I left my heart in March: St. George (part 2)

While I was visiting San Francisco in early March, it was decided that a road trip to Las Vegas was in order to see one of my oldest and dearest friends (and roommate!) who had recently moved back from New York. Shortly after which my mom had contacted me that she would be in hiking in Southern Utah that same week during my little brothers spring break. Immediately I called my best friend in Salt Lake to fly her ass down to Vegas and drive with me back to Utah. The weekend altogether was a blast and so much fun that I'm still smiling.

We hiked inside some pretty amazing caves & lava tubes in Snow Canyon It was freezing cold & snowing pretty much the whole time but beautiful nonetheless Pit stop at The Sweet Tooth Fairy on the way back to our hotel Fairy funfetti, raspberry lemonade & strawberry shortcake cupcakes ...and lunch (y'all don't know about my love for Arctic Circle) Someone is ready for the hot tub in his grocery bag that doubles as a swimsuit Cinnamon rolls for breakfast before heading back to San Diego

I left my heart in March: Las Vegas (part 1)

Whilst skimming through photos from my recent trips to San Francisco, Las Vegas and St. George in March I figured now was as good a time as any to post some tidbits here. My heart was swelling with love and overflowing with euphoria last month as I saw *almost* every person that fills my heart with joy. With that said, I want to get back on track and in routine of sharing my adventures here again! So here we go!

I love this website, travelmath Sara cooked me breakfast <3 Capriotti's for lunch Archi's for dinner Tried to make popcorn over an open fire Jen flew in from Salt Lake Hash House for breakfast, naturally Mister rock chip repair man workin' his magic after an unfortunate event in the Virgin River Canyon Earl of Sandwich for lunch Hittin' the road to St. George...

Foodie Friday: Luv-It's Frozen Custard

While I was visiting Las Vegas a few weeks ago my friend took me to one of her favorite places to go as a child, Luv-It's.

I couldn't help but admire the charm of this adorable blue building with white trim and its walk up window service. I was dumbfounded that this seemingly busy and very family-oriented custard shoppe (no really, everyone in line had children) was right off the strip and practically in the sketchiest of neighborhoods. However, it certainly proved to be the popular place for families on a Friday night.

They offered all sorts of speciality sundaes and a ton of flavored custards listed on their menu. At the time I was feeling regular ol' vanilla custard with butterscotch. HOLY BUTTERSCOTCH BATMAN, it. was. amazing. Sara ordered their seasonal blueberry custard and I've never tried anything like it, I'm still daydreaming about it.

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Location: 505 E Oakey Blvd. Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
Neighborhood: Downtown (north end of the strip)

Foodie Friday: Mexican Egg Rolls with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

My mom is always finding new, fun recipes to try and I think she gets more excited than I do when she can find a way to vegetarian/veganize it! While I was visiting Southern Utah last week, she made these awesome Mexican egg rolls (I kept calling them hot pockets) that were just too good to not share here! My favorite part was the creamy cilantro dipping sauce, that I later used on everything else in sight (burgers, salads, etc.).



What you will need:

For Egg Rolls
1 package Spanish Rice (we used Uncle Bens 90 second Spanish rice)
1 pound ground sausage (any vegetarian meat crumbles will work here!)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Mexican style diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
28 egg roll wrappers (by the prepackaged salad bags at the grocery store)
optional: add a package of taco seasoning mix for more flavor

For Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce:
1 can Mexican style diced tomatoes
4 oz. package of cream cheese (half a block)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup sour cream


Directions:
For Egg Rolls

1. Cook rice according to package, cool completely.

2. Cook sausage/crumbles in skillet over medium heat until cooked thoroughly.

3. Stir rice together with the sausage and black beans in large bowl. Once everything is mixed well, stir in tomatoes, cheese and onions.

4. Spoon 1/3 cup of mixture in center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom of wrapper over filling, tucking in the tip under the filling, then fold left and right corners in. Lightly brush remaining corner with egg (or water), tightly roll end toward remaining corner, and gently press to seal.

5. Bake on cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 20 minutes (10 minutes on each side).



For Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Process ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Foodie Friday: Foreign Cinema

During my visit to San Francisco, brunch at Foreign Cinema was a must after Brittney descriptively sold me on their homemade pop tarts. The ambiance was lovely, the menu was creative and the service was excellent; the waitress even promptly refolded our friends napkin and adjusted his chair when he left the table. I loved the industrial chic atmosphere and overall posh vibe Foreign Cinema gave off. We sat in the huge, gorgeous dining room with large windows and open doors letting the sun spill in. This was needless to say one of the fancier restaurants I've been to, but worth every penny. I wish I could have squeezed in the dinner experience on their covered outdoor patio area where a schedule of foreign films are projected onto a giant concrete wall... next time.







Homemade organic strawberry pop tart, so delicious. Definitely trying the apple-pear next time!



Balsamic fried eggs over roasted garlic-potato hash and mixed chicories.


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Location: 2534 Mission Street San Francisco, California 94110
Neighborhood: Mission District

Foodie Friday: Smitten Ice Cream

Smitten I totally was when introduced to this adorable ice cream parlor in San Francisco during my visit two weeks ago. Each cup or cone is made to order (in a whopping 60 seconds!) using liquid nitrogen -- how cool! Pun fully intended.







I opted for the classic vanilla with a meyer lemon caramel sauce and Brittney got the brown butter pecan, so creamy and delicious!




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Here's a little video of Smitten ice cream in the making!



Location: 432 Octavia Street San Francisco, California 94102
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley