My first DNS

Kinda embarrassing, but I didn’t run yesterday’s Bridge to Bridge 12k for one simple reason: I woke up late. Terrible, right? In my 5 years of running, I have not missed a race and I’m still kicking myself for the snafu. I have no idea if I hit 'off' instead of 'snooze' on my phone, or if I just didn’t hear it go off…either way, MAJOR fail. At least the registration fee went to a good cause.

I knew I needed to get at least one run in to break in the new kicks

Me likey the new color :) I was a little worried that I wouldn't get these in time, but as soon as I laced these puppies up, all was well in the world again. I love fresh cushioning! Now, what to do with my other 3 pairs...o yes, we're back to this again. Anyone know of places in SF that take old running sneakers??

I also dated them...my new sneaker process.

I took a windy loop around the neighborhood before running errands. Not quite the same as racing a 12k, but I’ll take it. On the race week agenda: Tuesday 5 miler w/the running group, maybe a short n' speedy Wednesday run, and an easy 2 miler on Saturday...just to get the legs moving.

This DNS was a fairly appropriate way to close out yet another week of firsts...

First time I realized a speedy run can be comfortable

Tuesday's 5 miler was another speedy one and I felt amazing afterward. I was in the zone and felt like I was running strong (well maybe not at the end when I was too nervous I'd trip on my own two feet since it was so dark). All this time I've been sticking to my cruising pace...I had no idea I had a speedy side that was itching to bust out!

First Giants game

Wednesday night I went to my very first Giants game...

Amazing seats. I don't think I'll be able to go to another game. I've been spoiled. Hahaha. Also, I found out that they serve amazing caramel corn at AT&T Park.

Warm, gooey, buttery, AAAAHHH!! SO GOOD!

First knife purchase

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Hi new knife!

I've been sitting on this WS gift card since I moved so when I got an email saying there was a sale on Wüsthof Classic knives, you bet I zoomed out to get one.

It's not my first Wüsthof knife, but it's the first I've purchased on my own. My o so favorite santoku knife was a gift from Jamie. I went into the store with the intent to buy the 6" chef's knife, but when I compared it to the feel of the 8", there was too big of a difference not to upgrade. The 8" just felt right (that's what she said har, har, har). Plus, why would I get a shorter knife than the one I already have?

I'm content. Best. Purchase. Ever. And yes, I'm THAT excited about a knife.

First stew-y/to be frozen and eaten later kitchen adventure

It had to be done sometime (recipe is at the end of this post)...

I was craving some Japanese curry and I figured what better time to make it than oh, you know, a Friday afternoon. That's just how I roll.

It's been awhile since I made a batch and I was worried I didn't have a pot big enough, especially with all the nuggets of deliciousness I planned on putting in it. Thankfully my pot didn't overflow and it was a successful curry afternoon. This version used a couple ingredients I had in the apartment that desperately needed to be cooked: Japanese sweet potato, mystery box carrots, kabocha squash, and (the not so perishable) frozen peas. Delish.

First time out on a Friday night (you know, out out)

I met up at a friend's for dinner before we all went to a going away party. *Note: I also had my first Morningstar Farm Chipotle Black Bean Burger and I LOVED IT.

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I think I just love all bean-y foods. It was nice and spicy, filling and had a great texture. Definitely recommend it.

The going away party was at a very interesting (to say the least) bar called Kozy Kar on Polk Street. I say interesting because there are booths/seating areas set up like the back of a van and the floor is lined with naked photos. It's kinda like the bar fell out of a scene in Boogie Nights. Very random.

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Anyway, it was a wallet-friendly bar from what my receipts tell me and cans of PBR were all over the place. I don't think I've ever seen so much PBR before!

So that was my pre-race week week of firsts. This week I'm taking it easy, getting lots of rest and taking a preemptive strike against germs. Yeah, my office is full of sickies right now and with my luck, I'll catch something this week. Ech. Oh, hey Airborne, NyQuil and water...my three best friends.

