A full stomach

There are people who run so they can eat without compunction. And there are people who eat because they love to eat...and running's just a pastime. I identify with the latter.

I'm not a fussy eater; I love my food, but I never really liked to cook. My weekly attempts at stocking the refrigerator for the week have always resulted in hastily thrown together ingredients, a mish mash of flavors which could be tolerated, but definitely not enjoyed.

Since running became a regular feature in my life, however, I have begun to have serious food cravings (I am not exaggerating when I say that I day-dream of food). And with that, a curiosity about cooking. It helped that DH is a food connoisseur and is lavish with his praise at my attempts at creating anything edible. My stints in the kitchen never last more than 40-minutes at a time, though - that is the extent of my endurance.

Today's special was White beans and brown rice with turkey sausage; and sweet potatoes with garlicky greens (slightly modified, based on ingredients available) . The sweet potatoes were tossed with cayenne and rosemary, then baked at 375 degrees. The greens (collards) were deveined and cooked in a skillet with garlic and jalapeno peppers.
Rice was cooked in chicken stock; onions, bell pepper, tomatoes, turkey sausage and beans were sauteed, with thyme, bay leaf, ground black pepper and hot sauce as seasoning, and added to the cooked rice.

Both these recipes were featured in the October 2008 issue of Runner's World.

My only piece of advice - try one recipe at a time. Even after our nightly walk and brisk table-tennis session, I am burping sausage and sweet potato.