5K Comeback + Fiesta Night

June 23, 2014 By Laura

I used to be fast.

I also used to run a lot.

It’s funny how must faster you get when you get when you run a race. I’ve been running a little bit. Slowly. On a whim I decided to run a 5K Saturday morning. It turns out I hadn’t been pushing myself as hard as I thought I had been on my jogs.

I lined up for the 5K not expecting much out of myself. It was already pretty hot and incredibly humid at 8am when the race started, but once I took off I felt like running a little faster. Half way through I realized I was pacing pretty well… so I went for it. 25:52 went it, to be exact. I finished 3rd in my age group (which is now 30+ – when did that happen?!) and 14th out of the women! Kind of a nice surprise… and now I feel like running more 5Ks.

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Enjoying a Routine + WIAW

June 18, 2014 By Laura

I crave a routine.

This is shocking news, even to me..

It’s not that I mind change. I’m actually quite flexible! #TWSS

What I like is some calm after a storm, however that rockin’ boat may have been. I’m back in the office this week after more travels, back in my “home” gym, and back on a *gasp* meal plan. It feels good.

Other things that feel good include a really nice vendor. My boss has been working with these people for a while, but they sent me a little gift for joining the team. How sweet is this?!

Other awesome things: boss-man told me yesterday “I’m glad you’re here.” *grin*

This WIAW is back to normal. For real this time. No more travels ’til this girl’s show mid-July!

Read on for my normal (for me) eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

Utah Dining with Blends

June 11, 2014 By Laura

REDRUM.

Please tell me you get the reference…

This is the hotel I’m staying at in NYC:

I have no cleaver intro other than to inform you that it’s taking a lot of self-control not to run down the hall yelling “Heeeeeere’s Johnny!”

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Since I am traveling this week for the second week in a row, I am sharing a few Blend meals with you rather than the random assortment of schwag bag goodies (thank you BLEND sponsors!!!) and conference food I actually ate this week.

Check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s more reasonable delicious creations!

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Heather and I arrived in Utah pretty late on Thursday and went directly to dinner. We did not pass go.

She took me to a plane she’d dined on a recent trip called Silver. It was incredibly good – by far the best meal of the weekend! I started with the Bartender’s Roulette, a drink where you simply tell the bartender what your booze preference is and he makes something up. This was their take on a Manhattan. It involved something cinnamon-y, which made me far too happy.

We started with a couple of apps: a venison carpaccio with housemade granola, parmesan, and micro-greens, followed by the baby octopus with pimenton spices, potatoes, lardo, and fennel. I used my newly found low alcohol/sweet + savory drink trick and ordered the Riesling to accompany the rest of the meal. It was fantastic with the spicy octopus and our main dish, a bone-in pork chop cooked sous vide and then seared. It was served with a kraut with lardon and apples over a schmear of beer jam. Thank god we split a main – the pork was huge, but so incredible it would have been a sin not to finish it.

The next morning I was glad we’d had such a hearty meal because by the time we finished the workout I was famished and ready for breakfast. We did a plyo-style workout courtesy of the Onnit crew, followed by ab work and the afore mentioned planking contest.

Eggs, chicken sausage, tofu scramble, and – the best part – a Quest Chocolate Fudge Cookie Cup. Holy mother of yum. I absconded with an extra for a post-hike snack. #sorryimnotsorry

After breakfast we were off for a hike! It was really neat to be able to take a ski lift up the mountain to our starting point. I’ve never been on a gondola without snow before! The ride was stunning, second only to the incredible views during the hike.

After the hike and a much-needed shower (and post-Quest cupcake seconds), we had another snack time.* I ate all the foods. Kidz Shake had a able of chocolate-banana protein smoothies and amazing date balls that tasted exactly like cookie dough (not kidding – I’m picky about my dough!). There was chocolate from Lily’s Sweets (I’m on a mad hunt for those sugar-free chocolate chips now). Silk brought their “A” game with incredible Cherry-Almond Butter smoothies, and Arctic Zero sampled their new flavors and ice cream bars. You guys HAVE to try the orange – I almost never choose a fruit-flavored dessert but it was fantastic; it tasted like those Flintstone push-ups you eat s a kid! I was in frozen snack heaven.

*Note: If you come to Blend, you will NEVER be hungry.

The food doesn’t end there. We had some down time before our cocktail hour and dinner… which was just enough time to work up an appetite. I didn’t take a TON of pics, but I did manage to get a shot of the best part of the evening meal.

