Cashews and Hummus

Eww.  Not intentionally.  More on that later.

I came out to Central Oregon with my family for the next couple of days because my dad and sister have a conference here.  Luckily, the townhouse has internet so I can work from here!

I rode up with my sister and niece yesterday after work.  We drove by Joe’s Donut Shop, which I swear has been around for a million years.  We used to stop there every weekend on the way up to the mountain to ski!

I <3 OREGON.

When we arrived, it was “let Lu free” time!  She did really well on the 3 hour drive.  Blasting The Sound of Music soundtrack helped.  Is there anyone out there who didn’t want to be Liesl when the grew up?  You’d be lying if you said you didn’t.

Also, did you know that penguins require shoes?

Did you know that penguins play golf?

Did you know that my sister makes stellar lentil soup?

HALLELUJAH. 

Legumes have been missing from my life.  Clearly, I was not the only one impressed.

(Note the empty bowl)

Warning: abrupt subject change

Unfortunately, I forgot any form of undergarment on this trip.  i.e. underwear, sports bra…MIA.  So, when I woke up at 5:00am to go for a run, I was SOL without a bra to run in!

Mission: improvise.  I went to work (it was working hours on the east coast anyway!) for a couple of hours, then headed to Target for the essentials.  I didn’t get my run in until almost 9:00am, but it did the job!  Actually, it was kind of a struggle…for 4 miles…maybe the altitude?

Before the run came a banana, and afterwards a very bright green monster!  See, Cara, it’s not so hard to avoid kettle corn…

  bad, kettle corn.

We bought the Safeway Organics brand of Vanilla Almond Milk and WHOO-EEE it’s sweet!  This thing tasted like juice!  I don’t think I’ll be picking that again.

I came home from my run to this sight:

WATCH OUT WORLD. She’s ready to go!

work.

work.

work.

You know me, I was starving for lunch by 10:00am…one egg over-easy please. 

work.

work.

work.

I was hoping to get to the pool today, but with the Target fiasco, I ran out of time.  

work.

work.

LUNCH.

We brought leftover pasta from the other night, and I also had a handful of spinach and watermelon. 

Tonight foresees a night out on the town with the fam! 

Can you believe it’s almost the weekend again?!  Where has the time gone?!

P.S. I saw a lizard on my run, and it was awesome.  Didn’t have my camera. 

Next time, little guy, next time.

Being on vacation.  Well, technically I’m not on vacation (I’m still working remotely from Portland), but being away from home is proving more difficult than I imagined!

I haven’t been sleeping.  I haven’t gotten any exercise since Friday (gross).  And I’ve been pigging out, eating far too much dairy for my own good, and missing my regular foods!

Call me a complainer.  I know I should be SO happy to be in Portland (and I AM!), but I feel like I’ve been “go go go” since I got here, and I haven’t even had a chance to unpack.  I need a moment to recollect myself!

To attempt to bring life back to normalcy, I made my parents a “typical” Cara dinner last night.

A Clean Food pasta that we’ve made a few times, which includes kale, tomatoes, chickpeas, onions, and garlic (among other things).  I was going to make vegan parmesan, but my parent’s grocery store didn’t have nutritional yeast (or at least it was hiding), so I went for the real stuff.

We also had some mini pita bread with oil and vinegar that I got for my mom at a shop in Charlottesville.  I also found mini bottles of wine necessary, which I got a major kick out of…

For dessert, I made some vegan cookies and banana soft serve! 

Proof that I am the biggest eater in my family: my mom claimed the soft serve was “too filling” because she got a whole banana’s worth, and she usually gets full off of 1/2 banana.  I must be adopted.

I swear, the banana soft serve tastes just as good as regular soft serve.  Or even frozen yogurt.  Did you know that self-serve froyo places have been popping up all over Portland?  Charlottesville is so behind the times.  I went the other night with my girlfriends and got the works.

Original tart yogurt with raspberries, graham cracker crumbs, candied sunflower seeds…and I think a couple of reeses pieces and cookie dough balls found their way in there as well…I need to learn from my mistakes: pick fruity or candy.  The combo doesn’t work.

This froyo adventure was after dinner at one of my favorite restaurants from college: The Laughing Planet.  They have awesome vegan/vegetarian options, but serve meat as well.

I ordered the grilled veggie burrito in a whole wheat tortilla, and asked them to add their special hot sauce.  WHOO-EEEE it was hot.  But delicious.

Emily was clearly not feeling blog-worthy. 

So, here’s the thing.  I need to start eating less of this:

…and more of this:

…and get back into plenty of this:

…or I’m going to explode.  Literally.

