peacefrog's lilypad

And the race is on! This week, Red Fire is closing in on half the weight of Parker, thanks to heavy corn and Parker's nightshades not being quite ready. What will happen next week? Tune in to find out!

Meanwhile, this week I just couldn't summon the motivation to cook. I had so much in the fridge that I'd already prepped, and I *still* haven't finished it all. Usually Monday is my big "ack, use it all up before the new batch comes!" but in the wake of the closing weekend, energy was low. The really sad thing is that despite a fridge full of the best potatoes ever, I got an order of french fries this week around the corner. Twice! The messed up part is that it didn't even occur to me until last night that I could just make my own oven fries, which is what I shall do. (I realize I could make my own real fries, too, but that way lies madness.)

• 2 bunches Beets (w/ greens)
• 2 bunches Carrots (orange)
• 2 lbs Summer Squash (assorted)
• 4 lbs (by volume) Red Potatoes
• 2 heads Cabbage
• 2 bunches Dill
• 2 bunches Mustard Greens
• 2 bunches Spring Onions
• 2 bunches Celery
  = 27 lbs
  --
• 1 lb Green Beans
• 1 Eggplant
• 6 ears Corn
• 1 bunch Scallions
• 1.5 lb Cucumbers
• 1 bunch Thyme
• 1 (teeny) head Lettuce
• 1 Bell Pepper (yellow)
• 1 lb Summer Squash (assorted)
• 3 Tomatoes
• 1 lb Carrots (mixed colors)
  = 12.8 lbs

A bunch of folks have been asking me about my kimchi recipe (as well as others) and I'm trying to get around to posting them. (Here for now, since my foodblog is dormant at the moment.) In case you missed it, last week, I posted Greens and Peanut Stew.

Kimchi

Ingredients

• 3T Sea Salt [Kosher salt or pickling salt work, too. Just avoid anything with additives: no iodized salt or anything with "free-flowing agents" or the like. Which is a good policy in general. Throw away all your iodized salt!]
• 6 cups Water
• 1-2 heads Cabbage, chopped into 1-2" squares [Chinese cabbage (such as bok choy or napa) is ideal, but I've used green cabbage and it's been fab.]
• A handful of Scallions, chopped into 1-2" lengths and slivered [Any other type of onion will do, too.]
• 1 1/2 T minced ginger
• 1 1/2 T minced garlic
• 2T Korean ground hot pepper [You can sub in any other hots such as cayenne, paprika, rooster sauce, etc, if you must, but add slowly and taste. Korean powder is much milder which is why you put in so much.]
• 1t Sugar

  Other vegetables:

• Carrots, sliced thin in rounds or small sticks
• Asian Turnips (or standard white), sliced thin
• Radishes, sliced thin
• Anything else you'd like, sliced or chopped

What to do:

1. Mix salt with water and pour over cabbage and any "Other vegetables" in a large non-reactive vessel. Use a plate to keep the veggies submerged. (Mix additional brine if needed.) Let it sit at room temp all day or all night (~12 hours).

2. Drain the veggies, saving some brine if possible. You can taste for saltiness here -- if it isn't comfortably salty, sprinkle in a little more, if you feel it's way too salty, you can rinse them briefly. Mix with remaining ingredients.

3. Pack into a large jar (I usually use 1-3 quart jars because it's what I have), tamping it down until all the food is below the level of the liquid. If this is too difficult, you can add a bit of the brine to help. Weight it down with a smaller water-filled jar or a ziplock filled with brine, and cover with plastic wrap or whatever you'd like to keep the bugs away.

4. Keep in a temperate location (preferably no warmer than 68deg, but I've done 80 with good results) for 3 days to a week or more. Start tasting after 3 days and when it gets to where you like it, remove the weight and store in the fridge.

5. Questions? Wanna taste some? Ask me! I've got three quarts in my fridge right now. :)

All of these amounts can be adjusted to taste, of course, and I confess I don't measure much of anything. The results are just amazing, and of course it's also a super-healthy raw food. For me, it was also worth the expense of getting actual Korean pepper, which results in a lovely red color and a taste that is just right.

Regarding the subject line, I have no idea why this video is so funny, but it just is.

