Weekend Update - July 4th, 2015

Hope your Independence Day was fantastic! Our long weekend was spent doing the same thing we did last year. Working on the house! I cannot wait until our house is finished and we can relax and just enjoy it.

The goal for the weekend was to demo the master bathroom. Here are some before photos of it in its original ugliness.

In the midst of our demo on Friday, Raisin Bread got struck in the leg by falling ceramic tile. This required a detour to the emergency room and four stitches later, we were back home. 

Neither of us wanting to keep working so we went out to dinner instead! We headed to Farina Alto, where we shared a Verde Salad (mixed baby greens, candied walnuts, apples, gorgonzola and champagne vinaigrette).

 

For my entree, I had the linguine and clams. It was yummy, but super buttery. 

We kept on working on the house on Saturday as well. We borrowed a friend's truck and made a trip to the city dump to dispose of parts of our bathroom. Guess where we were last July 4th! The same city dump. 

Raisin Bread finished laying the wood for the hallway. Looking good!

We just need to put the trim and the doors back on now. I helped by prepping the trim and priming it. Next step is to paint it. 

My back has been killing me all weekend, especially after the visit to the dump, so Raisin Bread continued the bathroom demo without me. Here is what it looks like now. 

Our weekend ended with watching the FIFA Women's World Cup Final. Go, USA! Congratulations on the big win! 

We also got some grilling in before the weekend was over. We had some delicious cheeseburgers with corn on the cob, baked beans, potato salad and shrimp cocktail. Do you think this is enough food for two people?

This certainly did not feel like a three-day weekend with all of the work we put in. Hopefully, next year, we won't be at the dump on the 4th of July, and instead, doing something fun! 

Christmas 2014

Merry belated Christmas! And for those who do not celebrate Christmas, happy belated holidays!

This year we decided to keep things low-key. This year has been crazy and we did not want to travel over the holiday, so Raisin Bread, Gus and I celebrated just as a little family. It was nice to have a relaxing holiday, but I also missed spending time with our families. 

Since Gus is still little, we decided to forgo a new tree this year and used our tiny apartment-sized tree for one last year. 

Christmas Eve

I ordered live Maine lobsters that arrived via next day air for our Christmas Eve dinner. As soon as I opened the box, I came to the realization that I have never prepared live lobsters before. A few quick Google searches and I was on my way.

I decided to go with steamed lobster and they came out perfectly tender. Yum! Lobster dinner is not complete without corn on the cob, in my opinion.

I also ordered some clam chowder, which I just had to heat up and serve.

For dessert, I used some leftover Harry and David pears to make a pear pie. This is probably the best pie I have ever made! Cinnamon-y and sweet, but not too sweet.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day started off with a breakfast of banana fosters pancakes and bacon. Yummy x 2!

Then it was time for presents! Gus was spoiled by us and our other family members and received so many nice gifts! I got many nice gifts as well including a lot of ski equipment, household items and a day at the spa! Thanks, husband and family!

I went all out for Christmas dinner as well with pistachio-crusted rack of lamb, rapini and cranberry sauce. The rack of lamb was my masterpiece of the meal.

After dinner, we headed over to see some Christmas lights. We didn't get to do many Christmas-y activities this year in Albuquerque, like the River of Lights or the Luminaria Tour, but I hope we can next year.

When we arrived home, it was time for dessert. I made Raisin Bread's number 1 favorite pie: coconut custard pie. I am not a fan of coconut so this pie was all for him.

Boxing Day

Although we didn't have a white Christmas, we had a white Boxing Day. This was the first real snow we have had since moving to Albuquerque, and it was Gus's first experience with snow. He absolutely loved it.

I'm sad Christmas is over, but I am looking forward to a fantastic new year!

{Product Review} The Lemonade Cookbook by Alan Jackson and Joann Cianciulli

Raisin Bread was away on a business/leisure trip for part of last week, so I decided to surprise him with a multi-course meal the night he returned. I turned to The Lemonade Cookbook to try out some new recipes. 

