Recharging the Battery...

This past weekend was...wonderful!! I spent a delicious and low-key Thanksgiving day with Hilary, Emma, and lots of other fun folks. A sunny hike in Briones on Thanksgiving morning turned into Operation Josie Rescue when Hil and I found a dog that had been separated from it's owner. It was really *really* tempting to take cute Josie home, but luckily (for her and for Cairo) she was reunited with her owner.


The rest of the weekend was spent in the OC laughing, eating, hiking, running, eating, and laughing with Ellen and Mike. Some champagne and cookbooks by Julia Childs and Thomas Keller made for a great Thanksgiving Round #2.


So here's the latest newness:

1. Eating at Kogi--the famous Korean taco stand in LA. UNbelievable. I think I consumed about 25,000 mg of sodium, but it was worth it. We are convinced that the magic ingredient in all Kogi dishes is crack.

2. Seeing John Oliver (of Daily Show fame) live. Funny, funny stuff

3. Hiking in the hils above Irvine.

4. Getting into my bind in yoga. That was a looong time coming. See picture:

5. Getting back in the pool. 3/4 of a mile felt like it took about 10 years.

6. Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant. Not quite sure why I waited 34 years to do that but it...was...awesome! NO DISHES!!

7. New promotion: Director of Operations for Taste of the Nation, San Francisco. This year's goal is to get at least 2000 attendees and net $200,000 for hunger-related charities in San Francisco. If you're interested in volunteering..or just coming to eat some amazing food in April, let me know!

Beans, beans, the magical fruit...

What's a girl with 1.25lbs of ground turkey breast to do? Make chili of course! Cheap, healthy, filling, and yummy.

I tried a new chili recipe, one that doesn't involve beans! This is a recipe that I found on http://www.thefoodee.com/ and adapted a bit based on what I had in the house. It's deeelish and I don't miss the beans one bit! Neither do my workout buddies...hee hee.

6 slices bacon (I had turkey bacon in the freezer so used that)

2 celery ribs

1 green pepper ( I had 2 red so used those)

1 red pepper

1 medium onion

3 14-oz cans diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can tomato sauce (I used tomato paste instead to thicken it up)

1.5 lbs ground beef, turkey, etc

4 cloves garlic (ummm, I used like 8)

3 Large carrots (I added this to the recipe)

1 zucchini (I added this to the recipe)

2 teas cumin

2 T chili powder

1 teas smoked paprika

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder (I didn't add this)

1 teas oregano

3/4 c beef broth (I had veggie broth)

The end result? Wicked yummy and enough for dinners and lunches for most of this week. Garnish with chopped green onions, FF Greek Yogurt or fresh tomatoes.

Thankful....plus one more goal

Tis the time of year. To slow down. To look around. And to reflect on all the many things for which we are grateful. In these waning hours of 2010, I'm working to make gratitude a daily practice--to think of three things for which I'm grateful each night before I go to sleep.

To be sure, the list is long. I've been blessed with so much love, happiness, opportunity and beauty. Specifically...today...I'm grateful for:

-A strong healthy body

-A family that I love to the ends of the earth

-A job that I adore, and that challenges me every day

-The chance to live in the most beautiful place on earth

-The most special, hilarious, remarkable friends

-A new love that is sweet, strong and makes me smile

-A Thanksgiving spent, in my PJs, with my oldest and dearest friends...and wine

-A really fun Saturday that included spinning (with Kelvin!!), cooking (see photo) and cocktails with girlfriends

PS: The biggest goal, from my earlier post, for 2011 that I FORGOT to mention!! A half Ironman. Bring it!

Can It!!

What's a girl to do on a rainy, rainy weekend before Thanksgiving. Go to the movies with friends? Check. Take a hike in the rain with a good buddy? Check. Make homemade jams and preserves to give as holiday gifts? Check baby!


