Ride Report

We shaved 4 minutes off the commute time this morning. Yahoo!

Restaurant Review- Citrus Grill

Rick and I have been trying some new restaurants courtesy of Groupon. Last weekend it was Citrus Grill. We would have never known about this place without the Groupon. It's located in a little strip mall on 3300 South about 3000 East.

It's a casual atmosphere with both indoor and outdoor seating. The whole menu looked yum. They had a grilled cheese of the day. It was gorgonzola (?) and caramelized onion. We were both tempted.

Here's a link to the menu.

I settled on the Sesame Salmon and Rick got the Fish Tacos. The salmon had excellent flavor and was cooked perfectly. My only complaint was that the whole plate was covered in sauce which meant the roasted potatoes and green beans were covered in it.  The sauce was tasty, but it would have been nice to have some different flavors on the plate. Overall, I would order it again.

The server recommended the fish tacos as one of their top items. Rick said they were delicious. Our one complaint here is that they just bring you a plate of ingredients and you build it yourself. That is a pet peeve of mine. I go out to eat to have someone else prepare my food and am annoyed when I have to finish the job. Not fatal to the meal though, and we'd recommend the fish tacos based on flavor.

We shared a dessert and opted for the bread pudding. When it came we were stunned at the size; it was huge! It was also incredibly delicious. I'm not a fan of pecans, but they were big pieces so I just left them for Rick to enjoy. We took half of it home. It warmed up surprisingly well in the microwave for a treat with our movie the following night. I will crave this. Made me want to find some good bread pudding recipes to try at home.

Overall, I'd say you won't be disappointed if you give this place a try.

July 4th

 The holiday was quite an event, or better stated, a series of events, many of which were unfortunate. Every Independence Day we have a huge family reunion at my parents' house. Tuesday morning a fire started in their town. (Pretty much the whole state is burning up this summer.)  Tuesday afternoon my sister sent me a picture of the view from my parents' porch.

They were not in the evacuation zone so we sent out the word that the party was on, expecting a smokey backyard party the following day.

Wednesday the winds were still and we had a nice clear day for the annual reunion. Here's a rundown of the day via pictures

The twins at the BBQs. We had around 100 people show up this year.

Loading up the plates

Yum!

I have a star-shaped cake pan. I get to use it once a year.

Check out these cuties!

Let the water fight begin! (Sorry I didn't get pics of the volleyball game this year, but trust me, y'all looked pro out there!)

Meanwhile- the fire burned on. You could see the huge flames from my parent's backyard.

The annual slip and slide.

Just a few short runs this year before tragedy hit

Cute Christian took a flying leap onto the tarp and ripped his shin open on one of the grommets on the tarp (that's the best guess as to what happened anyway)

A trip to the ER and 88 stitches later, he's still smiling.

We are currently looking into alternate water activities for next year.

The evening ended at Thanksgiving Point to watch the fireworks. Not the most spectacular show, but fun to hang out at the park.

We hung out with Heidi's family and some of their friends. A nice close to an eventful day. 

Here's what the firefighters were doing while we were partying!  This is my sister's friend's home. Firefighters working hard to save the house.

Scary!

Amazing. Burned all around the house, but saved the home! We are so grateful for a cooler rainy day today.

Ride Report- Commute to Work

We are now officially bike commuters. Last Friday we did a trial run. We were both off work and I wanted to find the best route without the morning traffic as well as find out how long the ride would take. The Friday ride was easier than I thought going in. It's a lot of gentle downhill (after the huge downhill off the mountain bench). It took just over an hour to do the 22 miles. We found a great route with either a bike lane or wide shoulder most of the way.

Going home was killer. We were in the heat of the day - at least 95 degrees! Plus I didn't plan how to keep my energy up for 44 miles that end with a huge climb. About 1/2 way back, I told Rick I wasn't going to make it. He rode ahead and I rode to a park at the bottom of hill where he came and fetched me with the car.

