Dante Ristorante Pizzeria

Okay, so it seems the only thing I can blog about when I actually am able to blog is pizza … but I suppose that’s nothing all that new, now, is it??

Amidst all the craziness of everything going on in life right now, we decided to drive up to Omaha for a day just for fun.

But mostly to eat Neapolitan pizza.



It’s been nearly a year now since we took our road trip up the west coast, thus a year since a “Great Neapolitan Pizza Quest” post has been seen. Check the above link in case you’re new here or have forgotten about our delicious Neapolitan pizza adventures!

Since then, we’ve been wanting to try Dante’s in Omaha, one of the very few authentic Neapolitan pizzerias in the Midwest (also VPN certified).

 

True to form, the margherita pizza is always a must …yum! And of course we can’t go to a Neapolitan pizzeria without sitting as close to the oven as possible and timing how long it was in the oven.  These pizzas came out in approximately 100 seconds.

(See my Pinterest album for comparison pics!)



We also tried Dante’s Bianco pizza which included: “papa’s sausage, olive, chili, garlic, basil & mozzarella”. 

It was very good as well, but I ended up wishing we would have just gotten two margherita pizzas because we love them that much that nothing else compares!



The Quick Stats (Erik’s notes)

Oven: Mugnaini

Cook Time: Approximately 100 seconds.

Dough: The dough is made in a spiral mixer, put into a cooler for 24 hours, balled into 9 ounce dough balls and put back in for 48 hours.  To my surprise, the pizzaioli stated that they were using a 00 ConAgra flour blend.  I must say whatever flour they’re using, the crust was top notch in flavor and consistency.

Taste: Immediately, the flavors brought us back to that unforgettable Neapolitan pizza taste that once one has, one never forgets. Sauce was spot on, the crust was spot on and the fior di latte (made using local, hormone and antibiotic free milk) complemented the pizza very well.  My only complaint would be a slight lack of sauce and the fact that our pizzas sat on the counter finished -- about three feet away from us -- for at least 5 minutes and were getting cold when we received them.

 

We will definitely return to Dante’s next time we’re in the Omaha area!

 

Pizza Party

Hey everyone who is still there!

Thanks for being patience with us during our blog hiatus. (See previous post). Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Our house is coming along nicely (though not quiiiiite as fast as I would like) and the more I see done, the more I can’t wait to be able to move in and hopefully get a few things settled before the baby arrives in just 3 more months.

This past week, Erik brought his pizza oven over to the house so we decided to try it out this weekend! He got this Renato wood fired oven at auction months and months ago and hadn’t had a chance to even use it yet.  His plan is to build a nice home for it in our new backyard, but for now it’s just sitting there amongst the mess, as you will see.  Here’s some pictures along the way:



That is our work in progress in the background.  Luckily, the outside of the house looks MUCH better than the inside does right now, ha.

(Note Erik’s last minute chopping of some wood in the background, ha. I love it.)

 

My pregnant self hangin’ out while we wait for the fire to heat up enough for pizza time. Again, don’t mind the messy yard. It’s a work in progress, remember?



When you don’t live in your house yet and there is no kitchen or sheet rock or running water, one has to improvise.  Insert: the pizza station, ha.



Ingredients for Pizza Napoletana:

 

Margherita pizza before:



And after:



Yum! Not too shabby for the first go around. We’re going to love this oven!!

Until next time …

Update

Well I think it’s become pretty apparent that I’m likely NOT going to start posting more often on The Purple Carrot after all.  (At least for now).

Our house renovation and baby growing is still underway, meanwhile we’re still crashing with Erik’s mom.  Our goal is the be in the new house in June or July, as baby is due August 25th.  And then once baby arrives I’m sure I’ll be quite busy, especially at first, as we adjust into our new home and new life with our extra addition!

So until further notice, I’ll be popping in here and there with updates and random posts.  Food WILL return though, I promise! Perhaps I’ll get some posts in while I try out our new kitchen before baby and if not, certainly sometime afterwards. 

Follow Along

Until then, if you so desire, please follow along our baby journey on Purple Carrot Kids! I update at least once a week over there and post updates from both Purple Carrot blogs can be found on Facebook and Twitter.  Thanks for hanging in there with us as we transition into this new chapter of life!

Lawrence: 715

A week ago my parents came to town and we spent a day in Lawrence just for something to do.  Where do we stop to eat in Lawrence? 715, of course.  I got the sausage pizza and Erik got a fish special.

