Guess how I woke up this morning?
I fell out. of. bed.
No joke, I woke up as I hit the floor. Who am I? A three year old?
Fortunately our comforter is really thick and I was so wrapped up in it, my body was cushioned enough. No injuries to speak of, but not exactly the best way to start the day.
Oats, on the other hand, are a perfect way to start the day.
Oats with chopped apples, cinnamon, and peanut butter…that’s the kind of breakfast that makes you forget about even the most ridiculous accidents.
Happy belly.
After breakfast I did Jillian’s Shred it with Weights (I don’t have kettlebells but I just used weights), followed by a 30 minute jog through the neighb. The weather was so gorgeous I headed back out after I showered to take some photos of my route. I’m not one to brag about my ‘hood, but I think that Santa Monica has got to be one of the most beautiful places to live ever.
Breathtaking runs are just the tip of the iceberg.
Want to see my favorite running path?
Are you sick of my picturesque home turf yet?
This part of the cliff overlooking PCH makes me think of a certain 90210 episode…I never watched it growing up, but thanks to Soapnet I’ve seen my fair share now.
Random fact: I love this tree
Santa Monica with a side of homeless
If I were homeless I’d definitely be homeless here, though.
Random fact #2: Birds of Paradise are my favorite flower
Okay, okay, enough with the photo montage. As you can see, the weather has taken a turn for the better. I spent a few hours outside strolling Ocean Ave, walking the promenade, and eventually I returned home to get dinner going.
As per yesterday’s discussion, Kyle and I both had the same (vegan) dinner.
Tempeh!!
I have a long standing love hate hate relationship with tempeh (when I prepare it). When I eat out, I have no problem with it – so clearly professional vegan chefs know how to get out the bitter and make it delicious. Real Food Daily, Blossom, Candle, Native Foods…they all manage to make a successful tempeh meal that I can scarf down. But try as I might, I cannot stand the flavor of it when I make it myself.
As per MANY recommendations, I have tried cooking it a variety of ways. All failed.
This dinner was the closest I’ve come yet.
To start, I boiled it in water…
This is how it turned out! Not too shabby right? Kyle was a big fan, so I am considering it a success, even though my taste buds were still not totally in love. Maybe fermented soy just isn’t my thing?
I’ll definitely be posting the Mexi-meal soon, but for now my post has already reached a photo overload. Today was all about stopping to smell the roses take pics of the scenery. I can’t help it now that I’m on the West Coast. Sunshine, ocean, and blue skies…I feel so lucky. I’m not knocking the East Coast weather situation – for those who can cope, props to you! I’m okay admitting that I’m a wuss. I just never got on board with the 9 month long winters and sweltering summers. But I do think people have a special connection with where they grew up. Thoughts?
If only you had a trampoline, you would have bounced right back into bed! Why couldn’t Santa Monica have been that gorgeous last, last weekend?! It looks sooo pretty!
That is some breathtaking views! If I had access to something that pretty, I’d have such a huge smile on my face while running that people passing by would think I had gone crazy.
Sorry no ideas on the tempeh. I seem to be in the same situation with the love hate relationship.
Ever since I first visited my aunt in Santa Monica (she’s lived there for as long as I can remember), I have dreamed of living there. My favorite area is Montana avenue. I love all the shops and the fact that if you walk far enough, you’ll end up at the beach. Love love love. Anyway, my tip for tempeh is steaming it for about 10 minutes to remove the bitterness. It’s best if you buy a brand that has already had part of the bitterness removed (i.e. Lightlife) and steam it anyway just to be safe. You’ve probably heard that tip before, but it’s always worth a shot, right? I can’t wait to get the recipe for your Mexican tempeh dish! I’m so used to preparing it with an Asian flair with Braggs and ginger.
Have a lovely day!
xox
Haha I have never fallen out of bed before! Your oats look amazing as always. And suchh a gorgeous route to run!!
That running route looks so beautiful, I am jealous!
Wow, you really do live somewhere stunning! I’m just a tad jealous :/
That tempeh looks lovely!Though I don’t understand people who hate it- I LOVE the bitterness!
So jealous that you get to run amongst all of those beautiful sights! It must never get boring I bet
yum! I love the look of those oats! I love tempeh, but can’t have soy, although the way tempeh is made the soy bothers me the least out of all soy products. Locally, there is a woman who grows black beans and makes them into soy-free tempeh — it’s delicious!
I’m so jealous of those views – California is absolutely gorgeous! I’m definitely not a fan of the weather we get here in WV; we’re constantly trying to move to FL!