The deliciousness in the middle of the table was a soy-glazed salmon from Sizzlefish. You all know my love to Sizzlefish… I finally got to meet Rob, the founder, which felt like I was meeting a celebrity of sorts because I’ve loved their product for so long!

Speaking of celebrities…

I had a re-enactment of my favorite rockstar picture from last year’s retreat with two of my favorite Blends: Heather and Lindsay.

The next day there was more food, more workouts… and then another dinner out!

We met up with a bunch of blends for a dinner out at Purple Sage. The food was good, but I must say that the company and the wine was the highlight at this dinner: a bottle of Orion Swift’s Abstract with a side of Melissa and Madelyn! (But the duck and the bread pudding did not suck!)

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I love traveling… but OMG I’m ready to be home.

Where would you take your Blends out to eat in your town?

Any restaurant recs in NYC?!

Georgia Peach & Tempeh Hash

May 30, 2014 By Laura

Invariably when I tell someone I’m from Georgia they exclaim “A Georgia peach!”

This annoys the crap out of me. Same goes for “Hot-lanta.”

What does not annoy me are actual Georgia peaches. This time of year you can’t walk through a farmer’s market without passing a giant table filled with the fragrant fruit.

I’m a fan of using them in sweet concoctions like Peach Cobbler Chia Pudding, or for a strange-but-summery appetizer like this Peach Caprese Salad. Having been there, done that, I decided to try something a little more ambitious this week. A brinner.

Standing in the fridge door, I had my own version of Chopped as the strange (but good) idea evolved. Sweet, yet savory. I wanted bacon but was unwilling to go to the store. Tempeh is a good stand in for bacon! Honey mustard sounded good with a hash, and I finally remembered the horseradish I need to use (it expired in 2013… clearly just a suggestion).

My Georgia peach needed to be used and it seemed to me that it would go well with honey mustard (it did). The sweet from both the fruit and mustard balanced out the tang from the tempeh and horseradish. It was entertaining without being distractingly confusing to my tongue. #TWSS

When you obtain local eggs, you know they need to be placed on all the things. Besides, how can you have a brinner without #yolkporn?

Don’t skip the egg. It made for a lovely dressing that tied the whole thing together perfectly. Like a symphony in mah mouth.

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Georgia Peach & Tempeh Hash

2 tsp honey mustard
2 tsp horseradish sauce
6 oz tempeh, cubed
1/4 C red onion, diced
1 medium potato, cubed
1 peach, diced
2 eggs, fried

Preheat oven to 400.

In a small bowl, mix together mustard and horseradish. Toss with tempeh cubes and spread evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet. Baked 10-15 mins, stirring half way through.

Meanwhile, grease a large skillet (I used coconut oil) and heat over med-high heat. Add the potato cubes and cook until they are tender and browned on the bottom, stirring occasionally (~15 mins).

Stir in onions and sauté onions until translucent (~5-6 mins).

Removed tempeh from oven and add to skillet along with peaches. Cook until peaches are heated through (~2 mins). Stir in any remaining horseradish sauce and with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Transfer the hash to plates, top with the fried eggs, and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

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How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

If you’re not a blogger, you can still share your recipes on Instagram with the #strangebutgood hashtag.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

An InLinkz Link-up

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This weekend is the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. It’s my 4th year going – bring on the beer and donut pairings!

Do you like fruit in savory dishes?

What is your state/town known for? Any annoying intros?

Current Obsessions + WIAW

May 28, 2014 By Laura

I pride myself in not being a TV watcher.

Admittedly, I’ve even been guilty of judging.

I bought my condo 3.5 years ago and never bothered to get cable. I’m never home and most TV shows seem silly anyway. Who needs TV when you’re out living it up in real-time?

And then I was held captive on a long plane ride from Europe.

House of Cards. The first 6 episodes were available in-flight. I was hooked. I landed and begged someone to share a Netfix account with me so I could finish Season 1… then I happily realized there is a Season 2! Now I only have 2 episodes to go, and I’m hoarding them like a crack head. I don’t want to run out!

It’s so out there, yet so very reflective of our society. I’m at once shocked, appalled, riveted, and understanding. This show is a total mind f*ck. How will I survive until Season 3?!

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This WIAW is back to normal. I’m trying to get back on track with the results from my Alcat test. I have no regrets from my Swiss vacation gluttony, but my gut took a toll!

