Wow, so it's been about 6 months, or more, since I've done any serious running at all. All that time at a desk job, not even having to walk across 1/4 mile of ship to get my dinner and it was time to take it up again. I let myslef believe that a couple of easy sessions on the elliptical walker last week was enough warm up to face the 2 mile treadmill. The first 1/4 mile I was pretty sure somebody was stabbing my knees with knives, but that feeling went away once the oxygen deprivation kicked in....anyway, I did run a total of two miles, just not all together in a row. I guess that 5k is going to have to wait a little while.
Okay, crock pot Pot roast - very tasty, and I discovered, much to my delight, that it is not necessary to brown the meat. OH and I've discovered a new and delightful restaurant up in Mill Creek... Azul, which has $3 appetizers for happy hour, and they're very very yummy. This alone would be enough, but they also have an excellent selection of microbrews on tap.
Not much other news to impart. My most exciting travel plans in the future look to be Cedar Rapids for two weeks in the fall. No more jetting off to Europe at a moment's notice.
Okay, I should start my mentioning that the crock pot fajitas were not an unqualified success. Very tasty, yes, but the texture was all wrong. A bit like pot roast fajitas. Not that it stopped me from having seconds. And then I mixed up the leftovers with a little BBQ sauce, on a french roll with swiss cheese in the toaster oven. VERY tasty.
I'd also like to mention that I found a new good restaurant in a very surprising location. I should begin by saying that I was driving from Oregon to Seattle this weekend, and the traffic was atrocious. I mean 5 mph through Chehalis, Centralia and Lacey. Not your usual bad traffic. So , by Lacey my sister and I were getting a bit hungry, and the traffic was at a dead stop, and on the highway sign, we saw a place called "A Bit of Europe". Needless to say, we were intrigued. We drove the required mile off the highway, and well, let me just say they had the best goulash I've ever eaten, in or out of Hungary. I wanted to lick the plate. And the medallions of pork with brandied cream sauce... yummy. I won't even mention the chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse filling and ganache for icing. I will say I dreamed that night that I was sitting inside a giant dumpling covered in gravy ....
So anyway, if you ever find yourself in Lacey... this is a huge giant step above McDonalds.
So, I've just bought a crock pot. And it's not something that I was brought up with, so I'm still learning how to cook in it. But it's a marvel. I love that I can throw a hunk of meat in to the pot in the morning and have dinner ready when I come home. Oh, and with a little more effort (but way less effort than say, making french toast) I made a really delightful bread pudding.
So here are my favorite recipes so far. You'll notice how short they are:
Corned Beef (for Rueben Sandwiches): buy a package of corned beef. Put in in the pot on low for 6-8 hours. Eat. (Leftovers: corned beef on rye, corned beef hash...)
Pulled Pork - buy a pork shoulder (don't be put off by the fat) cut the string. Rub with some spices (if desired - I used stuff from my cupboard, and some honey). Put in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Eat with mashed potatoes (if you're so inclined, you can make a really nice gravy from the drippings). Leftovers: mix with BBQ sauce for BBQ sandwiches.
Fajitas - I haven't actually eaten these yet, but they're tonight's dinner. Get some flank steak, rub with spices and garlic. Put in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. The recipe I read said to also throw in the onions and peppers, but I think that would make them mushy, so I'm grilling them separately. So far it looks promising. The meat is falling apart, but has a very nice fajita flavor. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Well still no news at work. No travel in my immediate future, but I'm getting to do a little training again , which is both fun and nerve wracking It's like slipping back into an old comfy sweater that you suddenly remember has a scratchy tag at the neck.
So the big news around here is, now that I'm home for what I hope to be a nice length of time, I'm going to TRY to toilet train my cat. I know, it's crazy. But he's already embraced with open paws the move of his litter box into the bathroom. Even if we get no further than the move from big stinky house in my living room to nice tidy flushable litter box next to the toilet, I'll be happy.