I grazed through the day.  But, really, why does it matter since I have already been claimed as lost?

I went to the Baby Bar at 9:30 and sat there, drinking water, for 3 and half hours!  Yes.  Then I came home (around 3:20), was on the computer for about 5 minutes, and then my internet went caput.  It is still caput (I’m typing this at an SVS meeting at Coffee Social).  I lost because I didn’t have internet?  Awesome.  I’m pretty sure the digital divide bridge just collapsed…all over this challenge.

Regardless, I’m still a winner!  Why?  Not only did I make it through the whole challenge, but I won over my arch nemesis!  Yes, he loves local!

That’s him eating a grilled cheese made from Petit Chat bread and Smoky Cheddar Cheese.   Unlike some people, I didn’t just cook for myself and other Spokavore Challengers, I cooked for other people, people who normally eat at Red Lobster and  Applebee’s.  Yeah.  I’m still awesome.

I ate a lot today:

Breakfast: Apple from Rocket Market and toast (Petit Chat Tuscan Bread topped with Petit Chat butter)

Snacks: Lemon Bumble Bar (I think it’s the best Bumble Bar they have, so good).

I made a “deal” with Monique last night/this morning.  I would give her some of my CDA Oil and Petit Chat butter in exchange for her lentils.  We met up at the Main Market Co-Op where I loitered like no other till she arrived.  When she finally arrived, we made the exchange, parted ways, and then I continued to loiter, admiring the crap out of the place (it’s really beautiful, isn’t it?).

I ended up buying some more produce, Small Planet Tofu dip, and Lentz Pancake Mix.  The cashier asked me if I drank milk, in which I immediately responded, “no” (I only purchase, order, drink soy milk…or try to), but then she told me they were giving out a half a gallon of local milk for free…Spokane Family Farm milk to be exact!  How can I say no to that?  I told her I could drink it this week!  Maybe I will make a smoothie with it tomorrow…

After Main Market Co-Op, I was in a very good mood! Not only was it a beautiful sunny day: I wasn’t working, I got to see Monique, and I got free milk.  So I decided to drive a mile or two to The Scoop, and I DO love The Scoop!  Hands down the best ice cream shop in Spokane, with their amazing Brain Freeze Ice Cream!  I got a cup of Cakey Dough ice cream, however, the worker let me try the Muddy Plates, Dirty Dishes too, and it was pretty incredible (chocolate cakey dough with peanut butter cups with a lil bit of a coffee flavor).

Here is a picture of 1/2 of it already eaten:

It was good.

I know I promised myself I would only go to three places this week, but I lied.  I went to DeLeon’s and bought their Pico de Gallo salsa, chips, and tortillas.  I finally came home and decided to snack on some chips and salsa (and Small Planet Tofu Dip) before the house was invaded by 4 children (nieces and nephews).

Well, my family also wanted to snack on my chips and salsa.  My dad is now obsessed with DeLeon’s Pico de Gallo.  He ate almost the whole thing, and gave me $15 to buy him two more tubs and a bag of chips.  Making this exchange with him made me feel a little like a drug dealer, he is hooked on that salsa like it is crack, and he is paying me extra for it…

At least with my challenge I have gotten other people to eat local foods with me!!!

I also made some pineapple orange juice (pineapple and oranges from Main Market).

Anyway, my juice, chips and salsa were extremely fulfilling.  However, I felt the need to make a dinner just for this challenge.

So, about an hour ago, I made a simple little tofu fajita with the following ingredients:

Couer D’Alene Oil

Red Pepper from Rocket Market

Tomato from Roseaurs

Onion from Roseaurs

Small Planet Tofu from Rocket Market.

Tortilla from DeLeon’s.

Not too bad.  It didn’t need any seasonings. My sister tried it too and liked it.  My nephew wanted some, but he had been eating all night so he didn’t.  I am making my mom a fajita tomorrow for lunch and bringing it to her (not just because I’m the best daughter ever, but I’m also subbing at her school in the afternoon).

Finished off with a glass of Lone Canary wine.

I have a lot to say about this challenge, but I think I will wait for tomorrow to say it.  Most importantly I’m in it, and I’m not eating food that I normally would make for myself, and it’s fun!

Yes, I set the fire alarm off five times!  I. am. awesome.

Today was a weird day.  Let’s just get to the facts.

Breakfast: Apple from Rocket Market

Lunch: Something my best friend Nicole from high school used to call “Baseball” something.  Her dad used to make them all the time for breakfast.  Baseball sandwich?  Baseball bat?  Baseball grand slam?  I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t know why I wrote that all out because I don’t care.  It was toast with a flippin’ egg on top of it.  The toast, was made from Tuscan Petit Chat bread and topped with Petit Chat garlic and rosemary butter.  The egg was over easy (or sunny side up, hell if I know anything about cooking eggs) was from Rocky Ridge Ranch (bought at Rocket Market).  I used Coeur D’Alene House Blend Oil bought from Rocket Market, too.  Hey cholesterol!

