Its Ragnar Time!!!

I wasn't going to run a Ragnar this year.  I felt a little burnt out on having run two overnight relays last year and the folks, who I'd run with in the past, were doing Ragnar Cape Cod, which I was very interested in.  But being held in early May I didn't think I'd be ready for it after a long winter's hibernation.  They were also planning on Ragnar Adirondacks.  Which I'd already run twice and which I didn't feel needed to be run a third time.  Having run with the crew before though, I was still a part of the Facebook group they use to organize each time they run a relay.  I felt a little voyeur-ish watching their posts/updates/team photos.  I also felt a tinge of regret that I wasn't part of it this year.  

Start line of Ragnar ADK 2014

Ragnar Bling!

Then I went to lululemon for another short sleeved running top.  I was explaining to the girl there that I love their Swiftly tops, especially for over night relays.  She asked me more about those and I explained what Ragnar was.  Coming home, after chatting with her about how much I love Ragnar Relays, I realized how sad I was that I wasn't running this season.  

Because runners should look like traffic cones
not ninjas (read that on Runner's World I think?)

That was on a Saturday.  Then magic happened.  On Monday morning, someone posted in the Facebook group that one of the runners backed out and they needed someone.  THEY NEEDED SOMEONE!  Within a few short hours, I cleared the trip with Matt, made sure I'd get a runner I liked - about 15 miles, no major hills...I had a leg during each of my relays last summer that had, in my opinion, crazy hills...no thanks!

These legs.  Ugh.

So here I am, getting ready for Ragnar Adirondacks.  This weekend!!!  I'm nervous.  My training hasn't gone as planned.  I do this to myself every summer.  I put off my training for whatever run event it is until the very last minute.  Too last minute.  Start packing on the miles too many too fast.  And boom!  Something hurts.  Hurts a lot.  This time it was my left big toe which hurt so much I couldn't walk normally on it. I did see my doctor about it.  Long story short I've rested it for three weeks and I feel good to run.  I went for a test run yesterday and during my run, everything felt great.  Not sure I'll be saying that after a 7.8mi run, a 2.3 mi run, and a 5 mi run all within 24 hrs of each other but we will see!  

Let's do this!!!!

You might be wondering, what is this overnight relay??  Imagine this...12 runners (you're one of them), two vans, and 200 miles.  The total mileage is divided into 36 legs of varying distances and difficulties.  You're assigned a runner number, 1-12, and are responsible for running three legs of the 36 total.  So, if you're runner 1, you run leg 1, leg 13 and leg 25.  Each van has 6 runners in it, 1-6 and 7-12.  While the runners in van 1 are running their six legs, van 2 is in rest mode.  This consists of driving up to where you will meet van 1 at the end of their last leg, maybe showering, possibly getting an hour of sleep, definitely getting something to eat, and just enjoying the experience.  For a bit of perspective, last year during one of my relays, I ran my first leg from 10:30-11:15am, then my second leg from 7:10-7:48pm, and my last leg from 4:25-5:26am.  I believe I slept a total of 2 hours because you know what...when my nerves are wired and the adrenaline is still flowing, I generally have a tough time sleeping.  I don't expect this weekend to be much different.

But I love it. 

Packing for these things is always fun.  You use the spreadsheet everyone entered their estimated pace into to help you figure out during which time of day you will be running.  This is important.  For example my first leg will  be around 2-2:30pm near Saratoga Springs.  At this time yesterday it was a little over 70 degrees.  My second leg will be around 1am and somewhere between Saratoga Springs and Lake Placid and it's forecasted to get down to around 42 over night.  Some folks will run in shorts and a t-shirt in both those conditions but I'm pulling out the PolarTec and Under Armor!  Space is also at a premium in these vans.  Think about it...six adults, three shifts of running gear, plus street clothes for the day before and days after the relay to wear before heading back home.  When I ran Ragnar Niagara Ontario this wasn't an issue.  We left the morning of, and came home right after running.  But for this trip, we leave the day before, finish running on Saturday, rent a house in the Lake Placid area, party Saturday  night, hike one of NY's high peaks on Sunday, chill out Sunday night in the hot tub, and drive home Monday morning.  That's a lot of stuff in a minivan! 

