Pap and tofu

People who know what 'pap' is won't expect to see it in the same sentence as tofu, and likely won't think it can be served together, either. Well I doubt that it was a first, but we did it today: traditional South African 'stywe pap' - for the uninitiated it is a rustic version of polenta made with ground white maize meal - served alongside baked BBQ Tofu. The Baked BBQ Tofu is from Veganomicon. I am still busy cooking my way through this book and have discovered quite a few instant favorites, such as Southwestern Corn Pudding, Cheater Baked Beans and Spinach Linguini with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes. As for the Baked BBQ Tofu - what absolutely makes it is the Backyard BBQ Sauce, also from Veganomicon. The sauce, which contains onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, molasses, vinegar, a little mustard and some liquid smoke, amongst others, cooked up thick and delicious, just as advertised. As I had anticipated, the pap and the BBQ sauce were dynamite together. The tofu? Well it tasted better than anticipated. Not exactly beef but not a bad source of protein, no cholesterol and practically zero fat. Some steamed broccoli on the side and there you have it, a nice early Sunday dinner before heading out for a movie. The new Julia Roberts flick - Duplicity.

Running still going well. On Saturday I drove out to New Ulm again, and did a repeat of last week's 20 mile run. This time under less than ideal weather conditions, which turned the last few miles into a real slog. I'm hoping that these back to back to back to back to back long hilly runs will pay dividends in Boston, even if I am running them quite slowly. The makeshift plan, necessitated by the knee injury and inability to run while traveling in Africa in February, is to complete six long runs in New Ulm, being 16, 18, 20, 20, 18, and 16 miles long, respectively. I am down to the last two, an 18-miler on March 29 and then a 16-miler on April 5. By April 12 - barely more than a week before the Boston Marathon, I think I will dial it down to no more than 10 miles with a few at marathon pace. Marathon pace? Still to be decided. Probably somewhere between 8:35 (for a personal best time of just over 3:45:00) and 9:10 - just to be able to finish respectably at under 4 hours.