I’m trying to charge through my to-do list today so I can “leave work” early – I have a date with Karen! I’m working on ordering retail goods, designing brochures, advertising, website updates and some OpenSky stuff for KERF. OH – and I designed a new Twitter profile page!
Miraculously the rain clouds parted and the SUN came out around 11am. I debated going for a run as I had planned for today, but I had one thing and one thing only on my brain: Better Homes & Gardens! My favorite magazine.
It’s been weeks (months?) since I’ve just gone to the gym and done cardio. My goal is always to keep that as a last resort and choose more outdoorsy / active ways to get exercise, so I’m pretty happy it’s been so long. But my magazine pile is GROWN! BH&G is my favorite so I set a date. I was able to bike to the gym, and did 30 minutes on the Stairmaster. Nothing gets me sweaty like the Stairmaster! Especially on level 10, nonstop for 30 minutes. HARD stuff!
VIDEOS
CORE Bag Giveaway
In honor of my return to the gym for a day, here is a giveaway for the famous CORE bag! From LiveWELL and OpenSky, just fill out the form here to enter and we’ll pick a winner on Friday! [If you’re already following, you’re already entered!]
I got caught in a rainshower on my way home though, but since I was already sweaty, getting wet wasn’t a big deal.
The sun came back out for lunch photos!!
I call this recipe: “I’m too busy to pack a lunch” bean salad.
You can whip it up on a Sunday and steal portions from it all week. I used to make it a lot when I worked fulltime!
Orangey Bean Salad
Prep
Total
Yield 2-3 servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups navy beans (these were cooked from scratch by Karen – yum! You can really use any beans you like)
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1/2 cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 1 orange, peeled + chopped
Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Mix all together! Chill in fridge. Avocado optional upon serving.
On the side I had a slice of bread + jam. Because bread is the staff of life!
I like my jams spreadable and seedy. I hate them when they’re jelly-like.
- My current very favorite is the Great Harvest brand. (A company does a custom product for us) and the raspberry is my favorite for its drippiness and seediness.
- I also really like Crofter’s North American.
- Jam According to Daniel, local here in Cville, is also quite amazing. For the unique flavors like Lavender Peach!
- New to the list of favorites is Grandma Candy’s Jams. My favorite jam flavors are blackberry and raspberry. Have you heard of Black Caps, or black raspberries? Hybrid favorite of my favorites!
Grandma Candy’s are super spreadable, have no added sugar and are SUPER seeded. I absolutely loved this! I think it might even move to the TOP of my favorites list – for the super seeds. Grandma Candy started making these in her kitchen and now they are sold in farmer’s markets in Washington State. But they also ship worldwide [and I’m working on a deal with OpenSky for a great price!]
Orange-ade. Eating the orange at the end was a great dessert!
It is now POURING again!! I’m glad to be inside for the next few hours.
What a GREAT giveaway!!
And avocados are NOT optional 🙂
Ha!
your bubbly looks so refreshing and your jam looks so deliciously dark and sweet! mmm mmmm!
Can’t wait to check out the new twitter page! 🙂
I love the stairmill too….such a great sweaty machine 🙂
I hope I win the giveaway (I am already a follower)! Yipppee…..and for us too….rain RAIN GO AWAY. ha.
Lavender peach?? That’s so original! I can’t even begin to imagine what that tastes like – I’ve only ever had lavender in essence form on my pillow, and once in chocolate. 100% FOUL in chocolate…
I would love to win that bag!
I like jam in general — but I’m not a fan of the seeds. I hate picking them out of my teeth!
I was just going to say, I hope you can offer us some of Grandma’s Candy via OpenSky, then you said it!!! Can’t WAIT for that one, that stuff has my mouth watering! Seedy jam is the bee’s knees.
I love my jam super-seedy as well! It looks scrumptious!
I’ll have to check out the jams at my GH the next time I am there (which will probably be Thursday!) …
~
I love that.. bread is the staff of life. SO true. Good thing you will be working so closely with it.. VERY soon 🙂
I missed my morning run too 🙁 Hopefully I can squeeze one in before dinner tonight.
