13 Days to the Iceman

Tonight I completed my second 5km run in 32 minutes with one walking break. It's an improvement over Saturday's run (34 minutes, four walking breaks) but it wasn't easy. The track was busier tonight. There were all these runners with spidery long legs bounding down the track like gazelles. I'm 5'1" tall... or short... when I run I look more like a penguin running... especially when I'm all dressed in black.

A snack on the track.

Ouch! 16 Days Until the Iceman

The Iceman, our city's multi-sport event, is sixteen days away. My dad, sister, brother and I registered as a family team: Team Cold Soaked! I'm doing the 5km run. The problem is I don't run. Unless I count the numerous times each week I have to chase down Monkey when he tries to escape from church, the store, the library, the house... you get the idea.

When I think about the upcoming run, I have images of myself laying in a snowbank huffing and puffing away as everyone else runs by. The problem is, the recent warmer weather has turned the snow banks into hard icy hills... definitely not a comfy resting location. No, it looks like I need to get serious and practice running.

On Wednesday I ran on our university's indoor track for twenty minutes and completed about 2.5km. The next couple days I hobbled around and avoided stairs at all cost. My muscles were so sore! Today I braved the track again. I completed 5 km in 34 minutes with four walking breaks. Not bad, but it was difficult. I plan to return to the track five or six more times before the run. It's not much time but hopefully it'll help. My goal is to finish in about 30 minutes. Realistic? We'll see.

Artist Trading Card Swap @ Cindy's Wobblog

My friend Cindy over at Cindy's Wobblog has offered to host an Artist Trading Card swap. I had so much fun participating in Kimberlee's ATC swap for All Saint's last fall that I jumped at the chance for another swap. You don't need to be a trained or talented artist to take part in this event. See it as an opportunity to put some time aside to draw, paint, doodle, collage... whatever it is you enjoy doing. Encouraging creativity in the home is such an important thing and what better way then to lead by example.

  

A couple of Cindy's works of art.

Cindy hasn't announced the details of the swap yet. I imagine if there is enough interest there will be more information soon. If you'd like to participate go over to this blog page and leave a comment. Thanks!

31/01/2011: Update! Cindy has posted details for the ATC Swap.

Yarn Along (no.10)

Ginny over at Small Things is hosting Yarn Along today.

Pixie hats are so darn cute! I just finished Sweetpea's Pixie Hood from the book Baby Beanies: Happy Hats to Knit for Little Heads. The pattern recommends Malabrigo Merino Worsted yarn and this is what I used for the main colour. The yarn was great to work with and is so soft. If it weren't so pricey I'd be going back for more. 

I'm still working on some of the books from last week but I've added a few more to the mix. I borrowed a couple canning and preserving books Put 'em Up! and Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It from the library. I have grande ambitions to attempt some Three Citrus Marmalade this weekend. I'm also reading The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes and seriously contemplating barefoot running.

Three Weeks to Train for a 5km Run

The last time I ran in any sort of competition was in the sixth grade of elementary school. I remember running so hard I wanted to vomit at the end. Not a pleasant memory. Fast forward to this morning. Every year, our city has the multi sport event called the IceMan. You can register individually or as a team. My dad and sister decided to make up a team but there are five events (a 5km and 10km run, ski, skate and swim) and only two of them. Somehow they convinced my brother to do the skate event and then I got this email from my mom:

Your dad wants to enter the competition as a family...  Do you think you could do the 5 km run? Your sister is training for the 10 km and she said she would be willing to train with you...you have 3 weeks to prepare. What do you think?

Dad – ski & swim

Sister – 10 km run

Brother – skating

??? - 5 km run

I don't know why but I agreed. Tonight I got a call from my sister to set up our first training session. We meet tomorrow morning at the indoor track (with the little ones in tow). How am I going to manage this? Akk! Is there a team support position that I could sign up for instead? I could design matching t-shirts.

Kimchi

Our Korean student has been having some difficulties adjusting to Canadian food. He's mastered the phrase "I don't like this" and balks when broccoli and cauliflower are served for dinner. Who can blame him! He's used to eating rice and Asian veggies three times a day. Each week I try to include one meal that has ingredients that are familiar to him. I've never seen a child so excited to eat rice and homemade kimchi.

