Let's Talk Food

Before I go anywhere with this post I'd like to say that yesterday I was totally excited to hear that Meb and Kara will be running NYC this fall! And then reality hit - I'm never going to see them. Tom's probably going to see each of them 5 times as a spectator, and I don't see them once. Their times totally crush my marathon times - so unless I somehow, miraculous run into them at port-a-potties at the start, it ain't going to happen. 

Who am I kidding, elites don't use port-a-potties. So my chances of seeing them equal 0.01%.

Source

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The first thought out of my head when the alarm went off yesterday was "****, I really wish I was still on the UVM cross country team." I had a track workout scheduled and no motivation to do it. I needed the girls to get my butt into gear. It is much easier to do a workout when you have your friends around you going through the same thing and pushing you to finish. It is 1000x harder to do a speed workout on your own.

I finally pulled myself out of bed 10 minutes later, got out the door and started running.

And felt really great.

Here's the thing - I shouldn't have not ever felt that great on the Tuesday workout of the Hanson Marathon plan. I am normally dying. My warm-up is necessary because my legs are still and sore and tired from 6 days of running and they are barely moving. My mind is usually trying to convince me I am crazy because I'm about to go do speed on a track and that it would be best to just turn around and go home.

But not yesterday. If my legs could talk, they'd be all giddy - excited to be going for speed. They felt strong.

What is going on?

I have two theories:

1. I am indeed getting stronger. My legs are better able to handle the workouts at this point in the training program. Not teaching/being on my feet all day may also be helping. Perhaps the squats and lunges are even aiding in this new strength. 
2. Nutrition: This summer I have eaten better than in the past. Lately I've been really focused on refueling. In fact, after a few weeks of research, I am tempted to....

Become vegetarian. 

Some Dupont Farmer's Market finds

I'm pretty close as it is already. I wouldn't have to give up much, but I would have to add in way more fruits and veggies. I even toyed with the idea of becoming a vegan after watching Forks over Knives and a bunch of the videos on Thrive Forward. However, I know I am not ready to go that far, and that it would be best to make small changes, rather than one giant change to my diet. That would be giving up a lot. I mean, this whole blog was originally focused on dessert for crying out loud! Yet, in the last 4 years, I have changed a lot. My goals have changed. I am more aware of what nutrition does to health and sports performance.

Mixed berry smoothie

I need to refuel properly in order to train at my maximum. I have been having awesome smoothies over the last few weeks after a run in order to increase my daily amount of fruit. I've pretty much doubled my fruit/veggie intake from before - but I'll admit, it wasn't high to begin with. I've switched to bakery-baked bread instead of the packaged bread to eliminate the extra stuff that shouldn't exist in bread.

 Pineapple banana mint smoothie from Marin Mama Cooks

I was once told that if you take out something from your life or try to break a habit, you have to replace it with something else. Instead of coffee, I'm drinking tea. Instead of a cookie, I reached for a peach on Monday. Instead of candy, I'm now reaching for a date in the afternoon. The wonderful cashier at Yes Market even exclaimed "Ah! Nature's candy!" when I bought some dates a few weeks back. It makes so much sense. Nature has provided us with the fuel we need, so why are we, humans, creating our own or relying on sugar and caffeine to keep us going. It's startling to think that humans consume over 150 lbs of it a year.

Chia seed cereal: no added sugar - just fruit and maple syrup :)

So over the next few weeks I'll continue to work on my diet. I worry about what will happen once school begins. It will be easy for me to want to reach for coffee in the morning but I have to tell myself that two years ago I didn't drink it. I don't need it. I just need more fruits and veggies.

And over the next few weeks I'll make up rules like:

• No meat, unless you're at a dinner party or at a really great restaurant that it is known for their meat dish. 
• No meat unless you're at a tapas restaurant - Spain must live on in my life and you miss out on amazing tapas if you give up jamon. 
• For now - fish is good. I would like to eliminate chicken completely but probably won't. Tom loves meat and is not going to be a vegetarian. I do not want him to sacrifice what he likes, and I would miss the times we cook in the kitchen together. Meals are more than just eating, sometimes it is the experience of creating it that makes a dish special.  
• No desserts unless their worth it. What makes a dessert worth it? If someone is having a birthday, that is worth it. I will not give up a celebration. If I go on vacation, then it's worth it. You better believe I will be having Ben & Jerry's or maple creemees when we go to VT in August. Or if we are trying out a DC bakery/donut shop/ice cream shop because of its reputation, then it is worth it. I still want to explore the good eats of this fine city. 

