Counting Blessings in Beer and Pizza

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This is what happens when you go to the pub after work and a bike ride on an empty stomach and drink a couple of Hoegaardens before moving on to dinner: one of the tastiest pizzas in the world! I’m not sure if it was the hunger or the beer, but this pizza was delicious, even if the crust was a hippy pre-made spelt crust.

Now, this next part may seem only tangentially related to pizza and beer, but bear with me…

Sassy just pointed me to Charlotte’s post in which she reminds us how important it is to count our blessings:

Today I still keep a journal. A gratitude journal. Every night before I go to bed, I write at least a couple of sentences about what I am grateful for. Sometimes they are small: “Today I’m grateful for bobby pins. How else could I have all these cool layers in my hair and still get my sweat on at the gym?” Sometimes they are so big I can’t wrap my heart all the way around them: “Today I am grateful for my baby’s chubby fingers as he waved hello to me (and his brother, and the neighbor, and the dog, and the nightstand.)”

On Friday night I was grateful for several things: having friends to enjoy a Friday night beer with, having the Newington Green Man to supply me with killer broccoli and crunchy peppers, and having the foresight several months ago to put some leftover pizza crust, tomato sauce, and buffalo mozzarella in the freezer – this perfect pizza wouldn’t have been possible without any of these things!

Diary for Friday, February 20, 2009

Swim

I like Friday mornings at the pool, it’s always a bit quieter – my theory is that people have plans for after work and they don’t want to lug their gear with them. That, and it’s Friday, time for a well-deserved break.

Me, I was well-rested and in the market for a nice long swim.

1500m, alternating breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke every 25m

Breakfast

Bircher muesli with banana and yogurt

Lunch

Refried black beans, cornbread, salady stuff

Refried black beans with cornbread and salad

Cycle

12-mile round trip to and from South London for a work meeting. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride and even though I’ve made this trip hundreds of times, I still enjoy it, especially on a beautiful day. On the way back, I stopped at the Newington Green Grocer and filled up my panniers with broccoli, tomatoes, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, onions, mushrooms, cilantro, and bananas, thus remedying my empty fridge.

Dinner

Pizza and salad

The pizza: Broccoli, white onions, peppers, jalapeno, garlic, marinara sauce, buffalo mozzarella, on a spelt pizza base

The salad (not shown): romaine, tomato, cucumber, red onion, green peppers, chickpeas, and balsamic vinaigrette

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Lance

February 22nd, 2009 at 4:42 pm

Hi Monica,

That pizza looks way delicious! (and with a couple of beers…perfect). As in, that is something to be grateful for, especially when shared amongst friends. And now…I want to get my bike out…but it’s snowed in in our shed…soon…

Sagan

February 22nd, 2009 at 5:35 pm

Sounds like some gourmet pizza! (everything tastes better with some beers, too;)). Some of my favorite times have been just sitting in a pub hanging out with good friends.

The bike ride sounds awesome! Wish I could go biking…

monica

February 22nd, 2009 at 5:38 pm

You know what else tastes good with beer – Indian food! I think I know what I’m having for dinner tonight. =)

I’m pretty lucky that London’s weather is mild enough that it’s actually possible to cycle all year round. Only occasionally do we get “snowed in”, and only then the cycling is impossible because London is too disorganized to ice or plow the roads. =)

Evita

February 22nd, 2009 at 10:46 pm

Hi Monica

That pizza DOES look delicious!!! I would personally keep out the beer (okay, okay nobody start booing… But I also strongly agree for counting our blessings – there is just so much to be grateful for EVERYDAY!!!

February 23rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm

Evita, I can’t boo you! I WISH I didn’t like beer as much as I do… it would have made it a lot easier to shed the buddha belly. But hey, I’m grateful that I can now drink a beer and ENJOY it rather than fret about the calories. That’s true progress!