Now, I realize most of the locals already know about the show, but a lot of you may not know that *I* am in it. So yeah, I'm in a show. It's the Theatre@First one-acts festival which this year is all Shakespeare-related. Mine is based on a particular scene in Hamlet and I play mama Gertrude, Queen of Denmark.

The show is probably most enjoyable if you have some familiarity with Shakespeare (Hamlet in particular, as three of the one-acts are based on it), but that is not necessary. Besides the comedic stylings of myself, barumonkey, Kathryn, and Lev in a world premiere (written for us!) by Mark Harvey Levine and directed by plumtreeblossom, there are other shows that range from the serious to the silly to the very silly. Murder, mayhem, monsters, and muppets! What more could you ask for?

I'm feeling kinda nervous due to some last-minute snags and other issues, so if you come see the show, be sure to say something nice to me after. (You can lie as long as it's done believably.) I know not everyone can make it (or even wants to), but for those that do, I really appreciate the support.

Buy or reserve your tickets online.

--

And speaking of performing, I must provide a link to one of the best things I've seen in a while: Jewel, disguised as a mild-mannered businesswomen, shows up at a karaoke bar to sing her own stuff. Funny and heartwarming. (DD and I were just talking the other night about stars and attitudes, and Jewel came up as someone who comes across as really down to earth. This underscores that, too.)

Two long weekends in a row of camping makes a frog slackful about posting updates. Even moreso than usual, that is.

Week 4

• 2 bunches Broccoli Rabe
• 2 heads Cauliflower
• 2 bunches Kohlrabi (w/ greens)
• 2 bunches Red Russian Kale
• 2 bunches Fennel
• 2 bunches Chiogga Beets (w/ greens)
• 2 bunches Basil
• 2 bunches Yellow Carrots
• 2 lbs Summer Squash
  ==
• 1 head Lettuce
• 1 bunch Carrots
• 4 Zucchini/Summer Squash
• 1 bunch herbs (Dill or Cilantro)
• 1 bunch Kale or Collards
• 1 bunch Pearl Onions
• 1/3 lb Spinach
• 5 Cucumbers
• 1 bunch Beets

Week 5

• 2 bunches Red Beets (w/ greens)
• 2 lbs Fava Beans
• 2 bunches Cilantro (who in the world needs this much cilantro?)
• 2 bunches Mizuna
• 2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes (new potatoes!)
• 3 lbs Cousa Squash (ooh, pretty green!)
• 2 (big giant) heads Cauliflower
• 2 heads Cabbage
• 4 (sizable) Cucumbers
• 2 bunches Biera Kale (ooh, new type of kale!)
• 2 buches Carrots (orange)
  ==
• 1 head (slightly sunburnt) Lettuce
• 1 stalk Garlic
• 2 oz Basil
• 1.5 lb Green Beans
• 1 (sizable) Zucchini
• 2 Kohlrabi (w/ greens)
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 bunch Scallions
• 1 (small) head Cabbage (sharebuddy called it an extra-large brussels sprout)

I wasn't around for the second part of Week 4, but for Week 5, the entire RF share fit into a bag that held 1/4 of Parker. It's a little frustrating and we're thinking about selling off the remainder of the season, since half of one large Parker is thusfar providing each of us with plenty. The only veg I *really* want that Parker doesn't grow is garlic, but RF doesn't provide enough of that to meet all my garlic needs, and getting it at the markets would be a lot cheaper than the share, anyway. (DD's farm out in Easthampton grows and gives garlic like crazy, too, so I plan to mooch off him later in the season. The stuff I got from him last year was the best garlic ever.)

SO MANY VEGGIES! Last week's kimchi turned out great, and very spicy. I love eating it, but it sets my mouth on fire. Luckily, it's not a lingering heat, so if I pause between bites, I'm okay. This week there must be more kimchi because the farms delivered up all the ingredients as if giving an order.

