Loads of Recipes (some for Cinco de Mayo drinking) and minor P90X blather

[stoney321]

First, the P90X. Week 2 is a repeat of Week 1, but hopefully you're stronger, using better form, etc. etc. I can say without reservation that it's completely true. Wow, the plyometrics (the kabillion different squat exercises) was even better, I could see all four heads of my quads (hey, that's why they're called QUADS, get it?) popping out on various exercises, I was able to do everything without stopping, or pausing to get the hang of it, and I did every single rep that they did. Awesome. On the arms routine yesterday, I upped my weights by 50% each and still eked out an extra rep on each one. I had done 12-15 on the first week, this time I never dropped below 14 reps, and squeaked out a few extras when I felt strong. I still have a bit of the Mom Arm hang by my pits, but I'm getting a "diamond of gold" as Tony calls it on my triceps.

Today was yoga. Last week I couldn't even do it all. There were some exercises that I just simply didn't even TRY because it was too ridiculous. I did every single one today, and man, my whole body feels AMAZING. Hardest ones: Warrior Three, moving to a move (I can't remember the name Hahahaa, uh, Laura? It's called the half moon pose. Keep reading. I R SMRT.) where you then raise one arm straight up and look at the ceiling, all while trying to not fall over, then there's the Reverse Half Moon (that's an old lady doing it, and I can't do it without falling over. And my legs aren't that straight. THERE'S MY GOAL, be better than Bea Arthur there. Har. Too soon?) Oooh, I cannot do the Crane Pose. That's my ultimate goal. How freaking cool is this? The crane pose but legs to the SIDE?? And then do like, a circus performer push up onto your hands? I want to be able to join Cirque du Soliel, obviously. Ahahaha.

All of the stretching and mediation poses at the end made me feel totally relaxed, like I hadn't just beat my body into silly putty for an hour and thirty minutes. (That's how long the session is!!)



I was super good yesterday, even though I went out for delicious Mexican food at Chuy's. (Texans know Chuys. Jeebus, that's good grub.) I had their vegetarian enchilada and a salad with cilantro vinaigrette, and it was muy fabuloso. (Veggie enchilada: blue corn tortilla filled with spinach, corn, tomatillos, zucchini, onion, serranos, mushrooms, and a red tomatilla sauce and some cheese. AY YI YI.) I did have two margaritas, though. COME ON, I'M NOT MADE OF STONE.

Tonight we're having homemade nachos on blue corn tortilla chips with pepper jack, chicken, black beans, tomatoes from the garden, fresh guacamole on the side, and some ancho salsa. The kids will drink limeade and I'll have water. AHAHAHAHAHA, I'll have a margarita, come on, it's like you don't know me at all if you believed the agua line.



Stoney's Favorite Margarita (makes one)

Put a little ice in a shaker. Roll a lime on the counter, cut in half, ditto a good orange. Pour 1 1/2 jigger of GOOD silver tequila (if anyone says Jose Cuervo to me, they're fired), a jigger of Cointreau if you have it, Triple Sec of you don't, the juice of the lime, and half of an orange. Blood oranges are ESPECIALLY fabulous here, which is what I happen to have.

Quick shake, pour into a glass. (I don't do the salt. Note: in restaurants? Those pads they smash the glass onto to make them sticky for the salt? Yeah, that stuff's nasty. And probably not clean. I'm just saying.)

If you don't have limes, but you have limeade? Go for it - just know it'll be sweet, not sour, which I'm sure some of you prefer. you could also change out the orange juice for pomegranate and that's pretty spectacular, too.



Rosè Sangria with pineapple and guava (big pitcher - 12 highballs, or 6-8 regular drinking glasses.)

1 bottle of rosè
4 6-oz cans of pineapple juice (if you have an ethnic section to your grocery, you can get 12 oz cans, which means you need 2)
2 12 oz. cans guava nectar (this is where your pineapple juice is - also, get some of the peach nectar. you'll thank me later)
4 cinnamon sticks
2 C cubed fresh pineapple
2 oranges, sectioned or cut into slices, whichever

Mix first 5 in large pitcher, set half of orange sections aside for garnish and put the rest in the pitcher. Cover and chill for several hours. Serve over ice with orange garnish. (Note: I skip garnishes. Waste of time and money, imo. Just gimmie the drink, says I.)


Spicy Black Beans with Chorizo and Chipotle Cream (glaaaaaaaaaah so goooood! I love me some black beans)

Beans:
1 1/2 C dried black beans (10 ounces or a small bag here)
2 peeled onions, one halved, 1 chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried oregano (Mexican, if you can find it - I found it in my garden. *G*)
2 TBSP olive oil
2 links fresh chorizo, casings removed and just don't think about it. I know, I know, but it tastes so good!! Just... don't think about what it is.
2 TBSP finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Chipotle Cream: (whisk them all together, chill until ready)
1/2 C sour cream
1 1/4 tsp chipotle tobasco (I use a TBSP because I love this stuff and I like it hot)
1 tsp fresh lime juice

Soak beans in a pot with two inches to cover overnight. Drain and return to saucepan. Add onion halves, bay leaf and oregano. Add enough cold water to again cover by two inches. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and slow simmer until beans are very tender, stirring every now and then. About 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Drain beans but SAVE THE LIQUID. Discard the onion halves and bay leaf.

