Christmas is the time to say....

no thank you! Sigh. Why is it so hard to say no to the peppermint mocha lattes, warm apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate torte after all these years? Oh I know, because I'm human. Right. I'm not gonna lie, I've gained a few pounds, just a few and no one would probably notice but hell, once I start down that path of "I'll just have a bite, It's just one Milky Way or Hey, I have a gift card!"and yes,  I'm talking to YOU Starbucks! It's makes it that much harder to say no. I'm sorry, I love you peppermint white chocolate mocha latte.

Ok, so I'm trying to make piece with myself about enjoying the holidays, not meaning I'm going to eat my face off because the gluten free gods know I can't really do that. Just that I'm not going to stress over the fact I had a 'real' cookie or a slice of heavenly wheat flour and sugar filled apple pie. I'm going to make old fashion Pilsbury sugar cookies with the kids (and their friends) because not everything needs to be about me and what I can and can't eat. Is it healthier for the kids to eat my usual almond flour, maple syrup sweetened cookies? Probably but hey, it's Christmas and with the limited time I have to spend with them while they are little and somewhat adorable, I'm going to use it wisely.

So I'm finished shopping. Can't friggen believe it. First time ever. Well, I'm 99.5% done. I have a few little teacher gifts to get and something for the inlaws' inlaws. I'm hosting Christmas Eve this year which means lots of planning and cooking and baking and cooking and baking and tequila here and there to calm the nerves. The menu is set for the most part and it should be delicious. Not quite as 'clean' as it should be but gluten, refined sugar and over processed free. If I remember I'll try to take some pics and post the recipes, at least for the dishes Bob and I created on our own which include a citrus kale salad with walnuts and shallot and sweet potato casserole with baked apples and pears. Fabulous.

Workouts have been pretty decent. I'm going with my own programming for a few weeks. Not quite as intense as the strength bias program, but along the same lines by making sure I work in deadlifts, shoulder press and back squats every week. I've been feeling great so I must be doing something right. I figure after 3 years I should be able to program myself a few times a week and follow Outlaw for cleans, snatches and conditioning in between.

Holy Yoga!

Decided to do yoga 'for athletes' this morning. Wow. I'm sorry, I just can't bend like that. What do you mean put my hand behind my back and grab the other hand under my crotch? Oh no no no no, that ain't happenin my friend. It was insanely hard but I felt GREAT 5 minutes after. I really need to get back to doing it at least once every 2 weeks or so. Even if I have to modify a bit.

Lets see... my diet. Well, it has been shitty as of late. Actually since Halloween. My kids brought home 15lbs of candy. Seriously. It was obnoxious. If I was a good paleo/primal practicing mom I would have let the kids trade it in for a toy or money if they agreed but I'm not, so yes, I still have candy in my pantry. They haven't really touched it in weeks but it's still in there. The chocolate lover in me refuses to throw it away. The other reason for my poor dieting is just plain ole lack of control. 'Sure I'll have baked pineapple butter sugar dough casserole, hell give me another scoop! And add some of those oreo crumble truffles and a piece of pumpkin pie.' Yep, that was Thanksgiving this year for me. Not one of my finest moments. And yes, I paid the price that night. Hello gluten baby. But, my workout the next day was pretty good thanks to all the extra calories and carbs. I did Dirty Diane in 8 min. Not the best time, but I felt good and sometimes that's all that matters. In all reality though, the diet isn't that bad. I've been snacking more than usual but dinners are still on track. Stuffed chicken breast with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes, big salad with egg, avocado, pears and prosciutto over arugula and baby spinach.... still awesome. And I promise next time I do the chicken (since I've made it a few times now) I'll post the recipe. It's pretty damn good if you like artichokes or are looking for a different way to serve chicken. Lets face it, chicken is boring, the more recipes the better.

Speaking of new recipes. I've just about had it with eggs. I've done every possible combination known to man and some days, the thought of eating another egg makes me cry. So after taking a short break, I made eggs for breakfast today. And a thought occurred to me while deciding if I wanted fried or scrambled. Why not just saute my meat and veggies, in this case shrooms, green peppers and ham and just break the eggs in over top. If they break I'll have a loose scramble, if they don't I'll have a yummy fried egg. They actually came out terrific. One egg yolk broke the other didn't so I had this nice mix of runny yolk with my sauted veggies. Delicious. It's the little things.

Off to go shopping. 85% done. Go me.

Thanks for giving... and all that

Yeah yeah, I'm here. Still cooking, crossfitting, painting, dj'ing, skateboarding, writing... although not blogging. DJ you say? Yes. And I'm a natural if I must say so myself. I'm actually doing it right now (via the iPad) as I type this and it still sounds pretty good. Anyway, life has taken me in a different direction lately. Blogging, as much as I hate to say, has taken a back seat. Something has to give. I'm not Wonder Woman. Well, I'll never admit it publicly. The only reason I'm writing now is because my husband recently asked me if I've added a certain recipe to my blog. God no. I can't seem to make the time anymore. Not sure what the hell happened but needless to say, I haven't been able to get one up in months. I know, thats what she said.

So what have I been up to. The long short of it is. I don't know. I just don't. One day I'm happily scribbling down my recipes on a note pad beside the oven and cramming in the last season of Game of Thrones and Grey's Anatomy, next thing I know it's the day before Thanksgiving and I'm Christmas shopping my face off. Yes, I actually started earlier this year than ever. Doesn't mean I'll be finished sooner, I just won't have to spend endless amounts of time on "Huh, I wonder if dad would like a Pepperidge Farm beef stick this year?" Shudder.

We have added a new member to the family this past few weeks. George the Elf. He hasn't caused any mischief yet but I think he just needs a little time to adjust to his new family. I'm guessing he may start off small by tying everyones shoelaces together or something. Small yet insanely annoying. If you were thinking we may have gotten an animal, hell no. I'm still enjoying not cleaning up shit after 8 years.

Wods have been ok. Still plugging along 4-5 days a week. This time of year it's a little harder with my limited alone time I've been using it to shop and get holiday stuff done. Also the kids always have those 'parents come in and help bake, clean, make, craft, watch days' at school. I've volunteered quite a few times and figure next week I'll put in the last of my required hours for the year.

Still doing Outlaw programming although supplementing with a little strength bias here and there to work deadlifts back in. My back has been bugging me for a while and I wasn't quite sure why. I now know it's because Rudy doesn't program deadlifts very often and the lack of was hurting me. So now I do some 5x3's once a week and it's helped already. No need for the old lady heating pad anymore. Nothing new to report on the PR front, still working my cleans and snatches. They are improving slowly. I'm also still coaching my mom friend. She's doing well, hanging in there and doing whatever I tell her to do which is nice.

Oh well, time to head out got to pick up the kids. Recipes should start again soon.

Hello? Is it me you're looking for....

Wow, ok so it's October and my last post was the first week of August. So what have I done on my summer vacation?

The summer ended with a fantastic vacation in The Outer Banks NC. Between the fabulous weather, good friends, excellent meals and the fact that all our children were content to spend every waking minute playing nicely on the beach or in the pool, it was one of the most relaxing vacations we have had in a very long time. Anyone with small children will know 'family vacations' are usually anything but. We did not get to take surfing lessons but did get a fun 1/2 hour on the wave runners with the kids. I was with my daughter this year who had to keep reminding me I was going too slow. Yeah, 37 on a wave runner is fast enough for me. All I heard was 'daddy got his up to 42!'. Hey how about a thank you for taking me out on the wave runner for my birthday!?

Yes my kids both had birthdays in the past 2 months too. My daughter is now 8 and the dude is 6. And let me just tell you before you get any crazy ideas about having 9 girls between the ages of 8-10 over for a sleep over, DON'T DO IT. It was a waking nightmare. They all arrived about 7 and I lost control about 7:15. It was a crazy high pitched scream festival filled with candy, makeup, nail polish and drama. Oh the drama. They of course had a blast, Bob and I on the other hand were awake until 3am when I finally yelled at them to go to bed or I was going to start calling their parents to come pick them up. I now understand why parents shill out $300 on parties at Bounce U and other germ infested money suckers. It's totally worth it even if we all catch some flesh eating bacteria. Bud's birthday on the other hand was great. He had a few little friends over had some ice cream cake, candy and chased each other around with plastic guns and foam swords. A little boys dream.

Workouts. Well, between coaching my moms, vacation, Bob taking time off and having only 2 hours of free time, they have suffered. I've definitely lost some strength this summer which was apparent 2 weeks ago when I struggled to get a 185 back squat. My 1rm a few months ago was 205. I am however gaining in cleans and snatches and hit a new 3rm pr on clean and jerk at 95. The Outlaw Way programming has really helped me with that. And with the amount of back squat programming they do I should be up to 215 but like I said, I haven't been the best student. Hopefully I can get my shit together and get back on track. What I need to do is get started earlier so I can get my strength done first then do a metcon with the moms when they get here. The problem has been scaling. Some of the Outlaw stuff is way too much for them even scaled down. We've been managing but it's time consuming to find a good sub, watch and correct while I'm trying to do my own thing. What I'll probably have to do is take rest days and just teach, then on days they don't come over, do my own wods. I do enjoy it and so do they I assume... Even when I'm beating them up. Bob and I have been riding the bikes a least once a week putting in about 12-15 miles each time. That has been great and am looking forward to getting a road bike some day. I can't believe I just said that.

