Moist and Tasty Cornbread
It’s been a couple of weeks since I baked up any bread so I decided to dig into the depth of my fridge for the sourdough starter that I’ve neglected for months. When I took the plastic wrap off the bowl I was blown away by the intense alcohol smell. I considered trying to refresh a small portion of the starter, which I can usually do even if it’s been dormant in the fridge for a while, but from its pungency (yes, I made the mistake of tasting it) and soupy consistency I wasn’t confident that it would come back to life.
So I pitched the whole thing.
I’m contemplating making a new starter this weekend, but I’m uncertain of my abilities to keep it alive. Living things always seem to be at risk on my watch– my sourdough starter, the succulent planter I bought for my desk when I first started my job, the geraniums my mother-in-law planted at my house. Funny how all those things– sourdough, succulents, geraniums– have a reputation for heartiness. They’re not easy to kill. And yet through neglect and mistreatment and disregard I’ve managed to kill them all.
Luckily my dog is still alive; though I probably deserve little credit for this. It’s entirely because of my husband’s care and attention. He notices when she wants food and when she’s scratching too much and when she seems sad and when she needs to take her flea medication while I sit back and watch her thinking that she’s entirely normal. “No Sam,” he’ll disagree, “I think she needs to go to the vet.” And she usually does.
I can’t keep anything alive.
So after pitching my sourdough starter I decided to make a ciabatta bread but realized that I had no yeast. So that idea was scrapped too and since I didn’t have bananas I couldn’t make a banana bread either. So I ended up making cornbread the only other chemically leavened bread that I could think. I didn’t really want it but I was bored and wanted to bake. In the end it turned out so moist and delicious that I couldn’t stop eating it.
This would be really good to make on Super Bowl Sunday with some whisky baked beans.
Moist and Tasty Cornbread
makes one 10″ round loaf
Ingredients
1 cup (6 ounces) coarse cornmeal or polenta
2 cups milk (I used soy)
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
Soak the cornmeal in the milk. Cover and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugars.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the molasses and melted butter. Add the egg mixture and soaked cornmeal mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon or whisk until all the ingredients are evenly distributed and the batter is blended and smooth to the consistency of pancake batter.
Line a 10-inch round cake pan with parchment and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the cornbread batter. Bake the cornbread for about 35-40 minutes, or until the bread is firm and springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top will be a deep golden brown.
Allow the cornbread to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing it into squares or wedges.
18 mile training run
Fakest smile ever.
How I really felt after the run.
A little bit like this.
And a little bit like this.
Today I ran 18 miles in my training run for the upcoming marathon. This is the first Sunday in a few weeks when the weather has been nice enough to run outside. It was sunny and cold—my kind of running weather.
My technique was to run a 9 mile loop, then back to my house for a bathroom/water/cookie break before running a different 9 mile loop.
The first 9 went really well. I had a lot of energy and had a good tempo going. I finished the first 9 miles in 1:23 with no walking breaks.
The second 9 was a little rougher going and took me 10 minutes longer. I definitely slowed my pace and walked whenever I felt tired. I didn’t pick a very good route for this one because it was boring, windy, and extra cold. In my last 3 miles, though I did run by Santa Claus in front of a Christmas tree shop who gave me a high five and told me to “keep on truckin’!” It definitely kept me motivated. I can’t wait to see what Disney characters will do!
I am not exactly looking forward to running 20 miles next week knowing what my legs felt like after my run today. But at least that will be my last long run before I start to taper. I don’t understand how some runners complain about the taper. I’m excited for it!
Holiday Health Challenge Update:
This is week 4 of my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I did much better than last week.
1) Keep a food journal – B
I only missed 2 days of journalling.
2) Eliminate processed sugar – B
3 days without desserts again this week. Woot!
Matt and I made some caramel corn last night to eat while watching Just Got With It (which was really funny by the way) which ruined me for the weekend.
3) Floss my teeth every day – A-
I only missed a couple of days.
4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – C
I missed a bunch of days this week, unfortunately. Again I’ve been waking up later and later every morning :/
5) Run 150 miles – A – (138/150 miles)
I ran 30 of the 32 miles I had scheduled this week.
6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A+
This week I squatted 155lbs for 6 reps, in each of 4 sets. I had an amazing workout on Friday night. So good that some guy came up to me and said, “I see you here all the time. You work out hard! Do you play sports?”
I did 4 sets of each of these exercises:
Squats: 155lbs x 6reps
Deadlifts: 155lbs x 5reps
Dumbbell Rows: 60lbs x 5reps
Bench Press: 125lbs x 4reps
Turkish Get-Ups: 10lbs x 8reps (<—my new favourite exercise)
7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – C
I did a pretty bad job at this, but she did get a day at the doggie spa with extra special scented shampoo 
8 ) Take all my vitamins – B
I only missed a few days this week.
