My First Loaf!

I have been dying to make bread for a few weeks now.  I don’t know exactly why I felt such a strong desire to make bread from scratch, but I knew I had to try it.  And now, 22.5 hours later, I have successfully made my first loaf of bread.  I feel like a domestic goddess.

I used a cookbook my mom had called “My Bread- The Revolutionary no-work, no-knead Method” written by Jim Lahey.  He developed the no-knead Bread-in-pot technique.   It’s really simple, all you need it water, flour, yeast, salt, and time. 

The instructions call for a cast iron pot, which I didn’t have, so I went out and bought one yesterday.   I found one for fifty bucks at Homegoods.  It’s  porcelain enamel coated cast iron, so it’s really heavy!  In an ideal world I’d have a Le Crueset dutch oven, but this will do for now. 

Making the Dough:

First, I gathered all the ingredients.

3 cups bread flour

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon yeast

1 1/3 cups cool (55-65 degrees F) water

Corn meal (for dusting)

In a medium bowl, I mixed the flour, salt and yeast.  I then added the water and stirred with a wooden spoon until it was a wet sticky dough.  I had to add another tablespoon of water to get it to be sticky to the touch.

I covered the bowl with saran wrap and let it sit for the fermentation period.  This can take anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.  I let my dough rise for 18 hours.  

The book says to pay attention to the “visual keys” of a successful rise, such as a bubbly surface with a darkened appearance.

Once the dough has risen, I took it out of the bowl, and laid it on a floured cutting board. 

I folded it and shaped it to be more round, and placed it seam side down on a tea towel dusted with corn meal.  I loosely wrapped the tea towel over the dough.  This is when the second rise begins.  I let it rise for a little less than two hours. 

note the indentation, bottom left

The dough is ready to be baked when it passes the “poke test.”  Gently poke the dough with your finger to make an indentation ¼ inch deep.  If it holds the indentation, it’s good to go!

While the dough is in the second rise, I pre-heated  the oven and the pot.  Once the oven was up to 475 degrees,  I placed  the dough in the pot and dusted it a little more with corn meal.

I baked the dough for 30 minutes with the lid, and then another 15 minutes without the lid.  

And it is so beautiful!

I think I did everything right. As soon as I took the loaf out it was making some cracking sounds, called “singing.”  The “singing” occurs when the bread starts to cool, and the crust is shrinking and cooling, and the steam is escaping through the cracks.  

The bread must cool for at least an hour before slicing.  Once cool, I sliced it and had a photo shoot... then I had a serious bread binge. 

Why You Should Drink Chocolate Milk After a Tough Workout

Hey!

I’ve been pretty productive today.  My biggest accomplishment so far has been running nine miles.  My training plan suggested running 8 miles, but since I was feeling pretty good and the race is in two weeks, I decided to do nine.  It took me 1 hour and 29 minutes (9:58 pace).

 

At mile 6, I took an energy gel since I was starting to lose steam.  I think it helped.  It did make me really thirsty since it’s so sweet, but that was the only negative thing I noticed.  At nine miles, I started my cool down.  I walked a little bit, then stretched my legs.  Afterwards, I iced my knees because they were a little stiff.  And by ice, I mean frozen corn and peas. :)

Did you notice that my Nike plus report is green now?  That's because I made it to the green level! That means I have ran 162 miles with Nike Plus, and 104 of them I ran in 2012.  That seems like pretty big news to me!

To refuel after the run, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich with carrot sticks and a side of cottage cheese.   

I love toasted bread!

I mixed up a big glass of chocolate milk to drink.  When I was in college, I took a sports nutrition class and I remember learning that chocolate milk is the perfect thing to drink after a workout.  The ratio of carbs, protein, and fat, is just what your body needs to start recovery.

Fitness magazine says, “Compared to plain milk, water, or most sports drinks, [chocolate milk] has double the carbohydrate and protein content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles. Its high water content replaces fluids lost as sweat, preventing dehydration. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium, and includes just a little sodium and sugar -- additives that help recovering athletes retain water and regain energy." Source

As an added bonus, it’s delicious, and it really brings me back to my childhood when I used to chug chocolate milk like it was nobody’s business.