And believe it or not, I bought my own long board last week and bombed my first big hill that same night. Yeah, I wasn't supposed to do that but hey we all have to learn some time. Luckily for me when I got 'the shakes' (and if you have ridden a skateboard before you know exactly what I mean) I was able to keep it loose and not fall on my face doing 30 miles per hour. Yes, I bought a brain case too. Once I hit the bottom the street starts to go up a bit so I was able to naturally slow down without having to bail in someone's front yard. I'll tell you what, even though it was scary as hell, it was so god damn exciting that I couldn't stop smiling. Although, I won't be doing that again anytime soon. I might be dumb but I'm not stupid.

Skateboarding love

Thank god for vacation bible school camp. For 3 hours a day for the next 2 weeks my house will be quiet and clean. I won't have to listen to 'but she, well I, can we, it's my turn', well,  at least for a few hours a day anyway. Pure heaven.

*Edit - it's been 8 days since I started this post so technically I have 2 days left of my meager alone time in which I still can't seem to find time to actually get a post completely written and published.

Nothing special to report on the wod front. Still plugging away at The Way's programming. They've been ok. And by ok I really mean heavy and time consuming. Finally finished the Smolov squatting series. Man that sucked. I think I managed an average of 100 squats a week all between 80-90%. I did do my 1rm retest the other day and am still stuck at 205. Maybe it just wasn't a good day. Next time I'll have to actually eat breakfast first. I know. Duh. I'm so used to working out fasted that it really doesn't seem to affect me so much anymore with the exception of the strength test days... as it would seem.

The summer has been flying by and what have I been doing? Well, I took a few days off to move the kids rooms and paint. My daughter has graduated into the 'big room' and has been enjoying rubbing her friends faces in it. Not only was it a ton of work moving the furniture from room to room but I had to pick the hottest week EVER to do this. It was 100 degrees and a million percent humidity.

Bob and I decided to drain and move the pool since it was ever so slowly rolling down the backyard. That was a big pain in the ass, but it's level now and if the sun ever comes out again we'll be able to enjoy it once more.

My other new found passion this summer has been something quite unexpected for me, skateboarding. Bob got himself a long board for father's day this year and has spent most of his free time this summer cruising around the neighborhood while trying to teach the rest of us how to do it. As expected I was the most reluctant to just hop on give it a go so needless to say it took some a lot of liquid courage in the form of tequila before I would even let Bob talk me into it. My kids however fell in love with it immediately and my daughter now has her own board. Bud soon to follow I'm sure. Me on the other hand, well, I've been practicing the past few weeks and with my 7 year olds encouraging words, I have finally gotten to the point where I can ride down my street by myself. Let me tell you, the first ride was so fucking scary and yet exhilarating at the same time. Now I'm hooked.  And hell, it's just another fun outdoor activity the family can do together. Anything to get Bud away from the incessant use of technology.

With that, my free time has come to end, time to get the kids.

summertime

Summer is here and I'll tell ya, what the hell was I thinking when I said 'oh in the summer when the kids are finished school I'll have plenty of time to start The Outlaw Way programming'. Holy shit. First of all some days it's taking me an hour just to get thru warm up and barbell gymnastics let alone the strength and metcon. The kids are normally good about my exercise time but anything longer than an hour and I'm asking for trouble. Bud could care less what I do as long as he has the iPad but H needs to be busy and that involves me doing something...which 90% of the time, it's something I don't want to do.

And lucky me, I seemed to have joined The Way programming in the middle of this Smolov squat series. I got in on the second 3 week session and wow it is a tough one. Last week I couldn't make my 8x4 @160 and had to lower to 145. The other day I was able to get them at 160 but it was a struggle and I swear I almost blew a blood vessel on the last one. At this point I believe I've done about 156 squats in about 9 days. Yeah right? All of them pretty heavy too. 70%-85% of 200. Heavy enough. I'm pretty sure this is the last week so I'll be curious for my next 1RM test. If I was smart I would have done the CF total a few weeks ago then done it again after this session but sometimes I'm just not that smart.

Other wods have been pretty good lately now that I'm about 99% healthy. No, I just can't give myself that  1% because there is always something bugging me. Lately it's been my thumb and wrist, actually right in the middle between my thumb and forefinger. Hurts like a mother when I extend all the way or do something like grip and twist a door knob. I have no clue as to how it happened but it's been lingering for about 2 weeks now and is very annoying. Anyway, I did this ass kicker over the weekend. Oh my. 12 min amrap of 100' burpee broad jumps, 100' walking oh lunges with a 25# plate. Ok first of all, I'm short and so is my 'broad' jump. Yeah, the 'broad' part  is suspect, so needless to say I did more burpees than I would have liked. Walking lunges are already terrible let alone holding a plate over your head. Maybe I'm complaining more because it was so stinking hot that day, don't know but it certainly sucked. And this was after 35 back squats so my legs were already jelly.

Oh well. Suck it up and move on.

Off to go watch the kiddies in the pool 

I'm back! Sort of....

I can't even begin to remember what has been happening the past ummm, month or so since I last posted but all I know is I've been sick for the past 10 days, I made a pretty damn good stuffed chicken breast dinner last week and I got my first kipping pull ups.

So where to begin. Well, it's finally starting to wind down in the Chase household. Bud graduated preschool last week and the baseball/softball season is coming to a close. H will wrap up school this week and has her final softball game Thursday night under the lights on the 'big girl' field. It's been a pretty fun season for both of them. H really enjoyed playing and has already requested to play next year.

Bob and I have been busy as usual not only with the kids scheduled parties and play dates but between me starting to make the rounds with some touch up painting (trim and ceilings right now), coaching my moms in the garage, working on new recipes and him busy with work, the yard, the pool and replacing the bathroom sink it seems like the time has just flown by without a break. We did have one fantastic weekend a few weeks ago when it was really hot. We spent ALL day outside in the pool with the kids, I brought everything outside and cooked dinner on the grill, Bob brought the barbell out into the grass and kept our glasses filled with tequila... it was a much needed relaxing family bonding time weekend for all of us. I'm hoping we can get a few more of those in this summer... if it ever stops raining.

The garage mom training is going well. Well, was going well. I've been sick for almost 2 weeks, A has some sort of sickness and muscle spasm thing (not related to me and training thank god) and the other 2 have been busy with kid stuff. Hopefully next week we'll all get a chance to start fresh and keep a good schedule.

Speaking of that, I'm going to give myself one week to get back on the horse after this bout of sickness before I start on The Way's programming. Eeek. I'm making some good progress so it's time to move on and take it up another notch. And finally after almost 3 years of blood sweat and tears, literally, I was able to manage some kipping pull ups! Not sure how or why all of a sudden, but I finally got it. They were ugly and I could only manage about 3 at a time but it's a start. I'm pretty sure it has a lot to do with the fact that my shoulders are, dare I say 100%. Knock on wood, I haven't had any pain in months. I did however end up pretty sore on Saturday from the kipping. Wow. I must have done something right. Anyway, looking forward to practicing more so I can actually feel confident enough to try for my level 1. Yes, I think Bob and I are going to do it. We may get some help with the finance end of it, now all I have to do is look over the requirements and just get it over with. I'm hoping once Bud is in school full day I'll have enough time and experience under my belt to actually get a real job. We'll see.

Recipes? Lets see, last week I made this bacon wrapped stuffed chicken dish on the fly and it came out really well. Once I tweak a few technique issues, I'll post. Stuffing chicken is not my favorite thing to do since it's messy and could easily go horribly wrong in an instant, but, it is better than boring plain ole grilled or sauteed chicken. I had another go at stuffed peppers, trying to change it up. That still needs some work too. They were good but there is room for improvement. I don't make deserts so nothing new there other than I found that Talenti salted caramel gelato, which if you haven't tried it, it's freaking awesome, now comes in a dark chocolate covered popsicle. Yeah, it's no good for you but if you're going to treat yourself, treat yourself. Unfortunately when I bought them I was going thru this 'I've gained weight and not good weight, no junk for me ever again!' phase so Bob ate them all before I could try them. Oh well. Yes, I put on some good muscle weight, but I also added a little bad weight. Too much snacking but I cleaned up and cut out some little things and feel much better. Dropped 5lbs in a week so yeah, bad weight.

Got some stuff to get done outside before the rain, again. Gah. Oh and the garden has been great minus the little baby bunnies that ate ALL my spinach. We even put a fence. They still got at it. Bastards.

Ok, so it's been weeks

since I last posted. I'm sure I've mentioned before, I have no time anymore and I'm not quite sure what happened there. I also haven't been in the kitchen testing and making anything post worthy lately. Not that we haven't been eating well, but nothing has come up that I thought I needed to share. With that being said, I'm going to have to just post recipes when I can. Not sure what I was thinking when I said I would post one every week cause clearly, that ain't happenin.

Hmm, so what have I done. Well, I've added two more ladies to my list, Elizabeth and Helen. Both great wods. I could not do Liz as rx'd but came in close with 85# and 10 minutes. Helen was rx'd at 13 minutes. Most of my wods have been pretty good lately and I almost got a cool 95# on my shoulder press. I tried just for the hell of it and almost got it. Last year I struggled with 85. I will be starting The Way wods in a few weeks, probably when my little guy is finished school so I'll actually have time to get thru them. Overall been feeling good. My body has taken a beating with close to 200 kettlebell swings in 24 hours but it's all good. I feel stronger than ever, my shoulder pain is almost non existant and I'm still making good gains.

