New Thing #112: Green is as green does

I love that quote from Kermit the Frog playing off the famous Forrest Gump line. I used the ham bone to make a batch of pea soup from the Joy of Cooking cookbook. As a child, this was something I avoided like the plague. Partly because of its odiferous cooking odor and partly because it was a brilliant shade of baby-poop green. Anyway, that dish was a food staple in our household that we enjoyed every time we ate ham, which though not often, seemed like a punishment for me - the green challenged one. I followed the recipe exactly (adding the garlic and red chili pepper flakes leftover from pizzas long digested) minus the stirring in of the rendered fat at the end. It was a very, very good soup. Even Kevin ate a small bowl of it and actually, as he said, it was a good recipe. The chili flakes wasn't something I remember my parents adding and my mom wasn't a fan of garlic, so those two ingredients (I felt) added a complexity to the flavor that I don't remember ... from not eating it before :) lol. Well, it was definitely a success but we'll see how it improves being refrigerated overnight. I plan to freeze a full, large tupperware container for my mom to enjoy.

New Thing #111: Oink oink!

Today I made ham – oink oink! It was delicious. I served a 4.5 lb. Trader Joes honey-baked style ham to Aisha and David who were over at our place helping to brew beer. I also served steamed artichoke, twice-baked potatoes, sauted shitake mushrooms and sweet onions. They provided a bottle of wine. The meal was very well recieved. Now, what do I do with 3 lbs of ham? Well, I'm going to turn it in to the famous pea soup mom and dad used to make from Joy of Cooking. I have high hopes for it to be delicious!

On a side note, New thing #111 happened on the 11th day! Creepy :)

New Thing #110: Yamming it up

"Here we go now, funk so brother." I made candied yams for the first time for dinner. We had two leftover yams from having Easter with K's parents and I decided to peel them, slice them up and put a little margarine and brown sugar on them and baked them at 250 F for 20 minutes or so. More on how they turned out.

Running Tips: How to get off the couch

it's not physical.. AT ALL.. your have to ask yourself what you really want. your mind will look for the easy way out.. your body is physically capable of soooo much more. the satisfaction of sitting on the couch and being lazy will last seconds.. the satisfaction of pushing yourself harder and further than you thought you could will last a lifetime.. and the results (obvious increased fitness levels and a stronger healthier body) will give you continued self satisfaction.
"run if you can.. walk if you have to.. crawl if you need to.. just don't quit" - DK

next time you go for a run.. and you are considering quiting and heading for the couch.. behonest with yourself as to WHY you want to quit.. is it because you can't put one foot in front of the other?.. I doubt it.. is it because you can't breathe? highly unlikely.. your mind is just looking for the easy way out. your body can go much farther.. much longer.. and you in the end will become much stronger.. physically AND mentally..

and in regard to your work schedule.. set your alarm and get up before work to work out... you will fee so much better ALL DAY LONG.. I promise.. after a couple days you will get into a routine and look forward to it.

just be honest with yourself.. "if you think you can or you can't.. you're right" HF