It's officially that time of year where the days, weeks, and especially the weekends are just FLYING by! Thanksgiving is just days away and I feel like November just started.
Here's just a few pictures to show how I've been spending my time.
I have been on SUCH a salad kick this week! I ate one for dinner I think every night. This one was filled with beets, green beans, goat cheese, roasted almonds, and topped with a horseradish vinaigrette (which is heavenly). My body has been screaming "I need vegetables!" lately and I've been listening- yesterday the grocery store had Naked juices on sale and I picked up a pretty delicious tomato based one (as opposed to my usual green monster).
Quality time with this old frenemy. It's been over 7 months since I've stepped foot on a treadmill (and nearly as many since I've actually gone to the gym to do a workout, whoops) but I just wasn't feeling the cold on Sunday. I ran a 10K at what used to be an easy pace and realized again that I'm still a bit out of shape (did I really run that +20 just a month ago???). It was still a good workout for me- I kept the pace even for first 35 minutes and then threw in some speed work for the last 20. It definitely got my legs moving + my heart rate up. I don't want to rely on the treadmill as much this winter as I have in the past, but if it comes down to running on a treadmill or NOT running, I definitely need to hit the 'mill. (oh and don't worry- I took this picture while walking for my cool down at a crazy slow pace. No one was endangered during this moment).
Quality kitty time! When I sat on the couch to eat my breakfast Dora just climbed right up on my chest and curled up. It was so precious! Despite having a to-do list a mile long I couldn't disturb her so we had a nice little break together.
Cookie dough! I had just enough time to whip up some gingersnap dough yesterday (but not enough time to actually bake the cookies). I'm so excited to taste the final product though. I don't bake cookies too often (more of a cupcake girl) but I think I'll be baking a few batches of holiday cookies throughout the next few weeks.
How was your weekend?
I'll be the first to admit that I've suffered from post-race depression. It's one of the reasons that I always like to have something else on the horizon- something to look forward to so I don't let myself stumble off track. When I went into marathon training I knew this would be a big one for me- it would be time consuming, it might make me hate running and it may even end up in injury- so I kept my post-race calendar wide open. What a mistake! That past few weeks have not been pretty. First I gave myself two weeks to recover physically (because I had some not-so-pleasant foot pains immediately after my race) and to enjoy life a bit more again. So I stayed out late, went to some Halloween parties, ordered in dinner a few too many times and skipped a whole lot of workouts. Suddenly two weeks turned into three and now here I am one month post marathon and what have I been doing? Nothing! (including not blogging- whoops!)
Well it's time to change that.
I've been looking into a few local triathlon clubs to try to dip my toes into something new but more importantly I've been looking at spring races so I can hurry up and get my something on my calendar! For now I've got a 20-miler and a May marathon on my wish list. Yes, another marathon. It just feels right.
As for short term goals: more cooking, more blogging and more running for fun. Until I'm committed to a race (and a training plan!) I'm just kind of rediscovering my innate love of the sport. It's been fun to set out with no plans and just kind of run. I did my first "quality workout" this weekend though and it was clear that I am already pretty out of shape (my poor quads STILL hurt!). I'm going to use the last few weeks of 2013 to rebuild my base, revisit my time with Jillian and bond with my yoga mat. All good things.
I promise that I will be returning to regularly scheduled blogging- I have just honestly felt a little lost post-marathon and it was hard to sit down and write. Every time I started a post it turned into me whining about not being on track- no more of that! I'm coming back strong.
Last weekend we made a stop at Lynd Fruit Farm to pick up a few autumn essentials. The prices were crazy good- I swear almost everything was less than $1 per pound. I wanted to stock up on squash but wasn't pleased with the butternuts they had so after grabbing more than a few acorn squash I decided to branch out and try something new. Enter the pattypan! I had never even HEARD of a pattypan prior to this moment (does that make me a bad semi-foodie??)!
After a bit of googling (for inspiration and basic cooking suggestions) I decided I wanted to stuff these little guys, as they were the perfect size. I preheated the oven to 350 and started boiling the squash (and set a timer for 8 minutes) while I got to work on a filling.
For the filling:
1/2 c. dry quinoa
1 c. water
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
3-4 green onions
1 c. chickpeas, cooked
cumin
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese
I combined the quinoa, water and diced garlic in a small saucepan and brought it to a boil. I then turned the flame down, covered the pan and let it simmer for ~10 minutes. Meanwhile I sauteed the onions and seasoned to taste with cumin, salt & pepper. Once the squash we done I sliced off the tops and scooped out their insides. I added the insides to the onions and let them cook for a few moments. I finally tossed in the chickpeas and cooked quinoa and stirred to combine.
I stuffed the little pattypans to the brim with this filling, topped it off with a sprinkle of parmesan and put the tops (or their hats, as I began calling them).
I let them bake for ~25 minutes or so, turning the oven up to 375 towards the end, and then served them with some steamed fresh green beans (seasoned with lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes).
We really enjoyed the pattypans! They are perfect for stuffing because you can eat the skin too. I think I'd rank them as my 4th favorite squash (below butternut, acorn and spaghetti) and I would recommend that everyone give them a try.
Can't wait to dive into the pounds of peppers we bought for even more kitchen experiments!
