WIAW: Celebrating B’s Birthday

Does anyone else feel like last week went by waaaay too fast? Like, wasn’t I just writing a WIAW post? Anyway, this week’s What I Ate Wednesday features food from celebrating B’s birthday. We had a date night and FW’s aunt watched him so we could go out and celebrate!
Breakfast was some egg white oats and a peach and nectarine.  We were so so lucky to have some great peaches this year and these were fresh from the farmers market.

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Lunch was a salad. I had roasted some veggies and added them to some lettuce and other veggies (including avocado!)- it was delish!

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Snacks included an apple and almond butter and some additional spoonfuls of peanut butter (not pictured). 

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Plus tons of hugs and kisses with this guy because this is my last week of maternity leave. I’m going to miss him so much!!

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When Mary came over, it was time for us to go out! We went to a new place near us for drinks and decided to stay for dinner. I had some Rosé and B had a delicious bourbon drink.

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We started off with some appetizers to share. This warm pita and Indian hummus were amazing. 

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We also split some meats and octopus  on sticks (not the actual name or what they called them). 20160914_195315

And then for dinner we split the octopus tacos and the poke tuna “sandwich”.20160914_201526

 Everything was delicious! We ended the meal stuffed and didn’t end up getting dessert or after dinner drinks.

And that sums up my day of eats from Wednesday. Now, some questions for you! 

  • If you had to choose getting an appetizer or dessert, what would you get?
  • What’s your favorite nut butter?  

It’s Been One Week … (Yes, we had that baby)

One week ago, our lives changed completely. We went from being just B and me to being a family of three. FW was born last Thursday afternoon. He and the whole family are healthy and doing well (despite lacking some serious sleep).

I’ll spare you all the super detailed details, and in true fashion of how we shared we were expecting, here are some of the FAQs:

Okay, we want to know – boy or girl?!

It’s a boy!

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When was he born?

FW waited until after the Cavs win and parade celebration and came into the world June 23, 2016. Just like his mom when she was born, he was 2 days late (I was due on Jan 21 and born Jan 23).

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About 24 hours before he was born, his mom and dad were at the Cavs parade celebrating the city’s win!

What were the basic details – height, weight, etc. 

He’s just a little guy! 6 lb. 12.5 oz and 19.5 inches. OR 19 inches. It depends on who you ask.

This was taken in the hospital when we were about to take him home!

This was taken in the hospital when we were about to take him home!

Why haven’t you posted any photos of him or any blog posts yet? Is everyone okay? Was he born with 3 heads?

Ha, he was not born with three heads. He has one head, with hair (I LOVE BABIES WITH HAIR!), and is perfect and cute in every way (yes, I’m biased). I’ve been sharing plenty on Snapchat (follow me at @koskim) and will start to share more on other channels as well. And honestly, every time I go to write a blog post, he is awake and I can’t stand not looking at him so I put the computer down and go chill with him. He is sleeping now (it’s daytime – he loves sleeping during the day), and I thought it was time to officially introduce him to the world. So here you go – gratuitous baby photos await!

He even poses in his sleep

He even poses in his sleep

How are you feeling? How is he sleeping?

Judging from what I’ve been told and what I’ve heard from friends, I had a reallllly easy labor. So I’m feeling pretty good for just having a baby. BUT I’m tired. Let’s just say that FW likes sleeping a lot – during the day. At night, well, we’re still teaching him about that.

When was the last time you ran? Are you going to start running again?

I ran/hobbled a mile (before taking a walk) the day before FW was born. IT was a slow and not-so-comfortable mile! And now I need to wait until after 6 weeks to start exercise. It’s rough. Luckily, I’ve felt good enough to take some walks with B and FW, but I can tell that 6 weeks are going to last a while!

on our first walk outside with him

on our first walk outside with him

Have you had any visitors?

Yes! My parents came in town the minute they heard I was in labor and were here last weekend. B’s family has been by a few times AND he’s gotten a chance to meet a few coworkers. His social calendar is pretty full these days 🙂

hanging out with the grandparents

hanging out with the grandparents

meeting the cousins!

meeting the cousins!

Are you still going to live downtown?