Kimchi is fermented cabbage that's spicy and fishy. It's a staple in many Korean homes.There are many different Kimchi recipes out there. I used somewhere between five and ten recipes to develop the recipe below. This kimchi is mildly spicy and slightly sweet. I'm happy with the way it turned out, but I've never tasted kimchi before. My Korean student claims that it's "very good". Hopefully he's right!

Ingredients

2 head nappa cabbage
1 daikon (Asian) radish
1 1/4 cups kosher salt

1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 cups water

2 bulbs garlic
1 (2 inch) piece of ginger

2 cup Korean chili powder (add more for more spiciness)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 bunch of green onions

Equipment 

saucepan and spoon
food processor
knife

rubber gloves

4-5 clean quart jars

Method

1} Rinse of the cabbage and removed any damaged outer leaves. Trim the bottom of the cabbage, leaving enough of the root end to hold the cabbage together. Slice the cabbage in half lengthwise and then into quarters if the cabbage is large. Rinse again but don't drain off the water. Place the cabbage in a non reactive bowl. If you don't have one big bowl, use two smaller ones, one for each head of cabbage.

2} Sprinkle 1/2 cup kosher salt in between the leaves of each cabbage (1/2 cup salt per each medium cabbage head).

3} Cut the radish into 1 inch cubes or 3 inch long matchsticks. Place in a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle in 1/4 cup kosher salt, toss and set aside.

4} Let the cabbage and radish sit for about 3 hours. Move the cabbage around every hour or so. The water will be drawn out of the cabbage causing it to wilt. As the 3 hour mark approaches test the cabbage every 15 minutes or so. The cabbage should by crunchy like a pickle.

5} When the cabbage is ready, rinse it several times under cool water and place in a clean bowl. Also, rinse the radish and set aside.

6} Prepare the stuffing ingredients. Separate and peel the garlic, peel and cut the ginger into a couple of pieces. Place them in a food processor and mince finely (or mince by hand). Chop the bunch of green onions into 1/2-1 inch lengths.

7} In a saucepan, dissolve 4 tablespoons of sweet rice flour in 2 cups of water. Heat gently on medium low, stir until the mixture thickens and becomes a paste. Add the Korean chili power, sugar, fish sauce, minced ginger and garlic, chopped green onions and Asian (daikon) radish. Stir and take off heat.

8} Put on rubber gloves. Take a piece of cabbage and smear the stuffing between the leaves working from the outer leaves to the inner leaves. Smear each leaf well. When done, squeeze the leaves together to make a bundle and place into a clean quart (or larger) jar.

9} Pack the jars and press down to release air bubbles, make sure to leave 2 inches of headspace. The cabbage should be covered in liquid. If extra liquid is needed, add a bit of water to the sauce pan, scrape up the leftover spices and pour into the jars.

10} Let the kimchi mature at room temperature for 1-3 days and then place it in the fridge. I've read that it will be good for 1-2 months, perhaps longer, but I can't say for sure.

Here are a couple of my inspirations for this recipe: Maanchi's Kimchi and epicurious.

If you've made kimchi before and have any feedback I'd be happy to hear it.

The Worms are Still Alive! - A Vermicomposting Update

At the beginning of September I joined the rank of those "who keep worms in their house". Most people don't even know I have worms there are worms in our basement. Even our international student has no idea. There hasn't been any bad smells in the basement and the food we feed the worms disappears fast! The worms can almost keep up to our kitchen waste which is a relief because our compost is officially on hold for the winter. Hubby refuses to even try fitting just a little more in the bulging snow buried compost. I don't blame him but it makes me sad to throw compostable material in the trash. Thankfully vermicomposting has helped reduce the amount of organic waste in our trash bin. By next winter I plan to have enough worms so no banana peels find their way to the trash.

Since I've started keeping worms I learned some valuable lessons that I want to share.

Lesson 1: Befriend a vermicomposter (person).

If you want to vermicompost make some vermicomposting friends. These people frequent places like farmers' markets, gardening centers, and thrift stores. When you meet someone new and you want to know "do they vermicompost?" mumble something to yourself about composting and worms. "I have to feed my worms" does the trick. Vermicomposters will catch on fast and without prompt start divulging the inner workings of their composters and may even tell you the names of their favorite worms.

Seasoned vermicomposters are a wealth of knowledge. One of the vermicomposting ladies I met even graciously donating a piece of worm covered apple from her bin to bump up the waste consumption of my bin. How nice!

