Summer Grilling + Cocktails, Southern Style

June 7, 2012 By Laura

Today is day 1 in South America.

We are going to be landing in Buenos Aries (BA) and heading straight to Uruguay. It’s a quick flight from the BA airport, so we opted to do that straight away – jet lag be damned! More on the reason we chose Uruguay tomorrow…

Today’s guest post if from my good friend and fellow blogger (my Blend!) Heather @ Better With Veggies. If you don’t know her, you are missing out. Not only is she a rockstar endurance athlete, but she also does it all on a vegan diet. The dishes she creates would give any carnivore gourmet a run for their money! Also, she addicted to kale. 🙂

Hi Sprint 2 The Table readers!!

I’m Heather, a 30-something food & fitness enthusiast living an active life fueled by a plant-based diet. I’m a Digital Strategy Director by day, runner and multisport athlete by night. My husband (Kirk) and I also coach running, triathlon and duathlon to athletes of all levels. And when I’m not doing either, I enjoy writing about my adventures on Better With Veggies!

While Laura is off enjoying her exotic vacation in Argentina, I’m honored to be sharing a few new recipes with you today! In Atlanta, we’re firmly in grilling season — although we have been known to grill year-round at our house. Inspired by the popular bourbon & brown sugar glazed entrees, this plant-based version is bursting with flavors and perfect for summer grilling!

Let’s start with the drink. As with most cocktails in our house, Kirk created this one to match what I was cooking. I had bought a bag of peaches early in the week and it was time to eat them before they turned to mush. Fresh peach juice is a great way to put that sweet flavor to very good use! A little southern twist on the traditional Manhattan cocktail, this is one drink I know we’ll be enjoyed again this summer.

Redneck Manhattan

by Kirk Blackmon

Keywords: beverage

Ingredients (Serves 2)

40ml fresh squeezed peach juice
80ml bourbon
dash of angostura bitters

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in shaker 2/3 full of crushed ice. Shake well and strain into 2 cordial glasses or 1 martini glass.

While you’re sipping the cocktail, you’ll have plenty of time to prep & assemble dinner. Lots of grilling going on in this dish, just using the oven to roast garlic for that delicious sweet flavor to come out. Steaming the tempeh is a trick I learned from Laura (I think), that really helps the tempeh absorb even more of the delicious marinade and remove the bitterness that some people taste from tempeh. As with most marinades, the longer you let it soak, the deeper the flavor – but 15 minutes is enough if you’re pressed for time.

Grilled Peach-Drunk Tempeh

by Heather Blackmon

Keywords: grill bake entree vegan vegetarian tempeh summer

Ingredients (Serves 4)

8 ounces tempeh
1/4 cup rum or bourbon
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 sweet onion
1 tablespoon balsamic
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3 peaches
1 head garlic
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3 cups arugula

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Preheat Grill to 450 degrees.

Steam tempeh for 15 minutes. Cut into at least 8 slices and place in a shallow dish. Slice mushrooms and add to dish.

Mix together rum (or bourbon) and desired brown sugar. Add mixture to tempeh & mushrooms, cover & shake well to coat. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Remove outer casing from garlic and chop top off with a sharp knife (just enough that tops of the cloves are exposed). Place entire head onto a piece of aluminum foil and fold into pouch with no openings. Place on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Vertically slice 1/2 onion and pile onto a piece of aluminum foil. Add balsamic & 1 tablespoon olive oil and fold foil into pouch, with a small opening on top for steam to escape. Grill for 20 minutes.

Place mixture on aluminum foil and fold into pouch. Grill for 15 minutes.

Slice peaches in half and discard the pits. Place cut side up on grill for 5 minutes, flip and grill for additional 5 minutes. Set aside.

Divide arugula among 4 plates. Top with tempeh mixture, then onions. Add peaches & roasted garlic to the top or sides of plate.

Serve both the cocktail and entrée together for a fantastic combination of flavors. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these recipes – and that you’ll check out other recipes on Better With Veggies.

***

I’m dedicating today finding the perfect Uruguayan drink to pair with this in honor of Heather. 🙂

Who wants to crash Heather’s house for dinner with me?

Do you like grilled fruit? I love peaches and watermelon on the grill.

Habit Formed

June 4, 2012 By Laura

Hiking is habit-forming.

Ever since the awesome hike in Boulder at the Blend Retreat, I cannot get enough!

This weekend I took off for North GA to a place called Tallulah Gorge with Heather, Kirk, Lindsay, and Nancy.

The gorge is a 2 mile long, 1000 ft deep canyon about 90 miles north of Atlanta. They even have a suspension bridge and a sliding rock!

