This past weekend was a good weekend! It was a nice mix of running, biking, and hanging out with friends – exactly what I needed!
Week of 12/5: Training Recap
First, I thought I’d give a quick training recap of the past week. This is new, so let me know if you like it or don’t really care to read about my training schedule. It’s been a debate in my head for a few weeks!
- Monday – Off/Relax
- Tuesday – Strength; 30 minute EZ bike (trainer) – my first ride in about 3 months!!
- Wednesday – 6.5 mile Pace Run; mix of 5K & 10K intervals
- Thursday – 5.3 mile Maintenance Run
- Friday – Strength Oops – missed this session
- Saturday – 18 mile Long Run; Core (see video below – originally found of Kristin’s site)
- Sunday – 40 minute Moderate bike (trainer); 3.2 mile Maintenance Run
What went well: I completed all my scheduled running & biking workouts – yay me!
What needs improvement: No yoga at all! I had a Christmas party this weekend the same time as Hot Yoga, so that didn’t work out. I also missed one strength workout. Need to be more focused on strength & yoga.
Atlanta Underground Market
On Saturday night, I met up with Laura, Carol, and Traci to check out the Atlanta Underground Market. This was a great event, apparently modeled after the Undergound Markets in San Francisco and Oakland. Here’s a bit more info about the Market from the website:
There are a lot of home cooks and food artisans in Atlanta, who have awesome dishes to share, but who don’t have the platform to do so outside of their circle of friends. And we’re not talking your average fried chicken or hot dogs, but real gourmet slow food, that you may not be able to get anywhere else, whether meat centric dishes, vegetarian or vegan food.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when the email came out the day before the event, the list of food options looked fantastic. AND each vendor had labels to designate if they had gluten-free, vegetarian, and/or vegan options available. This was my kind of place – I didn’t have to play 20 questions to enjoy a night of great food!
At the front of the market, these lovely ladies were serving up Japanese Eggplant with sweet-Miso topped with Kimchee & pickled cucumber. Fantastic!
Next up was a slew of desserts. While not on purpose, this meant I was not too full to sample the sweets, so I think it was a good plan!
From Dr Sweet’s, I tried the Chocolate-Black Pepper Cookies. They were good, but I wanted the black pepper flavor to stand out a bit more. I think upping the pepper in this recipe would make them stand out.
Next I found these Coconut Lime Yucca cookies. Following the rich chocolate cookies was not the best order, but after a few bites the light flavor of these cookies came out.
These Green Tea-Pomegranate Cupcakes were delicious! You can barely see the pomegranate in the center of the cupcake, but it tasted fantastic! Light, fluffy, and the combination of green tea & pomegranate flavors was amazing. I wish I had gotten an extra of these to bring home.
Almost moving on from desserts, I had a Philippine Tea (similar to Bubble Tea) called Sago’t Gulaman. It was filled with tapioca balls and grass jelly squares – sweeter than bubble tree and very fun to drink (loved the textures)!
Finally moving on to some savory treats, this Eggplant Crostini from Ciao Bucca was next. The arugula is overwhelming the plate, but all that green was just what I wanted. The eggplant mixture could have had a bit more spice for me (maybe garlic?), but still tasty!
From Kushina Catering, I loved the Ethiopean Veggie Balls and Vegetable Samosas. I had to grab a second batch to bring home for Kirk!
The instant I saw the sign for vegetable samosas I thought of Phineas & Ferb, didn’t you?
We apparently saved the best for last, as we enjoyed these Venezuelan GF AREPA (Roasted Butternnut Squash, caramelized Swiss Chard, & black beans). This is one of those foods that tastes much better than it looks, it was amazing! That red sauce you see covering the beans was some homemade spicy concoction and it was also amazing!
To recap, that was Japanese, Philippine, Italian, Ethiopian, & Venezuelan dishes all under one roof! I think everyone left stuffed & happy – I’ll be heading back again for sure. The next event is on January 7th, so mark your calendar now if you’re in the Atlanta area!
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
That sounds really cool. I get the emails for those but have never been.
Lee recently posted..Boring, Lazy Weekend
The January event sound like they are making even more improvements, so you really should mark your calendar!
Wow, everything you had sounds really good, especially that green tea cupcake.
Alayna @ Thyme Bombe recently posted..Tsukimi nabe
It was great! I could use one of the cupcakes as a snack right now. :)
GREEN TEA POMEGRANATE CUPCAKES?!? haha, I saw the cookies and was thinking, “hmmm, now I want a cookie,” and then I saw the cupcakes. I just had breakfast and all I want now is dessert :D hehe
Char @ http://www.charskitchen.ca recently posted..It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas…
So much dessert to choose from – it was awesome! :)
Thank goodness for take-out! All the leftovers were great.
Next time you have to come so we’ll have extra leftovers! :)
Annnnd…now I’m hungry! ;)
Lindsay @ Lindsay’s List recently posted..cookie snookie
I think you should plan a trip to Atlanta in early January to join the next one. ;)
I like that you review your training schedule! It gives me new ideas and a good comparison to what I’m doing (aka it motivates me to do more!).
AUM was SO fun!! Thanks for sharing so many of the yummy dishes with me! I hope we can make it every month from now on! I want another one of those arepas by the way….
Carol @ Lucky Zucca recently posted..Cookie Swap!
Ok good, thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you shared with me too – that was so much food! I’ve got the Jan one on the calendar and Kirk’s coming too next time. Your BF should come too – we can have a really big group! =)
That would be awesome!! I’ll ask him. He will be glad another male is coming along haha!!
Carol @ Lucky Zucca recently posted..Cookie Swap!
I am so glad you try our Arepas!!! It was a great market, every body had great food!!! Thank you for writing about us… :) Arepa Mia
Lis – it was fantastic! Even the leftovers got rave reviews from my hubby, awesome!
Great! thank you so much for your
great review….it was very nice. Have a great Holidays and hopefully we will see you girls soon!!! :)
You are killing the training! It inspires me. :)
And I can’t even think of the last time I ever went to Underground Atlanta.
Tina @ Best Body Fitness recently posted..Balancing Act
Well now I’m blushing. :) I know it sounds like Underground Atlanta, but it’s actually different – just good food by not-necessarily-sanctioned chefs. You should come with us next month!
Thank you for trying the cupcake, it was fun to see the reactions and I’m glad you enjoyed it! Love your blog!
Hi Tamera – thanks for making such a delicious cupcake! :) Glad you found my blog!
That AUM was so much fun! Did you see the January email? Your pics are amazing. I may need to ask for a camera/lens like your for x-mas! :)
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted..Will Work for Cookies
I did, the January event sounds even better – glad they are adding drinks! I’ve marked my calendar, it will be a great way to start the new year. :)
Thank you for liking our dish. It is always nice meeting new wonderful friends. Hope to see you on the nextvAUM.
Thanks for making a tasty dish – it was great to meet you too!
That cupcake really does look- and sound- incredible! I can imagine the bitterness of the matcha and pomegranate working beautifully together.
Hannah recently posted..Sweets for the Sweet Tooth
I seem to be on a cupcake kick this month! :)