Lesson 2: Aerate the mass and observe.

Dedicate a pair of rubber gloves to your worm bin. Once a week put them on and gently aerate the mass of worms, dirt and food by lifting, shifting and folding over the mass. As you do this inspect the moisture content of the bin (is it too wet? too dry?), notice how much food the worms are eating (should they be fed more? less?) and note if there are pieces of food your worms aren't enjoying (worms don't like onions or fruit stickers...yes stickers).

Lesson 3: Smaller pieces of food speeds up consumption.

Throw in a banana peel and it might take a while to disappear. Chop up the banana peel and poof! it's gone. Some people have a dedicated food processor that they purchased from a thrift store for this job. I just chop things with a knife.

Lesson 4: Worms need grit.

Worms need grit to help them digest their food. A cup of sand or soil works fine. Another great way to provide grit it to gather some eggshells and send them to the food processor to be ground into dust. Once every couple week sprinkle a couple tablespoons into the bin.

Here is a video that I put together to give you an idea of what vermicomposting looks like.

Happy Birthday Monkey!

Three years ago our little Monkey was born.

Before we knew it he grew into a chubby little Monkey.

Who loved eating food.

And getting into trouble. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Monkey!

A Snowy Winter

We haven't had a winter like this in a few years. Over this last couple days we have had at least a foot of snow and more is predicted to come. A foot might not seem like much but when there is already a couple feet of snow on the ground it feels like a lot.

The snowplows are as busy as ever and the snow piles on the corners of the streets are getting tall. Monkey enjoys watching the plows come down our street. I am equally excited to see them but more out of relief than anything else. My Hubby wishes we had a snow plow or at least a snowblower of our own, but our driveway isn't that big enough to warrant such a machine. After all, shoveling snow is good exercise for Hubby. Maybe we'll get a snow removal device in the future when we have a more substantial driveway to plow.

Yarn Along (no.9)

It's Yarn Along with Ginny over at Small Things.

Last week I hadn't started a new knitting project because I had no yarn. I remedied that problem this past weekend with a much needed trip to the yarn shop. I left the yarn shop thrilled and then practiced a few key lines to deliver to Hubby to justify my extravagant purchase. He didn't seem to mind and used it to justify getting a Blu-ray player a few days later.

My next project.

After I got home eager to start my project I realized that I didn't have the right sized knitting needles. For some reason I thought I had a pair of 5.5mm straight needles. I was wrong. So now I can only gaze longingly at the beautiful stone blue Malabrigo and Miski off-white yarn and wait patiently for the next opportunity to go buy the needles.

In the meantime I have a nice stack of books to keep me company. This week I'm reading Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, if you are a Jane Austen fan I recommend the trilogy, and The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. I've also got a few cooking/baking book on the go. Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe is wonderful and I'm making a list of the different recipes I must try. The other cookbook, Growing up in a Korean Kitchen: A Cookbook, is my source of inspiration for attempting to make some home cooked Korean food for our new student. Wish me luck! I think I'm going to try making kimchi tomorrow.

The Cook's Pantry

I'm not a professional chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking a lot and sometimes give people quizzical looks when they tell me they "hate to cook!". I try to understand but I don't. Cooking appeals to the artist and scientist in me. I'm not a famous artist or chemist but I do have vivid memories of that vinegar-baking soda volcano I made for the science fair in elementary school (it was so cool!).

I started cooking in earnest at University for my fiance (now Hubby) and his roommates. At that time we had a good rotation of fajitas, stir fry, beef stew, soup and spaghetti. Occasionally we'd throw in some crepes for good measure. I started to accumulate different ingredients, spices and herbs to fill my pantry. Having them on hand gave me the chance to try new recipes and get creative. I've come to realize that having a pantry of basic ingredients is a good first step to spark that inner cook. Basic ingredients in the pantry are to a cook what canvas and primary colour paints are to an artist: endless possibilities!

Here is our latest kitchen improvement. I needed the extra cupboard space for my growing collection of rice, noodles and other pantry items.

My FIL and I designed it together and he built it. Hubby helped with the set and added the hooks. 

