Pumpkin Eater

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This is what I was thinking, and then B.J. Novak posted this on Instagram:

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This seems to be an all-pumpkin edition of my favorite magazine

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Where, then, I decided I didn’t have to say it, I can just “heart” it. But, I just wanted to warn you, a few more pumpkin baked goods may be in our future…

Speaking of pumpkin, it is officially Pumpkin Spice Latte season. No doubt you’ve already heard the John Oliver rant about Pumpkin Spice. And why am I capitalizing Pumpkin Spice? The thing is, he’s kinda right. Every year I suddenly get totally excited for pumpkin spice lattes! Oooh! Ahhh! Every year, I order one which comes out to be some ridiculously expensive, like $5 or something. And every year I take that first sip and I’m like, Oh, this doesn’t taste as good as I remember it tasting. Yet, for some reason I can’t learn from my mistake? Maybe this is why SBUX only brings out this syrup for a limited time. They expect you to forget, until the hype starts up again and then Oh no, you got me again.

This year, though, I did remember and I went all crazy on the PSL. I ordered it with soy and suddenly it was saved. It was also 60 cents more, so, yeah, not doing that again (I drink Americanos. I’m not used to spending $5 on a drink. Unless it’s my free sbux reward, then I’ll do whatever I can to make it worth my while). But now, I’ve had my one PSL and I won’t need another one until next year. And this time I’m putting a tickler in my calendar to remind me, order it with soy.

But let’s get to where I’m really going with this … So far this season I’m on my third can of pumpkin puree. aawwww yeah! One can was dedicated to trying to perfect the pumpkin pie smoothie, which I’m still working on (Note to self: the “lite” coconut milk from PCC is nasty. Stick with Trader Joe’s). Today, as I was cruising through Insta I noticed a repost from paleomg that triggered something in me. So the kiddo and I took out our tools and got to work on Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars. You might have thought I gave up on paleo baking after those atrocious Raspberry Lemon Muffins (I am still shuddering). Well, the thing is, it’s hard to go wrong with pumpkin and chocolate. That, and I still had a little bit of almond flour I was looking to get rid of. So, pumpkin bars it is.

Really good. How do I know they’re good? 1) I’ve had about 5 of them. 2) Husband said, “hey, these are really good!” (I know!!) 3) The kiddo, whining because she kept chomping down on a loose tooth, continued to shove one in her mouth while whining and crying about the pain in her mouth. 3a) She LOST her First tooth in an Ooey Gooey bar, so these treats are going to be something I’ll remember for a while now.

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Ooey gooey chocolate chip pumpkin bars. @paleomg said to make them right now, so we did.

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Truth be told, these are actually not paleo. I used almond flour, but didn’t have tapioca flour, so instead used sweet white rice flour that I did have. Also, I used regular chocolate chips, not those fancy Enjoy Life ones. Are those changes part of why they are really tasty, and why I fully expect this family to polish off the batch by the end of the weekend? Possibly. I’ll live.

WODs of September 2014

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Usually our group does Wendler for 12 weeks a couple of times a year. This time around we’re doing a new strength training cycle, that’s all about squats (front squats and back squats). In the pic immediately below you can see how it kicked off. For the couple of weeks prior, we all did 1RMs for our front squat. I did mine after coming back from a week of not lifting much at all. I was feeling cruddy that day, was running out of time before doing the WOD and didn’t want to rush, so I stopped at around 100# and called it a day. When this first day of lifting came around, well, I wasn’t struggling very much which made coach Danielle look at me with her stern look:

“Did you sandbag your 1 rep max???”

“No!”

<continued stern look>

“I might have”

So now I’m basing my numbers on Rina’s 1RM, which is 120#. It’s going ok. We are about 5 weeks in and have another 5 or so weeks to go. Let’s just say heavy is heavy, and at this point I’m getting tired of squatting. On the other hand, my squatting is looking pretty good these days. They call me textbook. That’s a good thing, at least when it comes to squatting.

All of this heavy lifting means that many of our WODs are more cardio-intensive, which for some reason translates into double-unders. Which continue to be the bane of my existence.

I’m posting this late into the month, so I’m leaving most of these without comment, unless there is something that really sticks out there.

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9-10-14

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WP_20140918_001I didn’t take too many pics this month.

 

I ran a race

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Race report. On Sept. 20 I ran my first race of the year. I Beat the Blerch. And it was great. 10K flat out and back at Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carnation. There were Blerches on the course, suggesting we stop and take a nap. There was cake, Nutella sandwiches and a couch at mile 3. These treats were at the finish line, as well, for those runners like me who might have vomited were they to eat cake at mile 3. What a delicious Nutella sandwich! I’ve got to get more of those in my diet.

