As I mentioned in my Monday Things post, on Sunday a bunch of local bloggers met at Kelsey‘s for our first monthly book club. We met to discuss The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot which is about the life of a poor black women, Henrietta Lacks, who in the 40′s/50′s is diagnosed with cancer and her cells are taken on behalf of medical research. Her cells, HeLa, become the first cells every grown in culture and are incredibly important for medicine (think polio vaccine etc.). The book goes into the details of Henrietta’s life as well as the story of her cells and does a great job of presenting science without bogging down the reader.
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We all enjoyed the book quite a bit!
Of course, we only talked about the book a little bit. Instead we chatted about food, running, and life in the city. We also ate some lunch and sipped some wine. We have a classy book club.
We did lunch potluck style. With a variety of diets you think this would have been tricky but we seemed to have something for everyone. By the way I made that pasta salad with brown rice pasta. Yum!
Book club was so much fun and I can’t wait for the meet up in September!
Last night I wanted to get my cook on so I decided to make Angela’s Vegan Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce. I only had small corn tortillas and knew that they wouldn’t wrap well so I decided to transform the enchiladas into a casserole.
I made the filling (I used Rick Bayless enchilada sauce and salsa) and then layered it with corn tortillas. I baked it for the same amount of time and everything worked out well!
Unfortunately, I bombed the avocado sauce. I misread 1 1/4 cups of avocado and tried to make the recipe using just one avocado. Let’s say the sauce is a lot on the salty side. I ended up adding some mole hot sauce and lots of pepper to try to take down the saltiness but it’s still pretty bad. Whoops.
I had my portion with a little avocado cream and then some black bean dip from TJs. I was really happy with this recipe!
This morning I woke up early to squeeze in a 5 mile recovery run. It was still dark out when I headed out so I decided to run along lake shore because I feel safer there in the morning. Has anyone else noticed how buggy lake shore is? Seriously, I must have eaten like 50,000 bugs this morning. No need to bring fuel on long runs, just run by the lake and you’ll be set!
Breakfast was a new oatmeal creation.
I cooked 1/3 cup oats with 1 cup of water, 1 tsp chia seeds, and 1 small chopped apple (microwave for 1 minute before coated in cinnamon). Once the oatmeal started to bubble I added more cinnamon, a little maple sugar, and then two huge spoonfuls of unsweetened apple sauce. I topped the oatmeal with pecans and almond butter. Delicious! I’ll definitely be making this again.
I’m off to get ready for work. Have a good one!
What’s your favorite route to run in the a.m.?
I always hit the lakeshore when it’s dark too, but only south of Fullerton since north isn’t well lit! And that. Enchilada dish looks amazing!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats recently posted..WIAW–First Last Day of School!
It was super easy to make… especially since I used pre-made enchilada sauce… and it made tons of leftovers. It’s the perfect meal for a busy week!
“Seriously, I must have eaten like 50,000 bugs this morning. No need to bring fuel on long runs, just run by the lake and you’ll be set!”
D Y I N G. I LOVE that. so much.
How did I miss everyone taking pics at book club?! Had I of known I would have demanded to be in every single pic!
kelsey recently posted..I’m Not FitFluential
How did you miss that? Crazy. You must have been too busy defending your grapes from being eaten by my fatfluential self.
I like to run around DePaul’s campus (lincoln park) through the neighborhoods sometimes all the way to old town and back.
Christina recently posted..Sh** my yiayia says
Nice! I like to run through Old Town on some of my long runs.
That recipe sounded really good…until I saw the cilantro. I am not a big cilantro fan. I wonder how bad it would taste if I left it out….
Erin recently posted..Run Against Traffick 5K Race Report
Hmm.. sometimes I mix lemon and dill into an avocado and it tastes really good. It doesn’t have the Mexican taste but is really refreshing. You could try that!
Oh my gosh, bugs instead of fuel. I mean, I guess it is a good source of protein…hahahaha. Fortunately I haven’t had too many buggy runs this summer, which has been so nice. I turn into a flailing, angry disaster when there are bugs, ahem, bugging me on runs..hah.
Bethany @ Accidental Intentions recently posted..Burgers, Baking, and Bloggers
Hahaha. Bugs are so annoying. Seeing bugs on a run always puts me into a bad mood. They get in my contacts and my mouth and stick to my face. Gross!
Your meals look so amazing. I’m gonna have to check out those vegan enchiladas–I’m always looking for more vegan recipes. My favorite route to run in the morning is any route where I have a good view of the sunrise and/or nature. It’s fun to see all of the birds and other little critters come out in the morning.
Beth @ Running with the Sunrise recently posted..Sore legs feel good (sometimes).
The enchiladas are awesome and not difficult to make at all. You should definitely try them!
I agree, seeing the sunrise or sunset is awesome while on a run. I have one route where I see the sun come up over a harbor. It’s so pretty!
those enchiladas look to diiieeeee for, so i’m definitely going to recreate that recipe. my favorite routes to run in the morning are usually streets with good lighting since safety is super important to me. since i just moved to a new neighborhood i haven’t been running a lot outside because i am nervous to go on my own on trails that i don’t really know, especially since they aren’t lit. it sucks when things like that keep me chained to the treadmill, but i figure any running is better than no running!
molly @ heart, sole & cereal recently posted..well-rested (ish)
It definitely takes some time to acclimate to an area and to feel comfortable running there. Maybe when it cools off you can explore in the evenings.
I also usually run were it’s well lit or there are lots of people. I don’t like to feel uneasy!
The lakeshore is awful with bugs right now!!! I inhale them!! can’t help it!! I’m glad I have my glasses for protection!!! I saw that recipe on Angela’s blog and starred it! YUM!!!
I wish I could run at 5 am with sunglasses. Somehow I don’t think thats appropriate…
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