Spring Garden Mung Bean Salad

My garden is full of overproducing greens.

The tatsoi has bolted.

After pulling most of the butter lettuce, pulling outer leaves from the red lettuce and speckled romaine daily, freezing all of the remaining spinach, as well as the outer leaves of the mustard, kale & tatsoi, and tossing the brussel sprout plants that grew like crazy but never budded up, I still have an egregious amount of fresh greens to preserve or use before it gets too hot and they die.

Tonight, I looked in the pantry and realized I had some dried mung beans, which as they tend to be on the starchier side for pulses, I decided they would be a good base for a salad made of stuff we had in the garden and in the kitchen.  It was delicious.

The finished product (although E & I both added grated romano on top)

Serves 2:

1/3 lb dried mung beans (I boiled the whole pound, and just refrigerated the remainder of the beans for later use in the week)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
5 large kale leaves, destemmed (save & chop the stems), with kale sliced into 1/2 cm ribbons perpendicular to the stems
1 gigantic stalk of celery from the garden (likely 2 or 3 grocery store stems), chopped
1 tomato, chopped
salt
black pepper
dried ground cumin
3 T butter
2 T lemon juice

1. Cover mung beans with 2X volume of water, add a dash of salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes and immediately remove from heat, rinse in cold water, and drain. Re-rinse with more cold water if they are still steaming to stop them from overcooking.

2. Place butter, 1/2 minced garlic, 1/2 minced shallot, chopped kale stems and celery into a pan (I re-used the mung bean cooking pot).  Heat to medium and sautee until celery and stems start to soften.  Turn off heat and add salt, black pepper, and lemon juice to taste and stir while cooling.

3. In a mixing bowl, place cooled mung beans, chopped kale, tomatoes, the other half of the minced garlic and shallots.

4. Mix the hot butter/kale/celery/garlic/shallot dressing into the mixing bowl and toss.  Add cumin to taste and adjust salt/pepper accordingly.

5. Serve in bowls with forks.  Feel free to grate a dried hard cheese over the top for more fat and protein.

Enjoy!

Black Rice Navy Bean Turkey Chili

Part of the low-key homebound lifestyle I've been living is getting back into the swing of regularly cooking delicious meals from scratch with a focus on how I can make traditional staples healthier without negatively affecting the deliciousness.

Leftovers for tomorrow!

One of the things I've been doing quite a bit of is cooking in bulk and taking advantage of the freezer.  I'm regularly making a full pound of dried beans or rice when I only need 1/2 or 1/4 pound for the recipe and then just freezing the rest.  I'm also likely to double or quadruple things like soups and sauces and freeze the remainder.  I've also been experimenting with adding additional vegetables to traditional legume and grain preparations.

So, we've been eating very well out of the freezer. E's requested Butternut Squash Gnocchi Bolognese resulted in a fresh-made hosted dinner for 7 plus 3 more defrosted meals over the next 4 months (feeding 3, 2, and 2).  Then there's been lentil soup, vegetarian minestrone, excess broccoli, and more, that at various points, I've reached in, defrosted, and used to make a delicious meal.

Tonight, I had quite a bit of black rice in the fridge.  Plus I had frozen navy beans from the last time I made a navy bean soup.  And, I had some ground turkey.  I put them all together for a great Chili-esque stew.  Making this stew in one night would be quite the undertaking, but I'd done it over a couple of weeks.  All told, it was awesome.

1. Black Rice:

4-6 stems celery
1 large white or yellow onion
5 cloves garlic
3 carrots
1 lb black rice
2 Tbsp salt
olive oil

Mince celery, onion, garlic & carrots.  Sautee in olive oil for 2+ minutes.   Add black rice and sautee.  Add 5 Cups water and salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover.  Stir occasionally.  Add water if too dry.  Cook until water is all gone and rice is al dente.  45 minutes is likely good.  Turn off heat and stir in pot as it cools down to allow excess water vapor to evaporate.  Take 1/4 to 1/2 of rice and put into Tupperware in fridge.  Spoon remaining rice into ziplock bags, push flat to 1 inch wide, label them with the date, and freeze.

Very good for adding to salad bowls.

2. Navy beans

1 carrot
1 medium onion
1 celery stem
1-4 cloves garlic
5 sprigs rosemary leaves removed from stems
salt to taste
1 lb beans

Optional: Soak beans in warm water for 1 hour+.  Toss water and rinse.

Place all ingredients in large pot, cover with 8 Cups water.  Bring to a boil.  Cook until beans are al dente (30-60 minutes depending on soaking, bean age, etc.)

Remove beans from cooking liquid with sieve.

Immediately use some of the freshly cooked beans for something like Creamy Broccoli White Bean Soup, substituting for canned beans.  Blend the carrot, onion, and celery into the soup's base as well, combining with water or bean cooking liquid in lieu of vegetable stock.

