Dinner tonight: Seared Scallops, Spinach, and Corn Soup

Tonight's dinner was predicated on two Harris Teeter specials: corn and scallops. Originally, I intended on pairing Sweet Corn and Squash Soup with Seared Scallops w/ Coarse Sea Salt over slightly wilted baby spinach. Sadly, they were out of corn (damn you, Independence Day grillers!), so I cheated and used Imagine's Harvest Corn soup instead. Oh well, less work and fewer calories.



Mistake #1: don't saute spinach in plan deglazed with white wine. I thought this would be a good idea, but it sapped all the flavor out of the spinach and made it taste a bit burny. Better to just serve the scallops over raw spinach and let the heat from them wilt it just slightly. Mistake #2 (one I ALWAYS make): wait for the pan to be hot enough that you get a nice carmelized color. I detest the cooktop I have in my new apt because it takes forever to get hot and then starts scorching everything after about 15 min.

The soup paired with the sweetness of the scallops, but not as well as I had hoped. Not a complete failure, though, so I'll give it a 6/10.

Now for the good news!
Only cooked 1 lb medium scallops vice 2 lbs large. With 1/3 the scallop mix and 1 cup of soup, dinner calories = 275. Perfect leftover discretionary calories for second helpings if you're a growing boy, some crusty bread to soak up the soap...or for a Georgetown cupcake. ;)

Eatonville and avocado sandwiches

So, after this weekend's oink-fest (and quite a few non-light beers), today I needed to start a week of clean, healthy eating.

Eatonville
Mandy's parents were in town, so we all met for brunch at Eatonville, run by the Busboys and Poets folks. The name comes from a Zora Neal Hurston novel, so of course the food is deep south comfort food--not exactly light! I successfully stuck to my nutritional goals, though, by ordering the fried goat cheese and spinach salad, which came with red onions. The pecans and dressing I ordered on the side, and only ate a little bit of each. And the fried goat cheese was not at sinful as it sounds, I swear! Kind of like two giant tater tots with cheese in the middle instead of spuds. Ashleigh got the same salad, but with chicken, and Mandy said her shrimp and grits, on jalapeno cheddar grits with greens, tomato, and gravy, was super yummy! I think her parents got a crab burger and a steak, which they both seemed to like okay as well. Overall, a stronger brunch than dinner (which I had several months ago), the ambiance is pretty cool, and I think it's a good spot for groups.

Avo sammies
I tried to be good for dinner too...wanted something light but satisfying enough that I wouldn't snack the rest of the night! I decided to make an open-face avocado sandwich, which I created a couple weeks ago and LOVE. Easy-peasy to make: start with a firm, crusty bread (I used flax bran bread this time), spread on a thin layer of light herb boursin, top with sliced avocados (1/3 to 1/2 of one) and fresh cracked black pepper. Delish, and only ~300 calories!!