Beware the Bear

I think you have to be somewhat nutty to get up at 5am-- and really nutty to do it on a Sunday morning. But that's what we did. The purpose: swim 750m, bike 17.7 (hilly) miles, and then run 3.4 miles. It was the Black Bear Triathlon in the Poconos, PA. I'll be honest, I had not been looking forward to this. I had not trained as much as I should have, and I was worried the water would be cold, and I don't have a wetsuit. Well, the water was cold, the bike was hella-hilly, and the run was a trail run where I had to stop mid-way and get some pebbles out of my shoe.
I waded into the water -- about knee deep -- prior to the start of the race and the water was OK temperature-wise. The swim portion was an in-water start, meaning we had to tread water by some buoys while we waited for the horn to blow. About 25 feet from the shore, as the water got deeper, it also got colder -- it felt 10-15 degrees colder. My feet were going numb! By the time I reached the first buoy, I was beginning to warm-up, but my feet were pretty cold for the entire swim portion. My hill attacks were better -- I'm improving at switching gears, but I did have to dismount twice and walk the bike up some long hills. It was quite funny, I'd bike past some of the walkers, huffing and puffing all the way to the top, only to have them pass me during the downhills or the straightaways. And then the next hill, the same thing would happen. The last two hills I finally learned my lesson!
Despite these challenges, it was a friendly crowd and I did finish. In fact, my swimming time improved a lot from last year's NorthEast Tri. The volunteers were great. And as soon as I crossed the finish line, i was handed a bottle of water and made my way to the food! (pizza, rita's ice, pretzels, oranges and more.) All in all, it was fun.

The best thing non-tri related was the rental car. We took a scenic drive up to Beltzville State Park (the location of the tri) and we stopped at Hershey's Farm Market for lunch. (Incidental, you can also pick up half a pig -- which according to their literature is 5lbs of bacon, 20 center cut pork chops, i country style ribs, 1 ham-cut or whole, 15lbs large link sausage, 1 pork loin end roast, and 1 rack spare ribs). They also had a great candy section and an assortment of Amish focused literature -- which was kind of strange. But it was there we notice the trunk of the car. On the inside of the trunk lid was a tab -- looked like a car air-freshener. If you looked closely, it was a glow in the dark tab with a person jumping out of the trunk! You guessed it. This car had a tab for if a person is "accidentally" locked in the trunk. You might ask how I'm certain of this? Well, I tested it out, of course, post-tri. I climbed into the trunk and had ML close the lid. I saw the glow in the dark tab, pulled it and voila.....the trunk popped open!. Here's ML trying it out!

Sandwiches

I read the cookbook 'wichcraft: Craft a sandwich into a meal--and a meal into a sandwich by Tom Colicchio and with Sisha Ortuzar. It was good and put me in a sandwich phase. They had some nice veggie selections, but also helped inspire me -- mainly with different cheeses and veggies I might not have otherwise thought of -- like celery and avocado. I went through tomato and goat cheese, tomato and Havarti. I did smoked salmon with cucumbers and an avocado spread. I used brioche and multi grain and even plain whole wheat. My favorite was from the book though. It was a take on french onion soup, but in sandwich form. I sauteed some onions with garlic and butter, but them on whole wheat bread with Gruyere cheese and then grilled the sandwich. It was really good --- all 4 times I made it!



Now I'm off to the triathlon! My goal: to finish.

Bike Rides and Pie Crusts

In preperation for the Black Bear Tri, I've actually started biking outside. I did two rides this weekend -- granted they were fairly flat, but it was still better than nothing. One involved doing loops of Haines Points -- which is not as scenic since they moved The Awakening and the other was the Mount Vernon Trail (which I rode with SM and KM). I still don't enjoy the biking portion of the tri, but I think I'm getting better at shifting gears and not getting as tired out going uphill. We meant to go all the way to Mt. Vernon (which would have been nice since I've not been) but we lost the trail in Old Town. I had read it was tricky, and I don't think having this handy map would have helped. But on our way back to Theodore Roosevelt Island (which was our starting point) we stopped in Old Town for a snack and watched a guy playing glasses. (Yes, crystal glasses filled with different amounts of water to effect tones). It was really fun -- especially watching him "tune" the glasses by pouring increasing amounts of water into the glass until it hit the right tone. We also got to ride under a plane as it approached the landing strip at National Airport!

