joys of the week, ep. 10
The Bucs win! The Bucs win the Super Bowl! Fire the cannons! Tampa sports proved quite special this year. I bet Kevin Cash really feels crummy about removing Blake Snell and sabotaging the Rays’ World Series bid (I theorize the outcome could’ve flipped had he a bit more faith in his starter, who now isn’t even his starter anymore. I digress), for they are the sole team to not win their respective sport’s title in 2020/2021. Better luck this season?
I found Super Bowl LV a bit disappointing despite the Bucs win, since the Chiefs sort of lied down and died from the first quarter. Now I don’t really know squat about football except some technical tidbits I’ve gained in the last, oh, month, but I know a flop of a game when I see one. The Chiefs scored 0 touchdowns! Whenever I watch a championship game of any kind, I hope for at least a good fight on both ends. Not a literal one, mind you. Simply a back and forth of scoring. With the supposed two best teams facing off for the ultimate prize, I’d think they’d avoid a blowout, but not the case here. I actually fell asleep for most of the second half and apparently didn’t miss anything.
Did you watch the Super Bowl this year? Or leastwise, eat through the Super Bowl? My jaw actually hurt a bit on Monday from the volume of tortilla chips consumed. I shared in last week’s Joys our menu for the big day and we also enjoyed some cupcakes that eventually morphed into the Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Cake I wrote up on Thursday. I botched the texture of the buttercream BIG TIME on the cupcakes but they were still very much edible. I’m feeding them to J every night to get rid of them more quickly. My plan is working.
Valentine’s Day falls today, and while J and I aren’t interested in acknowledging it overmuch – we can love one another without a denoted day – we did share a homemade four-course dinner on Saturday since we will always find an excuse to cook elaborate dishes. I opted for an Italian theme and included a no-knead bread, a veggie-laden chopped salad, some vegetarian meatballs smothered in cheese (recipe upcoming), and of course the aforementioned cake. Romantic yet simple, and entirely pandemic-friendly. Aside from that, I work all day today so we’ll probably get some takeout ramen from a new place that opened nearby.
My favorite healthy dishes to recover from Super Bowl Sunday
Roasted Delicata Squash and Pomegranate Salad with Caramelized Shallot Vinaigrette
Baja Tempeh Taco Salad with Chili Honey Lime Vinaigrette
Winter Detox Vegetable Noodle Soup
Fried Brussels Sprouts with Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette and Dried Figs
Spanakopita Tacos with Crispy Dill Chickpeas
Upcoming on VE
Kick off the week with my training log, followed by a unique version of pasta alla vodka for an easy weeknight Italian feast! VE dishes up baked tacos on Wednesday, followed by a simple and delightful herby bread for Thursday. Cocktail Friday features a fruity Bourbon smash, and the cooking concludes with a luxurious, beautiful, yet easy as hell sheetpan dinner!
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Joys of the Week, Episode 10
1. Successful speed workout + a sub-6 sprint!
Aside from a few tempo runs here and there, I haven’t really forced my legs to turnover much, but last week I decided to give a bit of speed a whirl to see what I still have in the bank. As the weather heats up, speedwork won’t look nearly the same as it might currently – in other words, very few sub-7 efforts over a few minutes in duration – but I’ll keep trucking along at those fast-for-me efforts as long as I can hold them safely.
2. Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Cake
Yeah yeah, I just gave you a heap of healthy recipes, but cake, man. I made a fairly elaborate dinner on Saturday night to pay homage to Valentine’s Day – which I kinda hate, but I’ll use anything as an excuse to jazz up our dining table – and we finished with slices of the cake. The buttercream is sooOooOO good, ya’ll. Soft, hinted with chocolate, and plentiful. Here’s the recipe if you missed it!
3. Super Bowl snack board
I promise this is the last I’ll speak of LV, but holy moly look at that spread. J and I flew solo in our viewing party and I’m proud to say we downed nearly all of what’s pictured, minus a few bits and bobs which we quickly picked through the couple of days following. Let me see your Super Bowl snack boards! Also, a bonus shot of a jersey J found for me to wear. Actually a dress.
4. Friday, February 12
I’m including a whole day here because it was exceptionally joyful from start to finish. Nothing life-changing happened, I just didn’t fall under the influence of anxiety and things went right. Work was intense but I laughed through it, I squeezed in a relaxing swim to cool off, took a nap, J received a possible answer to his running and breathing woes, enjoyed a delicious cocktail to be posted next week, and rounded out the night with a round of Pandemic and a tray of homemade bagel bites (also coming soon!) A stable mood, the best company, and photographic/cooking success all around and worthy of noting because days of near-complete satisfaction are difficult to come by.
5. Trader Joe’s Tostones
These are a freezer staple for me. I love them in a big modgepodge lunch bowl with either sweet potatoes or cauliflower rice, avocado, vegetables, eggs or plant-based protein, and some type of dip like hummus or guacamole. I’d make them myself but I for the life of me cannot make my own renditions that huge! I’d love to try them as a riff on tostadas instead of the traditional tortilla.
Hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day, whether you observe with a significant other, your friends, your cat, or don’t at all and just want to enjoy the Sunday energy. Share with me one thing that brought you joy this week. Or multiple, the more the merrier!
