Will Tweet For Food

To celebrate the 3 1/2 year anniversary of this little blog, I've given it a twitter!

Follow me @FoodLoveFitness :)

Asian Cucumber Salad

Who doesn't love Bed, Bath and Beyond? A few months ago I was in the store picking up something with Tom and of course, got sucked into the kitchen gadget area. I needed to buy SOMETHING, so I picked out a julienne peeler for $10. I had been seeing recipes all over the place for zucchini noodles, so I figured I'd try it out.

Months later, I finally used my peeler for the first time! I was trying to think of a less boring veggie side dish for my dinner last night and did some google searching for inspiration. What I came up with was this super easy, awesome, cucumber salad that tasted straight out of a Japanese restaurant!

Asian Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

- 1/2 a large or a whole small cucumber

- 2 tbs rice vinegar

- 1 - 1.5 tbs sugar

- 1 tsp sesame oil

- pinch of salt

- red pepper flakes

- sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Julienne the cucumber until you have a pile of thin strips. If you don't have a julienne peeler you can just use a knife or cut them into thin circles. I stopped peeling once I got to the seedy middle.

2. Combine the cucumber, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mix. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

3. Remove from fridge and strain out any remaining liquid. Top with sesame seeds and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Serve!

I ate this last night with two ground turkey tacos which made no sense. I don't mind eating things that don't go together (which is obvious if you've been reading for a while!) so I was fine with it, but some people might want to save this salad to go with sushi, a stir fry or something a little closer in flavor.

On another note, our Hopster's labels came yesterday and look amazing!!! So cool to see them on the bottles!

Dumpling Cafe - Chinatown

Me and Tom talk about going into Chinatown a lot, but we rarely actually do it. Chinatown is SO close to Southie and there is a bus that takes us straight there, so there's really no reason not to go. Last weekend I was itching to get out of the house and wanted to do a little bit of carb loading before my Sunday long run, so I suggested we take the short trip into Chinatown. After a bit of yelping we decided on Dumpling Cafe.

The restaurant was pretty busy on Friday night but we only had to wait about 10 minutes. We were sat at a long table in the middle of a bunch of groups. It was a tight squeeze but it was fun!

TKO looking very comfy :)

I always feel rushed in Chinatown, so we tried to take some time to look over the menu and order in stages. Despite our efforts the food came out in minutes!

We ordered a few dishes to share:

Udon noodles with vegetables. I loved the flavor of these noodles, but for some reason they were all chopped up into tiny pieces. It made the dish very difficult to eat and I was super jealous of our neighbors who had long noodles. Not sure what that was about!

Beef with string beans.

Xiao long bao aka soup dumplings! Check out that steam when Tom took off the top.

I love soup dumplings and these were awesome. I'd take a trip to this Cafe just for a few orders of these!

I wasn't planning on dessert, but I was intrigued when Tom suggested sharing a bubble tea. I always thought bubble tea was served hot, and was basically just tea with little balls inside. Man, was I wrong! We ordered a mango tea and it was amazing!! It was basically a slushie with little pieces of tapioca mixed in. It was so fun to slurp up the bubbles and I was freaking out. I think bubble tea is going to be a summer staple for me!

Dumpling Cafe is located at:
695 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 338-8859

Half Marathon Training Week 6

Monday, 3/31
Hot Yoga: 60 minutes

Nothing much to say here. Yoga is still equally tough, relaxing, and revitalizing. I really enjoy it!

Tuesday, 4/1
Total Body Strength class: 60 minutes

Good class! We did some partner boxing and my partner kind of sucked. She seemed scared I was going to punch her in the face and was backing away a lot, so every punch I had to reach towards her. It wasn't very enjoyable but it was nice to change things up in class a bit!

Wednesday, 4/2
3 mile outside: ~36 minutes

Well, I had my first shitty run in a while. My legs felt like they weighed 100 pounds each and I just struggled from start to finish. It's unfortunate because it was a really beautiful day out so I wish I had enjoyed this more. I took my tired legs as a sign that I should take it a bit easy, so I skipped yoga.

Thursday 4/3
Cross training: 5 miles walking total

My body was still feeling REALLY tired on Thursday, so I decided to skip official cross training (at the gym) and just walk to and from work. I don't know if this really "counts" as cross training, but it was better than nothing and sometimes I just really need to listen to what my bod is telling me.

Friday, 4/4
3 mile run on treadmill: 35:00
Strength: 100 crunches, 50 pushups

At some point at work on Friday I did something weird to my foot. It's hurting in a strange place...on the top and outside of the left. It hurts sometimes when I walk, but just sort of feels like a bone or muscle is out of place. I don't really know how to describe it. I decided to hop on the treadmill and planned to stop if it hurt, but it didn't at all. Actually, it hurt when I was walking but not at all when I running. Weird huh? I really hope this just goes away on it's own. I'm trying to wear more supportive shoes and ice it a bit.

Saturday 4/5
Rest!

Sunday 4/6
Long run: 7 miles (1:23:31)

Yay! This was a great run. I wrote a quick post about it here, so there's not much else to say. I went out a little fast, but let myself slow down and get back to a better pace. It was a beautiful day and I just felt happy after. My foot didn't hurt at all while running, but did during the walk breaks. I don't understand what could be going on and I don't really know what to do. Should I take a few days off? I have no desire to permanently injure myself.

5 Steps For an Enjoyable Long Run

1. Add a bunch of new Glee songs to your playlist. Play them over and over as many times as you want. Particularly these two:

(I dare you not to cry while watching that second video. Finn <3)

2. Include a run around the Charles River in your running route. I don't care how you have to get there, just do it!

3. Be a tourist in your own city. Stop and take photos because it's just too dang beautiful.

4. Realize half way through that once you're done this will be the longest you've run since your half marathon 3 years ago! Reminisce about the half...that will take at least 1 mile!

