Yon saucy wench

That's a wrap, folks.

2010-03-26T19:57:00.005-05:00

My day o' baking is done.

We have here

- caramel rolls
- bread
- bread
- and more bread
- cranberry scones
- oatmeal raisin cookies
- chocolate chip cookies
- and Pete's Awesome Bars

We're officially on Spring Break now and heading off into the wilds of Wisconsin. Ciao!

(It's not ALL for us -- some of this is staying here to sustain Matt and Crystal, who are dogsitting while we're gone. Thanks, guys. We owe you.)

Currently baking #6

2010-03-26T18:32:00.003-05:00

Mo says, "It's madness!"

But it's a good madness when it results in chocolate chip cookies. Mmm. My favorite.

Currently baking #5

2010-03-26T18:11:00.004-05:00

Emma taking a vigorous approach to baking. THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.

The oatmeal raisin cookies seem OK with it, though.

Currently baking #4

2010-03-26T12:31:00.001-05:00

Cranberry scones. And now we'll pause until the kids get home from school and start making their cookies...

Currently baking #3

2010-03-26T11:37:00.001-05:00

More whey bread...

Currently baking #2

2010-03-26T11:28:00.001-05:00

Whey Bread -- as loaves this time, because I wanted to see how that would work. So far, it seems to be all right...

Currently baking

2010-03-26T09:57:00.003-05:00

Sticky Caramel Pecan Rolls...minus the pecans, because I overtoasted the pecans and turned them into little black rocks. Oops.

Teaser post

2010-03-25T21:55:00.003-05:00

The house smells like bread, chocolate and caramel.

An experiment

2010-03-22T09:20:00.007-05:00

I make my own yogurt, have been for almost two years now. The last few months, I've been playing around making Greek style yogurt, which is just yogurt with the whey drained off to make it thicker. Drizzle a little honey on top and oh, bliss.

But what to do with the whey?

I hate to admit it, but until yesterday I'd been dumping it, even though there are all sorts of health benefits to whey and I felt bad every time I poured it down the drain. (That, and I just don't like throwing food away. That's wrong.) So yesterday, after my yogurt was done 'yogurting', I decided to finally do something with the whey.

Some people claim you can (and should!) drink the stuff, but I haven't been able to bring myself to try that yet. I was very pleased, though, to discover I could make ricotta cheese, bread, and a whole lot of other things from it. Far out!

The thought of making my own ricotta cheese intrigued me to no end -- but we were also out of bread and I needed to do some baking anyway, so I decided to try my hand at Italian White Bread (made with whey).

I made a few changes to the recipe: I substituted olive oil for the butter and honey for the sugar. I was really tempted to make it into an Italian Whole Grains Bread, but opted to stick with the white flour for this first batch.

Here's the whey. Boy, does that look yummy. Not.

Happily, when combined with the water, oil, honey, and then added to the dry ingredients, it looked exactly as it should: like bread dough.

It handled like bread dough too,

and came out looking and smelling like bread. So far, so good.

Both the spouse unit and I noticed that it smelled sweet while it was baking, much more so than my usual breads. Yet there's only a tablespoon of honey in this. Huh. It must be something with the whey.

Whatever the reason, when we sliced into it and started eating, it was excellent. Fantastic stuff. It's subtly different from my usual breads, but I can't quite put my finger on what that difference is, exactly. It's denser, somehow? Yet at the same time, light? And the taste is, well, like bread (duh), and yet there's something more....

At any rate, it was good. In fact, one loaf was our dinner, along with some cheese and fruit. Nom nom nom.

I will make this one again.

Here we go again

2010-02-20T09:11:00.003-06:00

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Econfirmation

Dear Yon Saucy Wench: Congratulations! You are officially registered for the 29th annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 3, 2010...

***

The marathon. Specifically, the Twin Cities Marathon. I've wanted to run this thing since I was a scrawny little 12 year old running my first season of cross country. It took me 26 years to get around to signing up for it, though; and when I finally did take the plunge, things did not go as planned.

2008: DNS, thanks to some medical issues

2009: DNF, thanks to an injury

What's 2010 going to bring? Hell if I know.

But I intend to enjoy the ride.

Edited, because after I wrote this, I read my horoscope, which blathered on about obstacles and other things, and ended with:

Don't lose hope; your relentless optimism is your secret weapon.

I'm not a pessimist, mind, but Pollyanna, I am not nor will I ever be. I looked at the spouse unit and said, "Relentless optimism?"

"More sheer stubborn cussedness, I'd say," he said thoughtfully.

That's more like it. Don't lose hope; your sheer stubborn cussedness is your secret weapon. Ha!

