Workout Tune

Are you looking for a good workout tune?  Here's my latest obsession.  I listened to it before my swim workout yesterday, and I jammed to it during my weight and run workouts today.  It's peppy and uplifting, and it's got a good beat.  Sounds like a mix of Queen, REO Speedwagon, Kansas, and "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel.  I love it!  I think you will too.

I caved!

I finally caved in and got a YMCA membership. I've toyed with the idea for sometime. The only problem is that the nearest Y is 60 minutes away.

I've had the pleasure of making a new friend and she makes the trip down frequently to swim. She invited me to go with her. It felt so great being back in the water that I caved in and got a membership. I had high hopes that I would be able to swim a bit in Pueblo as well at their new YMCA facility there. Come to find out they only have a 15 yard pool! In a NEW facility! Who puts a bitty pool in a new Y? Oh well. So far Friend Holly and I are only skipping down to Colorado Springs once a week but the times they are a changing.

In other healthy "TOUGH AND BUFF" news, I'm still eating like crap. I'm enjoying a black cherry soda as we speak. The kiddo's school has their annual "Pie-Palooza" coming up on Feb. 9th and I've been busy sampling pies. I haven't a clue was to what I'm going to enter. I'm not a competitive person but I really need to win! Anyone have any killer pie recipes?

Resolutions

Hello, fellow tough and buffers!  Happy 2012!!

So, how's the year starting off for you all?  So far, so good here.  I had a productive end to the semester and got quite a bit of work done up until Dec. 22, so I happily took last week "off" and did some professional and personal reading in between visits with family and friends.  It was wonderful.

What about resolutions?  Did you make any?  I like resolutions.  Probably because I like setting goals.  So I do have a couple ...

1.  Consistently leave work at a reasonable time.  I had to set this same goal in my first years of teaching too.  Because of my perfectionist/"I must be the expert" tendencies, I spend A LOT of time on my work.  Probably too much.  Since I started teaching at WSU, I've allowed my work to consume a great deal of my time and energy, and even though I like my job and my students, I need to set some limits for myself.  So my goal is to consistently leave work at a reasonable time at least 4 days per week.  I'll allow myself to stay late one day a week and (if necessary) go in or take work home on the weekends.  It's entirely possible that if I limit my time, I will actually be more productive ... although I don't tend to waste time at work as it is (and I tend to be the type of person who needs time for things to percolate).  We'll see how it goes.

2.  Refrain from vegging out in front of the television after work.  This ties in with my first resolution.  Since I'll be getting home from work a little earlier, I'm hoping that, instead of feeling exhausted, I'll feel like I can be a little productive with my time, choosing activities that are rejuvenating, rather than mind-numbing.  There are shows that Trent and I enjoy watching together (The Good Wife, Mike and Molly, Parenthood, Criminal Minds, Parks and Recreation), and we'll continue to watch them, I'm sure.  But I don't need to plant myself in front of the television (after making tomorrow's lunch, taking out my contacts, and packing my gym bag) while I eat dinner until I fall asleep.  That's silly.  Instead of TV, I could do any number of things:  read, practice the piano, walk the dog, practice yoga, pray, journal, etc.  Heck, maybe I could get on this blog more than once a semester or answer personal e-mail in a more timely fashion.  Write a letter.  So many options besides reality TV and late night reruns.

3.  Change my passwords so they are more challenging.  I read an article in Consumer Reports, and my passwords need some work. 

So there you have it.  These are my resolutions.  Healthy eating and fitness are going pretty well for me right now, so I'm focusing on other things right now.  I'd love to see your posts about your resolutions or current goals for your mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, financial (etc.) health.  And keep in mind that your will power will be more potent/effective if you keep your list short.  I heard that on NPR this past weekend. 

Onion Soup

I'm a crappy blogger.

Katie, I'm so glad things are working out in the great state of Kansas. I keep thinking someday I'm going to hop in the truck and visit. Then I remember that if I did that, the mess I would have upon my return would be immeasurable. Who would milk the cow? I understand how important a sense of community is. Shelly and I have lots of neighbors and friends around here but we still continue to search for good friends within the LGBTQ community. Sounds snobbish of me I know but we both feel closer to those who understand us. I can't explain it.

Things in my world are much the same. My days are filled with poo scooping, teat squeezing and a never ending search for a therapist for Shelly. If she doesn't seek help soon we will be featured on that show on one of the Discovery Channels, Animal Hoarders.

We've done well this summer in MY quest to eat local and organically. We butchered about 600 broiler chickens and our holiday turkeys are looking mighty fine. We've sent one steer to the butcher as well so we currently have about 800 lbs of tasty beef in the fridge. My Swiss Jersey is also in full milk and providing me with an abundance of creamy, raw milk.