Put remaining unused cooked beans into ziplock bags of 1 inch layer, air removed, labeled with the freezing date for future use.

Freeze leftover cooking liquid for future use as vegetarian stock.

Pre-cooked beans are great for salad bowls and soups.

3.  Black Rice Navy Bean Turkey Chili

1/2 large white onion, diced.
5 cloves garlic, minced.
Olive Oil
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 C pre-cooked black rice (see above)
1.5 C frozen pre-cooked white beans (see above)
1 - 28 Oz. Can of tomato pulp (I'd prefer to use canned garden tomatoes, but I don't have any since I didn't have a garden last year).
cumin
paprika
chili powder
red pepper flakes
salt
1-4 Cups water

-Sautee first 3 ingredients together until onions are translucent.
-Add turkey and sautee until fully white (no longer pink).
-Add all additional ingredients and bring to a simmer.
-Cook under cover for 20 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep the consistency appropriate.

Enjoy immediately with minced chives and shredded cheese on top.  Serves 4-6.

Falafel Fail (SJRNR week -2)

Last week I was moderately successful with a baba ganoush experiment (I modified the recipe to make it too garlicky -- but it was still delicious).  So, I decided to try the falafel recipe from the same site.

You only soak the garbanzo beans, you don't cook them!

Falafel is one of my favorite foods.  I try not to have them more often than once every couple of weeks because they are fried.  But the comments on this recipe indicated that some people had successfully baked these falafel and they were delicious.  I took the advice from one of the commenters and added some eggs so that they would stick together without the deep-frying and decided to give it a go.

Falafel mix, ready to cook.

I'd hoped I could just put them onto the cookie sheet but the texture, even with the eggs, made me suspect they would fall apart without some additional structure in place, so I decided to try using muffin tins.  Once I'd packed the tins, I poured a drip of canola oil over the top of each falafel to see if I could get just a slight hint of oven-fried deliciousness.

Not the perfect browned results I was hoping for.

Turns out, while the tops were cooked perfectly with this approach (400F 'til starting to brown, followed by 90 seconds of broiling), the bottoms stuck to the muffin tin, so I extracted a bunch of partially destroyed falafel at the end of the cooking cycle.

Hah!  I had a brilliant idea.  I'd put all of the leftover bits that stuck to the tins *back* into the oven and make a couple of twice baked falafel.

Did you know that Silicone bake-ware can catch fire?

(Note the oil spatter)

I put the muffin tin (not really a tin, as it was silicone, in a metal supporting rack) into the oven and started plating our dinner. 

2 minutes later, I smelled fire.

E knows the drill (I set a kitchen fire on a not infrequent basis), so he immediately opened the kitchen door and turned the hood on high while I grabbed the on-fire muffin tin with silicone hand protectors and walked it outside.  We're a well-oiled kitchen fire extinguishing machine at this point, thankfully.

See, I'd forgotten that I'd put the oven on broil for the last few seconds of the full set of falafel.  It had stayed on while I'd removed them all and re-constructed my brilliant twice-baked plan.  AND, all the small drizzles of oil were left on the muffin tin, both in the cups and on the top surface.  I'm not sure exactly how hot it got, but the flash point of canola oil is 600F.  Also, I've since learned that apparently silicone cookware should not go under the broiler.  Either way, there was a full on fire that took several minutes to burn itself out -- leaving behind white ash that clearly came from the silicone.  We did not eat any of the twice baked (and then charred in a chemical fire) falafel.

Dinner was good, though.

I think I'm going to leave falafel to the professionals.  After all this, it still didn't taste as good as when it's fried.  I have some frozen falafel leftovers, and if they hold up and reheat well, I *may* reconsider trying again (with pre-greased metal muffin tins), but it may be a while before I work up the gumption.

In running/fitness news, it was a good week.  I slept longer than usual and was hungrier than normal for much of the week, which is typically an indicator that I've got some big fitness gains around the corner (fingers crossed).

M: Finally made it back to the yoga studio.  It destroyed me.  I walked 1.5 miles there, did the 1 hour plus warm yoga high effort class, and left a sweaty, shaking mess, whereafter I walked the 1.5 miles home in shock at just how difficult yoga can be.  I bruised my arm doing crow pose, so I've been walking around with a nice blue mark that's still with me today.  Bonus, the core work was enough that I woke myself in the night on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday by simply rolling over and recruiting muscles like upper abs and obliques that were taxed beyond anything they are remotely used to.

T:  0.06 walk;
4 @ 11:56;
10 X 30s/90s paces (9:06; 8:50; 8:33; 9:17; 9:31; 9:47; 8:07; 8:41; 7:31; 8:08);
0.65 jog @ 12:42;
0.69 walk home from lunch

W: One of the best track workouts I've had in the last several years. Not because of the pacing (still very slow).  But just because it felt so good to run hard and beat the recommended BAA paces easily on every interval.
1.01 w/u @ 12:17;
0.4 drills w/u lap (9:22; 8:04: 7:13);
2 X 600; 600; 800 (t/p: 3:18/9:01; 3:20/9:04; 4:35/9:19; 3:23/9:05; 3:23/9:08; 4:35/9:16);
0.96 jog & walk c/d

Th: 3 @ 12:04;
1.66 walk

F: Exhausted.  Rest Day.

