While the trainer's away, the campers will play

My personal trainer was in Texas teaching other people how to torture train people, so I did not work out on Saturday like I normally would. Apparently this proved to be a bad thing; or good, depends on how you look at it.

Friday night I went to see Metric. I ate at Pause. Cuban sandwich...soooo good.

Saturday, we had a little goodbye BBQ for our dear friend Chris who was visiting, but had to go away for a few more months. Sad. But at least the food was delicious. We started at 2. I brought my macaroni salad (every time I say I'm bringing it, I feel a bit like a mom from the 50s). Chris bought pretty much every animal there is to grill. Rib eye roast. Lemon-rosemary chicken skewers. Pork burgers with tomatillos and avocado. Elk ribs (delicious but chewy; I may start an elk-only diet since you'd give up chewing well before you'd eat too much). So much meat. Oh, and asparagus and these amazing tomatoes Stacey makes topped with bleu cheese and bread crumbs, then grilled until crispy (sorry the picture is a little blurry). I tried to graze throughout the day, rather than filling up fast. I thought that might help reduce the chances of eating too much. I was wrong, because then Amanda and Aric showed up and brought artichoke dip and desserts. Oy. So, many meats and side dishes later, I was beyond full. The one thing I can say is that at least I didn't drink too much. Just a glass of white sangria (care of Michael), a phenomenal glass of pinot (care of Aric), and a couple beers. Not bad for a 10-hour stretch.


The next day, I planned on grilling a hunk of London Broil, which had been marinating in a mixture of olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and red onion overnight. It was a little overcast, but never rained, so we were good to grill.

I took advantage of the cooler weather to get some baking in while I could. I made a batch of peanut butter brownies, as well as another loaf of multigrain bread. I went for a run during the bread's second rising (still makes me think of church), and when I came back, it was a little larger than I expected. My last loaf turned out well, but was a little dense, so I was actually glad I let it rise so much longer.
The top heavy bread

And back to the grilling. To go along side our meat, I made some soft asiago polenta and we coated asparagus in olive oil and drizzled it with lemon juice after it came off the grill. Top the polenta off with a hunk of asiago and pour a glass of wine--a perfect Sunday night dinner!
Shawn enjoys a brownie with our movie