I am in the process of getting organized for summer and, as a part of this giant undertaking, I have been trying to make meal planning a little bit easier for myself. I am not really all that control-freaky about it now, but I would like to be a bit more organized with my sources of inspiration (cookbooks, websites, emails from friends' recipe exchanges...)

A couple of weeks ago I promised to post a recipe for a veggie rice bowl. This recipe comes together fairly quickly and tastes great- the fresh ginger is a highlight. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Veggie Rice Bowl
Makes 2-3 generous servings

Olive oil
1/2 package (8 ounces) firm tofu (not silken), cubed
Teriyaki sauce (I like Trader Joe's "Island Soyaki")
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms (about 10)
2 cloves of garlic, minces
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 inch of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
6 green onions, chopped
4-6 cups chopped bok choy
1/2 teaspoon shichimi togarashi (or red chili flakes, adjust amount to your desired level of spice)
2 cups cooked brown rice

1. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute tofu until lightly browned. Reduce heat to medium-low and add enough teriyaki sauce to generously coat tofu and to have some sauce in the pan and cook a couple more minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat a little more olive oil over medium heat and add mushrooms, garlic, and carrots. Saute until veggies begin to soften a bit then add ginger, green onions, and bok choy. Cook just until bok choy is wilted and slightly soft then add tofu and teriyaki sauce and remove from heat. Serve over brown rice.

My sinuses are irritated and my throat is scratchy. I'm not full-blown sick, just a little off of normal and feeling tired. I did get my run in this morning, though, and that takes care of half of the problem. The half that turns me inside out and upside down when the mornings are dark and the grass is frosted over. When I run, I get into my groove by the middle of the first song on my playlist and then I'm on my way to feeling a billion times better than when I woke up.

After lunch I took the kids out for a little exploring in our neighborhood. The weather has been amazing here, with temperatures in the 60s, and we've been outside a lot for January. While I'm walking I breathe in the warm air trying to sense every detail of its layers. Earth. Grass. Leaves. Wet mossy rocks. Skunk. Yes, skunk.

The comfort of a little sunshine and fresh air, splashes of rocks in the creek, and golden light highlighting moments framed by tree boughs helps a lot. Then a warm drink, a little quiet, and finally a soft blanket will help to ease the rest. Exploring, nourishing, and soaking in.

This little drink that I threw together is so warming and felt good on my scratchy throat. It is definitely a repeater!

Spiced Scratchy Throat Elixer

• Whole spices of choice (I used 1 cinnamon stick, 3 green cardamom pods, and 3 cloves)
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Honey or agave nectar, to taste (about 1 tablespoon)

1. Heat the water and the whole spices to a simmer in a small pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Note: You can also toast the spices a bit in a dry pan before adding the water, but it isn't necessary.
2. Juice 1/2 of a lemon into a mug then add a dash of cayenne, and honey (or agave) to taste. Strain and pour the water into the mug and stir well.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine applesauce (or other puree), milk, flax "egg", brown sugar, oil, molasses, and maple extract in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and nuts. Add wet ingredients and stir until just combined (don't over-mix). Bake in an oiled muffin pan for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and chili peppers. Saute until onions and potatoes are beginning to brown then add coriander, oregano, chili powder, sea salt, and beans.
2. Put enough salsa to cover the bottom into the crockpot. For enchiladas, place a generous scoop of the sweet potato mixture onto a tortilla and top with a little cheese. Roll up like a burrito and place, fold down, into the crockpot. Repeat until the bottom of the crockpot is full. Spoon salsa on top of the enchiladas (reserving some if you will be doing another layer) and sprinkle lightly with cheese. If another layer is necessary to use up the filling, it is ok to stack them! When you have finished, cover the top of the enchiladas with the remaining salsa and sprinkle with cheese. Cook on high for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Checking to make sure that the bottom doesn't burn after about 2 hours.

The colors of fall are appearing all over the place where I live. I absolutely love running at sunrise this time of year! The light is golden and it shines through the leaves of red, gold, orange, and brown that line the streets of my neighborhood.

Simple beauty first thing in the morning is a great way to start the day!

I love the green heart in the middle of this leaf!

To help us get into the fall spirit, the kids and I took a trip to Apple Hill a couple of weeks ago.

 

We had some treats (apple turnover and apple strudel):

Visited some farm animals...

...including a "plaid" chicken (in the words of my five year old)...

...walked a hay maze...

