You Win Some, You Lose Some
The other day I heard a simple recipe on a podcast that I was ready to try out last night for Top Chef Masters dinner with ITP-Reader Betsy.
The recipe called for salmon (I know, I need to step up my vegetarian eating but at the same time I need to inject more fish into my meaty diet), Ranch dressing (yes, Ranch dressing), orange slices, some oil, and some salt and pepper.
The preparation was dead simple:
- preheat your oven to 350º F
- slice your orange into 1/4″ slices
- wash the fish and pat it dry
- spread some oil on the fish, then spice to your taste with salt and pepper
- spread the Ranch dressing on the flesh side of the fillet
- lay the orange slices on top of the fish
- make a packet out of the foil by sealing it
- place the foil packet into the oven for 20 (or so) minutes
Since I was heating an entire oven I also made foil packets of mixed vegetables, onto which I spread some of the rind of the orange and some of its juice.
The meal was good, but I’m not so sure that I’d make it again. The Ranch dressing was a bit overwhelming and I think the orange provided too much citrus to the meal. One of the unforeseen benefits of this preparation was that when the fish is completely cooked the meat comes off the skin easily as the skin adheres to the foil. And if care is taken in extracting the packet goodness onto a plate cleanup is a snap (but not a snapper because you’ve prepared salmon and are not an alchemist).
The vegetables were really tasty though they lost much of their color during the packet-roasting process.
Goodbye And Dare I Say Good Riddance, US 10k Classic
It was with slightly mixed emotions to read of the cancellation of this year’s Labor Day staple, the US 10k Classic yesterday. As has been the case with many events which require major sponsorship the economy has kicked them in the proverbial balls.
I ran the US 10k once, during my fitness hey-day in 1996 and didn’t do so well — 52 minutes if I remember correctly. That race was the second 10k I ever entered, doing so only to prove to myself that I could do it. I’d run the Peachtree Road Race that year at the urging of the then-girl-I-wanted-to-be-with Domnique, who broke up with me two weeks prior to the July 4th event. The only thing which got me through that boring, straight, up-and-downhill course from Cobb Galleria to Whitewater Amusement Park was the time I spent parked a few feet behind a very attractive young lady who ran at a pace slightly faster than my own.
It’s Flaming Lips Night
Tonight I’ll be headed to The Tabernacle (not really my favorite venue) for the first night of the Flaming Lips’ performance of The Soft Bulletin and some of their other greatest hits. I’ll admit that I’m not a hard-core Flaming Lips fan but I’ve liked their music for some time and and enjoy the infectious happiness which accompanies their concerts.
Vacation Planning
Eventually I will allow myself a vacation this year. I have a few things in mind (a long-weekend in Raleighwood, a weekend away in the North Georgia mountains using the LivingSocial deal I bought last year, a long-weekend visiting my brother and sister-in-law), but have rekindled the planning process. Assuming I have a week to spare, what do recommend? When would be the best time to do it?
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – see yesterday
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Breakfast Club” podcast from CBC Radio 3
Website Of The Day – Cooking Outdoors meet Outdoor Cooking. The salmon recipe was provided by Cooking Outdoors, but I inadvertently discovered Outdoor Cooking in the process of Googling.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – not checking right now
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 17
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
May Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Run at least once
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than five days
– Lose three pounds
– Go out on a date with someone else
– Read an entire book, specifically The Laws Of Simplicity
2011 Goals [will be a little more fluid than in past years]
– Reduce my weight by 25 pounds based on the my weight as measured on February 1st
– Completely read the book Daily Negations which I received as a Christmas gift.
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business — one which does not get penalized.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than two one half-marathon
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
I’m not sure about ranch and orange together? Sounds a little odd, but then I wouldn’t have guessed I liked dates and cauliflower together either…my current favorite dish is grilled eggplant, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and maybe some feta cheese if I have it on hand.
I’ve never had a desire to run the US 10k, seems like the wrong time of year for a race and not a nice course to boot. TA was the last long(ish) race I have scheduled until November.
I wish I had some place to suggest for vacation, we’ve got nothing planned for this year.
The odd-sounding combination of orange and ranch is why I wanted to try it. There are many combinations which I’d never consider but turn out to be good.
Vacation? There is always BRAG 🙂
When I used to run I liked the US 10k classic. It’s not the normal run of the mill race, it is much more difficult. On top of that you could go to Whitewater and play for a couple hours too.
What I don’t get is how can a race like this fail? If you have 10,000 people all paying $10 to run a race you have $100,000 to put the race on (I’m sure their numbers are way higher too). I’m no race coordinator but how much does it really cost to put on a race?
I’m with Martha… ranch and orange doesn’t sound that appealing. Martha, how thick do you slice the eggplant? We’re always looking for new things to try and that sounds good to me- I like me some eggplant.