 

And finally ... us!


Hopefully I'll be back soon to share what we're doing to our house!

Ellie

So who’s ready to “spring forward” this weekend? I’m definitely not ready to lose an hour of sleep but I am ready for longer hours of daylight! I love this time of year when the sun starts shining longer and brighter and the weather starts warming up.  One thing it usually motivates me to do is get outside and get moving more soaking up beautiful springtime weather.  Winter blues, be gone!

And insert: Ellie.

I don’t pay attention to many of the companies that contact me for a review because they're simply not something I'm interested in but workout clohes? Yes, I couldn’t pass this one up. Ellie is a fairly new company that specializes in “highest quality activewear” that is “no longer an overpriced luxury item”.  I’m certainly the type that is a cheapo when it comes to fitness clothing.  It can be SO EXPENSIVE and I’m just not going to shell out $60-75+ for a workout shirt or pants, in fact, I think the most I’ve spent is $50 and that was hard enough. I do, however, notice SUCH a difference in quality between the really expensive brands out there and cheaper clothes from somewhere like Target.

First, the complimentary outfit I chose to review: the “Truth or Dare” racerback tank, and the “Heartbreaker” black capris …complete with a side pose belly bump photo, of course …

                       

How’d I like it

I didn't know what to expect with Ellie’s clothing, and I’m definitely not afraid to give my honest opinion, but I was actually pleasantly surprised with their quality, comfort, and breathability.  I get annoyed with having to adjust shirts and pants while working out and immediately I could tell these items would not have that problem. I also really like that Ellie is made in the USA.  Just as promised, their clothing lines are all very cute and the number one bonus in my opinion, also very reasonably priced, especially considering the quality.

I would definitely purchase more Ellie without hesitation, though I will probably wait until after baby, as I don’t know if I can comfortably wear these babies for much longer! I do feel the sizes ran a tad smaller than I expected, but if you do get a size that doesn't fit, Ellie will happily expect returns and you can find the right size for you.

How it Works

First, you take Ellie’s style quiz to let them know your size and style preferences which allows them to tailor your shopping experience and show you the looks you’ll likely enjoy the most.

Second, you can chose to be a non member and simply shop from what’s available or to become a member which entitles you to choose any two pieces each month for $49.95 including free shipping.  Read: my above outfit for $49.95. For good quality workout gear? Pretty solid price! With a membership, you can skip a month or cancel anytime you want so there doesn't have to be a long-term commitment either.

Try Ellie

If you want to try Ellie for yourself, you can receive an extra 20% off by clicking the link below!

Save 20% on Ellie!

Valentine’s Day

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

Just wanted to stop in and wish everyone a happy belated Valentine’s Day.  Hope it was a good one!



We really didn’t do much …a house and a baby are really enough for me anyways : )  Erik did bring home some goodies though! First off, some fun mugs. (I’m a sucker for mugs. I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to them).

Next, a card and my favorite, Justin’s peanut butter cups.  Yum!!



Purple Carrot Kids

Also, new 13 week update post is up on Purple Carrot Kids today.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Purple Carrot Kids

In case you don’t “like” The Purple Carrot on Facebook, are in Instagram, or just didn’t see my latest post on them …. big news in Purple Carrot land!  I tried to think of a creative way to announce it, but I’m too impatient and have to simply come right out and say it ….

Yep! Excited to announce Baby Borger will be making his or her appearance in late August :)


Purple Carrot Kids

Naturally, and in order to avoid inundating The Purple Carrot with all things baby and pregnancy, I’ve created another more personal blog for such a purpose. Introducing … Purple Carrot Kids :: Where the art of real food meets family ; )

While I’ll still post updates here and there on The Purple Carrot, the main outlet and all the details for baby will be found on Purple Carrot Kids.

Our Miscarriage Story

While most of you won’t know this, as we really only told a small amount of people, about a year ago Erik and I miscarried at 8 weeks. Purple Carrot Kids was initially born then, but I have kept it private and pretty much dormant until now. The few posts I have left up from the past are our miscarriage story and a few posts of struggle afterwards leading up until now.  It was a very hard thing to go through, and by leaving up our story, I hope to be able to sympathize with others who have gone through the same thing and also bring encouragement as I go onto a second pregnancy after miscarrying. 

So there you have it!
We’re so very excited and blessed to be where we are right now, and thank you all for your words of congratulations!

