Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Blue Cheese-Stuffed Bean Burgers

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In Atlanta we have weekly events called “Screen on the Green.”

 

They put up a giant screen in the city’s largest park and project classic films.  Everyone comes out early with their Frisbees, dinner, and bottles of wine.  It’s a lot of fun!

Last night’s movie was Imitation of Life.  My beverage of choice was a beer from one of my breweries – Hitachino.  I noticed on of their beers on a menu at The Porter and had to try it, as I’d never seen a Japanese white ale!  They make a fantastic ginger ale as well – unlike many gingers, it isn’t too sweet for my taste.

Last night I tried the Red Rice brew for the first time.  I really liked it!  It is a light, crisp red beer with a bread-y taste and a refreshing hint of strawberries.  YUM.

It was fun hanging out with my friend and celebrating (almost) making it through another work week.  Too bad we can’t do this every night!

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Wayyyy back in the day (translation: college), I used to eat burgers weekly.  I also ordered the bacon-blue cheese version.  With fries and a side of ranch.  It’s been a while since I’ve eaten that much red meat in one sitting.  I’ve nearly cut the stuff out of my diet completely.  Way before cutting out the red meat, I did stop the blue-cheese-bacon-bomb burgers.

Fast-forward to the healthier life and I’ve learned to love homemade bean burgers.  One of my favorite parts about a good burger has always been melty cheese and a salty-spicy bacon taste.  I’ve come to realize that my lifestyle change doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy those flavors!

 

Top 3 Tips for Bean Burger Enjoyment:

  • Use high-quality blue cheese – the flavor is more pronounced, so you don’t need such a massive amount
  • Add paprika for a spicy-smoky taste that satisfies almost like bacon
  • Add other fun flavors to make the bean burger more “fun” – make them spicy, herb-y, Mediterranean-inspired, Italian… beans actually allow added flavors to shine more so than beef does.

My blue cheese of choice?  Montchevre Chevre in Blue.  It was suggested to me by Matt, who has never led me astray in the cheese department!  Roaring 40’s Blue would also be great, or a cheese from another family.  I’m thinking a sun-dried tomato herbed goat cheese…

 

As far as the fries and ranch… I think I grew out of that (ranch now sounds soooo unappealing to me).  I enjoyed my burger with my Butternut Rosemary Hummus and celery.  And a side of work.

Then, after a tricep/chest workout, I went back for Round 2 with a fried egg on top.  Gotta get that protein!

 

Tomorrow I’m going with a side of sweet potato chips to compliment my leftover burger.

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Blue Cheese-Stuffed Black Bean Burgers

  • 1 can black beans, rinsed
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 C walnuts
  • 1/4 C whole wheat flour
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 C cilantro
  • 1/2 C red pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 C onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • S+P, to taste
  • 1 oz blue cheese

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Pulse black beans, vinegar, walnuts, flour, cilantro, and garlic together in food processor until beginning to stick together. Add red pepper, onion, paprika, salt, and pepper and lightly pulse until just mixed (can also mix by hand).

Form 4 patties, leaving ~1/3 of the mixture behind.  Place patties on prepared baking sheet.  Top the burgers with blue cheese, keeping the cheese closer-ish to their centers.  Add remaining bean mix to the top so that the cheese is covered and press lightly to mold together.

Bake 10-12 mins on one side.  Using a spatula, flip and bake an additional 5-6 mins.

Makes 4 burgers.

***

A few hours to go before fun, sunshine-filled weekend!!!

***Updated to urge you to check out Act Fast Chef and the Friday Edition love she gave me!***

Do you like bean burgers?  

Do you prefer to make your own or order out?


Butternut Rosemary Hummus

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CONGRATULATIONS to everyone yesterday who shared their accomplishments!  I am sooooo proud for you!  Don’t stop – keep sharing your victories with friends/family/bloggers unless you’s a public figure and it involves questionable pictures.

 

Let’s talk about Maturity.

We all grow up and are expected to achieve a certain level of maturity/self-monitoring.  I tried – really – to be the bigger person and only laugh at the “Weiner” scandal in the privacy of my own home.

I mean, how can you not chuckle at the newscasters trying their damnedest to read the “Weiner-gate” stories off the teleprompter with a straight face?!*

 

You’ll have to excuse me.  In honor of Gay Pride month and my love of irony – I couldn’t pass this up this one.

*Disclaimer: Weiner’s actions are NOT a joke.  He hurt is (pregnant!) wife and is an embarrassment to Congress.  He should be ashamed of himself.

 

Speaking of maturity… 2 days in a row I have gotten out of bed and doubled the mileage I promised myself I’d run!

