I Crossfitted

There’s a crossfit gym right around the corner from my place that offers a free first class. For a good month or so I’ve been checking out the next day’s workout that they’ve posted online and just kept putting off going but Thursday night I saw the workout and actually told Nathan that I was thinking about going. You know, because as soon as I say it out loud, I’m committed.

A1. 5 x 1 [Hang Power Clean + Front Squat]
A2. Pull-Up Negatives
B. 5 Rounds for Time:
12 DB Weighted Lunges
12 Calories on Rower

I had an idea of what to expect going in from all of the other bloggers that talk about it, but it’s definitely still a bit intimidating. I got there early to have a chance to talk to the trainer and check the place out.

When we started out, I mentioned to the trainer that I’d never done crossfit before. Unfortunately, she assumed that meant I never workout at all. She was very nice and accommodating but started out talking to me like I knew nothing. It was a frustrating way to start and I was feeling like I had something to prove at that point. As we went over the hang power clean + front squat and the pull-up negatives, I was determined to get the moves down solid which I really feel like I accomplished the more I tried. Success!

Onto part B, the cardio portion. I still felt like I wanted to prove myself and at the very least, not finish last. And I’d say that was a success too!

Overall, I really enjoyed myself and definitely want to go back for more! Even though I was frustrated by my initial interaction with the trainer, she was really helpful and encouraging throughout the class. Hopefully in the coming months I’ll be able to take the on ramp to get started. Not to mention all of the crossfitting bloggers I see posting pictures are serious motivation!

The rest of Friday was a ton of running around and a delicious Greek dinner date.

Hers: Lamb skewer with grilled zucchini, tomato, & eggplant, pita, & tzatziki

His: Shawarma plate with salad, grilled zucchini, tomato, & eggplant, pita, & tzatziki

Complete with garlic fries!

Saturday was  for early errands, farmers’ market, pizza, and rest. We went to Arizmendi to try out their daily pizza: eggplant, feta, and garlic olive oil; we ordered a half pizza to take home and also stumbled upon a ridiculous cheesy foccacia bread with asparagus, spinach, and red cabbage. I gladly made a nice, big salad with my leftover lamb, huge farmers’ market sugar snap peas, and some foccacia. And a little pizza on the side. What can I say, Passover really made me want bread 😉

Yesterday was another quiet day. I had originally planned a 6.5 mile hike but when we woke up to rain, Nathan and I made our way over to the gym instead. We grabbed a quick Thai lunch, got just a few things from the store, and had a relaxing day. His mom is going to be visiting this week so we wanted to make sure we were fully rested up to prepare.. we don’t mess around! Plus, Saturday is Nathan’s birthday so we will definitely be having a good time!

Weekly Meal Plan

Like I said, Nathan’s mom is going to be visiting this week so we’re going to be going out quite a bit. The goal of Sunday-Tuesday is to finish up what we already have in the house!

Sunday – Leftovers
Monday – Play by ear.. cajun chicken?
Tuesday – Saturday – Out!

Holy moly, I think come next Sunday, I’ll be quite happy to cook again 🙂

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried crossfit?
What did you do over the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #67: Beaches and Salmon and Noodles, OH MY!

Happy New Year! I’ll be recapping our crazy night soon, but until then..

It wouldn’t be a Brittany and Nathan weekend without a road trip. And while they’re usually perfectly planned out, this trip took a bit of a turn and we just had to roll with the punches. Did you know that people will park 1.5+ miles away from Muir Woods to get in?! Yea.. we didn’t. Apparently we should have gotten there at the break of dawn. Luckily, we had planned on heading to Stinson Beach after Muir Woods so we just went straight to the beach! [Tough life, I know.]

We did make a couple stops along the way to check out the incredible views.

Stunning pull off from the highway.

I liked the view here too 😉

After a breathtaking [nerve wracking] drive on the cliff’s edge, we made it to Stinson Beach and broke out our lunch that we picked up from Berkeley Bowl [<– that place is awesome!!]. They had so many options and we will definitely be going back there for quick lunches on the go!

Hers

Kale and cabbage salad with baked lemon salmon and sesame dressing.

His

Porchetta and pesto sandwich on foccacia.

Perfect beach lunch followed by a nice walk. I know that whenever I go anywhere with Nathan, we’re going to be doing a ton of walking!

