I finally am feeling well so I got to go running again. Its been a long, long while. I decided to take my dog, Ness, who is best dog in the world, but apparently out of shape. She is seven years old and I guess that's about 49 in dog years. Geez, I'm an old man in dog years. Anyhow, so I'm kinda wondering if the couch to 5K program would work for a dog? I mean, really, why not. I've always liked running with Ness and it makes her a happier dog in general. So, I think I'll give it a try.
Another thought concerning running in december in Missouri, its COLD! It was a whopping 29 degrees today. The whole cold weather clothing for running is a bit new to me as I never needed to wear pants in cruces. Sheesh, that sounds weird now. I honestly don't even have running pants, just some wal-mart special warmups that drag all over the ground.
I wore my new balance MT101s because I've given up on the brooks testers. They'd probably be good shoes for backpacking but my general disdain for running in actual shoes has overcome. The MT101s are pretty great shoes and I'm hoping that they'll be enough to get me through the winter. I think the fivefingers will be good enough till about 20-25 degrees with injinji socks. Either way I'll be good.
I guess this is just a bit of a pointless run on of thoughts.
Until next time....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Black Diamond Sprinter
Here are my first impressions on my new Black Diamond Sprinter headlamp. I have not had this headlamp for very long and only have a few miles on it so far, but it seems to be a great headlamp for general running and really excels at urban and rural nightime running.
First off the pros:
-The design makes for a well balanced headlamp, with the battery in the back and the light in the front. This allows the bulb unit to stay in place very well with no bounce. I have found that excessive bouncing can cause a little nausea, not the case with the Sprinter.
-The unit is rechargeable, this is also a con, but it does free me from finding batteries at the last minute. It also does not cause more batteries in the landfill.
-The pattern (non-adjustable) is wide and bright. it does not spot well, but gives a nice field of view without having to turn your head to see an obstacle. Perfect for running, although on a long technical trail I could see a desire for more light.
-The sprinter has a red blinking light on the back, which is good for running on roads, that can be turned off for trail use or when running with others.
First off the pros:
-The design makes for a well balanced headlamp, with the battery in the back and the light in the front. This allows the bulb unit to stay in place very well with no bounce. I have found that excessive bouncing can cause a little nausea, not the case with the Sprinter.
-The unit is rechargeable, this is also a con, but it does free me from finding batteries at the last minute. It also does not cause more batteries in the landfill.
-The pattern (non-adjustable) is wide and bright. it does not spot well, but gives a nice field of view without having to turn your head to see an obstacle. Perfect for running, although on a long technical trail I could see a desire for more light.
-The sprinter has a red blinking light on the back, which is good for running on roads, that can be turned off for trail use or when running with others.
Cons:
-The rechargeable battery makes it not suitable for backpacking or overnight use as it cannot be recharged on the fly. For most people, this won't be a big deal, as is the case with me.
-The sprinter does not have a spot setting or bulb. This is fine for most use as the light is bright and well spread, but in the wilderness a good spot is greatly appreciated when needed. On a trail that is known, I think the sprinter will be more than sufficient.
All in all I think the Black Diamond Sprinter is an excellent headlamp for running, maybe the best on the market for most nightime runners. It does have a couple of shortcomings, but there are other headlamps designed to fit those needs, such as the Black Diamond Icon. For what the Sprinter is designed for, it nears perfection. I would definitely recommend the Sprinter to anyone looking for a running headlamp.
And thanks goes to Wilderness Running Company for the sale that brought this fine headlamp to me.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, November 5, 2010
Week 5 of school & miderm
This week was midterm week in my cooking class. This was my first timed event in culinary school. Although everything you do in a restaurant is a timed event, so it didn't seem like that big of a deal to be timed. I did well, everything was pass/fail. As long as we did the process correctly and the taste was close we passed. Fundamentals is more about process and techniques than taste and appearance. I made all of the hollandaise sauce last week for our family dinner, about 70 people, and was over confident in my ability to make hollandaise for the midterm. This, of course, resulted in me messing up the hollandaise during the midterm, luckily I had plenty of time to make another and do it correctly. Another lesson learned. It seems that half of my lessons learned in school aren't culinary, but character. I guess that means I am getting my money's worth.