So, to celebrate all the biking, I bought two whoopie pies from Whole Foods --they were yummy!!! I really want to try making them. On Sunday, I did a 4 mile, hilly run which ended at the Dupont Circle farmers market. I picked up some ricotta cheese, eggs, and first-pick squash. All of these went into a quiche tart that I made for dinner. It was quite good, if I do say so myself!

Post Hunt 2009

Sunday was the Post Hunt 2009 and LC, ML, LT and I participated! The short answer -- the Hunt is a "quirky urban brainteaser" that had us going around downtown Washington, DC solving clues that would get us to the end. Here's the boring answer: In The Washington Post Magazine there were several number "answers" but only 5 correct ones. We had to go to 5 spots where we'd be given clues and from those clues we'd fine the 5 correct number answer. At 3pm they give you the final clue and from there you have to know where to go, be the first to solve the puzzle, get to the right spot and hand in a cellphone number. Needless to say, we weren't the winners, but we had fun trying.

Some of the clues were fairly straight forward. Statues: a Ghost next to a Canon, a vacuum cleaner, eyes and an hourglass translated to Boo-Canon or our 15th President Buchanan, for the Brits out there -- the Hoover was a reference to our 31st President Herbert Hoover, and lastly Eyes and Hour-glass (minus the glass, of course) was #34 President Dwight D. Eisenhower. While I'd love to be able to see we new what president was what number, we were aided by a president pencil that had all the presidents in order and that were found in our Hunt goodie bag. (That plus an ice-scraper. I'm still puzzling about that one.)

The hardest one was the Statues. There were two human "statues" dressed in togas and striking poses and volunteers who were handing out a clue. The clue was "According to ancient Native America legend the earth was pooped out an an Eagle PLUS It is believed to be the world's largest freestanding Polyp MINUS Little Alice loved hanging out with Uncle Henry, but she kept a sledge hammer ready in case he got frisky." This was the puzzle that really stumped us. The clue just told use it was going to be an equation of some sort. The key was the statutes. On the Hunt map there were 9 statues and if you went to all the statues there was someone with a number. You had to figure out which numbers to use. We got to the right answer, but not by going to all the statues. The final clue gave us a number to call -- and it told us an important message followed the fours. Three of the answers contained "4" or "for" or "fore" so the message was "cinematic poster next to toy" the problem was we forget the 4 in the 3rd answer which would have given us let. The final clue was "cinematic poster next to toilet" which was on the Post Hunt Map. At that location was a Star Wars poster with R2D2 and CE-P0 -- map coordinates that led to a boxer. You then had to go to that location and look for a boxer -- in this case a volunteer walking a boxer dog. So while we were going to the toys on the map, other teams won 00 and in under 30 mins. It was really quite impressive!


Still, there's always next year for Team Elphor (yes, we need to come up with a better name)!

Pretty Scar

If you've had the misfortune to see or talk to me in the last week, I've probably told you/shown you my burn scar. I love this scar! It's my first -- but not my last -- baking burn scar. I was baking salty oat, brown sugar, bittersweet, semi-sweet brown cookies and accidently hit the edge of the baking sheet with my right forearm. It didn't hurt at the time. The next day, it was there -- this slightly curved, maroon colored line that was slightly raised. I don't know why I love this injury so much. The shape -- like a tall stalk bending to a strong wind -- maybe? Or maybe because it was doing something a really enjoyed! My camera's not the greatest, but you get the point. It's fading now, though.

The Blue Duck Tavern

It turns out my need to clean out the pantry was canceled. My work trip did not pan through, so I've been scrounging for food and also going out to eat. One restaurant that has been on my list for awhile is Blue Duck Tavern. Apparently, Bono ate there when he was in DC. I heard of it as farm to table place -- the menu lists where your food came from. My friend AL had heard that it was a place that did slow roasting meats, home cooking very well. Given my Year of the Veggie, AL's description wasn't a good sign for me. When I first got there, I noticed that there was an herb garden in a small patch of ground by near the door. The hostess said the chefs get there herbs from it. I thought that was cool. The service at the restaurant was great. The waiters were ready with suggestions. I started with a pea soup with a cuttlefish ravioli (from Path Valley, PA).