The girls are still with me in the garage gym and actually coming along quite nicely. I've decided to just have them do scaled versions of my Outlaw wods. Snicker snicker. There has been a lot of whining and complaining but overall, I think they like it. They keep coming back so I'll keep beating them up. We haven't been working on snatches or front squats yet and only briefly touched on cleans, deadlifts and overhead squats (with the stick). But as far as everything else, the girls are making some great improvements. Once school is over and things settle down we'll all have more time to devote to actual lifting which I'm looking forward too. Just last week Ali was able to back squat 2x3 @85 and do 30/ 45# thrusters. This is someone who has never done anything like this before so I think she is starting to see that this 'weightlifting thing' is no joke.

We haven't tried any new recipes lately, at least nothing to brag about. Now that it is warming up it's salad season for us. Nothing like a good hearty salad. My favs lately have been marinated artichoke hearts, radishes, olive medleys and arugula. I've been adding them to everything. Left over chicken, shrimp, tuna fish... it's all good. Recipe tip for you right there! See, I'm not a complete slacker.

The future coach K?

In my quest to do all the girls this year, I'm 5 down with 25 more to go? I don't know. A lot. Elizabeth was on the menu today. Love cleans, don't love dips but I am making progress on them. I came in at 10 minutes using 85# and doing the dips on the handles of our ghd. I can do ring dips but not 45 of them with any consistency. Last weekend I screwed my right wrist up, not sure how but it's still bothering me. Now that we have The Book in the house, I've tried the dreaded and painful floss band technique a few times hoping that would give me some relief. Unsure if it is or it's just a matter of rest and time. Neither of which I can afford.

Since the last time I've posted my training partner has made some great progress. And since then, we now have another victim, err... puppy (I'm stealing the 'puppy' term from BrandX because it is fitting) in training and possibly a third tomorrow. Not that I don't love that there is interest in all things Crossfit, but hell, I'm stretched to my max right now. Programming for 3 is challenging. Ali has been thru all the basic lifts and movements so the past week now she has been doing modified versions of either my Outlaw wod or mainsite which has been great for both of us. Everyone always needs a little competition/motivation. I don't get it that often. But Krista doesn't know most of the lifts and movements yet. Unfortunately for her I think that she's going to learn on the fly for most of it. She's pretty strong and athletic already. She has good flexibility and can actually do one unassisted pull up so honestly I think she'll be able to handle most of what I throw at her if she sticks with it. I'm hoping once summer rolls around we'll all be less pressed for time with kid stuff and I'll be able to really get them moving some decent weight and push them harder. Now if I only had more equipment.

I wil say this, even though this has been time consuming and throwing my schedule out of whack, I'm learning a little more each day. When you're explaining how to do a back squat or throw a wall ball, something that I take for granted after 3 years, you realize that A, you know more than you think you do and B, it's really hard to describe something that seems to come natural like squatting. I'm amazed at how many people physically cannot get down in that position. For me, as someone who can express more with her face than words, it's hard to watch sometimes lets be honest. But you gotta start somewhere.

Anyway, so my goal is to get these ladies in shape this summer and hopefully turn this into something worth while. Maybe if we're lucky Bob and I can get certified and really do this for real one day.

Recipe: Kale, bacon and shallot stuffed chicken breast

This was a spur of the moment 'I have all those ingredients' meal and it came out fantastic. Chicken is boring so I'm always trying to think of new ways to serve it. Stuffing it isn't fun and it's messy, but it is worth it in the end. For you people who do a bit of dairy every so often, add some blue cheese. You'll thank me later. Not the best photo but by the time it was time to eat, I forgot. Happens sometimes.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts
serves 2 

What you need:
2 skinless breasts
2 good handfuls of chopped kale
1/2 medium shallot, sliced thin
3-4 pieces uncured bacon
kosher salt & pepper
couple nuggets blue cheese *optional

toothpicks or string to secure chicken

What to do:
Chop bacon into pieces, (not too small) and cook it in a cast iron or chefs pan til it's crispy but not burned. Meanwhile chop kale into bite size pieces and slice shallot. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and put aside. Cook kale and shallot in bacon fat for about 7-8 minutes on medium high heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper.


While that stuff is cooking place chicken on cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound the crap out of it until it's relatively thin. Salt and pepper both sides.

Preheat oven 350. 

When kale is wilted and the onion is translucent remove from the pan with the slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl with the bacon. We want any bacon fat to sear the chicken. Let kale mixture cool a bit. Once cooled place half of the mixture in the center of the chicken, almost like you're making a taco. (If you can remember how to do that) Add your blue cheese if using. Start rolling at one end, then secure closed with a few toothpicks or string. Toothpicks are way easier. Don't overstuff.

Heat cast iron on high, add a little more fat, 1-2 tbsp if needed. Your reserved bacon fat that you diligently keep in the fridge in a mason jar would be awesome at this point, but you can use whatever oil/fat you like. Add the chicken seam side down first and sear about 3 minutes. Sear all sides 2-3 min each. When browned, throw whole cast iron skillet into oven and finish cooking about 10-12 minutes. Poke test it around 10 minutes. If it springs back, it's done.

Remove skillet from oven, remove chicken from skillet and let it rest about 5 min. Done!


I served mine with roasted brussels sprouts and a sliced tomato with basil, evoo and red wine vinegar.

You can basically stuff chicken with anything. If you have spinach or collard greens they work just as well. Only rule with stuffing chicken is have at least one item with a lot of flavor or punch. IE - blue cheese, feta cheese, olives, capers, sun dried tomatoes etc since chicken is mild.

I know I've been lame about posting

It seems like every day I just run out of time. I'm getting a lot accomplished, but it never seems to end. Spring time means tons of yard work of course. This year we planted some new shrubs, moved ornamental grass and plants and planted a new Dogwood tree. Today the 500 tons of mulch was delivered. Ok, not 500 tons but enough so I can't pull my car up all the way in the driveway. Tomorrow will be back breaking shoveling and hauling heavy loads around the house. Good thing I do Crossfit otherwise I would never be able to handle the damn wheelbarrow (wheelbarrel?) all day.

Wods have been good. Took a Crossfit mental health day yesterday. Body felt good, brain wanted no parts of a workout though. It doesn't happen very often but over the years I've learned to go with my gut and not force it. I did get the ceiling in the hallway painted so it wasn't a wasted day off thats for sure. Today was heavy back squats in which I was able to partially get 205. The first time I got stuck but the next 2 were a little better. I'm not sure if I got all the way down. I guess if I'm not sure, then I probably didn't so I'm not counting it as a new PR today. They did feel pretty good so maybe next time I'll hit it full on. The metcon was sucky today. Three rounds 400m, ttb and heavy push jerks. Yikers they were heavy at 105# but I slogged thru them. Time was slower than I would have liked but didn't really feel the need to scale. Sucking it up!

Training with A is going well. Back squats were the focus today. She actually had her best squatting form today. Weight on the back will do that and that's what I was hoping for. I had her in the cage too so I guess for her the fear of falling with the bar was gone. Slowly but surely we are making progress. Only a few more basics to get thru, wall balls, cleans, push jerks... then I'll start her on buttercup wods on BrandX. Going to jump into it head on. She has a goal in mind which is good. In 5 weeks she needs to be in a bathing suit for a carnival dunk tank. Good motivation for both of us.

Gotta a few new recipes in the bank... just a matter of tweaking and photographing.

Kids are doing well in baseball. My daughter made the first and only fly ball catch so far. So proud of her. Sure, it was probably more luck than anything but she was excited about it and it can only make her more confident in the future.

Recipe: Babaganosh

If you know anything about me you'll know I love hummus so I decided to make my own. I personally don't think there is any harm in the chic pea but the paleo police would disagree. This is my recipe for Babaganosh, traditional hummus made with eggplant.

I've made it a few times, with and without roasting the eggplant and garlic. Trust me, it's worth the extra time and effort to roast. Raw eggplant tastes like dirt. Dirt with seeds. Tahini already tastes like dirt so you need something sweet to balance it out. Maybe I should call this Babagadirt since I'm not making it sound very appetizing right now even though it really is.

Babaganosh
makes about 2 cups

1 egglplant - halved
1 whole head garlic
1/3 cup tahini
1-2 tsp cumin
2-3 tbsp lemon juice (approx)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375. While oven is preheating wrap whole head of garlic in foil, making sure to seal completely. Cut the eggplant lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place face down on baking sheet along with wrapped garlic head and roast for about 20-25 minutes. Once the egglplant is soft and browned remove from the oven and let cool. At this point, turn the oven off but leave the garlic in there.

Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle scoop out flesh into the food processor. Add tahini, salt and pepper, cumin and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

Remove garlic from oven and unwrap foil. The best way to get the garlic out is to cut the tips off the top with scissors then flip it over and squeeze it out from the bottom. Add the garlic to the blended eggplant and blend all until smooth.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Done.


I served mine with gluten free organic blue chips since I didn't have any homemade crackers.