In unrelated news, I just bought myself a 5 quart cast iron pot and I plan on making some bread in it.  I just made the dough and now it needs to rise for 18 hours since I’m trying out a “no

knead” method.  I’ll post about that tomorrow!

The Pea's Knees (V-Day edition)

1. We went out for V-day to this amazing little place called Donatello's. We were fortunate enough to have a gift certificate we recieved from a very generous friend. Lucky us!  We went to this restaurant last year too, but I was sick and could barely eat anything.  I was glad we got to try it again because the food is really good!  I give this place 4.5 out of 5 Peas!

2. This was my Caprese salad. It was just perfect. Look at that cute little stack.

3. CJ got the lamb.  He said it was cooked well, but he wished it was more rare.  Why are men obsessed with raw meat?  I just don't get it.  I swear he would eat raw meat if I allowed it. 

In Running news....

4.  The Black Cat race is a little over two weeks away.  Freaking out!  Can I do it?  Probably.  Will I be fast?  Probably not. This weekend I'm planning to use an energy gel when I attempt to run 8 miles again. 


5.  I'm currently debating whether or not to sign up for the Wallis Sands Half Marathon in Rye, New Hampshire.  It's May 6th, 2012.  If I get 10 Comments on this post by Monday, Feb 20th, I'll sign up.  How about that?

The Best (and Only) Way to Eat a Cupcake

Would you be mine if I made you pretty pink cupcakes?

These cupcakes were made with love (did you know they put love into the cake mix?)  They were mixed by hand (but only because I couldn't find the electric mixer) and they should be eaten in the form of a sandwich (the only way to eat a cupcake, right Matt?)

If you don't know what I mean by eating it as a sandwich, allow me to enlighten you:

Step one:  Pull off the bottom of the cupcake.

Step two: Place bottom of cupcake on top of cupcake

Step three:  Enjoy!

I'm pretty sure I've changed the way you eat cupcakes forever sooooo you're welcome. :)


Happy Valentine's Day!

An Achy 8 Miles and Recovery Banana Pancakes

Hello!
Yesterday I ran 8 miles on the treadmill.  This was no easy feat for me.  I didn't eat enough beforehand so I was really struggling to get through it.  I started running out of energy at mile 5, and really had to push myself to finish it.
I really wanted to do the 8 miles because I needed to get it under my belt.  The 10 mile race is coming up, and I only have a few more long runs on my training schedule.  I have to make each one count!

I finished in one hour and 24 minutes.  I felt a little achy after so I iced my knees and relaxed for the rest of the day. 

This week's Fitness Schedule:
Monday: 3 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run
Thursday: 2 mile run
Saturday: 8 mile run
(Hopefully I can fit some yoga in there somewhere.)

This morning I had wanted to go to this free Crossfit event, but I realized that I haven't given myself a rest day in over a week.  The event was called "Tough Love" and it was the WOD (workout of the day) and then an hour yoga class.  I really wanted to go because I thought it would be great to get to try Crossfit for free since it can be pretty expensive.  Oh well, I decided to skip the class and make some banana pancakes instead.

I was really channeling Jack Johnson this morning.

  

I'd share the recipe, but I didn't make them from scratch.  We just used box mix and added some chopped up bananas to the mixture.

When they were done, we sprinkled them with more chopped bananas, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup.

I definitely made the right decision this morning. Pancakes > Crossfit.

 One of the pancakes accidentally came out in a heart shape.  How sweet!

Weekend breakfast's are the best!

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday!  I'm off to frost some Valentine's Day cupcakes for my work party tomorrow.
Pictures to come!

The Pea's Knees (1.0)

Hi!
This is the first edition of the Pea's Knees!
I want this to be a weekly list of random/cute/fun/exciting things I want to share with you guys.
Hope you like it!  Feel free to leave feedback.  143 comments.


