I think I’m in the running for worst blogger this month.  I’ve gotta say, this has been one of the more hectic months this year, between weddings and parents – I feel like I’ve left Lemons&Lunges at the firehouse in a basket.  If you’re still with me, I promise to buy you a pony for Christmas.

Since I’ve been soooo out of the loop, I thought it might be easier to catch-up with some photos and the recipe I made for Adam’s parents the first night of their visit – Caprese Salmon with Kale Pesto over a Spring Rice.  His stepmom is a FANTASTIC cook, so the pressure was on.  And this one’s a keeper – rave reviews all around.

So here goes:

First, I started out the month getting down and dirty at the Del Mar Mud Run.  It was so fun and so disgusting.  I managed to come up injury-free and repped Team Lemons&Lunges with pride! (I’m probably going to get arrested for this copyrighted photo – but i can’t find it anywhere.)

Then, Adam and I were off to Orlando for my friend’s wedding.  And… we forgot sunglasses:

When in Orlando, you MUST get $25 8.x10 photos of yourselves while doing sports on your birthday:

And then upgrade your rental from compact to convertible…(Only to find the convertible top does not go up, so you get refunded… but still have a GREAT time driving around like two gay men in a parade).

After the trip, it was back to San Diego.  Adam had to miss Dave Chappell (after buying tickets), so I scooped my friend Trish and off we went to a big night on the town.  When we were shown to our seats… in the last row,  I noticed my seat was a little askew, so I notified someone and BINGO, BANGO, BONGO…we were ushered to new seats a few rows from the front, with the security guards and the ushers.  We’re so “in”.  And then we almost got escorted out for taking this picture.

Lastly, our parents came and we did all kinds of touristy stuff – from the Midway (look how cute they all are – new BFF’s forever)…

To Mister A’s, a fantastic restaurant that sits on the circular top floor of the building, overlooking all of downtown San Diego, complete with planes flying in next to your dinner table.  (It’s the kind of place that frowns on someone flicking off a Southwest plane b/c it gives her memories of some bad experiences… but ya know that didn’t stop me.)

And more baseball than any girl should ever be subjected to – “Fear the Beard” – Go Sox!

And last but certainly not least, I knew my proudest moment had arrived when I went into a bathroom stall at a college bar and was face-to-face with myself.  Yep, these flyers for a Vavi (the Mud Run peeps) Halloween party are everywhere.  Bathroom stall status… I’ll never be president.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some good food for you mouth AND your skin

The ocean and I have a such a love/hate relationship.  Let me be more specific, the PACIFIC Ocean and I have such a love/hate relationship.  I remember when I first moved from a little town in Maryland out to sunny Southern California.  My impression of this side of the country had almost solely been based on Bayside High and Baywatch.  When I moved here, I wanted to drive a yellow convertible right up to lifeguard stand, give David Charvet (if you don’t know who that is, I’m sorry for your eyes) a boyfriend-worthy kiss and bound into the warm blue waters that lapped up onto this beautiful left coast.

However, my experience was a bit different.  I drove up in a black Mazda Protege (black, lowered, with illegally tinted windows and black rims that I had to buy from a “Your Job Is Your Credit” used car lot), ran across the grey sand into the dark blue water and went into immediate shock.  It was about 50 degrees and my entire lower body was wrapped in seaweed and my foot was bleeding from a rogue shell colony.

Since that day, I have been in the Pacific exactly 5 times in last 7 years.  And once was to save Gidget when she got caught in the current and I found out not all dogs can swim.

Moral of this story: Don’t believe everything you see that stars  David Hasselhoff.

But what, I DO love about the ocean?  Eating everything in it.  Sometimes I wish I was a shark, so I could just swim around with my mouth open and get free sushi for miles and miles. But, I’m not.  So, tonight we settled for the next best thing – this Roasted Lemon and Garlic Shrimp.  It was fantastic and reaffirms my love for the ocean… from afar.

Friends with Benefits (FWB), it never really works out.  The only time it works out for you is when it’s not working out for the other person.  I mean, let’s be honest with one another, when you’re involved with a FWB sitch, someone usually catches that strange emotion… “like” and tricks them self into thinking that these little rendezvous are really the other party showing their feelings in a private way.  However, the other party is usually just biding their time until someone worth paying for/cooking dinner for and claiming as their one-and-only comes along.  I’ve been on both ends; I’ve been the one with all that “like” happening and I’ve been the one biding my time and waiting for my… Adam.

So, let’s put an end to all of this trickery and get busy with the one FWB that will never leave you waiting at Olive Garden alone, at a sad little two top with a bottle of wine and a shattered dream – meet, Kale.  He’s very in demand right now, but he’s got enough lovin’ for allllll of us.  Let’s celebrate this friend in the green tuxedo on National Kale Day! Boooommmm… never has a more ridiculous holiday existed, besides maybe Christmas.  (Just kidding Christians, I’m down with JC

Tonight I dove into a big face full of kale…

Oops, someone must have hacked my phone and has published scandalous photos of my FWB and I making out.  But, whatevs… he likes me.  I swear.