No Mr Heavy Back Squat, I do not like you

today. Don't you hate it when your back squats feel like your trying to lift a car... or a house? Ok, mobile home. Thats how mine felt today. As soon as I got under the 165 I thought, ut oh. Normally I'm able to squash those thoughts pretty quickly. Not today for some reason. After the third set of 3 I moved the bar into the cage, juuuust incase. At that point I think just having the safety pin as backup, I was able to get the rest (175, 185) with no real issues. Other than it just sucking. Past 2 wods have beat me up for sure but overall, happy with the progress and the ability to finally do most of Outlaw's wods as rx'd (over 2 months now) and recover relatively well from them. That only solidifies my decision to move on to The Way's programming this summer. I'm pretty sure May/June will be a year with Outlaw and I've seen some pretty terrific progress with them so I'm hoping with the increase in workload with The Way, I'll hit some new pr's this summer.

My mom friend is coming along pretty well with her workouts. Still with me after 5 wods so that's a plus. Today was intro to the deadlift and burpee. No real issues so far other than full rom on squats, which we are working on. And surprisingly I'm finding that I'm a pretty decent coach, at least with the easy stuff so far. We'll see what happens when I really have to motivate later when wods get harder and heavier. I'm pretty good at telling people what to do so I should be able to handle it effectively. I may have one less friend, but it's a chance I'll take. Kidding of course. Actually I may have 2 more moms by next week. A is the guinea pig. If she survives I'm sure the other 2 moms will give in. Fear of the unknown I guess. And I noticed today that she noticed those ring rows today were a tiny bit easier. That makes me happy. She even pointed it out, 'hey did you notice I leaned back farther?' Yes I did.

Nothing new on the recipe front. Grilling up some grassfed rib eyes tonight with some grilled raddichio, blue cheese and balsamic (if it comes out as yummy as I hope I'll post it), and some sweet pots. Tomorrow or Sunday will probably be Bob's bison chili. Other than that, baseball and yardwork on the menu again this weekend. Fun fun.

Not really a recipe per se

It's not rocket science when it comes to making good bacon and eggs. Or is it? Want a little twist, stir fry some chopped green beans (they are cheap and plentiful in the summer months) and kale in the bacon grease you get from the pan and add a little fresh or dried thyme to your fried eggies. Phoning it in today friends.

Been super busy lately between training my friend, getting the yard in order, planting the veggie garden, kids practices and games, getting my own wods and the normal household stuff done. The days are flying by with what seems like nothing to show. How does that happen?

The training sessions are going well with A. Still in basics mode. Later today will be introduction to the kettlebell, jump rope and more work on squatting form and push ups.

I was able to get my full wod in today so that is a plus. Clean and jerks which I love and am making some great progress on, 7 sets of 2 @ 95# and hspu and pull ups. Pull ups still slow me down but I'm still seeing slow progress each time on them too. I also practiced something new today. Behind the neck snatch grip squat press. Yeah. It's as challenging as it sounds. I'm sure I'm not labeling it right but that's what it was. Man, they are tough. I only used the stick then the 16# bar. That was enough. Funny just when you think your form is improving, theres always another humbling movement. It was in a journal article the other day. Thought it sounded interesting and that it would help my squat snatch since I suck at them.

Anyway, off to get some stuff done and take care of my daughter who is home with a cold today.

Housewife army!

So. My neighbor mommy friend has decided to join me in the garage for the daily beatings. And next week she is brining another mutual mom friend. Muhahaha, and so it begins. My own mini army. Seriously though. I'm really excited to share my experience and knowledge with the ladies. No I'm no certified trainer but after almost 3 years, I know enough to teach a beginner the basics and to get them started on the right path. I'm hoping they stick with me for at least a month.

This morning I had mom #1 or "A" in for a basic run thru on why and how to warmup and stretch then the baseline test. Squats, sit ups, push ups and pull ups. She did ok and I think was surprised she could do pull ups even with the band. Thinking I'll go thru 2 new movements each session if I can before moving on to scaled mainsite wods. Maybe something like shoulder presses and step ups on the box. Should be interesting and am looking forward to seeing the results. Getting my wods in may be a challenge but, I'll figure it out.

That being said I did get to do some strength today after A was finished. Semi heavy back squats with 30 and 45 second 'rest' holds in between reps. No racking. That was no fun and had to bail out on the last set @ 150#. Wasn't sure I would get out of the hole if I went down and my back was rounding a bit so I had re rack and try again. Haven't done heavy back squats in about 3 weeks so I'm sure my legs will be nice and sore tomorrow. Just in time for the long day at the baseball field.

Opening day is tomorrow for the kids baseball season. Parade starts at 8:30, games at 10 and 12. Long day but exciting for them. Later on Bob and I are going to see Evil Dead. No, I don't really want to see it. I'm a chicken sh*t when it comes to overly freaky horror movies and this one seems to meet that criteria. My only hope is that everyone else around me will drown out my shrieks of terror.

Not to end with a sad note but I have to say goodbye to my mom and dad's dog Zoe who passed this morning. She was a sweet little soul and will be missed terribly.

Recipe: Veggie salad gluten free wrap

I love love love the tortilla wrap sandwich and recently I found a great gluten free wrap made of brown rice. So, needless to say I'll be wrapping everything and anything this summer. This was one I made on a whim just because I wasn't in the mood for meat. You can basically use any veggie you have on hand, it's all good. Yeah, it's hard to take a good picture of a wrap sandwich but you get the idea.

Veggie Salad wrap
makes 2 large sandwiches

handful of bean sprouts (optional)
1 cucumber - julienned
2 medium carrots - julienned
2-3 handfuls arugula (or other green you like)
12 sliced grape tomatoes (or chop/slice whatever tomato you have on hand)
1 avocado (smashed)
tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
olive oil
white or red wine vinegar

2 gluten free wraps (I use Food for Life)

The how to:
I'm in love with my julien peeler and if you had one, you would be too. I just think julienned slices are more manageable for a wrap but if you don't have one, use your skills and slice the cucs pretty thin. I would suggest matchstick style for the carrot. Once your cuc is sliced put it in a colander with some kosher salt and let it drain while you chop and gather the rest of the ingredients.

Mix cucumber, carrots, arugula, tomatoes, bean sprouts in a large bowl with some olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper.

Smash the avocado in a small bowl, add a dash of salt and pepper and chopped cilantro.

Cover the wraps with a moist paper towel and warm them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Spread the avocado on the wrap like sauce on a pizza. Edge to edge. Then place your veggie salad in the middle. Use a good 2-3 handfuls, roll half way, tuck one end, roll over. The end tuck may be a bit tricky since the tort is a little less plyable than traditional flour torts. Don't stress it's all good.

There, quick summer salad warp. Enjoy.

13.4 and 13.5 done and ehh

Well the open wods are finally finished and I must say even though I sucked at 75% of them, it was enjoyable and I actually found out I am a little stronger than I thought. Although, I do always look to the negative so when, or, if I do surpass expectations, it feels much more satisfying. Take for example the last wod 13.5. Everyone that reads this blog knows I despise thrusters immensely let alone the Fran combo. No I do not 'heart' Fran. She's a bitch and we don't get along. And my chance of stringing any pull ups together is only second to getting struck by lightning. Needless to say my expectations were very low. I thought ok, 4 minutes, I can-at-least-should-be-able-may-be-close-not-sure-I-will-get-more-than-possibly-30 reps. Way to be positive. But alas, I came in with 46 reps. Then because I was feeling like 4 minutes wasn't really enough, I did a scaled Diane and went for a slow family bike ride. If only I could have put that extra energy into the wod and pushed harder.

13.4 was another disaster for me. Not that I didn't enjoy the movements and reps, but multiple 95lb clean and jerks are heavy for me. It's only been in the past month or so that I could even get a handful of them off the ground. Maybe it was because it was the first wod I did after vacation and my body was ready to go, unsure but I managed about 26 reps. Oh well, there's always next year. Got a nice 3 mile walk/run in today at the park. Totally spur of the moment but decided I needed to be outside in the great weather rather than in the garage. Practiced the non heel strike motion since I was wearing my minimus sneakers. I have a feeling my calves are not going to be happy later.

On to food. This weekend I made another great recipe from The Domestic Man. Chicken Pad Thai. It was really good and holy hell it was spicy! I even cut back on the peppers and it was still a bit much. My advice is if you like a little spice 1/4 the peppers, if you like spice that makes your nose run do about 3/4 and if you are a hardcore spice fanatic use what the recipe calls for. Seriously. It was HOT. Yeah I know it's supposed to be but damnit, there's a limit. I will definitely try this again with shrimp and zoodles thats for sure. Bob found the Tamarind in Whole Foods. Actually we had to use Tamarind chutney and I believe it was in the Indian Foods section. I didn't even know what it was but I'll tell you it's pretty good and I'm planning on using the rest of it in a BBQ mixture for pork or maybe a burger dip or topper. If I get a recipe together using it I'll post it.

Speaking of recipes, still nothing on the iphoto thing. Not only have I just not had the time, I also seemed to have lost the handful of recipes I had typed up. Damn Pages app won't open. I did however make a pretty delicious, fast and light veggie wrap last night using gluten free wraps. Bob and I are big on salads in the warmer months and am looking forward to trying some new combinations. Because really, who can eat the same ole chef salad over and over.

Need to wrap up and get some more gardening done. Got a great start the past few days and planted tons of veggie seeds, trimmed, weeded, seeded, fertilized and air rated the lawn and still a ton left to do.

On the family front lets see.... kids are playing baseball and softball, 2 nights a week with opening day starting this Saturday. Bob is coaching Bud's team again and I have to fulfill like 4 hours of volunteer duty at some point this season. Should be interesting working around the schedules between both kids games and have a feeling Saturday wods and any other non baseball activities are going to be non existant for the next 8 weeks. At least they are getting outside and playing and having fun. Better than sitting around the house fighting over the ipad.