5. Bask in the joy of the fact that after 2 miles, your legs no longer hurt, and with a little concentration, you really can breathe through cramps.

7 miles done and done!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Happy Thursday! I just got back from a surprise show from Michael Rosenberg aka Passenger in Copley Square! So excited I work in the John Hancock Tower and could just run downstairs to watch. It is SO beautiful out today!!! Spring is FINALLY in the air!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't know who I'm talking, about he sings "Let Her Go", among many other beautiful songs.

And now, for a recipe! Each week when I meal plan I try to make a big batch of something that I can eat for a few lunches and a few dinners. This week, inspired by Tom & Liz's brunch side in NY last week, I decided to make a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.

This recipe is super easy to follow, healthy and very filling!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Recipe makes 4 servings
~ 400 calories/serving

Ingredients:

1 cup of dry quinoa

1 cucumber

Lots of cherry tomatoes (I used about 2/3 of a package)

1/2 a red onion

Black or kalamata olives (I used about 2/3 of a can)

4 tbs of a light Greek dressing of your choice (or you can use a homemade lemon juice/olive oil based dressing)

1 package of crumbled feta cheese (I used Athenos)

Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. If unwashed, wash quinoa thoroughly and cook according to package instructions (I did 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water and added salt)

2. While quinoa is cooking, chop cucumber, tomato, onion and olives and add to a large bowl

3. Add feta cheese to vegetables and mix with 2 tbs of dressing

4. Once quinoa is finished, add to bowl with 2 last tbs of dressing and a hefty pinch of pepper

5. Mix, chill and serve!

Easy peasy.

Last Weekend Recap and My Sister is Engaged!!!!

First things first, my older sister Liz got engaged last week!!!! I can't properly explain my excitement through words and am just so so so happy for her and her fiancee Marvin. They both deserve nothing but the best and I cannot wait for all of the wedding planning to ensue! Weeee!!

Me and Tom were planning to go to NY this weekend for Liz's 30th birthday party, so it was perfect timing to also celebrate the engagement. We left bright and early on Saturday morning and drove to Brooklyn where my sister lives. The trip took us about 4 hours and was pretty easy (at least for me, because I was in a Dramamine coma). I brought breakfast with me -- homemade muesli with granola, flax seeds and apples!

Liz had reserved a room at Palo Santo for her birthday brunch and invited a bunch of family and friends to join. Palo Santo is a small Latin American/Caribbean (according to Yelp) restaurant in Park Slope and had the perfect space for a private party. I absolutely loved the look and decor in the restaurant, and after reading about it on their website, I love it even more:

"Reclaimed material and architectural salvage were used for much of the building's renovation, with original details like the century-old wooden doors that hang in the restaurant entranceway. Multiple instillations by local artists are showcased throughout the interior and exterior design. Intricate subway-like mosaics serve as a back drop for the open kitchen.

The building’s rooftop is home to a small scale urban farm where vegetables are grown and organic waste is composted. Fresh herbs and evergreens grow in the small back garden where customers dine when the weather is warm."

I had no clue abut the garden...so cool!

At the party the staff served unlimited mimosas, sangria, beer and a few other drinks. I stuck to sangria most of the time -- it was fabulous! We spent the first hour or so drinking, mingling and of course, admiring Liz's gorgeous engagement ring.

(Love these photos!)

For food, everyone picked an entree and then we shared rice & beans and a chayote salad family style. I ordered the slow cooked pork and it was sooo good. We all loved the rice & beans too -- the rice was slightly sweet and so fluffy. We definitely tried to coerce the waitress into getting us the recipe!

After brunch the whole family went over to the Public House for more celebrations. Tom may have even gotten my dad to take a tequila shot! We spent a few hours hanging out, drinking, and snapping photos before calling it a night.

And what better way to end a day of drinking than with some New York pizza? When we got back to Liz and Marvin's apartment we ordered two pies and some garlic knots. I can't remember the last time I had a real piece of pizza (probably a few months ago?) and it was fantastic. We were all wiped out from the day, but some of us more than others, particularly those who fell asleep on the hardwood floor or were eating cheesecake out of the fridge with their hands :)

In the morning I went out for my 6 mile long run, then we got ready for another brunch! We went to Rose Water Restaurant just a few blocks from their apartment. We had about a 45 minute wait, but it was well worth it! I'm so jealous of all of New York's food and drink specials -- Boston really needs to step up it's game! Brunch at Rose Water was price fixed at $16 and included an entree and a special (non-alcoholic) drink. For my drink I ordered the apple ginger agua fresca (delicious) and for my entree I ordered the day's special: a prosciutto, fried egg, caramelized onion and swiss cheese sandwich with a side of pimento fries. We also ordered a side of bacon for the table.

I thought it was pretty funny that Marvin and I both ordered the special sandwich, and Liz and Tom both ordered the fish cake with poached eggs and quinoa salad.

Judging by all of our clean plates, I'm pretty sure we REALLY enjoyed the meal. My sandwich was amazing. My only complaint was that the bread was a little too crispy on top so the roof of my mouth hurt a bit for the rest of the day.

After brunch we walked around for a little while, then packed up our stuff to head home. I'm SO glad I got to spend my sister's 30th birthday with her AND celebrate her engagement with my family. It was short, but such a fantastic weekend!

CONGRATULATIONS LIZ AND MARVIN!!!!!

And just for fun...