The BBQ Weekend

This weekend we had planned on going for a 50 mile bike ride on Saturday but lo and behold the weather in Oregon was gray, rainy and humid. Yuck! Where is our summer? So Saturday morning I went to the gym instead. I got on the stairmaster–the machine I used to love–and lost myself in the climb. I only planned on doing 20 minutes on it because I haven’t done it in so long (didn’t want to injure myself) but I got lost in the monotony. And I got lost in “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Before I knew it, 50 minutes had passed. I finished up with weights and my free weight routines, then did abs and stretching.

Gym Stats:
Time: 1:27
Calories Burned: 730

Saturday afternoon we went to some friend’s house for a BBQ. It was their daughter’s first birthday. There were tons of babies there but luckily they were all happy babies. The babies all played together and were painfully adorable (repeat: I do not want a baby right now. I do not want a baby right now. I do not…). There was tons of food. I made a green salad with lettuce from our garden with sliced strawberries, red onion and gorgonzola. Yum! I also brought freshly sliced watermelon (a hit with the toddlers who like finger food apparently). They grilled up yummy burgers: beef with blue cheese and thyme in the meat. My burger had a slice of Havarti cheese too.

I sampled all of the salads that everyone brought. I used my tried and true method for tackling potlucks: just getting ONE SPOONFUL of everything. That’s usually enough food. Sometimes I’ll go back for seconds of things I really liked but often I don’t need to.

This time I was too full after eating the burger and one spoonful of the various pasta/potato salads. I did enjoy a Bridgeport India Pale Ale. Luckily by the afternoon the weather was nice and warm and we got to enjoy the sunshine outside.

After a bit Kat and I made drinks that we’ve been drooling over for weeks! Watermelon Martinis! They turned out to be more Watermelon Slushies but they were good.

Kat had already frozen cubed watermelon so it was super simple and fast to make.

Because the watermelon chunks were still pretty frozen, ice wasn’t really needed at all.

Watermelon Martinis

Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 4 • Size: 6 oz + 1/4 cup watermelon • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 90.3 • Fat: 0.5 g • Carb: 11.6 g • Fiber: 0.6 g • Protein: 0.9 g • Sugar: 7.6 g
Sodium: 2.6 mg

Ingredients:

3 cups seedless watermelon

2 oz Absolut Citron

1 oz Midori Melon liqueur

1 oz fresh lime juice

1 cup ice cubes

For the garnish:

watermelon with rind and lime wedges

Directions:

Dice one cup of watermelon into small cubes. Puree remaining 2 cups of watermelon in a blender and add vodka, liqueur, lime juice and ice and blend well. Pour 6 oz martini into each martini glass, add 1/4 cup remaining watermelon into each glass andgarnish with watermelon and lime slices.

For those who don’t drink alcohol, add ice cubes and replace it with a splash of orange juice.

They were light and refreshing. Michael thought they tasted like candy. He won’t admit it but he liked them a lot. 🙂

Michael and I shared my Watermelon Martini/Slushie. It was a nice treat on a sort-of-summer day. (Where is the hot weather?!?!)

Michael and I split dessert too. We split a slice of lime cheesecake (homemade with gingersnap cookie crust) that was delicious. I’ve never successfully made cheesecake at home. I’ve tried many times and it never cooks right.

We also split a small piece of chocolate birthday cake with frosting. More of the cake ended up on the birthday girls’ face than in her mouth, but we were much more skilled at eating it I think. 🙂

Sunday I woke up to pouring rain. We have another BBQ to go to this afternoon but by the looks of it, it will be an indoor feast. I really am sick of of this “It Feels Like October in July Weather” here in Oregon!