making risotto is nothing like making rice.

More veggies! Our sweet delivery folk are on a two week hiatus, which should give me some time to get through the produce mecca that I call our fridge. Once again, this week did not disappoint.

frozen curly kale, frozen butternut squash puree,
hydroponic arugula, onions, apples, potatoes, turnips and carrots

A note about apples: I will never buy an apple from the store again. It's so nice to enjoy an apple without consuming that weird, waxy substance grocery stores use to make them shiny.

The curly kale turned into a kale and onion frittata, kale and shallot greek yogurt dip and just regular kale to eat in a salad.

yum. butternut squash risotto
topped with hydroponic arugula

I decided to forgo the obvious choice of making soup with the butternut squash puree and found a simple recipe for risotto on my food site. After reading the recipe, searching two stores for the correct rice and thawing the puree, I went to work. Clearly I disregarded the "labor of love" warning within the post, because 25 minutes in I was sick of stirring and standing over the stove. For this whole risotto thing to work, you have to ladle one spoonful of broth into the rice at a time and wait for the liquid to absorb as you stir gently. This takes upwards of half an hour (depending on how much you make). Who knew?

I profoundly apologize for every time I've described risotto as being "just like rice, but better". It's not just like rice. You can literally make rice in one minute. I also want to thank every chef that has ever prepared risotto for me at a restaurant. I never knew of the hardship I was putting them through as I ordered.

Yes, it was worth it. Yes, I'll be making it again.  

recap :: MoHud2013 week 1

Not the best way to kick off the 'ol training program, but, in the spirit of listening to my body and smarTraining, blah blah blah, I took it easy when I felt something strange in my foot/ankle/brokeassleg Tuesday at spin that carried through Wednesday and Thursday. Everything I've been reading online about training (if it's on the interwebs, it's true) indicates that if you don't make your weekly mileage or take an unscheduled rest day the entire world does not, in fact, implode. Tested and true.

I re-discovered these brand new babies
from my August shoe buying binge.
Hello, new friends.

Monday: RW foot and ankle exercise; total body 45mins 
                scheduled - 1.5mi 
Tuesday: 60mins spin with abs
                scheduled - rest
Wednesday: 60mins BCC - legs
                scheduled - 1.5mi  
Thursday: rest
                scheduled - 3mi  
Friday: 60mins BCC - cardio; 1.5mi
                scheduled - 1.5mi  
Saturday: 3mi
                scheduled - rest  
Sunday: 60min spin; 1.5mi
                scheduled - 3mi

Weekly mileage: 6.0mi
Scheduled weekly mileage: 10.5

goods.

After picking up the delivery of Field Goods last week, I took everything home and wondered what I was going to do with it all. It felt like we had so much stuff.

crimini mushrooms - my new favorite food

Frozen kale: lasagnas (I made 2, both hit the freezer for a night where we're short on time).
Crimini mushrooms: sautéed with light olive oil, garlic and onions. Used for omelets and to top roast beef paninis.
Satina potatoes: cut up, seasoned with Dinosaur BBQ Cajun rub, added onions and made home fries.
Beets: roasted and popped in the fridge to use in salads later in the week.

The jury is still out in the huge radish... we'll see. Update: I gave the raffish to my parents, jury is still out.

...and then we got more stuff.

frozen blueberries, frozen sweet corn, cabbage,
pea shoots, micro-greens, carrots and apples

recap :: week -1

Wednesday the next round of Boot Camp Challenge began.

Monday: 60min spin, 45min total body
Tuesday : 2.0miles (fast, uphill)
Wednesday: 60mins BCC (cardio burst with body weight/free weight intervals - arms and legs)
Thursday: 60min spin with circuits
Friday: 60mins BCC (cardio circuits/abs)
Saturday: rest (but walked up lots of ADK hills)
Sunday: 1.5miles/scheduled rest (day 1 of marathon training) with a sweet ADK view from the hotel gym.

Weekly mileage: 3.5miles

Next week the fun officially begins! Hellllloooo obsessive calendar-ing, spreadsheet checking and increased compulsiveness overall!

some high peaks.

good luck.

compression shamrocks.

These little beauts are currently en route to my mailbox.

After getting the email from Pro Compression and loving them instantly, I waited a few days to buy them and then they sold out. Devastated, I bookmarked the link and opened it every morning (maybe I hit refresh a few times during the day too...) for a week to no avail. When I thought all hope was lost, I clicked refresh for one last time and XS was back in stock and on their way to my house. Perseverance.

I plan to wear them not only in March, but all year round. Who wouldn't have fun in shamrock socks?

Sláinte!