Whirlwind!

It's been a while and lots of stuff has happened since my last update.  I have a Master's degree. Yay! I went to the Olympic National Park! I started running again. I got into a biking accident. I'm going to Hawaii in a couple of days. I'm going to start volunteering in another lab. All good things.

First, this Master's degree in MSE. Yes. I'm awesome. I was hooded.  The hood is absolutely amazing. It has all my favorite colors: purple and gold/yellow for the UW colors (go dawgs!) and orange for engineering (woo engineers!).

Didn't really want to take this picture, but Thanks! dad! Way to be a paparazzi and get a nice shot!

We had dinner at Ohana restaurant in Belltown.  I love Hawaii! It was good.  The salmon sushi was the best.  The cocktails were a hit or a miss.  I liked the drink with cream and coconut the best- I don't remember what it was called though. Later, we went to the Coppercart and Del Ray.  Del Ray seems to be a staple in my dancing and nights out.

The family at Ohana...so appropriate!  This makes me think of Lilo and Stitch! Who doesn't love that movie??? My favorite part is when she's late to hula class because she has to go feed Pudge the fish. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Next! Camping!

This past weekend I went to the Olympic National Park.  We (me and the boys) camped at Sol Duc camp grounds, near the Sol Duc resort. The hot springs weren't that great. The Hoh rainforest also wasn't as spectacular as I remember. It was a wee-bit dry. 

 Sol Duc Resort

Rainforest

Weird Unicorn in the Rainforest

That night we had some chicken sausages from Trader Joes, zucchini with garlic, and some onions, accompanied by chips...and for dessert! S'mores! The zucchini was so good. It was very simple.

Camping Zucchini: 

Al foil

cut up zucchini

cut up fresh garlic

Put in Al foil, create a packet to keep in the moisture, place on the fire. It cooks up in about 10 minutes depending on the fire...ps. I totally started the fire! haha

The next day, we headed to Hurricane Ridge. It was spectacular.  I didn't make it all the way to Hurricane Hill but the view was great regardless. Dan was afraid I'd fall off the edge of where we were standing...I do have the reputation for being quite accident prone.  He had valid concerns. 

View from the hike to Hurricane Hill

More Views!

Quick stop up to the Park station, pretty.

I've been quite busy!  This week I head to Hawaii.  First to Oahu then to the Big Island. I'll have plenty of awesome pictures from that...I'll also have some awesome stories and food to report as well. Mmm.

As for tonight! softball league and a run! :)

keep keep keep trekkin'!

Caramel Coconut Chocolate Concoction (Alliteration!)

My Master's defense presentation is tomorrow and of course there has to be some kind of treat to entice the masses (or not) to attend!  

I saw this recipe on the Cookin' Canuck blog, and I gave it a tweet with what I had and the number of people I'm anticipating.  I know you are all wondering, what in the world are you doing baking when you should be preparing.  Well, baking is calming for me. The apartment smells delicious now. I have to either buy it or make it and I'd prefer to make it.  I have to impress by showing off my culinary skills!...and here I can show my baking skills and maybe my photography skills??? haha Do I have any? I don't know, but I'd like to think positive - so I have skills in photography. 

On to the recipe!  I had to double the recipe and didn't have enough brown sugar, so what did I sub??? dundundun! CARAMEL!

Step 1: 

Preheat oven to 350F

Make the crust first: 1 cup oats, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar,

1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup coconut shredded (I used non-sweetened)

Place in a bowl and combine with 12 tablespoons of butter, melted.

Combine until well mixed.

Cover a pan with tin foil and spray with oil.  Put the crust mixture in the tin foil and press into the pan. 

Bake for 11 minutes

Smell the goodness!!

Let the crust cool and start on the fudge chocolate inside. 

Step 2:

Place 3 cups of dark chocolate and 4 tsp butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 2 minutes.

Take out and stir.

In another bowl, place 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup caramel sauce (mmmm),

1/2 tsp salt and mix together. 

When the chocolate has cooled, mix in 2 eggs. 

Mix everything together. 

Pour over the oat crust. 

Smear the goodness around. Cover with caramel sauce.

Let bake for 10 minutes then add shredded coconut.  Let bake for 10 minutes and then cover with tin foil. Bake for 5-10 minutes.

