REFLECTIVE and Roast Pumpkin with Lentil Soup

What a super day Thursday turned out to be!  The day began with 30 minutes extra sleep since all gym work was done early in the week. Shane and I set out for a 3 plus mile run. Not too far because I had 2 more miles on tap for Thursday night.  Any time I can grab a few extra minutes of shut eye, it works in my favor.

Run results:  Good weather. Good pace. Hamstring was kept at bay with a wrap.

The best part of the day was lunch.  I was on Facebook the other day and noticed that a college friend was going to be in the area. I sent a note “call me”.  He did! YAY!  Ted and I met my good friend Mike B. for lunch at The Tram.

The following is a photo taken in 1984 at the Sorority Christmas party.  Yes guys, that’s me. So what about that hair color???!!!

The next photo was taken Thursday at The Tram where Ted, Mike and I enjoyed a good lunch in the eclectic atmosphere of the little café on Lincoln Ave. in Utica.  HEY MIKE – Is that the SAME ring you had on in 1984????

Great conversation! INTERSTING ART! Note the poster over my head?  “WEIRD-O-RIFIC”  “FREAKAZOIDAL”???? Hmmm…. might be an interesting show?!!!

Anyway, lunch at the Tram was good. We had the hummus/tabouli platter.  I had Vegetarian Chili with a side salad while Ted and Mike had “meat lovers” sammy’s.   It was amusing as Robin told us the specials which began with Vegetarian and Vegan.  I’m sure Mike thought “OMG! I’ll starve!”  Ted has been to the Tram before and knew he could get his style sandwich. 

Good friends. Good eats.

The fun doesn’t stop at lunch.

At 5:30 pm, Ted, Teddy and I went for the Run for Safety. 

A 2 mile casual romp around the Wonderland of Lights.  Can you believe Ted ran with us? He’s serious about this Triathlon stuff. Great going, Ted!

Utica Roadrunners Run for Safety

This Thursday, 5:30 pm at Masonic Home

(FREE Registration at 5pm)

1/2 Mile Walk & 2 Mile Run

Through the Wonderland of Lights!

Wear reflective clothing, blinking lights, etc..

C-Flex (my company) is a sponsor of the “HERO LIGHT” every year.  It honors our military.  We began sponsoring the Hero Light in 2006 when Teddy was in Iraq with the Marines.

There were raffles and good food to enjoy after the run.

Wine?  It works for me as an after running refreshment.

The three of us had a great time enjoying a casual run and the light display. It was a fun night.  I even managed to snag two mini cupcakes from the gorgeous cupcake display.

If you are in the area, make sure to enjoy the light display in the Wonderland of Lights from November 19 to January 1, 5:30pm to 9pm every night (except Dec. 24th).

Roasting the little pumpkin and making it DINNER.

Earlier in the week, Ted was having burgers. What did I want? Let me try this!

Preheat oven to 275 F.

Cut around the stem of the pumpkin to make a “cap”.  Scoop out the seeds.  Put the seeds in a colander and rinse to get all the pumpkin “meat” off of them. Pat them dry with a clean paper towel and spread in one layer on a sheet of aluminum foil.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Put into the oven for 30 – 35 minutes, underneath the pumpkin which was cooked as follows.

After scooping out the seeds of the pumpkin, salt and pepper the inside. Replace the “cap” and put in a foil lined baking pan. Loosely cover with aluminum foil.  Let cook for one hour.  Reduce the heat to 250 F, and continue cooking until 5:30 pm, when it’s time for dinner.  The pumpkin was cooked perfectly.  So were the seeds (but remember….they only took 30 – 35 minutes)!

Open a can of Lentil Soup and heat.   Fill the pumpkin with lentil soup

and enjoy!

Pumpkin is the same texture as roasted butternut squash but not quite as sweet.  It went so well with the lentil soup.  For a complete dinner, I added steamed broccoli for greenery on the side.

Joanne