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!

Dang!

I haven't posted since Monday. Woah. I am happy to report that I managed to find motivation the following day :) Instead of rushing over to the Marina Green for the scheduled 2 mile group run, I opted to run my flat office route...until I realized I forgot my access card. D'oh!

Since my home is on top of a hill, I decided to walk down to flatness and run until the timer on my phone went off. Seemed like a pretty good idea. 30 minutes later, I had completed exactly 3 miles...a pretty rough 3 miles. Yeeh. Dinner was leftover couscous salad (hooray for eating all my leftovers this week!)...exciting, I know.

Wednesday's run was MUCH better. I left my office and did the same timer thing (15 minutes, turn around, 15 minutes) and almost made it to 30 minutes, except the stupid light changed on me :( I got home, mapped my run and turns out I did 3.23 miles. In 29 minutes. O hey!

My run must have been an indicator for how the rest of my evening would pan out. I got home by 7 and knocked out some laundry and cleaning. I even sorted my recycling bin and broke down a bunch of boxes! Talk about productive ;) I also made a random quick dinner: Ghetto Tempeh & Swiss Sammich.

There's a whole lot of yellow going on in that picture. I sliced up my block of tempeh and spread some Nando's Peri-Peri Garlic Sauce on each side before baking.

Toasted up some bread, a slice of swiss cheese and a generous smear of my favorite mustard:

Dinner was served in no time.

Was it good? Eh, not really. It lacked greens and flavor. I ended up digging through my fridge for something to dip my sammich in. Sadness.

Since I had 2 slices of tempeh leftover, I made a similar sammich for Thursday's lunch subbing in hoisin sauce for the mustard. I crossed my fingers that it added enough flavor to keep my tastebuds happy.

Again, flavor fail. Belly was full and happy though! Happy all the way through my last group run...a whole MILE from the Marina Green to a bar. Haha. I love my running group. To justify changing clothes, having to shower, and rushing out of the office, I tacked on a little more for an even 2 mile jog to the bar.

(source)

At the Final Final in the Marina, I had a wonderfully balanced dinner consisting of a Racer 5 IPA and bowl upon bowl of free popcorn. Hey, they were addictive! I also chatted with fellow runners and managed to find a potential new long run buddy. Hooray :)

One run at a time

Hey all! Meant to post last night, but I was too tired to type. Why? Last night was my first training run of the season! Hooray :)

So we met at the Marina Green and set off on our runs. My run was 4 miles...that ended with a friendly little hill (remember this one?)

Yeah...I think I'm going to have to start making friends with hills. I am happy to report that despite that little speed bump, I was able to knock out those 4 miles in just over 38 minutes...and felt good! Woo!! I'm FINALLY getting some speed back :)

Afterward I totally braved the akwardness and went to the group dinner at Askew Grill in the Marina.

It was a quick walk from the Marina Green and sort of near my bus stop. I teeter tottered b/c it was totally out of my comfort zone, but I knew I really should mingle. So I did. And I'm glad I did.

I was a little overwhelmed by the menu, but finally settled on a Cilantro Lime Chicken Skewer (roma tomatoes, red onions and coconut cilantro jasmine rice - not really sure where that rice was?) with the Chop Salad (mixed greens, mango, tomato, onion, cilantro, celery, carrots, candied almonds, green onion, parmesan, honey lime vinaigrette). No picture, had to reserve battery power on the phone.

It was the perfect amount of food once it actually got to the table. In all fairness, I will say that we kinda bombarded the folks at the restaurant when like 20 or so hungry runners came storming in. I like to think the service is a little faster on any other given day? The skewer I picked went perfectly with the salad...I was a little worried at first with the celery (I usually don't put celery in my salad), but it was a really nice crunch and clean flavor. I'd totally get it again!

I passed on our second Alpha Bar attempt tonight, partly because I thought it was next week and partly because I wanted to rest up for tomorrow night. What's going on tomorrow night? My first Sunset Run! Yes, I'm excited about a 5 mile non competitive run. Whatever, it was $10 and all of that goes to a charity (this week it's L'Athletique d'Haiti). Plus we get a nifty shirt and it's a fun run. Can't wait.