Kitchen Cabinet Curry

3/4 to 1 lb stew beef

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 kabocha squash, chopped

1 japanese sweet potato, chopped

1 3.5 oz package S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix, medium hot

1 1/2 tbsp oil

2 c water

3/4 c chicken broth

1/2 c frozen peas, defrosted

2 bay leaves

Sprinkle flour, salt and pepper over beef to coat. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a 3 quart pot and add beef. Brown beef and scoop pieces onto a plate, leaving oil and brown bits in the pot. Add 1/2 tbsp oil and saute onions for 1 minute. Add squash and sweet potato and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour in 1/2 c water and cover for 5 - 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once root vegetables start to soften, pour in the remaining liquid and bring to a boil.

One by one, stir in the sauce mix blocks until they are fully incorporated.

Add bay leaves and peas, simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Serve over rice. YUM!!

Longest. Run. EVER.

Lesson learned, man. I should always stick to my "stay home every Friday night" rule...no more exceptions.

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Last night I caved and met up with friends for some shabu-shabu at Cafe Mums in Japantown.

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Have I mentioned my love of shabu-shabu before? Thin slices of meat, bubbling broth, veggies, noodles, sauce...AAHH YUM! There was this place in Rockville that Jamie and I would go to (total hole in the wall, obvs), and the last time we were craving shabu-shabu we found out it was closed! AGH! It's been ages since my last shabu-shabu experience so I really couldn't say no ;)

I had no idea what I was in for. Apparently Mums is known for it's all-you-can-eat and drink deal. Ehhh. I allowed myself a sake bomb and then stuck to water for the rest of the night. The late late night.

A few communal plates of meat and several hours later, it's way past my bedtime and I'm BEYOND full. I finally got home at 11:30...a little too late considering I had to be out the door at 6:30am for my 18 miler. Yeeh.

Woke up still painfully full (how is that even possible??) so I passed on meeting up with the early morning group runners. I was determined to get all 18 done today no matter what, so I forced myself to get out before noon...even with a belly full o cow :\

Since it was going to be a doozy of a run, I actually rocked the headphones. The first time in a long time for me! Took it slow and steady to make sure I didn't burn out and did pretty well for the first 13 miles...until this guy popped up:

Mapping fail! The following block (we're nearing 14 miles at this point) was a set of stairs. Meh. I ended up running halfway up the hills and walking the rest. And believe me, there were a bunch of hills.

Things flattened out eventually, but I had to make a pitstop at a Vitamin Shoppe to get more water/electrolyte beverage because there are no water fountains in the middle of the city. Hm. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find Gatorade while running? Bizarre. Then I found myself in a pretty sketchy part of town where I got creepy comments as I bolted through the streets. In the middle of the day. Yeah, I will not include that neighborhood in future runs.

My second and final mapping fail came at the very end when I realized I mapped the last smidge of the run through the Stockton Street Tunnel. PASS. I decided it was ok if my run was just shy of 18. Seriously, I'm not going to be picky. I got it done, right? I have no idea how long it actually took since it was a lot of city running with traffic lights and random stops (hi, Vitamin Shoppe). All I know is that I was extremely grateful to have headphones. Here's just a snippet of what got me going this afternoon...

Come With Us - Chemical Brothers

Bring it On - Lenny Kravitz

OMG (Disco Fries Extended Mix) - Usher

Footloose - Kenny Loggins

Theme from Wide Angle - Hybrid

Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz

I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance (Twelves Remix) - Black Kids

Not Myself Tonight - Christina Aguilera

Here I Am (Kaskade Radio Edit) - David Morales & Tamra Keenan

Paper Romance - Groove Armada

Leave Home - Chemical Brothers

It Began in Afrika - Chemical Brothers

Sincerely Me - A New Found Glory

Yeh, I also surprised myself with all the Lenny Kravitz and Chemical Brothers. And that I went through my entire playlist on this run. All 64 songs. Jeebus. Also, Footloose seems to be one of my favorite songs to run to b/c I repeated it 3 times. Hahahaha heeey Kenny Loggins!!

How did your Saturday runs go?? I hope they went much smoother than mine did!

Taste Testers

Finally feeling a little bit better!

