I Used to Hate Running

I did.  A lot.  HATED IT.

I was always an athletic little kid.  I was swimming at 3 years old, and not just doggy paddling.  I loved to be in the water and would stay in until I was blue and pruny.  This love of the water led to me joining a summer swim team at 4, then swimming year round when I turned 7.

Somehow, around the time I started swimming full time, my dad convinced me to run with him.  I even remember my first pair of running shoes.  We went to the running store and I ended up with a blue pair of New Balances.  They were so pretty!  Kind of like this guy:

But kid sized!

I was also a bad ass little kid.  In addition to swimming and running, I competed in kid’s duathlons and triathlons, and ran quite a few races, including a weekly summer 5K series.  I was actually pretty good.  I once came in 5th overall in a triathlon and 1st out of all the girls.  I won a Garfield phone and a gift certificate.  Too bad it wasn’t a duck phone!

As I got older and more busy I would run less often.  I just stopped enjoying it.  I would run with my dad, but when I went out on my own, I often walked.  Once I hit high school I stopped swimming for a team.  I was so overextended with clubs, work and a million volunteer opportunities that I rarely worked out.  I taught swim lessons so I was getting into a pool and getting activity, but I only worked out about once a week.  Strangely, I never really struggled with my body and self image until college for some reason.

Anyway, I got to college and did the best thing ever…joined the swim team! (By the way, PLEASE do me a favor and click here to sign a petition to save the Brandeis Swim Team.  It would mean a lot to me!)

So we would run often for swim practice, and I came up with every excuse in the book to not run.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• My neck is too sweaty.  I can’t run.
• My body is going to reject this.
• Getting lost (really lost!) on the way to our swim team bonding camping trip and figuring since we would be late we wouldn’t have to run 4 miles b/c they wouldn’t wait for us and getting Dairy Queen.  We thought it was a good excuse, we had to run anyway.
• Running to my apartment or a friend’s apartment during team runs and watching Oprah and doing vodka shots.
• Running is bad for you.

I always had a million reasons not to run during the season.

However, when we were off season I would run on a regular basis, with two of my best girls.  I also used the off season to learn to rock climb, which I love!

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my love, Dr. Rachel!  I miss you girl!

I ran during the off season because I felt like I HAD TO and I hated every step of it.  When I was home for summers I ran with my dad.  I did this to stay in swimming shape, and because now I had body image issues.

Once swimming was over, I ran a ton, because I was scared of gaining weight.  Turns out I lost weight, because I realized I couldn’t eat like a swimmer anymore (just kidding, I never ate that much!).

Since then, I’ve gone through a lot of stages with running.  Mostly I would run everyday for 2 weeks, then be done with it.

This past October my 2 weeks went for a lot longer.  Suddenly, I was enjoying running and looking forward to it.  Once I got my cold weather gear, I felt even more committed.  I’m not sure what happened this time to finally make it click, but suddenly I enjoy running.  I’m certainly not a good runner, or fast at all, but my body stopped rejecting it.

I love what it’s doing for me.  I love the energy I get.  I love how tight my abs feel all of a sudden.  I love the new shape in my legs, and the fact that my clothes are slowly starting to get big again.  I love that running makes me want to eat better, and I’m sleeping so much better.

I never thought I’d say I love it.  EVER.  I hope this time my love of running sticks!

How did you start to love running?  If you don’t run, why don’t you love it?

Don’t forget about my Road ID giveaway!

Running Safety and a Giveaway!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support about my half marathon in May!  I’m so excited about it, and really feel like I have so many friends and supporters backing me up!  I’m excited about the whole training process, and can’t wait for race day!

As I’ve began running a lot more (how I became a “runner” post in the next day or so), I’ve realized that being safe isn’t just wearing the proper shoes.  There are some really important things to be aware of when running.  Always use common sense to be safe, and check yourself to make sure your colors are bright, your shoes are tied and you know where you are going!

