Bloglander

Hibernation mode affects me significantly sometime around January. I’m hungry all of the time. I could lie and say I want to indulge in vegetables and tofu all day, but it just isn’t the case. Literally (in the way Rob Lowe says it), I crave pizza above all other foods — pepperoni to be exact. And usually it’s Pacific Avenue Pizza that hits the spot for me. Covered in pepperonis the size of a fist, it’s just the right amount of greasy and crispy.

Summer, please get here soon! I can’t wait to be less ravenous.

— LAURA JOHNSON

I am rarely on time and am always running late. (Sorry boss!) For a healthy breakfast or snack on the go, I turn to Quest Nutrition bars. They’re high-protein, gluten-free (if that matters to you) and have no added sugar. But most importantly, they taste awesome. My favorite flavors are cookies and cream, double chocolate crunch and coconut cashew. They’re a little pricey at roughly $2 per bar, but if you, like me, find yourself buying them in bulk every week, sign up for a GNC membership and you’ll get 15 percent off every time you shop.

— DEANNA PAN

My main motivation to push myself through a week’s worth of early-morning wake-ups (I never have been and never will be a morning person...) are lazy weekend mornings. More blissful than getting to sleep until or past 9 am, though, is the deliciousness that follows: classic homemade breakfasts with a loved one. I’m talking bacon, eggs, coffee, (sometimes orange juice), pancakes, waffles, french toast, omelets, crepes, fresh hashbrowns — the list goes on. Enjoyed equally for the cooking in the kitchen and the resulting feast at the table, it’s a rare time I slow down and don’t care what time it is or what I have to do 30 minutes or an hour later. And it’s damn good eatin’ compared to cold cereal, toast or yogurt during the week.

This past weekend’s rotating menu featured crepes, which are unexpectedly simple to make and can be filled with just about anything: meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, leftovers, etc. Make a batch of this basic crepe recipe (if you’re making savory crepes, nix the sugar and lemon extract) and keep the extras in the fridge to fill and heat up during your rushed weekday mornings, or even for a quick dinner or lunch.

— CHEY SCOTT

While in the fever-dream throes of cover-story writing I tend to eat out a lot more. Time I spend cooking is time wasted — I could be writing. That means a lot of restaurants, a lot of fast-food, and a lot of time at “just the one” booths with my laptop. But my favorite cover story writing location has to be Hill's Restaurant and Lounge, the restaurant by the Inlander’s former office on Washington Street. And when you go to Hill’s, there’s only one thing you should be allowed to order, possibly the most delicious sandwich in Spokane: The Chicken Bacon Pineapple Sandwich. It has features a bit of the same delicious dance of pineapple and meat as Red Robin’s Bonzai Burger, but takes it to a much more sophisticated place. The the crisp of the bacon meets the tenderness of the chicken meets the sweetness of the pineapple meets the chutney-osity of the “sweet-out tomato chutney.” And for a moment there, it’s time to set my laptop aside, and just savor.

— DANIEL WALTERS

This year’s Inlander Restaurant Week kicked off last Friday, which is exciting — but somewhat less so if you’re limited by budget, time or dietary options. Which is why I was thrilled to find out some places are offering their restaurant week desserts a la carte. First stop: Peanut Butter Pie at Saranac Public House, which is firm and cheesecake-like with a restrained drizzle of chocolate. (It’s on their menu as dessert of the week some other times, but not like you can get it whenever you want.) It’s hard to make a peanut butter pie that isn’t delicious, and Saranac isn’t the only place offering one during restaurant week, so here’s an idea for next year: a prepaid pass that lets you go out for, say, five desserts at participating restaurants during the 10-day event. Perfect Valentine’s gift, right?

— LISA WAANANEN