I was up bright and early and trekked off to the grocery store to prep for tonight's dinner. I always get into trouble whenever I go to Whole Foods, so I made a strict list (yes, that says fun fruits) and packed one of my Envirosax bags.

I love these bags so much! Now that DC is charging 5 cents for each plastic bag, it helps that I can roll these up and keep them in my purse at all times...great for those impromptu post-work grocery trips.

Once I was all unpacked, I got to work on some mashed potatoes for my entry to Sophia's I am What I Cook Challenge and started on some dessert items. There's nothing I love more than multitasking in the kitchen. Getting into the groove with a bunch of different things going at once = awesome.

I was so psyched to come up with an entry for Sophia's challenge. The minute I read about it, I knew exactly what ingredients I wanted to use and I prayed they would work. According to tonight's dinner guests, they did! What dish defines me?

I present Karenabeana's Chorizo and Corn Potato Croquetas! There's nothing I love more than a big bowl of mashed potatoes, corn, cheese and doused in hot sauce. We all know this. I also love me some cilantro, lime and avocado. Hello, sauce!

How does this define me? Just like these croquettes, I like to be all tough (or maybe crispy) on the outside, but really I can be a giant mushy mess inside. I also like a hint of green in my life ;) I guess now is be a good time to explain the 'beans' in Run Beans, Run ya? In college my friends started calling me by my AIM screenname (karenabeana) and then it got shortened to 'beana' and then some shortened it to 'beans' and it just stuck.

Karenabeana's Chorizo and Corn Potato Croquetas

4 large yukon gold potatoes, boiled

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

4 tbsp parrano cheese, shredded

1 c corn, drained

1 c chorizo, chopped

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

2 tbsp mexican cheese blend

2 tbsp panko, plus 1 c for dredging

Mash potatoes and mix with butter, salt, garlic powder and parrano. Chill for at least an hour.

Brown chorizo, drain well and cool.

Combine chorizo, corn, parmesan, mexican cheese blend, 2 tbsp panko and mashed potatoes. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in panko forming a slight oval shape.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until panko starts to crisp.

I split this in half to make some vegetarian ones for a friend. For the vegetarian version, I obviously omitted the chorizo, used 1/2 c corn, 1 tbsp adobo sauce (from chipotle peppers) and upped the cheeses a bit (about 1 1/2 tbsp each).

So, I'm not much of a deep fryer. In fact, tonight was my first deep frying experience. Big fat fail. These little suckers just fell apart in the hot oil. Then I tried pan frying. Nope, the panko just fell off. I gave up, sprayed them with PAM and baked them. Apparently I should have used some egg. Oops. They still tasted phenomenal. Little nuggets of potato, cheesy, chorizo-y goodness. AHHHHH :)

To counteract the richness of the croquettes, and because I heart green things (especially cilantro, lime and avocado), I served them with a smear and dollop of Cilantro Lime Avocado Sauce (yes, I'm terrible at naming things)

Cilantro Lime Avocado Sauce

1 handful cilantro

juice of one lime

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp greek yogurt

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp honey

1/4 tsp jalapeno pepper

3 tbsp avocado

Blend all ingredients with an immersion blender or food processor.

This was an AMAZING dollop of green! A great blend of spicy, sweet and earthiness. I'd probably even use this on chicken or pork I love it so much!

On the side, because every plate needs a little ruffage, some baby arugula blend dressed with some lemon juice, zest, honey, salt, pepper and olive oil. What's in your glass??

Sometimes a glass is better than a bowl for mixing!

So that was my 'me meal' slash appetizer for everyone. Tonight's main course was an attempt at a vegetarian dish. I'm terrible with vegetarian dishes - definitely not my forte. I'm just more comfortable being creative when meat products are involved :\ Anyway I decided to do a variation on an appetizer I made a longlong time ago - Goat Cheese Eggplant Rolls.

Goat Cheese Eggplant Rolls

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/4" slices

olive oil

salt

1/2 jar Bertolli Arrabbiata Sauce

Goat Cheese Filling

1 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated)

Pour sauce into an 8"x8" baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle salt on eggplant slices and let sit for 15 minutes. Pat slices dry.

