Day 20: Feast for the soul

"You are a real runner, most of us just run a few miles here or there, but you are a runner." People say this to me often, and they touch my arm, and not their head up and down, and look me directly in the eye as though they are knighting me with the title. I get lost in those words, because somewhere in their diagnosis, I find too many questions.

Does it matter that my feet have not pounded on pavement for months? When is a person no longer considered part of the population count of runners. How many hours would I need to spend on the couch to be considered a couch potato? Not a day goes by that I don't encounter someone who refers to me as a "runner" but I don't feel like one anymore.

It's been six months since my injury and the longest run that I have been on is four miles on the treadmill. To further my confession, I should add my indoor running has been at a snails pace while watching reality television shows. Sometimes I gaze longingly outside, enticed by the shin shattering pavement, but then I have to avert my eyes back to the television and remind myself to take baby steps.

It is a hard pill to swallow.

Last winter I ran every day, in sub zero temperatures, wearing a tight black suit with my head wrapped like a ninja. This year, the winter running clothes were excitedly unpacked, but as the days went by they were gradually buried under a pile of clothes, and then repacked with my winter attire without witnessing even one snowflake.

I skipped my workout and went to school early today. It was cold when I got there, but as I sat at my desk looking out of the window I began to notice the layers disappearing from the ambling students. A red T shirt with stark white arms walked passed, followed by some flip flips, and I knew it was time for me to take action. I went to the locker room of the pilot plant in the food science building, pulled on some shorts and a t shirt, laced up my shoes and headed for the street. The bright sky bleached my eyes, as though I were emerging from nightclub. My body remembered it's comfortable cadence, but my muscles and lungs were not ready to maintain it.

There was nothing that I could do but accept it and keep moving on.

I passed the Zoo, and swung in through the entrance. It was here, in the primate hut, that I was afforded the opportunity to witness my own evolution- from the small child tapping on the glass, to the angsty teenager with ridiculous clothing, to the couple hanging on one another, combing their fingers through each other's hair. I recognize that I am still young on my path, but old enough to have an evolutionary history to observe. I hold the door open for a mother and child in a stroller, and then for an elderly woman in a wheelchair, and I feel grateful to have full use of my body.

As I rounded the corner to home, with the wind at my back, I basked in the ecstasy of returning to the sport that I feel inspired by. It was then that I began thinking about dinner.

Eggplant dip with flat bread

Preheat the oven to 350. Poke some holes, with a fork, into 4 baby eggplants. Place them in the oven (directly ) with a pan underneath to catch the drippings. Bake for 1 hour. When the eggplant is done, cut the top off and peel it. In a saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Add 1/2 yellow onion diced and 3 cloves garlic. Cook until the onion is caramelized. Add the eggplant and about 3 Tbsp yogurt and blend together with a hand blender. Top with crispy onions (can buy at Persian market, or just use the ones you would use for green bean casserole).

Flat bread (this is the same recipe as on day 1)

1 ¼ cups warm water

1 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

4 cups all purpose unbleached flour

1 ½ tsp salt

1 egg beaten

2 Tbsp melted butter (I think this makes a crisp bread, so leave it out if you prefer something softer)

olive oil (to cover)

yellow cornmeal.

Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the sugar. Let sit for 10 min. Add 3 cups of the flour, mixing well (about 5 min). Add the egg and butter. Knead the last cup of flour into the bread (using more or less if you need to). Cover with olive oil and plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. Punch the dough down and separate into 5 balls. Let sit 5 min. Roll the balls out and top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Place on a hot baking sheet in 400 degree oven (sprinkle some cornmeal underneath the dough to prevent it from sticking). Bake for 10 min. on one side, then flip the breads over and bake for 10 min. on the other side.

Sweet tofu curry with mushrooms and broccoli

Remove 3/4 of a block of extra firm tofu and wrap in a paper towel to drain the water out. Once the tofu is wrapped, place a plate over the top (this helps get the water out).

In a frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and add 1/4 tsp salt. Add 1 yellow onion, diced, and 2 cups of chopped mushrooms. Add 3 cloves minced garlic. Cook until the onions and mushrooms have browned a little, then add the tofu, cut into small squares. Add 1 1/2 tsp muchi curry powder and a little more salt. Add 1 head of broccoli, broken into pieces. When everything is cooked to desired texture, add 2 Tbsp cream cheese (or full fat yogurt) to the pan, melting it and stirring into the rest of the food. Serve over reheated rice with saffron water on top.

Saffron water : Place a pinch of saffron threads into hot water and let the color come out. Spoon this water over the rice.

Christina's vote: "Indian, but not Indian- Vietnamese, but not vietnamese- extravagantly vegetarian"