FMM: Foodie Questions

I had a fairly quiet but good weekend.

I took Saturday off from working out, so that was nice. Unbelievably, I actually started my Christmas shopping.  Got done with my local bestie and got something for hubby that he'll really like.

Sunday I only had 9 miles on the schedule, but it included 5 miles at marathon pace.  I was within 15 seconds per mile of goal pace for all 5 of them.  The first was 13 secs fast, then 10 secs fast, then 2 secs slow, then 13 secs slow (I walked and drank for a few seconds after the water stop in this mile; overall, the running paces looked like they were right on), then 4 secs fast.  Overall, I was thrilled.  After the 9 mile group run, I had a friend drop me off at a race.   I was planning to run a 5k with my coworker from accounting who is just getting started running. 

"Too Hot to Handle," was the name of the race, it's a race I've done for years but this year was joyously overcast and cooler.  I had three friends finish right around an hour which wouldn't have happened without the cooler and overcast weather, so I can't say I just imagined the cool weather since I was running the 5k instead of the 15k.

So I only ran the 5k and I ran it with my accounting buddy.  She had a great race, particularly since there was a huge hill in the 5k.  She ended up with a PR by more than 4 minutes and actually ended up under 40 minutes, which was so exciting!   I am very proud of her.  On a flatter course with cooler temps, she could have shaved a few more minutes easily.  She felt pretty shaky and nauseaous at the end, but we hung out for a while and she felt better. 

The rest of the weekend was cooking and errands.  And actually working on a project around the house -- framing and hanging photos in our stairwell. 

This is going to be a big week at work.  Our quarterly conference call at work is Thursday, so we have two pre-calls set for Wednesday and early on Thursday, and of course I'll be meeting with my boss most of the day today and tomorrow to be ready for the call. 



If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Foodie Questions

 

1. Do you make grocery lists?  Always, particularly since I'm usually the one who picks recipes and decides what we need, but since hubby does the grocery shopping.  We use an app called AnyList and it works really well.  Early on in our relationship, missed items that I'd had on the grocery list caused a lot of stress in our relationship -- imagine my distress being 2 hours until guests arrived and realizing I was missing a key ingredient that I knew full well I'd written down....  Aye, it made me mad!  So we tried structuring the list differently, we tried having him cross off items, etc., but now that we have a shared app, it works very well. 

2. Do you have a routine when shopping in your favorite grocery store? No.  I almost never shop, so when I do, it's usually one random thing I forgot to put on the list (and if it's a failure to put it on the list, it becomes my job to go get it), so I just wander around until I find that.  Sometimes I call my husband and say something like, "I'm at the Kroger on Mockingbird, where would I find panko?" and he'll tell me what else is in the aisle and then I can find it from the signs. 

3. What is your favorite seasoning?  Probably curry powder, something that ends up in a lot of the recipes I choose (and same with the ones hubby chooses). 

4. What is the healthiest food in your fridge right now? Almost everything in it is healthy.  Veggies, tofu, soy milk, water, fruit. 
5. What is the most unhealthy food in your fridge now?  We always have beer and soda in a drawer at the bottom for guests. 

6. What is the most exotic produce you’ve ever had? Ever?  Durian.  No good way to describe it.  There are signs saying you can't eat it on buses or in public places because it smells bad.  A lot like feet I think.  And the texture is kind of strange, very mushy, a little like a pudding.  But oooh, it's tasty!  No idea if they even sell it in the US.  According to Wiki, it's considered the king of fruits in Southeast Asia.  Anthony Bourdain from the Food Network says that after eating durian, "your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."  Yep.  But I will definitely eat it again if the opportunity presents itself. 

7. Tell us about your favorite local restaurant.  I probably have two favorites, both within about a minute walk of my house.  First is Abacus, which is a five-star restaurant and just as good as that implies.  The food is described as "contemporary global cuisine with Pacific Rim influences."  I used to go to the bar there all the time when I was single, and even though it's been years since I was there more than once in a month, when I walk in, there are always a few bartenders who know me, and one of them always starts my drink of choice and brings it before I even have a chance to order.  The night hubby moved in with me, we had drinks here and talked for hours.  Second favorite local restaurant is probably Cafe Madrid, which is more casual and serves tapas.  I love tapas because I get to try a bunch of different things.  My absolute favorite thing on the menu is goat cheese stuffed red peppers with capers.  In reality, Dallas has a lot of great restaurants, it's hard to even limit it to those two. 

8. What kind of pasta do you prefer (regular, whole wheat, etc.?)  Umm, any kind of pasta!  When we eat it at home, we usually choose whole wheat.  But we don't eat pasta as often as we used to.  Right now, I'd say we eat it maybe once a month, particularly if you count when I make mac and cheese for lunch.  But when marathon training steps up, we will have pasta with simple and non-spicy red sauce for dinner every Saturday night.  It's pretty easy on my stomach and the carbs keep my energy store at the right level for a long run on Sunday morning.  Our neighbors often come over to join us for those six weeks of pasta dinners. 

9. If you could make one food calorie-free for an entire week, which food would you choose?   Probably cheese. 

10. If you had to choose would you rather give up french fries or chocolate?  Hmm, I don't eat either very often but I guess I'd say chocolate.  I like chocolate but I can easily choose something else (like Starburst), but I definitely love fries.  

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions. And don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments.  Happy Monday!