So for dinner tonight, I wanted some ruffage in salad form, but then my tastebuds started craving a grain of some sort. I ended up combining the two and making a Mustardy Brown Rice Salad

I think there are some shortcuts that can be made, but I ended up taking the long approach :\

Mustardy Brown Rice Salad

1 package Trader Joe's Organic Frozen Brown Rice

2 tbsp chives, chopped

2 roasted piquillo peppers, chopped

1 c mache

1/4 c arugula

1/4 c candied almonds (see below)

2 tbsp dijon mustard vinaigrette (see below)

1/2 block tofu, baked and sliced

Microwave brown rice according to directions, empty into a bowl with chives, arugula and mache to cool. Add peppers, almonds and vinaigrette, toss and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.

Add tofu slices last, mix once more and serve immediately with a sprinkle of almonds.

Candied Almonds

1/2 c sliced almonds

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter, melted

pinch cayenne

pinch garlic powder

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Combine ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Spread out on cookie sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes, making sure almonds do not burn. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

juice of one lemon

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp garlic powder

pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Whisk all ingredients together.

Dinner hit the spot! The only thing I'd change about it is maybe throw in a little something sweet...maybe a couple mango pieces? I thought it was a great blend of grain, crunch, ruffage and tang. This will definitely make a repeat appearance :)

K. I'm turning in now. I'm all caught up on Lost (last night's episode - WTF?!) and I've got an extra early day of work tomorrow. Will definitely let you know how the run goes. Nitey :)

I did it!

First half marathon of the year/first long run post-injury - CHECK!

Probably not my best idea ever, but I decided to still run/walk/jog the National Half Marathon this weekend. My longest run/walk had only been 45 minutes, but I couldn't let my running buddies run their first half marathon alone - especially since I coerced them into signing up ;p

Susan came over to drop off our race packets, feast on some pasta and talk race morning logistics. Check out the nifty new bib timing:

Crazy, right? These little strips are located on the back of your bib and you need to strategically place your bib on your torso and have it visible at all times on your outermost layer. Eh....ok? I ended up attaching my bib to a t-shirt that I wore over a long sleeve shirt. Long sleeve shirt got tossed (and may I say it was quite a sight as I tried to take off the long sleeve shirt mid run) eventually. I think I prefer the D-tag timing. Much easier to deal with.

I had a pretty good jog on the Mall Friday evening - 30 minutes of straight jogging (yay!) followed by a nice long stretch session so I figured I would be good to go on Saturday morning. Plan was to take it at a comfortable jog for the first few miles and then switch to a run/walk. I was feeling good for the most part so I ended up running at a comfy pace until about mile 8 and then took it down a notch.

Kept it at a slow pace until mile 10 and then switched to the run/walk, with a little extra run at the end, and finished in 2:18. Definitely not my fastest time, but not my slowest either! I'll take it :) I stretched, Sticked and iced a bit before work and was feeling pretty good...until the next morning. OW. Achilles is still a little swollen, but not really painful. Fingers crossed I didn't mess things up too much :(

Enough about my lame run. My running buddies finished their first half marathon!! WOOO hooray for Sparky and Susan! We celebrated with a few of these

at the Brickskeller in Dupont where we met up with another half marathon finisher friend and shared some race stories. Apparently there was a dude running barefoot through the streets of DC. UM, no. I'm sorry, but every time I see people running straight up BAREFOOT, I cringe. These are city streets. They are filthy. I don't even like my shoes touching them. Who knows what you are stepping in...and I'm pretty sure there are random sharp particles scattered around. *shudder*

O wait, I forgot the most important part of the weekend - DINNER! Haha. Susan and I planned a pre-race sushi dinner, but I swapped it out for a home cooked diner last minute since I should be saving some cash. I got a little experimental and made Artichoke Edamame Pesto. Totally winged it and the consistency of the pesto in the blender was looking a too thick, but it ended up fine once I mixed it with the pasta. I must say it was a tasty success!