Photo Credit: Heather/Kirk

After the crazy hike to the bottom (think lots of sliding down rocks on my butt), we were wishing we’d thought to bring swimsuits so we could use the rock waterslide!

Next time it’s on.

See the bottom right pic in the collage above? That’s a snake skin. Snakes are the only downside to hiking…

One 4 mile round trip and about a million stairs later, we were STARVING. Like good bloggers, we already had a lunch spot picked out. By we I mean Heather. Anytime she picks a place you know it’s going to be good. Grapes & Beans ~~(not to be confused with frank and beans)~~ in Clayton, GA was no exception.

Small town cafes can be surprisingly good! They had a gorgeous patio where we ate while listening to jazz music. As an appetizer we shared a delicious curry hummus (hummus + curry = win). For my entree I had a portobello pita sandwich with mixed greens, tomatoes, carrots, and herb-garlic tofu dressing.

Yes, the dressing was as good as it sounds.

Wednesday I leave for Argentina. Exercise there will consist of mostly sight-seeing/walking/jogging. I love my weight though, so these next few days I’m going to squeeze in some good strength training workouts.

This past week I had a decent week of workouts on top of the hike, so I treated myself to a rest day Saturday. I’m beginning to appreciate their value, and so is my body.

Workout Recap (5/28- 6/3):

Monday – 4 mile run/walk, Back, 100 push-ups
Tuesday – Personal trainer (full body), 5 mile run/walk with Carol
Wednesday – Bis/Back with plyo, 3 mile walk, 100 push-ups
Thursday – Shoulders with plyo, 3 mile run/walk 100 push-ups
Friday – 3 mile run, Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
Saturday – REST
Sunday – 4 mile hike, 100 push-ups

***

Having worked 60+ hours in the past week, I’m so ready for vaca that it almost hurts.

Are you afraid of snakes?

Do you take rest days regularly? Have you found them beneficial? I need encouragement.

7 Things… Because Sometimes I Fail

June 1, 2012 By Laura

I was going to have a really cool recipe for you today.

It’s such a cool idea involving cauliflower pizza and some crazy flavors.

While it did taste good, the crust was far too moist (I HATE that word) – it had to be eaten with a fork. That would be fine if it was my intent… but I wanted CRUST.

So today doesn’t involve a recipe. Laura @ Mommy Run Fast saved the day by honoring me with the One Lovely Blog Award.

As part of the award, you get to share 7 random things about you. I’m sure you all are dying to know 7 random things about me, so here goes nothing…

1. Sometimes I fail. And there are pictures to prove it:

2. On Wednesday my Macbook Air died. I’ll be at the Genius Bar Saturday.

3. I’d rather stay up all night than wake up early in the morning.

4. I’m going to get an MRI on my knee tomorrow.

5. This sign found in the park I run in cracks me up. Because I have the send of humor of a 10-year-old.

6. This time next week I’ll be in Buenos Aries.

7. I have a 2.5 lb bag of spinach that needs to be eaten before I leave on Wednesday. Think I can do it?

Now I get to nominate a few awesome bloggers!

Here are the rules:

1) Post the award logo and picture on your blog and link back to the person who nominated you.
2) Tell seven things about yourself.
3) Nominate up to 15 additional bloggers whom you think deserve the award.
4) Post a comment on the blog of each nominee to tell them they have been nominated!

15 seems excessive, so I decided to just select a few new-ish-to-me blogs that I’m loving:

1. Calee @ Life + Running

2. Alyssa @ Life of Blyss

3. Lena @ Fit on the Rocks

4. Alex @ The Run Within

5. Natalie @ Fresh Life Findings

***

If anyone has a recipe that uses a TON of spinach, I’m all ears!

What was your last “fail” (kitchen or general)?

Are you a night owl or a morning person?

Vegan Food Is Not Healthy

May 22, 2012 By Laura

This according to Jason Kessler, contributing writer to Bon Appetite.

In a recent article he brings up the point that people often eat vegan (or vegetarian) because they assume it’s healthier. While veggies are good, I do agree with Kessler that vegan does NOT equal healthy. You can find junk food to fit any diet! I’ve had many a super-sugary (and tasty) vegan chocolate cake!

Society falls into this belief trap so often. Somehow “vegan” or “organic” or “all-natural” became synonymous with “healthy.”

Oreos are vegan. They are not healthy (but they are tasty).

The truth is that fried is fried and sugar is sugar, whether it’s vegan or not. And the sodium? Look at it the next time you pick up that vegan frozen meal at Whole Foods. It’s just as bad as the rest of the freezer section.