I'm allliiiiiive! (And Good Health KC Magazine)

So … apparently I haven’t posted since NOVEMBER!?

However, I am still very much alive, ha. It’s been a whirlwind of a past almost three months with quite a lot of changes going on. Just to name a few:

• Erik got a job as a fitness specialist at a hospital in St Joe (a little bit north of KC).
• I got my old job back in St. Joe as a transcriptionist at an insurance company.
• Subsequently, we moved to St. Joe.
• We bought a house.
• Said house previously had a fire so right now there’s absolutely nothing in it. At all.
• Therefore, renovations are just about to begin.
• Until said house is complete, we’re staying at Erik’s mom’s house.

There is one more change that has recently happened, but we shall save it for a later date.  Don’t you think getting new jobs, a new town, and a new house is enough for one day? Yes, I thought so too.

We certainly never expected to be moving just a few short months after finally ending up in the perfect location downtown but sometimes life just doesn’t pan out quite the way we expect it to.  I already miss a lot about being so close to our friends and favorite spots; Little Freshie, Westside Local, and Quay Coffee just to name a few but we feel very much at peace with our new surroundings and we’re not very far away!

Good Health KC

Last but not least, check out this winter’s edition of Good Health KC Magazine, specifically page 46 ; ) Online edition can be found right here.

**Note: As you can tell if you click on the link, the left caption says the recipes are courtesy of American Heart Association but they’re actually from right here at The Purple Carrot. They must have just forgotten to change that part. Oh well!

 

It features our sloppy lentils recipe alongside homemade kettle style chips. An excellent combo if I do say so myself!

I will be back soon! It won’t take three months again, I promise.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I’ve had tons of fun being sick (NOT!) off and on the past few weeks so have not been on top of celebrating the Thanksgiving festivities or sharing recipes, etc. I really haven’t been sick in literally years so it was a bummer!  However, I woke up to a beautiful [cold] sunshiny day feeling very refreshed. Hopefully that was all of the sickness I will be feeling for many more years to come.

So just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend!



Did anyone brave the Black Friday sales?? I’m always too chicken for that!

Genessee Royale & Thanksgiving

Long time no blog!

I’ve really no good reason for bugging out for the past almost month (!!!) all I know is time flies. One moment it’s summer, the next it’s Halloween and all of a sudden you’re making plans for Christmas and the year 2013.  I hope not to stay away for so long again, and I’ve still got some backlogged posts to catch up on.

But for now, just wanted to check in and say … I’m here! 

This & That

A little this & that of what we’ve been up to this week. My very good friend was in town the other day and we got to hang out just about all day. I miss her! We started the morning with some breakfast at Genessee Royale.

I got the Farmer’s Toast. It was not only beautiful but very delicious!
 
 

After breakfast, we hung out and got to take a lovely walk outside enjoying this beautiful fall weather!  The walk may or may not have even included some throwing of leaves.

 

Thanksgiving

And this past Wednesday, friends from church had an early Thanksgiving dinner together (similar to last year). Erik and I were on turkey duty. Along with turkey, we brought mashed potatoes and quick & easy mini cinnamon rolls. It was a great night with tons of food!

 

Speaking of Thanksgiving, what are you cooking this year??

Caffeine Crawl: Broadway Roasting Co

Taking a break from pumpkin-filled goodies, and time for Part IV of the Caffeine Crawl recap!

Part I: Parisi
Part II: Benetti’s Coffee Experience
Part II: One More Cup

Part IV brings us to …. Broadway Roasting Company.



Broadway Roasting Co

Broadway Cafe began roasting coffee in 1998.  Broadway Roasting Co. has grown and evolved over the years and currently operates out of the former Westport Fire Station at 4012 Washington, just one block north of Broadway Cafe.  Broadway Roasting Company’s full-service espresso bar serves drinks 7 days a week.

This Crawl stop was all about culinary + coffee. Broadway Roasting Co. really went all out for this crawl stop as you will quickly see!

 

They highlighted how coffee can be incorporated into cuisine, and many examples awaited us!

Three different kinds of toddy drinks …



Oatmeal Toddy Stout Ice Cream a la Poppy’s and French Toast from Chef Michael Foust of The Farmhouse … yum!

 

And even beer! It was an awesome stop in the Crawl, and we were all thrilled to try the many delicious coffee inspired samples.