Run Bike Swim Cook: Mexico meets Iran

Less than sixteen hours left in February, so it's time to wrap-up our 2010 Run Bike Swim Cook Challenge. For our last cooking challenge, we needed to use barley in a main dish. We decided to make Ash-e-jow, and Iranian/Persian Barley Soup seasoned with turmeric. When we saw all of the lime in the recipe, we decided to add our own Mexican flair by substituting 1/2 cup cilantro for the fresh parsley. The soup was tasty, hearty, and filling--just perfect for these bitterly cold winter days.

Sticking with the barley theme, we coupled the soup with a barley/wheat bread made from Grape Nuts cereal soaked in buttermilk.

Add some fresh asparagus, and you have a wholesome meal the whole family will love.

As far as the rest of the challenge goes, our family has definitely been up and moving! Here are my cumulative totals:

Running: 52.5 miles
Biking: 21 miles
Swimming: 3 miles
And the bonus: 5 hours spent in a tone and flex fitness class.

Since I gave up on the cycling, I decided to aim for a "double-marathon" with the running. Yesterday's 5.5 miles on the treadmill were torturous, but I made my goal.

And now for the real athlete. Drumroll, please. Over the month of February, Jason logged 106 miles running! That's more than a marathon a week. Way to go, superstar! We're all in awe.

As much fun as this challenge has been, I'm feeling like I need to restore a bit more balance to my life in terms of the time spent on exercise. By the time Jason and I trade off watching the kids so that we can each get a run in, we don't have much time as a whole family. This challenge has been very motivating, so I'd kind of like to find a new goal for the month of March, but perhaps something that involves everyone. Let me know if you have any suggestions. :)

Ash-e-jow (Iranian/Persian Barley Soup)
(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
* 2 quarts chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
* 1 teaspoon turmeric
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1/4 cup tomato paste
* salt, to taste
* ground black pepper, to taste
* 1 cup diced carrots
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 8 lime wedges

Directions
1. Heat the chicken stock in a pot to a gentle simmer.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion until translucent. Add the pearl barley to the pot and stir for one minute. Stir in the hot chicken stock, turmeric, lime juice, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Mix in the carrots and continue simmering 30 minutes or until the soup has thickened and the carrots and barley are tender. If the soup is too thick, add hot water, one tablespoon at a time.
4. Place the sour cream in a small bowl. Slowly pour 1/2 cup of hot soup mixture into sour cream, whisking constantly. Gradually add the sour cream mixture into the soup pot, whisking constantly. Stir in the cilantro. Serve with fresh lime wedges.