Recovering The Day After

Yuko En on the Elkhorn, Georgetown, KY

Yesterday was spent in Georgetown for their Cherry Blossom Festival.  My husband was involved with the chado demos (Japanese Tea Ceremony), so we had to be there early and stay as they gave repeated demos throughout the afternoon.

I was up early and fixed breakfast while letting my husband sleep a little longer.  I packed a small cooler of food so we would have food for lunch and snacks.  Last year there was a lot of noodle dishes being sold, as well as food from the restaurant, School, in Lexington.  I wasn’t sure what School was going to be serving, so I figured it was better to be safe than be sorry.

We were at the gardens before 9:30 and I spent a good amount of time walking around taking pictures while my husband and his friends were setting up.  By the time 10:30am hit, I was already worn out and went to the car to lie down for a bit.  The weather was sunny but cool, so the car wasn’t hot at all.  I didn’t get any sleep but I did read a little while snacking before getting out of the car and returning to the teahouse.  When I got back there, they were getting ready to start the demos.  I stuck around for about an hour or so taking pictures.  Then I took pictures of the Noh, Iaido, and Aikido demos.  Watching the last two made me want to get my iaito out and start practicing, as well as getting back on the mat for the latter.  Soon, I hope.

By late afternoon as my husband and his friends were doing the final demos, I could feel myself wearing down again.  I was exhausted and it was only 4:30pm.  It took about 2 hours to get everything cleaned up packed.  It felt good to be able to just sit and rest as my husband drove us to Sugano, a little hole in the wall Japanese restaurant, his friends suggested to meet up for sushi.  If you are in Lexington and love sushi, I highly suggest it.  The owner is a member of JASK, the Japanese association my husband and his friends do chado demos for during their annual new years banquet.  The sushi menu isn’t fancy or expensive.  Most of the menu is nigiri and sashimi, which was good for my gluten-free needs.  We also order several appetizers to share.  In the end, we spent less for all four of us, than we do on a typical night out for sushi for just the two of us.

It was nearly 11pm when we finally got home.  Both of us were exhausted and went to bed as soon as we put things away.

I’m still recovering from the exhaustion yesterday, but I did manage to still get my To Do List done for the day as well as fix a great lunch that had my friends on Facebook asking for the recipe when they saw the picture of it I posted.  One of their husbands even texted me, which prompted me to log in real quick to post the recipe so they could enjoy it for dinner.  I hope they like it.

Since they were all asking for it, I figured I’d share it with those of you who missed it.

Hamburger Salad

Hamburger Salad

For the hamburger: about 1 lb lean hamburger, 3 teaspoons cumin, 1 egg and salt to taste. Mix together well with your hands and make small patties (I wound up with 7) . Grill indoors or outdoors.
Salad greens: 1 romaine heart sliced thin, 1 tomato chopped, (this yielded about 2 1/2 servings)
Leanne Ely’s dressing: 1 clove crushed garlic, 3 T olive oil, 1 T balsamic vinegar, 1 t dried oregano. Whisk together well and pour over the salad greens and give a good toss.
Saute 1 sliced onion in olive oil until cooked through and browned. (you’ll have extra)
Saute about 1 cup of mushrooms in olive oil. When the pan dries, deglaze with about 1 T of red wine and cook for a few minutes making sure the mushrooms all get a good coating of the red wine – split between 2 salads
Chop 1/2 avocado – split between 2 salads.
Plating: Dish out the salad greens on a plate. Top with a hamburger patty, mushrooms, onions, and then avocado. I also added alfalfa sprouts on top.

I liked it so much, I ate it faster than I generally eat and I plan on fixing some of the leftovers for dinner.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

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