It’s also important to:

• Run AGAINST traffic if you are on the street, so you can see the cars coming towards you.
• Be aware of your road.  Watch for cracks, bumps, branches, rocks or any other obstructions.
• Be visible!  Wear bright and/or reflective colors so drivers can see you.  The more, the better!
• Don’t run alone in the dark.
• Don’t assume drivers see you, or will move out of the way.  Make eye contact when you can.
• Watch out for other runners, walkers or cyclists.  Communicate a need to pass them, to keep both of you safe
• CARRY ID

I never hit the road without some kind of ID with me, even if I’m just taking Rufio around the block.  If anything happens, you want medical personnel or anyone helping you to know WHO YOU ARE and WHO TO CONTACT in case of emergency.

Road ID offered to send me a gift card so I can try out some of their products myself.

Here is some information on this great company, directly from them!

• Road ID manufactures the premier line of identification gear for outdoor athletes so they can be identified in case of emergency or accident.
• Road ID is designed to give medically trained first responders the information they need to immediately contact family members, access medical information and prevent serious delays in case of injury. The company’s line of customized IDs is an integral part of any active person’s gear and can be worn on the wrist, shoe, ankle or around the neck.
• A full line of innovative ID products is available for cyclists, runners, triathletes, skiers, kayakers and other outdoor enthusiasts.. Since 1999, the father-and-son-owned company has been providing safety gear to help make training and racing safer. For more information, please visit www.RoadID.com.
• Our dream is to see the day where wearing ID is as common among athletes as wearing a seatbelt is among motorists.
• Our mission is twofold: One, to educate outdoor enthusiasts (runners, cyclists, triathletes, skiers, snow boarders, kayakers, walkers, and anyone that doesn’t spend all of their time on the couch) about the importance of wearing ID. Two, to provide these athletes with innovative identification products that they will want to include as part of their gear.
• Road ID comes in 6 STYLES (the Wrist ID Sport, the Wrist ID Elite, the Shoe ID, the Ankle ID, the Fixx ID (necklace), and the Shoe Pouch ID. Products range in price from U.S. $19.99-$29.99.
• All orders ship in 2-3 business days with standard U.S. shipping at a cost of $1.49. International shipping (to the U.K., Australia, etc) is only US $2.49.
• Road ID comes in 2 VERSIONS:  Original and Interactive. The Interactive Version is supported by the 24/7/365 Emergency Response System.  The Original Version has room for 6 lines of customized text. The Interactive Road ID requires a yearly membership to the Emergency Response System ($9.99/year).  The first year of membership to the Emergency Response System is FREE with the purchase of any Road ID. You can find a very informative interactive overview of the two versions on the homepage of our website, www.RoadID.com
• Customers only pay one membership fee per Emergency Response Profile (ERP).  So, if they have 5 Road IDs assigned to 1 ERP, they only pay 1 annual fee, not 5.  In fact, they get a FREE year of membership with each ID purchase.  So, if they purchased 5 Interactive Road IDs, they get 5 years of membership for FREE.

I think they have a great mission, and some great morals, plus I LOVE supporting family owned companies, since I married into one!

Speaking of my family, since Solomon is so excited about becoming a runner, I offered him the bulk of the giftcard (you’ll see another way I carry ID later this week!)

He got an original wrist ID in black.

Rufio was very curious about it!

We were also able to get a Firefly Supernova, which is a SUPER bright flashing light that clips right to your clothing.  There’s no way a driver wouldn’t see you with this on!

We got a blue one!

Now, it’s giveaway time for one of you!  I’m super excited about being able to share this!

Road ID has offered a giftcard to one of you, so that you can stay safe on the road!  I’m going to give you 4 ways to enter!

1. Leave a comment below telling me your most important safety tip!
2. Go to the Road ID website, shop around, and comment below which item you want and why.
3. Become a fan of Road ID on Facebook and/or Twitter, leave a comment below that says you have become a fan.
4. Repost this contest on your blog and leave me a message that you did!

I’m leaving this contest open until February 15th!

Live, Love, Eat and…Run?

I am doing something I never thought I would do…running a half marathon!

I’m not doing it alone either. Solomon and our friend Rachel will be joining me!

We plan to run the Pittsburgh half marathon on May 2, and will be following Hal Higdon’s half marathon plan for novices. To keep myself accountable, I am putting the workout below, and will be adding my daily workouts, just to stay on track to myself, and all of you!

Are there any bloggers/readers/runners out there who are also running, either the half or whole marathon? I know of a few, and thought it would be fun to get together at some point that weekend! Please let me know!

