Eat. Laugh. Run.: Race Day with a Side of St. Patty's Day Festivities

It's that time again! The DC half (and full) marathon was Saturday and for the third year in a row I partook. Similar to last year, I kicked off my St. Patty's Day festivities before the sun was up on Saturday morning with a jog through the District. I think given how much pain my body was in yesterday, however, it may disagree with my use of the term "jog." Despite the threat of rain, it remained dry throughout the course of the run, which I was thrilled by (I've never had to do a race in the rain and was not ready to break that streak). And eventually, the finish line came and I could focus on the fun that lay before me.

Similar to last year, I dined the night before on my traditional pre-race pasta dinner. I made a sauce similar to last year's version, but this time over homemade noodles. Sadly, I didn't make the noodles myself (that would've been insanely ambitious the night before a race), but that's on the top of TF and my cooking to do list, so hopefully I will get to write about trying my hand at pasta making at some point this year. Instead, I used the next best thing, homemade noodles I got at the farmer's market last weekend. They were seriously so good, I may never eat boxed pasta again!

Pre-Race Pasta Dinner

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pasta
1 large (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsps Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. In a large skillet (I love my wok), gently saute garlic and onion in olive oil until golden

2. Add can of diced tomatoes to onion and garlic. Do not drain tomatoes prior to adding to skillet. Stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper

3. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low until juices have boiled off, about 30 minutes. You can also cook for less time if you want a thinner sauce

4. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions on package. Add broccoli florets to boiling water/pasta with 3-4 minutes left in cooking time

5. Drain pasta, do not rinse, return to pot

6. Plate pasta and top with sauce...enjoy!

And after the race was over, I got to spend the rest of the day celebrating my favorite adult holiday. Naturally, this meant a seasonally appropriate baking project! Enter:

St. Patty's Day Cake Balls

Ingredients

1 box vanilla cake mix
Green food coloring
1 can vanilla frosting
1 and 1/2 lbs white baking chocolate
Seasonally appropriate sprinkles

Preparation

1. Mix cake according to directions on box. Prior to pouring mix into pan, add green food coloring (it took a lot more than I expected, and to be honest I lost count, but it was more than a dozen)

2. Grease 9x13 baking pan and bake cake for about 25 minutes (see box for exact time)

3. Allow cake to cool for at least half an hour. Once cool, tear cake with a fork in a large bowl

4. Once cake is diced, mix with vanilla icing until moistened (it didn't take me the entire can, only about 3/4)

5. Roll cake/icing mixture into tablespoon size balls, place on wax paper, and chill in fridge for at least an hour (I always allow them to chill overnight to be on the safe side)