Raw Beets Salad with Cannellini Beans and Other Deliciosos!

So dinner last night was a real gem! It's always wonderful catching up with old friends. Sampan, didn't deliver in terms of what I expected, but maybe my expectations were tainted by one too many glasses of Sangiovese.  All in all, the food was not as memorable as the first, but it truly is a great thai place with Korean influences yielding fabulous flavors!  

So I once again am on 4 hours of sleep and oddly enough am not exhausted in the least bit...even at this hour! Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining - I've put a noticeable dent on my "to-do" list and that makes me very happy. But the highlight of my day truly was my little shopping expenditure at Williams-Sonoma! I went there with a mission to pick up a DeLonghi Gelato Maker, on sale for $100!!!!!! But as my luck would have it, not only is the store sold out, the entire district is sold out! But I didn't let that get me down, after all I was in a Williams-Sonoma and there are far too many kitchen gadgets to explore, cookbooks to browse and spices to marvel.  I did come across the most ingenious baby food maker. It's a steamer, blender, defroster and warmer ALL IN ONE and I want one and I don't even have little people.

I ended up getting myself a boxed set of the Goldtouch bakeware, and a couple of cookbooks. The first is a chocolate cookbook titled The Essence of Chocolate, which I'm really looking forward to cracking open and saturating my mind of all things chocolate! And the second is the CIA's guide to vino.  It truly is a great encyclopedia of a book. I love browsing through wine  reviews, especially vineyards I've visited and compare the authors take and with my opinions. I also picked up some quality EVOO, which I desperately needed because I'm craving a freshly baked baguette dunked into some quality EVOO.  I don't know about you guys but if the EVOO is top notch, I feel as tough I can pour and drink! Now the health nut in me would never dare, but I must admit I adore olive oil tastings. If you're ever in Sonoma, you have to stop by The Olive Press and stop in for an olive oil tasting (the basil-parmesan is a must!). It's a delightful little vineyard and olive grove which produces award winning olive oils!   

Dinner tonight was delightful, a simple salad composed of the left over raw beets from yesterday, cannellini beans and other yummy veggies and a splash of balsamic vinegar and my recently purchased EVOO, and a side of some leftover spinach-ricotta ravioli!

Salad:

Mixed Greens

Red Onion

Raw Beet Salad

Cannellini beans

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Gorgonzola Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Splash of EVOO and a squirt of balsamic vinegar

Bon Appetit!