On the good side, tuesday I made ratatouille and the chef told me how great my ratatouille was a few times. He's not the kind of guy that tells you things like that to be nice. It's good to complements from people like that. I told Megan about that and I have somehow become volunteered to make ratatouille for church on monday night. hmm.... I wonder how that happened?
On the running and outdoor side of life, I won't be able to do the 8k trail race I had planned for saturday since I couldn't find a babysitter saturday morning. big bummer, back to training. on the plus side, I may be going on a trip to the grand canyon the first week of april with my bro eugene. we are discussing doing a R2R2R (south rim to north rim and back to south rim) in a day. I think that's about 42 miles and would probably take anywhere from 16-20 hours for me to do. We may split it up into a few days so that we can enjoy more scenery, but either way should be a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to this one. I think its back to training time for me, just as the weather gets cold. and on the cold weather note, i am looking for some lightweight running pants, been eyeing the patagonia cool weather tights.
I think that's about it for now, Nova wants to watch some Dora the Explorer. which, by the way, does NOT rhyme.
On the good side, tuesday I made ratatouille and the chef told me how great my ratatouille was a few times. He's not the kind of guy that tells you things like that to be nice. It's good to complements from people like that. I told Megan about that and I have somehow become volunteered to make ratatouille for church on monday night. hmm.... I wonder how that happened?
On the running and outdoor side of life, I won't be able to do the 8k trail race I had planned for saturday since I couldn't find a babysitter saturday morning. big bummer, back to training. on the plus side, I may be going on a trip to the grand canyon the first week of april with my bro eugene. we are discussing doing a R2R2R (south rim to north rim and back to south rim) in a day. I think that's about 42 miles and would probably take anywhere from 16-20 hours for me to do. We may split it up into a few days so that we can enjoy more scenery, but either way should be a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to this one. I think its back to training time for me, just as the weather gets cold. and on the cold weather note, i am looking for some lightweight running pants, been eyeing the patagonia cool weather tights.
I think that's about it for now, Nova wants to watch some Dora the Explorer. which, by the way, does NOT rhyme.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Consomme
Thursday we made a few soups; cream of potato, split pea, and consomme. The first two went along smoothly and tasted good, but the consomme...not so much.
Consomme is a very delicate soup that requires a gentle hand. It is supposed to be clear, very clear. Any man-handling will result in a cloudy consomme.
The ingredients are specific, but what's more important is the process. It cannot reach a boil, it cannot be stirred, it must be ladled out of the pot, very gently. It must be strained twice, again very gently.
Well, the bad news is that somewhere along the line I was not gentle enough. The thing is that I tried to be very gentle, so I'm not exactly sure where my general roughness came in. I need to make this soup again next week for my midterm. I guess I get another chance.
The midterm is a timed cooking event. Think of "chopped" but with a specific menu, and a lot more time. I need to make four items, consomme being one of them. Hopefully I can do better this time.
onward ho!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Consomme is a very delicate soup that requires a gentle hand. It is supposed to be clear, very clear. Any man-handling will result in a cloudy consomme.
The ingredients are specific, but what's more important is the process. It cannot reach a boil, it cannot be stirred, it must be ladled out of the pot, very gently. It must be strained twice, again very gently.
Well, the bad news is that somewhere along the line I was not gentle enough. The thing is that I tried to be very gentle, so I'm not exactly sure where my general roughness came in. I need to make this soup again next week for my midterm. I guess I get another chance.
