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Last week I got an email from Steven (of FakeMeats.com fame who is also Kim's husband) inviting me to a surprise birthday and ACE test passing celebration for Kim. It was in Greyslake, IL (aka about 1.5 hours from my house) on a Wednesday night. Regardless of the logistics, I knew when I got the email that I was going to go. Kim is just one of those great people that always does great things for others. It was time to return the favor. :)

I drove to work that day and met up with Maggie afterwards (now that we are work neighbors) who was keeping me company on the drive up. We arrived early and made ourselves comfortable while waiting for Kim to arrive. When she came in, you could tell by the expression on her face that she was totally surprised!

Kim's chair complete with orange balloons

The Chicago Running Bloggers wanted to get a group shot so we could post it to our blogs (duh). It was nice and surprising to see so many of my running friends, not in running clothes.

L to R: Emily, Erin, Kelsey, Anne, Kim, Maggie, Me, Kelly

Although the party was still in full swing, I had to leave early to make the trek home as it was a work night and Baby Wilson needed some sleep. Although, not before Kim and I got some photos together!

"Baby Wilson is telling me the secrets of the universe..."

Kim didn't get to feel a kick yet, but that just means we have to hang out again for lunch before Baby Wilson comes. I think I see a NFC lunch in our future. :) Of course, I couldn't come to the party empty handed so I picked up a sweet cat shirt (unfortunately, not Loop Looks approved), some cat socks, and a necklace set. I couldn't find socks with grey cats on them, so I picked grey socks with green cats instead.

Data is not impressed (If you don't know who Data is, click here)

All in all, it was a really fun night. I'm glad we all got the chance to surprise Kim! She is such a great friend and great person, it was nice to see her celebrated appropriately. :) Now that she has her official personal training certificate, I just might need to go to one of her strength classes after Baby Wilson arrives!

I haven't been feeling very well lately so I decided to try out a new recipe. I got my regular Fake Meats email a few weeks ago with a recipe for "chicken" noodle soup. I had been just dying to try it. I picked up some organic carrots and celery (I don't normally buy organic but celery is on the "dirty dozen list for using 5 different types of pesticides. Yes, 5.) and some whole wheat pasta. In order to complete the recipe, I needed to place an order with Fake Meats for the Seitenbacher vegetable broth and some soy curls.

Chris and I don't like the crunch of an onion so I kept the onions whole. I let them cook and simmer with the soup but pulled them out before serving. We frequently do this as I like the flavor that onions add to a dish, but we just hate biting into a crunchy chunk.

I really like this recipe because it is basically just a "dump everything in the pot and stir." I mean, is there any better cooking techniques?
I couldn't find my recipe card, but there is a video explaining the recipe that I followed along with. The instructions were simple, clear, and helpful. (If you're part of the Fake Meats meal plan, you get ingredients and recipes delivered to your door monthly.)

After letting the soup simmer for the recommended 10 minutes, I checked the pasta and it needed just a little more time (maybe because it was whole wheat versus regular).
Either way, the kitchen smelled amazing just like homemade soup (well, because it is!). All of the ingredients are vegan but I don't think my vegetarian husband has had chicken noodle soup since he was about 14 years old! Haha. I really enjoyed making this and the recipe made a ton of food. We put some in the fridge and the rest in the freezer to save for another cold or rainy day. (It probably made about 5 portions.)

Since we aren't a vegan household, we had to serve up the soup the soup with some fresh French bread from Whole Foods. I must agree with Kelsey that bread makes everything better. And gluten.


Full Recipe:

Ingredients:
8 oz (half the bag shown) of uncooked pasta
1/2 bag of soy curls
1 packet of vegetable broth seasoning
8 cups of water
1 chopped onion
1 cup of celery
1 cup of carrots

Bring water to a boil first, then add in broth seasoning and stir. Afterwards, add all of the other ingredients and stir it up real good. Bring the mixture back up to a boil before turning it down to simmer with the lid on for about 10 minutes (or until pasta is cooked through). Serve up and enjoy! Yields about 5-7 portions.