Yup, still getting this question – and yes, we’re still in our apartment. We converted the guest room into a nursery and B made this amazing space-saving changing table that is built up to the wall so it doesn’t take up floorspace and FW is loving living downtown. We’ve given him a few tours of our neighborhood and took him out to his first downtown meal this week – we enjoyed some tacos outdoors in the Flats!

showing FW the Flats

showing FW the Flats

FW along the water

FW along the water

Seeing the food trucks at Walnut Wednesday

Seeing the food trucks at Walnut Wednesday

Are you going to be a mom blogger now?

Umm, sorta, but not really? I know that’s not a real answer – but I’m going to still blog the way I always blog, about things I know. Baking. Cooking. Running. And now that being a mom (it’s so weird to say that) is part of who I am, here we go – mom blogging awaits! I imagine that I’ll have some more mom-focused blog posts or a mom-spin on my posts moving forward, but when I get back to running in a few months there will be posts about that. When I get some more sleep and can bake and cook again, there will be posts about that. And as I adjust to live as a mom, I imagine there will be fewer posts at times as I enjoy every minute of life with baby!

out to lunch with mom and dad

out to lunch with mom and dad

Joining up today with the Thinking Out Loud linkup. Because I’ve had writer’s block and it seems appropriate that this post be a flood of thoughts!

Warning – there may be typos in this post. My brain is a little tired from the lack of REM sleep … (as if there weren’t typos in the other posts on here)

Three Weekends In One

What a weekend.  It was fun, tiring and a whirlwind of activity.  I need a weekend to recover I think!

If I had to sum up my weekend, I’d say it was like 3 weekends in one. I feel like I had enough going on to fill three weekends – and it was great!

The weekend started Friday night, with a dinner date and comedy show. B and had tickets to a 9:30 show (late for 8 month pregnant me) to see one of our favorite comica, Sebastian Maniscalco. We started off with a late dinner at Cowell & Hubbard, splitting cheese and a few appetizers.

our Cowell & Hubbard assortment

our Cowell & Hubbard assortment

And then the show. We’ve seen Sebastian several times throughout the years at Hilarities, but he has gotten bigger now (he was even on Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee) and even though he was playing at a different, bigger venue, we almost didn’t get tickets in time!

Saturday morning started early with a 5 am alarm- B and I were headed to the airport to fly to Boston for the day to celebrate our anniversary! It was a great, but quick trip and we were able to get in a lot of walking (nearly 30,000 steps) and see many of our old favorite places (we met in Boston in college). From Beacon Hill to the Boston Common to the Public Gardens to Newbury Street to Faneuil Hall to Fenway to the Isabella Gardner Museum, I’d say we hit nearly everything.

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We even got in a celebrity sighting- we were told we couldn’t post photos on social media but I did share info to my Snapchat story (@koskim). Here’s a hint- he was promoting Walhburgers and his name rhymes with Bark 🙂

We ended the day with a great Italian meal in the North End, complete with cannoli, tiramisu and coffee of course.

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Sunday started early again- we had to fly back to Cleveland first thing, as I was emceeing a board event Sunday at lunch time. I’m the Vice President of the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Cleveland, and Sunday was our annual scholarship banquet. I had the pleasure of speaking and announcing the names of all the student award recipients. Brought me back to my days of high school awards events!

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We finally made it home Sunday evening and I am so grateful for B who could tell I was pooped and volunteered to make dinner. I was so worn out that even after 3 nights out, he could have convinced me to order pizza….shh don’t tell him I said that!

And that was my weekend. Not relaxing in the least, but fun.

Some questions for you:

  1. Do you tend to have good or bad flight karma?
  2. Do you have a favorite comedian?
  3. Have you ever been to Boston?

I’m linking up today with ErinKatie and the weekly wraps.

WIAW #16: B Cooks For Me …

Surprise- not only is it National Running Day, but it’s also time to talk about another one of my favorite subjects – food! That’s right, it’s  What I Ate Wednesday! These were my eats from YESTERDAY, because that is when I remembered to take photos. I really need to start taking photos on a different day of the week.