But that's all part of the fun. 

Besides clothing, oddball things I feel I *need* in the van include:

And this isn't even all my stuff!

I struggled over whether or not to bring my camera.  I did last year and got some great photographs and had a great time documenting our journey from Saratoga Springs to Lake Placid. But this year I'm sad to say I am not bringing it.  Will just have to rely on my iPhone for some cool shots of all the fun we're about to have. 

Ok...my ride is going to be here any minute.  Need to grab a few last minute things and hit the road.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I'm wondering though...has anyone out there run an overnight relay?  Or any other fun running event?  What was your favorite?

Weekend wrap-up and homemade pastrami....YUM!!!

This past weekend we decided to head down to camp.  “Camp” is the little red cabin on a hill on property that my husband’s family owns in the Southern Tier of New York.  

 

Camp - picture NOT taken this past weekend

If we want electricity, we need to fire up a generator, and if you want running water…well, go for a hike and try to find a waterfall.  

Please don't drink unfiltered/untreated stream water!

But it has beds, a gas stove (and one of the burners works reliably), heat, a giant fire pit, a his and a hers outhouse, and acres upon acres of land on which to Ranger ride.  And for a few reasons, this was really our last weekend to go riding until late December. 

Luckily I had this past Friday off and could spend the morning babysitting our smoker to finish off the pastrami I'd started a few days earlier.  It had spent some time in the fridge curing with a dry brine, and then was rinsed and placed back in the fridge to dry, then removed again, dipped in spices, and placed in the smoker.  The recipe I follow can be found here and since I haven’t changed a thing, I’m not going to rehash the details but in a few pictures...

Canada goose breasts ready to brine in the fridge for a few days.

Hanging out in the smoker for about 5 hours @ 180F

Finished product!  Looks just like the picture in the recipe.

Only problem was...I was busy checking the smoker when I should have been grocery shopping and packing for the weekend.   Oops.  I hurriedly packed up some stuff when Matt got home from work and we hit the road.  Kind of.  We were on our way to town when I realized I'd forgotten the charger for my work phone and we had to go back.  We then went to the Tops in town and after we loaded up the groceries and started out of the parking lot I realized I forgot my precision cooker (more on that in a later blog but let's just say it was integral to Saturday's meal) and we had to go back a second time!  It was not my shiniest moment.

We finally got to camp in time to start a fire and get dinner ready.  Friday night was low key with a few visitors up at our camp.  Saturday we woke up to rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  We had a slow leisurely breakfast of pastrami hash and eggs.  It's a lot like corned beef hash, but with...pastrami.  Cooking down at camp is interesting unless you bring a lot of seasonings with you.  That is why I relied on a really flavorful meat to carry the dish.  Dice up your pastrami and fry a little while your potatoes par-cook in a saucepan.  Add onions to the pastrami and soften.  Remove from pan, add some oil or butter and fry up your par-cooked potatoes.  Add the pastrami and onions back to the pan, throw in a glob of your favorite mustard and then crack your eggs on top.  Cover and cook.  

Diced pastrami and onions

Breakfast!

Matt was a little skeptical when I told him I was going to use pastrami since I usually do this with bacon.  But in the end, he said it was DELICIOUS.  Skillet breakfasts are my favorite thing to make down at camp and I foresee this pastrami version being revisited often. 

We had a nice break in the rain when we finished eating and decided to head down to our friends' camp.  From there we hopped in our Rangers, met up with a few others and went for a ride.  I'd say we put on at least 30 miles and were gone for about 6 hours.  It was some of the best riding yet, made some new friends and discovered new trails.  Some of the views were absolutely beautiful!  

Enjoying the view at the top of an old ski hill.

Lexa LOVES Ranger riding.

On our way back to camp it started to rain.  Again.  We had to dry out a bit when we got back but thanks to our friends whose cabin does have electricity, our dinner was ready.  After eating all three of us were pooped and hit the hay.  

Pita pockets for dinner and a sleepy dog!

