Italian Soup and Running in the Shit

I slept in until 9:30 am today. It was really brilliant. I had plans to make some baguettes, some soup, and go for a run (not necessarily in that order). The rain was coming in sideways and wasn't going anywhere. I got all changed into my running garb and started my baguettes. My goal was to go run up the local ski mountain a bit, buy groceries for the soup, and then come back just in time to get the risen dough into the baguette pan. (Invest in a baguette pan, it is so freaking worth it) I spent 35 minutes running up and 25 minutes running down....it was not the most fun run. The rain hit me from all directions. The wind drove the drops into every pore; I was wearing a rain jacket and a hat, but that was apparently for show because I was still one wet monkey when it was all over. Luckily I had a sweatshirt to change into once I got back to the car. Since I wussed out after only an hour, I was ahead of schedule. The grocery store seemed much colder than usual since my running tights were now just a saturated cover and the supermarket shopping was a little less intense than running. I finally made it back home with some too expensive bacon, Italian sausage, chicken broth, garlic, onions, potatoes, red pepper, spinach, and heavy cream. Zuppa Toscana would go great with my bread.

There was no epic with the bread or the soup. It was all perfect. The only downside was that I had completely gorged on baguette and olive oil while cooking and the soup is probably one of the most fattening soups that I could possibly make. You cook sausage, put it aside (hoping it drains a little), cook bacon, and then add the onion and garlic right to the bacon - don't drain the fat because you will lose all the bacon-y goodness. I must add that when I checked on the potatoes cooking slowly in the broth, onions, garlic, bacon, and bacon fat, that they did taste like bacon. Come on. Bacon flavored potatoes? Mmmmm. I also cut up some parm rind and let it cook with the soup. It really gives it a little something. I don't know what, but something good. It went great with the merlot I got at Costco for 11 bucks.

Considering that I ran in the horrible weather, I feel like I deserved the soup and bread overdose, but I don't think I am closer to being in "killer shape" for a race. At this rate, it will take me almost a year to lose five pounds...and that is with the running uphill in the sideways rain.

Run more? Absolutely. Lose the bacon fat? Never.