German Apple Pancake January 24, 2008

It’s a wonder Boyfriend has not yet starved to death cohabiting with me.  He has, essentially, 3 strikes against him: a foodie girlfriend with a runner’s metabolism who is suffering an extreme case of menstrual sweet-tooth.  I am always the one heating up a second dinner of leftover pasta at 10:30 at night, or standing over the sink eating cold pizza minutes before we go out to eat.  It also leads to conversations like this: 

Boyfriend:  Where are all the ice cream sandwiches?  Did you eat all of them?

Princess Kaikai:  Yes…

Boyfriend:  I only had one!  Now I have no dessert.

Princess Kaikai:  Oops, sorry!

Boyfriend:  Where are those cookies Tricia gave you?

Princess Kaikai:  …I ate those too.

So I made him an apple pancake.  The beautiful part about being a converted baker is that you always have the essentials (flour, milk, eggs, sugar, baking powder/soda) on hand.  I got the original recipe here, but threw in another 1/8 cup of flour to make the pancake less custard-y and it came out beautifully, with the edges all slightly crispy and sweet.  Next time, I would drizzle maple syrup on top before baking, and dust with powdered sugar afterwards.

 

* * *

I attempted a run for the first time in 4 days, in my new Brooks Adrenalines.  Last night, I was scared I might have a meniscus tear, but today my knee is fine and only my left calf remains to be properly healed.  It’s especially prominent when I push off from the balls of my feet, causing me to run slightly gimpy.  Super tight calves are definitely not conducive to a good run, but I don’t think it’s anything time won’t fix.

Inaugural 5K January 22, 2008

Despite protests from Boyfriend, I went ahead and ran my first 5K on Saturday morning. The temperature was a balmy -3 ° F with a -25 ° wind chill. I went out at 7:30 AM to get in a 2-mile warm-up before the 9 AM race. I don’t live in an athletic area, I run alone, and having never done a race before, it was amazing to me that I was suddenly surrounded by people just like me. People doing the same stretches as me! People in Underarmor tights! People just as qualified for clinical insanity!

I didn’t even realize the starting horn had sounded until a second later, when everyone started running by me. Against the instinct of trying to catch up with the runners in front of me, I tried to pace myself. I was passed, but as the road stretched on, I began passing those who had started too fast. I ran by one guy and yelled, “I can’t feel my face anymore!” He just chuckled.

In the middle of the third mile, I turned the last corner, saw the finish line, and tried to force my frozen, numb feet to pick up the pace. The clock was ticking into 24:50, I picked out Boyfriend from the crowd, and then started sprinting as hard as I could for the end.

I finished in 24:58, with an 8:02 average pace. The race was populated with track kids and older, male runners, and despite eating the Humble Pie that comes with being smoked by the under-14 and 50+ age division, I managed to snag a first place finish in the female 20-29 division. First place in my first race? Can you see how this builds up unrealistically optimistic expectations and the foundation for a bad obsession?

* * *

Here is the recipe for the cinnamon rolls I made, from Cooks.com. I’m thinking less flour and rolling them out thinner will help with the doughy-ness. Also, less water for a thicker glaze.

Ingredients:

1 pkg dry yeast

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

5-6 cups flour

1 stick butter

sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1.) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Bring milk to simmer, then add 4 tbsp. of butter. Remove from heat and cool, then add to the yeast mixture, along with the egg.

2.) Add salt and flour gradually until dough forms and is no longer sticky. Knead until smooth, roll into a ball, and set aside to rise for about 2 hours.

3.) Roll out flat, about 1/4 of an inch thick. Soften the butter, and spread evenly across. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle generously across. Then roll-up the dough, it should resemble a tube. Cut into 2-inch thick sections.

4.) In a saucepan, mix the maple syrup, butter, water, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil for about 3 minutes, then pour into a baking pan. Place the rolls on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 °.

* * *

My mom called last night to tell me my grandma just passed away.

It’s a strange feeling for me because while I wasn’t particularly close to her, she was a regularity in my trips back to China. She helped raise me when I was very little and I know she loved me, but she wasn’t actually a “good” person. She was judgmental and paranoid and selfish, and treated her maids and home nurses like crap. She wasn’t healthy at all, but she had been arthritic and bed-ridden for so long that I think we all thought she would outlive everyone, yelling and complaining from her bed.

