Author Archives: E.M.

Traveling: Apple Hill, California

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Two hours away from Reno, is a little piece of heaven called Apple Hill, near Placerville, California. We went there on Nevada Day and every place had a deal going on for Nevada residents.

At Kids Inc. we got apple crumble and apple cheesecake. They also had an amazing chicken pot pie. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

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At Boa Vista Orchards you get to pick your own apples straight from the tree or you can buy any apple product at their market.

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My dad really enjoyed the apple part of Apple Hill, but what I really cared about was the wine tasting. We first went to Lava Cap, a winery that also has a gourmet restaurant, and then we walked to Madroña where they were doing cheese pairings as well.

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Although the wineries are year-round, the apple picking only happens in October, so be prepared to deal with long lines and lack of parking, but the combination of lovely weather, delicious food, and good wine is well worth the day trip.

Eating in Reno/Tahoe

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I’ve been eating out a lot and I’m a horrible reviewer because all I can say is that everywhere I went  the food was excellent, so I’m just going to name one of the dishes I recommend and the places we’ve been in the past week: butternut squash soup at Campo, salmon and crab cakes at Wild River Grille, any sandwich at Wedge, salmon and lobster ravioli at Twisted Fork, surf and turf at The Timbers in Tahoe, asparagus and roasted garlic sushi at Wasabi, and finally, my house, where I made gnocchi. How is it possible that I eat this much and still lose weight, even without training as much as last year?

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Half-Marathon Training – Week 11

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This week I had to take my dad to the doctor’s, my dog to the veterinarian, and my car to the mechanic. I was able to fit in my little jogs throughout the week and even a 12 mile run on the weekend (well, being without a car, I was forced to jog to Wal-Mart and back), but unfortunately I couldn’t go to yoga for my cross training. I actually tried, but I got there so late they didn’t let me in. I absolutely loved my long run this weekend, even if it was against a hurricane level wind, but I’m getting a little burnt out with all the extra activities I have going on. I really really really need a break. It’s not even Halloween yet and I’m already counting the days until Christmas (56…)

How did I manage to go to Iddlewild in the middle of all the craziness?

How did I manage to go to Iddlewild in the middle of all the craziness?

Last glimpse of fall

Last glimpse of fall

More: Slick’s 9th Birthday

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Yup, I sent out invitations, had cupcakes and candles, and even party favors. Slick turned 9 years old on the 19th and since it was a Saturday, I just had to have a party for him. I invited only a fraction of the people I invited last year, and it was still huge. I bought some cheese at Wedge, cupcakes from Nothing Bundt Cake, but made everything else. I had hummus, roasted garlic, roasted potatoes, and a salad made with the produce from my organic basket delivery, and, of course, made pão de queijo and brigadeiro. I’m getting better at this party planning thing because this time it only took me 4 hours to prep, but my dad did help me by making an awesome fruit salad 🙂

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Since a lot of my friends just had babies, not many people were drinking, leaving me to finish all of the wine bottles I had opened. Later, my dad also made caipirinhas, and after that, well… I can only tell from the pictures. Apparently it involved being locked out of the house and using Slick’s doggy door to get back in, going to a Andrew W.K. concert (who the hell is he anyway?), and visiting many bars at the Midtown district (Chapel? Some dive bar on Wells?)

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Half-Marathon Training – Week 10

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Incredibly busy week again… and then again, so I’m a little behind on… everything. Last week the weather was gorgeous and I was able to enjoy a few nice short runs during the week, except on Wednesday when I took my dad to a Bryan Adams concert. Then during the weekend, Slick’s birthday came around and a massive hangover prevented me from doing my long run (more on that later). Finally I got better and did 10 miles, which felt really great. The hardest part of running is putting my shoes on and getting out of the door, but once I start, it’s hard to stop. Unfortunately the days are getting shorter and shorter so I had to get back home before it got too dark.

Bryan Adams Concert

Bryan Adams Concert

They kept following me around. It was scary!

They kept following me around. It was scary!

Traveling in Reno, Tahoe, and Genoa

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All our travels this week were in the area, but we stayed in a hotel in Genoa for the weekend and traveled from there. I’ve been staying at the 1862 David Walley’s Resort for years and it’s always a relaxing time. Genoa is the first town in Nevada, dating from 1851. There’s pretty much one street and the Nevada’s oldest post office, Nevada’s oldest bar, Nevada’s oldest blah blah blah. It’s cute, but you can see everything in 5 minutes. The resort, though, is super nice, and has 7 different thermal pools with mineral water in the lower 100’s. Most of the hot pools are too hot for me, so while my dad enjoyed them and made some new friends, I sunbathed by the pool. Glad I did, because the next day, it snowed.

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So fall weather is officially here and the changing colors of the leaves have been beautiful. I took my dad to Hope Valley, on Hwy 88, to see the fall foliage before it started snowing for real. It’s always lovely to walk around the cabins at Sorensen’s Resort to see the bright yellow Aspen trees. Nearby, my dad got to play with some fresh snow too! (And just to remind you: it’s the beginning of October and the day before I was sunbathing by the pool.)