Drizzle olive oil in a grill pan and cook eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side. Lay eggplant on a flat surface and smear 1/2-1 tbsp of filling in the middle of each slice. Roll slices and place seam side down in baking dish with sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake for another 5 minutes.

Goat Cheese Filling

4 oz goat cheese

3 tbsp greek yogurt

2 tbsp roasted red pepper diced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp shallot, minced

Mash all ingredients in a small bowl and keep at room temperature until ready to fill the eggplant.

Overall, not a bad experiment. The Arrabbiata sauce wasn't too overpowering or spicy as I thought it would be. Pretty tasty! Thanks Foodbuzz and Bertolli!

For dessert some Pecan Pie Tarts and brownies!

Have a good Monday!!

Sticked it to me.

So you know how I mentioned my pain-free run/walk earlier today? I took The Stick to my calf not long after I finished writing and made it hurt so good. There was this crazy tight spot that I just couldn't get rid of and now it's pretty tender. Guess I showed it who's boss. Ha.

I got some more cleaning and organizing done before I got to work on prepping dinner, all to this soundtrack. On repeat. A lot. Because I love it:

Gravitas - Little People

Dundadeova - dZihan & Kamien

Alright - Jamiroquai

Dark Blue - Jack's Mannequin

1976 - RJD2

Esta Noche - Frederico Aubele

For You I Will (Confidence) - Teddy Geiger

Viejo Abasto - G-Spliff

Between Us and Them - Ulrich Schnauss

Sleeping to Dream - Jason Mraz

Super chill and perfect for my snowy day of cleaning :)

Not listed, but definitely part of the soundtrack - upstairs neighbor stomping around. WTF? It's been a little out of control the past couple of days. I swear, it's like they're either playing some serious DDR or doing some jumping jacks. No idea, but it's annoying.

Did some research for a project of mine before diving into the kitchen (to be honest, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with that random leek). I wanted my meat to get some good marinating time in so I got it swimming in some Asian flavors around 4. On the menu - Beef and Leek Roulade with Sesame Citrus Noodles.

Beef and Leek Roulade

1 lb top round steak, pounded to about 1/4" thick

3 slices ginger, julienned

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 c soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp mirin

1 tbsp tempura sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1 leek, separated for roasting

1 shallot, quartered

salt

pepper

olive oil

1/2 tsp jalapeno, coarsely chopped

toothpicks

In a container large enough for your meat, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, tempura sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin and salt. Coat meat with marinade and let sit for 30 minutes. Flip and let marinate for another 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place leek and shallot on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes or until leeks start to show some browning. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Coarsely chop leeks and place in a food processor with jalapeno. Pulse until a paste is formed. If your leeks got too dry during the roasting process, stream in a little bit of olive oil.

Trim steak so you have a fairly even sided rectangle (save scraps for stirfry). Smear leek mixture on top 3/4 of the rectangle and roll toward you. Secure with toothpicks.

Heat oven to 375.

Heat a pan large enough for your roll to medium high heat. Sear roll on all sides before transferring to a piece of foil. Form a loose foil wrap around the roll and place into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Sesame Citrus Noodles

Handful of rice noodles, cooked according to package

edamame

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp tahini

juice of one clementine

1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp maple syrup

pinch salt

1 slice ginger, minced

Combine tahini, clementine juice, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, salt and ginger in a bowl. Whisk well. Toss noodles with dressing and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Scatter edamame and mushrooms on top.

So the inspiration for this dish came from the japanese dish Negimaki. I enjoy some negimaki here and there, but I'm not really cool with the whole pieces of scallion. Sometimes it's a bit much.

I started daydreaming (again) about making a beef roll with a pureed scallion-y filling awhile ago, but didn't really jump on the chance until I was at the Giant this morning. I was bummed there weren't any scallions, but I figured a leek plus a shallot might fit the bill. I also realized I didn't have any teriyaki sauce on hand so I just went with a random Asian-y marinade…and the roulade was born!