1.  I signed up to do my first half marathon!  I'm really nervous/excited about this.  I have been "shopping" around for the right one for a few weeks and I finally found the perfect one.  It's the 13.1 Boston Half Marathon.  It fulfilled all my requirements.  It's in a good location, it's a good time of year, and they hand out awesome finisher's medals.  I do it all for the medal.

2.  I got pink sneakers!  I got them at the Nike outlet for $21 when I was in North Conway a few weeks ago.  I'm in love.

3.  I made a pinata and filled it with candy and nips for a party.  If that's not the definition of fun, I don't know what is.

4.  I got bangs.  Big deal, I know.

5. I really want to make these.  They just scream Valentine's day!

6.  I recently rediscovered my love for smoothies.  They are a lot healthier for dessert compared to my usual bowl of ice cream and just as satisfying!  I've been using orange or cranberry juice, frozen blueberries and strawberries, Greek yogurt, and a banana.

 

 yum!

<3

Cucumber Raspberry Guacamole

Fact:  I thought I hated guacamole until I actually made some.
I didn't know how deliciously creamy it is.
I didn't know how easy it is to make.
I didn't know how perfectly it goes with tortilla chips.

Why didn't anyone tell me these things??

But anyway, you should try this super simple and healthy recipe!
(inspired by acozykitchen)

Ingredients:
4 Avocados
1 lime
handful of raspberries
1/4 of a cucumber
Sea salt to taste

Peel, slice, and finely dice the cuke
Pit and cube the avocados
Mash them up in a bowl
Combine diced cucumbers with mashed avocados
Sqeeze in some lime juice
Add the sea salt to taste
Top with chopped raspberries

Shown without raspberries sprinkled on top!

Super Sunday 5M!

Hi guys!
Yesterday was the day of the Super Sunday 5 Mile Race!

I was really excited for this race (even though I only signed up for it on Friday).  I woke up pretty early feeling like a kid on Christmas morning.  I ate a bagel and had some OJ and coffee for my breakfast.

I got to Cambridge a little after nine, and met up with my friends, Tracy and Miriam.  We were all pretty excited/nervous/scared of the cold!

At a little after 9:30, we walked down to the start to pick up the bibs.  The race didn't start til 10:30, so we did a lot of standing around trying to stay warm!  It was about 27 degrees when the race started.  Luckily it was pretty sunny, so I tried to absorb as much warmth from the sun as I could.

At 10:20, we walked over to the starting line.  Someone sang the National Anthem, fired the gun, and we were off!

I was not warmed up at all, so the beginning of the race was really difficult.  Actually, the entire race was difficult for me.  It was just so cold!

In the first mile, my feet and three of my fingers went completely numb.  I felt like my feet were solids blocks of ice clunking down the street.  I kept telling myself  "it will get better when I warm up."

At mile 2, I was still pretty frozen.  I felt like we were moving at a pretty good pace, but I had no idea how fast or slow we were going.  My Nike plus band only tells me how far I have gone, but not my pace.

At Mile 3, we could see the finish line for the 5k.  There was an option in this race to "bailout" and stop at a 5k.  It was so tempting, but I just told myself to keep going.  I started to run out of steam at this point.  I even started to slowly drop back from Tracy and Miriam  I wanted to keep up with them, but I was really struggling.

More and more people started passing me and I felt like I was running really slow.  Originally, I had wanted to finish the race in 48 minutes.  I had no idea how fast I was going so I tried to tell myself that my time didn't matter so much.  The only thing that matters is crossing the finish line!

In the last mile, I continued to feel sluggish and slow.  Once I turned a corner and saw the finish line I really tried to dig deep and run as fast as I could.  When the clock came into sight, I was completely shocked.  It said 43 minutes and 59 seconds.  I was not expecting my time to be that good.  I thought there must have been a mistake, but there wasn't.  I ran the race at an average pace of 8: 45!

I was so proud of myself! This race was extremely challenging for me, and to see that I did better than expected was so rewarding.

My official time was 43:59 for the five miles.  They also recorded your 5k time.  My 5k time was 26:48; a huge improvement from my first 5k (which took me 31:04).

