Decadence

I don't often make sweets. I mean real sweets, as in something you eat more than one, or two of and feel a slight sense of guilt, not to mention a little ill in your tummy. But, tonight I decided to look past the healthy nut cookies and the quinoa cakes and attempt to recreate my favourite tasty treat: peanut butter cups. Because there are no bottles of Skippy peanut butter or milk chocolate in our house, it was dark dark chocolate all the way, with an almond butter filling. I didn't exactly need a recipe as I don't think it's possible to really go wrong with those two ingredients, but the best part is that they even look like the real thing. Actually, maybe the best part is that they are so insanely rich and sweet that half of one is enough of a treat (ok, maybe a full one).



The ingredients:

These are all estimates as I was kind of winging it:

-2 bars dark chocolate
-1/2 cup almond butter
-4-5 tbsp coconut flour
-1 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

In a double boiler (one small pot over a larger pot with hot water), I melted about 2/3rds of one chocolate bar. I lined a muffin pan with twelve paper cups and poured the melted chocolate into each, turning each cup so that the chocolate spreads across the bottom. I popped the tray in the freezer while I made the filling. In a small bowl, mix the almond butter with the flour, vanilla and a pinch of sea salt, until it has a slightly doughy consistency. Create tiny "paddies" and place one on top of each cooled chocolate in the muffin papers. Press each patty a little bit flatter. Melt the rest of the chocolate and pour over the almond butter filling. Again, turn each paper cup so that the chocolate covers the filling. Sprinkle with some sea salt if desired and pop back in the freezer. They will be ready in just a few minutes!

On a much healthier note, our rooftop veggie garden is coming along nicely. Well, maybe that is a slight stretch of the truth as it is somewhat of a meadow right now, but it's a work in progress. Man, those weeds can grow FAST! It was almost unrecognizable, although I had a feeling it was ours as it was the only non-manicured perfectly plotted garden up there. Ooops, that is a little embarrassing!

Adam is very proud of our "meadow." We've got some fertile soil! Note the weeded gardens all around us. Also note the coffee cup in his hand. Yep, we enjoyed dry cappuccinos while gardening on our rooftop: YUPPIE alert!

My rock star bike... and a bit of everything else

Shimano and Trek have made me one lucky girl. Today I picked up my new lovely green riding machine. Complete with Shimano Dura-Ace grupo, Pro components, and my favourite Dura-Ace tubeless wheelset, the women's specific Madone 6.9 is one very sweet bike. Thanks so much to Troy and Bill at Pro City Cycles for building her up.... and for being just as excited as I am! I could probably write a novel about how pretty and fast it looks, and about how the green matches my Shimano tri shoes and will look flash with my red Canada suit, but I thinks it's best write the real report after I actually ride it. To be continued... for now, please enjoy the eye candy!


As for the training side of things, I'm not going to sugarcoat it and say that things have been great. It's been a trying month (or two), physically and emotionally. They are good days and not-so-good days (there were probably more not-so-good days than I would have liked), but these sorts of setbacks really do force you to look at the big picture, rather than what you can't do at that moment or that week, and to keep things in perspective. All I can say is that this adversity will definitely make the future successes that much sweeter :)

Apart from rehabbing and doing the little bits of training my body has been able to handle (now including 2-arm swimming!), my extra energy has been put in to cooking. I know I say I like to cook a lot, but I think I have taken things to a whole new level! I really have put all of my anger and frustration into the cooking. Don't get me wrong, I do find it enjoyable and relaxing, but right now it's a way for me to change my focus for an hour or two everyday. I don't think Adam is complaining either. He often laughs when he comes in the door from class to a plate full of roasted fennel bulbs stuffed with chicken, cranberries and almonds (thanks, Noa!), alongside a mixed green salad with roasted butternut squash, avocado, goat feta, and sliced peppers. For some reason, I have been going crazy over vegetables (yes, this is not a bad thing, probably better than going crazy over cakes or cream pies, but Adam might beg to differ..). So, we have had basically every vegetable I can get my hands on. Because it's simple yet adds dimension to the veggies, I have been doing a lot of oven roasting (yams, squash, onions, fennel, broccoli, kale, asparagus,..) anything and everything, sometimes tossed with coconut oil, sometimes olive oil, but always with a variety of fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary,..). This mixture is then added to a salad with a mixture of raw veggies (grated carrot, avocado, peppers), toasted seeds and nuts, some sort of protein (chicken kabobs, baked arctic char, smoked tofu, grilled & diced tempeh burgers, hard-boiled eggs...) and usually tossed with either of my favourite dressings (olive oil + balsamic vinegar + maple syrup or olive oil + lemon juice + lemon rind + honey). Then there's are the soups (coconut curry, lemongrass, miso, bortsch...) and proteins (slow cooked bison, kangaroo burgers (I apologize to my Aussie friends!), smoked salmon...). Anyway, it has really been a fun adventure and definitely rekindled my passion and love for cooking.