So why am I doing this? A big reason is for health and for a more energized feeling. By the end of the school year I was hooked on sugar and caffeine and feeling more tired and even sick. My runs were sluggish. Yesterday's run was reason enough to keep going with the healthy eats. I know I won't feel that good every day, but if I can do a 9+ mile track workout and still feel just as awesome later in the evening to jog a few miles, then I don't want to stop it. 

I know I will fail and give in every now and then (or more than I expect to) but I can only try. And don't worry, I am sure I will not be able to stay away from desserts completely - you will still see them on this blog, as well as any future cakes that I bake. 

Some people are cake people. Some people are pie people. You might be able to guess what I am. But every now and then I can go for a really good berry pie.

Last Wednesday I decided to be daring and make my own pie crust and at the same time, get rid of some of those blueberries we picked. We had stopped at Whole Foods earlier in the week and nabbed some peaches.

Peaches + blueberries = PIE!

There weren't enough peaches to follow recipes online for a blueberry-peach pie, so I had to improv and make up my own recipe.

It wasn't bad! I ended up eating it each morning when I came back from a run. We kept it in the fridge and it was a cool (and delicious!) treat after being out in the sun.

Blueberry Peach Pie

INGREDIENTS

2	pre-made pie crusts or make your own (I used the Perfect Pie Dough by Cook's Illustrated)
3	cups blueberries - washed
3	cups peaches - washed and sliced (about 4 peaches)
3/4	cups sugar
1	tspn cinnamon
1/8	tspn ginger
1/8	tspn coriander seed
	pinch of nutmeg
1.5	tablespoons cornstarch
2	tspn lemon juice
1	egg - lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Have dough prepared ahead of time. Prepare 9" pie plate with one pie crust.
2.	Wash and cut fruit, and place into medium bowl.
3.	Add sugar, spices, cornstarch and lemon juice to bowl of fruit and mix to coat fruit evenly.
4.	Carefully pour fruit into prepared pie plate. Some people add a little bit of butter to the top of the fruit before covering, but I forgot here.
5.	Roll and place remaining pie crust on top of the pie. Cut four slits in pie crust (to vent) and brush the top of the pie crust with the lightly beaten egg white.
6.	Place pie on a cookie pan to catch any drips. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees and put pie and pan into oven for 25 minutes. A tip to prevent the crust from burning: I place tin foil around the edges and remove it after 25 minutes of baking.
7.	After 25 minutes, rotate the pie and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for another 30-35 minutes. Your crust should be golden brown and the juices should be bubbling at this point and will be ready to come out.
8.	Place pie onto a wire rack to cool before serving. Suggested cooling time: 4 hours.

Blueberry Jammin'

I don't know about the weather where you're at, but it's been pretty cloudy and wet down here for a while. This morning is cloudy once more and the rain is off and on. The one good thing about days like these is that all I want to do is read.

I finished Cooked last night and loved it. The scientist in me loved reading about the science behind cooking and how things change on a molecular level. I am motivated more than ever to bake bread this summer using yeast I've cultured here rather than purchased at a store. It sounds like quite the experiment, and thankfully, Pollan included the directions in the back of the book.

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We did get a break from all of the cloudiness and rain on Saturday, and Tom and I took advantage of it by going blueberry picking.

I may enjoy strawberry picking, but I enjoy blueberry picking (and eating) MUCH more!

We headed back to Butler's Orchard to fill up our bucket, and picked 16 pounds worth. We were a little sad to find out that the berries there were lacking some serious flavor. Perhaps it was the species of berries that they grow? Every now and then we'll get a berry that actually tastes like a true blueberry, but most of the time they remind me of grocery-store quality taste.

Sixteen pounds of berries is quite a lot. Like, "wow - what was I thinking?" a lot. Just as with the strawberries, we're freezing a bunch for future muffins, smoothies, and yogurt. We are also finding ways to use as many fresh berries as we can.