In addition to tracking workouts here, I track my workouts and everything I eat on Google Docs. Solomon and I both have a document, and we share them with one another so we can critique/commend each others eating. Blogging everything I eat is just not for me, but this is a great way for us to stay accountable! If you’d like to see what I’m eating and have any comments/concerns about my eating habits, please let me know!

Morgan’s Food and Workout Journal

I’m also declaring this week “Running Week” here at Live, Love, Eat and Play!  I’m going to be reviewing some fun products (stay tuned for some giveaways!) and sharing some of my thoughts on going from someone who ran casually to finally being able to call myself a runner!

I’m really excited to do this, and so happy I have so many great people by my side, both physically and to support me!

BTW, if you talk to my dad (mom, Justin, Robo, Marlene, etc.) please DO NOT mention this to him!  I’m hoping my parents can make it to Pittsburgh and this would be a surprise for him!  See, my dad is a former marathoner and triathlete, and knew my heart always belonged to swimming, but I know he always hoped I’d be a runner.  I think he is going to be so surprised and proud of Solomon and I, so I’d like to keep this a surprise!

Please be sure to stay updated on my training at my half marathon page on the blog!

Snowpocalypse 2010

Well, well, well.  Remember how I was supposed to be in Boston this weekend?  Sometimes Mother Nature has other plans!

Get ready, this is a long story.  Solomon and I have decided that it’s just funny at this point.  It’s really just unreal.

So originally we were supposed to leave Pittsburgh at 4 on a direct flight to Boston.  Solomon was working a college fair in Pittsburgh, so I was going to pick him up, and head to the airport. 

Solomon called me at about 8 that morning and asked if I could get to Pittsburgh (about an hour and a half away) ASAP.  So I ran around like a crazy person, got showered and threw my bags in the car, and packed up Rufio to take him to puppy camp.  Solomon had arranged for us to take a 1:30 flight to D.C., then on to Boston.  Well, on my way down, I found out from Becca, who lives and works in D.C. that the whole city was shutting down at 1.  Great, right?

So we finally get to the airport and find out there is a 12:45 flight to Boston so we try to get on stand by.  Fail.  Also, it started snowing at this point.  Heavily.  The snow wasn’t supposed to start until 4 or 5. 

Then we find out our flight to D.C. was cancelled.  Another fail.

We start getting nervous about our original 4 p.m. flight to Boston that they put us back on.  We found out there was a 1:45 to Hartford, CT, so we thought we would take that and then rent a car and drive to Boston.  We would have been able to get on the flight, and kept waiting, but it never boarded due to mechanical problems. 

You can’t tell in these pictures, but the flakes were HUGE.  Big clumps of snow were falling, I had never seen anything like it.

 
This was also around when I got REALLY loopy.  I began to laugh hysterically about the fact that belly buttons are pointless when we are grown up, and the fact that everyone has one.  It just seemed amazing.  I even called my mom to ask her where dog’s belly buttons are because I couldn’t imagine Rufio having one.  No joke, I laughed about this for about an hour and couldn’t stop.  I laughed so hard I made my teeth chatter.  I almost started running in circles.  Probably should not have had an afternoon coffee!

I also took a ridiculous amount of self portraits.  Oh, and on Friday I did go red!

 
By now, our 4 p.m. Boston flight had moved gates and was delayed until 5:02, then 5:45.  At 5:30 the Hartford flight was cancelled.  At 6, our flight was cancelled due to a mechanical problem that the pilot knew about and never reported. 

We had managed to make friends with the woman working the desk, and kept talking to her and hanging out with her most of the day.  She was soooo nice, and managed to book us on a 7:30 flight to Charlotte, then onto Boston.  She even put us in first class!  We made it on the plane, then had to wait while the plane was de-iced and then anti-ice was put on.  At about 9 we went back to the gate, because the de-icing and anti-icing weren’t working properly.  At around 9:45 we were told that the plane would not be taking off!

We went back inside and were lucky enough to find our friend again.  Because our original (the 4:00 to Boston) was cancelled due to a mechanical failure, we would be put up in a hotel.  So we went back to the parking lot, dug the car out, and drove 4 miles in 45 minutes to the hotel. 