I think this is incredible

2010-01-31T16:33:00.012-06:00

Thus far, I know of 12 adults* (and 1 dog) who did this crazy Why the *!%*!" do I live in MN-Saunders 5K, and 2 kids (and 1 dog) who did the last minute Kiddy Half Mile.

Participants included 11 Minnesotans, 2 Californians, and 1 Canadian from Vancouver, BC, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics! As a special reward, all outstate participants may now claim 'Honorary Minnesotan' status.

Take a look at the organizations that benefited from this:

American Red Cross

American Red Cross - Haiti Relief & Development

Canada for Haiti

Dakota Woodlands

ELCA Haiti Disaster Relief Fund

League of American Bicyclists

Mercy Corps

MN Valley Humane Society

Vitamin Angels Alliance

White Bear Lake Food Shelf

Woodland Hills Church

Considering this all came together in 3 days, I think this is truly phenomenal.

Wow, you guys. Just, wow.

*Ruth, I'm counting your mom in that number. :)

Edited to add Woodland Hills Church to the list.

Edited again to add Mercy Corps to the list.

Edited to add another adult to our number.

Another 5K update

2010-01-31T09:28:00.003-06:00

We've now got 8 people doing this Why The *!%*!" Do I Live In MN-Saunders 5K and 1 Maybe.

So as previously promised (threatened?), I made a Facebook page and bombed my friends list with invites.

Reported donations so far include:

Dakota Woodlands

White Bear Lake Food Shelf

American Red Cross

ELCA Haiti Disaster Relief Fund

How cool is this? Pretty damn cool, I tell you!

Come on. You know you want to.

2010-01-30T14:41:00.004-06:00

We have five people now doing this Why the *!%*!" do I live in MN-Saunders 5K and one Maybe. If we get one more, I'm making a Facebook group.

Just out of curiosity -- and I don't want to know dollar amounts -- what organizations are benefiting from our makeshift 5K? Comment below.

A marvelous night for a moondance

2010-01-30T10:25:00.006-06:00

The moon last night was spectacular. So spectacular that I went outside with the camera and tripod and froze my arse, nose, and fingers to try to get some pictures.

It was worth it.

This one, I'm including simply because Morgan loves it and says the world needs to see it. She can't tell me exactly why she loves it -- "It's like a Monet painting, sort of," is the best she can come up with -- but she wants me to blow it up, frame it, and give it to her to hang in her room.

Will do, darling. Will do.

Edited to add a bit o' information about exactly why last night's moon was so stunning. From National Geographic: The 2010 wolf moon will appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon this year, because our cosmic neighbor will actually be closer to Earth than usual.

oops

2010-01-30T09:18:00.002-06:00

I inadvertently slept in until 8:50 a.m. (how the hell did that happen? I never sleep that late), so I'll be doing my Why the *!%*!" do I live in MN-Saunders 5K tomorrow.

I'm a mite irritated about this. On the other hand, this development has wiped the frown right off Mr. Frowny Face's face, and that's a good thing. Because no one likes a frowny Pete.

Why the !%!" do I live in MN-Saunders 5K

2010-01-29T22:55:00.003-06:00

We now have 4 people signed up to do this thing: moi, Pete, Ruth, and Helen in CA, who, by virtue of her sheer long distance awesomeness, gets the added bonus of being an Honorary Minnesotan for the weekend. And we've got one firm Maybe. (Michelle? Are you in?)

For all you out there on the fence about this, well, it's not too late to join us! You've got until 5 p.m. your local time Sunday, January 31st to donate to the cause of your choice and complete this 5K. The rules, such as they are, are here.

I'm aiming to do mine tomorrow at 9 a.m...or maybe 9 a.m. Sunday, because I am actually signed up to give blood at 11:45 tomorrow morning. (This was a large part of why those two "real" 5Ks tomorrow morning weren't convenient options for me; I didn't know if I could drive an hour, run, drive back home, clean up, and make it to the bloodmobile in time.) I think if I eat something before I run and eat something after, I'll be fine. Pete, however, showed his disapproval of this plan by making a frowny face -- no! not the frowny face! -- and making pointed remarks about people passing out after donating blood. I still think I'll be fine, but drat it anyway, now I have Doubt.

I shall sleep on this and decide in the morning.

...or perhaps not the end of the streak

2010-01-28T12:32:00.007-06:00

The other day I posted about how the end of January is near, I haven't yet done my road race for the month, and the two remaining options aren't at all convenient or particularly exciting. I was *this* close to letting it go. All done. End of the streak.

And then my friend Ruth gave me an idea. "Make up your own!" she wrote on Facebook. "'Why the *!%*!" do I live in MN-Saunders 5K'."

I LOVE it. This is brilliant. I'm going to do it.