Sunday morning began with blueberry pancakes and yesterday afternoon I made four jars of simple blueberry jam. You better believe there will be at least one blueberry pie coming soon!

I'm having too much fun with the jammin' (aka: jam making) this summer and love hearing the little "pop!" when the jars seal. I'd also love to get my hands on some raspberries to make three-berry jam.

Strawberry Season: Learn Something New

Strawberry season comes much sooner down here than in VT. We went picking three weeks ago at Butler's Orchard in Maryland and I'm guessing that the berry season is just underway in Vermont. We picked 12 pounds of berries that we either froze (for smoothies or yogurt) or ate fresh.

Berry picking is one of my most favorite summer activities. For one, the flavor of the berries is so much stronger. I would rather spend more money on these berries than to go to Giant and waste $3-4 on berries that have somehow already started to rot on the shelf and don't have any flavor.

I also think there is something to say for actually going out to pick your berries and seeing directly where they come from. I enjoy being out there searching the plants for the perfect berries, no matter how hot it is or if it starts to rain. 

The treats that you make with these berries are even more delicious. Tom baked up some angel food cake that night when we returned and it was heavenly. Get it? Heaven? Angel Food? Oh I'm good, aren't I? 

I went back last Friday and picked another 10 pounds of berries. I quickly discovered that picking the day after a rain storm isn't the best idea. Most berries were rotting and were beyond ripe due to the few days of rain. We were directed to a different patch from the first time, and the berries at this one were much larger than the first patch. They also didn't have as sweet of a flavor.

Over the years I have wanted to make strawberry jam with all of the berries I have picked, but never took the time to do it. Now that I'm on vacation I have more than enough time on my hands. I had to do a little research to learn what to do and found the very helpful sites below:

 Ball Intro to Canning Guide

Pioneer Woman's Canning 101 and Strawberry Jam

Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Jam Part 2

I've heard that you want to get canning right to prevent any bacteria from getting in and surviving. I think I would have tried it much sooner if I hadn't taken microbiology during my senior year in college and learned about botulism.

The result: The jam came out delicious and the canning process was very easy. I canned only two jars during my first batch, afraid that I would mess it up somehow. But it worked! The following day I did another 6 jars, then saved the rest of the berries to eat fresh.

You better believe that I'll be back out to the berry patch in a few days. Blueberry season is heading here very quickly and blueberries are by far my most favorite fruit.

If anyone has any suggestions for flavor-combos of blueberry jam I'd love to hear them!

Walking Long Distances is Always Better with Cupcakes

When we moved to DC I worried that I would miss out on the local produce that is so abundant in Vermont, and that there would be no farmer's markets in the area. Geesh, what a dorkus I was. My worry was put to rest during our first weekend in the city, when we ran by a great market in Dupont Circle. It wasn't until yesterday that Tom and I finally had a chance to check it out. 

The day greeted us with cooler temperatures, blue skies, and plenty of places along the way to stop and eat our goodies. One woman remarked that it felt like September. It was a perfect day.

Free samples of peaches, nectarines, watermelon, and cantaloupe were served at every stall, and some vendors even welcomed customers to taste the berries before purchasing. We fell in love with the peaches and snagged a few at one stand, then purchased a box of organic raspberries at another. Farm-fresh fruit is so much more flavorful than supermarket fruit, and I love being able to see the farmers (or at least their staff) that I am supporting. 

Tomatoes are definitely in season and there were a wide variety of tomatoes found at each stall. We decided not to buy any since we're leaving for VT this week. It would be a shame to have veggies go bad while we're gone. 

Tom lucked out. He's been without Rosie's Beef Jerky for a few weeks and found this Buffalo Jerky to hold him over until we can get back to Vermont to replenish his stock. 

We stopped by the fountain to enjoy the jerky and peaches, and to soak up the sun. 

We also stopped at Hello Cupcake's Dupont Circle location for an afternoon pick-me-up. I mean, if Tom can get beef jerky, then I certainly need a cupcake. It took me a while to decide between the strawberry lemonade cake and a more traditional, vanilla cake and chocolate frosting. Ultimately I went with the classic. I'm trying to find one that is just as good as the my little cupcake version, and after this one, I am still looking.