Here's tonight's salad creation, unfortunately not one of the most gourmet, but is still tasty. Oh, I just realized I forgot to add the cheese!!

If anyone has any yummy recipes to share, please pass them along! I'm thinking I might just have to officially turn this into a recipe AND triathlon blog...

Last but definitely not least, I must say how incredibly proud I am of my husband. He placed 3rd at his first ultramarathon this past Sunday, the Chukanut 50km. What I love about Adam's training is he just gets the job done. He's busy with school so often runs in the dark in the mornings or evenings and doesn't have the luxury of waiting around for the perfect weather conditions (if it's pouring during his study break, he is still heading out), and rarely complains. I know I am a proud wife, but he honestly rocked this race. He went for the win but still fought hard to the end. I do have to say though that I am a little annoyed that he is not even a snitch sore... and I am walking funny from doing a few sets of squats yesterday!!

Here's my favourite pic from the race:

Unity!

After seven weeks of nasty separation, my bones have decided to play nice and unite. I was a little concerned they would stay mad at each other for ever, leaving me with a drooping shoulder and non-functional wrist. Thankfully the latest x-ray showed otherwise, displaying a beautiful hazy swirl of callus across my collarbone and a teensy tiny "flake" on the side of my wrist. Even the x-ray technician was speechless this time, silence that was music to my ears!

I am now in the midst of improving my range of motion. I thought this would be exciting and enjoyable but it is painful, slow-going and frustrating. I went to a hand physio last week (I did not know such a practitioner existed) and was given a few basic exercises for my wrist to get things moving again. I was very cautious for the first couple of days, being gentle with the movements and really making no progress. So, yesterday I decided to go cold turkey and ditch the splint. I acted though I had a hand made of glass for the first half of the day, afraid to touch anything and carrying it around like a limp rag, but as the day wore on, I got braver. Before I knew it I was chopping veggies, opening doors and shaking hands no problem. I decided today to try a swim without the splint. Lately I've been in a bit of a swim rut, being able to do only a one-arm-with-splint stroke for the past 5 weeks. It was fun at the start as I could get back to the pool on a regular basis, but I am almost at the end of my rope with these 2km special stroke sessions. So today I did not even bring my splint out on the deck and "swam" 2.1km. The highlight was not the weightless feeling of the arm, but the lack of hair stuck in my hand. It turns out the splint is a fantastic human hair net, picking up every possible strand of hair and hairball in the pool. It is never fun realizing later in the day that someone else's hair is stuck in the velco. Yes, it is disgusting, I know. So long, splint!!

On a totally unrelated note, here what I cooked up for dinner tonight, a recipe from March's issue of EAT Magazine. A little labour intensive and ingredient-heavy, but if you've got a well-stocked spice cabinet, it's definitely worth the effort.

Spicy Roasted Vegetable Stew

• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium red potato, chopped in bite-size pieces
• 2 medium zucchinis, chopped in bite-size chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped in bite-size chunks
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/3 cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom pods, bruised
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 or 2 jalapeno chile peppers, minced (with or without seeds, to taste -- I'm not a big fan of spice, so omitted this altogether)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 inches fresh gingerroot, peeled and minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 cup green beans, cut in 2-inch pieces
• 6 asparagus spears, cut in 2-inch pieces
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cooked lentils
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl, toss carrots, potatoes, zucchini, and red peppers in olive oil. Place on a baking tray and roast for 20-25 minutes until veggies are slightly brown. Remove and set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, dry roast the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves over medium heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add butter, chilies, bay leaf, ginger, and onions and stir fry until the onions are translucent. Add roasted vegetables and stir and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add salt, black pepper, tumeric, green beans, asparagus, tomatoes and broth. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender. Add coconut milk, cooked lentils and mustard seeds. Simmer for 5 minutes.

