Started Monday with the November Project. Casual 8 mile run, 5 minutes of wall jumps and planks, 7 minutes of burpees. BG said to be impressive. I think we nailed it.
I also nailed my shin. See that wall below? I left some skin there. It's cool. No tears allowed. Just high fives and good vibes.
Bought these Lululemon tights. Black mesh panels? Come at me. I will wear them to yoga and I will wear them to the office (yup).
Walked Memorial Drive to Meadhall. 7:30pm looked phenomenal. Boston, you are phenomenal.
Ate hyper-local kale (ugh I feel pretentious just typing that, ugh I'm the worst) at The Sinclair with new friends.
And found this remix. Very much a summer Sunday long run jam. 10 miles down, volume up.
I'm back in Boston after Denver, between travel for Thanksgiving and travel for Christmas, and before all of the travel that's going down in 2014 (stay tuned, y'all). And I am so glad that I am here, because the air is cold, the city is lit up and dressed up for the holidays, and there are people to meet, things to eat, and so much to be grateful for:
- My very first Hanukkah. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the blazing menorah last night. Well, there was actually more than one.
Is four menorahs too many? I thought it was just right. And then we ate latkes and applesauce and everyone shared funny dating stories. Please note that these were not my first latkes - in fact, I went through a latkes-making phase a few years ago - but it was very much my first Hanukkah. It was lovely.
- Ladies' Brunch from The Toast. This satire of brunch planning is a few months old and I only just read it, but oh I am so glad that I did. It's a little terrifying but um also kinda sorta true. Instagram makes us do crazy things.
"Is Williamsburg cute? I feel like it’s all flannel wearing guys lol no
offense just not my type. BUT Brooklyn might be fun and like cute for
instagrams."
- And speaking of Brooklyn, you've seen the trailer for season three of Girls, right? It's kickass (as all trailers for Girls are), but more importantly THAT SONG. It's Ways to Go by Grouplove.
The music video is a little weird. I'm not so sure what I just watched. It's cool. Just go with it.
- And, while latkes and music videos and brunch are all super important, there's other stuff happening too. I've been thinking about the holidays and why they typically don't mean health. We have the chance to spend time at home and spend time with the people we love most... why can't those experiences be connected to wellness? Why do we have to wait until New Year's Day to start living our healthiest, happiest lives? Let's not wait until 2014. And while we're at it, let's not wait until next month or next week or tomorrow either.
So this is what I'm down for: I'm down to kick my own ass (the last three days: Core Fusion Barre at Exhale, spin at Recycle Studio, and Hip Hop Yoga at Back Bay Yoga). I'm down to get up at 5:30am to run. I'm down to come up with answers to the hard questions. I'm down to get outside and to get moving. I'm down to buy plane tickets. I'm down to make my goals more real and more specific and to create and invest in the circumstances and relationships that will support my goals.
Today, I was walking across the Public Garden and I saw the palest rainbow above Beacon Hill. No else seemed to see it. In that moment, I thought maybe I was the only one I could see it. Now I know that's silly. But the park was empty and so was Beacon Street and there was the rainbow. So I started walking towards it.
Here's the truth: I'm down to (literally and figuratively) chase some rainbows. Because, for all of my realism and all of my practicality, I believe that there are pots of gold and I believe that wonderful things can happen. They're already happening.
Last weekend in Denver, we ate everything. I do not exaggerate. We ate everything.
One of my favorites was our late brunch at Wild Eggs. Guys. Have you been to Wild Eggs? The only way I can describe the menu is that it is brunch's greatest hits. Strawberry pancakes, crepes, huevos rancheros... Everything sounds delicious.
I ordered the Kelsey KY Brown: roasted turkey, bacon, tomato, and a fried egg piled on sourdough bread (Mornay sauce on the side, and I added another egg and spinach).
And oh yeah, we split a cinnamon roll too.
I got back to Boston and I wanted more brunch. I bought Canadian bacon, tomatoes, eggs, and spinach. I liked the idea of a complete little breakfast in a ramekin, so I baked the eggs. Three days and five recipes later, I nailed it.
Guys. Do you have any idea how much Canadian bacon I've eaten in the last three days? It was a big sacrifice. I really took one for the team.
I added spinach at Wild Eggs and it was awesome, but I couldn't get it right here. If you really want spinach, I say saute it and serve it on the side. I just feel weird about baking spinach. I tried several times (with raw spinach, wilted spinach, and lightly wilted spinach) and it doesn't work for me. The bacon though? It works. Oh yeah. It really works for me. I just can't get enough.
Baked Egg with Tomato and Canadian Bacon
1 egg
2 slices tomato
1 slice Canadian bacon
1/4 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for greasing the ramekin
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a ramekin with olive oil (my ramekins are 3.5 inches in diameter).
Heat a pan with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook the Canadian bacon about one minute per side or until it's just cooked through. Drain the bacon well on paper towels and pat dry.
Layer the bacon and tomato in the ramekin. You can cut the bacon and tomato to fit the ramekin, but I just fold them to fit. Crack the egg and pour it on top. You can crack the egg into another bowl and pour it on top or crack it directly into the ramekin, whatever you're comfortable with. Sprinkle salt and pepper according to your taste on top.
