Elli Mochi Donut

For years, I ate gluten free. I learned to tolerate the weird consistency of gluten free food.  And then... I had cancer surgery and my surgeon put me together with a nutrition team. I'm learning to eat healthier.  I've also learned two other life changing (for me) facts:

1) I am lactose intolerant.  Who boy, does that explain a lot.  Wow.

2) I can tolerate gluten.  Who boy!  I'm like a kid in a candy store!

In an effort to eat better, lose weight, and still enjoy some of that gluten filled deliciousness, I am visiting one gluten loaded bakery each month and partaking in one or two items from their menu.  Believe it or not, I spend a lot of time looking up bakeries, checking out their menus and their online reviews, looking at pictures...  (drooling a little)  *sigh*  This honestly seems like the only way to do this - indulge in some sweet treats - and NOT gain the weight I am trying so desperately to lose!

My first stop on the bakery tour was Eli Moochi, in Ellicott City.  Their donut flavors very from day to day, but there is one consistent theme: YUM!

We had company when I stopped by to pick up a dozen donuts.  We demolished those donuts in a day!  They are very good.  They are chewier than a Krispy Kreme, and denser than a Dunkin'.  They are so very good!  Also on the menu at Elli Mochi are teas and smoothies, as well as Korean Corn Dogs.  What is a Korean Corn Dog?  As near as I can tell, it is a hot dog, wrapped in the mochi dough, and then fried.  While I would absolutely love to try one, my current status of "needs to lose weight" has me bypassing this delicacy for now.  I'll be back to try them once I make these 25 extra pounds a thing of the past!

A box of Elli Mochi Donuts!  They are little pieces of art.

The cookie monster one is so cute!

My personal favorite!
I added the little umbrella - they didn't give it to me.
I thought it seemed appropriate!

Woodlands: Pure Vegetarian Indian Cuisine

Indian Cuisine is fascinating, isn't it?  So many subtle depths of flavor in every single bite.  Up until recently, we had an Indian restaurant across the street from where I work, and I thoroughly enjoyed eating my way through their menu with the help of the owner who loved to recommend new foods for me to try. Since that restaurant has closed, I have moved on to search for other sources of Indian Food. This journey led us down to the Washington, DC area. 

Woodlands Pure Vegetarian Indian Cuisine is located in Gaithersburg, MD.  The location is in the bottom floor of an office building, and is rated as one of the best Indian Food Restaurants in the Washington, DC area.  Husband and I decided to set out on an adventure to try some new to us food.  We met up with friends. It turns out that this restaurant is a great place to meet up with a group!  Most of the food is served family style, so you are able to taste everything.  The servers were excellent at giving us recommendations for food based upon what we have tried and liked before.

I had the Uthappam.  Oh my goodness, it was amazing.  Giant hashbrown pancake with so many vegetables mixed in doesn't do this dish justice. It was the best thing I have ever had.  Sad to say, I refused to share more than a bite with anyone.  It was mine!  The sauces that came with the dish were not spicy and enhanced the flavor of the dish.

I also had the Mixed Vegetable Pakora.  Everyone shared in this delicious appetizer!  Potatoes, onions, and cauliflower are mixed with chickpea flour and then deep fried.  Oh my goodness!  It was amazing!

We had several curries.  I tried a bite of each, but I was so enchanted with my Uthappam that I really didn't try many of the curries.  We had a Chana Masala (one of my favorites), Vegetable Korma, Dal Makhani, and Aloo Gobi (another favorite).  What I tasted was amazing.  I was honestly hoping that we would have leftovers so that I could take them home and really enjoy them for lunch the next day.  Unfortunately, we had no leftovers.  We cleaned out everything! 

I'm in no way tied to the Woodlands restaurant.  But if you're in the Washington DC area and are looking for some amazing Indian Food - this place is great!

MORE Maryland Flooding

And the rain just keeps on coming.  And coming.

Over the weekend, husband got to clean out the gutters during the pouring rain.

We even got to bail out the basement steps for a while Sunday afternoon.  The basement steps were flooding because the drain wasn't working.

On the plus side, our reservoirs are now full.

On the minus side, there are a lot of flooded basements, destroyed businesses, and broken dreams.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from last weekend.

Downtown Sykesville

That same stretch of road, the very next day.  Images from Just in Weather.

Hippodrome

We went to the Hippodrome in Baltimore over the weekend to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.  

The Hippodrome itself is a fascinating piece of architecture.  Originally built in 1914 as a movie palace that also showcased Vaudeville Performances, the Hippodrome attracted some of the "biggest" of the big name Vaudeville actors.  