Mine ended up getting overcooked (ech! I need to pay more attention!), so the time on the recipe is what it should have been. The flavor from the leek mixture was definitely more subtle than the traditional scallion, but I really liked the slight kick from the jalapeno. Part of me thinks this would be good with a fattier cut of meat so the filling might get more flavor? I dunno. This might be one of those dishes I try multiple times…

The noodle dish also incorporates an edit after I finished dinner - I thought the noodles would be much better if they sat in the dressing for a little while (hence the 20 minute chilling time). Another variation would be the addition of cucumbers or carrots or any cool, crisp veggies. Since the Gigante was ransacked, I couldn't throw them in mine :\

Tomorrow I'm going with a less adventurous experiment...and maybe back to the tropical...can you tell I'm itching for some beach weather?? ha.

Saucy.

Have you ever eaten something and then immediately felt the urge to bring those flavors (or something similar) into another dish? I know I'm weird, but I get this urge pretty frequently. I think this is how I've come to know what flavors generally work together, allowing me to get all creative with the rest!

Tonight's inspiration - the Soupergirl's Jamaican Me Crazy Sweet Potato Soup. Remember how excited I was about the whole sweet potato/citrus/coconut combo? I really wanted to take it into the world of pasta dishes - specifically delicate pillows of sweet potato goodness!

I figured I'd pull a recipe for sweet potato gnocchi and follow it - I don't trust myself to play around with this just yet. I popped in some ground coriander instead of nutmeg and started daydreaming about sauce. I knew I wanted to make a coconutty sauce to submit to BSI this week, especially since I had about half a can leftover. That's pretty much all I had to work with.

Sauces (non-tomato) and I haven't gotten along in the past so I did a ton of Googling and recipe book reading to figure out how to make this work. I decided I needed a bechamel-based sauce and I'd infuse some coconut milk with lemongrass, rum, lime zest and cilantro. I didn't want something too zesty...just enough to add more depth to the coconut milk.

I threw in a bunch of stuff and salt and let my coconut milk infuse for about 15 minutes. Torture! I kept sniffing while I stirred to see if I could add anything else and omg, it smelled like heaven! After 15 minutes, I drained the milk and had just over 1 cup of liquid.

I got to work on my roux (did I mention my past creamy sauce concoctions tend to end up lumpy?) and slowly poured my warm coconut milk in. NO LUMPS!! Wooo. Perfect thickness too!

My sweet potato gnocchi was another story. They were looking kinda slimy after I took them out of the water, but I figured I may have just boiled them for a minute too long.

Final product? I present to you Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Coconut Lemongrass Sauce

Woah, my gnocchi look like shrimp! haha. OOO shrimp. I wonder if this sauce will go good with some shrimp...mmmm. Sorry for the lame name. Too many random ingredients to decide on a name ;)

Coconut Lemongrass Sauce

2 tbsp lemongrass, chopped

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1 clove garlic, smashed

2 tsp rum

1 piece lime zest

1 c coconut milk

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp flour

pinch lime zest

1/4 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cilantro, chopped

1/8 tsp chili garlic paste

Heat a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add lemongrass and garlic clove and stir until fragrant. Add rum and lime zest, stir for 1 minute before adding coconut milk. Stir in cilantro and salt and let simmer for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain into a measuring cup.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat butter over medium low heat. Slowly whisk in flour and once all flour is incorporated, continue whisking for another minute. Slowly pour in coconut milk, whisking constantly to ensure no lumps form. Whisk in lime juice, zest, salt and cilantro for at least a minute. Add some chili garlic paste and remove from heat.

Overall, I thought my dish was ok. I am my worst critic and I always think things can be improved upon. I think the sauce could have used a little more zing...I just got scared about making something too overpowering so I held back on the infusing ingredients. Lesson learned. It smelled and tasted delicious on it's own, but it got a little lost when on the gnocchi.

I may also not be into creamy sauces. Yes, I think that's a big thing. I bit into a solo gnocchi and immediately wanted a tangy sauce. This is not the first time I've had gnocchi and wanted an acidic sauce. The creamy coconut/lemongrass/cilantro thing was a nice combo with sweet potatoes, but I think I'm discovering I really do prefer tangy and/or tomato-based sauces with pasta. Hmph. Go figure!