Once we got to the hotel (around 10:40), we found out their system was down, and they can’t check us in!  I had never before in my life been so thankful to see a hotel bar and a decent red wine selection.  No joke. 

We finally get checked in, and into our awesome room, and the T.V. doesn’t work, but whatever at this point.

So I wake up at 9:30 (gah, I needed the sleep) and notice it’s strangely dark.  Solomon said he woke around 7:30 (then went back to sleep) and right after he woke up, the power went out!  Thankfully, we had arranged for a late checkout (in case a flight became available in the morning), and went down to breakfast.  We figured since we were limited to what we could do, we might as well work out.  Well, neither of us had showered since Friday morning and had been travelling, so we wanted to shower after working out.  Turns out, there was no hot water!  Batting 1000, huh?

We forget working out and go back to our room, since we didn’t want to leave because it is STILL snowing.  At least I finished my book!

Around 1:30 we finally left, and were plowed in.  Thankfully the plow guy was in the lot, and helped plow us out.  Our car was clean the night before.

Oh, I also think I ruined my Uggs in this whole disaster.

 
We finally get on the road, take all of these random back roads our GPS told us to take, and get to the exit for the highway.  Guess what?  Something was wrong!  There was a truck stuck on the exit, and we couldn’t get through!

We turn around and figure we’ll get on 79 South, and turn around at the next exit to go north.  It took us over 10 miles to find another exit!  We finally get to the exit ramp to get on 79 North and there is a 10 car back up.  Solomon gets out of the car, so a few others do and push a car that was stuck at the ramp onto the road.  Amazing how they all just sat there doing nothing.  Anyway, we finally got on the road and back to M’Ville.  Just look at this snow:

 
The view looking out of our sunroof was crazy too!

 
Now we are safe and sound.  I just wish we could get Rufio from puppy camp, but we’ll get him in the morning.  It’s just such a bummer!  We were so excited to be in Boston and see everyone.  You just have to laugh after awhile. 

I hope everyone who got slammed with snow, and my Pittsburgh girls are safe and sound in that major snow storm!  Anyone else in Pittsburgh?

I hope that if you got pounded with snow, you are safe and warm and enjoying yummy food, fun movies and good company.  That’s my plan for the rest of the weekend!

Any travel disasters to share?

Some A for Your Q

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

Is it bad that there isn’t just one?  I love red wine (good red wine) and have been known to over indulge, totally negating the good benefits of it!  I love the taste, smell and everything about it.

Another guilty pleasure is chips and salsa.  I could eat those forever.

And pedicures.  They make me feel amazing!

Rufio is so cute!  Did you adopt him?  What kind of dog is he?

Thank you, I think he’s so cute too!

Unfortunately, we did not adopt him.  When Solomon and I decided to get a dog, we searched petfinder.com for months, but were limited to a few breeds.  I have allergies to dog fur, so we could only get a dog that had hair.  My allergies are mild enough I could have managed them with medicine, but we were worried when we had a child they might have severe allergies (like my mom), and didn’t want to have to worry about getting rid of our dog!

Rufio is a miniature schnauzer, and we chose that breed because when I was born my parents had 2 of them, and we also had another one when I was older.  I think they are an amazing breed-smart, loyal, feisty (so feisty), fun, and great family dogs!

We got him from a fantastic breeder in western MA, and will go back to her when we decided to get him a sister.  He was so small when we got him!

 
How did you and Solomon meet?

Buckle up, this is a long one!

Solomon and I always kind of knew each other, but that’s mostly because Brandeis is a fairly small school.  We never did any clubs together, or took any classes with one another (even though we were both Sociology majors!). 

When it came time to pick housing senior year, I was studying abroad in Australia, so I had my freshman year roommate as my proxy.  We all lived in a townhouse type place on campus, I was with some random girls, and Becca (roomie) and some of my friends ended up with Solomon and some other guys.  Becca and Solomon have known each other forever, because Becca’s mom and Solomon’s aunt are childhood best friends.  In fact, Becca and Dan (Solomon’s cousin) were born on the same day in the same hospital room!  It’s actually really cool because I get to see Becca a lot at holidays and other events like weddings and parties!  She and Dan were in our wedding party and walked down the aisle together.