• 2 heads Escarole
• 2 heads Romaine Lettuce
• 2 heads Red Leaf Lettuce
• 2 bunches Scallions
• 2 bunches Beets (with greens)
• 2 bunches Radishes (with greens?)
• 2 bunches Red Chard
• 2 bunches Kale
• 2 bunches Baby (aww) Carrots (also with greens but having tried, I've given up on eating 'em)
• 2 heads Cabbage
  ==
• 1 bunch Scallions
• 1/3 lb Spinach
• 2 heads Lettuce (green)
• 1 bunch Beets (with greens)
• 1 bunch Oregano
• 1/4 lb Garlic Scapes
• 1 bunch Kale (dinosaur)
• 2 Kohlrabi (purple, with greens (purples?))
• 2 Carrots

My current favorite thing to do with kale (and I'm sure it would work with other greens as well), is to eat it raw and marinated. I wouldn't have believed raw kale could be that good until I had a similar dish at a friend's house, so if you're doubting, I suggest trying it. Here's my basic technique:

Raw Marinated Kale

1. Shred or chop the kale into a bowl.
2. Add 1/2-1 tsp sea salt (depending on how much kale there is and how much salt you like).
3. I massage the salt into the kale to speed things up, but you can skip this.
4. Whisk acid (3T) with olive oil (1T) along with a clove or two of fresh minced garlic and pour over kale. The acid can be any nice vinegar (I've been mostly using balsamic, but white balsamic worked, red wine, etc) or lemon juice, etc.
5. Toss it all together and let it sit a few hours or overnight, or however long you can stand to wait. I pack it into a quart-sized take-out container for ease of fridging.
6. Eat! Nomnom so good! Works well with lots of other stuff, too, so have fun.

And we're off! [This was last week's haul, but I was busy and forgot to post it then.]

As previously noted, I'm calling the first week of Parker Week 0 to sync up the numbers here. Red Fire (listed second) started, though the haul was less than half of Parker's (listed first), frustrating my share-mate greatly. We'll see how things continue to shake out.

• 2 bunches Broccoli
• 2 bunches Romaine Lettuce
• 2 bunches Red Lead Lettuce
• 2 bunches Bibb Lettuce
• 2 bunches Chiogga Beets (with greens)
• 2 bunches Asian Turnips (with greens)
• 2 bunches Swiss Chard
• 2 bunches Kohlrabi (with greens)
• 2 bunches Cilantro
  ==
• 2 stalks Green Garlic
• 1 lb Spinach
• 2 heads Lettuce (1 green, 1 red giant)
• 1 bunch Turnips (no useful greens)
• 1 bunch Dill
• 1/2 lb Field Greens
• 1 head Bok Choy

Some recent dishes have been spinach paratha, steamed broccoli over udon with peanut sauce, dill dip, and the peanut greens stew I came up with two years ago and and lovelovelove (recipe (or guidelines anyway) to come), plus of course lots of nummy salad.

Could I be any more excited about the start of farm share season? YAY!!!

Once again, I am splitting two full shares, but this year, Parker has started a week before Red Fire, so in the interest of syncing up the tags, I'm calling this Week 0. It was great to see Steve and chat with my fellow shareholders. As usual, some of these bunches are bigger than my head. To illustrate, the bunch of red leaf lettuce I bought at the farmer's market yielded one big salad, but last night I had two big salads off the red leaf and still have at least 2/3 of it left.

• 2 bunches Red Leaf Lettuce
• 2 bunches Bibb Lettuce
• 2 bunches Pea Tendrils
• 2 bunches Mizuna
• 2 bunches Chicory
• 2 bunches Bok Choi
• 2 bunches Spinach
• 2 bunches Red Russian Kale

[ETA: Last year I started out showing just my take, but that was very confusing and I shifted to listing the total shares each week, which is what I'll do this year as well.]

I can't believe I did it!

Thank you everyone for your support. I totally could not have done it without yooz. It was really hard (but at least I was finally not congested for the first time in like two weeks, though the sprained ankle + hurty knees were not good, whine, whine) and most definitely a mind-over-matter situation (especially after the first 18 or so miles) but I was stylin' in my hair falls, crossed the finish line, and I've got my medal. :)

Today I am sore, tired, and limpy. Kind of amazed I could get out bed. I've got a post-race thing this evening and I might just show up at Diesel after if I can find a parking space close enough to make it seem worthwhile. (Alternatively, if anyone who can chauffeur wants to come with me to said thing (5-6pm), lemme know.) I've already walked about a half-mile today, which seems like enough and I don't feel ready to bicycle.

