Vegetable-alohic

Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

I defnitely did, even though I skipped out on some runs.

Friday was one of those work days where you leave thinking, "I need a drink!"  But instead of hitting up happy hour, I hit up the CrossFit box and gave this WOD a shot.  Holy quadraceps! I didn't even finish the wall balls (I got to 145). 

Being the happening, 20-something single socialite that I am, I went to bed at 9:30.

Saturday morning, my alarm went off at 4:45 because I was supposed to get up for a 6 mile run and had to be at my sister's house at 7:30 to head to the lake.  Snooze was hit repeatedly until 6:00, then I foam rolled and stretched my very, very sore quads, calling that my workout of the day.

We spent the day at the lake enjoying the sunshine and doing a little fishing.  The wharf/lake front is down a hill and everytime I went up or down, my quads burned!  I was hoping the hill would work out the soreness, but come Sunday, DOMS was still hanging out.

This is actually an old picture of Lola at the lake.  I failed at taking any pics this weekend.

My fridge was missing anything green, so after sleeping late and more torture foam rolling Sunday morning, I went shopping for a birthday gift, a baby gift, and groceries.  (I swear they make cuter little girl clothes than adult clothes.  I saw about 5 toddler dresses and thought, "That would be the perfect Easter dress....for me!") 

The weather was warm and nice, so my best friend and her 3 week old baby (my godchild!) came over for a late afternoon walk with me and Lola. We covered about 2 miles, chatting the whole time.

I still planned on a 6 miler, but realized it was already 6:00 PM (The time change is wonderful, but manipulative.) and I hadn't cooked dinner!  A pork roast had been defrosted and I knew it would take at least 2 hours to cook, so my run was canceled.  Along with the pork roast, I oven roasted cabbage slices (inspired by this recipe).  This meal was epic.  Probably the best thing I have ever cooked in my entire life.  

source - See those little crispy bits? They are the best part!

I was starving (it was after 8:00).  The pork wasn't cooked through yet, but the cabbage was done.  So, I fixed myself a little cabbage as an appetizer.  Then, I went back for more. (I've professed my love of cabbage before.) The pork was finally cooked, so I cut it up, added more cabbage to my bowl and topped it with some pork.  Next thing I knew, the entire head of cabbage was gone!  I ate it all. An entire head of cabbage into my belly in less than an hour.

Asparagus last week, now cabbage?!?  I'm out of control. I need to go to Vegetable Addiction Anonymous. Seriously.


What did you cook/eat/do this weekend?  Please, ease my mind and tell me you over indulged in something and also that you skipped your runs!

Weekend Update and Winter Vegetable Stir Fry

Hello!  Sorry this blog has been vacant for 3 days...I've been a very busy girl!

Friday was a crazy day at work, followed by an evening of baby shower prepping.  

Saturday morning consisted of more baby shower prepping, followed by a baby shower brunch for my best friend and mom to be, Kristi.

the hostesses with the mom to be

My sister made baby Patrick's cake!

After cleaning up this shower, I raced to Moss Bluff for another baby shower for my friend Kerri.  The ladies that hosted her shower did an AMAZING job!  It was coastal themed and adorable!  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to put my little brunch shower to shame.

Saturday afternoon was spent in the company of pizza, beer, and football.  And a nap. I slept through the second quarter, but unfortunately was awake for the last quarter.  What a heartbreaking loss for the Saints!

Sunday morning was AWFUL!  Lola got sick in the house, so I woke up to 6 massive piles of dog mess.  After cleaning all that and gagging 5000 times, I hit the pavement for an 8 mile run, only to get a visit from Aunt Flow around mile 1. (TMI?)  Ugh.  So I gave up on the morning and went to my parents for lunch.  

I spent the afternoon sitting by the pool and in the hot tub (reason 2348972 I love living in South Louisiana: Poolside days in January!), and the evening watching Money Ball and the Golden Globes.

Monday I was off work for MLK day.  Jewelry shopping consumed my morning (I needed jewels for my Mardi Gras ball dress).  My friend Andrea picked me up after lunch and we ran errands then ran streets.  Andrea used to be my best running buddy, but she moved to Moss Bluff, so we have a hard time getting together for runs.  Yesterday we tackled 4 miles, and it was fun!  I didn't realize how much I miss running with someone.  I'm currently trying to convince everyone I know to become a runner so I have someone to run with at all times.