Road tripping

and the things I learned. Other people's kids are annoying, Disney is grossly overpriced, my kids are pretty damn good travelers and it's not impossible to stay on track and eat clean.

Lets start off by saying my kids can be annoying, I know this and I'll be the first admit it. But after spending 11 hours in Disney, you realize two things. One, your own children are less annoying than most and two, you don't want to have any more children. That being said, we did have a pretty good time in the park. And it was exactly what I expected, overwhelming, overpriced and overcrowded. You really have to know the system to get things done there. We did not, but, we did manage to hit a majority of the big rides and see the light parade and fireworks which were stunning even from a distance. The kids were super excited, over stimulated and exhausted by the end of the night. It was definitely worth it. Ok, maybe not definitely, but it was a good day.

Eating clean in Disney was tough and even I had succumb to a little gluten filled indulgence. I wasn't about to let Bud's $9 chicken and fries go to waste. It was only a few bites and I peeled off most of the breading. Sooo high maintenance. And I also had ketchup, milk chocolate, fries and potato chips. Call the paleo police! Hey, it was one day. Most of the week though I'm happy to say Bob and I did really well keeping to a good healthy Crossfitter/paleo routine. I made a ton of great food for us on the way down so we didn't have to stop and eat crap. Once we were at my mom's we had a great dinner of crock pot pork ribs and sauerkraut. Then about 3 meals out at restaurants, including this greek place Hellas in Tarpon Springs. Yep, it was tacky looking and filled with tons of retirees but the food was delicious and sitting on the open air patio in the warm weather couldn't be beat. I got a Gyro platter (so it wasn't wrapped). Bob got a sampler with stuffed grape leaves, gyro and pastitsio. And as a sidenote, leftover lamb was awesome in our eggs the next morning. No, even I could not finish the whole thing.

We also managed to get some wods done a few days. Day 1 in the hotel was a 10, 9, 8 burpee ladder. Day 2 was a 1.5 mile walk with the kb held in various positions. Day 3 was...800 meters, 10, 9, 8... push up, kbs, 800 meters. I wanna say we did another one but I can't remember. Then that was about it for me. Time was not on our side and we had a few long days and late nights. All in all it was a good trip. The weather was beautiful, palm trees and turquoise water were picturesque, the kids were great in the car and even Easter in the beach side bar with my daughter throwing up wasn't bad. Yes, little princess got a stomach bug Sunday while we were visiting my grandmother in Vero Beach for Easter Sunday. That continued to Monday's travel day home which was fun. Word to the wise, when your 7 year old says 'I'm going to throw up', that means right that second. Yeah, in the car all over her seat. Gah. There is nothing worse than throwing up in the car and trying to pull over to the side of the road while on a bridge doing 75 miles an hour in traffic. Total chaos. At least for Bud, Bob and I, the bug waited until we got home. We're all almost a 100% now, but it wasn't a very good homecoming.

Hoping to bang out last weeks open wod of clean and jerks tomorrow then get on to last nights thruster pull up wod on Sunday. Two of my favorites. Not. I expect that will be a 4 minute wod for me. Oh well. It will feel good to get back on the bar though. Having a week off was probably good for my body but I'm starting to feel the urge to get my ass kicked again. How sick is that?

I've dropped the ball again

For some reason I have no time to do what I want, only what I have to. I still haven't looked into the iphoto issue and have yet to pull myself together to work on another recipe. Actually, I do have them, but no pictures which make the recipe look more appealing, literally. I've also been in a craptastic mood the past few days. Unsure why. Oh right, maybe because some little punk stole my 21-15-9 magnet off my car, it's spring and it's snowing and I can't seem to cook anything right lately. I had a massive superterrificdinnerfail the other night. Bad read: rancid chicken plus sticky mushy over cooked rice noodles lead to a garbage bag full of food and a last minute bacon and eggs dinner. Not that there's anything wrong with bacon and eggs but the wasted time and food bugs the hell out of me.

So the next open wod includes one thing I simply cannot do and other I cannot do rx'd. I don't have a 14# ball. Even went to a few stores looking for one. Nothing. And I refuse to pay $100 for a 'Rage' ball. Sorry Rage, never heard of you. And muscle ups, forget it. Looks like I'll be doing a modified scaled down version. At least I have something to shoot for, beating last years score which was 219 since I am a bit better at double unders this time around.

Other than that, taking the day off. No running walking or otherwise. Haven't had a true rest day in about 5 days so in order to give it my best tomorrow, I need to rest the shoulders which are in pretty sad shape today. With the past few days of wall walks, push jerks, hspu, push presses, muscle ups and kbs my shoulders are mad. But, I will say this, they can take more and more abuse with each passing week. This time last year I would have to take about 2-3 days rest to heal up from hspu and heavy push jerks. Hell, this time last year I couldn't really do hspu without pain let alone anything else.

Still have a ton of stuff to do for Florida. Got some packing started, things put aside and lists made. This weekend I'll probably make a bunch of food like meatballs, protein balls, salad/veggie fixins, chicken breast and banana bread and cookies for the kids. I'de really like to avoid fast food, which it doable on the way down with the exception of Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks of course. The way back may be a bit more challenging since I won't have time to prepare a ton of stuff before we leave. We'll see.

13.2 and randomness

Ok so I have a ton of things I want to mention and I'll try to make it quick... which seems to be the story of my life this past week or so.

Number one. I did 13.2 today and did pretty well. I was hoping to at least get 5 rounds and ended up getting 7+ with a total of 233 reps. Fortunately the Crossfit gods spared me on the box jump rules this time in allowing step ups. I did have to resort to them about the 4th round if for no other reason than to keep going while trying to catch my breath. They were jumping step ups, but step ups none the less. The push jerks and deads went better than expected. They were all unbroken which I think, well, I know, saved me some time to huff and puff thru the box jumps. I liked this wod and felt like I put up a pretty respectable number. Moving on.

Number 2. I apparently lost all my photos from the past 2 years when I updated my laptop. There are a few still there and some videos, but over 400 photos are not showing up in iPhoto. Son of a bitch. They are in my finder but I can't get them to transfer over to iPhoto without an error. So, with that being said, the recipes I was planning on posting will have to take a back seat for a bit until I can figure out how to fix this. Ugh.

Number 3. I've got too much on my plate. Between the stupid stuff like getting my tire fixed, shopping, prepping for painting, reading at my son's story time, workouts and regular everyday house stuff I've been maxed out. Fortunately I've been feeling great energy wise since tightening up the diet and taking my vitamins so I'm able to keep up and get everything done, but shit, I need a break. We're leaving for Florida in about 10 days and I have not one thing done in preparation. Usually I'm well ahead of the game for a big family outting like this. Oh wait, I did buy new bathing suits for myself and the kids. OK, so I have one thing done.

Number 4. At 8pm last night we got a visit from our local policeman saying hey, we chased a robbery suspect behind your house yesterday afternoon and he stole two guns which may or may not have been thrown over your fence as he was escaping, mind if we take a look? UH WHAT? It was just a precaution but still. Yikes. A guy running from the cops with stolen guns behind my house? What is this COPS? I live in yuppyville central not the hood. Anyway, he was caught and there were no guns for my kids to play with.

Well, off to hook the new kitchen tv up, start taping the trim and get some laundry done. It never ends.

13.1 and days gone by

What a week. So I did the first open wod. Eeek. Love it when two of my favorites come up and I finished about where I thought I would. 101 legit, 120 with 19 scaled snatches @65#. Took me 3 attempts to get one snatch at 75 so instead of struggling thru I lowered and banged out 19. I'm only doing this for fun anyway. Riiiight. Fun. Past couple days of wods have been ok, nothing to write home about. Keeping on a good schedule, had a good IF day, cut back on my snacking and have been taking my vitamins D and C. I've been feeling pretty good, no overly sore body parts and have been able to hold off a full blown cold so I guess the immune boosting powers are working for me.

Made a few new recipes over the past few days. One was The Domestic Man's chicken francesca. It was really good if you do dairy and fake pasta. I guess you could technically use the thick part of the coconut milk and serve it over zoodles but I was willing to take one for the team. Another good one was this pork, fennel, apple meatball recipe. I served this with regular homemade sauce over zoodles. The kids weren't crazy for them but my daughter's friend thought they were the shit. No, she did't say that, but she did eat 5 of them. Bob took the leftovers for lunch and ate them with some homemade bbq sauce and said they were great. Oh and I actually used my food grinder attachment for this recipe. No it doesn't call for it but I had a pork tenderloin out when Bob forwarded me the meatball recipe so I figured what the hell, why buy ground pork when I can grind it myself. Two things. Number one, grinding raw meat is disgusting and number two grinding raw meat is disgusting. Not that it will stop me from any future grinding or sausage making endeavors, but it was pretty gross between the sound and smell. Anyway, it was a good quick recipe. I'm always on the lookout for new meatball recipes.

Kids are doing well with the new dinner rules. Well, my daughter is, the dude is not. He's not necessarily eating a full dinner of meat and veggies but he is at least being coaxed into tasting everything. That's all I can ask for right now. My daughter is actually eating most meals including the dreaded bbq coated meatloaf which she was always afraid of.

