Tuesday Tidbits
A few tidbits about my post-honeymoon life lately...
1. Last week was my favorite week in Santa Fe: Restaurant Week! Santa Fe has an eclectic and exciting culinary scene, with one of the highest numbers of restaurants per capita in the world. Every year during restaurant week we like to try new restaurants in town. This year we absolutely loved Arroyo Vino, which offers a clever and creative twist on international food options with locally raised ingredients and specializes in small plates. We loved everything from the duck liver pate and butternut squash soup to the mushroom risotto and lamb with Israeli cous cous, and the desserts were to die for! We will definitely come back here again. (They also have a wine shop with over 600 varieties.) The next night we experienced another new restaurant in town, Casa Chimayo. Serving New Mexican food with hot green and red chile, Casa Chimayo was friendly and cozy. The live music was a nice touch as well.
2. Happy belated Mardi Gras! This year I cooked an incredible Sausage, Ham and Shrimp Jambalaya from my favorite blog (Brown Eyed Baker), and also made my first attempt at a homemade King Cake. These things are harder than they look. I struggled with how long to let the dough rise, and somehow my cake turned out to be as enormous as a bloated python. The good news is that it still tasted pretty yummy!
Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya Recipe
King Cake Recipe
3. With spring right around the corner, I have traded in my skis and snowshoes for my road bike and running shoes! I'm taking the Century Training class again this year and I plan to ride the Santa Fe Half Century (50 miles) on May 18th. My rock star husband is doing the Full Century! The training class is a blast -- 90 minutes on the spin bike, followed by 30 minutes of core, and the time flies thanks to the fun instructors and their stories. Less than 10 weeks to go...
4. I am very excited to start volunteering as a coach with Girls on the Run, an amazing nonprofit organization dedicated to healthy lifestyle education and building confidence for girls in 3rd-5th grade. GOTR is curriculum-based and incorporates running and physical activity into every lesson. We have 2 practices each week for 10 weeks, concluding with the girls running their first 5K!
5. Since moving to Santa Fe, I have rarely gone shopping for clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. because a) Santa Fe doesn't have much for stores, b) we're pretty low maintenance here (as in my stilettos collect dust), and c) I wear the exact same thing to work every day, so I rarely need anything new. However, I have been in love with CAbi (Carol Anderson by Invitation) for years now and I always get excited to see their new designs. These items are only available through private house parties, creating a fun and comfortable atmosphere for shopping. I love this year's spring line! CAbi Online
6. I am so happy to have a new last name and an incredible husband! ...But the process of changing one's name is very annoying and frustrating. I had to wait until after our Ecuador trip because everything was booked in my maiden name, and in the few weeks that we've been back I've spent a lot of time waiting in line for my social security card and driver's license. And this is only the beginning! I dread having to go to all my banks, my HR department at work, the benefits specialist, and the Physical Therapy licensure office, plus having to get a new passport and change my name at all the places I frequent (yoga studio, salon, doctor's offices, etc.). This is going to be a long and tiresome ordeal but I look forward to officially being a Ross!
7. I am still reading up a storm! I finished a handful of books during our Ecuador trip and have decided to strive to read 52 books again this year (a feat I accomplished in 2011). Favorites so far for 2014: Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things and Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone.
8. I enjoy supporting my friends and coworkers in their diet choices, but I have a confession: I struggle with vegan baking. Especially at 7,000 feet elevation. However, I just discovered the yummiest vegan cupcake recipe ever! The consistency was perfect; no more burnt tops and mushy insides. (Plus, they're healthy enough that you could skip the icing and call it a breakfast food!)
Applesauce Vegan Cupcake Recipe
9. St. Patrick's Day is almost here! And although I'd rather be visiting my sister and brother in Boston and Chicago, where the parties and parades are exponentially more intense than here in the Southwest, I still look forward to some green beer and Irish food. Maybe my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes will have to make another debut...
