Farmers Market Finds

I’m one of those crazy people that still exercises even on vacation, making time for the gym is a big deal especially with the decadent eating that usually comes with traveling. It seems lame to spend time indoors in a gym when I’m staying in a new area, but checking out and using a variety of hotel gyms is part of the adventure for me. Among the most memorable was a gym on a Carnival cruise ship on the top floor with panoramic views of the open ocean, a better view than the most expensive suites on the ship! And the luxurious, over-the-top gym at the Encore in Las Vegas with a smoothie bar and indoor clothing optional pool! Also the gym at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua that looked out over the pool and onto the ocean, just breath taking! But the gym on the 35th floor of the Grand Hyatt San Francisco we stayed at was pretty awesome too because this was my view from the treadmill.

My 3-mile run whizzed by as I gazed at the lovely city!

While I was a bit sad our mini San Francisco getaway ended, the chihuahuas were thrilled to see us when we picked them up from my mom’s house on the way home. Even my mom’s chihuahua was competing for lap time!

And Miko made sure to let us know we owed him extra attention when we got home not wanting to let me play Mario!

But before we arrived home, we checked out of the hotel in San Francisco and headed over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito for a little sight seeing.

Where the weather was very different from San Francisco just a few miles away! It was cold, foggy and overcast in the city and sunny and warm in Sausalito where you can just barely see the city skyline from over the fog.

The sights were gorgeous with clear skies and plenty of boats.

And I found another farmers market!

Since our next stop was home, I had fun shopping for fresh foods that I normally wouldn’t buy, like this fabulous fresh vegan spinach pasta from The Phoenix Pastificio.

I swiped some fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden to make a quick marinara sauce.

And poured it over sauteed tofu to make a vegan spaghetti dish.

The fresh pasta cooked in 3 minutes, much faster than the dried stuff.

And it made a delicious dinner with a hearty and chewy flavor.

Another sweet find was fresh pumpkin paratha from Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods, what a great way to welcome fall!

It’s very much like a quesadilla with a large, thin flatbread folded over a layer of savory and spicy pumpkin filling. I heated it in the oven to crisp it up per the instructions and served it like a quesadilla with veggies.

What a treat! The spicy pumpkin filling was delightful and so much like a gooey quesadilla that I must recreate this!

I also found a delicious cilantro chutney.

It had a great texture for being a dip, dressing, or spread with a rich and spicy cilantro flavor.

I used it as a dressing for a tempeh spinach salad and it added plenty of flavor and pizazz to it!

But back to reality and the grind this week, playing catchup at work today was intense after our extended long weekend. It’s good to get things back to normal and to be refreshed, but I’m already thinking about our next getaway.