Wow! It was a near perfect winter day in Boston today. Mid-30s and completely sunny. Because of a snowy start to the week there was a nice covering of snow, so we decided we would try to go cross country skiing again. We wanted to go last weekend, but it was just too warm. Today was ideal…cold enough for a nice layer of snow, but sunny enough that it wasn’t bitterly cold.
We had bought passes to the Weston Ski Track a couple of weeks ago through Groupon.com. Has anyone tried using Groupons before? Such a great idea (why didn’t I think of it!)! Essentially, a company offers a huge deal on a product or service if a certain number of people sign up for it. It benefits the company and it benefits the people who otherwise may not have wanted to spend the money on that product or service. We got a lesson, rental, and day pass to the Weston Ski Track for $25 each. And because we didn’t want to take lessons, we get to go back for free one more time. Not bad!
The track goes right along the Charles River, so it is in a very pretty spot.
I probably should have a lesson since I have no idea what I’m doing, but I prefer bumbling along. I may look like I know what I’m doing here, but I most definitely do not!
I probably skiied for about an hour and 15 minutes. Dave did one more loop, but I sat out because my knee was bothering me. I ran 15 miles the other day with no problem at all. Then I try skiing and…Ouch! It’s actually fine now, but I’m glad I stopped when I did. I think I was tensing my muscles simply because I was nervous and not fully comfortable on skis. All is well now and we had a great time!
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I was in a hurry to get to my couch date with the hubby last night, so I put off showing you my dinner. But I definitely don’t want to forget to tell you about it! A few weeks ago Sarah had written about her experience making pizza from a gluten-free company called Chebe. I was so excited by her review and so desperate to have real pizza again (I love my polenta pizzas, but sometimes a girl wants the real thing!) that I wrote to the company. They responded right back, saying they would love to send me some samples. They sent some pizza dough mixes, a focaccia bread mix, and some cheese bread mixes. They arrived yesterday and conveniently enough, it was also “Pizza Friday!”
The mix comes in a pouch:
You simply add egg, oil, and milk to the mix and PRESTO! Pizza dough!
There are 10 servings in the pouch and I was making Dave a pizza on a regular (read: glutenous!) flatbread crust, so I decided to divide the dough into 4 balls and put 3 in the freezer for later. The packaging says that dough can be frozen, as well as already cooked pizza crusts.) I took one ball, rolled it out, and then put it in the oven to bake. It ballooned out after a few minutes, so I deflated it and put it back in the oven. After it had browned, I added my toppings (mozzerella, artichoke and sweet peppers), and and baked until the cheese had melted.
This came out beautifully! It was crusty, but doughy in the middle. A little gummier than regular wheat flour dough, but very, very good. And perfectly seasoned. I loved it! I rolled the dough very thin, so I may have found it too gummy had it been thicker. But rolled thin like this, it was perfect. Thank you to the folks at Chebe! I will definitely be buying more of your product….after I finish experimenting with the rest of the mixes you sent! It seems there are a lot of fun things you can do with these mixes, from making tortillas, to making bread sticks. I am looking forward to experimenting! Next on tap with my frozen dough….calzones!
And just because it was so pretty, I’ll show you my side salad that I made to go along with my pizza!
That brings us to the end of a pretty perfect 24 hours! Pizza, a couch date, and cross-country skiing…all with my favorite guy! Doesn’t get much better than that!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!
Has anyone else tried Groupon.com in your city?
YAY!! So glad you were able to have some delicious pizza last night!!
The toppings you added sound so wonderful.
Glad you had fun skiing!! I bet it’s an awesome workout. Take it easy with your knee. Maybe some ice tonight just to be safe?
SO glad yall have had a perfect 24 hours… hope it continues!!
How beautiful!! I’ve always wanted to try cross country skiing
awww what fun! i LOVE skiing- i wana try snowboarding sometime!
Thanks for the Groupon information. I need to look into this. I’ve never heard of it before.
The pizza looks great. I have yet to try gluten free dough, but I really want to. Before I buy a bunch of wheat free ingredients and supplies, I need to go through all of the food I already have. I am determined to save money. I’ve been eating Quinoa for the past week or so, then I’ll move onto rice, then a few other things I have in the freezer, THEN I will begin more experimenting.
Thanks for all of the ideas. Oh, and the black olives look so good, I LOVE olives.
Have a great night!
Nope! Not olives at all. Those are blueberries. I am not an olive lover at all so you won’t find those in my salads. Glad you like them though
so beautiful!! It’s nice when the sun is out. I’ve never been cross country skiing but have always wanted to try it since I’ve heard it’s a killer workout
mmm pizza looks tasty! I’ve never heard of groupon before. I’ll have to post the granola bars again, they aren’t my recipe, but are definitely the best I’ve tried! yay, for nice weekends 
I have never heard of Groupon – need to look into it!
That pizza looks great – glad you have found a close substitution. Can’t wait to hear about the foccicia!
Looks like you had fun cross-country skiing – I have never tried any kind of skiing!
that side salad looks amazingly good!
Sounds like a great time.
We used groupon when I was in Minneapolis for a wine and beer tasting conference. Very cool!
My coworker always talks about Groupon’s great deals, but I haven’t used it before.
Cross country skiing sounds like fun. I’d also like to try snowshoeing. And I’m glad you got to have a “real” pizza! I get so happy for you each time you find something gluten-free to enjoy.
You are so sweet. Thank you for cheering on my gluten-free search!
Groupon sounds really cool! I am going to check it out. I have never heard of it.
You know, my knee started bothering me when I was snowshoeing. I wonder what it is… are we twisting our knees? Hope you are feeling better today!
[...] what goes best with soup? Yep! Bread! Using more of the Chebe mix I used for my pizza dough, I made rolls to pair with our soup. Even my gluten-eating hubby ate them….instead of his [...]