Goals 2012

 

Yesterday I mentioned our 2012 goals. Today I thought I would post some of them. I’m not going to put all of them on here cause some are pretty personal, but I will share a few.

 

Eric

Do the 3-4 velodirt rides

· Dalles Mountain 60

· Rapture

· Oregon Stampede

· Anti-Crostt

Do >50% of Oregon Endurance Series

· Hood River, OR

· Sandy Ridge, OR

· Bend, Or

· Oakridge, OR

Do 50km SOB run

Resolve knee issues

Play violin more

Sew pants

Save 10% of our income

 

Meg

Run 50km Ultra July 2012

Strength train 3x week

Yoga it up

Cook 5x a week with healthy nutritious food

Find a job I love after graduation in April

Camp 10x this year

Hike 1x a month at least

Read two books a month

Get another tattoo

Stuff vs Adventure

 

I should be writing a paper on food culture. I should be doing laundry, cleaning, dishes and probably showering. Instead I am updating my long lost blog and doing some thinking.

2012. The year of adventure.

As Eric and I were discussing our goals for this year, a common theme ran through them. Travel. Explore. Fitness. Adventure. We live in the Pacific NW! There is so much to discover and do here. We both regretted not doing nearly enough last year. This year, that will change.

I’m talking camping, hiking, running, bouldering, site seeing and so, so much more!

I’m done with spending my money on stuff that I only appreciate for a short time. I’d much rather be spending my money on gas to get places, camp sites for the night, park passes and food for the road.

2012! Here we go!

Also…watch this video.

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Frog legs, freezing and all things France.

 

Have you ever seen a frogs leg? They have  a very similar muscle structure to humans. Check it out.

Yeah…we had to coat those babies, deep fry them and eat them at school. Truth, they taste kind of like chicken. However I could not get over the idea that I was gnawing on a human leg, therefore I could only eat one bite.

Tonight

47 °F

Chance of Rain

30% chance of precipitation

Fall is officially here and it has brought rain and much colder temperatures. I am really loving it though. Cold and overcast is wonderful to me. Remind me I said that in January and February.

And last but of course not least. Lately I have been obsessed with the idea of traveling to France. We are hopefully going next summer, but I am getting antsy. Reading blogs like this one don’t help the matter much. I have gotten a Learn French for Beginners course from the library and I am looking forward to learning some new French words.

Hope your fall is starting out wonderful!

Peach Chutney

 

This recipe is not mine. It’s from one of the chef’s at school. I had to wrestle and beg ahem…I mean ask nicely for it. Please make this and smother it all over your face. I mean eat it on toast or chicken or dip things into it or can it or do whatever you want with it, just make it!

Peach Chutney

• · 1 qt peaches, peeled and diced
• · 1.5c white sugar
• · ½ c brown sugar
• · 1 c red wine vinegar
• · ½ red onion diced
• · ½ white onion diced
• · 1 red bell pepper, fire roasted, diced
• · ¼ c candied ginger
• · ½ c dried cherries
• · 1/2 c dark rum
• · 1/2t cinnamon
• · 1/2t allspice
• · 1/8t mace
• · 3 thai chili

Mix everything together. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low low simmer and cook 1-2 hours. Low and slow is key here!!

Vegan Corn Chowder

 

The other day my friend Greg tweeted out something about good vegan chowder being impossible. Well, I took that as a personal challenge to create something he would deem delicious. Tonight I have created what I (and Eric) believe to be a great alternative to your normal heavy on the cream corn chowder.

Vegan Corn Chowder (inspired by a recipe found in the Joy of Cooking)

• 1 sm. onion medium to small dice
• 2 md. red potatoes medium dice
• 5-6 small or 4 medium ears of corn (remove the kernels, but keep the cob)
• 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
• 1.5 c coconut milk from the carton (like Silk, or So Delicious brand)
• Salt and Pepper TT(to taste)
• Corn puree (recipe follows)

Additions:

You could add some hot sauce, or chopped carrot or celery.

Directions:

In a heavy stockpot, heat a little bit of oil and sauté the onion till soft. Add in the potatoes, milk, coconut milk, and the corn husks (not the kernels) Simmer 15 minutes or until soft. Remove the husks and add in the kernels and corn puree. Simmer another 5 minutes to heat everything through. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Corn Puree

• Half a bag of frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup coconut milk

In a blender, combine kernels and milk, puree until paste texture.

Notes:

Do not skip salting the chowder. If you don’t add salt, it will be much to sweet. Just add some, then try it. Add a little more…see where you like your salt level. The more salt, the less sweet it will be. Also, the corn puree is key in this recipe because it really helps thicken up the soup. I’m sure you could simmer the soup down until it thickens up, but I really like the addition of the puree for even more corn flavor.

I served my chowder with non-vegan cornbread and simple garden salad. Now that fall is almost here, I see this recipe coming around again and again.

Enjoy!!

Back in the kitchen

 

I started back in the kitchen last week at school. T-2 is is much different than T-1, the first kitchen segment. Much more laid back and totally different atmosphere. I know it will get busy and crazy, but I’m really enjoying it so far. We are doing breakfast week, which is pretty fun. Have you ever tried to flip eggs in a pan without break a yolk? It is tough! Not to mention you have to cook them over easy so you cant wait till their almost cooked through before you flip them.

Tomorrow we are having our live fire where we simulate an actual restaurant. Tickets will come in and by teams, we have to cook 8 different dishes ranging from pancakes to oatmeal to all different styles of eggs. I’m pretty excited for it actually. I think it will be tough but so fun!

In other news. I am ready for some fall type weather. We had a goodbye summer grill-out last night and now I am ready to bust out some boots and jeans. Instead we are having 90+ temps for this entire week. Kill me.

And finally. Eric and I camped in Bend last weekend and here is a photo from our trip.

 

Uninspired

 

I am uninspired to blog and I don’t know why. Lots of things have been going on. We moved, had friends in town, worked hard, played hard and next week I get back into the kitchen at school.

I shall try and post something here in the next day or so in more detail. I’m off to meet my friends for a beer!

Cheers!!