First: Roasted beet salad with young goat cheese (sooo creamy), grapefruit, tuscan kale, pistachio pesto, sherry vinegar.

Dare I say this is the best salad combination I’ve ever had…must. recreate.

Second: Tufoli calabrese – six hour smoky pork ragu, mozzerella di bufala, broccolini, basil, olive oil bread crumbs.

I love trying simple dishes like red sauce/meat/pasta combinations and this one hit the spot. Little known fact about me…I once visited a buffalo mozarella farm in Italy on an agricultural economics tour back in my college glory days.

Dessert: Salted caramel budino with dark chocolate crust, vanilla bean caramel and sea salt.

OMG. That is all

Restaurant week or not, Barbuzzo is a must-try.  And the budino is a drool-worthy-must-post-to-instagram.

Heyyyyya.  I know all my readers love peanut butter (and jelly) and probably love it way more than Valentine’s day, right? [raising my hand, jumping up and down]  Well, this V-day, Philabundance is holding a Spread the Love with PB&J fundraiser.  By donating just $25, you give some lovin’ to those in need…83 meals to be exact.  Plus, you’ll be entered to win a $500 US Airways voucher or a 7 night stay in the Caribbean with Elite Island Resorts.  Can’t beat that for a good deed done!  Click the badge on my homepage or here to give a little love.

Can’t spare $25?  Philabundance is also accepting PB&J food donations at their north and south Philadelphia locations, and if you ‘like’ Philabundance on facebook, ShopRite will donate a jar of peanut butter or jelly in your honor.  Further info can be found here.

Let’s get peanut-butter-lover-in’.

I finally got a new iphone, woo.  Somuchfaster(!!!) than my 3GS, which I inherited from my friend.  I was holding off as long as possible, thinking it could tide me over til the 4S came out, but the main button said f. you. no. more.  I shove my phone in my sports bra while running and my diagnosis is death by boob sweat.  Making it a point NOT to do this with the new one.  Ever.  That’s how I killed my blackberry this summer too, except that deterioration was way more entertaining since it would just send MASS texts to multiple people at once.  Embarrassing when you have work people in there.   E E lkdasg E jackass!                    oops, sorry.  my phone is on the fritz…

I had awesome eats all weekend.  Visited one new to me philly spot (delicious) and one of my favorite hole in the wall mexican joints for a friend’s birthday in delaware.  Rounded it out last night with a scoop of coconut at Franklin Fountain.  FIY philly ice cream cravers, they are open til 12am even on Sundays, which is totally genius.  I won’t guarantee the employees are sober, though.

Other than dining, I ran 8325932 errands, bought neon…

And beer.  When in Delaware…

And had a pretty nice run.  I am officially one week through my [super early] broad street training.  Starting out with low mileage, this week was a grand total of a measly 9.5 miles.  After a bit of experimentation over the last few weeks, I realize I need a full 24+ hours of rest between runs (not including weights, yoga, etc.) to let the inevitable swelling go down.  I am not the old me when it comes to running but overall, I feel awesome and content with running 2-3x a week.

I actually haven’t had accurate representation of my outdoor running ability, since I am usually running random routes around the city and fighting cars, pedestrians and red lights.  I basically run until I see red, then turn and continue that way for my prescribed mileage.  I also take Stella with me which means sporadic pee breaks (for her, people) and the occasional (dreaded) poo.  Gotta love when they do that to you, right?

On saturday, I stopped at my parents house and ran there.  Stella came with me but we only had one, 20-second stop along an easy route through suburbiaaaaa.  Negative splits are good splits.  I am now 4 months and 3 weeks post-op, for anyone following the knee saga.

Mile 1:  9:13

Mile 2:  8:54

Mile 3:  8:26

Mile 4:  7:58

Have a great week!!

Things that make me wanna de-google reader your ass:

2. You just c’a'n’t seem to differentiate between your and you’re.  Whenever I come across this mistake, I say “really???” in my head.  You’re turning me into a psycho, people, and I can’t be screaming out loud in my cubicle without a trip to HR.