We stopped at a mini-park on our walk back home to enjoy the cupcakes. Note: If you want to make sure that I have fun and am in a good mood on a 1.7 mile walk, then be sure to give me a cupcake half way through. They were a little melted by this point, but were still just as effective!

 The frosting tasted great, but the cake was lacking some flavor. It was a nice, fluffy cake, but it did not taste like vanilla. Yikes! I'm starting to sound like a cupcake snob. Anyway, I enjoyed the cupcake, but have had more delicious ones. Will I go back? Yes! I need to try the strawberry lemonade.

 

Tom opted for the Root Beer Float cupcake. At first it tasted like a gingerbread cupcake. It wasn't until I was done eating it that I could really taste the root beer. It's funny how he always goes for unique flavors and I tend to hit somewhat boring chocolate and vanilla combos. 

That evening we enjoyed some of our farmer's market finds with our dinner. Tom found two great recipes on tastespotting.com and was the chef of the evening. He made really delicious corn on the cob, green beans with walnuts and balsamic, and honey-dijon glazed chicken. We'll definitely be using those recipes again in the future! 

Hope you all have a Happy Monday!

Lemon Raspberry Rolls

Thursday night I posted a question to my Facebook friends, "Two weeks without baking has me going crazy. What should I bake up tomorrow?"

Cookies were the most popular suggestion, but a treat using beer and bacon (for Tom) won everyone over. However, I didn't go with either. Why Not? It wasn't because we don't have beer or bacon, but rather because we had a container of fresh raspberries in the fridge that were screaming to be transformed into something amazing.

And then Joy the Baker came along.

As did her Lemon Raspberry Breakfast Rolls.

They're cinnamon rolls minus the cinnamon. Replaced with brown butter. 

The real question here is, why isn't brown butter an air freshener yet? Because dang, that is quite possibly one of the best scents out there!

I almost threw out the dough because I had forgotten to add the sugar in with the yeast and milk. I didn't realize it until I was half way through kneading it. I wasn't sure if that would make a big deal but I added the sugar and continued on.

It turns out that that was just a minor blip that did not impact the final product. And everything worked out just fine.

Actually, it worked out too well. Because these things are just too good. I struggled (and failed) to stay away from them as I cooked dinner. We brought one to a friend last night and I think she would agree: These are pretty amazing.

Speaking of last night, we watched "All the President's Men" outside at a park in Rosslyn. Everything was going well until we were near the end of the movie. We started to hear some funny noises around the park and then....

The sprinklers turned on!

Someone in the city forgot that the park would be occupied by a few hundred people, relaxing on their blankets and enjoying a movie. We skedaddled our butts right out of there and headed on home.

Happy Saturday Everyone! Will anyone be doing any baking? If not, I hope you still get yourself a delicious treat and enjoy the weekend!

Cake Order: Berry Birthday

I took on a cake order last week for a vanilla birthday cake with berries. 

It felt so amazing to be working with an icing bag and frosting again. We had been separated for too long!

It's no surprise that the berries had me reminiscing about berry picking in the summer, especially with the insanely warm temperatures that we have had this week. 

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

I have a confession to make. I secretly really love going to the dentist. Is it strange that I feel like falling asleep while the hygienist is working on my teeth?

Yes. It sure is. 

My dentist called me on Wednesday. They had an opening and asked if I could come in yesterday at 9:00. Sure! Why not. The only bad part about the experience was paying for the appointment. I'm without dental insurance this year because of school. Maybe I could go the year without going to the dentist, but I really don't want to mess up my teeth after years of braces and a herbst appliance.

Anyway....

On my way home I stopped at Hannaford to pick up some frozen blueberries. I had brown butter blueberry muffins on my mind all because of Joy the Baker's new cookbook that I got in the mail Wednesday. 

I've followed Joy's blog for almost two years so obviously the cookbook needed to be ordered. Her humor and style of writing comes out in each recipe. So does her love for baking.

This was my first time experimenting with brown butter but it won't be the last. I may have accidentally gotten some of the warm butter on my finger as I was mixing into the batter and it may have tasted really yummy.

The  muffins were good, but not the best I've ever had. That could have been my own doing (I wonder if frozen blueberries affect the taste, or perhaps I didn't cook them long enough). All I know is that I'm super excited to bake the other recipes in the book. 

And in case you were wondering, I am cavity free once again (*knockonwood*)