Was lucky enough to get to grab lunch at the Midtown Global Market.  I was tempted by Manny's Tortas, for sure... but my heart really belongs to Vietnamese cuisine -- so Pham's Deli won out!

I love a good noodle bowl, so I selected the pork version... I wasn't expecting the sauce, but it was good.  I usually opt for a meat-free version, and I was kind of missing the fresh mint.  Darn.  Guess I'll have to go back.

Live jazz! Awesome!

Then (and unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture) I grabbed a chocolate Surly cupcake to take to my dad in the hospital.  (Recovering from a knee replacement.)  It was from Salty Tart bakery, and everything they had looked SO GOOD.

 Oh, and then I saw this purple house.

Food Truck Rodeo!

Today I experienced the Food Truck Roundup in downtown St. Paul.

It was delicious.

There they are... all lined up on Kellogg, across from City Hall!

It was about noon (they open at 11:30) and it was totally packed!

This is the Grateful Dog -- Hot Dog with sweet relish, mango chutney, and curry!

 

 

 

 (Also, from the GastroTruck: a Lemongrass soda.)

And no, I didn't just pick the Magic Bus because it was purple.

Do the Du!

Today was the first training session for the Minneapolis Duathalon.

It was also beautiful and gorgeous and I happened to wake up without the aid of an alarm with enough time to get ready.

So I ate, dressed, and loaded my bike into my car. (It still weirds me out a little to just take the wheel off... I'm concerned that one time I won't get it on quite right and it'll fall off while I'm riding.) Thankfully, I had plenty of time built in, because I never did find Peace Coffee (who had agreed to let participants use their parking lot.) -- Later I would discover that I was looking in the complete wrong neighborhood, but oh well, right?)

I hopped on the Greenway right off River road.

The Greenway is Awesome. Capital "A" Awesome.

So it was about 2.5 miles in to Freewheel Bike (a co-sponsor of the training.) They are the only business to have an entrance right off the greenway! They also have a cafe and WiFi and bathrooms and lockers and showers.... AND space you can rent to store a bike, AND a Metro Transit rack you can practice putting your bike on! Freewheel is pretty sweet.

My glorious steed!

So everything was done by time instead of mileage, which I appreciated because it meant I only got passed by everyone during the transitions. It was 15min run, 45min bike, 15min run. I did about 1 mile, then 8.5 miles, and 1 mile again. Tack on the 5 mile round trip to get there and back and it was a really great workout! (And in spite of forgetting sunscreen I didn't get burned. I got lucky.)

Pineapple Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. Nom.

I wrapped up the morning with brunch at the Birchwood. 

And now I'm a little wiped out! But in a good way.

To Duluth!! (Link-o-Rama!)

A whirlwind trip to Duluth this weekend.  I came into some surprise concert tickets -- and the show was awesome.  Every hotel within 20 miles was totally booked, and I am thankful that I have generous relatives who will let me crash in their cabin overnight.  Waking up to the sunshine over the lake -- priceless.  Almost enough for me to wish I drank coffee.  I bet that would just add to the enjoyment!

Then into Duluth for a run along the lakeshore on the boardwalk, followed by a delicious breakfast at At Sarah's Table Chester Creek Cafe.  Everyone should go there.  All the time.  I left a postcard to my friend's Fringe Festival show.  Everyone should go to that, too.  Seriously.

THEN a quick stop by the Park Point Art Fair, where I bought a spectacular photo from Pat Parnow Photography (the pear one under "fruits & veggies.")

Oh, and a few rousing games of Road Trip Bingo (thanks to an iPhone app) on the road home!

SO fabulous.

I am SO TIRED.

Hooray, Tony Awards!

So, this year I went to a bona-fide Tony Awards Viewing Party.  My date is pictured to the left there.  (Okay, not really... but she was one of my favorite parts of the night.  Seriously the teeniest kitty I have ever seen.)

First, the food was fabulous -- INCLUDING a delicious vegan artichoke dip.  I know, right?

Second, Neil Patrick Harris had the most awesome opening number and THEN mentioned IKEA.  And then I Tweeted about it, and then someone said that I was AWESOME!

Third, I managed to pick 12 of the winners on my Tony ballot.  I would have had more, but I was holding on to hope that "Book of Mormon" might relinquish their stranglehold and let "Scottsboro Boys" have a little glory.  No such luck.  However, I was UBER-happy that "War Horse" got a ton of recognition.  The puppetry looks incredible and I will HAVE to see it if it tours.

So... good food, good folks, cute kitty, great show... total awesomeness.

Best. Lunch. Ever.

