Runs 4 Food

Another Night at the Butcher Block

2012-02-25T04:27:00.002-08:00

Last Tuesday we visited the Butcher Block with our good friends Debbie and Steve. This Minneapolis Rome inspired trattoria is just a few blocks from home, so we make our way to this terrific establishment every few weeks and never regret it.

The place is welcoming and cozy, very fitting to the Northeast scene. Chef Filippo Caffari (formerly at I Nonni) is a skilled master butcher that really knows his way around the kitchen. His tomato sauces have a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity (my bet is on San Marzano tomatoes as the key ingredient). You cannot go wrong with anything that has them.

Sharon had Gnocchi with Wild Boar Ragu that was heavenly. The gnocchi were light and tender and the ragu was hearty enough to stand on its own as a dish. A very balanced dish. Debbie's Spaghetti and Meatballs (made with pork and ricotta) were plentiful and a testament to the mastery of chef Filippo's tomato sauces.

Steve and I ordered the Veal Liver Marsala (I have to confess that is what I usually order. In fact this dish made its way into this blog on an earlier although rather brief post.) This is the only place I have visited where you are asked for temperature on the liver (medium-rare for me). The tender veal liver is served over mashed potatoes and accompanied with the most delicious Marsala wine sauce. Topping the liver with sautéed crimini mushrooms really highlights the earthy profile of the dish. I can't recommend this dish enough.

Last Tuesday we didn't have appetizers, but from previous visits I can really recommend the Grilled Octopus (a favorite of Sharon's) and the Eggplant Saporite, served with artichoke, fennel and gorgonzola. The Butcher Block is nothing if not consistent (one of the best compliments I think you can give to a good restaurant). It really never disappoints. I know we will make our way back there before too long.

Chef Filippo Caffari and his kitchen crew

I ❤ Heartland

2012-02-25T03:39:00.000-08:00

We finally made our way to Heartland at it's new location. We frequented Heartland when we were living in St Paul, but had yet to see the new place by the Farmer's Market. A reminder came last year when they won the prestigious James Beard award for Best Chef for a Midwest restaurant.

If you are unfamiliar with the place it is a must visit. They specialize in indigenous and cultivated ingredients from the Canadian and American Midwest that are artfully combined on a menu that changes daily. The new locale is warm and welcoming in a renovated building that we once looked at when we were considering moving to a loft. In fact it is large enough to accommodate a not-so-small Farm Direct Market (or deli) with fresh produce and home-made canned delicacies. Brick walls and large wooden beams running through the ceiling give the place the right ambience.

The food did not disappoint. The menu maintains the Flora and Fauna options from the old location (two tasting menu options offered at a good price; one vegetarian and one with animal protein). The lamb ordered by our friend Mike was so beautifully cooked that drove me to write this post. Sharon had a trout over bok choy that was crispy, light and delicate.

I ordered a traditional cassoutlet, a rich, slow-cooked casserole originating in the south of France, containing white haricot beans, pork sausage, pork, and topped with a duck leg confit. The picture did not turn our very clear, but I would highly recommend it if you are into beans and stews.

Lamb, beautifully cooked

Trout and bok choy

Unexpected Travail

2012-01-29T07:21:00.000-08:00

Last night our Robbinsdale boys gave us a tour down memory lane. We rented a car service to drive around Robbinsdale, the oldest suburb in Minneapolis and saw their old houses and hangouts. We followed that with dinner at Travail Kitchen & Amusements, a new American gastropub. We had a reservation at the "hot tub" table, a round booth sitting on an elevated platform that was just perfect for eight. Mike, our waiter, indicated that as part of our tasting menu, the food would come in dishes to be shared for each couple with a number of amuse bouche in between.

In total we had 17 courses and they were all surprising, terrific and in many ways unexpected. Most definitely a place worth visiting again. Below are pictures of our courses (except one of the desserts that somehow I missed, a Cheesecake lemon shots streusel).

Olive Bomb

Chinese deep fried beans with miso emulsion

Beet salad w prosciutto and walnut purée

Reuben cheese fondue corned beef thousand island dressing
with sauerkraut and pumpernickel cracker

Shrimp banh mi with ponzu sauce

Brisket with pickled radish and conish pickels horseradish
yogurt sauce and sous vide egg yolk

Sunchoke soup with popovers and chive mouse

Tortellini with ham and cheddar foam

Scallops with fried cream grits, micro sunflower sprouts and powder chorizo

Sea bass with carrot orange purée, navy beans and fish fume
foam, black béarnaise and chive powder

Potato gnocchi with egg yolk creme fraiche and bacon

Rabbit leg stuffed with sausage and wrapped in pancetta
with balsamic reduction and butternut squash purée

Black currant dipping dots

Pork tenderloin with asian daikon radish pork belly sous vide egg yolk

Fudge browny with peanut butter powder and lemon macaroon

Liquid nitrogen frozen dipping dots with chocolate
ganache and jalapeño marshmallow

Two of our Robbinsdale boys with Kelly

Gold Medal Challenge - Part II

2012-01-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was part two of the Gold Medal Challenge part of the Icebreaker Half Marathon and Marathon at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, WI. Earning the gold medal required running the half on Saturday and then the full on Sunday. You also got the bronze for the half and the silver for the full, so running both races nets you three medals. For those addicted to the metal as I am, a pretty good deal, even if it requires a 11 hour drive round trip (the last 3 hours in icy rain).

Anyway, having spent the last night having dinner at the very terrific Christie's Bar & Grill, I got up early and headed to the Olympic facility where the event takes place. The race started at 8:00AM after a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner by a local singer.

One of the laps around the ice
skating ring during the Marathon

There isn't much to add about the full that was not mentioned on the blog entry for the half. Basically the same terrain and temperature controlled weather, just twice the length (96 laps). I will add that this was my third (out of 17 marathons) in which I did not take a walking step. Running end to end is easy when there are no uphills (no excuses). I am also glad that the ankle that had been bothering me since New York did not affect me in the least.

When running by the projector you can check your lap count

I completed the full in 4:11:13 placing 57 out of 117. A pretty average run for me. I do have to say, I enjoy a run in which you get to see the lead runners several times over (even cheer for them as the y pass you). Usually they take off before you and never get to see them from the corral. By the time you finish, they are long gone (awards and all).

I also enjoyed the volunteers, who handed you your water bottle on request and provided lap counts when asked. Really an awesome bunch.

It is a tad for from home, but I think the event is definitely a fan one to attempt again. Two technical T-shirts and three medals also help.

A marathon runner at an Olympic facility wearing the
silver and gold medals earned for the event

A Milwaukee Gem: Christie's Bar & Grill

2012-01-28T05:26:00.000-08:00

Christie's Bar & Grill, Milwaukee, WI

The night before the Icebreaker Marathon, I find myself alone in Milwaukee and frankly, I don't feel like a plate of pasta at the diner that is next to my very inexpensive hotel. I do a few online searches and find something interesting. Just a few miles from my hotel, there is a place called Christie's Bar & Grill that has a 5 star rating on Yelp.com with 33 reviews. With that many reviews, it is rare to get that high a score. So after reading a few of them, I decide to give it a try.

The place is in a residential neighborhood and looks like just one other house that had an awning added along with a few neon lights. I am advised by somebody in Yelp to go early, otherwise the wait will be long. I arrive at 5:15, just a few minutes after they open. Behind the bar is Jason, very hard working and MC extraordinaire who keeps the conversation going and even gets the customers talking to each other. The other only member of the staff is Jason's mother, who is back in the kitchen. At 64 years of age, she doesn't move fast (Jason informs several times), but the food is very much worth it.

Calamari

I start with a glass of cabernet and some calamari with an Asian sauce. I find the calamari a tad overcooked, but not bad. The sauce is terrific. Gingery and sweet with a touch of acidity to cut the grease of the calamari. Not a bad start, but nothing to write a blog article about.

As I have my appetizer, dishes keep coming from the kitchen. For each order, Jason walks to the kitchen, peeks inside and places the order, which invariably starts with "Mom!" Every dish is great looking and very large, easy to share. I am alone, so opt for a Shrimp Po'boy. I also get a second glass of wine. Not wise the night before a marathon, so I compensate drinking a few glasses of water.

As Jason places the sandwich in front of me he also brings a stack of no less than 8 or 10 napkins. I initially find it unnecessary, but later find out they turn out to be barely enough. Looking at the Sandwich I suddenly understand the ratings on Yelp. It looks great! My neighbor at the bar looks at it and says: "Damn, I was going to order that! I will have to come back to get one."

Shrimp Po'boy, truly delicious

The shrimp is crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked (flash fried) on the inside... juicy and with a nice crunch. The sauce is spicy and plentiful (hence the need for napkins). Probably not a good idea for a pre-marathon dinner, so I order a third glass of wine to compensate :-)

I enjoy my entree while I listen and participate in the conversation. I soon realize I was wise to come early and order soon. A trickle of customers come in during the time I am there and they are at some point met with a proposed 90 minute wait, to which most of them respond leaving to find another place for dinner. Even those at the bar are in for a long wait. I end up staying 2-1/2 hours, but I am in no hurry. At one point, a single entree comes for the couple sitting next to me. Jason says: "Food is going to come out like a Chinese restaurant so if it comes out start eating 'cause there is only one mom back there." Everybody seems to be fun with it.

Really a must-visit establishment if you happen to be in Milwaukee. The food is great the atmosphere is warm and friendly (in the time I was there I must have shaken his hand 4 times) and Jason is truly the star making the place what it is. OK... the food was also incredible. As I leave, I ask Jason if I can take his picture for my blog. While I do it I mentioned to him that it is rare to have such a high rating on Yelp with 33 reviews. His response is simply: "All I have is a bar with food and two bathrooms". I think he has much more than that.

Jason, bartender, food runner and MC extraordinaire

Gold Medal Challenge - Part I

2012-01-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Currently I am spending my weekend in Wisconsin. I am participating in the Icebreaker's Gold Medal Challenge. This interesting event has a number of races held at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.

Running around the ice skating ring at Pettit National Ice Center

In addition to a 5K which I just found out took place on Friday afternoon or evening, the key events are a half marathon held on Saturday and a Marathon held on Sunday morning. Those running the half get a bronze medal. Those running the full get a silver medal. And those running both races get a gold medal.

Of course I am trying for both. Otherwise I am not sure I would have endured the 5 hour drive to get here.

This morning I run the half. Because of the number of participants on the 1/2 marathon,they actually hold two races on Saturday. Mine started at 7:00 AM and I have to say I had a ball.

The course is the outer track on the ice skating arena, right outside the ice ring. A half a marathon requires 47 and 1/2 laps. The very center of the arena has two ice squares; one for hockey and one for free ice skating. Almost right from the start we got to see a group of kids playing hockey and another group of kids doing pirouettes. The speed skating ring had a Zamboni running around that brought some excitement to the run.

1/2 Marathon Bronze medal

The track is very nice. The inner area is used for fast runners, so with the exception of my time passing, I spent most of my time on the outside. A group of volunteers hand you your water bottle on request and take it at the next lap, about 2:20 min later. The race is chipped and a large LCD projector displays runners and their lap count. You can also ask for your count and get it on the next pass.

About an hour into the race, the Zamboni was done preparing the speed ice ring and a small number of speed skaters in Flash Gordon-like outfits took on the course for additional entertainment.

The time went fast. I completed the first race in 1:50:05 (8:25 min/miles), finishing 71 out of 111 runners in this wave. My overall place will be higher, since the organizers requested that the faster runners participate on the first wave (and had to finish in under 2 hours). Leaving the second wave for those that either didn't want to get up early or run slower. (Note: final tally placed me #80 or 222, certainly a better number.)

Because of the venue, the indoor wheater conditions were great for running. The temperature and humidity controlled environment helped not just keep the ice solid, but also the runners form overheating. In fact, after I finished I decided to stick around to see the second wave start from the bleachers. I didn't last long. Between my wet clothes and the frigid temperatures I left after they had done no more than 4 or 5 laps.

Breakfast at The Broken Yolk

Following a tradition of mine. I asked a volunteer for a local breakfast establishment and was directed to The Broken Yolk, a little whole in the wall/college type of place where you order at the counter and can get breakfast all day. For just $12 I got chocolate milk and a large plate containing three eggs, hash browns, sausage, toast and a side of bacon that had no less than 6 strips. Yeah... I was hungry.

Now I am back at my very cheap hotel room icing my ankle (which has been bothering me a tad since the New York Marathon last November) and watching the South Carolina primary on CNN making time until tomorrow's marathon. I will make sure to follow up with a post soon after the race.

New (Awesome) Homepage for Zoom! Yah! Yah!

2011-11-25T03:37:00.000-08:00

Last year I run the prestigious Zoom! Yah! Yah! marathon in St Olaf's college in Northfield, MN. A friend just forwarded to me a link to their ver awesome new homepage. How about that handsome fellow right in the center of the page?

I am still trying to get into the year's, but am still number 15 on the wait list on a race that takes a few over forty runners. At this point it seems like a long shot, but my fingers are crossed.

New York Food: Morimoto

2011-11-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

Window shopping in New York took us to the south west side of Manhattan were we walked by Morimoto, at the heart of Chelsea right by the Highline. At the time we have reservations somewhere else, so we simply take notice and keep walking, but the thought linger with us and before we leave (the morning before our flight), we make a reservation for lunch.

The place has a very Japanese (understated) entrance. We are nearly the first table at the restaurant, since we have no more than an hour before we have to head to the airport. Our table is all the way at the back, which pleases us since we have a chance to take a small tour of the entire place and sit with a good view of the sushi bar.

One of the many reviews I check online raves about the Toro Tartar (that is raw tuna), not that it took much arm twisting for me to order it. The presentation is beautiful with the tuna standing on a plank with a little bit of caviar on top and several sauces and accompaniments to add to the fish as it is scrapped off the wood with a small flat spatula we use as a spoon. Definitely good, but you can't really see a Chef's skill level with raw dishes.

One of the best courses was our second appetizer: Crispy Rock Shrimp Tempura. If you have never tries rock shrimp and you like shrimp, this is a must. Small, round and very juicy, it is one of my favorites. Tempura is a good chance to test our chef. Fried food can be greasy and tempura can often be bland. This is neither.

The batter is crispy and fluffy, the shrimp cooked to perfection and the sauces over the shrimp perfect to add flavor to the dish without taking away from the delicate flavors. Really a terrific dish.

For the main courses I order Buri Bop: Eel over rice (one of my favorite dishes during our trip in Japan). This time it comes raw, over rice server on a incredibly for bowl. Table side, the waiter places the fish against the bowl walls, were it cooks as the rice is expertly mixed with the sauce and other ingredients by the waiter. Then the eel is placed on top of the rice. Delicious...

Sharon orders Negitoro, basically sashimi with lots of tuna over cold white rice. This is a very large amount of raw, very fresh fish. We pick at it until we can no longer eat (and have to run to the airport). In fact we leave so late that end up taking a cab instead of using the bus tickets we have already purchased. Still, definitely worth it. We love japanese food.

New York Food: Carnegie Deli

2011-11-19T04:57:00.000-08:00

So being a foodie and a pastrami lover, I had to make a stop at the famous Carnegie Deli during our visit to New York. This was a much for me, since my very first memory of food in New York (this dates probably just about 20 years ago now) was a hot pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard. I took it to go from a deli in south Manhattan and ate it as a walked my way through the glorious streets of Manhattan.

Anyway, the place was great. A big line to get in, but luckily we got there a few minutes before the big lunch rush. We get a table in the middle room by the wall. Pictures of the rich and famous signed to the owners cover the walls. Waiters pass around with plates loaded with large amounts of food, and I mean LARGE. We are hungry and feel are in the right place so we order and pretty much share everything at the table.

Here is a sample of what came to the table:

Hot pastrami on rye (I had to)

Turkey Club with crispy salty bacon
and one of the the juiciest turkey I have ever tried

Open-face corned beef ruben - Was much better than the picture looks

Race Report: New York Marathon

2011-11-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying that there is no place like New York. I have not traveled extensively, but I have certainly seen a good part of the world and New York holds a very special place in my heart. Being selected to run the New York Marathon (after two lottery attempts) it was one of the highlights of my running life. Of all the lotteries you can win, this may not be the preferred one, but it ain't bad either.

We arrived the Thursday before the Marathon with plenty of time to go to pick up the race package at the (very large) expo and take a couple of days to do some sightseeing before the race.

By far one of the highlights of the trip was the visit to Ellis Island. A place that we never have visited before despite of our multiple trips to New York in the first few years of our marriage. Ellis Island is a must visit location and I'd dare to say that renting the audio tour is also a must. The stories of hope and despair told (often first person accounts of immigrants that came through Ellis Island) are nothing shorts of amazing.

Also worth noting from our sobering visit was the 9/11 Memorial and our (accidental) and very brief visit to the Occupy Wall Street gang, both pictured below.

