Fig-tastic!
July 13, 2011 § 5 Comments
I was completely uninspired on Monday, when I stopped at Whole Foods for dinner supplies. I had just had a demanding day at work and exhausted myself in a hot yoga class…all I could think of with crawling into bed and sinking into the memory foam…and then I saw it – The first of the season basket o’ FIG! 
I get giddy every summer when I first see the first figs hit the produce stand at Whole Foods! Figs have such a short season, that I try to make the most of them before they disappear into the shriveled dried variety…or until I get completely figged out:)
Some of my favorite ingredients to pair with figs are goat cheese…and goat cheese! The two are a match made in heaven…the subtly sweet, juicy fig with the tart, salty, creamy goat cheese…YUM.
I usually make crostini by spreading goat cheese as the base, top with sliced fig and a drizzle of honey (wait…why didn’t I make that again???) I guess I was crostini’ed out after my party and all I could think of was a big green salad. And figs, of course.
I scoured the aisles with my new figgy inspiration and found some arugula, pancetta, and eggs (I typically keep the goat cheese in stock!) I came home and got to work and I present….
Figgy Goat Cheese Salad with Chickpeas
(serves 2)
4 cups arugula
2 large figs, sliced
1 oz goat cheese, crumbled
4-6 slices pancetta
1/2 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 eggs
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 TBS Raspberry vinegar
1TBS whole grain mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the pancetta lengthwise and crosswise into 1/2-inch squares and fry over medium heat. Meanwhile, mix up the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and toss with arugula. Once pancetta is done (about 2-3 minutes), add chickpeas until heated through and toss with arugula/dressing mixture. Divide into 2 bowls and top with sliced figs and crumbled goat cheese. In the same pan, fry up two eggs to over-easy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place atop of the salad.
Supah fast and easy summer salad, Enjoy!
Strawberry Party
July 12, 2011 § 2 Comments
Seattle is one of those cities where the food industry is a top attraction, but perhaps more importantly, seasonal and local ingredients are really celebrated on restaurant menus and are a popular topic of discussion. I see so many Seattle-ites covet the local berry season. So what better ingredient for my big Summer party I was planning!
I hosted said party last weekend…a cook-off where each person or couple had to bring a dish to be voted on. The kicker…everyone had to incorporate a secret ingredient to be revealed a few days before the big event. With berry season in its peak here in Seattle, I chose strawberries!
When I sent the evite out to a several different group of friends, I was overwhelmed with the response…I had about 25 reply yes! (sidenote…when I lived in California, I remember talking with my friend Sara about how we wanted to get a party bus to go out in San Francisco…but we didn’t know enough people to fill one…and we had been living there over a year!) I rented my building’s party room and it was so much fun to have different groups of friends all gather in one place (and hopefully they made a few new friends!)
I was really excited to see (and taste!) what everyone would come up with and was hoping we would have a good mix of sweet and savory…although I wouldn’t have been too bummed if we wound up with 12 desserts!
My contribution was Strawberry Chevre Crostini and Mickey made pulled lamb sliders (that he cooked for 5 hours!) tossed in a strawberry pepper glaze and topped with strawberry-onion jam. (My photos are a bit blurry as I was rushing around and forgot to change the settings on my camera…visit Emily’s post for MUCH better food photos!)
Other contributions included strawberry thyme lemonade, strawberry gazpacho, strawberry pesto pasta salad, chicken with strawberry pepper sauce, chicken strawberry walnut balls, chicken tacos with strawberry salsa, strawberry avocado salsa with homemade tortilla chips, strawberry guacamole, strawberry doughnuts with lemon glaze, strawberry daiquiri pie…ok I think you get the point! There were over 15 dishes to try and all were fantastic!
I had a really hard time voting! The winners were:
Best Presentation – Strawberry Gazpacho
Best Tasting – Chicken Tacos with Strawberry Salsa
Most Interesting – Chicken Strawberry Walnut Balls
I had so much fun that I am hoping to make it a quarterly event.What will the secret ingredient be for Fall…oh the possibilities!!!
Upcoming Reviews and Shenanigans
July 11, 2011 § 1 Comment
I’m completely overloaded at work, but please check back soon for some upcoming reviews…
Yoga For Hope
Summer Cook-off Party
White Water Rafting Adventures
Recent Hikes
New Recipes
See you soon with some fun posts!