What a great giveaway, too!
That bean salad looks amazing…I love adding oranges to salads! And the jam looks awesome too…lots of texture in there!~
That jam looks jamin’! 😉 Delicious!
ooo I hope I win. I am in desperate need of a new gym bag.
I enjoy jam better than jelly too! Strawberry is one of my favorites.
After I had a cucumber tomato salad last night, I thought adding whites beans next time would be even better. Your salad reinforces my theory. 🙂
i’d love to see some jam recipes on the blog – i have a buttload of them in the house right now!!!
to clarify – recipes USING jam, not making them!
have you heard about this yet? not sure…
http://www.bikecharlottesville.org/content/bike-week-2011
Oh cool. I would like to go tonight, but not sure about the weather and I have dinner plans. I’m not sure I can make the other ones either, but yay bikes!
Love the bean salad idea. I might start making something like that in the beginning of the week. It would be a perfect side dish and you could do whatever bean you wanted! Don’t send rain this way!
Awesome profile! It’s so summery, with the watermelon theme 🙂
I love the stairmaster when I need a good sweat. 10 minutes on that thing and I’m soaked!
Love the bag and what a bright and colorful lunch!
I love when I have new magazines for workouts!! Makes it feel like such a treat!
Love those :throw together” salads that look impressive! In truly desperate times, I’ll make a quick on with frozen edamame before work and they are all thawed/ready to eat by lunchtime.
Mmm that salad looks delicious. Green + Orange is my favourite food colour combo. Phytonutrients anyone? 😉
Oooh I do like the looks of that salad! Question about the dressing: Do you really taste the mustard? I’m really NOT a mustard fan, but I know it’s in so many marinades and dressing recipes. When it’s mixed with the other ingredients, does the mustard-y flavour really stand out?
Thanks Kath!
I coudln’t really taste it. You need to try some of those good honey dijon kinds. Like “That Mustard” or sweet n spicy kinds. Stay away from yellow and look for orange!
Working full time it’s so nice when I make a grain, bean or pasta salad for the week. Makes my rushed mornings so much easier!
Orangey Bean Salad
or “I’m too busy to pack a lunch” bean salad 😉 —- HAHA! But so true! And that looks wayyyyy nicer than any lunches I pack!
Karen has the time and strength to make beans given her health?! Well lookie there at her! That’s fabulous news. Sounds like she’s feeling strong which is wonderful 🙂
I am an opensky follower and that bag looks great!
I love Better Homes & Garden! Such a great magazine!
I’m super jealous of your jam! I am still buying the cheapest store-brand kind, and I think it’s really making me a bit sick! I can’t wait until HFCS is out of my life!
same here 😛 I like my jams very natural–like apricot or orange preserves. I love rain! it’s raining on and off here today–and I missed it. have a fantabulous day Kath
Mmmm the orange-y water sounds/looks amazing.
Bookmarking that bean- salad recipe! Always looking for more on-the-go recipes I can take with me to school or work….
Mmm…your bean salad belongs in Real Simple. 😀
I love the Jam According to Daniel. I will be eating lots of jam & bread after you guys open. Nom.
Love that salad mix! It looks so refreshing. I’m with you on jams. I like them chunky and seedy. I hope you have a good time with Karen even though it’s raining.
I have a dumb question….what does ‘from scratch’ beans mean? Soaking them and cooking them for a while? I’m intrigued if it does indeed make the beans taste better than from a can.
Thanks!!
Yeah – it means cooking them from their dried form. Soaking overnight, and then simmering for an hour or so. Although this time I used the crockpot and it worked great. They taste much better than canned in my opinion!!
Random question here: what size ramekin do you use for your Buckwheat Bakes? It looks like an 8 oz size from your pictures but it is hard to tell and I’d like to buy the size you’re using so I get similar results. Thanks, Kath!!