Heat oil in a big skillet, add chorizo (note: I skipped this because chorizo is super fatty and will give you all the grease you need.) and cook until brown, breaking it up with the back of a spoon. Scoop out the chorizo and drain SOME of the drippings. Add chopped onion to the drippings in the skillet and cook until soft and golden brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add cilantro, garlic, jalapeno and cumin, stir 1 minute. Add beans back plus 3/4 C of the reserved liquid, then add the chorizo. Stir it all in, heat through, taste to see if all the flavors are right, add salt and pepper if needed (most likely you won't.) Transfer to a big bowl, drizzle the cream on it, cilantro if you want, and BOOM. you just made fancy refried beans that are so good, you'll slap your mama.


Damn, I might need to make those tonight. MMMMMMMMMM.

Viva la Mexico! Gracias, Mexico, por la enfermedad de Puerco! Ahahahaha.

Comments

[caoil.livejournal.com]

My lazy ass is vaguely inspired by your exercise routine. It wants to get off the couch, but on the other hand, it also wants to sit for a while and watch mindless tv and pet the kittens. Or flop on a pillow like Billy here in my icon.

It's just hard to motivate oneself to something that long (90 mins) every day, ya know? I'm so bleh after work that it's hard to get going.

How goes your garden? More fleurs by now, yes?

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I can't do any arm balances, but I am working on it. Warrior Three is an easy one for me. I need a block to do either version of Half-Moon pose.

I think your training program sounds great.

Love the idea of Blood Orange in the margarita.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Well, only the yoga session is that long, the rest are 58 minutes. (On days when you do the Ab-Ripper X workout, that's an additional 16 minutes.) It's funny, as I was reading your first sentence, my cat flopped on me. Clearly she's wanting me to follow your example. :)

I might go back to work full time, soon, and if so, my plan is to do this first thing in the morning to wake up, etc. It's almost impossible for me to commit to exercise after a certain period in the morning.

My garden is LURVELY! I think I'll go outside and take some new pictures, just to share. :D

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

The thing that kills me on Warrior Three is that we go to it from a plank position - the idea is to rocket out to it. O_O And then we hold that for one minute before moving into Half-Moon. My legs are all trembly like a colt by that point...

Blood Oranges are SO TASTY. I'm making some orange-ginger rolls later today and using the rest of my stash. :)

[caoil.livejournal.com]

YAY! I don't really have anything yet. Well, the fruit trees have bloomed but those are not "mine" as they were already here. I bought some wee annuals and made a mini garden as I was expecting to be able to get some mason bees this year - alas, it was not to be. I want to get my sweet peas planted but my g/f wants to terrace near where they'll be so I have to wait longer. Argh. So much waiting.

I will have to content myself with more of your pictures.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I've been pulling of peas and chomping them every morning when I survey the garden for bunny damage. Mmmm, peas.

[caoil.livejournal.com]

?
you have a bunny problem?

[cappy.livejournal.com]

CHUEY'S!!!!!! Woot! I didn't know they had them in the DFW area, didn't know they had them outside Austin, even. Are they all funky in decor like the one in Austin? There's 2 now but I only got to the first one, on Lamar~~ the salad buffet is in the trunk of a '57 Chevy & the ceiling is painted with a highway & little cars glued to it, upside down, & there are Barbies & Ken dolls heads dangling from various places & pterodactyls suspended from wires~~ it's great. We went to eat there one time when I had a high fever (my husband made me) & I felt like I was on an acid trip. Wild.

(It was not the enfermedad de Puerco. Heh.)

[cappy.livejournal.com]

Chuy's, damnit. Woops.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I don't, because my cat eats them. I'm usually looking for, uh, what's left.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmm, they sure do! I went in to the city yesterday and went to the old one close to downtown. That one is all funky like the original in Austin with Elvis dolls and cars hanging, etc. The newer ones in the 'burbs look like cookie cutter places, I don't like them.

HEEE. I'm glad someone laughed at my Spanglish. :D

[cappy.livejournal.com]

I always try to get the Elvis booth~~ you know the one with the ginormous black velvet Elvis painting, & the seats a car seat, like whatever was left after the salad bar trunk was made. And they make a mean Margarita, too. God, I love that place. I lived real close to the original one, & ate there a LOT.

[cappy.livejournal.com]

It's a favorite with DPS people, by the way. We find it hysterical to go drink margaritas there (with a DD of course!) & then lean back & stare at the ceiling. One night we were doing that & laughing & um... 3 of us tipped our chairs over. And then it was even funnier.

[knotted-rose.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine how good you must be feeling, how strong. I'm tempted to try something like this when I don't have a strained piriformis muscle. We'll see.

