the Mother Runner

First, if you have some time listen to this. It’s a radio segment featuring our friends Mara and Danny from A Blog About Love. They talk about choosing to be happy despite the trials life throws at you. I can second what Mara says about “muscle memory” and practicing being calm and at peace when something irks you — it can become something you are good at.

On to our weekly Run, Swim, Bike, Cook Challenge update! Well, I haven’t fallen off the bike yet, so to speak. Not that I’m riding a bike this year, because I have neither a bike nor a gym membership. But that is beside the point. I haven’t fallen off the bike, nor did I give up on the other challenges. Although I do feel a little bit like I’m hanging on by the skin on my teeth on the “swimming”(/yoga with Baron Baptiste). I meant to get two sessions with the Baron in this week, but only managed one, which my sister and I completed just a couple of hours ago. This means I have four more yoga sessions in the next two weeks if I’m going to get a point for “swimming.” Yikes.

And will you hold it against me if I actually made my “leafy-green breakfast” for lunch today? Yeah, I got a little behind. But I did it. And it was good. How can you wrong with five slices of bacon? (You can’t.) Also, I’ve discovered an unknown love for kale this month, so adding handfuls of kale to it was pretty awesome, too. (Unfortunately, my little sidekicks were less impressed with it than I was . . . .) I’ll share the recipe in a moment, but before I do I would just like to say that even if I’m cutting it close on everything else, at least I’m killing it on the running. I managed 15 miles last week, which puts me at 31.5 total for the month, meaning I’m 5 over for the challenge. Hooray.

Okay, enough about that. On to the recipe.

Kale and Bacon Frittata adapted from Bon Appetit via Epicurious

Just a note: my frittata ended up being mostly kale. This did not bother me. But if you prefer your ratio of eggs to greens to be more like 1:1 than, say, 1:3, you might want to cut the kale in half-ish.

6 large eggs

3 T. freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, divided

5 bacon slices

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 bunch of kale, stems and center ribs cut away, washed and coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed in a garlic press

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler. Whisk eggs, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheese, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Set aside. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and when it is done to your liking, remove it to a paper-towel lined plate. Scoop out some of the bacon grease from the skillet, leaving about 3 tablespoons left in the skillet. The oil will already be hot, of course, but keep the heat at medium and add the onions. Let cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the kale in batches, waiting until the kale has wilted before adding the next batch. Add the garlic, bacon and salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t use any additional salt because I thought the bacon did a nice job on its own), and cook, stirring, until the garlic is cooked, about 1 minute.

Pour in the egg mixture, then stir so the eggs are relatively evenly distributed. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the skillet, and let cook until the eggs are almost set, but still a little moist, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, then transfer the skillet to the broiler and cook until the eggs are set, about 1 minute. Serve warm or at room temperature.