Sports I Have Known: Weightlifting

A word about me and sports: I am bad at them. I can’t run. I can’t catch things. I’m not very coordinated. Despite my complete lack of aptitude, I’ve been persuaded to take part in a few of them. So here’s a series of anecdotes about one of them.

I first got turned on to weightlifting by virtue of my dad’s being really, really smart. I’m the oldest child, which made me the biggest one and consequently the best choice for heavy lifting tasks. Combine this with the fact that I was (until about age 11) the biggest and the strongest of the girls in my age group, and my freakish child-strength became a big part of my self-image.

 

Recipe: Low-Maintenance Lentil Soup

Serves 4

Full Disclosure: This recipe borrows heavily from the Moosewood Cookbook in terms of method, but that recipe is too damn bland. Get freaky with your bad self.

1 c dried lentils
4 c water
½ t salt (plus more to taste)
½ onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 t thyme
1-2 T lemon pepper (probably more)

Put the salt in the water and get it boiling. Put in the lentils and onions. Put on the lowest heat and then cook it for an hour. Put in the tomatoes, thyme, and lemon pepper. Let simmer about 10 min. Add more salt as you deem necessary.

Per serving:
Calories: 197
Protein: 13 g
Fiber: 15 g

Oral Hyaluronic Acid Supplementation in Osteoarthritis

I'm a repeating molecular unit!

I was having Sunday dinner with the folks, as I am wont to do, when my mother brought up a conversation she had had with one of my aunts. Aunt C is a dedicated equestrian who has an old, beloved horse that she brings to competitions. So that the old boy might compete without joint pain, she has been giving him oral supplements of hyaluronic acid.

Recipe: Wu Qi Tofu

Serves 3

This recipe was jointly inspired by my late grandfather (an avid drinker of Five Alive) and the fact that citrus is in season now. For those of you unfamiliar with Five Alive, it combines grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, and tangerine juices. When I was at the store yesterday, I already had a tangerine and a grapefruit at home, and I knew it was time to go nuts on this thing.

“Nuts” might be the best descriptor, because this recipe is fairly labor-intensive, especially if you (like me) don’t have a citrus reamer or a zester. It is, however, quite delicious. And if you like your martinis with a twist, it could wind up being a fun night at your house.

For the Sauce:
half a grapefruit, squeezed and “zested” (you can’t really zest a grapefruit; cut off some peel with a paring knife and then mince it)
half a lemon, squeezed and zested
half a lime, squeezed and zested
half an orange, squeezed and zested
half a tangerine, squeezed and zested
1 T cornstarch
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T vegetarian oyster sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 t brown sugar
1 t citrus zests
a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes

For the Tofu:
1 lb firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
a 2-inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 T canola oil
half an onion, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 green bell pepper, trimmed and sliced
1 red bell pepper, trimmed and sliced
(or just substitute your favorite vegetables)

Making the Sauce:
Measure your citrus juices; if you don’t have ¾ of a cup, you can pad it out with water.
Put the cornstarch in a bowl and stir in the juice until well blended. Add the other ingredients, stir to mix, and set aside.

Making the Tofu:
Cut the tofu in your favorite shapes and saute in the oil until browned. Turn the heat down a little and add the ginger and garlic; saute for a couple of minutes. Add the onion and carrot and saute for a few minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low (3 out of 10) and add the peppers. Pour the sauce over the tofu and vegetables, sprinkle a few pinches of citrus over it, stir, and cook until the sauce has thickened.

Per serving:
Calories: 328
Protein: 11 g
Fiber: 2 g

Energy Drinks and Your Kidneys

Makes its own gravy.

I was in the middle of a long day at the drive-in with some friends. In an effort to stay awake for the monster movies that were coming on later, we were all downing some energy drinks. In mid-slug, one of my friends expressed concern about what his energy drink habit was doing to his kidneys.

Fruitbasket Turnover: Bananitos

I was having dinner with a friend the other night when the conversation turned to tropical fruit. Having compared notes on mangoes, mangosteens, cherimoyas, and other stuff, we started talking about threats to the Cavendish banana and then about the alternate varieties that might take its place. He told me about apple bananas, of which I had never heard before (I know; I live under a rock), and I vowed to check them out the next time I was at the DeKalb Farmer’s Market.

Lucky me, I didn’t even have to *leave the house*. A few days later, my friend showed up at my door holding a clutch of those little stubby bananas you see at the store. Having been told that they likely wouldn’t be ripe enough until the next day, I had to sit around and do other stuff to keep myself from breaking one open.

So, having had one today, I can tell you that they *do indeed* taste like apples. There’s a note of Granny Smith tartness and the associated esters when you first start eating one that then mellows into the flavor of a slightly-green banana.

Being as I like to eat my Cavendishes slightly green, I’ll definitely be looking out for bananitos on future grocery trips.

On the Pumping Up of the Self

Princesa de Poder

I recently turned 29, and if being stuck in waiting rooms with a bunch of ladies’ magazines (and, um, nursing school) has taught me anything, it’s to expect a big metabolic slowdown when I’m thirty. While I’ve lifted weights on and off for years, now’s apparently the time to get serious, as my build tends more toward WWII-era hottie than it does toward Amazon.