New 9/11 Memorial

Occupy Wall Street protester

And now let's get back to the business of the race report. Let me tell you... this guys really know how to throw a party. Getting there took some time, but I think that added to the excitement. The 47,000 participants were broken into three or four waves. I was part of the second one starting at 10:10 AM. To get there I left the apartment at 6:45 AM and walked to the subway, took the subway for about 30 minutes to the Staten Island Ferry, where I boarded the Ferry for about 25 minutes and then took a bus to the starting "villages."

Runners walking into the Staten Island Ferry Terminal

These villages are very appropriately named given their significant size. They have music, security and a contingent of UPS trucks taking the participant bags with clothes for after the race. The mood was great. Lots of smiles, people listening to music or simply laying in the sun waiting for their wave to start. I didn't plan for such a long commute to get there, so I was rather late to drop my bag (at least based on the recommended time).

The organizers did an awesome job setting things up. There were port-potties everywhere (including inside the corrals). I gave in to my nerves and visited three or four times before the start.

John F Kennedy, the name of our ferry

When the time came to get started, I was trying really hard to play it cool. I mean, my best runs are never races, but training runs. So, as much as possible, I am trying to ignore everything around me. Just think of it as another run close to home. The last of wave one starts while we are still in the corral and we hear the national anthem being sang for them. I am still cool. Then it is our turn. We get America the Beautiful and I am still cool. As soon as the horn sounds and we start running, they blast New York, New York through the speakers. And I could not possibly ignore that. At that point I was running way to fast ad with a big smile on my face. This was no training run. Get used to it. The theme repeated throughout the race. So many cool sights that it was nearly impossible to ignore that I was running one of the coolest races of my life.

At the ferry on the way to the start

We start crossing the bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn. Since we are running on the lower deck, my GPS loses its satellite signal almost immediately. I don't get it back until mile 10 (resulting in a strange route on the Garmin site). I don't care much. I can calculate my pace by looking at the watch at every mile marker. I know I am going too fast, but I am having fun. There will be plenty of time to regret it later.

Wave two corral, right before the start

The temperature on the lower deck of the bridge is a good 15 degrees cooler than on the streets. I also noticed much lower temperatures in Manhattan than in Brooklyn and Queens. I can't really say much for Staten Island and the Bronx since you leave the former immediately after the race starts and are in the latter for less than a mile.

A small portion of the 47,000 runners

Two and a half million people are lining the streets of the course and they are loud. Several times during the race I have to stop my iPod because I can't hear anything coming from it anyway. The running crowd is large, but never so bad that requires a lot of zig-zagging. All and all it doe snot get in the ay of a good race.

I finish in 4:06:19. As usual I would have liked to break four hours again, but am happy with this time. I take with me a medal (not particularly pretty) and a few good memories including these:

Along with the several bands playing Rock & Roll, I saw at least two groups of people playing bag pipes (very cool)
Running the long Queensboro Bridge, again on the lower deck ;-( is tough. This is almost at mile 16. The temperature is cold under the bridge. I am getting tired. There are no people cheering on the bridge. Seems lonely even among all these runners. Then at the end of the bridge there are three signs: 1) If 10 miles to go seems easier... 2) Then welcome to easier 3) Welcome to Manhattan. That puts a smile on my face.

Manhattan really welcomes you. From run on the empty, cold bridge, you appear on 1st Ave, which is packed, and I mean packed with people, three and four thick on the sides of the road. They are loud too. That gives me a second wind.
Lots of police on the median while running through the six lane avenues in Brooklyn. Several clapping, high-fiving and cheering, but all very attentive and visible on guard.
Cool signs along the road including:

Worst Parade Ever! (seen that one before, but it always makes me smile)
You are the Sh*t! (far cooler when there are 15 or 20 people together holding these signs)
And my favorite, a guy holding large sign the read Way to Go Complete Stranger!

As well organize as the race was, they made the very poor decision of having a picture wall right after the finish line. They managed to get 47,000 people running without making it feel crowded until everybody wants to have their picture taken right afar the finish line. Not very clever.
And, by far, my favorite memory. After crossing the finish line we are handed thermal blankets with the word Finisher on the back (still have mine). Then we have to walk almost a mile (I checked it out on Google maps, it was exactly .9) to pick up our clothes. The sun is out, but we are all a bit cold from the run. We all walk in the same direction following the instructions of the organizers sitting on high chairs and talking into the megaphones (You guys are beautiful! You guys made it! Please keep moving, you are almost there!). Some are limping, some are clearly in pain, but most are quietly walking and wondering how much longer it will be. I took the picture below to remember that feeling forever.

Finishers walking to get their bags
Note the woman with the megaphone sitting on the high chair

Filipino at Minnette's

2011-10-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

In an unexpected turn of events, Minette who is usually in Georgia by now, makes a short return to the Twin Cities to receive her son, back fro Japan, where he is stationed with the Navy. Better yet, she extends a last minute invitation to eat sue Filipino food at her house. We can't possibly pass on this opportunity.

As usual at Minette's, we enjoyed great wine, terrific food, and heart warming conversation. The only drawback of the evening and that Buzz had to stay behind and couldn't join us.

Here are a few pics taken before everybody started digging in (yep, I had them wait as I took the pictures).

Rice noodles with chicken. Filipinos squeeze a little lemon and add
a little soy sauce over the noodles. Terrific!

Tapas: Marinated and sautéed beef served with fresh tomatoes.

Caramelized onions cooked in the drippings from the beef.
A perfect toping for the tapas.

Home made spring rolls. In my opinion the best item of the day.

Milkweed

2011-10-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

Many months ago, our friends Tim and Joy commented on a trip they did to the south of Wisconsin for the sole purpose of visiting a restaurant. The place is called Milkweed and is technically not a restaurant. Isaac Spicer (appropriate name for a chef), works out of his parents farm near Spring Green. The experience is BYOB, quite possibly for legal reasons. They serve a few tables by reservation only and arranges a set menu (adjusted for allergies and dislikes) for a suggested donation, which had grown since Tim and Joy went from $75 to $100 plus tip.

The place was reviewed by The Heavy Table including some pictures of the food. That along with Tim and Joys recommendation, made it a necessity for us to visit. We organized a trip with a total of eight people from the building complete with passenger van rental and planned stops on the way. The setup is nearly perfect. Sitting outdoors by the house which includes a large window where you can see the chef cook. The servers are family members and friends and create the perfect atmosphere with their knowledge of the menu, friendly personalities and close attention to detail. In all, up to 60 ingredients for the meal came form the farm surrounding us. Quite an accomplishment that did not go unnoticed.

It has taken me so long to write this post that I have forgotten much of the details, so I will include the pictures I took and add a caption with whatever I can remember.

The dining gan: clockwise from the front: Clark,
John, Birdie, Kim, Sharon, me, Anita and Mike

By far my favorite: Tomato confit and goat cheese on tartlets

Melon soup with hot peppers

Croisants (really, why have bread when you have these flaky wonders)

Squash soup with ground cherries and other things I can't remember ;-)

Heirloom tomatoes with Mozzarella and a balsamic vinaigrette

Another favorite: Halibut over vegetable slaw topped with ground
pork tongue with blue cheese. We raved about the slaw for days.

Raspberry sorbet with strawberries, a palate cleanser

Chicken, sweet potaties and haricot verts

Molasses cookies and chocolate ganache pastries made by
the chef's wife Havvah (great name, eh? A palindrome too.)

Apple tart over chocolate sauce

Cheese course. Who remember what was served, really!
Probably a Wisconsin variety.

The Chef, Isaac Spicer

Also worth mentioning were the walnut burgers we had on the way back in Trempealeau, WI (across from La Crosse) at the historic Trempealeau Hotel Restaurant and Saloon. This is alleged to be the birth place of the walnut burgers and I don't know it that is true, but they were pretty good. Served with lots of sprouts and house fries. Worth visiting if you are in the area.

Boom Boom Pow

2011-10-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

Arriving at the 2010 People for Parks 5K and finding out the City of Lakes 25K was just finishing as the 5K was just getting started gave me an idea. Would it be possible to run them both back to back? I've always been a big fan of running bonus miles (extra miles run before or after a race). Having two races back to back would make each race serve as each other's bonus miles.

Even better, the start of the first race was just shy of 7 miles from my home, so how about adding those miles to get some extra extra bonus miles for the day. The tree strikes would be a running Boom Boom Pow worth writing about. The mileage was not a concern, just shy of a full marathon. I know it could be done.

I made the proposal to my friend Tim at the bottom of my race report from the 2010 5k run. His response at the bottom of the blog was positive. A running date set a year in advance.

With the races day approaching, I sent my emails out. Included Scott too. Unfortunately, Tim had had a bike accident a few months before, and while his bones were healed, he felt too out of shape. Scott had a more pressing commitment to run one of his crazy long trail races. I was left alone and alone I would run it.

The first leg was great. Left at 6:30 AM to make it on time for the first race. Completed 6.92 miles in 1:02:33. Just over 9 minute miles. I had to force myself to slow down. There were still too many miles to come.

30 minutes later the second leg started. The 25K City of Lakes, started well, but the sun came up high in the sky and tok much of my energy. I managed a finish in 2:29:46 or 9:33 minutes per mile. My start was considerably faster, but my steam was definitely running out.

Another 30 minutes wait and I am joined by a few friends to run the 5k. I feel I no longer have the desire to run again. Even this 5k seems like a daunting task. The sun is high and it feels pretty warm. Birdie was to join us to cheer not to run (and of course for a burger afterwards). I convince her to walk to 5k with me and take Sharon's place (who could not make it due to a cold). So my third leg resulted in a personal record as the slowest 5K I ever run (walked, really).

With a finish of 52:43 and an average pace of 16:55 min/mile, it was a little Pow to follow the Boom, Boom. But I got a kick out of it anyway. Walking with Birdie was fun and I got to wear two race bibs from the two races. Thanks go to Birdie for giving me the support I needed to complete the third leg of the day. Those bonus miles are dedicated to her.

The fastest 1,000 miles (to date)

2011-10-30T04:50:00.000-07:00

Tanks to my consistent training schedule and crammed race calendar (and of course my obsessive behavior) I have reached a new milestone: 5,000 miles since I started running. That;s almost the distance from Minneapolis to Japan (as the Boeing flies).

What's more, this is the least amount of time that has taken me to reach another thousand miles, as shown below:

Milestone	Days to reach
1,000	567
2,000	434
3,000	357
4,000	300
5,000	281

I knew there was a good chance I'd shave a few more days to this last thousand, since my consistency (stubbornness) was still being refined. I am not sure I can (not sure that I want) get the next thousand in any less than 281 days. It will be fun to see what happens, though.

Redeemed Masu

2011-10-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

A few months back I did a review of Masu as it was opening its doors. While I tried to make it a positive review, several of my readers (I know, I was also surprised to learn I had several readers), read between the lines and came back to me with comments such us: "so... you didn't like the place, right?" Indeed I was not impressed, but I wanted to like them badly being so close to home.

Last Monday, a few friends and I went for a new visit to Masu on our way to Jazz Central (which btw, just posted a few pictures on their website taken by yours truly).

I started with a Miso soup. I was feeling a tad tired from a full day at work and thought its warmth would be comforting. It was. The soup came promptly and had good appearance and taste. The soup was good, but miso soup is not particularly difficult. As long as it is not salty and dis not come from an envelope with freeze dried tofu, it will probably be OK. The true test would come with the entree.

Mau specializes in Sushi and Robata. Robata are small dishes (almost tapas style) that are skewered and grilled in a hibachi sort of contraption. I didn't know it then, but in our trip to Japan, Sharon and I visited a Robata restaurant in Kyoto where we had a great meal and tried the grilled rice balls (Masu's version pictured at right), that were served as a side dish.

For the entree I chose one of their Teishoku (set meals). This is sort of like a bento box without the box. At $20 a pop, it seems like a good deal. Mine included Pork Katsu, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, 3 Sashimi, Zucchini Robata and Yaki Onigiri. I found the pork to be a tad on the dry side (perhaps overcooked), but the sashimi was fresh, the tempura well down and not greasy in the least. My Zucchini Robata was rather simple. Terry and Maureen's, who ordered the one with asparagus looked much better. They ordered the salmon Teishoku, of which I had a taste and was pleasantly surprised by its freshness and perfect temperature. The center was juicy and cooked to perfection.

All and all Masu is not my favorite place to have Japanese, but it is definitely a good spot to try something beyond sushi and noodles in the Twin Cities. I's give them three and a half stars out of five. Had I eaten the salmon and asparagus, they might have taken four.

An Interesting Week

2011-10-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

It was a very interesting week indeed. Just a few hours after establishing a PR on a 13.1 mile training run, I haver chest pains and shortness of breath and ended up at the ER. Seven hours later and after many tests completed in between episodes of being almost completely unable to breath, I am diagnosed with pericarditis, a swelling and irritation of the thin sac-like membrane that surrounds your heart caused by a viral infection.

The good news is that as a viral infection it just needs to run its course in one or two weeks. The bad news is that I have the Team Ortho Monster Dash 1/2 marathon in just 6 days and the New York Marathon a week after that. The former is the fifth of five events I have signed up with Team Ortho for the year and one in which I have been engaged in no small amount of trash talk with another runner, who we will call Daniel, and to which I can't possibly not show up. The later is well, the New York City Marathon.

During my time at the ER, I had a chance to be fed, and this being a blog about food and running I thought I should give them an appropriate review. With a co-pay of $100 for the ER, I thought the price of the meal was pretty stiff. More so given the quality and lack of choices.

The appetizer of ice chips lacked flavor and was the only item served for several hours. The only other item served as hors d'oeuvres was pasty like syrup that tasted like medicine, since it was. These are probably planned to make anything following it like heaven.

The main course was a turkey sandwich on wheat (no chips other than ice chips) although it was served with a nice cold carton of 1% milk, a suggestion of the sommelier/nurse. The bread was fresh and the turkey moist. If the mayo and mustard were home-made, it must have taken them quite a long time in the kitchen to put them into the little pouches. This must be the reason why it took so long to bring the sandwich.

Dessert was a vanilla pudding served in a plastic cup that took a lot of work to open, more so given their insistence on me wearing an oxymeter on my index finger at all times (perhaps a hidden camera strength test?) Again, after seven hours waiting, it tastes pretty good. Still, I would definitely advice against visiting this establishment at all cost. While the service was excellent (particular kudos to nurse Bridget who waited on us), it was rather slow.

Anyway, I leave the ER still with some shortness of breath. It was interesting that instead of mints, they give you Ibuprofen that you have to take for a whole week. I did and it did nothing for my breath.

Six days later, my doctor clears me to run the Monster Dash on Saturday. I am wearing a mast created by artist extraordinaire Mat Ollig, which surprisingly neither bothers me during the run nor affects my performance. I give it all my might and it pays off. While my official time is yet to post (interference thanks to my insistence on running wearing chips from all the Team Ortho races for the 2011 series). I finish 13.1 in record time for a 1/2 marathon race. My final time is 1:42:53 (7:47 min/mile). Most important, 15 seconds ahead of my trash talking buddy (a good 15 years my junior). Then again my time is not yet official, so the tables could soon turn.

The race was indeed terrific. The course was changed just a few weeks before the race and moved from Minneapolis to St Paul. The new course was all downhill (I believe they said 400 foot drop) and vey fast. Notice the green line on the elevation chart below. It was also very well organized with lost of entertainment (including the costumes worn by the runners) and with excellent weather.

This race also served as a retirement run. I retire my shoes after 400 miles and my pair of Saucony Hurricane after 71 runs had reached that milestone (pun absolutely intended). They were good shoes and accompanied me for four of the five Team Ortho races. May they rest in peace.

To top it all, we followed the race with breakfast at Elsie's, a bowling alley that has become a post race tradition of ours. Their breakfast is traditional American, but perfectly executed. I opted for the off-the-menu Eggs Benedict with sausage patties instead of Canadian bacon (as if that was really bacon). This breakfast has proved to replenish all the carbs and calories lost during any distance run.

So an interesting week indeed. Now another week of tapering before the New York Marathon. Hoping for less excitement there. I leave you with some of the costumes we saw at the race. Not even the best ones, but a fair sample I was able to capture at the finish line as we were waiting for our friends to join us.

Three devil girls who agreed to post with me

The drag while running with this must have been incredible

One of my favorites

Of course I had to capture this one. Was her name Siri?

Out

2011-10-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

Out of breath from a recent cold I haven't quite shaken off
Out of shape from not having run for a week
Out of time having spent half my morning on the net and having all kinds of thing to do
Out of my mind, since I have a 1/2 marathon in a week and the NY Marathon in two and I should be tapering
Out of excuses...
Out the door because I am a runner

And the result paid off with a nice PR. 13.1 miles in 1:40:43 (7:41 min/mile). Nope, this wash;t a 1/2 marathon just a 12 mile training run that I thought I'd stretch to 13.1 for the fun of it. And boy am I glad I did.

Tapas at Home - Redux

2011-10-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Tapas at home again. This time to welcome Ros and David to the Phoenix. Also invited were Nancy, Pat, Hugh and Mary. The menu is almost a repeat of last week's, but this time my camera was ready, so a took a few shots to document it for the blog. Al around a great evening, if I may say.