Sa: 1.52 jog @ 12:37;
1 mile @ 9:58;
5:10 walk R/I;
0.27 @ 10:17;
4+ min jog;
13 X 30s/90s (Paces: 8:31; 8:40; 8:19; 8:40; 9:07; 9:31; 7:59; 8:09; 8:06; 8:17; 8:42; 9:22; 8:31)

Su: 7 miles "long" @ 12:07 (including water fountain stops and a walk break to turn on headphones/audiobook)
0.15 walk c/d

Weekly Mileage: 31.86.  Most of it running.  Average paces, targeted high effort paces, and mass all still slowly decreasing.  Definitely feeling like it's been several weeks of consistent effort and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can manage to do at SJRNR.

A Tale of 2 Soups

Sunday night of last week, I made soup number 4 for the season.  A tomato-lentil option that was almost identical to the delicious lentil soup from last week, except with canned garden tomato purée subbed for some of the broth and less added lemon and vinegar due to the acidity of the tomatoes (and, of course, since I'm spicing as I finish the soup, no doubt it ended up differently).  Overall, delicious.

We have one serving left, and it was slated for tonight, but then I took the spare time in my day today to make a new soup and it smelled so delicious that the last of the lentils will have to wait for tomorrow night.  Such is the conflict of plentitude in homemade soup season.

Today's soup was a modification of a bunch various recipes I read about mung beans, and in particular, preparations involving coconut milk.  E & I are very happy with the result (recipe below), so much so that I tried to take several photos after we'd lost most of the day's natural light to celebrate the awesome outcome.

Post last seasoning taste, cooling on the stove, delicious (not well lit)

Ingredients:

4 T high heat oil (I use safflower oil)
1 T cumin seeds (I may consider increasing to 1.5T next time)
2 T mustard seeds (I think I'd go for 1 T next time)

3-4 T of garlic powder (I'm not proud of this, but I ran out of garlic)
2 minced hungarian hot peppers from the garden (sub 2-3 minced peppers of your chosen heat, be ready to turn hood/fan on high to minimize capsaicin smoke)

3 C preserved tomato puree from the garden (sub 1 Q canned stewed tomatoes or lightly cooked down sauce with water)

2 T ginger powder
2 T ground coriander
1 T mustard powder (optional, didn't seem to add to the flavor much)
1 tsp turmeric
1+ tsp sea salt

2 C mung beans


4-6 cups water (depends on your preference of soupiness)

1 can coconut milk
Juice of 1-2 limes (or 1/4 cup lime juice)
1 C chopped fresh greens (I used arugula, 'cause it's what I had, apparently cilantro is traditional -- use less, or spinach or kale will work too)

On the kitchen table, under LED lighting.  Too much reflection.

Perhaps my favorite part about this recipe is step one:

1. Heat the oil 'til boiling and brown the cumin seeds (which crackle) and mustard seeds (which pop, like little tiny popcorn) as the first step for 1 minute.  Turn down to low.  Super aromatic and fun.  If you love cumin (like I do) you will find that the roasted cumin seed flavor that cooks into this soup is amazing.

2. Add minced onion and peppers and garlic powder (or 9 mashed cloves, which I really would have preferred to do, I just found myself without fresh garlic for once).  Cook down on low/medium for 1-2 minutes.  Add tomatoes and all spices.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low and cook for 5 minutes.
 

Outside, soup's done, on the cover of the BBQ, black background and fading natural light.

3.  Add 2+ C of mung beans and water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn down to a simmer.  Set timer for 30 minutes and stir 2+ times during that period.  Check for doneness.  If not done, add more water, 15 more minutes on low.  When mung beans are just past al dente, you are ready to finalize the soup.

4.  Turn off heat.  Add coconut milk, chopped greens, lime juice according to what you think you'd like and taste.  Stir more.  Add salt, sugar, lime juice and cayenne until the flavor is perfect.  Spoon it out into a bowl and try to take pictures.  Fail miserably when the bowl is overturned onto the ground, giving you an excellent opportunity to show the true texture of the final product. 

Perhaps the best photo to show texture, after the bowl fell off the BBQ cover and spilled all over the ground.

Enjoy warm.

Soup #3, and Still Healing

Soup #3 is one of my default go-to options:  Lentil Soup.
 

Yellow Lentil Soup

Course 2: The last cherry tomatoes & sauteed shishitos from the garden.

