The Daniel Fast and Valentine's Day

On Tuesday night, the hubby and I went to Bible Study at church to learn about this Daniel Fast that our pastor had mentioned.  After thinking about it and praying in church, I felt a whisper telling me that I may find the answers and direction that I was seeking if I participated.  Keep in mind that I have NEVER done a church-directed fast before.  Ever...  I was always one of those folks who insisted that I could never not ever be that disciplined, that I didn't really have anything that I needed to beseech the Lord for that bad.  Hmmm...
I made a hundred thousand excuses and as a result, I am now 37 years old and this is my first time ever going into a fasting and prayer time with just me and the Lord.  Crazy, huh?

So obviously, the hubby and I are in the process of adopting.  We are now officially home study certified (yaay!).  However, unless there is a money tree that my loving husband has been secretly growing somewhere, there is absolutely no way that we could ever come up with the $30,000 that our adoption agency says we need by the time we are matched with a potential birth family.  Daryl has even tried to get approved at a credit union for an adoption loan and we were turned down.  Before we were officially turned down at the credit union, we thought about adopting through DHS, however we were told that the particular program we were looking into rarely has infants that are available for adoption and that if we would consider fostering first, we might have a better chance. As it is, they currently had one couple who were going the straight adoption route and they had been on the waiting list for five years.  Yes, you read correctly, five years!  So yeah, things have been looking pretty hopeless for us lately.  I have been struggling to not be depressed by what was going on, to remain faithful, and to stay prayerful, but honestly, it has really been hard for me to do that.  It seemed like every way we turn, we keep hitting dead ends but I know what that angel told me in my dream.  I. Know...
Have you ever been so sure of something that you know it is going to come true but you have no earthly idea what the Lord has up His sleeve or how He will bring it to pass?  I don't know what He is doing right now or how He is going to do it, but I know that it will be done.  I have to believe that. And in the meantime, I will continue to pray.

So anyway, we decided to do the Daniel Fast with our church.  The fast lasts from Ash Wednesday (02/13/13) through Easter Sunday (03/31/13) but it does allow you to exclude Sundays if you want to.  It will be 40 days of fasting and praying.  For myself, I felt that I needed to participate in this event in order to receive some clarification about things and some direction for my life.  I'm looking for a miracle and a light in the darkness right now and if I have to sacrifice to at least see what our next step is going to be then I think it will be worth it.

Information about the Daniel Fast can be found on many places online such as here at Daniel-Fast or here at 3 Ways to do a Daniel Fast.  Our church's web page dedicated to the fast is here at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.  It is basically a plant-based diet focused on fruits, vegetables and nuts, allowing only water as a beverage.  There's a long list of foods to avoid and for me personally, the meat loss isn't that big of a deprivation.  For me, the hardest part will be no sweets and no dairy products.  Our first day's menu (Ash Wednesday) went as follows:

BREAKFAST
Protein shake: Made with plant protein powder, unsweetened almond milk, strawberries, mango, and pineapple, 1/2 Tbsp ground chia seeds and 1/2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
(I used PlantFusion protein powder - found at Whole Foods)
1/4 cup raw almonds

LUNCH
Mixed vegetables with seasoned tomato sauce
small red potato

SNACK
med. banana

DINNER
Black bean burger patty (from Whole Foods)
Sweet potato fries
Romaine lettuce salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing

SNACK #2
Air-popped popcorn

WATER: 80 ounces

It was surprising that I didn't feel too hungry throughout the day.  I was absolutely certain that I would be starving, but I really wasn't.  The thing about it is that as long as you are eating veggies, there isn't a set limit on the amount.  So I didn't have to measure out 1/2 cup of pineapples and 1/2 cup of strawberries, etc.  I did because I am just that anal, I am still strictly counting my calories on SparkPeople and I still track my steps with my Fitbit pedometer, but it's good to know that I didn't have to if I didn't want to.  By dinner, I had stopped measuring everything so crazily and just enjoyed my baked fries and salad.