This weekend I'll tackle my greatest culinary project yet---homemade gourmet jams! I've got all the essentials: a pressure canner (borrowed from the best boss on earth), lots of canning jars, lots of time (did I mention the rain?) and Car Talk to keep me laughing. I'm still finalizing the jam selections but so far I'm leaning towards:


Gingered Pear Preserves

AND

Black Cherry Espresso Jam

and probably one other tbd...

So don't be surprised if:

a. You hear about a crazy lady in Oakland accidentally blowing her roof off from incorrectly securing the pressure canner lid


b. I show up at aforementioned movie or hike covered in jam-goo


c. You get some homemade jam for a holiday gift. Ho ho ho.

Can someone stop by and check on me at some point Sunday to make sure I'm not buried alive under a pile of cookbooks and jelly jars? Thanks.

Update!

If you're ever wondering what to do with 500 lbs of fresh veggies, some of which are weird, here's the answer: homemade soup!

This takes no time--you can make it while drinking morning coffee and listening to the news:

-1 carton low-sodium veggie stock

-Chopped veggies

-Can of diced tomatoes

-Can of white beans

-Salt, pepper, dried herbs

-Looooove

Low carb, low fat and high in all things good. Just eat with a few slices of roast turkey for protein.

New Farm Box...new discoveries

Another week, another farm box! This week's box had some things in it that I've never cooked with before including kohlrabi and radishes. Other yummy treats included yams, broccoli rabe, lettuce, raddichio, pears and apples.

So last night's dinner was:

-Organic chicken with caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes

-Sauteed broccoli rabe with shallots, garlic and pancetta

YUM.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with these radishes. Anyone?

Double workouts

Winter...ugh. There's nothing worse than darkness when you get up...and darkness when you leave work. I feel the winter approaching and the darkness creeping in..losing a little more light each day. This is traditionally my hardest time of year, being the sun worshipper that I am.

So this year I've developed a plan to combat the winter blues AND work towards training more aggressively for spring runs/rides. The plan involves twice daily workouts.

I shall give you a moment to stop laughing. Because yes, it is ridiculous, but it's also, I hope, going to keep me from going stir crazy during the winter CA rains.

So my plan is to exercise before work in the morning, and then follow up with an evening workout after leaving the office. On the days when it's not raining, I'll run at lunch instead of getting up at dark: thirty.

Day 1 of this plan was today. A morning hike and evening spin class. My plan tomorrow is a morning trail run and an evening hike. My goal is to do this 4 days a week. The other two days I can either rest completely or do one workout only.

With holiday cookie season approaching, this seems like a good time to get a jump start on both the winter blues and the winter 5lb cookie gain.

But don't get me wrong, I don't intend to stop eating cookies. I'm not *that* crazy.

New Year

Well, if one's birthday is any indication of the type of year they can expect, I'm in for a wonderful 365 days. My day has been special in so many ways:

1. I'm in LA for a conference...for a job I love

2. Last night had a delicious dinner in Japantown with a wonderful old friend (I'm not calling YOU old, Ellen...just our friendship :)

3. A decadent chocolate cake shared with co-workers. Nom nom nom

4. Notes, calls and wishes from friends and family near and far---I feel SO loved and warm and smooshy inside.

5. Looking forward to a Saturday filled with spinning, swimming (to work off the cake :) and Ethiopian food with good friends

6. Sunday...a trip to the Farmer's Market and then whisking away to a cabin on the desolate Pt. Reyes National Seashore with special Seattle friends. On the menu: fresh pasta with veggies, fresh clams/shrimp and apple crumble. Better make sure to pack the wine opener!

I feel like the luckiest girl on Earth. I'm looking forward to a year full of hard work, hard play, big adventures, big love, and big giving back. Happy happy.

Farther, faster, higher, happier...

I've been spending some time reflecting on my fitness/athletic goals for the coming year. 2010 was a great year--I got in a half marathon, a 2-day endurance bike ride, and lots of weekends of hiking, snowshoeing and backpacking.