The Hippodrome eventually closed its doors in 1990.  At that time, it was the last operating movie house in the city of Baltimore.  In 2004, the newly renovated Hippodrome was re-opened.  This masterpiece combined three previously existing, historic buildings into one major showpiece.  These buildings were: The Western National Bank, The Eutaw Savings Bank, and the Hippodrome.  A new building was built on the corner of Eutaw and Baltimore streets to tie the buildings together.

The Hippodrome is now a cultural icon in the city that attracts major performers and touring Broadway shows.  (Note - Mike Rowe recently gave a talk here.  A talk in which he introduced his Mom, and the audience began chanting "Old Blue, Old Blue, Old Blue"!  

(Source: France-Merrick Performing Arts Center)

Below, you can find a few pictures that I took around the building.

Is this not one of the most beautiful spaces?

The second floor hallway, outside theater itself.

As near as I can tell, this area is the new building.  There's a cafe on the first floor.  Do you see that clock tower through the window?  That is the Bromo Seltzer Tower.

Don't you just love this window?

The mural above the stage.

It's a very fuzzy picture, I do apologize, but that is the main stage!

I was told to point these boxes out. During one of the 20th century renovations, these boxes had been torn completely out.  With the 2004 reno, they were added back into the architecture, replicating the original design as much as possible.

Frederick, Maryland

I was in beautiful downtown Frederick, Maryland earlier this week, and when I roamed down by the stream, I had to take some pictures and share them!  This lovely little stream runs through much of Frederick.  Through downtown, it is a beautiful river walk, with offices and stores in the buildings on either side.  Outside of the downtown area, the river is surrounded by parks and playing fields for much of it's length, making this little gem a true civic treasure to the city.  The downtown is full of wonderful things, with many wonderful places to visit and explore.  It is after all, a historic city.  But, this river walk is something special that makes Frederick more than "just another city" in Maryland! 

A view under one of the bridges.

And a look upstream...

The view upstream.

Well hey, there's a library right there next to the stream!

Do you see that waterfall?  Absolutely gorgeous!

The NCR Trail

One of my bucket list goals is to bike/hike as many rail trails as possible, beginning with Maryland.  I've officially started this quest with a hike on the NCR trail North of Baltimore.  We hiked 6 miles along the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail, which begins North of Baltimore near Hunt Valley.  The trail itself runs along the Gunpowder Falls River.  We began our hike at the trail head, and traveled North.  It was a great way to spend a gorgeous day!

This is near the trail head.  Can't you just picture the train tracks and the steam from the locomotive rising in the distance?  This was one of the few times along the trail when there were no people visible.  This trail was FULL of people - walkers, hikers, bikers, and joggers.  Everyone was out, enjoying the day!

So, this is a Lime Kiln.  According to the sign, a fire was kept burning at the bottom.  Stuff (trees, etc.) was dragged to the top of the wall and dropped down onto the fire.  Lime was made from the ashes. 

Well hey, it's the East Coast Greenway!  I've never heard of it before, although I've walked other trails with this signage.  Curious, I looked it up when I got home and found out more about the Greenway.  It is a developing trail system and will extend from Maine down to Florida.  You can find out more about the Greenway here:  http://www.greenway.org/ .  In a nutshell, the East Coast Greenway is intended to be the more urban counterpart of the Appalachian Trail. I'd like to think that this means there aren't as many hills on the Greenway...

The Gunpowder Falls River.

A lone runner off in the distance.

Check out the date.  1875.  That's the year that the original track bed and this bridge was built.  Okay, at this point in time, this date is only good for the masonry work.  The bed extending over the river has been replaced.  But still - this masonry has been around for over 125 years.  We live in a disposable society now. Do you think anything we build now will still be around in 125 years? 

A little side stream feeding into the river.  Gorgeous, isn't it?  Makes me want to get out and hike some more! 

Easterm Shore of Maryland

One of my goals for this year is to catch up on my scrapbooking.  I am working on 2011 right now.  2011 was a crazy busy year, and we took a break from everything and spent a week on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the Neck District.  I was looking at the pictures today, and I have to share them.  It's such a beautiful place!  Unfortunately, it's been 5 years since we were there, so I don't actually know WHERE some of these pictures were taken other than "Eastern Shore".  Enjoy!

Western Maryland Scenic Railway

We took a train ride on the Scenic Western Maryland Railroad from Cumberland to Frostburg.  Just enough leaves were off of the trees that we were able to see down into the valleys below.  BUT, there was still lots of beautiful color on the trees on the mountains to make the trip memorable!  Even though I still can't walk on uneven ground, I found a way to get out into the woods and see fall!

Gorgeous views over the mountains!

The trains in Cumberland.  From the looks of things, the engines had pulled onto the siding and were waiting for another train to pass.

Leaves! Glorious leaves!

In front of the Cumberland Train Station.

A view over to the next mountain.

The Frostburg train station.

Our beautiful old diesel engine.

The turn table for the engine.

The playground in front of the Cumberland Train Station.