wingin’ it

I’ve never been particularly partial to hot, spicy things. Whenever we used to go out for wings, I’d have to wade in the kiddie-pool portion of the hot-sauce scale. I don’t like jalapenos, and Tabasco makes me sweat just thinking about it. But in the last year or so, I’ve come to a realization.

I love wing sauce.

The first time I really remember having it was when my sister made a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip that consisted of cheddar cheese, chicken, ranch, cream cheese, and a whole heap of buffalo sauce. Those initial bites were too much for me to handle, but I gradually warmed up to it. (Like what I did there?)

I made a Crock-Pot of the dip for a tail-gate style snack session at my office and ended up with a large bottle of hot sauce leftover in my cabinet. It wasn’t long till I started experimenting. Tonight was no different. Here’s what I chowed on during The Biggest Loser:

Hmmm….not the best picture; I took it with my phone. But that, friends, is buffalo sauce with tempeh, roasted broccoli, blue cheese and sour cream. It was delicious, and I drank almost 32 ounces of water while eating it. That stuff is no joke.

Do you like spicy things? What’s your favorite combination? I tried to take this down a notch with some sour cream and blue cheese. It helped a little, but mostly they all just complemented one another.

who you calling fat?

Three weeks ago began the season of Lent. But before we go there, let’s start here:

Last year, I was in New Orleans for Fat Tuesday (and Joy’s birthday).

This year, I wanted to recreate the fun. I invited all my friends over for some regional eats, including King Cake, jambalaya and shrimp po boys.

It was all so delicious! Joy even made us an authentic Pimm’s Cup cocktail.

It was packed with all kinds of goodies. In addition to Joy (and Jonathan, as you can see in the photo above, dork), several other friends showed up to delight in the brightly colored festivities.

Jen, Mandy, Reagan, Jason, Ronnie, Jonathan and Joy. Craig was there, too, but for some reason he’s not in these photos

Afterward, we headed out to the J Clyde for some adult libations.

Get ya beads!

I think Jonathan looks like an old lady wearing her specs.

Dennis and Mallory joined us for some dranks.

Jonathan and Mandy still love each other…even though she (and Craig) are little photobombers.

I love this guy.

As we sipped on a few cold ones (and enjoyed 1/2 off pint night, holla), we all talked about Lent season and what we might consider giving up (or taking on, whatever the choice may be). Last year, I gave up cheese…talk. about. hard. (that’s what she said.) This year, I decided to try something that I’ve been thinking about for a while.

I gave up meat for Lent.

I’ve been trending towards a more meatless lifestyle over the past few months, and it’s something I’m really interested in. I also jumped on the Food Inc. train and really had my eyes opened to a lot of things I already knew and even more that I didn’t.

I’ve been meatless for about three weeks now, and it hasn’t been too difficult. I have to clarify that I’m still eating fish, and I’ve not been as strict as I might should be: ie, I went to a bbq place that had ham chunks in the green beans, and I just picked them out.

One great thing about going meatless is that it’s challenged me to become a little more creative and also it’s helped me to get more of my veggie and fruit servings in. I can’t wait to share some of the recipes I’ve been testing out these past few weeks with you!

Do you celebrate Lent season? Have you given things up in the past? Did you do it for this year?