water {life}

I told you awhile back about reading The Power of Habit. I loved that book, as many of you have, and it continues to resonate with me. Neel's reading it now, and he's thoroughly digging into better understanding the elasticity of the mind. Pretty cool stuff. So, as you may have guessed, I'm trying to change some habits here and there, starting with some little things. The easy to tackle stuff. Who doesn't need to drink more water, right?

For Habit #1 I've been trying to drink a cup of water first thing, before I get going on my day. I'm generally up before everyone, so as soon as I get down to the kitchen, I pour myself a cup of water in my "Evans Poston for Commissioner of the Revenue" mug and resolve to finish it before Neel arrives to make coffee. I'm mostly successful. Mostly. Some mornings my mug gets finished before we head up to get Callum rolled out of bed, and some mornings my mug gets finished before everyone gets rolled out the door. Still, it gets done and consumed before anything else.

Habit #2 is a bit more fun. A few weeks back, I breezed past a recipe that someone had posted on Facebook for an infused water, one of those "Lose Weight Now!" things. I don't put a lot of stock in those claims, so I never clicked on the recipe itself to see what the real promises were, but the basics stuck in my head. Three eight ounce cups a day of water infused with the following: 1 cucumber sliced, 1 slice of grapefruit, 1 segmented tangerine and a bunch of mint. I actually don't have a problem drinking water throughout the day, but it never hurts to be more intentional about it, and this recipe sounds nice. I've been a fan of cucumber water for ages, especially since my friend Seamane and I had it at the Williamsburg Spa several years ago. So I thought I'd give this a go. With my first batch, I layered the grapefruit on top and it ended up a bit bitter, so with the second batch the cukes went on top and it was just right. Mild, fruity, and more flavorful as the week went on. Easy to get those three cups a day. Well, easy enough, I guess. I might still be working on this habit too, actually.

But no matter what, more water is good, right? Are you guys getting enough? What things are you doing to mix it up and make sure you get enough? And what about your habits? Any goood ones going? Anything you're trying to get rid of? Don't even get me started on those!

bean soup {life}

I mentioned to you guys that I made bean soup last week using the last of the Easter ham and I thought I'd pop the recipe up here for you. It was easy-peasy. We had it the night my mom and Mike got into town, and I needed something that could easily sit all day and reheat for our late arrival home (I had a day where I'd be away from home for most of it and Callum had a baseball game which got us in the door after 7 PM.). After leaving a mix of navy and great northern beans to soak over night, I assembled the remaining ingredients that morning, let the soup sit on the stove during the day and reheated when we got home. It had been freezing cold and sleeting at the ball game (I might not have mentioned that, wink, wink.), and this soup was the prefect hearty treat to come home too.

2 cups navy or GNBs or both, soaked

2 cups (or more) cubed ham

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon thyme

chicken broth

Brown 1/2 cup of the ham in a large stock pot until some of the fat is rendered. Add the carrots and the celery and saute´. If the ham was very lean, you may need to add the olive oil to the pan to saute´the veggies. Once the vegetables are translucent, add the garlic and saute´for 30 seconds until it releases its scent. Add the thyme, remaining ham, beans and enough chicken broth to cover and bring to a low simmer. Simmer until beans are soft and adjust seasonings. I can almost guarantee you won't need salt. ;) Serve will warm rolls to soak up the broth.

It was hearty, warm soup weather when we had these, but by adjusting the vegetables (switiching the carrots and celery for asparagus maybe) and simmering less time (so the broth doesn't thicken) would make this a lighter, more spring like soup. Enjoy!