oof!

OK, so I reset my clocks on Saturday. I even checked my alarm clock and reset it last night. But then again, Freyja was doing her *look at me, I'm so cute, I'm going to walk all over your clock now* dance, and it may have gotten a bit messed up. So I woke up about 40 minutes later than I would normally -- or *normally* if we hadn't just messed with Time. But since I build extra time into my morning routine for puttering, I was still able to do what I needed to do.

I even did my one mile walk this morning.

And I did the 30 minute ramp tape this afternoon. Plus a little stretching.

So I'm on par with what I was doing last week. :)

We had a driver who *forgot* to change her clocks. Ironically, she HAS a cell phone. They are automatically updated. So I believe that excuse like I believe that there's no such thing as global warming. And then a few other people couldn't be bothered to show up for various reasons. So even though Minneapolis is off this week, I ended up driving. It wasn't too awful, but I drove the bus out to Rockford. It's cow country, although there's condo fungus spreading everywhere. New developments springing up faster than you can imagine. Apparently we don't actually need farmland anymore. *shrug*

The ham/bean dish turned out pretty nicely. I'll post the recipe later, when I can sit down with it in front of me.

I have PMC class this evening.

I'm tired because the time change fucks with my body rhythms, but it seems that the endorphin energy from working out may be kicking in. Maybe. I'll reserve judgement for a few more days. I did take a short nap this afternoon, which lasted until I thought I'd overslept, and then when I started to lay back down, Merlin hawked all over my sleeping spot. Odhinn had curled up between my legs, but under the covers, so I was totally tangled and not in my happy place. Cats are not all joy. I'm still surprised that I got up and did my second walk after that.

Hmmm, I made fudge yesterday afternoon. I'm mildly surprised that I still have the bulk of the pan left 24 hours later. Really.

oh wow...

It's getting close to 10 and I'm still awake. Wide awake. Tomorrow I will be a very sad and sorry little willowoak. I had my PMC class tonight. We fired all the tchotchkes we made during the week. They turned out quite cool. I have some new ideas to play with for this week. Who knew that Wonderbread made a great hollow core material. Certainly it isn't something you'd actually want to eat. :)

Ok, the bean recipe, since I don't think I'll sleep real soon.

Orangey-Rosemary Beans -- sounds odd, but actually quite nice. Particularly with ham, a good thing since I cooked it with a ham bone.

1 lb dried Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained and picked over
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 cup orange marmelade
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1. In a large pot, cover the beans with enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Soak overnight. (you could use the quick soak method I've described before, but I'm not going to re-type it here. Sorry). Drain and rinse beans. Return to pot with enough cold water to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, and simmer for 30-45 min until almost tender. Drain, reserving 2 cups liquid.

2. In slow cooker, combine the reserved cooking liquid, onion, marmelade, brown sugar, mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir in the drained beans. Cover and cook on LOW until the beans are very tender -- about 8 or 9 hours. During the last hour of cooking, increase heat to HIGH and uncover to evaporate excess liquid.

Now, my tweaks. I used Navy Beans which are what I had handy. I added a ham bone, which was still pretty meaty. Because of the ham, I didn't add ANY salt. I did add two tbsp orange juice concentrate, 1 tbsip lime juice and 1 tbsp chicken base to the broth. I also used closer to 1/2 tbsp rosemary. I used only one cup of cooking liquid and one cup chicken broth. Oh, and I added a bay leaf.

These beans are a nice change. I like 'em. I'd love to try them with a sour orange marmelade...the only one I could find was a sweet one. More tangy. But I did what I could with the lime juice. :)

On another topic, I'm not sure why, but tonight I'm really feeling my abdominal muscles. Oh, yes, I DO have abdominal muscles. ;)