Basically as I’m typing this, I realize how lucky I am. B makes me soooo much of my food. It’s not that I don’t enjoy cooking or don’t know how to cook – it’s frankly because some days I’m just too crazed to think about cooking/eating/etc. and B takes care of me. So not to be overly gushy, but I can’t help write this post without acknowledging that. Anyway, breakfast included egg whites with hot peppers, spinach and frozen veggies. B made me the breakfast at home and I brought it into the office – and plated it – so I could eat this delicious meal at my desk.

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I also had a blueberry snack mid-morning.

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This week is our office’s Wellness Week so for lunch we had a salad bar potluck! Each person in our office contributed some ingredient for a salad and we made our own salads at lunch. BEST IDEA EVER. Check out my delicious salad- there’s feta cheese, blueberries, spinach, mixed greens, craisins, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, a few bites of chicken, chickpeas, carrots, cucumbers, and beans. No dressing – I’m weird like that. And served with an apple!

BEST SALAD.

BEST SALAD.

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Snacks the day included baby carrots, a nectarine and perrier, a handful of cashews and wintergreen mints.

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Dinner was great, as usual. I fully intended on making dinner but some client work popped up unexpectedly so after I started to chop up veggies, B took over. He made some pork from the West Side Market, cauliflower and broccoli.

pork cauliflower broccoli

Yum! I was going to end the day with an Arctic Zero sundae, but I simply was too tired to do so.Yup, too tired for dessert … it doesn’t happen often, but it happens!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have someone in your life that makes you meals when you’re short on time?
  • What are your favorite salad toppings?

B is for B’s Birthday!

This weekend was a fun-filled, pre-planned celebratory weekend for B! Why? Because B had a milestone birthday. I’m not going to say how old … but I’m sure you can figure it out 🙂

Anyway, we started off the celebrations somewhat early – Thursday night, I planned a night to Hilarities to see one of B and my’s favorite podcast stars – Pete Correale. I also invited some of B’s friends AND family to join us in the celebration! We had people over before the show for drinks, sliders and pulled pork (thanks to B’s mom!), and some snacks I prepared like buffalo chicken dip, hummus, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and buckeye brownies (recipe is coming soon!).

thursday night

After the show, we got a chance to say hi to Pete and even get a picture – he was such a nice guy and none of B’s friends were familiar with him but I’m sure they’re fans now; he put on a great show!

pete correale

Friday night I let B decide how he wanted to spend the evening and what he wanted for dinner – so of course, we ended up at Parnells for drinks and then Superior Pho! After dinner we walked around and caught some of the outdoor movie playing downtown – a Cleveland classic, Draft Day. And of course we enjoyed some leftover cupcakes for dessert.

superior pho

outdoor movie night!

outdoor movie night!

Saturday was another awesome day where I basically told B that we could do whatever he wanted. Because he’s the best, the day started with him making me breakfast and cleaning the apartment while I worked out (I know – he cleaned our apartment while I got to work out … he knows the way to make me happy). After that, we picked up our CSA and then headed to the Cleveland Flea! I love the Flea and it was a cool fall-like day – perfect for walking around and grabbing a few drinks.

B @ the Flea

B @ the Flea

Then, B chose to hit the driving range. We each hit a bucket of balls – and I didn’t do that bad.

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After the driving range, we went out to the lake. It had started to get cloudy – and windy – and it was fun to see the water so rough. Hard to believe last year on this same day we were on the beach in LA!

For dinner, B decided he was craving buffalo chicken wings. Wings and beer – not too bad for a birthday I suppose. And then after dinner, it was time for the next part of our plans – another comedy show! Jim Jefferies, another comedian I was introduced to from a podcast, was in town after canceling his show in June and playing in one of the local theaters. He was awesome – he put on a nearly TWO HOUR performance and it was so much fun to see him in real life after listening to his cast and watching him on TV (he used to have a show, Legit).

Buff chick salad!

