Sorry to be a day late, but I’ve been a bit busy  You’re only getting a partial week since we’re receiving our CSA share early next week, so I only planned until then.

Wednesday:  leftover mac ‘n cheese CSA corn bake, leftover CSA cabbage Asian slaw, CSA cucumber salad, and yummy mushroom-rice-CSA cabbage-cannelini bean soup!

Thursday:  Cumin rice with CSA eggplant and peas

Friday: CSA potato and CSA leek soup with CSA greens for a salad

Saturday: we’re headed to a wedding reception, so I’m sure there will be some yummy goodness there!

Sunday:  Smoked pork on the Big Green Egg, roasted CSA potatoes

Here’s a picture of the mushroom cabbage bean soup from the website – I used brown rice instead of barley, and it was absolutely DELISH.  We’ll definitely make this again!

A bit of a rest day for me – finally!

Eat

Breakfast – Bowl of cheerios, glass of 1 % milk

Snack – one trefoil Girl Scout cookie (I am sooooo weak when it comes to these!)

Lunch – 1/2 homemade white bread sandwich with honey roasted turkey, Colby cheese, and mustard.  Carrot, strawberry, and acai pomegranate juice

Dinner – Handful of corn chips with homemade guacamole, mac n cheese corn casserole (SO yummy!), and half a jalapeno bratwurst.  Glass of lemonade

I definitely wasn’t completely full at the end of dinner, but satisfied.  I was bummed we didn’t have enough spinach for two salads (DH had the one) so I didn’t quite get enough fruit and veggies yesterday.

Pray

Late night reading of Isaiah 40 and 42 – there is some powerful stuff in there!  I’ve been continuing to pray for discipline, peace, and patience.  Plus, reading the book Amish Grace has gotten me thinking a lot about forgiveness.  A very interesting and worthy read

Run

Gym day + rest day = easy.  I walked for ten minutes on the treadmill just to get a little bit of activity in.  Did some simple squats with a light hand weight, and then box step ups.  Good grief, the step ups were tough!  Definitely good for the quads and hamstring.  I also did bicep curls and tricep presses (I think that’s what they might be called).  Later in the day, I did a bunch of lunges.  Overall, pretty low key.  Yet, my muscles are definitely sore the next day!

I’m not sure how I’ll adjust my running schedule for today and tomorrow.  I still have a 4 mile run to do, but I’m thinking I might shorten it a bit.  I’m also beginning to wonder if it’s completely necessary for me to continue building up miles by 10% each week.  I think it would be easier, though, if I was running 5 days instead of 4 – then I could spread the miles out a bit more.  Argh!  This is way too complicated!  I’m probably over thinking it.  We’ll just see how it goes today – maybe I’ll go for a short two mile run and call it a day.

Here’s the remainder of my training plan, not including rest days or weights, if I stick with my weekly increase and then taper:

Week of 7/26:  10M/ 4.3M/ 2.5M/ 3.5M

Week of 8/2: 11.2M/ 3M/ 2.5M/ 2.5M  (taper)

Week of 8/9:  2M/ 2.5M/ 1M/ 13.1  (taper & Race!)

Before I got married, I think I had all of two kitchen items to my name: a crock pot my aunt had given me, and a knife I bought at TJ Maxx since all of the ones we had were dull.  Since then, through the joys of a wedding registry and marriage to a foodie husband, my cooking supply arsenal has increased dramatically.  Having the proper tools and supplies definitely makes cooking more fun.  Plus, I’ve gotten a lot more creative with our menus!

If you’re on the look out to add a few things to your kitchen, or just curious what you should register for, here’s what I would consider my top 10 essential cooking supplies, and some of my favorites.  Enjoy!

1. All Clad 4 qt Sauce Pan

My mother had the wisdom to give this to me even though I didn’t register for it, and I use it all.the.time.  At least 5 times a week, I would guess.  It’s great for sauces, soups, stews, curry, rice, pasta, and a lot more.  If you’re looking for a good all-around sauce pan/pot, go with this one.  It definitely works well for meals for 2 people, and would easily accommodate

2. 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet

I married a foodie guy who happens to have an entire set of cast iron skillets that originally belonged to his mother!  The thing that’s great about cast iron is if you care for them properly, they can last a LONG time.  Make sure you wipe out the pans with paper towel when you’re finished cooking, scrub with a sponge with no soap (we even have a special cast iron sponge just for cleaning that), and then put it back on the stove on medium heat for a few minutes.  You may need to re-season the skillet every couple of years.  We use our skillet for cooking sausage, bacon, fajitas, some stir fries, and sometimes for cooking boneless chicken breasts.  It’s a great  non-stick alternative since the seasoning of the pan does it for you.

