Back in NoVA – fANNEtastic food

We’re back in northern Virginia after a great 3 (!!) weeks in Sewickley, PA (outside Pittsburgh) with Matt’s parents!

It was so nice to have such an extended stay with them. We were sad to say goodbye but it’s good to be home, especially as the weather is starting to cool down a little bit. I LOVE fall in the DC area and I’m pumped for September weather to arrive! 

We had a few more good meals before leaving Pittsburgh – one of which was some really good authentic Greek salads.

Matt’s dad makes a really awesome Greek salad (I added the broccoli and lemon, which are not part of the authentic experience) and we had them for lunch a couple days last week. So delicious, especially with super ripe farmers’ market tomatoes. I usually had toast or crackers or something on the side as well. 

Did you know that an authentic Greek salad apparently doesn’t contain lettuce, but rather just sliced tomato, cucumber, green pepper, olives, a hunk of feta cheese, oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil? Such a delicious combo! The key is really good tomato because the acidity of the juicy, fresh tomato is what tastes really good mixed with the olive oil as the “sauce”.

Riese really liked it, too – she loves olives randomly.

I’m hoping I can get my hands on some more good tomatoes at our local farmers’ market this coming weekend because check out our basil plant! It got MASSIVE while we were gone and some caprese salads (<- my fave variation with peaches) are definitely in order.

I might also make some pesto for my Pesto Baked Salmon and then freeze the rest of the pesto for later.

Any other creative ideas for how to use up a ton of basil?

Anyway, back to Pittsburgh meals! Have you guys ever tried cooking corn on the grill like this, with the husk flipped up? We removed the silky part of the inner husk, but left the rest of it. My father-in-law tied up the husks with string, then brushed the corn with some garlicky butter and placed it right on the grill. He kept rotating it and brushing it with the butter until it was evenly-ish charred.

It came out really delicious – it was a very interesting different flavor vs. boiled or steamed corn! More smoky but still a bit sweet. Highly recommend! 

We had the corn with a fajita feast.

I went back for one more fajita! The chicken and the steak were both cooked on the grill, coated in Mexican seasonings and lime juice. 

Our last Pittsburgh meal was brunch before we hit the road on Sunday. Matt’s dad made Greek frittatas with spinach, olives, and feta, and we had it with fruit, English muffins, and sausage. 

Matt and I went out for one last run date Sunday morning before the brunch + long drive, which was a really nice treat as always. It was especially great because the weather was amazing – in the low 60’s when we started and nice and sunny. 

We did our favorite 3 mile loop and ended at Adesso Cafe in town for iced lattes. 

I hope you guys are having a nice week and that my sweet potato breakfast recipes post on Monday gave you some yummy ideas to try soon! I’ll be back on Friday to share a round up of all the best fiction books I’ve read recently (non-fiction round up coming in mid September)!

p.s. I feel like it’s my duty to tell you that Nordstrom is having their big anniversary sale online right now, and this is important because my favorite faux leather leggings are part of the sale! They are comfy and go along well with the “I never wear anything but leggings anymore” life we are all living but I like that they look more fun and dressy. Perfect for fall with a cozy sweater! Nordstrom also has really nice North Face baby, toddler, and kid winter jackets on sale among a million other things… this is the jacket we have for Riese (in blue though) and love. I’m hoping it will last one more season because it was a little big on her last year, but we’ll see! (affiliate links)

 

source https://betterweightloss.info/back-in-nova-fannetastic-food/