End of January

So, the run I rescheduled to Saturday didn't happen, but I went on a longer long run than anticipated, and considering I've been sick and just generally not feeling well this week, I'm going to chalk up three runs, two gym trips and a volleyball game as a minor victory.  It's going to be tougher than anticipated to get in a fourth run during the week - the only days I really have available for them are Wednesdays and Sundays.  I'm usually pretty tired physically on Wednesdays, because Tuesdays are my double days (run or gym in the morning, volleyball game in the evening after work), and Saturday mornings are my farmers market mornings, so I usually do at least an hour's worth of grocery shopping, and it's best to get to the market before 9 a.m. otherwise, it gets very crowded.  I honestly think I'll have a better shot at getting the run in on Saturday mornings, so I think I'll give that a shot first, and just come to terms with waking up earlier than I'd like on Saturdays. 

If that doesn't work, I may have to re-visit either doing a second double day during the week (gym one morning, run after work in the evening), or trying to get to the gym 30 minutes earlier to do a quick three miles before I lift (which is pretty improbable, considering that would mean I have to get to the gym at the time I normally wake up to go to the gym now, and we all know I can't get to bed early if my life depended on it!).  Now that it's staying lighter later, I may look at a double day at the end of the week on Thursday or Friday.  We'll see.

We finished this month's cookbook of the month (The Breath of a Wok) on Friday with Uncle Sherman's Home-Style Chicken and Vegetables.  I was too tired Friday after work to stop at the store and pick up shrimp for the original meal plan, so I went with a simple chicken and vegetable stir fry.  It was our first time trying both bean sauce and Chinese broccoli (which looks nothing like "normal" broccoli at all), and it was delicious.  The bean sauce actually adds amazing flavor, and the Chinese broccoli had a bit of a bitter bite to it (not as bitter as arugula, but not as mild as some other greens).  I altered the recipe to add some crushed red pepper, because we prefer spicier foods, but overall it turned out delicious.

I would say I'm going to miss cooking Chinese food each week, but February's cookbook is going to be A Taste of India by Madhur Jaffrey.  I love Jaffrey's World Vegetarian cookbook, so I'm excited to try this one.  I think we're going to make kebabs and a tomato and potato dinner for the first week, but we haven't decided yet.  What I like about this cookbook is each "chapter" is devoted to a different region in India, so it isn't primarily northern Indian cooking, which you usually find in the West.  It has some interesting okra recipes, too, so it should be a fun month.  I may even try to make my own paneer!

I haven't done well with trying a new grain this month (haven't tried any, actually), so I'm going to need to make more of an effort in February.  I'm going to serve tonight's chili with polenta, though, so maybe that half-counts.  I'm also going to make a different peanut butter cookie recipe today (very different from the one I've used in the past - it uses honey) for this month's "new" cookie, too.  So at least my food resolutions are coming along nicely (which really isn't surprising, since I'm always on top of anything involving food!).  I'm going to have to put more emphasis on the others in the coming months.