Sunday, September 13, 2009

A Relaxing Weekend (of sorts…)

Did I train this weekend?  I was all set to get my 1.5 hour long run in on Friday after work but as the day went on I realized that my brain just wasn’t in to it.  I’m giving myself permission to slack just a teeny bit longer.  It has been a long year of racing and training so I’m not going to push things if my head isn’t in the game.  After all, I went from a marathon in January to a half Iron in July and August!  The next year is going to be a LONG one and I don’t want to risk burnout!  So apart from a nice 40 min run through the neighbourhood early Saturday morning here’s what else went on:

Friday:

I bailed on a long run in order to get some errands done.  I picked up a few paint chips and a roller from Home Depot, then put one of my Restoration Hardware colour testers on the wall in my spare bedroom.  After that it was off to Costco to price out tires and pick up some lamb chops and the new Jamie Oliver cookbook.  I tell ya, I sure know how to party on a Friday night!

*Just a word about the new Jamie Oliver cookbook…love the concept!  He wants you to learn one recipe from the cookbook and pass it on to a friend in an effort to inspire more people to make good home cooked healthy meals.

Saturday:

I met my best riding gal pals Pam and Tara at Diner Deluxe for breakfast.  It was great to see these ladies wearing something other than spandex and the conversation was fantastic!  I relived my Lake Stevens race, the Ironman Canada weekend and we talked about plans for next year.  I feel so fortunate to have met such wonderful people through triathlon in this town, and I cannot wait to keep training with them.

After some amazing chocolate sourdough French toast with fried bananas I took off to Tri-It to check out their end of season sale.  I figured that since my old race shorts developed a hole in them I could probably use a new pair…  Then it was on to Team Aquatic for their end of season sale, where I managed to pick up a couple of Speedo Endurance suits at an amazing price.  I rounded it out with a trip to the Calgary Farmers’ Market to pick up some amazing fresh produce.

And thanks to the lamb chops from Costco plus my bounty from the Farmers’ Market I threw together a pretty amazing dinner:

Grilled Mint Lamb Chops:

Roast lamb with mint sauce is a quintessential British dish and this is my fresh take on the dish.  I concocted a paste of some fresh mint, one clove of fresh garlic, the zest of half a lemon, a little olive oil and salt and pepper:DSCN1495I seasoned two lamb chops with some additional salt and pepper, then spread the paste on and left it in the fridge for an hour or two.
DSCN1496 As grill time approached I let the chops come to room temperature for 30 minutes, then I grilled them over medium high heat for 4 min per side.  They came out a lovely medium/medium rare.  Let sit for a few minutes and enjoy!  The flavours are subtle and complement the lamb really well.

I also prepared some baby beets as a side dish by tossing the beets (skin on, but sliced in half) in some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add in a sprinkle of water and fold in to a foil pouch.  Grill for 10 minutes over medium high heat as well.  My mom deserves the credit on this one as she suggested it to me!DSCN1498I served it all with a bottle of Fox Creek 2004 Short Row Shiraz.  This shiraz is from McLaren Vale in Australia.  I have tried quite a few Fox Creek wines and they are all delicious, so if shiraz is your thing, then check it out!

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

DSCN1499

12 comments:

Spokane Al said...

Between Rainmaker and you, your blogs provide some great photos and instructions for some amazing meals.

I get hungry just gazing at the pictures.

Meg said...

YUMM looks so good. I really want to try that Iraqi Lamb and Eggplant Stew with pomegranate molasses. Awesome recipes!!

I have a huge crush on Jamie Oliver. If he wasn't married...and if I wasn't getting married...and we lived on the same continent, it'd be on.

Wanted to give you a heads up, your link colour is really close to your text colour so I didn't realize you had linked to awesome things!! That is until my mouse hand went spastic and things started getting underlined...

Marlene said...

I think a little bit of down time right now is a good thing. We definitely need time to recover - mentally and physically - between big training cycles.

Mmm, dinner looks great! Thanks for sharing. I have NEVER prepared lamb at home. Maybe I'll give this one a try.

Julie said...

That's it, I'm coming for dinner. LOL!!!!!

Keith said...

Julie, pick me up along the way, I'll meet you at 22x and 22.

Leana, you might have been one of the people that probably passed me on Sat on the way to Millarville. I'm amazed you even put a long run on the plan at all, so soon after IMC. What you had at Diner Deluxe is my fave there, but that isn't one of my fave breaky places. Galaxy Diner, Belmont, Nellies, Chuckwagon (Tuner Valley), High Country Cafe (Millarville) are higher on the list.

Fox Creek wine. I can't believe it. As far as I'm concerned, Winnipeg is not where the world is gonna get the enema, Fox Creek is. To think a good wine could be called that is hurting my world.

X-Country2 said...

That dinner looks great! I keep wanting to try beets.

ShirleyPerly said...

I'm with Spokane Al. Your food looks like restaurant quality to me!

Rainmaker said...

Mmmm...looks like a very well done - I like it! Now, if only I could eat it now...I'm hungry!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Looks delicious! you deserve the downtime... enjoy :)

Lindsay said...

dinner looks a-mazing! yummm. sweet deal on the end-of-season sales and catching up with tri-buddies outside of the pool/bike/running shoes :)

RunToTheFinish said...

my my you impressive little chef!! love the friday night, totally sounds like me...hey i've got big saturday am plans like running you know!

RoadBunner said...

"chocolate sourdough French toast with fried bananas?!?!?!" OMG! I WANT!