Buff chick salad AND a PUMPKING (aka my favorite fall brew)

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Sunday was another great day – it included watching the Browns WIN their home opener (probably because B was wearing his birthday gift – the Brian Hoyer jersey), some meal prep for the week and a 5 miler with B. Not a bad way to end a birthday weekend – hopefully B agreed!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you watch Sunday football? Who do you root for? Sometimes – I didn’t grow up watching football but if it’s on and I can multi-task (a.k.a. I don’t have to ONLY watch it) I’ll root for the Browns.
  • Meal prepping – do you do it? Yes, if I get a chance to, I love working with my Fresh Fork finds and preparing lunches in advance. It makes my week so much better and there’s something so relaxing about preparing food. I find it therapeutic! 
  • Any favorite comics? Do you like podcasts? Which do you listen to? I like to listen while working out, especially if I’m indoors – I go for the Pete & Sebastian show or Stuff You Should Know.
  • What would your birthday meal of choice be?

Bacon Bombs, Bowling and More = A West Virginian Thanksgiving

And so it begins – the holiday season is officially here! Woohoo! I really do love this time of year – from the baking and holiday foods, to the festive lights decorating downtown to of course being able to spend time with my family – what’s not to like?

lights in the Arcade in Cleveland

lights in the Arcade in Cleveland

This weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving. And because we trade locations (NY with my family vs. here with B’s family) each year, this year we were spending the holiday with B’s family. And this year, B’s family had rented a cabin in Wheeling, West Virginia at Oglebay Resort. We would be in a cabin for three nights with about 20 members of B’s family and extended family – which meant lots of good meals, drinks, games, and we even fit in some even some runs and walks! Some highlights:

The cabin:

Here’s where we stayed- it was really nice and a short walk from the main lodge which meant just a short walk from the pool and fitness center! (yes, I got in a 6 mile treadmill run one day while the kiddos were splashing in the pool).

Our home for 3 nights

Our home for 3 nights

The food:

We arrived Wednesday night at the cabin to a dinner of what B’s family was calling bacon bombs. Bacon/meat-lovers rejoice – have I got the meal for you – imagine a giant meatloaf wrapped in bacon? That’s what this is:

bacon bombs!

bacon bombs!

And what would Thanksgiving be without all of the other glorious food?

dinner collage

Some of the fun:

Before getting on the road, we decided to do some pre-vacation pampering! I went with my niece and two of my sisters-in-law and we got our nails done.

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I brought supplies with me to make some candy turkeys I’d found on Pinterest – and they were a hit! The kids loved making them and trying to steal all the candy/cookies/frosting/etc. they could get their hands on.

turkeys

We went sleigh riding down what a local called “Suicide Hill.” I mostly watched and ran up and down the hill to keep warm, but couldn’t help but take photos and video of the fun. My favorite? Sending Oliver down the hill in a laundry basket that we had in the car.

Keeping the Thanksgiving morning tradition of running alive, we found a 5k in Wheeling and ran it – with a few of the other family members! It was tons of fun. I ran the whole race with B’s cousin who’s the girl in the front in the blue hat in the pic below – she’s fast and came in 4th in her age group (14 and under).

B and me post-race. B rocked and PRd with a 5k in 23 something minutes

B and me post-race. B rocked and PRd with a 5k in 23 something minutes

The whole gang who ran!

The whole gang who ran!

And of course just all around shenanigans and playing with my niece and nephew and cousins-in-law.

He's a pretty good reader for a preschooler huh?

He’s a pretty good reader for a preschooler huh?

Teaching her some of my favorite old hand-games.

Teaching her some of my favorite old hand-games.

Pirates are completely normal on Thanksgiving, right? Didn't they come over with the pilgrims?

Pirates are completely normal on Thanksgiving, right? Didn’t they come over with the pilgrims?

And Thanksgiving with B’s family wouldn’t be complete without BOWLING. That’s right, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, his dad’s side gets together for a bowling competition (the side of the family who gets together for softball competition each year). No, I didn’t win (for some reason scoring a 76 didn’t even get me into the finals!) – but there’s always next year, right? I’ll be seeking bowling coaches – you know where to find me! (kidding)

Cousins-in-law!

Cousins-in-law!

bowling!

bowling!

And that was it! From traveling to West Virginia and then to way out northeastern Ohio for bowling, I’m somewhat feeling I need a vacation from my vacation!

Some questions for you:

How was your Thanksgiving? Do you travel for the holiday?

What did you make for the holiday? B and I were in charge of desserts! We also were to make a vegetable – so we made roasted squash and Brussels sprouts!

