I love February. First it is the month of Jack’s birthday, second it is the shortest month, third the sun is getting warmer every day and fourth, the tulips come in at the grocery store. You would not have known number three this week, though, as we set record cold here in New Hampshire.

Happy Birthday Jack

Jack turned 22 on February 2nd (22 on 2/2) as his mother said. I so remember the day he was born and he was a big baby. To look at him now, he is still big but solid muscle and has earned the title of Training Captain at The Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department. Yes, that says Captain Walker on his shirt. I think they should have a calendar, don’t you? He makes us smile and also makes us very proud to be his grand parents. Cannot believe he graduates in May, now less than 100 days away. Yikes.

A Big Month of Indoor Walking

Yes, because of the cold for sure but also I have now become quite enamored with the treadmill. I’m about to start my 10th week of using it in a row. The first few weeks I only worked out on it a couple of times a week, now I am at least five times a week and am working very hard at getting myself to be able to do four miles in one hour on it. I am close. My best day was 4.33 miles in 70 minutes. It was four years ago this week that I walked in the Sarasota Music Half Marathon. I did the 10K version and had my best time ever at 1:34:58. There is no way I could do that now but I am working my way back. I’m tempted to dip my toe in the race world again up here but so far I have only found a couple of 5K races but they aren’t at this time of the year in the frozen north. We shall see what happens but in the meantime I will keep working on it.

Record Cold

The weather folks were certainly in a tizzy all week long about the weather and the Arctic cold that was heading our way. They called it. The temperature started going down Friday afternoon and we watched it on our inside/outside thermometer. The outside part is in the wood shed to the side of the house so it is out of the wind. We watched it go from above 0 to -7, then -14 then finally at 7:30am Saturday morning we recorded -21.5F. The inside of the house was pretty cool too. The room this is in is what we call our Bonus Room. It has a wonderful little gas woodstove that keeps the room pretty comfortable. I had it set very low which is what I do when we are not in the room. It stayed on until sometime on Sunday when the room was the normal 68 again. The dogs had no interest in going out and when they had to they ran out, did what was needed and came right back in again to snuggle by the fire. By Sunday afternoon it was 38F, a difference of 59 degrees in one day. I didn’t even need a jacket to go to the grocery store. Mount Washington is NOT where I would have wanted to be Friday and Saturday.

Jenny Lane Then & Now

Two years ago we had just started the work on the fireplace. John had stripped off the paneling and removed the old desk to the right of the fireplace. The boys began putting the insulated panels up on the frame. It’s almost spooky how closely these two photographs are. What a lot of wonderful work went into making this centerpiece of the house into what it is today. When I look at these pictures I am in awe of how much we have accomplished around here. Enjoy this flashback.

Soup? Salad? Foods For Cold Weather?

We’ve been eating lots of soup and salads this week and some chili too. Then I found a recipe that we are going to try this week. This should warm you up nicely.

Red Chicken Enchiladas from Dr. Mark Hyman’s Blog

Ingredients:
Red Sauce
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large bell pepper, diced into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ¾ cups filtered water
Enchiladas
2 large chicken breasts (pasture-raised if possible)
⅓ cup canned green chilies
8 gluten-free tortillas (I used cassava flour)
Serving Suggestion
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Avocado slices
Purple cabbage
Cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

Directions:

1. Warm the avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté the onion until slightly golden, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
2. Add the garlic and bell pepper into the pan and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
3. Add all of the spices including the salt and stir over the heat for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste along with the filtered water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer, cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
4. While the sauce is simmering, cook the chicken by boiling both breasts in a large pot of boiling water. When the chicken is done, after about 20 minutes, drain and set aside to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Transfer the red sauce into a blender and mix until smooth (alternatively, you can use an immersion blender).
6. Shred the cooked chicken breast using two forks and transfer to a food processor along with ¾ cup of the red sauce and the canned green chilies. Pulse until smooth (the consistency should resemble a pâté).
7. To assemble the enchiladas, add ⅓ cup of the chicken mixture onto a tortilla and roll. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and chicken.
8. Add ¾ cup of red sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish and lay the enchiladas in the sauce.
9. Spread remaining sauce evenly over top of the enchiladas. Cover the casserole and bake for 20 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven, uncover and serve immediately, topping with goat cheese, avocado slices, cilantro, lime wedges, and some shredded purple cabbage if desired.

My Treat of the Week

I went to the market late in the day on Tuesday, January 31st and as I was leaving I noticed the clouds had a beautiful hue to them. I looked back to the west and saw that we were having one of those rare wonderful sunsets. I hurried to a parking lot and pulled in to watch it trying to get a picture that represented what I was viewing. A lady saw me there and joined me as we both stared in awe at the sky. It was a magical moment and my picture doesn’t do it justice but enjoy it anyway. I have not enhanced it or touched it at all except to add the words.