I've found a few new friends to join my recipe swapping circle. PM is the principal/administrator of Jolene's school. I've been selling her eggs for awhile, and I recently started pawning off milk and some extra veggies from the local farmers markets. She sent home some fantastic corn chowder with the kiddo one day. She had used my milk and some sweet corn that I had given her. When I returned the container I slapped some of my green chili in it. A week or so later she gave me some beef stew, and so started a wonderful trade. I'm having a great time! I enjoy cooking and even though I dearly love my family they are completely boring when it comes to food. Shelly is of the no onion, no garlic, no spicy, no flavor camp. Jolene is a bit better than Shelly but in the end she's just rather have a hunk of meat and some potatoes sans gravy. Trading slop with PM, at least it's slop like on my end, has allowed me to stretch out and enjoy cooking again. I try to keep with my "theme" of homegrown and local.

A couple of weeks ago, Shelly came home with some very large and some very small onions from Boss Lady's greenhouse. I ate many of them out of the gate. I love onions. I found the following recipe for a traditional onion soup so I thought I'd give it a try. It didn't exactly come out like I had planned. My thoughts are in blue! I might try again one day, on a full stomach.

Traditional French Onion Soup. Traditional to who?

1 tbsp butter I can't cook anything with just 1 tbsp of butter

7 or 8 Spanish Onions, thinly sliced I used onions from Martha's greenhouse, don't know if they had any Latin influence or not

Kosher Salt I had sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper I always have peppercorns!

6 to 12 slices of baguette or any country style bread I used my daily "make a sponge, throw some flour in, knead a bit, bake and eat it all in one sitting" bread.

1/3 cup sherry

Red or white wine vinegar (optional)

Red wine (optional) I only had Near Beer

1/2 to 3/4 lb Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese, grated Huh? couldn't find any local cheesemakers with that on the menu.

Use a large pot that will hold all the onions. (a pot of enameled cast iron provides the best surface) I had a problem and ate several of the onions before I ever got a pot out. Shelly used both of my enameled cast iron pots to mix bleach solution and Navlesand solution to clean out the barn, so I used a regular old pot. Place pot over medium heat and melt the butter. While melting the butter I used the remaining stick on most of the bread. I of course added a little extra to the pot for good measure. Add onions, sprinkle with 2 tsp salt, cover, and cook until onions have heated through and started to steam. I checked on it frequently as I'm impatient so I never did get really good steam, I had to check the taste too, so I had a few bites here and there. Uncover, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally (you should be able to leave the onions alone for an hour at a stretch once they've released their water). Again, an hour at a stretch is a really long time for my simple brain to handle, this too included several tastings of onion and a couple more slices of bread. Season with several grinds of pepper. I chewed on a few peppercorns myself and added some garlic because I can't imagine anything without garlic.

At any time before onions are ready, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place bread slices in oven and let them dry completely. I only had two slices left so I skipped this step.

When onions have completely cooked down, water has cooked off, and onions have turned amber--this will take at least a few hours--ad 6 cups of water. When my onions had completely cooked down, it appeared that six cups of water would be really overdoing so I splashed some in and gave it a good guess. Raise heat to high and bring soup to simmer, then reduce heat to low. Add sherry. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. I added more garlic. If soup is too sweet, add some vinegar. If you would like a little more depth, add a splash of red wine. I didn't think the Near Beer would be a good substitute so I just left this step out. If you prefer a more delicate soup, add an extra cup of water. Preheat broiler. Portion soup into oven proof bowls, float bread What bread? on top, cover with cheese and broil until cheese is melted and nicely browned. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Growing Sense of Community

It’s been awhile, eh? Much has happened since May 30, but I will focus on just a few key items. I’m still swimming with the master’s team at WSU, and I love it. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly, and the coaches come up with creative, challenging workouts – and they offer great tips on stroke technique. I’ve also got a couple teammates who are about my speed, so we’re able to pace and challenge one another during workouts. I love it!

An interesting byproduct of my participation on the swim team is that I have also found a church home. I shared this on my family blog as well …

A few weeks ago at a Saturday afternoon masters swim practice, I was doing a kick set with one of my teammates, and he mentioned his church. Since I was still looking for a church home in Wichita, I asked him about it, and the first thing he said (sort of nervously) was, “Well, we’re kind of progressive.”

My ears perked right up. “Tell me more.”

And so he did. He told me about the new, inspiring pastor at College Hill United Methodist Church. He told me that the church supports a woman’s right to choose.

“What about non-believers?”

“Everyone’s welcome.”

“Good. I don’t want people judging me when Trent doesn’t come to church with me … what about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people?” I asked.

“Everyone is welcome and valued,” he replied. “My brother was gay, and I can’t abide churches that disparage people based on sexual orientation.”

“Was?” I asked.

“He died of AIDS.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, he was a great guy.”

