and it’s weekend time for me!!

no class tomorrow so I am officially in weekend mode!
hey in case you haven’t heard the word on the blog street- the lovely incredibly inspriing Lee of See Lee Live is graciously hosting a Valentines Day Blogger Exchange !!
If you are a foodie blogger and up for a fun surprise love package from a fellow blogger… Click on this link below to check out the info

http://philabundanceoflife.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/blogger-valentines-day-exchange/

heart u Lee!

* Body
Jeff and I did some strength training at the gym, all upper body to give my leg a break.

I did take Jack for a mile walk- he was angrily pulling the whole time. I don’t know what’s with him lately.

My mom and I are planning on some light cardio tomorrow morning..but unfortunately all of your lovely well-wishes seem to haven’t healed my foot/knee issues magically as I wish they would have. We’ll see…

*Mind
Today’s class was lab orientation and equipment- which was pans, pots, dishes, bakeware and utensils and we went over measuring ingredients…. we had to clean all of our dishes and organize our own group’s kitchens- It was actually kinda fun! No quiz today, it will be on tuesday but will include more terms now.

*Soul
Dinner with my lovely friend Andrea. It was SOO nice to chat the night away with her because we haven’t seen much of each other , we were going through withdrawal I think! We saw each other a few weeks ago but that is equivalent to a lifetime!

My mom arrived in Raleigh and is at my brother’s place for the evening. She oftens stays with Jeff and I or I get to spend the day shopping with her etc. so I am happy she gets some qt with my bro.  We are planning on leaving town before 2 but maybe earlier. I forgot to pack- eeek! oh well, tomorrow morning while I have coffee will be nice.

Lunch:
I used the last of the chicken salad ( jeff took some for lunch too) and made this guy- times two!

Snacks:
I had the rest of the chobani from breakfast with banana and Kashi Go Lean after getting home from class.

 
and I had some of these soy flaxseed tortilla chips with salsa

 
Dinner:

Pizza, Salad, and Wine!!

It was a Kashi frozen pizza and absolutely delicious! It had feta, spinach, tomatoes and red onions. I really enjoyed this !

I had a second glass of wine just so yall know! We discussed a research study this week in Vitamins class that studied a group of participants instructed to have 400 ml of red wine ( two big glasses) DAILY for one week- They measured their plasma (blood) antioxidant levels afterwards and found incredible amounts of antioxidants that decreased their risks of cardiovascular disease!  While drinking this much daily for prolonged periods could have more unhealthier side effects (liver effects, weight gain, less nutrient dense food inake…) than just high antioxidant levels, I’ll say yes to Vino!

Breakfast Lasagna

So in addition to this guy, I have one more idea brewing in my head for french toast, but I don’t have my usual ingredients for it. * it is dessert inspired but I won’t reveal the country yet*

Okay, back to today: I made pumpkin french toast lasagna …. 

Yes , I opened a can of pumpkin and want to use it up. I could freeze it and will do so  if I need to , however, it would be nice not to. Plus, I really enjoy exploring a food- if I hadn’t thought about it I wouldn’t have come up with all these creative delicious uses!

here is how:
I sliced my two pieces of bread into four, dipped in the usual batter of 2 (cage free) egg whites, splash of milk, and pumpkin glob ( about 1/3 cup), cinnamon and sweetener if you prefer.

Let those guys cook in the skillet.

I heated up frozen peaches, frozen pineapple and took out other layers: peanut butter, chobani yogurt, cottage cheese. 

I cooked the remainder of the batter in the pan with slices of an organic banana to caramelize ( hooray!) .
 
I began by layering, starting with french toast slice, pineapple layer, french toast slice, chobani strawberry, french toast slice, peach layer with some cottage cheese, and the top toast slice had peanut butter under each banana.

I loved this dish because I got a little bit of everything, a peach with cottage cheese with a piece of the pumpkin toast. Or some creamy strawberry yogurt with a banana and pinapple. It was a fantastic blend of flavors that couldn’t help but leave me satisfied! healthy as usual!

