Day 13: Native Foods, FWB, and bootcamp

Since I'd spent Day 12 cooped up inside I made sure to take full advantage of Day 13.

11am: Green City Market. I'd never gone to the farmer's market on a Wednesday before and was excited to see if it would be considerably less crowded. When I go on Saturdays, I try to get there between 9 and 9:30am to beat the crowds. I figured I could arrive later since it was a Wednesday, that, and I was up late watching 30 Rock on Hulu Plus. It was still pretty packed but not the zoo I'm used to on Saturdays.

This is the greatest time of year to visit the market in my opinion because there is so much to choose from: tomatoes, peppers, peaches, plums, corn, cucumbers, melons, lettuces, squashes, onions and more! You could easily get all of your regular grocery shopping done at the market this time of year. I got a ton of fruit and veg and two pounds of lamb spare ribs from Mint Creek Farm.

12pm: Native Foods Cafe. I forgot to mention that I did venture out on Day 12 to get some envelopes from Walgreens. On the way, I walked into RGB Lounge where they were having a vintage clothing sale. I bought this dress since it fits me pretty well but I'm not sure how or where I'll wear it yet:

80's meets Minnie Mouse.

When I purchased the dress they gave me a $5 promotional gift card for Native Foods Cafe, the new outpost for the California-based vegetarian- and vegan-friendly restaurant chain. I was extremely skeptical of this place since it seemed to freely borrow and, judging solely from the menu, bastardize global cuisines as it saw fit. Maybe I was just angsty over it opening right when Earwax Cafe closed. Even though I had never had a chance to try Earwax, I don't like seeing this neighborhood empty of independent establishments and fill with chains like Native Foods Cafe and Paradise Cantina.

I tried the Indian Summer Samosa Salad and refused the three up-sells offered to me of a drink, a side and a dessert. I also refused to sign up for their rewards card, even though I live a block away. Everything is about $10 so I figure one dish is plenty of food and I was right.

Indian Summer Samosa Salad from Native Foods Cafe.

The menu description reads, "Chickpeas, golden potatoes, cucumber and red onion marinated in a coconut-cilantro-jalapeno chutney on crisp romaine. Topped with fresh mango, crunchy Samosa croutons, currants, cashews and cilantro." It sounds good ... and it was! I officially hate myself for liking this salad. It really filled me up without making me feel heavy and it had a nice balance of flavors and textures. Damn! This is going to be my guilty pleasure, I can tell. I'm going to hate myself for feeding this corporate machine every time I eat there, but it's only one block from my apartment and the food is healthy so I don't feel bad for getting takeout. I was eyeing other diners' meals there and the sweet potato fries and wraps look really good.

Last night I was doing some serious home-improvement and had run out of my freezer goods so I (shame!!) called in an order for pickup at Native Foods, bringing my patronage to twice in one week. Hate! Myself! I got the Rockin' Moroccan Earth Bowl with tofu. The sauce was good but I thought it had too many carrots. I wouldn't get it again. Still, the names of the dishes are enough to induce self-loathing -- Rochin' Moroccan? Gandhi bowl? Yo Amigo taco salad? Trivializing, bastardizing ... pretty tasty.

1pm: I thought I'd hide my shame in a matinee so I saw Friends With Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. I was expecting total crap and fluff and I got the fluff, but not so much crap in my opinion. The actors are really likable, it's pretty funny, and the movie is shot on-location in New York so there was enough to visually engage me for two hours. I'd recommend it and it got 73% on Rotton Tomatoes.

Afterwards, I dropped off a bunch of stuff at goodwill, did some stuff at home and geared up for ...

7pm: Soccer boot camp! My team is legit, yo. We're practicing twice a week during our little "off-season." We do a little cardio and then a bunch of drills that give us practice touching the ball and working as a team. I really like boot camp!

I spent the rest of the evening taking measurements of my furniture and spaces where I wanted to install shelving in preparation for my trip to Ikea the next day. Stay tuned!