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From Hope Valley, we drove around the lake so I could show him my usual Lake Tahoe hot spots: Camp Richardson, Emerald Bay, and Tahoe City. Stunning as always.

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Just as I did when my host sister K. came for a visit, I also took my dad for a hike to the waterfall at Mt. Rose. This time though, the waterfall was even more spectacular because half of it was frozen.

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Eating in Reno, Tahoe, and Genoa

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Last Monday I made an awesome meal with gluten free pasta and butternut squash, but cooking is still such an ordeal for me that we ate out the rest of week. We went to tons of good places and now that I’m writing about them and looking at the pictures, I’m actually disgusted at how much I ate this past week. But everything was so delicious…

I’ve been meaning to write about “The Seed Café” for a while because it’s one of my favorite places in Reno. It’s right below the place I do yoga (same owner), so I eat there a couple of times a week. They serve raw organic vegan food. That’s right: nothing there has been cooked. I’m always so impressed with their dishes: the falafel and their “chili” are amazing. Just don’t take the name of their dishes too seriously: their pizza is not really a pizza, and their lasagna is far from a lasagna as the “noodles” are made from zucchini and the “cheese” is from cashews. Personally, I think they can call their dishes whatever they want because no matter what, the taste is always great.

So last year I went to India with my friend S. and after that trip I could not look at any Indian food without feeling it would give me diarrhea, but I’m finally cured because I was able to go to “India Kabab and Curry” this week. My opinion of Indian food hasn’t changed: all the dishes taste the same and are so spicy that after a couple of bites I can’t taste anything anymore. As with the real India, the lassi (yogurt drink) saved me. Gosh, I could have 10 of them right now!

Mango Lassi
Vegetable Korma

The 1862 Restaurant at the David Walley’s Resort  in Genoa is one of the best kept secrets in the Reno/Tahoe area. Hands down, their steak is the juiciest and reminds me of how meat tastes back in Brazil. They also have a three course prix-fixe menu for $35 that is well worth it, but of course my dad and I added a fourth course. Thank goodness we were staying at the resort and I didn’t have to drive that night, because I went into a food coma afterwards.

1862 Restaurant
Steak
Salmon

The next day we went to “19 Kitchen”, on the 19th floor of Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. I worked there for 5 years, watching the sunset every weekend, but I still get excited about eating there. First of all, I always feel like a VIP because everybody knows me and stops by to say “hi”, but most importantly, as far as fine dining goes, the food there is still the best. I had the wild boar in a fig and cinnamon sauce, while my dad had the always wonderful sea bass with lobster and shrimp risotto. Have to get back up there soon for another sunset before my dad leaves.

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Running in Genoa, Nevada: Half-Marathon Training – Week 9

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I actually had time to do my 4-mile weekday jogs this week, and everything went on without a hitch, but I was worried about my 9-mile run because last time I did 9 miles, I got a hip injury. Besides having to stop at mile two because of an annoying side ache, everything else was fine, and I really enjoyed miles 5 and 6 when I got to see deer and llamas. This weekend I was in Genoa, Nevada’s first settlement, so after my long run, I soaked my legs in the hot water pool and got a one hour massage at 1862 David Walley’s Hot Springs and Spa. Yeah, life is hard 🙂

Traveling: Virginia City, NV

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This past weekend we took the steam train from Carson City to Virginia City on the V&T Railroad. As with everything in Virginia City, they do a great job customizing all the details so you feel like you have just done some time travel to the wild wild west in the late 1800’s. The landscape is pure Nevadan with mines, silver ores, sage brushes, and wild horses, but the 1.5 hour ride was a little too long considering if I had driven it would have taken only 20 minutes.

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Once in Virginia City, we walked thru the saloons, gambled a dollar or two, and took an underground mine tour, but the real highlight was the Outhouse Races. Yup, toilets on wheels. Only in Nevada… Actually, if you do some research you’ll find that they also do this in Iowa, Arkansas, etc., and that people travel the country to race the outhouses they built and customized. The best part are their names like the “Party Poopers” and the the “Pot Rod”. While we were watching it, someone asked my friend K. to help them push one of the outhouses for the race, so he even got to participate. It was hilarious!

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Eating: National Cookie Day

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That’s right, October 1st was National Cookie day, so we had a cookie bake-off at work with a twist: the cookies had to be somewhat healthy. I had bought some gluten free flour from Jules Gluten Free and I couldn’t wait to try it, so I made gluten free chocolate chip cookies – they were gone in a minute!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

After eating so much sugar on Tuesday, you’d think I’d go back to my salads and smoothies, but sometimes I like to indulge (well, actually all the time – sorry, but I’ve never dieted in my life), so I took my dad to one of my favorite restaurants in Carson City: Adele’s.

Adele's Restaurant

Adele’s Restaurant