This would make a fantastic breakfast casserole to take to a brunch! Quite honestly, it is rather budget friendly- eggs and bread and frozen fruit are all pretty inexpensive. The chobani yogurt could easily ( unfortunately) be replaced for a cheaper option of yogurt too.  However, if I were to do that I would bake the final layers ( probably about 350* for 25 minutes or so) so that it sticks together for the masses.

Here is my plan for the day

Body:
Rest ( from running)- I remembered the orthopaedic telling me the last time I saw him  ( in october/nov.?) that I had tendinitis in my right knee ( originally I injured my left knee in august).  He had given me an anti-inflammatory but wanted to take MRI’s which I cannot afford considering when I do not run, my symptoms tend to improve.
The tendinitis treatment, according to runner’s world: rest from running, cross train, take anti-inflammatoy med, ice/heat.

I could not seem to find toe knee related injuries but I can’t bend my second largest toe. I read about hammertoes, it seems like that would be it but my toes are jam-free while in my shoe. Honestly, I check and wiggle and know they aren’t jammed.

The other symptoms I read about led to “osteoarthritis” as possible, however, you can continue running with moderate mileage and hills.

*maybe do a run-less gym session*

Mind:
Lab Orientation today and the professor told us “Quiz probably not be on thursday”.

So I am going to study this morning anyway- and prepare as if it still were today- even though deep down I think its going to be on tuesday.

My resume and cover letter were sent- I have to thank Jeff publicly because he is an amazing ( person) but also an amazing resume reader. He has to read through resumes at work often and he gave me wonderful advice on mine. THANK YOU!

Soul:
t b a…

Maybe workout with Jeff or with his sis at her gym and have dinner with my lovely Andrea

Pumpkin Monte Cristo ( a French Toast Hammy)

 

 

before we get into that… Does anyone else have a dog that snores? I assume it is normal for dogs to snore, much like when we have allergies or a cold or just plain old crappy genes that give us holey nasal passages producing snoring. However, I swear every night Jack Brown Dog gets louder with his snoring. I think I am going to record it on my camera only I don’t know how to post the video on here.

Body:
The good: Run 7 miles. Woohoo!!
The bad: my knee has been sore all day though
the ugly: I also have had pain deep inside my quad, and toe today too

I am actually going to look into this tonight because it has been really annoying and I know they are intertwined somehow because when I put ice on my toe- my knee throbs. And, vice versa when I put heat or ice on my knee- that toe throbs. Weird?! It may be a pronation issue but my shoes seem to fit just fine really ( wiggle room, tread etc).

Mind:
I edited resume and sent it at 3:50 pm this afternoon! keep your fingers crossed for me!

Class: my synopsis went well, class was fascinating as usual. Today we discussed bone formation, calcium and osteoporosis- but only a little bit.

stupid bank causes stupid problems- a separate credit card bill set up on the account that was charged incorrectly charged me an returned fee – well I called and was highly upset at this, and luckily , the gentleman removed my fees. I just have to remember that I have to send a check this month because my account is blocked online- phew such a hassle!!!!!

Soul:
I am so relieved that those fees were removed- ugh!

I have this big feeling of relief in general- I got through my run, while I was talking to my mom about weekend plans I cooked lunch and dinner at the same time.

Jack ran away- again- for the millionth time. Not from me though- I decided to only take him out on the leash even just in the yard. Jeff opened the door and Jack just rushed out and off.

* Good news though, a lady up the street found him this afternoon OR what we think is that he has found a second home- he was dry and did not smell which is usually NOT the case when he runs off. He typically comes back covered in guck that smells like fish and poo. Not today though, thankfully.

I have been trying to keep up on everyone’s blogs- there are just so many amazing blogs to read!

So on to the food…
Breakfast:
I knew I was heading to the gym for a long run and wanted to get a good start for that. So I mad a smoothie with half scoop of protein powder, milk, pineapple, cherries, blueberries. On top in this bowl is wheat germ and cinnamon and a little peanut butter.  I bought bananas on sunday however they are still not ready to eat! harummph!