Photography Challenge Days 14, 15, 16
Day 14: Eyes
Photo Taken August 14, 2010. This is my cocker spaniel, Bagigis. I like her eyes in this picture because she looks rather pensive which is unusual for her simple and slightly dumb personality.
Day 15: Silhouette
Photo taken July 2008 at Musee D’Orsay in Paris, France.
Day 16: Long Exposure
Photo taken October 14, 2011 at a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant.
Run for the Cure 2011
Yesterday I took part in the Run for the Cure which is a fun 5 kilometre run/walk to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
My family and friends have participated as a team every year since 2006 when we established our team, team icancervive, in honour of my mother, Hiyan Campagna, who passed away from breast cancer that year.
My friends at the Run for the Cure
Me, Dad, Sister
Every year we raise thousands of dollars which go toward breast cancer research, awareness programs, early diagnosis, and effective treatments.
As of this writing, our team raised $3,275 this year! And there are still cash donations coming in.
The run isn’t a race so you have to keep your own time. The event is more about getting together with family than beating the clock, so I wasn’t too upset that I forgot my watch. Based on the clock I suspect my time was around 27 minutes.
My sister and I ran together for the first 4K and then I decided to kick into gear in the last kilometre of the race.
Matt and I brought Bagigi to the run because she seemed so excited to come with us this morning. Also, I knew that our friend Eric was bringing his dog Boomer and my sister Vicki was bringing Ruxin.
It was a bit of a mistake because she was way too hyper to be around so many people and I was really busy trying to get things in order for the team (since I’m the team captain).
My friend Teresa offered to walk Bagig’ so I could run and I took them up on that. It was the perfect morning for a run — sunny and about 50*F.
After the run Matt and I hosted the team at our place for beers and sandwiches which was so much fun. I made a pie and 3 different types of sandwich bread yesterday which were all a hit
It turned out to be such an amazing day with my friends and family. It’s one that I look forward too every year.
Weekend Gone to the Dogs
Matt and I spent Labour Day weekend visiting my sister Vicki and BIL Sean in Illinois. We get to spend more time together when we go visit them because when they come home to Windsor on the weekends there’s usually a lot of stuff crammed into a short couple of days. It’s always a fun time in Illinois.
We ate, we imbibed, we watched movies, and we shopped in the town centres of the nearby neighbourhoods.
Matt and I brought Bagigis with us to play her puppy cousin Ruxin so the weekend was all about the canines. It was Bagig’s first car trip since we brought her home from the breeder in Woodstock. She loves car rides so we weren’t too worried about her causing trouble for us.
…I think she got bored—a 6 hour car ride is a lot to handle.
We took Bagig’ and Ruxin into downtown Naperville for a little stroll. The towns in Illinois are so dog friendly, I love it! Everyone had their dogs out and about. We were able to sit and have a beer and with the dogs on a patio. Good times.
Bagigis is a big crying suck when Matt or I leave her alone so it was nice that we were able to bring the dogs into some stores.
Bagigis peed in lululemon. Naturally. I guess she has an aversion to overpriced yoga wear.
Given that I’m cheap and sorta hate shopping, I actually took advantage to the strong CDN dollar and cheap American prices and bought quite a bit this weekend. Naturally, all of it pertained to cooking.
I bought some loose leaf Earl Grey tea which smelled divine. I picked up some spices from the Spice House, and the best balsamic vinegar in the world from the Olive Mill.
I took advantage of the crazy going-out-of-business sale at Borders and bought 4 (four!!) cookbooks from which I’ve made 3 recipes already: ginger pecan pancakes, rosemary lemon squares, and roasted corn soup.
I have a recipe planned for tomorrow as well.
But the crowning jewel in my purchases was done at a store which is my version of heaven: Sur la Table. I finally caved and bought . . .
an ice cream maker!
Matt (mostly) and I have been wanting one for a while so I’m happy I finally gave in. But, since ice cream is singlehandedly responsible for my own childhood weight issues and acne, this contraption could have the makings of a health hazard. Only time and cold, creamy goodness will tell folks.
This baby is in the freezer and ready to go for the first batch. Any suggestions on recipes I should make? I’m thinking the inaugural pint should probably be something classic, like french vanilla.
Vicki and I let the boys make dinner on Sunday night while we watched TiVo’d episodes of The Millionaire Matchmaker. The meal?
Shrimp and Grit’s baby. This recipe come courtesy of Summer and it was really tasty. Gotta love Southern cooking.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend.
You can read about a prior visits to Illinois here.
food journal 13/06/11
I’m food journalling again this week.
Breakfast
Scrambled Egg whites (1/4c) with 2 slices of high protein sprouted wheat bread (homemade! recipe to come) and dijon mustard.
Lunch
- Mishmish! (aka as apricots) This is probably the only fruit that I consistently call by it’s Arabic name because I really like to say mishmish.
