Culinary Adventures Part II

In late December I decided to embark on the third of my three Culinary Adventures, ravioli (or another type of stuffed pasta). I decided to make agnolotti from Mario Batali's book, Molto Mario. So far every recipe we've made out of this book has been excellent, so while I knew this would be a time consuming experiment I was pretty sure the result would be an excellent meal.

I've had agnolotti once before, so I knew they were supposed to look like little bricks wrapped in pasta. My last stuffed pasta experience, however resulted in exploded ravioli...the guts of my poor little ravioli floating in the boiling water. This time I was determined to keep the guts in the pasta and thought keeping extra pasta on the edges would be the best way to guarantee this. Rather than look like agnolotti my pasta looked an awful lot like ravioli.
As I was dropping my supersized agnolotti/ravioli into the water I remembered that I was recently told that the best way to avoid exploding pasta was to cook them at less than a full boil. Huh...I remembered too late to correct my pasta making, but I did use a less violent boil and no stuffing escaped!

As it ends up, the filling was excellent...the pasta was good but the pasta around the edges was a bit undercooked and could have used a few extra minutes of cooking time.

Next time I'll try to make the pasta the right and I'll cook them a little longer...otherwise, I'd consider this experience a success!

Culinary Adventures

In October, while visiting my Cousin Kathy in California and enjoying some great food, I developed a list of foods I wanted to try to prepare...my culinary goals.

The list includes gnocchi, ravioli (which begins with making my own pasta) and tamales.

Shortly after I got home I tried gnocchi, with mixed success (half of them were great, the other half were mushy). So I can't cross it off my list.

I haven't had a chance to try ravioli since my incident a few years ago, when all the fillings popped out of the pasta.

I do, however, have an ace in my pocket when it comes to tamales. My sister in law, Alma, has lots of experience making tamales with her mom. She and my brother, Ted, came over on Thanksgiving weekend and helped me accomplish a fantastic batch of tamales.

Before they came over I made the fillings, including a shredded pork in pepper sauce and leftover thanksgiving turkey in mole sauce.

When Ted and Alma arrived Ted mixed up the masa and Alma helped us prep the corn husks. After a couple of hours, we were finally ready for the production line. Alma gave us some lessons on preparation and we were fell into full production.














The finished product was wonderful. Not totally authentic, but as close as this mostly-Norwegian ever thought she would come.

I wouldn't necessarily say that the tamale book is closed, but the first chapter "How we get started" is definitely underway.

Sometimes you CAN go home again (part 2)...

Home doesn't always include a house...for me it means feeling happy and loved.

I ran the Chicago marathon on October 12th. As with most marathons, it seems to have taken a bit out of me...physically and emotionally. After the marathon I "broke up with running" for a few weeks. I ran, but rarely and I didn't enjoy it much.

This weekend I got back together with my running friends for the first time since the marathon. I was reminded why I value running so much. Sure it helps me stay in shape and gives me a reason to wear some cute running clothes, but the biggest benefit (and one I never expected when I started running) was the great friendships it has given me. My run yesterday with Carly and Amy was great...we talked, laughed, and caught up on the last few weeks.

Today I raced Rocky's Run with my Cross Country team. The race was painful, hilly and tons of fun. Getting together with my friends in pink is ALWAYS a great experience and today was no different. Having so much fun with the girls has convinced me to get back together with running. I think I'll go for a run tomorrow...

Sometimes you can go home again (part 1)...

This past weekend I had to say goodbye to my Aunt Pat, who passed away on September 13th. As a kid I always thought Pat was one of the most glamorous women I knew...she had a real Audrey Hepburn quality and I was always in awe of her.

While I was really sad to say goodbye to Pat, the weekend offered the opportunity to get together with members of my family that I don't get to see often enough. My Aunt, Uncle, dad, cousins, first cousins once removed, brother and sister (and all their families) are some of the most welcoming, most intelligent and easiest to laugh group of people I have ever met (and I'm not just saying that because I found out that they read my blog). The time I spent with them this weekend put me at ease, but I had a hard time putting my finger on exactly why.

