Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Week Five
I am back in the saddle again … or at least my running shoes.
Taking advantage of the beautiful sunny weather in Madison and the diversity of races I decided I would train for my first race post-collegiate racing.
Using Runnersworld.com’s Smart Coach I assembled a training schedule based on my current miles per week and approximate speed. I have made some modifications and upped my miles with some morning shake-out runs, but otherwise, I am moving on to week five. This is my best solo-training I have done since I graduated from Central.
Training Schedule
Obviously the training doesn’t stop at week eight. I decided to not bore you with all of the minuscule details. I also formatted it into the Mac OS X Numbers program because I am particular about my spreadsheets. I keep a copy at work so I can cross off each of my runs. This really motivates me to keep up with my program. Not to mention, I am buying new shoes in July.
Dinner on a Dime
Lately people have been mentioning their dining habits during college or grad school. It seems everyone is on these very minimal budgets where they only spend $100 a month on groceries. Robb and I spend much more than that. Yet, we are on a strict budget. I am still paying back some loans from my undergrad degree and we are living on grad student salaries which amounts to … not a lot. I don’t feel like I have ever had to survive solely on Easy Mac, Ramen, tuna, eggs or oatmeal. Granted, I do like the latter three foodstuff from that list, but I don’t feel like my diet has suffered deficiencies or the typical college student diet.
So this leaves me pondering a few questions:
- Are we spending too much on food?
- What do other people spend their earnings on to leave so little for groceries?
- Do I value good food more than the next person?
- Do other people budget in food?
- Did I miss out on having the typical college student diet?
- Did my nutrition science degree help me just make smarter choices?
Does anyone have any other insight?
Note: I attempted to find a photo of Cup of Noodles and it made my stomach hurt. So, I leave you with no picture.
The Return of the Baker
Now that summer is here and classes are out, I have time to bake, cook and organize. A few of my favourite things.
The laboratory I work in is full of hardworking Masters, PhD, and post doc students. My colleagues and advisor come from international backgrounds. I am actually the only U.S. born citizen in my lab. It makes for a lot of diversity. Culturally and habitually, I like to celebrate people’s birthdays. Mostly by just making them a cake. Throwing parties can become rather time consuming and overwhelming for me. (Robb’s party was a blast, but I was worn out afterwards and thankful I wouldn’t have to plan another until next June.)
I have volunteered to be the birthday cake maker in my lab. I surprised one of my co-workers by bringing a chocolate cake to celebrate. I loved how excited she was to have had someone remember her. Not to mention, the cake was a huge hit in our department.
I now present… my chocolate cake with mocha frosting and strawberries. Yum! (From Joy of Cooking)
Trials and Tribulations … of Basil
Nothing says summer like fresh vegetables and herbs from your garden.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for our garden this year.
The frost and heat and flooding seriously affected our plants’ abilities to germinate, let alone, to grow. On top of that, we have come to realize how much maintenance our plot needs from us to have any success. Travelling, visitors, schoolwork and work have kept us overly busy and thus we have neglected our plot.
It was like a kick in the gut when we visited the plot the other weekend. Overtaken by weeds, our few surviving plants were not very happy. The community gardens we belong to post notices if your garden falls well below the standards they set. Ours was there. But thankfully, we had a week to clean it up before the notes would be posted (posted on a monthly basis).
Robb and I spend hours weeding, spreading mulch and planting seeds. Our garden consists of only a few vegetable plants but hopefully we will reap the benefits.
Moving on. (This was my intro to our pesto pasta dinner).
We began with five basil plants. One of which we brought home so that we may have fresh basil daily. This plant died. Out of the other four plants in the garden, we had one surviver. Hurrah! But still, it was so tiny it wouldn’t produce enough for even a teaspoon of pesto. Yet, we had a craving for that nutty basil dish.
My standby recipe for pesto is from The Joy of Cooking.
In a food processor blend together into small particles:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup parmesan
2 cups basil, loosely packed
1/3 cup pine nutsSlowly add:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts may be substituted for pine nuts. These can also be toasted for an alternative flavour. Spinach can also replace part of the basil to enhance the flavor. Possibilities are endless.
We added the pesto to a pot of linguine pasta and garnished with shrimp!*
There is no better way to enjoy this meal than on the couch watching Ghost Hunters. (We watched the House of Spirits episode.) Well, perhaps there is. But we don’t have a patio. And our apartment overlooks a busy road. Some day.
*I am sorry we don’t have any photographs. We ate everything too quickly!
Happy Birthday to me
Yesterday was my birthday. I just thought the internet should know how amazing my wife is.
Exhibit 1.
I was woken up by Jessie and handed a box. Inside the box was a bottle from my favorite whisky distillery, Laphroaig.
What a way to start the morning!
Exhibit 2.
After work, Jessie invited me to meet her down at the lakefront. Surprise! A crowd of friends from work and church were there to enjoy rhubarb pie, ice cream, and fine Wisconsin beverages as the sun set on my special day.
(Note: The above picture is not the actual pie consumed on my birthday. However, this pie was made by Jessie about a week prior.)