by Sam Tackeff | Oct 2, 2014 | Fitness, Lists
I spent the day on enforced rest to try to heal up quickly and get back to the action. It’s so easy to forget how important rest is to a healthy and active lifestyle. Well, and sleep. But we all know that!
Today I wasn’t up for doing much. My brain was just as shot as my body. So I spent time reading through a few of my favorite blogs, truthfully, not getting far from my bed. Sometimes we just really need to rest.
Let’s talk a little bit about goal setting. I’m not the type of person who is shattered if I don’t complete a goal that I’ve set for myself – for me, goal setting is really “intention setting” and “visualization”. If I can’t visualize it, it likely won’t happen. And I’m competitive. So more often than not, I finish what I intend to. Goal setting isn’t something that I have to do, but I really enjoy the process, and find that I get more done when I take the time to jot down a few things at the beginning of each month and season.
October Goals
Kitchen journaling :: my kitchen journal got an upgrade (see above). This year I’m writing down my meals (and workouts) (and other momentous notes) in a bright yellow August to August planner. Did you use these when you were in school? They are my favorite paper planners!
Self Care Calendar :: every month, I like to focus on little things to take care of myself. This month I need to get back into the habit of regular manicures. I got off of the bandwagon, and my hands suffered. Fitfluential has a timely #FFWellness challenge with Grokker all month, so I’ll be playing along with that too.
Home Cooking :: eating real food. I’ve been doing a few food related freelance projects that have me eating healthily and well – tonight’s chicken and cucumber salad was part of it. The better I eat, the better I’ll perform at my marathon next month.
Giving back :: every month I try to think of different ways to give back to my community (in Jewish tradition, this is called Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world. This month I’m going to be organizing some of my current charitable donations, which I try to expand upon as much as I can. Additionally, I work as the coordinator for local alumnae interviews at my college (Wellesley), and the early admission season is just starting now! I can’t wait to help some amazing high schoolers get into their dream school. It’s totally selfish really, one day these women will take over the world.
Fall foods :: so many amazing fruits and vegetables to take advantage of this month! I’m looking at you – apples, artichokes, Asian pears, avocados, basil, blackberries, carrots, cippolini onions, corn, cucumbers, dahlias, French prunes, fresh olives, grapes, jujubes, lettuces, melons, new crop dates, onions, peppers, persimmons, plums, pomegranates, potatoes, radicchio, radishes, shelling beans, strawberries, summer squash and early winter squash, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, Valencia oranges, and wax beans! (Okay, I stole that list from the CUESA email, which I still look forward to each week. We don’t have quite the selection here on the East Coast!)
Spin class :: I’d like to go back and try a spin class now that I’ve biked 300 miles in September. My hunch is that I will have more power!
Watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix :: Yep, it’s a goal. Note, I did not say “binge watch all of the seasons of Gilmore Girls that were just released onto Netflix, Hallelujah!” but.. that’s sort of what I was thinking.
Triathlon future planning :: So, apparently, with this sport, you have to plan WAYYYYY in advance. But, I guess that’s for the best, because you can’t really just wing a multi-hour endurance event. I’m weighing my options for a 70.3 race next season. Currently I’m debating between Pumpkinman, Timberman (official Ironman 70.3), and Patriot. (A local race). If I finish my 20 miler without dying in two weeks, then I’m going to register for one, assuming they haven’t all sold out. Anyone want to sponsor me?
Good things happening in October:
October 6th – Devon’s birthday (there will be a farm trip, and pho)
October 11 – Sukkot, the Jewish Harvest Holiday – we eat chili outside under the sukkah!
October 12th – the B.A.A. Half (13.1 miles to glory!)
October 13th – Tufts 10k (All women! Joan Benoit Samuelson runs the race and then gives everyone a high five!)
October 17th -19th Wellesley Alumnae Leadership Council – my best friend Lizzy is coming from Minnesota to visit me for this!
October 18th – 20 miles on the calendar
October 26th – Newburyport Half Marathon
October 31st – Halloween
I have to rest up, and get better quickly! There’s so much to see and do! What are you up to this month?
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 1, 2014 | Books, Soups
I’m ashamed to admit that it has been far too long since I’ve actually sat down to breakfast of my own making in my house. Usually it’s a few eggs, made into frittata, unceremoniously wrapped in a paper towel and ziplock, and eaten on the go. Or, I’ll stop by a coffee shop near the office and grab something small – or a treat – a seeded bagel toasted with cheddar cheese. But today, run down, and tired, I went to the kitchen and fried some eggs, made a small pot of Turkish coffee, and sat, watching the rain come down. My body, it seems, is due for a little bit of rest.
