A rich treat for us tonight. The husband pulled out the dutch oven! Only good things can come from a dutch oven. Tonight he offered up beef bourguignon: tender chunks of meat; carrots, pearl onions and potatoes; a red-wine based sauce over fresh, wide, buttery pappardelle pasta. Crumbled bacon topped this dish off.
(the dutch oven of goodness)
As you can tell from previous posts, I have a soft spot in my heart for cookies. Especially those from Italian maker Ambrosetti. Whatever the season or holiday, there is a cookie for it. I found these at MM, which I will be bringing into work tomorrow, to celebrate the (near) end of my jury duty stint. More on that to come. Back to the cookies. These are fun, festive and always tasty. Yes, I am bringing them to work, but the husband and I couldn’t help but give one a try. Don’t worry, co-workers, my hands were clean before I handled these for the three-minute photo shoot. No animals were harmed during the making of this blog post.
Like they read my mind … a pink bunny!
I could see how this yellow chickadee could be just a weird blob if you stare at it long enough.
Plus … Easter eggs:
How sweet it is!
It is beginning to smell like spring around here. We’ve got our rhodies beginning to bloom in the front yard, and we’ve cut some of the hyacinths that recently blossomed in our yard as well.
What better dish to celebrate spring than Pasta Primavera?
The husband treated us with this light pasta dish for dinner tonight. Whole-wheat rotini tossed with olive oil, peppers, broccoli and garlic.
I had a splitting headache, from what I believe was missing my coffee/caffeine fix this morning. So I stopped by the MM for a short latte and came home with dessert, a chocolate-dipped macaroon.
Hey! I successfully completed the Big Climb, with 5,000 other participants. Hooray!
First, a special thanks to those who donated to my fundraising efforts: Ray, Sandy, Claire, and Harv & Judy. The generosity was much appreciated and was a small but meaningful contribution to the total $3,500 that our team, LWRC, raised in total. Also, thanks to those who trained with me on the Howe Street Stairs, whether you climbed a few hundred steps or a few thousand. All told I probably climbed no less than 20,000 steps to train.
The event itself was somewhat low-key and solo. As the majority of my team was rowers, like me, the best way we could describe this was, too long to be considered a sprint, too short to be considered a head race. Something in that murky in-between area. While in the days leading up to it we received constant information and support from our team leader, John, ultimately climbing up 69 floors is an individual venture. Among the 10 of us, I was second to start, as I predicted my time would be somewhat slower than my teammates. Ultimately David, Tyler, Niki, Conor and Howard passed me. I passed one teammate, Rachel; and KC was right on my tail as I crossed the finish line. The flights went much quicker than I expected. And my goal to do 2-at-a-times for the first half and then alternate between 2-at-a-times and 1-at-a-times for the second half fell short about a quarter of the way into the race. I stuck with the 1-at-a-times, except when trying to pass people. And that one guy, at the end, with 5 flights or so to go, who wouldn’t let me pass. Well, shame on you. Granted, I was pretty exhausted and I’m not quite sure if I would have passed but I would have at least appreciated the opportunity.
So, I made it to the top of the Columbia Tower. Hooray! Just my luck, I was so dang tired I didn’t feel like checking out the Observatory Deck to check out the amazing views. Eh. I’ll see them some other time. What I really needed was to catch my breath. The oxygen-getting-to-your-lungs situation was a bit sketchy at the end. Felt very much like the post-race rower’s cough that several of us experience after a frenzied sprint finish. I’m still feeling some wheeziness which I’m sure will subside at some point.
In all, not so bad. My 69 Flights of Rock playlist was quite successful (“Evenflow” was just winding down as I passed the finish line). And the company was great. A light and easy-going environment, with support and good vibes all around.
5,000 participants, I believe, is a record, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hopes to raise nearly $1 million from the event.
By the way, here is my pre-race meal (eaten about three hours before the event). Maple oatmeal with red berries and a half a banana; plus one egg, overeasy/smashed (as the husband would say):
Update: my time – 13:55. This beats my initial goal of 14:30, which is great! But a part of me wishes I had told that slow guy to move aside for the last few flights. Sigh.
Mexican wedding cakes from MM. Rich, dense and buttery.
I created two playlists in prep for The Big Climb next week.
I think I’m going with rock, but in the event that I change my mind at the last second, I’ll have a back-up playlist for pop. Pop tends to be my genre of choice when working out at the gym. When erging at the boathouse I tend to go with whatever everyone else is listening to (which results in singing Abba in your head for 3 months straight, but oh well).
But race day is sometimes different, sometimes a little pick me up is needed to get in the right zone.
69 Floors of Rock:
I tested this at the gym this morning (74 flights in 17:30, includes warm-up and cool down), and I think it will do well. The Alien Ant Farm song in the middle is a nice surprise (purchased last week on iTunes specifically for this purpose)
I expect to be done with the climb by the time Bob Mould comes around, but some added tunes are essential, just in case. If I’m still going when Led Zeppelin comes back on the iPod I’m in trouble.