What's more, I'm going to invite you to do it with me. You don't even need to live in Minnesota to do this. If you're in Australia and you'd like to run or walk the Why The *!%*!" Do I Live In MN-Saunders 5K, then do so. We'll be glad to have you.

Here's the plan:

1. In lieu of the standard race fee, make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. It can be in any dollar amount: $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, whatever you're comfortable with and/or can afford.

2. Map out a 5K -- that's 3.1 miles -- starting from your doorstep or the end of your driveway or wherever, and finishing right back where you started.

3. Between 9 a.m. your local time Saturday the 30th and 5 p.m. Sunday the 31st, walk or run that 5K. You don't even have to do it all at once. You can do 1.5 miles Saturday and 1.6 miles Sunday, or any other combination that suits you. Just get out there and complete a 5K.

4. When you've finished, blog about it. Or update your Facebook or Twitter status to say: I finished the Why The *!%*!" Do I Live In MN-Saunders 5K!

5. This is not an MDRA sanctioned event. There will not be timed results, awards, or t-shirts. What you will get will be the bragging rights of having participated in the very first Why The *!%*!" Do I Live In MN-Saunders 5K. And unless this thing goes viral, well, trust me; there won't be many who can make that claim. =)

If there's enough interest, I may even create a Facebook page for this. For now, though, I'll just use this blog, which feeds over into Facebook. And if there's no interest and I'm the only one out there on Saturday, well, that's OK too.

Now, to decide to whom I want to give some money: MN Valley Humane Society, Doctors Without Borders, Dakota Woodlands, MN Literacy Council....

Edited to add, for Ruth asked, "Can I do it on my treadmill? If so, I'll join you. It's about the only way I'd do a 5k in the midst of Jan."

Sure, why not!

So, my official ruling: Treadmills are OK.

Edited again to add, after a conversation with Pete, who really wants this event to include cyclists:

Bikes, eh? Well, they always have a few cyclists leading road races so runners don't wander off the course and get lost, so sure, why not!

So, my official ruling: Bikes are OK too.

End of the streak?

2010-01-27T08:00:00.003-06:00

Since November 2008, I've done one road race or the like per month:

Nov. 08 - Giving Thanks 5K, St. Paul
Dec. 08 - Reindeer Run 5K, Mpls
Jan. 09 - Polar Dash 5K, Mpls
Feb. 09 - Hearts-R-Running 5K, St. Paul
March 09 - Leprechaun Leap 5K, Chicago IL
April 09 - Earth Day Half Marathon, St. Cloud
May 09 - Stillwater Half Marathon, Stillwater
June 09 - Heartbeat 5000 5K, Mpls
July 09 - Graniteman Triathlon, St. Cloud
Aug. 09 - St. Paul Triathlon, St. Paul
Sept. 09 - Plymouth Firefighters 5K, Plymouth
Oct. 09 - Twin Cities Marathon (DNF; pulled myself off the course at mile 13), Mpls
Oct. 09 - Halloween Monster Dash 5K, Mpls
Nov. 09 - Turkey Trot 5K, Chaska
Dec. 09 - Snowflake Shuffle 5K - St. Joseph

Now it's the end of January 2010, and I find myself in the peculiar situation of perhaps not getting in a race this month. I had intended to do this year's January 1st Polar Dash but was sick -- and sick enough that I missed not only that one, but then a full two weekends of road races after. (Not that there was much to choose from. It's slim pickings in January in the north.) I was out of town last weekend. This leaves me with two last options for January 2010: a 5K in Waconia or a 5K in Center City, both on Saturday.

Neither one is close or convenient. I haven't let that stop me before, but this time I'm not feeling the magic. It's January. It's cold. I don' wanna.

I may just go give blood instead. But we'll see.

Pet Issue: Why are we feeding our kids crap?

2010-01-25T10:02:00.008-06:00

Fed Up, an anonymous teacher's blog about her school's lunches, makes me feel a little ill.

This NY Times article about some people doing things to promote healthful school lunches makes me feel like maybe things are starting to change. Maybe.

In the meantime, we're going to keep brown-bagging it.

A post per day for the last 2 days?

2010-01-08T07:39:00.002-06:00

Don't worry; it won't last. Soon I'll be back to my usual ignore this blog behavior.

The girls have been asking for a Wii for the last 2+ years. We have been steadfastly saying, "No" -- which meant they really didn't see this one coming.

Christmas Day, 2009:

Oh, this poor neglected blog

2010-01-07T09:13:00.006-06:00

I could make a New Year's resolution to get over here a little more regularly in 2010...but I don't do New Year's resolutions. Plus, odds are that no matter what my intentions are, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing: posting whenever the hell I feel like it. Or when I'm sick, housebound and bored, which happens to be my situation at the moment. I haven't left the house since last Friday, I'm swigging codeine like the Feds are about to ban it, and I stink of menthol rub. Good times, man. Good times.