Stats:

  • Distance – 4 miles
  • Time – 32:48
  • Pace – 8:12

 

I’m a morning runnin’ machine. 🙂

 

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It’s time for the reveal of the mystery glob!  A couple of you guessed the main ingredient – expert foodies!

***cheesy drumroll***

 

Butternut Rosemary Hummus

 

Is hummus without beans still a hummus?  It has tahini.  It has a hummus-like texture.  It involves lemon and a little olive oil.  No beans about it.

Would a hummus by any other name smell taste as sweet?

 

Who cares? This is good.  And it’s mine, so I’m deeming it worthy of the title of hummus.

 

Butternut hummus has a creamy hummus texture, but a lighter feel.  (Read: You could eat the entire container in one sitting.) The nutty tahini taste compliments the squash and rosemary well.  Red pepper flakes and lemon give it a satisfyingly spicy tang.

My recipe calls for roasted garlic.  You could use regular garlic (I’d reduce to 2-3 cloves if using fresh), but I loved the added depth the roasted garlic gave this dip.

Many people avoid roasting garlic due to the time it takes, but I’ve found a great way around that: roast several heads at a time and FREEZE them whole!  They retain all of their flavor and are a great, unexpected flavor-enahncer to have on hand!  (Great tutorial on roasting garlic can be found here.)

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Butternut Rosemary Hummus

  • 1/2 butternut squash, cubed (~2 C)
  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 5 cloves roasted garlic
  • juice from 1/2 large lemon
  • 2 T fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1.5 T tahini
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • S+P, to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Scrape out the seeds from squash and peel.  Cut the squash into 1 in cubes.  Put the cubes on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle red pepper flakes, and mix to coat evenly.

Roast the squash in the oven for ~40 minutes or until tender, tossing once half way through.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Once cooled, transfer squash to a food processor until beginning to smooth.  Add the roasted garlic, rosemary, cumin, lemon juice, and tahini.  Mix in processor until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, and more red pepper flakes to taste.

Makes 8 servings of 2 T each.

Approximate nutrition: 48 calories, 2.4g fat, 6.8g carbs, 1.1g sugar, 1g protein

***

I can’t believe it’s already Thursday!  A week flying by is such a special gift unlike a political sext.

Have you made a “hummus” out of something unexpected?  What was it?

 

WIAW Pride

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Happy WIAW! (What I Ate Wednesday)

There seem to be a lot of posts lately where people are talking about their accomplishments.  I think that’s awesome!

 

The part that makes me sad is that many of these posts are pre-faced with something along the lines of:

“I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging…”

Or:

“Not to sound full of myself…”

 

Why do we have such a hard time sharing our “wins?” Charlie Sheen certainly didn’t and he isn’t even a winner.


Maybe it’s a female thing.  Not to stereotype, but I have never heard a dude apologize or hesitate before talking about a success.

Women tend to be raised to support and nurture.  Society tells us we are “caretakers.”  This doesn’t have to mean we need to keep it to ourselves when we’ve accomplished something!  We are allowed to be proud of ourselves and receive support and kudos from others.  Personally, I love sharing in your successes and cheering you on!

 

Share a personal success one person today.  I dare you.

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Today I am proud of myself for 3 reasons:

  1. I got out of bed and ran twice as far as I promised myself I had to
  2. I remembered to take pics of everything I ate for WIAW!  (Yes, I take my pics on Tuesday… I’m told that’s ok. 🙂 )
  3. I made some serious deliciousness with the other half of my butternut squash

 

Here’s the story of my 3 prideful moments on what I’m now creatively dubbing Terrific Tuesday:


1. Run

Promising low mileage is one way I coax myself out of bed for morning runs.  I don’t really enjoy going right from the bed to the street (that’s what she said), but on work days I don’t have time to chill first.  So I make myself promises:

“If you get up, you only have to run a 5K. It will be easy.  Get up!”

 

I had some verrry filling Mexican last night, so I didn’t need a snack other than to take my B-12 (awesome AM energy booster) before taking off.  Apparently this was just what the Dr. ordered for me today.

 

Stats:

  • Distance – 6 miles
  • Time – 49:22
  • Pace – 8:20

 

I think that’s my fastest time yet at this distance!  Admittedly my leg was shaking on the brake pedal while driving to work, but in a good “I pushed myself” way.

 

2. WIAW

 

Typically I realize half way through my food-eating for the day that I’ve forgotten to take pics of everything I ate.  Not the case today!

 

Breakfast:

My name is Laura and I am chia pudding-obsessed.

