duino duende

Weekend Wrap Up: Good Eats & a Giveaway (Closed)

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If you are looking for the giveaway you’ll just go nuts about scroll down! 

This weekend Neil and I were fairly busy and it seems that things aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon!  We started the weekend off with a homemade Mexican pizza (recipe to come tomorrow) which was absolutely delicious.

Here it is all fixed up with a sprinkle of baby arugula, fresh tomatoes and sour supreme.  We enjoyed our slices, went for a walk and settled on the couch to watch a few shows.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to bake up a batch of Babycakes gluten free Pumpkin Spice Muffins for our early morning birthing class.  Around 8:30 our birthing class teacher arrived (we are taking private classes) and we served up coffee, muffins and fruit before starting our four hours of class. In other news our birthing class teacher is also a doula and last week after doing a bunch of reading Neil and I made a last minute decision to hire a doula for the birth.  I checked with Sarah (our birth coach) to see if she had any July openings and she did so after our class we decided to hire her to be our doula (she is really wonderful and so comfortable to be around).  I’ll discuss more of this doula talk in Thursday’s update post.

After our four plus hours of birthing class Neil and I were so hungry we decided to use up the remaining homemade dough and make another small pizza for lunch and then I passed out for a few hours.  When I finally woke up Neil was going a little stir crazy and was ready to get out of the house so we decided to have a date night downtown including window shopping, drinks (beer for him and water for me) and dinner out at A Single Pebble <–Neil had a gift card from work so free (almost) dinner for us! After dinner we headed home and cuddled on the couch while watching the remainder of the Yankees game, we should have just gone to bed though such a bad game.

Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before heading out for brunch with friends that we hadn’t seen since last July.  We spent over two hours enjoying food, conversation and having tons of belly laughs at Duino Duende.  It was so nice not to have a rushed meal and really enjoy the company.  After brunch we rean a few errands, took a nap, Neil did a training run and I watched House Hunters International.

While Neil finished up his run I made dinner of arugula walnut pesto with peas and white beans, a side of kale and leftover tofu from dinner at A Single Pebble.  After dinner we went for a stroll and then relaxed on the couch. What did you do this weekend?

Now that you’ve read my weekend recap keep scrolling and you’ll find a great giveaway! 

Review and Giveaway: Doug’s Nuts

A few weeks ago Doug’s Nuts sent me a few complimentary bags of their nuts to try out and ever since then I have been in love.  When I first open the nuts I am expecting them to be sugary based on their shiny coating but they were super mild and really delicious.  They are coated with a flavorful glaze consisting of organic evaporated sugarcane juice, honey, oatmeal stout beer <– my husband saw beer and had to try them immediately, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, and other natural flavors. In the mix are roasted almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (the hazelnuts and pecans are my favorites).

I unfortunately finished off my two pouches pretty quickly (time to get some more I guess!)  but boy where they good.  I enjoyed them over soy yogurt, by the palm-full and my favorite way as a topping for apple “nachos”.  What are apple nachos? Simply thinly sliced apples (I use my mandolin) drizzled with almond butter and topped with a sprinkling of Doug’s Nuts and a few mini chocolate chips for good measure.

Giveaway Details- Open Until Friday May 11th at 8pm EST: CLOSED

  • Doug’s Nuts will provide and ship one 6-pack of Doug’s Nuts to the winner ($30 + shipping costs value) – OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY
Winner:

To enter:

  • Visit the Doug’s Nuts and come back and leave a comment letting me know something that you have learned. (Mandatory)
Additional Entries: (Leave a separate entry for each)
  • Follow Doug’s Nuts on Twitter
  • Follow Running With Tongs on Twitter
  • Tweet “I’d go nuts to win @runwithtongs @dougsnuts giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-3fL”

Ethiopian Date Night

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Is the day really almost over?? I feel like I was unable to complete everything I had set out to do today.  I guess sometimes life sends you in a different direction than planned! Although I didn’t finish the dishes and I didn’t get a few health coaching projects and blog projects done that I had planned to I did get to spend time with a girl friend, spend over an hour picking out new running shoes and then the Hubz and I had a spontaneous date night.

Today we spent over an hour at Fleet Feet being fitted for the perfect pair of shoes for my feet I finally found a pair!  If you have never been fitted for shoes I really recommend that you do because I have spent the last year running/being active in a pair of shoes I chose myself and although they were nice they were just a little off. Once we finished shoe shopping the Hubz and I decided to have a spontaneous date night and take advantage of our (free-win!) Jump On It for Duino Duende.  Jump On It is similar to Groupon and if you share the deal and three others also buy it based on your reference you get it for free! Great deal right? We thought so!

We started our night off with a cocktail; Manhattan for me and a Gin Martini for the Hubz.  For our meal we both got the Tuesday night special the Ethiopian plate, which comes in vegetarian, omni and vegan.  I honestly can’t tell you everything that was on my plate but it included a split pea wat, misir wat, spicy sauce, salad, beets, kale and another item that was tasty but we have no idea what it was.

Everything was really delicious and I can’t wait to head back again for a Tuesday night date and Ethiopian food!  Additionally because of our late (for us) dinner we also were able to enjoy the live music that starts at 7pm at Radio Bean (connected cafe).

After dinner we picked up some cereal and bananas for breakfast tomorrow morning and then stopped into the garden to water our plants.  Now it’s time to sit back, relax and then head to bed to read a good book.

What are you reading right now? I am on the last book of The Girl With… series and I am going to need new suggestions! Let me know what I should be reading.

Dining Locally: Duino! (Duende)

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This past weekend the Hubz and I decided to have an afternoon date at Dunio! (Duende) in downtown Burlington, VT. This small restaurant is part of Radio Bean a local cafe known for it’s weekly musical performances and off beat atmosphere. Since Duino! (Duende) is off the main street in downtown Burlington we always forget about it but after our revisit this past weekend I think we will be frequenting it more often.

The theme behind the menu at Dunio! (Duende) is unique and different from other restaurants in the area since its focus is on international street food.  The menu is small but provides enough inexpensive vegan friendly dishes that you won’t be disappointed.  They also have an extensive drink menu with wines, beers and specialty drinks as well.

I started with a Manhattan

And the Hubz had a Five Dollar Shake: Stout, espresso, and maple syrup

For my meal the Hubz and I shared the soup of the day which was a creamy squash soup with thai spices it was really yummy and came with grilled bread.

And we shared the Mujadara: Lentils & rice cooked with onions served in a pita with tahini, hot sauce, lettuce & tomato & tabouleh salad- this was really tasty!

Overall we really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, delicious (inexpensive) food and we will be back again soon.

Ratings:
Value: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Vegan Friendly: 3/5
Atmosphere: 4/5