I haven’t tried it yet, but I have the Candle Cafe cookbook. They bake the tempeh for the Aztec Salad in a marinade for 45 minutes and the then baste it with BBQ and grill it. I wonder if baking in marinade takes out the bitter?
beautiful pics!! so jealous of your view
so jealous of your running route!! gorgeous. I grew up in Wisconsin and live in NYC and I’ve NEVER gotten used to the horrible winters; every year it’s shocking just how cold it gets!! I probably should consider a move somewhere warmer ha… I’ve never cooked with tempeh before, only eaten it out or bought it pre-seasoned. Now I’m a little apprehensive to try!
oh and yes I have a connection to the beach, I grew up with it, I miss like crazy, but I do not miss the FL humidity 🙂 I wish I could move to Cali!
Aww, I went to L.A. for spring break a few years back and have such a strong memory of the pier area where your photos were taken! It IS gorgeous there!
Oh no!!!!!!!!!! I’ve always worried about falling out of bed! EEK!
I’ve only tried tempeh once, and just didn’t love it, but maybe I should try again!! 🙂
I have lived in NY my entire life and this winter has been especially brutal. Running outside is still not happening for me because the cold wind kills my ears. That said, in the summer there is nowhere I would rather be (maybe not entirely true). I love the super hot weather where you can be outside in a skirt and tank top at night.
My fiance and I toy with the idea of moving to the West Coast often, but the thought of leaving both of our families behind is really what holds us back. My brother and sister in law will probably start having kids soon and I don’t want to be the absentee Aunt!
Also meant to add- I made tempeh for maybe the 3rd time ever and I liked it enough. I sauteed it with garlic and olive oil and added a bunch of fresh herbs in. Sadly, I came down with a stomach virus the same night and now my stomach turns at the thought of it. Ughhh.
I think I will always be a tofu girl-the bitterness of tempeh just does not do it for me.
i’m jealous of your scenic running route! it is abs. gorgeous.
xo.
Those Cali pictures are beautiful!! I need to get out of Miami and go visit 🙂 And nothing starts off my day better than big warm bowl of oats too
I’ve never had much problem with tempeh — even though I am generally very sensitive to bitter tastes (quinoa, for example, tastes intolerably bitter to me…which pains me because I know how good it is for you).
I generally just saute cubes of tempeh in olive oil until they get a little crispy and brown — and to me they just taste nutty and yummy. Though I remember vaguely not really liking the taste of tempeh when I first tried it, it quickly grew on me, and I much prefer it to tofu! Good luck with the tempeh love!
Sorry to hear about your falling out of bed. I have had dreams where I feel like I’m falling out of bed, so real that I’ve woken myself over it, but I’ve never actually fell out (knock on wood).
As to having a connection to the place you grow up, that is so true. I moved from PA to TX, and even though I love the weather in TX and not having to deal with 6+ months of snow/ice/rain (crappy weather in general) PA has my heart because of my friends and family.
I love all the photos of your beautiful running trail, thanks for sharing! I would be outside every day if I had that pretty scenery!
I lived in LA two summers in a row and would drive the 45-60 minutes to Santa Monica just to run on that beautiful path! There really is nothing like it–it’s just so beautiful! I was born and raised in San Francisco, and I moved back when I graduated from college two years ago. My four years on the east coast were fun but, like you, I just couldn’t adjust to nine months of extreme weather. I love the temperate, moderate climate of San Francisco, although I definitely find myself wishing away the fog sometimes. Still, I love living in a place with no real seasons–it means yearround running outside!
i know right? of COURSE my sister visits when its raining. ugh.
i do run like that – and probably look like an idiot, too!
montana is so cute.
ive tried steaming it, and i use lightlife, so im thinking ive hit the end of the rope…
mexican flavas were still great though and kyle had no issues with the bitterness, so im thinking its just my taste buds.
im trying hard to get used to the bitterness…
tempeh is fermented soy, which is very different from tofu and other kinds of soy, so thats probably why you can tolerate it. black bean tempeh sounds very intriguing!
ive tried marinading it forever and cooking it when its drenched in sauce. it works except only because then im masking the tempeh so much i may as well just be eating sauce!
maybe youll be into it. ive just never had bitter tempeh when dining out, but its all i can taste when i make it myself.
i know what you mean….we were the opposite, when we were in nyc we were away from our family and friends and it was really hard. moving back to ca was easy for so many reasons. its not fun being away from those you love!
how funny – i could eat quinoa for DAYS on end and it doesnt seem bitter to me at all. are you rinsing it before you make it? anyway, i think oil and or nut butter may be the next way i try and jazz up the tempeh (i just dont want to go overboard in masking the bitterness and end up making sauce the main feature because then whats the point of the tempeh!).
ill keep on trying!
yup yup yup
I would love to have a running path like that! Looks so breathtaking.
