More Tea, Please

Tuesday night, another snowstorm rolled through Boston. Everyone was all, "BLIZZARD. BLIZZARD. BLIZZARD." Full on blizzard panic mode.

At the end of the day, I made a major detour to go to David's Tea on Washington Street. I bought some chai tea, my very first infuser, and a cup of tea to go and I walked home the loooooooong way. The snow was falling, I sipped my tea, and my heart almost burst right out of my chest because downtown Boston was just so perfect in the snow and I was just so cozy in my big jacket and wooly hat.

So what does one do on a snowy night at home? Well, one drinks more tea. Obviously. This time, I made a tea latte. This tea latte is creamy, a little spicy, and a little sweet.

Chai Tea Latte with Cocoa and Cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon loose chai tea (I used Chocolate Chili Chai from David's Tea) or 1 teabag *
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Chinese Cassia cinnamon
1 cup milk (I used whole milk)

* I used chai tea because I like a little kick, but you can use any kind of tea! 

Bring water to a boil. Put loose tea in an infuser or use a tea bag. Steep tea in boiling water for 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat milk over medium-low in a saucepan and stir in cocoa and cinnamon. Stir to make sure the cocoa and the cinnamon are fully dissolved and to prevent the milk from burning. When the tea is ready, froth the milk using a milk frother (mine is an Aerolatte) in a separate mug and pour the milk on top of the tea. Sprinkle additional cinnamon and cocoa powder on top, if desired.

P.S. I didn't sweeten this recipe, but the friendly sales girl at David's Tea suggested using a little honey. 

How Do I Feel About Weekends? I Feel Great.

It was a good weekend, a slow weekend. Cider at Meadhall Friday night, sleeping in Saturday. Saturday afternoon, we saw Wolf of Wall Street, which led to Googling Wolf of Wall Street, which led to watching YouTube videos of Stratton Oakmont parties, which led to downloading the Kindle book. Yup.

Also FYI the song in the trailer is Black Skinhead by Kanye. As T said: "Anything you're doing you can do better if you're listening to that song." The song is completely uncivilized and so is the movie. 180 outrageous, offensive minutes. And that's why it's so good.

Rainy Saturday nights are meant for staying in and staying out of trouble. I Googled Wolf of Wall Street and I made chocolate-coconut "fudge." I call it "fudge" because it's adapted from Sarah Wilson's healthy, sugar-free recipe. It would be a little disingenuous to call it dessert. So I won't. But the fudge tastes pretty rich and the coconut is sweet, so it's satisfying. No photo for you. Fudge doesn't really photograph well. If you can photograph fudge and make it look good, well... let me know. We should hang out.

Sunday? Sunday was for Sunday things and getting Sunday things done: running and working. The sun was out and it was a totally different Boston. I couldn't have asked for a happier or lovelier run.

And that's a weekend.

Chocolate-Coconut "Fudge"
Adapted from Sarah Wilson's Bounty Bars

Coconut layer
1 cup coconut milk (I used So Delicious)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

Chocolate layer
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
2 tablespoons almond butter

Coconut layer: Melt the coconut milk and oil together in a saucepan over low heat until well combined. Stir in the shredded coconut and take the saucepan off the heat. Pour the coconut mixture into a square glass pan, smooth the top, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until set. While you're making the chocolate layer, put the pan in the freezer so the coconut hardens a bit more.

Chocolate layer: Melt the coconut oil and cocoa powder in a saucepan over low heat until well combined. Then add the almond butter and stir until well combined. Let the chocolate mixture cool slightly, then pour it over the coconut layer.

Chill the bars in the freezer 5-10 minutes or until hard to the touch. Cut into squares. Keep refrigerated.

What Do You Do With Frisee & Other Blizzard Stories

As you probably know if you live on the East Coast, Boston got slammed with weather last week. We got 14 inches of snow and subzero temperatures and everyone got a snow day. Which is cool and all, but cabin fever is a real thing. So is my caffeine addiction. So I went out... to Starbucks, to Back Bay Yoga, and to Border Cafe for frozen strawberry margaritas with Z and B. Because when Boston is a frozen tundra, it makes sense to drink frozen tequila. Right? Right.