Baked Idaho Potato Chips with Ibiza Sea Salt and Peppadew Peppers

Chèvre, Cream, Fleur de Sal and White Truffle Honey

Fresh Figs Baked with Prosciutto and Clover Honey

Red Pepper Scallop Ceviche with Hojiblanca EVOO
and Red Jalapeño Ice

Shrimp Toast with Chèvre, Shallots and Lemony Aioli

Warm Tomato Confit Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and
Sweet Barnea EVOO-Kalamata Balsamic Vinaigrette

Turkey Meatballs with Saffron-San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Flamenco Quail Eggs with Asparagus, Red Pepper
and Spanish Chorizo

Moroccan Surf ‘n Turf with Lamb, Shrimp and Brava Sauce

Savory Bread Pudding with Hot Italian Sausage, Fennel,
Asparagus and Goat Gouda

Vanilla Ice Cream and 2007 Don Pedro Ximénez Sherry

Same as previous... this picture illustrates the way
to eat this dessert. The sherry is poured over the
ice cream to give it a sweet toasted caramel flavor.

Espresso-Dark Rum Chocolate Mousse with Smith Woodhouse Port

Patti Mayonnaise, Sharon and Thomas end the evening with a singing performance

2011 Big Woods Run - Race Report

2011-10-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was race day at Fairbault, MN. The event is the Big Woods Run 1/2 Marathon. This is a trail race that starts on a road (about 1.5 miles), then moves to flat trails and around mile 4 or 5, starts a hilly terrain. Not quite what I saw at the Afton Trail Run in 2011 (which that year because of the MN State shutdown had to be moved from a State Park to a ski park and had brutal hills), but certainly hilly.

The day was windy and cold at the start, but the sun was up and as soon as you got in the woods, the wind was barely noticeable and the temperature seem to raise a bit (probably the running). The route is full of turns, and it is a beautiful trail, but my eyes were kept right on the ground. More so after seeing two of the runners kiss the floor after tripping on a root.

I also enjoyed the fact that the first 1.5 miles (and thus the last) are on the road. This allows you (if you have the energy at the end, and I did) to pick a few runners and pass them on the final stretch. That forces me to pick it up and push through on the last mile.

This is a terrific run, fun, not too big (about 300 people) and well organized. I do have, hover a major complaint. While the race is a ChampionChip Timed, it appears they only use the chip for the crossing of the finish line and not the start. As a result, if you are towards the back of the pack when you cross the start line, you get a few seconds added from the time the gun goes off (or a siren in this case), to the time you finally cross the start run and start running. Since we were all the way in the back, for us it was about 50 to 55 seconds.

I confirmed this using both my GPS and Mike's watch. His was 55 seconds off and mine was 50. Here is a link to my results. You may notice that the start and end do not coincide. But that's because I could not get a satellite signal on time to get a position with the GPS. That, however, doe snot affect the time, since it does not need a satellite to know the time.

So my official (incorrect) final time is 1:54:05, but my actual (correct) time as measured by my GPS is 1:53:16. This small difference is important because my time last year was 1:53:33, so with my time this year was 17 seconds faster.

All and all it was a very nice race. After the race we opted to stay for the soup, bread and cookies which warmed my belly and felt great. I honestly only signed up this year because Mike suggested it. And while the town where it is hold is a tad far (just over an hour south of the cities), I think it is worth the drive. I would definitely do it again next year and perhaps try to shave another 17 seconds :-)

Tapas at Home

2011-10-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

Sharon and I had some friends over for dinner last night to welcome a couple into the building. We took the day off to prepare and really spent it cooking non-stop for one of our (slowly becoming legendary) tapas party. I am sorry to say that I completely spaced out and did not take a single picture, you my readers will have to take my word for it. Everything listed below was cooked and looked (and tasted) great.

The menu started as a copy of one tapas party had for Tim and Joy a few months back, but quickly evolved and we ended up with something almost entirely different.

Baked Idaho Potato Chips with Sweet Barnea EVOO and Ibiza Sea Salt and Peppadew Peppers - Sharon makes these and they are terrific. Slowly becoming a regular item to open our tapas parties.

Fresh Figs Baked with Mangalica Jamón and Clover Honey - These came out great. The jamon was a last minute addition when I say it at Surdyk's, where it was retailing for $78 a pound. The seven very thin sliced I got were $7. Ridiculous, but terrific.

Chèvre, Cream, Fleur de Sal and White Truffle Honey - A copy of 112 Eatery's, where they make it with ricotta instead of goat cheese. This is such a simple and great dish.

Shrimp Toast with Chèvre, Shallots, Jalapeño, Pancetta, and Lemony-Grain Mustard Aioli - A truly last minute addition as recommended by my dentist the morning of the party as I was having my teeth cleaned and she commented on a dish her husband made for her birthday 4 days ago.

Red Pepper Scallops Ceviche with Hojiblanca EVOO and Jalapeño Ice

Warm Tomato Confit Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Truffle Oil-Kalamata Balsamic Vinaigrette - These tomatoes were in the over for 4 hours at 250 degrees with garlic, olive oil and salt. They came out sweet and delicious.

Flamenco Quail Eggs with Asparagus, Red Pepper, Palacios Chorizo and Pomodoro Sauce - This was the type of dish that I should have photographed for the blog. It looked pretty awesome.

Turkey Thigh Meatballs with Saffron-San Marzano Tomato Sauce and Saffron Home-made Crackers - A staple at our house. Sharon makes the crackers and we can never have enough of them.

Moroccan Surf ‘n Turf with Lamb, Shrimp, Cumin, Fennel and Santo Domingo Pimentón over Brava Sauce - Probably my least favorite, but not bad. Presentation was incredible with the brava sauce splattered over the top, but the meat was a little tough.

Savory Bread Pudding with Hot Italian Sausage, fennel, Asparagus and Goat Gouda - In both Sharon's and my opinion, the best dish by far. Loosely based on a recipe I found online, but greatly modified (enhanced?) with the goat gouda, fennel and cream instead of milk. I also doubled a couple of the ingredients to kick it a a few notches. We will be making this again for sure.

Vanilla Ice Cream and 2007 Don Pedro Ximénez Sherry - The Sherry is poured over the ice cream to get great dessert that sort of reminds you of a creme brûlée. This was a pairing we saw at a wine tasting that stuck with us.

Espresso-Dark Rum Chocolate Mousse servers with Smith Woodhouse Port - A recipe from Alton Brown that is entirely out of this world good.

Again, sorry I forgot t take any pics. I even had the camera out, just never remembered...

Rosa Mexicano

2011-10-07T03:53:00.000-07:00

Last night Birdie and I went to an art show at a law firm that was showing works by Mat Ollig (an artist friend of Birdie and really worth checking out). Following the show, we headed to try the new kid on the block, Rosa Mexicano, on the corner of Hennepin and 6th.

The place looks great, very open, bright and certainly a happening environment. We had a reservation but had to wait a little at the bar, where we had a drink while waiting and gave Mat time to join us. I was surprised by a rather short wine list, but the pino noir I had was excellent.

We agreed to seat outside to shorten the wait. That proved to be a good choice, it was a great night. Warm and with a nice breeze. The waitstaff was friendly and attentive, but the star of the night was the food (good thing at a restaurant ;-)

We started with a hamachi tartar with watermelon, cucumber and jicama served with a tomato habanero sauce and jalapeño ice. The fish was sufficiently fresh but the best part f the dish, in my opinion was the jalapeño ice (a little bit of what felt like spicy pepper sorbet).

We followed the tartar with Tuetanos Rostizados (roasted bone marrow) served with garlic toast and a chipotle-piloncillo sauce. The bone marrow was smooth and silky (as it usually is, no much merit on that), the sauce was sweet and spicy and helped cut the fatty flavor of the marrow. Overall a successful dish.

And as the picture shows, I even convinced Birdie to try it (I can't believe that married to Kim, the man that will eat anything, she never had before). She enjoyed, as did Mat.

The best dish came after that, the Chamorro (pork shank) was large enough to feed two people. Served with rice on the side, the shank had jalapeños and beans (and I think mushrooms). The pork had a crispy exterior and a nice juicy and very flavorful interior, almost as tender as carnitas. Really a terrific dish.

The second entree we shared was Chile Rellenos (stuffed chiles). These are dried peppers that are rehydrated, stuffed with meat and roasted. Overall not bad, but I would have enjoyed them with a little bit less meat inside and perhaps something else like rice or some veggies.

Overall a good start for an area of Hennepin that needs a little revitalizing. The price point was higher than I expected, but low enough to allow them to fill up a restaurant of their size. Very much worth visiting again. Hopefully next time with Sharon when she is back from San Francisco.

In mourning....

2011-10-07T03:17:00.000-07:00

Apple store in San Francisco

2011 TCM mini-report

2011-10-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Just finished my 5th Twin Cities Marathon (15th overall) with an official chip time of 4:09:01. Very much within my range lately. I was very happy with the time. While the weather was not too warm the sun was out for nearly the entire race and that tends to slow me down. It does not seem it had much effect this time around.

I set my Garmin's virtual partner to a 9:00 min/mile pace and expected to fall behind not to late after the 1/2. Instead I was able to stay ahead of that pace until mile 21. Very much a surprise. Then the Summit hill, the sun and overall exertion took over and I slowed down consideranly breaking into more than a few mini walks. The overall pace was 9:30. Again, I am happy overall.

Thanks go to Tim and Joy who gave me encouragement twice during the race (I am sure than more than that, I just didn't see them) and to Hugh and Mary, who were at the Franklin bridge (mile 19) and took the picture below.

Celebrating Joy's Birthday at Saffron

2011-10-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

Sharon and I got together last night with Mike, Anita, Tim and Joy to celebrate Joy's one of many annual birthdays at Saffron. She has an in with the owner and chef and arranged for a tasting menu with wine pairings that truly dazzled our palates.

The pictures below show each of the eight courses, but make no justice to the flavors and the impeccable wine pairings that chef Sameh Wadi selected for the meal. They also leave out the very friendly and professional staff (including Alberto and Horatio) and front-of-the-house man (and chef's brother) Shahid Wadi, who visited our table frequently to add to the evening's delight with his affable personality and good humor.

It was also interesting to learn that Saffron will be visited today (Saturday Oct 1), by Al Jazeera, the Arabic news network to record a special on this very fine establishment and purveyor of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.

One last comment before getting to the menu... What really pleased me most about the evening (aside from the terrific company, which was very much expected), was the masterful progression of dishes that brought to the table an unparalleled crescendo of flavor and complexity. We've had the opportunity to enjoy a number of tasting menus over the years and even on those that we enjoyed, we haven't always felt that the whole was as harmonic as it was last evening. Our host had clearly put thought in crafting this menu.

And finally... the menu (my apologies for the quality of the pictures, I was using my iPhone and the flash did not trigger until later in the evening when the lights were dimmed in the dining room):

Amuse bouche: Crab salad over compressed cucumber with radish and a jalapeño sauce

Salad: Heirloom tomato confit with fried goat cheese and truffle vinaigrette reduction

Soup: Garlic yogurt with smoked paprika, corn, figs, kikos and a corn cream poured at the table

Fish: Monkfish with a jalapeño-tomato sauce, fingerling potatoes and golden raisins

Poultry: Lamb sausage stuffed quail over farro tabouli and pirripirri sauce

Meat: Lamb belly with lamb bacon and a lamb reduction (that's three time lamb!) with chickpeas

Apple caramel parfait

Chocolate ganache with caramel ice cream

Take that Portland!

2011-09-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

For some time now I have been trying to run Portland Ave from beginning to end. On every training run, each longer than the previous, I would take on Portland, right from its start at the Stone Arch Bridge and run half the distance planned for my run and not having reached the end, i'd turn around. Every time I wondered how close I was to the end.

About a month ago, I went for a 21 mile run and still did not make to to the end by the time I had to turn around. So as soon as I got home, I went onto Google Maps and got the answer I had been searching. Running from home to the end of Portland and back would take 24 and 1/2 miles.

So on my next long run, I enlisted my friend Mike (after some negotiation on distance and route) and we decided to tackle the challenge. We left at 4:00AM and reached the end of Portland by mile 12.27.

I couldn't help it. At that point I said out loud: Take that Portland! That line had been in the works for months.

We made the entire run in 3:49:15 at a comfortable 9:33 min/mile pace. Not only that, but we made it at a very, very consistent pace. I aways get a kick out of that.

Gold Medal Challenge

2011-09-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't make it this year to the Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon. This is the very fun and very fast indoor Marathon that is held at St Olaf College in Northfield, MN. There are only 44 spots and a lottery is used to draw up runners. Not only I didn't make it, but I got spot 20 of 21 runners in the wait list. Pretty much no chance of running it this year. Pitty...

My friend Scott was trying to convince me to run the Sandbox Indoor Trail Marathon on February 13. I am just not sure that it will be held... Their website is still showing data for last year and the race director did not reply to my email regarding next year registration.

So looking for alternatives I stunbled across the Gold Medal Challenge. This event included a 1/2 marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday (Jan 21-22). Both are held at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee. Seems like a good replacement for Zoom! Yah! Yah!

It will also be good training in preparation for the Milano City Marathon in Milan, Italy, for which I already signed up and around which Sharon and I will be building our vacation next year.

I was disappointed about not making the list for the Zoom! Yah! Yah!, but it seems are already looking up!

50x50

2011-07-30T03:57:00.001-07:00

Do I dare to post a long term running goal online? Once it is out it seems I am on the hook to try to make it... OK, here it goes. My goal is to complete 50 marathons by the age of 50. I don't need to do it by the time my birthday comes, but I must have 50 under my belt, before the year of that birthday is up.

I have 14 so far (plus another two planned for 2011) and am turning 43 this year. That means I will need to run 5 marathons a year for the next 7 years and not miss more than one.

Can I do it? Well, with the two remaining I will complete 5 in 2011 and did 5 in 2008 and 4 in 2010. I did just two in 2009 because I started branching into triathlons (it didn't take), but now that I am set on just doing marathons I think I can keep up with that goal as long as my body holds up.

Gumbo night!

2011-07-30T03:56:00.000-07:00

Gumbo night at Buzz and Minette's was again the event of the summer. Minette uses Buzz's family recipe, which dates well over 100 years ago. Made with chicken and Andouille sausage, this recipe does not call for okra and is served soupier than it is commonly made in Louisiana. This annual visit has completely ruined me for Gumbo elsewhere, a dish that I love but can't find a place that will compete with this awesome rendition.

Some light appetizers (including a lobster flatbread (pictured) were served just to open our appetite (as if the smell coming down the hallway didn't already do that). The food was great, the company was terrific as were the hosts and we had a great time. Thanks Buzz and Minette.

2011 Carifest

2011-07-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

This year was no different than last and Carifest (the Caribbean festival that opens the fourth weekend in July between the Plymouth and Broadway bridges in Minneapolis) was pretty awesome. The jerky chicken was spicy and smokey, but the real find were the beef patties (pictured below) which were flaky, surprisingly light and very juicy.

80+ & 80+

2011-07-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

Minneapolis is steaming and that has given me the opportunity to do some 80+ & 80+ runs. That is, runs at over 80 degrees and 80% humidity. Surprisingly I have been enjoying it. True, my runs have been at 5 AM and in some cases, like last Sunday when I had to run a 20 miler, I left at 4 AM to put as many miles behind me as I could before the sun came up.

By the time I finish, I am usually drenched in sweat (I usually don;t even sweat that much) and have the steamy feeling of a sauna a I stretch next to home. I almost understand those who like running summer marathons.

Then I remember the sun. I can take the 80+ & 80+ as long as the sun is not there. It may be the vampire in me, but the sun seems to draw away a lot of energy.

Lunch at Taiko

2011-07-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Never disappointing

Fideuá

2011-07-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

Fideuá is a Spanish dish reminiscent of a seafood paella, but made with pasta instead of rice. I attempted it last weekend and I have to say it came out beautifully. What really made it was the fish stock, which rather than just using a little bit of fish sauce and water or buying the stock from the grocery store, I made it myself using some tilapia, a small lobster tail, some salmon and the shells from the shrimp that would be used for the fideuá (OK... I added a little bit of lobster base). So, $15 later, I had two quarts of a pretty amazing fish stock. I think totally worth it. It could have been served as a seafood consommé.

The other ingredients? Some Chilean sea bass, shrimp, clams and mussels galore, red bell pepper, tomatoes, saffron and tumeric and of course, the pasta. All cooked in the paella pan.

Definitely a dish I have to try again soon.

Veal Liver at the Butcher Block

2011-07-14T05:07:00.002-07:00

A must have for liver lovers. Served at the requested temperature (medium-rare please) the veal liver is a staple on their menu and I hope never disappears. The cause is flavorful, dark and a perfect complement to the gooey, creamy and delicious mashed potatoes. A great entree all around.