Which is why I started today with a cleansing breakfast:

Ahhh green monster and coffee.  I’ve never needed you more.

Oh, and P.S. Someone, please ban me from all future kettle corn consumption.  It is a dangerous thing.

If it’s wrong to still quote Coolio, I don’t want to be right.

Although I last left you on Friday, it feels like it’s been about a week!

And have I read one single blog since Thursday?  Nope.  I admit, it’s been liberating to not be attached to the computer at all times!

To go into every detail of my weekend would be insanity, and quite frankly excessive.  But here are the highlights!

1. Oregon Brewer’s Festival with my best girl friends (+ Greg and Jason!).  We drank beer.  We ate pizza.  We drank more beer.  We felt very sick the next day.  (and by “we” I mean “me”)  But the brewfest was so much fun!  Basically, imagine a giant park with booths set up for hundreds of different microbrews.  Add thousands of people, sweltering sun, and old friends, and you’ve got yourself a party.

Good friends tell you they’re going to go home to change from shorts into jeans so you’re not the only one in pants…then they change into a sundress instead. 

Good friends tell you we’re going to get dinner before drinking copious amounts of beer, but then somehow convince you it’d be a better idea to eat afterwards instead.  In this case, I was the “good friend”.

Good friends take extremely unflattering pictures of you chomping into a large piece of pizza…then subconsciously possess you to post them on your blog to be seen by thousands.

If you were to judge by my behavior, you wouldn’t believe that I had a wedding to go to the next day, but such was the case.  One of my good college friends got married to her boyfriend of EIGHT years!  They’ve been together since high school.  The most precious/perfect couple I’ve ever known!

The wedding was held in a vineyard, and just absolutely gorgeous!

It was so much fun to see some friends I hadn’t hung out with in over 2 years!!  The food spread included some delicious pasta selections, candy bar, and adorable cupcakes!  I had my share of each.   Clearly, my alcohol consumption was limited.  The night before did me in for at least a week…

Sunday morning I wasn’t quite feeling rested…I actually slept in!  I had to rush out the door to make it to the zoo with my sister Courtney, brother-in-law Kris, and niece Lucia!  I only had time to grab a GIANT apple out the door, but I think the cupcakes from the night before held me over through breakfast.

We also met up with some friend’s of my sister’s and their new baby.  SO cute!  We saw the elephants, rode the train, and chased little Lucia around until we were all ready for a nap.

We headed up to my parent’s house for a refreshing grilled chicken salad, cookies, and play time in the baby pool.  Have I mentioned how beautiful Portland is?

More awesome scenery pictures to come.  For now, I am caught up on the blog, but surely not caught up on work or unpacking!

When was the last time you went to the zoo?? 

Also, when you’re on “vacation” do you find it hard to accomplish even simple things like unpack your bags or make a meal?!

We couldn’t bring ourselves to make dinner last night, so my parents and I snacked on cheese and crackers with truffle salt and smoked salmon.  Plus piles of kettle corn and ice cream, which I can only eat at my parent’s house!  Joe doesn’t like popcorn.

Regardless of how tired I was last night, I got sucked into CABLE TV and stayed up way later than I had planned.  That will NOT happen tonight!  As soon as The Bachelorette is over, my head is hitting the pillow. 

Does anyone else find it awfully hard to avoid cable TV available on vacation when you don’t have cable in your own home!  It’s so addictive!

There are 3 bad United flights.  I tweeted that yesterday, and am pretty sure it’s a rule to live by.

I won’t go into the details, because I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about my flight disasters, but I made it to Portland!

Too much work/fun to be had for a real post, but here’s a photo journey of my morning.  Details at a later date!

Let the weekend madness begin!

Now, why isn’t THAT phrased used more often?  Bringin’ it back in style.

Hold on, it’s going to be a wild 13 hour trip back to Portland!

I won’t even bore you with my itinerary, but it’s a crazy one.  However, nothing will stop me from the excitement I feel to go home!

My attempt at looking happily excited turned into insanely spastic.  I love that my one-sided dimple is in full force, though.  Hmm, this also reveals how unmistakably see-through my shirt is.  Unbeknownst to me.  Until now.  Oh well.

A refreshing monster was necessary to fuel me through the muggy outdoors while I heaved my suitcases from apartment to car to airport.  Dripping in sweat I was.

I tried a new kind of milk substitute this week: coconut milk

I was surprised by how much coconut flavor there actually was.  This would be perfect for a pina colada smoothie!  I can see how some people don’t like it though.  The flavor might be too overpowering if you were making, say, a chocolate banana peanut butter smoothie.  Mine was blueberry today, though, so it worked well.  I’ll probably stick to almond milk because it’s cheaper and more versatile in taste.

