And for your viewing pleasure: a Halloween inspired Birthday cake that I decorated at work today!

Food is such an important part of my life. My family tends to find recipes in various cookbooks, magazines, etc. and rip them out and then put them in a folder "to try." These folders start to get full and thus I've decided to make a commitment to trying a new recipe from the folder each week. Last week was a chicken, rice and vegetable stir fry that was extremely disappointing as the picture looked very appetizing. The recipe also called for Kraft Greek Dressing which was nearly impossible to find and resulted in many trips to multiple grocery stores before finding it. This week I tried Root Beer Baked Beans from Bon Appetit magazine. All the ingredients sounded delicious and smelled delicious but as it started to all go together in a pot, I wasn't too sure about it anymore. It was worth the wait though! However, I think I will be eating beans for lunch and dinner for the next couple of days (I would probably cut the recipe in half next time.) Here's the recipe for quick review:

Ingredients

• 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook bacon in large ovenproof pot over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add onions to drippings in pot; cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add beans, root beer, vinegar, molasses, tomato paste, mustard, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper; mix. Stir in bacon; bring to boil. Transfer to oven; bake uncovered until liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.

And for you Grandma, here is the sodium content!

Nutritional Information

One serving contains the following:
Calories (kcal) 250.7
%Calories from Fat 12.0
Fat (g) 3.3
Saturated Fat (g) 0.6
Cholesterol (mg) 4.4
Carbohydrates (g) 45.3
Dietary Fiber (g) 9.1
Total Sugars (g) 15.9
Net Carbs (g) 36.3
Protein (g) 11.6
Sodium (mg) 368.1

Let me know if anybody decides to try this recipe and how it turns out for you :) I'm not sure what next week's recipe is going to be yet but I know there are a lot to choose from from the folder!

I survived my first 2 weeks in Northern California! I found a cute little studio in Larkspur which is 2 miles away from work...gotta love the commute! EJ helped me get settled in and we were able to explore San Francisco for a couple of days before I officially had to start work. I've pretty much been working at least an hour of overtime every day which will be great for the paycheck! Management has already expressed to me how much they appreciate me moving up here and that they are really grateful which helps me to believe that I made the right decision to move up here. I wasn't able to really pack any furniture for the move so I ended up buying a futon. The picture doesn't do it justice (it is VERY comfortable to sleep on!) I didn't have an internet connection for the first week I was here, hence no updated blog, but I've finally gotten around to filling you in on how it is going so far. The first week was the hardest because I missed my friends and family and the pups and it was incredibly lonely. There were definitely some tears involved. This weekend I had some friends come into town for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I decided that I would join them despite not having trained for it. However, I've been working out regularly after work since I don't have much else to do (no tv at the studio either! I have to watch all my horrible reality television shows on the internet!) It was an amazing experience and I would legitimately register to do it next year instead of crashing it. I didn't get to cross the finish line and get the Tiffany's necklace at the end but it was still exciting to know that I completed 13ish miles (3 of which happened to be in the rain) in 3 hours and 40 minutes! I feel surprisingly good and am ready to start the work week off tomorrow. I randomly have this upcoming weekend off and will be roadtripping to LA to visit friends and family!