As I sit among the chaos of Christmas morning I reflect upon the last week of holiday merriment and adventure that I have been blessed to have in my life. Yesterday I took to the trails for the first time in a loooonnnggg time with the bestie Bex. Since we are training for an ultramarathon a mere 11 weeks away we figured knew it was time to start training. Luckily for both of us we have a ridiculous amount of base miles under our belts. We knocked out a fabulous 16 mile trail run in under 3 hours...not too shabby...here are some pics of our morning.
Can't run without festive socks!
The view on the way up
Learning how to eat REAL food during a run...
Overall a painful amazing run that set the tone for the new year...health, taking time for those you care about, good food, amazing friends...and miles upon miles of happy trails and tales.
The rest of the previous week has been filled with family, friends, food, and love. Although we are missing a very important member of our family we are making the best of it all and reveling in the joy of being with those we love. We were even lucky enough to get a few phone calls from Mike over the last few days...so that was a welcome and happy surprise.
Friday night was Hanukkah with the Lewis family. GFV (gluten free vegan) latkes were the highlight of the holiday since I am a HUGE fan of those bad boys which are normally neither vegan nor gluten free...with a few minor tweaks (gluten free flour and egg replacer...oh, and sweet potatoes instead) they were just as wonderful as the regular kind.
The kids got to enjoy the lighting of the menorah as well as hanging with good friends...a very festive, yummy night!
Saturday was Christmas Eve and after the above mentioned run I took to the kitchen to put my culinary talents to the test with making the holiday partially GFV friendly for Bex and I. It was an adventure for sure. Let's start with the "tofurkey"...normal tofurkeys bought in the store are riddled with gluten (literally the label states wheat gluten as ingredient number 2). So clearly those are a no go. But I found this recipe and although it certainly didn't look as pretty, it tasted pretty darn good! Here are some pics of the prep steps (I was too busy eating to get pics of the finished product).
There was so much other food that didn't get chronicled, but suffice it to say the feast was fabulous and included fare such as pasta salad (with an amazing garlic aioli), coleslaw (with veganise), green beans, mashed potatoes (with vegenaise, veggie broth, and vegan Smart Balance), beet salad, sugar cookies, and other things I think I forgot...I was stuffed at the end of the night to say the least. And when you look this awesome while cooking, you know the food will be good!
This morning was Christmas madness! With Daddy gone we wanted to make it a special day for the kiddos...and I think we succeeded. Check out the pics and you can see how clearly evident the happiness is.
Here's to another week...the last of 2011! I'm off to work with my second family tonight...more food, more friends, with a smattering of saving lives thrown in to tip the karmic balance in my favor for the new year. Hope you and yours are enjoying this holiday season. Keep those far away from their families in your hearts and prayers...until we are all reunited. Happy Holidays from us to you!