Cut into pieces! I had to cut off the edges because I didn't want to present them...slightly harder/slight burnt.  It's ok. I means more for me!! Or whoever has a sweet tooth...the boy. 

I did some laundry and went on a run.  It was the first run without stopping for a while!  It was good.  I was definitely going slow. I ran 3.35 miles at 9:40 pace.  That's slow compared to where I was at in January, but I'll get back up there with more consistent running.  I want to run a 5k at 7 min/mile pace but I don't know if that will happen this year.  I'm thinking 8 min/mile pace by December will be a more attainable goal. Wish me luck!!!!!!!!

Oh and luck for tomorrow! Send the good vibes.

EXERCISE OF THE DAY June 2, 2010

Hmmm, those of you that know me know that I LOVE exercise and I LOVE competition.

Lately, I haven't been doing as much due to shoulder surgery and my Master's defense ju

st around the corner, but I do lose those days that I get in something. I want to start doing an exercise of the day and maybe that will motivate me even more, or you, who ever you may be! If you want to share an exercise then please do. I love new and challenge moves.

I love all kinds of exercises- gymnastics, Olympic lifting, crossfit, running, etc. I think Crossfit has some of the right ideas but I'm not in total agreement, since, it's seems to have a crazy emphasis on the upper body. I'm not always a fan because I look at weights and I gain muscle. Some may say it's a blessing but not always, especially when I gain too much muscle (thank you rowing).

Workout of the day:

800m warm up run

leg swings- front back, side to side (loosen up those muscles and hips)

high knees

butt kickers

grapevine

lateral shuffle

main:

8x 200m sprint, 200m jog

4 rounds

20seconds on, 10 seconds off

as many as possible

push ups

dips

800 m jog warm down

stretch, talk, be merry!

I still need to do my physical therapy. I don't have any pictures of me exercising, perhaps next time I'll take a picture or two. I'll leave you with a beautiful picture of Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State. There is a nice hike down and a even better hike back up. I'd totally do hill repeats there...haha yea, I am probably the only person to think that instead of spending all my time admiring the waterfall...but, hey, that's me.

Blueberry Corn Muffin - Delicious!

I saw blueberry corn muffins the other day on Kitchen Addiction.

I've been craving sweets and hankering to make something. I also need to think about recipes for my defense next Monday! ONE WEEK!!

I decided to modify the recipe and take out some flour. I've been very flour conscious with my recipes lately and prefer to minimize the gluten. In my head, it is also healthier. I also did this instead of going on a run or going to hot yoga. It just wasn't in the cards for me today. I do need to pick a race so that I can have something to train for.

I love almonds!

Recipe:

3/4 cup corn meal

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

dash of salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup shredded coconut

(mix all dry together)

1 egg

1/4 canola oil

2/3 cup vanilla hemp milk

3/4 cup plain greek yogurt

(mix all wet ingredients)

(mix wet ingredient into dry ingredients)

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

(mix into wet/dry mixture)

Spray cupcake pan

Fill

Bake for 20-25 minutes in 400F oven

Finished (delicious) Project!

This was absolutely awesome with some butter. I had two. I couldn't help myself. It was great and not too sweet. It tasted like corn bread. I heart corn bread!!!!

Something "Healthy" for a Healthy Dose of Vitamin D and Activity!

Friday and Saturday were fantastic for outdoor excursions! On Friday, I read my thesis outside (yay! 3 more weeks until a Masters degree is mine for the taking!) and then went for a run at Discovery Park with my friend, Michelle, who I haven't seen in ages. I also got the GREEN light from Dr. Green to run and bike and do more things, of course, I go at them full force!

I didn't really have much energy to do anything Friday night and I knew Saturday was probably going to test me, since Manny and I were going on a bike ride and I haven't ridden outside in ages. I had a sweet tooth and didn't really want to go to the store to buy anything, plus, I really really really want to stay healthy and cut out even more sugar. I gotta get that bathing suit bod somehow...Hawaii is June 30. I took a look in the fridge and in the pantry. I wanted to use up some stuff that's just been sitting there (aka quinoa and some pumpkin seeds)...so this is what I came up with...it's not an exact science because I was just throwing things together, but I think it came out pretty tasty...I've been eating it for bfast, lunch and dinner.

