Smells like fall

And tastes like it too. I was too hungry to take a photo of our deliciously autumnal dinner last night, but luckily the leftovers look and taste just as good.

On Saturday, I picked up some butternut squash and prosciutto ravioli at Eataly. Not wanting to compete with the fresh pasta, I tossed them in a brown butter and sage sauce - so simple, no recipe is really required. Just throw a few tablespoons of butter into a pan, cook until the butter begins to brown, and add the sage leaves. Voila. Then top with some cripsy pancetta, pine nuts, truffle oil, and grated parmigiano reggiano and you're all set for a fantastic meal.

While I didn't make my own pasta this time, if you're keen on trying your hand at it - take a look at this great recipe from Serious Eats. Happy fall everyone!

Review: Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook

brunch n. a long, boozy meals that lingers into late afternoon; a New York institution. Wander around the city any weekend and you're bound to see gaggles of people milling about waiting to try the latest addition to the NYC brunch scene.  Since 2001, Clinton Street Baking Co. has been one of the city's perpetual brunch hot spots. Snagging a table at this cozy Lower East Side restaurant usually requires manning up for a two hour wait in the cold. Hmmm, no thanks. My rage hunger waits for no table. However, if you're able to drop by early on a weekday morning, you'll find yourself in luck - no crowds, a plethora of tables, and plenty of excellent food. The perfect start to any day. To commemorate one of our favorites meals together, my thoughtful roommate gifted me the Clinton Street Bakery's cookbook, Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond, for Christmas. Delicious brunch recipes at our fingertips!

The beautiful and damned new year

Happy new year, all. The past two weeks have stumbled past in a blur of reunions, snowpocalypses, boozing, and feasting. As we slowly emerge out of our collective holidaze into the cold harsh reality of January, here's a peek at 2010's final debaucherous moments and a few of the culinary gems that emerged amidst all that revelry.

A sampling of every sparkling wine found at Mecca (aka TJ's wine shop)...

Back in the kitchen

Blackberry camera, I hate you...

While I may be in the throes of the taper, my appetite still thinks I'm running daily 20 milers. Not cool, body, not cool.  Thanks to work subsidized meals (I <3 C), I can usually prevent the onset of evening rage hunger by ordering enough food to feed a small village around 6pm. Seriously, it's a little embarrassing  getting four pairs of chopsticks with your one-person order. 

However, last night, after months of Seamlessing dinner, I could not stomach another meal in my cubicle. Even Viet Cafe's excellent charred beef rice bowls get lame after a while. I wanted fresh veggies! healthy portions! non-plastic cutlery! So I put on my big girl panties, sucked up being ravenous, and decided to cook dinner when I finally crawled home around 10pm.  But what to make for my long overdue return to the kitchen?

SOUP.

Soup, you say? While it may not sound like the most exciting meal ever, let me tell you - last night's dinner was basically a bowl of happiness.  With the arrival of autumn, I crave hearty, comforting stews like clock work.  After perusing Smitten Kitchen's archived posts, I stumbled upon this gem - sweet potato and chorizo soup.  Chock full of vegetables, protein, and antioxidants, this recipe seemed to be a taper worthy dinner. With a little tweaking, the soup became a lovely stew, and made enough to satiate even the hungriest runner. 

If at first you don't succeed

Call it a night and eat an entire loaf of challah? Hmmm that's probably not what the old adage was implying, but whatever - this is my blog dammit.

Let's back pedal to my pre-stomach full of challah hours. I left work with the best of intentions to complete my 18 mile long run since the next few days will be filled with rainy weather, Emily's epic birthday celebrations, and trapeze class.  I fastidiously carbed up at lunch, had a mid afternoon oatmeal snack, hydrated, and popped some preemptive ibuprofen. However, not sure if it was Monday's 10 mile tempo run or a little too aggressive cross training on Tuesday but last night's run was not in the cards. Around mile 5 my right calf started cramping up in the most irritating of ways. Usually I can ride out the rotating aches and pains that come with a long run but the combination of exhaustion, tired muscles, and lack of focus did me in so I called it quits and circled back to finish at 10 miles.

Round two of MM vs. 18 miles will take place Saturday afternoon. Bring it.

Coping with rage hunger

It's official: my stomach has taken control of my body. Obviously that's a slight overstatement (errr not really), but in all seriousness, my hunger has reached new levels often times leaving me bonking halfway through a run or rage hungering at all my friends. Sorry!

This week has been case in point. Since Saturday's 18 mile run (!!!), I have literally been constantly hungry. Embarrassingly so. I highly doubt it's professional to be downing your lunch during a 10am meeting, but desperate times call for desperate measures? Obviously my high mileage has forced my body to burn calories like never before, but the issue has also been exacerbated by less than great eating habits for the past couple of months. I most likely haven't been getting as much fiber/protein as I should since Seamless provides at least two of my meals a day, leaving me at the nutritional whim of Tribeca's restaurants. Less than ideal. Besides being fun and wonderfully destressing, cooking is the best way to ensure you get the proper nutritional mix to maximize your training.

So last night, I took advantage of an early exit from the office to swing by the Union Square Greenmarket to scope out the vestiges of summer's produce. Snagged a few pints of shiny yellow and red cherry tomatoes, a couple shallots, and a bundle of fresh basil, which I decided to combine with some pasta and spicy Italian sausage. Perfect combination of carbs, MEAT, and fresh veggies for a hungry runner. I wanted to whip up one of my mum's standard summer pasta dishes, but of course I couldn't find the recipe and was way too lazy to fill out the form for Cook's Illustrated free online trial. So I winged it!

All my runner ladies

Courtesy of Kim, a great article on "8 Wonder Foods for Female Runners." These days it's impossible to pick up an issue of Runners World or troll a running blog without reading an article on the best foods, ingredients, or crazy Native American protein powders to supplement your running and maximize performance. However, many of them force readers to search out ingredients that you could only maybe find in your local veganlocavorefairtradesustainablyorganic market. Eh, that sounds like far too much effort. This article offers accessible advice for health conscious runners, and some tasty recipes to help you tap the various benefits of several foods. Although the author gears the article towards female runners' needs, the nutrition tips are applicable for most athletes. Pretty sure pomegranates' antioxidant power doesn't gender discriminate.

Personally, I'm usually slightly skeptical of the ever changing "food of the day", preferring to focus on eating well balanced meals full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and MEAT. Hey, I'm a growing girl - I need my protein. Speaking of healthy running snacks, spent Memorial Day having a much needed bakeathon and whipped up a massive batch of my favorite whole wheat muffins. NYTimes' Mark Bittman posted this recipe a few months ago, and it's absolutely one of the most flexible quick-breads I've tried. The recipe can hold up to 3/4 cup of whatever add-ins you like, giving you so many yummy variations! For the past month, I've been itching to get my hands on all the fresh berries abounding in my farmer's market. So Monday I picked up some fresh blueberries, threw in a handful of oatmeal and poof! oatmeal, blueberry whole wheat muffins. Definitely my new favorite combination!

What recipes are you dying to try this summer?

Food for thought

Literally. In case you didn't know by now, one of the few things I love more than running is food and as a runner is especially important to stay properly fueled with lots of carbohydrates and protein. Enter granola and Greek yogurt. My roommate and I should take out stock in Fage given the amount we go through in a week. And I'm the same with granola, which is often my breakfast, dinner, snack, you name it. However, this little food addiction adds up pretty quickly. Sadly I'm not exactly equipped to make my own yogurt (next life goal!), but granola? Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Even our tiny little oven can handle that.