For me, exercise fills a lot of roles. It's a hobby for sure--something I love and try to do at least 5-6 days a week. It's a social outlet: Running with Zan, yoga with Hilary, hiking with Sara, cycling with Mary... But it's also a way for me to stay focused and forward-thinking. I find that for me, I need to set discrete goals (races, etc...) in order to structure my training and make sure that I'm pushing myself harder than I would otherwise.

My goals for 2010 were solid, but not aggressive: run mid-distances, log long miles on the bike, and generally feel fit enough to participate in any activity that comes my way.

For 2011, I want to set some more aggressive goals. I want to run longer, cycle faster, climb higher, and push harder. This will mean more deliberate, structured training, and certainly more cross-training (swimming) and weightlifting. I want to feel stronger, faster, lighter and most importantly, ENJOY the process. And so starting now, before the holiday cookies and egg nog, I am making commitments to events and challenges that will push me harder, farther, and differently than I've pushed myself before.

And at the end of the day, when I've crossed the finish line, or reached the summit, I will smile as I always do, knowing that the journey to get there was really what it was all about, and looking forward to the next adventure.

Because, after all, life is about the journey, and who we share it with along the way. I plan for 2011 to be a fun, challenging journey and hope to share it with many of you!

2011 Goals:

March: Oakland Half Marathon

April: Santa Cruz Half Marathon

June: Tahoe Rim Ride

July: Climb Mt. Whitney

Fall: Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with Megan

New recipe

for Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon cookies.

Sooooo. Goooood.

Not quite perfection, but close. I'm always working on perfecting a portfolio of recipes for the day when I eventually open my own bakery...maaaany years from now. But in the meantime, the tasting of the goods sure is fun.

A week's worth

It's been a whole week since I've posted here. How did that happen? Some days time seems to tick by...so slowly. But most days, especially lately, and especially this weekend, time flies by so fast that it makes me dizzy.

I had a great weekend. After an all-too-brief trip to central PA, my heart is full and warm and happy. And my pants don't fit quite as well as they did on Thursday, but it was totally worth it. So here's what's new:

--GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!
--First football game...ever! It. Was. Awesome
--First Yuengling beer in almost 10 years. I missed my old friend.
--New work project--a heart disease study that sounds pretty durn interesting
--First time visiting State College, PA. A cute and lively town that revolves around it's beloved football team. Which, by the way, totally kicked Northwestern's ASS on Saturday!
--A new favorite drink: Soy latte
--New favorite snack: Baked kale chips with sea salt and olive oil. Yuuuuumy.

I'm a lucky kid...there's no doubt about that. Lucky and grateful.

Buster Keaton kicks *@ss!!

I'm not sure how I got to age (almost) 34 without ever seeing a Buster Keaton film. The man is a genius! Seeing one of his short films was a high point of a weekend full of high points and new things, including:

1. Visiting Davies Symphony Hall
2. Watching "Jekyll and Hyde" with John Barrymore--the creepiest, darkest, most awesome silent film I've ever seen. All of Barrymore's transformations from Jekyll to Hyde were done with no special effects--just pure changes in his facial expressions and some makeup. Simply incredible
3. Hearing Bach's Toccata on a real live organ...chilling
4. Halloween Charity Party....has anyone else noticed (and found disturbing) the fact that Halloween seems now to be an occasion for girls to put on slutty outfits and get drunk? Outfits spotted at this party (which was a benefit for Haiti relief) included: slutty cop, slutty nurse, slutty cat, slutty witch, slutty pirate...the list goes on.
5. Meeting baby Mason...so cute, so well-behaved
6. NOT EATING ANY HALLOWEEN CANDY!!!! I made it through the entire holiday without succumbing to one Snickers, Kit Kat or Milky Way. There's something sad and tragic about that.

I'm hoping that tomorrow, I can add "Watching the Giants win the World Series" to my list of new things!!! Fear the Beard!!!