Today was my first day back to school. Last year, I decided to go back to school to take baking classes so I could improve my baking skills. I’ve been out of school for quite a few years now, so it felt a bit strange to go back to school. The first class was a standard intro class. The professor walked us through the syllabus and the importance of learning the science behind baking. Since I knew today would be a long day, I packed one of my high protein tofu rice bowls.

Cold winter days call for warm delicious meals. Over the weekend, I whipped up a very quick pork cubes and vegetable fried rice dish. Pork cubes is a spin on my mom’s signature pork chops. Her favorite all-purpose sauce, which she uses to marinade all types of meats and seafood is made up of only three ingredients – oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. That’s all. The meat sits in the all-purpose sauce for at least 30 minutes. Then, you take the meat with the sauce and sear it in a hot skillet for a couple minutes until the meat is nicely browned and cooked through.

Fried chicken cutlets and crispy pork chops are two of Kevin’s favorite dishes. In fact, anything dipped in batter, and fried in hot oil is beloved by Kevin. Over the weekend, I woke up craving brunch from Taste of Belgium. When I looked outside the window, I saw buildings, cars, and ground covered in a blanket of snow. Winter Storm Gia had made its way to Ohio. Throughout the day, it has been snowing on and off. Whenever it snows outside, I like to stay bundled up inside.

I took a break from going to the gym during the month of December. I went back to the gym for the first time in almost three weeks and definitely needed time to adjust back to my running routine on the treadmill. This past Sunday, it took all the might in me to head back to the gym. Kevin was much better and headed back to the gym almost immediately after our trip.