I created this festive salad to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. As you probably would have guessed, the fate of any salad on Thanksgiving day is a sad one. People scurry on down the line, piling high the mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, turkey, and stuffing, and ladle on a river of gravy, for good measure. Then they get to the salad, glance at their burgeoning plates with one eyebrow askew, walk briskly by the giant bowl of greenery, and sit down. I can’t blame them- I did the same thing! It is Thanksgiving, and no one ever says, “My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the salad” after all. (Thanksgiving salads are weeping all over America, people).  However, this is a delicious salad, Thanksgiving or any other wintry day. It contrasts navel orange acidity, with gems of salted pistachios, little bursts of sugary-tart dried cranberries, and the je-ne-sais-quoi meatiness of artichoke hearts. This mixture lays atop a bed of romaine and spring mix, and is lined with …

This week, I am joining the What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) party again over at Peas and Crayons.I have been training for the Philadelphia Marathon half-marathon (I know, redundant, right?) and thus have been doing a long run each weekend. This past weekend, I ran 11 miles in preparation for the race this week. See below for an account of my eats that day.  My day started off with my typical huge cup o’ joe. I’ve been enjoying Trader Joe’s Wintry Blend coffee these days.  For morning sustenance, I had this frosty bowl: frozen berries + frozen banana + cucumber + 1/2 scoop Vanilla Sunwarrior + 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Vanilla Chai + almond milk, topped with raw oats and almond butter. For lunch, I downed this butternut squash wrap, which consisted of a large whole wheat tortilla, hunks of butternut squash, a few tablespoons of pecan butter, and a shake of cinnamon. (At this point in the picture, I had eaten 3/4 of it because I forgot to take a picture. Blogger fail.) I …

One dark, rainy night, the boyfriend and I ventured to Paradise. Kabab Paradise, that is. Our elbows resting on the cool tabletop, we sat in a large, sparsely decorated room that was squirming with children and families. Intermittent baby cries could be heard, and a general hub-bub muffled our ears. People were walking about, and servers were bringing large trays of food to each of the tables, for which you were given a number after ordering at the counter. Your typical hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop quick food joint was my impression as we sat at the table, waiting for our platters to arrive. The boyfriend assured me that this place is much-beloved by his coworkers, who come often to gorge themselves on one of Paradise’s infamous platters. Our entrees arrived- both of us ordering the falafel gyro platter, heaped with rice, a carrot slaw, chunks of falafel, and amply doused in yogurt sauce. Okay, folks- getting a bit real here- even though this was tasty, it was very heavy, and a bit too greasy for me. However, 4.5 stars on …