Oh hey there city!

We decided to give Muir Woods another shot on our way back, but unfortunately it was still a no-go. Change of plans.. off to Tiburon and time for a brew 😉

We’ve dubbed this the “West Coast Yuengling”

Heading back, we hit a bit of traffic so we decided to hit up a new dinner spot. Anything that involves chopsticks is always Nathan-approved and Ramen Shop has gotten some awesome reviews. And for good reason!

Bar seats with open kitchens are the best!

Pickles: Sansho cabbage, namasu, turmeric daikon, eggplant chutney,
and black Spanish radish with kombu.

The pickle plate was a great, light way to start. The eggplant chutney and turmeric daikon were my favorites. I loved the curry flavors on the eggplant and the daikon had a light sweetness.. and anything sweet is good in my book 😉

Neither of us had ever had ramen before.. except the out of a styrofoam bowl, and we will definitely be back for more!

Hers

Veggie shoyu meyer lemon ramen with maitake mushrooms, salt-cured egg, romanesco, cauliflower, squash, broccoli di ciccio, and mizuna.

His

Kogashi miso ramen with ground pork belly, shoyu-marinated egg,
King Richard leeks, and red cabbage.

I totally won this one. The flavors were light and refreshing but perfect for a chilly night. Plus there was squash and a soft-boiled egg. How could that be bad?! Nathan’s ramen bowl was delicious too but definitely had a heavier, fuller flavor. Neither of us were able to finish our dinners, but leftovers are always welcome in our home.

Even though we had to adjust our plans on the go, I’d say this turned out to be a wonderfully successful day. And a tasty way to kick off the new year!

Happy New Year!!

Food for Thought

How did you spend your New Years Eve?

We’re Road Trippers

As soon as we landed in California, we hit the ground running. We had a weekend to adjust to the 3 hour time change, Nathan started work that first Monday, and I started the apartment hunt. We really haven’t had time to slow down during the week [hello there, lack of blog posts..] and on the weekend we road trip! There’s so much here to explore and it’s our way of relaxing. Not to mention, it’s nice to get out of the hotel for the day.

Nathan had a big trip planned for us on Sunday and tasked me with picking up a few things from the store on Friday; we were picnicking on the beach! We drove south past San Francisco to Pacifica for our first stop where we went for a little hike by the water.

Such beautiful views!

It was so nice to be able to walk out by the water in December and not freeze! Definitely new for us 😉 There were a good amount of people there surfing, but it was certainly not a busy beach!

Looks like some of our honeymoon pics 😉

After Pacifica, we drove about 15 minutes further south to Gray Whale Cove Beach. It was just as beautiful there and even more secluded. There might have been about 10 people on the beach the entire time we were there. Perfect time to break out the wine!

Almost the only people there!

Short sleeves in December!

And then it was lunch time.. Friday’s selections!

Charcuterie, cheese, bread, and wine. What more do you need?

I grabbed some [not so] spicy salami, salami with fennel seed, and turkey pastrami. I knew the meat had to be the base, so after picking that out, I went for the cheese and ended up with a lighter, but flavorful gouda and a super fresh parmesan. We were totally spoiled with parmesan in Italy so we’re especially picky but this was from a wheel that was just cut open and it was fabulous!

The topper of the tower is the best bread ever. We’ve been trying to get a loaf of this foccacia bread from Liguria Bakery about 3 or 4 times but every time we go, they’re closed! This bread is so wonderful that they have a line as soon as they open. We got there on Saturday about an hour after opening and they were already sold out of the mushroom bread! I got a loaf of rosemary garlic and a loaf of onion. It’s honestly the lightest, fluffiest bread I’ve ever had.. nothing compares and I think it might be dangerous to be so close to this place now 😉

And because we can’t go a weekend without trying a new brew, we had to make a pit stop on our way back to Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. It was the perfect way to round out the trip.

Gray Whale Cove Beach. Loved the waves crashing on the rocks.

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for next weekend!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite way to relax on the weekend?

What is the best bread you’ve ever had?

We Took a Little Trip

Well, maybe we didn’t take a trip for real, but we tried our hardest to have a honeymoon-style date night. And I’d say it was a huge success!