I poured my smoothie over Kashi Go Lean cereal-

Onto Lunch, the title of this post was for a reason…

I came up with this idea for french toast because we have ham, bread and pumpkin that we should eat before we leave for the weekend again…. So….
Pumpkin Monte Cristo French Toast Hammy  was born.
( get it sammy with h for the ham ? oh I crack myself up sometimes)

You bloggers keep my motivations and expectations high- I appreciate it and I have another surprise french toast for tomorrow morning!

I flattened slices of bread ( just covered the slice with the bag and rolled out with my hand).

 

I smushed a cheese wedge and put two slices of ham on top.

I spread that with pumpkin because I forgot to put the pumpkin in the egg mix ( which would have been better). So then I sliced the sandwich in half rolled and dipped them into the batter and cooked them in my skillet with the rest of the egg whites.

It was delicious but I know it would have been better if I had made pumpkin batter as I intended but as usual, I was trying to have a conversation, cook chicken and make myself lunch at the same time. Next time.  Here it is in all its glory

On the side I had the leftover eggs, organic veggies and sprouts with some salad and hummus and salsa. 

So I threw together dinner at this time too.

I chopped celery, diced a red onion, sliced green grapes in half and added two globs of a new mayo- Smart Balance Mayo ( I will photo it tomorrow). It essentially uses “better” fats but does include egg yolk- In general, it has too many ingredients that I can’t pronounce but I figured I would try it.  I added the same amount plus one more “glob” of Chobani Nonfat Greek Yogurt for a healthier dressing substitute. A little blue cheese crumbles as well. 

I boiled chicken breasts and chopped them up and threw it all together.  I let it in set in the fridge while I was off to class.

Here is my dinner sammy with extra veggies on the side

My dessert is two slices of my Chocolate chip pound cake… too tired to photo.

See yall in the morning !

lovely lovely day

I have the best readers ever- I probably could never say that enough but I was deeply touched by everyone’s comments and please know how much each and every one of you mean to me. You offer me inspiration, encouragement, support and a place to share my journey of healthy eating, healthy living, and my passion for nutrition! I truly appreciate you.

okay, so I had to head to campus early and packed my lunch:

Very Veggie salad mix with romaine, radishes, snap peas, carrots, and salsa (black beans, corn, tomatoes) and Organic broccoli, carrots and cauliflower dipped in Sabra Hummus. Grilled chicken strips, grapes,  and half an arnold sandwich thin filled with peanut butter.

It was delicious and took me forever to eat but I enjoyed every single bite! A fellow student said oh miss healthy no dressing? and I replied, well, when I have salsa and hummus I don’t need any dressing!

unphotographed: coffee from the campus center-black with a splash of half and half…

Dinner:
Chili (leftover) and I toasted cheese onto a whole wheat tortilla and ate that with it.. fantastic

But I was still hungry- so I had half of a chobani with half a slice of my delicious chocolate chip cake. The best thing is that I feel absolutely no guilt associated with this nearly high protein, healthy-fat cake. It even has veggies in the frosting!

I may have to make this again and send them to my special readers…. any takers?

oh and recap-
I rested today for my Body…

Mind:
Class was absolutely fantastic- Nutrient Metabolism is so cool- I don’t have the mental energy to recap but I am brewing up a post on Cholesterol since my dad has really high blood cholesterol and I LOVE learning about lipids and sterols.

My mind is pretty tired because I also…. drumroll please….Started and Finished my cover letter and it is PERFECT!!! But, now I want to fix my resume even more … sigh

Soul:
I have the best readers I swear! And I know there are a bunch who do not comment, and I mean you too- like my brothers and sister and all my family- Love you!

I am chatting with a dear friend I haven’t heard from in awhile

Happy Tuesday Night All!

"…and it keeps getting better "

Dessert from last night…
I really wanted to have dessert last night ( I think it is my running, which usually catches up with me at the end of the evening and I can feel like a bottomless pit sometimes) so I decided to make a cake and Jeff couldn’t have been happier!! I made half the recipe of (click to get recipe) Chocolate Chip Irish Cream Pound Cake…. and put it into a loaf pan.

I didn’t really measure much this time (sorry sis). I just cut everything in half and these exceptions:

- I used regular smart balance not smart balance light ( still cutting the “bad” type of saturated fat/trans fat often in spreads & butters & margarines and replaced with a “healthy fat” of smart balance).

