The Jogging Concierge

Fueling Up

by Alaina on February 18, 2012 · 4 comments

Tomorrow is the race!! This morning Grace and I picked up our numbers and shirts. And I am SO glad to see that the weather tomorrow is going to be 42* and sunny! Perfect weather if you ask me. I am really looking forward to it.

Thursday evening at 10PM, I officially started my 1 month vacation! I have tons planned but plan on doing some relaxing as well. Smile And I’ll get to enjoy these that I got on sale at CVS. So good!

On Friday, David and I went to the house to attempt cutting down one of the trees in the yard. Before we got there, we stopped for some lunch. I was hankering for some Subway, so that’s what I got.

I think this is my new favorite combination: 6 inch flatbread with turkey, provolone, spinach, pickles and mustard. Gone in no time.

All afternoon, we cut down one of the trees. And that wasn’t with a chainsaw. David (I got in a few swings) cut down the tree with an ax. The limbs were with the chainsaw and then we cut them into firewood. It was a great workout. My biceps hurt. Thankfully I don’t need those to run. Winking smile

Friday night, I was thinking about making the Thai chicken taco’s but didn’t end up letting the chicken cook throughout the day. I just improvised with some chicken breasts and corn tortilla’s. I had two, with chicken, cheese, salsa and cilantro.

Today, David and I went to his parents house because they were throwing a themed Caribbean party! If this winter was colder, it would have definitely been a reprieve from it, but it was a fun party nonetheless. Here was the menu for the day:

This was my beverage throughout the night: fruit flavored water.

My contribution was an easy kiwi salsa from Jessica’s blog. It was a big hit! I should have made more.

And for dinner:

Everything was delicious! And for dessert, some ambrosia and chocolate covered strawberries.

For entertainment, we played a game called “Telestrations”, where one person writes a word, than the next person has to draw it, then the next guesses it and so on and so on. So much fun! It’s like “Telephone” with drawing.

Right now David and I are relaxing, watching some “Renovation Realities.” We’ll be heading to bed soon because it’s a 7AM wake up call!

My mantra through this race? Balls to the wall my friend! I’ve trained smart and I’ve made it to the start line. I just need to tell myself that I have it in me to PR and when I’m done with the race, I don’t have to run for a week if I don’t want to. It’s all or nothing. Let’s see what I’m made of. Open-mouthed smile

See you at the finish line!!

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Spicy Glazed Meatloaf

by Alaina on February 17, 2012 · 4 comments

This is the second meal from my Clean(er) Eating challenge and I have to say it was a winner! I’d never made meatloaf before, so I wasn’t sure how it would come out. Even as I was putting together the ingredients, I was skeptical. But I was so happy with how it ended up. I think the leftovers are even better.

Spicy Glazed Meatloaf
From the Clean Eating Magazine, January/February 2012

Makes: 8 slices
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

Olive oil cooking spray
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (I used bottled minced garlic)
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp chile powder
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 egg
2 1/2lbs ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions

ONE: Preheat oven to 375*F. Coat an 8-inch loaf pan with cooking spray
TWO: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse onions, carrots, celery and garlic until finely chopped, about 10 pulses
THREE: In a medium bowl, combine oats, chile powder, thyme, salt and pepper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg. Add ground beef to egg and mix thoroughly with your hands. Add oat mixture and onion mixture and mix with your hands until well combined. Spoon into loaf pan, smoothing top with the back of spoon. Place pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.
FOUR: Prepare glaze: In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Remove meatloaf from oven and pour half of glaze over top, distributing evenly; reserve remaining half. Return to oven and bake for 30 minutes, until and instant-read thermometer registers 160*F when inserted in center. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice into 8 equal pieces and serve with remaining glaze for dipping.

I paired my dish with a side of broccoli and green beans.

Even though it was a bit crumbly when I tried to cut it, it pretty much kept its loaf shape. I was so happy with how well this came out. And the amounts of veggies were a great addition!

What have you made lately that’s made you go “Mmmmm”? Smile with tongue out

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erbaluce

by Alaina on February 15, 2012 · 4 comments

Ever since hearing about this little Italian restaurant gem in the Boston neighborhood of Bay Village (yep, not the North End), I was intrigued to try it out. It had a bit of mystery to it since on their website there are no menu’s posted…at any time. The chef, delightfully known as Chuck, bases his dishes off of what is in season on that particular week. So the menu changes frequently. This was a bit unnerving for me, since I always love looking at a menu before going to a restaurant. It’s nice to have a game plan. But that feeling was quickly swept aside when I heard the good reviews about the food. I knew I would find something that I liked.

David and I went on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day and we were lucky to get a reservation at 6pm. When we arrived, the bar area was empty, but the dining room was filled to the brim. I was immediately charmed by the quaint corner location, but the inside looked like a cleaned up, spaced out basement living room. The tables were set up in rows of three and offered seating for groups of 2 or 4 (larger parties being accommodated by moving tables together). There were little plants of what appeared to be herbs on our tables and Home Depot style fans on the ceiling. It wasn’t exuding the charm that I thought would be present, given the outside. But I reserved my criticism, hoping that it would be the food that really stood out.

To start, for drinks, I had the 2010 Santa Tresa “Purato”, organic wine from Sicilia which was smooth with a slight bite to the back. Nice taste without the pucker-ness of too much tannins. Very nice. I enjoyed two glasses throughout the evening. David opted for their sweetest white. I’m not sure what he had but he seemed to enjoy it. They were also passing around Italian bread, which was so thick it reminded me of corn bread. Dense and delicious.

The service throughout the evening was slightly delayed, but I did notice the packed dining room and the bar area was starting to fill up. It never got to the point where we were tired of waiting, though. And of course, we just enjoyed each other company. It was nice, too, that even though the dining room was tight, we still felt that we could have a conversation without having to shout over people.

For our entrees, I ordered the roasted potato gnocchi with a ragu of wild boar and Fruilian spices. After placing our order, the server came by and placed two plates in front of us for our starters. Starters that we didn’t order. They were from the owners, Joan and Chuck. How nice! Placed in front of us were meatballs with sauce and speck with apples. (Since we weren’t expecting these, I did not write down the names from the menu). Both were delicious. The meatballs had the perfect consistency; not too crumbly, not too dry. And the sauce was a slight tomato-y pairing. The speck was something I had never tried before. After doing a bit of research, I found out that speck is like prosciutto in that it is made from the hind leg of the pig, but it’s boned before curing. It’s cold smoked and cured for 5 months. (How about that little nugget of knowledge! Thank you Wikipedia.) I loved wrapping the speck with the apple. It wasn’t too salty, tough or fatty. It was easy to down a few slices (or 4).

When our entree’s came, I noticed the slightly small sizes (for $24 & $26 each) but I again equated that to the high, fresh quality of the ingredients. The gnocchi was perfectly cooked and pillowy. The sauce wasn’t overwhelming and the wild boar had a slight spicy and gamey flavor to it. And there were generous amounts of parmesan cheese. It wasn’t hard at all for my plate to be wiped clean. I enjoyed every bite. David liked his tagliatelle, as well.

We perused the dessert menu but instead decided to head to Finale and bring dessert back to the room. Although the desserts did look amazing! When the waiter gave us the check he said that we just needed to provide a signature and a business card; the meal was on them. Surprised smile So unexpected and so nice of erbaluce. *And even though this dinner was complimentary, my opinions are honest and that of my own.*

If you happen to be staying in the theatre district or south end neighborhood of Boston, erbaluce is definitely a dining experience to have. Although next time, I might just sidle up to the bar and have a bit more of an atmosphere.

erbaluce is located at 69 Church St. in Boston