Working it out

If you haven't noticed, I've been on quite the group fitness kick lately. In addition to pilates and my latest obsession, Burn, I've added TRX to the mix.

TRX combines adjustable straps suspended from (very sturdy) ceiling beams with music and cardio. You basically use your own body weight to workout. By slightly adjusting angles, you can make your workout easier or more challenging.

A friend forwarded a promo for a free unlimited intro week so I totally jumped on it. I love free. My first class was an Endurance Training class, which I had no background info on. I (foolishly) squeezed my 2 mile run in during lunch and figured I'd be fine for my 7pm TRX class. Nope. Had no idea what I was in for.

So, in great contrast to Burn, this class was mostly guys - there were only 4 ladies, one of whom was the instructor. Equipped with a basic knowledge of how to adjust the straps, a thumping soundtrack and no shame in looking like a fool, we started the 55 minute 'oo, it hurts so good' sweat session.

The endurance training class is targeted toward people that participate in endurance sports like marathons, triathlons and the sort, targeting muscles and areas endurance athletes need/use the most. A little cardio is thrown in, you know just for fun, and reps are longer (we were doing 8 20 second reps with a 10 second recovery in between). 

It was in this class that I discovered how weak my upper body and core are as I struggled with a suspended leg plank. It was challenging and I think I'm still feeling it in my abs 4 days later.

The instructor was super helpful and kept us going. She took some time to walk around and correct/adjust our form, which I totally appreciate. I got my butt kicked and absolutely loved it.

The next class I took was Power Stretch. I figured at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, it wouldn't draw a big crowd, but it sure did - every strap was taken! This class was the exact opposite of my first one. I knew it was going to be mellow and a stretching class, but I honestly didn't expect to be anxiously watching the clock. Friend and I agreed that the moves really didn't require the TRX and most bothered my knees even with a thick mat. Needless to say I probably won't be taking that class again.

Why do I like TRX? Same reason I'm into bootcamp and Burn - probably because of my gym/workout ADD. The 55 minutes zooms by when you're sweating it through a variety of exercises. It's definitely fad-y, but I'm ok with that. Still on the fence if I'll be returning post-free intro week. It's convenient to my home, but I think I still might prefer Burn and its super small classes. We'll see. 

In the meantime, my core and booty are getting whipped into shape! I'm hoping this puts a little more speed into my step...I'd like to see another half marathon PR this year and no more injuries!

Farmers' Market Finds

This past weekend, I wandered around the Ferry Building Farmers' Market instead of my usual local one. As you know, I'm not a big fan of the Ferry Building market because it's overwhelming, crowded, a little pricey and sucks me in for hours. This time around I set a time limit and had a general idea of what I wanted to pick up. In and out in 20 minutes.

Here's a sampling of fruits and veggies you'll see this week!

White Guavas (from Washington State) - I just wanted to open my bag and sniff these suckers all day long. AMAZING. I hope they taste as good as they smell!

Mandarins, Cara Caras, Minneolas and Navel Oranges - Yeah, that's a bag full of citrus and I already ate two in one sitting. I thought I'd give the mandarins and minneolas another chance and again, they were too tart for my taste. I prefer the Cara Cara. The end.

Brussels Sprouts - I've never met a brussels sprout I didn't like. I got about 3/4 lb for $4, plus a few extra thrown in from the farmer dude. You know, just for fun. 

Green Garlic - I saw this on my list of things in season, but I had no idea what it was or what to do about it. It was in abundance at the market and luckily there was a very informative vendor on hand to tell me that it can be used as you would use regular garlic, but the flavor will be milder. He had some samples of a green garlic fromage blanc spread over bread. Delish.

I also grabbed a perfectly ripe avocado...though, it was definitely more expensive than at Safeway. Odd.

Stay tuned to see what I do with this week's ingredients!

Blood Orange

Not a pleasant sounding name for such a gorgeous fruit, is it? Today's citrus adventure (if you haven't figured it out yet): Blood Orange

From the Wiki page:

The blood orange is a variety of orange (Citrus sinensis) with crimson, blood-colored flesh. The fruit is smaller than an average orange; its skin is usually pitted, but can be smooth.