Blackberry Almond Chia Pudding

A few days ago I made Peach Cobbler Chia Pudding.  I’ve also done Banana Cashew Chia Pudding.  Today was Blackberry Almond Chia Pudding.

My favorite so far is still the Peach, but this was not bad.  I added a bit of butter extract which make it more pie-like.  Not bad at all, my friends.

Because everything tastes better in a martini glass

 

Blackberry Almond Chia Pudding

  • 1/2 C blackberries, cut in half
  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 T almond butter
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1/4 tsp butter extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, mushing blackberries slightly in the process.  Store in refrigerator overnight.  In the morning, stir and enjoy!

 

Lunch:

Eaten at my desk, but it was so good I didn’t care.

Roasted Butternut Red Pepper Lentils

Leftover Roasted Butternut Red Pepper Lentils… which may have been even better than they were on day one.  The flavors had a chance to meld, I topped it with the last bits of fresh mozzarella… and I was one happy camper luncher.

Snack #1:

Celery and a freebie PB packet

 

Snack #2:

Peanut Butter Creme-filled Chocolate Newman-O's

Yesterday I got these in the mail from Mary @ Bites and Bliss.  I won a recent giveaway she hosted… talk about bites OF bliss.  What could be better than FREE Chocolate + PB cookies!?

Dinner:

Easy salad with a couple more of my little kid hidden veggie Chicken Bites.

Simple Salad with Chicken Bites

Snack #3:

Chocolate-Banana Green Creatine Protein Shake w/ Fiber

AND…

3. Serious Deliciousness

Newman's Own Spelt Pretzels and...

 

What exactly is that yellow-orange glob of tasty with my spelt pretzels?  Check back tomorrow… *insert evil laugh here*

***

Happy WIAW/Hump Day!

Share your win with me!  What have you done lately to make yourself proud?


Souper Underground Supper Club

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Atlanta is BIG on Supper Clubs and special “Chef Series.”

Maybe it’s due to the economy?  

Make the ~$100 meal exclusive (i.e. limited seating) and people believe they are paying for something truly special.  Although it isn’t always perfectly executed (i.e. worth the price tag), my food adventures this week certainly were worth it!

Wednesday night’s dinner with Hugh Acheson was incredible.  Tonight’s dinner was equally good (if not better… shhhh!).

Given I’ve become a professional this week recently, I thought I’d share the ingredients for a exclusive fantastic dinner.

The Pre-Run:

  • Distance – 6.2 miles
  • Time: 52:38
  • Pace: 8:44

The Fabulous Friend:

Me with the lovely Kathleen

The Graceful Host:

The legendary Jennifer Levison of Souper Jenny

The Perfect Setting:

Secret Garden

The Talented Chef:

Jenny with Chef David Sweeny, formerly of Dynamic Dish

The Epic Entertainment:

That’s a belly dancer. With a wine glass on her head.

Do NOT try this at home (at least on a light colored rug)

The belly dancer was too cool.  She was dancing, shaking what her mamma gave her, and doing splits without spilling a drop of that wine on her head.  She’s my new idol.

Good food is also key.  This secret supper club succeeded.

The chef, David Sweeny, owned the now-defunct Dynamic Dish.  Dynamic Dish was a vegetarian restaurant in town.  In my opinion, it was one of the best overall restaurants.  Local, fresh ingredients were carefully prepared for the daily menu.  Why can’t places like this stay in business?!

Anyway, tonight we were lucky enough to enjoy David’s creations once again.  These dishes did include meat – I asked David if he was a vegetarian and found it funny that he is not.  Whatever, boy can cook!

90% of everything served was organic and locally sourced.  As in picked from a Georgia farm the day before this dinner. The meat was also local, sourced from a farm in North Georgia (who knew GA had lamb?!).

Hors d’oeuvres consisted of Borekas and pickled radishes (which I couldn’t stop eating).

Then we made our way to the garden for the cold course:

Cold Course

Clockwise, the plate consisted of:

  • M’Tabbal – puree of grilled eggplant, sesame, yogurt, cucumber, parsley, mint, and olives
  • Sesame Tandoori
  • Warak Ei Nab Zait – Wine leaves filled with Egyptian rice, lamb, beef, fennel, and Lebanese spice (my FAVORITE)
  • Tajan – spicy puree of sweet peppers, preserved lemon, pine nuts, and sesame
  • Heirloom tomatoes

While I could have eaten the cold course all night long, next up was the Hot Course:

Hot Course

  • Kefta Halabieh – grilled skewers of minced local lamb and beef
  • Grilled Summer Squash
  • Kofteuk Tabouleh – fine grain Syrian bulgar, mint, parsley, and turmeric
  • Crem Tum – creamy basil and garlic sauce (I wish I knew more because it was fantastic)
  • Tajan

What would any meal be without dessert?

