Wicked Awesome Coffee Cake

Posted on August 2, 2013 by chatty

This is another repeat. Our same neighbors delivered a gallon bag of blueberries. Big, sweet juicy blueberries. So I made this New England coffee cake recipe again. Some tweaks this year: reduced brown sugar to 1/3 c in the topping. Also with the topping, I used coconut oil instead of butter, and almond flour instead of flour/walnuts. Provided another layer of flavor. The Paleo tweaks to this non-paleo dessert got me wondering if I could turn it into a Paleo treat. Nah, I’d always be jonesing for the real thing.

Husband review: “This is so friggin good!”
Yes, yes it is. Wicked good.

Recipe via AllRecipes.com

Slow cooker diaries: Jambalaya encore

Posted on August 2, 2013 by chatty

I did this for Super Bowl Sunday, decided to do a repeat this last week. That first time, the rice wasn’t really done until halftime, if i recall correctly. Most cookbooks call for slow cooker rice to be parboiled (or converted) rice. Think Uncle Ben’s. I picked up a box at the store. Then put it back. I have a weird bias against instant rice. i have weird feelings about rice in general, i think. probably because of all the rice i ate growing up. i digress, but it was a lot of rice. I’ve mentioned this before, i know. ANYWAY. The Uncle Ben’s at the store is found at the very bottom row, which should tell buyers something about converted rice, amiright?

I decided to experiment cooking with real rice, in my case short-grain brown rice. I added all ingredients except chicken, shrimp and green peppers and cooked on high for hour one. Added chicken and switched to low for 4-5 hours. Added shrimp and green pepper, back to high for 15 minutes. Stirred the pot a few times in between (more than my normal). Rice was more cooked, I’d call it a moderate success.

Due to the time it takes the rice to cook, this is a dish that tastes better the next day. I enjoyed leftovers for a couple of days. A nice break from eating out all the time at lunch.

More:
Brown rice vs. white rice

Not Your Mothers Slow Cooker Cookbook. Get it!

Slow cooker diaries: Pulled Pork (finally)

Posted on July 21, 2013 by chatty

This is the dish I’ve been itching to make since I got the SC 10 months ago. It’s extremely easy. I love easy. Marinated the Boston Butt (teehee) in BBQ sauce overnight. Dumped butt (haha) into cooker, added ketchup & water to BBQ marinade. SC on low 8 hours, then shredded and kept warm. Bought cole slaw and potato salad. Made salad. Bought Macrina Bakery brioche slider buns. That bun at top is a mini sandwich. Can you tell?

I feel like I missed the day in 7th grade Home Ec when we learned about different cuts of meat. Tenderloin, shoulder (aka Boston butt – har har), ribs, loin chops etc. I mentioned this to the husband and he shrugged. I just read up on it and learned, he said. Well, yeah, I’ve read about this but it doesn’t stick. I need a test, then maybe I’ll learn meat cuts.

But, I digress. The pulled pork tasted great. Slow cooking is an excellent option in the summer, to avoid a hot kitchen.

WOD 7/19 plus a note about the dreaded erg

Posted on July 19, 2013 by chatty

This was a painful one. What’s kind of cut off from the framed pic (thanks, snapseed) is the “skill set” we worked on first. Watt test. As in, how many watts can you pull on the erg in 10 sec (highest output reading)? Over a minute (average output)? In all my years of rowing we never did a watt test, and I can kind of get why. You either pulled hard or you didn’t. If you did, it probably showed in your erg scores. Strength doesn’t necessarily translate into efficiency nor finesse. The most skilled, efficient owners make the boat. Except, you know, if you are HELLA strong and super tall … You probably will make the boat.

Anyway my wattage output: 438 (10 sec) & 335 (1 min).

I went all out, which killed me in the actual WOD. My run was first, 40 sit-ups. Then the icky erg, then 37 wall balls. I just barely eked out a 1000m row in 4 min (my goal is to maintain a 2:00 split). After time was up I dropped to the ground because I couldn’t hold myself up any longer. It was that exhausting.

Man, I hate the erg.

Speaking of the erg, I just wanted to mention the one thing. I was scrolling through my Twitter feed the other day and caught this tweet from Crossfit hotshot Julie Foucher:

So, she had a bad day and pulled a 8:00+ 2K time. Wow, I am thinking, must have been a really bad day. Then I read the comments (ignore the first comment, delivered by some a-hole meathead) Note where she says her PR is 7 seconds faster. Do the math … Subtract the … Carry the … So Julie Foucher’s PR for a 2K is 7:58. Right? Is that right? Do you know what that means?

It means MY 2K PR (a proud 7:47) is faster than Julie’s! Even my other sub-8:00 score 2 years after my PR, clocking in at 7:57, is faster than Julie. Know what that means? I am frigging faster than the second fittest woman in the world!!!

Okay, actually that PR was like in 2005. I haven’t done a 2K this decade. I hope I never have to. But once upon a time …

And, remember what I said about power vs finesse? So, yeah. There you go., because there is no way I am actually faster or stonger. Impossible. But I may have had several more years of training on technique than her, and that seems to have stuck.

I won’t deny it. I did enjoy a short victory moment there.

WOD 7.10

Posted on July 10, 2013 by chatty

That’s a lotta Tabata. I was dripping sweat after this one, yet another reason why it’s good to show up at the first class of the day.
45. I think.

Lets take a moment to talk Karen. Many have complained of days of soreness following our meeting with Karen. I’m not remembering tat, which leads me to believe, I wasn’t that sore. Karen perplexes me quite a bit. Until we met again.

