Tasty Tuesday: Pizza, Pizza!

I feel like I go throw cycles with my cooking- cycles where I try/discover/create a whole bunch of new recipes. Then I fall in love with those recipes and cook them on repeat for a month or two at a time, until I get bored and the cycle starts again.

In the past couple of days I have tried a few new delicious recipes. Here is the first... I will post the rest soon!

For a stay-at-home date night, Christian and I made homemade pizza and salad. Hands down, best meal I have had in a while. This flavor combination on the pizza should win whatever the Academy Award-equivalent is for food. It is finger- licking, forget that you are full and keep eating kind of good.  And the best part was that it was pretty clean! Buffalo Mozzarella, Caramelized Onions and Yellow Bell Peppers, Pancetta and Spinach all on a healthy whole wheat crust. To accompany the pizza, we made a salad that I like to call “The Kitchen Sink Salad,” because you basically can throw just about anything in and it would still be delicious. I have made a similar version with Kale, but this is made with a balsamic dressing as opposed to lemon vinaigrette, and it pairs perfectly with pizza! Although homemade pizza can be a bit of an undertaking (depending on toppings and if you make a homemade crust) it really was so much fun and a great date night activity! We had so much fun dancing around the kitchen, listening to albums, only to be rewarded with this tasty meal!

I found my recipe inspiration on LandonGilfillan.com, and changed it just a little bit by caramelizing the onions. I also cheated a little and found a decently clean Whole Wheat Crust at Trader Joe’s. Whole Wheat Pizza Crust rolled out and baked for 3 minutes before adding toppings.  Add toppings- Buffalo Mozzarella, Caramelized Onions, Yellow Bell Peppers, Pancetta and Spinach. Bake for an additional 8 minutes or until crust is cooked to desire. Serve immediately.

Here is how ours turned out. As you can see, we were so excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture of the final product until after we had dug in- It was just that good! 

Can't wait for you to try it! Xo, Mahri 

Love in Los Olivos

For our anniversary, Christian planned a nice little weekend getaway to the Santa Ynez Valley, wine country east of Santa Barbara. The only word to sum of the weekend is "perfect." We had the best time in recent memory, drinking wine, eating delicious (not-so-clean) food and just enjoying each others company.

Christian rented an amazing little house on Bernat Vineyard. Let me tell you, this place was AMAZING! 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, patio, deck- all that looked out over 10 acres of grapevines. The absolute perfect place to spend a romantic weekend away!

When we arrived on Friday afternoon, we checked into our little spot, popped open the bottle of wine and dug in to the cheese platter that had greeted us upon entry. We went to dinner that night at an awesome little spot called "Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe." Their seasonal menu consisted of all local, organic, farm to table ingredients, which if you know me, is right up my alley! They have hundreds of bottles of wines from all over the world (but specialize in local wines) and the atmosphere is exactly what you would imagine when you think of a restaurant in wine country: quaint and elegant, but cozy and far from fussy. Definitely a spot to check out if you travel to Los Olivos or any of the nearby towns.

On Saturday we hit up the tasting rooms on Grand Ave, the hub of the tiny little town. As this was the first time I had drank in a few months, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Refugio Ranch and Sarloos & Sons were my favorite tasting rooms, but I had a great time at all of the ones we visited. We had lunch at this great sandwich spot called Panino. Our picnic style lunch was so delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it! It rained most of the weekend but I wouldn't have changed it for all of the sunshine in the world. We had so much fun running in the rain from tasting room to tasting room and the gloomy weather almost made the weekend more romantic!

There is just something magical about this place. Everywhere you go you feel like you are an old friend who has returned after a long time away, as you are always greeted by a smiling face. Everyone is so friendly and there is no denying how beautiful the area is. We are definitely going back! In fact, we were planning our return trip before we even left town!

Here are some pictures from the weekend! Cheers!