We have had some glorious days here and are enjoying January like crazy so far.Ā Except for, ummm, you know what.Ā If this is what January in Scottsdale is like, sign me up.Ā Oh, yeah, I already live here.Ā Well, close enough – about 30 miles away.
We have rarely left our town, but we decided to go out of our bubble a bit on Saturday and am I glad we did. We had a wonderful afternoon and actually felt a bit like tourists.
Hereās what we did:
Gluten Free Creations
Our first stop heading into Scottsdale was Gluten Free Creations to peruse their selection of baked goods.Ā The store is very much less than charming, partially due to umm, you know what, but the people were nice and they have a lot of variety to choose from.Ā
John chose a German chocolate cake which is so rich and chocolaty, heāll probably be working on that for the next month. We got a small cinnamon loaf which will be perfect for our Sunday brunch.
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market
Next we ventured into the heart of old Scottsdale and visited their Farmers Market. It is huge and boy was it packed. It was nice seeing so many people out enjoying the afternoon. Crazy to see everyone in shorts and tank tops. They must have been visitors from the north.
I am such a sucker for cute packaging and I love the way this vendor wrapped up my beeswax candle purchase.
Lunch in the Park
The air was so clear and the temps so perfect, we decided to just pick up sandwiches (and chips, of course) at Sprouts and stop at a park to eat.Ā We had fun watching a lab with amazing Frisbee catching abilities.
I had my sandwich topped with every vegetable they had and it was giant. And it was on toasted ciabatta.Ā And it was delish.
What Iām Reading
On audio I listened Man Martinās Paradise Dogs.Ā It was a little crazy, but very lighthearted and perfect for the week I had.Ā You might remember Martin wrote The Lemon Jell-O Syndrome which I loved on audio.
I didn’t love this one quite as much, but if you’re looking for easy listening, this might be it.
What Iām Eating
We like to snack around at least one night of the week.Ā One of our favorite snack dinners is steak fries and chicken fingers.Ā I used our convection oven/air fryer and did an experiment cooking some potatoes in a silicon basket and the rest in the stainless basket.Ā Hub said he tasted no difference and there was no difference in texture or crispiness.Ā
The silicon basket is nice because it contains the mess and can go in the dishwasher. It doesnāt hold much though.
I did use the basket for the chicken because I wanted to capture any stray cornflake crumbs and it worked out fine.
This oven has the airfry times preprogrammed which is nice, but it still needs to be watched and the food turned at the halfway mark. As I have reported before, it cooks hot and fast, so I wouldnāt much trust it without watching it.
Pretty sure Iāve posted this before, but this is what I did.
Air Fryer Steak Fries and Chicken Fingers
- Peel and slice lengthwise two large russet potatoes
- Spray with avocado or olive oil
- Toss with sea salt
- Airfry until crispy and brown, turning once
- Coat chicken fingers in your favorite coating (we use gluten free cornflakes) and a pinch of cayenne
- Spray with oil
- Airfry until brown on one side, turn and cook until done
Everyone in Scottsdale was tooling around in their convertibles. As in Ferrari and Rolls Royce and Maserati and Porsche. If you had a Ferrari, would you have it painted insect green?
Even though we are loving this weather, we are equally looking forward to the rain in the forecast. Except I always believe it when I’m actually wet.
Have a wonderful week wherever you are and whatever the temp is. XO