I can run!

The last week has been one full of movement.

Last Saturday was the Rhythm Race, which sounded so cool. A 5K at Rentschler Field, with live music along the course and tailgating after. I've done 2 other races there, so i knew the terrain could be gravel, but would be flat. Mich, Aimee and Ian were signed up, and Duncan was going to join us as a spectator. 

It was a fail. There was hardly any music and the course was lots of loose gravel that hurt and made running a real challenge. We had split into pairs, Mich and Ian walking and Aimee & I running with the stroller, except around Mile 1 Connor just wasn't having it. We tried carrying him, walking with him, everything. No go. Aimee headed back with him, and i saw Mich and Ian as i went around a turn. They were calling it quits too, the loose gravel was just too much. I finished, 41:44, and it was hard. Tailgating after was fun, being with friends, but this race was not one i'd do again. Not even water on the course or at the finish line. I've been spoiled with HMF events.

Thursday was the 3rd Extreme Scramble (5K) with Aimee. I had field work earlier in the day, so i wasn't at my best, but the course was masochistic fun. We went across the Connecticut River twice, once across the Bulkeley Bridge and once across the Founders Bridge, both of which involve a lot of stairs. The sections along the river were nice - shady, pretty, cool, and even under the Founders Bridge there was small up and downs that were kind of fun, even if they were a challenge. When we crossed the river a second time the sun was setting and Hartford looked pretty. We ended with a time of 41:21, walking the stairs and a bit of the second bridge because i was tired. 

These two scores had me nervous, as Sunday was the Old Wethersfield 10K. But how could i avoid a race in my own town? There was a 5K too, but this big kid option... i knew i could walk the distance easy, but run it? I anticipated a time around 1:20. I was afraid we'd be last, looking at the 2011 results. 

Mike lectured Aimee and i on not starting too fast, pacing ourselves, all that jazz. Well, we did, and at Mile 1 i think the clock said 12:45, which was reasonable. After that, we actually made up time on each mile, so that we hit Mile 5 at almost perfectly 1:00:00 according to the marker. The course was great, through the historic areas, along the green, and the fact that we were doing a double loop wasn't even that bad, because it was so cool and flat. We walked the three water stations and that was it. Our final time was 1:12:43, meaning we averaged 11:43 per mile! It took me a little to recover at the end, but i had run a 10K! 

It's worth noting, if i had stopped to walk, i'm not sure i would of been able to run again. I felt like a machine, as long as i kept running i would stay running, but if i slowed down i was doomed. The last mile was HARD. And that afternoon i was exhausted and sore. I need to be training more and for longer distances. Of course, i also managed to bruise my right instep, so running today isn't going to happen. Probably not tomorrow either. 

I'm so thankful for Aimee, i could find so many excuses not to do these things, but they are rewarding and fun. In just under a month we'll be doing the Warrior Dash, another big challenge. And then, maybe the half marathon. 

Yeah.

Corn Chowder

Friday is CSA pick up day.  Once again, Fair Weather Acres did not disappoint, and i came home with a giant muskmelon, a dozen ears of corn, more peppers, giant scallions and more.  

I'm not a huge fan of corn on the cob.  Maybe it's the childhood punishment of having to shuck ear after ear, or the 6+ years of having to pick it out of my braces.  Even if i was, Duncan and i couldn't possibly eat a dozen ears of corn ourselves in just a few days.  The last time we got this much corn, I froze it, so that we could have some ready to go for recipes or a side.

This time, i decided to try my hand at making corn chowder.  It's not something i've made before, but i have enjoyed it.  When Duncan said it was one of his favorites, i decided to go for it.

I decided to start from Corn Chowder with Chilies from The Pioneer Woman.  Her recipe seemed flavorful, easy and i'll admit it, her photography could probably make anything look delicious and amazing.  I wanted to go with more items from my CSA, however, so i made some modifications.

some of my ingredients

• 6 ears of corn, shucked and cut off the cob 
• 2 slices of bacon (i tried her trick with just cutting the end and it came out great)
• 1 onion
• 1 large scallion (these were giant,you'd probably need several regular sized ones)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper
• 4 cups vegetable stock   You could use chicken stock if that's what you have on hand.
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Salt to taste
• 3-6 Tbsp corn meal
• 1/4-1/2 cup water

Over medium heat, place the bacon in a pot or dutch oven (yay i got to use mine!) and let it cook down so the fat starts to be released.  