Here is a list (I love lists!) of basic pantry items for cooking:

• salt and pepper
• flour 
• cornstarch
• sugar (brown and white)
• honey
• maple syrup (this is must in a French Canadian pantry!)
• dijon mustard
• spices (curry, cumin, ground ginger, chili powder, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, nutmeg)
• herbs (basil, oregano, dill, rosemary, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, tarragon, sage)
• bouillon cubes (chicken, beef and vegetable) 
• oils (olive, Canola, coconut, sesame)
• butter and lard
• vinegars (white, apple cider, wine, rice)
• wine (another must for the French Canadian)
• canned tomato paste
• canned whole tomatoes
• canned flaked tuna
• canned coconut milk
• dried beans (kidney, black, white, pinto) 
• dried lentils (red and green)
• dried noodles (an assortment)
• grains (barley, a variety of rice)

(please feel free to add on in the comment section below)

Weekly Menu

This week I've tried to include more recipe links. I use these links as a source of inspiration and don't follow them exactly. Some of the recipes below contain exotic ingredients but don't be alarmed. Sometimes I don't even use them because I can't find them, I don't like them or they are simply too expensive for our budget. So feel free to use the recipes below as a springboard for inspiration but don't take them too seriously.

Day 1: Slow Cooker pepper pork chops with mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Day 2: Beef bulgogi, spinach side dish, marinated eggplant and rice. [Korean night!]
Day 3: Crepes filled with a mushrooms, ham and bechemel sauce.
Day 4: Chicken (rabbit) stroganoff with tarragon and mustard from Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist: Fresh Takes on Favorite Dishes
Day 5: American Lasagna and sliced veggies.
Day 6: Curried lentil soup and homemade bread.

Choosing A Word for the Year

I had never heard of choosing a word for the year until I read a recent post on Chelsea's blog. While she hasn't divulged her word for the year (yet) it got me thinking about what word I would choose for myself. I scanned a few blogs to get some ideas of words others chose for 2011. While it was interesting to read what they wrote I didn't find any word that spoke directly to my heart.

As the new year rolled around Hubby and I put aside some time to discuss things we want to work on for this coming year. We did not orchestrate any grande detailed plans but simply looked at ways to continue living out our priorities in life. When I look back on 2010 there are many things I am very grateful for: the birth of our beautiful daughter, the graduation of a brother, the celebration of an anniversary, visits with family and friends from afar and much love and laughter.

But 2010 also presented some challenges for me, as I'm sure it did for everyone else. The thing I struggled with the most in 2010 was, put simply: Monkey. Monkey is a very busy boy. By far the busiest of all his cousins. In fact, I have yet to meet another little guy his age that I can confidently say is busier than Monkey. Although, I do know a few other boys that are as busy. Monkey is a healthy boyish boy. He has a brave adventurous spirit and is extremely resilient. This last year his boyancy has been a challenge. Finding a balance between letting him explore and learn while keeping him safe and disciplined has been very difficult. Over the year I kept catching myself oscillating between hoping for this crazy stage to end and fearing that it won't. But please know that I love my rambunctious boy dearly.

As I reflected on our last year together a word came to my mind: Cherish. I want to cherish Monkey and the moments we have together. This is something that is very important to me. I am coming to realize that I need to purposefully step away from what I'm doing to cherish moments with him and with the rest of my family. Otherwise these special times will slip by unnoticed and all I'll remember are the challenges.

Cherish.

Yarn Along (no.8)

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading so today I'm joining Ginny over at Small Things for her Yarn Along. At the end of last week I finished Sweetpea's Milo vest and I am very happy with the way it turned out. I will definitely be knitting more of these in the near future.

Last weekend I searched for my next knitting project and came up with two that I want to start. The first is a Pixie Hood from Baby Beanies: Happy Hats to Knit for Little Heads.

The second is the Vintage Petti hat and dress designed by Kate Oates over on Ralvery. I am hoping to have the dress done in time for Easter. I haven't started either of the projects because I'm lacking a crucial component: yarn. Things have been very busy around here with the addition of our new international student and I haven't yet ventured to the yarn store. Until then I will have to be content with reading my books which are Love on a Dime, Growing up in a Korean Kitchen: A Cookbook and The Read-Aloud Handbook.

This picture is from Ralvery.

Weekly Menu

The holidays threw most of our weekly and daily rhythm out the window. Over the last couple weeks I've been trying to find it and in the process I've come to realize that it needs some serious tweaking.