1.5 cups! I measured a few weeks ago. That’s liquid to the brim volume
For some reason I just can’t read magazines while on a cardio machine. I’ve tried so many times, but I just can’t do it! That blackberry spread looks so good. That on the Great Harvest bread made my mouth water.
Now I’m embarrassed to say that my FAVORITE grape jelly is the Smucker’s low sugar one. Can you believe it? I just love it so much… possibly because it reminds me of my college days where I first learned to love PB & J.
Blech!! My mom used to feed me chewable aspirin when I had strep throat in that stuff. Still can’t eat it!
I also hate jelly-like jams! Gross. My mom’s homemade is my favorite!
This salad looks awesome! I love citrus in my salads.
Looks so good. I might try that sometime!
I just discovered your blog and am blown away with your oatmeal photos- I am so excited to try your recipes!!
Welcome!
I love the idea of the bean salad. I’m going to have to try it! Thanks!
Sounds a bit like my day. Went to do my cardio in the gym (what happened to the whole may flowers and less rain showers thing) and decided to walk home afterwards and found myself getting caught up in a downpour. Later I found myself caught up in a recipe I made for lunch and a copy of my guilty pleasure magazine, Runner’s world.
The salad looks wonderful, thanks! And great giveaway! It’s raining here too and the annoying sideways kind. 🙂
I had always put BH&G in the “when I’m my mom’s age” file, but now since we’re house hunting I’m really tempted to get a subscription for ideas. It’s funny when the things you hate growing up (Home Depot, staying on a Saturday night, home improvement shows, etc…) become interesting.
Mmmm…that jam looks delicious! I love seedy and chunky jams, especially Crofter’s brand! I bought it a few weeks ago and don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular jelly again! 😛
Funny…I had an orange-dominant navy bean salad mix for lunch too. And, I agree that avocado is not optional 🙂
The Grandma Candy spreads look like a terrific Opensky product – esp. happy re. the absence of sugar.
Thanks for the generous giveaway, Kath!
Keep us posted on Grandma Candy’s! Black raspberry is my favorite jam and I can no longer find it. 🙁
That jam looks like perfection!! Love the orange added to your water too! mmmm bread
That bean salad looks delicious!
Thanks for the salad recipe. That’s going to be my clean out the fridge meal tomorrow (I already told DH dinner tomorrow would include white beans, tomatoes, peppers and broccoli) since we depart for No. VA, C’Ville, and Williamsburg on Thursday. I’m looking forward to a trip to two of my former homes; VA here we come!
Welcome to Cville!
The word on the street is that I love jam, so the attorney at my old job brought in homemade jam from an old lady she knew to give to me…it has whole blueberries in it and is probably the most delicious jam I’ve ever had.
Jams/preserves with seeds is the best! Don’t like jelly at all.
Your blog is great. Where do you get your fabulous mugs, bowls, and plates? They look very Anthropologie-ish, but I’m so curious! You have great taste in both food and serving wear! =)
Thanks! My dishes are a little here, a little there. These are Pottery Barn!
Aw man, I thought that was “Candy Jams”. Candy jam would be so awesome!
This comment has nothing to do with this post but I just had a dough boy smoothie for breakfast and it was so delicious! Reminded me of cake batter! I used 1/2 peach, 1/2 banana as my fruit but I’m excited to experiment with other combos!
Wow, I almost bought that bag when you first introduced it, but I missed the discount window and decided to wait since it was full price, then didn’t see it after that. I loved the separate shoe section, and since I saw that I feel funny every time I mix my gym shoes with my other things. You have such great giveaways…maybe my luck will change and I will actually win one!
Oh, Oh, Oh, I just clicked your link at the beginning of this post for OpenSky and saw an upcoming giveaway for a VitaMix–wow I think that is a really, really great giveaway and would be thrilled to win that, too! 🙂
“Bread is the staff of life” — this is my family’s favorite saying. What culture doesn’t eat bread? None that I’ve ever come across!
Also, I agree fully that seeded jam is SO MUCH BETTER than anything too jelly-like. Jelly just kind of grosses me out. I love the ‘rustic’ aspect of jam with seeds.