So after swim practice, I got on the church’s website (http://collegehillumc.org/), and I was thrilled with what I found. Parishioners are encouraged to read Scripture with “patience, openness, humility, knowledge, critical thinking, skepticism at times, and a willingness to wrestle with complexity and contradictions” (College Hill Convenant). Yes! And the church is very focused on social justice and taking action within the community to raise awareness about injustice and take steps to right it (e.g., human trafficking in Wichita, the number five origination city in the U.S. [!!!] for exploited children).

So, my attempts to find a sense of community are paying off. I’ve got some great friends on the swim team, I’m meeting lovely and wonderful people at my church (and in my church choir!), and, since we’ve moved into our house, we’ve met most of our delightfully friendly and welcoming neighbors as well. It doesn’t hurt that we’re always out walking or playing with Eloise. Wichita is beginning to feel more and more like home, and I’m very grateful for that.

I hope you're all doing well.  Write when you have time, fellow blog authors!

Local eating--Fish Tacos!

I'm such a slacker with the blogging. My apologies.

As some of you know, I'm big on locally grown food. So big on it in fact that I do a large amount of growing my own right here on Rolling Thunder Ranch. Just a week ago, my family and a few friends gathered at the Old Barn, thanked the Universe, and harvested our third batch of broiler chickens. I'll spare you the graphic pictures and instead throw in this one of the kiddo, gathering up the next cockerel. Jolene a fantastic job helping and even cleaned out a few of the birds as well.



I sell some of the processed birds to neighbors and friend. They average healthy 3.5 pounds and I vacuum seal them for freezer roosting. One of my customers is an avid fisher-woman! Since I've been busy brooding chicks, she and I worked out a barter. In exchange for an extra chicken (I have a five chicken minimum) she'll catch me a trout! The other day, my phone rang with good news on the other end. I had a gorgeous lake trout, fresh caught out of 11 Mile Reservoir waiting for me. I made a beeline for the fish! I can not be absolutely certain that this is my fish in the picture but it was posted shortly after I returned home with fish in hand.

I had been craving fish tacos for awhile. I was very excited to satisfy my craving. Of course Shelly put a kink in that right away. I said, "fish tacos" and she made a face. Not a "whohoo! I'm so hungry and so excited" kind of face. She wanted me to batter it in cornmeal, throw it in an inch of oil and fry they heck out of it. Blech! I don't mind fried fish once in awhile and as long as someone else is frying them. It makes a mess and all I taste is oil. Shelly tried to talk me into frying her half and doing whatever I wanted to the part I intended to eat. This is Shelly's standard compromise; do whatever I want to my part but make her according to Shelly specifications. Shelly specifications require a vat of food with no flavor, no texture, and absolutely no onions. She has a problem with garlic too! It upsets her tummy. I'm Italian, no garlic means fits of pigheadedness, raging hormone fits and occasional fainting spells. I try to stand strong, to tell her, "Heck no, you want it fried, you fry it!" Instead I fried her half and made tacos with mine!

Fish Tacos....according to Dawn.

1 lb. Trout fillets, rinsed, dried, and cut into strips
Corn or Flour Tortillas (I made corn)
Pico de Gallo with Mango (Mango, Jalapeno, cilantro, onion, lime, garlic and salt)
Cabbage (I prefer white)
Cilantro and Lime dressing (a bit of mayo, milk, garlic, cilantro, lime, tomatillo salsa)
Queso Fresco

I choose to grill my fish with a bit of butter and cook my tortilla in the oil for 1-2 minutes. Assemble and Monga! They might have tasted pretty good with beer battered fish too!

I'm sure Cod would have worked just fine too.

I hope everyone is having an outstanding summer.

Tasty breakfast dish

The USDA's new My Plate food recommendations (http://www.choosemyplate.gov/) have inspired me to start consuming more fruits and vegetables. The plate format, as opposed to the pyramid I learned in school, is much more helpful for visual learners, like me. Anyway, I've been stocking up on carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and fresh spinach. And I came up with a tasty breakfast dish that I eat any time of the day.

Ingredients:
1/4 to 1/3 cup of diced tomato
1/4 to 1/3 cup of diced green pepper
4-5 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
1 slice of mozarella cheese
1-2 eggs, beaten
1/2 to 1 cup of prepared quinoa (prepare according to instructions on box)
ground pepper to taste
Greek Seasoning from Penzey's (optional)

Instructions:
1. Heat skillet and spray cooking spray on it.
2. Saute tomato and green pepper for a few minutes.
3. Dump in the egg, ground pepper, basil, and cheese. Stir.
4. Dump in the quinoa. Stir.
5. Add the Greek Seasoning (a blend of salt, oregano, garlic, lemon peel, Tellicherry black pepper, and marjoram), if you want.

Serve with a side of grapes or a sliced orange. Mmmmm, tasty.