Beans 'n' Rice

Sometimes people think I'm joking when I tell them we had beans and rice for dinner. (I don't usually volunteer this information. But if someone asks...) Friend: What are you cooking for dinner tonight? Me: Oh, beans and rice. Friend: Yeah...beans and rice. [some chuckling]

I love beans and rice! Mostly black beans and lately I'm hooked on brown basmati rice. (It really does smell like popcorn while it cooks. No, seriously.) Last night we had:

Black Beans and Brown Basmati Rice
Cook together 2 cans rinsed and drained black beans, some minced garlic, 1 c. of chopped tomatoes, cumin, some chopped fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper. Serve over rice or stir it altogether. Expecting something fancy? This is a pot of beans. Over rice.

I very occasionally will soak and cook dried beans. I've experimented cooking them all day in a slow cooker without soaking, and that works ok. Since brown rice takes so long to cook, I often cook it in the morning before I go to work and reheat it later.

Last night I sprinkled my BnR with pumpkin seeds. Tasty!

Thursday's Run

Yesterday my left calf was tender like veal (pun intended!) and I wondered why. Running home yesterday I figured it out: I run in the street against traffic, since running on asphalt is like running on a puffy cloud of down comforters compared to running on concrete. Anyway, if a car is coming towards me, I step up onto the sidewalk, and I guess I always lead with my left foot. My tender veal calf let me know that I needed to switch legs occasionally. Maybe this is also why my left foot hurt on Tuesday.

The weather was glorious yesterday! I'm enjoying these evening runs until it's 100 degrees and the air quality is dangerous.

Thursday's distance=7

Tuesday Run

Yesterday I ran the new route again, this time aiming for all-out and gut-searing. I must have gotten every red light along Euclid and McLendon, but I still was 4 minutes faster than the same route last week. I was calmer, too, and didn't scream at any drivers, etc. Not that I could have. (See "gut-searing" above.) I skipped today to "recover" and "eat a lot at the U Joint." The weather is gorgeous, and all Sweet LJ and I want to do is sit outside and eat and drink. I shouldn't drag him down with me: I want to be outside eating and drinking. He just wants to sit outside.

Is this gross?

Lunch today: Mixed greens, red and yellow peppers, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, brown basmati rice, tossed together as a salad with balsamic and olive oil. It tasted good to me, but I sometimes wonder what I wouldn't eat.

This morning I ran about 3.5 miles. We're having a little cold spell, but it was still ok.

Saturday Eating

A, J, and L were bored missed us and came over to join us for dinner Saturday night. We went to Feast for pizza, etc. Best pizza in town!

Worst hostess in town! I miss the old hostess who was pregnant, and who I guess is gone now because she has a baby. I don't like this new grouchy hostess. Last month we had reservations for 10 and had to add a few more. This made her very cross! Last night she told us a table was available, but that we'd need to be out by 8:30 for a reservation. Today Sweet LJ said we should've gone to Fellini's, since we wanted pizza. I love Fellini's, but the Decatur one is like Chuck E. Cheese without games and the giant mouse.

Great company! J said YDFM smells like Ecuador. L whispered to me that I'm her favorite. A was as charming and beautiful as ever.

No running today. I wasn't really tired from yesterday...just lazy.

Saturday Run

It was good and long, and I didn't have high hopes for it. It was raining Saturday morning, plus I just wasn't that into it, but I went out thinking I'd just do a few loops around my neighborhood.

I felt good and the rain slacked, so I kept going. I ended up doing one loop through the neighborhood and then my usual 9-mile route. I thought I'd finished at about 10 miles, but it really was about 9.5. But let's round up.

I ended feeling good and strong. At about 7 miles my left foot really hurt, but that faded. The weather helped--it was cool and cloudy the whole time.

I [heart] a good sandwich

Last night Sweet LJ and I headed over to Oakhurst Jazz Night. It had going for it:

• Free
  
• BYO food and drink
  
• BYO dog (optional)
  
• Starts at 7 PM
  
• outside

The weather was nice, and the music was good. I don't know anything about jazz, and this band sounded a little bluegrassy to me? Jazz people probably want to kill me right now.