Did you try any new foods? Yes! Shoofly pie, that B and I made, as well as a slice of a bacon bomb. 

Do you have any fun family traditions during the holidays? Bowling with B’s family the Sat. after Thanksgiving has become a great tradition!

Did you do any Thanksgiving day races / Turkey Trots?

What are you most looking forward to about the coming month or so of the holiday season? Love Actually, Christmas music and seeing my family again!

I leave you with this pic of B and me chopping veggies:

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B’s Weekend

I’ll be the first to admit it – I haven’t been the nicest person lately. I’ve been stressed, busy, not getting as much sleep as I need, and all that makes for a not-so-nice Melissa. And B has been great through it all. When I have a few moments, he’s more than willing to watch whatever I want on TV – even if it’s my new favorite series Call the Midwife – make me breakfast AND dinner and even buy me flowers just because. So Thursday night I declared that this would be B’s weekend. We would do whatever he wanted to do, starting Friday night.

It may not have been my idea of a perfect weekend – but don’t tell B, I still had a pretty good time.

Here’s what we did:

Friday started with Happy Hour after work at Moriarty’s. After consuming a few Christmas Ales, it was decided that we’d go to our favorite BYOB sushi place (yes, Sushi 86 again). Post-sushi? Stopping by Parnell’s for the perfectly poured Guinness. Not too shabby right?

My standard - rainbow roll and mackerel sashimi

My standard – rainbow roll and mackerel sashimi

LOVE THIS PLACE

LOVE THIS PLACE

THE perfect pour

THE perfect pour

Saturday started early – B’s alarm went off and he declared we’d be running the St. Luke Church Pilgrim Run 5K, a race his aunt, uncle and cousins were running. Normally I’m all for the occasional Saturday morning 5k race. Especially with sunny, 50 degree weather, as it somehow was this Saturday. Plus, the race was in one of my old favorite neighborhoods and the course was on a street lined with beautiful still colorful fall trees. But after a few Friday evening drinks, my body did not want to get out of bed. Or run. College Melissa – I am not. But – as I had said, it was B’s weekend. So off to the race we went, the last two to register that day and the last two to arrive to the starting line just as it was getting started. Guess I’m glad we went – I somehow placed First Overall Female and B took home the award for Second Male in his age group! Oh yeah, his uncle and cousins (did I mention that they’re under ten years old??) also took home awards. Not too bad 🙂
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The race was followed by a trip to the West Side Market to pick up some food for the week and then Gallucci’s for wine and supplies for dinner – pizza, B’s favorite.

West Side Market - making shopping fun!

West Side Market – making shopping fun!

Gallucci's!

Gallucci’s!

After making sauce and pizza, it was time to head out to B’s choice of Saturday evening entertainment – checking out the Cleveland Comedy Festival, including the headliner, Todd Barry. B listens to his podcast and had heard he was in town – just down the street from where we live, so it was easy to walk over, get tickets, and enjoy the show.

homemade sauce

homemade sauce

Pizza! Crust from Fresh Fork, Cheese from Gallucci's, Chicken Sausage from West Side Market

Pizza! Crust from Fresh Fork, Cheese from Gallucci’s, Chicken Sausage from West Side Market

pear martini
And an after-show drink at the District. How pretty is this pear martini? It was delicious, too! We’ll have to go back another time.
cleveland-comedy-festival

We often spend Sundays cleaning, and this weekend was no different. The day started with espresso beverages (mocha for B, latte for me) and doughnuts, followed by cleaning our bathrooms and kitchen. B could probably tell I was antsy to told me that he’d handle most of the cleaning if I wanted to enjoy the 60 degree weather and go for a run. Of course I did! I ended up staying indoors but was still grateful and happy to get in a run.

Post-run, B and I went to Winks to watch the Browns game with Dave and Anson who are both from greater Cincinnati. Sadly, it was NOT a good game for us Browns fans. Ahh well. Maybe next week? Thus is the life of a Browns fan.

How were your weekends? Some questions for you:

  • Did you run any races this weekend?
  • What is your idea of the perfect weekend? Mine would probably include some sunshine/sunbathing, some froyo, some sushi, some baking, some running, shopping and perhaps sleeping in. Oh, and maybe some bubbly just because.
  • What was the best thing you ate this weekend? Hmm, it’s a toss up – either my Friday night sushi or the homemade sauce we had Saturday night. Or the apple fritter at the West Side Market.

