late late late

I sat down with the intent to post this earlier, but got distracted...bear with me for being choppy! I'm feeling like an old lady and this is way past my bedtime.

I was so exhausted before, during AND after bootcamp this morning so as soon as I got out onto the street, I made a beeline for the closest coffee shop. Unfortunately the Starbucks was packed and I wasn’t feeling ABP so I decided to check out this place I pass by ALL the time on Connecticut Ave – The Daily Market. It’s located between the CVS and the entrance to the metro and has a really bright yellow and purple awning. I poked my head in and thought, eh, why not give it a shot.

This place is kinda like the Capitol Grounds Café near my office, minus all the Boar's Head meat in the case. They have smoothies, lots of fun beverages, bars, trail mix, chips, everything. What did I walk out with? A bagel w/veggie cream cheese, a banana and a large coffee. Ha. I'm thinking about checking it out for lunch one of these days. While I was waiting for my bagel, I saw a sign for the ‘Summer Deal’ which was a chicken breast sandwich with avocado, sprouts, tomatoes, sweet peppers and wasabi mayo for $5.29 (I’m not sure the ‘deal’ comes with anything though). Now, I’m kinda anti-mayo, but I think a small smear of wasabi mayo would totally make this sandwich a winner. I think this might be my Friday meal. Will keep you posted!

On the way to the office, I saw some folks with Team in Training shirts selling Krispy Kreme donuts by the metro station. I always feel like I should buy a box because I too was in that situation a couple years ago, granted, I chose not to sell Krispy Kremes by the metro, but I definitely struggled to fund raise. I passed on the donuts b/c no one really needs a box of donuts on a Wednesday. Perhaps I’ll buy a box on Friday if they are there…

And now the dinner experiment...oh boy, what an experiment it was. I wanted to make an asiany tofu salad w/a bunch of crisp veggies in a sesame ginger vinaigrette. I came across some ginger teryaki tempeh at the store and thought I would test it out. I've always been a little curious about tempeh so this seemed like an excellent opportunity to try it.

Here's my test batch:

My 'tempehtations' had pretty good flavor...the texture was just off. In my mind, I pictured this dish with fried or pressed tofu. These kinda fell apart and I didn't realize how grainy tempeh was. I think they'd be better all broken up in a warm dish. Maybe a stir fry?

Anyway, I bought this dressing at the store without prior tasting.
Verdict: not so good on it's own. I supplemented it with a splash of sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and some grated ginger. Mixed it up with the veggies, chicken and tempeh and voila!
After letting it marinate for about 30 minutes in the fridge, I mixed it up again and gave it a taste. The tempeh broken up wasn't that bad...and combined with all the crunchy veggies, the texture didn't bother me that much. I'd give it another shot.

Asian Tofu (or Tempeh!) Salad
1.5 c snap peas, blanched
1 small bunch broccolini, cut into 1 inch pieces, blanched
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 c cucumber, cut into thin strips
1 package tofu (pressed or fried) or tempeh (seasoned)
1/2 c shredded chicken (optional)
sesame ginger dressing, enough to coat

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, let sit in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Told you it was a major kitchen experiment! At least it was edible :)

In other news, it appears that the NYC Half Marathon has sold out. Bummer. For all I know, it's been sold out for quite some time now but I've been so all over the place I haven't had a chance to follow up :( It kinda throws off my whole race schedule (see right)...what am I going to do with such a long break after June?? Definitely can use any suggestions for races coming up in June - August. Or maybe I'll welcome a few months of low key running??