Tuni Has a Medal

I can't remember the last time I got an award for doing something athletic. Really. But on Sunday morning, July 26th Dique and I got up early and I headed to Justin Herman Plaza in the heart of San Francisco. He wished me luck and I said I'd see him at the finish line - though he met me in the park for some photo ops:





It was hard, I took longer than I wanted to, and I really had trouble due to some muscle pulls, blisters on the soles of my feet and really unattractive chafing on my arms. But. I finished. A hot sweaty, exhausted mess crossed that finish line and got a medal. It was amazing. I bonded with another runner around mile 9 and we got it done together. I struggled between miles 16-19, and she struggled between 21-24. But we did it - we crossed the finish line jogging, together, laughing because we had been singing at the top of our lungs at mile 25 to stay motivated.

When Dique met me I tried not to cry - it was an emotion I hadn't anticipated, that of relief. Part of me couldn't believe I made it! The other part just hurt. I hobbled for the rest of the day, to his parents' house where I navigated the stairs very gingerly and took the best shower of my life. We went to an open home because? I'm stubborn. And then we went home. And I took another shower. And then I got on the couch and didn't get off. I won't lie, it was a huge challenge, and I'm disappointed with myself about my time. But I did it. In a mere four months of training I was able to start and finish a marathon and much to my surprise I was not the last one across that finish line. To me, that's a success.

Sure I couldn't really walk on Sunday, had restless legs on Sunday which impacted my sleep, and on Monday I could barely move. But by Tuesday I was back in action and feeling good. Proud of myself, and ready to sign up for the next race. The next race, however, will be a half marathon - I think that's where it is at for me. So I've signed up for the US Half in San Francisco on November 1st. We'll see how I do.

Another post in which I talk about food. With pictures.

San Francisco is often cold in the summer - June and July are months of layering clothing, often a sweater under a jacket under a scarf and hat. Which is why, naturally, we get really excited when the temperature goes above 70 degrees. So excited, in fact, that we celebrate - and what better way to celebrate heat than with a fiesta?

One freakishly warm Wednesday night I left work while the sun was still shining and the air was sweet. I got all the groceries I needed: cod fillets, flour tortillas, a few ears of corn, avocados, watermelon, peppers sweet and spicy and vibrantly colored, a tin of fava beans and lots of limes. Twenty to be exact, because there's a green grocer near us who sells them $3/20 and I can't be bothered to do the math and buy fewer. I tossed those groceries around with some mangoes, red onion, cabbage, jicama and tomatoes we had lying about the house and turned the radio on. After an hour or so of leisurely cooking we enjoyed a feast of fish tacos with re-fava'd beans, mango/corn salsa, jicama/cabbage citrus slaw, homemade guacamole (is there any other kind worth eating?) and watermelon.

Sure the fog had rolled in by the time we went back for seconds, but it still felt like Summer to us.

Recipes coming soon - but here are some pictures of our feast!

Cod cooked in taco seasoning, orange, lemon and lime juice.

Final products - fesh burrito, citrus coleslaw, guacamole, corn/mango salsa.

Ready for dinner... pre-seconds!

Happy Birthday Shout-Out to Mama J!

Mama J is my mom, and she is the Queen of Birthdays. She believes in having a birth-season, not just a birthday, and as her kid I can admit I've grown accustomed to my birthday being A To Do, all because she made it one when I was a kid. We didn't have special parties at McDonalds or Chuck-E-Cheese, those weren't necessary when you like to entertain, and have craft paper and tape. Us Grierson kids, we always had home birthday parties with DIY crafts, decorations and games - and this was the 1980s, people, DIY hadn't even become trendy yet.

My grandmother, her mother, would make a cake that matched the theme of my birthday - favorites were my "teddy bear's picnic" birthday when I was five, my "disco inferno" birthday when I was sixteen and many more in-between. My mom would help me with the invitations, which - as she taught me - set the tone of the party. We'd make a guest list and spend the Friday night before the party getting ready, setting up, planning, talking, laughing and bonding. To this day being in the kitchen with my mom is one of my favorite places to be. We're normally in the kitchen cooking a gourmet dinner or working on a project or discussing the latest gossip, or running late to something. But it's always fun. With Mama J, you see, it's always a party.

