walks with maia

So remember when I said that I wanted to start waking up earlier to get the pup out for a walk? Well for the past month or so (minus a few days) we've been doing just that! I love beginning the day with a walk, I feel like it sets the tone for the entire day.

Some days, however, Maia is a complete brat (insert another "b" word here) on the walk and I end up in a crabby mood when I get home. Maia is a puller and a roller. She always always pulls when walking, but since we have stated using the extend-o-leash, things have been better. My arms still get a good stretch when Maia SQUIRREL sees a rabbit or a SQUIRREL! And she is a roller! Mid walk all of a sudden she just plops to the ground and rolls on her back - weirdo.

Anywho, this morning was a good morning with the pup and we even managed to run a bit during our 3 mile excursion. Such a good way to start my SHORT SHORT week!

The iced coffee I had on my hour commute to my office helped start the morning off right, too. When I got to the office, I broke into my overnight oatmeal cookie topped with strawberries. Yum!

































What's an overnight oatmeal cookie you ask?

• 1/4 cups oats
• 1/2 mashed banana
• Raisins
• Cinnamon
• Splash soy milk
• 1 T chia seeds

Don't knock it until you try it - so good!

Lunch was packed last night and I am looking forward to breaking into that as well!

Tomatoes and carrots from our CSA, (sorry Nic, that is all the tomatoes from the box!) cherries, and a new nut butter and rhubarb jam thin bun.





I am heading up to MN tomorrow evening! So looking forward to a quick break from work (after such a huge success this weekend!) and spending some time with the families and friends. Who am I kidding, I am really only looking forward to meeting the newest addition to the family, Sylvia May!

Speaking of our huge Relay success this weekend - if you want/have time, you can hear part 1 of our Relay recap on today's edition of the Washington Page from KCII when it is posted later this afternoon.

father's day mystery revealed...

So what's in that towel?



TOFU! :) Nic and I picked up this block of tofu a few months ago with the intent to blend it into our smoothies. Since then, we've been on an oatmeal-for-breakfast kick, so haven't busted into it yet.



With Nic gone all day (while I stayed home chained to the kitchen stove as a good wife should always do..), it was the perfect time to try it.

You have to press tofu (or so I read on the internet) to get most of the water out of it - hence the grill pan, pot, canned food and olive oil.  I pressed it for a few hours and then marinated it based off of this recipe.

I paired the grilled tofu with a stir-fry consisting of bok choy, carrots, broccoli, and green pepper and of course some brown rice.  Not to sure what to think about the tofu quite yet...



Verdict - not so much a fan. I think it is just me though, as I like the tofu I get at restaurants.  Nic on the other hand ate up two whole slices of it! Not sure if he really like it, but he ate it and is taking the leftovers to work tomorrow.

Rewind to earlier today...I didn't run the 100 miles needed to burn off all of yesterday's indulgences, but I did manage to head out for a 10-miler. However, the iPod crapped out around mile three and by mile four I was certain it was just too hot to run any further than five.

It was a solid five miles, but I've got to get back on the running train in full force ASAP! Maddie and I have the Red, White and Boom TC half marathon in just a few weeks.  The week after that I've got to start training for some marathon that I have yet to register for.

In order to get ready for said mystery marathon, I've got to buckle down on the clean eating and workouts, so I am going to make another attempt at becoming a food blogger. YEAH...I am sure it will only last a few days, so just bear with me. :)

Lunch was quick and easy. Cashew buttered toast with carrots and sweet sweet cherry tomatoes from our CSA. This was followed by a big bowl of cherries that were on sale (yeah!) at Hy-Vee.



After dinner I snacked on a quarter mini watermelon and a thin but smeared with my new nut butter creation and rhubarb jelly (made by a local Amish family).

 

My new nut butter needs a name! It is awesome - take a look at what's in the mix:

a father's day experiment

Look what we got in our CSA box this week!

You're going to do what to me?

In other news...I need to run about 100 miles to burn off all of the hamburgers, baked goods and snacks I ate at last night's Relay For Life of Washington County. So tasty, but so not worth it. I woke up this morning with a sugar hangover.

So off for a run I go (maybe not 100 miles). But before I head out the door - you have to take a guess at what the heck I will be cooking up later today.