- 1 chicken thigh cooked in white wine with garlic, capers, and lemon juice.
Pre Weightlifting
Cottage cheese with strawberries.
Post Weightlifting
Smoothie – 1 banana, 1c. unsweetened soy milk, 1 t all natural peanut butter, 1 scoop vegan protein powder
Dinner
-Barley risotto with kale and romano beans
Dessert
Fitness
I did my superset routine and intended to run afterwards. That didn’t happen. My legs were jell-o. I could hardly use the gas and brake pedals on my car when I drove home. THAT’s a good workout.
Since I skipped the run, Matt and I headed to the park to play a little catch instead.
I’m working on making PDFs for all my weight training routines so you can print them out and bring them to the gym with you if you’re interested. I’ll keep you all posted
Randomness
Matt and I picked up a new food dish for Bagigis since her plastic one was chewed up and basically disgusting.
Bagig’ is terrified of the thing and keeps barking at it!
I’ve had to try to make a trail of kibble Hansel & Gretel style to get her close to the thing.
Eventually I had to bribe her to eat from the bowl by putting peanut butter in it!
Success!
I Ran a Marathon
Yup. I did it. I took the Chrysler Greenway, a former railway cum nature trail, all 43kms from in Leamington to Oldcastle. Straight across Essex County.
It wasn’t a race. It was a One-Woman Marathon – just me and endless, endless trail.
The weather was sunny and not unbearably hot (about 80*F), but it was humid (88% humidity, yikes!) and that ended up making the run really difficult.
I started out by dropping off a litre of water and a ziploc bag with 4 dates at 2 different locations on the trail: 14Kms into the trail, at County Rd 23, and another at 31Kms in, at County Road 12.
I loaded a little fanny pack with my camera, 4 more dates, a tampon, a map of the trail (which was rendered useless when my sweat soaked through it. Ditto with the tampon—super absorbant, my ass!), and Matt’s cell phone (I don’t have one) so I could call to check-in. Just so he knew I hadn’t passed out face first into the gravel as I was expecting.
At 8AM I started at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens. Kilometre 43.
I looked tired even before it began. Do I look terrified and sick to my stomach too? Because that’s how I felt at the starting point. I was questioning why I was even doing this stupid, stupid thing. Bucket list be damned! I was tempted to feign an injury and go back home to bed. Not a good way to start any run.
But I sucked it up and started running.
The first half of the trail, through Kingsville, is the most interesting part of the run. I spent this half of the trail listening to two This American Life podcasts (one on Psychopathy, the other on Infidelity) while taking at least a few sights.
Pelee Island Winery
Old Kingsville Train Station
Kingsville Golf Course
Poultry Farm!
But all the excitement and interesting sites lasted just the first 14Ks. I picked up my water and dates at kilometre 14 and was so thirty by that point that I chugged 1L and ended up without water for the next 17kms. Not good.
Kilometre 19, 2.5Ks passed the halfway point. I somehow missed kilometre marker 21 and 20.
I ran the first half almost exclusively. Slowly, at around an 11 minutes/mile pace, but without too much walking.
The second half was much, much tougher.
I switched up my playlist to some music to keep me pumped, but it was still really tough to keep running.
First of all it, the whole rest of the trail looked like this:
Can you see the end of the trail? Yeah, me neither.
The endlessness of the trail is apparent when the land is so flat and the trail doesn’t wind, running North-South for about 20 straight kilometres. And there were virtually no people on the trail either (hence the need for Matt’s cellphone)
Secondly, I was parched and starting to lose steam fast. I still had 9kms left before my next water stop and I contemplated drinking from a random farm’s pesticide runoff, I mean, ditch. Or possibly hiding in the bushes until the next cyclist came by and jumping them to steal their water. I didn’t though, mainly because that opportunity didn’t present itself.
Eventually, I made it to the second water station. I practically swallowed my dates whole and I chugged back another litre of water in literally 20 seconds. Fuck. I did it again. No more water until the finish line.
Thirdly, my ass was on fire. Not in a good “Damn girl, that ass is hawt!” kinda way. I mean it is, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the “Oh shit, I clearly didn’t apply that vaseline liberally enough because my entire backside is chaffing up a storm” kind way. FML.
So the second half of the marathon ended up being more walk than run. I started by walking for 2 songs then running for 1, but even that was getting to be too tough. My legs were killing me. My feet were killing me. My cramps were killing me. The raw skin on my ass was killing me. It was a downward spiral. I’ll even admit that almost cried. Twice.
I ended up running only when I felt that I could– when I was getting too sore from walking and thought thought running would feel easier. It never did though.
5 kilometres to go, and the longest most painful of my life. Like most of the second half of the run, I walked a lot in this 5K and it took me almost 50 minutes to do it. It was so rough, but I had to run the last little bit because Matt and Bagigis were waiting at the finish for me.