Anyway, back to my massive suitcases.  How do you pack for 3 weeks?

Just bring all of your possessions so you’re sure not to forget anything.  Including cookbooks. 

Somehow I managed to get all of that (PLUS toiletries!  Which take up at least 1/4 of a suitcase when you count the hair dryer, I swear.) into this:

Notice how both of the suitcases have their “expanders” open to maximum capacity.  I better not even think about brining one thing back with me.  (Like that’ll happen.)

Anyway, it’s time to embark on my journey now!  Maybe I’ll check in with you for news about my lunch, since I know I’ve been a slacker on the blog lately.

PEACE.  and love.

For the first time (I think) ever, I left my camera at work!

Meaning: you won’t get to see my fantastically predictable green monster breakfast…

…or my totally awesome egg sandwich for lunch…

…or even the ridiculously boring GIANT salad I had for dinner because I am desperately trying to eat away my vegetable stash before heading out of town…not gonna happen.

Joe, remind me that we won’t have to buy veggies for at least a week when we return, because they’re all stashed away in our freezer.    Including an entire spaghetti squash.  Will that thaw alright?  I have no idea.

Two more days, and I’ll have fabulous tales from Portland to tell you!  Speaking of which, check out this review of Le Pigeon, a Portland favorite that I’ve actually never been to.  I’m pretty sure a trip to taste one of their notorious “5 burgers a night” is on my to-do list now!! 

Want more Portland foodie reviews?  I’ve got a million!  Voodoo Donuts is a cult classic, and just so happens to be strategically placed near some of the most popular bars downtown.  And open 24 hours a day.  I’d be a liar if I told you I haven’t stopped in for a late-night-post-bar munchie in my Portland days.  Serious Eats recently experienced the craziness and wrote a spot-on review.

With that, I leave you.  Hoping you’re not watching “America’s Got Talent”, because it appears to be the most awful show ever produced.

Orrrrr not so much.

One minute we were attached at the hip, the next, it was time to part ways.

After my Saturday run disaster, I was DETERMINED, no, INSISTENT that I’d get my 8 mile run in on Sunday.

Not able to bear the level of humidity I was about to face, I turned towards another fear of mine: the treadmill.  Nope, I’d never run on one.  To be honest, I’m terrified of them.  I’ve had nightmares of tripping and getting thrown off.  Not totally in fear of getting hurt, but also of completely embarrassing myself like when they fall off in exhaustion on the Biggest Loser.

So, I brought my arsenal of reading materials (truly an arsenal.  I was not risking one second of boredom on that thing), and hit the pavement.  Or, should I say, “hamster wheel.”

8 miles actually went by very quickly.  It helped that I took numerous walk breaks.   I left feeling proud and confident for conquering my fear of the machine!

Which is why, today, I decided to avoid the heat again, and spend some more time with technology.  This time didn’t go so well…I noticed that my gait felt weird, and my foot/knee were starting to hurt.  So, I cut my time on the DREADmill at 3 miles, and finished my 4th around the track.  (Next time, try running on ground immediately after running on the treadmill.  It’s trippy.)

What do you think, is your posture different on the treadmill than on land?  I don’t want to injury myself by running strangely on that thing!

The reason you didn’t hear from me last night is quite simple: friends + food + beer + fun + late night = Cara crashing in bed as soon as she arrives home.

Jess and Mike were kind enough to have a few of us over for a BBQ last night!  We had a lot of fun talking weddings (Mike and Jess just got engaged!) and food.  What could be better?

The ladies: Sharon, me, Jessie, Jess

I brought homemade Millet, Black Bean, and Corn burgers from Clean Food.  However, I didn’t think about how well they’d hold up on the grill until I got there…usually we pan-fry them.  Veggie burgers are notorious for their delicate fall-apart texture.  These were no exception.

Thank you, Grill Masters.  One lone patty remained on the grill with the meat:

Somehow, the men pulled a miracle and re-formed perfect patties!

I also brought pre-seasoned beef and bison burgers from Whole Foods, which looked delicious.  And tasted delicious.  I know, because I had half of a beef burger.

Man meat:

Steaks appeared as well, but I didn’t try those.

The buns were a freebie courtesy of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. 

Don’t mind my “rock on” hand signal.  I’ll admit, it was an odd way to make the label readable. 