Bowties with Artichoke Edamame Pesto and Mushrooms

1 1/2 tbsp Artichoke Edamame Pesto (see below)

3 c bowtie pasta, cooked

1/4 c pasta water

1/2 package cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add pesto, pasta and some of the pasta water. Stir to coat, adding pasta water as necessary to thin out the mixture.

Artichoke Edamame Pesto

1 1/2 c edamame, blanched

3 cloves garlic

6 pieces quartered artichoke hearts

1/4 c hazelnuts, chopped

2/3 c olive oil

1/4 c manchego cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp chili garlic paste

14 large basil leaves

Place first 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree. Add remaining ingredients and puree.

Super easy, right? I think that was my fastest meal this month! Also, note my lack of meat. No, I'm not going vegetarian...I'm just too impatient to wait for my frozen meat to defrost haha.

Tonight's dinner was another impromptu dish since I wanted to clean out my cabinets and fridge. My creation - Tahini Mustard Wheatberry Salad.

I wanted to make a fish dish and started thinking I'd do a quick seared fish over mixed greens, but when I opened up my cabinet and saw the bag of wheatberries, I thought I should try something new.

Tahini Mustard Wheatberry Salad

1/2 c wheatberries, rinsed and drained

1 3/4 c water

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c tahini

2 heaping tbsp whole grain mustard

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c roasted red peppers, chopped

2 tbsp basil, chopped

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Boil water, salt and wheatberries for about 1 hour, drain and set aside.

In a measuring cup, combine tahini, mustard, honey, vinegar, oils and garlic powder. Scoop one heaping tablespoon of mixture into wheatberries and stir in basil and roasted red peppers. Let sit for at least 20 minutes for flavors to blend.

I made a simple white fish (um, I say white fish because I don't remember what the vacuumed pack freezer pack was) to set atop my wheatberry salad. I seasoned each side with salt and pepper and cooked it for a couple minutes on each side, drizzling it with some of that Balsamic Glaze my sister sent over.

Light and delicious - perfect for the weather we've been having lately! To round it all out, I had a mini salad with some leftover Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette.

Um, these pictures make my meal look GIGANTOR. Let it be known, that piece of fish was about 2/3 the length of my iPhone.

Goodies Galore!

This is going to (hopefully) be a quickie post since I'm only allowing 30 minutes of blogging time tonight!

I'm turning over a new leaf...a responsible one. I've set up a work area in my dining room (conveniently at a table I haven't been able to move on my own since Christmas - WEAK!) to keep myself from typing from the couch and get organized.

What do you think? It's still a little messy as I'm trying to figure out an iTunes/iPhone connection thing from my old laptop. It forces me to look at the white wall of no distraction haha.

Another part of this leaf turning process was passing up on an annual Chinese New Year dinner with friends. Every year my friends (also big food nerds) do a big Chinese New Year feast at a local restaurant and every year it is jam packed with delicious food. Tonight's celebration was at Joe's Noodle House in Rockville, a small restaurant with quality dishes. I'm bummed, but I turned it down with very good reasons: 1) I had to put in extra time at the office 2) I needed a run 3) I'm trying to be financially responsible and 4) I wore this today:

Yes, two different socks. That means laundry time. Big laundry time.

My spirits lightened up a bit when I checked the mail and saw a package from Jamie! All the snow delayed its arrival and Jamie kept talking it up on Skype. I definitely didn't expect the onslaught of goodies when I opened the box!

First up, some curry/saucy things

And instead of packing peanuts, I got a bunch of these marshmallows:

That one was filled with some sort of strawberry creme (just a dab) and the other flavor (not pictured) appeared to be a 'purple fairy' flavor. Apparently a picture of a purple fairy means delicious chocolate surprise.

Kiwi Creme Cake took up the most space in the box. I think these are like Tastycakes. Jamie started snacking on a sweet potato one while Skyping and it definitely wasn't what I imagined when he said he got sweet potato cakes. Eh, I'll give one a shot.

I giggled when I saw this next treat:

Yes, Crunky. Upon further inspection, it sounds like heavenly candy - malt balls in chocolate? HELLO.

He also sent some SPAM singles.