Irish Car Bomb Cupcake Recipe
10. This week's yoga wisdom: "Yoga is the stilling of the whirlings of the minds."
1. Last week was my favorite week in Santa Fe: Restaurant Week! Santa Fe has an eclectic and exciting culinary scene, with one of the highest numbers of restaurants per capita in the world. Every year during restaurant week we like to try new restaurants in town. This year we absolutely loved Arroyo Vino, which offers a clever and creative twist on international food options with locally raised ingredients and specializes in small plates. We loved everything from the duck liver pate and butternut squash soup to the mushroom risotto and lamb with Israeli cous cous, and the desserts were to die for! We will definitely come back here again. (They also have a wine shop with over 600 varieties.) The next night we experienced another new restaurant in town, Casa Chimayo. Serving New Mexican food with hot green and red chile, Casa Chimayo was friendly and cozy. The live music was a nice touch as well.
 |
| Casa Chimayo restaurant, Santa Fe |
2. Happy belated Mardi Gras! This year I cooked an incredible Sausage, Ham and Shrimp Jambalaya from my favorite blog (Brown Eyed Baker), and also made my first attempt at a homemade King Cake. These things are harder than they look. I struggled with how long to let the dough rise, and somehow my cake turned out to be as enormous as a bloated python. The good news is that it still tasted pretty yummy!
Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya Recipe
King Cake Recipe
 |
| Mardi Gras King Cake |
3. With spring right around the corner, I have traded in my skis and snowshoes for my road bike and running shoes! I'm taking the Century Training class again this year and I plan to ride the Santa Fe Half Century (50 miles) on May 18th. My rock star husband is doing the Full Century! The training class is a blast -- 90 minutes on the spin bike, followed by 30 minutes of core, and the time flies thanks to the fun instructors and their stories. Less than 10 weeks to go...
4. I am very excited to start volunteering as a coach with Girls on the Run, an amazing nonprofit organization dedicated to healthy lifestyle education and building confidence for girls in 3rd-5th grade. GOTR is curriculum-based and incorporates running and physical activity into every lesson. We have 2 practices each week for 10 weeks, concluding with the girls running their first 5K!
5. Since moving to Santa Fe, I have rarely gone shopping for clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. because a) Santa Fe doesn't have much for stores, b) we're pretty low maintenance here (as in my stilettos collect dust), and c) I wear the exact same thing to work every day, so I rarely need anything new. However, I have been in love with CAbi (Carol Anderson by Invitation) for years now and I always get excited to see their new designs. These items are only available through private house parties, creating a fun and comfortable atmosphere for shopping. I love this year's spring line! CAbi Online
6. I am so happy to have a new last name and an incredible husband! ...But the process of changing one's name is very annoying and frustrating. I had to wait until after our Ecuador trip because everything was booked in my maiden name, and in the few weeks that we've been back I've spent a lot of time waiting in line for my social security card and driver's license. And this is only the beginning! I dread having to go to all my banks, my HR department at work, the benefits specialist, and the Physical Therapy licensure office, plus having to get a new passport and change my name at all the places I frequent (yoga studio, salon, doctor's offices, etc.). This is going to be a long and tiresome ordeal but I look forward to officially being a Ross!
7. I am still reading up a storm! I finished a handful of books during our Ecuador trip and have decided to strive to read 52 books again this year (a feat I accomplished in 2011). Favorites so far for 2014: Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things and Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone.
8. I enjoy supporting my friends and coworkers in their diet choices, but I have a confession: I struggle with vegan baking. Especially at 7,000 feet elevation. However, I just discovered the yummiest vegan cupcake recipe ever! The consistency was perfect; no more burnt tops and mushy insides. (Plus, they're healthy enough that you could skip the icing and call it a breakfast food!)
Applesauce Vegan Cupcake Recipe
 |
| Applesauce Vegan Cupcakes with Vegan Vanilla Frosting |
9. St. Patrick's Day is almost here! And although I'd rather be visiting my sister and brother in Boston and Chicago, where the parties and parades are exponentially more intense than here in the Southwest, I still look forward to some green beer and Irish food. Maybe my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes will have to make another debut...
Irish Car Bomb Cupcake Recipe
10. This week's yoga wisdom: "Yoga is the stilling of the whirlings of the minds."
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