Er…so, I got a phone call from one of my favorite people in the whole wide world about an hour after I ate lunch.  She is in town, I haven’t seen her since high school, and she and her friends were heading towards Riverfront Park.  I got ready and hurried as fast as I could to meet up with her.  I had to go to work at 4 and completely forgot to bring snacks with me!  I knew that I was going to kill someone if I didn’t eat for 12 hours straight during the day, but I thought I could make it.  I mean, it’s unhealthy but people do it all the time, right?

Well, I don’t think this challenge is about promoting eating disorders, nor was I going to chow down on everything in front of my face and forfeit the challenge.

SO, during my 15 minute break, I walked as fast as I could to Atticus, hoping that they had some local edible product.  That’s where I bought some Peppernuts and Wildbeary Huckleberry Syrup (not sure if I will use it this week, but Monique’s pancakes look mouthwatering)!

I think my most favorite thing about this challenge so far is talking to the employees of these local businesses.  They are excited as hell that this is going on, which, from my point of view, means they love their job, Spokane, and what they are doing.   You know a product is going to be good when the person that makes it “hopes that there are leftovers at the end of the day so they can take it home.” (the baker who made the Petit Chat butter).  Also, the employee from Atticus was more than thrilled to hear about the competition and help me find local products!

Anyway, this post is getting long and boring:

Dinner: 1/2 grilled cheese left over from last night’s dinner, and roasted yukon potatoes (from Rocket Market) with CDA Olive Oil and Petit Chat butter (this is what set the fire alarm off 5 times).   My potatoes were good!  I even made two other people try them and they liked it.

I just have a fire alarm problem…

All this butter, bread, and cheese might lead to a detox day.  I need to eat more veggies and fruit tomorrow!

Did I mention I had three glasses of the Lone Canary Savignon Blanc tonight?  Well..I did.

Well let’s see.  I wasn’t creative today.  I have no desire to cook when I get home from work at 8, nor do I have time to eat dinner in the 15 minute break I have.  However,  I did go grocery shopping!  Woot.

Late Breakfast/Lunch: DOMA Coffee (Layers of Love,* to be exact) with a ‘lil sugar and a Petit Chat lemon poppy seed muffin.

Snacks: Rocket Market Apple and a Chunky Cherry Bumble Bar

Dinner: 1/2 Grilled Cheese (Cougar Sharp Cheddar, Petit Chat Tuscan Bread, Petit Chat Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Butter)  I smoked the house down making this.  I’m an excellent cook.  Well, the Cougar Sharp Cheddar is sharp.  And satisfying. I might eat the other half for lunch.

Libations: Northern Lights Amber Ale

Sidenote: I have a coworker who can bake a mean cupcake.  They are amazing.  Most importantly she makes them semi-often:  birthdays, holidays, and Fat Tuesdays!  Yes, Fat Tuesdays even!  Once upon a time a long long time ago, I told her that I loved her cupcakes, but I always missed them because they get all eaten up before I got to work (I usually work in the late afternoons).  Ever since then, she has made it a point to save a cupcake for me and the other late night coworkers in my department.

Well, I came to work today to find this!

Why yes that is a Mardi Gras cupcake with my name!  Ugh.  It’s going to have to wait there till Saturday..and I will eat it.  Even if it is stale as hell, so help me I will eat it.

*What do you think they mean by a “nice looking” body?

When it comes to creativity, I am the worst food challenger ever.  Yes, I can win..like last challenge, but was I creative with my meals? No.  They sucked.  My goal for this one is to be creative with local foods and make some fantastic meals.

That being said, it is day two and I haven’t even gone grocery shopping, yet.  It wouldn’t really be a challenge if I went over to my nearest grocery store, which is a local business, and buy produce and local products, because I basically do that, anyway.  Also, I don’t really think I should be running around trying to find as many local products as I possibly can from as many local stores as possible.  That’s not what this challenge is about (or maybe it is?).  I plan on only going to three places, Petit Chat (which I will continue to mispronounce as “petite”), Rocket Market, and Main Market Co-Op.

Anyway, here is what I ate yesterday, from three of my most favorite local restaurants in Spokane!

Breakfast: DOMA latte and a slice of cranberry orange bread from Coffee Social

Lunch:  I was planning to walk to Main Market Co-Op for lunch during my break, but when you walk right by Santé, how can you resist?  Therefore, I skipped my Main Market lunch plans and went to Santé instead.

Tofu and Washington Pear Salad from Santé.  Amazing but way too much.

Snack:  Carrots from Roseaurs

Dinner/Late Night Snack: Brie from One World Cafe, left over from the dinner the night before!  So Good!

Needless to say, that was a lot of rich food that my body was not used to.  I unfortunately can’t be doing that to it everyday.  Nor can I afford it.

See what everybody else is up to at Spokane Food Blog. It looks like we already have two people out!?