In a bowl combine:

1 block silken tofu (mash with masher)

approximately 1 cup oatmeal

approximately 3/4 cup quinoa

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 handfuls pumpkin seeds

2 handfuls dark chocolate chunks

1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine...add flour to get a consistency you are happy with...so, not too soupy but not cookie dough like. A good batter consistency is desirable.

Place in a pan sprayed with oil. Drizzle with honey.

Place in 350F oven for approximately 30-40 minutes. Let the middle set. If the middle giggles then keep that sucker in there. :)

Below is a picture with a HUGE piece taken out. Mmm...it's best warm when the chocolate melts a little in your mouth! Plus, look at my new cast iron skillet! :)

I took a piece of this tasty treat with me on the bike ride. Manny and I went to Bainbridge Island. I've never been there before and it was a great day for a bike ride and a great day to lay on the beach. I was going to wear my bathing suit but I decided not to...but I should have. One lady stopped me on the side of the rode and yelled "Girl Power!" haha That's because I was waiting for Manny at one of the turns. He's such a trooper and did such a good job!

We biked to the State Park on the island. Next time, I want to go around the whole thing. We then went to the Cheese Festival in downtown Seattle. I recently found out that I have a love-hate relationship with cheese. I love, it hates. Boooo. I didn't have any. I waited til I got home and quickly whipped up an awesome smoothie.

1 heaping scoop Vanilla Rice protein powder

1 scoop Amazing Grass Berry flavor

2 handfuls spinach

1 banana

1 cup frozen berries

Rice Milk to fill...well approx 1-1.5 cups

It was fabulous! I stretched, took a shower and vegged.

Sunday was nice but kind of lazy. I went to hot yoga and the guy was great. Jo and I got a great stretch and I was amped and ready to go for this morning's workout at SassyFit. Now for school and lots of work and a track workout later tonight!

It's a Resolution

I haven't been baking lately. The other day I put together a quick treat that was quite tasty. I don't have any pictures because I was too lazy. I've been slowly snacking on it for breakfast and snacks, so maybe I'll take a picture of that...

It was real quick and used everything I already had in my pantry and fridge. I put the final project in the freezer, and to be honest, the treat isn't bad cold, especially since it's been gorgeous outside. The picture below is from a couple weeks ago at Alki Beach. The weather has been sunny and beautiful, which is good for vitamin D but bad for my allergies. Apparently, the allergy season started earlier this year and has been worse thus far. Nose spray, allegra and nose spray here I come. Sadness.
Ok back to the recipe. I'll call these Baked Oatmeal Goodness.

5-7 packs of instant oatmeal (I had maple and brown sugar, apple and cinnamon, and something else. I just combined all of them because in the end, you are just looking for the quick cooking oats and the sugar that's already in the packets)

4 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

handful dark chocolate chips (plus some for snacking)

3/4 cup coconut milk with licorice spice tea bag that's been soaking (adds a nice spice, if you can really taste it- ps. I'm obsessed with licorice spice tea)

Combine to mix. You can adjust all the wet and dry ingredients depending on what you have and the consistency you like. I suggest that the consistency look like thick cake batter). Spray a pan (any pan) and put in a 350F preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it. The aroma is awesome. It smells like oatmeal and cinnamon. I used to love baked oatmeal back in the dorms in college. I don't think it was a lot of people's favorites, but it was certainly mine.

After cooled, cut up and place in baggies. I store 3/4 of them in the freezer and take out as needed. I've been having one with a smoothie in the morning. I've been following the Green Monster Movement and OhSheGlows.

My smoothies have consisted:

2-3 cups of spinach

1 tablespoon maca powder

1 scoop of Berry Amazing Grass

1 frozen banana

healthy serving of frozen blueberries

1-2 scoop vanilla rice protein powder

coconut milk for the appropriate consistency

Usually makes 2 servings and I can place on in the freezer

Yummm!

Ok! Oh Glory Day! I got the official word of approval from the doc. I can start running and riding outside. No, I can't row yet or olympic lift...well, the physical therapist said I can do 20# cleans but he gave me this look like don't you dare over do it!