Fortunately, we have bird feeders. Even more fortunately, I have a camera and a big bad lens that allows me to hang out on the sofa and shoot through the windows. So, I've been having what passes for fun documenting the ongoing saga of one slightly deranged red-bellied woodpecker muscling her way onto the feeders:

It's mine, you understand? Mine, mine! All mine! Go, go, go! Mine, do you hear me? Out, out, out! Mine, mine, mine! Go away! There's only enough for me!

It's mine, ya understand? Mine, MINE, all MINE!

Go go go! Mine mine mine! YAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

I'm rich! I'm wealthy! I'm independent! I'm socially secure! I'm rich! I'm a happy miser!

***

I know Pete, Eric, and our girls will know what these quotes are from. Anyone else?

Happy 10th Birthday to The Zoester!

2009-10-03T20:54:00.005-05:00

Double digits!

I hope your day was made of awesome! Happy Birthday, kiddo!

Marathon Day

2009-10-03T20:15:00.006-05:00

So, tomorrow (Sunday) is the marathon. Here's the deal: a while back, I hurt my foot. It's better now but not 100%. I've not been able to do long runs or much any real marathon training, which is a bit of a problem. (Understatement.) I really debated whether to pull out of the marathon, but ultimately decided to go ahead with it anyway.

I'll be mostly walking, not so much running, and I'm probably not going to be able to finish, but I'll be there at the start. My plan is to go for as long as my foot holds out. (Pete says this is not a plan, but hey, it's all I've got.) I have no idea what my pace will be or how far I'm going to go. I could limp off the course at mile 1 or still be trudging along 6 hours later. Who knows! Won't this be fun...

Anyway, to celebrate the fact that, injury aside, this year I'm actually healthy enough to be at the start -- which, for those of you who remember my health debacle from last year, is indeed something to celebrate -- we're going to be at Lucky's in Mendota post-marathon. I reckon we'll be there by 4 or so. If you're so inclined, stop on out! Have a beer, munch on some onion rings, and help us celebrate my DNF. Because in this case, it's not remotely about the journey, destination, or the finish. It's all about the start, baby. Yeah.

How times have changed

2009-10-01T07:31:00.003-05:00

A writer whose blog I follow recently wrote about how a question came up: would people's kids recognize an ashtray? She showed a picture of an ashtray to her 9-year-old daughter. Lo, the kid didn't know what it was.

So of course, I had to try this on my two. I asked the girls to look at this image, and asked them if they knew what it was. "Uh," Emma said blankly. "Is it a bowl?"

Morgan stared at it for a bit longer. "Oh, I know," she exclaimed. "It's a hot dog cooker!"

I almost spewed my coffee all over the laptop. "A hot dog cooker?" I said when I had recovered. "Why do you think it's a hot dog cooker?"

She explained how the notches along the sides are clearly for the sticks to rest on (duh, Mom), and you put the fire in the middle, and voila! Hot dog cooker. (That's pretty ingenious, now that I think about it. Maybe we should market this.) She wasn't quite sure how it would work lugging this thing to and from a campground, though, as it would be messy, heavy, and big. When she said that, I finally realized she thought it was much bigger its actual size, like campfire ring size. I explained that it's actually about the size of my palm. "Well, then, I don't know what it is," she said, and she and Emma said together: "What is it?"

I told them that it was an ashtray. They boggled over that much as you would boggle over any relic from the olden days , then went off to eat their breakfasts.

When I was a kid back in the dark ages of the 1970s, it seemed like everybody smoked. My parents didn't smoke, but they had ashtrays on hand because most of their friends smoked. Most of my extended family smoked. My grandfather smoked (and it killed him). It was everywhere. People's houses, restaurants, offices, airplanes. Today, things are different. I know a few smokers but they're the exception, not the norm, and they're not smoking in their houses. Restaurants and everywhere else are smoke free. And until this morning, my 10 year olds had no idea what an ashtray was. (Hot dog cooker. HEE.) It's cool how much things have shifted in a generation, but it's also a little bizarre. Or maybe that's just me turning into an old foogy. Back in my day...

Dinner: soup

2009-09-30T08:21:00.003-05:00

This is one of the kids' all-time favorites: homemade chicken noodle soup.

No squinchy faces for this one. Emma approves!

(Sides not pictured: homemade bread with butter, and milk from the cows at Cedar Summit Farm.)

The girls say I should sell my soup secrets to a soup company. I think not! But I will tell you what's in my soup:

water
onion
garlic
oregano
thyme
pepper
carrots
celery
chicken
noodles
salt to taste

Pretty simple. Pretty good.