Likes & Dislikes of this race:

Likes:

• Mostly flat course
•  Started on time
• Organized well
• Announced each persons name as they crossed the finish line (sooo nice!)
• Chicken wings, beer, and live music after race!!!
• Lots of free loot (coconut water, popchips, pretzel crisps...)

Dislikes:

• Not all roads on course were closed
• No medals! :(
• Very cold weather

Here are my splits:

Determination! haha

Superbowl Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Hi everyone!  Remember when I said I'm not really into football, and I'm only watching the Superbowl for the commercials and the halftime show?  Well, I forgot to mention that I'm also looking forward to the food!

My friend, Sarah, sent me this recipe and I decided to try it out for the Superbowl party I'm going to.

Not the most healthy recipe, but certainly a good one!

Buffalo Chicken Dip
　
3 or 4 Chicken breasts
2 blocks of 8oz cream cheese
16 oz Ranch dressing (1 large bottle)
12 oz Franks Red Hot Original (buffalo) sauce (1 bottle)
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese (we used some mozzarella cheese too)
　
Boil chicken breasts and let cool
Once cooled, shred chicken into very fine strings.  This can be done using two forks and pulling apart the chicken.
Mix shredded chicken with 12oz (1 bottle) of Franks Red Hot Sauce
In a medium pan, heat ranch dressing and cream cheese until melted
Mix the chicken mixture with the dressing/cheese mixture
Pour into casserole dish
Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until hot through, then spread cheddar cheese on top　
Cook for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted
Let cool (a little) before serving
　

 Serve with tortilla chips or crackers and celery.

Go Pat's!

Pickles, Pretzels, and Cheese!

Happy Friday,  folks!
I'm really excited for this weekend, and not just because of the Superbowl.
I'm not a football person, I didn't even know who the Pat's were playing against until this morning.
It's just not my thing.

I watch the Superbowl for two reasons:
1. The commercials
2. The halftime show

The real reason I'm excited for this weekend is because I'm running a race on Sunday!
I had been debating about signing up for it for a few weeks, then a friend of mine sent me a coupon code to get $10 off the registration fee and I just signed up!

It's the Super Sunday 5 Miler, and it starts right near my office in Kendall Sq.  It looks like a pretty good course.  There's even an option to do a 5k instead of a whole 5 miles.  I wanted to do the five miles because I figured it would be really good practice for my ten mile race (which is only a month away!).

Here's my training plan for the week:

Sunday- 3 miles(check)
Monday- 3 miles(check)
Tuesday-Off
Wednesday- 4.26 miles (I ran outside because it was 50 degrees! yay! )
Thursday- Off
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: I'm going to attempt to go to Body Pump
Sunday:  Super Sunday 5 Miler!!!

Can we talk about my Wednesday night run? I really need to share.
So I headed out to run at about 6 pm.  It was pretty dark, but I had a little blinkie light attached to me so people could see me, and my track jacket and sneakers were reflective.  Towards the end of my run, I turned off the main road and ran into this little neighborhood close to my house.  The streets were really dark, and I couldn't see much.  I ended up tripping in a pot hole in the road and almost falling. This started me quite a bit, but when I looked up I saw something in the road a few feet ahead of me.  I couldn't really tell what it was, but as I got closer I saw it was a dog just lurking in the darkness staring at me!  I was afraid to run past him because I didn't want him to chase after me.  I just said "hey pup" and kept walking until he was out of sight!
Phew! It was scary!  I'm not afraid of dogs, but this one was really creepy!

On Thursday, I went out to dinner with two of my very lovely friends.  We met up at the commons and went to Stoddard's for some appetizers and beers.
I ordered the Rapscallion Honey Ale to drink.

We ended up ordering four appetizers to share:  The pot of pickles, the cheese plate, pretzels, and fries.

It really hit the spot! :)  The pot of pickles was my favorite.  It had an array of pickled vegetables like cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, and some actual cucumber pickles.  The cheese plate was really good as well (even though I couldn't identify some of the cheeses). 
I really liked this place and would love to go back again!