Now, if at the last minute I decide pop is the way to go, I’ve got it covered:
69 Floors of Pop:
I tested this playlist this morning with a 2K on the erg, my warm-up to the StairClimber workout (rowed at a 27, at around 2k+ 5). EBTG sort of slowed things down more than I would have preferred, especially as it came near the end of my piece, so this may get switched up a bit. However for climbing I think it will be OK. Just not good for erging.
You know, I ‘m not sharing this information for my health. I’d like to hear a little bit about what’s on your playlist. All seven of you listening out there. Leave a comment. Don’t be shy. And don’t be ashamed. I just shared that I’m kicking off 69 Floors of Pop with an American Idol, for crying out loud.
The protein: A little chicken, a little lamb, and even some pancetta thrown in as a surprise.
The carb: Couscous cooked in chicken stock
The vegetable: Red peppers, shallots, green onions
Plus, a ginger/teriyaki marinade and pineapple chunks provide a sweet and sour tang to this one-dish meal.
Thanks, hon.
The husband and I were watching Tyler’s Ultimate when he declared Tyler’s sauce wasn’t anything to write home about … he could do better.
And he did! Two different kinds of meats; San Marzano tomatoes; onions and red wine. Reduced to a rich, heavenly sauce. This was served over some whole wheat penne. This was last night. We had leftovers tonight. And will probably have the same tomorrow. No complaints here.
I missed work today because I had to appear at the King County Superior Court. For jury duty. My first time. That’s me, Juror #101052652. The tip from the office was that the courthouse had wireless, so I brought the laptop, and man was that a good idea. Because 75% of us were just sitting there, waiting. My friend, Cathy, was summoned on the same day as me (what are the odds) and she was called pretty early in the morning. From what I can tell, being called consisted of filling out questionnaires; waiting; filling out more questionnaires; waiting some more. Meanwhile, I caught up on email, read through all of my favorite blogs, did some blogging of my own and then was let go for a two-hour lunch. An hour after lunch they let us go early. Poor Cathy had to stay though. She could still be there for all I know.
I did not bring my camera; the husband feared it would be confiscated, but we shouldn’t have been nervous. Yes, I did go through a metal detector and my bag was scanned, but the atmosphere in the Jury Assembly Room was far from strict. The Bailiff, Greg, kept trying to make jokes (the ol’ “Good Morning. (pause to silence). C’mon, you can do better than that! Good Morning (Audience replies in that school-boy drone, “good moooorning”). He tried to make some other cracks and all I could do was giggle because no one even lifted their heads up from their newspaper, books, magazine, laptop, etc.
Back to the 2-hour lunch. I walked a few blocks and stopped at Soup Daddy’s (recommended by the Jury Supervisor) for some clam chowder and a chicken salad sandwich. On the way back I saw a Cow Chip stand and had a calf chip. No pics (see the previous paragraph). I did not know what to expect for lunch (i.e. would they make you eat in a cafeteria? No. Could we do whatever we wanted? Yes, provided you got back at the assigned time). Tomorrow, when I return (for those of you in King County, jury duty is a two-day commitment. Keep that in mind. I didn’t know), I’ll be prepared with ideas for where to eat in Pioneer Square. Any suggestions for someone with an hour to kill? (Salumi is out. I could not fathom going there without the husband). If all else fails, I discovered there is a Jimmy John’s on First & Yesler that will likely be calling my name. I’ll even bring the camera, too.
Anyway, all of this jury duty talk kept reminding me of that movie based on the Grisham novel, “The Runaway Jury” with John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. And all I can think was, what are the odds that you actually land on that jury. You are summoned on the very day the trial of the century is picking jurors? No way. They lost me. I tried to suspend my disbelief, but I cannot.
Heh.
Cupcakes have been on my mind lately, especially since my trial-run of the Banana Cupcake recipe (hint: if you want to be super-popular at the office, go with chocolate. People look at you funny when you say ‘banana cupcake with amaretto buttercream”).
I watched with fascination this past weekend an episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” where he went head to head with a cupcake baker/rocker from LA. I was disappointed with the outcome, mainly because sometimes I think Bobby is a boob and I appreciate a good cupcake baker. Especially in HD. The rocker made a moist, decadent Red Velvet cupcake with sky-high cream cheese frosting. I felt cavities forming just watching. I also felt the drool dribbling out of the corner of my mouth as I watched. Mmmmmm …. frosting ….
The other cupcake news to inform you of is this recent article from MSN.com about the best cupcakes in the country. Sure, they mention the CR. And I’m happy and all, but I would love to try some of these other treats, liks the Fluffer Nutter from “Cake Fetish” and the Fat Elvis from “Saint Cupcake”. What is that commandment again? Thou shalt not covet another man’s cupcake.