We had tortellini salad (fresh YDFM tortellini, roasted yellow and red peppers, mixed greens, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P), fab roast beef sandwiches, and 2 of my favorite under-$10 bottles of cab: McManis and Pine & Post.

Good times, good times.

No running Thursday or Friday.

Race Photo

Race photogs usually miss me--maybe because I put my number on my hip a lot? Anyway, I tried to be seen at the official photo thing near the finish of the ING Half, and it worked. And boy, it's not good! I look slightly crazy. Also, I look a little like Amelia Earhart. It's so bad, I only showed it to Sweet LJ and he agreed that I looked like a slightly crazy Amelia Earhart. I wish they'd take your picture at the beginning of the race but maybe they want to weed out the DNFs. On second thought, why would the photo company care whether you DNF?

Peachtree Anxiety

Again this year I forgot about the Peachtree Road Race application. I remembered 3 days after it was published (4 days if you count the Saturday early edition of the Sunday AJC). I sent in my app on March 20, I think. My check hasn't been cashed, but I haven't gotten it back in the mail, either. Cross your fingers.

Last July 4 was a good time, even without the race. Sweet LJ and I rode bikes and picked blackberries along the bike trail--enough for a cobbler. woot! foraging is fun! But the race is like being in a parade. And that's good fun.

Wednesday's Dinner

Sweet LJ cooked me one of his famous dishes last night: Pecan Crusted Tilapia. (I think I called it Croasted last night since it's crusted and roasted.) Anyway, he mixes together some dijon mustard and a little mayo, slathers it on some tilapia, and coats the fish with finely chopped pecans. (He's also made it with walnuts, which I might like even better.) Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Thanks, Sweet LJ.

I made a multigrain pilaf to go with it: Cook some brown basmati rice, quinoa, and bulghur. (I already had these cooked, so it came together fast.) Saute red and yellow peppers and add the grains and a bit of water if it's too dry. Last night I stirred in some chopped fresh Italian parsley because I had some. What's really good is to saute the peppers with chopped walnuts, and then add the rice. Since we were having the croasted tilapia, I thought it's be nut overload.

Yesterday's Run

So, yesterday I ran from work to my car parked at the MARTA station where I'd left it that morning. About a month ago, I started doing this 1-2 evenings a week to get in more miles. The route I normally take is kind of boring with too much concrete, so I changed it up a little yesterday. The new route is more scenic and shady, but the roads are narrower with more cars parked on the street. I think I'll stick with it, though, especially due to the shade.

It's a nice way to get home from work, especially when I notice all the solo drivers, desperate to get home, cutting people off, blocking intersections, running red lights, not looking for pedestrians for cyclists.

Disappointment

This month I'm participating in the Walk There! Challenge and diligently wearing my pedometer--mainly because the promo materials said they'd be awarding 22 ipod shuffles every week! For a month!! I thought my odds were pretty good.

Yesterday 2 weekly winners were announced. My Commuter Rewards lady Crystal explained to me that 22 total would be given out each week for all the metro "areas" participating. Each area gets 2. Odds not so good.

What we ate Monday

Sweet LJ is such a good sport about eating what I cook. He's always so generous, even about the bad stuff--like the time he said, "the onions were a little raw," when the whole dish tasted like raw onions and he hates onions. He really seems to like this original creation, and I do, too:


Chickpeas with Pasta
8 oz whole wheat linguine. I like Delverde, and I especially like translated-into-English websites!
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced or pressed using your favorite garlic press
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 roasted red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 roasted yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 c. quartered cherry tomatoes
2 T. chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper and red pepper flakes

Cook the pasta. While it cooks, saute the garlic in olive oil for a minute or so. Add the chickpeas, peppers, and tomatoes. Simmer together for about 10 minutes. Drain and add the pasta to the veg. (I tong out the pasta and drop it in the vegs to save washing a colander, plus I like a bit of pasta water in there to keep things loose.) Toss it all together. Stir in the basil. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste.

Variations: Add some zucchini. Don't roast the peppers first (not as good). Don't add any peppers and add more tomatoes. Use 2 cans of chickpeas. Etc. A very adaptable "recipe."

Why am I thinking about this 2 days later? I ate some for lunch today. Oh yeah, it makes a lot.