What is in that blue towel?!

Nic decided to spend Fathers Day shooting and golfing - and that is why I am experimenting with a new food. He will pretty much eat anything I cook, but this? I am not too sure.

And Kurt, I KNOW he wouldn't dare eat what I am going to cook. Marissa would turn up her nose and say, "Don't you ever buy anything normal, Kier??" :) (FACT: Marissa did say those exact words on our picnic in Mankato when I pulled out peppered turkey breast. Love you Marissa!)

Happy Father's Day Kurt! Love you!

grilled pizza

The {icky} greens in our CSA have been dwindling and we've been getting "better" produce these past few weeks. After taking stock of what we had to use up yesterday, I decided to whip up some delicious pesto with all the bags of basil we had. Seriously, I think pesto is one of my favorite foods/sauces/flavors.

We mixed it with some penne, mushrooms, peas and carrots last night - delish. And then I dreamt about dinner tonight - chicken pesto pizza. And after seeing that Angie tried her hand at grilling a pizza yesterday, I thought I'd follow in her footsteps.

So after a very hot and very sweaty run this afternoon, and a quick google search for tips to grilling the crust, I was on my way to what was bound to be a fantastic dinner.

Earlier this afternoon, I made Nic mix up a batch of the Pioneer Woman's pizza dough.  When the grill was hot - we slid the dough on and said a little prayer that it wouldn't burn.

I think I was a little too scared and flipped the crust after only a minute, in hindsight, I should have left it for another minute or two.

Promptly after flipping, we topped it with pesto, mozzarella cheese, chicken, tomatoes, and garlic.

The delicious smell of pesto filled the air almost immediately- Maia was patiently waiting for a crumb.

After only a few minutes, I noticed the bottom of the crust was burning. So I moved it to the cool side of the grill, cranked the heat and hoped a little indirect cooking would finish off the doughy crust.

Voila! The pizza was awesome. A little on the doughy side (we threw it in the oven for a few minutes after removing it from the grill), but still - ah.mazing.

Next time, I think I will roll the dough a little thinner to begin with to avoid the doughiness.  

I have issues

If you recall, I have an addiction to registering for random races. Well, it's a good thing that I can't register for some races a year in advance, otherwise Nic and I would be booking plane tickets to Alaska! Yup, my newest race idea is the Mayor's Marathon (or half) that is scheduled for June 18, 2011. I've already informed my good friend Ben that he has a year to start running again and get ready for this race. I think he is really, really excited! :)

In other news...I have issues, food issues.  We got a huge box of produce the other day ------->

Lots and lots of delicious and organic stuff in here. Baby carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cilantro...

...and some chard and kale. Hmmmm...how do I cook chard and kale??! I've found a few recipes, but I need some other suggestions. They are pretty big bunches, although I am sure they will cook down quite a bit. This is my challenge for tonight.

Last night, there was no challenge at all figuring out what to eat. Yum - a mixed green salad with tomatoes, carrots, shrimp and a sweet white vinegar dressing.

happy earth day!

But Earth Day should be every day, right?! This year, to celebrate Earth Day (or really just because we wanted to), we signed up for our first CSA. Starting tomorrow we will be getting a majority of our fresh produce from no further than 30 miles away! And to top it all of, it is organic produce.

I was a little hesitant at first, because I thought we could really just get all of our produce from the farmers market if we really wanted to "be green," but thought it might be fun to be forced to try some new and maybe unusual produce by signing up for the CSA.

Our first box will include the following:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Lettuce (red, green & romaine)
• Cilantro
• Sweet baby carrots
• Beets
• Chard
• Kale
• Cabbage

I guess I'll be looking up some ways to prepare beets, chard, kale and cabbage in the next week. Any suggestions??


Here's a good article on what produce you might consider buying organic, and what stuff you don't need to shell out big bucks for.

And in an effort to post some more photos...my breakfast today was amazing as usual. :)

Ginger peach tea with a bowl of: apples, raw oats, yogurt, almonds, organic jam, almond butter, chia seeds, ground flax & cinnamon

Looks like this weekend we'll spend some time washing our windows...they look pretty dirty, no?