Archive for November 21, 2009

Farmers Market Fun

November 21, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

After the race, we decided to stop by the Shreveport Farmers’ Market, which is also held downtown.  This was the last farmer’s market of the season, so we were glad to catch it!  Our farmer’s market in Altoona finished up in October, so it was fun to go to a farmer’s market again!

You know you’re at a Louisiana farmer’s market when you see:

Homemade banana pudding for a dollar a bowl:

 

…and gulf shrimp:

…and pot pies :-)

 

They also had fresh eggs, raw cheeses, homemade breads, and lots of produce. 

We sampled some organic Louisiana coffee…cajun blend :-)

 

It was a fun farmer’s market…small (with lots of random goods), but cute!  It definitely had a lot of character ;-)

For lunch, we went to one of my favorite Shreveport health food restaurants:  Sunshine Health Store.  Sunshine is a small organic grocery store (kind of a mini, mini, mini Whole Foods) in the front of the store, and the back of the store is a restaurant.  Their menu is not strictly vegetarian, but it has lots of vegetarian options.  I got my favorite:

Veggie burger with avocado:

D. Liscious.  :-)

Hope your day is going well!  I don’t know what we’re doing for dinner…my parents are going to a dinner party, so Ryan and I are on our own.  I think we’ll both be pretty tired, so who knows what we’ll put together. 

See ya!

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A Great Day for a Race!

November 21, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

Well, as I stated in my previous post, I woke up bright and early this morning to…NO RAIN!  Woo hoo!  The skies were pretty overcast, but it was actually the perfect morning for a long run– cloudy, cool, and no wind!

The race was in downtown Shreveport, along the banks of the Red River.  The course was a flat, out-and-back route that winds through parks and wooded areas.  Very pretty for a race!

I was definitely feeling the pre-race jitters!

My family (husband, parents, sister, and brother-in-law) was running the 5K that started 15 minutes after the half-marathon, so they walked me to the starting point, and I was off! 

I didn’t want to go too fast at the beginning and wear myself out, so I hung back, which definitely ended up being the right decision.  I started pretty slow, but then towards mile 8, I still felt great, and started passing people who were starting to slow down.  By mile 11, I was still feeling great, and was able to push hard through to the end!

My finishing time: 2:02 24!

All in all, I’m very pleased! I was hoping I might be able to do it in under 2 hours, but honestly, my training has kind of gotten a little *ahem* less regular in the past three or four weeks, due to bad weather, traveling, and general laziness on my part.  So, while I think I could have done a little better if I had really buckled down in the three weeks leading up to the race, generally, I’m happy!

My sweet family had made signs for me as a suprise!

Too funny!

Here I am with the hub:

All in all, it was a great morning, and a great race.  I was SO disappointed when it looked like it was going to storm– I couldn’t believe that all that training was going to have been for nothing!  I’m really glad that I was able to get out there and run the race– even though I ran the 13.1 miles in training runs, it just feels different on race day! 

Hope you’re having a good day…I’ll be back with a lunch post, and a recap of our visit to the farmer’s market we went to after the race. 

See ya!

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Hoping It Holds

November 21, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged

Well, the skies are overcast, but it’s not raining, so it looks like the race is a go!  I hope it holds and doesn’t start pouring mid-race!!!

I just had a pre-race breakfast of coffee, two slices of Ezekial toast with PB, and a banana.  Yum!

I’ll be back later with a race recap…wish me luck!

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Veggie Gumbo…not half bad!

November 21, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

Well, so that I wouldn’t feel left out of the gumbo party, I decided to make my own vegetarian version.  Here’s the recipe:

Vegetarian Gumbo

1/2 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 tbsp. creole seasoning (I use Tony’s)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen okra

2  cups vegetable broth

In a soup pot, saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add bell pepper and celery, cook another five minutes.  Add creole seasonings, cook a few more minutes.  Add frozen okra, diced tomatoes, and vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least thirty minutes.

Serve over white rice with crusty french bread!

YUM.

The verdict? It ain’t bad.  But it ain’t this:

Sigh.  Nothing beats my mom’s gumbo :-(

Other eats of the night included appetizers (white bean sundried tomato crostini), salad with pomegranates, blue cheese, and brown sugar pecans, lots of BREAD, and homemade cranberry pecan bread pudding.  Can I just say YUM?

 

My mom sets a pretty table:

 

So, was the vegetarian gumbo as good as the duck gumbo?  I’m sure it wasn’t, not by a long shot.  But you know– it wasn’t that hard to pass it up, either!  My night was full of good food…and I certainly didn’t feel deprived or “left out.”  It kind of felt good to stick to my guns!

The verdict is still out on the race tomorrow.  We’ve decided that if it’s absolutely pouring, the race is out…but if it’s just drizzling, it’s on!

Hope you had a good night!  Take it easy!

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