- I used only white sugar instead of white and brown ( out of the brown)

- I used nonfat greek yogurt instead of cream cheese ( higher protein content, healthy bacteria for digestion, no fat)

- I used 1 egg whole with 1 egg white ( original recipe calls for 3 eggs).

It was FANTASTIC!!! Oh my goodness, but the best part:
Pumpkin Chocolate Frosting!
I remember someone commenting on such a creative way to use pumpkin yesterday in my triangles (Thank You!)  and I thought , Why not try pumpkin in the frosting because it will add some fiber, vitamin A and a healthy veggie?  It was AWESOME! It tasted just like buttercream frosting but even BETTER!

Here is my estimated recipe:
1 tablespoon of smart balance light
2/3 cup chocolate chip minis
Microwave this on medium power for about 30 seconds,
Mix Well
Then, Add small glob” of pumpkin puree (approx. 3 tablespoons)
Mix Well
Then,  add about 1 cup powdered sugar
Mix Well
I let it set in the fridge while the cake cooled. ( but i sliced up to pieces for Jeff and I because I am incredibly impatient when it comes to dessert)

Oh goodness, it was not being photogenic- however- it was absolutely delicious ( and pretty healthy for cake!!!!!!!)

Okay on to Breakfast:
Steel Cut Oats ( quick cook) mixed with water and a “glob” of pumpkin puree and some peanut butter ( Smucker’s was not on the recall list for salmonella outbreak and I got it a long time ago…)

Warm blueberries, pineapple and cherries.

On the side, Chobani Strawberry

The plan for today:

Body: Rest . I might do something after class but I have a busy day until 6.

Mind:
Group meeting at 10:45- studying for quiz
Food Principles Class 12-3:30 and
Advanced Nutrient Metabolism II from 4-6.

Cover Letter!

I will post my synopsis later/tomorrow for my article on Moderate Vitamin E supplementation in spreads. It helped reduced free radical damage in healthy non-smoking adults!

Soul:
Tuesday night TV!

So Easy My Sister Could Do It …maybe?

The rest of my eats are probably not as exciting as Pumpkin French Toast Triangles…. but I try…

New * Run Fuel:
Sharkies!

These guys are organic ( and I swore on the back they said vegan) and are supposed to be the same energy boost idea as all those other gummy endurance sport things. Isn’t it a cute little shark!?

They taste very much like gatorade- and they stick to your teeth but eventually dissolve. I tried two in the middle of my run and I didn’t get an immediate energy burst but I definitely would have kept going to 7 or 8 miles had two super SMELLY guys jumped on the empty treadmills right near me– Blech! I couldn’t stand their stench so I parted after mile 6.

For $0.88 cents a pack at Target- I think I will be up for trying these guys again but I have yet to try Cliff Shot Blocks among others either.

Post Run Lunch:

I took leftover lentils, chicken strips, and organic veggies and heated them up a little for some warmth

then added cool crisp salad greens, organic sprouts and some salsa on top.

I used to eat salsa by the jar but then I had some digestions problems in my esophagus ( not caused by the salsa but it was not good for it). 
I love my healed esophagus now and I really enjoy this black bean and corn salsa- all the ingredients make sense, no preservatives really just spices and veggies.

“The Future Dietician In Me”: added a big handful of these bad boys to round out my meal.

On to Dinner:
Inspired by my spectacular dinner on our getaway trip, I took fire roasted tomatoes, capers, olives, and mild pepperocini rings and let them marinate together today. Then, I added a good 3 tablespoons of smart balance and about 1/2 cup of pinot grigio.

I cooked boneless pork chops seasoned with lemon pepper on my foreman grill then tossed in the marinated veggies.

On the side I grilled asparagus spears on the foreman (with non stick spray) and made whole grain rice pilaf ( Rice a Roni Nautrals with no preservatives) and I added bits of laughing cow spreadable garlic cheese.