This Vegan Fried Ruben won the Best Taste at Texas State Veggie Fair in 2010

We all indulge, no matter what our diet. Yes, a plant-based diet can be more healthy. But so can a carnivore’s fare. The key is moderation.

My bottom line:

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Now for a fun vegan story.

I was in Chicago on business last week and was pleased to find an unusual offering on the breakfast menu at the Hyatt in Schaumburg:

The room service menu included a VEGAN tofu and veggie breakfast hash!

You guys know I’m not 100% vegan, but I do strive for a plant-based diet. Of course I had to order this! I was pleased to find that is was light and fresh, and served with a side of hot salsa. It was a great way to start the day before an 8 hour presentation.

Thank you, Hyatt for offering a delicious vegan breakfast option!

***

Don’t forget to enter to win 1 of 2 BENGAY Zero Degrees prize bags: http://wp.me/p16jDn-1hS

Does it bother you that “vegan,” “organic,” etc. is so often thought of as being automatically healthy?

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a hotel or restaurant offering dishes for specific diets? This Hyatt also offered gluten-free options!

Blender-Free Blend WIAW

May 9, 2012 By Laura

A Blend weekend (ironically) meant I actually ate nothing blended.

You don’t realize how addicted you are to morning green smoothies until you don’t have it. Starting your day with carbs vs. greens feels different… not that I didn’t enjoy the spread we were treated to. It was an epically fabulous departure from my norm. 🙂

The only thing that could have made last weekend better was if my girl Jenn @ Peas and Crayons had been able to come. My What I Ate Wednesday this week is all about What I Ate at Blend. Dedicated to Jenn, since we missed her so.

Check out my eats below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.

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Breakfast:

No smoothies, but it was fruit-filled! We had mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, and the best pineapple I’ve had this season. All of that plus some almond butter made for a killer oatmeal bowl.

I couldn’t decide what to have, so I went back for round 2. Those muffins you see were homemade by the Xagave crew – the carrot muffin (let’s be honest – it was a cupcake) was out-of-this-world.

There was also a lot of tasty fuel provided by Green Mountain Coffee. I really loved the Double Black Diamond blend!

Lunch:

Local joint Mountain Sun was our lunch destination on Saturday. We showed up with a huge group that was ravenous from a 4 mile hike. Most restaurant staff would have run screaming from the building, but these guys were so cool. Lauren and I knew we were in love with this spot when the bartender said she LOVED giving people beer tastes. *swoon*

After finally selecting a beer (a pale ale called “Kind“), we sat down to order. Just when I thought the place couldn’t get better we found out that they have a hummus of the day (rosemary – it was delish) AND the server actually encouraged us to make modifications. Ashley and I split the special Cinco de Mayo burger and subbed the meat patty for the veggie.

The East Coast crew was still adjusting to the time zone, so we ran next door to the The Cup for double espressos. They came with the cutest mini biscottis!

Snacks:

Beer counts as a snack, right?

Lauren and her hubby hipped us to a great local brewery called Avery. This place was awesome – 21 beers on tap, $1 for a 4 oz taste, and a delicious menu. We came, we toured, we tasted.

See the bottom left pic? Those are sweet potato tater tots. And that dip? Super-star Heather had them blend hummus and avocado together and then topped it with hot sauce to make us an amazing dip.

Dinner:

We stopped in at Rio Grande to get our obligatory Mexican fill. Honestly, I wasn’t even hungry at this point… but Cinco de Mayo isn’t complete without fajitas! And margaritas.

It may be a chain, but I was impressed – the vegetarian fajitas came with an incredibly tasty grilled Portobello mushroom and grilled zucchini.

Aaaaaand… maybe some tequila shots. Disguises have been added to protect the identity of the ~~not-so-~~innocent.

Gotta celebrate new tattoos. No, I didn’t get another… I won’t let the cat out of the bag as to who did. It looks good though. 🙂

***

I miss you, my Cinco de Blenders!!! (P.S. I can’t remember who took these group shots… please claim them and I’ll give credit!!! Sorry…)

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Do you eat greens in the morning? Would it throw you off to switch it up to carbs?

Blends for Life

May 8, 2012 By Laura

Blogger + Friend = Blend.

Blend 2012 was one of the BEST weekends I’ve ever had. This past weekend ~70 women descended on Boulder for a weekend of fitness, food, and FUN.

Me and Heather, post-boot camp

Tina, Heather, and I took off from Atlanta Friday afternoon to attend the Blend Retreat.