2011 Phoenix Paella

2011-07-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to comment on this year's Paella Party at the Phoenix that turned out very, very well. We had just over 50 invitees and even though we were rained out and ended up moving it indoors, it did not put a damper on the fun. The food was good. It is worth mentioning the red bell pepper and cilantro popsicles served as a palate cleanser and the paella itself, which had a nice socarrat (the caramelized crust of rice that sticks to the bottom of the pan).

To top it all, we had fabulous local Jazz singer Nichola Miller, who played two sets and liven up the afternoon.

A Good, Good Runs4Food Weekend

2011-07-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

By all Runs4Food standards this was a very good weekend. And it is just Sunday morning.

Saturday morning I drove to Waverly, MN to run the Waverly Daze 10k. This was a fun event. At the same time the organizers were holding a 5k and a 10 k, which were supposed to have different routes, but in the very last minute (no more than 10 minutes before the start, the local police felt uncomfortable about road safety on the 10k route and the race director rerouted the 10k to follow the same route of the 5k, only done twice.

It is bound to happen... if you get into smaller and smaller races you will end up placing. I finished my 10k at a (blazing?) pace of 7:43 min/mile and places first of my age group and second overall. It is true that there were only 9 runners for the 10k, but still, I was thrilled. More so when I saw that the top finishers of every category would get a engraved medal (at right). I was just 2 minutes behind the lead, who got also a plaque.

Following the race we went to Kim and Birdie's house for a Sausage Extravaganza breakfast. A tasty egg bake, lots of fresh fruit and three different kind of sausage, one of them made by them (the large potato sausage on its own plate in the picture below. Also attending the run and the breakfast was Sarah (pictured), Kim and Birdie's daughter who also got first spot on her age group.

Breakfast was terrific and I got to make friends with Sarah's 3 year old Lucy, who was very sweet and beautiful and invited me to dance with her after breakfast. It was just noon on Saturday, and having a good run and a great meal it would have been sufficient to call it a good Runs4Food weekend. Still, this was just the beginning.

That night we were invited to go to have dinner with our friends John and Clark. They had a reservation at Porterhouse, a steak and seafood restaurant in Little Canada, a suburb just north Minneapolis. I have said several times in this blog I am not much of a meat eater, particularly beef, but very occasionally enjoy a ribeye. I ordered a medium-rare blackened ribeye with melted bleu cheese and portabella mushrooms. It was terrific. Really, really good. I ate just half of it since we had appetizers and a salad prior to the entree and I had a big training run the next day. Certainly better than Many's and at a better price.

The following morning, I had a 18 mile run. Between dinner and a night cap with John, Clark, Mine and Anita, we end up going to bet at nearly midnight. The weather was going to be hot in the morning, so I was planning on waking up early, very early, and avoid as much as the sun as possible. I manage to get up a few minutes before 4:00 AM (that wasn't easy) and I am out taking my first running steps by 4:15.

Immediately my hands are sticky. Nope, it is not the Gu or the gatorade I am carrying. It is the very high humidity. Still I manage to keep a good pace just over nine minute/miles. With a 20% chance of rain and 74 degrees, I was somewhat confident I'd get a dry run. I see lightings in the distance, but I think I will be OK.

As soon as I hit mile 5, starts sprinkling and by mile 8, it is pouring down. It feels GREAT. Very cleansing, cooling and I pick up my speed. It rains off an on until almost the end of my run (another 10 miles). Every time the rains picks up, so does my speed. I finish my run in 2:40:41 or 8:55 min/mile. I am very happy with that time. I would have been happy with an average of 9:30 min/miles, so 35 seconds faster is pretty awesome.

So how can I top this weekend? Well, after a trip to Coastal Seafoods to get some fresh fish and mollusks, I think we are going to attempt a Fideuà, a dish very similar to a seafood paella, but made with pasta instead of rice and having more broth at the end, almost like a very hearty soup.

We'll see how that turns up, but given how well the weekend has turned out some far, my hopes are very high.

Cuban Sandwiches

2011-07-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sharon and I partnered again with Mike and Anita to host a party in the building and invite a few of our friends. This time, with the summer well on its way (or at least as far as it seemed we were going to get it), we decided to use the terrace and cook on the grill.

To make it easy on us, and be able to feed the almost 30 attendees, we decided to make Cuban Sandwiches. With that excuse, we bought a few Cuban flags and made it a Cuba Libre party. The excuse seemed to suit everybody.

The pork had a dry rub of powdered dry mushrooms, brown sugar, sweet and spicy Spanish pimenton (paprika), cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, salt and pepper. Along with the pork and as the traditional recipe called, we included ham, cheese, pickles and mustard. Instead of Cuban bread, we used French baguettes (the take and bake kind).

The biggest problem we had was that we did not have a press large enough for the sandwiches (ore so since we had nine baguettes (including some that had just roasted veggies and chèvre). To make up for that, we placed two cookie sheets upside down on the grill and buttered the top surface. We then placed the sandwiches on top and then paced another two cookie sheets on top which were weighted with some brinks (I was told not to ask were they came from).

The result was terrific and very well received. We also served a very fresh black bean soup sort of reminiscent of a gazpacho and more traditional black beans and rice with lots of cumin. For dessert, we had a tres leches cake which the bakery decorated with another Cuban flag. A great summer afternoon to remember.

ATR 25K: A different kind of race, a very humbling one too

2011-07-03T04:34:00.000-07:00

The state of MN shutdown affected me in a way I didn't expect. Yesterday I run the Afton Trail Run 25 KM race. This race was to be held at the Afton State Park, which since it closed, it was moved across the street to the Afton Alps, a skiing and snowboarding park (i.e. a very hilly course). Of course the original course was very hilly as well, but I think this move made it even worse.

Green line is elevation, blue is pace

This was a very tough run. I am really starting to enjoy trail runs. I am also finding that those running them are a different kind of runner. A little more hard core. My placement will tell you that. On my last 1/2 marathon, I placed on the top 25% of runners. On this, I was trailing at about 60%.

To top it all, it was a hot day. Full sun from 7:00 AM and a high of 85 (by the time I finished the temperature had not quite reached there, but it must have been in the high 70's). The course followed trails running up and down the same hill (see player). The altitude chart above (one of the two loops) does not make justice to the very, very steep trails both up and down.

That afternoon Sharon and I were co-hosting a party at home featuring cuban sandwiches and I was in charged of roasting a pork shoulder. I meticulously made a schedule to have the pork cooking while I was running and make sure I'd be back before it was done. To that effect, I asked Sharon to turn the oven on at 8:30 AM (everything was inside and ready). Five miles into the race I knew that pork was in trouble. That early into the race I was already 30 minutes behind my projected pace. I don;t usually get more than 10 or 15 minutes behind my projections on a full marathon an in just 5 miles I was behind 30 minutes!

Worried about having dry sandwiches added some stress. Luckily a good samaritan loaned me her phone at the aid station at the end of the first loop and I was able to give Sharon instructions in the likely event that my pace didn't improve remarkably (au contraire, it turned out).

My final time was 3:29:15 or 13:39 per mile. Towards the end of my second lap I was passed by Patrick Russell, who completed three laps in the time I did two and that was after he had already completed a lap (the 50 KM run he had signed for started an hour earlier and required 4 laps). He managed a 4:30 finish (8:43 per mile), which in that terrain is outstanding.

Go Commando 5K - mid race

2011-06-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

What a fun, fun race... These guys really know how to put a show. Finished the 5K in 25 minutes almost to the dot. Weather was great (70) and the sky was cloudy.

The 5K was very hilly and sprinkled with obstacles "commando-style". Certainly not a Navy SEAL training course, but it was a blast to zip through the race.

Jumping over the (very, very small) fire at the end and running through the mud were some of my favorite parts. Of course the free hot dog and beer at the end were not bad either...

Go Commando 5K

2011-06-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Ready to go!!!

Team Ortho Minneapolis 1/2 Marathon

2011-06-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Man, was I happy on sticking with my decision not to run a full marathon again on a summer day. I made that decision a year ago after having a miserable run at the Team Ortho Minneapolis Marathon. In fact, at the time, the decision had been never to run another marathon. However, once the fog left my head (or perhaps came back) the decision was modified to never run another summer marathon.

So this year I did the half and truly enjoyed it. Not only that, but I did fairly well not quite hitting a PR, but getting a second or third best on that distance finishing in 1:49:56 (route). What's more, I was in the 86 percentile. This is huge for me, used to finishing just above the 50 percentile in my age group.

Kudos go to Team Ortho. By far the best organizers of races in the Twin Cities with the best gear. Clearly practice makes perfect. These guys are busy...

Running right in front of the Phoenix on Main Street

My new iPhone wallpaper

2011-06-25T04:47:00.001-07:00

It sort of helps me feel fast ;-)

Victor's 1959

2011-06-25T04:42:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday and we are on our usual mid-week escapade with Mike and Anita and can't think of where to go. Then somebody suggests Victor's 1959. We have been trying to go there for a long time, but every time we get there (usually after our run Saturday or Sunday morning) the place is jam-packed so we end up going across the street to the Grad Cafe (not that that is a bad alternative).

The place is small with graffiti all over the walls giving it a very informal and welcoming atmosphere. as we arrive there is a little wait, so we seat at the bar and chat with the bartender. As we get to the table, our booth has duct tape covering a crack and somehow it seems very fitting to the place. Nobody cares. The service is quick and very friendly. We are really having a good time.

The menu is appetizing and I make the mistake of not following a patron's recommendation to order the picadillo, which looked very good. The food looked great, but would not score more than a 6.5 out of ten. Still, the place is fun, the staff is friendly and the prices are very low.

Seems like I may need to come back for the picadillo after all.

Dog Day 5K with Bogey

2011-06-25T04:27:00.000-07:00

Bogey and I trotted to a new PR on our annual 5K on the Dog Day 5K beating our time from last year by a full 8 seconds per mile. It is true that there was only one water bowl this year and as a result we did not have to stop twice to drink. That alone probably saved us a good ten seconds. Anyway, a PR is a PR. Our time was 25:21, which given the distractions on the road ain't bad...

A tenner followed by a visit to Birmingham's Fish Market

2011-06-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was our last day in Alabama. Since Sunday was a travel day (and an early one with our plane leaving around 7:00 AM), I decided to combine my Saturday and Sunday runs into a single one. That made for ten miles which I started early morning to minimize the effect of the high temperature and humidity.

The run was great. The winding road I took was rather quiet, since most was part of an undeveloped subdivision, but still offered two other runners to cross a couple of times.

Later that day, we went to Birmingham's Fish Market for lunch. If you find yourself in Birmingham looking for a place to eat, this is definitely the one. A Greek seafood restaurant with a fish market full of great and vey fresh seafood and spices (some of which our hosts Don and Sheila graciously bought for us).

The inside is pleasant, and reminiscent of a Mediterranean restaurant, but given the good weather we opted to seat outside.

The menu is hardly a Greek one. Some of the items are definitely greek, but the southern-Creole fingerprint is definitely present with some of it's staples picking my interest from the menu written on a chalkboard.

Don, a regular who works just a mile down the road, knows the place well and orders appetizers for all (a hole in one if you ask me).

The fried crab claws (above) are tender, almost sweet, but the big surprise is the fried pickles. The briny flavor turns into a deliciously salty. We devour those pretty fast and find ourselves digging through the crumbs at the bottom of the plate.

Last, the obligatory fried green tomatoes disappoint no one. The crispy cornmeal exterior contrasts with the fresh, juicy tomatoes on the inside. A great treat.

After learning from my experience at The Depot I ignore my niece Jessica's advise and listen to Don. An easy task since he not only knows the place well, but also recommend the Jambalaya, one of my favorite dishes. All entrees come with two sides. I order the greek style potatoes (part of my carb loading strategy ;-) and the fried okra (at right) which is delicious.

With the exception of the spice level (not hot at all and requiring a good dose of the hot sauce on the table) the dish is fabulous. Most definitely a great ending to a trip that was not planned as a culinary adventure, but a High School Graduation celebration for our niece.

Runs4Food in Sweet Home Alabama

2011-05-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Visiting Sharon's twin sister and family in Helena, Alabama for her niece's High School graduation is as good opportunity as any to put a few miles in far away lands and try the local fare. The run this morning was an easy four miles (if you discount the heat and humidity) on a winding road where a new subdivision was to be built until the bottom fell off the housing market. That made for a nice, quiet Thursday run.

The demands of the stomach were met at a local eatery truly worth visiting (The Depot). The place doesn't look like much on the outside (always a good sign). A quaint tin roof and a dark interior are inviting enough to get away from the rapidly rising temperature. Don and Sheila recommend the burgers ("not frozen patties, but a nice hunk of hamburger cooked to perfection", we are told).

As we wait in line to order, we have time to look at the barn-like interior decorated with farm tools, hats and artifacts of old Americana. Our eyes are drawn to a wall covered with old license plates and to the colored dollar bills that cover the entire restaurant. The line moves at a good pace and that is good, because we are all hungry.

Jessica, soon to be graduating, steers me away from the burger to order a Ruben sandwich. She says they are the best. I have to opt for the tater tots rather than the fries (easy choice). Mel and Jessica get the same. Nobody is disappointed. The sandwiches are piping hot and very tender. The tater tots are... well, tater tots. You can't go wrong with 'em.

Without a doubt, though, the burgers were the best coming out of the kitchen. Don and Sheila were right and I will have my little private conversation with Jessica about her recommendations... They come in 1/4 and 1/2 pounder size and are juicy as can be. Sheila goes for a good ol' bacon cheese burger. Don orders the mushroom swiss (and grilled onions) burger. The bite that Sheila graciously offers me is just about the best burger I've had in a long time.

All and all a promising start for the trip. Tomorrow we are trying a local fish restaurant. and Saturday we are planning a ten miler in the area so we can keep Runs4Food with plenty of material :-)

A Mystery PR

2011-05-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Just came back from my Sunday long run and I got an awesome PR. The only problem is that I don't know what it is.

My training scheduled called for ten miles, but I don't have a ten mile route that I like, so decided to run to Calhoun Lake, run around the lake and come back. Something in the neighborhood of 12 miles. My Garmin 405 showed 45% battery, which used to be sufficient for a 12 mile run. Apparently not anymore.

As the last recording indicates, the watch died 9.32 miles into my run just over one hour and thirteen minutes after I started. That makes for a blazing 7:50 per mile. That may not be Olympic material, but for me it is pretty awesome. I have NEVER done under 8 minutes per mile on distances over 10 miles. I am usually happy (thrilled) with any time under 9 minute/miles (as in 8:55 or 8:57). This is a full minute faster!

But then the watch died. So I will never know what my full PR was. The distance is somewhat easier to calculate. Since my run was an out-and-back kind of run, I can easily figure out the mileage missed in the recording (3.75), although that would make it 13.7 total miles and I have done this run many times before I I know it is not that long. It appears the low battery has an effect on the measured distance too.

So to settle on the distance I went to one of my previous runs of that route and I called 12.65 miles for that distance.

The timing is trickier, because after the run I spend a few minutes stretching. For that I counted songs. I played Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones. It played 3-1/2 times while I was stretching before I got to a watch I could trust. All I had to do now was subtract 0:12:33 (0:03:35 x 3.5) from the current time to get my ending time.

That resulted in a total running time of 1:38:00 for an average pace of 7:45. While it is suspicious that my last (unrecorded) miles would have an average pace faster then the previous 9, I do know that I was trying to press to finish strong even the in face of no recording device.

So I will call it a speed PR on over 12 miles at 7:45 and will place a figuratively asterisk next to it.

Morels!

2011-05-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Last year we missed out on the very short season for Morels at the farmer's market by the Guthrie. This time we made sure to be there bright and early not to repeat the disappointment.

At $48 a pound, they are not cheap, but fit well into the once a year treat worth bringing into the kitchen (like Kobe beef, truffles, etc). I did find them a little bit cheaper at the Wedge, but they were not nearly as fresh (those came from California instead of being local)

To make them justice, I pulled one of my favorite pasta recipes. A flat noodle with asparagus, and a little bit of Manchego. The best part is the sauce, which is made with yogurt and Meyer lemons (juice and zest) and lots of freshly cracked pepper. The only addition were the morels sauteed in butter. The yogurt and the lemon make for a very light pasta dish and the asparagus give it the spring taste that we have been craving through the long winter in Minnesota. A great meal to enjoy with our friends John and Clark.

Grand Breakfast at the Grand Cafe

2011-05-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

For the second time in a few weeks, a group of us went to the Grand Cafe in Minneapolis after a walk/run around Lake Calhoun.

The first time I tried their Kobe Brisket Corned Beef Hash (an awesome value at $13). It comes with two poached eggs, lots of potatoes, peas and whole grain mustard. I thought it was very good. Not the canned and sliced corned beef that you sometimes get at a restaurant, but the real and very delicious variety. The dish was so big I could not finish it. Sharon had their Huevos Rancheros (made with local pork confit) and she liked them a lot.

