Happy New Year loves! Hurray for the first "City Life" post of the new year!
NEW YEARS TABLE SETTING:
      
IN THE CITY:
 The Tampa Armature     Ulele Spring      
DATE NIGHTS: This month we had a lot of date nights. Probably more than usual. I was kind of in a weird mood all month due to this trip that just passed and I just needed to get out more so I could breath and have some fun. We revisited some restaurants that we went to in August 2017 and I liked them just as much as last year.
  
The misto bar at Armanis
       Eddison Food + Drink Lab    O Cocina Modern Mexican    Cask Social- Hyde Park     Spain Restaurant & Tapas Tampa     
Eddie V's Prime Seafood
HAULS:
    I am an avid lipstick lover and so I was so excited to see that Fenty Beauty was coming out with 14 lipsticks. I made my trip up to Sephora after having purchased the lipsticks online and I bought more items! I truely love everything that I have purchased so far. I did get my color ID done with the Fenty Profilter foundations and it turns out I was using the wrong color. I have been using 360 for about 3 to 4 weeks now and I love it. I only have to use two squirts on my beauty blender and I get full coverage. This is my first time using a beauty blender (I think) and I love it!   Jewelery c/o Ettika 
This month's Rocksbox goodies
      
This chef's knife was given to me by my dad (someone else gave it to him).. I don't think he knew he was giving me a Santoku knife (he is only familiar with Cutco) so I was really really happy. This knife is really lightweight and it is really easy to cut with which is something I have trouble with. It cuts with a precision our other knives don't have and I am guessing it was a lot cheaper than most of the Japanese knives we own.
CANDLE REVIEW:
 Happiness: Made with Bergamot Essential Oil, Mandarin Essential Oil. I purchased this candle one time and I was in the fence about if I liked it or not. I decided to buy another one Save water drink wine: Black cherry merlot. This candle smelled exactly as described and it was pleasant. It was heavy on the black cherry merlot smell, but I did pick up a hint of florals from it.   
FITNESS: Fitness has been pretty much the same as last month. I have been practicing surpine poses and deep stretches all month. Someone asked what my workout routine is and it occurred to me I have not gone into that. I usually practice yoga once a week for 15 to 20 minutes. In December I finally added 2 more days when I am up to it. Since December I have done 2 or more days of yoga or pilates. Other than that I get a little exercise running errands, cooking, and doing other household chores. As you guys know I have had a few surgeries and as much as I would love to go "beastmode" my body can't take that. That was the original reason why I started Pilates. I have found that I can get a pretty well rounded workout practicing only Yoga with the help of my books and my yoga wheel. Most days if I have a flare up in my arms, hands, or knees I will do Yoga to target those areas. Some weeks I have leg days only and some days I have arms and back days.
   
Sideways complete thunderbolt pose- Eka Hasta Parshva Paripurna Vajrasana
  
Half lotus frog pose: Ardha Padma Bhekasana
*ALL GLUTEN FREE MEALS PREPARED BY MYSELF, RECIPES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST*
Over the next couple of months I hope that you guys can see an evolution of my cooking (and hopefully plating). Like I explained last Fall/Winter, my new cooking gadgets always inspire me to try different things. I love buying new things to enhance my ability to cook better meals. After I purchased my Sous Vide and Cast Iron I went HAM in the kitchen. Not only that, I subscribe to so many cooking magazines and websites and I find inspiration everywhere online. The best part about it is that I can take just about any meal I see and convert that into a low calories, healthy, gluten free meal which is why I share my meals; because gluten free food is good!
Sometimes I am in the mood for a staple meal which is basically something that I grew up eating and it's like comfort food for me and sometimes I want to try a new recipe or experiment in the kitchen. Sometimes I wonder how I keep all my recipes straight because I have probably over 1,300 at this point. When I first got married 12 years ago I could make spaghetti, omelettes, and a few staple meals (like 2). I was working 2 jobs and going to school and cooking wasn't a passion just a necessity of life. Once I finally got my weight under control I was unemployed and in college and I had time to learn how to cook proper healthy low calorie meals. You may have come across my YouTube channel FashiontoliveTV. I enjoyed making tutorials, but with all the work and the changes made to YouTube it wasn't work all the time I was putting in. Learning how to make healthy meals became a passion and then when I had to go gluten free once again it was a necessity, but still a passion- especially since everyone kept saying gluten free food was nasty.
Now, no one in my family can believe that these meals are mine because my parents notoriously tell everyone I did not know how to cook and then all of a sudden I started cooking. I can outcook all of them (he he he). Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy and share my photos so they can get more exposure! And follow me on Snapchat for daily cooking name Fashiontolive.
Hey, I also found out I have over 15k visitors on my Pinterest page a month, who knew?
As usual you guys feel free to email, DM, or just leave a comment if you want a recipe. I usually get people asking for recipes on Instagram and not so much on here so that is why I just do them at request.
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| Baked cast iron spicy chicken breasts |
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| Short rib green bamboo soup |
ROAST CHICKEN WITH HASSELBACK POTATOES & ASPARAGUS
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| Cast iron chicken quesadillas- less is more |
I almost never make beef meatballs because it just wasn't something I grew up eating. My mom was insanely against us eating beef and I did not start eating it until I got married and found out I was anemic. Tonight I decided that I did so well with the chicken marsala meatballs from last month, why not try a classic Italian meatball- gluten free of course. My hubby used to be a butcher so usually if he is home he will roll the meatballs, he cuts the meat, he can even filet a fish; so that is his hand in that photo.
Aren't these gold plates from my Christmas table setting everything? I love the way they reflect light!
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| cast iron hot wedge potatoes |
3 red potatoes cut into wedges
2 tablespoons flour
parsley
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt
Preheat oven to 400 and cut up your red potatoes into thick wedges. Place them in a tupperware and then add the two tablespoons of flour. Close and shake the container so that the flour has evenly coated the potatoes. Next, place them on your cast iron and cut up your parsley and sprinkle it on the potatoes, then add your salt and red pepper flakes. Lastly, drizzle a little evoo over the top and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
FRIED GREN TOMATOES PREP
For some reason no market ever has green tomatoes out here in South Tampa, trust me, I have looked for about 4 years. My husband ran up to Sprouts Market on New Years Eve and he just happened to see they had some! I make my fried green tomatoes like my mom used to make them when I was a child. I keep it real simple so the tartness of the tomato shines through. That means no buttermilk, no eggs, no fancy stuff. My husband actually was shaking his head at me like these are not going to taste right and I asked him "What exactly do you know about cooking Southern green tomatoes?"
I like to cut my tomatoes medium thick. Place the tomato slices in a bowl of ice water and let them soak for 5 minutes while you measure out your batter. I made this recipe for one serving of fried green tomatoes (at 2 tomatoes total). Half a cup of cornmeal and 1/4 cup of gluten free flour. Mix it (I prefer a flat surface) and add your salt, pepper, or old bay seasoning. Remove your tomato slices from ice water and one by one coat lightly in the cornmeal mixture. I like to use a spoon to smooth the mixture over the tomatoes flatly and then shake off any excess.
The key to this recipe is keeping the tomatoes firm by putting them in the water and making sure your vegetable or Canola oil is hot enough to fry them quickly and thoroughly. I never cool with a lot of oil so I used about 1 table spoon per tomato.
I put my electric stove on 6 and noted that by the time I was on the second batch I needed to set my cast iron to the side to cool. Cook until the edges are golden brown which will only take 4 minutes on each side or less and then add a pinch of salt and eat them while they are hot.
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| Breakfast: Eggs, pico de gallo, sausage, and yellow grits |
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