Acorn Squash Updated for Spring

Acorn Squash is not known as a spring veggie, but I ordered one from Fresh Direct a few weeks ago and I really needed to do something with it.

I found Smitten Kitchen through a Google search for "unusual acorn squash recipes" although I don't think she used the term "unusual." It started with roasting in the oven.

Then I made a sort of sauce with cilantro, lime juice, garlic, toasted arbol chili peppers, and a little olive oil.

The result was delicious paired with a fontina/guacamole quesadilla.

Surfeit of shelves.

Half-hearted.

Hello

I've been a real slacker lately, at least as it relates to this blog. But that's only because I've been so busy moving back to the States (hello again, New York), getting a new job (hello, POKE), and shopping (hello credit card). Up next: apartment hunting (hello, sticker shock), moving (hello, annoying), and the holidays (hello, friends and family).

Siblings

This is me with my two siblings. We've never all been in the same place before--it was pretty cool.

Hopefully we'll all get to hang out again!

Endorphins...or just gasping for air?

I am not a runner. I admire friends who run like DesignLadyNYC. She's raising money for Race For the Cure and tracking her runs with Nike+, which I find completely awesome. Yay Jerlyn! And then there's my friend Ericka who managed to do a half-marathon in the middle of raising her two gorgeous boys. Double-yay Ericka!

But I have NEVER liked running. I would be embarrassed to use Nike+ because my posts would say "Gardenia ran 1 mile at a speed of 3.2." Lame. But you have to do something, right? So today I ran. And thanks to a podcast from Motiontraxx, it didn't suck at all. I think that part of the reason I don't like running is I get really bored. I've tried music, but if you don't get the tempo right, it just doesn't work, and most of the music I enjoy listening to doesn't exactly work. I've tried audiobooks (like Ericka) or podcasts from NPR (naturally), but that only works if you also like running, which I don't. The Motiontraxx podcast was perfect: built in tempo, duration, and intervals, and a soothing voice telling you when to change tempo. I will definitely be downloading more tracks from them.

Not sure how far or fast I went--I do know there were a LOT of hills, most of them up. The podcast I used was 32:15, but I wasn't home by the end of it and probably went another 10 minutes. So maybe 45 minutes of running and walking intervals. That's got to be at least 3 miles, right? Yay me!

Here is me, post workout:

 

Just what I needed.