HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year from all the 30kmillionaires!

We all hope that you all have a safe and fabulous evening wherever you choose to ring in 2010!

Holiday Hams

Holiday DP! The Holiday Ham was a big success thanks to Ben taking a half day to cook all 20lbs of it! What a fantastic night, overflowing with mulled wine, new iphone apps, jokes, confessions of high ponytail love and...of course a full serving of laughter. I am officially in love with this holiday season.

Trader's Point Creamery: Christmas at the Farm

Looking for some last minute gifts or just a great daytime outing to put you in the holiday spirit? Look no further, loyal 30km readers. Christmas at the Farm at Trader's Point Creamery is sure to do the trick! The hardworking folks at TPC, are hosting this festive event not one, but two weekends so if you didn't make it today, no worries.

Today we went and checked out what the farm had to offer and just like last year, the farm doesn't disappoint. First, a little info about TPC. It's a fully organic dairy farm that makes some of the best milk, yogurt, cheese and eggnog- yes eggnog- that you'll ever taste. And the best part is that it is totally local and fully sustainable.

Christmas on the Farm is one of the few winter farmers market around. There are AMAZING vendors of all types, live Christmas music, sleigh rides and Santa himself!! In the Creamery you can watch their dairy products made before your very eyes, eat an amazing brunch at the restaurant, or stock up on some of their goodies to go.

Christmas on the Farm will take place next weekend too, December 19th 9am-2pm, so make sure to check it out!

Here are some photos from our adventures today:

Real REINDEER!!

Entering the barn to the farmers market.

Buying some local veggies for our vegetable soup to-be made.

Today we purchased onions, carrots, and watermelon radishes.

Red hot chilis to keep you warm? Yes please.

Our new hot-sauce courtesy of Redwine Farms is kickin'!

The scene inside the barn.

Our purchases from the Creamery itself.

The eggnog is a seasonal must and their cheeses are to die for!

Beautiful hand-made feather hair pieces, which I purchased,

courtesy of KG Acres Featherwerks.

Dear Diary....

For those of you who don't have time to keep a journal or a diary, now is the time to start. Philipp Keel has developed an idiot-proof, fun... and thought provoking diary. Keel's Simple Diary. Fill-in-the blank and multiple choice daily diary entry options...uh yes please. Now it's easier than ever to keep your thoughts, stresses, and joys all in one unconventional book. So...keep it simple.....what makes you happy?

"Dear Reader, There are three reasons why most people, although they have tried, won't keep a diary:

• Not every day is very eventful.
• It actually takes a lot of discipline.
  (regarding 1 even more so).
• In retrospect, many find what they have written quite embarrassing.-

I hope you find a true friend, a great place or some wisdom through this book. That would make me happy.

Good luck, and thank you for your time. It's all yours."

-Philipp Keel

Here is what you can expect:

DATE: ____
Your day was : (choose only one)
( ) a good time , ( ) show time , ( ) a cold shower

Explain Why: _____

Instant gratification:
a. ripping up paper and throwing it into the basket
b. a vacant elevator standing by, going your way
c. slamming someone elses car door
d. sneezing

Your anger is quite something : ( ) Yes , ( ) No

A very naive thought: ________________

Fantastic Friday at Studio 2000

Once a year, Studio 2000 Salon host their Fantastic Friday event where you can score some REALLY great discounts. They offer a up to a 22% discount (when you roll the dice at check-out) for all products but the real deal is the 20% off on gift certificates.

This is how it works: Today only you can buy a gift certificate for $100 and only pay $80. Nice, huh?

The gift certificate discount is the perfect way to get a deal on a gift OR if you need a hair cut, massage, mani-pedi, you can grab a gift certificate now and get your services for a reduced price later!

Bonus: There are light appetizers and wine while you peruse their great stock of salon and spa products!

Winter Chills & Thrills

Looking to transition from fair-weather outings to winter-time activities? Here's an idea: Late Skate at Pan American Plaza. For a mere $5.50 you can double lutz and triple salchow (pronounced sow-cow, who knew) from 10:30pm - 12. Or, if you're me, you can wobble like a new-born giraffe attempting to walk for the first time. Side note: this is an ideal time to "accidentally" fall into your date's arms.... just make sure he's close. Late Skate makes for a perfect winter date night or a fun outing with friends. Combine equal parts spiked hot chocolate and an icy ring for a very cool evening. Some of your 30KMills will be there Saturday night (likely falling and make fools of ourselves), so stop by and check it out!

Happy Holidays!

Turkey Grillin'

November 21 (this Saturday!!)- Sullivan Hardware & Garden Turkey Fest!! FREE EVENT- hosted at Sullivan Hardware & Garden off Keystone and 71st from 9-3pm. There will be grills of all different kinds fired up, grilling turkeys! Go try some great holiday dishes and gather some new ideas for the holidays!