Kirk and I left Chicago on Saturday afternoon so we could make it back to Minnesota in time for the River Rocks music festival. We had both been looking forward to the music festival for about a month, mostly because one of our old favorite bands, Semisonic, was playing the festival. As a college kid I used to follow the precursor to Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare, as often as I could including a magical pre-Thanksgiving concert at First Avenue. Living in Wichita, Kansas Kirk and I traveled a bit (all the way from Wichita to St. Louis) to watch Semisonic in it's early stages. It was the closest we'll ever be to "Dead Heads".

Semisonic has been broken up for a few years and other than a very rare reunion concert we only hear them via CD or iPod. The concert on Saturday night was absolutely magical. As soon as the band took the stage I had a smile that stretched ear to ear.

From TVsnacks

I realized during the show that Semisonic's music, like the love and companionship of my family, made me feel comfortable, happy and safe...and reminded me of the good ol' times. I have a lot of great memories of my family and we'll be making a lot more memories in the years to come. I'm looking forward to our family reunion in the summer of 2009...those of you who continue to read my blog can look forward to a post about all the fun we have!

Bad Decisions lead to good outcomes

Tonight, a beautiful night in Minnesota, Kirk and I ate dinner al fresco (not naked and not with Mr. Al Fresco, regardless of what you may think) and had a really great meal. Afterward we sat on the deck talking for hours. As Kirk was opening the THIRD bottle of wine (aka the "bad decision bottle") he spilled wine on the base of my wine glass. I quickly forgot that he had spilled on my glass and tipped all the wine off my glass onto my Lumberjack days 2007 10 mile t-shirt. I was dismayed. Kirk pointed out that it was a great reason to get rid of a REALLY ugly t-shirt. I guess everything happens for a reason.

Is it normal to fight back tears every 5k?

About 10 months ago Kirk decided he was going to run the Boston Marathon. Why? First because he still feels the need to get even with the marathon for kicking his butt back in 2000 and second because we wanted to see the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials that was scheduled to take place the day before the marathon. Needless to say, I decided to run the marathon as well...you know, since I was going to go anyway.

The weekend was great. Watching the trials was a lot of fun...what a great race. After running around to the first few viewing points we stood in one spot for the rest of the race. Deena seemed to be a crowd favorite, but the crowd was full of love for everyone. It was inspirational to watch these strong, fast women compete for the chance to run in the Olympic Games, and to see the women who were just out to enjoy the ride. The three women who were running together in last place after one mile went by us with HUGE smiles on their faces as if to say "I'm running in the Olympic Trials and IT IS AWESOME!" really made my day, and made me miss my running friends.

The next day was my turn. The Boston Marathon. I've run it once before, in 2003, and the course definitely fooled me. The course is downhill for the first 6 miles and if you don't realize this ahead of time you just might go out too fast. I would bet 90% of Boston first timers do. I was paranoid enough to hold back and keep a close eye on my watch, which I thought would pay dividends later.

For the first 7 miles or so I had people passing me left and right. I just kept hearing Gene-o's voice...run within yourself...be patient. I would see people go past me and KNEW I would see them later in the race, especially that woman who pushed me at the start. The first half of the race seemed really long...I just kept thinking I needed to make it to the halfway point, THEN I could start thinking about the finish. I even started thinking about the miles as they correspond to miles on the Twin Cities Marathon course, just to help me gauge how much longer I had to go. That helped a little, but the first half still felt like 20 miles.

I knew my legs were in trouble when they were really hurting on a downhill about mile 15ish. I hadn't even hit the big hills and my quads were already in pain. I think it had to do with walking and standing a lot on Sunday while watching the trials. Once I got to the Newton Hills (about mile 17) I started passing a few people. By the time I hit mile 22ish I was passing a lot of people. There were so many people who went out too fast and had paid the price on the hills.

During the race the crowds were amazing. Wellesley (mile 12.5), Boston College (mile 22ish?) and Boston University (mile 24ish) were especially loud and gave me a huge boost when I needed it. Since I ran a smarter race than I did last time I was able to enjoy the course, noticing things I missed first time around. The different towns were much more memorable, I noticed Fenway (I think I missed that last time)and the Citgo sign, and the last few miles were so much fun with the crowds and so many runners. However, the finish line area was the most amazing. It's a really wide street filled with runners heading toward the line, the crowds are crazy...it was invigorating. I crossed the finish line with tears in my eyes and a huge smile on my face.

I think I got beaten by a guy in a Paul Revere costume, but I passed the two guys in hats with bunny ears. I felt pretty good about that...