I grabbed a Moro and Sanguinello (moro is pictured above) for cooking and was pretty bummed that I didn't slice into some deep red. 

No matter, it still tasted good enough for my cooking purposes! Blood oranges are great on salads, as vinaigrettes and as desserts (think granitas or I've even seen them in baked goods). I paired mine with shallots, champagne vinegar and tomato for a quick fruity salsa. They also go great with some fresh fennel!

Chocolicious

The other day I got home to a surprise package with a note from the cousin:

Hooray for treats! I guess living in the land of Ghirardelli, I tend to forget that there are other fancy chocolatiers out there. From the mini book/map in my box o chocolates:

Jacques Torres Chocolate products are hand crafted with premium ingredients selected by Master Pastry Chef Jacques Torress himself. Every ingredient that goes into a Jacques Torres confection is made from scratch - from the marzipan and the marshmallows to the peanut butter. Each piece is a celebration of chocolate in its purest sense, and never contains preservatives or additives.

Makes it sound super fancy, no? I was too nervous to ruin the delicately designed chocolates, but clearly you can see I had no problem eventually sampling a few :)

How adorable are these?? I've already savored the Got Milk Chocolate (milk chocolate ganache with a kiss of cognac), European Peanut Butter (homemade with fresh roasted peanuts and hazelnuts in milk chocolate), and Grand Cru (fine red wine complimented by rich dark chocolate). All deliciously rich and a great treat at the end of a rough day. 

I think they're worth sampling...maybe not such a great idea to have a box full just hanging out in the apartment though ;)

Orange madness

It continues. Today's juicy experiment: Minneola Tangelo

I first came across this interestingly shaped citrus fruit while walking through Whole Foods. I thought it might have been a freakishly navelly orange, but no. Totally different. From the Sunkist website (again, because they just have better descriptions than Wikipedia, not because I'm a Sunkist nut)

Tangelos - a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine. They are noted for their juiciness and mild, sweet flavor. Orlandos and Minneolas are popular Tangelo varieties.

So I picked up a Minneola on my way home from this morning's 9-miler. Super easy to peel, color was somewhere between a navel orange and my new favorite cara cara orange. 

I'm not really into tangerines, so this wasn't my favorite citrus adventure, but I'm absolutely fascinated by the flowery scent this fruit gave off. You know how while you're eating, and immediately after you finish, an orange the fruit and your hands have a very distinct orange smell? Not these. It's like citrus meets jasmine tea. Very interesting...and no, I did not put anything flowery on before eating.

Testing the waters

Since I've run into some overuse injuries lately, I've decided it's about time I started cross training and incorporating more strength workouts into my marathon training plan. 

I've got the biking thing down, but that really only happens on nice weekends, so last weekend I tested out this fun new workout a friend recommended. 

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A few of us signed up for a Sunday morning class at Burn's Valencia Street location and we were all pleasantly surprised at the 55 minute long butt kicking session. Burn is basically boot camp meets pilates meets random strength training classes you've taken at your local gym. Throw in a super enthusiastic instructor and a good playlist and that's my kind of class!

We did a ton of squats, some arm work with weights and then we spent some quality time with the pilates springboard (which I soon discovered is more challenging than it looks) before jumping into ab work. Let me just say that I was already feeling jello legged and sore 30 minutes later...and I was crazy enough to bike to class! Needless to say, I popped my bike onto a bus on the way home!

I'm still shocked at how sore my abs were - it hurt to use the salad spinner that night. HA! That being said, I'm going back for more. I love the sweat and jello leg feeling. The hurt that hurts so good. I love. Even if it had me hobbling like a fool the next day at work...

After this extremely successful pilates(ish) experience, I decided to schedule a private pilates reformer class with a coworker that is training to be a pilates instructor. I think part of me thought it would be similar to the Burn class...just lower impact?