Lentil Soup Recipe:

1 cup chopped onions (I used red 'cause I had one half cut, but ordinarily, I'd use yellow)
4 cloves garlic
1 chile
1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup yellow lentils
6 cups water/broth

(1 Cup leftover roasted carrot soup)

cumin (2 T?)
turmeric (1 T?)
lemon juice (1/4 C?)
white vinegar (splash)


1. Sautee first group of ingredients 'til onions are translucent, stirring constantly.

2. Add 2nd group of ingredients, stir, bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover with a lid, and set kitchen timer for 35 minutes.

3. At 35 minutes, taste.  If more cooking time could be used, add time and continue to simmer, otherwise, move to step 4 after turning off the heat.

4. Blend all ingredients with a stick blender until smooth.  Taste.  Add leftover soup if you are planning to add it and re-puree.  Taste.

5. Based on taste test from #4, add ingredients from last group to taste.

6. Let soup cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.  Enjoy!


On the workout front, the ankle is slowly but surely healing.  Last week the mileage totaled 16.76 including a very exciting 3.06 miles of jog/walking with my sister-in-law.  I can jog.  My ankle can handle the load.  I can't jump without extreme pain (thanks to tabatas, I know this), and I'm apprehensive on uneven terrain -- so we'll see where I end up with the planned 8 mile trail run with the bay area running folks this weekend...

Today, starting a new week where I  have 75% mobility, I did 3 tabata workouts, with the jumping modified (because my ankle still can't jump).  I also did 15 minutes on the elliptical on level 9 (1.06 miles) and 15 minutes on the treadmill including 2 X 0.25 @ 10 min/mile 2% incline with incline walking heartrate recovery.  Overall, the workout felt like a good effort, and I feel comfortable that I'm headed in the right direction.  The next big test will be yoga... Wish me luck.

Soup #2, and healing

Soup #2 turned out pretty darn well, despite the fact that I actually burnt some of it and still need to scrub like crazy on my pot to get it back into a functional state.

Carrot leek garlic onion soup leftovers, just as good the next day.

1 leek, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped (I had 'em lying around, I figured why not)
1 shallot, chopped
3 garden chiles, minced


1 bag baby carrots
6 cups water
3 cubes boullion

1/2 cup white vinegar
2-3 T lemon juice
garlic salt
turmeric
cumin
black pepper

1. Sautee first group of ingredients until the onions, leeks, and shallots are translucent
2. Add carrots, quickly sautee and then add water and boullion, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, simmer for 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so and adding water (don't get on a conference call and forget to add water for 15+ minutes or you will burn the bottom layer of the soup).
3. Turn off the heat when the carrots are tender enough to easily break with a spoon.  Puree with a stick blender.  Taste.  Add spices from the last group of ingredients to taste.

In other news, I worked in the garden today to start taking down plants (since it's California, they are still green, just greedily sucking nutrients from the soil even though they are no longer producing much fruit due to short days and cold).

Lo, the final harvest of the year:

In running news, I can walk without pain.  I did end up with some purple bruising below the outside of my ankle, but with the daily icing and elevation it's been getting better.  I've been adding a mile a day and drawing the alphabet with my toes (still sore, but not terribly so).  Today, I've got one more walking mile to hit 4+ and tomorrow, for thanksgiving, I'm going to try some jog/walking.  Wish me luck. 

Baby Steps (and Soup #1)

It's soup season and leftovers mean tomorrow night's dinner is done!

Last week's mileage?  20.02.  Woo Hoo.  Back Over 20.

Portion ran (no matter how slowly)?  46%

Portion sub 9 min/mile?  9%

Other fitness efforts?  I made it back to the yoga studio after 13 weeks away.

IT HURT.

Not so much *during* class, but afterwards, I was sore in places I'd forgotten I have muscles for at least 3 days.

So, the hope is to average one visit to the studio a week for the next 5 weeks since I've got very little travel lined up.  Wish me luck.

In running goals, I've got a trail run coming up in 2 weeks with some local running ladies.  The stated goal is 8 miles, but frankly, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to pull that off.  I'll just rebuild fitness as best I can and go join to enjoy the activity as much as possible.  In terms of actual race events, I've got a few potential trail runs on the calendar in 2015, but the only thing I'm registered for is the SF Chocolate 15K in January.  Most likely, I'll use that as a springboard to prep for Kaiser, and then Oakland. 

Other random fitness goal?  Soup. One of my favorite things about fall is soup.

So, I'd like to make a healthy soup from scratch at least once per week for the next 5 weeks.  The first offering?  Tofu, Bok Choy, Mushroom soup.

It was good, if a bit spicier than expected due to some extra-hot peppers from the garden.

2 T cooking oil (I used saffola)
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ginger powder (didn't have any root in the fridge)
2 insanely hot garden chiles  (next time, I'll likely taste each chile)
1 cup carrot match-sticks

soy sauce 1-2 T
mirin 1 T
rice wine vinegar 1-2 T
sesame oil 2 T
4-6 cups water

1 bunch bok choy (adult), chopped
1-2 cup(s) sliced mushrooms
1 package firm tofu, cubed

salt

1. Sautee first group of ingredients together until the onions are translucent.
2. Add second group of ingredients to the sauteed veggies and bring to a boil.
3. Add third group of ingredients, stir, lower to a simmer, add a pinch of salt.  Come back in 5 minutes and taste broth, add more salt if appropriate. 
4. Turn off heat after the tofu, bok choy, and mushrooms have been simmering for 10 minutes.