After the race I met up with Kirk and Nathan, then we ran into Mike on the way back to the hotel. We walked about a mile, crossing through Boston Common, rehashing the race along the way. It was a beautiful day.

When we got back to the hotel the lobby staff saw our medals and gave us (Kirk, myself and another guy who just happened to enter at the same time) a standing ovation. Words can't explain the feeling.

Today I'm burned, my legs are sore, but the pain is tolerable. I'm really happy I ran the marathon. All in all it was a great experience...

6 months ago when I decided to run the marathon I thought I was in for a very lonely experience. Between training for 4 months on my own and running the race by myself I thought I would be alone every step of the way. I couldn't have been more wrong. My running friends joined me for my long training runs, my short training runs and for coffee afterward. It seemed I was never alone!

Every 5k during the race the runners cross a mat that records your time, then it gets posted on the runner tracking website. During the race I knew my running friends as well family members and some co-workers were watching me online at home. As I crossed the start I thought to myself "ok ladies, here we go". For the rest of the race I knew I wasn't alone.

Current Conditions

Saturday was a beautiful day...I stood in my friend Janelle's kitchen watching huge snowflakes fall while she and her husband served all our running friends fantastic pancakes. The conversation turned to local weather hero Mark Seely...we all love to listen to his weather forecast every morning on Minnesota Public Radio while traveling to work.

All the weather talk got me thinking...

Kirk received a great gift from his parents for his birthday, an Oregon Scientific WMR-100 personal weather station. Kirk has been planning on setting it up once the snow melts and he can get up on the roof, but I got impatient and set it up this weekend instead.

One of the wicked-cool things about having your own personal weather station is that you can track the weather AT YOUR HOUSE through a site like Wunderground

So, after a bit of troubleshooting, I got our Personal Weather Station (PWS) sending weather info to Wunderground. Our deck is now officially known as KMNEAGAN12
Keep in mind, since Kirk and I live in a wonderland of sunshine and chocolate, the accuracy of the weather on our deck doesn't EXACTLY match what you'll find on the Wunderground website...we're pretty protected from the wind.

Once the snow melts we'll relocate the weather station to an area more exposed to the elements, like the roof, but for now enjoy the weather!

You can't believe everything that you hear...but you can believe some things.

Friday night Kirk and I went to Shamrock's on West 7th in St. Paul. Because the place was so packed (and because we like to hang out where the action is) we ended up eating our Jucy Nookies (close cousin of the Jucy Lucy) at the bar. While sitting at the bar I made "friends" with a couple who had been there for 4 hours celebrating happy hour.

During the course of my conversation with this Irish Catholic and his Irish-by-marriage wife he told me all about how St. Patty's day had been moved to March 15th this year due to a conflict with Holy Week. I never doubted him for a second...until my running friends guffawed at my naivety during our Saturday morning run.

I promised to get to the bottom of this "rumor" and to blog about the truth, whatever it may be. As it turns out, the Pope and his bishops really did decide to move St. Patty's day. Go figure...

New Year, New Challenges

Last year I attempted a different 30 day challenge each month with mixed results...at least through March, which was the last month that I actually defined a 30 day challenge.

This year my brother Ted joined Kirk and I in a new kind of challenge...and one I think will be much easier to accomplish. We're going to attempt to drink 100 different varieties of grape in wine form. It isn't a new idea, Kirk got the idea from a group called "The Wine Century Club".

The only rules we've come up with so far are:
1. All varieties in a blend count, although if you'd like to follow the spirit of the challenge you should attempt to try as many varieties as possible in their "pure" form.
2. There is no credit given for previous experience. You start the challenge TODAY.
3. There is no time line.

Benefits:
1. The challenge WILL open your eyes to new wines. It has already helped get me out of my California rut (a great rut to be in, but a rut nonetheless).
2. There is a checklist (click on the link), so you can feel some accomplishment as you check things off (Carly).
3. As a friend of mine attempting to accomplish this great feat you are also privy to the address of my brother's blog documenting his travels toward membership in the Wine Century Club. Anyone who knows me knows that I talk A LOT (especially during 20 mile runs)...my brother talks even more than I do *sorry Ted, but it's true*. This lends well to the idea behind his blog...Testing the Infinite Monkey Theorem. My travels are also documented, but not on my own blog...Kirk is documenting the wines we try on HIS blog, All Four Seasons. Currently we are at 9 varietals while Ted is at 8 (yes, this has brought out a competitive side of me, even though Ted wouldn't put any money on it). However, at this point it would be easy for any (or all) of you to catch up...

