sneakersbananasandspears

Lately, I’ve been rather melancholy.

It’s been a combination of things I suppose, while the weather has been getting depressingly colder and grey, I’ve been stressing about my clinical exam in two weeks. So in addition to totally procrasinating, I have been dreaming of somewhere warm, blue skies, crystal water and sand beneath my toes. Of course there would be running, lots and lots of running involved. I can’t seem to plan a trip without incorporating my all time love of running much to family’s dismay. I mean what’s wrong with that? So it was probably my daydreaming about Mediterranean landscapes which caused me to take a tumble down a flight of stairs this morning before starting my day… OUCH. Big time ouch. This is exactly why I need a restorative vacation. I tumbled down those stairs like a silly ragdoll. My left leg gave out unexpectedly, hitting my left knee on the wall and both my ankles twisting strangely underneath me, even my shoes flew off my feet. Flying shoes folks!! Why does that happen? Any time I have ever taken a bad fall my shoes seem to have taken flight right off my feet as if to say “we’re outta here.” I’m sure had anyone over the age of three witnessed this I would have looked like an utter fool, which I did. I certainly felt like an idiot. A tangle of limbs, shoes clear across the landing as I lay there stupidly wondering why it’s November and I haven’t spent nearly enough time down the shore this past year. It made me think of that Batman movie with Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman where she falls and wakes up to her cats chewing on her. Could I have laid there all day until someone found me? The cats would have had to break through the door to crawl up from the basement and I think it takes a while for human bodies to be that attractive to domesticated house cats as a snack. I do feed them pretty well… But really, what do I know?

I’m fairly confident I wasn’t nearly as yummy looking as Catwoman after my fall. She does rock the stitched up pleather suit very nicely. My three year old even witnessed my impromtu flight tumbling after me and landing on top of my already cracked up body. I guess I make a good pillow? “Mommy go boom, mommy get an owwie.” An understatement. So I am sitting here pretty well busted up, hoping I feel less sore in a few days to run a 50k race in the woods. What? Like falling down a flight of stairs would stop me? Heck, I’m not even sure a broken leg would stop me from running but let’s not push our luck. Instead let me show you one of my favorite “healing” meals I must have been dreaming of prior to my “Mediterranean” flight down the stairs.

Looks good right? I call this Mediterranean Couscous and the recipe is super easy as follows:

1 package of parmesan or garlic flavored couscous, cook as directed, fluff with a fork and put to the side to cool.

Chop the following: 1 half a medium sweet yellow onion, 1 red pepper, 1 peeled and seeded cuccumber, 1-2 seeded tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped parsley.

1/2 cup or more of crumbled feta cheese.

Salt and pepper to taste.

The juice of 2-3 limes depending on taste.

1/4 cup olive oil.

Take all the ingredients and toss together in a large glass bowl. (I always use a glass bowl with any kind of “reactive” agent such as acidic juices i.e. limes/lemons or vinegars.) Eat. Enjoy. It will keep refidgerated for several days and makes a nice easy dinner or lunch you can pack for work like I did today. (The reason I seed both the cuccumbers and the tomatos is so I can avoid the soupy liquid after it settles overnight in the fridge.) I would like to think this salad is safer than getting on a plane to the Greek Islands or in my case… flying down a flight of stairs.