Keep Calm and Carry On

One of my fav websites of all time is Keep Calm and Carry On Gallery ...chalk full of witty stationary, gifts and affordable prints. Check it out! This site is a great place to do a little holiday shopping.

Zest Wine Tasting Event

Zest! is hosting a Cork & Cracker Wine Tasting this Thursday, November 12 from 6:30-8:30 pm.

It's $15/person and no reservations needed!

Show up and enjoy the always fantastic wines and the yummy treats that will be provided!

This month's menu is Bleu Cheese Fondue with Pears & Granny Smith Apples; Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Aioli; Edamame Hummus with Crudites & Our Seeded Flatbreads; Chicken Pops with Tomato Ragu & Crazy Mixed Nut Brittle.

Zest! Exciting Food Creations1134 East 54th Street, Studio HIndianapolis, IN 46240

happy holidays!

What a perfect way to kick off the holiday season: eating holiday treats for free!!

When : Friday, Nov. 6th: 12pm - 6pm

& Saturday, Nov. 7th: 11am - 5pm

Where: IN, Indianapolis - 5415 N College Ave

This weekend the Broad Ripple Fresh Market will be holding our annual Taste of the Holidays Sampling Event. Stop in and stroll through our sampling stations where you'll find a broad selection of our holiday favorites including:
Our Fully Prepared Holiday Meal

Standing Rib Roast

Nueske's Applewood Smoked Bacon

Shrimp & Cocktail Sauce

Super Crab Dip

Holiday Pies

Holiday Coffees & TFM Eggnog

NY Cheesecakes

Red Velvet Cake

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Fruitcake...and so much more!

Get your holiday eat on this weekend!

Three Fashion Rules Made to Be Broken

I am admittedly a rule follower. Call me vanilla, but I like structure and order. However, as summer has turned to fall (and fall will quickly be turning to winter), I'm reminded that there are a few seasonal fashion rules that I just love to break. Let the rebellion begin...

1. Never where black and brown together

I'm sure some of your are saying to yourself, "Seriously? That's a rule? 'Been breakin' it for years." Well just pat yourself on the back then and move along to number two. But for some of us, it's taken months, nah, years to retrain our minds and accept that brown and black are completely mixable and fabulous. For instance, today I'm sporting black dress pants, a shiny/skinny brown belt from J. Crew, a long gold necklace with blue beads and a gray turtleneck (told ya I was vanilla). Classic, but chic with my black booties from H&M.

2. Don't wear white after Labor Day

I think I can safely say that this rule has been abandoned for some time, but I just want to emphasis HOW ludicrous it is. For instance, winter whites were all the rage last year and I'm hoping they'll still be in come December '09. Pair a long, white dress coat with bright gloves and a beret for a distinctly girly, French look. Magnifique!

3. Socks with sandals are a major NO

This is a new fashion rule on the outs that I have still yet to break, but have every intention to once I find the perfect heels - ala Krystal from ThisTimeTomorrow. Krystal, who is the author of one of my fav fashion blogs, masterfully displays the art of wearing socks with sandals, and isn't afraid to mix her blacks and browns. This might be a step out of your comfort zone, but be confident! Pull it off with a funky, hipster look like Krystal or go for a sweeter look pairing your kicks and socks with a 50's style day dress.

Viva la revolucion!

Calling all taste testers....

Taste Testers Needed
Chef JJ and Chef Jenna are preparing new recipe's and want your input!

DATE: Saturday, October 24th

TIME: 12-4pm

LOCATION: Chef JJ's Back Yard

MORE: No reservations required, no cost for the food, just opinions! Sun King Beer and organic wines will be available through out the day. This is a great time to bring a friend that has never been to Chef JJ's Back Yard and introduce them to the whole experience. We look forward to seeing you this weekend.

Chef JJ's1040 Broad Ripple Ave.Indianapolis, Indiana 46220

National Breadstick Day!

It's finally here! National Breadstick Day at Hot Box Pizza. Stop by any location and pick up a bag of stix for free (from 3-6pm today only- 10/23!) Click here to check out the Hot Box website for more info. I'm pretty sure the stix will be just as great at 3pm ...as they are at 3AM...just sayin'....

I don't bake, but.....

I don't bake, but when i tried the Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte (yes...i realize i am about 5 years behind everyone else in tasting this delish fall treat) I thought: Hey, this would be fantastic as something more substantial...like a cookie! (I prefer to eat rather than drink my calories). So I threw on my favorite fall tunes, mainly a little Ray Lamontagne and got crazy.
Here is a recipe for Pumpkin Woopie Cakes (cookie sammies)

4 whole Eggs
1-¼ cup Vegetable Oil
1-½ cup Sugar
1 can Pumpkin (15 Oz.)(not pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
3-½ teaspoons Cinnamon
1 package Cream Cheese Softened (8 Oz.)
½ cups Butter, Softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Milk
4 cups To 5 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

First heat the oven to 375°F. Mix together the eggs, oil, pumpkin and sugar until smooth. Then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir until smooth - this takes some muscle and probably counts as a workout. Butter up a baking sheet and plop them down by the spoonful...this will make a lot of cookies so make sure to have space to let them cool (I got a 3 level cooling rack at target for like $5 and it saved my kitchen). Bake for 9-10 Min.
Now for the frosting mix the butter and cream cheese (it really helps if these are both soft) using a hand mixer. Add the vanilla, milk and the confectioners sugar. (note: this frosting tastes like magic). Spread the frosting on one cookie and plop another one on top. Make sure to store these in the fridge because of the cream cheese!