It was nice and light. The ravioli was really difficult to eat though.

For my main course I had the Kohlrabi Gratin (Path Valley) and Warm Swiss Chard, Pinenut and Raisin pie (also Pathy Valley).

My waiter was very keen on the Gratin, unfortunately, I was not a fan. I thought it was bland and could have used a lot of salt -- but there was none on the table. The pie on the other hand was great. Nice difference in textures and a good mix of the savory and sweet. When the manager came by and asked if I liked it -- I hesitated and apparently that was enough to get the gratin off the bill. I actually felt bad about that. I mean I didn't like it, but I did eat most of it. I don't know if I'll go back during my year of the veg. There really isn't a lot of veggie choices aside from a pot pie. I look forward to trying it again when I'm eating meat!

Emptying Out the Pantry

In preparing for my temporary move, I’m cleaning out the cupboards and freezer. Last night, it was risotto. I love this dish. I actually learned how to make it in Bologna, Italy in a cooking class I took towards the end of the school year. It’s not a quick dish and I don’t make it as well as the Italian mama who taught us, but it has everything I love in it. – rice, onions, cheese and a veg of my choosing! I started simply enough, a little butter and chopped onions – sautéed until translucent. Then I added the Arborio rice and cooked it until it made this clack sound when it hit the side of the pan. Next, I added my wine – in this case I used some Cava that I had open in the frig. After that, I added some shitake mushrooms that I had rehydrated and some frozen artichoke I had in the freezer. I poured some of the water from the rehydrated mushrooms into the pot next. I stirred and as the liquid got absorbed and became creamy, I added more of the liquid, and stirred some more. I did this for about 20 minutes – when I ran out of the mushroom water, I used some left over vegetable stock. Lastly, I added some parmigiano-reggiano cheese and chopped button mushrooms I had. It was OK. I needed to add some salt and pepper. I made a lot of it and I’ve pretty much got lunch for the rest of the week set!

Potomac River Run

This morning I ran the Potomac River Run Half Marathon with SM and JM. It was a fun run despite the weather -- rainy -- primarily because of the great river views. The course was a foot/bike path right along the river south of Old Town, VA and almost hitting Mt. Vernon. It was a small field and I think it made it all the better. The water stations were nicely spaced apart. I finished in about 2:23 and change. The timing chip recorder broke (we think because of the rain). It was a good time for me considering how hilly the course was. I still don't think it's as bad as Central Park, but they were gently rolling 20 to 30 foot rises and falls. I signed up for the NYC Half and a Mini 10k in NYC, as well. There's a 10k here in DC that also sounds like it would be a fun race to run. But the next up for me is the Black Bear Tri. So, I think it's time for me to focus more on biking and swimming for the next couple of weeks. But I did give myself a post-race treat -- Ciao Bella's Maple Ginger Snap gelato!

Blueberry Crumb Cake

A couple of weeks ago I went to a healthy cooking class at Williams-Sonoma. A cookbook was passed around -- one that had a recipe for a Blueberry Walnut Crumb cake and I have not been able to get this out of my head. After search the wed, I found a Barefoot Contessa recipe for Blueberry Crumb cake and tested it out on my co-workers. It was fairly straightforward. First, I made the streusel topping: brown sugar, regular sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour mixed together and set aside. Then came the cake. Now that the stand mixer is in NJ, I had to cream the butter and sugar by hand. It took a bit longer, but I think the result was pretty good. I added vanilla, two eggs, and sour cream into the sugar. Then came the four, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and lemon zest. It was mixed until it all came together and then I folded in about a 1.5 cups of fresh blueberries. I put the batter in a buttered cake pan and topped it with the streusel topping, and lastly baked it for 50 minutes. I have never been a fan of baked fruit dishes.

A blueberry cake I had on my hiking trip in Alaska changed my mind, at least about baked blueberry cake-like dishes. This cake was moist and sweet, but not too sweet. Another recipe I found called for buttermilk instead of sour cream. I think I'm going to try that recipe next.