3. You post 832 angles of your oats in a jar.  I mean they are so rare and all, but one pic does the job just fine.

4. Same goes for your vegetables.  These kids should probably read your blog though.

I loved that series, whatever happened to it?

5. You copy other recipes exactly, then re-post them as “adapted”.  I could care less if someone is inspired by or copies a recipe…just be honest about it!  At least change the salt measurement from 1/2 tsp to 3/4.

6. You make me click

through.

Oh wait, I already deleted you.

What makes you wanna de-google reader me?  I would suggest my sweaty workout pics, but I’ve had far too many hits from “butt sweat” searches to validate that one.  Gonna have to go with my knee rehab recaps…sporadic, repetitive…even I got sick of them ha!  The current update is that I am now allowed to GO TOTALLY CRAZYYYYYYYYYY at the gym and I am loving it.  Oh, and I can hop.  Saweeeeeeeet.

What blogs do I need to have on my reader?  I believe after a bit of winter cleaning I will need additional entertainment  :-)

Pasta with Tuna, Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups dry mini penne (or 2 servings any pasta)
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (enough to fully cover bottom of pan)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 1 can solid albacore tuna in olive oil (use oil)
• 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• Sprinkle of sea salt
• 2-3 cups fresh arugula

Directions

1. Boil a pot of salted water for the penne.
2. Add olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes to a (cold) sauté pan.  Heat on medium until oil begins to sizzle, but don’t brown the garlic!  This shouldn’t take long at all – 3-4 minutes tops.
3. Add tuna with oil and tomatoes, give it a sprinkle of sea salt, stir and cook, covered, approximately 5-10 minutes, or while your pasta boils.
4. When the pasta is done, drain and add to pan with fresh arugula.  Stir to wilt the greens and serve!  top with parmesan if you wish, but it’s lovely all by its lonesome.

Simplicity at its finest!

Except in Bahamas sand.  She loves it, but I don’t have a double coat of fur like my 4-legged love…which brings me to my point.

I never make ‘real’ new years resolutions, but I actually did make one this year, and that was to exercise Stella in the morning (aka before work during the week and an excursion or two on the weekends).  I walk her every afternoon after work, but the poor thing is stuck home alone (listening to 88.5) all day with not much to do.  I always slack on her exercise when it gets cold so I figured this was something I should work on.

Since it was absolutely gorgeous yesterday, I took Stella to the state park, jacked up some tunes and walked my favorite 4.5 mile loop while basking in the sunshine.  Does life get any better??  Lucky for us Philadelphians, we are having unseasonably warm {freekkkking awesome} temperatures and I am loving the fall-esque days.  I know global warming is bad and all, but maybe notsomuch?

I could be imagining it, but I swear I got an ever so slight tan on my face.

Lots of running firsts in the past couple of weeks, huh?  I did 5 miles on Thursday morning, too…16 weeks post op officially…I was premature with last week’s 4-miler!  I know you’re all sick of hearing about it but it just makes me smile and love life.  3 months ago I was sobbing my eyes out feeling like I would never run again.  Dramatic much?  But really, major sports injuries are a humbling experience and it’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride.  Never take advantage of your ability to move your body.

All my instagram/facebook friends already saw this picture but I am obsessed.  SHE IS THE BEST.  Stella joined me on my 3 miler this evening, and what a gorgeous one it was!  She was dragging by the end because now I’m faster than her hehe.

I took it pretty easy but still clocked in at a sub 9 minute mile pace, totally pain-free.  My knee was kind of throbbing for a bit earlier but it went away and I feel good…didn’t even ice it.  Time to drag myself away from my new Walking Dead obsession and be social since it IS, in fact, Saturday!  Have you guys seen this series yet??  Someone recommended it and I am 100% hooked. 

ZOMBIESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

When sweet stuff is around me, I have THE hardest time avoiding it…I want to sample one of everything.  Bad!!  Holidays are one thing, but normal life, no way.  Sooo in an effort to get out of sweets mode, last week I did a wegman’s/trader joe’s overhaul and stocked up on plenty of fresh veggies and organic, grass-fed meats that should last me at least a couple of weeks with a fruit/veggie run in-between. 

The first dish I whipped up was paleo beef stew, tweaking this recipe slightly.

