In the Now

Spring, sunshine, summer on it’s way, and the smiling spirits emerging all over London as part of it have me on the hunt for the new and different. Here’s what that entails lately:

1) Oatly – I’m super into iced coffee lately. And while I usually do hot coffee black, I tend to enjoy the milk option when it comes to iced. So I tried oat milk. And it’s totally hitting the spot. Wholefoods never let’s me down.

2) Speaking of Wholefoods … They started selling little packages of sprouting seeds! With the success of my Mung Beans, I’m totally ready for some alfalfa. Again, Wholefoods never let’s me down. And here’s a nice article on the benefits of sprouting, just in case you are considering jumping on the sprout train!

3) Beetroot article – Beetroot is one of my fave vegetables, and I’m a huge fan of the juice as I mentioned here. I like that it does lots of good for me in return.

4) Produce journal – Found this new gem this week. Less relevant for non UK residents, but as my sister says, I’m a pseudo Brit right now, and so I’m reading the literature accordingly.

5) On the Ball – I decided to make the most of the time I have left with a gym membership and access to equipment and have been using the ball to do this core workout. Supplemented by some of my other abdominal exercises, and it makes a nice core workout. I love a sore core!

6) Recipes, recipes, recipes – I have a never ending list of “I plan to make this” recipes, many of which realistically won’t happen for several months. Or maybe until next year. But vegan, chocolate lime pie? It just screams summer. Might as well add it to the list. At the top!

Now let’s go run in the sunshine!

Things Change

Hands down, by far, the best ratatouille I ever had was when I was living abroad for a summer with a family in France. I don’t know whether it was because it was just after I’d arrived and I was incredibly hungry, whether it was because I was so jet lagged, I finished eating and then proceeded to sleep for the next 13 hours, or whether it was because it was comfort food before I knew I needed comfort. Whatever the reason, it was awesome. And try as I might, I’ve never had any that tastes near as good.

I’d like to say that French adventure was the beginning of my travelling days, but reality is, it totally wasn’t. I spent those 6 weeks counting down the days until I was going to come home, unhappy in new places and surrounded by so many new people and vowing to never leave home again. But things change. And somewhere along the way I began to revel in just that: new places, new people, new adventure, new challenges. And creating new homes in new surroundings.

And so, next month, I’ll do it again. Leave London and go to new places to meet new people, be faced with new challenges and seek out new adventure. Things change. And I’m okay with that. Just like I’m totally okay with re-making ratatouille over and over again in a quest to have it as good as it was in France. As comforting, as delicious, as worthy of change and challenge. And in honour of this impending change, I think I got it. Well almost.

Ratatouille

Hearty, heartwarming and chock full of veggie goodness, this dish is sure to make you smile and satisfy any rumbling tummies!

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 small courgette, cut into chunks
1 small eggplant, cut into chunks
1 tsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
Sat and pepper
1 handful fresh basil leaves
1 cup spinach
3/4 cup chickpeas

Instructions

Cut courgette and eggplant into bite size chunks and lightly toss in olive oil and salt and pepper.

Place in oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit and roast until almost tender (about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, sauté onions and garlic. Add tomatoes, spices, water and tomato paste and reduce heat to a simmer.

Add roast veggies to saucepan, cover and let simmer until all vegetables are tender and sauce has thickened to desired consistency.

Add basil leaves, spinach and chickpeas, cooking until spinach is wilted.

Reduce heat to lowest setting and leave to flavour for a few hours, or enjoy immediately!

Because We’re Runners

And so we run. We lace up our sneakers, and we hit the road, reflectively putting in more miles and hours. Because those people in Boston? They would’ve run too. They would’ve run hard. When the going gets tough, we just run it out, hug it out, sweat it out. I say we, because as runners, this is part of us all. This is who we are, this is how we roll. The unbelievably tragic Boston events affected me more than I would have expected as I read about them on the trains passing back and forth through London. I was thousands of miles away, and yet my heart leapt for these people, and the whole thing brought tears to my eyes. It took me a few days to realize why I was so upset by everything and then I realized: it’s because I’m a runner too. So are you, and you and you. And somehow, we are part of this huge community, that we may not even realize we are part of until we see something like Boston. We are part of this group that trains hard, sacrifices lots, and devotes hours to pounding pavement, trails and tracks. Devotes hours to improvement, achievement, and overcoming failure and struggle. We are in many ways all the same, all one, just a huge group of dedicated individuals who toe the line in excitement, fear and nervousness with similar end goals and then regardless of the outcome, just do it all over again. And again and again. And so that’s what I’m doing. Just running again. Running again knowing that I’m thankful I can and taking a second to always re prioritize the most important things. Because when things can change in an instant, you can’t have the instant back to re prioritize. And so, as Mumford and Sons say, “love the one you hold,” and find the things that make you smile the most . . .