The Weekend of Baking and Running

Surprise, surprise! My weekend was full of two of my favorite hobbies. Hanging out in my kitchen and pounding the pavement are definitely high up on the list of things I love to do. You all know this. Judging by the amount of food I made this weekend, you’d think I was feeding an army. Judging by the amount of miles I ran this weekend, you’d think I was training for something.

Oh, wait. I am.

In the past 72 hours, I’ve made Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Crisps:

Carrot Cake Energy Balls:

Crispy Tofu in a Honey Basil Dressing:

And, drum roll, please…two Sriracha Cheddar Loaves:

Here’s the mini one:

It pairs extremely well with a bottle of Malbec and my best friend:

As much as I didn’t want to leave my oven’s side, I received some motivation to put my sneakers on. Sunday morning, my grandpa sent me this:

And Danielle (who completed her first half marathon on Saturday!!), sent me this:

So back to training it was, with a 5 miler on Friday:

And an 11-mile run on Sunday.

That was the farthest Amanda and I have ever run and it felt pretty darn good. Especially the inappropriate stretching outside of her apartment, haha.

We are so ready for our race in 2 weeks!

Now if this post doesn’t epitomize hungry meets healthy, then I don’t know what does!

Questions for you:

• Which of the aforementioned recipes would you like to see most? I’ll post it tomorrow!
• Half marathoners: While training, what was the farthest you ran the week before your race? Some people stop at 10, some people continue…talk to me.

New Seasonal Food Finds

One of the main reasons I love having a food blog is because I get to share new food precuts with my readers. Whenever I find something fun, be it a food, restaurant, recipe, or trend, I share it through every social media platform possible: facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube…you get it. Here are some new gems I’ve discovered.

1. I first spotted these Toasted Coconut almonds at Target. Into the basket they went and (after paying) into my mouth they went.

Honestly, I was underwhelmed. They smell really good, but the flavor just isn’t quite there. Boo. I went online to look up other flavors and found these promotions.

Have you tried any of these three flavors? I suppose you could very easily create these at home.

2. It seems that there are about 70 different flavored creamers out there, and most that I’ve tried have been somewhat nauseating. The S’mores flavor, however, is right up my alley and perfect for the coming chilly months.I also need to try the Salted Caramel flavor. I will wait until they go on sale at Publix because I don’t love the idea of spending silly money on things that just fatten me…. ok that’s sort of a lie.

This list started out strong (healthfully speaking) but it’s about to go down the clean eating drain. Please accept my apologies for this and for almost lying to you in #3.

3. Jell-O. Gingerbread and Candy Cane. Should I buy these? I feel like it’s the equivalent of eating fair food. Could be the worst moment of my life or the best moment of my life. But nothing in between. 

4. Yoplait Pumpkin Pie and Apple Crisp flavored yogurt. I was a huge fan of Trader Joe’s pumpkin yogurt, but for some reason I’m nervous to try these.

5. I gagged a little when I saw this but had to include it anyway. Pumpkin Spice cream cheese.

6. Pumpkin is taking over! Who’s sick of it? I’m not. Yet. Give me a couple more weeks. These sound crazy sweet.

7. Now this I could get on board with, especially with a healthy serving of peanut butter. Weirdo combo?

8. First there were the Birthday Cake Oreos. Then there were the Candy Corn Oreos. Now there are Gingerbread and Peppermint Oreos.

Interesting fact: In 2010, Nabisco came out with Peppermint. I wonder if they’re the exact same thing.

9. Like I said on Friday, I am ecstatic for these to appear at, let’s face it, Target. All the good seasonal junk is exclusively at Target.

10. Last but not least, I’m praying to the chocolate gods that these come back. Pray with me!

What seasonal items are you loving?  Anything you’re sick of?

Do your teeth hurt after reading this post? I’m off to brush mine.

Super Hero 5k and My Rosh Hashanah Teddy Bear Challah

Saturday morning, a few of us participated in the Super Hero 5k at the West Ashley Greenway to support Yoga Benefits Kids. I had made a pretty cool “Super Xteeny” shirt, but took it off because it felt like 90 degrees outside…which is why Boding is topless.

Though I didn’t break my PR, my time was 25:58 and Mary Legare and I won the same awards we won in the 2011 Pajama 5k. Mary Legare got 2nd place overall for females, and I got 2nd place in my age group. 2 for 2!