I’d only met a two of the non-ATL attendees in “real life” before, but I can honestly say that I ended the weekend with several new close friends. It was one of those experiences where you meet someone and feel like you’ve known them forever (I’m pretty sure Heather is my soul mate.)

Armed with drink tickets and cupcakes, we kicked of the weekend with a group dinner. Right away it became obvious that is was going to be a laid-back, drama-free weekend.

It also became clear that we were going to blow up Instagram. #blend2012

Here's to new Blends!

My table-mates

Right to Left: Greg, Lauren, Kelly, Heather, Core Power, Fitmixer reps,Elizabeth, Me, Caylee, and Christine. Photo courtesy Janetha.

Both mornings we woke up to an hour-long boot camp. Day 1 was led by Tina and Lindsay (check out the workout here on Tina’s blog). Day 2 was led by one of our sponsors at Chobani. Both days kicked my butt… but Fitmixer’s Amino Acids drink helped us power through.

This view didn’t hurt either:

Saturday we took a ~~casual~~ 4 mile hike on the Flat Irons up a trail called Royal Arch.

It lead us to the top of this beauty:

Flat Irons

It took a little climbing, huffing, and puffing…

Unbelievably no one wiped out on the way down!

The view at the top was well-worth the climb (and post-climb soreness). I wish I could do this every weekend!

We made it!!

Know what else is worth it? A post-hike snack of Coconut Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough Nutty Butter, homemade by your FoodBuzz roomie/fellow weird food-living buddy, Sarah.

Me and Sarah

It really does taste like cookie dough. Be verrrry jealous.

After much-needed showers, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for those fun stories. Let’s just say that there was tequila shots and a tattoo involved… 😉

You guys know I’m not a crier, but when as our taxi pulled away from the cabins on Sunday I may have felt a little lump in my throat.

Until next year, my friends...

I do have one problem after the weekend… what am I going to do with all this schwag?! Oh wait… I’ve already eaten a lot of it…

***

Thanks to Lindsay, Janetha, and Katie for pulling off an incredible retreat. You guys wore me out so thoroughly that I actually took a rest day.

Have you ever met online/blogger-friends in “real” life?

Do you like to hike? What’s the best trail you’ve been on?

Cilantro Hummus Salsa

May 3, 2012 By Laura

I have ants in my pants.

There is so much to look forward to over the next month-ish! Tomorrow I leave for the Blend Retreat (I cannot wait to meet so many of my favorites!!!), next weekend is the Food & Wine Festival in Atlanta, then I’m getting may hair cut/colored at Lava (it’s a big event in my life), then a massage and facial… and THEN I’m headed to Argentina. Whew!

This weekend is also ~~amateur weekend~~ Cinco de Mayo. In honor of that shenanigans, I bring you a hummus and a salsa in one.

Don’t be alarmed my it’s green-ish hue. ~~I didn’t put spinach in it!~~ This salsa-hummus is packed with cilantro (my apologies to cilantro-sensitive readers), garlic, and a serrano pepper. A few tablespoons of salsa sets off the Mexican flavors.

How did it take me this long to combine my favorite condiments?

This would be good in just about anything: with chips, used in a layered dip, on tacos, as a schmer on a bagel with avocado slices… in a train, on a plane… 🙂

For WIAW yesterday I used it in a collard green wrap.

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Cilantro Hummus Salsa

1 can chickpeas
1 T tahini
Juice of 1 lime
1 giant handful cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 serrano (or jalapeno) pepper
2 T salsa (I used a hot salsa verde)
3/4 tsp cumin
S+P, to taste

Open the chickpeas and drain about half of the liquid out of the can. Pour the peas and the remaining juice into a high-speed blender or food processor.

Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, adjusting spices as necessary.

Yield: 1 cup

***

I could eat Mexican-ish food every day for the rest of my life.

Do you have vacation plans this summer? Where are you traveling?

What is your favorite condiment?

Contemplating Carnivore + WIAW

April 25, 2012 By Laura

Don’t cry for me, Argentina…

I recently decided on my 2012 international trip and there’s no crying here! Two of my best friends from grad school and I are going to Argentina AND Uruguay! Leaving just 6 weeks from today!!!

Here’s my dilemma: Argentina is known for meat. I love to travel and try new foods, and I always said that whatever veggie-food thing I have going is out the window when I travel. No restrictions. But now I am scared I’ll get sick… and meat just doesn’t appeal to me like it used it.

I did eat 3 bites of meat at dinner tonight… so far so good.

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Meat dilemmas aside, Jenn (who called me a genius last night) @ Peas and Crayons is hosting What I Ate Wednesday this month in the theme of veggies:

Check out my veggie eats (plus a couple of meats) below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.