It was delicious and so Easy My Sister Could Do It… Right Christal! ? I mean its just opening up stuff and cooking according to directions – you could do that.  I thought it was funny because she emailed me about wanting to comment on my french toast this morning-she was having trouble commenting so  she emailed me that I better be making it for her this weekend! Haha- only if our grandpa has all the ingredients!

Update *

Body: 6 mile run, I paced the first 4 miles and then just did speedwork the last 2. I am happy I started speedwork because it took my attention off of the sweaty man stench ( for a little while anyway)

Mind:

Sent article out and finished pretty much all of my synopsis for it due Wednesday

Studied for terminolgy quiz

Worked on resume ( yah!) for potential job… now I need a cover letter

Picked up my chef coat!!! It is SO cute and we also had another package- Jeff’s title to his truck!

Checking on bank now- checked on one earlier.

Soul:
I am so happy I got everything in that I intended and expected ( and more!) to do today! Jeff and I had a lovely long chat after work it was so nice. I went to the one store that has chobani around these parts and bought 15 of them because they were on sale- I love that stuff! It is even cheaper than Trader Joes by $0.20 normally ( one single serving of chobani is $1.39, a tub of trader joes is 2 servings for $3… but I got it on sale for $1! Woohoo! I made a yummy dinner and now Pretty Woman is on!

Pumpkin French Toast Triangles

Oh how I love my french toast! I grabbed a huge can of pumpkin puree at the store and was excited to use it!

I used 1/2 cup egg whites ( from the carton they say it is equivalent of 2 eggs. However, 1 egg white provides 20 calories and 5 grams of protein. The carton egg whites ( “100% all egg whites”) says 1/4 cup provides 1 serving, at 30 calories and 6 grams of protein, which means it really isn’t equivalent to 1 egg white or it is a labelling issue ? ). Anyway.

Today’s Recipe:
1/2 cup egg whites
2 globs of pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
Whisk

Dip 2 slices of bread/toast into the batter- drop into a skillet on medium heat. I flipped after I could smell it was ready, then sliced with my spatula into triangles.

While it cooked I heated peaches and cherries (frozen) in the microwave. For a little “stuffing” I added cottage cheese in between the triangles.

Close Up:

Okay, the plan for today

Body:
I hope to get in a Run. I think I am going to “pace” myself this time but we will see- I feel so tough and wonderful when I am speeding along at 9.5 mph every couple minutes. hmm

Mind:
Study second set of terminology for quiz thursday- and group study session tomorrow.

Send out article to vitamins group, write synopsis for it

Go pick up package at post office ( I think its my chef coat and Jeff’s title to Lurlota)

work on resume, send to new job lead

Check on bank: overdraft’s were supposed to be refunded by friday- and I heard that my other bank was hacked into and 56,000 people are at risk. sigh.

Soul:

If I get a run in and all this other stuff done, my soul will feel great!

I am excited to see my mom, brother, sister, aunt and cousin friday! AND…. excited to see our friends in Asheville and see one of our favorite bands play! AND.. excited to watch my Steelers win the superbowl!!

Restful Blur of a Sunday

Sunday was a restful blur! I posted our getaway photos and went to the grocery store. I did a “huge” shopping trip because I literally have not stepped foot inside a grocery store since my last grocery store post! That is very unusual for me because I try to go a couple times a week and get little trips of fresher things. Since we have been travelling and will be gone again this weekend- I got lots of frozen veggies, fruit, egg whites ( in the carton they stay fresh for a long time) etc. I also found a bottle of wine from the vineyard we ate dinner at – wooohoo! It was actually cheaper than it was at the vineyard!

I could not possibly take a photo because it was a huge trip ( just over $100) but most of that stuff will last us for a good three weeks if not more. Plus, I went to a further away store and waited in line forever on top of going around the isles so I was concerned with getting everything back into refrigeration etc. Some great deals items: Sabra Hummus  ( it was $2 cheaper than closer grocery stores!) and for dipping- organic Fresh cut veggies ( worth the extra 25 cents/bag)!

Body:
My calves were so sore from hiking, in a good way though! I did lots of walking and grocery lifting, phew!

Yoga  ( apparently it was national yoga day!)