Details and detailed shout-outs to come later. Y'all know who you are.

But to answer a couple of common questions:

1. No, right now the idea of doing it again holds no appeal whatsoever.
2. Yes, you can totally buy me a beer/drink/lunch/dinner. Let's make plans.

It feels so weird to be done.

Just got home from our team pre-race dinner, which was fabulous in all sorts of ways and it was comforting to see so many other people who are just as nervous and out of sorts as I am. Hopefully not everyone is as hurty. Hopefully my hurts won't get too excessively worse. To answer a common question: You can track me (and all the other runners) on the web site during the race. My number is 26688. This may come in handy if you want to be out there for a hug/high-5/cheer but don't want to be out there too long.

Also, I know that besides the team cheering station at Mile 9 and jim_p's at Mile 10, some other friends are planning to be out there in the afternoon closer to town by the finish line, Kenmore Square, Coolidge Corner, or other T-able points in between, and some have told me they'd like to find people to watch with. So if you want to post your plans here to let other folks meet up with you, I'm sure it would be appreciated.

(There is a Spectator Guide with assorted useful info such as which parts of the route are T-accessible.)

Eeeeeee!!!!

[PS: Thank you for all the well-wishes! I haven't had time to respond to all the emails and messages, but they are all wonderful. I may not have time to reply to comments here, either. While my wave starts at 10:30a, we'll be on the way to the starting line at 6am.]

Guess the number of non-empty bottles of booze I moved to my new place and win fame, glory, and a prize! (If you can't use the poll for whatever reason, comment with your guess, but be sure to leave your recognizable-to-me name if you're anon or your entry will not be considered.)

Given some of the guesses so far, I thought I'd offer up a few bits of information:
= This is a count of all booze-y bottles, including liquor, beer, wine, etc.
= One case of wine (or big-bottle beer) generally contains 12 bottles.
= One case of beer generally contains 24 bottles.
= The closest guess as of this writing is off by a number greater than most of the other guesses.

[Poll #1548389]

You may change your answer any number of times until the poll closes at approximately noon today. If you win but are unable or unwilling to claim your prize, it will go to the next-best guess or the participant of your choice. You still get the glory.

[Mirrored from my training blog and sponsorship page where I am raising funds in support of nutrition, medical, and fitness research and education at Tufts University.]

So far, this week is going strong despite minor issues. Tuesday morning intervals were tough as usual and I had to stop early due to some stomach upset (throwing up on the indoor track would not be good). But I still got up oh-god-early on Wednesday to do the group run and toughed out the full mileage. As we milled around before starting, someone mentioned they were glad the snow wasn't supposed to start until later. Then naturally about four minutes in, little flakes started coming down, and by the halfway point, we were reasonably soaked (and getting pelted in the face the whole way). Luckily it was at our backs for the return. A few blocks from the finish, I noticed that something seemed to be scratching my foot a bit, so I glanced down to see a not-too-pretty sight -- I'm glad I hadn't looked sooner! I think I need to replace those socks because the elasticity has shrunk to the point that the edge has a tendency to land in the wrong place and cause issues like that.

What's a little amazing is that it didn't seem too bad while I was running, but once I was done, had a banana, etc, starting to walk again was super painful. It was good to get the shoe and sock off.

( Not for the overly squeamish (pic not posted on the sponsorship page since it doesn't have cuts) )

Got bandaids on the way home.

[Mirrored from my training blog (where it was actually posted last week.. d'oh!) at http://run.peace.net. Expect another update very soon. I am still well short of my fundraising goal and welcome all support. Thanks!]

Long story short, I saw the trainer who determined that the issue wasn't dangerous, the sharp pains nonwithstanding. She told me to keep going as I could, which unfortunately was not a lot for the next week, because it always hurt. I ramped up slowly and am now running again, though not as far as I'd like to be. One step at a time.

I even managed to get a few miles in Wednesday night during the snowstorm, which was nothing if not silly. I passed one other runner en route, though, and we gave each other big cheers, which was awesome and totally made it worth it.

[This entry was posted to my official runner page this past Thursday, January 28. From now on, I'll be mirroring entries when I post them. There are also plenty more over there from before, which you're welcome to go read. And of course, donations are still welcome and appreciated.]