I seriously had the best lunch ever this week.

Steak with garlic, ginger and lemongrass; a bell pepper, tomato, onion, and cucumber relish; plus Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley.

I mean, I know it's all good for me.  But it's also delicious!  Why don't I eat this well all the time?  Seriously?

Is it the Rapture?

Oh, SO many NEWs today.


First, I ran 12 miles. It took over 3 hours. I started in the rain, and then with less than a mile to go, when I finally felt dry -- downpour. Oh you are cruel, Mother Nature. (Also, if the end of the world was coming, couldn't it have come BEFORE I ran? That would have been nice.)

Noms.  Delicious, well-earned noms.

On to lunch at the Birchwood.  I indulged in a rhubarb bar with cream cheese frosting (better eat dessert first.  Heaven knows if the Rapture might come early.) Then I enjoyed a cup of cauliflower fennel soup and a tofu Thai sandwich.  Delicious as usual.  If I ate at the Birchwood every day, I'm pretty convinced that I could just sit on my butt all day and still lose weight.  Such great, good food.

The sky was blue when we arrived.

And then, for dinner -- Duplex on Hennepin.  The weather was looking a little inclement, but we opted to dine on the patio.  It was lovely.  I had a fabulous bison burger and fries, and then we split a Boston Cream Cake for dessert.






...and we didn't get rained on.


...nor were we Raptured.


All-in-all a great Saturday.

Delicious NEW!

Another delicious NEW today: Izzy's Grapefruit Mint Sorbet.

Nom. Nomnomnom.

It is finally gorgeous and I took my bike out for a spin today. (Some would say I didn't want to run. I would say I elected to do some cross training. Both are accurate.) Mid-way I decided to stop at one of my new favorite places: Java Train. As I re-filled my water bottle I decided to peruse their Izzy flavors, and couldn't resist trying the Grapefruit Mint Sorbet.

It was teh delicious, and definitely helped motivate me to finish my ride!

Oh, and something that is NOT new.... still not a great idea to head off on a ride without the padded bike shorts.

I'll learn one day.

Good Weather, Good Eats!

Today's NEW was Common Roots Cafe on Lyndale in Minneapolis.

The most impressive part for me was an info graphic they had posted about their commitments to local foods and reducing waste. Oh, and they have fantastic bagels. For real.

I had a egg, sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich on a whole wheat bagel. And the coolest part of that was that I got to choose bison or turkey sausage. Awesome.

Giving Is Awesome!

I just had the most fun ever shopping for the "Stamp Out Hunger" Postal Service food drive.

A few weeks ago the Boy Scouts were doing something similar, but I totally spaced it. So, maybe my enjoyment was due in part to my getting to squelch the guilt of missing out on that opportunity.

In any case, instead of pawing through my (not very stocked) cupboards -- I hit the local grocery store to buy all kinds of wonderfulness. I couldn't help but be reminded of the South Park Episode where Kenny wins a can of creamed corn to feed his family. I also vaguely remember elementary school food drives where we seemed to always donate the stuff we didn't want to eat ourselves. (Canned green beans were one of my favorite things to inflict on the needy.)

So in my bag: enriched penne and rotini, Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese, pineapple tidbits, tuna, garbonzo beans... and some more things I have forgotten.

Here's hoping I don't forget to put it out tomorrow!!

Mmmm... Pasta.

My family isn't great at holidays. I mean, the major ones (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, for example) are set -- but the smaller ones (Birthdays, Mother's Day, etc.) are a little more fluid. If we can gather to celebrate these events in the same moth in which they occur, we are doing really well.

Anyway, we celebrated Mother's Day on Tuesday -- a two-day delay being nearly unheard of!

We celebrated at the Olive Garden, a much-anticipated meal because I was hoping to partake in the pear gorgonzola pasta I'd seen advertised on the telly a few months ago. Of course, it was no longer on the menu. However, the Olive Garden doesn't disappoint! Their new Four Cheese Pastachettis (with italian sausage or chicken) are delicious. And because I enjoyed so many breadsticks, I was able to take the leftovers for lunch for two days! A great value.

Topping it off with a mini-dessert (Limoncello) was darn near perfect. I know that the whole "dessert shot" thing was hot a while ago, but the more often I'm given the option to NOT get a full slice of pie, or cake, or what have you... the more I realize that I only really require a couple bites of dessert. Give me a whole serving and I will eat it -- but I will be just as satisfied with less.

A lesson I think a lot of us could benefit from in all kinds of situations!

It's a Pancake!

Made of eggs and oats!

I know, weird right?

But delicious!!

