I don't know about anyone else, but I found today's heat to be absolutely oppressive. Although I love the active nature of my job, traipsing around the city in the heat all day is not my favorite thing to do! Both Monday and Tuesday ,I have come home from work so wiped out from the heat (and I'm not really sleeping at night for some reason?) that the second I sit down on my couch I fall into a semi-coma state for about an hour. I have to say, I definitely love a good nappy, but they are cutting into the productivity of my evenings!
Anyways, enough whining from me! After a weekend packed with meals out, I was ready for a fresh and simple meal for dinner last night. I made a fabulous marinated mushroom and asparagus salad that I stumbled across while perusing www.figandfork.com. It was an easy, filling, and delicious addition to my dinner of grilled salmon and sweet potato!
Summer squash, green onions, and garlic
Couldn't you just eat this?
My Dinner: Marinated mushroom and asparagus salad with broiled salmon and sweet potato. I brushed the salmon with some whole grain dijon mustard before I put it in the oven. Yum.
PJ's dinner... with chicken, of course!
I would absolutely make this salad again. PJ doesn't love asparagus, turnips, or squash, so this was not his favorite recipe. My theory is that if he wants dinner, he is at my mercy! Muwahhhahaha...
Today for lunch, I tossed the leftover veggies with some greens and black beans to make a big ol' salad. It was delicious!
Marinated Mushrooms and Asparagus Salad
{gluten-free, vegan}
Adapted from Fig and Fork
Serves 6 as a side dish
1 pound of mushrooms (crimini or whatever is available), quartered
1 pound asparagus, bottom two inches cut off
1 turnip, waxy skin removed and then shaved thin using a vegetable peeler
1 bunch scallions chopped large
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
a small bunch chives, cut one inch long
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fill a large pot of water for blanching and bring to a boil. Add salt until it tastes like the ocean.
While you are waiting for the water to boil, coat a sauté pan with oil and turn to high heat. Add the mushrooms to the hot pan and let them sit for a minute to gain color. Shake them every minute or two to brown them on all sides. After five minutes and when they are deeply browned, add the chopped garlic and peeled turnip. Gently toss or stir a few times, then remove from heat and place in a mixing bowl. Add the vinegar and scallions. Toss and let cool.
Blanch the asparagus in the boiling salted water for two minutes. Remove and shock in ice water. Let sit in the ice water to completely cool, about two minutes. Remove and cut each spear in thirds on a bias and add to the mushroom bowl.
Dunk the capers in the blanching water for ten seconds. Remove from water, then chop and add to the mushroom bowl.
Finally add your fresh chives and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper, and then toss one last time. Keep in the refrigerator until served. This will hold up well for three days.
**Note** I did not dip capers in the blanching water. Be careful not to get much of the caper juice in the salad and the taste won't be compromised!
http://figandfork.com/2012/04/13/marinated-mushrooms/
Today when I woke up from my siesta, I headed to a spin class. I wasn't totally in the mood for it, but there is one instructor at my gym who I love and this was the only class of hers that I will be able to attend this week. Somehow , I misread the time of the class and showed up 10 minutes late. Perhaps I was still in a sleepy fog? :) Fail. It actually worked out better for me though that my class was shorter; I wasn't feeling up to a long workout due to the heat.
While I was working today, I started to think about yesterday's yoga post. I have said many times how much I like yoga and that it has become the staple in my exercise routine, but I have yet to explain what I like about it. Actually, now that I think about it, the first couple of yoga classes I took I didn't like at all. It had nothing to do with the instruction, but rather my inability to sit still and just "be". The classes were also a complete 180 from my typical exercise routine which consisted mainly of boring (but vigorous) treadmill runs. For the record, my dislike for the treadmill does not mean I think everyone should hate it! It is just an activity that I realized I was doing for the sole purpose of burning calories.
By the time I took my fifth yoga class, I was hooked. I started to enjoy the flowing poses and meditative aspects of the practice.I enjoy working towards challenging arm balances and feeling a sense of accomplishment when I master them. I look forward to doing yoga because I know how grounded and strong it makes me feel. This is an outlook I have NEVER had with respect to exercise. I was always working out so that I felt I could eat or in order to somehow change my body. I learned that activities that I enjoy can actually be exercise! Who woulda thought?!
With respect to keeping my body strong and healthy, I will share that as an added bonus, yoga has sculpted my muscles unlike any other toning program I have tried. My love for yoga truly has nothing to do with how I can change my body, but I'm not going to complain if my arms get toned!
I would encourage anyone who is on the fence about yoga to give yourself a good five classes before you make a decision if it is right for you. I'm glad I didn't abandon the practice after those first two classes.
Ok! Time for bed :)
xo
Sarah
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