I can’t find my wedding pics, but here’s a pic of me and Becca at Dan’s wedding (my hair seems quite big!)

And Solomon and Dan at our wedding.  These two are trouble together!

Anyway, so Becca lived with Solomon and I was over at their place constantly.  I would just let myself in, watch TV, eat, do work even if no one was around!  One night in October Becca got it in her head that Solomon and I should get together, and kept encouraging it.  We started to casually see one another, and “broke up” for a bit shortly after. 

We eventually started seeing one another again after winter break, but kept it very casual because we were second semester seniors!  After our first spring break, when we came back to campus and realized how much we had missed one another, we realized this was a lot more than a casual little thing so decided to be a couple.  7 years later, here we are!

So, what else do you want to know?  The question box is open!

Sorry, I just had to!  It seems like I have this thing for Se7en!

Shabbat Shalom

I’m often asked about Judaism and my culture in the blog world, which I absolutely love.  I know there aren’t a ton of kosher “healthy lifestyle” bloggers out there, and I’m glad to be one of them, and someone that you can ask questions!  It actually means a lot to me when I get questions, many of which I just address via email, and not on the blog.

I decided that since everyone seemed to really enjoy my Tu B’Shevat post so much, I thought it might be nice to share Shabbat with you. 

Friday nights at sunset begins Shabbat.  It ends at sunset on Saturday night.  It is meant to be a day of rest, and I think something that is personal.  Many people choose to limit their activity-no electricity, cutting, cooking, etc.  Many people are just aware of it, observe some of the practices and live the day like any other day. Solomon and I are the latter of the two types!

One of the first customs observed once Shabbat starts is lighting the candles.  This is something done by the women of the home, and officially marks the beginning of Shabbat.  2 candles are lit, and blessings are said.

Our candlesticks (which need a serious polishing!) are representative of the tree of life.  We received them as a wedding gift.  In addition to registering for typical kitchen items, we also registered for Judaica pieces that we knew we would need.

Once the candles are lit, some people (my father in law for example) attend services, then come home for dinner.

Before dinner can start, we always sing Shalom Aleichem, a song of greeting which means “Peace be upon you.”

Next, the Kiddush is recited, which is a blessing over the (overly sweet) wine. 

 
Another piece symbolic of the Tree of Life.  Everyone takes a sip of the wine.  Sometimes we use little cups for it.

 
Next comes the Hamotzi, which is a blessing over the bread, and is said before any food is consumed.  We always have challah, which is placed on a challah board.

This is then covered, so as to preserve the priority of the wine, and not make the challah jealous!

 
When it’s just Solomon and I, I’ll make a big batch of dough, and freeze it into rolls so that we can have two on Shabbat, and not have a ton of bread leftover!  The reason there are always two is to commemorate the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or sabbath. It is these hunks of bread, recognizable by their traditional braided style (although some more modern recipes are not braided) that are commonly referred to as challah. (Source).

When we lived in Boston, we would got to his parents’ house most weeks for Shabbat, or sometimes to another friend or group event.  It is just a nice time to relax, enjoy good food and be with family.  We are very lucky this week because we are going to Boston for the weekend!  I think my 4 year old nephew Alex is the most excited to see us (he asked me the other night when I was going to move closer to him.  It melted my heart)!

We don’t really do anything on Saturday, other than go about our normal business.  When we lived in Boston and visit, Solomon usually attends synagogue.  There is actually a lot more to this, but this is just a basic run down.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about Shabbat or any other Jewish customs!

Now, from the box o’ questions:

Was there ever a time in your life that you didn’t want to be a conservative jew and keep kosher?

I was born and raised conservative, more by default.  Though my father was orthodox as a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, his family eventually became more conservative, which was how my mom was raised.  When I was younger we joined a conservative synagogue because my parents liked it and loved the Rabbi (he is amazing, he’s still there!) so it’s really all I knew.  I attended reform services sometimes, mostly for friend’s bar and bat mitzvahs, but I just didn’t like the feel of it, it never felt right to me.  I got comfortable as a conservative!

