Don’t they look beautiful?

I had a dinner/work meeting after school, so I didn’t get a photo of this weeks veggies (purple potatoes, carrots, onions, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic and dried garlic plus fresh flour) but they look a lot like week 5 veggies (carrots, beets, onions and potatoes plus oats and flour):

I do enjoy my winter share, but it is certainly more predictable than the summer share was. I’ve already signed up for next summer’s share and there looks like there are still share spots to be had for next summer if you’re interested in trying it out. I’ve switched pickup locations for this year and am really excited to be able to pick up my veggies closer to home and at a farmer’s market. I’ve gotten used to buying bread and fruit at the market this winter and I’ve excited that I’ll be able to keep this up during the summer.

The idea to make our own tortillas started many years ago when my friend Carole had Jonny and I over for dinner. We made corn tortillas using a tortilla press and they were delicious. But as delicious as they were, we soon forgot about them. Then a couple of months ago Jonny found a tortilla press at the thrift store, which reminded us of those long ago corn tortillas, and our interest in making some of our own was renewed. I still have yet to use that tortilla press to make any tortillas because I haven’t bought any corn flour but at least I’m moving in the right direction. First rolled flour tortillas, then pressed corn tortillas!

Tonight’s tortilla recipe is the result of a google search for “flour tortilla recipe” and then chosing an interesting looking blog. I have to say I did a pretty good job because the flour tortilla recipe I found at Chickens in the Road was tasty, quick to prepare and used only ingredients I keep in my pantry at all times. There are two recipes available – I tried the thinner ones but plan to make the thicker ones at some point too. The dough needs to sit for 20 minutes but I let mine sit for over an hour while I lifted weights and waited for Jon to come home from work. The finished products didn’t seem any worse for wear. My only wish is that I had a cast iron pan because while they worked OK in my regular frying pan (medium heat, no oil) I think they would have cooked better in cast iron.

The drop in temperatures means I haven’t been getting outside to do much of anything, let alone run. I went out Monday morning bundled in my long underwear, fleece pants and wind pants plus two merino wool shirts, a puffy jacket and my winter jacket. I was actually too warm for most of my 3 miles, which was nice, but finished feel achy and tired from running in all those extra clothes. We didn’t get back out until Wednesday when it was obvious that both the dog and I needed to get some exercise. Luckily it was a balmy -25C and daylight, which makes a huge difference. We weren’t fast but we were out there.

Our little run gave me the chance to test my newest piece of running gear – a SPIbelt!

It looks so tiny when it is all folded up but it really expands.

My iphone doesn’t really fit in my old running belt but I hate to run without it in case something happens to the dog. The new belt is perfect, there was lots of room for the phone and probably a few other items. My only issue (and this is not a big deal) is that because of the expandable nature of the pouch it collapses back in on itself when you take out your phone making it a little more difficult to get back in while you’re wearing the belt. This isn’t a big deal since I don’t take stuff out of my belt very often while I’m running. You can buy little pieces to convert it to a bib belt as well, but I figure I will just make those little parts myself.

The weather is starting to warm up and looks like it’s going to be much nicer next week. I’m looking forward to getting back on track with my training next week.