...and came home with a box of apples, pears, squash, cider, and mulling spices:

I bought three kinds of apples: Gala (for eating), Fuji (for applesauce), and Granny Smith (for pie or crisp).

I used the Fuji apples for this applesauce and they were perfect. I don't usually eat a lot of applesauce but my kids do (one of their favorite breakfasts is oatmeal with applesauce and raisins). This sauce is so good, though, that I added some to my morning oats too.

It tastes just like apple pie- yum!

Easy Crockpot Applesauce
Makes about 32oz.

About 10 sweet apples (Gala or Fuji work well), cored chopped (you don't need to peel them)
~1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice (or more water)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Place all ingredients in your crockpot and stir to coat apples with cinnamon. Cook on high for several hours (4-ish) until apples are very soft. 
2. Turn off the crockpot and let apples cool until they are no longer steaming hot. Pour into a blender and blend until smooth. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, mash the apples with a fork or potato masher instead of blending.

• Olive oil
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled* and finely chopped (a food processor makes finely chopping the squash quick and easy!)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, chopped
• 1 cup chopped or sliced mushrooms
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 cups cooked beans (black, white, kidney, pinto, or a mix. I cooked black and white dry beans, but you can used canned to make this quick.)
• 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 1-3 cups of water, if needed to reach desired thickness
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. If you are using dry beans, soak them overnight then thoroughly cook them before adding them to the chili. Tips for improving the digestibility of beans can be found here.
2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the squash, onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms. Saute until veggies begin to get tender, 10-15 minutes. If you plan to use a crockpot, saute the veggies in a skillet then add them with the ingredients in the steps below to the crockpot.
3. Add chili powder, cumin, beans, and broth (and water if you need to thin the chili). Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until veggies are very tender. Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

I am relieved to say that I finished my second half marathon on Sunday! I was so nervous before the race!

All geared-up and trying not to freak out:

The finisher's tee is so...YELLOW!

Finisher's necklace by Tiffany:

NWM = Nike Women's Marathon. The back of the necklace says "I run to be." with room for engraving so that we can add our own reason for running...

With 20,000 runners, this race is the largest marathon and half marathon in the country. The proceeds help to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This race has raised over $118 million over the past 8 years for the cause and I ran in memory of my father-in-law who passed away from complications related to lymphoma in 2008.

The weather was perfect but the course was even hillier than I remember and it was a hard run!

I completely earned my post-race cupcake and Blue Bottle latte by the bay:

Perfect, perfect weather (with the Bay Bridge in this shot)!

The physical exertion of this kind of event is challenging but, like many others before me, I definitely think that the mental race is the hardest part. I was struggling with stomach issues through the entire race (and a few hours afterwards) and my mind was all over the place.

The race was in San Francisco, which holds a special place marker in time for me. I worked in the city in the late 1990s and my life was quite different back then. My time visiting the city and running the race on Sunday gave me pause and brought about some much-needed reflection on "back in the day". A few of my favorite memories from working in SF:

• Taking the ferry boat to and from the city. The sound of the fog horn, the smell of the engine, the splashy sound of the water while boarding...I even saw a whale from the boat one morning- what a great way to commute!
• Flower venders selling spring flowers in little kiosks all over the place. The smell of the flowers (especially the Stargazer lilies) permeated even the stinkiest parts of the city. Amazing.
• The little bakery across the street from my office building that had warm, freshly baked cinnamon rolls every morning.
• Driving through the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge (on non-ferry days). Especially on winter nights near Christmas because I love to see the lights and trees in windows.

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (176ºC). In a large bowl, combine the first 12 ingredients (oats through salt). Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine without over-mixing. Let it rest for a minute before dropping in large spoonfuls (about 1/2 cup each) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for a 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF (149ºC). Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Put the onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, garlic, and carrots in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Saute the veggie mixture for a few minutes (until beginning to soften). Add spinach, corn, chili powder, paprika, pepper, and salt and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Lightly toss the bread crumbs with a little olive oil. Spread the bread crumbs and walnuts on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper in a thin layer. Bake until they begin to brown (about 10 minutes).
4. Put the brown rice in the food processor and process until it is beginning to clump together. Add the beans and process to chop them.
5. In a large bowl, combine the veggies, rice and beans, bread crumbs and walnuts, and cranberries. Form into patties and fry in a lightly oiled skillet until browned on both sides (flip once). Serve in a whole grain bun with avocado or on top of salad greens with your favorite dressing.

• Sunflower Drive-In "Nut Burger"
• Tower Cafe "Earth Burger"
• The Counter veggie burger