As for keeping kosher, that’s something I never thought I would do.  Solomon has been kosher his whole life, and it was really important to him.  I thought it would be hard, but it’s not at all, so I don’t mind doing it!

 

One more thing…one of my best friends, Robin, moved to Israel about 2 years ago, and is unfortunately home in Atlanta right now.  Her brother has been in the hospital for a little over a week with blood clotting problems.  There is a lot more to it than that, but I just want to ask that you keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers right now.  Thank you so much!

This is us in Israel.  We’re total goofballs!

Water, Water Everywhere

I’ve been asked on more than one occasion how I can possibly drink as much water as I do.  The truth is, I have no idea how much I drink, I just know I’m constantly chugging it throughout the day.

Some people say they hate the taste of water, which I just don’t get!  It’s fairly tasteless (some waters have mineral flavors depending where you are), and totally satisfying!  How can you not like it?

I was pretty much always a water drinker.  When I was younger we would have soda, but I’m fairly certain I always wanted water.  When I was about 8, my mother developed an allergy to aspartame and stopped buying soda and diet soda all together (except for my dad’s ginger ale.  He used to drink a ton of it and he was and still is one of the most fit men I know.  Anyway…).  Instead of soda, she started buying these gigantic water containers to go in the fridge.  They were like 5 gallons big.  I found myself constantly grabbing a glass of water, because it was cold and really refreshing.  This was eventually replaced with a water cooler, and then a new fridge with a built in water filter.

Anyhoo, I started bringing a water bottle to school on a regular basis.  Most kids would only really drink during lunch time, but I would sip away at my water all day.  From about 4th grade on, I never went to a day of school (including college and law school) without a bottle of water with me.  I was even the girl who insisted on having a Brita filter in her college dorm room!

I pretty much don’t drink much else.  I have a cup of black coffee every morning, and sometimes tea throughout the day, plus the occasional adult beverage.  I never drink soda anymore, and really the only time I have juice is OJ when I am sick.  I just don’t think to drink anything else.  Plus, I don’t count smoothies as drinking.  So water it is!

What’s so great about water you ask?  Here are just some things (taken from all over the world wide web!)

• Water keeps your skin hydrated, helping it to maintain a healthy texture and color.
• Water eliminates body wastes and toxins naturally.  No need to “cleanse!”
• Water helps maintain your body’s pH balance, making you less prone to sickness and disease.
• Water helps reduce water retention when you are bloated
• Water is filling, and helps break down proteins and carbohydrates, helping with weight loss. Water helps reduce your hunger by filling your belly.

So, are you drinking enough water?

Here are some of MY personal tips to drink more water:

-Drink a glass as soon as you wake up.  I keep a BPA-free Camelbak on my bedside table at all times.  Many times I wake up and the whole thing is empty!  This bottle was full when I went to bed!  Some people sleepwalk, I sleepdrink!

-Make your water bottle fun!  Buy one to support your favorite team or school, add some stickers, make it yours.  I had one in college (pre-BPA madness) that a friend decorated for me with cute stickers and sayings, I loved carrying it!  Now I have an aluminum one with a bead my mom made and my initial on top!

-Add some sliced fruit, lime juice, lemon juice or mint leaves to it.  This will give it a subtle flavor.

-Always keep a purse size bottle with you.  Now, maybe I have a gigantic purse (I do!), but I almost always throw my bottle in it.  Especially when shopping, I get so thirsty!  I lug this bottle everywhere-all over my house, meetings, work, the gym and constantly refill it, even if it isn’t empty.  I never feel thirsty, because I am constantly sipping away!

-When at a restaurant or bar, always ask for a glass of water (even if you are getting another drink).  Sip it between alcoholic beverages and throughout the night.

-If you feel hungry, have a glass of water.  Many times we mistake dehydration for hunger.

-Create a reward system to ensure you are getting enough water.  I did this for a friend, who now drinks water on a regular basis.  Maybe if you drink 8 glasses a day for a week, you earn a prize (I say go for a massage or pedicure, you deserve it!)

Do you drink enough water?  What are some of your tips and tricks for getting enough H20?

P.S.  I’m going to start answering questions tomorrow, so ask away!

Ugly Soup

Keep those questions coming!  I’ll start doing some answers in the next day or so .