The midterm is a timed cooking event. Think of "chopped" but with a specific menu, and a lot more time. I need to make four items, consomme being one of them. Hopefully I can do better this time.
onward ho!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Week 3
This marks the end of week 3. We are now a third of the way through our classes. Already? Well, yes, we have short quarters and they are quite intense. I have a test coming up next week in sanitation. Hopefully I'll do well. The academic classes are going pretty well. Its the "lab" that really tests my knowledge.
I know I said before that the 4 hour lecture classes are long, and they are brutally long, but the kitchen is not a place where you can skate by for a day and catch up on a little reading later. If I am not prepared, man it shows. That is probably the most important thing I've learned so far. Not techniques, not skills, not the quality standards of a good stock, but to be mentally prepared for cooking. If I do not know what goes in the soup, it slows me down when I'm told to make a soup. The skills will be learned along the way as long as I am paying close attention in class.
The first night of class I made a waterzooi soup that tasted pretty good. I used a liaison to finish the soup but I did not temper it in correctly and the liaison broke. Arrgh! Now the average american diner would have no idea, or even know what that means, but I do. And it is unacceptable. I guess I can agree with my chef in that the best way to know what a broken liaison looks like is to break one.
Until next time-
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
I know I said before that the 4 hour lecture classes are long, and they are brutally long, but the kitchen is not a place where you can skate by for a day and catch up on a little reading later. If I am not prepared, man it shows. That is probably the most important thing I've learned so far. Not techniques, not skills, not the quality standards of a good stock, but to be mentally prepared for cooking. If I do not know what goes in the soup, it slows me down when I'm told to make a soup. The skills will be learned along the way as long as I am paying close attention in class.
The first night of class I made a waterzooi soup that tasted pretty good. I used a liaison to finish the soup but I did not temper it in correctly and the liaison broke. Arrgh! Now the average american diner would have no idea, or even know what that means, but I do. And it is unacceptable. I guess I can agree with my chef in that the best way to know what a broken liaison looks like is to break one.
Until next time-
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
falling behind
i know i'm already falling behind in my posts here. i will get back, have no worries. i have been pretty busy trying to keep up with school and kids and to keep the house in some kind of running order. I will mention that we had a family dinner last week at school. it went well and thanks to those that were able to come.
more is coming, including a summary from last week.
more is coming, including a summary from last week.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Running -
Today I signed up for an 8k trail race on November 6. I am not sure how tough the course is going to be, but either way it should be fun. I'm hoping that it will be pretty technical, but I'll just have to wait to see. I haven't had much time on trails lately, so hopefully I'll be comfortable on this run. I have been running hills in my town, which can only help.
Speaking of running on hills, I had an interesting dialogue with a driver the other day. He stopped to ask if I needed a lift somewhere. When I told him I was running, he chuckled and said "good luck with that hill ahead". Running in rural Missouri sure is different than the city.
The winter is coming. The days are shorter and the nights are longer, forcing me to run in the dark many days. It is usually at night because I am generally too lazy in the morning to get up and run. Anyhow, I bought a BlackDiamond Sprinter headlamp today from Stacy at Wilderness Running Company. They were having a great sale, 25% off, plus a 10% discount code, plus free shipping. My $80 dollar headlamp came out to $56. That's a lot for a headlamp in my book, but it should be a good one, and it will only be used more and more as we get closer to the winter solstice.
I think I may have found a companion to run with once in awhile, Rowdy. I generally like to run alone because it allows me to clear my head and recharge, but once in awhile it's nice to have company. I am looking forward to getting out again soon, hopefully today!
My training has been going pretty good, considering my family, school, kids, etc. It is hard to find much time for myself and still keep up with all the other important things in my life. Its all about balance. Yesterday someone told me that when you say "yes" to one thing, you are saying "no" to another. I liked that, reminds me that every action has a reaction. I am not the best steward of time in general and I find myself being more and more pressed for time. Luckily I have a very supportive and loving wife, she helps me to stay on task and helps me to find time for studying. It is very hard to study with two fun little girls running around, so I've found myself sitting at the desk till 1am more than I'd like to admit, but I'd rather miss the sleep than the time with the girls.