If you don’t know anything about The Blerch, allow me to introduce you to
this comic, which sums up how I often feel when faced with the task of training for a race.

So, yeah. Fun. Bumped into a few friends at the start line. Also fun. Convenient parking. Lots of portapotties. Nice swag. Smooth start and the announcer says your name as you cross the finish line. One of the smoothest, well-organized running events I’ve been to, especially as a first-time race.

Oh yeah, and photos, lots of them, available for download at no cost. Wha??? Here’s one …

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My time was about 1:01, or a 9:53 pace. Not surprising, considering the minimal training I had been able to do. The 10K is an ideal pace. Short enough to be done with minimal training, long enough to be worth a race entry fee and the hassle of race day.

What’s next?

Pumpkin season

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So the third week of September happened and without any warning fall arrived. Just like that. A week of waiting for the bus in the rain at least ended in a weekend of sunny, but cooler weather. On the up side, pumpkin season! I’m no longer a pumpkin spice latte lover that I once was, but I couldn’t resist buying my first can of purée to whip up these treats.
First up, pumpkin spice smoothies, based on this recipe.

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Instead of apple juice I used about a tbsp of honey, and garnished with walnuts, which I had on hand. This made 2 small servings, which were the perfect size for the kiddo and I. Two thumbs up.

Today it was pumpkin bread and mini-muffins. Based it on an Allrecipes recipe, but altered it so much I’m just going to rewrite it here:
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup pumpkin
1/2 c brown sugar / 1/4 c white sugar / 1/4 coconut sugar
1/2 c applesauce
2 eggs

1/4 – 1/2 c lite coconut milk

Optional: walnuts, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds

Preheat 375. Grease your tins. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Then the wet in a large bowl (not the coconut milk). When adding the dry with the wet, use the coconut milk if the batter gets dry.

I used my small loaf pan, where I added walnuts and pumpkin seeds on top. Then with the rest of the batter I added a handful or more of semisweet chocolate chips.

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The mini muffins took 15 minutes. The small loaf (no pic) took about 45 min.

Both got good ratings from the family. Really, you can’t go wrong with pumpkin spice.

Let it go

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The kindergartener went to a “Frozen” party earlier this month. A special guest showed up. Yep, Queen Elsa herself. And did you know Queen Elsa, in addition to being a Queen with ice powers, can do magic tricks, make balloon animals AND excels at face painting? So many talents.

Queen Elsa

Queen Elsa

I loved the spread that our neighbors put out for the Frozen theme. Anna and Hans’ Sandwiches (if you haven’t memorized the soundtrack then it will mean nothing to you). Kristoph’s ice cubes (blue jello); Olaf’s nose (carrots in ranch dressing); Olaf’s arms (pretzel sticks). Impressive, no?

Frozen Dinner

Frozen Dinner, so to speak

On the bottom, those are marshmallows dipped in blue sugar. Because, you know, when I think about marshmallows, what I really want is for that soft pillow of sugar to be dipped in … more sugar!

I definitely tried one of the marshmallows, of course. I definitely had more than one…

Some summer fails

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Post the goods with the bads, right? I made these paleo muffins. Why, I don’t know. I don’t care for paleo baking, as I’ve mentioned over and over again. But the photos in The Paleo Kitchen are soooo purty. The kindergartener was looking through the book and first asked if we could make chocolate cayenne brownies from the book. I said no. Then she showed me the Lemon Raspberry Muffins and I said maybe.

These didn’t swirl so well. And, oh yeah, they are paleo so they are a bit eggy. Right out of the oven they were pretty okay. The next day, only edible when smeared with freezer jam. And, yikes, they do not look all that pretty:

lemon raspberry muffins (paleo)

WYSIWYG

Fail 2: Not a huge fail, but sorta. The kindergartener and I make vegetable kebabs for the husband to grill. We kinda did it wrong, I suspect. Too much space between the pieces of vegetables, maybe a little too small pieces. Maybe shoulda used whole mushrooms. So, he tried, but they kinda just fell apart. Better luck next time…

veggie grill

sorta veggie grill

Sorta veggie grill. Sorta cooked on one side, sorta not on the other. Plus, there’s a little pineapple in there. Not a veggie. Still, pretty tasty. That grill is fun.

First Day of School

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I’m a few weeks late, but here are a some pics from the kid’s first day of school. I have my backpack on as well, not because I was going to attend kindergarten, but because I had to hightail it over to the bus stop to head to Bellevue for work.

first walk

first walk

first day pic

first day pic

first day selfie

she seems to smile for dad all right. what’s up with that?

official kindergartener here

official kindergartener here

Had a hard time getting the kid to stand still for a real pic. Maybe it was nerves. Whatever, she’s having a great time.

