Monday, Monday...

Haaaappy Monday, kiddos! Why so chipper at 10pm on a Monday? Well, I did it again...late workout means I'm wired for the evening. Agh.

On tonight's workout menu: KnockOUT Pilates at the Lululemon on Union Street.

30 minutes of kickboxing followed by 30 minutes of pilates...all for the low low price of FREE. Hurrah! The email popped up in my inbox late last week and I figured I would give it a shot.

I was a little lethargic at the end of the work day (LONG day of staring at a spreadsheet) so I almost bailed on the class. I told myself to just go and check it out if not just for the potential to meet new people.

I got there early, filled out my waiver and wandered around a bit. There was actually someone else wandering around that hadn't taken a class there before and we got to chatting. Turns out she's a transplant from the East Coast too! Yay!

Class started with some fun music and I realized I was totally in over my head. I'm not exactly the most coordinated lady out there and I'm sure I looked like a fool and half-assed my first kickboxing attempt. However, I will be making a return visit next Monday. :)

A delicious post-workout perk was provided by MetroMint:

We had a choice of Peppermint, Orangemint and Chocolatemint. I was seriously tempted by the Chocolatemint, but stuck with the safe bet - Peppermint. It was actually quite refreshing and nice post-workout. I dunno if I'd go out of my way to buy a bottle, but I like knowing it exists. I bet the Chocolatemint tastes deeelicious.

Ok, let's take a quick rewind to capture some of the weekend's eats:

Saturday's second breakfast/first lunch - friend's homemade whoopie pie. I snacked on half since it was so deliciously rich and saved the rest for later. *drool*

No, I'm not going to start taking pictures of solo fruit. This was a random snack during the day and I was so amazed at the size of this apple. For real? It barely fit in my hand! Sad fact - it didn't taste like anything :(

Sunday morning brought my weekly walk to the Fort Mason Farmers Market. The vendor with the asian greens was there this time so naturally I picked up another bunch of kai-lan to be used later on this week, as well as a couple new varieties of peaches and nectarines. Did you know that there are something like 200 different varieties of peaches grown in California?? I think I've sampled maybe 5. HA.

I also grabbed some fresh green peas

I've never had fresh green peas before. Never ever. Now I don't think I can go back to frozen. D'oh!

I also needed some basil in my life so I picked this bunch up...

For a mere $1.50. :) It made my bag smell FAAAAHHHBULOUS.

Shortly after the farmers market, it was time to meet up with friends for some World Cup watching. Of course, while watching I started to daydream about what I was going to make with my farmers market finds. Is that normal? I think that's normal.

I pictured ribbons of egg noodles coated with a light cream sauce, lightly flavored with garlic and anchovies, and sprinkled with peas and basil. Of course I had to pick up a couple extra ingredients on the way home:

In hindsight, I think the pappardelle was too wide of a noodle for this dish, which is why I put fettuccine down for the recipe.

Creamy Egg Noodles with Basil and Peas

1/2 lb egg fettuccine, cooked according to package

1 pint fresh green peas, blanched

2 tbsp basil, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 anchovy fillets, minced

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tbsp anchovy oil

1/4 c heavy cream

1 tbsp white wine

3 tbsp chicken broth

salt

pepper

3 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tsp lemon zest

Combine noodles, lemon zest and peas in a large bowl. Set aside.

Heat anchovy oil and butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Saute garlic and anchovies for 1 minute. Whisk in wine, heavy cream and chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes. Stir in cheese and pour over noodles. Stir, add basil and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

My serving needed a little more salt so definitely taste test. Aside from the too wide pasta, I think this turned out fantastic. I might add another anchovy fillet just for fun, but it's not totally necessary. Super easy and fast meal :)

Ok, time to try to go to sleep. Five miler w/the running group tomorrow and a test run in sneaks. Nitey :)