Dessert

Homemade Baklava with Orange Cardamom Ice Cream and a Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt.

One VERY important tip:

Look before you sip if you’re dining outside. 🙂

Thank you to Jenny, David, and the Souper Jenny team for an amazing, gourmet food-filled evening.  Not to mention some incredible dining companions.  I am so lucky to live in a town among such passionate, creative people.

If you’re ever in Atlanta don’t miss lunch at Jenny’s restaurant, Souper Jenny.

***

I think I’m developing a supper club addiction.

Would you have finished that glass of wine? (After fishing out the bug, of course.)

Did anyone else nearly melt in the heat this weekend? Not that I’m complaining…

Chef Summer Series – Hugh Acheson

By

Before I write about yet another gluttonous feast delicious dinner…

 

Let’s talk about running in 90 degree temps.

 

I took off today a little later than planned (see the last pic in the post for an explanation).  It was already closing in on 90 when I got outside to run.  Nothing like a little sweat.  My original plan was 7 miles.

My Reality:

  • Distance – 5 miles
  • Time – 41:58
  • Pace – 8:32

 

A good pace, but I think it’s just because I hauled it home at the end just to get it over with.  Seriously.

I have NEVER felt like I might puke during a run before.. Until today (no, it wasn’t the champagne, thankyouverymuch).  It was so hot and I was sweating so hard… not pretty.  I need hot weather running tips.  Or I need to wake up earlier.

 

There was a treat waiting for me when I got back.  The vegan SunWarrior Protein Powder I ordered arrived!  Vanilla flavor.

Still sweating, I got to work making a huge green vanilla-almond shake with my new powder.

 

I wanted SO badly to like it. The ingredients/nutrients are awesome.

It’s chalky and not-so-tasty.  Any one want a full (minus one scoop) bag of this?  I’ll ship it to ya!

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Let’s talk about something much more delicious!  Wednesday night was a dinner of epic proportions.

 

One of the new friends I met while going solo to the Food and Wine Festival and I went to the first in a Chef’s Summer Series put on by ONE. Midtown Kitchen.

The series of dinners consists of 5 course meals with pairings prepared by some of Atlanta’s best chefs in conjunction with ONE’s chef, Drew Van Leuvan.  Last night’s meal with Hugh Acheson from Empire State South was outstanding!

James River Oyster with limoncello and lemon verbena

L to R: Summer Squash, Warm Bucheron, Veal Sweetbread, and Weisswurst all over Salsa Verde

Beets, Radishes, Arugula, Nasturtiums, and Pickled Ramps with a Charred Vidalia Cream

Beef Tartare with Cured Local Yolk, Crisp Tendon, Baby Fennel, and Tomato

Riverview Pork Loin with Braised Belly, Mixed Bean Escabeche, Sorghum & Green Tomato Chow Chow

Tres Leches with Blackberries, Lime Sugar, and Vanilla Lime Sorbet

The food was amazing. Except the oysters.  I do NOT like them, Sam I Am. Other than the ocean food, I can’t even choose a favorite course.

The flavors on each plate were spot on – they played off of each other such that each bite was better than the last.  Well done, Hugh and Drew!

Did I mention each course had champagne pairings?!

 

The champagne pairings were interesting.  I thought by the end they were a bit of a stretch (5 champagne pairings = HARD).  And I probably more champagne last night than I drank in all of 2010 combined.  Ouch.

My favorite by far was a Chateau St Michelle Luxe.  It paired really well with the tartare, something I didn’t think a sparkler could effectively do. At $20/bottle, it’s a get deal too!


We are planning to attend a few more.  June 29th with Bruce Logue from La Pietra Cucina is next on my list.  La Pietra is one of my top 5 restaurants in Atlanta!

***

Talk about a champagne high!  I’m going to take a teensy break from drinking.  At least until Supper Club Saturday.  Supper Clubs and Dinner Series are really popular here.

Do you have a lot of dinner events/clubs in your area?

Do you like the sweeter champagnes or dry?  Or do you care (mimosas anyone)?

 

Never Enough Weekend

By

Boat days are good days.

However, After a drink sun-filled day at the lake, I needed a good trail run.

I decided to head to Stone Mountain Park for the morning.  Stone Mountain is a gigantic granite dome in Georgia.  The granite extends underground 9 miles.  Its “claim to fame” isn’t the amount of rock.  It has the largest bas-relief in the world. The carving depicts three famed Confederates: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.  If you hear banjos, run.

Anyhow… it is also very steep.

