You are what you eat. Is that chilled cucumber soup?

Good Morning my friends! I'm feeling chipper today, which is surprising considering I was up till midnight last night organizing my closet and adding to my giveaway pile. 

After work yesterday, I knew I needed a mood boost, so naturally I went to Central Market. My heaven. I could spend hours in there, and I've known the wine guy for quite some time, so that always ends in me buying way more than I need. (Is that possible with wine?)

Anywho...As I perused the aisles and practiced as much restraint as I could, I toted my spoils to the car and eagerly sped home to get to cookin'. 

I now present to you, 2 new recipes that are perfect for fall and this lovely cold snap we're having. I wore boots to work today! (It's the little things)

Recipe #1

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage & Lacinto Kale.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 Spaghetti squash

1 bunch Lacinto Kale

1 large shallot

2 cloves garlic

2 links delicious house made Italian sausage from Central Market (if you can't swing this, then try to find something that errs on the side of fresh and not from a nasty box.)

Salt & Peppa to taste

WHAT YOU DO WITH THE THINGS YOU NEED:

-Preheat your oven to 375. Cut your squash in half, scoop out the seeds, make a huge mess (or not) and then lightly coat the open side of the squash with some form of oil. I used coconut oil. Lightly salt. Poke a couple holes in the rind of the squash with your knife (or in my case pretend your stabbing it to take out some aggression you've been harboring from the work day.)  Put the squash face down on your baking sheet and roast for about 45 minutes or until soft.

- When your squash is roasted, scoop out the insides with a spoon/fork/your bare hands and set aside. 

-In a pan, saute your finely chopped shallots and garlic until fragrant and softened. Add your Italian sausage. In order to do this, you need to take the sausage out of the casing. This is not for the faint of heart. But do it anyway because the end result is so #worthit

-Once your meat is cooked through, add your Lacinto Kale, stir a bit till the Kale is a  vibrant green, then add the squash and mix to incorporate. Don't furiously beat it together, just gently mix. 

-WHAM.BAM. You're done. Throw it on a plate and sprinkle with a dash of Grana Padano Stravecchio or whatever Italian hard cheese your little heart so desires. 

#nomcity

Recipe #2

Breakfast Chia Seed Pudding

If you are weird about texture and you don't like tapioca or things that are potentially "slimy" then you will likely hate this. Which is crazy talk because it's delicious & nutritious. 

INGREDIENTS/IMPORTANT THINGS:

I use small 8 oz. mason jars and pour ingredients into each one instead of making a big batch and making a mess when I try to put it into each jar. EACH TO THEIR OWN. 

IN EACH JAR:

1/4 cup milk of your choosing. I use unsweetened almond milk, but you can use regular milk, soy, coconut, eat your heart out. 

2 chopped fresh dates

1 tsp. agave nectar

1 small handful slivered raw almonds

3 heaping tablespoons black chia seeds

WHAT YOU DO:

SHAKE IT. Literally. That's it. Shake the jar so that the ingredients are mixed, and put it in your fridge for at least 4 hours. Take it to work the next morning and annoy your coworkers by telling them how good your healthy homemade breakfast is and glance condescendingly at their Pop Tarts and other various processed foods. 

The seeds will expand and congeal to form a "pudding" over night. Feel free to check your fridge every 30 minutes like I did. It probably makes it taste better too. 

So there you have it, breakfast and lunch and dinner for you! Stay tuned because I have some Butternut and Acorn squash raring to go! Enjoy the weather!

Huffing & Puffing & Hobbling. The Half Marathon.

Well, here we are again and it's been a while...again. I've been neglecting TheSizzle in favor of Body Pump class, sunbathing, work and Skype. I'm also leaving in 16 days (not that I'm counting or anything). 

I digress. I promised y'all San Diego, and here she is. 

SAN DIEGO PART ONE:

MainSqueeze and I hopped on a red-eye flight from Honolulu to LAX, then squeezed into what I was certain was Amelia Earnhardt's first prop plane for the short ride to San Diego. I hadn't slept, and we were supposed to run 13.1 miles the next morning. Riiiiiiight. 

