The End of New Orleans

Since yesterday's post was so heinously long, I'm going to try to keep my rambling in check this morning.

So let's talk about Mother's Restaurant.

Let's talk about the grilled Cajun shrimp plate with red beans and rice, turnip greens and a big slice of pecan pie. Hold that thought....I'm having a moment remembering how wonderful that meal was. 

Mother's is a down-home cooking place, where the food is hot and the help is sassy. They are known for the baked ham, which made an appearance in my turnip greens. Oye. I swoon over turnip greens. 

New Orleans folks know how to cook. They know how to use spices. They know just the right amount of everything to use to make the food taste just right. Go. Eat. There. Now. 

After lunch, we made our way down to the French Market District.

This is home of Cafe Du Monde and the French Market farmers' market, as well as other little shops and eateries. 

I could easily see myself living in the French Market District. It has a cool vibe. Big city, but down-to-earth. I love how everything you could ever need is within walking distance. If you ever go to New Orleans, definitely try to find a hotel in the French Market District, or at least venture out that way. 

But now that the trip is over, it's back to reality for this ole girl. I'm still a little sickly, even after going to the doctor last Thursday. But I'm settling into my usual routine yet again. 

While at work on Tuesday, I talked one of my co-workers into running a 5K with me in May. So yesterday we took off on a little jog. And she did a great job. 

Distance: 3.00 miles

Time: 41:17

Best Pace: 9:37

Average Pace: 13:46

Calories: 292

It was a combination of walking and running. And I think she kind of felt like a bad ass once the run was over. 

In other news, I'm hitting 10K training pretty hard this weekend. I have to get in a 4 mile run. HAVE TO. I'm hoping everything will just work out like it did with the Duck Race. I'd love to have another run like that, but I don't know how it will be since I've been sick for a month. We shall see. 

What's new with you?

Got big plans this weekend?

New Orleans: Take One

Good Morning Friends! I'm back from the Big Easy. And let me tell you. It was a good time. The city was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

The view from our hotel room was incredible. Staying on the top floor has its perks.

After checking in, we took off exploring. The city was alive and hoppin' as we walked through the downtown area.

We ate dinner at Draco's, a nice little seafood restaurant found at the bottom of the Hilton.

 The shrimp and grits were to die for. I don't think they could have tasted any better. The best flavors ever combined. I will have to try to recreate it, but I don't think it's possible. New Orleans has some of the best food I've ever had.

The group and I made our way out to get a drink on Bourbon Street. New Orleans has an open container law that allows people to carry adult beverages around the entire city. It was really cool, but I felt a little strange carrying my beer around out on the street.

I don't think anyone can ever be properly prepared for Bourbon Street. The smell alone is enough to make you not want to go back. But I had to have the experience.

We got home kind of late that night, and I was really tired from having been in the car for 8 hours. I don't know what it is about riding in a car that can make one so tired. It doesn't make sense.

Day One in New Orleans was a complete success. The food was outrageously good, and the entertainment was definitely exciting.

I have so much more to tell you. I have to break it into two (maybe three) posts, in order to do it justice. (P.S. that big green chair was $3,000 and there was one on every floor. And I tried to figure out a way to get it inside my car when we left...needless to say, it didn't work.)

Get ready for the New Orleans Rock n' Roll Marathon Expo and race recap tomorrow, as well as what we did on Saturday before the race expo. It's gonna be good so stick around.

How was your weekend?


What genre of food are you loving right now?

Running with a Cough

I seriously almost died yesterday while I was out running. And it wasn't from the psychical activity of running. It's because I have a cough.

I ran the first mile and coughed a little bit when I took my minute walk break. The second mile felt even better since it was 70 degrees and sunny. But the minute walk break had even more coughing, and this time it was serious. So I took an extra 30 seconds to get my breathing under control. Third mile was good. I felt good. Nothing too demanding of my body. But when I stopped and started to stretch, I absolutely could not breathe. Every breath I took in made me want to cough, but I couldn't because I had nothing to cough. So it was a lot like choking. Very scary stuff. But I did it.

Here are my stats:
Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 36:29 (pretty good considering the coughing fits.)
Best Pace: 10:31
Average Pace: 12:10
Calories: 334

Once recovered from my near-death coughing fit, I took my sweaty, smelly self to the grocery store. (I'm sorry for those people who had to endure shopping in my general area.)

I decided to try a new recipe that I adapted from a few different recipes. I give you Butternut squash, kale and barley "risotto."

So so good. The squash was tender, the kale was wilted and the barley was slightly chewy. Just a good combination of textures and flavors. I'm not going to post an actual recipe because it took a lot longer than I wanted it to. So I'm going to experiment with the recipe a few times before I go give you the recipe to try at home.

In other news, grad school is kicking my booty pretty hardcore right about now. This having something huge due every single week is getting pretty old. I'm not a fan. I'm ready to not be judged on my knowledge of the subject.

In other more exciting news, I'm headed to New Orleans Friday morning. My mom and a few of her friends are running a half-marathon down there. I'm pretty excited. This will be my first time to experience the atmosphere of a big, legit race.

And I'm also thrilled to have authentic Cajun food, adult beverages and a latte and beignets from Cafe du Monde. So I should have some pretty exciting stories to tell from the weekend in Nola.

What did you do this weekend?