Add the onion and scallion, stirring occasionally until the onion starts to become transparent.  (You could also add the peppers at this step if you wanted them to be more cooked in the final product).

Add the butter to the pot and allow to melt.

Add the corn and stir.  I added the peppers at this point as well, and they stayed fairly crisp in the chowder.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, so things start to get bright, stirring frequently.

Add the vegetable stock and cream.  If your vegetable stock is dark, don't panic, the cream will lighten up the color.    

Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

In a separate bowl, mix the corn meal and water, starting with 3 Tbsp of corn meal and 1/4 cup water.  Add to the pot, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.  

If the chowder is not thick enough, mix the remaining corn meal and water and add to the pot, simmer for another 10 minutes (approximately).  

veggies before adding stock and cream

We ate this with a sweet sausage and bread.  It was good enough Duncan told me to keep the recipe, which may be a first.  

Strawberry Jam!

After attending the great class at Billings Forge, i decided to give making jam a go on my own, and properly can and everything.

It went great!  First I hulled and sliced 2 lbs of very ripe strawberries.  Then i threw them in a pot and mashed them a bit over low heat for about 10 minutes.  Then i added about 4 cups of sugar and a few tablespoons of lemon juice.  I also added 3 tablespoons powdered pectin.  I let come to a steady boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.  Once i got a good thickness, it came off the heat, and i filled 2 8 oz and 1 4 oz jars.  I added a few chopped up  mint leaves, stirred and filled another 2 8 oz jars and 1 4 oz jar.  All the jars went into the boiling water to keep them properly preserved.

While it was definitely easy to do, it wasn't the neatest work.  I spent a decent amount of time cleaning up bits of strawberry red from drips and drops as i went.  I also steamed up the whole kitchen with so many pots boiling!

There are so few pictures because the camera on my phone kept steaming up.  This was hot work, but definitely not hard.  I'm glad i did this, and am looking forward to tasting things in a few weeks.

Baking FAIL

This weekend some friends and i went camping, to celebrate Aimee's birthday.  Birthdays require cake.  But she is not eating much animal product (vegan as practical?), and seeing if removing gluten from her diet helps with some health stuff, which means not just any store-bought cake would do!  OK, and it's Miss Aimee the Cookie Mistress and no store-bought cake would do anyway, she's one of the best bakers i know!

Aimee loves salt.  She's taught me to be a little less fearful of it, and even taught me to add it to things i might not otherwise, like frosting, to add a little pop.  Also, we recently went to Tanglewood, and passed on some local salted caramel ice cream that all made us go "oooh".  I've never made caramel before (and it will show during this saga), but thought it sounded like a fun challenge.

It's a good thing sugar isn't expensive this was a complete fail, even after several tries.  And so the trash can had a feast.  These were my first attempts at a gooey filling (the sugar never melted enough) and harder decorative caramel (burnt).

Try #1 for filling came out grainy and gritty.  The sugar never melted enough, I think because i left out the 'optional' water, there was never enough moisture for it to get really soft.  

Try #1 for a harder caramel that i could break and use for decorating the cupcakes.  I let it get too dark and it burned.

I feel like maybe next time i should do some research about caramel before hand, as i ended up scrambling and not sure what i was looking for (hence so many failures!).  

This just wouldn't get hard, it kept melting at room temperature!

And here is Try #2 for a filling.  It's was way too thin.

The second time i adapted a non-vegan recipe, and substituted almond milk for the heavy cream.  This obviously cut the fat content way down.  Again, i maybe should of let this boil longer, as it was thin when i transferred it to the jar, but i was afraid of repeating my previous over-cooking error.  After a night in the fridge it was much more sticky and caramel like, but when i tried to use it, it was clear, it was way too thin.

I decided that the cupcakes should have a little more depth, rather than a single flavor note, so I made chocolate cupcakes, using a similar process to my lemon cupcakes.  These, however, were gritty, somethign didn't properly incorporate, either the flour or the cocoa.  But they looked ok, right?

Sadly, Aimee did not get cupcakes.  My time ran out before i could make a new batch of anything.  I would totally fail a reality TV cooking show audition.  We did, however, put candles in a cooked banana with chocolate chips and marshmallows for her on Saturday.  

Still, i will make these darned cupcakes for her!  Ian says that this is a sign i'm becoming a better baker, that i can tell things are not right and pitching them rather than making my friends suffer through my mistakes or something.  

CSA

Another weeks farm share, with Lucky investigating.  Lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, peaches, heirloom cranberry beans, tomatoes and lots of peppers!