Via Ready Brew- Taste Challenge

Score a free coffee this weekend (Oct 2-5) at Starbucks. Take the taste challenge to see if you can differentiate between their new instant "Via Ready Brew" on the go packets and their freshly brewed joe.

Beans! Fall food! Sausages!

Inspired by the brisk weather and my re-emerging l-o-v-e for fall food, I kicked the season off tonight with sausages and white beans in a tomato-spinach sauce sauce.

I recently read an article about cooking like Italian peasants that included a recipe for cannellini beans with garlic and sage that works as a meal one night, and leftovers can be used to make quite a few different dishes for nights two or three. I love leftovers!

And then, tragedy struck: The grocery store I was at didn't have dried cannellini beans. They did, however, have dried great northern beans, which are smaller. And then I decided that I had an extra 30 minutes on my hands, so why-not-pack-some-beans-for-lunch-and-skip-to-making-leftover-recipes? Bastardization of recipes coming up!

The beans: Step one!

What you need:
One pound of dried great northern beans
Seven cups of cold water

What you do:
Empty your beans into a bigass bowl
Pour cold water over beans in bigass bowl
Let them sit overnight. Or do this in the morning and let them soak while you're at work all day.

The beans: Step two!

What you need:
Eight cups of room-temperature water
One large head of garlic, unpeeled, 1/2 inch trimmed off at the top to expose cloves
One big sprig of fresh sage
One tablespoon olive oil
One teaspoon whole black peppercorns
The aforementioned beans, drained

What you do:
Put everything in a big pot over medium-high heat
When it starts to boil, reduce heat to medium-low
If your water level starts getting low, add more. Make sure the beans are covered with water.
Simmer for about an hour, total. I took mine off the heat after about 50 minutes because they started getting pretty soft. If you're using cannellini beans, you'll need to simmer about 90 minutes.
Let them cool in the water for about 30 minutes

Drain water into the same bigass bowl you used to soak the beans in and reserve the cooking liquid

This is where peasant dish 1 ends. Feel free to stop here and eat the beans with some crusty bread, drizzled with olive oil. They're pretty damn delicious. I can't wait for lunch tomorrow.

The beans with sausages in a tomato-spinach sauce: Step one!

What you need:
Four cloves of garlic
One large sprig of sage
Four Italian chicken sausages
Three cups of cooked white northern beans from dish #1
One can of no-salt added whole tomatoes, with juice
One cup of cooking liquid from dish #1
Two tablespoons olive oil
Three handfuls of spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:
Heat the olive oil in a big skillet
Smash the garlic
Cut up the whole tomatoes
Cook garlic until golden brown (~2 minutes)

The beans with sausages in a tomato-spinach sauce: Step two!

What you do:
Add the sausages to the skillet. Cook five minutes.
Add everything except the spinach. Put a lid on the skillet and cook 20 minutes, or until the sausages are cooked through.

The sausages look funny.

Add spinach.

Let it wilt and you're done. Serve with that good ol' crusty bread. I picked up a loaf of Scholar's Inn bakehouse bread from Marsh and heated it up for about 10 minutes. Mmm-Mmm.

It's delicious.

Fake and yummy sun-dried tomatoes!

For all of you that have lots of tomatoes from your garden and you're not just sure what to do with them OR you love sun-dried tomatoes but sometimes they can be expensive--this is the recipe for you.

Instead of laying your 'maters out to dry in this not-so-sunny not-so-dry weather, bake them! DISCLAIMER: This process takes a long time but is effortless and so worth it.

Step 1: Slice your tomatoes in half. If you are using anything larger than a Roma, make sure to cut them down to comparable size and take out a few seeds.

Step 2: Lay tomatoes skin down on a baking tray (I line mine with parchment paper for non-stickiness).

Step 3: Season them with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian spices.

Step 4: This is the long part. Set your oven at 150-200 (lowest setting possible) and leave them in there for 12-14 hours. I start mine in the evening and let them go through the night.

Step 5: Wake up to beautiful and tasty "sun-dried" tomatoes!

BONUS: They can be kept frozen for up to six months!!

you scream, ice cream! i love free s c r e a m!

