Friday Sunshine... A dedication to Boston.

This week, Friday Sunshine is dedicated to Boston...

​To All Runners... your hard work and months of training did not go unrecognized.  Congratulations on a job well done.  Thank you for being inspiring. Thank you for raising money & awareness for your charity. Congratulations on achieving your PR.  Congratulations on reaching a new goal. Thank you for running.

To the first responders and all who ran towards the scene to help... thank you for your bravery and fearlessness.

To all hospitals in Boston, thank you for saving more than 170 lives and being so incredibly prepared.

To local residents who offered your home for warmth, electricity, and water for runners who couldn't find their families or shelter... thank you for your generosity, kindness, and representing this city, so well. 

To New York, Chicago, Philly and our other great sister and brother cities.... thank you for the outpouring of support via sweet caroline, newspaper covers, lit up buildings, taped baseball gloves, and so much more.​

To President Obama, Stephen Colbert, ​Dennis Lehane and many more... thank you for using your words to properly define a Bostonian. Strong, Fearless, and knowing that they messed with the wrong city.​

And now I give you, some scenes from this great city...

If you haven't watched this video of the National Anthem at the Bruins game yet... grab a tissue and hit play...​

​One of the photos I took earlier in the day on Monday... runners and our soldiers... less than a mile from the finish line...

​Later that day... on the left... my walk from Back Bay over the Mass Ave bridge into Cambridge where I eventually picked up a cab.  On the right, the view of the city from my run around Castle Island in Southie.

​From my run on Thursday night... view from the Harbor walk... Boston Harbor Hotel and a gigantic American flag.

​Also from Thursday, view of the harbor and the Old Northern Ave Bridge from the Harborwalk.

And this, <3.

​Enjoy your weekend.  Stay strong, my friends. xo

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Broiled Wild Salmon

I struggled with whether or not I should post today, but, I know that I look forward to reading fellow blogger's posts as a nice departure from all of the madness.  Also, this is a really great comfort meal and very quick and easy to make. I do hope you enjoy.

​If you like avocado, garlic, and lemon. You will  L O V E  ​this meal.  You don't even need salmon if you don't like it.  Seriously,  just wait until you make this. Not kidding. Ok I'll stop and explain.

The creamy avocado pesto is easy, FAST, and can be used 3 ways.​ It is also loaded with protein, fiber, & antioxidants.  It's a power meal.​

​To make the sauce, you'll need a food processor.  Take the below ingredients: one lemon or two, healthy handful of basil, one whole avocado, 1-2 cloves of garlic (I used 1.5 and I love garlic, it's raw so it's strong), sea salt, crushed red pepper, and extra virgin o/o.  I don't really measure any of my ingredients for this sauce so just eyeball it.  Finally, one last ingredient that is not necessary, BUT, adds more protein, thickens the sauce and makes it usable as a spread.... a handful or two of chickpeas!

​Toss all of the ingredients in the food processor and hit go.  Add more or less olive oil and lemon juice to thicken or thin out the sauce. (It's going to be a little thick and that's ok... it's great on bread and it will get really creamy on the hot pasta).

You could stop here... use it as an avocado pesto spread and bring it to a party.  Here, I toasted up some Iggy's multigrain bread and spread it while I was making the rest of my meal.  So. freaking. delicious.​  The photo on the right is the extra I had leftover after I made my pasta (below).  I've been using it this week for chicken, on pasta again, etc.  Seal it with plastic wrap tightly to the mixture and it won't turn brown.

Foodies has Wild  Salmon now... HOORAY!  Always try and buy wild fish, farm raised is bad.  They feed the fish corn, fish bits, and who knows what else.  They are fattier and you really don't know what you're putting in your body when you eat it.  ​There's about 22g of protein in 3g of Salmon in addition to a slew of other awesomeness like omega-3 fatty acids (amazing for your whole system, especially for your brain), b vitamins, and much more).

​Simply drizzle with extra virgin o/o and sea salt and BROIL for 10 minutes.  Broiling seals in all of the awesomeness and gives that nice golden crisp top.  

At the same time, cook your barilla protein plus pasta (also loaded with protein and omega-3 fatty acids) for 10 minutes.  

Once the pasta is done, strain quickly leaving a tbs or so of pasta water.... toss in the avocado pesto to coat the spaghetti.  Add some diced tomatoes and parmesan cheese.  Take some lemon rind and sprinkle all over dish.  Done and done!​

This is, by far, one of my favorite meals.  I love pesto, avocados, and bean dips.  Marrying all three in this sauce/spread makes it the perfect combination.  I've made this before without the chickpeas and it's also good. ​ Let me know if you have any questions.

​Have a lovely week. xo.

Boston

I lay here with a sick feeling in my stomach that hasn't gone away since I received a text from Krista at 2:56pm asking me where I was and if I was ok.  Krista was running the race... she hopped in to run with her friend for the last 12 miles.  At the same exact instant, Rebecca turned to me and said... "Why did 50 guys in SWAT gear just walk past the bar... something is wrong".  I don't usually jump to conclusions, but, Krista was running the race and texted ME  to see if I was ok.  ​We had already asked for the bill to check out and leave the bar so that we could go watch Krista and our friends who were running, cross the finish line.  I looked at my friends, and said, Let's go.

​Surprisingly, I didn't feel as scared as I would have imagined,  mostly just sick.  I am angry.  Marathon Monday is the best day of the year in Boston.  Athletes and spectators from all over the world gather in the city that so many of us call home to reach goals they've worked very hard to achieve, raise money and awareness for charities that are close to their hearts, and in remembrance of loved ones.  How dare someone or some group try to ruin this for them.  I am angry, we are all angry, and we want answers.

I refuse to believe that this race is ruined. Now, more than ever, our city must come together, look fear in the face and say FU.  I refuse to live in fear in my home.  

Once I was home back in Southie, I went for my normal run around Castle Island and immediately ran into Janet.  We did the loop together and I stopped to take this photo as we crossed over the bridge. ​ Amazing how calm and beautiful it looks amongst the chaos.

To the families and friends of victims... our hearts are with you.  Let this be a reminder to all to hug your loved ones tight and be kind to one another.​  There needs to be peace.

​Stay strong, my friends. xo.