Where does the time go?

Wow, what a fantastic summer! I hope I don't curse myself by saying this, but life is good. I really have nothing to complain about except....

Wasps.

We had a wasp nest earlier this summer that Kirk destroyed with wasp spray and high pressure water. Like the residents of New Orleans, the wasps quickly rebuilt.

I asked around at work and one of my coworkers recommended that I wait until after dusk, until the wasps were all back in the nest, before spraying the nest. I think about this every night at about 6 PM, then I forget. Needless to say, the wasps are still living the high life under our eaves.

Tonight I Googled "Homemade wasps trap" and found the following website for Grandpa Kipp's surefire Yellow-jacket trap


I made a modification based on some other stuff I read that said wasps, in the fall, will be looking for sweet stuff instead of protein. I strung some squished grapes to a string (it was easier than I thought it would be) and created my own wasp trap. It worked like a charm and kept us wasp-free for the rest of the evening. Dead wasp count = 2. Stung people/dog count = 0

30 day challenges

Failure has escalated to a new level. I have not failed at my April 30 day challenge, but I did fail at PICKING a 30 day challenge. Here I am nearing the middle of the month and I haven't identified something that will make me a better person or the world a better place. I find this a little troublesome.

This challenge hiatus has, however, give me the opportunity to revisit previously successful 30 day challenges, specifically the January challenge.

The challenge was to not buy anything unnecessary (food and drink were considered necessary) or new (used items were allowed). This challenge led me to go shopping at Goodwill for the first time outside of Halloween costume season. I came home with an ice cream maker that I've been wanting for a few years. The original retail price was $50. The Goodwill gently used price? Only $4.99. Even though the price was low and it was a used item that clearly fit into the challenge agreements, I felt a little guilty about spending the cash.

Any feelings of guilt have since melted away. Since bringing the maker home I've made 3 batches of sorbet; mango, mixed berry and strawberry. Pictured here is the maker in the middle of the most recent batch...Strawberry. The sorbet is absolutely scrumptious. The ice cream maker (and it's icy products) have been the best result of the original 30 day challenge.

I'll start thinking about a challenge for May...I'm open for suggestions...

Welcome to the Bog-o-sphere

Last Friday Kirk and I went for a run over to Lebanon Hills, our favorite local park. To call it a park seems a little offensive. It would be like calling Mike N. a little wordy. The park is huge and full of what most people think of as hiking trails. Kirk and I consider them running trails.

Considering that there is still ice on the ground in some spots it was no surprise that the trails were a little muddy. It reminded me of stories my brother used to tell about participating in the "Bog Jog" at Boy Scout camp. I remember thinking how fun it sounded to run through all that mud and muck. Friday's run was probably as close as I'll get to that experience. Except for the time in the Boundary Waters where I went into the muck up to my waist, but that didn't include any jogging, so it doesn't count.

The day the appliances ran the house

I had a really nice weekend, punctuated by a Sunday where I didn't leave the house. I used the day making a concerted effort to clear as much from the pantry as I could by actually USING the food. What I didn't realize until nearly the end of the day was that I used almost every appliance in the house. The following is a list of appliances I used yesterday and what either Kirk or I created with said appliance.
1. Washer (clean clothes)
2. Dryer (dry clothes)
3. Coffee maker (coffee)
4. Dishwasher (clean dishes)
5. Oven/stove top (beans on the stove top, Cake in the oven)
6. Bread machine (bread)
7. Ice cream maker (mango sorbet)
8. Refrigerator (for freezing the mango sorbet and for cold water)
9. Food processor (for pureeing the mango sorbet and for pureeing chilies for the beans)
10. Mixer (cake)
11. Crock pot (shredded Carolina Pork)
12. Rice cooker (rice)
13. Coffee grinder (ground coffee)

BTW - the mango sorbet was really nice...

February 30 Day Challenge

Motivated by Ed and Carly's list of 30 day challenges Kirk and I decided to take on our own series of challenges. For February we've given up deep fried food. On February 2nd we both accidentally ate donuts. It doesn't sound believable, but I forgot about the challenge AND about the fact that donuts are fried. They come from a bakery...it seems like they should be BAKED.

