Botanical Garden and the Capitol

Besides the cool design of the greenhouse behind me, do you know what is awesome about this picture?!

No taxis, no buses, no people, no trash, no grime, and a big, blue sky. Amazing contrast to NYC.

I so wish this was my backyard! My grandma had one of these by the pool in California when I was growing up and I loved it.

View from out front of our hotel. So awesome to be staying just 2 blocks away.

Old Ebbitt Grill

even though I hate the color hunter green, i'm a sucker for tufted velvet

oat-crusted salmon, sauteed spinach and bacon-colcannon

After our bus finally pulled into DC from NYC (we left NYC @ 4:30 on the Friday of Columbus weekend and arrived around 10pm), we stepped out of Union Station with our luggage and saw the Capitol building glowing softly in the darkness. A nice, simple first impression and we were thrilled to be staying just 2 blocks away!

We checked into the hotel with haste and made a beeline (on foot) for Old Ebbitt Grill. A classic establishment and quintessential Washington, DC institution. Thank you for the recommendation Robert and Sarah! (Kansas friends who lived in DC for years and now reside in Australia)

When we sat down, it was close to 11pm and man were we famished. I mean, we're used to eating like New Yorkers now at 8 or 9pm, but 11?? Holy cow! I had a very hard time deciding on what to order because the menu had loads of local, seasonal fish and produce available and everything sounded amazing. Luckily, they serve the full dinner menu until 2am, so we had crab dip for starters (WOW), and Luke had baked Maine Haddock and I, the oat-crusted Salmon. Both meals were scrumptious and we really enjoyed the atmosphere and service. Also, the restaurant is HUGE, so it was nice to be in such vastness vs. tight and cramped NYC spaces.

When midnight struck, we turned into old bumpkins and grabbed a cab back to the hotel for a good night sleep. Our first impression of DC was awesome and made us excited for the coming days. Did I mention that the forecast was to be in the 70's and sunny all weekend?

{Friday Night Dinner} Braised Beef Short Ribs

 Luke had been craving short ribs for a long time, so I decided to give them a whirl. I followed a recipe from this awesome blog. Quite an endeavor, but well worth every mouthwatering minute!

season some short ribs and let them rest

chop some veg and fresh herbs

uncork some tasty red wine

give half to yourself and half to the pot

(please disregard our messy kitchen. it is well used and loved!)

simmer and reduce wine with veg, herbs and broth

sear ribs (patiently)

if you don't own a $300 ceramic cast iron, Le Creuset dutch oven, do not fret (like I did). just use the deepest casserole dish you have on hand. put all ingredients in, cover, place gently in oven, and go away for 3 hours (drink more wine and watch 6 episodes of Property Brothers to pass the time) prepare mashed tators during last half hour

feel seduced by the amazing aroma and take dish out. transfer ribs back to oven to "crisp" just a tad

(trust me that these are incredibly tender, even though they appear to be extra crispy)

serve swiss chard (or kale or spinach) with broth and horseradish crème fraiche

see how moist and tender?

DEVOUR and enjoy!!!

Luke claims that these were the BEST short ribs he's ever had. I don't know if he was just being super sweet or if he was super serious (i'd like to think the latter :) but it's definitely a keeper to make again. I'd love to serve this to our parents or friends sometime!

(if you'd like my adapted version of the recipe, let me know and I will happily email it to you)

we went to DC

Over Columbus Day weekend, Luke and I hopped on a Bolt Bus after work and headed south to DC.

I was actually born outside of DC in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and hadn't been back since. Luke went with his family when he was younger and was excited to visit again (he loves history and is kind of obsessed with Presidents)

Boy did we choose an eventful weekend to visit. This happened while we were there (more on that soon since we were actually in the museum when they kicked everyone out!) and also the Taste of DC was happening as well. Needless to say, it was an action packed weekend and the weather was beyond gorgeous (thank God I packed shorts!) 

So stay tuned for all our DC adventures (we have perfected being power tourists since our Pacific Coast trip this spring) and also look out for the next Friday Night Dinner, it's a good one!

Fishkill Farms

Luke and I took a train up the Hudson River, to the small town of Fishkill for some apple, pumpkin, and sunflower picking. remember our fall harvest trip last year to a vineyard, goat-cheese farm, and farmer's market?

we had apple cider cake donuts for breakfast. MMM

the reason i chose this farm. i like knowing where my food is from and what it has been in contact with

we arrived bright and early to beat the crowds. the air was misty and the ground was a blanket of dew

so bountiful

(that white film on the apples is Kaolin Clay which is 100% non-toxic and camouflages the fruit from insect pests, reducing the use of pesticides. it wipes off super easy with a paper or cloth towel)

preparing for picking

we started by snagging some Jonamacs

then we picked some Golden Delicious

♥

the sun finally made an appearance as we headed down to the pumpking patch

i chose 2 puny ones, even though i wanted a ginormous monster pumpkin. they were super muddy and we had a long walk back to the farmhouse to consider 

i was so excited to "pick" some fresh sunflowers

so sloppy in the field

(the sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds)

note to self- always wear wellies to farms

(bandits from here)

walking back up to the farmhouse with our goodies

i like the ghoulish gray pumpkins

cluck, cluck

waiting for a taxi back to the train station and really glad we made the effort to come early in the day. hoards of families galore had arrived (which is just the thing we were trying to escape from the city!)

as we sat waiting for the train back to Manhattan, I kept gazing at these and thinking fondly of the sunflower fields back home in Kansas