So it’s snowing here…again.  What’s cool is that when I was outside going to the gym the snowflakes were these big, beautiful fluff balls.  When they landed on the car, you could actually see how different they were, and the six points on each, it was tres cool!

So I know that Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow and all, but I’m having a hard time believing that we only have 6 weeks of winter left.  I can’t help but think that by mid-March, it’s still going to be snowing, a lot.  Am I right Meadvillers?  It’s incredible how used to it you get after awhile, but I really would love to go for a run without cold wind blowing in my face!  By the way, did you know they play Groundhog Day constantly on Groundhog Day?  That’s funny to me on so many levels!
 

With all the snow, I want something warm and tasty to fill my belly.  After my hardcore pizza the other night, I thought I should make something for dinner that required little to no work.  Since I didn’t plan ahead enough do throw something into my crockpot, I thought soup was a pretty good bet.  The reason I didn’t plan well this week is because it’s kind of a weird week for us.  Solomon is going away on business Wednesday through Friday, and then Friday we leave for Boston for the weekend.  We bought the basics at the grocery store, but kind of thought we could throw together meals with what was on hand!  It’s worked out well for us so far, but I wouldn’t normally do this.

We decided on black bean soup because, well…it’s awesome.  Seriously.  It’s filling, delicious and versatile.  I used a few different recipes to make my soup, primarily using Mark Bittman’s from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. 

First I cooked 2 onions in some EVOO (no minced garlic, can you believe it?)

Once these were translucent, I add 1 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. cumin, and 1 tbsp. taco seasoning, and let this cook for another minutes, stirring to combine the flavors. 

Then I added 3 cans of black beans and 4 cup vegetable stock.  I didn’t have any box, so I used bouillon cubes.  I forgot how salty they are, yuck!

I let this come to a boil, then simmer for about an hour, stirring once in awhile.  While this was going on, I was trying to create a website for my father in law.  I’ve basically taught myself HTML and CSS from scratch, but I’m still way confused.  Does anyone have any resources to help me with website design?  It’s a lot of fun, but very technical.  I like figuring it all out, but could use a little more help!

Anyway, right before I was ready to serve the soup, I added about 2 tbsp. lime juice and some Tapatio, just for shits and giggles. 

It looks like french onion soup to me:

 
So I pureed it a bit, and made it surprisingly creamy.

I thought about putting some Greek yogurt on top, but a little avocado sounded good instead!  The best part about soup is the leftovers!  This keeps getting better and better.  Not beautiful, but so yummy!

Sorry for such a lack of pictures.  My camera was charging most of the time

What’s a not so pretty looking food (like my soup!) that you love?

Jumping on the Bandwagon

I’m not really one to follow trends…at all.  But now that this whole “Ask me Anything” is floating around the blogosphere, I thought it might be fun to give it a shot.  So here goes…ask away!  What do you want to know…about me?  About Solomon?  About Rufio?  Keeping kosher?  Being pescetarian?

Ask away!

Online Form – Ask Me Anything!

FormSpring – Online Form Builder

Oh, and if anyone knows how to make the Formspring page show up in a tab that I can add to top of my blog, please let me know! I can’t figure it out!

P.S.  Anyone watch 24?  LOVE IT!  The season is good so far.  I loved when Jack spoke German .  He’s so badass, I absolutely love him!

Grown Up Pizza

There’s a restaurant in Boston that I absolutely LOVE.  There used to be many more of them, but it seems like they have downsized.  The restaurant is owned by Todd English, so it has to be good!

I have so many great memories from meals at Fig’s…having my friend Julie’s father take the 2 of us and the majority of the boys swim team, romantic dates with Solomon, nights out with my sister in law and brother in law when my nephew Alex was small enough to be put on the table in his car seat.  So many meals there, and never, ever a disappointment!

My absolute favorite pizza is called the Bianco.  It has parmesan, mozzarella (a little bit) and caramelized onions on the crust.  After that’s all cooked it’s topped with a salad of arugula, grape tomatoes, balsamic, EVOO and a little spice.  It sounds pretty unexciting, but I promise it’s out of this world!