With that I will sign off for now and go hang with Emma and Nova-
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Culinary school day 3
So, here we are into my second week of culinary school. First the facts, then the thoughts.
Last night we made 4 of the 5 mother sauces. I'm still getting bechamel confused with veloute for some reason. Our group did pretty well, we finished the sauces efficiently and correctly. These building blocks are very important to memorize and I am still trying to remember which one is which. Ugg...
I should probably be reading recipe cards 1000 times right now, but with the intensity of some of these classes, its good to clear the head a little.
It all starts with the basics. if you can't make a good stock and a good roux, then its impossible to make a good veloute (a combination of white stock and white roux). Two things that suck mixed together do not make something good. Even farther, two great thing mixed together without the proper techniques and processes also do not make something good. I see myself practicing these techniques this week, but we'll see what time allows.
Now for the thoughts. School is going to be more demanding than I thought. Its makes a big difference having a family at home. I still have to get up early, even though I was up late typing. I have to be pretty careful about my time and not waiting till the night before. Its hard enough getting by on 6 hours of sleep, don't want to make that less.
My chef instructor is a pretty cool guy. Its obvious that he has worked in the field and that he hasn't lost the desire. He is pretty funny as well, which makes for a fun class.
I've found that I'm thinking about good food all day. I'm less and less impressed with fast food. Which I've been having more than I should anyhow. I just want some good food made from high quality ingredients and made with love. I may have to make it myself.
On another note- I sampled some posole from the latin cuisine class last night, LAME! C'mon now! I was thinking that at least in that class it would be pretty tasty. maybe my view is a little skewed, but I like it that way. I like my local flavors and specialties. The BBQ is good, but it doesn't have the love that a Chile Relleno has. Or a good posole, or... oh well.
Last night we made 4 of the 5 mother sauces. I'm still getting bechamel confused with veloute for some reason. Our group did pretty well, we finished the sauces efficiently and correctly. These building blocks are very important to memorize and I am still trying to remember which one is which. Ugg...
I should probably be reading recipe cards 1000 times right now, but with the intensity of some of these classes, its good to clear the head a little.
It all starts with the basics. if you can't make a good stock and a good roux, then its impossible to make a good veloute (a combination of white stock and white roux). Two things that suck mixed together do not make something good. Even farther, two great thing mixed together without the proper techniques and processes also do not make something good. I see myself practicing these techniques this week, but we'll see what time allows.
Now for the thoughts. School is going to be more demanding than I thought. Its makes a big difference having a family at home. I still have to get up early, even though I was up late typing. I have to be pretty careful about my time and not waiting till the night before. Its hard enough getting by on 6 hours of sleep, don't want to make that less.
My chef instructor is a pretty cool guy. Its obvious that he has worked in the field and that he hasn't lost the desire. He is pretty funny as well, which makes for a fun class.
I've found that I'm thinking about good food all day. I'm less and less impressed with fast food. Which I've been having more than I should anyhow. I just want some good food made from high quality ingredients and made with love. I may have to make it myself.
On another note- I sampled some posole from the latin cuisine class last night, LAME! C'mon now! I was thinking that at least in that class it would be pretty tasty. maybe my view is a little skewed, but I like it that way. I like my local flavors and specialties. The BBQ is good, but it doesn't have the love that a Chile Relleno has. Or a good posole, or... oh well.
Well its almost time for my next 4 hour lecture class, oh joy.
Thanks for reading and until next time-
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, October 11, 2010
Ok, finally got in a little running. So this is a good thing. I actually wound up going twice yesterday. I guess the first time around wasn't quite enough. Maybe i just really miss those sweet sweet trails in the Dana Ana mountains of southern NM. i often think about them. I have to drive 35 minutes to find any good trails.
I don't really have a lot of time to put up a proper post, but I just wanted to drop a line so no one thought I already forgot about my blog.