We’ve been wanting to try Cinghiale, a Cindy Wolf restaurant, since we got back from Italy. Hearing repeatedly that it is the best Italian restaurant around, it sounded like we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to taste-test and compare to the real deal we experienced just a few months ago. Luckily for us, restaurant week was coming up; reservations were made and we had a date night upon us!

About two hours before our reservation, we decided go big or go home. Cocktails before dinner at Wit & Wisdom, another restaurant we had yet to check out, and these drinks definitely did not disappoint!

Pisco Punch – pisco porton, pineapple, fresh lemon, sage syrup

I started with the Pisco Punch. It was perfect for a summer night; the pineapple gave it a little bit of sweetness and the sage syrup gave it just the right amount of savory. Nathan ordered a classic Old Fashioned. It had the perfect mix of ingredients and was possibly the tastiest Old Fashioned he and I ever had.

Sticky Wicket – jim beam, fernet branca, smoked maple syrup, soda

Nathan’s drink inspired my next decision to go with the Sticky Wicket. I wanted something with a little more punch and this drink was perfectly balanced with the punch of whiskey, bitters, and smokey syrup. The soda added a little fizz to lighten it up. A definite repeat next time we go!

We saddled up and made our way over to dinner. When we walked in, we immediately noticed the charcuterie and cheese station over to the right. I loved seeing that right as we walked in; if we even questioned ordering a plate of charcuterie, that settled it! As far as atmosphere goes, it was definitely a far cry from the tiny restaurants we experienced on the honeymoon, though it was nice to not be seated on top of other people!

I joked that I hoped the bread would be better here than in Italy; thank goodness it was! We tore through the first little basket of bread while figuring out our orders. I went with the 3-course restaurant week menu and Nathan opted for a pasta dish, knowing that we would be sharing the charcuterie and cheese, my first course, and dessert.

Fresh focciacia and grilled bread

Cinghiale 75 – Hendricks gin, prosecco, fresh cucumber

I rarely get cocktails, but I was really feeling them the other night! [Maybe it’s all of Caitlin‘s fun cocktails I’ve been reading about..] I couldn’t say not to this one; I’ve recently discovered that I love gin. And anything with prosecco and cucumber is alright in my books! The bubbles hit the spot 😉

Porchetta, Fontina, & Toma Malga

Nathan’s quest to find the best porchetta in the states has continued and I’m pleased to say that this was definitely a hit! It didn’t look like much, but it packed a flavorful punch full of rosemary and other herbs. The cheese was great too; the fontina was nice a creamy and the toma malga was a bit firmer. Both had great flavor and complimented the porchetta nicely.

Local heirloom tomato salad, gorgonzola, basil, arugula, Sportoletti extra virgin olive oil

And this is what happens when all the sudden you realize you’ve forgotten to snap a pic.. whoops! I just couldn’t wait to dig in. I love the vibrant colors of heirloom tomatoes and they’re nice and sweet right now. The accoutrements perfectly complimented the tomatoes and I was glad to see that the portion size was just right. I didn’t want to fill up on salad before my entree!

Hand cut tagliatelle, lamb bolognese, & pecorino

Along with the porchetta, we’ve been on the lookout for fresh, homemade pasta. In Italy, the pasta melted in your mouth; there’s nothing like it and this came pretty darn close! Nathan’s lamb bolognese was more of what we learned to be a ragu, which was just what he was hoping to find.

Grilled bronzino, eggplant purée, hen of the woods mushrooms, & tomato vinaigrette

My grilled bronzino took me right back to our first dinner in Italy. It was a nice, full portion and was perfectly seasoned and cooked. I love a good, crispy skin! The pairing of the earthy flavor of the mushrooms with the sweetness of the tomato, and the creaminess of the eggplant was right on par.

Vanilla panna cotta with fresh local fruit

Finally, we finished with a vanilla panna cotta. I’m usually one to go for a richer dessert, but when I asked the server for her suggestion, she didn’t miss a beat and I was happy to have a lighter end to the meal. I, of course, stole all of the figs and Nathan all of the nectarines.. at least we know what we like! The fruit was a great addition to the creamy panna cotta and we left feeling satisfied but not overly full.

All in all, it was a great night; the service at Cinghiale left a bit to be desired, but the food was on point. I would definitely make my way back to try some more dishes.

Food for Thought

Are there restaurants around you that you’ve been dying to try?

What is your drink of choice when going out?