Fresh Fork Week 6 and B Cooks: Pasta with Zucchini and Garlic in a Red Sauce {Recipe}

We missed an entire week of our CSA thanks to our travels to Milwaukee (I’m not that sad because our trip was awesome and everyone needs a week of beer, brats, cheese and jelly beans away from their CSA right?), so no recap for last week’s supplies. We took the week off and instead have a credit to buy more goodies another week. Woohooo!

But wait until you see what we got this week. Oh what’s that? I forgot to take a picture of everything we got because I was out to dinner celebrating a coworker’s birthday and B had to pick up our CSA? Whoops. Well let me tell you instead:

  • 1 lb sweet pea linguine from Ohio City Pasta
  • 2 zucchinis
  • 1 large candy onion
  • 1 bunch beets
  • 1 head green leaf lettuce
  • 1 quart plain Velvet View  Yogurt
  • 2 cucumbers
  • Approx 1 lb slicing tomatoes
  • 1 pint sweet cherries
  • 1 pint blueberries

Okay, I lied, here are a few photos I took of SOME of the stuff… but no awesome picture of everything laid out on my counter.

Salad for lunch! With Fresh Fork cucumber, lettuce and tomato

Salad for lunch! With Fresh Fork cucumber, lettuce and tomato

fresh veggies

fresh veggies

So what did we do with everything this week?

  • Beets- TBD. After the last beet / dress incident, I’m going to be VERY careful with whatever I decide to do. Most likely roast them again. While wearing a garbage bag. That I will keep on while eating the beets.
  • Lettuce and cucumbers and some tomatoes- perfect for salads! Lunchtime here we come. YUM!
  • Blueberries and cherries- enjoyed as snacks. Both were eaten immediately and I have no regrets. That’s right – I have no regrets. Because B didn’t have any. Whoops! Side note – have you ever had cherries with cottage cheese? Delicious in my opinion – both are slightly tart so I really liked the combo.
  • Yogurt- still TBD. Likely eating it by itself with some fruit, perhaps some homemade granola (remember those oats I got a few weeks ago?), or with my fruit. Or added to make a cream sauce. Or as a topping on a southwestern salad (like sour cream). What do you think?
  • Zucchini and Ohio City Pasta- See the recipe, below. B made me dinner!

That’s right, B made me dinner. Okay, stop sounding so surprised. If you knew anything about us you would know that B is actually an amazing chef and way more creative in the kitchen. So when he proposed making me dinner, of course I said ,”YES PLEASE!!!” (well, I really said, “Are you sure? We can go out and get Vietnamese food if you prefer? Or I can help? Or we can get Chipotle? Or go to $1 dog night at the Indians Game? What do you want to do?” Yes, I am that indecisive.)

Thankfully B said that no, he would cook for me. And I asked if I could blog the recipe. He said no. He said – I’m not making a recipe. I’m just cooking some zucchini and putting it on pasta. That’s when I had to explain to him that I sometimes include non-recipes on my blog because well, everyone likes a non-recipe once in a while. So here we go – allow me to introduce to you, B’s Pasta.

Pasta with Zucchini and Red Sauce |I Crashed the Web.

B’s Pasta & Zucchini (Pasta with Zucchini and Garlic in a Red Sauce)

Makes about 4 large portions

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 lb. of your favorite pasta. We love making our own but having the sweet pea linguine from Ohio City Pasta was a treat!
  • 2 zucchinis, diced into about 1-inch pieces. Our pieces looked like little wedges.
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1-2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/4 red wine (approximately. B doesn’t measure anything)
  • 1-2 c of your favorite spaghetti sauce. We used our own homemade sauce. Because pasta sauce shouldn’t come in a can – sorry – otherwise it tastes like ketchup. Seriously.
  • Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Here’s what you do:

