the winter routine

I'm pleased to say that it's winter and I'm not feeling down at the moment. I can't really get out that much during the week but this month I'm finding a lot of enjoyment in sticking with a simple routine that includes cooking myself a fairly involved dinner each night. On the menu this week is quinoa ('keen-wah', a Pittsburgh favorite- reminds me SO much of the feasts we'd make on Mathilda St. in the evenings) with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, basil, sea salt, and nice heap of nutritional yeast. This is what plain quinoa looks like after it's cooked:


I've been using that as a base for my meals and then I'll sautee some tuna or vegetables and make a salad along with it. If I'm feeling really ambitious I'll throw some fruit and vegetables in my juicer and have something good to drink along with my meal. The only reason that I don't juice all of the time is because of the amount of effort that goes into cleaning my juicer. I've also been looking forward to a really good cup of coffee (thanks to my newly purchased grinder and french press) and a toasted brown rice and anko (あんこ) roll after dinner. The rest of my evenings are spent under a lot of blankets either reading, writing, or watching a DVD. Things are pretty simple these days but it I'm feeling good about it. As long as I can make it to the grocery store on my way home from school I think I'll be content until springtime.

Speaking of spring, I guess more of reason to keep with a relatively inexpensive routine is because I'll be heading off to New Zealand in late March. Caitlin and I will be spending two weeks (3/20-4/3) doing as many outdoor things as possible for the time that we are there and I'm excited because it'll be autumn during our visit. And when we get back it's be time for さくら (sakura, or cherry blossoms) in Japan!

Hopefully February won't drag on too long. Even if it does, spingtime will be worth the wait I'm sure.