Morning Shake

Morning coffee shake

Not the shakes. A shake, like a refreshing beverage. We had about a cup of brewed coffee left in the pot. I had about a cup of leftover coconut milk (light) in the fridge. Add them together with a little bit if sweetener (I used a tbsp of agave nectar) and 3 tbsp of chia seeds to create a shake.

I was lazy. I vaguely recalled a recipe from PaleOMG with similar ingredients, but didn’t want to access the Web at that moment. I didn’t even want to take the blender out. So I combined everything into a tupperware and shook it. Thus, the Coffee Shake.

I kept it in the fridge for at least a day, with a few intermittent shakes of the container. Had a few slurps in between then and today. The remainder came in this morning, when we had no eggs in the house and I was in search of a pick-me-up while doing a little worky-work on this rare middle-of-the-week vacation day.

It was a decent change of pace, but next time I will not be so lazy, and add a few more ingredients, like cocoa powder or vanilla.

Muffin Success

I am waiting for the royal wedding to begin. I don’t know if I’ll make it. I have 2+ hours to go. In the meantime, a quick update on my mission to make a great muffin. Whole Grain Zucchini Muffin v.2 was a success. The main differences from version (1) going with an AP/WW combo and leaving out the oat and (2) adding in more than 1/3 c low fat sour cream. They stayed moist and yummy. I brought a bunch in to work to share and the husband was upset when he found out I did that. I count that as a thumbs up. Fortunately I didn’t do anything with them at work (other than eat one myself) so I brought them home the next day for him to enjoy. ANd they still tasted great the next day! And the day after that.

zucchini mini muffins v2 via chattycha on flickr

Another great success … this is the first baking recipe that I can remember where I did it by memory. No consulting  a cookbook for me. Lookit me! It’s just like Top Chef!

Vacation

Today is the first day of my week+ vacation. Even though I am not going anywhere (the husband and I will be spending the next 10 days building a new deck!) today I decided to eat like I was on vacation.

Breakfast. I asked the husband if he wanted to go out for breakfast, but we were waiting for our deck wood delivery so it wasn’t really a possibility. Instead I made pancakes! Yum. Just your standard Bisquick pancake. I split one tiny pat of butter amongst the stack, then drizzled some pure maple syrup over the top. On the side you’ll see some white-flesh peach slices. Juicy, sweet, but not mushy. I love summer fruit!

breakfast via chattycha on flickr

Lunch. Thunderstorms greeted us throughout the night and into the morning. By 11:30 it was still raining on and off, with an occasionally sound of rolling thunder from far far away. It reminded me of growing up on the East Coast, back where thunder and lightening was the norm, not the exception. Home, of course, reminds me of great comforts food. Among the greatest comfort foods, ramen. I made myself a bowl of ramen, and added some snap peas (courtesy of the aforementioned CSA goodie box), an egg and sliced green onions. Definitely hit the spot.

ramen via chattycha on flickr

Dinner: As I was on vacation, I decided to forego the husband’s menu for dinner. He had salad and leftover quiche. I made myself a new Seattle Classic (for me, anyway). Walla Walla onions are in season. They are sweeter than any other onion I’ve tried. They show up in stores in July and one of my favorite Walla Walla onion dishes is a simple grilled cheese sandwich, with a nice strong cheese, a nice artisan bread and some fresh, raw WWOs right in the middle. On this occasion I chose English Cheddar and Walnut Bread from Essential Bakery. The cheese at first didn’t appear to melt all that great, but the sandwich sat for a few minutes as I prepped the rest of the meal (simply potato chips and some more of those snap peas that I enjoyed at lunch), and soon enough the cheese was as gooey as it needed to be.

grilled cheese via chattycha on flickr

Mmmmm …. vacation …

Big Climb: Been there, done that

Hey! I successfully completed the Big Climb, with 5,000 other participants. Hooray!

First, a special thanks to those who donated to my fundraising efforts: Ray, Sandy, Claire, and Harv & Judy. The generosity was much appreciated and was a small but meaningful contribution to the total $3,500 that our team, LWRC, raised in total. Also, thanks to those who trained with me on the Howe Street Stairs, whether you climbed a few hundred steps or a few thousand. All told I probably climbed no less than 20,000 steps to train.

The event itself was somewhat low-key and solo. As the majority of my team was rowers, like me, the best way we could describe this was, too long to be considered a sprint, too short to be considered a head race. Something in that murky in-between area. While in the days leading up to it we received constant information and support from our team leader, John, ultimately climbing up 69 floors is an individual venture. Among the 10 of us, I was second to start, as I predicted my time would be somewhat slower than my teammates. Ultimately David, Tyler, Niki, Conor and Howard passed me. I passed one teammate, Rachel; and KC was right on my tail as I crossed the finish line. The flights went much quicker than I expected. And my goal to do 2-at-a-times for the first half and then alternate between 2-at-a-times and 1-at-a-times for the second half fell short about a quarter of the way into the race. I stuck with the 1-at-a-times, except when trying to pass people. And that one guy, at the end, with 5 flights or so to go, who wouldn’t let me pass. Well, shame on you. Granted, I was pretty exhausted and I’m not quite sure if I would have passed but I would have at least appreciated the opportunity.

So, I made it to the top of the Columbia Tower. Hooray! Just my luck, I was so dang tired I didn’t feel like checking out the Observatory Deck to check out the amazing views. Eh. I’ll see them some other time. What I really needed was to catch my breath. The oxygen-getting-to-your-lungs situation was a bit sketchy at the end. Felt very much like the post-race rower’s cough that several of us experience after a frenzied sprint finish. I’m still feeling some wheeziness which I’m sure will subside at some point.

In all, not so bad. My 69 Flights of Rock playlist was quite successful (“Evenflow” was just winding down as I passed the finish line). And the company was great. A light and easy-going environment, with support and good vibes all around.

5,000 participants, I believe, is a record, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hopes to raise nearly $1 million from the event.

By the way, here is my pre-race meal (eaten about three hours before the event). Maple oatmeal with red berries and a half a banana; plus one egg, overeasy/smashed (as the husband would say):
oatmeal via chattycha on flickr

egg via chattycha on flickr

Update: my time – 13:55. This beats my initial goal of 14:30, which is great! But a part of me wishes I had told that slow guy to move aside for the last few flights. Sigh.