Productive Day

I woke up this morning with the urge to bake, so I made two loaves of Poppy Seed Bread.  There is nothing healthy about this recipe, but I knew I could take the leftovers to work tomorrow to get them out of the house.  

Poppy Seed Bread
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp almond flavoring
1 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 c canola or vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c milk

Spray Pam in loaf pans and cover with a small amount of flour.  Mix the above ingredients and pour into the pans.  Cook at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Let cool in pans.

Once cooled, melt 2 tbsp of butter, and then add 3/4 c sugar, 1/2 tsp almond flavoring and 1/4 c orange juice.  Poor over top of loaves while still in the pan. 

While I was making the bread I realized that I didn't have any orange juice for the top.  And then it hit me - I have orange tress in my backyard!!    So I went out back and picked an orange. 

Our tress are not in good shape and you can see there are not many oranges growing, but I did manage to find a good one.

My friend Ines came over with her baby, Emily, this afternoon and we went for a walk along the water. It was windy, but really sunny and warm.

We walked for about 45 minutes. It felt good to get out and stretch my legs after my 7 mile run yesterday. Surprisingly I am not sure from my run yesterday.

I knew after Ines left that I wanted to do some cooking.  Pork was on sale at Costco a few days ago, so I ended up buying a 6.16 pound package. My husband likes pork tenderloin made with EVOO and garlic and BBQ pulled pork in the crockpot, but I really don't eat a lot of pork, or crave it any way.

I searched online for recipes so I could try something new. I found a Sweet and Sour Pork recipe that looked easy, only had 8 ingredients, and had good reviews, so I decided to try it.

After reading the reviews, I decided to add red pepper and pineapples to the pork.  It was so good, I had some for lunch!    I will definitely make this again.   It's a good thing I have 5 more pounds of pork in the freezer :) 

The rest of my day will be spent during laundry and picking up things around the house.  I am hoping to get to the gym this evening for a swim, but my husband is fixing something on my car, so it depends on what time he is done.    It will be a light workout regardless, as I have a  4.5 mile run planned for the morning.