Mind:
Studied terminology for my Food Principles quiz on Thursday

Searched and found several research articles for Vitamins class on Wednesday. I need to decide which one to send to my group members and do the synopsis of the article today.

Soul:

Yoga!

Grocery store! I must have been on what I referred to before as “grocery store high” . I get so excited when I get deals on foods that I enjoy regularly and I also really enjoy having my kitchen stocked- it makes me feel “safe” almost- like I don’t need to worry about anything at all because I know I have enough.  Oh and I needed shampoo badly and I accidentally bought conditioner instead of shampoo on friday- so now I have shampoo- Yah!

Restful day with Jeff- it was nice to just relax and re-coop from our trip, cook a big pot of chili etc.

I watched Father of the Bride , that is such a good movie.

Some Eats:

Blueberry Smoothie: here want to try?
 

Salad: jeff’s mom gave us organic mixed greens saturday night (since we hadn’t been home or had food in the house) and Jeff had eaten some for dinner- So I used up those with some of my new veggies , organic sprouts and hummus. On the side I had vanilla oikos with some Go Lean cereal and Wheat Germ mixed in.

Chili: on top of salad with cornbread ( I threw this cornbread together but it was not good at all. I’m not sure what I did so I am not posting recipes for it). Jeff, a human vacuum, swore that it was good and devoured his. Oh well.

For The Chili:
I browned lean meat in the skillet with a dash of paprika,  black and red pepper, and tsp of oil. While that cooked, I also cooked organic red lentils ( i have had these for awhile). In the crock pot I put a can of chili beans, a can of drained kidney beans, the cooked, slightly mashed lentils, a big can of diced tomatoes, a little salsa, a little hot sauce,  some banana peppers ( I like them better than jalepenos), and some more red pepper flakes. Couldn’t be easier! I let it simmer together for a good 3 hours.

That white glob is a  Laughing Cow light spreadable cheese wedge: each one is only 35 calories with 2 g of fat and 2 g of protein and delicious!

Yadkin Valley Romantic Getaway

The first stop of our lovely trip was to Childress Vineyards in Lexington, NC.

Incredibly heavy but intricate doors…

The vines in winter…

Couldn’t you just picture self sitting there , gazing out onto the vineyards with a glass of Meritage, maybe some prosciutto?

 

We walked inside to see an incredible fountain with amazing woodwork all around.  After searching for the tasting room and browsing for several minutes, we were approached by a hostess that asked if we would like a tasting.
 She described that they have three levels of tastings costing $10, $12, or $15. We chose the middle level as had another couple down the bar from us. We were the only ones there but for some reason, it seemed as if she prefered to chat with the other couple about the salmon she made last night with chardonnay. Their Reserve Select Chardonnay is a very dry white ( I’m not the biggest fan of dry white) but it had a toasty oak and buttery flavor, which I am sure was fantastic with her salmon.  I, of course, enjoyed the Cabernet Franc most. It started off very subtle and jammy, but then had definitely an earthy finish with cocoa aroma. I think it would be amazing with anything you normally enjoy with a “good red” – especially filet. It was suggested to pair with chicken and ribs, which I think would be alright but not enhance the flavor. Cab Franc, to me, has more impact than a Cabernet Sauvignon- but not as sweet as Merlot.

 
So we continued our drive to check into our mountain cabin and onto another vineyard and restaurant.

The first sight of the mountain!

We have arrived! We were staying in an original Tobacco Barn Cabin at Pilot Knob Inn.

Jeff carrying in our bag

 
It had the most interesting replica lamps

 

We quickly threw down our bags and headed onto quite possibly the best meal ever! We drove about 15 minutes from our cabin to Shelton Vineyards in Elkin, Nc. We found a long driveway filled with vineyards on each side leading the way to the Harvest Grill Restaurant and Shelton Winery.  We could barely see the winery as we arrived at dusk but we could tell it was gorgeous.  Inside the restaurant, which is nestled in the vineyards, we sat on the enclosed patio at a table next to the fireplace. We could see inside, how wondefully rich and cozy the inside seating was but outside had a wonderful view open to the vineyards.

