Above, you should see two of the four forms of chocolate that are in the batch of what I'll call Double Malted Chocolate Cookies that I baked yesterday, from a recipe I found on the internet. Pretty good, but as is, it's not a keeper. They needed to be more chewy and less poofy/risen (here's a photo of them, baked); perhaps I'll try one of the suggestions here. The main travesty is that the malt balls don't have that fabulous crunch any more. IT'S JUST WRONG. Ah well, I hope the coworkers enjoy them on Monday.
Notably, I didn't use Whoppers; SuperTarget was out of them. But they did have chocolate malt balls in the Jelly Belly bins, and the chocolate on them is far superior to what's on Whoppers.
This is what's currently in our biscotti bin: Mincement & Walnut Cantucci.
As an American, the first time I heard the term "mincemeat" was probably from dialogue in a cartoon of some sort, maybe Popeye. Luckily, a visit to the British Isles sometime in my late teens fixed that, and I got exposed to mince pie. YUM.
Still, I'd never baked with it until last week. You can buy mincement in a rather large jar, or in a condensed vacuum pack, which is what I chose when the recipe called for a fairly small amount. These cookies are quite tasty, even though they are cantucci of the butter variety, so they are softer, but not as crunchy as I generally prefer.
For these, I adapted the recipe of the same title, in The Best 50 Biscotti Recipes. This little cookbook has a nice collection of pretty creative concoctions.
One of our favorite weeknight meals is to make pizza; invariably we take one of two pretty simple recipes and adapt it a little, based on what's in the fridge. Tonight's was based on this Triple Jump Pizza recipe.
Normally -per the guidance from the other recipe- we slice up the prosciutto, and tonight we found out why. It may be easy to cut the whole pie into 8 slices, using the pizza wheel (Steve's weapon of choice) or the butcher's knife (mine). However, biting into it makes eating pizza an even more interactive experience. Not necessarily a bad one... just a potentially messy one. And, most likely we exceeded the healthy limits of cured meat volume. The flavor was definitely worth the cost of the experiment!
Tonight's variation proved to be quite tasty; today's notable substitution was the Mama Mary Thin and Crispy Crust (and, not burning it, this time). Thus far, in terms of crust, we've most liked the refrigerated pizza dough you can buy at Cossetta.
Our favorite substitution (one we used tonight, as well) is a bottled artichoke-garlic bruschetta spread, in lieu of minced garlic.
A food stylist I am not (no, that's not Shrek, melted in a Pyrex dish), but if you think Mexican food, this photo looks better. Tonight, hubbie and I made & ate Chicken Chilaquiles, using a recipe we adapted from Cooking Light. Our adaptation: soy milk for the milk (it's all we had); Jack cheese with habanero, rather then with jalepeno, peppers; and blue corn tortillas for the tortillas.
Yum!
Yesterday, I did my last long training run before my half-marathon race. My training plan called for a 12-mile run; I'm estimating my pace at Afton to be an 11-12 minute mile, so I did the math & ran for 2 hours & 20 minutes (that last 4 minutes seemed trivial- esp as combared to last week, I was adding 30 minutes to my run.
It was pleasantly chilly, and I got rained on for about a half hour. I LOVE THIS WEATHER, FOR RUNNING. I adjusted my course in order to swing by my car for the Gore-tex jacket, but by the time I got there, the ran had long stopped, and I was half-dry, and certainly warm enough. So, I got a Fig Newton out of the trunk (I'd eaten my packet of gu about 45 minutes prior), refilled my water bottle, and headed to the southern part of the park. My favorite part! The terrain seems more varied in that area, and it doesn't feature long spells up on the hot prairie. Actually, yesterday's run didn't feature any long hot spells. Suddenly, I liked the prairie areas better. The grasses are getting so tall, at this time of year. It was pleasant to run along the side of the trail, letting the wet brushes hit my legs.
I used the occasion to test-drive my new Dirty Girl Gaiters, which performed swimmingly: not a speck of grit got into my shoes or socks. And, I looked like a fabulous freak with my blue leapard-print spats. Victory! This, in combination with the red buff around my head: I was the lycra weird-clothing item poster child. The rest of me had fairly normal running attire on. Shorts, tech tank, long-sleeved wind jacket. Short Smartwool running socks. Sunglasses. Which sadly got too fogged up, in the rain. I was relying on their prescription, so for the 20 or so minutes before I got the fog under control, I was risking life and limb against tree roots that I couldn't see. Luck was on my side, however.
I finished up with a half-loop in the wildflower loop near the parking lot - it's a funny trail that feels like a dude with a mower and some booze had a joyride- it meanders a bit. It's s good way to knock of the last few minutes of a timed run. Reminds me of the figure-8's I had to do, when I was rehabbing my knee, after my surgery: nice ankle workout. Which frankly, I was surprised I could handle, after 2+ hours of running. My left ankle in particular was speaking to me; it's been a little stiff lately and I've been icing it at night.