Waking up earlier... As of this week I started waking up early to pack Student's lunch and feed him before school. Waking up early is not easy for me, and waking up early with a smile on my face is near impossible. I've always been an night owl but I hope that waking up earlier will be good for me...

Shopping on Tuesdays... We have recently become the happy recipients of raw milk (from our herdshare) and we pick up our raw milk every Tuesday from a secret location. It sounds illegal! Since we must go out  to pick up our milk I've moved our weekly grocery shop to this day as well. 

Using the crockpot... Since Tuesdays are busy for us I've decided it will also be a crockpot day. I've never been a huge fan of Crockpots but I acknowledge that they are helpful for getting a good nutritious meal on the table when the day is too busy and/or the cook isn't interested in cooking during the-crazies (5-7pm). I think my SIL would be proud of me for this new venture of mine.

And now for our menu this week:

Day 1 - Beef barley soup Crockpot style from the The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Day 2 - Pork Lo Mein.

Day 3 - Bean, Chicken and vegetable quesadillas.

Day 4 - Homemade Macaroni and cheese.

Day 5 - Vegetable deep dish pizza.

Day 6 - Clam chowder soup and biscuits.

Going Barefoot

I love the feeling of going barefoot. In the spring, summer and fall I never wear socks and rarely wear close-toed shoes. When I wear footwear I opt for simple flip flops, like these Flojos. I have always considered my barefooted-ness to be a guilty pleasure, sort of like eating homemade extra rich ice cream.

Many well meaning people have cautioned me on the dangers of going barefoot (and have shown me their not so pretty feet in the process). To be honest, I was starting to feel convinced that I had to start treating my feet better by wearing shoes and socks more often. Then...  I found a book at the library: The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes.

I did a quick peruse through the book tonight and came away feeling refreshed. Going barefoot is not bad like so many people believe. It is actually healthier to go barefoot! So kick off the shoes (and socks if it isn't freezing) and try walking around barefoot. It feels.so.good!

Welcoming Our New International Student

The new year has already brought change for us. Just yesterday we welcomed into our home a young (eleven year old) student from Korea. He will be staying with us for two months and maybe longer. His transition is going well and he gets along well with Monkey. I've quickly discovered, however, that he is scared of the furnace beside his room. He insists that I leave the light in the furnace room on the whole night. I don't think he's ever seen a furnace before because he grew up in an apartment. I hope that as he becomes more comfortable in our home he'll come to realize that the old rattling rumbling furnace won't get up in the middle of the night and eat him.

Counter Cabin Fever: Go Cross Country Skiing

The Christmas festivities have passed and snow continues to pile up outside. As a child, I treasured the winter season. It was a time of sledding, skating, making snow forts and eating snowflakes from the sky. When I went away for university I still anticipated coming home to play in the snow.

Then something significant happened, I had two little ones. All of a sudden winter time took on a whole new meaning. Getting out in the cold was no longer easy and fun like it had been. No, with two little ones dressing up for the cold outdoors is no small task and once outside it doesn't take long for them to get cold and cranky. For the last few winters I've found myself falling pry to Cabin Fever.

As this winter approached I found myself feeling depressed about the shorter days and colder weather. I seriously contemplated moving South to warmer weather. I wallowed and whined. Then Hubby and I went out and bought some fluorescent yellow cross country skis. These obscenely bright skis have become a ray of light in these long dark winter days (literally - they almost glow in the dark!).

It's hard work puling the little ones behind in the trailer. Monkey alone weighs a hefty 40lbs. But it's such a great way to get out and experience the beauty of winter. If you have snow around I highly recommend giving it a try!

Yarn Along (no.7)

Happy New Year! It's Yarn Along with Ginny over at Small Things. I've been in a knitting groove these last couple weeks. I finally finished my fingerless mitts and started a new knitting project (which was inspired by Ginny). I'm knitting a Milo vest for Sweetpea and I'm almost done! I think it'll look adorable when finished so I may need to knit more in different sizes and colours.

As you can see I'm reading Small Steps For Catholic Moms, my SIL bought it for me this Christmas and I've been dutifully (so far) reading it everyday. I'm really enjoying its encouragements and simplicity. Hubby and I also decided to do a read through of the Bible together and we're using this list as a guide. And... I've been trying to read Masquerade. I'm not sure why I just took out another huge stack of books from the library, even the lady and the checkout desk gave me a funny look.