Good thing you landed softly in the morning :))
I absolutely love St. Louis where I was born and raised, but I’ve recently realized I’ve been lying to myself about liking our seasons. I’m wimp. I’m miserable when I’m cold. And I want to move in with you.
I really want to move, but I feel really lucky to have grown up in southern California! I want to experience the changing of the seasons, but I can’t really argue with the fact that our weather is amazing 🙂
Never tried tempeh! See it on blogs often, but never tried it. Love your running route, and I love Santa Monica. Honestly one of my favorite places on earth. I wanted to move there for a while. I did a lovely walk on that trail a couple months ago! Truly beautiful!
OH MY GOSH STOP IT w. those beautiful santa monica pics!! I was at that exact spot over the summer…. it was soooo pretty!!!!!!!! take me back!
I love running in Santa Monica on clear days. I love doing races there too. It’s amazing and makes the miles seem to fly by.
Wow. I am gonna move in, K? so pretty there! I laughed a lot about you falling out of bed.
Thanks for the mini vacation–especially since I’m still staring out the window at snow and bracing for more ‘flurries’ tonight!
Been following your blog since you did a guest post at choosing raw–really enjoying it! Have you tried tempeh bacon? I don’t usually buy a lot of processed stuff but it isn’t too bad, considering I’m not a huge tempeh fan either. There is enough other great food out there to discover, disliking tempeh isn’t all bad…
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Oh my gosh, I totally think of 90210 too whenever I’m there and especially when I see the Shangri-la… Valerie! Don’t do it!
Your mexican tempeh feast looks delicious, I’m inspired to try cooking tempeh again. I’ve only done it once. I used it to substitute ground buffalo in my famous chilli recipe, but I was not diggin’ it. I tried! but no dice. Now I just prefer to omit any meat or meat substitute, since I do use 3 kinds of beans it’s still plenty hearty and full of protein.
you fell out of bed?!?! ahahahahahahaha. that is too funny.
i’m totes jeal of your amazing weather. meanwhile it’s a balmy 55 here in nyc. and no sunshine. i thought it was a good day until i saw your pics. now i’m back to hating the weather.
miss you! xoxo
Haha, the idea of you falling out of bed made me laugh so hard. Sorry.
But if it makes you feel any better, I’m incredibly jealous of your running path.
haha. i hear that! wimp #2 right here!!
its (not so secretly) my master plan to get you back to CA 🙂
YES!!! im SO glad you knew the episode i was referring to!!! i bet tempeh would be so good in chili…thats seems like a hearty enough dish to handle the nutty bite of tempeh
first off, hi sarah! thanks for reading and commenting 🙂 i like “meeting” readers. 🙂 i have tried tempeh bacon and i like it! its actually my favorite kind of faux bacon. and i agree, there are worse things out there than disliking tempeh…seitan is still my number 1 vegan “meat”
seasons schmeasons…
the weather looks marvelous. i love that tree too.
it’s still winter here on the east coast. i mean snow yesterday?!! it’s no fun. not at the end of march.
So, I tried the recipe and no bitterness! I concentrated pretty hard on every bite and I didn’t taste anything. I searched for the recipe online and found it here: http://books.google.com/books?id=PxOB8s6dtA0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=crazy+sexy+diet&hl=en&ei=v1OWTa3fBqiQ0QHfw7X1Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=aztec&f=false
It is the tempeh for the aztec salad. A word of warning though, I would half the marinade! It made so much I felt a little ridiculous cooking my 9 oz of tempeh in a bucket of liquid! If you try it, I’d love to know what you think and whether I’m just weird and can’t taste the bitterness.
no, im sure youre the normal one bc kyle had no clue what i was talking about. clearly my taste buds are warped and i need to train them…thanks for the recipe!
Soooooo jealous of your beautiful running path with all the fresh flowers and ocean view! I’ve never seen the birds of paradise flower until now…how exotic and gorgeous!
I’ve lived in Tennessee practically all my life and I absolutely hate the weather. I would LOVE to live in a place that averages 75 degree weather daily! Ahhh!
what! how have you never seen birds of paradise!!! omg. theyre everywhere here and gooooorgeous.