I HATE to cook. And oh yeah, is training for a half marathon overambitious

So I started out the day talking with my co worker who was recently inspired to run a marathon. I too have always harbored dreams of running a marathon. Some day. But maybe that day is soon? I have to say I am getting caught up in the excitement. But I can't fathom training for a marathon on a treadmill, so I think training for a half is a better idea. The race we're thinking of is in May. By then, I could do the long runs on the weekend outside while Bil has Raviv, so maybe I would go for a fall marathon?


This all sounds great in theory, but tonight I got on the treadmill and again, it sucks. There is no way around it. Maybe it will be better when I can run without feeling like I have lead for legs, but I'm not sure I can spend the next 12 weeks logging so many miles on that thing. So for now, while training involves VERY low mileage, I might as well keep going.


So after my long run (long time, not long distance), which I got a late start on as I decided to lube and adjust the belt that has been skewing left (took 30 minutes, and as soon as I got on it went back) I had to cook. Now, I rarely cook. I don't mind making up simple recipes with fresh, healthy food. I like the flavor of *real* food. Recently I made up a really good kale, tofu and miso paste recipe we both like. But Bil loves to cook and he loves to have people over. So given that we are having 10 for dinner tomorrow night, and he has a meeting, he asked me to make the soup. Oh yeah, and if I didn't mind could I make some cookies? He claimed it would
"relax me" and I would have fun doing it. Does this man not know me? I hate the time it takes, the mess, and the waste of my precious time I could be doing something I enjoy.


The soup is a really delicious mushroom barley soup that takes 2.5 hours to prepare. Towards the end we need to make a roux (butter and flour) but we are having chicken for dinner so I need to use margarine. I have such a visceral hatred of margarine. It goes against all I stand for. I'm not sure I am even going to eat the soup. Anyway, the soup is simmering away and it was time to make cookies.


I am a disaster following recipes. I much prefer to make stuff up. Somehow I always mess up a recipe, usually because I'm too impatient. But, chocolate chip cookies it is. So tonight, as I'm trying to soften our crusty brown sugar in the microwave, running eggs under warm water to get them "room temperature" and unwrapping sticks of margarine *shudder* I am getting more and more resentful. Anyway, just as I mix all the ingredients I look at the cookbook and realize I forgot to add the orange Zest. So I find the zester, scrape the rind and think to myself "I didn't realize orange zest is in chocolate chip cookies. Must be because this recipe is being made from scratch?" but as I go look at the recipe, I realize the page has turned and I've started to make a recipe for chocolate orange pecan cookies. Luckily the only real difference was I needed 2 sticks of butter for these cookies, but I'd only put in 1 1/4 sticks (though I thawed two sticks!). I couldn't bear the thought of touching more margarine, so I decided that two cap-fulls of canola oil had to be the same thing (can you see where I get myself into trouble?)


Anyway, I decided that it would be tastier to bake the cookies fresh tomorrow night so the dough is sitting in the fridge, the kitchen is semi clean, and I've still found some time to veg out. The one good thing is that I probably won't eat these cookies given that they are made with margarine and pareve chocolate. I mean really, what's the point?