So with 1 1/2 weeks left before we leave for Florida, what better time than to start painting. I know. Not that smart but I feel like I'm on a roll and need to get it done now before I put it off another 5 years. And besides, we have everything for once. That right there is a small miracle. I'm only painting the ceiling in the front hallway (we had a leak patched) so it's not a huge project but as any type A knows, it always turns into a huge project. We'll see what happens. My luck I'll get it done zippy skippy and while we're gone for the week the noxious paint fumes will kill the parakeet. Eh. He's had a long life already.

Recipe: Mango Pineapple Salsa

Around this time of year, well early February moreso than March, but anyway, this time of year you usually can find plenty of pineapple (or SpongeBob's house as my kids refer to it) and mango on sale at the grocery stores and even the farmer's markets. So what better to make than mango pineapple salsa. I've paired it with salmon, tilapia, tuna and pork. I'm sure it would be wonderful with seared shrimp as well. It's also good as a regular salsa, chip dippin type of salsa that is. Different, colorful, springy.

Mango Pineapple Salsa
Serves 4 or 2 very hungry adults with leftovers for eggs

3-4 slices fresh pineapple, diced
1 mango, peeled, diced
1 small green/red/orange/yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1 jalepeno, prepared how you like it, diced
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
glug of extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan sea salt, pinch

Mix all together and let it sit in the fridge at least an hour if you can. You can also use lime juice and yellow onion if that's what you have on hand. For me the lime juice was a little too tangy especially if your mango wasn't terribly sweet. But, if that's all you have and it ends up being too (insert puckered lips sound here) first try to add a little more oil to even it out. If it's still too tangy add a smidge of raw honey or a pinch of your favorite sweetener. Enjoy.

I did it!

I finally found pre-made gluten free frozen meatballs. I know. I can't contain my excitement. Not that I can't make my own meatballs but on those days where I don't really feel like cooking or everything is either frozen or needs to be marinated for hours, dinner usually ends up zoodles or spaghetti squash spaghetti and meatballs or sausage. And let me tell you, it was hard to find frozen meatballs that did not have wheat flour based bread crumbs included. No, I wouldn't make a habit of eating them but it's a nice easy go to when I need it.

Anyway enough about meatballs. Been feeling good lately, back to a good schedule, taking my fish oil and vitamin D. Had a nice IF day yesterday and then loaded up on a white rice/chicken/cheese burrito bowl for dinner. Which was awesome by the way. I'm pretty sure the extra calories and starch helped me smash some high hang power clean and jerks @95 this morning. My hang clean has really improved over the last few months. 95 used to be pretty tough and was weak 1rm, now I can do a few in a row and still feel good about them. Progress. The metcon went well today too. I didn't think it would since it involved one arm kettlebell snatches and pull ups. My left arm kb snatch is pathetic and am pretty sure by the summer I'll look like Popeye with one jacked arm and one weak ass arm if I don't do something about it. Today I actually found the rhythm of the snatch swing which has eluded me in the past. Maybe it was lack of practice since I've only had the 35# bell for a little over 3 months, but something just clicked today. And even my weak ass left arm was able to get it done. No anchor tattoo for me anytime soon.

Got a few more recipes in testing phase. One needs a tweak here and there but it's about 90% yummy. Tomorrow I'll have a nice easy mango pineapple salsa recipe which is great on fish, chicken or pork.

Both kids have been sick the past few days. Thankfully they are both feeling better today and finally went back to school. They really pushed my buttons yesterday. My little guy just got home from school and has passed out in his room. Probably only the 4th or 5th time he has ever willingly turned down the chance to play xbox and crawled into bed instead. Poor Bud. My daughter went on another 6 mile mud trail bike ride with daddy this weekend. Then on Sunday she rode to the grocery store (about 3 miles or so) with dad in 40 degree weather. Think that may have put her over the edge on her cold. She's feeling better though. She took the day yesterday to relax, nap and have some broth which helped a ton. Who doesn't love a good nap? Which is exactly where I'm headed in a few. I'm back to reading The Wheel of Time books, well, the last one that just came out a few weeks ago. It's a good book but can be very sloooow which on some days is the perfect relaxation technique to get me to pass out in my favorite chair only to wake myself up snoring 20 minutes later. Yes, I snore. If you say you don't, you lie like a rug.

Sometimes I'm just not that smart

I really like to think I am but I'm woman enough to admit that I'm not. At least not all the time. The other day I had to do top load deadlifts. I'm pretty sure I mentioned them. You start with the bar at your thigh and work down then back up twice. Touch and go. Do this 7 times at 190#. Well, 190 for me, based on percentage. Yeah, it's a lot and no I've never done them before. I may have also mentioned that I knew my form wasn't great at that weight and my back will pay the price, well, two days later here I am still paying the price. Sigh. I do feel much better today and actually got a nice little wod done including a few 400m runs since it is actually sunny and somewhat warmish today. Yesterdays mental health day really helped. Bud was at school all day and I did nothing which was as awesome as it sounds.

Well my little guy is sick again thanks to his little girlfriend at school. He came home the other day and say Jackie coughed all over me. Great. Just great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed patient X keeps his little booger fingers to himself and doesn't spread the sickness to the rest of us.

I'm proud to say that Bob and I are still sticking to the 'you'll eat what we eat for dinner' or at the very least, you'll try a piece. My daughter is making progress, she's at least not fighting me about it anymore and realized she actually likes pork. My son still refuses most nights and would rather not eat at all. He'll come around eventually once he realizes he has no choice anymore. Must. Stick. With. It. They do get their 'free meals' where they can pick. Only a few times and usually when Bob will be home late or if we are eating seafood. I'm giving them a pass on trying seafood for now. At least until they realize meat, pork and turkey are good for them and they shouldn't be afraid of it. I recently read an article on MDA about getting kids to eat primal, or healthier. They say get the kids involved in the whole process. Shopping, cooking etc. I've tried that and it didn't work for me. Maybe I'll try it again now that they are a little older.

Not much else going on. Going thru a little Dexter withdraw. Tends to happen when you watch 7 years worth of shows every day for the past 3 months. Now we're back to either watching previous seasons of Breaking Bad or hoping the evil red machine (Netflix) will decide to send us good movies.

Recipe: Crock Pot Chicken Stock

Lets be honest, it's not hard to make broth, but it is hard to make it taste good. Now that I've got the bone broth recipe down, I had an idea which made the hamster wheel start turning. Why wouldn't I use the same method to make chicken broth? Duh. In the past I've always just thrown the carcass in a huge stock pot, covered it with water added some salt and pepper and boiled it to death for a few hours. Sound familiar? This time I dragged my frozen carcass and leftover legs out, threw them in the crock along with some veggies and herbs and let it simmer for about 30 hours. Wow. What an unbelievable difference. And the color was almost as dark and rich as the beef broth. What a fool I've been not to do this sooner.

Crock Pot Chicken Stock
makes approx 11 cups

1 leftover roaster chicken (bones, fat, skin, meat)
*plus 6-7 leftover frozen chicken legs or other parts
1 medium carrot or handful of baby carrots
2 celery stalks, halved
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 large onion
1/2 tsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp kosher salt

Throw all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cover with water. Cook on low for at least 24 hours. Once finished strain and pour into jars or containers and refrigerate or freeze. Again as with the beef broth, I salt to taste as needed for use. Don't forget to let the broth cool for a day in the fridge then remove the fat layer BEFORE freezing.

You can see in the picture the fat that formed on top after a few days. Let it go until you need to open it. The fat keeps it 'sealed'.

Another note worth mentioning. The night I made the roaster, I picked it pretty clean of chicken for leftovers and put it in a ziploc bag, including the onion, parsley and rosemary sprigs and garlic that was still in the cavity. I did remove the lemon since I tried making stock with the lemon before and I wasn't too thrilled with the taste. The carcass ended up in the freezer for a few days until I had time err, remembered that it was in there. I also had a few leftover chicken leg bones in the freezer from a different recipe, Nom Nom's Phenomenal Green Chicken. Why am I saving half eaten food? Because MDA pointed it out. If you're a stock maker, always save bones in the freezer until you have enough. So I am. I'm a good little recycler. (that was one of my New Year's non resolutions) Although, if someone has scurvy while eating said chicken parts, I would feed them to the trash can.

If you have the time and leftover random chicken bones, I would definitely use this stock to make the Escarole soup. I would hate for the soup to turn out just OK because of tasteless store bought broth.

Recipe: Escarole Soup

Coming from an Italian family, escarole soup or Italian Wedding Soup was one of my favorites growing up. Well, to be honest, I only ate the meatballs and drank the broth. Floating eggs and green stuff? No way. But as I got older I learned to appreciate it and now come to think of it as one of my many Sunday dinner comfort foods my grandmother used to make.

Traditional escarole soup is chicken broth base, escarole greens, mini beef/pork/lamb meatballs and eggs mixed with parmesan. There are tons of other versions that include orzo, white beans and even shredded chicken. None of them compare, but to each his own. For our purposes, we will leave out the evil grains and beans. And for those of you who are strict paleo, leave out the parmesan if you must. I wouldn't but I'm a recovering cheese addict therefore my opinion is a tad bias. Also, if you don't have ground pork and lamb, plain ground beef or turkey will work just as well.

