New Month's Resolution: October

I cannot believe it's October already! I really feel like it was only a couple of weeks ago that MG was having his wisdom teeth out and I went to Miami.  But this morning, in case there was any doubt that fall is here, we woke up to 53 degrees and a grey fall sky threatening rain.

We're not to be deterred, though, so in addition to watching Ohio State play this afternoon, we're going over to the Crafty Bastards Fair to do a little early Christmas shopping (and possibly buy some things for ourselves while we're at it).

Last month I decided to start setting monthly goals for myself and share them with you. My September resolution was to try to snack only if I was actually hungry (and not for other reasons, like boredom).

This month, my goal isn't exactly food related, but it is health and fitness related.  And, as I mentioned in my first post, part of my desire to have a blog is not just to share delicious recipes with you, but also to have a place to share some of my successes and challenges in staying fit in general.  So, for all you foodies out there, I hope you will indulge me in talking a little bit about my October goal: to run a 15K.

I've run off and on since I was in college (although there was a lot of "off" in there). The summer before my 3L year I did the Couch to 5K running plan and ran my first 5K.  Since then I haven't always been consistent, but becoming a more committed runner was one of my challenges for myself when I decided to lose weight last New Year's, and I'm happy to report that not only have I stuck with it, but I'm loving it (I won't say every moment.  But many of the moments :) )

Finally, a race photo where I am smiling!

Photo credit: Marathon-photos.com

The Navy 5 Miler that I ran last weekend was my 10th race. I've now run several 5Ks, 8Ks and 10Ks, and I run regularly several times a week, usually 4-5 miles at a time.  When MG decided to sign up for the Hot Chocolate 15K, I started thinking about doing it too, but I had some fears. Although 15K isn't *quite* 10 miles, it's pretty darn close, and the idea of running that far was (and still is) pretty intimidating. But I remembered how scary the idea of running my first 5K was and then, in turn, how scary the idea of running two times that seemed, and I decided that there was no reason why I couldn't tackle this too (also the running jacket is pretty sick). So, on December 3, weather and health permitting, I will be running 9.3 miles, and then celebrating my achievement with Ghirardelli chocolate.

Although this race isn't until December, I've made it my October goal, because as I've previously mentioned we're traveling quite a bit in October. So the real challenge in my training will be to commit to waking up and running 7, 8, and even 10 miles while away. One the one hand, I always enjoy running in new places, because it's a fun way to see the city. On the other hand, I'm realistic, and I recognize that once I'm there, it may very well be a challenge to get myself out of bed.

So, I hope you don't mind if I share updates on my progress over the next 10 weeks.  In exchange for your patience and support, I'll share some yummy recipes. Most of which will probably involve pumpkin. (J/k). (Sort of).

How will I cook you? Let me count the ways.

And finally, go Buckeyes!!

Reader Survey: What are your October resolutions?

A Sweet New Year

Happy New Year!

Wednesday night marked the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  In addition to attending synagogue, it is traditional to welcome the new year with a festive meal and dishes involving apples and honey (for a sweet new year).

I have been very lucky during my six years in D.C. to have developed a great group of friends with whom I often celebrate Jewish holidays.  Not all of them are Jewish, and the group changes a bit from year to year, but I definitely feel like these people are my family and I always look forward to sharing my holidays (and holiday food) with them.  This year, a good friend of mine has been gracious to open her apartment and kitchen for both Passover and Rosh Hashanah, so last night we co-hosted a small dinner party.

The menu consisted of: matzo ball soup, sweet noodle kugel, roasted root vegetables and the main attraction - roasted leg of lamb.  For dessert, MG made a spiced apple cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and our friends made an oatmeal apple crisp, which we devoured.  And, of course, there were apples, honey, and my personal favorite, round raisin challah.

We made a serious dent. 

From back to front: lamb, roasted veggies, noodle kugel, finger gun.

Unfortunately, I am still adjusting to my role as blogger and I got so caught up in enjoying my evening that I forgot to take pictures until the end.  On the one hand, I'm happy that my blogging didn't take precedence over my enjoyment of the evening, but I did hope to have some nicer pictures to share with you.

 

Apples in dessert form: the aftermath.

I hope that whatever holidays you have coming up in the next few months are as happy and filled with friends and food!  Shanah tovah!

Spicy Sausage, Two Ways: Part Two

As I discussed in Part One of this epic series on how I used a pound of ground sausage, this meal was part of an effort to eat our way through the rather large quantity of meat in our freezer after we combined kitchens.

For my second meal, I wanted to do something that would make an easy lunch.  Around the time I was contemplating what to do with the meat in the freezer, I found a recipe on Serious Eats for Lentil and Sausage Soup.  Since lentils are basically awesome in all forms, this seemed like a promising option.  Turns out I made a good call - the sausage and olive pasta was good, but this was the real winner.  This is officially my new favorite cold weather soup.  Again, I basically just followed the recipe, with these changes:

1. I used 1/2 lb sausage, and I did not form meatballs.  I just browned it in a ground state.

2. Added a clove of minced garlic.  Garlic is supposed to be healthy, but I just think most things taste better with garlic.

3. I added 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced - put this in when you add the lentils and broth. DO IT. This is half of the reason why I think the soup is so awesome.

4. Added 1/2 bag of baby spinach at the end and let it cook down, uncovered, for about 2 more minutes.

I had this for lunch with a big piece of toasted whole wheat and flax bread that smeared with a little butter and a lot of Dijon mustard. Fun discovery: warm, soft whole wheat bread with Dijon mustard kind of tastes like a hot pretzel with mustard!

Although clearly this recipe is not vegetarian, I hope some vegetarians out there have read this far, because I'm eager to see if this could be accomplished using Boca crumbles or TVP or something.  Ideally I will get around to trying this out, but if it doesn't happen and someone else does, please let me know how it goes!  I'm thinking that a basic soy ground sausage or beef would work, with some traditional spicy Italian sausage seasoning, like fennel and crushed red pepper.  This soup made me so ridiculously happy that I'd love for everyone to be able to enjoy it (and I'd like to be able to make a vegetarian version for myself as well).

Lentil, Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup
Adapted from Serious Eats

Makes 4 servings.

1/2 lb hot Italian sausage, ground (again, if necessary, remove from casings)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
1/2 lb green lentils, soaked for about 1 hour and rinsed*
4 springs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and minced
1 quart vegetable broth (I used Better than Boullion Vegetable)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 bag baby spinach, roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the sausage and brown lightly, breaking it up as it cooks.

Add the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil along with the garlic, onion and celery.  Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 3 more minutes.

Add the lentils, thyme, sweet potato and vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.  Simmer for 1 hour, or until the lentils are tender.  Add the spinach, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes more, until all the spinach has wilted into the soup.

Enjoy!

*Confession time: I have some trouble figuring out the difference between different types of lentils at the store.  This might partially be the result of my grocery store only having a limited selection of lentils. I *think* I used green lentils, but they just look kind of brown to me, and the package just said "lentils." So there you are.  Tasted great though.