Another grueling week at the gym. On Wednesday – after burpees and Bosu balance squats and other sweat-producing stuff – our Trainer said the next 15 minutes are going to be a bit intense.
And he was serious.
It was literal non-stop movement from jumping jacks to mountain climbs to push-ups to lord knows what else. Constant up down floor jump squat floor jump down up… It was like being back in boot camp except I am 47 years older. These are the whole body exercises that use every muscle – including the ones you didn’t know you had until they start screaming in pain. None of them are difficult on their own; it’s the fast-paced combination that totally exhausts me. Surprisingly, I was able to breathe better and it didn’t totally kill me… and it was an excellent cardio. It was also the first time in a while that I was sore coming home.
Today, before we started, Victor was talking to the Trainer about the cycles upstairs and what they’re good for. He had been on one for the first time on Thursday and kinda liked it. Charles said he’d show us.
OMFG.
Speed Sprint Resistance Standing Sitting Increase Decrease… In less than ten minutes I felt like I was on Day Twenty-One of the Tour de France – and hadn’t stopped to pee. Another great cardio – and jello legs. This time I was having trouble catching my breath; I was doing something totally different and just didn’t have the rhythm down. He took pity on us and brought us back downstairs for arm work. My formerly non-existent biceps are just a tad sore, right now.
On the other hand, I feel pretty darn good and there’s not much he can throw at us that we’re not afraid to try. It really is rather amazing what we’ve accomplished. I really am amazed.
Not to mention that we’re eating well and maintaining our weight.
Amazed.
And speaking of amazed, we were both pretty amazed at how good dinner was, tonight. We did something totally different – and it worked!
My impulse-buy the other day at the grocery store was a pound of ground lamb. We didn’t really need any meats or poultry since I’m working on getting things out of the freezer, but… you know how it is… I had no plans for it, so I did a quick Chef Google search and found a recipe for a spiced lamb burger on Epicurious.com. What was fun, was the lamb is seasoned, stuffed into a pita, and then grilled! Even better was I had all of the ingredients – except the pita.
I went to my Shaya cookbook and Alon had a recipe for pita. What was interesting, is he uses the same dough for his pizza as he does his pita – and his dough is a 2-day rise similar to mine. And I just happened to have a pound of dough in the freezer.
I made pitas.
They’re actually really easy to make, but they’re also really easy to buy. If you want to make it, just do a google search for instructions.
The lamb filling was excellent! Super easy and really flavorful. And it cooked perfectly on the grill in less than ten minutes. You’ll note that Blanche got her own lamb burger sans onions and spices. Yes, she’s spoiled.
Spiced Lamb Pitas
- 12 oz ground lamb
- 1 small onion, very finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp cup olive oil, plus more for grilling
- 2 large pita breads with pockets
Mix lamb, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and oil in a large bowl. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
Prepare grill for medium heat and oil grate. Working one at a time, open each pita pocket by cutting along seam, halfway around perimeter. Spoon filling into pitas, spreading to edges. Close, pressing on filling to seal.
Grill pitas until filling is cooked through and bread is crisp, about 5 minutes per side.
Serve with tzatziki sauce.
I made a quick tzatziki with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, green onion, dill, and lemon juice.
They were crispy, pleasantly greasy, bursting with flavor, and the tzatziki really worked well with it.
I think the possibilities, here, are endless… You could go any nationality or ethnic group and have a lot of fun playing with flavors. I’m thinking ground pork with Mexican spices topped with guacamole… Or an Italian-theme…
I took the rest of the dough and wrapped it around hot Italian sausages. They’re in the ‘fridge for dinner tomorrow night.
Fun summertime fare.