I am a freak!

It is official, I have taken the cake on this one. I just did my 20 minute run/walk workout in my house. I didn't get my ass out of bed this morning while it was still cool and frankly I just wanted to get it over with so I did it in my house. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I ran through the living room and into the kitchen and back again. At some point I moved the dining room table over so that I could "run around" my dining room as well. 600 square feet never felt so big. The cat couldn't stop looking at me with his confused face on though.

This was my second workout of the day. I really need to get in shape and am determined to jump start something. I did the 45 minute Kathy Smith kickboxing workout. It is a killer and I hope to see some results this week with my amped up routine. I have one more workout to do today, yoga.

Good Food, Great Friends

Mexican Sangria:

4 cups red wine ( One bottle)

2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup fine sugar

2 limes or apples sliced to garnish when served

Combine wine, fruit juices and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Make ahead of time so that the flavors can combine. Keep in fridge and serve with ice if you want. I served cold from the fridge. This is a good way to tart-up really cheap wine. I used Crane Lake, which is a $3 wine I got from Henry's. I actually think this wine is worse than 2-buck-Chuck on its own. It was quite delicious with fruit juice and sugar added to it. Of course, what isn't?

I had our friends Heath and Kim over for dinner. Nasr had a practice so it was just the four of us, including little Liam. I served black bean burritos, cold asparagus salad and sangria. It was a nice evening to just hang out.

The first day of the rest of my life...

... was supposed to be a week ago Monday, then it got postponed until Friday. Inevitably Friday came and went so absolutely it was gonna start on the following Monday. Today is Tuesday and tomorrow, for sure, I will start my running regime.

My running history in a small nut shell:

New Years 2007 my sister and I signed up for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon with the goal of starting to run. Neither of us are athletic nor had any desire to run before this. We started off slow and built up our mileage. We completed that race and then trained for another one, the Run Surf City half, which we completed February 2008. I will spare you the gory details except for this, Disney was 100 degrees and Huntington beach was pouring down rain. Not ideal race conditions, but we completed them and felt accomplished and proud.

I haven't run consistently since, yet all the while fantasizing about various races I want to complete. You kinda gotta run to be a runner! My sister however has continued to kick ass and has completed 2 half marathons since. To get my own ass in gear, I signed up for the Carlsbad half- marathon scheduled for January 2010. It is daunting and frustrating to have to build up my mileage again. I am so out of shape, I can't believe I let myself go like this... waah, waah, waah. Oh well, enough, I have to move on. I am starting with a beginner training schedule that I found on line. It is ten weeks, 3 times a week. It looks like this:

Week 1- 2 min run, 3 min walk x4

Week 2- 3 min run, 3 min walk x4

Week 3- 4 min run 4 min walk x4

Week 4- 6 min run, 4 min walk x3

Week 5- 6 min run, 3 min walk x3

Week 6- 8 min run, 3 min walk x2

Week 7- 10 min run, 2 min walk x2

Week 8- 12 min run, 3 min walk x2

Week 9- 15 min run, 2 min walk x2

Week 10 - 30 min run

Vegan Faux Fish Tacos ( Rubios Copy Cat)

While I have never tasted an actual Rubios fish taco, my dear omnivore husband has eaten his fair share. I tweaked a copy cat recipe I found on line and made it vegan. This recipe gets the hubby seal of approval, which is a big deal because his eating tofu is usually out of obligation. I guess everything tastes better beer-battered. I had never fried anything until I tried this recipe. I must admit I was a little nervous. It was surprisingly easy. I use my $7 IKEA wok. It works perfectly. I pour the used oil into an empty jar when I am finished. Also, a note about beer. Some beer or perhaps most beer is not technically vegan. If you are concerned, you can use water in place of the beer or seek out a vegan beer. If you are vegan, you probably already know which ones those are. Enjoy!

Faux fish Tacos (vegan Rubios copycat recipe)
serves 8

Ingredients:

Package extra firm tofu (frozen in the package and then thawed,
this gives a "meaty" texture. After it is thawed, drain under weights when ready to use)
corn tortillas


BEER BATTER
1cup flour
1cup cold beer
garlic powder(to taste)
pepper(to taste)


WHITE SAUCE
1/2cup veganaisse
1/2cup plain soy yogurt
garlic, to taste (I use at least one clove)


Salsa ( I use premade "fresh" salsa from the store)
1garlic clove, peeled and minced
6tomatoes, ripe, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2onion, minced
2cilantro leaves, chopped, stems removed
2jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped
1 1/2teaspoons salt
1/4teaspoon pepper

oil(for deep frying)

Garnish
Nori sheets to add that "sea" taste
1cabbage shredded
1lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS
Prepare salsa; reserve.
Mix flour with favorite spices such as garlic powder, red or black
ground pepper.
Stir the flour mixture into the beer and mix until well blended.
Put the vegetable oil into a deep skillet and bring to 375°F
Cut tofu into 1/2 in thick "fillets", dip in batter and place in
oil. Cook until batter is crispy and golden brown.
Heat corn tortillas lightly in a skillet until they are soft and hot.
To assemble, on each tortilla layer the tofu fillet, white sauce,
salsa and cabbage and a piece of nori . Top it off with a squeeze of lime.