Chef Alan Jackson's Southern California modern cafeterias called Lemonade are the source of the 120 recipes shared in this beautiful cookbook.

Dishes from marketplace sides, salads and sandwiches along with soups and braises are featured in the cookbook. Also, there is a whole section of different lemonade recipes. Chef Jackson's recipes showcase his approach to healthy Southern California comfort food that leans heavily on global flavors.

For our first course, I prepared the Creamed Cauliflower Soup. The soup came out so smooth and creamy. It was rich while not being overly heavy.

For the main course, I made the Greek-marinated Chicken with Tzatsiki. Instead of grilling the chicken, I decided to broil it. The chicken came out super moist, and I loved the homemade tzatsiki. The flavors were very strong, but so tasty!

I must admit that dessert was the least successful course. I attempted the Caramel-Butterscotch Pudding. Both Raisin Bread and I found it to be a little too sweet for our tastes, but the flavor actually grew on me. Also, it didn't turn out to be the prettiest of desserts.

There are a ton of recipes left that I would love to try, especially some of the salads and sandwiches. Everything looks so pretty and yummy! I love being able to get new ideas from a reliable cookbook and I think The Lemonade Cookbook is just that!

Disclosure: I received a copy of The Lemonade Cookbook from St Martin's Press through my affiliation with Girls Gone Sporty. No compensation was received. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here. 

Week 2 Training Update

What a week! I'm sooo happy that the election is finally over. This was my first presidential election cycle living in a battleground state and it was super annoying, with the ads on the internet and television constantly, but also knowing how much money was being wasted on the election was extremely aggravating. Now, can we all finally move on?

I had a long weekend for Veterans' Day so I had some free time to cook. I decided to make some kimchee after attending a kimchee making class. I went with spring onions. It will still be a few days so I am still waiting patiently to see how it turns out!

This week was kind of rough for me on the running front. My body just felt so tired so I'm glad I didn't have to up my distance this week.

Tuesday - Ran 2.82 miles
Thursday - One hour Circuit class focusing on arms, glutes and inner thighs plus ran 2.15 miles
Saturday - Ran 2.67 miles

A Whole Lotta Home-cooking

Raisin Bread and I have been cooking up a storm at home. This week is another story because I had finals but here is a sampling of some of my favorite dishes so far.

Pork chops with cranberry port

"Greek-style" fritatta with spinach, black olives, feta and sundried tomatoes

Pork chop with apple butter glaze

Roasted whole carrots

My version of California Chicken Cafe's broccoli (crack) salad

Avocado, cucumber, carrot and shrimp sushi

Stuffed acorn squash with bacon-wrapped asparagus

Crab cakes with sauteed spinach

World Cup Final: Spain vs. Netherlands in Food

Since Raisin Bread and I had no desire to spend four hours at our neighborhood bar on Sunday afternoon, we decided to create a Spanish and Dutch-themed (or as close as we could come) afternoon of World Cup viewing at home.

Beverage:
red sangria with oranges, peaches and mangoes
Appetizer:
kalamata olive sourdough bread
french baguette
Caraway cheddar cheese
Proscuitto (couldn't find serrano at the meat market)

Entree:
Flank steak with Danish blue cheese and red wine poached pears

Dessert:

Apple cake

And because Spain won, I got a massage from Raisin Bread.

Pork dumplings (Home-cooking)

I volunteer with a group teaching teen girls how to live a healthy life through exercise, self-image, and healthy eating. During one of our cooking classes, the instructor made dumplings. That inspired me to reach back into my youth when my mom and siblings and I would all make dumplings from scratch. Plus, since we are facing tough economic times, these little babies are inexpensive and can be frozen and enjoyed at a later time! Hooray!

Ingredients

The meat mixture

Little dumplings all stacked up