Ahhh, I love my Friday! That’s right, I am DONE with work for two whole days! My dad’s birthday is tomorrow, so I’ll be spending the next two days with the parental unit, spoiling him like crazy. Wait, I also get to have indian food and beer when I take him out for his birthday lunch? I didn’t know that! What an unexpected surprise!
As always, I started my day with a Monsta!
2 cups of spinach, 3/4 a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/3 a banana, 1/4 a cup of frozen cherries, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.
I woke up ridiculously perky, and ready to get back on the trails! We did the same trail as yesterday, and I brought my camera to document.
The marine layer was thick, and the air was very chilly and lovely. We hiked 2.86 miles in about an hour, and took our time to enjoy the views.
After the hike, I had a mini-lunch of protein pasta:
This was some Barilla Plus with marinara sauce and a little goat cheese.
This mini-lunch was followed by… ANOTHER mini-lunch!
THIS was whole wheat pasta with bell pepper, spinach, zucchini, marinara sauce and more goat cheese. The first pasta was protein, this was whole wheat. Total balance :).
A little fro-yo seemed necessary after the sweaty hike up the hill, and the double serving of hot pasta!
A small chocolate, peanut butter and cake batter yogurt, topped with strawberries, brownie bits and cookie dough.
Today was…. wait for it…. FARMERS’ MARKET DAY!!! Prepare yourselves: picture overload ahead:
ORANGE and YELLOW raspberries?? Why were they not offering samples? I’m dying to try them!
So many flowers!
Carrot overload and fresh corn. I love summer!
So many flowers!
Local and organic: My favorite way to buy!
We picked up a bunch of different veggies, fruits and fresh eggs for upcoming recipes:
Spinach, mixed baby greens, potatoes, parsley and oregano, broccoli, corn, a massive onion, strawberries, fresh eggs and honey.
I’m very confused… the last time I made my chimichurri sauce, I requested oregano, but I think they gave me marjoram, because today the vendor gave me something I didn’t recognize. Any input? Can you tell if this is oregano or marjoram (14th picture down – I couldn’t link the specific picture) ? HELP!
For dinner I made Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder with all the fresh farmers’ market ingredients. Yes, this is a Weight Watchers recipe that I stumbled across, but it’s a good one!
Some adjustments I made to the recipe: I used unsweetened soymilk instead of regular milk, used 6 small potatoes instead of 1 yukon, added a little more celery and red bell pepper than recommended, and DRENCHED it with TJ’s Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce. This recipe took a total of 20 minutes to make, including husking the corn!
All of the ingredients were fresh from the market, and made the soup taste like it was JUST picked, which it probably was :).
I had to scarf down a bowl of this soup in 5 minutes in order to get to work on time. I still wound up a few minutes late. Whoops. I figured a small gelato would help me get over my tardiness-guilt.
This had rocky road, mint chocolate chip, and amaretto chocolate chip. It filled all the air-holes in my stomach from eating the chowder so fast. Yes, I had two frozen desserts today! Yes, it was so worth it!
Work consisted of packing boxes, unpacking even more boxes, and a friend stopped by to hang out and help me pass the time without going completely crazy. Before I knew it, I was headed home. At home, I was welcomed by something that I NEVER have… WINE!
This is Brochelle Rose. It’s a known fact that I do not like wine. That is, I didn’t like it until I met this wine!
Me gusta mucho! I find that red wines are too heavy, white wines are too vinegary, but this is a perfect blend of soft and sweet, and almost feels like it has a little carbonation!
I had two glasses of the wine, watched two episodes of Glee, and am now ready to spend the next two days spending some quality time with the parental unit, enjoying their lovely company. Have I mentioned yet that I have the best parents? It’s just a fact. Yeah.
Any big plans for your weekends? If you need ideas, I recommend painful hikes and bike rides!
🙂
This weekend I am babysitting for the little girl I used to nanny for. I haven't seen her in two months and I am soo excited!! Then on Sunday, hopefully my husband and I are going to the beach… well it's a lake but there is a beach there!
That's some fine wine to start out with. It's all downhill from here! 😉
@Katie @ Healthy Heddleston
Ahhh, I absolutely love lakes! There is nothing more peaceful than a quiet lake in the early morning with a steaming mug of coffee. Enjoy it and take pictures! I can't wait to see 🙂
@Anonymous
I agree with you, but I'm willing to test the waters!
Yea, I don't really like wine either.
Love the farmer's market pics… Enjoy!! Thanks for sharing!!!
@Nicole
There's nothing better than farm-fresh fruits and veggies 🙂
@Justin
I think it's something that you have to learn about in order to appreciate it, similar to beer.
I must try that wine you mentioned. I will also leave you with a recommendation – Rose Regale. It's an Italian wine that is AMAZING!
(also I like muscat wines … and the winery up by my parents, Quady Wines, has many good ones if you like sweet wine.)
@Angelique
I don't know if I like sweet wines yet, but I'm willing to try! I'll write down Rose Regale and look for it :).