Coworker is a great instructor; she's super patient and informative (I tend to ask a lot of questions). I felt the burn as we worked on my triceps, abs and some splits, however, it wasn't the burn that lasts. I walked out of there feeling like I got a solid hour's worth of stretching and I will say that my IT band, hips and hamstrings were feeling significantly looser than when I walked in. However, I didn't feel like I got a workout in. Is that weird?

I think I'm one of those people that needs to huff and puff and sweat buckets. I mean, let's think about yoga - the only kind I'm willing to do (and enjoy) is Bikram...where I sweat a ton! Is it any surprise I preferred Burn over regular pilates? I'll give regular pilates one more shot before totally scratching it off my list since this was my first time and I'm going to chalk it up to getting acclimated. 

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

I’m usually not a much of a citrus gal, but every few years I find myself going into serious orange craving mode. A few weeks ago I grabbed an orange for my daily fruit intake at the office and was amazed and addicted to the juicy and super sweet pulp. This was no dud. This was a legit orange.

Next thing you know, oranges are the second thing I grab at the grocery store, preceded by bananas of course. Without fail, I keep getting these crazy good oranges. WTF? Is this for real? It is. Apparently it’s orange season and I didn’t even know it.

On Sunday I paid a visit to the Fort Mason Farmers’ Market for the first time in months and holy oranges, Batman! I had no idea there were so many varieties! Since I was in a rush, I didn’t get a chance to sample and savor all the farmers had to offer. Instead, I grabbed a few oranges based on whichever had the most interesting name.

This week’s winner: Cara Cara Navel Orange

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From the Sunkist website (because they seem like a reliable source of citrus info, being the citrus king and all):

Cara Cara oranges, a type of navel orange grown in California's San Joaquin Valley, are available December through April. The bright orange exterior of cara cara oranges is similar to other navels, but their interior is a distinctive pinkish red, has an exceptionally sweet flavor with a tangy cranberry-like zing, and few to no seeds.

These babies are deceptively pink/red. Had I not peeled it myself, I would have thought I was eating a grapefruit! Of course, the minute you bite into the pulpy morsel you get a very very distinct orange taste. It’s sweet and slightly tart – exactly what I look for in an orange (yes, I believe an orange can be too sweet). The one downside to this winter treat is that it’s a bit tough to peel. I found myself struggling and hoping that I didn’t take a chunk of orange out with the peel. Perhaps it’s best sliced into wedges.

Meet my new buddy

Yep, I'm now the proud owner of a bike (thanks for the Christmas present, Jamie :D)! I've been pretty bummed about the no running thing, so Jamie and I went to test out bikes when he was here over Thanksgiving. I fell in love with this one and it came home with us (even after a little bit of an incident involving me and an oncoming Muni bus).

Right now I'm still getting used to the whole riding with traffic thing, since the last time I owned a bike I was 12 and riding on a dead end street. Since I don't have a lock or a rear blinky light, I can really only ride over the weekend from and to my apartment...I should be able to get ample road practice that way, right?

My plan is (once I'm comfortable riding, of course) to bike to and from work and get some longer rides in on the weekend. Hello, cross training! Nice to finally meet you! I'm pretty nervous about venturing into the open road...any advice for a newbie? I know there are hand signals for turning, the bike lane doesn't mean you are always safe, and I'm not allowed to ride on the sidewalk...basic stuff.

Do I make left turns like a car? Do I make left turns from the bike lane? Jeebus. So much to learn. I think for now I'm sticking to Crissy Field. Wish me luck!

More wine, more food, more fun.

After Rued, we made our way over to Matrix Winery where we looked forward to enjoying some Costeaux Focaccia. They had a couple tasting areas, including one out on the patio. This was where I camethisclose to buying a bottle of their 2006 Nunes Pinot Noir. Again, I don't usually like pinot noirs, but this was pretty good! I resisted the urge to buy a bottle (and by resisted I mean someone had to tell me not to) since it was either $35 or $40 :)

Unfortunately, the food wasn't as good as the wine. The four of us were convinced we were in for a fancy focaccia snack. Wrong-o. It was pretty much plain bread (texture was more like a loaf of regular bread) and some slices of gouda on the side. Eh, there had to be a food let down at some point. Can't have it all!