We didn't do too much riding on Sunday.  Mostly we hung out with Steve and Lynn down the road at their camp, ate some super yummy snacks that Lynn made (her Stromboli is to die for!), some bacon wrapped venison that we brought, and watched some of the Bills game.  Steve and Matt even went out and got more supplies for yard critters.  

Marinated in Catalina dressing, wrapped in bacon and then grilled.
This is my go-to "dish to pass" from now on.

Hemlock logs.

Yard critter.

It was an awesome weekend.  I'm sad to say it's probably the last one for the year unless we find time to sneak down before Christmas.  But that doesn't seem likely.  The next two months are so busy already and really, we try not to go riding down there during hunting season for safety reasons and to avoid upsetting local landowners.  

Goodbye camp!

I am looking forward to sharing with you about next weekend.  I'll be heading to Saratoga Springs, NY to run  Ragnar Relay Adirondacks.  There will be some familiar faces on my team and some new ones as well.  I'm always happy to make new running friends.  Fingers crossed...the weather looks like it should be perfect and if my legs aren't too drained, I'll be joining some of our group to hike one of New York's high peaks.  Should be an awesome time.

Hope you enjoyed your last weekend of summer as much as we did.  Looking forward to all the fun fall activities ahead of me.  Did you do anything fun this last weekend of summer?
 

Getting HOT in here!!

I'm not sure there is any one out there who loves pressure cooking more than I do.  Well, maybe.  Amazing women like Laura Pazzaglia over at hip pressure cooking and Lorna Sass at lornasass.com probably love pressure cooking as much as I do and because of women like them I have been inspired so many times in my own kitchen to cook up healthy and delicious meals in my pressure cooker. 

Yesterday though, things went wrong,  terribly wrong.  Or perhaps amazingly right, depending on whether or not you enjoy the feeling of a HOT HOT HOT pepper shoved into your sinuses causing hours of runny nose and sneezing from a hot sauce experiment that came out too, far too, way too, HOT. 

I should have known something was different because while the sauce was in the pressure cooker I had to step out of the house as I was already starting to feel the effects of the capsaicin in the peppers.  Matt and I decided to walk around the pond and feed the fish.  Last summer my incredibly industrious husband got an idea to rent a bulldozer and expand the existing puddle into a pond almost an acre large.  

Upper right clockwise, old pond with estimated outline of new pond,
Lexa testing the waters, the dock Matt built using the deck off
the back of my sister's house, umm...mistakes were made,
the dozer on the bottom of the pond.

Thanks to a wet summer and a very snowy winter, we awoke this spring to a full pond.

This was the first time I realized I could see the water from
the house since it was finally high enough.  This was taken April 7th,
less than a year after we finished digging.

We began stocking it in May so that in a few years we might have an awesome bass pond.  How cool would it be to be able to grab a fishing rod, walk across our driveway and catch dinner?  So far we've added fathead minnows, crayfish and bluegill.  There are minnows EVERYWHERE.  Granted most of them are itty bitty, but as long as they serve as food for the larger fish, I think we're on the right track.  We don't see any signs of the crayfish, but unless we get in there and start moving rocks, I'm not sure we ever will.  We don't see any evidence of a crayfish die-off so I think we're moving in the right direction there as well.  And lastly, our bluegills.  Perhaps the most controversial critter in our pond.  A few hatcheries vehemently advised against it.  Others said they'll make great food for largemouth bass.  But if not kept in check, apparently bluegills can take over your pond.  I'm looking forward to having our nieces and nephews over and letting them fish the heck out of the bluegills some day!  In the meantime, if you stand on the shore and one bluegill spots you, he calls over his friends and next thing you know, there are five or six there just waiting.  Waiting for you to head over to the chicken coop, steal some of the chicken feed, and throw it in for them.  Who knew bluegill liked chicken food so much?  And it's really fun feeding them it.

Stocking the pond and feeding the fish. 
Is it just me or does Lexa look like she wants to push Matt
in and is looking to me for permission?

So back to the hot sauce.  I follow Laura's technique for Instant Tabasco and have used it several times already.  We had a party a few months back where I put out three different versions of my hot sauce and they were a big hit.  I've used jalapenos, Fresno peppers, Serrano peppers, Sandia peppers, all with great success.  And then...I was gifted these...

