D.C.'s Best Cupcake No. 7: Sprinkles, Part Deux

So I still haven't actually been to Sprinkles - currently planning an excursion in August when Sister V. comes down - but according to this Washington Post article, D.C. is getting its own 24-hour Cupcake ATM!!! Granted, Georgetown is not nearly as convenient as say...mmm...Arlington, but when those 2 a.m. cupcake cravings hit, at least there won't be any traffic! :D

Cooking No. 15: Jose Andres for the Garden Café Catalonia

I can’t take credit for either one of these beauties - or even the photographs, for that matter! My friend T. took these shots of our Jose Andres lunch at the National Gallery this past Sunday. For our entrée, we ordered the empedrat de mongetes amb bacallà, aka the white bean salad with vegetables and Catalan salt cod. We split it between the two of us–they were out of Drew’s first choice–and, minus the inevitable fish/garlic bad breath, it was perfect: fresh and pleasantly pungent.

For dessert, we split the peres al vi amb gelat de vainilla, pears poached in red wine with vanilla ice cream. I usually don’t care for pears, but these had a nice sangria-esque vibe going on. Top that with ice cream and–needless to say–they didn’t last long!

The restaurant also has a Catalonian buffet set up for the exhibition. It was a bit pricey for the two of us, but I would have loved to try the cold cherry and tomato soup. The recipe is online here and looks simple enough. Maybe I’ll give it a try!

Date Night No. 4: Derecho Style

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

Welcome to our weekend. Here I am, writing this on Monday afternoon, and all I can think is, "I need a weekend from my weekend." I'm being dramatic, of course. We were only out of power for a day, our apartment was never warmer than 78 degrees, and I only had to throw out 1/2 gallon of milk, 1/4 pound of bacon, and one chicken breast. (Who knew small grocery budgets were so black-out friendly?) Our neighbor had a tree land on their car and a lot of folks are still in the dark, so I can't complain.

The weekend was off to a lousy start even before the derecho rolled through. Originally, Drew and I were going to get dinner in Rosslyn and then catch the free, outdoor movie in Gateway Park, but after a long, hot week at work (for both of us), we canned that idea in favor of vegging out at a proper, air conditioned theater. The second-run cinema near our house was showing The Hunger Games, so we decided to give the cheap seats a shot. However, we didn't count on not being able to find parking in time for the show. (Sometimes I miss sprawl and its glorious acres of asphalt. *sigh*) I wasn't too keen on missing the beginning of the movie, so we turned around and went back home. The storm hit around 10:30, killed our power almost immediately, and terrified the cat. I went to bed early, because that's the kind of day/week it was. Just put me out of my misery, please.

Our friend Amy visited on Saturday on her way home from vacation and I'm afraid Drew, Nibbles, and I cut a pitiful sight: tired, hot, and cranky. (Well, Drew and the Noo were only tired. I was the only Triple Crown winner.) Thankfully, Amy has seen me at my worst and dirtiest in the middle of the African Bush, so she wasn't frightened away. (We had enough hot water for showers Saturday morning, so I'm sure that helped too!) Old Town had power, so we had lunch at Pizzeria Paradiso and shop-hopped to stay cool. By four I needed a nap - because I physically cannot do heat - so we went back to the mercifully-still-cool apartment so I could recharge my batteries. :) Amy left after dinner at Don Pablo's in Potomac Yard - what's with Alexandria having all the power?! - and Drew and I holed up with our four candles and iPhone lights. (Note to self: BUY A MAGLIGHT! And maybe some other disaster supplies… Talk about being the least prepared on the street. :P)

We'd just drifted off to sleep around 11:30 when the condensers for our building - conveniently located right outside my window - whirled to life. Now, there's something to be said for the silence and darkness that accompanies a blackout. It is nice in a slow-you-down, focus-on-what's-important, look-at-the-stars kind of way. But there's also something to be said for air conditioning in 100 degree heat. And in this case (and for maybe the first time in my life), I support the latter. Whirl, baby, whirl!

So Sunday things finally got back to the normal and planned. (Except for our Internet, which came back with the power, but left Sunday night only to return again Monday.) We went to church, swung by Target to replace a few empty/depleted perishables, and cooked lunch on the stove. (I missed having a gas stove this weekend! Even when they cut power in PA during the whole Irene mess, we could still cook!)

After lunch, we metroed into the city for an afternoon at the National Gallery with our friends T. & E., specifically to see the Joan Miro exhibition, "The Ladder of Escape." I didn't know a lot about Miro, so it was an interesting exhibit to walk through, especially after I sat through the exhibit movie and had more of a clue. (Surrealism is not my strong point. ;) Afterwards, we had lunch in the garden café, whose menu was redesigned with Catalonian cuisine by chef Jose Andres (T.'s fav! :) for the exhibit. Proof that he is an amazing chef? The huz ate white bean and salt cod salad and LIKED it. Wonder of wonders, I need to take a few notes from that man's cookbook. :) (The red wine poached pears for dessert were amazing as well. And I don't even like pears!)

Because we ate out way more than normal this weekend - although completely justifiable considering the circumstances - I don't even know where the date night budget should begin and end this week. Do you ever have off weeks like that? Weeks were everything goes haywire and at some point you just stop caring? Ugh. Lunch on Sunday was probably around $25 - close enough. No date night this week - Drew's going to PA to clean up some loose ends from our move in February - so we'll start afresh the weekend after that. We should be sufficiently recovered by then.