      1. In a skillet on medium-low, heat up the olive oil. Add diced zucchini and salt/pepper to taste.
      2. After 3-4 minutes or zucchini has started to soften, add garlic. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.
      3. Add red wine and let zucchini and garlic simmer. You may have to turn the heat down low if it starts to look like it’s almost going to boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until zucchini is a deep red (I thought it almost looked like eggplant) and cooked through.
      4. While zucchini and garlic are cooking, prepare pasta according to directions. Homemade and Ohio City Pasta only take a few minutes to cook, but if you buy a box it will likely take 10-12 minutes so you may want to put the on as you add the red wine.
      5. When pasta is cooked, add it, along with red sauce, to the zucchini / garlic / wine mixture. Cook for about another minute or so until all flavors are combined.
      6. Serve with some fresh Parmesan if you like. My dad would skip this step – he’s not a Parmesan cheese fan. (and yes, my mom is Italian. It works somehow)
      7. Enjoy!
sauteed zucchini for Pasta with Zucchini and Red Sauce |I Crashed the Web.

Zucchini is sauteeing

Pasta with Zucchini and Red Sauce |I Crashed the Web.

Zucchini is cooking with the garlic and wine

Pasta with Zucchini and Red Sauce |I Crashed the Web.

Add in tomato sauce and pasta. Serve with or without Parmesan!

For other Fresh Fork Recaps:

Half Marathon Weekend Recap – The Holy Half

B and I ran a half marathon this weekend in South Bend, Indiana. You may recall that one of my goals for this year was to run at least 2 half marathons (to partially make up for my injury while training for a full marathon last year). I was thinking of training for Cleveland, but since we’ll be at B’s sister’s graduation from Notre Dame that weekend, we started looking for other races. So when B’s sister mentioned she’d be running the Holy Half at Notre Dame, it only seemed appropriate that we run that!

holy half marathon

How did it go? The race itself went well except B wasn’t feeling good most of the time. He was feeling a little sick the first half, and then was in much more pain the second half of the race – stomach, legs, etc. I kept with him the whole time and we finished, but definitely weren’t running for time. Maybe that’s why I felt so good after the race and could have run at least a mile or few more.

B's Aunt Marie took this action shot!

B’s Aunt Marie took this action shot!

What did we like about the race?

  • The running crowd – I really enjoyed the group of people that were running. It was mostly Notre Dame students so it was a lot of young people – but quite a few non-ND students were mixed in as well (including a BC grad like myself). It didn’t hurt that B, his two sisters and one of his brothers were all running the half or the 10k!
  • The cheering – The students were all over campus cheering the runners on. It was fun to see the students with signs and cheering everyone on – even those who clearly weren’t part of their campus.
  • The water/Gu stops – There seemed to be plenty of water stops to keep us hydrated and even 3-4 stops that also included Gu Chomps.
  • The run through campus – The running route was about two laps of a 10k course. Parts of it were through campus, which was fun to see! I’m slightly biased with my idea of what a beautiful campus looks like (Sorry, but BC was GORGEOUS!) but it was nice to see another pretty college.
  • The start time – Starting at 9 a.m.? LOVED not having to get up at the break of dawn to get to the race!
  • The post-race food – Free Jimmy John’s subs (veggie for me), Dunkin Donuts bagels, Peeps, fruit and more. The supply was endless!

What didn’t we like about the race?

  • The weather – I guess you can’t really blame this on the race but it was COLD! I couldn’t feel my fingers at the end, at all, which wasn’t fun. I was wearing normal winter running gear, but for some reason couldn’t get my hands warm. This could have to do with the fact that I’m incapable of drinking water during runs and spilled the ice cold water cups a few times. Whoops!
  • The overall course –  While I did love running through campus and liked the loop, I didn’t like miles 2-4 of the loop, which were almost like a trail run. They were around a lake or pond on campus and the path was very narrow – some parts you were barely able to pass anyone, which is not good for the start of a race – and the ground was rock solid and uneven. It had clearly been muddy at some point, and then re-frozen and it hurt my knees more than the normal concrete. B also didn’t like the last few miles of the loop because it was mostly running around parking lots, etc.
  • No medal – We didn’t get a medal. Not that I do anything with the medals I get (do you?) but we didn’t get anything for finishing. Our race bags had t-shirts and some odd assortment of goodies (jewelry cleaner?) but there was no medal or anything at the finish line.
Post-race relaxing at Notre Dame .. and a photo-bomb by Pete!