Valentine's Day was pretty much the same.  I had oatmeal with raisins in it for breakfast, more raw almonds for my mid-day snack, vegetable soup and a banana for lunch, and carrots for snack #2.  On the church's website, there are a list of restaurants in the Philadelphia area that have a Daniel Fast menu so we decided to go to Relish.  It is a modern southern soul-food restaurant here in Philly that we love for the good food and the live music.  Since they were participating with the menu, we decided to go there for Valentine's Day.  We were early for the live music. She was supposed to have started her second set at 8:00 pm, but we were finished eating by then.  We actually waited 20 minutes for the act to come on stage, but since she didn't, we left and decided to come home to watch a movie. (Side note: If you have not rented Taken 2 yet, please do so immediately! Yes, it was just that good! LOL)

For dinner, the hubby and I had the whole wheat penne pasta entree.  It was really tasty with olive tapenade, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, spinach, and olive oil.  I didn't expect for it to taste as good as it did, but it was actually pretty good.  My only complaint was that there was quite a bit of olive oil in it so it was a little greasy but other than that, it was delicious.  Of course I had them to add sauteed onions to my dish because in my world, anything with garlic in it deserves to dance with onions. (LOL)  I think it rounded the flavors out and I absolutely loved it.

So if you are in the Philadelphia area and you like to hear live jazz or blues music while you eat a really good meal reminiscent of some little old ladies in the south cooking for the church picnic, then stop by Relish.  And if you are thinking about doing the Daniel Fast and would still like to go out on a date with your honey bunny, then their Daniel Fast menu is small but really good.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

                                                

~Peace and Love~

New Delhi Indian Restaurant: Philadelphia, PA

LOCATION: 4004 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
www.newdelhiweb.com

For phase 3 of our date day, the hubby and I went to this amazing Indian restaurant located near the University of Pennsylvania. My brother told us a while ago that this was the best Indian food that he had found in Philly, so of course we had to try it. Let me tell y'all, that food was so doggoned good, I am convinced that SOMEBODY'S grandma absolutely had to be in the back cooking. Everything was so well seasoned. Hubby ordered the buffet, and I ordered from the menu.


From the buffet, he had both meat and vegetarian dishes and there wasn't a single thing that I "sampled" from his plate that I did not like. (hehehe)


I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala in medium heat with a side of garlic naan bread.
OH. MY. WORD.


Is "deliciousness" a real word? Because that is the only word that I can think of to describe that plate. Yummy spiciness, succulent chicken, tender pieces of basmati rice, oh and we can't forget the garlic naan. I think that was pure heaven on a plate. We will definitely be going back. Especially since apparently, the buffet changes from day to day. Hubby says that he has to go back to taste some of the other entrees. I'm sure that his research will be purely for scientific purposes and to help me out on my blog posts.
Riiiiigghhhttt...
LOL




So anyway, if you are up in the Philly area, check out the ambience and the food at the New Delhi Indian Restaurant. It won't disappoint.

Honey's Sit & Eat: Philadelphia, PA

Location: 800 North 4th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123-2207
http://www.honeys-restaurant.com/

I know, I know, fam, I have truly been missing in action. Well, that's because the hubby and I recently moved out of Missouri and are now living up on the east coast. This weekend was the first weekend in over a month that we didn't have anything too pressing to do, so how did we spend it? We had a day-long date! Talk about fun times!

To start our date off, we went to Honey's Sit & Eat located in Northern Liberties right here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We found Honey's from a review online talking about their breakfasts. It was featured on Food Network on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri.
Even though he ate the Chicken Chili Frito Pie on the show, it gave us the idea to see what yelp.com and urbanspoon.com had to say about this cool little spot.


Both sites had really good reviews for their breakfast and brunch. So, to start our date day off right, we went to Honey's to try their breakfast. The reviews online were right on point. I had the Huevos Ranchero with scrambled eggs. It was so good. I couldn't eat it all because they give you such a monstrous portion. The eggs were layered on top of some spicy beans and crispy corn tortillas. It had a small side of lettuce with pico de gallo sitting next to it. A dollop of sour cream and a scoop of jalapenos on the plate made the perfect condiments. I think I was supposed to have some salsa with it but everything was so good and the beans were already spicy, I didn't even really miss the salsa. I seem to vaguely remember mentioning that fact to my hubby as I was stuffing my face full of this delicious meal.


