Prunes

I've started eating prunes. I guess I really like dried fruit. And one of my coworkers was eating them the other day and let me try one. I think the prune jokes turn people (including me) off a lot and I found that I actually liked them. So I bought some at Costco the other day.

I know I don't eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables, not like when I was living at home... cuz my parents are just so dang healthy. Plus it's hard to manage fresh fruits and vegetables. Inevitably, we have things going bad.

Anyway, one of the best things about prunes is how filling they are. I get hungry a lot... at least every three hours. So I need to carry snacks around--usually things like crackers or popcorn. If I end up buying something, it's usually from a vending machine or coffee shop, so it'll be Doritos, pretzels, bagels... definitely carb heavy. Prunes are much healthier and sometimes it only takes a couple to hold me over.

Anyway, we'll see how long I can keep this up. Last year I went on a Larabar kick, eating like two a day for almost the whole school year. And now I can't eat them anymore. I can sort of see the same thing happening with the prunes. And maybe even sooner than that.

The Soup Spoon Cafe in East Lansing

Went to breakfast Saturday morning with SP, K, and SR. K suggested The Soup Spoon Cafe (1419 E Michigan), so that's where we went. It wasn't busy--at around 10 on a Saturday, but this was fine with us. The place was cute, walls painted in bold and vibrant colors, decorative tea tins lining the shelves. Has that indie feel.

I was disappointed with the menu at first. I prefer savory stuff for breakfast, but the menu was dominated with different variations on Eggs Benedict, which I'd never had before and was honestly sort of afraid of. I'm not sure the richness of hollandaise sits well with me anytime, let alone in the morning. They also had omelettes, but again none of them really interested me. The worst part was that in the make-your-own section, mushrooms were not an option! Sacrilege!

Anyway, I tried to get someone to just pick something for me and SP and I ended up sharing the San Diego Eggs Benedict and the french toast. It turned out really good. The hollandaise in our Benedict was a little spicy, which made me happy. The eggs also had avocado and tomato on it. Oh, and it came with potatoes. I love breakfast potatoes.

The french toast had strawberry cream cheese spread between the three slices of bread, which was awesome--although it was not the most appealing visually. There's a reason they don't put the strawberry cream cheese on the top layer.

Yep, I ended up very pleased though. Great food--although I think I would like to share one savory and one sweet again next time... but then I usually do prefer to do that at breakfast. Nice ambience. And we stuck around for awhile after, just catching up on things...

Altu's Ethiopian Cuisine in East Lansing

I had my first taste of Ethiopian food on Friday night. A friend and I shared the Veggie and Meat Feast. We chose the mild chicken stew, spicy meat stew, lentils, yellow peas, and collard greens. It also came with cabbage, green salad, and a bunch of bread. The spicy meat was pretty spicy; I could only eat a little of it and then preferred to cool my mouth down with the other stuff. The chicken stew was really good, but I definitely liked the sauce better than the chicken itself. The yellow peas were a little too earthy for me; I liked the lentils better. The collard greens and green salad, with their fresher (as in not/less stewed) were a good balance for the other stuff. The green salad has a very unique dressing on it, sort of smoky tasting. Everyone loved it.

I also tasted some lima beans my friends had ordered. I'm not a fan of lima beans so I didn't love these as much as they did.

It reminded me a lot of Indian food, with the spicy stews, hearty and plentiful vegetarian options, bread, and spicy tea. The bread reminded me a lot of dosai, which Kea and I used to eat about once a week at India Cafe (Honolulu) before their prices got a little out of our range. It was sponge-y and had a little sourdough taste. I think it was spongier than the dosai I've had.

The tea at Altu's was complimentary, which was awesome. Some of the folks I went with said it had cardamom in it. Some of them were mixing it with lemonade, but I wasn't persuaded. I can see mixing regular old black tea with lemonade, but I'm not sure about the spicy + lemonade.

Overall, it was definitely a good deal. I paid about $15+ tip for a hearty, (and I think) pretty healthy meal. I mean, I got vegetables and it felt like homecooking, not like greasy, heavy stuff.