New Treats

I haven't been brown bagging it for work the last couple of days, which meant I had to leave the office and find food. I headed down the street to Pasta Shop both days and discovered some new things.

I picked up a bottle of HOTLIPS Boysenberry Soda on a whim Thursday and forgot to take a picture of the bottle before I recycled it, so I just had to go back on Friday to get another bottle. Had to I tell you.

Anyhow, the fact that it was boysenberry caught my attention because you just don't see a lot of boysenberry things outside the Pacific Northwest. When I looked into it a little more I discovered that HOTLIPS Soda is made by the same folks who run HOTLIPS Pizza in Portland, OR. Well, that explains it. It also explains why the HOTLIPS name sounded so familiar.

I also really liked the white bean and artichoke salad pictured here. It was another repeat for my Friday lunch. I also tried a green bean pesto salad, which was super yummy. It's perfect timing for me to try and recreate these at home since summer has finally arrived. It's been pretty hot here the last few days (hot by Bay Area standards, anyhow) and I'm loathe to turn on the stove or oven to cook.

Other than blanching green beans, I should be able to manage these without heating up the house. Now I just need to get to the store for some artichoke hearts and green beans; I think I have everything else I'll need on hand.