The Harvest Grill offers dishes that have been created with one of their wines and fresh produce from their very own on-site kitchen garden! I love supporting local economy. We started out with a warm, chewy bread and homemade goat cheese

and then chose “Artisan Cheese with Artisan Flights”
We shared four, 2 oz pours of wines that we selected out of their full list. Our four pours included Cab Franc, Merlot, Cab Sauvignon and Syrah. Yes, we chose all of our favorite reds that we enjoy best with cheese and fruit! As you can see the four types of cheese with fresh pineapple, strawberries, and grapes and crusty baguette slices.
 

I ordered a glass of the Cabernet Franc and Jeff had a glass of the Syrah. The Shelton Cabernet Franc was more of what I expect in a Cab Franc, it was spicier but still had a nice finish. The Syrah was definitely a much lighter wine with more fruit but still delicious!

My entree:  Tuscan Grilled Grouper
“With capers, roasted tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, chardonnay and butter accompanied by smoked gouda polenta and grilled asparagus”

It was the most delicious blend of flavors I have ever had (I really think so). Oh, I wanted to eat every single bite! I prayed for the appetite of another hungry person so that I could finish and I almost did! I left one bite of the fish and a good bit of the polenta for Jeff to finish.The fish was grilled perfectly, it was so soft but had a smokey, crisp crust. The olives, capers, and other vegetables were flavored perfectly all together with every part of this dish. The asparagus was also grilled to perfection- it was very crisp but consistent in every bite. The smoked gouda polenta was so creamy but had small bits of chewy gouda that quickly melted.  I had to take breaks because it was absolutely incredible! Delightful, beautiful, absolutely worth every bite, and sharing a meal like this with Jeff is the only way I could have imagined it.

Jeff’s entree:  Rack of Lamb
“Dijon, rosemary crust, mint and balsamic syrup, wild rice pilaf and baby green beans in pecan butter”

I had a bite of his lamb and I don’t like lamb. This lamb? It was scrumptious!
The syrup was very,very sweet and neither of us are a fan of balsamic but- the star of the plate was that delicious crust and the lamb itself. It was cooked beautifully.

I could not fit dessert so we ordered it to go. It was called “The Devil’s Triangle”. It had an incredibly thick layer of delicious chocolate mouse sandwiched inside chocolate cake triangles then dipped complete in ganache ( I mean 360*, top, bottom, sides- all covered in gorgeous ganache) On top was homemade caramel sauce, homemade cinnamon syrup and on the side was cinnamon gelato. Oh lordie, this was so much better than any dessert I have had  in so long! (I am actually mad that I could not finish it and had to leave it in the cabin the next day. It wouldn’t have made it through hiking and our trip home.) The textures were all so tasty but each different (mouse, cake, ganache, syrup, sauce, and the cold gelato) that it was difficult to not enjoy any part of this.

 

We had this in our cabin while we sat next to the fire Jeff built.

 Day 2…another phenomenal day.

We started out by walking up to breakfast at the main lodge. They had a fantastic spread of fresh fruit ( blueberries, kiwi, canteloupe, grapes) and muffins, yogurts, all kinds of spreads, lemon pound cake, trail mix and homemade granola.

A sliver of delicious lemon poundcake, homemade granola with almonds, cashews, oats, pecans, sunflower seeds and cranberries , kiwi all on top of lots of blueberries.

Our breakfast: belgian waffle, country ham, eggs, fresh oj, ( and coffee)

I am so glad I ate as much as I did  because after breakfast we cleaned up…

just kidding – it was jeff’s idea-

packed up our things and went hiking on the property, down to this 6 acre lake.

Then we headed off to hike at “Pilot Mountain” but one more shot of our cabin and the mountain on the way back to Lurlota…

We parked at this overlook and found a map with all the trails. 
We took a 0.7 mile trail out to the little pinnacle for this view:

We really wanted to hike that Big Pinnacle- and we did if you look near the bottom of this photo ( above) !  Look in the middle then scan to the right , you will see a trail path. We found that trail and hiked our way ( it was moderate and said 0.8 miles) to the “Big Pinnacle’ as that is called. We then hiked literally all the way around it…

 
The map description mentioned raptors, bald eagles and a bird with blue wings- We thought this guy and his two buddies might have been raptors protecting the Vineyards, after all it is the Yadkin Valley which produces over 500,000 gallons of wine every year! Check out this link for more information on visiting The Yadkin Valley Wineries

So we made it all the way around, and headed back down this trail…

We had been on all the moderate trails and figured the strenous would be fun. It was .. but at the end, it certainly felt WAY longer than 2 miles.