The weather hasn't been all that bad the past couple of weeks, except for the annoyance of all the ice and snow on the ground. Last week's rain did a nice job of washing it all away. Today I did ~8 miles starting from home, but hooking in with the usual around-the-lakes route and it felt good (and safe) to actually be able to use the now-clear path and sidewalks rather than the shoulder.

Naturally, that couldn't last. The snow began, of course, while I was running, and by the time I returned home, I was soaked to the skin. (On the up side, running eight miles in heavy snow makes it very easy to catch lots of flakes on one's tongue.)

Then tonight was a lecture on assorted training topics, and while I biked over, we were hit by a snowsquall. Visibility was quite suddenly cut short and the combination of factors made the roads extremely slippery, which I noticed both in myself and watching cars and people slide around, so I walked the last few blocks and arrived late looking like the abominable snowman, albeit much shorter.

By the time I headed home, the roads were once again clear but the temperature had dropped and winds gusted so hard that I had to pedal the last downhill to my street instead of the usual coasting.

At this point, it's below freezing, will continue to get colder, and the forecast doesn't go above 32 until *Wednesday*. This Sunday, of course, is one of our special long runs on the Marathon course. I'm starting to wonder if we are cursed!

I know some of y'all also love the place, so you might be interested in today's Groupon: $10 for $20 worth of stuff at the Garment District. (And you can apparently buy two of them.)

I don't get the deal unless 199 other people buy in, so go get one. :) See ya there.

[ETA: Numbers achieved, so the deal is on. It's still available if you want in, though.]

Since you won't be able to leave the neighborhood, anyway, you might as well come out and cheer the Jingle Bell Run! It's a great time, with a big party in Davis Square and thousands of runners in costume. You can check out the route map. I know a lot of you live on or within a block or so of it (I'm looking at you, barodar, gilana, desiringsubject, veek, plumtreeblossom, unferth, ron_newman, vibrant_abyss, bluesauce, uberjay, wow this list is getting long so I'll stop now, but there are more!) so it's not much of an effort.

I'll be running with anomie666, who is doing his second ever 5K! Woo! (One of us will be a chubby runner who looks sorta like Santa and the other one is Matt.) I keep saying I''ll run it at his pace whatever that is, but in my head, I'm slightly worried about keeping up with him, especially trailing four feet of Santa hat. But I think it'll work out. :) (Other folks I know are also running it, but since they never want to run with me, they don't get shout-outs. :P )

The race starts at 11am and proceeds relatively slowly for a 5K because of all the costumes, but even the walkers will finish in an hour, so plan accordingly.

The week has flown by and tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my birthday. I apologize if I gave the impression of things being disastrous in a way that they were not and are not. (I'm guessing I did so based on some of the expressions of concern I've received since then, which I very much appreciate in any case. I do like that people care, but I don't want anyone worrying needlessly.) Holiday plans are proceeding apace and at this point I seem to have sixteen people coming for dinner. Meep! And even more for dessert, to which y'all are still quite welcome. (Let me know if you need details.)

Yesterday I gave blood and this morning I ran four miles. It felt a bit strained but I don't know how much of that was after-effects of donation, how much was starting at 7am (which is too early for that much activity), and how much was the cramps. Grr, argh. Today I will see if I can dig up any potatoes from the garden, get whatever else I need from the last farmers market of the year (boo), and get going with cooking and cleaning.

Tomorrow morning I was thinking I'd run along with the Tri-Gobble for fun, but I'd rather do it with someone. Any of y'all doing this one? Or want to? I'm looking at you, anomie666.

I've never been very good at wishlists (I don't expect gifts from anyone, anyway), but if anyone would like to do something nice for me (and for others, and for yourself via tax deduction), you should know that the reason I've been getting up at ungodly hours to run is that I am training for the 2010 Boston Marathon. Okay, yeah, I said it. The Boston Marathon. I will talk a lot more about it in the coming months. To be honest, you may have to remind me to talk about anything else. By necessity, it does become a bit of an obsession.

