Awake

yoga

I have always had a love / hate relationship with Yoga.  It seems like something that I ought to do, and have often resolved to do more of, but don't truly enjoy.  When it comes to exercise, running is really my only love, maybe because of the sense of freedom it brings - I've always relished the feeling of leaving my house and feeling like I could run, run, run as far away as I needed to go, just on the strength of my legs and feet.  (Note the "feeling like"... not sure how far I could get, these days).  Whereas yoga... confined indoors, a ticking clock, shaking uncomfortably on a sticky mat as I hold my body in an awkward position for an awkward amount of time... it's never brought the same pleasure.  In fact, about a year ago I told myself that I officially gave myself permission to never go to another yoga class in my life, and I felt pretty great about that.

And yet, here I am, back at it.  Why?  Well, I've been feeling rather inflexible lately, rather creaky.  I haven't been running nearly as much as I used to, and I don't want to run as much as I used to, but I want to stay in shape.  I want to have good posture.  I can't afford pilates.  I need more inner calm. 

Bitter Herbs

Those of you who have ever attended a Passover Seder will know that as part of the sequence of events, a bitter herb is served, in memory of the bitterness of slavery.  The first time I ever went to a Seder, I didn't realize that the strange thing placed in front of me was a piece of horseradish root, and I took a nice, big, bite.  I couldn't hear another word after that, I was too busy trying not to cry in front of the other guests.

Well, I've been telling my husband that in our apartment, every week is Passover!  Lucky us... and this because I've been serving so many bitter greens lately, and seem to have completely forgotten how to prepare them properly. Last week it was Russian Kale, which I swear I've eaten before and enjoyed... I don't think I cooked it long enough this time, because oh boy was it bitter.  My husband and I were screwing our faces up like children as we ate.  But that was NOTHING compared to the dandelion greens that landed on our plates on Monday.  These tasted downright medicinal.  My husband, after a bite or two, said, "I'm sorry, I just can't," and pushed his plate away.  I didn't blame him.  (I ate his leftovers in a cheese sandwich last night - the bread and cheese cut some of the bite).  But seriously, we've had dandelion before too, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong here!  Should bitter greens always be cooked with garlic and pepper?  Someone told me this once but I didn't take it seriously... any advice welcome, before my husband divorces me or I end up with a permanently puckered face...

 

Catch of the Day

When I worked in an office and brought my lunch very often, I used to joke with a friend of mine about the "catch of the day."  The joke was that I would very often bring a meal that included some form of canned fish, either salmon, sardines, or anchovies.

My fondness for canned fish developed from a combination of health-consciousness and practicality.  From a health standpoint, I know that small fish (especially with the bones in them) are a good source of protein, healthy fats, and calcium, and because they're small you don't have to worry about mercury content as you do with tuna fish.  And for me the canned fish is very practical for a quick meal, because it requires no preparation at all and can easily be dumped into a salad or eaten alongside some cooked vegetables.  Also, my husband doesn't like fish so this is an easy way for me to squeeze them into my diet.

Well, the friend who would tease me about my boring 'catch of the day' will be pleased to hear that this weekend I've discovered a new catch: this canned mackerel.  I saw it at Citarella and bought it just to try it, but didn't have high hopes... I do like grilled mackerel, but it tends to be an oily, fishy-tasting fish, and so I wasn't sure how that would translate when packed into a tin.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  The flavor of this preparation was really mild, even more so than sardines, and it went very nicely into a lunch-time salad.  So, for other canned fish lovers, I recommend it, though at $5 a can it's pricier than sardines.  Still, nice for an occasional treat!