Catching up with old friends

Somehow I have managed to catch up with five old friends in 48 hours.  🙂

On Thursday night I met two good friends from graduate school, Danielle and Leigh, at Buku in Raleigh.

Buku says that they offer “global street food”.  They are a fairly new restaurant and this was my first time trying them out.

I started off with a glass of Tempranillo from Spain.

I immediately spotted the baba ganoush and asked if anyone wanted to share it.  We decided that we should share everything and also started out with a cucumber salad which was in a light vinaigrette with roasted peanuts.

Our second course and my favorite part were the butternut squash and chicken stuffed perogies.

Perogies are Polish but remind me a lot of empanadas.  Their flaky pastry crust can be stuffed with almost anything but traditionally are stuffed with potato.

Last, we shared a espresso rubbed pork tenderloin with pureed cauliflower and dark chocolate sauce.  Who would have ever thought to put cauliflower and chocolate together?  It was interesting, but I don’t think I would voluntarily put this combination together in my own cooking.

After dinner, we walked down the street to The Hive to have a second glass of wine.


Danielle and Leigh

We had a great time discussing what was going on in our lives and especially Leigh’s upcoming wedding in Charleston this summer.  I’m so excited for her! 🙂

Fast forward to yesterday morning.  I attended the last few bits of the conference, then packed up my things and got on the road.

But first, I stopped by Whole Foods in Durham to get a quick lunch.  😉

I checked emails on my phone while I ate a big bowl of veggies with a little tofu.

Chobani for the road!

I drove in some yucky rainy weather until I reached Greensboro to catch up with my friend Mary Jean.  We went by a Caribou Coffee and I got a small cinnamon rooibos.  I’ve had this tea several times but honestly, it’s not my favorite.  I had reached my coffee limit for the day and Caribou didn’t have a huge selection of decaf teas, so I settled on the rooibos.  It’s just a little too cinnamony for me and doesn’t really go well with milk, which is my favorite way to drink tea.

While driving home to Charlotte, I made plans to meet up with my old friend Erin, who just moved back into town.  Erin and I have known each other since we were born, but haven’t had a chance to talk since my wedding last August.

I fixed a quick spread of cheeses, veggies, hummus, and crackers.  Erin brought a bottle of Merlot, some really yummy mango chutney, and a ripe pear.

We made ate most of the cheese, pear, and crackers and made a dent in the veggies.  The best combination was pear + honey + Gorgonzola.  That is one of the best combinations ever!  Yum!

I didn’t snap any photos of people yesterday so here’s a blast from the past.  MJ’s on the far left and Erin is in the middle.

It was sooo good to get in a lot of girl time in the past two days and catch up with old friends.

Lucky for me, Brad and I are having dinner with more friends tonight.  🙂

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!