3.  Crock Pot

The best gift ever is a crock pot.  They’re inexpensive and relatively fool proof.  Crock pot cooking is wonderful for families, especially busy ones, since you can prepare food ahead of time and it will be hot and ready to serve with very little fuss.  There are some amazing crock pot connoisseurs out there and there are some awesome books that can get you well on your way to making something other than pot roast.  Some of my favorite crock pot dishes are homemade pizza sauce, jerk chicken, buttered indian chicken, Mexican beef, Indian chili, and African peanut chicken with peppers.  I believe I have a 6 qt crock pot and I definitely recommend one with a built in timer!

4. Le Creuset Dutch Oven

First of all, who doesn’t love cooking with something pretty?  Le Creuset has a bunch of fun different colors to choose from, so why not make it fun!  What makes their pots and pans so versatile is that they are enameled cast iron – so you can cook with them on the stove or in the oven and then plop it right on your trivet on the table.  I have a 6 qt oval Dutch oven, and it is MORE than enough.  You can cook a whole chicken in it, and probably a whole turkey if you got creative.  I’ve made soups, stews, and lentils in my dutch oven – and they’re always yummy.  One word of warning though: enameled cast iron cooking isn’t exactly low fat.  You need a fair amount of butter or oil so things like onions don’t stick to the bottom and burn.

5. Chef’s Knife & Cutting Board

Well, I guess it’s two items, but they go together.  A good chef’s knife is definitely worth investing in. We bought something like this one – great for chopping just about anything.

And here’s a wood cutting board we like – cutting our veggies in peace

6. Calphalon 10 inch Non-stick Omelet Pan

Here’s where the non-stick is put to work!  We love this pan.  It’s great for eggs and pancakes, and anything small you’d like to cook on non-stick.  Ours makes an appearance every Sunday morning for breakfast

7. Food Processor

There’s many different brands and sizes, but I opted for a larger 9 cup Cuisinart since it came highly recommended by many folks.  Food processors are so incredibly wonderful.  I love mine so much, I wish I could sleep next to it.  (Not really.)  We use ours for making hummus, pesto, homemade mustard and spicy mayo, shredding and slicing vegetables and fruits, making bread dough, salsa, guacamole, smoothies, dumpling batter…I could keep going.  If I could recommend just ONE countertop appliance, this might be it.

8.  Deep saute pan

I will confess that this is actually on my wish list.  I currently have a large 5 qt saute pan that works really well and has enough room for everything, but it is large and shallow.  I want one that is a bit smaller and deeper, but can accommodate the same amount of food.  This kind of pan would be great for braising, making most of the Indian food we cook, and many one-pot meals.

9. Kitchen Aid Mixer, plus attachments

Ah, the icon of every newlywed kitchen.  And for good reason.  This thing is a power horse.  Obviously well suited for baking, we’ve also used ours for grinding meat and stuffing homemade sausages!  I definitely recommend the attachment set.

10.  Breadmachine

Another one of the joys of marriage – inheriting a breadmachine!  The one my husband had is a few years old, but it still runs fine.  We make our own bread in it every week and it is delicious.  So much better (and cheaper!) than store bought bread.  Breadmachines are relatively inexpensive and definitely a worthy investment.  You can also make dough, pizza crust, and rolls – though obviously you’ll have to bake them in the oven!

Honorable mention:

Stainless saute pan – we have a 10 inch one that was DH’s mothers.  It is thick and heavy and absolutely wonderful at browning onions or chicken.  Definitely a staple in our kitchen.

Salad Spinner – I had never seen one of these until I was older, but I’m so glad I did.  Makes cleaning and drying greens so much easier.