Tonight, after I finished being sooooo awkward and taking mulitple selfies of a bunch of kale and me mixin’ it up, I put together a paleo-friendly dinner of Grilled Salmon with Kale Pesto and Prosciutto-Wrapped White Asparagus.  IT WAS SENSUAL and I’d highly recommend you celebrate a belated National Kale Day with this sexy little meal.

Recipe for the Paleo Kale Pesto below.  Once you’ve made that, set aside in the fridge while you grill the salmon and wrap-up some asparagus in prosciutto and throw that on a greased grill or roast in the oven. Then, slather and serve!

It’s official, I’m the last one standing in this house.  Adam is one cough away from losing a lung, Rondo has something going on with his sweet little eyes and you know all about The Gidge’s recent brush with pancreatitis.  Gidget Watch 2013 Update: she’s home now, thank goodness!  Resting, eating chicken and rice only for the next month (I think that was her plan all along), and on the road to recovery.   The one silver lining in all this is that they had to shave her leg to give her an IV and now she looks like she either has a wooden peg leg or got attacked by a mini shark.  I feel badly laughing in a sick dog’s face, but I can’t help it.  I mean…

::wahahaha.  I’m a terrible mother/person. wahahahaha::

Last night, after running around picking up meds for everyone, I thought I’d make something light and fresh that might help everyone ingesting it feel lighter and fresher.  I was wrong, and we’ll be having soup tonight, because sick people like soup, not shrimp.  BUT, I’d otherwise recommend these Cilantro and Jalapeno Shrimp Cakes for a nice late summer dinner (or lunch) option, inspired by SkinnyTaste. I paired mine with some grilled corn and grilled zucchini spears (not pictured).  For Adam, I through together a little lemon, basil angel hair pasta as a base because he’s not a huge fan of corn.  Who doesn’t like sweet summer corn, grilled to perfection?  I’m suspect of his taste. Whatevs… more for me.

One of the biggest obstacles I used to run into when I tried to make creative dinners with lots of fresh ingredients, was the price of groceries.  Each day I’d figure out what I wanted to make and then I’d shop for that night’s ingredients.  We would eat at 9 PM every night by the time I got back from work, working out, grocery shopping and cooking.  While it sounds really elementary, my dear Watson, I’ve learned to plan our dinners for the week on Sunday night (post Breaking Bad, obvi).  I find when I plan for the week, I can carry over lots of ingredients from one meal to the next or incorporate some of the leftover produce from the week before.  Then on Monday, after boot camp, I shimmy to the grocery store and have all my meal components for the week and average about $60-$90 per week in total food cost.  If you’re not already doing this, I’d highly recommend making that part of your Monday schedule.  A good Monday means a good week – in food and workouts…  And less rotten bunches of cilantro in my crisper drawer.

A fish like tilapia is great because it’s usually pretty inexpensive and since it’s so light in flavor it can really let the other ingredients shine, making two tilapia dishes in a row still feels like variety.  Tonight’s meal had a totally different flavor profile than last night’s, but still incorporated many “carryover” ingredients.  These Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos were delicious and VERY addicting.  I’d recommend keeping your portion to two/three… and a SkinnyGirl margarita (the homemade kind).

**Bonus: Keep track of the money you save planning your meals and reward yourself with a flashy workout outfit every two months.  Motivation is a hellva drug**

Last week I only made it to the gym two times and I gotta say, it had a little something to do with having Monday off and not getting my week started on the right foot with a good work-out on Monday.  (Have you been trying the Monday Rule?) Today, I was excited to get back into it.  As much as I feel guilty when I don’t make it to the gym 4-5 times a week, it really is nice when you get that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”  feeling and you’re pumped to be back.

Well, today I was super motivated and took on the workout like a price-tagless shopping spree at Lulu (aggressively).  While I was doing box jump burpees, I felt something really painful in my toe, but kept going through the workout and when I got to my car, I whipped off my shoe to see… GET THIS… a cactus spike sticking out!!  I KNEW I had a spike in my toe after kicking that stupid cactus a couple weeks ago.  Well, all of the pressure and sweat must have thrown that creep right out of my foot house!  I can’t believe I’ve been walking around with a spike in my toe for two weeks.  I feel like a Spartan warrior.

Moral of the story, a good work-out helps release all the bad stuff… sometimes quite literally.