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

Strange But Good: Switzerland

May 23, 2014 By Laura

Strange is global.

Ever use a Turkish toilet? I still have nightmares.

Switzerland suprised me with it’s fancy strangeness. I had one huge “treat” meal there. By treat, I don’t mean indulegent (I did that on emore on e occassion). I mean ridiculously ~~expensive~~ fancy.

The day started innocently enough. I left Lucie to in Basel to explore Interlaken for a few days. One of the best things about Europe is the train system. You can get anywhere so easily! And it’s fast – I left in the late morning and arrived in time to check into my B&B and do a little exploring before my fancy dinner.

I went for a leisurely run to take in the sights. There were streams and lakes filled with impossibly blue water, majestic swans, breathtaking mountain views, and a cable car ride to the top of a small peak called Harder Klum. I had a salad and glass of wine at the top while I gawked at the view. Also, there was a cow. And a certain apron. Strange, no?

Interlaken

Then it was time to get cleaned up for tyhe evening’s adventures. I found the swankiest hotel in the city, Victoria-Jungfrau, and pranced in to the Brasserie for a little self-romance.

As soon as I set down, the server wheeled over a cart that held a giant silver basin of champagne on ice. Clearly, I’d found my home. They also brought out homemade bread and three toppings: herbed quark, butter, and some mix of apple and onion that I supposed to be more addicting than crack. There was also an amuse-bouche, or gift from the kitchen, that was some sort of cheese sauce with a cheese souffle, and a delicately pickled slice of cucumber.

Victoria-Jungfrau

Next up was the started. I selected the wild garlic soup with a garlic-stuffed ravioli. It was perfection. Just the right amout of food! The foam on the top of the soup was light and rich, and that little ravioli was the single most perfectly cooked piece of pasta pillowy goodness I’ve ever had.

And it was green. Perfect for a dose of foamy strange! It was all I could do not to stick my finger in the glass to get every last bit of the soup.

Wild Garlic Soup @ Victoria-Jungfrau

Then came the main. Chicken stuffed with morels over a bed of creamy spinach, balsamic reduction, and barley. The cubes are “bread dumplings” that were essentially a savory black potato bread pudding.

It seems strange to order chicken in such a fine establishment, but the stuffing and sides were too enticing to pass up. Those bread cubes alone were worth the price of admission. ~~The thought of dessert~~ My pride held me back from begging my server to bring seconds.

Chicken @ Victoria-Jungfrau

Dessert. The whole menu was #strangebutgood. They offered indulgences like fennel creme brulee with candied celery and lemon verbana foam and a goat cheese-saffrom dome with rhubabrb compote and dandieon sherbert. The struggle was real!

I sipped an espresso and ate some housemade chocolates while I mulled over the choices. Therapy.

Espresso @ Victoria-Jungfrau

My selection? Strawberry crunch (a soft of strawberry brownie with a nutty crust) with absinthe strawberries and garlic ice cream.

I died.

Strawberry Crunch @ Victoria-Jungfrau

Not wanting the night to end, I waddled down to the hotel bar where I listened to the pianist while sipping bourbon. As a good Southerner, I know that bourbon can only come from Kentucky… but after a meal like that, I’ll let them call their booze whatever they like.

Faceplant into bed back at my B&B. Strangely enough, I managed not to mess with the guitar hanging on the wall through the whole stay!

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Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

An InLinkz Link-up

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Now I’m hungry all over again.

Have you ever been on a train? I’ve neve been on one in the US (unless you count Disney World).

Do you have one “big” treat meal on vacations?

A Day in Basel, Switzerland + WIAW

May 14, 2014 By Laura

When in Rome…

Or Basel. Whatever.

On my first full day in Basel, Lucie took me on adventures fit for a blogger! But first we began in a predictable way… taking pictures of yogurt bowls before breakfast!

My bowl was goat’s milk yogurt (which Lucie bought special for me!) with cinnamon, Growing Naturals Vanilla Rice Protein, oats, strawberries, cacao nibs, and more of Lucie’s bread. We took our beautiful bowls outside of a photo shoot in natural light. Priorities!

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Cinco de Strange But Good

May 2, 2014 By Laura

I’m stranging-up Mayo!

(That’s May, not mayonnaise.)

It occurred to me that many of my Mexican-inspired creations are a bit strange. Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines, and I’m always looking for a good way to shake it up!

No matter what time of day you celebrate, I have an appropriately themed dish!