Next up was Twomey Cellars. Food here was PHENOMENAL. I may have actually gotten a second tasting ;p Definitely going to use the Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Walnuts and Sage recipe!

The wine here was pretty good too. I was hooked on the 2006 Napa Valley Merlot and I've never been much of a merlot drinker! Maybe it's because they snuck a bit of cabernet franc in there. Ah haaa. This bottle was on the pricier side ($50) so I passed on purchasing. Instead I opted for a photoshoot

Pretty sure those chairs were for sale. Weird.

As the day went on, the tastebuds and memory may have gotten a little fuzzy ;p Good thing C. Donatiello was serving up some super flavorful Duck & Shiitake Tinga Tostadas. I don't remember much about the wine, except that it went wonderfully with the tostadas and had a cool label.

I'd definitely visit again since the grounds were absolutely gorgeous. There was a garden with persimmons, limes and other fruits as well as chairs just waiting for a catalog-y photoshoot

We zoomed through pretty quickly so we could make it to Moshin Vineyards for some great wine and Rick's Famous Smoked Salmon in Phyllo Cups. Food wasn't bad...just kinda blah compared to the rest of the wineries. Still tasty.

I walked out with a bottle of their Promoshin Red Blend

A mysteriously delicious red priced at a wallet-friendly $18.

Our last stop of the day was Korbel Champagne Cellars where we caught them right before the festival ended (4pm). There may have been an incident pre-tasting involving dumping rinse water into the clean water pitcher...

We sampled a deliciously refreshing Orechiette Pasta with Melon & Champagne-Cracked Peppercorn Dressing. Normally I don't like creamy pasta salads, but this was AMAZING. The sweet melon went perfectly with the creamy, savory dressing. Definitely going to make this for a picnic!

Afterward we paid a visit to The Gourmet Delicatessen on site to split a pint of the much talked about Pliney the Elder

I had heard about this a few months ago but never really got around to searching for it. I was excited the the Korbel folks mentioned it and had it on tap! This double IPA is brewed by the Russian River Brewing Company and is pretty hoppy. I really enjoyed it. Definitely recommend it.

Awesome weekend.

Too much soup?!

What do you think?

I think you guys know by now how much I enjoy a fall day of cooking and today was no exception. I had a 14 miler on deck (yep, back to training...California International Marathon in December!), but I ended up listening to my legs and scaled it back to a 10.5 miler. Definitely didn't do enough stretching/sticking post-Chicago.

Met Selin to cause some trouble at Sports Basement, but I only stuck to the necessary items:

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Headlamp to, you know, see (Tuesday's run was not only a rough return to weekday running, but it was also a super dark one).

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And arm warmers. I have a really hard time controlling my temperature when I run and I really really hate having to tie anything around my waist. These will do. Successful morning :)

The rain finally started pouring down when I got home (thank goodness) and it was perfect for the afternoon of cooking I had planned. I've wanted to make a big batch of soup for awhile now and I picked up some lentils the other day at Whole Foods.

So colorful!

Paired with a few other ingredients,

I made that soup happen.

Veggiful Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced and halved

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp thyme

5 slices turkey bacon, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

10 c chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp hot pepper paste

1 1/2 c green lentils

1 1/2 c red lentils

parmesan rind

2 c broccoli rabe, chopped

Place lentils in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside as you prepare the rest of the soup.

Heat olive oil in a stockpot and brown bacon bits.

Add onions, leeks and celery; cook until softened. Add carrot and pepper paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and thyme and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Stir in lentils and pour in broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parmesan rind and broccoli rabe and let simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I thought this was a pretty good soup...not my favorite, but I'm sure it would be better with some homemade chicken stock. Maybe swap out the turkey bacon (which honestly doesn't have much flavor in my opinion) for some chunks of nice smokey keilbasa?

For dessert, I sliced into a dragon fruit for the first time

I'm obsessed with anything dragon fruit flavored and I love the way dragon fruit looks.

