Picky, Picky

My husband is a really good eater (just ask his mom...hee hee...).  He will eat most anything, which makes cooking pretty easy most of the time because he will eat what I make.  However, recently we have made the decision to start eating healthier and made a few rules for ourselves.

1.  Cut back on the drinky-drink- Joel actually said I could have one glass of my beloved vino each night.  I decided it's probably better if I try to limit drinking to the weekends only, and the occasional happy hour.
2.  No bad carbs at dinner.  This means no bread, no pasta, etc.  We are trying really hard to make meals out of lean proteins and lots of veggies and fruit.

Sounds pretty easy right?  Well, one of the veggies that I really love is broccoli.  Steamed, a little lemon, salt & pepper... yummy!  Or even just raw, as a snack.  Joel happens to HATE broccoli.  Hates the taste, and hates the texture.  So I decided to trick him last night into eating broccoli with a little help from my friends at Black Bottle, who have an amazing recipe called Broccoli Blasted. 

Broccoli Blasted
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit
4-6 Servings

1 1/4 pounds broccoli, cut into florets (about 8 cups)
3 1/2 Tbl Olive Oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
Large pinch of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Toss broccoli and 3 Tbl olive oil in a bowl to coat.  Transfer to rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 15 minutes.  (It might be a little brown and crispy at this point- that's ok, it's supposed to be this way)  Stir remaining olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a bowl.  Drizzle over broccoli and return to oven for 8 minutes*.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

* I found that it was easier to transfer the broccoli back to its original bowl and toss it with the garlic and red pepper mixture to get all of my broccoli coated- this is where you get all the yummy flavor that makes your broccoli not taste like broccoli. 

The result?  Crispy, yummy broccoli that the hubs actually ate.  He said he liked it because it "didn't taste like broccoli and the texture wasn't like little spermies."

Yes, he actually said that.  I am One Lucky Girl, I am.

So, if you have a broccoli hater in your family, I highly recommend you steal this recipe immediately and make it.

XOXO,
ECH

I am by no means a wedding expert.....

....but I did pick up a few things during my planning process that recently let me help my dear new friend, the divine Lady M, work through a slight wedding vendor crisis.  Lady M emailed me yesterday, frantic because the quote that she had gotten from her florist was ridiculously high from the amount she had budgeted.  Like, we're talking $1000 over what she originally told the florist.  Ridiculous.  However, not surprising.  I had this happen to me when I was picking a florist- in fact, it was the one vendor of mine that was REALLY hard to find the "perfect vendor".  So, without further ado, here are my tips for navigating the waters when searching for your wedding vendors.

1.  Go into your first meeting prepared.  Pull inspiration photos from the internet, bridal magazines, photographer's blogs... anything that speaks to your vision of your day.  Your vendor can't help shape your dream until you give them an idea of what that dream is.


2.  Even if you know NOTHING about the particulars of your vendor's craft, do some research ahead of time.  I, as well as Lady M, made the mistake of telling our potential florist that we knew "nothing about flowers" and that we "trusted their judgement".  While they are the experts, even experts need a little "guidance" when it comes to our Big Day.  Florists, in particular, seem to always high-ball the budget that you give them, because let's face it- how many people really know a lot about flowers?  Do a quick internet search on what is seasonal for your wedding date.


3.  Be realistic about what you are asking for.  This means COMPROMISE becomes a very, very important vocabulary word during the planning process.  It means that if you spend more money than you expected because you HAD to have the kick-ass photographer, then you find someplace where you spend less.  For me, that meant I bought a sample wedding gown, because I paid more for my kick-ass photographer than I originally budgeted.  And she was kick-ass, and my dress was also gorgeous.  Win-win.  For other brides, this might mean that your beloved peonies are only in your bouquet instead of all over your wedding.  There are solutions, people, you just might need to get creative.

4.  Stand up for yourself.  This is because you are the bride, and while I am not a fan of Bridezilla moments, I think that there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't *politely* put your vendor in their place when they try to pull a fast one on you.  Whether it's telling them that they went way over your budget in their proposal, or that the plan isn't aligning with your vision, you need to do yourself a favor and speak up.  Because if you don't, then you will kick yourself on your wedding day because you were afraid to speak up and tell your stylist that you hate your hairstyle and that she needs to fix it RIGHTNOW.  (I love you, Natalie, but I still can't get over my wedding day hair.  Why I didn't just leave it down is still beyond me.)

That's it, dearies.  Hope it is helpful to my future brides-to-be!