As far as school goes, i've been somewhat buried with homework so far. Maybe its just that I haven't actually done homework in years. I will be getting much more efficient in the future. I need to get down to practicing some knife skills and a few other things as well. I'm really looking forward to next weeks classes, I just need to make sure that I'm prepared.
Well, I gotta get going. I believe that patience is a virtue that young children lack. I know I do after 32 years of working on it.
until next time -
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Well, here we go again.
Day 2 finished and I had a much needed day off since then. Ahh...restful day with a great Bell's Brown Ale thrown in for good measure.
Anyhow...day 2 was quite a long day. I got home wednesday night at about midnight, cranked out my recipe cards for fundamentals class and got to sleep at about 130am. 530am rolled around really quickly as it was time for my next day filled with theories and concepts from 8-12, sanitation from 1-5, and fundamentals from 530-1030. And it was a long one, never have I taken so many notes in one day! Considering my time at NMSU I should have, but this time around in school I fully intend to succeed.
There is some interested history concerning the restaurant biz, but I won't bore you with the details except that the reason chefs' coats have such long large cuffs is to be able to use them to handle hot things. This, of course, is ancient tradition, but nonetheless I found it to be a little nugget of amusement buried in the 4 hours of furious writing.
Sanitation seems like it will be an easier class, but I don't know how the instructor ever eats out considering the knowledge she has. We all got to hear about campylobacteria and salmonella regarding the all popular but extremely filthy... chicken. But far more juicy was the story of the server who poured agricultural grade pesticides into the salsa (over a lost love) sending about 40 diners to the ER. Wow-
Fundamentals was an exciting class, minus the surprising foot pain from my "sensible black work shoes", since it was the first opportunity to cook.
We made stock!
Chicken stock, veal stock, vegetable stock and finally shrimp and lobster stock. I learned so much just from watching and listening to the instruction of a seasoned veteran. Not only do I know the "7 steps to successful stock", I can perform them. Not perfectly, but none the less, I have made a pretty darn good chicken stock.
I am sure that many miles down this road I will look back at my first time making stock and laugh at that rookie butchery of a stock and wonder what I was thinking. But life is all about first steps and new journeys, so I say "celebrate this day" and here's to the next opportunity for steps toward culinary greatness.
On a separate topic; my eldest daughter read me a book tonight. It was extremely slow and she needed a bit of guidance, but remember, its all about first steps, and this first step happens to be a leap. Thanks Emma.
Alas, my last thought for this entry will be the lack of running in my "cooking and running" blog. It will come. As you can see, thursdays do not afford an opportunity. Fridays do, but darnit, I'm friggin tired. So hopefully tomorrow I'll get to break out the brand new kicks from Brooks and give them a little test drive.
Peace and love-
Day 2 finished and I had a much needed day off since then. Ahh...restful day with a great Bell's Brown Ale thrown in for good measure.
Anyhow...day 2 was quite a long day. I got home wednesday night at about midnight, cranked out my recipe cards for fundamentals class and got to sleep at about 130am. 530am rolled around really quickly as it was time for my next day filled with theories and concepts from 8-12, sanitation from 1-5, and fundamentals from 530-1030. And it was a long one, never have I taken so many notes in one day! Considering my time at NMSU I should have, but this time around in school I fully intend to succeed.
There is some interested history concerning the restaurant biz, but I won't bore you with the details except that the reason chefs' coats have such long large cuffs is to be able to use them to handle hot things. This, of course, is ancient tradition, but nonetheless I found it to be a little nugget of amusement buried in the 4 hours of furious writing.
Sanitation seems like it will be an easier class, but I don't know how the instructor ever eats out considering the knowledge she has. We all got to hear about campylobacteria and salmonella regarding the all popular but extremely filthy... chicken. But far more juicy was the story of the server who poured agricultural grade pesticides into the salsa (over a lost love) sending about 40 diners to the ER. Wow-
Fundamentals was an exciting class, minus the surprising foot pain from my "sensible black work shoes", since it was the first opportunity to cook.