Plus, how can you not love a fruit that doubles as a bowl?

Sadly, I'm not really that into the taste. It definitely doesn't taste like artificial dragon fruit flavor. In fact, I think it tastes a lot like water :[

Luckily I had some red bean mochi to snack on. I don't know why but I LOVE LOVE LOVE anything made with glutinous rice. I guess it's not a texture most people enjoy, but there's just something about that chewy, sticky, gummy texture that I can't get enough of!

Nomnomnom.

As all this cooking and snacking took place, I also felt compelled to watch the Giants/Phillies game. Let it be known I usually don't watch baseball, but for some reason I've been following since I went to my first Giants game last month. What can I say? This city is glowing with orange and it's hard not to get caught up in it!

I planned on baking some blondies for book club tomorrow based on this recipe by Smitten Kitchen. It was incredibly easy and I ended up adding some 62% cacao dark chocolate chunks and 1/4 c bourbon to the mix. Also, since I don't have any brownie tins, I turned these into mini muffins.

They smelled SOOOO good as they baked and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to finish while watching this:

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The minute they won, I heard yelps and screams outside and lots of honking and celebrating. I love this city :)

I might even love it as much as I love snacking on these nuggets:

Yum. Not quite what I expected, but not bad. I was hoping for a slight bourbon taste, but I guess it all burned off? Maybe I should have done half without the bourbon and half with just to compare. Ah well. These puppies are all packed and ready for tomorrow!

How would you spend a rainy fall afternoon?

Love.

A long time ago, long before I discovered running, I had another obsession love.

I was never a great tennis player, but I enjoyed playing and that's what matters the most, right? The sound of a new can of tennis balls being opened, hearing the ball as it hits the sweet spot of my racquet, watching as a ball zips just past the top of the net...LOVE.

Jamie was so kind to bring my trusty racquet when he flew out here over Labor Day and I finally busted it out this weekend. This racquet and I go way back. 15 years ago (15?! For real?!) my mom let me take tennis lessons and I was hooked. My racquet has been with me since day one and has seen me through some pretty sweet shots as well as some teen angsty/un-sportsmanshipy moments. Note that the picture cuts of the top of the frame...many a paint chip was left on high school tennis courts. Sorry buddy, I won't beat you up anymore.

Selin and I met up late Sunday to work up a little bit of an appetite before we started on this week's mystery box dinner. It's been awhile since I last hit a ball around and boy was it frustrating trying to get back into things. I also started feeling really old. I used to be able to run and dive for shots like no one's business...now, not so much ;)

After about a half hour of hitting, we headed back to check out the contents of this week's mystery box and plan dinner. It was like a mini Iron Chef episode haha. In this week's box: Genovese basil, Fino Verde Basil, peppers, cherry tomatoes, Early Girl tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, kale, dates and wax beans.

We brainstormed for a bit and settled on making a Kabocha Squash and Kale Risotto with a Beet and Fennel Salad. Best part about this dinner...shopping list only had 5 items on it. FIVE! And that included wine.

Kabocha Squash and Kale Risotto

1.5 c arborio rice

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1.5 c kale, chopped

1/2 kabocha squash, chopped

1/2 onion, minced

6 c chicken broth, warmed

1/4 c parmesan, shredded

salt

pepper

Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Saute onion for 1 minute. Add squash and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add kale and cook covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in rice and cook for 1 minute, making sure all grains are coated. Pour in 2 cups of chicken broth and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring frequently. Pour in 1 cup of broth and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring frequently. Continue until all 6 cups of broth are used.

Season lightly with salt and pepper and stir in parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Beet and Fennel Salad

3-4 beets, roasted and sliced

1 bulb fennel, shaved

handful wax beans, blanched and sliced

white balsamic vinegar

sheep's milk feta

Combine in a bowl and serve chilled.

Fabulous Sunday night dinner!

I woke up this morning with a very strange urge to bust out the tennis racquet again. Since I knew it would be too hot to run (and by too hot, I mean like barely 80 degrees. I'm a baby.) I packed my racquet and clothes for a post-work workout. I took note of the ball wall yesterday and was determined to put in at least 30 minutes of hitting and running time.