Solomon’s favorite pizza at Fig’s is a mushroom pizza.  It’s really mushroomy.  Like hard core.  Thankfully they will split pizzas and do half and half of any combination you want, because I used to hate mushrooms.  passionately.  Solomon always wanted me to have a bite of his pizza, but I was so not interested, because mushrooms grossed me out so much.

Finally, I gave in and tried this pizza.  It rocked my world.  Seriously.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t ready to abandon my Bianco, but I was ready to fall in love all over again.  With a fungus.  Go figure.

Suddenly, I became a mushroom lover.  This pizza was quite possibly the best mushroom concoction on the whole planet, and I eventually chose to start ordering it (1/2, the other half was my Bianco!).  Now that I became such a fan, I order things with mushrooms on a regular basis.  Because they are awesome, and that’s the bottom line.

Well, you all know I have a thing for making pizza at home, so when Solomon asked me if I could make Fig’s pizza at home, I was up for the challenge.  After a little Google searching, I turned up a kickass pizza as close to Todd English’s as I could find and went to work.  I did some tweaking, because of what I had on hand, but otherwise, this was pretty darn close to the real thing.  It was incredible.  The smell alone almost made me go into a trance.  Drool.

Rather than making the pizza dough I normally use, I decided that to make this as authentic as possible, I would use Todd English’s pizza dough recipe.  I also decided that rather than making a typical round pizza, I would be as authentic as possible.  Fig’s serves their pizzas on the bottom of a baking sheet, and they are rectangular, making for an amazing thin crust.  I did my best I think!  I sprinkled the cookie sheet with cornmeal to keep it from sticking, then went to town with my rolling pin, right on the baking sheet. 

Then I drizzled a little EVOO, salt, pepper and 2 cloves minced garlic on top of the crust and blended it all in.

 
While I was doing this, the mushroom puree was cooking away.  I took an onion and diced it, and let it saute in about a tbsp. of olive oil with 2 cloves minced garlic until translucent (sounds like how most of my recipes start, huh?).

Then I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup red wine.  I also drank some, obvi.  Call me a dork, but I always think it’s so cool  to deglaze a pan with wine, I love how all of the bits come off of the bottom of the pan, and the sizzle!

 
Next, I added 2 packages of mixed mushrooms and let them cook until they were nice and soft.

 
Once the mushrooms were soft, I added 1 tsp. dried rosemary, a few pinches of salt, and half a cup of heavy cream.

 
I have to tell you that this was quite possibly the most amazing smelling thing that ever entered my kitchen.  I didn’t even want to bother making the pizza because the smell of the mushrooms cooking away was out of this world.

I realized I couldn’t just leave it sitting there on the stove forever, because it really wasn’t going to be a good air freshener, so I used my best friend to puree it all together, then spread it on top of the crust.

I then covered the mushroom puree with 6 oz. of thinly sliced fontina cheese.

 
This got covered with 2 beautiful thinly sliced portabella mushrooms.

I then took out one of my graters, and grated fresh parmesan (none of that jarred stuff!) on top, about 2 tbsp., and a little bit more black pepper.

 
I also picked up this beautiful piece of food porn…truffle oil.  OK, if you’ve never tried it, do it NOW.  NOW.  I can’t even describe the taste other than to say it’s OUT OF THIS WORLD.  I’ve never tried anything with truffle oil that was bad.  In fact, I’ve never tried anything with truffle oil that was good.  It’s always phenomenal.  100% mind blowingly good!  I had to practice a lot of self restraint and just drizzle a little truffle oil on top (mostly because that sucker is pricy, and I want to save it!).

 
Once my gorgeous pizza was done, it cooked for only 7 minutes in a 500º oven.

 
Cheers!

  
It was so good that it almost made me cry.  Seriously.  The bottom line is, I need more mushrooms and truffle oil in my life.  Any ideas what else I should make with truffle oil?

What did you think of the Grammy’s last night?  How about the fashion?

Lady Gaga’s dress was crazy…that was seriously one amazing piece of art!  Plus, I thought her performance with Elton John was fantastic.

I also thought Heidi Klum looked stunning:

I also thought that  Katy Perry’s dress was stunning, but I could have done without the bangs!

Lea Michele looked stunning too.  I think I may have a girl crush.

Speaking of fashion by the way…

My poor boy got cold!  He was shivering