Firehouse. Recipe for a cold night.

When I was little, my nana (and then my mom) would make this dish called Firehouse. I always imagined firemen making it, and having to run out in the middle to fight a fire but coming back and finding it still tasty and delishous.

2 pork chops. Mine were pastured from the farm down the street. Salt & pepper the chops.

1 onion, sliced.

3 red potatoes, or 2 larger ones, sliced.

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup milk or cream

olive oil

butter

salt

pepper

thyme

This recipe is best salted in layers. I use kosher salt, just sprinkling a little at a time. Using kosher salt with its larger grains helps the dish not get over-salted but still have enough salt

Heat oven to 400

Sear pork chops in a cast iron skillet, 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan. Add onions, a little salt & pepper, tsp or so of thyme, and a little butter, sautee until tender. Add wine & boil for a couple of minutes to reduce. Layer potatoes on top (salt & pepper), add pork chops back to pan. Pour milk or cream over top. Cover with tin foil and put in oven for 15 minutes.

When mine came out of the oven I hadn't reduced the liquid enough, so I simmered it a bit and then added 1 tblsp. of slurry of cornstarch & milk. You want a nice sauce.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve with something green and some bread. And some more of the white wine.

Chilly!

Last weekend at this time I was in the woods of Maine with the fam, seeing the first falling flakes of the season. They kept falling into the night and we awoke to a beautiful snowy day. No snow here, but certainly a chilly day. It has me wondering about frozen ponds and ice skating.

I have not exercised in a while. I thought it was because it was cold, but that's not true. I have plenty of warm winter clothing. Sometimes I am just a lazy slug. The thing is, when snow-showing weather comes, I will wish my lungs were stronger. So, I will commit to some walking this week, even if it is only from parking really far away from Williams Sonoma when I go there to buy myself a sweet hand mixer today. Yeah, because going to the mall 2 weeks before Christmas is an awesome idea!

Breakfast was english muffin with butter and jam.

Lunch is a mystery. Maybe tuna?

Dinner will involve potatoes and leeks - soup maybe?

Lunch!

Last night's frittata, brown rice and beets.

Veggie Fritatta

Tonight's dinner. Serves 2. And is widely adaptable to whatever you have on hand.

1 cup chopped cabbage.

1 large leek, chopped.

6 or so mushrooms, chopped.

Small onion.

4 Eggs, beaten.

Salt & pepper & herbs to taste.

Sautee veggies in a little butter or oil, with salt, until soft. Taste veggies and adjust seasoning. Add eggs, shaking pan around to distribute eggs. Or, put veggies in a bowl, add eggs, stir and add mixture back into pan. Cover and cook over low heat until cooked through. Serve with salsa, kim chi, cheese, or whatever else you please.

Each serving: 240 calories, 15g carbs, 15g Fat, 14g protein. 6g Fiber.

Could probably use a grain on the side for more fiber and calories. I had mine with a whole wheat english muffin. And a glass of wine.

Coucous, Veggies & Fish

That's what I ate over the summer when I lost the 15 pounds. And I biked a lot. And did more yoga. Shouldn't be that hard to do again. I like couscous and veggies and fish. Yes, the winter vegetables are different but leeks and cabbage are lovely foods, and broccoli and kale are available, and all the lovely peppers I froze over the summer.

And, sure, it's too cold for biking and it's dark in the mornings and early in the afternoons but there are other options - walking in places where there are lights and not just in the woods, taking advantage of day light on the weekends, being ready for snowshoe weather.

The key is to just remember what I did back then (and it's all tracked on Sparkpeople, so I can read it) and do it now. And keep doing it. Easy peasy, right?

Last night's yoga was a lovely relaxing practice from Shiva Rea's Drops of Nectar. I'm going to do 21 days of yoga to get me started. Even just a few minutes a day, since I know that gets me down the path.

Plan:

B: Kashi's version of Grape Nuts & milk.

L: remainder of leek casserole, beets & something protein-ish.

D: something with the eggs I cracked this morning before realizing I wanted cereal. Maybe a veggie frittata?

E: Yoga, sit ups, maybe a walk.

Slowly but Surely

Yoga last night for 25 minutes. I know that I start off slow, going to the mat before I actually want to go to the mat. Feeling agitated and wanting the practice to be over, but sticking with it because I know what it leads to over time - strength, flexibility, contentedness, a sense of well being that pervades everything.

Plan for the day:

B: english muffin with almond butter.

L: leek casserole w/ boiled beets on the side.

D: sauteed leeks and mushrooms and cabbage with rice or something. And turkey?

E: sit ups, lift hand weights, yoga.

I was awake at 4am for a bit, then awake for the day at 7:30 and am now running quite behind.