Exhibit A:

After that, I wiggled my new found painfree toes into the kitchen and pulled together a simple dish that was ready in 20 minutes and tasted like I was a real pro in the kitchen – Thai Coconut Curry Tilapia.  It had some heat, TONS of flavor and still left me feeling full, but light.  I paired it with a nice salad and a small bit of rice (mostly to catch that delicious sauce!)

Recipe after the jump:

*Inspired by my girl, Gina at SkinnyTaste

It’s funny how your life and priorities change as you get older.  How you become what your high school self would consider the LAMEST person EVER. And how you just love every minute of it.  When I was in high school, the moment any friend’s parents were going to be out of the house for longer than 4 hours we were concocting a plan to have a party and have every person we’ve ever know be there to enjoy some Beast Ice and Boone’s Farm (if you know, you know) in a basement or garage.  Now, I won’t even answer the door if you come over unannounced.  I mean I will, but I won’t like it.

Now, my “social hour” is during boot camp (I do have friends… right guys?? Are you out there?? But during the week, it’s me being lamer than your Grandma.) As much as I love creating and finding fun recipes, sometimes there’e something to be said for letting your food have a little “alone time” of its own and just letting the main ingredients sing.  The summer provides so many naturally flavorful fruits and veggies – I try to take advantage of that as much as possible.  Tonight, I let my dinner components stay home from the ingredient party and kept it really simple.  This is the kind of clean eating that gives you no excuses – it’s simple, low carb and will make your body feel great.

Tonight we dug into Grilled Lemon Pepper Salmon on a bed of sauteed garlic spinach with heirloom tomatoes on the side.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound of wild caught salmon (cut in half)
• 1 large bunch of spinach, washed and chopped
• 2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
• 1 lemon
• Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Preheat grill.  Season salmon with lemon pepper and salt (optional). Grill for 7-10 minutes, skin side down until fish flakes easily with fork.

During the last 4 minutes of cooking, saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat, about 30 seconds.  Add spinach and a pinch of salt and stir while it wilts.

Plate sliced tomatoes, spinach and salmon on top.  Sprinkle with lemon and serve immediately.

Having a job is big part of why I liked our recent trip to Joshua Tree.  In past trips, I’ve stood around holding my sleeping bag while everyone else sets up and I just spin in circles looking for someway to be helpful.  But in the end, it just ends up being me and my sleeping bag spinning around in circles off to the side. Having the job of Chef Nature’s Miracle, made me feel useful… and full of quality food.

If you’ve never been to Joshua Tree, it really is amazing.  It almost feels like you’re on the moon.  Amazing boulder/rock formations coming out of the ground that you can climb all over and see for miles and miles and miles.  It’s huge and stars at night make you feel like you’re in a planetarium.   Soooooo cool.  You know what wasn’t cool (but just totally tells you so much about what Adam and I do when no one is around to roll their eyes), we listened to U2′s Joshua Tree album more than we did in the 90′s.  We’re, like so…. cliche.

So, here’s the breakdown of all the meals we created during our trip.  In case you missed it – yesterday’s post gives you the rundown of all the prep work you can do in about an hour the night before.  So worth it! I made the recommendation to bag each meal’s ingredients in individual shopping bags in the cooler (so you can just grab and go).  I’ve listed out each meal with those bags in mind, for easy planning.

Last but not least, before we dive into it.  COOLEST CAMPING FIND (via Pinterest, obbbvvss) – a gallon water jug and a head lamp = amazing ambient light!  We tried it and it worked.  You MUST do this your next trip out! Check out the picture at the very bottom.

Recipes and Ingredients after the jump:

Night 1 Dinner - Soy-Marinated Sirloin Skewers with Grilled Asparagus and Best Ever Pasta Salad (pictured above)

Bag 1 Ingredients: 

• Overnight Marinaded Sirloin and Vegetables
• Night Before Best Ever Pasta Salad
• 1/2 bunch of asparagus
• olive oil* (stored in a small tupperware cup during night-before prep)
• lemon pepper seasoning
• 4 skewers
• Heavy Duty Tin Foil

Preparation:

Submerge the skewers in melted ice water in the cooler up to 2 hours before prep begins.

Preheat the grill.  Cut the stems off the asparagus and drizzle with oil olive and lemon pepper seasoning. Set aside.

Skew soaked skewer sticks with beef and veggies that were marinaded the night before.  Grill for about 8-10 minutes, turning once at halfway. If you can fit your asparagus on the grill, add asparagus with 2 minutes remaining.  If you don’t have room, grill asparagus while skewers are resting for 2-3 minutes.

Hopefully the marinade with have provided enough flavor for you to leave that bbq sauce in the cooler.  But if not, grab it!

Morning 1 Breakfast: Hungryman Camp Breakfast

Bag 2 Ingredients:

On top of the sausages, add a handful of hash browns, an egg or two, and diced tomato and green onion if you like. Salt & pepper to taste. You can also add Cajun spice, or Old Bay spice or whatever spice your posse likes.