Have I mentioned my love of SPAM? I share this love with my siblings too and I think it's TOTALLY NORMAL. haha. My gramma used to make SPAM when we were little and I never questioned it. She would either pan fry some thin slices or pop them in the toaster until they got crispy and served it with some rice. SO yummy. Not exactly the healthiest dish, but at the time it was quick, simple and delicious. Now it's one of the many random tasty memories I have of my childhood. What foods bring you back to your childhood?

These single packs looked fun, but I looked a little closer and noticed they were different flavors:

Yeeh! A little scary. Sweet potato SPAM? How does that work?? I did like the nifty pictures of what you can do with SPAM, though hehe

Shrimp Chips were also tossed in.

Have you had shrimp chips before? They're not as scary as they may sound. It's usually not an in your face shrimp taste...mostly a crispy chip taste with a hint of shrimp. My mom used to get the shrimp chip disks (they're brightly colored, plasticky looking circles) that you fry up at home. Those are WAY better than the french fry looking ones typically found at Asian markets. Just a heads up.

And last, but not least, some chewy fruit candies (I think) that look a little bit like Hi-Chu so I'm going to bet they're good. I trust Jamie's sweet tooth.

Not quite sure what to do with all these goodies, though. There will be sampling, but the rest will probably be stashed until he returns...whenever that may be :\

Do you have any favorite foods/candies/beverages from travels abroad?

I'm off to get some work done and finish laundry! Already got my run/walk in for the day and am happy to report I'm consistently doing run portions well under 9 minute pace with no pain :) :) SOOOOOO happy!

Easy Peasy Cheesy

You know how sometimes homemade mac n cheese lacks that creaminess that say, boxed mac n cheese has? Or it just gets funky and oily/break apart-y? I've always been a little annoyed with that. Texture is a big thing for me. After my beautiful béchamel last weekend, I was determined to master some mac n cheese.

I've only made homemade mac n cheese once before (thanks, Martha), but it just wasn't the creamy mac I was craving. I decided to make a basic cheese sauce and blend that with the concepts I got from Martha's recipe. I had my fingers AND toes crossed since I only had enough ingredients to cover one attempt. Yeeh.

Y'all know I'm really into variety so instead of making one big 13x9 tray of one flavor, I decided to make two 8x8 squares - one plain and one random flavor. What was that random flavor? Chipotle Mac. Yep. I thought the smokey, oniony flavor of the adobo sauce chipotles swim in would be a great addition to mac n cheese!

I snagged these cheeses at the Giant yesterday:

Normally I'd be a little snobbier about my cheese selections (Boar's Head deli meat is legit; cheese wedges a little questionable), but considering all the Metro and grocery store chaos these past few days, I'm going to take what I can get.

I also grabbed some 2% and whole milk

I really don't like whole milk (I think it's waaaay too rich), but for melting purposes fat free doesn't fly…it's full fat or nothing at all. Plus, this is my welcome back to running/getting some speed dish :)

I used the medium shred side of my box grater for all the cheeses and I ended up with a bunch extra - just something to keep in mind.

Check out the experiments!

Cheesy Mac

5 c medium pasta shells, cooked

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp flour

1 1/4 c whole milk

1 1/4 c 2% milk

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c gruyere, shredded

1 c white cheddar, shredded

1 c extra sharp cheddar, shredded

3 tbsp panko

Combine milk, mustard, pepper, nutmeg and salt in a small saucepan and keep warm over medium low heat.

Heat butter in a pot over medium low heat. Slowly whisk in flour. Once flour is incorporated, slowly pour in warm milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.

Coat pasta with sauce and pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with panko, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 375. Remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until top starts to brown.

Chipotle Mac

5 c medium pasta shells, cooked

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp flour

1 1/4 c whole milk

1 1/4 c 2% milk

3 tbsp adobo sauce

1 bay leaf

1/2 c gruyere, shredded

1 c white cheddar, shredded

1 c extra sharp cheddar, shredded

3 tbsp panko

Combine milk, adobo sauce and bay leaf in a small saucepan and keep warm over medium low heat.