Another Month of Lulu!
June 28, 2011 § 2 Comments
GREAT NEWS! You now have 4 more chances to experience a free Sunday yoga class with us Mountain Flow-ers at Lululemon in University Village.
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We had so much fun teaching in June (and clearly because we rock!) Lululemon has extended the opportunity to us to host July’s classes!
Allison, Jill, Tess and I will be teaching and assisting the 60 minute Sunday morning 9:30 classes on:
- July 10th
- July 17th
- July 24th
- July 31st
Come flow with us! (and then hit up the shops because you will likely have an awesome parking spot!!)
Lululemon Fitness Extravaganza
June 23, 2011 § 1 Comment
Who doesn’t love a refreshing 2 hour workout to kick-off their Sunday morning?!
I can’t think of anything better, except perhaps sleeping in and eating pancakes…BUT…with a capital B – U – T…this is an amazing opportunity to get out there and support a local charity and get a fantastic, sweaty and rejuvenating workout in the meantime. Win-win. And you can go shopping after. Win.win.win!
And I promise Tina Templeman will make sure you are enjoying every moment and creating your energy with her purposeful, energizing and FUN yoga teaching skillz!
[source]
- lululemon athletica Bellevue Square Mall
- Sunday, June 26, 2011
- 8:30 to 10:30am.
This 2-hour fitness extravaganza will benefit the Kindering Center - a local organization that supports children (and their families) who have mental and/or physical challenges. The event is free, however, donations will be accepted with all proceeds going to Kindering.
Lululemon Ambassadors are hosting the event which will include a yoga warm up with Tina Templeman of Be Luminous Yoga, followed by circuit training with Christine Ianni of Fly Fitness and Kristen Scally, a fitness bootcamp leader. The 2-hour class will end with a cool down by Brian Charlton of Bala Yoga.
And if this event doesn’t work out…I’ll be assisting a yoga class with Mountain Flow Yoga Teacher, Tess Tabor at lululemon in University Village at 9:30am, Sunday, June 26, 2011.
Yoga Sunday for all. Join us. Do it!
Wild Rice Stuffed Pepper
June 16, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I am feeling great these days!
I am now half-way through the cleanse and after about a week of blah, low-energy days, my energy is back in full force! I asked the RD why I was feeling such a low and she explained that it sometimes takes that long for the body to recover find its own energy source rather than depend of caffeine.
Week 2 of the cleanse eliminates all meat and legumes, which are harder for our bodies to digest. SO what am I eating??! I am up to two protein shakes per day, which gives me about 60 total grams of protein. I get the rest from a variety of vegetables, grains and nuts. I still have the breakfast smoothie and a salad-based lunch, but now for dinner I am having another smoothie (made with less added calories) and some type of veggie or grain/veggie side.
One of my favorites this week was a wild rice stuffed pepper. We’ve also made a big pan of various roasted vegetables and a simple cabbage soup.
Wild Rice Stuffed Pepper
serves 2
- Approximately 1 cup of cooked wild rice or rice blend
- 5 large button mushrooms (diced)
- 1 jalapeno (seeded and diced)
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- dash of cayenne
- salt and pepper to taste
Cherry Basil Soft Serve
June 13, 2011 § 4 Comments
Weekends are for adventure and relaxation.
I need a balance of both exciting and low-key to decompress from the work week and to rejuvenate for the week ahead. Our usual weekend ritual consists of a Friday date night and one day of adventure and one day of responsibilities and relaxation. We typically go out for dinner on Friday nights and splurge on multiple plates, multiple glasses of wine and of course, dessert.
With this whole cleanse thing…our Friday night was…different, but not in a bad way! We stayed in and cooked a really nice meal at home (though said meal would have been even better with a glass or two of a nice red!) Aaaad, I even made dessert!!! This dessert was fantastic!
Cherry Basil Soft Serve
serves 2
- 2 frozen bananas
- 1 cup frozen cherries
- a few leaves of fresh basil
- splash of milk (to get things going)
Add all ingredients to a food processer or high speed blender and go! You will have to scrape down the sides a few times depending on the power of your food processor or blender. It will be worth the effort, I promise!
As for adventure and rejuvenation…I practiced yoga, went hiking, cleaned my apartment, and did a lot of cooking (and blending!) I plan to rejuvenate further this week with a spa treatment!