We made stock!
Chicken stock, veal stock, vegetable stock and finally shrimp and lobster stock. I learned so much just from watching and listening to the instruction of a seasoned veteran. Not only do I know the "7 steps to successful stock", I can perform them. Not perfectly, but none the less, I have made a pretty darn good chicken stock.
I am sure that many miles down this road I will look back at my first time making stock and laugh at that rookie butchery of a stock and wonder what I was thinking. But life is all about first steps and new journeys, so I say "celebrate this day" and here's to the next opportunity for steps toward culinary greatness.
On a separate topic; my eldest daughter read me a book tonight. It was extremely slow and she needed a bit of guidance, but remember, its all about first steps, and this first step happens to be a leap. Thanks Emma.
Alas, my last thought for this entry will be the lack of running in my "cooking and running" blog. It will come. As you can see, thursdays do not afford an opportunity. Fridays do, but darnit, I'm friggin tired. So hopefully tomorrow I'll get to break out the brand new kicks from Brooks and give them a little test drive.
Peace and love-
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Well, here we go, first blog entry and first day at the Art Instutes of Kansas City.
So my first class was fundamentals, which is a "lab" class. Meaning that it takes place in the kitchen. A full chef uniform is necessary. This includes black shoes, checked pants, white t-shirt, double breasted chef coat, white neckerchef, floppy chef hat and, heaven forbid, clean shaving! The last one is a new one for me, but hey, here we go right?
In this class we learn all the fundamental skills and practices necessary to all areas and aspects of the culinary world. As of night 1 we chopped 1 onion, 1 carrot and 2 stalks of celery. That may not sound like much for a 5 hour class, but the lecture leading up was pretty intense. What is really surprising to me is that amount of paperwork in this lab/kitchen course. I will have recipe card prep, journal work, and research papers. The journal work is what prompted this blog. I figure if I need to write a daily journal for school, I might as well add a few more personal thoughts and make it a blog.
I am wholeheartedly looking forward to all the learning coming up, I know there will be long nights and lots of work, but I think this will be a rewarding journey. All the questions, thoughts, excitement, prep and doubts are behind me now. It is now time for action. It is good to finally be here, in this place, after many, many months even years of thought and anticipation. Thanks to all the friends for encouragement and my family for going through all the necessary changes in order to make this day come.
So after 4 whole hours of sleep- here's my first entry. On to day two and bags and bags of potatoes for practicing my knife skills.
Cheers-
So my first class was fundamentals, which is a "lab" class. Meaning that it takes place in the kitchen. A full chef uniform is necessary. This includes black shoes, checked pants, white t-shirt, double breasted chef coat, white neckerchef, floppy chef hat and, heaven forbid, clean shaving! The last one is a new one for me, but hey, here we go right?
In this class we learn all the fundamental skills and practices necessary to all areas and aspects of the culinary world. As of night 1 we chopped 1 onion, 1 carrot and 2 stalks of celery. That may not sound like much for a 5 hour class, but the lecture leading up was pretty intense. What is really surprising to me is that amount of paperwork in this lab/kitchen course. I will have recipe card prep, journal work, and research papers. The journal work is what prompted this blog. I figure if I need to write a daily journal for school, I might as well add a few more personal thoughts and make it a blog.
I am wholeheartedly looking forward to all the learning coming up, I know there will be long nights and lots of work, but I think this will be a rewarding journey. All the questions, thoughts, excitement, prep and doubts are behind me now. It is now time for action. It is good to finally be here, in this place, after many, many months even years of thought and anticipation. Thanks to all the friends for encouragement and my family for going through all the necessary changes in order to make this day come.
So after 4 whole hours of sleep- here's my first entry. On to day two and bags and bags of potatoes for practicing my knife skills.
Cheers-
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