Sunday, January 17, 2010

Happy Hour with the Pups

by Meghann on January 17, 2010

It was bring your dog to the tap room day at the Orlando Brewing Company.

IMG_6614.JPG

Dogs? Beer? An organic local brewery? Count Caitlin and I in! ;)

When Caitlin first mentioned that Orlando Brewing Company allows dogs in the tap room on Sundays I knew it would be a perfecto location for us to play catch up. I haven’t had a chance to hang out with Caitlin since before the marathon and I missed her face!

IMG_6611.JPG

I also missed James’ face. We were celebrating his 4th birthday and he was very happy to play tag along.

IMG_6598.JPG

Maddie enjoyed her night out as well.

IMG_6610.JPG

There was just too many things for her to see and do, she couldn’t control herself. :)

IMG_6591.JPG

IMG_6627.JPG

This was actually my first trip to the Orlando Brewing Company. It is an organic brewery that prides itself on fresh local beer.

IMG_6587.JPG

The tap room is basically the brewery’s bar where people can come together to enjoy a fresh beer from the brewery.

IMG_6620.JPG

IMG_6623.JPG

They even have local bands.

IMG_6580.JPG

Caitlin got up and joined them on the tambourine for a song.

IMG_6617.JPG

The two of us couldn’t decide what to order, so we decided to split a sampler.

IMG_6606.JPG

I can’t remember exactly which ones I tried, but I will tell you I didn’t have a bad thing to say about any of them. ;)

IMG_6613.JPG

A party was celebrating a birthday at the other end of room and offered us pieces of cake.

IMG_6629.JPG

I enjoyed a few bites of my piece of carrot cake, while Caitlin shared hers with James.

IMG_6638.JPG

We told James the cake was in honor of his birthday. ;)

By the time I got home I was hungry for real food.

IMG_6640.JPG

I made a frozen salmon burger for dinner and topped it with some sprouts and tomato.

IMG_6650.JPG

IMG_6656.JPG

On the side I made roasted asparagus.

IMG_6643.JPG

I really wanted Ice Cream after dinner, so I made a small bowl of Egg Nog Ice Cream topped with an Almond Butter cookie from earlier.

IMG_6658.JPG

I don’t know if I had too many sweets or what, but I feel really icky. My stomach is full and bloated. Yuck!

I’m hoping a good night’ sleep will make it feel better.

Good Night!!

{ 23 comments }

Baking Fest '10

by Meghann on January 17, 2010

I have been baking up a storm in the kitchen today!

IMG_6574.JPG

And making a big mess in the process. ;)

It all started with the batch of homemade dog biscuits I have been dying to make for a while.

IMG_6483.JPG

I followed Lori’s recipe for Apple Whole Dog Biscuits and added a big scoop of peanut butter to the mix.

IMG_6456.JPG

IMG_6463.JPG

IMG_6470.JPG

The results weren’t the prettiest thing ever

IMG_6516.JPG

But, Maddie didn’t seem to mind at all.

IMG_6523.JPG

She loved them!

IMG_6527.JPG

While I was grocery shopping today I was debating buying a $5.69 box of granola when it suddenly occurred to me – Why don’t I just make my own? I already had all the ingredients in my cabinet and it took less then 15 minutes to throw together.

IMG_6504.JPG

Kath’s recipe for Coconut Almond Granola is my go to no-fail granola recipe. Only instead of almond slivers I used chopped walnuts.

Of course I had to have a sample bite to make sure it came out right.

IMG_6553.JPG

Yum!

I had saved my MixMyGranola tube for an occasion just like this one.

IMG_6561.JPG

The tube is perfect for storing my homemade granola.

IMG_6564.JPG

I took a break from breaking for a very green lunch.

IMG_6485.JPG

My beloved massage kale salad is back in the picture. The massaged kale salad consisted of kale that had been ‘massaged’ with olive oil, salt and lemon juice before being refrigerated for an hour.

IMG_6499.JPG

Other toppings included

  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Mushrooms
  • Chickpeas
  • Sprouts
  • Tabouli
  • Raisins
  • Cashews

IMG_6494.JPG

On the side I had a whole grapefruit.

IMG_6500.JPG

Citrus is such a pain to peel and chop, but always worth it. The fresh grapefruit was very refreshing and much tastier then its juiced alternative.

IMG_6490.JPG

My sweet tooth kicked in after lunch and since I was on such a role baking in the kitchen, I decided to bake a batch of cookies.

Specifically Gina’s Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Unfortunately I was missing a few key ingredients – including the chocolate chips – so I improvised!

I didn’t have any chocolate chips, but I did have a million Merci Chocolate bars that did the trick.

IMG_6535.JPG

I chopped them into small pieces and added them to the mix.

IMG_6542.JPG

IMG_6547.JPG

I was also used the last of my canola oil and had to use applesauce.

IMG_6554.JPG

The applesauce made the cookies a little spongy and funny looking, but they still tasted amazing!

IMG_6575.JPG

IMG_6578.JPG

Now its time to clean up the kitchen and get my butt in gear. I have plans to meet Caitlin for Happy Hour at 4:00. Bring on the beer!

{ 37 comments }

Recovery Run

January 17, 2010

A week ago today I was freezing my tail off as I completed the Walt Disney World Marathon. This morning I woke up to a balmy 68 degrees and ran my first post-marathon 3 miles. Life is good. The 3 miles felt great. I ran at what felt like a natural pace and didn’t realize more ยป

Read some more →