Um, I was surprisingly sweaty and it felt SOOO good. It's been a long time since I've done a non-running sweat sesh! To close out the evening, I hiked up my hills instead of bussing home and watched as the sun set on this wonderfully clear evening!

Tonight's dinner was an experiment with quinoa pasta. Eh.

Quinoa Pasta Salad

1 package quinoa pasta shells, cooked

1/2 english cucumber, sliced into discs and quartered

2 Early Girl tomatoes, chopped

1 green pepper, diced

8 peppadew peppers, chopped

2 links chicken sausage, cooked, sliced into discs and halved

3 tbsp basil, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp champagne vinegar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1.5 tbsp olive oil

salt

pepper

Whisk basil, garlic, vinegars, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl and slowly pour in dressing to coat everything. Chill for 10-15 minutes before serving.

I was disappointed with this quinoa pasta thing. I love quinoa. I love corn. Both are in these little gluten free nuggets! I think they have a weird texture that I'm just not feeling. I paid close attention to them so they wouldn't overcook (the package says in big bold letters 'DO NOT OVERCOOK') and I think they're still too hard. They're funky. Blech.

I'd totally sub in regular pasta or even brown rice pasta next time because the rest of this salad ROCKS. The garlic and basil dressing AND the piquant peppadews were AWESOME. Yuuummy.

A week of experimenting

This week I conducted a few experiments...

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I played with some brown rice pasta

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and cut dairy out.

Why? Well, brown rice pasta looked like fun. I like pasta, I like brown rice...duh. The dairy was more of a let's see if my stomach feels better without dairy thing. Happy to report both were successful experiments!

Brown Rice Penne with Sausage Peppers and Onions

1/2 bag brown rice penne, cooked according to package

2 links cooked chicken/turkey sweet basil pesto sausages, sliced

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1/3 c cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp jalapeno, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp white wine

salt

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onions until they begin to soften. Add sausage and cook for 4-5 minutes or until sausage starts to brown. Add white wine and scrape up brown bits. Add peppers, tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in pasta and cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

I kinda love the brown rice pasta, aside from the shape (package said penne, clearly not penne). Reheating the next day for lunch made the noodles a little softer and they had the texture of rice noodles in asian dishes. I LOVE that texture...sort of gelatinous but still firm.

The only downsides:

1. It doesn't pack that much fiber.
2. It's pricy compared to regular pasta.

Ok, onto the dairy. My belly hasn't been too happy with me lately and I couldn't figure out why. Jamie convinced me to conduct a little experiment where I avoid all dairy products for the week. It was surprisingly easy. I jotted down everything I ate for the week and how I felt during the day and during runs. The only bad belly experience involved SALAD and white bean hummus. Go figure. Two things I love.

Since my experiment ended today, I celebrated by cooking dinner and topped it with some sheep's milk feta. Duh.

Sausage-y Harvest Blend Filled Squash

1 acorn squash, halved and roasted

1 1/4 c Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Blend

2 links cooked mango chicken sausage, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 c spinach, chopped

1/2 c cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp white wine

3 tbsp currants

1 tbsp tarragon

1 3/4 c water

salt

pepper

2 tbsp feta, crumbled

Heat olive oil in a pot and brown sausage (about 3 minutes) before stirring in onions. Cook for 2 minutes or until onions become translucent. Add white wine and scrape up brown bits from sausage. Add currants and tarragon; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until it begins to wilt. Add grains and stir well. Pour in water, add tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. Scoop into acorn squash halves and top with feta. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

I really enjoyed this meal. Usually I don't like raisins, craisins or anything like that in my savory dishes, but I've been trying to be open minded. Currants = awesome in my book. They're small enough that you only get a tiny hint of sweetness in each bite. It went well with the slight sweetness of the sausage too! Very excited about leftovers :)

I know this was a really quick post, but I'm off to bed...last long run (not including next weekend's 12k race) before Chicago! Happy weekend, everyone!