Comfort Food
My mom is a New Orleans native, so I’m not stranger to shrimp and grits. When I came across a recipe that combined the two I KNEW I had to try it.
Confetti Shrimp + Grits, compliments of Kath
I’d like to think I’m a shrimp-peeling pro, but in the presence of my mom, that belief is continuously rebuked. I got them done quickly enough and popped them into a pan of olive oil. At one point they started making this screaming noise, which really creeped me out…
A few veggies later and I was chowing down on a slightly sweet, slightly cheesey bowl of comfort food.
Kath promised my grits would taste like “sweet cornbread” and she was so right!
This meal really got me excited to eat fresh New Orleans shrimp in a couple of months!
By the way, any one know the difference between grits and polenta? I have a feeling they’re the same thing… The best part about this dinner? It tasted like Southern comfort food, BUT I didn’t feel weighed down afterward AT ALL
After dinner, I made breakfast (HUH?!) For tomorrow (today) this is. Wednesday’s traditional VOO’s but with a twist. I tried using Greek yogurt last week and was left with a bland bowl of mush. This week I wanted to try a flavored yogurt — Brown Cow’s Cream Top Maple with Brown Sugar on the Bottom
Trust me, this picture is better looking than the actual VOO’s were, although they tasted awesome! I picked this yogurt + 3 others up at the grocery this weekend because Joey had never tasted a cream top, gasp! I was telling a story about how my family used to buy whole milk and we would fight over who got to eat the cream off the top, to which Joey responded “Like that waxy part?” NO!!! I used half of this yogurt in the oats and gave the rest to Joey. He declared that it was “bomb” 🙂
I then proceeded to beg Joey to let me come on his run with him — he was doing a 3-miler — but he told me no because I’d already ran 4 miles. Uh oh someone has the running bug BAD!
I am now sipping my first ever Kombucha tea — GT’s Trilogy
It’s nothing like what I expected! It was super fizzy and has a gingery carbonated taste. Hmmm I’m not sure how I feel about it but we’ll see how it makes me feel!
Half Marathon Decision:
A day late, but better late than never, right?
To be honest, I don’t even know what sparked this desire. It may have something to do with how fabulous morning runs have been making me feel and the fact that my awful inner-arch blister is FINALLY healed enough to run comfortably but I realized I want to push myself towards a new running goal. Joey has really inspired me by sticking to his training plan so well and when I looked at the training guide for a novice wanting to run a half marathon I was surprised by how simple and do-able it looked! Sure, 10 miles seems like a lot right now (that’s the maximum mileage I’ll reach during training), but I can work my way up to that. I’ve realized that running is much more a mental challenge for me. My body feels awesome and I know I’m physically capable of running 13.1 miles, now I need to convince my brain of the same.
I’ll be following Hal Higdon’s training guide, which is a 12-week program but I’m thinking of re-working it considering I’ll be on vacation a couple times in the end of July/beginning of August
Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon, here I come!
Tempting Tempeh
My first experience eating tempeh was a little disappointing. We cooked in into a curry dish but I kept adding salt to boost up the flavor of the tempeh. After eating that mouth-watering tempeh burger from Avo’s I decided to give cooking it on my own another try.
TLT Sandwich from 101 Cookbooks
I marinated the tempeh before leaving for school so it had all day to soak up flavors of the brown sugar, soy sauce and adobo sauce — it was SUPER tasty!
Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, season with olive oil and brown sugar and pop them in the oven on 350 for ~45 minutes. I wanted to leave mine in the oven for longer so they would shrink up more but the 45 minutes was up and I was STARVING so out they came.
The tempeh just needs to be cooked in a pan for a few minutes on each side — I just waited till I was sure it was hot on the inside. Then I mashed half an avocado and popped 3 slices of bread in the toaster (I wanted my open face, but next time I’ll eat it closed face so as to avoid the mess I made by dropping tomatoes all over the couch!). Layering went as follows: bread, avocado, lettuce, tomaotes, tempeh, tomatoes.
Every ingredient in this sandwich was packed with flavor, yet they all meshed really well together. The tempeh had a spicy kick and the tomatoes were just sweet enough, it was awesome 😀
Paired with kiwi, blackberries and raspberries, mmm fresh fruit in the summer!
Joey went closed-face (and still made a mess, he he)
I fell asleep dreaming of the two “Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion Cupcakes” I had left in the fridge and woke up knowing I had to have one on my oats. But first, a 4-mile run done in 30 minutes!! I wore Joey’s Garmin and couldn’t believe I was running at such a fast pace. My best mile was #3 @ 8:35. For comparison most my miles in the Bolder Boulder were ~10:30 so I was super proud of myself this morning. I deserved these dessert oats!
With Mixed Berry Compote and some blazing morning sun.
Off to continue week 4 of my 5 week long summer class!
Please enjoy this email sent to me by my uncle, concerning the trip I’ll be taking to New Orleans in August.
I noticed on your blog that most, if not all of your “Good Food” is healthy food…sorry, but that will not be the case with this itinerary. It includes a lot of butter, and deep fried batter, and generally things that taste really good but will eventually kill you. It can include running, which is how I offset the diet-related increased mortality rate down here.
With that in mind, I fully expect you to include something from this trip on your blog…and not a watered down candy-ass Colorado version!
How do you eat when you’re on vacation? I try not to go too crazy but when in Rome!
Father’s Day Fare & The First Day of Summer
Did I mention I have an older brother named Gabe? He’s my half brother but I whole love him, he he. And I love when he opens up his home for our Father’s Day celebration, as was the case yesterday. He lives in Longmont with his wife, Nikki and son, Gennaro — we call him G, G-baby, Geezy, etc. Their house is PERFECT. It reflects their personalities so well and it just feels so homey 🙂
The children of the future can surf the web at 16-months old, ha ha
Dad was master of the grill
Oh Whole Foods, thank you for providing juicy turkey burgers for those who cannot eat beef burgers 😦
More internet surfing ensued — I showed Gabe my blog and assured him he’d be appearing in it. Then it was time to eat!
Open face turkey burger topped with fresh tomato, cucumber salad, potato salad, pasta salad
Gotta love the ketchup and mustard!
DROOOL — this pasta salad was awesome! Fact: I have an incredibly talented brother. Not only is he a fabulous artist (he blows glass for a living, how cool is that?!) but he’s also an amazing cook! He whipped up this tasty pasta salad with fresh dill from their own garden, yum fresh herbs!
Father-son bonding
G did not feel like cooperating for the generational picture
I know it’s Father’s Day but here’s to some great mothers as well 🙂
I woke up to find a near empty PB jar in the pantry, JOY!! Enter steel-cut oats + almond milk + berries
Organic raspberries and blackberries were a dollar a piece yesterday, score!
Nikki made sure I went home with some of their home-grown lettuce and the rest of that delicious pasta salad, which I paired together for lunch
+ some cannellini beans that we had in the fridge
I’ll leave you with two things:
- Pictures of G enjoying one of my “Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion Cupcakes”
Now there’s a child after my own heart. I’m proud to call him my nephew 😛
2. My announcement that I’m going to run a half marathon!! More on that tomorrow
Happy First Day of Summer!
Lauren Loves Good Food 