I was going to fly back for Chinese New Year, but now I’m leaving a week in advance for the funeral. Wish me happy running in China.

Bum-Run Banana Butterscotch Muffins January 17, 2008

I got my new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7s.  I don’t want to do anything different before my 5K Saturday, but now I have a running rainbow.

My left calf has been insisting on being a pain in the ass lately. I gave it a rest for 2 days after my long run last week, but on Tuesday, my 5-miler turned into a struggling 4.  For the first time in a long time, I had taken my iPod to try to make it an easy fun run, and maybe I am just unused to running to music now, but I couldn’t find a rhythm for the life of me.  My form felt completely off, my lower legs were cramping and sore the entire time, and I couldn’t shake it off.

And then I came home with super painful calves, thought, Hm, my calves need strengthening, and did a bunch of standing calf raises.  Predictably, my left leg felt like a truck ran over it yesterday.  Who’s surprised? 

It felt much better today, and I couldn’t resist an easy, recovery 2 miles in the snow.  It was still a little sore, but nothing sharply painful, and it didn’t feel like I was pushing hard.  It felt like it was supposed to – easy peasy.  And I love running in windy snow.  It’s so invigorating to run against the wind, with snowy pinpricks against your face and frost on your lashes.  Boyfriend is concerned about my 5K because the high will be 9 degrees, with 20 mph winds, but really, that makes me want to run it more.  I love running in the cold, and the colder it is, the more exhilarating and fun.  No one said runners were sane. 

*   *   *

I made these banana butterscotch muffins yesterday to make me feel better about my bad run on Tuesday.  I like to think they are semi-healthy, because they contain oatmeal and fruit.  Whatever helps me pretend I’m not getting fat while not working out. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 bananas

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Directions: 

1.)  Puree oatmeal and sugar in a blender.  Then combine with other dry ingredients.

2.)  Mash bananas.  Mix into dry ingredients, along with milk, egg, butter, vanilla, and butterscotch chips.

3.)  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake in muffin tins for 13-15 minutes.

(For the butterscotch glaze, I melted some butterscotch chips over low heat and mixed with a little bit of cream to smooth it out.)

 

 

9-Mile Cinnamon Rolls January 14, 2008

I’m mainly writing this post just to cheer myself up from a bum mood.  I’ve reached the phase where the novelty of having quit and not working is no longer fun, where job-hunting is no longer filled with exciting opportunities but instead, frustrating futility.  If this were a break-up, this would be the phase where the Girl Power starts waning.  Single-dom is no longer fun, and you remember how lonely you are.  And it seems guys don’t notice you, so however much your ex-boyfriend was a douchebag and you were incompatible, at least he was a douchebag who wanted you. 

Can’t a girl get a break?

I probably could’ve pulled myself out of this mood with a run, but I’m giving my left leg another day of rest.  I had an amazing 9-mile long run on Saturday, neither draining or dehydrating, thanks to the Clif’s gel (consensus: nasty) and bottle of water.  There are occasionally days I have to drag myself through my route, but I live for those days when I spend most of the run smiling and thinking, “Oh my god, I love running!”  (Average pace = 9:10.)  My left leg has been feeling it a little, with my knee and calf being stiff and having this sensation of locking up.  Icing has helped – I don’t feel like a cripple today.

I finished the week with 25 miles.  It feels a little surreal to me that 2 months ago, I was nervous doing a 6-mile long run, and 6-milers are now a mid-week routine mileage.  This week will be a low week.  I don’t want to hurt my left knee before my first 5K this weekend, and I’ll be dialing back the long run mileage after the race.  But after that, I’m completely ready for a sweet, sweet 10-miler.

*   *   *

I made my first attempt at cinnamon rolls last night. 

 

 
It wasn’t an abysmal failure, but it wasn’t a culinary explosion either.  I put a tad too much flour in the dough and then rolled it out a little too thick, so ironically, the dough was too doughy.  It was like a dinner roll, with some cinnamon and sugar. The glaze was too runny, so that needs tweaking too.But you know, it’ll probably look damn good after a 10-mile run.