By the end, I could hardly stand up. I was so tired I could barely talk (except maybe to utter I hate you when Matt made me walk to get my water bottle. I don’t hate you Matt, it was the exhaustion talking, I swear.)
So the whole ordeal ended up being the most painful, exhausting, and frustrating, 6 hours of my life.
Attractive
Yes, it took me 6 hours. And No, I’m not happy with that. In spite of not having a time goal to finish I was kinda hoping for something in the 5h30min range. Don’t judge though, what were you doing Sunday morning?
The End
Discus
The benefit of having a husband that coaches track and field is having access to heavy objects that can be wielded long distances.
That’s a discus my friends
We’ve had 2 discuses lying around the house for a week or so and I’ve eagerly gone out to throw them around 3 times now. We took Bagigis to the park to run around while Matt and I threw the discuses.
Matt doesn’t actually coach discus (he coaches javelin and shot put) but he was able to tell me the gist of how the thing is supposed to be thrown. …which, coincidentally, looks nothing like this:
I was able to throw the discus about 20 metres (~65feet), so clearly I’m on the fast track to a career as a thrower.
Fun Fact: I used to throw shot put in grade 8 and managed to place 5th in the all-county elementary school track and field meet. True Story.
Matt and I spent about an hour and a half at the park throwing discus before we got bored and Bagigis did too.
We headed home to have a meal that I haven’t eaten in a loooong time. Chili Dogs.
I generally try to steer clear of nitrate-laden processed meats, but because we haven’t been to the grocery store in about 2 weeks our food supplies were limited.
I must confess though that once in a while, a hot dog hits the spot.
Question: What do you put on your hot dog? I’m a Ketchup, Mustard, and Relish kinda girl.
From this to that:
2 years after buying our house, Matt and I finally painted the third bedroom tonight.
We both decided on that the room should be a yellow colour and have blue as an accent colour, but I let him pick the final colour for the room.
I was hoping for something a bit more mellow. In the end he chose a colour that I would call juvenile but we’ll use the term cheerful instead.
It went from this:
To this:
To this:
In the end I was really happy with the way the colour looked. I especially love how well it compliments the brown of the floor, trim, and blinds. I will keep you updated as we finish decorating this storage room cum bedroom.
And speaking of changes, Bagigis hair went from this:
to this:
She can see again! And she`s got little bows in her hair too.
Bikini Fitness:
I skipped my run today to come home and paint. Painting is not really a workout, but I`m so happy that it`s finally out of the way!
Last night I weightlifted and it felt fantastic. I was doing extra weights or reps for every exercise. I was so happy with myself!
Bikini Eating:
It is Food Blog Friday!
While the first coat of paint was drying, I whipped up this bean and kale risotto (a mix of barley and arborio rice because I was practically out of the rice).
This recipe came from Smitten Kitchen and was perfect since it used up all the things in my fridge and pantry that needed to go: 1/4 bottle of red wine, a bunch of kale on its last legs, and the very last bits of a box of rice.
I love Deb’s photographs and well written posts on Smitten Kitchen. I want to make almost everything that I see on her blog but I find a lot of the recipes look too time consuming, or complicated, or things that I like to look at but probably wouldn’t eat.
This recipe was completely different: super healthy with whole grains, beans, and leafy greens, and very very quick to make (okay, it’s risotto, naturally there is going to be a lot of standing and stirring but it’s relatively quick).
I made a few adjustments to Deb’s recipe using red wine instead of white, mixing arborio rice and barley, using kale instead of escarole, and leaving out the cheese. It still came out fantastic!
So I give this recipe…
3 Spoons!
Bean and Kale Barley Risotto
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 t fresh thyme leaves
1 t dried oregano
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup pearled barley (7 ounces)
1/2 cup arborio rice
1 can of romano beans
3 cups chopped kale
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm to use in the risotto.
In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, thyme, and oregano and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Add the barley and cook, stirring, for 1 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring until absorbed, about two minutes.
Add the warm stock about 1/2 cup at a time. Stir and wait until it is nearly absorbed before adding another 1/2 cup. When the risotto is al dente and creamy (about 35 minutes) then add the beans and escarole and let it wilt and then cook for an additional minute. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Delicious!
Food Blog Friday recipes are ranked on the scale of 0-3 spoons
0 spoons – That was fucking horrendous
1 spoon – I doubt I’ll be making that again
2 spoons – I’ll probably make that again with some tweaks
3 spoons – That was perfect
ruxin
My sister got a new puppy last weekend and brought him to Windsor for a visit. His name is Ruxin and he’s a bichon-shih tzu mix.
He’s the new love of my life.
This guy is too cute!
Me and Ruxin!
Ruxin and Bagigis making friends
Vicki and her new pup
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