This weekend consisted of some good and bad events. I’ll start with the big bad one, because I always prefer to end things on a good note. If you were a-Tweeting on Saturday night, you may have noticed this:

Yep, it happened.

(Insert four letter expressions of frustration here.)

This weekend my friend and I were driving to Toronto for another friend’s birthday dinner. We were totally just minding our own business, cruising along the highway, when all of the sudden, 2 lanes over, a massive truck flicked a rock up at my car, shattering the rear passenger’s side window. Luckily we were near an exit so I pulled off the highway and we drove into Canadian Tire since it was the first place that we could see that was a bit car-related. A lovely guy there taped up the window while I searched for the nearest glass repair shops on my iPhone. Unfortunately they were all closed, so we were stuck with the dilemma of either:

A) Continuing on our trip to Toronto, eating dinner, and driving back with the risk that it might rain, that the window might collapse inward, shooting shards of glass into the backs of our heads, etc. (Not sure how likely that was, but ya never know.)

B) Playing it safe and driving the 30ish minutes back home with the window taped.

We chose option B, and I’m quite glad we did because I doubt it would have been very easy to get any further assistance if we’d needed it late on a Saturday night. Looking back, I’m just glad that

• We were able to get off the road and to Canadian Tire quickly, and that they were open.
• The rock didn’t hit the front passenger side window where my friend was sitting.
• The window didn’t collapse inward – Actually, the dude at the glass replacement shop I called told me that this was likely because my window tints held the pieces in place.
• There were no injuries.

Could have been a lot worse, right? Ok, enough of that…. now onto the good!

On Sunday afternoon, one of my besties, Sara came to visit for lunch. I haven’t seen her in a couple of months so it was lovely to catch up! Rather than going out, I decided to make lunch for the two of us. We ate all sorts of lovely things and I promise the recipes will all be up this week!

Our main course was quite a star, so that’s the one you’ll get today. I added chicken to make it more of a lunch time meal, but this can easily be left out or substituted for a vegetarian option if you like.

Fruity Quinoa and Amaranth Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked organic quinoa
• ½ cup uncooked amaranth
• 2 ½ cups water
• 2 cups diced celery
• ½ cup sliced English cucumber, cut into half moons
• 1 pink lady apple, cored and diced
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 1 tbsp dried tarragon
• 2 tbsp chopped chives

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fig infused vinegar
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp orange juice

•  Optional: 3 1/2 cups cooked diced chicken breast

Soak the quinoa in water for about 20 minutes, or run cold water over it for a few minutes to remove the bitter coating. In a medium sized saucepan, boil the rinsed quinoa and amaranth for about 20-25 minutes or until the grains are puffy. The grains should fully absorb the water, but if the pot looks like it’s getting too dry before the grains are ready, add about 1/4 cup of water at a time.

Meanwhile, prepare all remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing in a smaller bowl. When the grains have finished cooking and all liquid is absorbed, add them to the salad. Stir to combine, then drizzle the dressing over top and toss again to coat. Chill for at least a few hours (overnight is even better if you can) to let flavours develop.

Serves 7 (about 1 cup each without chicken).

Nutrition per serving: 217 calories, 5g fat (1g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 28mg sodium, 38g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g sugar, 6g protein.

Nutrition per serving using chicken (makes about 1 ½ cups each): 333 calories, 7g fat (1g saturated), 60mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 38g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g sugar, 27g protein.

Finally, my questions for today:

• What was the best thing you did/ate this weekend?
• US Bloggies; What are you doing on your day off today?
• Something to do: One of my other besties, Lauren, ran her first half marathon this weekend and finished with an amazing time of 2:12. I think it would be all kinds of fun to send her lots of tweets to tell her how awesome she is. Maybe something like “@eatspinrunrpt tells me that @lshar619 was a rockstar in the #calgarymarathon. congrats!” Thanks!