I went to the pool early this morning to swim.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I must have masochistic tendencies, because what could be more painful than getting up at dawn to exercise? And this is not just any exercise, this is lap swimming in January.
Not that I hate exercising in the morning. In Japan, I would usually go to swim or do my workout in the morning around 10 or 11am. On the contrary, I prefer to workout in the mornings. But the term “morning” covers a lot of territory. Anything done before coffee and breakfast is a painful experience. Waking up? Pain. Getting out of bed? Pain. Speaking to another human being before I have coffee running through my veins? Excruciating. So you can understand why exercising early in the morning is not very high on my list of things I want to try.
Unfortunately for me, however, the pool here is only open for lap swimming early in the mornings and in the evenings. All the times I’ve gone swimming at this pool before, have been in the evenings, but evenings are always kind of a pain the butt. If I’m in the city, I have to make sure I’m back in time, I have to hurry there and back so I can start making dinner, I’m usually already tired from doing things all day, etc. It just doesn’t work out that well.
So this morning, I decided to try swimming during the morning hours. I have to admit, I’m quite proud of myself for actually getting up and getting there, and it was quite refreshing in a way. Now that I’m home, showered, and I’ve had my breakfast, however, the sleepiness has suddenly hit me like a sack of potatoes (and I’m not talking about new potatoes here, I’m talking about a huge bag of russet potatoes).
I’d love to be able to be one of those people who can do this every morning, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’ll be thrilled if I can pull this off twice a week.
We’ll see how it goes…
Last night a tried out a new recipe for vegetarian black bean burritos. Usually when I make Mexican food, there’s meat involved in some form or another, so I was a bit weary of whether this meatless version would be as satisfying or not. They were a hit with everyone though, and just as satisfying and tasty as their meat filled cousins! This is a great vegetarian Mexican food alternative, and it’s quick to throw together for nights when you need something fast.
First, in some olive oil, saute a diced onion, a couple cloves of minced garlic, some chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and coriander for a couple minutes.
Add two cans of drained and rinsed black beans and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Lower the temp and simmer for about 8 – 10 minutes.
Mash everything up, and mix in a little salsa or hot sauce if you want.
I only had small flour tortillas on hand, so mine were more taco-like rather than actual burritos, but warm up some burrito-size tortillas, then serve everything. To eat, fill a warmed tortilla with some of the bean mixture, salsa, cheese, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), lettuce, tomato, cilantro, etc. Fold the sides in, and then roll it all up into a burrito.
Vegetarian Black Bean Burritos
(serves 4)
Filling:
- Olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried coriander
- dash cayenne pepper
- dash salt
- 2 (15 oz.) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 c. vegetable broth
- 1/3 c. salsa -or- 1 Tbsp. hot sauce (optional)
To serve:
- burrito-size flour tortillas
- lettuce
- diced tomato
- shredded cheese
- salsa
- sour cream -or- Greek yogurt
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Heat a few lugs of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and spices, and saute gently until onion softens, about 4 minutes.
- Add beans and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue simmering for 8 – 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and mash up beans until a paste. Mix in salsa or hot sauce if desired, and adjust seasoning to taste.
- Heat flour tortillas individually on a hot (non-oiled) skillet, or in the microwave.
- To eat: Spoon some of the bean filling onto a warm tortilla. Add lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, sour cream, and cilantro as desired. Fold the sides in, and then roll up intro a burrito.