Escarole Soup
For the meatballs
1 1/2 lbs beef/pork/lamb mix
1/2 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan (leave out if your paleo strict)
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and shape into mini meatballs. Very mini, no wider than a quarter. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake for about 15 minutes. (I actually made about 30 mini meatballs then made about 10 extra regular size to keep in the fridge as protein snacks)

For the soup
1 head escarole, rinsed and chopped into bite size pieces
8 cups chicken stock*
2 eggs beaten
salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot boil the escarole in salted (just a shake or two) water for 15 minutes. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the water. (this will kill some of the bitter taste) If you don't mind it or don't have time, it's ok to skip that part. In same pot fill with chicken stock, reserved water, escarole and cooked meatballs. Bring to a rolling boil then slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a circle. Let the eggs rise to the top then gently break up large clumps with a spoon. Don't mash them to death, just break them up. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. The longer you let it sit the better. So if you say, have a wod to do and it ends up being 45 minutes, (poor you) it's ok to let the soup lightly simmer.

In the glory days I would have served it with a nice heaping piece of crusty baguette but, times have changed. For most of us Crossfitters, it probably won't be enough to eat alone as a main meal unless you're looking to go light that particular day. I mean, what soup is that filling that doesn't have cream or cheese or potatoes in it? So I would probably serve it as a side or starter along with a nice lean piece of meat or seafood.

*The chicken stock was homemade in this case. I suggest either making your own or buying a brand that can really stand up to the mug test. If you can't heat broth up in a mug and drink it alone, you shouldn't be cooking with it. And certainly not making soup with it. I'll post the chicken stock recipe later today or tomorrow if I get a chance.

OK winter, I'm done with you

I need warm sunshine to get me out of this funk. It has to be the weather right? Seasonal affective disorder? What is the cure for that anyway? Oh right, summer.

Yesterday was a chilly 45 degrees and my rest day. Bob took the girl on a muddy 10 mile bike riding adventure in the woods and my son was doing his usual, playing Legos and making pretend You Tube videos. OK, yard work here I come. And while I only put a minor dent in the yard, I noticed the tulips are starting to bud. So between that and The Masters and NCAA tournament talk ramping up, it's a good sign spring is finally on the way.

Workouts have been ok. Seems like I ended up in a deload week last week. Not by design but I guess my body needed it. I did put my fair share of work in 5 days out of 7 but I didn't bust my ass doing strength and a metcon each day. Not sure why, like I said, I'm in a funk. Today's wod was a suck fest for me. Top load deadlifts  and 7/2 min amrap of double unders, pull ups and burpees. Yeah, like I said, suck fest. The deadlifts were hard at 190# and my back was paying the price with the weak form. I've never tried 2 rep touch and go with that much weight let alone starting from the top and dropping down. Tough on the grip. I managed 3 out of 7 then lowered to 155# to practice more on form. My back wasn't very happy with me this morning as it was but now it's angry. My cash out will be sitting on the heating pad for a bit.

I know there are plenty of mixed reviews on heat vs ice for sore muscles but for me, the heating pad works best for lower back pain. It's not only comforting, but it keeps me loose so I can roll it out. Ice does or did help my shoulder pain so I get the pros and cons of both. Honestly though, you can tell me until you're blue in the face heat is bad and causes inflammation, I still won't stop using the heating pad. I'm stubborn and always right. At least in my head.

Got a new recipe in the works for Wednesday. Well, not a new one per se. But an old recipe I haven't made in a very long time that is primal friendly. I won't say paleo since it's best served with parm, although you can remove it. Anyway, an old Italian comfort food will be coming your way.

Speaking of recipes I tried The Domestic Man's russian beef patty thing last week. Now, the picture look less than appealing and hell, the idea of it is even less than less than appealing BUT it tastes great. It's relatively easy to make and most people probably have all the ingredients already. Hence the reason I even made it. That and the fact that Bob suggested it. He's been right on the money so far. Anyway, if you can get past the words 'beef cutlet' then go for it. It was a nice surprise.

Recipe: Beef Bone Broth

If you don't have mason jars, go to the store and buy a case of them. They are cheap and will come in handy more than you think. Otherwise, start saving your salsa and pickle jars people. 

Beef Bone Broth
makes 1 batch or approx. 3- 24oz mason jars

2 marrow bones, approx 2-3lbs
1 yellow onion, cut in half with skin on
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped in half
2 medium carrots, cut in half
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp peppercorns
1 tbsp kosher salt

Throw everything in the crock and fill to the top with water. To make it easier on yourself, don't worry about peeling the onion, garlic or carrot. I would however rinse off the celery. Everything will be strained out later anyway.

Keep crock on high until it starts to boil then reduce heat to low. If you're doing this before work or you won't be home later, just set it to low. Let it cook a minimum of 24 hours. I've made about 8 batches now and the longer it cooks, the better. I usually keep it going for at least 36 hours.

Once it's finished, pull out the bones, you can and should reuse them one more time. Strain broth thru a fine mesh strainer and throw away all cooked veggies and herbs. At this point I usually taste but do NOT adjust for salt. It's easier to adjust the salt (if needed) on demand say per cup, or within a recipe. I don't like to risk over salting, because once you do, there's no going back. Don't ruin 2 days worth of work.

Pour broth into mason jars leaving a little room at the top. Keep the lid off and let them cool for a few hours before putting them in the fridge. Do not skim the fat, this will 'seal' it for refrigeration. You can store the jars in the fridge for a few weeks unopened. Once opened, I would use within the week. And when you open them for use, poke a hole in the fat and pour thru a strainer again. MDA says to save the solid fat to cook with. I've used it once and wasn't terribly crazy about it, but you may like it. I store mine in a jar in the fridge as backup just in case.

If you plan on freezing, pour the broth into plastic containers. If you're like me and have leftover large ricotta or wonton soup containers from the good ole days, they work fine. Again, fill and let cool. This time I would recommend letting them cool in the fridge until the fat solidifies on top, then carefully remove it before freezing. It will save you a lot of messy fatty hassle when you reheat later.

*If you're reusing the bones, and you should, just add fresh veggies and herbs. The second batch is just as good and less fatty.


I found not only is drinking the broth good for you, it's awesome for days you want to IF and need to take the edge off the hunger. Trust me, some days I can go without eating and not even think about it, but other days I can't get thru a few hours and the broth is nice to have at that point.

No, that was no fun

I'm still scared of 24" box jumps. I can't get over it. I had to do burpee box jumps today and I could not get them properly with any consistency. They were more of a jumping step up... most of them anyway. I thought about just taking it down to 20" but I was almost finished at that point and said to myself just suck it up you big sissy! Sigh. It seems like I have to start over again at 20" to get my confidence back. The brain is a tricky little muscle and sometimes works against me.

The rest of the wod was pretty crappy as well. It was only like, 1 minute on 30 second rest, 1:30 minute on 30 second rest, 2 min etc... for 3 rounds which seems doable and really, not that terrible. You'de think I would know by now. It was a sneaky little wod. Heavy kbs, burpee box jumps and double unders. Gassers all of them, even in short bursts, and 30 second rest? Please. Yeah, it's better than nothing, but not by much. Anyway, I also did high bar back squats which felt great today. My legs felt great. (check in with me again tomorrow) The sore spot was the bar resting on my shoulders/traps at first but I guess the weight worked out the knots I had there because they actually felt better once I was finished the set.

Yesterday's wod was a good one too. Power cleans, t2b and wall balls in 12 minutes. And I'm happy to say my metcon power clean weight is about 85 now. I've been stuck at the 'safe' 65-70lb range since I knew I could do it. Guess I am still making progress on Outlaw after 9 months. I think once I hit a full year of his programming I'll move on to The Way's programming. Longer wods and more intense but by summer I should have the time to invest into it without worrying about the kids schedules. Unless I chicken out. There's always that.

Well I should have a recipe for tomorrow but my Pages application, where all my stuff is saved, is acting up so if I have time to redo it, I will.

Crappy Valentine's

Being a "Master" sometimes sucks. Sure I feel great and really, age is just a number but sometimes we just can't seem to catch a break in this house. Bob has been laid up the past 2-3 days with back spasms and I had a freaken bladder infection. Without going into detail, it was uncomfortable and kept me up most of the night Wednesday and I was feeling pretty crappy Thursday but thanks to Urgent Care, I got some meds and problem solved. Needless to say Valentine's Day was a bust, not that we had any particular plans but I'm sure we'll make up for it this weekend with a nice dinner and some sea salt caramel ice cream. OH MY.

Did Isabel the other day for the first time. Not sure why I haven't done it before, probably because it's 30 snatches and I've been fighting bad shoulders for so long. But, I did it and did better than I thought. 65lbs in 5 min. Not too bad since the snatch isn't my best lift. Today wasn't too bad with push press strength and ME double unders and pull ups. I did manage to PR my push press by 10lbs since November coming in with 115#. I may have gotten 120# all the way up if my traps weren't so sore from Isabel but it is what it is. Next time. Still happy with the progress. My unbroken double unders and pull ups were pathetic to say the least. I mean, 10 double unders? Really? WTF. You only get 3 chances, my highest was 20. Gah. Oh well. Wasn't in the mood to bust my ass today anyway.

I think I'm going to try do all the ladies this year. Yeah, quiet down you pervs you know what I mean. There are quite a few I've never done. Not sure why, but hopefully I'll be able take care of them no matter how bitchy they are.

Been busy in the kitchen testing some new recipes, got a few good ones in the works including loaded sweet potato pancakes and my homemade tomato sauce. There is no excuse, you should not be eating tomato sauce from a jar I don't care what the ingredients say.