Making Wishes Come True! Take part in WORLD's largest ice cream social ! This Thursday September 24th from 5-8PM. Free 3oz (Like It Size)Make a Wish Creation Donation - see picture and description below. Make a donation to receive your ice cream! Click here to find a location near you! Do something good for yourself and the community!

Taste Casting

So, if you're looking to score a free meal- this is by far the easiest way to do it. Simply join TasteCasting (free to join)- a new way to rate and review restaurants. Basically, Taste Casting is comprised of a group of testers who are invited to complimentary tastings at local restaurants. In return, Taste Casting asks the testers to utilize their social media outlets to talk about their experience. I mean, this is a no brainer.

30kMills went to a tasting at Scottys Brewhouse downtown- and we literally tasted everything on the menu. We fell in love with some food items that we normally wouldn't order (burger + peanut butter?)- and that, is the beauty behind Taste Casting. This is such a great outlet to branch out and try something new- free of charge!

The next event is at Donato's- (W. 86th Street) on September 28. They want Taste Casters to try their new hand tossed pizzas. Pizza party on a Monday night- oh yeah, you'll for sure find 30kMills there-- without a doubt.

Check out the Taste Casting website- they now have tastings in over 23 cities! Get out there and taste something new.

A chicken by any other name would taste as good

Mama's Chicken. Lemon Chicken. Engagement Chicken. This particular recipe has a lot of alternative names, but because it's so tender, juicy, flavorful, simple and never fails to impress my guests all at the same time, I just call it The Best Roast Chicken Of All Time - because it truly is.

WARNING: It's an old wives tale that if you make this dish for your BF he will be so overcome by your feminine powers, that he will propose within the next month - hence the name Engagement Chicken. I do not believe this, but those who are superstitious (or just believe in the power of good home cookin') should serve with caution. Here's the potion...I mean, recipe...

One whole chicken cleaned out (or if you'd like to make less, get some chicken pieces with the bone in, like thighs)
1-2 lemons, quartered
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
Good salt and pepper
1 yellow onion, quartered with layers pulled apart
Red potatoes, halved or quartered, depending upon size
Squash or other hearty veggie, chunked (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss onions, potatoes and other veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange onions in the middle, and potatoes/other veggies around the outside. Season inside and outside of chicken well with salt and pepper. Stuff as many of the lemon quarters as will fit inside the chicken. Place the chicken (breast side up) on top of the onions, with the potatoes and other veggies framing it around the outside. Brush the entire chicken with lots of olive oil or melted butter. Add additional seasoning if desired. I also like to throw a few extra lemon quarters alongside the veggies.

Roast for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours, or until juices run clear. Make sure you wait until your guest(s) have arrived to take out the roast as it's quite impressive when it all comes out of the oven, all golden brown and smelling delicious. Allow the bird to rest for a few minutes before carving so that the juices redistribute and keep the meat moist. Squeeze the hot lemons on top of the chicken and veggies. Serve with fresh asparagus or green beans, white wine and crusty bread for soppin' up the good stuff! Just make sure he's willing to do the dishes before taking a knee.

Help yourself to some salad.

Ok this has now officially been a hit in way too many times not to be posted-I would be depriving you of flavor explosion. Although it is just a salad dressing, it packs enough punch to knock those mixed greens off your plate. So dress to impress next time you're assigned salad at a DP.

Combine: (works best to do this in a jar or something you can close tightly and shake up at the end)

2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1/2 Cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced (ok honestly it calls for 4 but I think this much would actually burn my tongue...and I love garlic)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste (kind of unnecessary)
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons of lemon juice (I also added some zest last night and it was delish)

Cas puts on her foodie cap

So, uh, it's been a little too long since I did any sort of blogging about Indy food items/news and some stuff I can't put off blabbing about any longer.

For one thing: Neal Brown is opening up a pizza joint: Pizzology. I should've shouted this one from the proverbial rooftops the second I caught wind of it, but frankly...ehhh, I have no excuses. Sorry. I really don't want to talk about it, I just want to stick it in my mouth. (That's what she said.) I've seen the tweets, heard the murmurs on other blogs, etc., and I'm trying to be patient, but damn it, Neal! Hurry!

If the pizza is even 1/10,032 as good as the food at L'Explorateur, I'm doomed. We all are. I will be a mammoth, more than willing to pack on the pounds. Check out Neal's tweets about the new digs on Twitter @pizzology

Other notable comings-abouts:

Upland Brewery is opening up an Indy location. An odd Indy location: Uptown Business Center at the corner of 49th and College. Right near...uh, that chicken wings place. From a few visits to their B-town home, I can attest to Upland's burgers being good about 50 percent of the time and their coconut tofu salad being exactly what a coconut tofu salad should be. Good ambiance, though. I hope they carry that through to their weird-ass location.

Good Morning Mama's is going to open...eventually. No new news presents itself as I stare lustfully at that ridiculously painted exterior. If the exterior paint job doesn't get you moving in the morning, you have obviously never stared at 80's jazzercise videos or old Sesame Street clips while hallucinating. Ahem. An old Indy Star article claims the extension of Mama Carolla's was set to open in July. It's September.