Hubby decided to be adventurous and ordered the Bubby's Brisket 3-Egg Omelet. It came with their special slow-cooked brisket and had spinach and carmelized onions folded into the eggs. Hubby asked if he could have cream cheese added too and man, did that make a difference! The cream cheese added this extra creaminess to the omelet. I'm thinking about doing that at home from here on out. Try it, folks, you will be pleasantly surprised. Don't even get me started on the home fries with peppers and onions or the potato latke. Notice the latke didn't even make the pictures, it was so good, by the time I thought about snapping a shot of it, it was half-way gone. LOL!!!


All in all, we both definitely recommend Honey's Sit and Eat. I can't wait to go back for lunch or dinner one of these days because the breakfast did NOT disappoint. Happy Eating!


After breakfast, hubby and I went to see the final Harry Potter movie in 3D at the Imax theater, we did a little shopping, and for dinner, went to this AMAZING Indian restaurant. Reviews on that to follow. Hope everyone else is having a great weekend! We sure are!!!

The Majestic: Kansas City, MO

Location: 978 Broadway Street
Kansas City, MO 64105

To celebrate the hubby's birthday weekend, we decided to have a little get-away vacation. So, off to Kansas City we went. I wanted to surprise the hubby with a nice dinner where we could hear live jazz, so of course I turned to my trusty Google and found this little gem of a spot in downtown KC. It had some pretty good reviews on Urbanspoon, so I decided to give it a try. I made reservations online and told them that it was the hubby's birthday, but little did I know the secrets of this wonderful restaurant did not lie in the nice main-seating section with the jazz pianist playing upstairs. Oh no, the secrets of this place was downstairs where there was an actual live jazz band playing. It was amazing!


One person on Urbanspoon said that he thought it was too loud downstairs. I don't agree with that at all. I think that if he wanted a quieter setting, he should have stayed upstairs where the pianist was playing. You have to ask for downstairs reservations to be able to sit at one of the coveted tables to hear the band. Lucky for us, there was a couple who left as soon as they had finished eating instead of waiting to hear the full set, so when I asked about getting a table downstairs, the owner was able to move us to their vacated spot.


Since it was the DH's birthday, I told him to order whatever he wanted. We started off with a delicious appetizer, the Fried Risotto Balls. Having never eaten Risotto at all, we weren't quite sure what to expect. But, going off of the Urbanspoon reviews which suggested we had to try them, we thought we would be a little adventurous and try something new. Boy were we glad we did. They were so good and the spicy tomato sauce was absolutely perfect. I wanted to stick my finger in the sauce it was so good.


For dinner, I ordered the Chicken Alfredo. Trust me when I say that the sauce was a thick and creamy concoction of pasta yumminess. (Thankfully the hotel had a fitness center in it, because I knew I was gonna be in a carb coma after eating this.)


Hubby ordered the prime rib which was so huge that it took him a couple of days to actually finish it. LOL! Never thought I would see that happen to my meat and potatoes man.


After dinner, our wonderful waiter served the hubby with a piece of their homemade "Garment District Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce". He even thought to put a birthday candle in it to make it a little more special. I thought that was awesome. The hubby loved it and it tasted amazing.


We had absolutely no complaints about this wonderful restaurant. The staff made sure that my hubby had a blast and the food was excellent. I definitely recommend this restaurant the next time you want a fun date night and you are in the Kansas City area. We had a great time.

Sophia's: Columbia, MO

Location: 3915 South Providence Road
Columbia, MO 65203-7106

Since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year, the hubby and I celebrated by having a full weekend of fun dates and activities. We went out to our weekly Friday-night date, saw a movie on Saturday, got to see the Ellis Marsalis quartet on Sunday (living jazz legend), and went to Sophia's on Monday night for dinner.