This time I ordered their Eggs Benedict (left) which come with a choice of ham or house-made gravlax (I went with the latter), sauteed asparagus (which come deliciously crispy and fresh), hollandaise sauce and potatoes. One of the best and most satisfying Eggs Benedict I have had recently (and I order them a lot). This is a dish I will need to go back to try again.

Birdie ordered something I had been eyeing on both visits to this very fine establishment, the Eggs en Cocotte (below).

Beautifully poached eggs with puff pastry, Italian ham, truffle cream (oh my gosh) and Comte Gruyere cheese. It looked great and Birdie said it was good, eggy and soothing. Although she did mention that it was a tad bland or a least lacking of a punch that the Italian ham and even the truffle cream failed to deliver. Still, she liked them and recommended them for somebody looking for an egg breakfast.

This is the type of place that I love to frequent for breakfast. It has an original menu that is creative, appetizing and very well executed. All at a reasonable price. Really... what's not to like.

AdiZero Adios

2011-05-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

After my last pair of shoes retired, I replaced them with a pair of Adidas adiZero Adios racing flats. I LOVE them. They are beautiful, very red and very light (8 oz.). They have since also come down in price considerably (under $50 bucks at Amazon). They are a pair of minimalistic type of shoe in that they are light and provide little cushioning to discourage heel striking, althoug they don't go as far as the Bikilas, also an awesome pair of shoes.

In researching for this post, I learned that this shoe was worn by Haile Gebrselassie when he ran a world record 02:03:58 and it is made with environmentally-responsible, solvent-free synthetic Tirennina suede. So there!

Custom Orthotics

2011-05-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

About once a year, usually following my last long training run before a marathon (23 miles), I end up with a sore ankle. After a couple of visits to my family doctor, she recommended I get custom orthotics. I first resisted the idea, but after I almost missed running Tokyo Marathon, a race that required I get a cortisone shot to get to the start line, I started thinking that maybe I need to take a look at them (OK, it also helped to know that my medical insurance, which I rarely make use of, would cover 90% of the cost.)

After talking with a doctor specialized in running injuries and having a nurse make custom molds f my feet, I finally got the insoles in the mail. I have since run twice on them and can't really say I am crazy about them. They certainly do not feel custom made (perhaps I got somebody else's ;-) They feel a little heavy, not as breathable as the original shoe insoles (they make my feet hot, something I rarely feel otherwise) and somewhat rigid.

Still, I am committed to give them a fair shot. I will increase length slowly and eventually do my longest runs with them as I train and probably during marathons as well. As they say, I am not getting any younger, so perhaps with some help I can eliminate my one injury a year.

Bar La Grassa

2011-05-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

Last night Sharon and I went to see a friend perform at the Xelias Aerial Arts Studio in NE. Xelias is a place to provide circus training to students who later perform for an audience. The show was about an hour and included about a dozen mini-performances. Our friend joined another three ladies towards the end of on the hammock tissue. The show was terrific in every way. Highly recommended.

Following the performance, we went to Bar La Grassa, whose chef, Isaac Becker, was just recently honored with the 2011 James Beard Best Chef - Midwest Award. Isaac Becker co-owns 112 Eatery as well as this, recently opened Italian restaurant.

We started with raw Asparagus with Foie Gras (top picture). They were thinly shaved (both the asparagus and the foie) and tossed with very crispy bacon bits and some light dressing. The dish was served cold, and it was very refreshing to start the meal. We followed that with a Wild Boar Sopressata Bruschetta which we really enjoyed.

Not photographed were the two pasta dishes: Pappardelle with Veal Ragu and Farfalle with Braised Tripe and Sweetbreads. The latter provided one of the tomato sauce high points of my life (if there is such a thing).

To close, we ordered an Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit (left). First I will say that we were pleased with the small portion size (which we shared). Finally a Chef who understands that dessert is not meant t be a whole meal following the one you just had. The cake was moist, sweet, and the very slight olive oil taste complimented the grapefruit beautifully.

Overall a terrific meal and a reminder to frequent this great establishment. I will close with a recommendation for those coming for the first time to order the Creamy Polenta from the Contorny (side dishes), one of their best dishes to accompany a pork or seafood dish.

Hazel's Northeast Popping where Pop used to be

2011-05-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Sharon and I had a chance to try Hazel's Northeast. This is the place that opened where Pop! A Restaurant used to be in Minneapolis at 2859 Johnson St NE.

For me that was a bad start, since I liked Pop very much (particularly their salmon burger, which I thought was the best in town and I hope they still serve at their location in St Paul), but I can't really blame them for that. I am pretty sure they didn't muscle that other restaurant out of the locale.

The place looks just about the same as Pop used to look. We were thinking about having breakfast, but by the time we got there, it was late enough that we ended up sharing two lunch sandwiches.

I ordered The Traveler (above), a brisket, caramelized onion and horseradish sandwich. I thought it was very good. The onion was sweet, the beef was tender and the bread was nicely toasted with good fries that didn't taste like the frozen kind. If I have a criticism was that the horseradish was rather mild. Funny enough, Sharon's half was way to spicy because of the horseradish (as in way, way to spicy, to the point she did not finish it).

Sharon ordered a bacon, cheddar and egg burger that was served with syrup on the side to make it more of a brunch menu item. I will admit that we didn't try adding the syrup, but after having eaten it, I can see how it might have gone well. The bun was buttery, the patty juicy and the egg appropriately cooked to be inside a sandwich.

Overall, I thought it was a good meal, although I will have to do some convincing to get Sharon to come again after her horseradish overdose. I think it is worth some negotiation.

A Windy 26.2 - The Eau Claire Marathon Report

2011-05-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't because of the high wind, this might have been just as good a forecast as I could have hoped for a marathon. Cloudy and between high 30's and low 40's. With up to 24 mph winds, the windchill was in the low 20's. Still not bad if you have appropriate clothing, until you head into the wind, that is.

The start was a little hectic for me. I got up at 4:00 AM the morning of the race and was out the door by 5:30 AM. Drove for 1:45 to make it to Carson Park in Eau Claire with 45 minutes to spare. Seems like plenty of time, but the parking area was about 1/2 mile from the start line and the lines at the porta-potties were long. By the time I was ready to rock and roll, it was just under 5 minutes to the gun. I like to have more time than that to get into 'the zone', so as soon as we got started, stress got the best off me and I started a tad too fast.

A few miles later I calm down and finally get in the mood for a long run. The wind is really not that bad and the hills are not too steep. The altitude chart showed most of the hills (several u and down) in teh first 12 miles and then pretty much flat to the end, so by the time I was hitting mile 11 I felt I had it in my pocket. Here I am nearly 10 minutes ahead of my time and feeling great. This wind is really nothing.

And then I enter the wind tunnel. And a long one it was. From mile 11 to mile 19, I basically run into the wind. It was cold, a tiny bit of snow and it felt like running uphill non-stop. The picture at right was taken by Lela, a co-worker who was going to run the race had it not been for a stress injury a few weeks before the race. This is at mile 15 and you can see me leaning forward into the wind to try cut my way into it.

It was pretty miserable. By mile 18, I wanted to quit pretty bad and it took all the mental toughness I could muster to keep going. It also helped that between mile 18 and mile 23 I didn't see any easy way to drop out of the race and get a ride to the finish. By mile 23 I have sufficiently payed my dues and it is really not worth quitting anymore, so I kept going.

My final official time was 4:13:42. Really not bad given the weather. Under normal conditions I usually estimate a 4:10 to 4:20 completion time, so right within my expectations. I do wonder what my time would have been with good weather, but then again that is not here no there. I can also winder what my time would have been had I been training longer, since I was younger or if I had longer legs ;-)

After the finish, I get a ride to my car by a young woman riding a very small YMCA bus. I ask her for a good place to have breakfast close by and she recommends the Altoona Family Restaurant. Before heading back to Minneapolis I make a brief stop there and reload carbs and protein in the for of Eggs Commodore (Eggs Benedict with sausage patties instead of ham) and hash-browns. The breakfast really hits the spot and nearly makes me fall asleep on the drive back.

All an all a good race. Glad I drove there and took a look at a new route. Now I can rest until October. I have a few other races before then, but no other Marathon until Twin Cities. Time to kick back and relax for a few day...

Crescent Moon Bakery

2011-04-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

We left Friday night on a mission: finding a place to have dinner that none of us has tried before. A seemingly easy task for four people, but all proposals that we could think of had been tried by at least one of us. We opted to drive down Central Ave to find a place. On our way to a Thai place, we saw the Crescent Moon Bakery, an Afghani restaurant on 2339 Central Ave NE.

The multiple neon signs on the window were somewhat at odds. One advertised the best pizza next to another one that read frozen pizza. Anyway, after seeing the pictures on the entrance de decided to give it a try.

Not sure of what to order, we chose the sampler platter for four. I should say the picture below is very misleading. This was a HUGE platter. The four of us ate to our heart's content and still took a to-go box that could have fed another two.

In addition to the food on that platter, the meal came with a salad and some pitas. $60 bought us the meal for four and four bottles of water (no liquor, wine or beer). Overall a great meal. My favorite part was the roasted goat stew on the white bowl. It was tender and juicy. The lamb sausage (hiding behind the gyro meat at three o'clock on the platter), was nicely cooked, showing just a smidgen of pink in the center.

We left with two gyro calzones to go (dinner tonight) and the desire to come back to try their award wining ethnic pizza, the house specialty, with Eggplant, Mushrooms, and Black Olives.

Update (May 15): Just yesterday we tried their signature eggplant pizza. It was barely OK, sot as good as their more traditional middle-eastern food. It was light (thin crust, no meat and not as much cheese as you usually see in American pizzas), but still not deserving of the Best Ethnic Pizza award it received.

Rachel's... eternally closed no more

2011-04-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, when Punch open on Hennepin Ave, it did so next to another restaurant that was also about to open, Rachel's. The awning has been there since, across from Kramarczuk's, on 222 Hennepin Ave, having us wonder if it was ever going to open (some saying it was open all along but for private events only).

Well, no more... Rachel's is now open to the public. The place has somewhat odd decor and a temporary menu (which we were told will soon see additional items, not different ones). A few Phoenicians made our way to try it and were pleasantly surprised by the friendly staff, quality of the food and low prices.

The menu contains a few appetizers including Monte Carlo wings (both restaurants have the same owner) which we ordered and enjoyed. We also learned from the waitress that the seasoning on the wings at Monte Carlo tripled over the years as people asked for a stronger flavor. At Rachel's yo get the original recipe.

Below appetizers you can find a list of burgers (including one with green olives) a few sandwiches and a short list of entrees. At our table we ordered a french dip, a turkey burger, some steamed mussels and a roasted veggie sandwich with brie. All came promptly and were delicious. The turkey burger was juicy with a nice dark bun. The mussels were plump and tender and were served with fries and toast.

The roasted veggie sandwich with brie (a baguette really), which I ordered, was in my opinion the best thing at the table. It was truly loaded with veggies, has the right amount of brie and came in a nice crusty bread. In short here we have another jewel opening within walking distance from the Phoenix. Our little corner of the world is getting more and more interesting. I look forward to see how the menu will expand and evolve.

Update (May 7): Last night we returned to try the recommended egg salad sandwich. We were told the salad is made to order and includes no less than 5 eggs per sandwich, so to avoid a protein overdose we opted to share one. We also opted to try the one with sliced pimento olives. Definitely a good idea, because the egg salad, while not bad, it is a pretty plain one. The olives gave the sandwich a good kick.

Cafe Lurcat: Terrific as always

2011-04-29T04:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday was winding down and we weren't quite ready for the weekend to be over. The thought of ending the day with a hastily prepared dinner in front of the TV was just not cutting it. We worked the phones and text messages and soon enough we found an accomplice. A few clicks away we also have a reservation at Cafe Lurcat. A safe bet.

As we waited for our accomplice, Patty Mayonnaise, Sharon and I shared a treat from the raw menu. The hamachi with noodles and jalapenos looked great on the menu and didn't disappoint when it arrived to the table. A good pairing to the Sauvignon Blanc we were drinking.

With three at the table, we split their signature salad (an award wining one no less), the apple, cheese and chive salad (pictured at right). The first time I saw it a few days before, it rocked my salad world. Salads don't usually look like that. Apples and Manchego cheese cut up in shoestrings form with a light dressing and some chives. Beautiful and refreshing with the cheese and the apples complementing each other like an acid and a base. Great combination.

The rest of the meal was just as good. Judge for yourself:

House Made Udon Noodles with Chinese Barbecue Chicken and Caramelized Orange Sauce

Sautee Sea Scallops with Han Hocks and Swiss Chard

And of course their French Fries - Some of the best in town not to take anything away from the fries at 112 Eatery

I am in!

2011-04-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

And that is all I have to say!

Masu, The New Kid on the Block

2011-04-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

The new kid on the block in Northeast is Masu Sushi and Robata. How about that... Japanese no more than a few blocks from our bat cave. The place is nicely decorated with an industrial interior (making it a tad loud due to the hard concrete surfaces) and plenty of colorful Japanese touches to get yo in the mood for sushi. Particularly interesting is the wall at the end of the dining room entirely covered with the eyes of a Geisha. Nice touch...

Masu Maki Roll - The house specialty

The place was packed for a Wednesday, but since they opened less than a week ago, it is expected (and I am sure hoped by the owners). We had a reservation for 6 and ended up having 11 people, but still were able to seat without much of a wait. The menu has a variety of sushi, small dishes and noodles. Most of us ordered sushi to start and then some noodles.

The sushi rolls were good, although they were not entirely what I was expecting. The house specialty and namesake (pictured above), has all its seafood cooked. The shrimp tempura style, and the salmon very rare but definitely not raw.

Spicy Arctic Char Roll

The Spicy Arctic Char Roll was good, but it had so much cilantro that it was pretty much all yo could taste. One of the things I like about sushi is that with the fish being raw and the few ingredients usually part of the dish, you have nowhere to hide bad quality ingredients and as a result you get some of the best seafood available. This might have been the case last night, but the fresh seafood flavor was amiss.

Pork Belly Ramen

Having recently returned from Tokyo and having enjoyed some great ramen noodles there, we put them to the test. I ordered the Pork Belly Ramen and Sharon ordered the Tonkatsu Curry Ramen. OK, perhaps it was not fair to Masu... still, they did not fair too bad. The pork belly was very nicely cooked. Fork tender and flavorful. The poached egg was a vice touch, although I prefer having a soft-boiled egg as we did in Shinjuku. Overall a very successful dish.

Tunkatsu Curry Ramen

Sharon's Tonkatsu Curry Ramen was also good also not quite as impressive. The curry, usually the star of a dish with its pungent flavor, was rather mild, but the coating was crispy and the noodles and broth were appropriate.

Overall my review may come across as lukewarm, but I was pleasantly surprised with the place. Service was very good (even for a new place that is usually trying to come to terms with their initial success), the portions were large enough, the prices appropriate and the decor inviting. It is not their fault that they caught us just a few weeks from a terrific culinary adventure in Japan. Being as close as it is to home it could easily become a regular hangout for us.

Trail Mix 25K Race Report

2011-04-17T04:55:00.000-07:00

Terrific race! I was close to missing it due to an ankle injury, but thanks to Bridget's very poor advice, I run it anyway and had a blast. Thanks, Bridget.

I run it with my New Balance 800, my only pair of trail shoes. Needless to say, given the snow, rain and mud everywhere, mine no longer look as clean as the picture. I really love these shoes. They are probably the primary reason why I run trail races, to use them more often ;-)

As I am lining up behind the start line and just about 15 seconds before the gun, I see a back of a head I recognize. Is that Tim? As I get closer i see that not only it is Tim, but he is with Liz, Rob and Mel, a subset of the Phoenix running club. The gun goes off and we start running. I run with them for about a quarter of a mile and then take off. I see them only once after that as we are running in opposite direction (as the course requires) as I am getting almost to the finish line.

Anyway, no more than a mile into the race, my ankle started bothering me. I pushed through and the pain never elevated from that. A day later, I feel great. I sure feel the hills in my muscles, but my ankle seems to have survived he race.

The course is a series of loops in Hyland Park. 25K requires two loops, those attempting 50k will need to do four. Anyway, great race. The terrain has lots of hills and because of the rain the previous day, plenty of mud. I think that made it more fun. 3/4 into tehrace I was even considering signing up for the 50K (~31 miles) next year. By the end I was wondering if I could handle another two laps. Maybe taking it easier. A lot easier. Something to think about.

Official time is not yet posted, but my Garmin 205 showed 2:29:04 or 9:36 per mile. I was quite pleased with that given the elevation changes visible on the uploaded route.

Change of Heart

2011-04-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

Before finally deciding to drop off the race, I call Bridget. Bridget is an Ironman finisher, as tough as runners come. She is the person I can count on when I need bad advice ;-)

It takes me under five minutes on the phone to decide that the pain in my ankle is no reason to stay away from the trail. "Just pop a dozen ibuprofens and take it easy on the run" is her advice. Pretty much what I wanted to hear. So while I will pass on the ibuprofen overdose, I think I will attempt the Trail Mix 25K after all.

