Semi-Homemade Kind of Night

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016Leave a comment

Today is the first day I’ve felt inspired to write.

I have been cooking. Lots of good food. And sharing it with others. But for some reason I haven’t felt like writing about it. Or taking pictures.

I just wanted to be in the moment.

Creativity is just like any other muscle. If you work it too much, it gets sore and tired and cranky. So I just let it be that way for a little while.

But today after work, I found myself wandering the aisles of The Fresh Market. Picking up stuff and putting it back. Drinking the thimble of complimentary coffee. Hoping inspiration would strike me.

And then I saw it.

A box of frozen porcini mushroom raviolis with a hint of truffle oil.

My aimlessness was finally holstered. I had purpose.

So I grabbed a jar of marinara sauce and two white wine and garlic turkey sausage links from the butcher, and I got out of there.

While I’d much rather make my own pasta sauce from scratch, it’s a Thursday night. That just ain’t happening. But I took the sausage out of the casing and created little meat balls. I sauteed the meatballs in a skillet, and then added the jar of sauce. Plus a little more pepper and basil.

I cooked the noodles just a bit in a pot of water, and I let them finish cooking in the sauce to get some flavor-melding action.

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Then I did something crazy. I put the raviolis, tiny meatballs and sauce on a plate, topped it with Parmesan cheese and threw together a fresh side salad of greens, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, radishes and my favorite vinaigrette.

I give you the semi-homemade supper. A delicious creation in half the time. Now if today was Sunday I would have taken the time to create it all from scratch. But it’s Thursday so…I’m just being a real human.

P.S. Annie loves little turkey meatballs when they accidentally fall on the floor during the plating process.

Five Miles of Redemption

October 12, 2015October 12, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve been in a personal running rut lately. I’ve been running, but not at my normal pace and not with any regularity. Aside from the 10K mentoring I’ve been doing, I haven’t gotten any runs in purely for myself.

Until today.

I ran five glorious miles in the 90 degree heat and all by my lonesome. It was amazing.

Once I settled into the first mile, it was golden. My brain shut off. It was heaven.

Until the fourth mile. There is always one mile, usually in the middle, that plays mind games with you. And for me, it’s happens after my comfort zone of 3 and before I settle back in at 5. So mile 4 was a tough one.

But I finished strong, and under an 11 minute mile average pace. Not quite as good as my former race pace. But it felt good to push it today. There were times when I felt absolutely alive and aware of my body and my breathing.

Plus I’ve been doing a lot of running with other people, which is always nice. Sometimes I just need to go out alone and run. And today was one of those days. I craved the solidarity. So glorious.

And my dinner wasn’t too shabby either.

Apple chicken sausage with pepper and onions, a baked sweet potato and a huge side salad with avocado and tomatoes. Day one of meal planing was a huge success.

I just wish I had some chocolate milk for dessert.

Stir Fry Sunday

October 11, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve had a hankering for Asian food. Specifically sushi. But I’m not even going to attempt making my own sushi. I figure that’s one thing I should just leave to the pros.

But I do make a pretty tasty stir fry. And this batch from today is quite delicious.

What you need:

Broccoli
Yellow bell pepper
Shallot
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup of brown rice
Teriyaki sauce
Ginger garlic stir fry oil (optional)
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Boil some water to cook the brown rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice so give yourself at least 45 minutes. You can prep everything else while that cooks.

Heat up a skillet on medium high with the ginger garlic stir fry oil. If you don’t have any of that, just use olive oil.

Slice up the shallots and bell pepper into thin strips. Mince up the garlic. Throw all of that into the ginger oil. Steam your broccoli. (I cheated today and used broccoli you steam in the microwave because it cuts down on the cooking time and it doesn’t dirty another dish.)

Chop up the steamed broccoli florets and add the the veggies. Add teriyaki sauce to taste. I like to have enough so it cooks down and creates a sauce. Just be careful because teriyaki is salty.

When the rice is cooked, add it to the teriyaki vegetables. Combine and let cook a few minutes if you aren’t overcome with the delicious smell.

I’m trying a new thing this week with meal planning. Usually I just make whatever sounds good. But I’ve been wasting a lot of ingredients, and without a plan, I’ve been eating out more. So I’m excited to see how this week goes with creating a loose menu.