Heat butter in a pot over medium low heat. Slowly whisk in flour. Once flour is incorporated, slowly pour in warm milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.

Coat pasta with sauce and pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with panko, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 375. Remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until top starts to brown.

I seriously IM'd every mac n cheese lover/food nerd/cheese lover I knew after I took the first bite. PERFECT TEXTURE! Win!! The chipotle mac was PHENOMENAL. It was definitely my favorite of the two. I was a little concerned because the sauce was a little thicker than the regular mac when I stirred it up. In the end, it ended up being the better textured dish. Maybe it was the extra oil in the adobo sauce? I don't know, but it was freaking amazing.

The adobo sauce gave just the right amount of smokey flavor and gave just the slightest kick in the back of my throat with each bite. Absolutely perfect in my book.

To add some color and because I thought a vegetable of some sort was necessary today, I mixed in some peas. I like peas with my mac. I also like my mac doused in hot sauce...but not my chipotle mac :) How do you mac?

One bad thing about this delicious experience - no one to share it with :( I'm definitely freezing a serving of each for Jamie (FYI, my freezer is now overflowing with samples for him to try), but um, there's a lot left:

That's just the chipotle mac...double that and that's what I've got sitting in my kitchen. I'm definitely my mother's daughter...always cooking for a non-existent army!

It's cold.

So it's time to make food that reminds me of warm weather...

Salmon with Savory/Sweet Bulgur and Pineapple Mango Sauce

I told you I was returning to the tropics ;p

I still had some Coconut Lemongrass Sauce left so I figured I shouldn't let it go to waste, plus I really wanted to play with sauces.

Pineapple Mango Sauce

1/4 c onion, diced

1/4 tsp jalapeno, minced

1/4 tsp ginger, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 c mango, diced

3 tbsp pineapple, diced

2 tbsp coconut lemongrass sauce

3 tbsp pineapple juice

1 tbsp white wine

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp lime juice

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onion until softened. Add ginger and jalapeno and cook for 2 minutes. Add pineapple and mango and cook for another 2-3 minutes before stirring in coconut sauce. Add juice and wine and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Puree mixture with an immersion blender and run through a strainer to separate liquid from any solids. Heat in a pan and add lime juice. cook for 3 minutes.

Savory Sweet Bulgur

1/4 c onion, diced

1 tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp chili garlic paste

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp pineapple, diced

3 tbsp mango, diced

1/4 c frozen corn

3/4 c bulgur

1 1/2 c chicken broth

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and saute onion, chili powder and chili garlic paste for 1 minute. Stir in bulgur for a minute or two, coating it with onion mixture. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.

Coconut lemongrass sauce is officially GONE! WOO! Of the three versions (see here for attempt 1 and attempt 2) I think this is by far my most successful. Yes, I did use way too many kitchen tools to get it done, but it was totally worth it in my opinion.

I kept the salmon super simple (salt, pepper, sear on both sides) and the sauce had just the right amount of sweetness, tartness and richness. I might consider upping the onion content a bit next time, but that's a big maybe. Am I weird for liking sauteed onions and pineapple together??

The bulgur was inspired by my absolute favorite box of couscous - Marrakesh Express Mango Salsa.

I did some crazy cabinet cleaning this afternoon so I really wanted to get rid of this box of bulgur I had. It was taking up space and when I opened it, there was barely a cup of bulgur. Hello, dinner. It seemed fitting to treat it like couscous, especially since I had the fruity flavors to possibly recreate my favorite side dish!

Obviously I knew onions and mangos were involved, but everything else was a guess. Good guesses :) I was psyched to put my new peeler to use:

Susan made fun of my bright yellow (and useless) Ikea peeler the last time she tried to use it and vowed she was going to get me a legit peeler. I totally forgot about this until I got a mystery package on Thursday with no return address and my name misspelled. Turns out the mailing folks made an oopsie with the spelling, but it was definitely from Susan. Yay!

It's like those pens with four colors that you can swap out at the touch of a button...it comes with a regular blade

a blade to julienne (haven't tested this out yet)

and a blade for softer items

I usually don't rock out with peelers, but I may start to since it has so many fun functions!