Last night KC and I got back on the walking bandwagon (we hadn’t walked since Monday!  Woops) and headed towards Piedmont once again.  We left a little earlier than usual, which meant that most of the shops on Piedmont were actually still open when we arrived.  This is sort of a blessing and a curse.

I made KC stop into the new patisserie on the block, La Farine French Bakery, because I’d been ogling it through the windows for the past week and a half (I have a thing for carbs, ok?).

Is there anything more wonderful than a bakery?  I don’t think so (but then again, I worship all things that arise from a yeast/flour base).

KC was nice enough to indulge me and buy me a petit pain (or mini loaf of bread for all you non-frenchies).  I proceeded to eat almost the entire thing on our walk.

Me: Remember when we went on a fitness walk and I ate a loaf of bread the entire time? (Said with my mouth full).

KC: Seriously, if you could walk around with Pop-Tarts in your pockets and not be made fun of, I bet you would.

Me: I don’t avoid doing it because I think people would make fun of me — it’s because my pockets are too small.

Yes, I love bread.  I actually make a conscious effort not to keep it in the apartment because I will eat it until I’m sick (more on that later in the post though).

On this walk, we walked all the way to the Oakland rose garden.  What?  You didn’t know Oakland had a rose garden?  I’m telling you, Oakland is a beautiful and wonderful place.  You should visit.  Or move here.

How mad do you think they’d be if I just took one?

Pretty mad.

So I went to go ooh and ahh over the ducks in the pond instead.

Don’t you love Oakland?  I do.

After our walk, we stopped by Piedmont grocery (I was running out of half & half and grape tomatoes) and then headed home.

I made a happy hour combo for dinner.  Beer and mini sausage sandwiches with grilled onions and peppers.  Because, is there anything more classic together than beer and sausage?

These are really simple to make, and would actually be great for a party because they’re pretty darn cheap (and fill you up fast).

To make these, I bought a pack of Italian-style chicken sausages at TJ’s.  I cut three of the sausages on the diagonal and browned the pieces in a saute pan.  I added these to small buns which I cut in half and spread with mustard.

I then topped these with the grilled peppers and onions.  To make those, I chopped up one large yellow onion and two green bell peppers.  I sauteed these in some olive oil, with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (because I like these to have a little heat).  I just sauteed everything until it was softened and a little browned.  Easy right?

These little sandwiches are perfect with a cold beer, and really pack a punch flavor-wise.  They would be great for a Superbowl party.  Or a Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 party… (which seems to happen at my apartment a lot, much to my dismay).

KC and I were starving from our walk, so by the time these hit the table we were eating them two at a time without thinking.  Before we knew it we had both eaten way too many and were lying on the couch in sausage-white bread comas.  Even though these are really delicious, I think we’ll be holding off on making them for awhile.  Or at least wait until we have a few more people to share them with.

I think I need to go compete in a swim meet now, with all that carbo-loading I did yesterday.

Or maybe I’ll just take a shower.