How about you: What’s your favorite pot? Or favorite countertop appliance?  Do you absolutely LOVE that one pan? Or ladle?  Please share!

P.S.  I don’t receive a dime from any of these companies, I just genuinely love to cook and love these items!

Today’s run happened!  And it included a lot of wildlife – several rabbits, a large black cat, and I’m sure there were a few other things I’ve forgotten.  Made for an entertaining run for sure.

Eat

B – Pre run handful of cheerios, mid-run GU gel, bowl of Fiber one frosted wheats, glass of 1% milk

S – a few peanut m&ms

L – 1/2 homemade white bread sandwich with smoked pepper turkey, mustard, and cheese.  One carrot, a cup of strawberries, and one caramel delight girl scout cookie  (that cookie was 70 calories!  crazy)

D – smothered Indian cabbage, spinach potato dumplings, cucumber yogurt salad, papad (which are like thin crispy spice indian chips

Pray

Unfortunately, I didn’t plan well today, and have yet to do this.  We all have our days, I supposed, but I’m bummed I didn’t prioritize it more.  Hopefully I can read some scripture before bed.

Run

I have conquered it!  WOOOHOOO!  9.2 miles baby.  I can’t believe it.  It was 70 degrees when I started, but quite humid.  I was pretty slow and low on energy today, probably because I didn’t have a rest day yesterday, which is what I’m used to.  My pace was good for the first half of the run, but I definitely slowed down during the last 3 miles.  They just dragged on forever – I thought it would never end.  I finished in 1 hr 46 min, with a fair amount of brief walking breaks and a bunch of hills to slow me down.  Oh yeah, and the heat.

I got to try out my GU gels.  I got a pack of the chocolate bonanza, and they are yummy! Basically it’s like eating uncooked brownie batter…not that I’ve done that  Washed it down with some water from a drinking fountain at the park, and I was good to go.  I didn’t notice a huge impact on my run, but I think if I had done it about 15 minutes earlier, it would have helped the end-of-run slump.

Tomorrow I’ll be at the gym, probably just on the recumbent bike for a bit, and then perhaps some light upper body weights.  Should be a nice day off for my tired legs.

A lot planned for this week!  We have a crazy huge CSA share to work through, including 12 ears of corn! We’re eating a ton of veggies this week.

Wednesday – Baked Spinach Dumplings, CSA cucumber Raita, Papad, and leftover CSA smothered cabbage  (we already ate this, and the dumplings were AMAZING!  A bit of work, but totally worth it)

Thursday – CSA corn mac ‘n cheese casserole, CSA salad, left over bratwurst

Friday – CSA Ratatouille – using eggplant, zucchini, and green pepper; Pasta

Saturday – Baked Spring Rolls with CSA cabbage and tofu, Lo mein with red peppers and mushrooms, spicy peanut sauce

Sunday – Grilled lemongrass beef with peanuts, grilled spicy CSA corn

Monday – We’re going to a local foods cooking class, but we’ll likely eat some corn on the cob ahead of time

Tuesday – Leftovers (if we have them, if not, I’ll probably make CSA potato leek soup)

Cloudy and gray morning, with thunderstorms – which means, delaying the long run yet again!  Yay!  Er, um…boo.

Eat

B – glass of OJ and small bowl of Fiber one shredded wheat

S – couple of peanut M&Ms

L – carrot, peach, and 1/2 sandwich of rare roast beef on homemade white bread with horseradish, plus two girl scout cookies (I have a bit of a cookie thing…)

D -Indian night!  I love Indian food – probably my favorite kind of food.  We had basmati rice, smothered spiced CSA cabbage, and spicy lentils with CSA eggplant, CSA zucchini, and CSA green beans.  The lentil dish is AMAZING!

Pray

I spent some time reading Psalm 10, more of Jeremiah, and skimmed John 5.  I have to say, John 5 is weird!  I was trying to figure out what was in it to learn, and I kinda came up dry.  Maybe tomorrow?

One of the blessings of today was catching up with a friend and former student of mine on the phone – it was such a joy to hear about her mission trip to Uganda and what God has been teaching her about herself, about our own culture, and about faith.  I was so inspired, and it made me want to do an overseas trip even more than I already want to – which is a lot!