(Serves 4 -- or dinner for 2 nights for 2)

Enjoy!  (And if you have a favorite soup, please recommend it!)

A Super Sunday

I woke early.  In the dark. To the sounds of rain.  Ordinarily, I'd be annoyed at rain on a race day.  But California needs rain so badly (and I really do want to have a decent garden this summer without too much guilt) that I just thought, "I *LOVE* that it's raining.  I *LOVE* that it's raining."

I headed to Starbucks and compiled a pre-race feast of a tomato-cheese croissant, skinny vanilla latte, water bottle and banana.  Yeah -- unlike the Foster city 10 miler, I could tell right away that today was going to be a good belly day, so I wanted to pre-load (and I did, easily putting everything except all the water away before parking).  (I may not be fast but when it decides to engage, I've got an invincible gastro-intestinal system and a body that can take more long distance damage without too much trouble than is appropriate.)

The drive to SF was easy.  Parking near the finish was a piece of cake at 7:20 or so.  I walked to the buses and got on one in 5 minutes.  Side note, Kaiser SF is a *very* well run race. Apparently, it's the largest Half Marathon in Northern California. Yet it's still reasonably priced, and has free shuttles from the finish parking to the start that are plentiful and easy to board. Bless you Kaiser SF! No medals this year, but nice long sleeve shirts and the saved $ donated to charity -- excellent priorities!

I was at the entrance to the park by 7:45.  I walked into the park towards the start, got in line for the porta potties, heard my name and was happy to see Jen, who I *knew* was going to smash her 2 hour goal.

We started together, crossing the mat at around the same time.  I didn't see her again until she was at approximately mile 10.5 and I was somewhere after mile 9.  The out-and-back along the Great Highway was particularly brutal this year because the rain picked up, as did the wind opposing the runners heading uphill and south.  I had to stop to walk to put my long sleeve jacket back on and confirm that my mp3 player had died due to exposure to the elements (I think).

Overall, it was a great day.  I cleanly met 4/6 of my goals, and by Boston Marathon rules, I get # 5 as well... (Final time, 2:20:42, 10:44/mile AVG pace, first 6 miles in 1:02:22 10:03/mile AVG pace.)

Lunch after the race was so absolutely enjoyable -- KT gets mad props for organizing.  I sincerely enjoyed hanging out with female law school colleagues that were hand selected by people I know -- It's so rare that I get to spend time with people who share random things like career ambitions, experiences, gender, and life that I felt so lucky.  Bonus, several of these folks were people I only knew through the shit-talk of fantasy football.  Say what you will about gender/societal norms -- I don't care about your gender or class, I just dare you to do a season of FF and *NOT* feel an immense connection with the group of strangers from your league when you meet them in real life.

At some point, the Super Bowl started.  As a proper San Franciscan, this year, I didn't really pay attention.  I went to the train station.  I picked up E.  We went to the hospital.  We hung out with KG and CD.  She's kicking ass.  We did a lap.  She regaled us with tales of doing stairs (1.5 days post open heart surgery).  I had the presence of mind to order a side of mac and cheese at brunch, which I brought and she enjoyed.  I felt so good to have actually brought something joyful into that hospital room.  We left before halftime when it became apparent that visitors hours were tiring her.

We drove home.

We had no real food in the house.  I put together one of the most inspired random clean-out-the-kitchen dinners I've done in a while:  Wok Bindhi Masala.

Butter - melt in wok over medium heat
3 shallots, chopped -- sautee
4 garlic cloves, minced -- sautee
cumin powder -- add to sautee
tumeric powder -- add to sautee
cayenne powder -- add to sautee
ginger powder -- add to sautee
curry powder -- add to sautee (note: spices are open to interpretation in terms of amounts and type)

1 bag frozen okra -- rinse and drain, toss in wok, stir fry
1/2 pint canned home-grown tomato sauce -- add, stir, move to high heat, add additional spices and salt to taste
3 T corn meal to thicken (I used polenta) -- when taste is correct, add thickener, lower heat, stir until correct consistency, remove from heat, allow to cool

And that my friends, was our Super Sunday.  I hope you enjoyed yourself as well.

Garden Update

Over at Tech Law Garden. Summer Garden is Coming!

A Great Day

First thing in the AM -- I woke, dressed, had my coffee and headed out for the last hard run before the race.

The scheduled track workout looked, to me, like way too much to be attempting during the same week as a marathon. But, my coaches are the professionals.  So, I stopped questioning their knowledge and solicited friends.  They were nice enough to agree to join me and we headed to a local Junior College to do what was on schedule.