Saturday Escapades in Life and in Running

October 10, 2015October 10, 2015Leave a comment

While Sundays are my favorite day, I adore Saturdays.

I’m in a pretty set routine for Saturdays right now. I am mentoring two amazing ladies through a 10K training program. So every Saturday I’ve been getting up well before the sun to run with them. And it has been the most wonderful experience.

I’ve trained people for 5Ks before, but never a 10K. It’s completely different. I’ve found myself less focused on myself during long runs, and more focused on them working through any issues. Or just reminding them they have ran 45 minutes without stopping or complaining or death.

This morning after our four mile run they both looked at me and said they have finally experienced the feeling of losing themselves during the run. Being in the zone. Shutting their minds off. I have told them about this moment many times, but to be there when they experience, it is the most fulfilling feeling.

Because that’s why I run.

To shut off my thoughts. To experience what my body can do that day. To push myself. To feel truly alive.

It is hedonic.

And now they know.

I’ve finally mentored them to the place I try to take myself every time I go on a run. And that is truly something special. And it couldn’t have been a better morning to do so. Arkansas is a pure place to run and experience nature. An outdoor enthusiast’s dream. Miles and miles of paved and unpaved trails at your leisure. I’m lucky to call this my backyard.

After my Saturday morning run, I always make breakfast. But this morning I got a little overzealous. My eyes were a little bigger than my stomach.

Coffee and a huge egg scramble full of Black Forest ham, eggs, Parmesan cheese, yellow bell pepper, shallots and topped with more cheese, fresh tomatoes and ripe avocado. I also had a side of chocolate milk to aid in muscle recovery.

And now I sit at my favorite coffee shop with a The Head and The Heart playlist in my ears, a pot of green tea and my Series 7 study materials, and I feel utterly content.

The first day in the past month where I’ve felt completely at ease.

Present.

It’s a good feeling.

Portobellos with Balsamic Wilted Kale and Mash Sweet Potatoes

October 10, 2015October 10, 2015Leave a comment

My creativity has been seriously lacking. I’ve spent more time and money eating out than cooking at home.

Today was the first day I felt inspired to cook. And it all stemmed from a guy blocking my view at the meat counter in the grocery store. All I wanted to do was look to see what they had. See if something jumped out and caught my attention. But he just kept jabbering with the associate, and I’m not that patient when I’m hungry and tired.

So I ventured to the produce section feeling slightly bereft, but hope surged when I thought of mushrooms. Big mushrooms. Portobellos, to be exact. Then I saw the prettiest bunch of dinosaur kale, and I grabbed that.

And it turned out to be some of my best work yet.

What you need:

Two portobello mushrooms
A bunch of dinosaur kale
Sweet Potato
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
Splash of Balsamic vinegar
Homemade ranch mix
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry your sweet potatoes. I always bake more than one sweet potato at a time, or I feel like it’s a waste of time. Bake them for 1 hour or longer until they are cooked through.

For the mushrooms:

Remove the stem and the gills. The stem is hard, and the gills will hold too much moisture when baking. Cut a shallow X in the tops of the mushrooms.

Prepare the homemade ranch: Mix up dried dill, dried parsley, a smidgen of dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste. I use more dill and garlic than the others.

Drizzle both sides of the mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with the homemade ranch mixture. Bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven, and flip them over to bake for 10 more minutes. That’s a total of 20 minutes.

For the kale:

Heat up a saute pan with olive oil. Slice up the shallot, and mince the garlic. Throw them in the pan. Remove the stem ends of the kale, and chop the kale up into pieces that seems a tad bit too big. The kale will wilt down when you cook it. Throw in a tablespoon or so of Balsamic vinegar. And let it do it’s thing. Don’t forget the salt and pepper. The kale will wilt down, but still be slightly crunchy. The Balsamic vinegar will give it a zingy sweetness.

I can already tell you this will be one of my go-to meals. It’s more steps than I’d usually like to have, especially on a week night when I’ve been out for a run. But for a weekend or a lazy evening in, it’s perfect. And it’s healthy without lacking flavor. Because believe it or not, you can have healthy food that tastes good.