No sooner than I make that choice, the weather forecast starts turning south. 33 degrees (feels like 25), windy (up to 21 mph) and snow showers. Too late now, the decision has been made. I will hit the trail in less than 3 1/2 hours.

Third Friday Already?

2011-04-16T01:57:00.000-07:00

After a couple of misses, we make it again to a Third Friday Happy Hour at the Phoenix. Our contribution is Beef Tenderloin Crostinis with Caramelized Onions and Preserved Lemon-Green Olive Mayonnaise. The snow-flake looking stuff on them was Maldon Salt, probably the most beautiful salt out there. I am not a big fan of beef, but they came out pretty good.

Convenient Aster

2011-04-14T03:36:00.000-07:00

Just a block down the street from home is Aster Cafe. This place was a little deli that didn't ever seem to be open. Indeed it was, there were just no people inside. Ever. The outside had a patio that was never used, because they didn't serve out there. You had to go inside, order their pretty mediocre food and take it outside yourself.

Luckily for us, last May, Aster reopened with little changes to the beautiful inside. That said, there is a world of difference between the old and the new Aster. For starters, the new place has live music. Pictured below are Patty and the Buttons, who play there most Sundays from 11 AM to 2 PM as brunch is being served.

To add to the entertainment you can always find a couple willing to dance the Lindy Hop as you have brunch. Sometimes it is not just a couple, but instead the dance floor is pretty crowded. The music doesn't stop after Sunday. They have blues, jazz, acoustic and others Thursday through Sunday at night.

Being as close to home as it is, it has become a convenient and very satisfying stop for us. The food has also improved significantly (something deserving of much praise giving the limiting kitchen they have with no fryer, griddle or grill, but basically just a small stove and an oven. The menu is short but includes salads, appetizers, flatbread pizzas and sandwiches. Pictured at left is a smoked trout baguette with a tangy aioli served with a side salad. A favorite of mine. The chorizo flatbread and the artichoke and brie baguette are also excellent choices.

Last Sunday we went there to meet Ana, a friend of Patti Mayonnaise who was visiting from Texas. We got to seat right at front to enjoy the music and dancing while having brunch.

Left to right, Patti M, Ana and Sharon

Preserved Lemon & Green Olive Mayonnaise

2011-04-12T04:05:00.000-07:00

An original recipe from our home not even based on any other recipe. This came as an evolution from a preserved mayo we have been making for some time for our tapas parties. I have to say, this one came out pretty good with fairly little effort for a mayonnaise made by hand. Very much worth trying. Here is teh recipe anyway.

Ingredients
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil
3 large green olives (any kind you like), minced
1/4 preserve lemon peel, minced
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 pinch Kosher salt or to taste

Instructions
In a bowl, beat the egg yolk with a whisk as you add the oil very slowly (barely a drizzle). When all the oil has been added, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. If the result is too think (mine usually is), add a little water and mix well (no more than 1/2 tsp at a time). You are done. It is really that simple.

This mayo goes great with smoked fish or chicken. Anything that would be complemented by the lemony taste. The better the olive oil, the more you will taste it in the end result. You can really adjust the quantities as you wish. You can't go wrong with something this simple.

DNS @ TM25K

2011-04-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

OK, so I may have pushed my increasingly old body a tad too much in the process of achieving not one, not two but three PRs in the last four weeks. As a result, a problem with my right ankle is making it likely I will be a Do Not Show (DNS) at the Trail Mix 25K next Sunday.

I was really looking forward to that run, but I am less than three weeks from the Eau Claire Marathon and attempting this Sunday's run would probably guarantee I will be a DNS in Eau Claire.

What can I say? Disappointed!

Runs4Food Personals

2011-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

You, late teens, petite, with a brunette pony-tail, black

tights and a green hoodie. Me early forties, with a tattoo

on the left calve, black short and a sleeveless white shirt.

We passed each other several times running around Lake

Calhoun. I just wanted to say thanks. You helped me

reach a new PR.

Yep that's right... Just a week after reaching a PR on the 23 mile distance and three weeks after smashing my 1/2 Marathon PR, I have a new one to add to the books. This time is on the 12 mile distance. The time was 1:40:11 or 8:21 per mile. That is well over 5 minutes faster than my previous 12 mile record. I am definitely on a roll.

Since I did 23 last week and I have a race next week (Trail Mix 25k) and a marathon in just three weeks (Eau Claire) , I was just trying to run the 12 that my training schedule called for at an easy pace (about 9:20). I was well on track when I reached Lake Calhoun and say a runner cross in front of me at a good pace. I decided to push a little and pass her. It was easy enough, but a couple of minutes later, she zoomed pass me. I pressed again and a few minutes later I had caught up to her and passed her again only to see her zoom pass me once again.

This time it was a challenge. I frantically searched on my iPod for a power song and once I found it (San Francisco Bay Blues from Eric Clapton's Unplugged) I managed to pass her once and for all. for the rest of the loop (about 1-1/2 or 2 more miles), she kept close, but never managed to pass me again.

Then I took off to go back home and decided to keep pressing to make a good time. The result was another awesome PR. Thanks, stranger. I hope you are happy with you time too.

Over the miles, I have learned who and how to pass another runner. So nine times out of ten times, when I pass, is like the kiss of death. You will have little chances of taking the lead again. That is good because there is nothing worse that pressing to pass somebody to end up eating their dust just a few minutes later.

Here is the trick to avoid that situation. As you see your target, get close and follow for a good quarter of a mile. Asses the situation. How is the current pace? Comfortable? Expect that once you pass, the other runner might press a little harder and try to pass you. Could you increase the pace and maintain it for a good mile? If the answer is yes, pass.

You can expect to be passed again. No worries. Repeat the steps above. Whatever you do, do not pass again immediately. Follow, keep a close distance for a quarter of a mile and then pass again. The best thing that can happen is that you two keep passing each other and pushing to get great times. If that is the case, when you finally split, protocol requires you take a minute to thank the other runner.

New Ways to Read Runs4Food

2011-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Blogger.com has released some new ways to look at blogs and Runs4Food looks better than ever through some of them. Check 'em out with these links:

FlipCard: http://runs4food.blogspot.com/view/flipcard

Mosaic: http://runs4food.blogspot.com/view/mosaic

Sidebar: http://runs4food.blogspot.com/view/sidebar

Snapshot: http://runs4food.blogspot.com/view/snapshot

Timeslide: http://runs4food.blogspot.com/view/timeslide

All I Know About Running I Learned From Yoga

2011-04-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have been regularly attending a yoga session almost every Saturday morning for almost two years. Please understand I am not the yoga type. I started only because it was available in my building and I thought it would help with flexibility and, with that, my running. Much to my surprise, I really learned to enjoy it to the point that I could feel the impact after a recent trip to Japan that made me miss three consecutive sessions.

Just yesterday my schedule called for a 23 mile run. That is my usual last long run before a marathon and the Eau Claire Marathon is coming up on May 1. I particularly enjoy this one because it has been my first outdoor run of the 2011 spring (I don't count the Tokyo Marathon, since, while it was outside, it was not at home).

I will admit that the weather was a tad colder than spring calls for, but I had a great run. I have been missing my usual Hennepin to Lake and around Calhoun Lake. 23 miles allowed called for four loops, so I got plenty of that. More so, I got a significant PR for that distance. I finished in 3:25:18 (9:03 per mile), a 9'54" faster that my previous PR. Yep, an improvement close to ten minutes.

As I was running and missing my yoga session (forecast called for rain on Sunday, so I had to switch the day for my long run) I was thinking of parallels between yoga and running. This is what I came up with:

Relax your shoulders, maintain a straight spine. Running for three or four hours requires paying attention to form. Eliminating tension from shoulders and neck can allow you to keep going longer. Open your chest. I twist and stretch it every so often (without missing a running step) to compensate for the pounding and compacting I subject my spine as I run.

Keep breathing. And do so at the same rhythm. I take inhale once for every two steps and do the same for exhales. I do the same for mile one and for mile 26 or a marathon. If I feel I can't keep the rhythm, I know I need to slow down a bit. I never understood somebody who is huffing and puffing on mile 10 of 26.2. How do they make it to the end?

Keep your eyes in your head. Regardless of how bad the moment is, keep your eyes in your head, maintain a relaxed expression. Frowning and tensing doesn't help make things better. What helps me get through the tough spots is something I read on runner's world from an ultra-marathoner: it can't get worse all the time, at some point things pick up again. Knowing that if I keep going things will get better helps me remain relaxed.

Enjoy every mile (in yoga every pose). Now and then during yoga there is a pose that your body is not meant to do. Similarly, running you will find a hill or a windy section of the road, or simply a time you are just exhausted. Every mile is part of the same run just like every pose is part of the same yoga session. Enjoy and embrace every one of them if you want to enjoy running. There are too many hills in life to hate them.

Start early in the morning. That way the good feeling you get from the long run lasts all day.

And last... relax and enjoy. Even if you don't feel like getting started, do you best to take pleasure on your long run from the start. You could be sitting on the couch watching TV and chose to be running instead. There must be a reason. That said, there is nothing wrong with being happy when the whole thing is over.

Mushroom Pate at Home

2011-04-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

So sharon goes to the store and buys some assorted mushrooms with no specific plan to use them. I not knowingly, with a plan for a recipe from Fine Cooking also buy some mushrooms and after deciding not to cook that recipe we find ourselves with way too many mushrooms and plans for eating out the rest of the week. These mushrooms will not last long and it would be a shame to see them go to waste.

A quick search online results in a Wild Mushroom Pate from Emeril Lagasse that seems easy enough and will make them last. The recipe below is adapted from that one to fit our taste and available ingredients. The only change I'd made is halve it (unless you have a ton of mushrooms available as well), or you will end up with a little too much (of a delicious) pate. BTW, I don;t wash or even brush my mushrooms, but feel free to do so if you want.

Wild Mushroom Pate

3 tablespoons goat butter (regular buter will do just fine)

1/2 cup chopped shallots

3 tsp minced garlic

8 oz crimini mushrooms, coarsely chopped

8 oz white button mushrooms, coarsely chopped

4 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and coarsely chopped

1 tsp dry thyme (1-1/2 fresh is probably better, just didn't have it)

1/2 cup of dry wine

4 tsp chopped parsley

1-1/2 tsp truffle oil

4 oz room-temperate sheep feta cheese (can use cream cheese as the original recipe calls but won't be as good)

4 oz room-temperate goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Sautee shallots and garlic in the butter until soft and fragrant. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until wilted and reduced in size by half. I may have added a little bit of olive oil at some point. Really, who remembers... You can keep cooking until most of the liquid they release has evaporated. Add wine and again cook until evaporated. Add parsley and truffle oil and cook for another minute.

Transfer to a food processor and process with cheeses until well combined. Adjust salt an pepper and then cover and refrigerate until set for 3 or 4 hours. Really, do your best to not eat it right there as it is, it won't be easy.

Redeemed Oceanaire

2011-04-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps bad luck, but Sharon and I never seemed to had had a good meal at Oceanaire. This is particularly strange, because we are seafood lovers and people really talk well of this place. And it is not for lack of trying. We have been there probably three or four times prior to our last visit, including a cooking class organized by Kitchen Window.

We had tickets to see Riverdance as their more recent tour brought them to downtown Minneapolis (a show, by the way that I enjoyed far more the first time and somewhat bored me this last time), and looking for a place to have dinner we decided to give Oceanaire a last shot before writing it off forever.

Our reservation gave us just one hour to eat before we had to leave for the show. We ordered some very good oysters (for which outside of freshens I will give no credit to any restaurant, since all you have to do is shuck them) and then shared a tuna tartar that I felt was very good.

For the main course, I ordered seared tuna with a piece of foie gras and a port reduction. Foie gras is in my opinion a way to cheat on a dish. How can it not be great with foie gras!?! That said, the tuna was nicely cooked. I thought it was unnecessarily large, but rather complain of an expensive meal being too big than too small. The sauce was good but a little oily.

Sharon ordered the best dish of the evening. A piece of halibut crusted with sesame seeds over a soft, velvety sauce.

The meal was not bad and the service was pretty good. Still, when the bill came (just over $200 with tax and tip), you can't shake the feeling that we've had much better meals (including dessert and port) for the same money. Alma is a good local example of a place that offers consistently great meals at the same or a lower cost.

So while the quality of the meal was enough to redeem Oceanaire from our past experiences, I think we will still be writing if off from our list of places to go to based on the cost/value proposition. There are too many great places in Minneapolis to keep giving this place an opportunity to do better. I hate avoiding a seafood restaurant that is so close to home, but this is just not worth it.

Got Lucky!

2011-04-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

Barely a week after our return from Tokyo we run the second of five events part of the Team Ortho Monster Series, the Get Lucky 21K (really a half marathon). It was a cold morning which is good for running. In fact it was so good that I ended up finishing with a PR. That's right, I beat my best half marathon time by nearly four minutes!

I have run exactly 13.1 miles nine times (7 of them were official races, the other two training runs). My finish time at the Get Lucky was 1:48:18. My previous best time was 1:51:56 (or 3'39" slower) on a training run. My half marathon race PR prior to that was 1:53:33 at the 2010 Big Woods Run Half Marathon giving me an improvement of 5'16"!!

Perhaps radiation leaking from our recent visit to Japan is to be blamed (you know, superhero style, as in the effect radiation had on Dr Bruce Banner or Peter Parker), not that I'd like to make light of the tragedy still developing and that is affecting the beautiful people of Japan, a population that doesn't need any radiation to be superheroes. They are proving so on the way they are handling themselves during these events.

Shaken up in Japan

2011-04-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, we were there during the earthquake and I have already told the story a million times, so I could not leave my blog readers (all four of them) out of the loop. I will however get to that later. I'd like to think that the good parts of the trip should outshine this horrible tragedy (if not in importance at least on leaving a positive impression). Having finally found the time to write about our trip to Japan, the first thing that came to mind was our breakfast the first morning there.

We got there late the previous day and our host (my brother-in-law) had an oyster party going on. The next morning we wanted to start our culinary experience with a bang. We headed out to find a noodle shop an instead ended up having some rice with beef and green onions. With a breakfast like that, the trip seemed to be off to a good start.

Out of all the things we ate, the most surprising one (not the one we liked the most, but the most surprising) was deep-fried seaweed. It came to the table looking like a chunk of coal. It had the airy consistency of a dense foam, but the flavor was something between the flavor of the sea and the flavor of something fried. Delicious, interesting and very unexpected. The perfect started for one of our best meals while in Tokyo.

The restaurant in question was in Roppongi, a very commercial, trendy and popular area downtown Tokyo (and conveniently a few blocks from our home there).

The interesting thing about this place was that they cooked their food in hay. This produces a big, hot flame that dies in under a minute. The result is deliciously charred food that is nice a rare on the inside.

Furthermore, the outside has some of the pieces of burnt hay that flew up with the flame, and did have a flavor that reminded you of fresh hay.

Pictured on the left was a great piece of bonito we had at that place. You can see the effect of the fast flame on that beautifully cooked piece of fish.

This dish is also an example of the type of presentation you learn to expect at just about any restaurant in Japan: impeccable, attractive and incredibly appealing.

After a few appetizers, we entered the soup course. A table-top burner is placed in the center of our table under a bowl of chicken stock. Cut up chicken is added along with many veggies. When you are full and can't thin of anything else, the waitstaff brings rice to the table and adds it to the remaining stock. It's possible not everybody eats as much as we did, but then again, we were on vacation on our first trip to Japan.

Another excellent meal came a few days later at another restaurant within walking distance. That was a night for Shabu-Shabu. Shabu-Shabu is a Japanese dish of thin slices of meat and vegetables cooked at the table in a simmering pot of broth or water, then dipped into any of various sauces. The name is onomatopoeic of the movement and sound the meat makes while dipped in the broth.

Our friend Emi invited us to come along to Shinjuku for lunch. This is a large entertainment, business and shopping area where she lives and works. She took us to a Ramen Shop where we had pork pot stickers and shared three different bowls of ramen noodles. This is truly addictive and delicious in so many ways. Served with the soup is a not quite hard boiled egg that had been cooked to perfection to maintain a soft center. What a surprise!

Sushi consistently had great quality, presentation and surprisingly low prices (compared with our expectations, anyway). Toro (tuna) is available three ways based on the fat content. Pictured at right are fatty tune (bottom right) and a medium fat (center bottom). I found medium fat to have the perfect balance of softness and tuna flavor. The sweet shrimp (top center) was also a crowd pleaser.

We also had kobe beef served sushi-style. A few times even saw horse meat available the same way, although with all the seafood options available, we mostly stuck to fish (pictured at the right is tuna with seaweed rolled in green onions). We will remember those breakfasts for a long, long time.