The New Years resolution is back on....for those of you that don't know, I am giving myself a year or year and a half to run a 7 minute/mile 5k. It comes out to a little over 21 minutes. I've also been doing the Sassyfit bootcamp. It's been pretty good. It's definitely meant for women and the crowd is early 20s to early 40s. Earlier this year, I had been religiously tracking my food. I think I'll start doing that again. I like to see how healthy (or unhealthy) I'm eating. It gives me a good idea of how my nutrition is effecting my workouts and sleep. I feel that there is a big correlation between the two, especially since I'm pretty slow to recover from workouts.

Yesterday I did 1 hour spin class. We did intervals. I'm always wiped afterwards because I have to give 100%, even if the racing is fixed and fake! I wore my UCI Rowing cycling jersey. It seemed to be a big hit. Perhaps, I'll wear my Canada jersey on Thursday. In the evening I did the butt and legs bootcamp at Sassyfit. We did lunges, push ups (I modify...in case my pt ever gets wind of this), box step ups, one legs slide squats (a paper under on foot and slide out while keeping the weight over the stationary leg), Russian twists (sit on bum and reach the forearm from side to side), wall sits, dips (modified), partner leg toss (lie on back and throw a partner's legs down and try not to touch the ground), side mule kicks (get on all fours and lift the bend leg out to the side and the kick to the side). My rump is sore today. I love sore. I was supposed to wake up at 5:30am this morning but couldn't muster the energy. I'll workout tonight. I'll probably go to Medora's Zumba/Hip Hop class at communityfitness.

I should start updating this more, even if only for myself. I think it will contain more exercise and what I eat in addition to the tasty concoctions I come up with. We'll see. My Masters thesis defense is June 7th, so I think I should get a move on for that too...and the Northwest Biomechanics Conference. I do want to make something nerdy for my thesis presentation. Cupcakes have been requested, perhaps I'll put some crazy worms (not real ones) on them to go with my C.elegans research.

Alrighty. I'm out!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Madness!

Ok. I saw a Top Chef Masters episode a couple weeks ago, where the quick fire was based on grilled cheese sandwiches. Last week, I got an email from Thrillist telling me about a Grilled Cheese Invitational in LA. I think some one was trying to tell me to make grilled cheese.

I really wanted to try the one that won the quick fire from Top Chef Masters. I remembered it was some kind of North African goodness, so I went from there and developed my own (delicious) grilled cheese. I wasn't going to post this initially, but Dan ended up taking some iPhone pictures and I just couldn't help myself.

Sandwich 1: Moroccan Delight

2 pieces of Potato bread

3 dates (chopped)

3 figs (chopped)

less than 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Goat Cheese

less than 1/4 cup of fennel

Directions:

In small saucepan, heat oil. Put fennel in the oil and allow to cook for 1 minutes. Put chopped dates and figs in with the fennel and add a tid bit (about 1-2 tablespoons) of water.

Butter outside of bread.

Spread Goat Cheese on BOTH sides of the bread. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on one side of the bread. When the water has pretty much been absorbed into the dried fruits, take off heat and place on bread.

Grill in pan til golden brown on both sides.

Sandwich 2: Curry Wonder

2 slices Potato bread

1/8 cup yellow squash cut into small pieces

1/8 cup green pepper cut into small pieces

curry powder

Cheese (we used a flagship cheese- I think I'd want to try something a bit creamier for this next time)

Directions:

Place julienned veggies into a heated pan with oil. Allow to get hot. Add curry (approx. 1-2 teaspoon) and water. Allow to heat through and coat the veggies. There was will a nice thicker consistency when done.

Butter outside of bread.

Layer Flagship cheese on both sides. Place in the pan and add the veggies to one side only. Let both piece of bread grill open face. When the side of bread that has no veggies on it starts to melt then place it on the other piece of bread.

Cook til golden brown on both sides. Enjoy.

Sandwich 3: Hola Cheese

2 slices of potato bread

1/4 cup shredded or chopped spicy chicken (bought from Whole Foods)

1/8 cup green enchilada sauce

1/8 cup shredded zucchini

Directions are similar to sandwich 2.

DELICIOUS!! I think my absolute favorite was sandwich 1.

Flagship cheese