As with all runners who don't have a qualifying time (which I obviously couldn't since I've never run a marathon before, and also the qualifying times are much faster than I can possibly run), I need to raise a fair bit of money in order to participate. I am running with the Tufts University President's Marathon Challenge. The money raised by our team will fund important research at the Tufts School of Nutrition and all donations are fully tax deductible.

I've been blogging my training for the past couple of months at my runner page, though I suppose I should mirror that someplace else since there isn't even a way to get an RSS feed as far as I can tell. So there's my bit of self-promotion for the day. I appreciate your support whether it takes the form of donations, equipment loans, training company, words of encouragement, or something else. Extra big thanks to those who have already donated. Feel free to pass along the link to anyone you think might be interested. That link again:

http://run.peace.net
(Which redirects here if that link isn't working for you.)

To everyone I won't see tomorrow, have a great holiday!

Oops, Week 20 was in October and I somehow never got around to posting this. Better late than never and all that.

( List back here )

Dried: maitake
Froze: arugula pesto, vegetable stock
Canned: applesauce
Fermented: sauerkraut, ginger carrots

As always post-share season, Steve invited us to come and harvest from his fields. Due to scheduling issues (and also being sick), I unfortunately had to miss that, but I did send along some apfelwein with Mark and Jonathan, who did get out there both to help and to pick.

Things they brought back include lots of pumpkins, butternuts, lettuce, spinach, carrots, turnips, beets, leeks, broccoli, chard, and whatever else I'm not thinking of. All together, several metric buttloads worth of food. Yay! It's sad for the season to be over, but I will be working by way through these fall crops for many more weeks, which is a nice bonus. I also still have some things to harvest from the garden, including kale and carrots.

I will try to recap the 2009 farm share season in a separate post at some point and also recap my harvest/preserving season in general. There is still plenty to be done with the latter, though, and more evil plans being formed. I mean good. Very good.

Meanwhile, could anyone out there accompany me to CostCo along with a membership card in the next day or two? I can potentially ply you with various goodies.

Just realized that I hadn't posted last week's (Oct 13-14) pick-ups. Oops. Well, due to sickness and such, I haven't gotten all of this week's yet (but will later today), so I guess I'm not technically behind yet. So without further ado.

( Week 19 )

Frozen: basil pesto
Canned: tomatillo salsa verde, apple sauce
Fermented: fennel kraut, sauerruben (huge batch)
Dried: maitake mushrooms, roasted beets, beet chips, beet green powder (yep, beets three ways)

Meanwhile, I've got a Halloween party tonight and have made zero costume plans. Argh. What should I wear that involves only things I already have?

As always, I sigh at the transition to fall crops and the coming winter. I refuse to even think about the clocks changing.

( Week 18 )

Dried: apples, more apples, cilantro, dill, mushrooms, potatoes (specifically, raw purple potato chips!)
Fermented: sauerruben (with star-shaped slices for fun and one beet for color)
Froze: arugula pesto
Canned: applesauce

I also went to the Topsfield Fair with Mare, Jay, and DD. We had a great time and there are some fun pics. Back home, I made a list of all the food the four of us ate there. For the record, we were there for a while...

( Click at your own risk! )

Last week, Parker Farm said that due to this year's horrid conditions, shares would have to be canceled for the rest of the season. I was, of course, quite sad over the news, but given the situation all over the state, it wasn't entirely surprising. A few days later, Steve changed his mind and announced that, with some small changes and understanding that hauls would likely be smaller, things would, in fact continue. Yay! Too bad he didn't just start out by saying there'd be no drop-off that week, which would have saved an assortment of annoyance on various sides.

Ironically, despite that, last week was the biggest total haul of the year, because my share partner and I went out to Red Fire on Monday to harvest and came home with a metric buttload, then I helped Steve a bit at the farmer's market Saturday which yielded as much as I could carry on my bike. A lot of CSA members had stopped by to say hi and offer support. It was good to see. And because Steve is awesome, he sent us all home with extras.

( Week 16++ )

And on the food preservation front:
Canned: tomatillo salsa verde, more tomatillo salsa verde, roasted red pepper spread
Dried: tomatoes, apples, apple powder, oregano, parsley, rosemary, green & yellow beans, mushrooms
Froze: blackberries

I hope everyone who went for it had an easy fast (mine wasn't too bad).