(Please note that is my cell phone in my tank top; I do not have deformed boobies.)

That afternoon, I made a Pumpkin Spicy Teddy Bear Challah. First, let me say this: baking bread is not an easy task. It took a long time, flour got everywhere, my manicure was ruined, and my kitchen was a disaster. But it was so worth it. Using the Pumpkin Challah recipe from The Shiksa’s blog, I shaped the dough into two teddy bears and used M&M's for eyes and buttons.

Did you know? You’ve probably seen braided challah, but for Rosh Hashanah, challah is made into rounds or spirals to symbolize the circle of life and the cycle of a new year.

I made the first teddy bear to bring over to a friend’s house Saturday evening. The Jew Crew was there so I had them judge my first one. Is this not the cutest thing EVER? I named him Elijah Orstein. All night long I kept wanting to say “Holla! For my challah!” but I controlled my urges.

The first teddy bear came out really dense because I did not let the dough rise long enough. Luckily, my second teddy bear that I was making for Rosh Hashanah dinner at Sean’s house came out great. It was soft, cinnamony, sweet, and delicious with drizzled honey. I was so proud I did not disappoint my Jewish family!

Thank you to the Lynches for having me over for another holiday dinner. I’m inspired to make babka next. : )

For which holiday do you enjoy baking/cooking?

What traditional foods do you make?

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

What’s your morning computer ritual? Mine is:

1. Open gmail
2. Open work email
3. Open facebook
4. Post the day’s post on my blog’s fb page
5. Start work

I’m sure my boss is really pleased by the order of these tasks. While on facebook today I noticed this post from the local Great Harvest.

Had I not just inhaled a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal, I would have driven straight to to GH for breakfast. I exhibited self control and waited for my lunch break to go pick up a loaf. It is 100% heavenly. I am going to have to freeze 1/2 of it so I don’t eat the entire loaf in 2 days.

After work, Mariah and I went for a run around the Old Village, a pretty, old neighborhood in Mount Pleasant. It’s getting darker much earlier, but I did manage to snap a pretty photo of the water before the sun set.

When I got home, I whipped up an extremely easy vegetarian recipe.

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash, makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squash
• 1 15 oz. can low-sodium black beans, drained
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 15 oz. can yellow corn
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• juice of one lime

Preparation:

1. Cut squash in half horizontally and scoop out and seeds and strings. Place squash in baking dish cut-side down. Add a little water and bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until tender.
2. While squash is baking, add black beans, tomatoes, corn, and seasonings to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 10-12 minutes or until heated through. Squeeze lime juice over mixture and stir again.
3. Once the squash is done, remove from pan and stuff with the Southwest mixture. Serve immediately.

Oh, I love colorful meals. Colorful = lots of vitamins…usually. Unless we are talking about a bag of peanut m&ms. That just = happiness.

XO!

Wedding Weekend Recap

Oooooooooh I bet that title freaked you outttt. Nope, I didn’t get married. No way. Never.

But Matt’s friend did. On Friday morning, Matt and I jumped in the car and headed to Virginia for one of his fraternity brother’s weddings. Guess what we had for breakfast. And lunch.

On I-95, as you’re crossing the SC/NC border, you are greeted by one of the most magnificently trashy tourist stops EVER. Meet Pedro, the South of the Border hombre.

 

Matt had never stopped at the South of the Border, so it was necessary for us to get out. There are restaurants, mini-golf, creepy gift stores, and a whole bunch of statues you can pose with.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

8ish hours later, we arrived in Kilmarnock, VA and went to the rehearsal dinner and a party.

Saturday: We decided to check out the little town’s antique stores and have breakfast at the Kilmarnock Inn.

I had the Virginia Ham & Eggs with fruit and a side of fresh, homemade bread. These were some of the best eggs I’ve ever had…in Kilmarnock, VA, no lie. The bread was really good too.

I was really impressed with this inn, other than the fact that they don’t know how to spell restaurant. Pretty bad, no?

Around lunch time, the bridal party and their guests went to a barbecue at the groom’s parents river house. Look at their gorgeous view!

That evening, it was time for the wedding! It was a small wedding (about 100 guests) which made for an intimate, but very fun evening. It was fun meeting lots of people and getting dressed up!

The girls:

Sunday: Back to home sweet home!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!