During the last few minutes of cooking, I added some chunks of raw red snapper and it cooked quickly and was a tasty compliment to the cinnamon, ginger, and coconut flavours.

Oh Canada!

Watching last night's Opening Ceremony made me truly proud to be Canadian. Despite criticism that it "underwhelmed" and was "boring," I found myself glued to the TV, with goosebumps (yes, I get these a lot when bursting with inspiration/excitement). Maybe I was like a proud mother where my child (the show) could do no wrong, but from the range of performers, to the tasteful and respectful memorial to fallen Georgian athlete, I thought Vancouver put on a fantastic ceremony, showcasing how great Canada is. I know VANOC is deeply embarrassed by the unexplained malfunction of the fourth torch, but reading this quote by a Toronto Star Reader puts a positive spin on the situation: "it could also be regarded as simply an unlit flame for a soul taken."

I have to admit that what amazed me most is how they transformed BC Place Stadium. The only time I have spent in that stadium is post-Sun Run and that is what I call underwhelming. Smooshed bananas all over the floor, paper cups everywhere, sweaty bodies packed in there with a nice potent haze of B.O. hovering throughout. Don't get me wrong, I love the atmosphere post-race, but I remember looking around last time I was in there, thinking there is NO way we can hold an Olympic ceremony in here..... But, we sure did pull it off, turning an existing facility into a world class Olympic show.


As for me, well..... let's just say I sure am glad the Olympics are starting because I will be spending a whole lot of time in front of the TV and on my bike over the coming weeks. X-rays are not the best for showing early stages of healing as there must a fair bit of callus to show up, and one month is still early for this. I was disappointed that mine didn't show what I thought it would, even though I was CERTAIN I saw some major signs of healing, but clearly my eye is untrained! I guess I was just so proud of my bones ;) There is definitely some healing, but not a whole lot and seeing the current state of the fracture was a good reminder that I still have broken bones and cannot "crank it" just yet (I think I say this to Adam everyday: "I just want to CRANK it today!!") Despite not setting world records for healing like I had planned, I will sweat it out on the bike, hike (with ponytail) and flail my way up and down the pool.

I do have to share the conversation with the x-ray technician though because this seems to have become an amusing situation for me. After the first x-ray, she returns to the room and says, "have you immobilized this?" Me: "Umm, yes, of course... well, for the first couple of weeks..." At this point, I'm thinking, geeze, I'm doing so well that she's simply curious how I have recovered so quickly. After x-ray two: She returns to the room and all she says is, "Well.....good luck." At this point my stomach knotted up..... what does she know, right? Well, I guess she knows a broken bone when she sees one!

Luge is on so time to get on the bike!

Goosebumps

27 Days

I can't believe it's almost one month since the crash... time seriously flies, even when injured.

Thank you everyone for sharing your healing stories. It really is inspiring to hear that in the end we all do heal and life does goes on.

For me, my clavicle is healing really well. Honestly, the human body amazes me. When I saw my follow-up x-rays one week post-crash I thought there was NO way this was going to heal on its own. The displacement between the bones was so apparent that the x-ray technician yelled, "Holy S**T" as the image flashed up on her monitor. I stood there, stuck in the x-ray machine, half laughing at situation, but also feeling my stomach knot up, realizing this was not good at all. Despite looking crazy dramatic, the bones were only displaced by half of a centimeter, close enough to find each other on their own. I sat there in disbelief looking at this image and I can't lie, deep down I truly didn't think it would heal. I was still in a lot of pain and it all felt very "fresh." But, day by day I improved and I gained more confidence and belief. This will sound cheezy, but everyday my body would surprise me with a little "gift". One day I was able to brush my teeth on my own, another I was able to pull on a t-shirt, and more recently, I made it until mid-morning before I even remembered I had this fracture! The "gift" a few days ago was the greatest prezzie of all: being able to pull my hair back on my own!! YES!!! I can be patient with swimming, but the pony-tail situation had to be rectified SOON.

Tomorrow is a day I've been looking forward to for quite some time... one month post-crash x-ray day! I hope to hear nothing but sweet silence from that technician this time... fingers crossed!

Mount Doug sunrise

My kind of graffiti

This is just around the corner from our apartment. I can't even count how many times I've biked by it and not noticed the POODLE....until today. Awesome!