• I browned 1lb of wegman’s organic, grass-fed stew beef in pastured butter and threw it into my rice cooker, making sure not to cook it through.
• In the same pan, added more butter and quickly cooked a big handful of trader joe’s tiny potatoes (they are literally super MINI), carrots, celery, onion, plus a few cloves of minced garlic in the same pan with salt, pepper, and herbs.  Instead of fresh as called for, I used dried rosemary and thyme…about 1/2 – 1 tsp each, I never measure anything exactly. 
• This cooked for about 5 minutes then I added the veggie mix to the beef along with stock and a can of diced tomatoes. 
• Cooked with rice cooker on simmer, closed for 2 hours, open for about 30 minutes.

The stew turned out great and best of all, made a hefty 4-5 servings, the last of which I ate for lunch today.  RIP yummy stew…I am totally making it again soon.  Highly recommend!

The past few mornings, I’ve had eggs fried in pastured butter or bacon fat with bacon, veggies and/or fruit.  Plus a cup of coffee with either half & half or heavy cream.  This and various types of cheese are the only dairy products I’ve had for quite a few weeks other than a full-fat plain latte yesterday afternoon.  Coffee dates with my girlfriends are exceptions! 

For lunches, I’ve been eating leftovers, and dinners have been a mash up of meat/veggies/salads.  Tonight, I had leftover pot roast from my parents’ classic new years day feast (LOVE), along with sauerkraut, unsweetened applesauce, massaged kale salad with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, yellow bell pepper, mango, pomegranate arils, and sunflower seeds, plus a small side of sweet potato fries.

Dark chocolate chips and popcorn for dessert…I still have a case of the snackies!!

Well happy new year and keep my ass accountable…my face will be clearer for it

2012 weeeeeeeeeee.  Let’s do this.

I am enjoying this ^^^ way too much. 

Sorry to wake you, Stella. 

It’s been pretty relaxing around here and I like it to the umpteenth power.  I was in hilton head, SC visiting family for a few days over christmas and got back late tuesday night.  It was nice to spend some time in warmer weather and now I  have a couple of days to unwind and just be.  And stop my marathon of christmas cookie eating.

Yesterday, Heather drove into the city and we attempted to brunch at my favorite spot.  Apparently everyone else in Philly decided that was their plan, too and the wait at Honey’s was 40 minutes.  We ended up at Sabrina’s (callowhill location) instead.  Unfortunately, we were not impressed…strike 2, Sabrina’s, I won’t be back.  But conversation was lovely and who cares about the food when you have your best friend in town?  Certainly not me!  BTW, her professional wedding photos came back and they turned out gorgeous, don’t ya think?!  I can’t wait to see the rest!

After I bid Heather farewell, I hit the gym for a semi-hardcore, total body workout.  I’ve done a ton of upper body work but minimal weights involving my lower body.  I don’t really count physical therapy as working out anymore, and I haven’t gone in a few weeks.  I won’t be going to PT again until I am actually cleared to start doing jumping and cutting exercises where I will need supervision.  Especially not when they’re charging me $60 for…ice. 

I did get fitted for a custom brace at the advice of my mom’s friend who is a physical therapist.  I ran on it twice, low mileage, and ended up being in way more pain WITH the brace than running without it.  I had to take a full week off from the gym after using it, I was in that much pain.  My knee doc doesn’t normally fit his patients for braces unless requested, and now I see exactly why.  So I am rolling without the brace for everything.  I ran 3 miles with Stella for 3 consecutive days while in Hilton Head and did a TON of stretching afterwards.  I felt (and feel) great and I am finally noticing less stiffness at the back joint of my knee…psyched for that!  I feel like I turned yet another corner in recovery. 

My 4 miles today was the farthest I have run since late July and even though I max out at about 8 mph when I’m ‘sprinting’, I have no complaints.  Though I am far off from low 8 minute miles, I’m slowly but surely getting back to my old self and there’s definitely a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.  To ring in the new year, I’ll be working on the booty…it’s been neglected for far too long. 

That sounds bad but youknowwhatImean.

with love,

me & the fur-covered houligan formerly known as stella