Honestly, I was skeptical of these buns, because I normally don’t go for “mainstream” bread companies.  However, these were really great!  I’m pretty sure Nature’s Pride made their #1 fan out of Jess.  She could have sang their praises for hours if we hadn’t stopped her. (just kidding, but she really did like them!)

The flavor was really delicious.  My usual complaint with big-brand “whole wheat” bread is that it has no flavor.  I like my bread to taste nutty and wheaty.  This stuff packed real flavor!  My only complaint would be that they were a little too dense for me.  Like Ezekiel buns, I wanted to hollow out some of the bread.  Instead, I just got rid of the top half.

Along with 1/2 veggie burger and 1/2 beef burger, I had some grilled asparagus, 1/2 corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, and oven roasted potatoes.  STUFFED INDEED afterwards.  I’m sure the addictive appetizer of Food Should Taste Good chips that Jessie brought didn’t help…

After dinner and a couple of Oregon brews (you know I represent my love-state!), the grill masters fired up the charcoal again to get some dessert going.

  The boys: Mike & Mike.  Yup, same name.  They did that on purpose.

First up: grilled pineapple! (Pardon the horrid flash pictures)

Then, Jess worked her magic with some s’mores on the grill.  Wow.  I couldn’t tell you the last time I had s’mores.  But, I could tell you that I should eat them more often.  I licked my fingers clean.

…and then I started to feel the effects.  TOO FULL!  But, I’ll tell ya, it was so worth it.    Great friends, great food, great times!  I can’t wait to hang out with this gang again when I return to the ‘Ville!

What do you think is an essential BBQ component?  I don’t think you can grill without chips to snack on, but from now on, I might make s’mores a requirement!

Someone named Maya wisely pointed out that I had called my “Salmon Patties” (on my recipes page) vegan!  Um…you’re right.  Salmon is not vegan.  What was I thinking?  I think i meant dairy-free, but that was a terrible mistake!  I’m surprised no one had caught it yet!  Thank you, Maya, for setting me straight!

Also, another person recently asked for my email address via comment, and although it’s on my “About Me” page, I thought I’d offer it again in case anyone missed it! 

cashewsandhummus@gmail.com

Email me anytime!

No nap today, but you better believe I’ll be asleep by 9:00…if not earlier.    Goodnight!

You heard me.  I woke up at 3:00am today.  Am I crazy?!  No, just a motivated runner!  It’s not what you think, though.  What a tale…

I’m pretty sure I mentioned the training group I run with on Saturdays.  It’s for half-marathon and marathon runners, and is a pretty awesome group!  As part of the group, you are required to help mark the course or set out water for at least one run during the summer.

YOU GUESSED IT, today was my day!  I got up at 3:00, navigated windy gravel roads in the dark, and saw SEVEN deer!  I actually almost hit one, and it was pretty scary.  These deer were not all together, either.  Seven different deer in different locations along a 20 minute drive!  Amazing.  I met my partner Anne at 4:00am, and we started marking the 16 mile course. 

I was so proud of myself for packing overnight oats (which I unbelievably forgot to take a picture of!  That’s what happens at 3:00am) to eat before the run at 6:30am.  We finished marking at 5:45 (takes a LONG time!), and I chowed down on my oats.  How I didn’t anticipate this, I don’t know, but I could immediately tell I needed a bathroom…if you know what I mean…

I thought I could run on through it.  Heck, I was only going for 8 miles today, right??

Not so much.  I got 1.5 miles out before realizing that this was an emergency!  There was no way I could finish this run without finding a bathroom STAT.  So, I turned around.   I sprinted back to my car, hit the road, and zoomed home.  Just in time.  So disappointing!  I’m pretty sure someone is trying to prevent me from getting that long run in.  From the crazy hills in Palo Alto to my sleep-in failure last weekend, it just hasn’t been happening for me!

By the time I got home and composed myself, it was FAR too hot humid out to run (actually, it was crazy-humid at 4:00am, no joke!) to go out for 8 miles, so I busted out some cardio and strength moves in my living room!  The run shall happen tomorrow.  God help me.

I had already been up for 6 hours when I met Kath, Matt, and Stephanie for a farmer’s market stroll at 9:00am!

Me, Stephanie, Kath.  Stolen photo alert!  Thanks, Kath!

Even though we bolted for the iced coffees, I still left the market soaked in sweat. I declare today the most humid day I’ve ever experienced in Charlottesville.  I’m not kidding!

I didn’t want to buy too much, since I’m leaving next week, but I did grab some blackberries, peppers, and a zucchini.