So for her birthday I took the day off and we went up to Napa Valley for a ladies day of outlet shopping and yummy food. And man, did we have yummy food.

The day started with hot warm and fresh doughnuts from Dynamo Donut. I thought the "maple bacon doughnut" would be disgusting, she disagreed. She was right. It is like eating french toast without a fork and spoon using only one hand. A yeast doughnut with flecks of crispy bacon inside, a drizzle of maple icing on top, and bacon "sprinkles" to finish it off. The only thing wrong with it is that it goes away too soon. And it's embarrassing to want to eat five of them. Which is why - good news! - they have other delicious flavors to try. Like the chocolate spice which is literally spicy (like cayenne spicy) and sweet in a chocolate cake doughnut. Totally different and tasty.

After making that quick stop we headed over the Golden Gate to find ridiculously warm weather in Napa and many fun things awaiting us at the outlets. Make-up, clothes for Dique, it took all my restraint not to go to the many shoe stores!

Luckily, we ran out of time for shopping so we could get to our lunch date at Mustard's Grill. We pinky swore we wouldn't gloat in our gluttonous lunch, but it was so delicious I have to share. Mustard's is famous for their onion rings - they come piled high on a plate and are so thin and crispy you kind of forget they are fried and therefore bad for you. Then, she got a cheeseburger and I got a pulled pork sandwich. The truth is we should have ordered one and split it, but instead we did what we could do, while saving room for dessert, and put the rest in a box to take home to Dique. The lucky duck has a hollow-leg and a speedy metabolism so I know he'd enjoy it.

Now. Both sandwiches were fantastic. Mama J said her burger was probably the best she'd had in years. My pulled-pork sandwich was also incredible - sweet and tangy, messy - just everything you want. But the dessert. Oh man. The dessert was really the reason to go. In all honestly one should really go there for a full-on Fat Man Feast and order a plate of onion rings and a piece of their "Famous Lemon Lime Tart... and that ridiculously tall brown sugar meringue" because it's heaven in your mouth. The brown sugar in the meringue makes it dense and warmly sweet. The curd on the tart is the perfect citrus balance: very lemony and very limey without too much acid, nor too much sugar. And the crust. I could write a whole post about the crust, but that's because I'm a crust kind of girl. I'll just say - go check it out. You will not be disappointed. You will be full and maybe feel a little gross, but skip dinner and go for a run the next day. Promise. It's worth it.

The next day we celebrated Mama J's birthday again (see what I mean about birthday seasons?) with my brother and his family. You'd think we were done with all the cake and whatnot. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. Thank goodness for all the running I'm doing these days....

Happy Birthday Mama J - may we continue to have many happy, busy and crazy nights in the kitchen and may we always celebrate with yummy food because it's what we do.

I love you.

Fourth of July Food Special

On the 4th of July 2009 Dique and I enjoyed a Mediterranean feast. While we joked that it wasn't traditional "American" fare, we decided that being patriotic can sometimes mean celebrating the melting pot this country is, and "eat outside the box" - if you will. One of my favorite foodie writers is Nigella Lawson, who swears making hummus is easy, cheap and worth it. Spoiler alert: she's totally right!

And Dique's mom had recently shared a recipe for a delish dish involving roasted eggplant, fresh tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and other delicious things. So I decided to go to town and cook the day away. I made two kinds of hummus and nann, a spearmint/cucumber yogurt dip, Dique's mom's dish which I call Eggplant Mélange and a big veggie platter went down well with some pink grapefruit Greyhounds. The only thing missing was the baklava, which I haven't found the patience to try yet. Don't worry -- we managed.

And to bring in a little bit of Americana, we enjoyed our feast in front of a Back To The Future movie marathon. Totally patriotic, no?

Here are the details...

Eggplant Mélange

Plain Hummus, Spearmint/Cucumber Yogurt Dip, Oniony Hummus

Table of Indulgence #1

Table #2 had all the healthy stuff...

A veggie platter, in our book, has to include sauteed mushrooms. Because they are simply delicious. Period. Funghi is our friend.

Recipes forthcoming!