Memorial Day; I did not have a case of the Mondays. I started my day off the right way. With donuts. I had a 5k to run and decided what I really wanted was a bacon and cheddar donut from the Holy Donut on my way down to Scarborough.
This is no ordinary donut. It's more like a maple-tinged deep-fried pouch of bacon and cheese goodness. I walked in only looking to "fuel up" for my "race" with this one treat. But then I walked out with an extra half-dozen traditional-esque donuts for the volunteers at the race. It's always hard to choose a flavor but I went with maple, vanilla glazed, chocolate/vanilla glazed, chocolate/sea salt glazed and blueberry. Of course I had to sample them all as I was breaking them into smaller pieces for the lucky recipients. The chocolate ones are especially rich but light at the same time, full of flavor and always worth the caloric intake. The volunteers went for the chocolate ones right away too. Chocolate always wins...
The race was a blast and Scarborough Marsh Audubon raised over $4,000 in much-needed funds. The weather was perfect and, after a little rain, the sun came out. It wasn't a PR race but it was a lot of fun. Afterwards, I got a free massage (the only reason to do a race!) and won a month of unlimited yoga from Portland Power. If you've never been there, I suggest going almost every day for a whole month to completely revolutionize your body. It's fantastic!
After the race festivities wrapped up, I drove down to the beach, took off my shoes and took a long walk on the beach. Yes, I like long romantic walks on the beach. By myself........Eventually, I made it home and cooked up an über healthy lunch to counteract the winning breakfast: turkey cutlets with salt and pepper, sauteed in olive oil, plus one egg over medium and sauteed asparagus, fiddleheads, carrots and kale on the side. It was so simple but delicious, especially with a little Parmesan cheese on top. Next, a nap and chick flick was in order. Though I love Reese Witherspoon but Sweet Home Alabama is not her best...
A couple hours later, I HAD to get out of the house and went for a walk with a friend. That walk took me to Stonewall Kitchen, where I bought some chocolate strawberry jam on sale for $3. It is heavenly and will go perfectly on my homemade crepes, toast, pancakes or just on a spoon. My next stop was the North Point for a drink. I had a mojito (fresh and tasty but a little on the sweet side) and a mango peach-a-tini. This is the second time I've had this drink but I've been dreaming about it since the first go-round. The drink is dangerous and tastes of mango puree (my favorite!) . It's like you are drinking juice with an alcohol kick.
Our walk concluded back up at Pai Men Miyake in Longfellow Square. My "date" ordered pork buns and I'm not going to lie to you: I was speechless except for moans of happiness as I ate my steamed pork belly bun with slightly spicy gouchujang mayo and pepper relish. I would easily eat these for the rest of my life, although they are not the most health conscious thing on the menu. Next up was the Paitan ramen bowl. This included chicken and pork broth, pork belly (do you sense a theme?), half a soy-marinated miyake farm egg, scallions, ginger and nori (sea weed). It was slightly heavy, not the light broth I was expecting, but VERY good. All the flavors were wonderful together, especially the ginger.
We sat outside and shared a drink that was dark and stormy-esque and very str. Come the end of the meal, it started to drizzle but I had leftover ramen to keep me company for the rest of the evening. If you haven't been to Holy Donut or Pai Men yet, go before the tourists invade! Enjoy!
This is no ordinary donut. It's more like a maple-tinged deep-fried pouch of bacon and cheese goodness. I walked in only looking to "fuel up" for my "race" with this one treat. But then I walked out with an extra half-dozen traditional-esque donuts for the volunteers at the race. It's always hard to choose a flavor but I went with maple, vanilla glazed, chocolate/vanilla glazed, chocolate/sea salt glazed and blueberry. Of course I had to sample them all as I was breaking them into smaller pieces for the lucky recipients. The chocolate ones are especially rich but light at the same time, full of flavor and always worth the caloric intake. The volunteers went for the chocolate ones right away too. Chocolate always wins...
The race was a blast and Scarborough Marsh Audubon raised over $4,000 in much-needed funds. The weather was perfect and, after a little rain, the sun came out. It wasn't a PR race but it was a lot of fun. Afterwards, I got a free massage (the only reason to do a race!) and won a month of unlimited yoga from Portland Power. If you've never been there, I suggest going almost every day for a whole month to completely revolutionize your body. It's fantastic!
After the race festivities wrapped up, I drove down to the beach, took off my shoes and took a long walk on the beach. Yes, I like long romantic walks on the beach. By myself........Eventually, I made it home and cooked up an über healthy lunch to counteract the winning breakfast: turkey cutlets with salt and pepper, sauteed in olive oil, plus one egg over medium and sauteed asparagus, fiddleheads, carrots and kale on the side. It was so simple but delicious, especially with a little Parmesan cheese on top. Next, a nap and chick flick was in order. Though I love Reese Witherspoon but Sweet Home Alabama is not her best...
A couple hours later, I HAD to get out of the house and went for a walk with a friend. That walk took me to Stonewall Kitchen, where I bought some chocolate strawberry jam on sale for $3. It is heavenly and will go perfectly on my homemade crepes, toast, pancakes or just on a spoon. My next stop was the North Point for a drink. I had a mojito (fresh and tasty but a little on the sweet side) and a mango peach-a-tini. This is the second time I've had this drink but I've been dreaming about it since the first go-round. The drink is dangerous and tastes of mango puree (my favorite!) . It's like you are drinking juice with an alcohol kick.
Our walk concluded back up at Pai Men Miyake in Longfellow Square. My "date" ordered pork buns and I'm not going to lie to you: I was speechless except for moans of happiness as I ate my steamed pork belly bun with slightly spicy gouchujang mayo and pepper relish. I would easily eat these for the rest of my life, although they are not the most health conscious thing on the menu. Next up was the Paitan ramen bowl. This included chicken and pork broth, pork belly (do you sense a theme?), half a soy-marinated miyake farm egg, scallions, ginger and nori (sea weed). It was slightly heavy, not the light broth I was expecting, but VERY good. All the flavors were wonderful together, especially the ginger.
We sat outside and shared a drink that was dark and stormy-esque and very str. Come the end of the meal, it started to drizzle but I had leftover ramen to keep me company for the rest of the evening. If you haven't been to Holy Donut or Pai Men yet, go before the tourists invade! Enjoy!