Wow!  This workout was *just* what the doctor ordered in terms of confidence building.

Wake and have coffee.  15-20 minutes warm-up easy run to the track (uphill).

4X1000 -- splits: 5:22; 5:17; 5:20; 5:14 (walked recovery of 200m per interval)

4X200 -- splits: 45; 45; 44; 43 (walked recovery of 200m per interval)

15 minutes easy run back (downhill).  Then another few minutes walking.

Why is this such a great workout?

Well, for starters, I could *talk* through the 1000's.  That's right.  Talking.  Easily.  Not breathing hard at all.  At paces that are 30-45 seconds/mile faster than target race pace.  Brilliant.  All of a sudden, the marathon pace looks and feels like a cakewalk.  I'll weigh in after the fact, of course, but much to my surprise, the workout that I was worried may be too tiring actually was quite easy and raised my confidence to a level that's never happened before a marathon.

And the 200m pick-ups?  Nothing like running at a sub 6 minute mile pace (even if only for 1/8 of a mile) to convince you that you are in better shape than you've been in quite some time.  In other news, I *sincerely* enjoyed telling F to hit 40s on her 200m intervals.  Sweet, fast F.  Yup.  She did it, no problem.  5:40 mile pace on all 4 intervals -- lady is *FAST*.  Should be interesting to see how training for a half while she's training for a full at SFM treats me. I expect my fitness will be challenged and pushed. And I look forward to it.

The great AM track workout alone would be enough for a great day.   But I also get to add that I made it home in time for a good yogurt, blackberry, milk, banana smoothie.  Oh, and I had several productive work calls, a great on-site visit with a client, and, E had agreed that I should have a steak dinner to get my iron stores up before the race. (I assure you, I had to twist his arm heavily to get him to go to Dittmer's while I toiled away on legal issues related to his Company.  Okay, not really.)

Upon arrival at home after the long work day, I followed the awesomely perfect recipe we've concocted over the years and made glorious filet mignons for me, E and D (425F, garlic clove embedded, butter layered, salt and pepper), plus a side salad and boiled miniature artichokes (6/$1 at the local farmer's market on Sunday!  Deal of the century!).

At first bite of the perfectly cooked filets, the boys declared me a genius. I, of course, politely agreed.

To prove the point, I took the steak/butter/garlic/salt/pepper drippings, added onions, and made millet with the leftover artichoke water.  We now have at least 2 pounds of delicious beefy-artichoky millet for side dishes. Like the title says, it was a great day.  And the millet will prove this going forward...

Sausage: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

My aunt and uncle gave us a gift certificate to (a small, local-to-my-dad's-childhood, purveyor of preserved meat products) Cattaneo Brothers as a Christmas present.

We opted into the Sausage Variety Pack.

And, it has been the holiday gift that has continued to give the most enjoyment of all the gifts we received.

We don't regularly cook with non-cheese animal protein other than what's in the fridge due to recent gifts or recipe purchases.  So, since the start of 2013, we haven't bought any eggs or animal/fish meat of any kind.  Instead, every time we've been craving protein in a home-cooked meal, we've dug into the sausage stash that showed up after we placed our order and composed a solution:

So far, this year we've had (and served guests):

1. Leftover cheesy tomato millet risotto, revived by quickly tossing with sauteed, steamed and sliced Cattaneo Brothers Italian Sausage (no guests, but wife of the week award on turning a "not my favorite vegetarian meal" into "you are the best", right here!)

2. Baked brussels sprouts, topped with slices of steamed/sauteed Cattaneo Brothers swiss sausage (plus all the goodness from deglazing the sausage cooking pan with white wine), and broiled to perfection. (Hit with the guest!)

3. Baked broccoli, onions, garlic, and 3 links of caballero sausage slices.  Regularly tossed during the cooking process, and eventually broiled prior to serving.

4. One link of caballero sausage, sliced and wok-sauteed with onions and garlic 'til cooked through, then tossed with sliced red swiss chard, leftovers of #3, and covered to steam for tonight's dinner.  Delicious!

And we still have one link of Caballero plus an entire package of Linguica to go.

In short -- small, local, artisanal preserved meat product producers can bring much joy when their products are given as gifts.

That is all.

Long Overdue Recipe Post

So, tonight, E & I agreed that I made an awesome meal.

Right?

I mean, roasted brussel sprouts in olive oil and balsamic vinegar?

And Orecchiette from A.G. Ferrari tossed with slow roasted garlic salt and pepper garden paste tomatoes (recipe to come), fresh garden tomatoes, garden basil, and nothing else? (Note to self:  the lunch of panini and subsequent splurge at AG Ferrari is like marital money in the bank -- E is a happy Man!)

It was amazingly delicious and even *VEGAN* for crying out loud.  And E was happy.  Despite the lack of bacon or cheese or any other type of food awesomeness that the Vegans give up in their interminable lent, we agreed it was one of the better home-cooked meals I've made this year.