I managed 3 miles at Jorges last night with only minimal pain. I could definitely tell I hadn’t been running… not the volume of air required on a bike so I was almost wheezing!
Nice to see you Bob and hear about the motorcycle ride.
-FP
I’m sorry to see it go as well. They had a fun bike race that I worked on many occasions.
I won’t miss that race, it messed up traffic over here by my house. 😉
I remember way back when Katrina rode for T-Mobile, the women’s race was only the 10k distance, so quite a crazy sprint. The mens race was 60k….. didn’t make a bit of sense to me, those 2 distances. They also had a inline race, now that downhill sprint to the finish scared the hell out of me, I could NEVER do that on blades.
I’m growing japanese eggplants again this year – since they are long & skinny, we just slice them length-wise, EVOO, salt & pepper & grill away. I’m not a huge eggplant fan, but I need more veggies in my life, so they work as a decent side dish.
BTW – many of the tomato plants have lots of little yellow flowers, we may have tomatoes when we get back from BRAG, or maybe even before! So far, everything except the corn is growing well.
The girl from Iowa can’t grow corn?? That’s funny 🙂
Little known fact: Barb was kicked out of Iowa for not being able to grow corn. 🙂
BRAG is not an option for me this year. Even if I were in possession of a road bike I’m not ready to ride again and I certainly wouldn’t enjoy myself because of that.
I’ve not eaten much eggplant in my life, but it’s on the list of things to learn how to prepare.
“Barb was kicked out of Iowa for not being able to grow corn” made me laugh out loud.
I’m not much of an eggplant person myself. I think it’s because back in the day I had a real slimy one. Same thing with portabella mushrooms. I’m sure both are probably really quite good, but I had that bad experience that’s messed me up now.
The Albuquerque – Santa Fe – Taos section of New Mexico might be fun. Those three towns/cities have quite a few diversions – and, if your hip is in decent shape, you can always go hiking. You can definitely find elevation around there, in case it gets too hot. Surprisingly enough, they have a lot of good wineries in the area. We bought a ton of wine when we were there. And, of course, there’s the Southwestern fare – delicious for the carnivore and the vegetarian alike.
Well – I am a city girl from Iowa, not a farm girl. (and, getting kicked out of Iowa I would consider a good thing!) We never grew corn, our garden wasn’t very big, and it was much easier & cheaper to buy from the corner stand. This the 2nd (and last) year of even trying. It was really Sal’s idea, since I had the room.
Also – my artichoke plant is still frowing, it really looks like a huge weed.
Good suggestion Randy. One of the few women I dated (and with whom I still remain in contact) lives in Albuquerque with her husband. Robin and (now Dr.) Dave, and I lived together in college as well. Get me drunk and I’ll tell you the whole bizarre story, assuming I haven’t done so already.
The day or so we spent in Santa Fe (on the way home from Walsenburg) was cool, but we hashed & it was some sort of burning man type of festival going on. The mtn bike ride we did kicked my butt, but part of it could have been a really cool hike.
I think Davey Crochet has a relative with a condo or something at Taos, they may rent it out. I’d LOVE to go there some day.
Sedona, AZ (& Flagstaff & the Grand Canyon) would also be a good trip. Throw in Phoenix & go bother my sister, you might like McCools, they have live music most nights. Rumor has it my youngest brother might be getting married in Sedona next year, so I can finally get there!
I did a tour of Arizona (northern/central) a few years ago and had fun. Too much I’ve not seen yet in life to return so soon unfortunately.
You would do better, diet-wise, to keep eating meat but cut down on the carbs. Studies are now showing that the body actually reacts hormonally differently to refined carbs than it does to meats and vegetables, which makes it harder to lose weight. Not all carbs, refined ones like bread, etc. I’ve got some articles if you want to read them!
David and I were talking last night about how we need some ideas for a weekend trip this year to celebrate our 5th anniversary. What location says, “Yay, we made it to five years, which isn’t really all that long and doesn’t deserve more than a long weekend”?
Jenka, Debbie and I went to Asheville for our 5th a month ago and it was marvelous! Nice town, kitchy art, funky restaurants, and now minor league baseball!
Oh, I do love Asheville! Plus the Indigo is a really nice hotel that allows dogs. Good idea.
I don’t plan on replacing meat with carbs (necessarily) I am just trying to eat less meat. I could do well with eating more vegetables, I know not the tasty ones — carrots, green beans — which are carb heavy. I also am planning on cutting back on my input of potatoes, rice, and pasta. 🙁
I’m going to totally get you drunk because I want to hear that story you mention!
We’ll get the story out of you when you visit Raleighwood in June!
I second Asheville for a 5th anniversary – Lisa and I went there for our 5th as well and had a great time (as usual).