Nicole-Taylor's Pasta & Market is amazing. So far @josephjames and I have obsessed over the following pastas: Spinach, lemon-pepper, chipolte, curry and red pepper. The curry went well with a bastardized version of the curry dish I posted here a while back. They also had a real winner with the watermelon salsa they had available a few weeks ago.

I'm hooked. I am a certifiable junkie for anything that comes out of this spot. Located, conveniently, a few hops down from Locally Grown Gardens at 54th and the Monon. (Look for the yellow painted segment of the strip mall-ish building.) Special note: They also make gluten-free pastas.

30K Profile: The Queen

In this weeks' 30k Profile we feature, The Queen. Ok, so his real name is Ryan but we call him Queenie. It's just something we do. He is the queen of our hearts and the source of many hours of laughter. Seriously- this dude is super fun to be around.

Just like all the other 30km's we asked him a few questions. Here is his response.


My motto is: Smile more.

Childhood ambition: I wanted to be an action hero. . .like in the movies. . .but real. . .

Favortie cocktail: Cranberry + Vodka = Cape Cod

Favorite place to grab a cocktail: On the couch.

Cheap eats: A Super Chicken Burrito, with no lettuce, tomato, or cheese from La Bamba. . .7 bucks for 2.5 pounds of food. . .pa pow.

Cheap thrill: When the squad be chillin', that shit be thrillin', cheddar be damned.

Favorite thing about Indy in the summer: The outdoors.

Fav type of music: Impossible. . .but. . .Top 5 recording artists (in no particular order): Guster, Kings of Leon, Atmosphere, The Black Keys, and Phil Collins.

Looking forward to this summer: I certainly am. Teammates, cocktails, snoogs, the Indians, the outside, all of it.

On my days off you’ll find me: Or will you?. . . . . . . .

You might be surprised to know: I hate spiders. Hate them. Watch, I'm'a punch a spider in it's head!!!!

Favorite websites: facebook.com, YouTube.com, ButtholesScareMe.com

Best advice anyone has given me: Be whatever you want, but be happy.

Favorite party memory: I can't answer that. . .but know that I'm smilin' just thinkin' about it. . .

Favorite way to be green: Don't really have a favorite. I just do whatever Ben tells me to do. . .

Favorite weekend morning spot after a night of parties: On the couch (I'm into couches.) and/or Biscuits.

Thirtythousanddollarmillionaire is: Something you should make yourself aware of. . .

DPs make me feel: Like I'm an integral part of the designing, manufacturing, packaging, and mass distribution of cool. You know you feel it, too. . .

Favorite recipe: Aunt Becky's Mac 'n' Cheez


And that's a booyah.

healthy fried rice? yes, please.

This recipe is unbelievably easy and ... better than any take out fried rice I've ever had. Oh, and as an added bonus: it's healthy!!



What you need :



1 3/4c. Brown Rice ( I like the 90second microwaveable Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Ready Rice)- i used the whole package , make sure it's precooked before you add it in.

1 red pepper, diced

1 1/2 c. precooked chicken

1/2 cup of chopped green onions (scallions)

1/2 cup diced onions (i prefer the white onion)

1 large egg

2 tbsp Low sodium Soy Sauce

1 tsp olive oil

Make it:

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet. Add onion and red pepper and saute until the onion softens (approx 3 min). Add the egg stirring frequently and quickly until the egg firms up (approx 2 min). Add the soy sauce, chicken, rice (should already be cooked!), scallions, and if you want..hot sauce to taste. Stir and cook about 3 more minutes until well blended!

makes 2-3 servings. per serving: 413 calories, 9g fat (1.4sat fat), 49g carbs, 5 g fiber, 33 g protein.

some like it H O T

If you haven't tried hot yoga or pilates yet...- you've got to go. 3okMillionaires recently discovered Invoke studio. Located on Ft.Wayne street in downtown Indy, this studio offers an unbelievably dynamic schedule packed with Vinyasa Yoga (a flowing yoga that ties movement with breath), Mat Pilates and Reformer Pilates (IM=X) classes.

Invoke has been ranked #1 in City Search in both the yoga and pilates categories (rightfully so). This is definitely a studio you want to try out. Bursting with energy and good vibes, we highly recommend checking it out for yourself.

Cas, Marge, Amy and myself ventured to Invoke to try the HOT YOGA. (FIRST CLASS IS FREE!!) We all came prepared in our spandex, which is definitely a must. A big bottle of water and a towel are necessities to surviving a hot yoga class. You can purchase water ($1) if you forget to bring your own .. and you can borrow a clean towel for (.50). Invoke does have yoga mats you can borrow for free but, I would highly recommend bringing your own- as you will be sweating ...allll over it.