So, if you're looking for super healthy delicious recipes, here are two:

1.  Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts:

-pre-heat oven to 375F
-cut a bunch of brussel sprouts perpendicularly to the stem (e.g. visually, you end up with right and left brains, not top and bottom brains)
-place brussel sprout halves in baking dish
-drizzle with balsamic vinegar (such that it covers the bottom of the pan evenly, but not more than enough to see the film)
-repeat the drizzle with olive oil, same amount
-sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper
-toss (see the vinegar and oil already soaked into the crenulations of the sprout halves)
-place in oven, cook 15 minutes, toss again, half of the liquid should be gone
-remove when tops appear crystalized, serve immediately and enjoy.


2. Orecchiete with slow-roasted tomatoes and fresh tomatoes and basil

-boil one box Orecchiette 'til al dente
-while pasta is boiling, chop 2 fresh tomatoes and 1 cup slow-roasted paste tomatoes seasoned with garlic salt and pepper and preserved in olive oil (bonus if the slow-roasted tomatoes came from your garden and were prepared according to your husband's family's recipe...)
-while pasta is boiling, julienne 1 cup fresh basil (garden bonus!)
-drain pasta
-toss pasta with fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes (and their residual olive oil) and basil


ENJOY!

Lake Sammamish Half

Vegetable udon soup may be my new pre-race meal, and the leftovers with extra sauteed udon were even better than the original (the mushroom flavor soaked into the broth and the added fat made it much more delicious). Healthy, hearty, but light.

A good night's sleep and an easy wake-up made me feel like this was going to be a good race.

I conned E into driving me to the start, which was awesome, since the course is one-way and the last bus was much too early for my taste.

We walked down to the Starbucks in our building, caffeinated, and we were off. Only problem was, Google maps decided to give us directions to the finish, not the start. Apparently, "Lake Sammamish" will give you directions to the Marymoor park, not Lake Sammamish State Park. They are both on the lake, but Google decided it knew best without informing me and by the time we figured it out, we were a 20 minute drive from the start (and we needed gas).

By the time we arrived, the centipede of runners was snaking away from the start and I had to run against them to try to get my chip activated. I finally turned the corner to see the start archway deflating.

Oh, well. I turned around, now the last person in the centipede and tried to make the best of it. My initial miles were on pace for my hoped for goal of breaking 2 hours. Unfortunately, around mile 6, I bonked and just couldn't keep that pace anymore. So, I did the best I could and completed 12.49 (I lost a bit of distance in the beginning madness) at the fastest pace I've in run a race in 2 years.

All in all, it was a great day. The weather held perfectly cool without raining. I pushed myself physically and found that yes, I am regaining my former fitness level, but, I still have a ways to go.


Vegetable Udon Soup

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp ginger, chopped
Olive Oil
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
3-4 carrots, chopped into rounds
bunch of chives, chopped
1 small head of radicchio, chopped
2 blocks of frozen udon
Somen soup base
broth
chili paste

Night 1: Sautée ginger and garlic in olive oil on high until garlic starts to brown. Add carrots and stir. Add 2-4 cups broth, some somen base and water and bring to a boil. Add mushrooms and radicchio and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chives and 1 block of frozen udon, simmer for a few minutes until the udon is cooked through. Taste broth and add somen base if not flavorful enough. Serve with chili sauce as a garnish.

Night 2: heat leftovers in the microwave and sauté udon in olive oil and a tsp of somen soup base. Add sautéed noodles to re-heated broth and enjoy!

The Halibut Chronicles

C sent us 8 HUGE filets of halibut from her fishing expedition in Homer, Alaska. It's the gift that keeps on giving -- every time we make a halibut recipe, she comes to visit and we make a meal and hang out.

On her first visit, we pan fried it and served it with tomato, caper, olive sauce. Mmmm....

The second dinner was poached over a spicy soba salad with a mustard cream sauce. Mmmm...

And this week, we went with Alton Brown's Chips and Fish Recipe.

You know, fry the chips once:



Fry 'em again at a hotter temperature for good measure and then spread them on a roasting pan and keep them warm in a 200F oven.



Dredge the fish in cornstarch:



Then coat with beer batter:



Put the oil to use, yet again for the third frying of the evening:



And enjoy a meal of nothing but brown (except for the homemade tartar sauce, thanks for the splash of color, C!).

Winter Food

You know what's one of the great things about Winter in California?

Brussel Sprouts!

You know what makes brussel sprouts even better?

Pork Chops!

You know what makes pork chops even better?

BACON!



E, our two guests, and I were quite happy and full!

New Favorite Potato Salad

I don't usually love potato salad -- probably because it's typically a lackluster presentation of dense calorie mush without much taste.