Place the ramekin on a baking sheet on the top rack in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the white of the egg is set and opaque and the yolk is done to your liking. I like the yolk at 16 minutes - it firms up but still has a liquidy center. Eat immediately!
We went to brunch this morning at Catalyst. I chose it purely based on proximity to Harvard Square and the Head of the Charles Regatta. I also chose it because this is on the menu:
Banana bread with peanut butter Nutella. I was all kinds of hungry and tired. These carbs, plus coffee, made me feel human again.
I had the breakfast burrito, stuffed with fresh salsa, pulled chicken, and avocado. Zero complaints. Zero. And it came with these potatoes. Beautiful, aren't they?
The potatoes are not that big in real life. I blame the zoom button on my camera.
I was over breakfast potatoes long ago. However, these potatoes are game-changing. Butter. salt. pepper. A little parsley. Oh yeah. And would you just look at that cute little cast-iron pan?
The restaurant itself is super cool: It's a big, light-filled space with mid century modern chairs and a two-way fireplace. I thought the glass light fixtures were abstract representations of grapes, until I realized that they are atomic chains. That makes a lot more sense. Can you tell that I wasn't a chemistry major?
After brunch, we walked to Harvard Square and found a spot to sit. And sit we did. The view was good and the weather was even better.
When I got home hours later, I had only a few things on my to-do list. Put pajamas on. Watch the Real Housewives of Orange Country. And, for my 6am pre-workout snack tomorrow morning, make another round of Super Bars. This time, they're gingersnap. A 1/4 teaspoon of ginger brings a kick and the sliced almonds make the bars a little crunchy. I know I'm supposed to save them for tomorrow morning. But I'm going to sneak a bite anyway.
Gingersnap Super Bars
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup tightly packed pitted unsweetened dates
3 heaping tablespoons nut butter (I used Justin's Almond Butter)
Mix the coconut, almonds, and spices.
Grind the dates in a food processor or coffee grinder for 30 seconds or until they form a rough paste (I grind
the dates a 1/4 cup at a time). Add the date paste to the coconut
mixture. Then add the nut butter tablespoon by tablespoon, mixing well
with your hands. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs and should
be very sticky to the touch.
Press the mixture into a glass pan lined with aluminum foil or into a
foil disposable pan (I like the loaf pan size). Smooth the top and
refrigerate at least two hours.
The details: Labor Day weekend brunch. Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe. Eggs all around, plus an order of banana walnut griddlecakes. We added chocolate chips. Good move on our part.
In my world, there are pajama brunches. I didn't choose the theme. But, let's be honest, I'm so into themes. I put on my prettiest pair of pajamas, slapped an apron on top, and made pancake batter. So, when the guests arrived and they weren't wearing pajamas... well, about five minutes later, everyone was stripping off their jeans and putting on pajamas. If we're going for a theme, we're going all the way.
In my world, there's always ice cream. Even when it's twenty-five degrees outside. Because a good dinner with a good friend should always be followed with ice cream from Christina's.
In my world, there are a million excuses to bake. Birthdays. Holidays. Celebrations. Or seeing two kinds of Valrohna chocolate at the grocery store.
Hence the birth of Very Chocolate Cookies. They're dense. They're serious. There's milk chocolate... there's white chocolate... all rolled into a dark chocolate cookie.
Doesn't your world need some chocolate cookies?
Very Chocolate Cookies
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate pieces
3/4 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the butter and sugar with a fork until fluffy. Add the
eggs one by one and the vanilla extract, mixing well after each
addition.
Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, and baking soda in a separate
bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture all at once
and mix well. Add the chocolate pieces and stir to combine.
Scoop out two tablespoonfuls of batter at a time and form into a cookie
shape. Place each on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 3 - 4 minutes then use a spatula
to lift them off the sheet. Makes approximately 20 cookies.
At 11am, the eggs are in the pan. I turn off the hip hop -- playing at full volume -- and put on the Big Chill soundtrack.
Wait. Let me back up.
I was out of bed at 7:45am, stumbling to the kitchen to pour muffin batter into tins before I turned the lights on or brushed my teeth.
The next three hours and fifteen minutes were busy. The kitchen -- walls covered in notes and to do lists just like a war room -- turned into the nerve center of all activity. I baked oatmeal muffins, topping them with a little cinnamon sugar. I showered, made a coffee run (for myself and for a cardboard carrier of hot coffee), and arranged flowers. Apron tied on tight, I piled apple slices and grapes on a platter, side by side with homemade granola and containers of yogurt. I pulled out Maida Heatter's spectacular recipe for blueberry crumble and I layered blueberries, brown sugar, butter, and oats in a glass dish. I lay strips of bacon and breakfast sausage in my grill plan and poured eggs in the skillet.
At 11:15, the first guest arrived. And for the next four hours, we ate. And chatted. And drank coffee. And ate.
Sorry, there are no photos. We ate it all.
The menu:
Scrambled eggs, bacon, and Formaggio Kitchen breakfast sausage Oatmeal Raisin Muffins
Cranberry-Almond Granola [recipe coming soon!] and yogurt
Maida Heatter's Blueberry Crumble
Fruit platter, coffee, orange juice