We really enjoyed sweating out our toxins while awkwardly laying in what the yogi's call the "dolphin pose." Hot vinyasa yoga burns about 500-600 calories an hour, depending on your body type and intensity. The room is all sorts of hot and humid so - don't make any plans following this class.

The best things about Invoke I've discovered so far:

1. community yoga ($5) ...talk about a bargain!!

2. reserve a spot ahead of time online (awesome!)

3. schedule is online and kept up to date

4. First saturday of the month- a free class is offered for beginners

5. innovative and trendy classes/ideas (i.e. a 2 hour vinyasa class with a DJ spinnin'hits in the background)

You'll for sure leave engergized and ready to change the world.

RECIPE: Summer Qiunoa

Looking for a quick and easy dish to help you hang on to the last few weeks of summer? Try this quinoa recipe!

You might be asking, "What the hell is quinoa to begin with?". Well, since you asked- Quinoa (Kee-no-uh) originated in South America back around some odd 6,000 years ago. The Incas actually believed the crops to be sacred, calling them "chisaya mama" or for those of us that don't speak Incan, "Mother of al Grains". They treated it so much like a diety, that when the Spanish Conquistadors showed up they actually forbid the indigenous people to grow quinoa and switch their crops to corn instead. Talk about being a little xenophobic. I mean, who is afraid of a type of grain? Really? Anyways, quinoa is chuck full of protein (12-18%) and unlike wheat or rice it contains a balanced amount of amino acids.

Now that you know all you ever wanted to know about quinoa and more, here's a way to fix it for all your fabulous 30km friends!

Ingredients:
1 Cup quinoa (Good Earth has the best price in their bulk section, remember to buy local!)
1 1/2 Cups water
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 herb of your choice (I like to use basil or cilantro)
Any assortment of fresh or frozen veggies of your choice ( Usually throw in a cup of corn, red onion, peas, carrotts and tomatoes)

Directions:
Throw your quinoa and water into a covered pot and bring to a boil. As soon as the water starts boiling, turn your heat to low for 20 minutes. Don't take the lid off until its done (I always have a hard time with this step, but it's worth it). Your quinoa will end up the consistency of couscous.

Put your quinoa in a plastic bowl and put it in the fridge until it cools (or freezer for a quick chill). Once it has cooled down, add the veggies, herbs, seasonings, salt, and pepper. Stir. Done.


Enjoy!

Twitter

WE finally got a new Twitter page. Check us out www.twitter.com/30kmills ! ! ! ! !

"What I Wore" is wearing me out!

Thousandaire fashionistas -

I recently discovered this blog called "What I Wore," written by fellow Hoosier Jessica Schroeder. This girl has style for days and is also faithful about updating the blog, so there's always a dose of daily inspiration.

The blog is exactly what it sounds like - pics and descriptions of what she has worn. She does a fabulous job of mixing new, old, thrifted and gifted items to create a truly interesting and unique style. Check it out for some fresh new ideas.

I'm also lusting after her new chin-length bob - sups chic!

Devour the Summer

Rev up your August appetite and prepare your taste buds for Devour Downtown summer style. August 10-23, 35 of our favorite restaurants are participating including Barcelona, Scotty's Brewhouse and Santorini Greek Kitchen. Some of our city's pricier restaurants are even dishing out the deals for this foodie affair. Be sure to make reservations!

And then there was pie. Glorious pie.

A smattering of the 30kMs did a TasteCasting at Scotty's Brewhouse last night, myself included. Because I'm lazy, I'm just going to link this to my full review while I nosh on leftovers.

Do your inner sweet tooth a favor: Get dessert. Do your waist line a favor: Park far away.

Saffron: New Indy Restaurant Review

This past weekend I was finally able to go to a new Indy restaurant that I’ve been dying to try – Saffron Cafe, located at 621 Fort Wayne Ave. The Moroccan joint was recently featured in Indianapolis Monthly as one of the city’s Best New Restaurants – and they weren’t kiddin’.

The ambiance was absolutely perfect – Moroccan-inspired, but not over-the-top like some similar restaurants. It was very tasteful, but colorful and appropriate. Soon the restaurant will be opening their outdoor dining area, which looks incredibly charming. Surrounded by the same colorful tiles found inside the restaurant and enclosed by clean, white lilies, it’s sure to be a feast for all of your senses.

My mom and I ordered the mussels to start and a lamb Tajine for our entrée. The mussels, which were smothered in a creamy, saffron sauce, were a bit small and paled in comparison to the rich sauce, but it was still a very enjoyable dish that we happily sopped up with generous helpings of bread. According to the staff, Tajines are traditional Moroccan stews, slow cooked in decorative ceramic pots for which they are named. You’ll have to forgive my simple, country tastes, but the dish reminded me of my mother’s pot roast – but I say this with the greatest affection. The tender meat just fell apart in the broth, which was flavored with eggplant, saffron and pickled lemon. The comforting familiarity of the dish was like coming home, but in a slightly different way, with hints of exotic, unknown flavors.