For Valentine's Day, the hubby surprised me with beautiful roses and a trip to one of the most romantic restaurants that we've found in Columbia. Sophia's is a very nice restaurant for a date night. Their website states, "Sophia's offers Southern European influenced cuisine in the heart of Columbia, Missouri. From the Godiva Ahi Tuna to Brandy Cream Filet, there is something for everyone at Sophia's." This was definitely true. Although the staff was hustling with the Valentine's Day rush and we did have a 30-40 minute wait, our waitress was still very friendly and helpful. This was our first time going to Sophia's, but we will definitely be back.

I ordered the Sophia's Blacked Shrimp Pasta dish. Oh. My. Word. Talk about yummy deliciousness. It was amazing and I think I have to have it again before I try a new dish. The menu described my dish as, "Shrimp blackened with a spanish spice crust, served over our creamy marinara, roasted red peppers, onion, tomato, and angel hair pasta." It was spicy and really good.


The hubby had the Chicken Mudega. My taste test of his dish turned out to be quite tasty too. The menu described his dish as, "Lightly breaded chicken breast topped with provolone cheese, sauteed with button mushrooms, prosciutto, and a tarragon cream sauce. Served over angel hair pasta." Hubby gave it two thumbs up.


We had a wonderful Valentine's weekend. I highly recommend Sophia's Restaurant for a romantic dinner date. Try it, you will love the ambience and the food.

Emeril's: Las Vegas, NV

Location: MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89109

We had a completely unconventional Christmas this year.
Our Christmas dinner took place at Emeril's in Las Vegas, NV.
Originally, I really didn't want to spend Christmas dinner at such a "high falutin'" restaurant, but let me tell you, the food was AAAA-MAZING!


The hubby had the Christmas special consisting of turkey & gravy, stuffing, and veggies. I had Emeril's jambalaya (sorry no picture of it, I was too busy stuffing my face-LOL). Both were really delicious. I could have hauled a bucket of that jambalaya home with me it was so good.


If you are in the Vegas area, head to the MGM Grand to eat at Emeril's. We had to make reservations since there were so many of us and it was Christmas day. I'm not sure if you have to make reservations all the time, but I would call to find out before just showing up for dinner.


The ambience was amazing, the wait staff was friendly and really good considering there was about 12 of us at one monstrous round table. All in all, this was a really wonderful restaurant. Don't let the fancy ingredients on the menu deter you from ordering something. Everything we tasted was delicious. Guess that's why Emeril is a top chef. He really knows how to meld those flavors together. Emeril's is a beautiful restaurant with a beautiful atmosphere and beautiful food. Try it, you'll like it.

Q's Chinese Restaurant: Columbia, MO

Location: 4004 Peach Ct # A
Columbia, MO 65203-3800

This is probably my favorite Chinese restaurant in Columbia.
It has a wonderful ambience in the restaurant with white tablecloths and real dinnerware and flatware (not the plastic plates and forks common in a lot of Chinese restaurants). The staff is friendly and very efficient, the Wonton soup is amazing, and I have not had a single entree yet that was not fresh and delicious.

General Tso's Chicken

You get a crazy amount of food too. The hubby always gets the General Tso's Chicken but I like to try new dishes with my current favorite being the Garlic Chicken (with extra onions). Ahh, delicious spicy goodness on a plate.

Garlic Chicken

So try Q's Chinese Restaurant. It is located away from the normal hustle and bustle of downtown Columbia. The food is more than a little tasty and the ambience makes this place more than your usual Chinese restaurant.

Chim's Thai Kitchen: Jefferson City, MO

Location: 103 East High Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101

So today after a long day at work, I anxiously await my hubby coming home with dinner.
I know I know, but I just didn't feel like cooking. My back and my feet both hurt and my stomach is seriously trying to eat it's way to my back. LOL!
Anyway, the place that I am talking about is Chim's Thai Restaurant here in Jefferson City. We always order either the pork Pad Thai or the pork Pad See Ewe with egg rolls. Both are extremely delicious and everything is made fresh to order. No matter what we order though, we HAVE to get the egg rolls because they are so doggoned fabulous! I seriously could eat them every week.
So if you are in the Jefferson City area and are in the mood for some delicious Thai food, try Chim's. You won't be disappointed! Be sure to order the egg rolls, they are addictive!