The day after the Tokyo Marathon (the primary reason for our visit), we went to the Asakusa, the center of Tokyo's Shitamachi and one of the city's few districts that have preserved a certain atmosphere of the old Tokyo. We were cold and were looking for refuge from the rain and snow and found a noodle shop on the second floor of a building

The udon noodles with tempura shrimp we ordered were the perfect, comforting meal for a cold day. The broth brought just enough saltiness to the dish to counteract the usually (to my palate anyway) bland tempura. This soul-warming dish gave us energy to keep walking for a few more hours until we just had it with the cold and just went home.

In Kyoto, after visiting the imperial palace and the surrounding park, we headed out to dinner to a place that had primarily skewers and grilled/fried food. We were the first customers and got to sit at the bar by the cooks and talk to them (or attempt to anyway). Pictured are deep-fried chicken. Delicious but probably as unhealthy as they sound.

We ate tapas-style mostly picking items from the appetizer menu. There was no fish available on the menu, but we had chicken livers on a skewer, grilled mushrooms and (pictured) chicken thigh meat with union shoots. The dishes just kept on coming as we took pictures, drank beer and sake and ate to attempt to keep up.

Just about everything on the menu was grilled in a tiny hibachi-style grill. This place, the chef told us, usually fills up later where the locals come after work and have drinks and order some apps to go along with them. The grilled ball of rice was an item we HAD to try. A crispy, salty (from soy sauce) exterior and a soft center made it fun to eat.

Also in Kyoto, back from the Inari temple, we were looking for a place to have lunch. A freshly made, still-warm rice cracker served to buy as a bit of time as we selected an eatery. From the many restaurants we saw among knife and chopsticks shops, there was one that keep appealing to us because of an old, wiry japanese woman grilling eel right outside the door.

We also liked the place because it had Japanese-style sitting (on the floor with a low table in between us). It took us several attempts to get the eel, but it was worth the effort. So much so that we ended up having it twice. Barbecued eel is probably the one dish that most differs from the one you can get in the US.

On our train ride to Hiroshima, we noticed the little boxes of food that just about every passenger had and started to eat as soon as the train started moving, so on the ride back we got one to see what the rave was about. The cold lunch box was definitely not the best meal we had, but was fun to try and kept us busy for a portion of the four hour train ride.

Our last full day in Tokyo we went to Ginza, a big, upscale shopping and business district that we had to visit before leaving.

To the northwest, there is a series of restaurants below an elevated railroad track with the look of the old Tokyo. We stopped for a bite and ordered the item pictured at the left without knowing what it was. It was the size of a small cantaloup and had fish and veggies mixed and deep-fried together. Interesting, but basically fried food...

We decided to follow that by a more elegant (i.e. less fried) meal. We chose the top of a large department store right at the main Ginza crossing. we has a tasting menu that satisfied our appetite and left the impression we were looking for our last day in Japan. The picture at left was our favorite dish, tender pork with veggies (so much so that we ordered it twice).

On our way down from that restaurant (12th floor), we started to feel the ground shaking and our building swaying. The earthquake lasted for about 90 seconds and it caught us (of all places) in the glass and pottery area of the store. Inventory crashed around us as we tried to keep our feet on the ground. A second aftershock got us just a few floors below.

As we got to the street, we saw large numbers of people outside. The Tokyo Metro was closed, taxi lines were endless and busses where packed, so we opted to walk back home using a subway map as a guide. We weren't alone, half of tokyo walked home that day. Most impressive was the calm and composure seen on every face we saw during that 90 minute long walk. Without a doubt, these are remarkable people.

When we finally got home we were glued to the TV. Slowly, those that had planned to come for dinner started to trickle in (all walked). Emi had offered to cook our last dinner in Japan. We were happy to learn that she did her shopping before the earthquake hit.

Emi (pictured at left proudly showing us a knife she had just bought) and a friend cooked for us one of the best meals we had during our trip (quite the challenge as the pictures and descriptions above probably suggest). The meal had multiple courses served family-style at the same time (outside of tapas, probably the best way to eat).

There was a seaweed salad with lotus flower root, a heavenly rice also with some seaweed and little pieces of pork (ham?). One of my favorite dishes that evening was a fish that was vey quickly marinated in soy sauce and ginger and then sauteed on a pan (pictured). The soy sauce gives it the great color you see in the picture.

Another dish that I still remember was w=some thinly sliced pork that Emi cooked simply under a broiler. The pork had been marinated in miso and a sediment that remains after sake is made. The exterior was caramelized and a little crispy (particularly where the fat was). The interior was juicy and tender. A terrific meal to end a great trip.

Now, I could not end this post without taking some time to thank our host. Edu, my brother-in-law and friend, was a great host. As much as we didn't want to impose during our visit, he made sure we never left the door without some advice on where to go and what to see. He opened his house and his heart and guaranteed we had a superb time. Edu introduced us to his friends and spent a great deal of his free time showing us around Tokyo or helping us plan our trips to other areas of Japan. Bro, thanks for making us feel at home and welcome. Mi casa es su casa anytime you decide to come by Minneapolis or wherever we happen to be. I hope it won't be long.

Going out with a bang!

2011-03-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

I put about 400 miles on my shoes I get rd of them and try not to do any long runs with them as they are reaching the end of their life to minimize injuries.

I broke a couple of those rules with my Orange Kayano 15. This shoes were close enough to retirement so that I could take them for the Tokyo Marathon and then run a few more runs while in Japan to allow me to leave them behind and leave some room in the suitcase for whatever we bought (I buy we did, man).

Maybe I got lazy, maybe I was just enjoying Japan too much, but we really didn't run any days after the marathon (two full weeks), so that race ended up being the retirement run for this shoes. They truly went out with a bang! They also got early retirement, since not having room for them in our luggage, they were left behind a good 30 miles short of the usual 400 miles.

No sweat, they were replaced with a pair of minimalistic Adidas AdiZero, which are very fun to run with. Soon after our return, I also retired a pair of Mizuno Wave Nirvana 6 with only 49 miles in them. They really rubbed my right little toe the wrong way even on short runs, so I gave them to a friend who has the same shoe size and was just about to go shopping for a new pair. You know... reduce, reuse, recycle :-)

Tokyo Marathon - Race Report

2011-03-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

I know... it's been a while since my last post. I am back and have lot's of entries planned. The first one, well overdue is the race report for the Tokyo Marathon.

The day before the race we went to pick up the race package at Tokyo Big Sight, where the Expo was held. The expo was very crowded, most of the area was open only to runners only (which was inconvenient since we had some friends come along with us) and there wasn't anything particularly interesting to buy (like a cool running T with something in Kanji, since cool in Japan is having things in English).

On race day, weather was nearly perfect. This was good for two reasons, we didn't bring cold weather running clothes (I say "we" because Sharon run the 10K). The second reason is that we dodge a bullet. The date after the race the weather turned bitter. Cold, rainy, very windy and as the afternoon rolled we even saw some snow.

The course was very flat and sprinkled with great entertainment (different from what you se in the US anyway. The picture to the left was taken with my mini-spy-cam (it was actually a frame from a video). This must be around mile 10 very close to the Imperial Palace (if my memory doesn't fail me). The drums were audible pretty far back and gave me time to pull the camera out and go through the 20 steps it requires to get it going. There were also all kinds of dancers, musicians and even singing kids.

Also along the course was very interesting food (mostly from spectators), though I didn't try any more than a little bun almost at the end. My favorite memories include the guy running in wooden clogs, the guy running in a full business suit (including briefcase and a newspaper he appeared to be reading, the warmth from the people who were particularly interested in giving me a high-five (probably since I was one of the few westerners running), the woman running dressed like a cheetah and seeing Edu, Emi, Michel and Sharon several times during the race.

There were 33,000 runners on the Marathon alone (not sure how many participated on the 10K. Given the crowd (the picture at left was taken waiting for the start), it took us about 30 minutes from the gun time to get to the start line. Surprisingly, it wasn't terribly crowded, although it did require some amount of zig-zagging for the first five to seven miles. After that, just like any other race, the mass of people disperses and things thin out a bit. The crowd was only visible again at Tokyo Big Sight as runners gathered to change clothes and rest for a bit.

My final time was 4:30:01, just as I was expecting (4:20 to 4:30). The route looks cool mostly because of the tokyo map in the background. This was my 13th marathon. I throughly enjoyed it. The time passed quickly because of the very cool buildings and entertainment along the course. Definitely the right start for our vacation.

Chicken Bliss

2011-02-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

Dinner last Tuesday is chicken at May and Hugh's. We are invited along with our friends and neighbors Mike and Anita. The evening stats with some home-made humus (courtesy of Hugh) on home-made crackers (Mary's). To accompany those, we have an appetizer of cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and zucchini. I have not eaten much all day, so I inhale the first few bytes and they hit the spot. It seems like the perfect start for that school night.

The evening is sold to us as a comfort food, which is an usual way of lowering expectations to indicate good but not surprising or elaborate. Dinner might not have been a lot of work, but surprise it did. Mary's kitchen produces a sublime combination that serves to satisfy and startle. Very simple ingredients come together artfully to pair the warm company and conversation.

Served over white rice, are pieces of chicken cooked along with peppers, golden raisins (plumped up to almost their original size) and kalamata olives. That last ingredient complete makes the dish. The olives are warm, slightly softened from the cooking and give the perfect amount of personality to the plate. During dinner I interrogate our host to gather details about the preparation. I have got t try this at home!

The knead-less bread (also home-made), with a nice dark crust on the outside serves to round the meal. Ending the perfect meal for our school night is an also home-made apple pie (one of my favorites) with a hint of nutmeg. Thanks, Mary and Hugh for a terrific evening at the heart of the Phoenix.

Doped

2011-02-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

My ankle has been bothering me since last week. I think I need to tweak my training schedule to ease the first long run after my last long run before a marathon. At its current length, it puts too much stress on my joints.

Rest for a week didn't do much, so, while it does not bother me walking, after a mile running I start feeling some pressure and then a sharp pain develops. With less than a week t go to my next race (none other than the Tokyo Marathon), I decide to go to the doctor. Two co-pays later, I have seen my family physician and a specialist. The X-Rays show no fracture, so I end up with a cortisone shot to the ankle.

Last night, just a few hours after the shot, I am limping. This morning I am better, but I can certainly feel some pressure. At this point I am giving myself no more than a 5% chance of finishing Tokyo without pain and at most 20% chance of finishing at all. he 12 hour flight will be even longer with this over my head...

BTW, I did check and cortisone shots are not banned by the Olympic Committee. Not that out of a field of 33,000 runners I'd be anywhere close to a qualifying finishing time to see a pee cup, but still, I didn't want to cheat.

Tonight... Italiano!

2011-02-13T14:54:00.000-08:00

Teaming up with our friends MIke and Anita, Sharon and I invite a few friends and neighbors for an Italian meal. No, none of us are Italian, but we thought it'd be fun.

We start the night with some charcuterie and cheese with some powdered olive oil. Of particular interest was the dry beef which we found entirely by accident at the local grocery store. It wasn't the best of the cured meats, but it was different and interesting when compared with the pork.

Paired with Chianti and Pinot Grigio, it promised to be a good start to the meal. Still, the best part of the appetizers by far were the crackers. Sharon made those from scratch.

On our test run, Sharon and Anita found some recipes for the crackers online and an interesting note on one of them: "Once you start making crackers you will not stop and you will never buy them again". I can see how that would be true. The crackers were very cheap to make (flour, olive oil, water, baking powder and salt for the base).

For the day of the meal, Sharon made red pepper crackers, curry crackers and, my favorite, saffron crackers. They were all delicious.

The meal consisted of a grilled Caesar salad (we lightly grilled the Romaine lettuce and drizzled with home-made dressing and topped with shaved pecorino cheese, anchovies and croutons. Following the salad, we had lasagna two ways. Anita made a great and surprisingly light meat lasagna (with italian sausage) and Sharon made vegetable lasagna (with mushrooms, zucchini, fennel and a great white béchamel made with dried mushrooms). Yep, there were no complaints for either one of those.

Dessert was my responsibility and I opted for a lemon pomegranate panna cotta with candied lemon peel, a pomegranate syrup and some of Anita's cookies. They took a while to layer to get the desired effect, but patience paid off.

Dinner would not have been the same without our friends (plus we would have ended with a lot of leftovers ;-) Seriously, this was another Phoenix evening with the warmth that characterized them (so much indeed that the next day we hit a high of 45). All evening we had good humor, great conversation and yet another opportunity to catch up with our neighbors.

Heavenly couscous, accidentally

2011-02-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

I have a piece of cod, which I haven't cooked in a while and I am not sure what to do with it. So I head to the fridge and I see that there are a few items that ought to be used or they risk going bad. I pull them all out and find some couscous in the pantry. Couscous is good because it is high in carbs (runner's fuel) and low in fat, but cooked right can really make a dish.

The ingredients were spinach, pine nuts, nicoise olives, cherry tomatoes and garlic.

I decided to cook the spinach separately, wilt them in olive oil with salt and pepper and place them in a circle on the plate.

For the couscous, I chop the pine nuts and toast them. Then, in a pot, I heat up olive oil and cook the garlic chopped until it starts to brown. Then add the cherry tomatoes (whole), the nicoise olives (roughly chopped) and the toasted pine nuts. As soon as the tomatoes start to blister I add the couscous and let it get coated with the oil. Last I add some chicken stock, stir, cover and take off the stove to finish cooking while I cook the fish.

I have enough flavors already, so cook the cod in a little but of olive oil with salt and pepper. I fluff and plate the couscous in the center of the spinach and top it with the cod.

The result was very surprising in that it all came together so beautifully. Flavors perfectly balanced, all within a very healthy dish. Definitely will have to do it again.

Tokyo ready...

2011-02-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

We are all packed up and ready to go... Well, not quite, but last week we got the registration materials for the Tokyo Marathon (and the 10K for Sharon). Excitement is building up. A few more days and we will be airborne...

Pushing my luck, after having won the last two marathon lotteries (Zoom! Yah! Yah! and Tokyo), I decided to attempt New York again. I tried two years ago with no luck, but I am on a winning streak.

Will three times be a charm? Stay tune to find out...

Going Molecular

2011-02-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

Look closely... can't tell what it is? Powdered Olive Oil, but of course! Have ben wanting to play with this for a while... finally pulled the trigger and bought myself a half pound of tapioca maltodextrin.

Derived from tapioca, this powder has been specially designed to have a very low bulk density. It dissolves completely when in contact with any aqueous medium. This product is primarily used to increase the volume of dry mixes and frozen foods. In addition, this bland tasting maltodextrin functions excellently as a dispersant for dry ingredients in low solids preparations. Can stabilize high-fat ingredients and which can then be transformed into powders.

Mixed with olive oil ( a good extra virgin olive oil), it makes a powder that tastes just like olive oil. It is good (and fun) to put on food where you don't want for the (liquid) olive oil to run over.

Runs 4 Food in Cancun, Mexico

2011-01-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

Taking a little break in sunny Cancun.... well, not so much, while the temp was 75 to 80 degrees, we got cloud coverage most days and even a little rain. Not that I am complaining. Back home was 10 below and cloud coverage means better running weather.

While at the resort I completed three 4 mile runs in my Bikilas. I know it isn't much, but the day before our trip started I was running the Zoom! Yah! Yah! indoor marathon, so I am even surprised I run at all (I usually take a week off after each marathon).

Anyway, this post is not about running, but food. We traveled to an all-inclusive gourmet resort, and once you lowered your standards just a bit (this was after all a beach resort), I have to say we were very impressed. A few items had a price tag (like the lobster below), but most everything else was free of charge.

The lobster was served "mar y tierra" (surf & turf) with flank steak, which I am not a big fan of, but I was very surprised by how tender and juicy it was. The lobster was grilled, something I have wanted to have since I saw Godfather II, where you see them splitting one in half and immediately put it on the grill.

One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to The Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Morelos,where Chef/Instructor Pablo Espinosa (pictured below sharpening his knife) delighted us with a few dishes.

The session lated several hours (four or five but the tequila shots got in the way of remembering the exact length) and resulted in a tour of mexican cuisine, techniques and ingredients.

Of particular interest were the salsas, most of them with habaneros and some of which were hot enough to require lost of agua fresca to put out the fire.

The class offered some participation and some of our friends had an opportunity to test the tools under the guidance of Chef Pablo. We also made the obligatory tortillas and guacamole, but also had an opportunity to explore less common dishes and beverages.

The class was followed by a full meal (something that would have been good to know ahead of time, since by the time we made it to the table we weren't that hungry any more. Still, the food was so good that we cleaned the plates. It really was a terrific experience, which happened to take place on the day in which we got the most rain (shear luck)

Along with the entertainment, meal and drinks, we got a little booklet with the recipes the chef cooked. There were, however, a few off-the-menu dishes that were worth writing down. Specifically there was a vinaigrette that surprised not only by the ingredients and ease of preparation, but also by its fresh flavor and great presentation in the way it was served.

Chef Pablo halved and pitted an avocado, cut a little but of the bottom to make a flat surface and help the avocado not roll on the plate and filled the void left by the pit with the vinaigrette. This made for a great and very simple dish. To finish it off, he added a few drops of olive oil on top of the vinaigrette and dusted the avocado with ground arbol chile.

