A Day Date

Saturday Nick and I decided to have a "day date."  It was supposed to be a beautiful day and we wanted to enjoy it.  We picked up treats (my new favorite drink- a fresh coconut latte- amazing!!) and headed out to the New River trail.

I am actually training for a half marathon (crazy, I know!) in April and Nick has been sweet enough to do the training with me!  I have never been much of a runner, but always kind of wanted to be.  My sister had already signed up for the race and talked me into joining her.  So far the training has been going well- and I am actually starting to enjoy it.  Saturday was a long run day, so to break things up a bit we decided to try running somewhere new.

The New River trail runs (obviously) along the New River.  The scenery was beautiful and definitely helped take my mind off running.  

We ran 6 miles, which is the longest I have ever run.  I am starting to think I may be able to do this!  Hooray for warm weather!

Chicken Salad- two ways

One of our favorite treats for lunch is chicken salad from our favorite bakery in Blacksburg.  We love picking it up on the way to a picnic and every now and then Nick surprises me with it at school.  Each day they have a different flavor and we love all of them.  While not terribly expensive, eating out does add up so one day I became determined to recreate the chicken salad at home.    I knew one secret is that they use rotisserie chicken, which you can buy at the grocery store.  It's delicious and easy!  I also knew they probably used homemade mayonnaise.  Mayonnaise only takes a few minutes to make and its so much better than the store bought version.  Plus I always have eggs and oil on hand to whip some up.

So far I have tried two versions and I have to say they were both pretty delicious.  Nick's favorite is they curry version, while I preferred the more traditional one.  They both start out the same way and with most of the same ingredients.  

Curried Chicken Salad adapted from Ina Garten

1 rotisserie chicken- meat shredded (use your fingers or two forks)

1 cup mayonnaise- if you want to make homemade click here for the recipe I use 

1/4 cup chutney (Major Grey's in the regular grocery store)

1/3 cup dry white wine 

3 tablespoons curry powder

2 stalks celery finely diced

1/4 cup crasins, chopped

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1 cup roasted cashews

Mix the mayonnaise, chutney, wine and curry powder with a whisk.  Combine chicken with enough dressing to moisten (according to taste).  Fold in the celery, crasins, and scallions.  Season with salt if needed. Top with the cashews before serving.

Classic Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken- meat shredded (use your fingers or two forks)

1 cup mayonnaise- if you want to make homemade click here for the recipe I use 

2 stalks celery finely diced

1/4 cup crasins, chopped

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Combine chicken with enough mayonnaise to moisten (according to taste).  Fold in the celery, crasins, scallions and parsley.  Season with salt and lots of pepper. 

Enjoy!  

Catching Up...

So- its been a while!  I am not sure where February has gone- it's flying by.  Here is a little of what we have been up to-  

Nick took a field trip with one of his classes.  It's a studio class and they are making a neighborhood revitalization plan for Bristol, Va.  They will be able to save some beautiful Victorian style homes.  I am excited to see what they come up with.

We hiked Dragon's Tooth which has been on our list of hikes we wanted to try since we moved here.  It was a beautiful day but much cooler than anticipated-  especially at the top! 

We celebrated Valentine's Day together.  Nick surprised me that morning with a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant which was my favorite breakfast treat while we were in Europe.  I have been craving it recently, and he's a good listener!  Valentine's is a really fun day to spend with second graders.  We had a party and passed out their "Valentimes" which is what they called it all day despite many attempts from their teacher to correct them.  

This one definitely made me laugh the most, so I had to share.

Nick fixed a delicious dinner for us that night, but that was about the extent of our celebration because I was sick.  I wasn't the best Valentine, but I finally feel better.

 This past weekend we went to Greensboro to visit my family.  It was great to just relax and spend time with them.  Nick got in some fishing down at the pond behind my dad's house.  Check out my dad's handiwork-  the fire pit he built recently.  It's a great place to relax.  We also got to see my bff Stacey who is back in NC.  It was another great weekend!

Skiing at White Grass

Last weekend we headed up the Canaan Valley in WV with some friends to go cross country skiing.  We rented a cute little cabin on a mountain.

On Saturday morning when we were getting ready to leave, we realized that the road was a solid sheet of ice.  So of course this happened-

The lodge at White Grass is a funky little place with tons of character. 

Cross country skiing is a lot like hiking on skis.  We took a trail up the mountain.  While it is a lot more work than going down, its very rewarding a still really fun.  Along the trails there were these wooden huts complete with a little stove to make a fire and snacks.  We stopped in one for a break and some lunch.

We met these ladies who were really fun to chat with and they even shared some of their lunch.  One lady had a foie gras sandwich that she shared with us.  While I was very curious to try it, its not something I think I will have again anytime soon...especially knowing how its made.

Here's the view from the top-  amazing and well worth the work!

All six of us-

We skied back down the mountain and finished just as it was starting to rain.  Thank goodness it held off as long as it did!  Soon after the rain changed over to snow and really started sticking.  Shortly after we got back to the cabin our power went out because of the storm.  We were not too disappointed though- Elissa had gotten dinner ready in the crockpot before we left and we had a fire going to keep us warm.  We had a delicious candle light dinner and enjoyed wonderful conversation.  

We had such a fun time and hope to make this a yearly tradition!

(Thanks to Elissa for some of the pics :)