Otherwise, things went quite well. About an hour into the run, I started to feel like a sort of [wet] Energizer bunny: I had a stream of energy, not high-powered energy, but steady endurance, that just kept me going. There were several moments when I didn't seem to feel my legs; they were stumps that just kept pumping up and down. I'm still trying to decide if I'm okay with that feeling. I've always had a particular knack for endurance in general, I'm very drawn to more powerful types of energy movement. In comparison, they are so rewarding, at least, in an instant. But this, this is weird. It's very... yin.
Why am I running? Weight control, fitness, vanity... A need for attainable, short-term goals. A competitive need, to a degree. Presently, as I'm not walking as much, it's the way I'm getting out and seeing the streets or the stuff on the trail. It's time to think. I work at a computer all day, so my runs are my opportunity to experience time and space in a more lively and linear way.
I read a few articles recently that give me other ideas for why people run; maybe they apply to me as well. Kristin Armstrong writes a great column for Runner's World, and in her recent post she talks about the yogic notion of practice... how there are certain things that you do regularly that are part of a daily devotion to learning and growth.
Another post was written by a non-triathlete who stumbled into spectating at a triathlon, and came upon these revelations: "...It's about making a promise to yourself and then making it happen. It's about being, for one minute, something more than you are during your every day..."
These are things to consider, when my Sept. 20 half-marathon is done and I'm wondering if I'll want to sign up for another race, and if so, what distance, what type of race?
I'd like to add these, because I absolutely love and recommend them: 101. Tarte flambee 102. Black rice pudding 103. Spare ribs roasted with just soy sauce and Lawry's seasoning 104. Socca (or farinata) 105. Grappa 106. Curried okra from this awesome Indian restaurant not far from the Museum of Natural History in New York. I'll probably think of a few more.
Finally, Leinenkugel has come up with a beer that I would choose to drink: The Big Eddy Imperial Stout. It's just delicious and caramelly, though maybe a little too sweet (and strong!) to have more than one in one sitting. I'm really glad the Muddy Pig had it on tap, last night. It (and a sandwich!) made for a great treat, after my tough treadmill tempo run workout.
Every once in awhile hubby and I find a great recipe and YAY such an event happened last night. We tried a so not bland one from Cooking Light magazine (for years we've enjoyed -and amended- many recipes but have snarkily renamed it "Cooking Bland"). Go! Get the ingredients right now and make yourself some Tequila Pork Chile Verde for dinner. It comes together in about 30 minutes. Buying that ancho chile powder at the Mercado last weekend was a most excellent idea. The flavors remind me of the excellent but probably fatty Tacos Monterrey at Boca Chica.
Pecan wood-smoked Yorkshire pork baby back ribs with caramelized onions and Concord grape glaze
Organic frisée salad with roasted sweet peppers, St. Pete’s blue cheese, toasted black walnuts and port wine-apple vinaigrette
Maple syrup-sweet corn pudding brûlée with a Minnesota black walnut bookie, toasted Illinois pecan shortbread and Ames Farm chestnut blossom honey-glazed hazelnuts
and a most excellent spicy and aromatic cabernet sauvignon, the name of which I can't recall
Robongi in Hoboken- yet another great sushi meal. With Ben!
The Overnight: Very powerful. We miss Jenny. Many people there were missing loved ones, as well: there were a lot of great t-shirts with photos, quotes, and loving words.
South Street Seaport: Very busy. Bustling, even. Loud but fun. I love wharfs (usually).
Dodo offered a most excellent organic pinot noir from Mendocino.
Josh & Ive's: Got a smashed bagel there, and a "sober" one as well, to share with hubbie. It's funny that, for backpacking food, I choose bagels because they can't get smashed, and yet here we pay extra to get them smashed. Odd gimmick, but still made for a much better post-run breakfast than our hotel's restaurant could offer.
That run, by the way, was most excellent. I wish I could pull off something similar at home: mark out a run that puts me at a bagel shop that is x desired miles away from where I start. Run the route, buy bagels and coffee, then drink coffee while waiting for commuter train to take me back to start, where I then enjoy the bagels with husband.
A funny moment, near end of trip: at 10:05pm, walking to PATH train inHoboken, a voice yells from some apartment: "Tony Soprano LIVES!" (The HBO series finale had just ended.)
Above, you should see two of the four forms of chocolate that are in the batch of what I'll call Double Malted Chocolate Cookies that I baked yesterday, from a recipe I found on the internet. Pretty good, but as is, it's not a keeper. They needed to be more chewy and less poofy/risen (here's a photo of them, baked); perhaps I'll try one of the suggestions here. The main travesty is that the malt balls don't have that fabulous crunch any more. IT'S JUST WRONG. Ah well, I hope the coworkers enjoy them on Monday. 