In true Sizzle form, I pinched myself and went on a hunt for some caffeine and got the spring back in my step. We had a great brunch at Café Chloe. Mimosas happened, and all was right in the world. Except I still needed to sleep. 

That night I whipped up a pasta primavera of sorts with linguine, fresh basil, blistered cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemon, prosciutto and blanched asparagus; topped with some reggiano cheese. It was a great "carb load" meal. 

After MainSqueeze forced me to drink 13123423 bottles of water, it was bedtime (he worries about my hydration. But he'll be very proud to know I currently have a 1.5 litre Nalgene of water on my desk that I have dutifully been chugging as the day wears on).

We were up at 3:45 am for the race. As we shuffled around that morning looking for shoes, shorts, lucky rabbit feet (just kidding) and bibs, we made it to the start line. Before the race, I spotted "Teddy" the mayor from the TV show "Nashville" and made a fool of myself. He got a laugh and I walked away feeling awkward. 

ANYWHO. The race was great, I finished with an OK time considering I hadn't trained like I planned on. I'd like to run another and really push myself. Remind me to tell you the story about our friend #guau accidentally putting a popsicle stick with a glob of vaseline in his mouth during the race. I still laugh. every. time. 

Post race, we rehydrated by way of margaritas on the rocks and fish tacos at a local spot Downtown in the Gaslamp that I do not recall the name of. Probably because the food was unremarkable and I was covered in a thin layer of salt and grime and my joints were about as stiff as a poker. #runningproblems

HOWEVER. That night we had reservations at Cowboy Star, a well reviewed steak house in town. Now, you put 9 red blooded Texans in a California steak house and...well. It was surprisingly decent. 

Amouse Bouche.

We obviously wore our race medals to dinner, and so this deserved a complimentary amouse bouche to start the night off. MainSqueeze and I ordered a nice red (it's good for post-race muscle soreness...or something) and others around the table ordered more wine and various cocktails as we perused the menu. 

pardon the funky photo.

I was immediately drawn to their asparagus salad. I have to say it's one of the most interesting salads I've had to date, and the asparagus were cooked perfectly. 

Grilled asparagus, pro blanco, grapefruit, cardamom-lemon ice cream and Thai Basil. 

The salad was the highlight of my dinner. Being the carnivore that I am, I ordered a  NY Strip steak medium rare and it was a tad overcooked. Honestly, I was so tired that I didn't even care. I usually have a minor conniption if a steak house can't get a steak right, but I figured I'd give these Cali folk a break and suck it up. I didn't have the energy to throw a hissy fit, and hissy fits aren't really my style anyhow.

After steak and sampling the variety of sides we ordered (sweetbreads, mushrooms and some sort of mac and cheese concoction) I obviously had to satiate my hankering for dessert. 

deconstructed cherry pie

I love cherries. I currently have 2 bags of fresh cherries in my kitchen and have made several delightful treats (recipes coming soon). My Dad and I used to hole up in the kitchen on Thanksgiving and make about 10 pies. One of his specialties was a cherry pie that would have you licking the pie pan. Literally. So MainSqueeze and I opted to share their "deconstructed cherry pie" and it was eh. Good but not something to lick the plate over. 

Our good amigo who we will call #guau ordered some bread pudding of sorts as well. Please note that we really did wear our medals our in public. The more laughable thing is that we were all gussied up for dinner, and I was literally HOBBLING everywhere. I don't know why I thought wearing wedges was a good idea, but other diners sure got a kick out of watching me hitch and totter in and out of the restaurant. 

bread pudding something or other and a MEDAL.

After dinner, we all struggled to keep our eyes open and I dragged myself up the stairs to bed. We were truly a sight to be seen. 

Next on TheSizzle, I'll tell you about one of my favorite days ever, spent in the sun with MainSqueeze, rented bicycles, a near death experience, impromptu poker games in the sunshine, cliffs and coves, choreographed dance moves and a coconut margarita that changed my life. 

Until then my friends!