I got back in the pool today. It’s been a while, my arms were feeling it. My strokes were terrible, and I was *very* slow. But I got in the pool today! I got in about 1500 yards, warm up, a 10×100 set, and a cool down – to test my baseline 100 meters before I dive headfirst into my winter training plan. Next summer my triathlons are going to get kicked up a notch!

The weekend was low key. A dinner party with old friends, some headway with Jo Nesbø’s ‘The Bat’ – the first in the Harry Hole series. Reading my way through two gorgeous new cookbooks: Aarti Parti: An American Kitchen with an Indian Soul, and Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East and Beyond. There’s not much I like more in life than curling up on my couch with a mug of coffee and a new cookbook. Many bookmarks in each so far.

I picked up a few new products at Trader Joe’s worth mentioning – a honey trio sampler, the Sicilian single varietal extra virgin olive oil collection, uncured turkey cranberry apple sausages,  pumpkin pie mochi, and a jar of sambal matah, an Indonesian condiment with shallots, lemongrass, and peppers. I served it tonight with the chicken – that red shmear – and it was hot, punchy, and good! What can I say? I’m a sucker for new Trader Joe’s products (and by sucker I mean… they are almost always great.) Do you have any current Trader Joe’s favorites I can’t miss?

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Week of November 22nd

Thanksgiving week! Boy, am I looking forward to all of the eating. We’ll see if I manage to get a Turkey Trot in there, too. Things to use up in my kitchen: pretty much the same as last week – polenta, eggplant, onion, turkey cranberry sausage (cook for breakfasts), feta, goat cheese, eggs, sweet potatoes, cabbage, a whole mess of herbs, a little bit of applesauce, and bacon.

Saturday: a dinner party! We headed out to my friend Kevin’s house to have a little dinner party with him and his girlfriend, and another couple. I’ve known Kevin now for almost 18 years! It was all very civilized. We ate mushroom turnovers (yep, I brought Trader Joe’s to a dinner party), a garlicky kale salad, a winter fennel salad that I made, and butternut squash risotto. Dessert was apple crumble, coffee, and scotch.

Sunday: rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes I know that I’m going to need to eat more green vegetables, but I got in a massive fill at the party last night, and all I wanted was Whole Foods hot bar.

Monday: rotisserie chicken and christmas lima stew. When one has a rotisserie chicken for dinner, there are leftovers. Fortunately, I had a crockpot of christmas lima’s going in some broth this afternoon – a perfect vehicle for leftover chicken.

Tuesday: pork tenderloin, brussels sprouts, and sweet potato. These two sweet potatoes have been sitting in my house  for weeks, and I’ve set out some pork from my meat share to defrost in the fridge. I also have a dearth of bacon, so it might be pork on pork to jazz up this dinner.

Wednesday: egg night. At least I think that’s what’s going to happen. I try to make one night a week egg night, because it’s super easy, and also because I always have a few dozen eggs in the house that need eating.

Thursday: Thanksgiving Linner! We used to go to an antiseptic banquet hall for Thanksgiving every year, until a good part of the family staged a coup. Now we’ll be heading to my aunt’s house, and I know it’s going to be good.

Friday: out! Or more likely…a large pile of greens and some restorative broth.

What are you eating this week?

–– Sam