Good reading here: How sustainable is Crossfit? Looking forward to a week off at the end o July. Reducing days per week for rest of the month. I want to pick something up to switch it up soon. Perhaps it’s time to dust off the road bike.

WOD Benchmark Friday

Posted on July 5, 2013 by chatty

Hi, Karen.
8:00
Bye, Karen.

WODs of June: Secrets revealed

Posted on July 3, 2013 by chatty

Every WOD has a story. Well, that’s not really true. A couple WODs I barely remember. Here are some of their tales, my secrets.

Secret #1 revealed …I have a great dislike for DoubleUnders. I am shaking my fist at you! Grrr. You give me flashbacks to the grade school playground.

You are hard.

You often leave marks because I miss my step. Last time I literally whipped my butt.

Oh yeah, and I can’t help but to pee a little in my pants. The. Worst. Grr.

One of those, “Wha? When did we do this?” moments. Could be a symptom of being a regular at the 5:30am class.

Hi, Jack. Nice to meet you. Next time I’ll beat you. Push Press was not RX.

Well seeing as how my 1 rep max is 70, The thrusters were also scaled. Really? 50 thrusters? Oh yes now I remember. I think I did extra because I had convinced myself I couldn’t have finished my thrusters before Sam. So I pulled out another 5. Idiot.

I met Diane at Benchmark Friday. Scaled back to pike push-ups and 85# DL. Coach suggested I try 115# next time.

And, here is today’s. It made me hurt but happy. Note my time. Another big secret reveal here … the truth is, I’m the only one of my kind. I like burpees. Don’t tell anyone, ‘cuz normal humans dislike them.

Bring it on, July!

Father’s Day Extravaganza: Go Big or Go Home

Posted on June 16, 2013 by chatty

Happy Father’s Day! Last week I suggested barbecue ribs for Father’s Day dinner and Husband was on board. So the extravaganza kicked off last night when I made some Guinness Barbecue Sauce. I’ve never made a barbecue sauce from scratch. In fact I’ve never done much with barbecue, which is kind of silly when you think about how easy it is to combine sauce with meat, at its basest, that is. Barbecue snobs will probably scoff at my ignorance, but that doesn’t bother me.
Changes on the sauce: I substituted tomato paste for ketchup, halved the salt, and left out the hot sauce (kiddo doesn’t like hot). I also used Dijon mustard instead of dark brown since it was all we had, and slightly reduced that amount to tone down the horesradishy bite. The sauce was tangy, the Guiness gave it a nice distinct flavor. Tasty.

Barbecue Ribs

The ribs recipe (via my slow cooker of course) couldn’t have been easier, although next time I will mix/turn halfway through cooking time.

Oh, and did I mention this was an extravaganza? I made cornbread (from a mix), also had cole slaw and potato salad (from the market) and for dessert a 4-inch chocolate raspberry cake (also from the market). Plus a salad, in an effort to avoid overeating on the extravaganza stuff.

Father’s Day Dinner, Plated

Kiddo raved. “Mom, this is soo delicious.” It was much later I realized she was talking about the corn bread, not the ribs. Darn that carb-addict gene.

Husband enjoyed it immensely, and that means win.

He didn’t enjoy the dirty dishes. Can’t win ’em all.

P.S. see that glass peeking out from the upper corner of the photo? That’s my Guinness, reward for an extravaganza well done.

Guiness BBQ Sauce from Epicurious.com (the original idea was from Pinterest!)
Barbecue Ribs recipe from NYMSCC

Slow Cooker Diaries: Sweet & Sour Chicken

Posted on June 16, 2013 by chatty

Even though I’m no longer on Paleo, I have ingrained myself to think grain-free (see what I did there?). My family (meaning siblings and parents) mostly wonder how you can sustain such a life. well, my brother has been on South Beach, so he gets it. but, i do think my felow clan members are all carb addicts and i still marvel how things have changed since I was a kid, living in a household where white rice was served at every evening meal.

We don’t even keep white rice in the house these days, as I’ve probably mentioned before. The kiddo vacuums the stuff up when given the chance. Pretty soon i will really need to make a real effort to manage her carb intake so as to not repeat the mistakes of predecessors. For now I create substitutions likes using spaghetti squash instead of spaghetti. Or making cauliflower rice instead of rice. Fine for some meals. But, sometimes if a meal calls for rice, nothing else will do.

And so was the case with this meal. I created a sweet and sour marinade that included soy sauce, tamari, brown sugar green onions and various other spices and poured it over a whole fryer. Slow cooker and 4ish hours later this sucker was falling off the bone. Would have been great over a small bed of white rice. Would have been good over brown rice. But instead I cuisinarted cauliflower, pan-fried it with some five-spice and while it was okay, it wasn’t the same. Husband didn’t complain, though. And he will tell me if he doesn’t like it. Kiddo wasn’t impressed. It’s that carb-addict gene she got from me.

sweet and sour chicken with cauliflower rice

The chicken finished cooking before I was ready. Slow-cooker timing can be tricky when you can’t count properly.

Slow cooker Recipe from NYMSCC.
Cauliflower rice recipe from NomNomPaleo. Don’t get me wrong. I like it, just not this day.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

Posted on June 16, 2013 by chatty

I like pie. And so does my friend/work spouse, EC. This is her mothers famous Sour Cream Lemon Pie. E had gifted me with the recipe years ago, probably when we were officemates in a land far away (Redmond). I have never made it, but a couple of weeks back I shared in the celebration of E’s last day of chemo. She has been battling stage 3 breast cancer all year, and ended her 21st and final week of treatment with a dessert get together. Cupcakes. Cookies. Crumble. Cake. And this pie. Delicious, and all the more sweet when I think about the tremendous journey E and her family have traveled these past few years.