I was given this recipe by my fab friend Kristin, who found it online here.

I haven't tried it with the banana or pumpkin, but Kristin prepares it that way all the time and says it's yummy. I'm just glad to have found another use for the applesauce I love to make!

It's really impressive... You know it's just oats and egg whites... but it becomes a pancake! It's like magic! Delicious, delicious magic. Plus it's hearty and keeps the hunger at bay for a good while.

Highly recommended!

Unsure...

Just... not... sure. I mean, they are delicious. But really? I mean, I still think it's wrong to have Peeps any time other than Easter -- so I can't really support other candy horning in on the Easter action...

...but then again, I love Starburst jelly beans.

Egg-In-Hole, but better!

Though I don't think I've ever had them, I have seen recipes for the traditional egg-in-hole (an egg fried in a bread "ring.") I found this recipe for "Bell Pepper Egg-In-Hole" and thought it sounded great. Plus, after a few months of oatmeal for breakfast I was looking for a change and something a little more "Springy."

I'm struggling a little with getting the whites done, but also having the yolk be a little runny. (I love yolk and toast!) However, I think I've given up and decided that peanut butter is just fine. It's really yummy and looks so cute in the pan!

(Too bad you have to flip it over.)

Also, my juice is super happy, too!

Pizza Time!

I love pizza. I was going to make some adorable food, but realized I had some pizza dough that had been chilling in the freezer for a long time.

This pizza features veggie sausage (also from the freezer) mushrooms, onions, and "leftover" bell pepper (from my awesome breakfasts -- to be detailed later.)

Cute Food!

Cute food is kind of a sort of craft, right? In any case, at BORDERS the other day I picked up Cute Yummy Time, a bento recipe book. I have oh so much bento things squirreled away, and I've kind of been lax in my "adorable lunch" making. So, one of the recipes sounded way yummy, and the tiger looked adorable too... so I was on board!

Everything went pretty well! The cooking, and the converting of brown rice into sushi rice... then it came to the decorating of the tiger. Now, in the author's recipe the whole thing is put into a single dish -- therefore you only have to make one (relatively large) tiger. In MY plan, I had to make five (small) tigers.

I gave up after the first one.

And after a not particularly well-executed one at that. I needed darker greens, and apparently a set of tweezers to place the decorations, and the rice was really sticky and making his little paws was hard...

...I hope it's delicious.

But fear not! I will not be discouraged! Next week I'm going to try Panda Tofu Soba Noodles!

Banana LOAF!

Finally! I have made a banana bread product in a loaf shape. (Thanks to a dear friend's noble sacrifice. She has doomed herself to a loaf-free existence... for me! *sniff*)

It's really tasty! I was going to bring it in to work, because I didn't think I could trust myself to have it in the house... but I think it will be okay!

Belated, but delicious.

All aboard the Java Train!

My friend and I stopped for brunch the other day... what you see pictured is Java Train’s special cornmeal waffles topped with a wild rice, cranberry, pecan and cinnamon-apple compote.

So. Yum.

And there was seriously a lot of wild rice on there!

(Okay, the wild rice was kind of a weird texture to have in this dish. But it was still tasty!)

I really had a great post idea...

Seriously.

Now I don't remember what it was.

As for the month in review, I think it went pretty well. I still have one more shopping trip planned with coupons, and will diligently enter my info once I get my bank statement. (I guess then I will see how well I did entering my receipts.)

I'm not convinced that these are behaviors I will stick to 100% of the time, but perhaps I will be more mindful going forward.

Now, the question of March... It is, legitimately, National Craft Month. I think I can get behind that. It is also National Nutrition Month. I did check out the new NEW food pyramid and their eating recommendations -- but that just seems like a lot of work, honestly. And seriously, I know I shouldn't be baking and eating treats all the time. I am a smart girl. (Or so I've been told.). I also have my next race of the series -- a 7k in celebration of all things lucky.

Then I look ahead to the half marathon.

And that really scares the pants off me.

Delicious Cheesecake Noms.

I have tried making cheesecake before... (Maple Cheesecake with Baked Pears) It was lovely, and delicious, but these cheesecakes were SO GOOD. Thanks again, Everyday Food. The recipe called for ginger cookies, but I already had Nilla wafers (and can't follow a recipe to save my life) so I used those. My crust pressing could definitely use some work, and I promise to do better next time. The filling was almond-flavored and tasty! "Unfortunately" the recipe only makes 10 cakes, and I had some filling left over -- so I had to eat it. Off the spatula. My life is hard.

They went over great, and I even got to eat one of the final product! I will be making these again.