But a few nights ago, I cleaned out the fridge and found this concoction to be absolutely delicious:

Dill Pickle Potato Salad

-1/2 pint of home-made dill pickles with cumin and mustard seeds in the brine
-1/2 bunch fresh dill
-2 extra-large russet potatoes, boiled, peeled, and diced to 1-2 cm^3
-1/2 small red onion, diced
-1 cup pickled nopales (with the associated onions and jalapenos)
-1/4 cup capers and their juice
-6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced
-olive oil
-salt and pepper

1. pulse onions, pickles, nopales, and dill until it is a nice relish
2. Mix relish with potatoes, eggs, and capers until evenly mixed
3. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, mix evenly

Enjoy immediately, or chilled for the next few days.

Roasted Cauliflower with Bacon, Baby Carrots, Leeks, Mustard, and Bread Crumbs

This recipe is currently winning the 2010 unofficial home-based contest for unexpected awesome (and it puts some of the last of the Spring Harvest to use).



-1/4 lb bacon, chopped into 1 inch strips
-2 Leeks, chopped into 1 cm rounds
-1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets of 1 inch X 1 inch X 0.25 inch
-2 T fancy German non-sweet mustard (pick your favorite mustard from a talented friend, if you can)
-1/2 lb. miniature carrots from the garden
-2 C. bread crumbs
-fancy salt flakes (pick your poison)

-Pre-heat oven to 450F.

1. Chop leeks and cauliflower. Scatter throughout pan. Place dry in oven.

2. Sauteé bacon on medium. Cover to preserve liquid in addition to grease. Add chopped leeks after bacon has started to release grease. Add mustard, stir. Cover.

3. Once leeks are completely translucent, layer bacon, leeks, mustard, etc. over slightly browned cauliflower. Return, uncovered, to oven for 20 minutes.

4. Stir all layers to ensure even coating of bacon grease and any other spices that have been added to you taste. Layer baby carrots, salt flakes, bread crumbs, and a sprinkling of olive oil on top. Return to oven for 20 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Add black pepper and salt flakes for texture to taste.

Roasted Mustard Pork-Chops Over Winter Veggies

Easy and delicious made-up recipe from the contents of our fridge, served to guests. Good Mustard is the key.

-1 pork chop per person
-port mustard from Heavenly Mustards
-1 cabbage, chopped
-1 cup leftover vegetable minestrone
-3 leeks from the garden, chopped
-olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Layer cabbage and leeks in a baking dish
3. Pour minestrone over cabbage and leeks
4. Lather both sides of each pork chop with a liberal layer of mustard, place on top of veggies.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.



6. Bake for 20 minutes. Drizzle with more oil.
7. Bake for 10 minutes. Drizzle with more oil. Turn to broil.
8. Broil for 5 minutes.
9. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Red Lentil Salad



MMM... winter comfort food. Enjoy!


-1 package (approx 2 cups) red lentils
-1/2 red onion chopped
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-6 pieces bacon, chopped
-1 12 oz. can stewed tomatoes
-2 T dijon mustard
-2 T pickled horseradish
-1 bunch spinach, washed, stemmed, and divided into 3 beds
-sea salt
-finishing coarse salts (a fancy selection of various colored crystals that were a holiday gift from E's sister and her husband)

1. Place bacon, onions, and garlic in a pan. Cook on medium-high heat until bacon is starting to brown and onions and garlic are see-through.

2. Add lentils, stir.

3. Add tomatoes, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Cover with water (approx 1-2 cups), continue to stir and cook on medium heat.

5. Add sea salt to taste (approx 2 tsp for me), stir, cover and leave on medium heat stirring every 2-3 minutes until water is almost evaporated.

6. Stir in mustard and horseradish. Taste. (If lentils are too hard, add another 1/2 cup water and cover to simmer for 5 mintues.) Once lentils are al dente, Remove from heat, stir, and cover.

7. Arrange spinach as a bed, and plate the lentil salad over the spinach. Dress with fancy salts of choice.


Enjoy Immediately!

Butternut, Bacon, Swiss Cheese Soup (with extra Ham!)

Mmmm... this soup is the essence of the approaching winter. Absolutely delicious.

-1 Large butternut squash, sliced in 1 inch rounds, seeds removed, peeled, and cubed
-2 yellow onions, chopped coarsely
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-6-8 cups broth of your choosing (I used half beef broth and half beef boullion)
-2 t ground cumin
-1 t ground coriander
-8 ounces bacon, chopped
-4-8 ounces leftover thanksgiving ham, chopped
-3 T sour cream
-2 T cornstarch
-grated swiss cheese
-black pepper


1. Sautee bacon, onions and garlic 'til onions are clear.
2. Add squash and spices, stir 'til coated.
3. Add broth, boil 15 minutes or so, until squash cubes break easily with a spoon.
4. Stir sour cream, cornstarch and 3 T warm water together.
5. Add ham and sour cream mixture, stir, remove from heat and continue to stir.
6. Serve into deep bowls, top with cheese and black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!