Tuesday was our actual first commute day. I got a flat before we hit mile 2. This is the first time I've had a flat, ever. Luckily, my pit crew (Rick) was on hand and we were back on the road quickly. The ride was harder than I remembered. Actually, my Monday evening ride was killing me more than it should. I'm wondering if I need to get back on a supplement regimen or if all the smoke in the air is affecting my riding. Regardless, it felt good to ride in with the cool morning (still in the mid to high 70's).

My legs were tired all day. My work has a lot of stairs and I felt each mile with every stair. I was worried about the ride home, especially since it was a very hot day. Rick rode down to my office around 5. We decided to get a couple fish tacos at Rubios hoping it would cool down a bit. We then took Trax (light rail) to the end of line which got us just over 1/2 way home. I popped one of those disgusting energy gel packs just after we got off the train and felt quite good during the ride home.

Total riding time was 3 hours. It was a good learning day for future commutes. (The plan is 2-3 times a week.) I forget that riding time on my bike computer does not equal time it takes to get there. It also took longer than anticipated to get out of the house in the morning. I think better planning the night before will help. I've started taking a good multivitamin and will stock my office with quick energy snacks so I can properly fuel up before/during the ride home.

Overall, lots of fun and great exercise.

What's for Dinner.

A friend was recycling the last two issues of the Food Network Magazine so I took them and tried several things this week. Here's the run down.


WEDNESDAY

Wednesday night we had Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Feta. I added the cherry tomatoes because we have a plethora of them in the garden right now- yum! This was good, not fabulous, but everyone said it could be a "do again" meal. The recipe called for fresh dill and fresh mint, however the grocery bill was racking up so I just used the dried stuff we already had in the cupboard. I'm sure it would be better with the fresh, and I think I overdid the dried herbs a bit, but overall, yummy.  I took the leftovers to work for lunch the next day. I think it was better on day 2.

THURSDAY

Thursday we had Primavera with Prosciutto, Asparagus and Carrots. I really liked this, Rick and the boys thought it was OK. It was a little spicy. The recipe called for Dijon mustard, which I would either half the amount or leave out next time. The leftovers were extremely satisfying the follow day after our bike ride. Another salad that is better after some marinade time.

FRIDAY 

 

Friday night was supposed to Fish Tacos with Watermelon Salsa. But after a long hot bike ride, I wanted easy and filling. We threw some burgers on the grill. I had to take this picture because it cracked me up. Three grass-fed local beef burgers with feta compared to a boca burger. Zane is vegetarian and every time we do burgers I throw that fake-meat frozen patty on the grill with our burgers and laugh and how processed and gross it looks. I was a veg for a while a few years ago, and I know they taste pretty good, it just looks so funny compared to the real burgers.

We still kept up with our trying new recipes though and added these Emeril spicy fries to the meal. They were baked and really good. I even mixed up a little fry-sauce (that is mayo mixed with ketchup for you folks outside of Utah) which went perfectly with the spicy flavor of the fries.

SATURDAY

I was rushing around so much on Saturday that I forgot to take a picture of my salad. Rick's family had a potluck BBQ. I brought a grilled veggie pasta salad. Not my favorite. Isn't it always the case that the one new thing that isn't so good is the one you take to a party! We stopped and bought a veggie tray on the way because I was worried nobody would eat the salad. We had a few takers, but most of it is still sitting in my fridge at home.

SUNDAY  

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken with Cilantro Chimichurri. This was the highlight of the week for sure. I put the chicken in to marinade before church and threw it on the grill after. Kinda spicy but the chimichurri (mostly lime and cilantro) tempered it well.

We served it with rice and broccoli. A very satisfying meal.

Zane and Isaac made Strawberry Soda Ice-cream for dessert.  They made it with red cream soda and mashed strawberries.(I threw some dark chocolate chips on top because it's just not dessert for me if chocolate isn't involved.) They did well mixing it up and being in charge of keeping ice and salt in the ice cream maker. It was good. We decided they will make a new flavor for us every Sunday.

I am pleased with the week's meals. Everything was fairly quick and easy. I think you can find all recipes on the Food Network website.