Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sometimes the Weekend is so Satisfying

It's been quite the in my corner of the world! Maybe not happening, but I've found the last few days to be delicious. The first awesome aspect of weekend was that I felt so much better than earlier in the week, when I ended up taking a couple of days off work due to sickness. Yuck. I feel vastly better, so much so that I made it out for not one, but two runs and did some really yummy-feeling yoga. Huzzah!

The Best Husband Ever started Saturday out in our usual tradition: sharing pastries in a local bakery over a game of Scrabble. Yesterday we went to Bernice's Bakery, a favorite spot that we haven't visited in a few weeks. We both tried new treats. He went for a apple cheese danish, which I tasted. I liked the apple/cheese combination, but as danishes tend to gross me out in general, it's not something I would choose. Instead, I opted to try a new treat, a blueberry cream cheese croissant, the sister of one of my favorite Bernice's holiday items, the pumpkin cream cheese croissant. The blueberry croissant was a lovely blend of sweet and savory, and bread part of the croissant found the perfect harmony of what all good croissants are: buttery, moist, and flaky. Yum!

Of course I had to snap some "before" and "during" shots of our treat day. On this particular morning, I attracted the attention of another customer, who commented to his friend that I was photographing my food. I told him that I write a food blog, which made him think that my actions were purely professionally motivated. Feeling a little silly, I tried to explain that Kitchen Courage isn't quite a "professional publication," although I would love it to be in the future. Do you ever experience moments of embarrassment when caught being a super foodie blogger? I felt like a big nerd, but also simultaneously proud of my blog-related efforts. Anyway, it was an interesting encounter. The hubby and I finished our intense game of Scrabble without any further interruptions, with him beating me by a slim but skillfully managed margin of four points. I think my choking wail of defeat may have disturbed the brunch-time munchings of some of our fellow customers.

Next we headed over to a local specialty running shop, where I entered my first-ever 5k race!! I'm excited but also nervous. I'm afraid of embarrassing myself, but I think that I'll be able to put in a non-shameful showing at the very least. On Friday I ran just over 5k in roughly 30 minutes, and I've also run for longer. Today I put in just under 5 miles in about 40-45 minutes (I forgot to check the clock when I started). So at the end of March, I will experience my first running event. Wish me luck with the training and racing!

After shopping for some new Chacos with the Best Husband Ever, we returned home for lunch and a little Angel on DVD (yes, we're Joss Whedon buffs). I had a most excellent and satisfying round of lunch recipe creation and consumption, which I wrote about yesterday. Remember how I said that I liked my Indian scrambled eggs so much that I ate them for both lunch and dinner. Well, I had them again today for lunch. We'll see if I'll be able to resist eating them again for Sunday dinner!

The weather this weekend has been absolutely gorgeous. Not only was I able to get out for a nice run today, but the hubby and I took our pups out for a hike yesterday. This warm weather is ridiculous -- nearly 40*F in February? From my memory, that seems unheard of for western Montana! I almost wish it would stop being so nice in these short spurts because each round of beautiful warmth gets my hopes up that spring is here to stay. It's probably a result of foul global warming, but I'll enjoy it while it's here nonetheless. Because it's been so warm and sunny, the snow and ice are melting off the mountains, making for some happily non-slidy (I always fall on the ice when I'm out on the trails) but extraordinarily muddy hiking. Thankfully, I love the mud! Our dogs, Cody and Jackson, do, too, I think. Do you?

As if all that wasn't enough, I also helped end world hunger. Well, sort of. I submitted this amazingly delicious and healthy vegetarian balsamic-roasted beet salad for the BloggerAid cookbook, the proceeds of which will benefit the United Nations' World Food Programme:

Want the recipe? Well, you'll just have to wait until the cookbook comes out! If you have a unpublished, self-created recipe that you'd like to contribute to the cookbook, just visit the BloggerAid site and follow the directions there. The deadline to donate a recipe is February 12, so don't delay if you want to be involved. I know that I'll probably purchase my own copy of the cookbook when it's published because I've seen fellow bloggers contribute some truly tasty-looking items, like these avocado corn muffins. Yum!

So it was quite the weekend. Even though it seemed like a lot happened, it also felt really restful. I wouldn't say no to another day off, but I feel ready to take on the work week. And it's a week ending in a three day Valentine's weekend! That can't be a bad thing. How was your weekend? I hope that you had some sweetness, sunshine, snoozing, and time with the sweeties in your life.

Don't forget to comment on this post if you'd like a coupon for a discount on Quaker's True Delights granola bars!

3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for your submission to the cookbook and for raising awareness. Your recipe will be a great assett!!!!

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  2. That is so exciting! What 5K are you running? And don't worry, they are really fun :)

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  3. It's the Wheat Montana 5k! Lauren might be running it, too. Are you excited for her visit?

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"I am glad you are here with me."
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King