Down at the Sunset Grill and My Love of Mason Jars

Last week I ate 2/3rds of all my meals out of Mason jars.  That's right, Mason jars are awesome.  I made a vegetable soup and rationed it out for the week, brought that along with my morning oatmeal and enjoyed delicious, free meals in minutes all week! And they don't spill or give you nasty BPA cancerousness..  So it may have taken a lofty investment from Whole Foods last week, but I can't tell you how happy I am that I didn't have to eat the treacherous food from the cafeteria AT ALL last week.  The cafeteria at work is pretty decent, they have a salad bar with various option, sandwiches prepared however you want, a grill station, hot entree of the day and soup.  But for some reason I keep finding that, not knowing what they put in their food, meals there are often followed by aches and pains in the gut.  Worst of all is "fill up Fridays"..popularly called "F up Friday" around the office...usually fulfilling it's namesake on your stomach..

Magical Mason jars all filled up and ready for duty!

This weekend was another classic stay at home weekend.  I feel like I've had so few of those this summer..the whole last few months are a blur.  My goal this weekend was get my house cleaned and go on a long solo bike ride.  I always loved those Saturday mornings in Arkansas. I woke up at the crack of dawn and slipped out into the quiet dewy morning to gather a long bike ride, just me and the road, fog hovering over fields.. I would return tired all over but rejuvenated for the day.  It was most often followed by a rewarding walk up to the square for some Farmers market.  This Saturday I had about the closest I possibly could get to a typical Saturday morning back home.  I left the house on my bike and road 35 miles up to a reservoir called the Saugatuck Reservoir. Really beautiful roads with historical colonial houses, rolling hills in the forest and many other cyclists enjoying the warm fresh CT morning.  I mapped my ride here: The Daily Mile.  Afterwards I went with a friend up to the Farmers market in New Canaan.  Not the same as Fay Farmers market but still a place for great food finds and iced coffee :)

I also discovered another hidden gem this weekend.  A fabulous summer hangout/restaurant/bar down the street from my house.  It's about 2 miles away, right along the sound.  It's called the Sunset Grill..and the weather Friday and Saturday were so amazing it felt like I was on a patio on vacation in Florida. They had a guitarist playing melodic classic tunes in his own sort of unique style.  I spent Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday night hanging outside there..it was fabulous.  The crowd for dinner were your usual local rich yachtsmen & women..but at night the crowd was a little more chill.  Below, a picture and video from the grill..

Sunset Grill..in the Sunset

Sunday of course was a rare weekend when the only reason I left the house was to take out the trash..nuff said.

Tonight I made an awesome Tofu, Tomato, Basil Pasta with some farmers market cherry tomatoes.  I cooked the tofu, onions and pepper slowly drawing out the juices but got a little impatiant towards the end and the tomatoes and pasta ended up a tad under-cooked.  But it was delicious anyway.  The tomatoes were so tough and juicy they wouldn't quite wilt down..but were still good.  I also got the bread from the farmers market..the local New Yorker had me sold..especially the guy sampling some with fresh mozzarella and arugula pesto!