After running 3 miles at the gym I decided I needed a little post-run carb load. Ok sure normally you carb load before you run, but hell its me and you all know how I love to break the rules...so I went with it. I actually don't carb load before runs, even the big ones. For some reason my body always craves protein so I normally eat chicken or fish.  I get so nervous before a big race that I usually can't eat the morning of and I have to run 13+ miles off whatever I ate the night before. Isn't that just friggin awesome that I have half marathon performance anxiety? Sure I can talk in front of a crowd, jump out of an airplane, call a high speed vehicle pursuit on a police radio, talk to a brick wall...but I pretty much want to vomit on my shoes before I run 13 miles by myself. Ahhh the weird running idiosyncrasies...but alas this is not a running blog...this is a food blog



So tonight I made Orecchiette Salad with Roast Beef. Thought this would be a great recipe for after a run because it has the carbs from the pasta, the protein in the roast beef and some vegetables so it's pretty much a well rounded meal on a plate.

This recipe is also super easy which as you all know I just love...especially because by the time I ran, went to the grocery store and took a shower it was already 2100 and I was starting to get sleepy. So cook the pasta in salted water. Did you all know that orecchiette means "little ears?" This is a picture of the pasta up close...I guess if you have really had a few glasses of wine you would start to see an ear in this pasta shape...eh details right.



Then in a large bowl mix the bocconcini (baby mozzarella balls), artichokes (I was hoping for extras so I could snack on them as I cooked but there weren't any), marinated peppers and mint (but I used basil and it was yum). Then add olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt/pepper. Btw if you are not the proud owner of a lemon zester do yourself a favor and go buy one...it will truly make you happy.



Add the pasta and finally add the roast beef and the arugula. I used an arugula and spinach blend just so the arugula wasn't totally over powering and I thought it worked great.

• Kosher salt
• 8 ounces orecchiette pasta
• 1 cup bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), halved
• 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
• 8 small sweet marinated peppers (such as Peppadew), quartered
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or basil
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups baby arugula
• 6 ounces deli-sliced roast beef, cut into strips

Directions

This salad has a lot of great flavor as the citrus from the lemon, the spice from the arugula and the roasted peppers are a great combination paired with the pasta and roast beef. I think this salad would be great with a nice pinot noir but since I was dehydrated from my run I just drank water.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week. Cheers my friends!