But the best part of our Saffron experience was the Chef. Moroccan-born Anass Sentissi made a point to visit every table, reveling in discussion over his creations. He openly shared recipes, including ingredients and his preparation techniques. He held nothing back. As my mom put it, “when he speaks about the food you can see how passionate he is – I can tell he really loves it and I like that.” I like that too, Mom.

30k Profiles: Matthew

This week we feature our good old 30k buddy Matthew Connolly! You can find this 'Ripple dweller out, about, and ALWAYS having a good time!

My motto is: Go big or go home!

Childhood ambition: To be in Weird Al Yankovic's Band

Favortie cocktail: Seven & Seven

Favorite place to grab a cocktail: The patio at Plumps

Cheap eats: Breakfast Burrito from Qudoba

Cheap thrill: Getting unknown Nexflix movies in the mail

Favorite thing about Indy in the summer: Indians baseball games and outside concerts

Fav type of music: Rock N' Roll - The Hives, Eagles of Death Metal, The Black Keys, and Minus the Bear

Looking forward to this summer: The fourth of July and a healthy B.Y.P. on a regular basis

On my days off you’ll find me: grilling out and drinking some serious Mexican beer

You might be surprised to know: I played the trumpet in 5th grade

Favorite websites:

fark.com

pandora.com

hulu.com

Best advice anyone has given me: "Don't put that in your mouth!"

Favorite party memory: The last thing I remember is walking downstairs into The Casba.....

Favorite way to be green: Using Ben's backyard as my toilet instead of his house

Favorite weekend morning spot after a night of parties: Waking up on someone's couch with my pants off wondering why Ryan is always sleeping on the floor

Thirtythousanddollarmillionaire is: the reason why I get up in the morning

DPs make me feel: like I should be writing this all down for that TV show

Favorite recipe: Grilled Marinated Kabobs full of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, peppers, mushrooms, roma tomatoes, and some onion

shrockalicious

Introducingggg- Elise Shrock! Our featured 30k Millionaire of the week; Elise is known for her love for Spanish Cuisine, going green and thinking outside the box. She loves to garden and use her own herbs when cooking. Elise is one talented hot tamale! Her love for cooking and gathering of friends runs deep. So let's get after it and get to know how she rocks her 30k lifestyle.

My motto is: All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.
Childhood ambition: To be a Marine Biologist. Until my parents took me snorkeling and I figured out that I get viciously sea-sick. Bummer.
Favorite cocktail: Dirty Martini. Classic with a hint of briney goodness. Plus, it is like a drink and a snack with those olives. Which is also why Bloody Marys are a close second.
Favorite place to grab a cocktail: The Wellington. Although they are generally known for their beer collection, they make a mean cocktail!
Cheap eats: Indian Buffets. Take Shalimar in Broadripple for instance. There you can get an all-you-can-eat taste of the staples in Indian cuisine that make you koo-koo for curry. Apps, entree's, side dishes, breads, and desserts are all included for around 8 bucks!
Cheap thrill:Sitting on our porch balcony with a beer, smoking our hookah with everyone at sunset.
Favorite thing about Indy in the summer: Dining al fresco with friends. Plus, everything is so green and walkable/ride-able! Gotta love it.
Fav type of music: Crooners like Tony Bennett always be my favorite. And there is something about Reggae that will always make my heart stir. And l really love bluegrass....This question is too hard, I quit.
Looking forward to this summer:Festivals! The Middle-Eastern festival is by far my favorite. St. Joan's French Market is great too!
On my days off you’ll find me: In our yard. I've recently planted an herb garden and some annuals. Next, I'll be working on a small kitchen garden...artichokes, cherry tomatoes, and more!
You might be surprised to know: I hate compound words using "meat".
Favorite websites: greenissexy.org, cakewrecks.blogspot.com, naturalhealthmag.com
Best advice anyone has given me: Be kind to everyone, no matter who, no matter what. (A life lesson inspired by my dad, who I still really do think moonlights as Superman)
Favorite party memory: The creation of the Gin and Tonic Ninja.
Favorite way to be green: Kitchen garden= No grocery store needed= less emissions to drive there= free and sustainable
Thirtythousanddollarmillionaire is: the bees knees. And what we all kept saying we should do, then we did it. And I love that.
DPs make me feel: Like a million dollars. And lucky to have so many great friends to share them with!Favorite recipe: Tortilla España ( ultimate comfort food)

Map My Run

So for all of you avid runners out there...here is a free tool to make running ...cooler. At Map My Run, you can see how far you're running, log your time when you're done and the calculator will estimate the number should have burned. There is even a tool to log and store all of your runs. Set up challenges and goals for yourself as well!

This site is definitely worth checking out. The best part is- the site is free!

Procrastination pretzels: For all your "Oh, hey, I think I'll just bake something instead" moments.

