Love, Sweat, and Beers

I know it isn’t Thanksgiving yet, but I had some Thanksgivingish eats to share.  First, visit Peas & Crayons to check out other great WIAW posts.

Next, I have to confess that I did not make it to the gym yesterday.  Requirements at the house and a hatred of swimming laps kept me in the comfort of my own home.  I opted for pilates and a bunch of PT work.  I guess it was for the best.

Finally, time for the yum stuff!

Pre-Workout: rice cake (I know… shocker)

Post-Workout: 2 eggs, 1 grapefruit, and black coffee

Snack: 7 raw almonds

Lunch: sweet potato and 1/2 can green beans (simple but also simply satisfying)

Snack: Another work meeting at Starbucks lead to this decaf, nonfat misto.  The meeting ran long, so I also downed a couple Andes mints I had stashed in my purse.

Snack: I was on the hunt for a fresh turkey after work, so I had 2 sips of wine and a bite of pumpkin pie at the first grocery store.  They lacked adequate turkey.  I then had 2 more sips of wine and another bite of pumpkin pie at the second grocery store.  I really couldn’t ask for better samples – who could turn that down?  Twice???

Dinner: crock pot white chicken chili & Sierra Nevada Tumbler (meh… not bad but doesn’t meet expectations)

By the way, I have already made on dish for Thanksgiving.  It’s cranberry sauce!  Most recipes out there have double the sugar, but I like my berries a little tart.  Plus, the orange and spice take the edge off.

Chunky Cranberry-Orange Sauce

• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• zest of one orange (I actually used the zest of grapefruit since that’s what I had on-hand.)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (heaping)
• just a dash of ground cinnamon
• just a dash of ground clove
• 1 bag cranberries (approx 16 oz)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (Approximately the juice of two oranges if you’re not too lazy to juice them.)

1. Without preheating the pan, cook the lemon juice and sugar in a skillet until it caramelizes.  This takes a while, so be patient.  More importantly, be careful not to burn the sugar.  Continuously stir with a wooden spoon.  If it starts to stick and potentially burn, reduce the heat and add a sprinkle of lemon juice or water.
2. When the sugar is caramel in color and gummy, add the orange zest and three ground spices.  Cook about a minute or so; you want it to be very fragrant.
3. Stir in cranberries and orange juice.  Continue cooking and stirring until some of the liquid evaporates and the cranberries cook down to your desired level of chunk.  When you think it looks good, allow it to cool and refrigerate.

• Are your meals in Thanksgiving mode yet, or are you holding out until the big day?
• Are you doing all the cooking this year?