On Saturday, it warmed up so we decided to go about our usual Saturday business.

What Saturday business really means is produce shopping at Haymarket. But Haymarket was closed because of the weather, so we detoured to Russo's in Watertown. Russo's is wonderful. It has every kind of produce you might want. Did I need three kinds of lettuce? Nope. Did I buy three kinds of lettuce? Yep.

Somehow we got out of there without buying a Buddha's Hand. Thank goodness. Because what the hell would I have done with a Buddha's Hand?

What I bought: lettuce, zucchini, avocado, pears, pineapple, escarole, frisee, baby shiitakes, and a $10 wedge of Manchego cheese (Because it's all about balance, guys). Impulse buying, defined.

But it turns out that the frisee, the shiitakes, and the cheese play nice together. They make a quick, warm salad. So I don't feel so bad about my shopping. And having lunch at home (because it is SO cold out there) is looking pretty good.

Frisee Salad with Warm Shiitakes and Manchego

3 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 cup frisee, diced, at room temperature
1 cup baby shiitakes, cleaned
Manchego cheese, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the shiitakes about 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine white wine vinegar and the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and toss the frisee with the dressing. Top the frisee with the shiitakes and the Manchego. Serves one.

This Is Why

This morning, as I do most Monday mornings, I ran to the November Project. Today's workout was at Charlesgate Park, just outside of Kenmore Square. I left my apartment early, a few minutes before 6am, and tugged on my wool hat and gloves. I stepped outside to find snow on the ground and snow still falling from the sky.

I ran through quiet side streets, down the middle of the road, and my sneakers crunched the pristine snow with each step. It was foggy and still dark, but there were city lights and Christmas lights.

And as I ran down Comm Ave, listening to Afrojack, snow slipping down the back of my jacket, I thought to myself: this is why I run.

Stand Up, Get Up, Gear Up, Fuel Up

I keep ripping the back of my heel open. Not on purpose. But I split the back of my heel open a few weeks ago and it's super hard to heal, especially since I run so much. This morning, I didn't have band-aids so I taped it before my workout. Yeah. Taped it. I remembered how I used to tape blisters and hot spots with duct tape during multi-day backpacking trips. I didn't have duct tape, so I used athletic tape today. It worked. Sort of. Not really.

The saddest.

You better believe I stopped to buy band-aids on the way home.

And, since the weather is getting colder, I layered up. Bojan of the November Project wrote a great post about layering and "weatherproofing" your run. Staying warm is serious business. This morning, I pulled out my wonderful, wonderful Patagonia capilene long-sleeved shirt that M gave me. (I love you, M. I love you, Patagonia.) I put a hoodie on over it and I was warm en route to my workout. But I failed to honor one basic rule: My base layer was a cotton tank. And you know, the minute I stopped moving, my body temperature plummeted (as it always does) and that cotton was damp and chilly. What was I thinking. Come on. I know better than that. Ugh.

So I'm not great at keeping band-aids around and I'm not great at dressing myself warmly. You know what I am good at?

Food. Specifically, fuel.

I've been eating a lot of eggs for breakfast (eggs are the most perfect protein source!), but I totally wanted carbs this morning. I argued myself out of buying a bagel and I'm so glad that I did. Because this oatmeal filled me up the right way.

America runs on Dunkin'. I run on Dunkin' and home cooked oatmeal.

Good For You Coconut-Almond Oatmeal

1/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup coconut-almond milk (I use Califia Farms)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons almond butter
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Combine oatmeal and milk in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring regularly, until the oatmeal absorbs the milk. Do not let the milk come to a boil or burn. I cook my oatmeal for about 15 minutes or until the oatmeal has thickened.

Stir in the cinnamon, almond butter, and coconut flakes. Eat hot!