Easy Sushi Supper

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homemade california rollsHere is one of the reasons why I might decide to try a recipe. I bought flat seaweed this one time, because I couldn’t find the seaweed snacky stuff that L likes to eat. So I bought the stuff you make sushi rolls with, figuring I’d cut it up and get them cripsy on the stove with a little sesame oil. Then the next day I found the snacky stuff, and bought it because, you know, so much easier.

So, then I had a package of seaweed leftover in the cupboard. Let’s make sushi! Which means buying a whole lotta ingredients just to use up a $3 package of seaweed. Which still isn’t completely used up, incidentally.

I bought bulk sushi rice from PCC. You are supposed to cook the rice, then mix in a rice vinegar/sugar solution to the cooked rice. I used too much sugar, or the rice vinegar had lost its potency, because it ended up being sweeter than I wanted. Also in there, sliced cucumber, fake crab meat (“krab” meat), avocado. They were fun to make, but the seaweed was too chewy. Plus, one cup of rice makes a LOT of rolls. I haven’t eaten that much rice in a long time. And, man, boy did I pay for it.

sushi-salad supper

Above you’ll see the fine shrimp salad I made to accompany the rolls.

Just in case it didn’t turn out, I also bought a package of sushi from the store. The real stuff. I didn’t eat it, but the rest of the family did.

Awesome Kona Kitchen

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There is this show on KCTS, “Check, Please!” where three ordinary, run-of-the-mill guests go to each other’s favorite restaurants and compare notes. Husband tapes the show. A few times, by the time we watched the episode, the restaurant discussed has closed. Often times they feature restaurants that have been around ages. Salish Lodge, for example, was features. So was Szmania’s. And Kona Kitchen is another great example. My old work pal JG, who lives in the same neighborhood, mentioned this place to me ages ago, memorable because of the Hollywood/”Karate Kid” memorabilia hanging on the walls. That’s because the place is owned and run by Yuji Okumundo and his family. Yuji was in “The Karate Kid 2”! He played the villain. The bad guy. Bad kid.

So, in the episode of CP!, Yuji is interviewed and he’s wearing his “Awesome Asian Bad Guys” t-shirt, which is where I get the idea. You see, I have an AABG shirt as well. It is the first and only Kickstarter campaign I have ever supported. And it was a success and we should all be proud. My idea is to go TO Kona, wearing my AABG shirt and all will be right with the world.

I share this sentiment with the husband, and he thinks I’m nuts. But he gets it. I have to do it. We jetted over there finally one fine Saturday for lunch (coincidentally it was about a week before AABG was to be featured in the Seattle Asian Film Festival’s outdoor movie night, which I unfortunately couldn’t attend. But still, you see the strings all getting pulled together).

Sadly, Yuji wasn’t there, but the kind hostess who seated us (maybe Mrs. Okumundo??? I have to be honest, I have no idea) was pleased to see me wearing it, and told me that she wished Yuji was there, which pleased me.

So, of course, I must GO BACK. To make things perfect.

Anyway, it was early lunch for us. Most of the customers around us were ordering breakfast. But not us. When in Kona, order like the natives. I got the Kahlua Pig lunch special.

Kahlua Pig

Kahlua Pig

I more or less skipped the white rice. But that macaroni salad? Man. I don’t eat macaroni salad all that often. But this stuff is the bomb, as the kids say (or at least, they used to say).

Me and my awesome Asian sidekick:

Kona Kitchen

Honey! Take this picture!

Sometimes it’s acceptable to be dorky like this. The husband accepts it. I hope the kid will understand, too.

Blueberry coffee cake

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Reason #56 why it’s fun to work where I work: the people. The people also probably is reasons # 1 – 55, or at least is a big part of it. Let’s take Ginger, for instance. Ginger is known for her baking. The 14th floor all knows Ginger for her amazing cakes. And if you are on the 14th floor and you don’t know, then I’m sorry because you are missing out. Indeed, when I was on the 16th floor, I was lucky enough to have a few scouts on 14 to alert me when a certain chocolate mocha cake was present, so that I could find a reason to mosey on down to 14 and have a taste. Ahhh.

Anyway, Ginger and I went running this one time (truthfully, just the one time. It’s been quite busy at work, and I am there to, work and stuff). Ginger forgot some socks. And, because I have also forgotten socks before (and underwear, and bras, and everything else I can think of), I always keep extra pairs with me (in my backpack, in my desk drawer, in my gym bag). So I was able to lend her a pair.

A week or two later she came by to return them, and ALSO dropped off this delicious blueberry coffee cake.

Blueberry coffee cake

Blueberry coffee cake

Aren’t I the lucky one? And based on these recent blog posts, is there any real wonder why my weight has crept up this summer? The pieces are all finally coming together. In my mouth.