LATIN CUISINE - WEEK1

Ok< her we go. Latin cuisine week 1. Latin is a cool class. Being from NM and having an interest in Latin Cuisine, this class is one I think I will excel in. So here's the menu:

Chicken, Corn and Lime Soup-

It is much better than it sounds. It has some Jalapeno that adds a good amount of spice, however, next time I make this soup I will be using New Mexico green chile instead of the jalapeno for a more distinct flavor that is milder and deeper. 

Green Mole with Pork

Another excellent dish. I love pork, especially slow cooked pork like this. The corn tortillas you see are homemade and I might add, not very easy to make. They tasted good, so I guess that's good. This Mole also called for Jalapeno, which worked well in this dish, but I would prefer to replace some of the jalapeno with some other chile just to have a good variety of flavors.

Orange Flan

I honestly cannot take any credit for this fantastic dessert as the "pastry" guy in our group did all of the work seen here. I am not ashamed to say that it was one of the best desserts I have ever had. It was light and creamy and left the mouth feeling fresh as can be. I am not much of a dessert guy and this one really surprised me. ( Mina - check it out )

This last one is sort of a medley and differed from the recipe quite a bit. It is White rice with vegetables done in a pilaf method with squid served in a tomato sauce. The recipe called for chicken, not squid. But, there was some squid left over from the morning class that I was sure would not be used, so....I chose to make this creation. I liked it as did the Chef. It went well with the rice. 

Running in the snow

Well, I have to be honest. This is my first run of the year. I'm not counting the vomit inducing run in NM that really turned into a long walk.
So coming back to Missouri, I also came back to highs in the 20's and snow. Currently there is about 8"-10" in my town. Being a longtime desert dweller my running gear consisted of some fivefingers, short, and a few t's that do double duty for backpacking. Well no more, I geared up for winter running. I have to say running through snow is hard work. I often welcome things that are new and different and tonight's experience did not disappoint. Mind you I only covered about a mile and a half, remember I haven't done much running really since October, but it was a fun and exhilarating mile and a half.
Ness, the dog, loved it. I was surprised to see a short haired pitbull frolic in the snow, but it just added to the feeling of excitement and fun. We'll see about the next time once the newness has worn off.
Winter running gear?
<ul>Ex-O briefs
Smartwool socks
NB MT101s
MH transition pants
Patagonia cap2 shirt
Salomon swift midlayer (very nice by the way )
Merino buff
OR fleece gloves
Sheesh- that a lot!</ul>
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Eugene's trip report

Here's a link to Eugene's trip report from our trip over Christmas break. It's a good read.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=40999

Snow for a desert rat

This is the first post of the new year and it has been awhile since the last one, but I thought the snow was a good source for a new post.
This is the first real snowstorm that we desert dwellers have encountered since being in Missouri. While I have been around a little snow and enjoy it, driving in the snow is another story. Especially when driving a nearly 3 ton vehicle which, unknown to me, was lacking a working four wheel drive. I thought it would be nice of me to let my lovely wife drive the behemoth that is our trusty old '89 Toyota Landcruiser.
So I went ahead and put it in 4WD for her just to be extra nice, and told her she was good to go. Poor girl, listening to me. Well, the next thing I heard from Megan was her slightly annoyed voice saying that she was stuck in a ditch, and why wouldn't this awesome 4x4 just drive right out?
I just happened to be at my friend Eric's house, who just happens to be quite a guru of all things FJ. So I asked him to help pull out my FJ62 and get everything sorted. Now what's funny is every male in the room jumped up to go on this adventure. Its a well known fact that men love to try to get vehicles unstuck, but how many could it possibly take. Oh well, round up the troops! We have a two man job.
We went to retrieve the ol' gal and Megan, who was surprisingly upbeat for having sat in a ditch alone for the past half an hour, and got both of them to safety.
So then I meekly climbed the hill to visit the guru of all things FJ who simply stated that the 4WD wasn't working and he suspected a hub. Well the thing about gurus is that they only speak when they are right. So we took apart the hub. (10mins in man time, 1 hour in real time) After a thorough cleaning and re-assembly, the beast was back in action! Bring on the snow, this old tank still has plenty of life left!
Thanks Eric!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Started running again

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