Hello, my name is Cas, and I am a classic procrastinator.

I currently have several things I need to do, but instead, I'm going to take you through my 12-step process...

I figure, if some people are willing to go through 12 whole steps for alcohol or drug treatment, other people should be perfectly willing to go through 12 steps to make homemade soft pretzel rolls. And these 12 steps won't have you confessing your transgressions to a room full of strangers. The coffee's better, too.

You can use this recipe to make a classic soft pretzel, but I like pretzel rolls so I can dunk them in hot cheese or some spicy German mustard or use them as sandwich material.

Procrastination Pretzels.

Step one: Gather your ingredients
For the dough:

• 1 1/2 c. warm water
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 package of dry yeast
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 1/3 c. of flour (roughly. The recipe I based this off of used weights. I happen to have a scale around the house from Joey's beer brewing, so that was easy enough, but since it's not exactly the most normal thing to have sitting around the house...I measured it, too, to post here.)
  
• Olive oil, to coat surfaces

For boiling the pretzels:

• 10 c. water
• 2/3 c. baking soda

You'll also need:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp. water
  
• more kosher salt to sprinkle on top, if desired
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheet

Optional:

• Stand mixer. Easily replaced by a lot of patience
• Pastry brush. Replaced by fingers, etc.
  

Step 2: Get your foam on
Mix the 1 1/2 c. of warm water, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and wait about 4 minutes for everything to get foamy. Then add the melted butter and flour.

Step 3: Want it, knead it, have to have it
Mix everything until well combined. If you're using a stand mixer, the dough hook is clutch. A few minutes on low will combine everything. Then, once it's combined, knead another 9 minutes or so, or, if you're using the stand mixer, mix it on medium for about 5 minutes. You should have a dough ball that doesn't stick to the sides of the mixing bowl (if you're using it), but does stick to the bottom of the bowl a bit.

Step 4: Transition
Pop the dough ball out of the mixing bowl, and/or leave it where you were kneading it for a hot second. Clean out the bowl and oil it down with just enough olive oil--you want the surfaces to be slippery, but not a total grease pit. You can also use Pam or some other cooking spray if you prefer. Pop the dough back in the oiled bowl.

Step 5: Let the yeast have a few private moments
Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let it rise for about an hour.

Step 6: Get a rolling boil
When about 50 minutes had past, I started prepping the water to boil the pretzels in. Just combine 10 c. water and 2/3 c. baking soda and wait for it to boil. Stir occasionally. I did this under a lower heat, so it wouldn't go boiling all over the place.

I also used this time to start my oven. Pre-heat to 450 degrees.

Step 7: Fetch your dough. Shape it.
By the time an hour has passed, your dough should have doubled in size. Glorious! Pop it out of the bowl and onto a non-stick work surface (I used wax paper that I'd drizzled with olive oil and smeared around with a paper towel).

If you're making classic pretzels, divide the dough into 8 little dough balls, (Heh. Balls.) and roll each one out (using your hands. Olive oil on hands works wonders to avoid sticking.) to about 2 feet. Then do that snazzy pretzel twist.

If you're making rolls, divide the dough into about 10 little balls, (Heh. Balls) and roll them into shorter, fatter ropes (aim for, oh, the thickness of a bagel) and make a loop (like, oh, a bagel). Keep them on an oiled surface for the time being.

Step 8: Drop it into boiling water. Make a small mess.
Okay, I have no pictures from this step. I blame this on my lack of a giant slotted spoon. I used a common plastic spatula to transport my dough balls into the boiling water and back out. It was kind of a mess, what with all the draining of water from between the spatula and the pretzel and whatnot.

All you need to do is drop each pretzel into the boiling water, leave it for about 30-40 seconds, and fetch it out. Put it back on your well-oiled surface. When all the pretzels/pretzel rolls have had a good bath, transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper that's been (yet again) well-oiled (or Pammed). (I used foil instead of parchment paper. Mistake. It's not as easy to pop them off the foil once they've baked.)

Step 9: Get golden, girls
Beat the egg yolk with the 1 1/2 tsp. of water. Use a pastry brush to glaze each pretzel. Then sprinkle more kosher salt on top, if you're feeling sassy.

Step 10: Into the wild oven
Your oven should be a rockin' 450 by now, so pop your pretzels in. Set a timer for 13 minutes (give or take a minute or 2) and let the good times roll. I had my entire kitchen cleaned up by the time these were out of the oven--definitly not a messy treat to make.

Note: I made 8 rolls in different sizes. Next time I'll make 10 smaller ones. Better overall texture.

Step 11: Chill
Remove the pretzels from the oven. Let 'em rest for a minute, then get them off the baking sheet and onto a towel/cooling rack/whatever.

Step 12: Get your glutton on!
As soon as they're at an edible/non-tongue burning temperature, eat! Best kind of end to 12 steps.

Recipe adapted from the Food Network, duh