I do like most forms of fried food. Potato chips, french fries, chicken wings, nachos. Yum. One form of fried food I'm not missing...Fritos Varitos. Kirk and I went to Spain a few years ago. We stopped for appetizers at a bar and ordered "Fritos Varitos", guessing the translation was "various fried things". I was seriously disappointed when a plate of deep fried sardines showed up.

Poor Paul

Is there any one of us who hasn't pulled a pair of socks out of the drawer, noticed a hole in them and thought, "I'll just wear them today, then I'll toss them"? Paul Wolfowitz probably didn't dream that his toes would end up on Yahoo.

What Once Was Lost Now Is Found

About a year ago I lost my car key. This really bothered me because I never used to lose anything. Not only did I never lose anything, I was the person who always knew where things were hiding.

"Anne, where's the checkbook?" Kirk would ask. "Um, it's under the sink behind the shampoo." Losing something as important as a car key sort of shook my confidence. I guess I have a thin skin.

Yesterday I was violently searching for something in the bathroom drawer. I got so into the search that I pulled the drawer out of the cabinet and set it on the floor so I could get a better look. I finally gave up on what I was looking for and started to reassemble the drawer. During the search I noticed how many Altoids boxes, both full and empty, I have in my drawer. I think the obsession goes back to my childhood...my grandpa used to give me boxes of Altoids as presents. I used to use them to store nearly everything. One time Grandpa sent my brother a rattle snake tail in an Altoid box. I think I looked at that rattle snake tail about 1000 times when I was a kid.

Anyhow, one of the mint free Altoids boxes fell out of the drawer. On a fluke I decided to open the box...guess what was inside...that's right...my car key. Why would I put my car key in an Altoids box in the bathroom drawer? Clearly it was an anti-theft act. I always hide my car keys when we leave town, just in case someone were to break in and decide to steal a car. I never thought I would do such a good job that even I wouldn't be able to find the key.

What other uses are there for Altoids boxes? At one point I thought about making the "Minty MP3" but my soldering skills aren't up to snuff.

How one thing leads to another

Last Saturday night Kirk and I went out to a little place in St. Paul called "The Nook" with our friends Mike and Emily. I've been wanting to go to the Nook ever since I heard someone brag up their Juicy Lucy. While my quest isn't as formalized as Ed's, I still make a point of searching out a good Juicy.

I knew I liked The Nook as soon as I caught sight of the taps...they had Hamm's Beer on tap! While Hamm's has been a St. Paul tradition forever, it isn't often you see it on tap these days. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen it on tap before...I just remember happy times from childhood singing "From the land of sky blue water..."

I was told that Hamm's on tap is a blog-worthy topic, so I started to do a little research. I came across a website written by a group called The Action Squad who finds old buildings to explore. As it turns out they explored the old Hamm's brewery in St. Paul. What a cool hobby...breaking into old buildings just to get a look around. I'm not brave enough to crawl through an asbestos tunnel in search of dead raccoons and old brew kettles, so for now I'll just have to live vicariously through the Action Squad! This website has tons of photos from their journeys. Go ahead...have a look around.

Lessons Learned #1 (presented in no particular order)

When driving through a wild animal park, do not hold the bag of Zebra Snacks in your lap.

Bachman part II

I guess the interest in politics and the enjoyment of making fun of weirdos runs in the family...my sister sent me this great editorial cartoon about Bachman's "face time" with the Pres.

Maybe I'll get it printed on a nice piece of canvas, frame it, and give it to my mom for Valentines day. Thanks for the cartoon, Ing.

Bachman gets a message from God

I didn't watch the State of the Union the other night. I think about it in the same way that Kirk thinks about a football game, I'd rather read about it the next day than watch it live. All the clapping annoys me.

My mom, on the other hand, has had a voracious appetite for politics ever since she became an American citizen a few years ago. She wouldn't dream of missing the State of the Union address. I personally think it's pretty cool that Mom has found this new interest. Luckily, my mom hasn't given up her other interest, making fun of religious kooks like Michelle Bachman. This is one of the many ways I take after my mom.

While talking to Mom on the phone she filled me in on Ms. Bachman mauling the president (somehow I missed the media hype). I promised her I would find the video on-line. It's just so odd that it needs to be shared.

See Congresswoman Bachman touching the president