With grave markers carved into it.

And lots of sweaty people.

There’s a skyride if you’re a wuss hiking isn’t your thing.

Granite kind of looks like moon rock.

Going down is easier than coming up.

 Admittedly, the second time up the mountain, I wasn’t so much running anymore.  5.5 miles in an hour and 10 mins.  I’ll take it!

Thank you, QT for the recovery drink.

 Followed by an exhausted thumbs up for myself.

 Both served to tide me over until lunch while I made my Dekalb Farmer’s Market treat trip.  This place is really an amusement park for foodies.

I got all of this loot for $35!!!

Lots of good eats to come this week!

The day was rounded out with a delicious dinner and a #winning night of darts.

Sorry, Casey

We won’t talk about the pool games I lost.

 The next day I needed an apple (apples help with beer billiards night recovery).  1/2 for breakfast with a muffin.  What about the other half, you ask..?

Today was a back/bicep day.  Post-workout I needed my 20g of protein, so I made something that looks questionable, but actually tasted like chocolate-y pudding.  The protein powder made it more thick (i.e. pudding-like) than applesauce-like. It’s not much of a recipe, but I’m writing it out here (mostly so I don’t forget… does anyone else do this?!). 🙂

Chocolate Apple Pudding

  • 1/2 apple
  • 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
  • 1/8 C vanilla unsweetened coconut milk (a la So Delicious)

Put it in a blender, give it a whir, and enjoy!

***

Now I am suffering from the long weekend blues.  Not to mention I am SORE. 🙂  Did it have to end!?

What was your favorite part of the long weekend?  

Do you get a little sad going back to reality after a long weekend?

Peach Caprese Salad

By

Good Morning, fellow long weekend-ers!!!

It’s another short post, as I am continuing to enjoy the long weekend.  And I have the sunburn to prove it.  Terrible, I know.

Thank you everyone for the positive feedback to my new Fitness page!  I’m excited about continuing to grow/improve it.

As for my mystery lunch… it was a (Georgia) Peach Caprese!

Peaches are in season now and I’ve had great luck finding perfect ones at local farmer’s markets.  Try subbing them for tomatoes in other dishes too – they are delicious in sandwiches (with parm and prosciutto), salads (with blue cheese  and arugula), or even in salsa (with cilantro, onion, and mango)!

Check out my guest post @ The Athlete’s Plate for a riveting write up.  Thanks again to Matt for asking me to be his guest!

Peach Caprese Salad

  • 1 medium ball of Mozzarella di Bufala
  • 1 large peach 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1 tsp high-quality olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Slice mozzarella into 1/4 inch rounds. Peel peaches and slice those into similar sized rounds. Chiffonade (chiffonade = stack basil in a small pile and roll into a cigar-like shape then slice into ribbons) the basil using a sharp knife (a clean cut helps prevent the leaves from darkening).

Layer the mozzarella and peach slices on a plate and sprinkle the basil over the top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste.

Note: You can also drizzle them with a balsamic reduction, which is what I did here.

***

I’m off to run up a mountain before hitting up some festivals.  Good times.

Do you keep up with workouts over holidays or call it a total vaca?

NEW Fitness Page!

By

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

 

If today’s post seems a bit rushed… that’s because it is.  I’m headed out the door to spend the day on the lake with friends.  (Note to self: remember the sunscreen!)

 

I have an exciting addition!  I added a “Fitness” page.  Check it out in the top menu or by clicking here.

The page has 3 categories:

  • Workouts – a summary of workouts I’ve posted (are you doing your push ups?!)
  • Related Topics – more general fitness tips/observations
  • Races – races run and links to their recaps

 

Feedback/requests welcome! 🙂

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Thanks to the crazy rain we had Thursday night, I had a kickin’ run yesterday.  The temperature was perfect and the air was clean.  I think this was my fastest pace yet for a more-than-5K run.

Stats:

  • Distance: 5 miles
  • Time: 41:18
  • Pace: 8:24

 

Then I came home and dug down into a new layer of hell with Excel.  Not.  Kidding.


 

Happily, I did have a fantastic lunch.

More to come on this deliciousness!

 

And at 5:30p I had my first in-home massage.  Why have I not been doing this my whole life?!  It was amazing.  If you are like me, every time you have a massage you wish you could just relax/sleep/do-anything-but-get-dressed-and-drive-home.

The answer is an in-home massage.  They come to you!  All I had to do was roll off the table and onto the couch.  Bonus: it’s about the same $$$ as going to the spa!

***

Time to roll out!

Are you a beach person or a lake person?  Are you enjoying either this weekend?

 

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