Madison Mallards

This past Sunday Aaron and I finally went to a Madison Mallards game with our friends Kelsey and Ryan. I've heard a lot of good things about these games but always thought they would be somewhat like watching high school baseball (they are actually college baseball players, but yeah). 

Luckily it was way better and way more fun. The whole thing reminded me of going to Lansing Lugnuts games when I was a kid, except with a smaller stadium and more cheese curds.

We got tickets in the regular stands and it was basically filled up, which made it fun. I especially liked the entertaining activities, like having two babies race to their moms on top of the dugout. And how the announcer says "weiner" whenever there is a foul ball (I guess if you catch one you get a free hotdog). 

Next time we'll probably go for the Duck Blind where you get unlimited food and drinks with your ticket. Also they have veggie burgers, which is a huge step up from the food offered at Miller Park (and its cheaper).

Diet Variety: Plantains

Have you ever heard the horror stories of people who buy what they think is a banana and it turns out to be a plantain... which they only discover after biting into it raw? Apparently this is a real issue for people, especially when traveling to other countries where plantains are very common. At our grocery store there is no way this could happen as there are like two plantains for every 200 bananas.

I guess plantains aren't so good raw. I've mostly had them fried at restaurants, which is delicious but rare to find on a menu.

So what made me think we should have plantains at home? Apparently they are highly nutritious, but honestly I just randomly came across a recipe using black beans and rice (of which we already had both). The only thing we really needed to buy was a plantain so it seemed perfect and cheap.

I honestly wasn't a huge fan of the plantain, but loved the spices on the beans and rice. I would consider making this again and leaving the plantain off or using a potato or other vegetable in its place.

Black Beans, Plantains, and Rice

Aaron made this dish from start to finish so I took his picture eating it.

26

I feel very old saying I am 26. Something about being over the mid-twenties hump makes me feel very aged. Starting a job where I am older than many of my coworkers (at least during training) is probably not helping the matter.

Starting something new, whether it is a new job or a new semester in school has always come with a little bit of an adjustment period for me. It lasts a week or so and the main adjustment is my eating schedule and how I can fit all of my snacks in during the day and maintain a healthy diet. It usually involves me being ravenous multiple times during the day/week. Add my birthday into the mix and this week was pretty intense!

The bar at Graze.

For my birthday dinner on Wednesday we went to Graze, a restaurant right on the capitol square in Madison that I've been wanting to eat at for a long time. They don't take reservations and it seems crowded most of the time, but I've heard many good things about the food and I'm always willing to wait a while. Aaron and I have become especially skilled at snagging seats at the bar, which we did on Wednesday night for our 45 minute wait for a table. Often we just eat at the bar, but since it was my birthday we waited for the table.

Pickled veggie appetizer. The asparagus was the best.

For a birthday present I had asked Aaron that we do something together (I told him I could buy whatever things I wanted myself... hehe). He got us tickets to a Milwaukee Brewers, which I have been wanting to go to for the past two years. I am always jealous when Aaron gets to go to a game with his co-workers in the summer.

We went last night and it was a great game. We got free t-shirts and the Brewers won! I was a little nervous about all of the foul balls though (someone got hit in the head during the game).

Miller Park was clean and fun although severely lacking in vegetarian dining options (unless you want fries or a pretzel for dinner). Next time we'll have to tailgate with all of the other people in the parking lots.

Diet Variety: Rhubarb

I think this is the longest New Year's resolution I have ever kept. Although I haven't been blogging much about it, I have been adding something new to our grocery list every week.

This week we have rhubarb, which I have never ever bought. I have only seen it in desserts, which I almost never make at home. Plus rhubarb desserts have been ruined for me since childhood, when I accidentally grabbed a piece of what I thought was cherry pie. It turned out to be rhubarb and I have never really wanted to try it again. When I found a recipe for a rhubarb and lentil salad, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out without having to make dessert.

(We also bought some baby turnips, which to our knowledge we had never eaten, and had them raw in a salad. I really liked them and would probably eat them plain like radishes. Hoping we get a bunch when our CSA starts coming.)

I don't know much about rhubarb, but apparently it is high in vitamin C, calcium, and fiber.

Not a pretty photo... I was very hungry.

The salad was surprisingly good, helped out by lots of spices, herbs, and one of my favorites- the black lentil. The rhubarb was nice and tart and totally different than things we normally eat. I'm curious to see what other savory rhubarb recipes are out there. And who knows... maybe I will attempt a rhubarb dessert sometime this summer.