The ingredients were quite simple. Here is a complete list:

Juice from 1½ limes (if they are too dry use 2)

¼ cup soy sauce

½ cup avocado oil (any light vegetable or canola oil will do, just don't use olive oil, as it has too strong a flavor)

2 chipotles in adobo

To prepare it, simply blend all ingredients in a mixer until a emulsion is formed. You can eat it right away. The second day is a little better and after that it starts getting a tad spicy, but it is still great. If you let it sit for more than a couple of days, the chipotles really take over and the heat is just too much.

Another nice surprise was a restaurant called las Pepitas. It looked more like a shack than a restaurant, but it was highly recommend by the cabbie as a less touristic place that locals enjoy. When checking with the Chef during our class, he also recommended a visit. So a couple of days later we payed them a visit.

We had some chips and guacamole and shrimp ceviche (a favorite of mine when in Mexico) and then jumped into the entree and reason for our visit, a whole fried fish.

You pick the fish you want from a large cooler they have in the back and pay by the kilo. The small ones were a tad too small, so we opted for a pretty large one and didn't regret it. The 2-1/2 pounds went pretty fast. (BTW, the picture below is very misleading, the plate was quite large)

All and all a pretty good trip. Got a few miles, got a full belly (several times over) and got a couple of days of sun. Just what we needed before getting back to the daily grind.

Mariana's Lentils

2011-01-29T02:18:00.000-08:00

Last night I made Mariana's Lentil's. Mariana is my sweet, sweet sister who lives back in Spain. Last year, while visiting my family in Spain, my mother commented how my little sis (just a year younger) had over the years become quite a good home cook. Since we were planning on going to her house a few times I asked for her to make whatever dishes she felt were the best so I could sample her food. The two top choices were chicken curry and lentils.

As the days passed we missed a couple of opportunities to eat at her house and just a few says before leaving back to the US we finally got a chance to go to her house for dinner. Mariana planned to make the chicken curry, but having been a big fan of lentils all my life, I asked for her to also make some lentils so I could take them with me and have them while staying at my mother's before our return.

The chicken was good, but I am 1) not a big fan of chicken and 2) have eaten very good curries in my life making it very tough to compete. Since we ate out quite a bit in the last few days, the only chance I had to eat my sis' lentils was on our last day. Before going to the airport. For breakfast. If the Brits can have baked beans for breakfast I can certainly have lentils!

I was floored. Those lentils were unbelievably good. I mean, serious gourmet stuff. Of course you need to like lentils and the one-pot type of meals that come from mom's home (or in this case your little sister), but for days after I came back I kept thinking, I have got to get that recipe.

A few weeks after our return I asked her for the recipe. She replied with a long email including a list of ingredients without quantities ("a ojímetro", she said) and with a lot of optional ingredients. Best of all, they are cooked on a pressure cooker, so they take no more than 90 minutes from beginning to end. I rolled up my sleeves and basically added everything she listed. The result was terrific. If not the same, very, very close. I have made them twice since and they are just about perfect. They are also very healthy for you.

I hope her recipe is not a secret, because I am about to share it with the world...

Mariana's Lentils

(10 good servings, can be cut in half)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup olive oil
Two large onions chopped small
Two bay leaves (edge lightly burnt on a flame to bring up the flavor - great tip!)
5 or 6 garlic cloves
1 green bell pepper chopped small
1 red bell pepper chopped small
1 large leek (white and light green parts only) sliced fine
4 oz spanish chorizo (hot or mild), sliced thin and each slice halved
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed large
2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb dry brown lentils
1/4 cup parsley, minced
64 oz chicken stock plus a little more (about a glass)
Salt to taste

Preparation

Heat oil in pressure cooker. When hot, add onion, garlic and bay leaves. After they start to soften, add peppers and leek. Cook for a few minutes and then add the chorizo and cook a little longer to get the veggies to turn orange from the paprika in the chorizo. Optionally, and diverting from Mariana's recipe, you may add a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika if you want.

As the veggies start to get soft, add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the lentils, parsley and salt to taste (I added a little pepper too). Stir as you cook for another couple of minutes and then add chicken stock, stir and close the pressure cooker.

Cook on medium until the pressure cooker starts releasing steam. The time to cook will vary from pressure cooker to pressure cooker and depending on the type of lentils. Mariana cooks them for 20 minutes. For me 15 or 16 are plenty or they will get too soft. I would start with 15 and then cook a little longer if needed until the lentils are tender. When done, adjust salt (and pepper if you used it).

The lentils will look a tad soupy. The flavor and thickness will be better the second day, so it is better to make them a day in advance. After you have made them the first time and if you go again, you can adjust cooking time and amount of stock, but give them the extra day before you decide. They have a way to thicken overnight.

I like to serve them with croutons (home-made, please). When you get tired of eating lentils that way (unlikely), you can add a little bit of milk and puree them in a blender for a pretty darn good variation (also with croutons, of course).

Thanks go to Mariana for sharing her recipe which could not be kept a secret and should immediately and automatically become patrimony of the human kind. Thanks, Mariana.

(I apologize for not having a picture for this post, but I made them last night and didn't think about making a post out of this until this morning.)

ZYY Race Report

2011-01-23T03:31:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago today I finished the very awesome Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon. It's taken me a couple of weeks to report since I went immediately after the run on a trip to Cancun. But that will be the theme of an entirely different post in this blog.

Zoom! Yah! Yah! is an indoor marathon held on the suspended track of St Olaf College, just a little over an hour south of the Twin Cities. The race is limited to 45 participants and requires a lottery to be selected to participate.

The picture below shows the track that runners need to run 150 times for just a tad over the intended 26.2 miles (and that is if you get to run all on the inside track, an impossibility if you plan on passing anybody). The continuous turns are known to have brought some extra stress to the runners ankles, but knowing that in advance there are ways to take the turns to minimize the effect.

Also to minimize the potential for injuries, runners change direction every 30 minutes. When that tie comes, the organizers place a cone on the track and participants run around the cone.

To this point, to the readers of this blog (and anybody who hears about this race) this may appear like a very boring race. Au contraire mon ami, this turned out to be one of my favorite races. Here is why... Given the limited number of runners, the fact that every runner has their name on a tag on their back and that, thanks to the changes in directions every 30 minutes, it doesn't take you very long to know every runner. So you are constantly getting support or giving it to the runners.

It is also obvious that with this track, there are no hills and the weather is nearly perfect (a tad warm in my opinion, but definitely bearable). This is also advertised as the marathon with the most water stops (150), but it fact it has up to 600. Each corner of the track has a set of tables where runners are permitted to setup their very own refueling stations with anything they may need. I just used one of them. Used to carrying my own gatorade bottle, it was pretty awesome to be running for 4 hours and never be more than 90 seconds away from a bottle of water, a bottle of gatorade, GU, body glide, nipple guards, an orange and even chapstick. You missed in on the last lap? never mind, take in on the next one 90 seconds later.

150 is a high number, but they go really fast. More so given what I think is the best feature of this race: the lap counters. Each runner is assigned a lap counter. Somebody who not only keeps track of each and every one of your laps (and records all 150 splits), but will also provide support in the form of cheers (often very loud ones) and keeps you going when you need it most. These volunteers don't come from heaven (although it felt that way at times), but are students of the St Olaf College who are also enrolled in the Track and Field program.

Mine, pictured at the right was Kristen. Kristen, a 5:40 miler, was pretty awesome during the entire race. She dutifully kept track of every lap writing the time on the finisher certificate. She also reminded me to take GU and let me know every few laps if I was running ahead or behind of my planned time.

In the meantime, she also managed to take a few shots with my camera to be able to add pictures to this post. More so, Kristen, petite as she was, had the biggest lungs of all the lap counters. She shouted at the top of her lungs on every single one of my laps to get me going.

Prior to the race, in talking with another one of the runners who had completed this race before, he mentioned that you do better at this race than you do in others in part because of the lap counters. You don't want to slow down not to disappoint them.

Before the start, when we were discussing the details of the race, Kristen told me she would have to leave around 10:30 AM (4 hours after the start) to go to work. Her coach would take over her duties since I was expecting to finish about 20 minutes after that time. When I had 18 laps left, I was aching to take a little walk. Just a lap. Knowing that I was going to be a little faster than planned, I suspected that Kristen would stretch her time at the track to see me finish. What really kept me going without taking a walking step was not wanting to make Kristen too late for work.

The result was a finish time of 4:03:45 (Kristen was hardly late by a few minutes). Thanks, Kristen! You really made the race! I hope one day I get to return the favor.

The picture on the left was taken by Kristen as I finished the last few steps of my last lap. At this point, every lap counter (all 45 or however many remained after some runners finished), chant your name in unison as you run the final lap. The very awesome medal shows a runner with the head spinning due to the many, many laps run in circles. In addition to the medal, runners get a T-shirt with every finisher name and their time on the back. That should be coming in the mail soon.

To top it all, Kevin Helliker, a Pulitzer Price winner writer of the Wall Street Journal was at the race to write an article about indoor marathon running. Whoddathunk it that my one and only (and very unexpected) appearance in the Wall Street Journal would have been due to me running a marathon! The article includes some shots and a short video. You can see me very briefly in the video (Starting in second 6, you see me with a white sleeveless shirt and red shorts taking a corner, also at 1:50 you can see a close up on my legs in the red shorts running in front of the camera. I know, not much, but what did the Wall Street Journal say about you?)

Kudos go to Dick and Dennis for organizing a terrific race and for being on top of everything, including providing excellent response when one of the runners collapsed during the race and had to be airlifted to the Twin Cities (he is doing fine now).

Scott and Tim, if you are reading this, we GOTTA do this next year. You are going to love it.

Team Ortho's 2011 Polar Dash

2011-01-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

Sharon and I signed up for the 2011 Team Ortho Monster Series. The series is a total of five races including (as selected during registration) , a 10K, a duathlon, and three half marathons.

As a side note I will say that I passed on signing up for the full Minneapolis Marathon and instead selected the 1/2 marathon option. This race takes place in June and last year it was in the mid to high sixties. I like running in the low 40's, so I was pretty miserable and almost decided to stop running marathons altogether.

After the runner's amnesia sunk in, I decided to instead stop running summer marathons and keep running them in cooler weather. Speaking of cooler weather, the first race of the series was the Polar Dash. A 10k on January 11. A very cool 17 below windchill. Even so, had a ball. We run it with Mike and Anita and then Sharon and I headed to Elsie's for breakfast. A bowling alley in Northeast that has one of the best good ol' American breakfasts around.

Anyway, tomorrow I am heading to run Zoom! Yah! Yah!, the indoor marathon at St Olaf College. Less than 24 hours later we will be on a plane to Mexico for a well deserved retreat. It may take some time for me to provide a race report for that race.

When life gives you Meyer lemons....

2011-01-02T05:19:00.001-08:00

You gotta love Meyer Lemons. They have some of the acidity of a regular lemon, but toned down to make it a little less assertive and more versatile by adding sweetness and bringing it closer to a fruit without loosing the personality that makes it a lemon.

The three beautiful lemons shown in the picture above were given to me by Kathleen, a friend and neighbor who happens to have a Meyer Lemon tree in her house down south. Talk about a convenience. I have been buying Meyer lemons for a while, mostly to make preserved lemons, a common condiment in northern Africa. You can see a jar in the back that I made some time ago and that is still bringing great flavor to my kitchen.

So, given these tree lemons my next task was thinking of what to do. The possibilities are truly endless. These lemons have a lot of juice and you really want to use them in a way that they pop or will miss the subtlety of using these instead of regular lemons. After some web searches I settled on a few top recipes. I decided to stretch the three lemons to get as many dishes from them as possible, using both the zest and the juice.

The first recipe (greatly modified to fit our taste and available ingredients was Tagliatelle with Asparagus and Brussels Sprouts with a Meyer Lemon and Yogurt sauce topped with Aged Sheep Cheese. For this Sharon and I invited our friends Amy and Patti Mayonnaise. I have to say, this was a hit. We chose an egg pasta and used loose Brussels Sprout leaves to make the dish lighter than the whole vegetable would have made it. We received requests for an encore of this dish some time soon.

The second dish was one I have been trying to make for some time: barley risotto. So I went for a Pan Fried Walleye with a Lemon Butter Sauce and Meyer Lemon Barley Risotto. I will admit that the lemon butter did not turn out great and in fact looked more like melted butter than anything else. The risotto anyway was terrific. Chewier than arborio rice, the barley gives it a nice earthy flavor. I used some more of my Brussels sprouts, but this time they I cut them in half and then made a chiffonade with them. The Walleye was topped with some bright red pickled peppers that gave a tiny bit of heat but mostly, and thanks to their acidity, brought the lemon flavor forward.

I have not yet tried the third dish, but with Sunday and my week long vacation almost over, I wanted to get this post out. The plan is to make Spaghetti with Meyer Lemon Zest and Crunchy Sea Salt. Very much looking forward to trying that one.

Our thanks go to Kathleen for dropping those beautiful lemons at our door. I hope we made them justice.

Wonderful Weekend in Waverly

2010-12-27T04:09:00.001-08:00

On an invitation from our friends Kim and Birdie and joined by Mike, Anita and Patti Mayonnaise, Sharon and I made it to Waverly, MN to spend a weekend and fight cabin fever.

That last things we did well, if the goal was not to spend time indoors, we did a pretty good job, as the pictures at the right will attest.

Upon arrival, we (and by we I mean Kim) used a chainsaw to cut a pretty perfect rectangle in the frozen lake. We then jumped from the very hot sauna to the lake.

If this was not enough to get your blood flowing, one of or trips was used to do some quick Yoga poses in knee-deep snow (in the picture we are doing a semi-successful warrior one).

This was my first time in a bathing suit while outdoors in December and all and all I have to say that it was not nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.

The water was definitely cold, but we were able to stay there for 20 to 30 seconds at a time (all three times). More surprising was that getting outside from the very hot sauna was no shock at all. We were told our bodies were steaming :-)

If that wasn't a good serving a outdoors, the next day Kim treated me to a ride in their snowmobile. You need to understand, I was born in Spain. Winters in Madrid get down to 30 degrees at the coldest of the day and while you see some snow (more so recently), there is nothing like Minnesota.

We rode over the lake an then through some trails. At one point we crossed a cocker spaniel who was able to run along with us for a pretty good stretch. Later on, we saw a whole family of deer. We really could not have planned a better ending for the trip.

My only mistake was getting as many clothes and I got on. Fearing being cold, I put on my winter running clothes, then some other layers and finished off with the thick coat and pants you see in the picture. It might have been 12 to 15 degrees and we may have reached up to 40 MPH, but I was definitely warm.

But this is a food blog. So let me tell you what we ate. Two things I remember from that weekend. The morning after jumping in the lake we went to Waverly Cafe for breakfast and I had my first serving ever of stuffed hash-browns. I am sorry to say I forgot to take a picture, even though I had my iPhone on the table ready to do so. They were beautifully cooked. Crispy and golden on the outside and soft and gooey with cheese, ham and bacon on the inside.

My favorite, though, was dinner the first night. Following all kinds of appetizers (including a brie loaded with a cranberry salsa that Patti Mayonnaise made), Kim treated us to a green curry that they learn how to make in a trip some years ago. Particularly interesting was the green curry itself, which Kim made from scratch and that had the perfect amount of heat.

The chicken, often overcooked was perfectly tender and juicy. The veggies had the nice crunch you want to add texture to the dish. The sauce was sweet and spicy but still allowed all the flavors from the coconut mild and the green-ness of the green curry to come through. To top it off, hot peppers and Thai basil. What a treat!

Thanks, Kim and Birdie for a wonderful weekend all around.

Turkey Meatballs with Saffron

2010-12-26T05:06:00.000-08:00

For the last few years I have been perfecting an old recipe for meatballs that I brought in a cookbook from Spain.

After making them several times (20+), the recipe no longer looks like the original (in the least). I have changed de meat (from a mix of pork, veal and beef to just ground turkey) and over time I have added other ingredients (like saffron, wine, herbs and San Marzano tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes).

The result (if I may say) is pretty exceptional. Definitely one of the best dishes coming out of my kitchen. They are good over pasta, but in a pinch you can just stick them in a french baguette for a quick dinner. Just make sure you have lots of napkins.

For the sauce I start with lots of onion in olive oil and later add some garlic. When they start turning a nice brown color, I add the San Marzano tomatoes (broken down between my fingers to start making a sauce). I then cook the mix for 20 to 30 minutes with salt, pepper, oregano thyme and saffron and later add some red wine and cook for another 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, I start making the meatballs. I like mine small, about the size of an egg yolk. Fr teh ingredients I use ground turkey, mixed in with some of the cooked onions and garlic (before the tomatoes were added), an egg, Panko breadcrumbs, salt pepper and more saffron. I roll them in flour and fry them in olive oil before adding them to the sauce, where they cook for another 10 or 15 minutes.

I've said it before, and I will say it again. If you could marry a meatball, this would be most definitely the one to choose.