While foraging in the freezer this afternoon, I stumbled across a single frozen bag of soup – marked 10/1/13 “Pork, Bean, and Sauerkraut“. Exactly a year to the day from when I stirred the pot – I knew I was to have this for lunch. The recipe is a beautiful one: Marcella Hazan’s La Jota – made with pork jowl, and fresh cranberry beans, from her brilliant work ‘Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking‘. I’ve learned so much from that book over the years, and this soup is a winner – cooked ever so lovingly last year, as it was the day after I heard that Marcella had died.
Fortified with soup, I worked through the afternoon, wrapping myself in blankets and hopping on the office hangouts – until I could stand being in the house no longer, and I shut my computer. I was hoping to head into the gym – it’s been so long! – but I knew that with how I was feeling it would be unwise, so option two was a quick bite to eat out of the house. I ended up at 51 Lincoln, where I (uncharacteristically) opted for a small cocktail – the old monk – hoping, seriously, to kill any germs (I drank half, I’m too much of a lightweight), and shared a few small plates: chicken liver pate, home made chorizo, and panisses, over conversation with a dear friend.
I’m still feeling unwell. Perhaps this is my body telling me that after cycling 300 miles in September, I need a little bit of rest.
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 30, 2014 | Fitness, Lists, Random
There’s been about three hours of Ironman triathlon coverage on television tonight, and I’ve been developing delusions of joining the big kids in a 70.3 next year. This year I competed in two sprint triathlons, and the fire inside is growing. Here’s the rub: I’m a slow runner. Frankly, I’m really slow at all sports. I know that I’ll never win a 5k, but somehow, I’ve had it in my head that I’m built for long endurance. I can go, go, go, albeit slowly, for hours at a time, and I don’t like quitting. This feels like a story that is just beginning for me.
It feels good to have things that you are completely terrified of, and in a tiny part of your heart know that it just MIGHT be achievable.
And because, despite how it may look outside, I’m still holding onto summer in my kitchen, I’ve been reading through the latest issue of Jamie magazine. I have yet to get a subscription, but Whole Foods has it in the adult candy aisle, for a cringe-worthy $10.99, and I’m a sucker for the alternative food magazines.
I love almost all publications from the UK, and Jamie Oliver has long since been one of my culinary heroes. This magazine just delights me on a regular basis. Here are some of the other food magazines I love that you may not have read yet:
Alternative Food Magazines of Note –
On my list, that I haven’t read yet, but know I should be: Cherry Bombe!
Do you subscribe to any of these? Any others I should be reading?
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 29, 2014 | Photography
Pretty much all I want to do today is run around throwing leaves everywhere, drinking hot chocolate, and frolicking. It’s here! FALL IS HERE!
Other things of note:
:: 29 miles until I get to 300 miles cycled in September with RunKeeper. Only 1.5 days left to go!
:: 40 days until I run a marathon. Probably should start running again
:: Reading: Nick Harkaway’s Angelmaker, Shroom, Dinner – The Playbook
:: Eating: fresh shell beans, meat from my Walden Local Meat share
:: Drinking: iced coffee. (I’m from New England. I’ll drink it all year long.)
:: Back in rotation for stew, stocks, and other warming dishes: my Instant Pot!
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 27, 2014 | Salads
Okay, I know that technically summer was over a week ago. But I’m refusing to let the season go. Here’s one last recipe that you can make year round to remind you of the glory of the summer season. It’s a dish that I’ll affectionately refer to here as the “whoops, I have to bring something to a party and I’m already 20 minutes late salad”. The great thing about this dish is that you can make it a few hours in advance, and it only tastes better as it sits. You can use fresh corn or frozen, gorgeous bursting summer tomatoes or those year round grape tomatoes – just make sure they are ripe!
This recipe also makes great use of my favorite kitchen tool: kitchen shears. You don’t have to be all fancy and get a real pair of kitchen shears, you can also just buy a great pair of scissors, and re-purpose them as “kitchen-only”. They work through cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs in no time.
{Pretend That It Is} Summer Corn + Tomato Salad
16 ounces sweet corn kernels (frozen or about 4 cobs worth of corn)
3 tablespoons salted butter
salt and pepper
16 ounces of cherry tomatoes
a dozen or so basil leaves
a container of mini-mozzarella balls (marinated are good!)
drizzle of good balsamic (optional)
In a skillet over medium high heat, melt butter and heat corn kernels until warmed through. Take off heat, transfer to a large bowl. With a pair of kitchen shears, chop cherry tomatoes in half directly into the bowl. Tear a handful of basil into the bowl, and toss in a container of mini mozzarella balls. (Choose the size of your choice – they make these in a range of tiny to medium size. All will work! Toss everything together, taste, season with salt and pepper, toss again – you likely won’t need much salt if you used salted butter – and drizzle, if you’d like, with a bit of good balsamic vinegar. Let sit for an hour at room temperature for flavors to meld, or stick in the fridge for several hours, take out, and let settle to room temperature before serving.
