Running Buddies.

While, I am a bit late for Father's Day, I'd like to take a minute to talk about how my dad introduced me to one of the most constant, comforting, and self-defining aspects of my life: running. Back when I was in junior high--close to two decades ago--my dad put on a pair of black sneakers and decided to run a few laps around the track. In no time, he was burning through running shoes, spending many an early morning, evening, or Saturday logging double digits with his two feet, and collecting lots of race number bibs. He got faster and ran farther. He ran marathons. He got hooked. Somewhere along the way, he invited me to run with him (or maybe I tagged along)--which, I now understand, is a big deal...to compromise your perfect pace or to give up some some solo zen time. Our first race together was the May Day 5-K and he stayed with me and pushed me the entire, excruciating distance of 3.1 miles.

Somewhere along the way, we became running buddies. We motivated each other to get out and go when one or neither wanted to lace up. We pushed each other--okay, he pushed me...speeding up and making me keep up while I muttered under my breath. We ran races together; my favorite was the Double Bridge Run in Pensacola Beach, FL. More than anything, we bonded in a way that a teenage daughter and her dad might not have otherwise. 

Since moving many miles from home and my parents, I have continued to wake up, lace up, and run. I've run a few marathons in that time and, each time--as I dig deep--I hear my dad's voice in my head and feel him as the wind at my back. I think we both hear and feel each other on race days and challenging runs. This weekend, my dad ran a great race and placed 1st in his age group; from miles away, I felt so excited and proud. Happy Father's Day, dad, and thanks for continuing to inspire me to put one foot in front of the other!

North Olympic Discover Marathon 2012

 

Crossing the finish line with dad as the wind at my back

 

Pre-race yoga.

The Brothers Take Washington

A few weeks ago, my dad and his two brothers visited Justin and I in Washington. We felt so lucky to be included in their annual gathering this year. This trip was special for a few reasons:

I have never gotten the chance to spend so much quality time with just "the brothers". Usually, our company is mixed with cousins, aunts, and grandparents; which is always a good time because we have a such a great family. However, getting to spend this time with my dad and my uncles was rare and special. Having no siblings, its so fascinating to see three people with many shared values, shared mannerisms, and a shared knowledge of things like tiger's milk; yet, they are each so unique. Again, I feel so lucky for this family.

Justin and I finally got to share our new home and the place that we've chosen to set some roots with our family.

We had a great time. We ate; we drank; we hiked; we kayaked; we got rained on; we saw big trees; we laughed; we explore. It was fun to be tourists together.

 

Egg-stravagant!

I love eggs. They are quick, nutritious, savory, filling and bright! Justin is always amused that I make a meal complete by topping it with an egg. While we don't plan to have our own chickens until next year, we have access to lots of great local eggs. In fact, last weekend, a friend even gave us some of her giant fresh duck eggs. Holy rich! They're great for baking, but I  can't quite eat one on its own.

On the other hand, I could eat chicken eggs all day. One of my favorite ways to eat eggs is a breakfast that my dad often prepared for me on Thursday mornings--the day he went into work a bit later. Simple and delish! Soft-boiled eggs mixed with torn up buttered toast. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Do it!

The perfect soft-boiled egg. Bring water to a boil. Add eggs, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Set timer for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes, rinse eggs under cool water. Crack, peel, and devour.

Who needs grass?

Raspberries!

It finally feels like spring. Trees are blossoming and the grass is growing--and by grass, I mean dandelions, thistle, and grass. As "homeowners", we purchased our first lawnmower a few weeks ago. A big step into adulthood. We've been pretty diligent about mowing because it is enjoyable and we would like to make friends with all of our new neighbors.

That said, our long term goal is to mow as little as possible and to get as much foods out of our .16 acre lot as possible. So, we've begun converting portions of our lawn into a mulched native plant area and an edible garden.

We're transforming half of our front yard to a mulched "rain garden" with low-maintenance native shrubs. We'll see how low-maintenance it really is when the thistle and dandelions begin to creep through the sheet much. Thanks to a tip from our friend, Shalee, we scored a truckload of wood chips for sheet mulching from a local mill!

The backyard is where the food will be grown. We put in an herb garden and raspberries last weekend, but our main veggie patch is a big experiment. We double-dug half of the plot and got 3 yards of compost from Lazy J Tree Farm that we are going to till in. On the other half of the plot, we've laid cardboard that will be layered with compost and mulch and left to break down for a season.