Most importantly, I survived FBC without drinking.  Okay, that’s not completely true.  Monique came with a secret weapon and we find ourselves outside a bar drinking from her jug.  But don’t worry, it was still alcohol within the limits (Organic China Bend white wine…that doesn’t look white and tasted horrible)!

Us at Caterina Winery having a good time…without any drinks!

Today, my first meal was at Santé.  I had the tofu, pear salad, and a brownie.  I couldn’t have asked for a better after-challenge meal.  I tried tonight to make some vegan cookies and cream cupcakes but they didn’t turn out that great.  Ah well.

I had a great time doing this challenge.  I learned a lot, and have a new understanding and appreciation for where my food comes from.  I enjoyed the movie Fresh and I can’t wait for the Main Market Co-Op to open! I really wish I had more time during this challenge to make more thoughtful meals.  I didn’t use any herbs, and I should have.  There were a lot of things I would have changed, but alas, I won, anyway!  Congratulations to Paul, Monique, Hank, and Rachel for also winning!

I’m not going to list my meals, because honestly, today I didn’t have time to actually prepare anything, so here is what I ate: half a cantaloupe (yep, I said half), huckleberry smoothie (same as yesterday), a carrot (thanks to G Rachel at the Fresh movie), and an apple.  Yeah, I suck at eating.  Tomorrow I’m going to actually make something.

I can’t wait till it hits midnight tomorrow night!

I was able to stop by the Farmers Market today for about 10 minutes and pick up a variety of squash, cantaloupe, and some watermelon-looking fruit from Elithorp Farm and Nursery (Deer Park, WA). 

Breakfast: Peach

Snack: Apple

Mid afternoon lunch: Emmer cereal with some whole milk and honey.

Went work and came home with three ziploc bags of frozen huckleberries!  Yum!  My coworker picked them in the Priest River area.

Because I have these awesome huckleberries now, I had to make myself a smoothie!

Made from huckleberries, milk (I’m trying to love you right now), and honey (although it didn’t really need any honey).

Dinner I had this:

Same as Mondays dinner (wheat berries, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic AND onion..I semi-forgot the onion on Monday..from Eleven Acres), with dried roasted potatoes and garlic.  I got a little impatient with the potatoes and knew they were going to suck.  That’s the reason they are in the background being blurry.  I don’t know what to do with the wheat berries, still.  I’m trying to figure it out.

But anyway, I’M STILL IN IT!  Hands down favorite to be the next person to crash out?!  I haven’t yet Spokane Food Blog!  But other people have…Bart and Crystal…who knew (Bart? Obviously. Crystal? Didn’t see it coming).

Now that people are falling, I can’t wait to see who comes crashing down tomorrow…

Breakfast: peach smoothie (same as yesterday)…and um, yeah..the whole milk and I are fighting.  Let me know if somebody wants my milk.

Snack: Apple

Lunchish: hot emmer cereal with honey

Right now: A glass of apple cider

My bicycle fell apart on me on the way to work tonight, and that is mostly why I’m grumpy.  My derailer (or derailleur if you want to be French about it) decided it wasn’t going to do its duty.  Hopefully it’s fixable and I don’t have to replace it. And hopefully it’s all better by Friday!

I might also be grumpy because of the lack of caffeine.  However, I refuse to blame caffeine for my irritable behavior (because being addicted to caffeine is just plain stupid)!  I blame my irritable behavior on my dad for making me Italian! Ha!

Okay.  I need a little more variety on my food.  I’m going to the Farmers Market early tomorrow morning, and hopefully I will be making a visit to my friend Jaime and Chris’s house.  They basically have a farm in their backyard with chickens and all sorts of herbs and vegetables.

Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll be in a better mood.

Breakfast: Garlic

Lunch: Honey with Garlic

Snack: Honey

Dinner:  Garlic on Garlic with Honey

Okay, just kidding.  Obviously.

Here are my real meals:

Brunch: Rolled spelt flakes cereal (Lentz Farm) with honey (Green Bluff Honey Farm), peach smoothie with honey (peaches from Walters at Green Bluff, milk from Spokane Family Farm bought at Fresh Abundance)

Snack: Apple (from Walters)

Dinner: Steamed potatoes with garlic (potatoes from Eleven Acres Farm in Green Bluff, garlic from Deer Park Farmers Market), Lentz Spelt whole grain berries (Lentz Farm) with garlic, cherry tomatoes, and green bell peppers, and corn (all from Walters).  The best part of the meal was the corn.  It was really good.  The rest did not go the way I had planned.  I didn’t even bother taking pictures of the meal it was that bad.  But thank goodness for the apple cider I bought at Walters!  I’m with you Crystal, I might have to pick up another gallon sooner than I thought.

Anyway, Monique and Crystal, your meals look and sound great!  I’m sorry to hear John is out of the challenge and the circumstances behind it.  Good luck to everybody else!