Managing a smile through the huffing and puffing!

What must have been a mile down, after my legs started shaking a little, we saw this Three Bears Gulley. We considered hiking up it ( it seemed easy to kind of crawl up there) but then decided to keep going. Oh my…

After what seemed like 5 miles of down rocks, up rocks, down, and back up a long strenuous trail- We wondered if we were ever going to get back to the truck- and then we saw this….
 

The top of where we were thinking of climbing up!! I think we were supposed to go up it to make the trail the 2 mile loop. Instead, it took us a long way around and back up. Many Many Many rock-stairs later, we got back to our parking space.

We hiked for about 4 miles total according to the maps but we certainly felt like it was much much harder! My tiny calf muscles and feet muscles were shaking uncontrollably! It was such a great way to exercise off all that wine and delicious food!

On our way home we stopped at Jeff’s little brother’s college and grabbed some lunch.
I ordered a cup of chili and a Tropical Chicken Salad:

The salad had blue cheese crumbles, fresh mango, strawberries, mandarin oranges and dried cranberries. It was DELICOUS! I could only manage 1/2 the chili- the jalepeno’s were incredible hot!

We stopped in to Jeff’s parents and picked up Jack, thanking them for watching him. Of course, we were greeted with a glass of wine!  A reserve bottle of Santa Rita Chilean wine-

That is all folks!  Thank you for coming along on our trip with us! I hope you enjoyed my photo recaps. I had the best time, I know Jeff did also. We enjoyed every minute, every sip and every bite.

This is a good one yall: thursday eats

Breakfast:
French Toast made with two slices of Newman’s Own Double Fiber Bread, 3 egg whites and a splash of milk whisked very well, into the pan and cut up with my spatula. Underneath is the leftover eggs cooked in the pan. On the side, I made “Fruit Foster” by sauteing half a banana and yes, a splash of Rum ( cruzan guava rum) and some mango & strawberry.

I sprinkled ground flax after adding everything together…

Lunch:

So that I could easily take it with me on the way to class…Broccolii and A Smoothie ( banana, mango, vanilla protein, milk, peanut butter, ground flax)
And ate the broccoli pre-departure….

After-School Snack

Tea ( two kinds green tea and earl grey)- antioxidants yah! i can feel my cell membranes NO LONGER bursting from free radicals.  Oh Joy of Cooking, That is my food principles course text-cookbook. It’s freaking huge and reminds me of a bible.

Not pictured: Piece of pizza from last night…  it was whole grain and had pineapple and tomatoes.

After-school Special.. hey you teenybobbers- don’t go gettin preggers

just thought I ‘d throw that in there..

Dinner:

Stir Fry
Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Artichokes, Bell Pepper Mix, Cauliflower, with some lite soy sauce, fajita seasoning ( just a sprinkle not a whole package), fresh pepper.

Rice ( whole grain …

(so yummmy!) and I mixed in black beans to complete my amino acids yall. and a little cheese and hot sauce to feel sassy.

Jeff opened and poured me a glass of merlot behind my back. :-O Gasp! He is such a bad influence.  Bridget if you are still reading this, Thank you for my stemless glasses!!!!! I haven’t broken any yet and love them~!
 

We are SO PUMPED about our getaway trip tomorrow!! We are doing a gym trip and then dropping Jack at “my potential future in-laws” aka Jeff’s parents, then off to Winery #1, Tobacco Barn Check In, Winery #2, Fancy Schmancy Dinner, then *@)&$ $ &#*$& , then hiking in the morning, then lunch with “potential future brother in law”.

The cabins do not have internet access but the main breakfast lodge does- so not sure about blogging but should be able to get a post in sometime!

Weeeeee!