veggies galore
/Friday Night: We went to Karma – Asian Fusion, on Broadway, in Denver. The food + service was superb!
Loved the water cup/mug. It was nice having the handle…I hate cold hands :)
We were out with a group of 9 for Ali’s 25th birthday! Look at her g.l.o.w. hehe
The server brought out two plates of 6 crispy won tons that were filled with a smooth, sweet, and creamy filling. There was some type of minty [but not overpowering] sauce to dip. I loved the flavor contrast. YUM! They said our entrees were taking too long to come out, so these were complimentary. No one even noticed it was taking awhile for the food.
Each plate came out separately, and all of the serving plates bowls were specific for that dish, which I love! I got a bok choy + shitake mushroom stir fry with mixed veggies. The veggies tasted extremely fresh and they were cooked really well. The brown sauce was perfect. I ate this with a side of brown rice and cleared my plate. I loved the huge variety of veggies.
Crunch!
See the cat? It was totally creeping me out…it’s arm was doing a constant wave motion. No likey!
The server knew we were there for a birthday and brought out free dessert for all! I’m pretty sure these were mochi balls coated in sesame seeds with chocolate sauce. Oh my, YUM. Remember I bought mochi recently at WF? It’s basically a Japanese rice cake but has a sticky texture and mild sweetness. I could have eaten more than one, for suuure! The middle cake was kind of like a frozen ice cream tiramisu. It tasted a tad freezer burnt, and was just o.k.
We had a great experience there and awesome food. My dish was $8 and they ranged from about $8-12. The menu had a wide variety. A few people got dishes with shrimp in them, which looked fabulous. We’ll definitely be going back!
Happpppy Birthday Ali!!
Satuuuurdaaaaaaaay la la la
Despite my morning coldness, I was crav.ing. another Amazing Grass smoothie this AM. I decided on something a little fruitier so I went with their wheat grass infused with goji + acai. I’ve had this one before too and really enjoy it.
Add-ins
- 1/3c rolled oats
- ~3/4c frozen strawberries
- 1 banana
- ~1/4c almonds
- 1/2c plain Oikos
- 1/4-1/2t cinnamon
- 2c ice
- 1/2c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
A slight tinge of green. I really need to buy some spinach to add nutrients + color! :)
Chris and I met up with Ann + Kurtz for a trip to the farmers market. It’s only 1 block from A+K so we walked from their place. It was Chris’s first time there and he was totally impressed.
My feast of samples included:
- brisket
- strawberry rhubarb pie
- honey
- 5 diff kinds of bread
- cow cheese
- goat cheese
- salsa
We bought 2 kinds of locally made pasta that I can’t wait to try. One is made with spelt flour and had some seasonings mixed in [forget which ones!]. The other was a rosemary garlic linguine. I got a head of Spanish garlic, a $2 mini loaf of seedy but doughy + moist bread [pictured below], Chris got hot sauce, and a few other odds and ends. The farm fresh eggs look amazing. By amazing, I mean they all varied in size, shape + color. Those are three very important things to notice when picking out eggs!
After the market the boys went to play frisbee golf and Natalie and I met up at the Great Divide Brewery, in Denver. The first 4 samples were FREE and a very nice size! I’m not sure how many oz. were in these. I would guess about 5oz? Either way, 4 tastings was PA-Lenty for me!! One of the beers was 8.2% and another was 7 something.
I had fun photographing. The colors were so pretty!
This one had hints of chocolate + coffee!
Sippin’
Old Ruffian [bottom right] – This was the strong one! They called it a “barley wine style ale.” I wasn’t sure at first, but liked it at the end. I always have a bit of a hard time changing from one beer to the next. I needed a palette cleanser ;) The other red beer was a Raspberry Wheat Ale which was really good!
slurrrp.
Hellooooooo
Next we hoofed it about 1 mile away to Larimer Square for some grub. Larimer Sq. is an awesome street filled with cute shops and trendy restaurants. We ended up eating at The Market, which I highly recommend! It’s a huuuge place that has a coffee shop, bakery, prepared pasta salads, salad bar, soups, huuuge sandwich list, and it’s also a little special foods type store. Their bakery goods look awesome and their coffee drinks are about $.75 cheaper than Starbucks.
We both had a cup of soup [they had about 7 to pick from] and two different prepared cold pasta salads. I wouldn’t normally go for a pasta salad but they all sounded SO good. I was deciding between 4 but settled on a goat cheese pasta + veggies and a gnocci italian cold pasta. They were both incredibly tasty and fresh.
I got home at about 5:15 and made a b-line for for Wash Park. I wanted to get a walk in while it was still a little bit light outside. I did a speedy 3 miles and then whittled my middle.
- Front Plank - 70sec
- Side Plank – 45sec each side
- Torso Twist with 10lbs – 20 reps
- Plank Ups – 15 reps
- Boat Pose w/Crunch – 1 set of 20 + 1 set of 12
- Side Plank Twists – 20 reps
- Bicycle – 80 reps
oh.my.ab.burn.
Thennnn, I went over to Ann + Kurtz’s [the husband was already there] and we made a dee-licious dinner.
Salad with tons of veg.
Ahhh roasted veggies, where have you been in my life?? I have forgotten how delicious you are!
Oven @ 400* – cut veggies and toss with olive oil, s+p – roast for appx. 30-40min
broccoli + red onion + red pepper + green pepper + 5 garlic cloves + 1 head of kale
Ann also cooked up some pierogies they bought in Ohio. These were the real deal. YUM!
I had this plus another serving of salad + roasted veggies. Happy veggie filled stomach :)
It’s late! Off to bed! I haven’t forgotten about the “how/why I decided to quit my job” question. I just want to make sure I give myself time to really answer it, not at 2am when I’m sleeeeeeepy, hehe.
Niiiiight!
~Ashley