While I’m in Joshua Tree, I asked one of my favorite people to guest blog – so I present to you… the mom, the myth, the Lexie!

I’m super excited to have the opportunity to be a guest writer for Lemons and Lunges.  The fabulous Courtney White is a great inspiration and a hard act to follow!

Ever since I became a parent seven years ago, I tried time and again to find a way to maintain a good workout and diet routine.   Its been a struggle to fit this time into our crazy schedule and not sucumbing to eating the leftover nuggets and cheese pizza dipped in ranch can be tough.

Finally it occurred to me that I needed to make the routine not just about me but about all of us.  I needed to make working out and cooking healthy meals a family affair… a new Sunday funday routine has been born!  An afternoon spent together preparing food  has made my week less stressful and the kids love to be involved.  If they cooked it they will usually even eat a bite or two.

I love…no I actually LOVE vegetables and I love cooking them.  The best veggies are fresh and local harvest. Do I have time to tend to a vegetable garden, um no.   I don’t even have time to go to the farmers market.  I discovered several years ago that for a small fee you can join a  Community Supported farm and have veggies delivered to a close-by drop-off location weekly… genius!  Recently we’ve also joined a CSA that delivers fresh sustainable seafood.  2 different types of fresh caught fish each week, might as well take advantage of the great fish caught locally in our Monterey Bay!

I also love butter but butter and I have recently parted ways and I’ve begun a new love affair with coconut oil.  The recipe below is for a local fish called sand dab, but it works for any white fish, is full of protein and can be prepared in under 20 minutes – now thats my kind of fast food!

Sand Dabs & Rainbow Chard

Sand Dab Ingredients:

• 1 lbs sand sand dab fillets
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 -2 cup almond flour (or breadcrumbs if you prefer)
• salt & pepper
• Coconut oil OR butter/olive oil  (for frying)
• lemon wedge

Sand Dab Directions:

Dip the sand dabs into the beaten egg; season with salt & pepper, roll in almond flou or bread crumbs. Heat a large skillet, coconut oil and fry until golden brown and crisp. Serve with  lemon wedges or your favorite dipping sauce.

Rainbow Chard Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• ½ an onion minced
• 1 pinch of turmeric  or your herb of choice
• 1 large bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed and chopped, leaves roughly chopped
• Sea salt & pepper to taste

Rainbow Chard Directions:

Add the oil to a large saute pan with the garlic, onion and herbs. Cook over medium heat until the garlic turns golden. Remove the garlic and discard. Add the chopped Swiss chard ribs and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the Swiss chard leaves and season with salt, to taste. Cook until the leaves are wilted.Squeeze fresh lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately.

The more you know… the more you wonder how the f@#% you’re still alive.  That’s what I’ve found the more I learn about the food we eat and more specifically the food that is most readily available to us.  I recently saw an article about ten American foods that are banned in other countries.   Let’s just say, it’s not just Cheetos and high fructose corn syrup.  It’s things like farm raised salmon (the kind that many, many restaurants serve), certain food coloring (used in things like Goldfish crackers, Kraft Mac & Cheese) and flame retardant drinks… yes you read that right FLAME RETARDANT DRINKS (think Mountain Dew).   These foods have been found to contain cancer-causing agents, drugs and chemicals not safe for human consumption and other disturbing additives.

Now, don’t worry, I’m not going vegan (not that there’s anything wrong with that) anytime soon, but I do try to be more conscience about the foods we eat in Casa de L&L.  It’s still baby steps, but this baby is movin’ in the right direction.

So, tonight’s meal is fresh to death and legal in not only the US… but also Australia and New Zealand.  Phewwwwyy.  We’ve got wild caught grilled Sockeye Salmon with a light and fresh mango, avocado and black bean slaw.

Wild Caught Salmon with Organic Summer Mango Slaw:

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. Alaskan or Sockeye Salmon – non-farm raised!
• 1 15 oz. can organic black beans, rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can organic sweet corn or 3 ears of grilled corned cut off the cobb
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 organic red pepper, chopped
• 2 organic mangos, peeled and chopped in squares
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 2 T. chopped fresh oraganic cilantro
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 T. pickled jalapeno, finely chopped
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 bunch of fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 lemon
• a couple shakes of seafood seasoning

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium high heat.

Saute red peppers and corn over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Combine peppers, onion, corn, black beans, mango, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and salt and pepper. Set aside to let flavors come together.

Season salmon with salt, pepper and seafood seasoning (optional) and grill for 7-10 minutes, skin-side down. Salmon should flake easily with a fork.

While salmon is grilling, saute chopped spinach with salt and pepper until wilted.

Plate salmon over wilted spinach and top with Mango Avocado Slaw.