Post-race relaxing at  Legends on Notre Dame .. and a photo-bomb by Pete!

After the race, we met up with B’s aunt, uncle and cousin, who had been cheering everyone on and grabbed a few drinks on campus before heading back to take a nap. Post-nap we were starving! We enjoyed some pretty good pizza (surprisingly good for what I was expecting out of a small pizza joint in Indiana) and then headed to a local bar for some dancing, fuzzy navel shots and some seriously amazing games of beer pong (B was undefeated!). Definitely not a bad way to spend a half-marathon weekend! 

Some thoughts to ponder:

  • Have you ever signed up for a half marathon less than two weeks before the race? How did it go?
  • Do you like to run with a friend/significant other when racing? Do you leave them behind or stick with them through the end?
  • Have you ever run a race through a college campus?
  • What’s your favorite post-race indulgence?
  • What’s your favorite college campus?

A Canadian Christmas Getaway (Part One)

After spending the holidays with my family (which goes by waaay too fast), B and I had planned a little winter getaway. We had thrown around a few tropical ideas – returning to the British Virgin Islands, Hawaii, the Bahamas, and even Florida – but we ended up somehow in the complete opposite direction: Canada! B had never been to Montreal, a beautiful city just a few hours away from my parents – and I had never been to Toronto, “on the way” home from Montreal – so it was a perfect, easy trip to plan.

Montreal

B and I got to Montreal just before dinnertime and checked into our hotel in Old Montreal. How cute! Everything was in French and very charming. And of course B had found us the perfect hotel, just a few steps away from the Notre Dame Cathedral. We had plans to walk around and then meet one of his coworkers (Who is from Montreal) for drinks. After bundling up and going outside, it became apparent there wasn’t going to be MUCH walking around – I was frozen! We made it a few blocks, hit a coffee shop and decided to just sit inside for most of the time before meeting up with B’s coworker at Gaspar Taverne.

cathedral 2

montreal cathedral

in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral

The Taverne Gaspar was cute – we were greeted with a “Bon Soir” as we walked in and then an immediate “Hello – English?” as we both looked slight confused. Our bartender asked where we were from and began to immediately teach us some French phrases that would come in handy. B’s coworker and her friends arrived and we enjoyed a drink with them before heading off to find someplace close (Brr!) for dinner. Dinner was also in Old Montreal, as we opted for a place that served baguettes with brie and chicken, and poutine.

Inside El Gaspar

Inside Taverne Gaspar

poutine

Poutine. Aka fries with gravy, cheese and bacon.

Practiically the only drink I could pronounce on the menu

Practically the only drink I could pronounce on the menu

The next morning we woke up to snow. And not just a little snow – a blizzard! That day, the day we were supposed to walk around Old Montreal and downtown turned into the largest snowfall Montreal had ever had in 24 hours – yes, a record-breaking 50 cm or something like that. Needless to say we probably didn’t walk as much around as we would’ve liked. We walked a few blocks and grabbed crepes for breakfast (YUM!), checked out the indoor market in Old Montreal, and then trudged along a few more miles toward the downtown area to find the underground mall that Montreal is known for. We spent most of the afternoon walking around the snowy streets and moving back toward the underground city/mall (called RÉSO). While it wasn’t ideal (we would’ve gotten way more siteseeing done if it hadn’t been snowing so much), it was a fun way to spend our day in the city. A few blisters later, B and I grabbed an easy lunch – a baguette and some fois gras and then a three course dinner at a prix fixe French restaurant. Fun fact – the waiter called us “King-makers” when he heard we were from Ohio – because “we’re the ones that choose the king [President] in the U.S.!”

Crepes for dessert!

Crepes for breakfast!

2nd course of our french dinner

2nd course of our french dinner

obligatory love photo (in the snow)

obligatory love photo (in the snow)

The morning next we strolled, slightly easier because the snow had stopped and the streets were somewhat plowed) through Old Montreal one last time and visited their indoor market and a maple shop before heading out to Toronto!

record-breaking snowfall!

record-breaking snowfall!

 

Part two of this blog post is here.