Soaking it all in

There is so many great foodie events coming up, two of which involve some of my most favorite things in the world – BEER and BACON. We are just days away from the annual Savannah Craft Brew Fest. This year it will be held 2-6 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. Have you not been? Well if you’re a beer lover, like me, YOU MUST GO AT LEAST ONCE. Dude, I plan to sample every beer they have….all 150 (or more) of them! I’ve got my ticket. Give me my two-ounce souvenir sampling mug and get the heck out of my way, please. And the incredibly SMART folks of Savannah have one upped themselves by incorporating Bacon Fest into the same weekend. Well, Bacon Fest is actually Sept. 1-4, but they are smart to have them both on the same weekend. Bacon Fest will be along River Street. Food vendors are encouraged to think outside the box and make bacon the center of all their appetizers, desserts, entrée and snacks. Think about it! Chocolate covered

Trying to eat healthy, I joined a few of my friends in giving meatless Monday a go. Not a big deal in switching to a full veggie meal here and there. Pizza can be meatless. In fact my all-time favorite is the primavera white they sell at That’s Italian. It’s mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, Ricotta cheese and spinach. Completely delish! But maybe not a true healthy choice. There are plenty of pasta dishes that can be made without meat. I like substituting eggplant, zucchini and squash for those dishes. While shopping for options I picked up an item I have not used in a long time – Portobello mushrooms. I thought I would try to make a traditional steak with black beans and rice dinner and use the large mushroom caps in place of the steak. I am such a genius for thinking this. It was the BEST EVER and so simple to cook. I got out my handy cooking pan, placed it on the stove top and turned the heat to medium-high. I used a teaspoon of olive oil and a sliver of butter in the pan.