My grandma sent me a massive ice chest filled to the brim with cauliflower from her garden.  It filled 50% of my refrigerator. 



There is more hiding in the produce drawer.

In addition to the cauliflower, I had purple cabbage, regular cabbage, and broccoli she sent earlier in the week.

So last night for supper, I tried to think of a dish that incorporated all of the produce. I came up with a simple stir fry.

Winter Vegetable Shrimp Stir Fry

ingredients

1 1b shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 head of broccoli, chopped

1/2 head of purple cabbage, sliced

1/2 head of cabbage, sliced

1 tbsp grapeseed or sesame seed oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup lite soy sauce

1 tbsp teryaki sauce

salt and black pepper, to taste

1 tsp red pepper flakes

siracha sauce, to taste

directions

In a large wok (mine wasn't nearly big enough), heat oil over high heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add cabbage and broccoli and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes.  Add cabbage and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes.  Add shrimp, rice wine vinegar, soy, teryaki, and season with salt, black pepper, red pepper, and siracha to taste.  Cook until shrimp are pink.

It's not nearly as pretty as I thought it would be.  The soy sauce absorbed into the cauliflower and cabbage and made the dish very brown, but it was delicious none the less.

Note on Sugar Free January: I caved!  After resisting cake at the baby showers, I gave in after my awful Sunday morning.  I ate my sister's homemade banana pudding with homemade whipped cream and toffee.  Yum!  It was delicious!  Then, yesterday, I ate leftover cake from the baby shower.  I brought it home for my dad, but forgot to bring it to him, then told my roommate to eat it, but he forgot.  So I ate it as post run fuel last night.  Back off sugar today, though!  Only 13 more days to go.  And I already have another challenge lined up for myself for February.

Were you off work yesterday?  How did you spend your weekend?  Do you like running alone or with a buddy?

MacFarlane's Celtic Pub

Friday after finishing this CrossFit WOD (I modified by doing 30 pull ups and 30 dips in place of the muscle ups) solo (There were only 2 of us in the 5:30 class, and the other guy just quit mid workout...I don't think he liked being beat by a girl.), I met my best friend for dinner at MacFarlane's Celtic Pub.

We hadn't seen each other in a couple of weeks, since she found out she is having a BOY!  I was very excited to catch up.

I have only been to MacFarlane's once before, and it was only to have drinks.  They have a very extensive selection of beers (over 150) and scotch. 

Even though  they have a massive beer selection, they do not offer Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors, or Miller.  The bartender warned me of this before even handing me the beer menu, which was just fine with me, because I was in the mood to try something new.

After perusing the menu for a good 30 minutes while chatting away, I finally decided on the Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout from England.

source

It was exacty what I wanted.  Dark (I've been on a darker beer kick since it's been cooler outside), but still smooth and very easy to drink.

I would definitely order this again.

For the past week, all I've had on my mind is a hamburger.  This is extremely odd, because I'm not a huge hamburger person.  I am very picky about burgers.  My favorite of all time is from Port of Call in New Orleans.  It helps that being inside Port of Call feels like being in the hull of an old ship.  We all know I love all things nautical!

After asking the server if she recommended the chicken or the burger, she said burger.  Burger it was.  With a side of cabbage.

The cabbage was AMAZING.  I wish they would have given me a bigger portion.  Like a whole dinner plate full.  It was prepared with bacon, but wasn't overly bacony (word?). Seriously, thinking about it now makes me want cabbage. 

The burger was bleh.  They didn't ask how I wanted it prepared, but I should have known better and let the server know I wanted it medium rare.  I hate over cooked beef.  And I got overcooked beef.  The only saving grace was the bun.  It tasted like a massive hawaiian roll and was delicious. 

I ate half of the burger and took the rest home.  I bet Lola will like it more than I did.

The service was awesome.  After finishing our food, we sat chit chatting for a long time.  The waitress made it clear that we were welcome as long as we pleased, and even though we had closed our ticket, she made sure to check on us periodically. 

The atmosphere at MacFarlane's is so cozy that it makes you want to stay a while.  Looking around, it seemed that many groups were sitting, visiting, and drinking long after meals were finished. 

MacFarlane's is very close to my house, and I love the atmosphere.  That plus the extensive drinking options will surely lure me in again.  :)



Do too many options overwhelm you?

Having 150 beers to choose from was so overwhelming!  It took me too long to decide.