Home sweet home(ish).

This apartment is officially a home... I cooked my first meal here! After a weekend back "home" (no where really feels like home at this point), we headed back to St. Joe Sunday afternoon with a truck full o' stuff for the apartment. And by stuff, I mean hardly any stuff, as the disco apartment is still pretty bare. But at least now we have a lamp, a footstool, a footstool/table, and some blankets for the bed (aka air mattress).

Anyway, back to this dinner -- Saturday morning I grabbed m-i-l Lynn and we hit the AA farmer's market for probably the first time since last June. I made myself stick to a budget and a plan, but when I saw the squash blossoms, I had to have them (and a $10 bucket of new guinea impatiens, which Lynn claims are next to unkillable). With two house showings on the horizon, I didn't want to cook anything that night, so I saved them for St. Joe. I don't have anything to batter them in here, so I decided to bake them instead of fry them. I just heated the oven to 350, stuffed the blossoms with goat cheese, laid them on a cookie sheet and salt and peppered them, then threw them in the oven for about 13 minutes. Then I made some simple pasta with just noodles, red sauce, and Italian seasoning. Then plopped the blossoms on top.

Hooray for first apartment dinner.

Today I was quite pleased with my navigating skills as I found a new way to get to the closest grocery store (a feat, as I am terrible with directions). Upon arrival, I went right to the customer service desk and got my store saving's card -- I guess I am officially a sort-of local now, ha! I was only there to pick up a few things, but I was pleased to find more veggie-friendly items: fake meat crumbles, some organic options (not a ton, but some), Boca burgers, and a ton of Amy's frozen meals (not that I really buy those but I was still glad to see them). I picked up some roasted red pepper hummus and I am embarrassed to admit how excited I am for Brad to come home for lunch tomorrow: ciabatta, pepper hummus, lettuce, tomato, and goat cheese. MMM.

But before we can get to lunch tomorrow, we had to have dinner tonight. We decided on Port 412, which Brad has eaten at before but I had not. The inside is nice, very modern and cozy, and the downstairs level even becomes a nightclub (hilarious!). We opted for the roof patio, even though it was kind of on the chilly side. Lots of good stuff on the menu, but for some reason I got it in my head that I wanted the tuna, even though it screamed of crazy Asian sauces. I asked for it on the rare side -- mmm.

It looked beautiful!!!! And the main sauce was some sort of peanut-y thing, and I like peanuts. So I was hopeful. But there was something on the plate, something citrus-y perhaps, that tasted like window cleaner smells. It was on the tuna, on the veggies... It was definitely too much for me, and scraping everything off the tuna didn't help at all. Which is too bad, because the tuna would have been amazing -- what I could taste of it was super yummy. I know this is of no fault of the restaurant, so I still look forward to returning (next time I will stick to my guns and get the caprese salad and the calamari and/or the Mediterranean veggie wrap). Especially since Brad has loved every meal he's had here. Especially tonight.

Some sort of chicken scallopini dish, topped with stewed tomatoes, prosciutto, mozzarella cheese, and capers. Apparently it tasted as amazing as it looked. I was jealous. Although I have to admit I am totally asparagus-d out for the season. Dang, I wish I had some mozzarella right now... Must watch scary movie to distract myself!

*Update: I have not yet convinced Brad to rethink the bed position/mirror situation. Luckily I have not yet broken my leg stumbling around the room with my eyes closed to avoid making eye contact with the mirror.