However, that being said, crane pose is one of my favorite poses. It takes more core strength than anything else. I can't do it with my legs to the side, but can hang in it for a good long while once I get my balance. You'll be able to do it soon. One of the things that my yoga teacher always says when getting ready for crane pose is to draw in toward the midline, pull everything in towards the center of line of your body (going up and down, not sideways.) I don't know if that will help you or not. Just remember core is what you need here.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I do feel stronger! I've been finding excuses to carry heavy things for days, now. :D Four gallon-jugs of milk at once? Coming right up!

My core is where I'm the weakest - my hope is that by the end of this series, I'll be able to do it, if only for a bit of the full minute. Thanks for the tip - I'll def. keep that in mind when the yoga session comes back around!

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHA, I would have laughed my butt off at y'all. :D (Then come over to hang)

[cappy.livejournal.com]

God, the whole place was laughing. Nothin' funnier than a bunch of drunk LEO types staring at the upside down highway on the ceiling & tipping their chairs over backwards. This one chick from I think the Conroe office peed her pants. And I barely didn't pee mine after that. Good times.

That's the Chuy's I was at the night my (then; now ex) husband decked me in the parking lot & SRV saw it & was waiting to check on me in the hallway when I got through bawling & washing my face & came out.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

That refried bean recipe looks delicious. Once I can eat that again, I'm going for it.

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

I seriously need to go on a diet, but I am shit at it, so instead I'm probably going to join a gym again. I would rather be sore than pass over the cheese.

Currently, I am having a cocktail myself (and old fashioned minus the syrup as I have a taste for bourbon and orange lately--brain tumor? unknown) and reading bullshit on wikipedia as a furiously tell myself I don't need to write the story I really want to. *boo*

I only drink Cazadores nowadays. That's coming off refusing to drink tequila at all.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Your poor tum! I hope you get to feeling better soon, babe. <3

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Fuck yeah, you need cheese! I eat the things I like (and I like nachos, yo) but I work out hard so I don't feel bad about it, lol. I do like going to the gym, though.

If you smell burnt cookies, and then you start to "shine," we'll know it's a tumor. Hahaha, I saw that you're trapped in a wiki web - they are the hardest to free yourself from!

If you like Cazadores (and that's some good stuff) you might like Milagro - it's a bit cheaper, but it's one of the better sipping tequilas, as well as for cocktails. Big big fan.

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

I actually don't mind extra weight, I've never been body conscious (which I can thank my very excellent mother for), but I am concerned that the amount of booze and saturated fats might actually be killing me so I have to balance that by working out in order to delude myself (I've always been a jogger, since I was a teen).

Actually now I'm reading pornography about Adam Lambert of American Idol "fame" as I find him deliciously gay beyond belief.

I only know about tequila because I lived with someone from San Antonio. Previous to that I got alcohol poisoning from it in college (shit you not) and had not drunk it in a decade.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm no stick - I like muscular, strong women bodies over rail-thin fo sho. But hahahaha - yeah, the karmic balance of exercise and juuuuuust drinking/eating to excess is a thing of beauty. As evidenced by my nachos and margarita habit + P90X.

WHERE IS THIS PORN???

Oh, I don't doubt that about tequila. It's hard to know that GOOD stuff won't kill you but Jose Cuervo is NO friend of anyone's. It's so dirty and nasty... But good tequila is like good bourbon/whiskey, imo. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do some body shots off my 7 year old. It's for Cinco de Mayo - she's doing a project. (Ahahaha.)

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

It's sort of great, this porn, as its Brendon Urie (the Mormon)/Adam Lambert and Adam is a sassy queen and Brendon is fucking clueless and awkward, what's not to love? http://disarm-d.livejournal.com/177276.html#cutid1

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

It's awesome that there's such marked progress the second week! Go you and your diamond of gold!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo. We're off for cervezas con amigos at a place that serves the worst nachos ever. I mean, please, how can you screw up nachos?? Well, for us, start with Velveeta...

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm sort of up and down at the moment. (More accurately, in and out, but whatever.)

[xochitl42.livejournal.com]

You have single-handedly inspired me to go to the gym today after work! Monday was super rough because not only did I do the 12-week challenge session, but my PT asked if I'd switch to Monday to partner up with a nice man who's in need of motivation and also has arthritis troubles (not the knees).

My knees are SCREAMING. But I did learn that I can function at 80% max heart rate for WAAAAAAAY longer than I thought (and that was after the PT session--which includes squats with 40lb weights).

Did I mention my knees are still screaming?

Also, Warrior III=awesome. Practice up to that kind of balance by standing on one foot with your eyes closed (PT has me doing that for 1:30 a foot, 2 reps). It changes EVERYTHING. (I cannot do anything remotely like WIII at the moment.)

Also also, no fair on the black beans. Ohhhhh, yum.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Today is chest and legs - more pull ups and wall squats.

VELVEETA. Colby swiss and cheddar blended all togeddar has NO BUSINESS being anywhere near nachos. NO BUSINESS. Oy.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Squats with 40 pound weights? OY. Your shoulders hurt when you do those, too. (Can you get black cherry/sour cheery juice? it REALLY HELPS the arthritis, ditto on gin-soaked raisins, and you only need four of them a day. That's how I survived before the knee surgery)

Black beans, eh? I guess I'll have to slip them in the care package. Those are easy. :)