What have you done to create new garden space with healthy soil?

The great veggie experiment.

Herbs outside the back door.

simple. yum.

We've been experiencing a drought of bread in the house lately. There's no good excuse as we have a great local bakery, Pane d' Amore, for all of our glutenous needs. That said, the other night, we found nothing breadtastic in sight as Justin was putting together a fantastic nettle soup. My soup experience is not complete without a hunk of something to dip in it. Crackers, tortilla chips...they just will not do.

Our quick fix: biscuits! I found a recipe in Jennifer Reese's Make The Bread, Buy the Butter--an already tattered and food-splattered Christmas gift from my dad. The ingredients are simple, the process quick, and most importantly, you get those amazing pull-apart layers! I've made a lot of biscuits that taste fine but don't have that beautiful layered quality--aren't the layers integral? When I pulled them out of the oven, I exclaimed no fewer than six times, "Look at THESE layers!!!" It's the little things.

They were a great sidekick to Justin's nettle soup. Just remember, they are so much better warm and right out of the oven.

Biscuits

adapted from Jennifer Reese's Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

1 TBS. cream of tartar

1.5 tsp baking soda

3 c. sifted all-purpose flour

2 c. whole wheat flour

10 TBS. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2. c cold buttermilk (I used almond milk with 2 TBS. cider vinegar)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Sift all dry ingredients together. Then, add the butter by tossing the mixture with your fingers and then rubbing the mixture between your fingers until the mix is evenly clumpy. 

3. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough is uniformly sticky. 

4. Turn the dough on a floured surface and form it into a ball. Then, flatten and roll the dough until it is 3/4 in. thick. 

5. Cut the dough into rounds using a widemouthed mason jar and place 1 in. apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

6. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy them while they're hottt!

 

What can't you do with nettles?

You may or may not remember the time last summer that Justin and I couldn't stop picking blueberries. Fifty pounds later, we bought ourselves a deep freezer to house the bounty. Well, we've done it again--sort of. Sunday morning, we went towards the mouth of the Elwha in search of spring morels. We were a bit early in the hunt, but we did find a great patch of nettles--which isn't difficult to find in the Pacific Northwest in the spring. Anyway, we started pickin' and the rest is history. I think we ended up with 5-10 lbs of the green stuff.

Since then, we've been trying to use this springy green in everything. I recently heard nettles (Urtica dioica) described as the unhousebroken kin of spinach--apt. They're a little woolly and taste like all of the great minerals that reside in them, but with the right combination of ingredients, they are quite delectable. Thus far, we have dried them for tea, blanched and frozen them, pesto-ed them, made nettle pizza, nettle soup, and nettle lasagna. As a girl who loves quiche, nettle quiche will likely be on the menu this weekend. A friend and wild harvesting inspiration, Pat, mentioned making nettle chips (like the much loved kale chips)! Do you have any ideas?

Nettle Lasagna - simply find a spinach lasagna recipe that you love and substitute nettles that have been blanched in boiling water

Justin's Nettle Soup

Nettle Pizza with a garlic-pesto cream

 

Nettle Pizza

adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

1 ball of pizza dough

2 c. fresh nettles

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 TBS. pesto (I used nettle pesto, but basil would be great)

1/8 c. cream

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

a handful  of fresh mushrooms, quartered

1 fresh ball of mozzarella 

hard cheese like Parmesan or asiago for garnish

salt and pepper 

olive oil

1. Preheat pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees for 25 minutes.

2. Saute bell pepper, mushrooms, and 1 clove of minced garlic in olive oil until soft. Set aside.

3. In a skillet, heat 1 tbs. olive oil and 1/4 c. water. Add the garlic and cook until soft. Stir in the pesto and cream and cook on low until it reduces to a point where the sauce coats your spoon. Set it aside.

4. Toss the fresh nettles in a bowl with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

5. Spread the dough on the pizza stone and top with garlic-pesto cream--leaving about 1 in unsauced around the edges. Then, add the sauteed veggies and nettles. Finally, add slices of mozzarella on top.

6. Turn your oven to broil and make sure the rack is positioned right under the broiler. 

7. Broil the pizza until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden! Top with Parmesan and Enjoy!

Sunny Shredding...

Last weekend, Justin headed up the to the Ridge with our friends, Heidi and Mark. It looks like they got some fun turns in!