Habanero chilis (imagine a spooky tone of voice)

I thought, awesome!  Now I can make sauce that will even make my husband feel the burn (I know that doesn't sound very nice but he likes the burn, I promise!).  So I went to work, I weighed them out and needed to add one bright red jalapeno to get a total of 12 ounces.  You remove the stems, chop them up and place them in your pressure cooker.  To that you add 2 teaspoons of smoked salt (regular works too, smoked adds extra depth though) and 1-1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I've started adding a combination of cider vinegar and apple juice to add a little sweetness and minimize the vinegar flavor allowing the flavor of the pepper to shine through.  Pressure cook on high for one minute and then allow the pressure to release naturally.   

CPC-600, almost five years old and used several times a week.
I highly recommend this item if you're interested in pressure cooking.

Once we were done feeding the fish, I went back into the house and took the lid off the PC and woah!  Capsaicin city.  Usually when I make hot sauce this way I never have a problem staying in the house and being in the vicinity of the pressure cooker.  I've never had a problem removing the lid to puree the peppers either.  But apparently, and I didn't realize this, habaneros are in a league of their own.  Afterwards I looked up the peppers on the Scoville scale.  If you're not familiar with the Scoville scale, it is basically the end all be all of what's hot and what's not.  And it turns out, habaneros are WAY hotter than any other pepper I've worked with.

Oops.

Your general habanero comes in around 350,000 SHU (Scoville heat unit).  For comparison, a cayenne pepper ranges from 30,000-50,000 SHU and a jalapeno is around 10,000 SHU (Scoville Source).  I probably should have done that research before I made a hot sauce out of 87% habaneros by weight.  

I repeat.  Oops.

I pureed the sauce, strained out the pulp and bottled it.  But I believe I will be making another batch with all red/orange bell peppers and diluting the habanero sauce to something that humans are capable of consuming without the fear of dying.  

Hot sauce.  Made out of reasonable peppers.

I'm always trying new things, regular salt, smoked salt, pureeing in some fresh garlic, adding liquid smoke, maybe a little brown sugar next time??  If you try making hot sauce using Laura's technique please comment letting me know what you think!  Or do you use a different technique for hot sauce?  Do you add any extra flavors to it?  I'd love to learn more. 

Welcome to me!

Hello!  My name is Andrea.  

I'm, in no particular order, a runner, a yogi, a food and cooking enthusiast, a wife, an aunt, a hobbyist photographer, an experimenter, a dog lover...basically I might be a little bit of everything.  In my journey to define myself, to learn what I'm not only good at but what I am passionate about, I've stumbled upon some interesting bits.  I decided to start this blog to share those pieces which I find interesting with you all.  I do fear that not everyone shares my love of basically all things and that the randomness of what I post might turn some of you off.  But please, comment, let me know what you think, and stick around.  Though I'll most likely be talking about food and running with some yoga spinkled in.

Yoga and Ranger riding??  Yes please!

There are a lot of great things around the corner...I'm running the Ragnar Relay Adirondacks for the third time.  After that hopefully I'll have enough juice left to run the Wineglass Half Marathon a week later.  I have a work trip to Missouri and then some time home, just me, the dog and the chickens while my husband, Matt, is out in Colorado hoping to bring home an elk!  I'm hoping he has some great pictures of the Rockies for me to share here.  

No Ragnar outfit is complete without 
a fake Ragnar tattoo!

We are entering one of my favorite times of year.  When I can run during ANY time of the day without worrying of heat stroke, I can curl up on the deck with a good book, a blanket and a hot cup of coffee, cook up some stews and chilis and visit some of my favorite craft shows (Letchworth!) getting inspiration for some home crafted Christmas gifts (100 days left!).
  

Taken near Lake Placid, NY Sept 2014

This is a bit of an experiment for me.  Thought about starting a blog for a bit but was inspired by a friend today to actually give it a shot.  I hope to blog once a week through the holidays and if things are going well, I plan to keep it up!  

Hope you have an amazing day!
Andrea