And Kath was awesome to give me some Great Harvest bread!  I had a slice as soon as I got home with coconut butter on top…and clearly couldn’t wait to dig in…

Then, for lunch (at 10:45am, mind you) I grilled an incredible tortilla filled with hummus, parmesan, artichoke, avocado, and spinach.

A plate full o’ heaven, I tell ya.  

Clearly, I tried to go to bed as early as possible last night, so I settled in bed with It’s Complicated (very cute movie, BTW!) at about 8:00pm.  On a Friday night.  I’m such a party girl.

You could have called me the laziest cook ever last night.  Reheat leftover mashed cauliflower, sautee green beans, reheat leftover salmon.  DONE.  Afterthough: add a dollop of coconut butter to salmon.

I couldn’t even bring myself to chop garlic for the cauliflower, and used garlic powder instead.  Who have I become?!  It’s true that it’s SO much less fun to cook when you’re only cooking for yourself!

Which is why yesterday’s lunch was uninspired as well: the rest of that canned black bean soup and a mix of veggies with hummus.  (plus a few unpictured crackers)

I do vow to have much more exciting meals when I’m back in Portland cooking for my family!

Now, I am at a crossroads.  Go on about my day, or take a nap??  Tough decision.  I fear that if I nap, I’ll wake up with half the day gone and feel bad about it.  But I may almost be too tired to tackle everything I had planned…It’s a hard knock life.

Hopefully, the weather is far more bearable there than it is here!  Enjoy your Saturday!

I’m pretty sure that blogging about my icky throat was my magic cure.  I woke up the next morning with almost zero phlegm!  Thanks for all of your sweet comments!

UPDATE: Definitely saw Mr. Lonely at the dry cleaner’s again picking up our dry-cleaning together.  Our lives are lick clockwork.

I felt good enough to try for a run tomorrow morning, and it was a nice one!  Only 3 miles, though, because the humidity was SUFFOCATING.  I can’t wait to run in the clear Portland air!  Pre-run fuel: toast with peanut butter

Post-run fuel: yogurt with cinnamon and chopped peaches

Yum, these were some of the best Virginia peaches I’ve had since moving here!  Until this, I had been unimpressed with the flavorless/bitter peaches out here…

BTW, I got a couple of comments suggesting my throat issues might have been asthma.  I wanted to let you know that I actually do have asthma (allergy-induced), but my problems this week were different.  Instead of a dry, lung-constricting, “I can’t get enough air” feeling, it was more of a wet, throaty, “phlegm is blocking my passages!” feeling.  alright, as promised, I’m done talking about phlegm.  Although I kind of enjoy it.  PHLEGM PHLEGM PHLEGM PHLEGM.

Moving on.  For lunch yesterday, I decided to cook some tofu in “poultry seasoning” that I found hanging out in our cupboard.  It was leftover from a recipe, and I wasn’t sure how it would taste…especially since poultry seasoning is green!  Not the most appetizing color.  How do people usually use it?  Do they really use it to make green chicken?

Anyway, I marinated tofu slices in the poultry seasoning and a little bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos (tastes like soy sauce), then fried it in a pan and threw it over a salad.

The poultry seasoning was a success!  And it didn’t look so green after it had been cooked.  Also on the salad: artichoke hearts, bell peppers, and parmesan.  I also had some frozen blueberries with cinnamon.  I <3 cinnamon.  I swear, I could put it on anything!

Snacks yesterday included a boatload of cucumbers and pistachios (strange mix?  Perhaps), and a wrap filled with fake turkey slices and homemade guac.

Yup, I officially retract my first statements…I really am not a fan of the fake turkey.  Oh well, only two more slices in the package to eat up! 

I did, however, find another incredible fake meat product!

Seriously, this stuff was incredible!  I got the “Italian” flavor “sausages”, and they taste just like pepperoni!  They even have that dry-cured texture of pepperoni, as opposed to a juicier sausage texture like I was expecting.  SO GOOD!  This is one fake meat I can get behind.  I cooked the “sausage” slices and threw them on a bed of spinach with parmesan and balsamic vinegar.

Love.  There was also a chorizo flavor at the store that I think I’ll try next time!

Check out my hardcore rug burn that I found yesterday from doing living room strength training:

Haha, this was from doing a move where you start in a plank (push-up) position.  Then, one arm at a time, move down to put your weight on your forearms instead of your hands.  Then push back up again onto your hands.  Repeat as many times as you can for 30 seconds.  Repeat!  It’s a pretty awesome core and shoulder move!  But, beware.  If you’re on the carpet, your elbows may take a beating.

Oh, and yes: I am wearing my favorite powder-puff t-shirt from sophomore year of high school…You know you want it.

HAPPY FRIDAY!