A Pinch of Miles, Smiles (and Pain)

I suppose completing a marathon isn’t quite “a pinch of” anything. But I got it done yesterday morning. The day could not have been more perfect for more than four hours running all over Philly. All that just for extra couch time before the scheduled couch time during the Thanksgiving break.

All the emotions came through on Sunday, but there was never a doubt of completing the full marathon. A huge shoutout to my family and friends who were all over the course, and also all the people who lined the streets. I’m not surprised by any means that Philly can rally to support, but being cheered on was such a helpful push… especially when my legs didn’t quite want to keep going.

So as you may assume, the meals during the week were pretty clean and simple, which more people keep telling me to just put together what i consider “simple and easy” recipes. Especially because they are actually good for weekly leftovers, whether that’s for lunch and/or dinner throughout the week.

• Roasted chicken, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and carrots over orzo with tzatziki

• Roasted salmon with carrots, spinach and cucumber over rice

• Tomato and garlic pasta

That pasta was the dinner for both weekend night dinners to really carbo load as the experts say. If I have to!

Saturday’s breakfast helped me find my go-to pancake recipe – which it claims is for two people… I’d say it’s a single serving. And I must say that a stand mixer / electric hand mixer is highly recommended for the separated egg whites that are folded in for the extra fluff. Worth it, but doing it by hand was tiring, and letting the stand mixer do its thing the second go around this morning was the way to go.

The post-race meal was some great homemade meatball sandwiches and salad thanks to my mom. Friends and family were well fed along with some mix of snacks and cookies from friends.

The required post-race beers were had out with friends during what was looking like an easy Eagles win... that didn’t go as planned, but the vibes out with friends were unmatched. What a day.

And anyone want to guess what the post-race dinner was? Well of course it was Mahalo Hawaiian barbecue. Still tastes just as good as the first time. And a well-deserved whole plate taken down.

Now that the race is all finished, we’re off to planning for Thanksgiving. Looking like we’re sticking to the classics, and I’m introducing my family to one of my favorite pasta meals: Autumn Lasagne with Winter Squash, Roasted Onions & Sage from Meryl Feinstein, aka Pasta Social Club. My parents are seasoned vets at this point with the nice Turkey Day fixins.

I’m not much help with thanksgiving suggestions this year. If anyone has any questions, I can act as a version of the Butterball hotline, who I think are “turkey experts” who help with any and all questions about cooking a turkey. For now, I’m baking ANOTHER brown butter pumpkin cake to share with more folks and continuing to battle with steps.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Break 🤘