Not much else happening. My laptop gave me fits yesterday and I almost cried. I could live without my Iphone for a day few hours if I had to, but not my laptop. I'm an addict. All is well and only because I had my trusty Iphone to look up how to fix my laptop. Shit, what did we used to do before all this technology? I can't even remember. Other than that, Bob and I are catching up on some early Breaking Bad episodes and finishing up season 7 of Dexter. Great great television between the two. Dexter has been fantastic and it will be sad to watch the final season this year.

Recipe: Orange Garlic Shrimp w/arugula

What do I do when I'm craving salad but need protein too? Throw in some shrimp of course. I always keep frozen shrimp in the house thanks to Giada. She said it was one of her go to last minute favorites and it turned out to be mine too.

Orange Garlic Shrimp w/Arugula
Serves 2

2 dozen raw shrimp peeled, deveined, tails removed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp orange zest

salt & pepper

1 tsp olive oil (or macadamia, walnut, sesame, avocado) I would NOT use coconut

1 tbsp aminos or tamari

Mix all together, cover and refrigerate for a few hours. 

Dressing

Large orange

1/4-1/2 tsp grated or minced ginger (jarred ok too)

2 tbsp EVOO

Cut orange in half lengthwise and juice 1/2 of it. Whisk together juice, oil and ginger, refrigerate while cooking shrimp. 

Optional

Avocado, sliced 

Walnuts, chopped

Green onions, sliced thin

Instructions

Heat skillet on med high, add shrimp. Don't move them unless they are not laying flat. Sear 1 minute then flip and sear for another 1-2 min or until pink. Remove and let sit.

Peel the other half of your orange, segment and chop segments in half or thirds if needbe. 

In a bowl toss your greens and a little of the dressing and some salt & pepper. Plate your greens, add oranges, shrimp and drizzle a little more of the dressing on top of shrimp. You can also add a little green onion, walnuts or avocado or all three for a little extra good fat. 

(I also used thin sliced Raddichio for color) Be warned, it is very bitter when not cooked, although Bob and I like it. 

Nice way to start the day

The sun is shinning, it's 45 degrees instead of 25 and I finally got my 200lb back squat. I've been stuck around 190-195 for what feels like an eternity, but really it's only been a few months.... which I guess is long enough. It was hard as hell to get that first inch back up but once I got it, I got it. I remained in my happy place for my 3/ 400m sprints and came in with a best at 1:33. Not gonna lie, I hate the sprint work but it actually felt good to run and give the arms a rest after the squat clean work yesterday. I'm sure I'll pay for it later but right now, I feel great.

Nothing much going on otherwise. Finished the taxes already. One monkey off my back. Next we have to start making plans for our trip to Florida next month. We are driving down to see my parents during Easter week and hoping to make a stop at Lego Land. Both the kids love Legos and this may be the only opportunity I have to find actual Angry Bird Legos. I mean, they have to have them right? They make anything and everything out of Legos, why not Angry Birds? Bud doesn't know about my secret mission but I'm sure if we actually find them, he will in fact shit in his pants. And yes, I said we were driving. Driving 2 days with 2 kids in the car. Sounds more frightening than filet of fish nuggets but I'm holding out hope we will have enough electronic gadgets to get us thru.

Looking forward to my rest day tomorrow, and I may actually take one so I can get some more recipes finished.

Wait, what happened?

What the heck happened to my past few days? Lets see, workout wise, I've done a few ass kickers. Thursday was a killer 20 minute chipper including hspu, pull ups, kbs, sit ups and burpees. It ended with 70 burpees. Yeah, it was pretty terrible but what sucked was that I was about 2 1/2 minutes from making the 20 minute cut off. I did finish the wod and happily all rx'd. No assistance on the 40 pull ups. Yes, it took me forever, but I needed to finish no matter how long it took.

Saturday we got about 5" of snow so we took the kids sledding at the golf course down the street. No, they don't technically allow it, so yes we had to sneak on like everyone else. The kids loved it. They have never been on any real big hills so they were really excited. Both of them even tried to ride the sled down like a snowboard and they were great at it. No fear. Guess we need to take a winter weekend ski trip next year. Even mommy gave it a try but had to bail after about 10'. Mommy and snowboarding don't mix. Ended the day with some hot cocoa and gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

Sunday I did one of the ladies, Diane. I didn't realize the past two times I've done it I did a scaled version at 15-12-9, 105# and piked push ups. This time I did the 21-15-9 @ 140 and real hspu. Not too bad, 9 min. The deadlifts felt ok, next time I'll have to try the rx'd 155.

Made a few good dishes this past weekend including salmon, burgers and grass fed filet and have something in the works for tonight. Thinking orange sesame garlic shrimp. Still tweaking some things but I should have at least one recipe tomorrow.

Recipe: Loaded nachos

I swear, there are tortilla chips in there somewhere.

And yes, there is cheese in there too. What self respecting nacho wouldn't be covered in at least a little cheese.

If you've read any of my previous posts you'll know I love Nom Nom Paleo's slow cooker Korean beef short ribs. Only I usually do pork ribs, because number one, Bob and I love pulled pork, number two, the grocery store doesn't usually have nice looking or enough beef short ribs for the recipe. This time I got lucky so I actually used the beef.

Once I made my mind up that I was in fact going to make these ribs for Superbowl Sunday, it didn't matter what I was serving them with. I just wanted the ribs. So after a few hours I thought, hey, we'll just do some nachos with the shredded meat. It's a lazy Sunday football day. I put my time in the garage gym and got my ass kicked. Why not? I know, 8 hours worth of cooking to make nachos? Yes. Double yes. With Bob's homemade pico, some sliced plain avocado and a little shredded cheddar, they were probably the best nachos I've ever eaten. Hands down. We ended up eating the whole tray. Normal people probably wouldn't but we did. Hey, it was our dinner.

Here's what I did if you have the 8-9 hours to spare to make the meat and are willing to just shred it up for nachos. Honestly, you'll have enough to eat it for dinner one night, make nachos and save some for eggs the next day so don't get your panties in a bunch about it.

Loaded Nachos
*makes one giant cookie sheet worth of nachos and should feed about 4 people (if you're not us)

Nom Nom Paleo's slow cooker grass fed Korean short ribs (see link above for recipe)
Handful of grated cheddar (if you do cheese)
1 avocado, diced
Organic blue tortilla chips (or whatever chips you like)

Pico
3/4 pint of grape tomatoes, diced small but not minced into oblivion
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-3/4 of a green bell pepper, diced
jalepeno, diced (seed and only use half if you want to reduce the heat)
small handful of cilantro, chopped
2-3 glugs of olive oil
juice of one lime (if not a real juicy one, you may want to use another)
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Mix all and let it get happy in the fridge for a while. A good tip about pico is making sure to dice your veggies all the same size. You don't want huge chunks of onion and minced peppers. Besides, it looks prettier when they are all the same size.

Once the meat is done cooking, remove fat and bones and shred. If you plan on reserving some for another dish, use about 2 ribs worth of meat for the nachos or whatever you feel would be enough.

If you are using cheese, preheat the oven to 350. Layer your chips on a cookie sheet trying to give them some space for good coverage. Sprinkle the cheese on the nachos, then add the meat making sure to spread the love to ALL the nachos, not just the ones in the center! Throw them in the oven until the cheese is melty, about 8-10 minutes. Remove and top with the pico and chopped avocado.

*Obviously if you are not using cheese, just layer the meat, pico and avocado. No need to put it back in the oven.

I swear it will wipe clean the memories of chips covered with Cheez Whiz, canned chili and sour cream.

I've said it before

and I'll say it again. I dislike the snatch. OK, the hang snatch isn't that terrible and that's what I did today so I'll stop complaining. I was able to get 3 sets of 5@60# with no pause in the crease so I am slowly making progress. My grip and forearms didn't like it much but it was only 5 at a time. I think my next investment equipment wise will be a good 'women's grip' oly bar. The times that I have used one, it makes a huge difference for me. My hands are dainty delicate flowers. I think I need a smaller bar. Time to check out Get Rx'd.... Or I could just shut up and get over it.

Speaking of getting over it. I told myself today that from now on I will put on my big girl pants and stop using the band for pull ups. Time to cut the cord, even if it doubles my times. I was able to do 30 today, 15 at a time so I can do it. I'm not making any promises that I won't break when I have to do a workout that includes 25-50 reps, but I'll try.

My helper and I made some stuffed pork tenderloin last night. I adjusted the recipe a tad to include what I had on hand. Instead of olives I used capers, I used roasted red peppers and I did not add the pine nuts. It was still very tasty if you like the briny and bitter of the caper and spinach. There are so many ways to stuff a tenderloin. I'll have to experiment next time.

Now that my daughter has been trying new foods she is becoming more interested in actually cooking. I suppose she's always had an interest but I think now she gets it. She is seeing what is going into the dinners I make and understanding that she actually does like most of the foods already. Bud on the other hand, well, he's making an effort and that is all I can hope for at this point. He did eat pork and mashed squash last night, eventually after a lot of convincing. He thought the squash was sweet potato (which he will eat) and I didn't correct him. Now if I can only get him to eat something, ANYTHING green, my job as a parent will be complete. I mean really, what else does he need to know? Eat good food, get some exercise, put the toilet seat down and be nice to people. I guess the fourth can be optional depending on the people.