Run

A short 2.4 mile run, mostly on the treadmill.  I just don’t think I’m cut out for gym training, I don’t know how people do it.  If I had a friend who was excited about working out and wanted to spend an hour there, that might be fun.  But generally, I just get bored.  *sigh*  Also, I may have strained my hip/quad/hamstring?  I’m not really sure, but I had a good deal more soreness today than usual.  It may be from squats yesterday, or due to the fact that I neglected to stretch post-run today.  Either way, it’s not pleasant, and makes me dread the 9.2 mile run I’ve been putting off long enough.

Speaking of the long run, I think it shall happen tomorrow!  I’m trying to get psyched up for it  I got my GU packs today in the mail, so I’m excited to try those out too.  I also got another couple of pairs of running socks – one pair just wasn’t cutting it in terms of the laundry!  I’ll ‘fess up to not washing them after each run.  It just wasn’t.going.to.happen.  Hopefully the weather will be nice.  I was kind of regretting I didn’t attempt my long run last night because it was beautiful – 75 degrees and no humidity with a slight breeze!  Perfect.  I doubt tomorrow morning at 6 am will be nearly as glorious, but one can hope, right?  :-)

Wish me luck! Or pray for me!

I found this via one of my favorite blogs that often posts links to great freebies. You can print out cute recipe cards!

How cute is that?  Perhaps I’ll print out a few simple online recipes, which are way more portable and kitchen friendly than toting my laptop up and down the stairs

Recently, I’ve been trying to cook healthier food and more vegetables.  However, when I’m planning meals each week, I often find myself uninspired when it comes to veggies.  It’s easy for me to do something simple like a stir fry or curry, but other than that, I’m not very creative.  Without the internet, I think our meals would be completely boring!

This week for our Menu Monday, I’m sharing a simple roasted vegetable recipe.  This might be one of my new favorites!  You can find all of the ingredients in any well-stocked grocery store, and even though it takes a little bit more time to cook, it is WELL worth it.

Roasted Vegetables

Prep Time: 15 mins  Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large yam, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1 inch slices
• 1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1 in pieces
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 red pepper, or 1/2 cup prepared roasted red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 1 baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Place the yams, parsnips, turnips, and carrots onto the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then add the zucchini and asparagus, and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Turn over veggies, and continue baking until all of the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Once tender, remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
3. Meanwhile, roast the red pepper in a toaster oven under the broiler, several minutes per side.  Keep close watch so the pepper doesn’t burn.  Remove red pepper from oven, and place in a sealed tupperware container for 4 minutes to steam.  Remove red pepper, and peel the skin carefully.  Slice pepper into 1 inch pieces.
4. Toss the roasted peppers together with the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined. Add the roasted vegetables, and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Feel free to substitute other vegetables or herbs you have on hand.  The basil was particularly wonderful combined with the sweetness of the yams.  It was very tasty!

A few weeks ago, red peppers were on sale at the grocery store, and I LOVE me some red peppers!  I also love international foods, and in particular, Caribbean dishes.  Ever since our honeymoon to Jamaica, I’m always trying to cook different dishes that remind me of the delicious stews we had during our trip.  This recipe probably isn’t 100% authentic, but it’s tasty and easy, and all of the ingredients can be found in at any grocery store.

I found this recipe here.

Overall, a delicious dish.  The lime was a bit strong when we made it, and I wish the onions were a bit more prominent, but overall a fun and unique meal.

I’ve always struggled with planning ahead, so the last few weeks I’ve been making an extra effort to plan meals ahead of time and use a list for my grocery shopping.  I decided to create a document that would help me both plan AND shop, plus it’s pretty and cute when I hang it on the side of my fridge to remind me what’s for dinner each night.  Gotta love something that makes me smile when I look at it every night while cooking dinner!

At the top, it includes the dates for the week.   Below that is a section for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day, and then below that is a section to jot down items needed (in this case, ones I need to purchase) for meals for each day.  At the very bottom is a section for extra items I might need on a daily basis, like bread or milk.

And guess what, I’m going to share this with you!  Let me know if it’s helpful.  I’ve printed a few copies and LOVE using it to help keep myself organized.

Here it is, just click on the link and the PDF will download.  Grocerymenulist