Here's the plan, folks!
Vegetable Stir Fry over Brown Rice
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken
Tilapia and sweet potatoes
Calzones
Butternut Squash Quinoa Burritos
Game of Thrones Premiere Party Theme Food
For those of you who don't know, The Husband is a dork.
Yes, dork. And, frankly, so am I, though I really fall right on the Nerd/Dork dividing line and sometimes people don't realize I'm a dork until it's too late. (cue maniacal laugh)
Anyway, so The Husband is ridiculously, crazily, bizarrely obsessed with the Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. In fact, if you haven't ever read the first book in that series and might be persuaded to do so, The Husband will probably just go buy you a copy of your very own. He might even come to your house and read it to you. He's essentially a missionary of this particular sect of dorkdom.
The good people at HBO have adapted this series into a TV show named after the first book, The Game of Thrones. And they have been marketing the hell out of it. For one, they've been hauling replica Iron Thrones all over the country for people like The Husband to sit in, and they have also rolled out celebrity-chef food carts in New York and L.A. with foods inspired by the books.
Of course, we had a premiere party for airing of the first episode; we got HBO just for this show in the first place, so it seemed like we should pack the house with all our dorkily-inclined friends and watch it together. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make some theme foods for the party, because I am like that.
I made one of the things that HBO had on the food carts, this lemon cake recipe. This recipe requires a relatively high level of baking experience, but is totally worth trying out, because the cakes are the lightest, most airy things you've ever had from a home kitchen. I was a little alarmed when I folded the batter into the whipped egg whites and ended up with such a thin liquidy consistency, but everything turned out just fine.
I also made some "meat pies" from the books, except that I made them vegetarian. I used Alton Brown's pocket pie crust, which is surprisingly easy. For the filling, I did as follows:
Vegetarian "Meat Pie" Filling
Nouns:
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
6 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and diced
4 yukon gold potatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1 cup vegetable stock
6 ounces veggie crumbles, I used Morningstar
2 good squirts ketchup
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
fresh ground pepper
1 cup peas
butter or olive oil
Verbs:
In an enamel dutch oven or cast iron skillet, brown the onions over medium heat in the butter or oil until translucent, then add the garlic, celery and mushrooms. Cook for several minutes, stirring as needed to prevent sticking. Add the potato, rosemary and thyme and cook for five to ten more minutes. Then add the wine and stock, simmering until reduced by about half. Then add the crumbles, bay leaf and peas, and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. Yumm! Resulting mixture should be the consistency of pie filling.
Yum!
 |
| Here he is, sitting on a replica Iron Throne at Wondercon. After serious searching, he was by far the cutest dork I could find, so I married him. |
Yes, dork. And, frankly, so am I, though I really fall right on the Nerd/Dork dividing line and sometimes people don't realize I'm a dork until it's too late. (cue maniacal laugh)
Anyway, so The Husband is ridiculously, crazily, bizarrely obsessed with the Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. In fact, if you haven't ever read the first book in that series and might be persuaded to do so, The Husband will probably just go buy you a copy of your very own. He might even come to your house and read it to you. He's essentially a missionary of this particular sect of dorkdom.
The good people at HBO have adapted this series into a TV show named after the first book, The Game of Thrones. And they have been marketing the hell out of it. For one, they've been hauling replica Iron Thrones all over the country for people like The Husband to sit in, and they have also rolled out celebrity-chef food carts in New York and L.A. with foods inspired by the books.
Of course, we had a premiere party for airing of the first episode; we got HBO just for this show in the first place, so it seemed like we should pack the house with all our dorkily-inclined friends and watch it together. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make some theme foods for the party, because I am like that.
I made one of the things that HBO had on the food carts, this lemon cake recipe. This recipe requires a relatively high level of baking experience, but is totally worth trying out, because the cakes are the lightest, most airy things you've ever had from a home kitchen. I was a little alarmed when I folded the batter into the whipped egg whites and ended up with such a thin liquidy consistency, but everything turned out just fine.
I also made some "meat pies" from the books, except that I made them vegetarian. I used Alton Brown's pocket pie crust, which is surprisingly easy. For the filling, I did as follows:
Vegetarian "Meat Pie" Filling
Nouns:
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
6 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and diced
4 yukon gold potatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1 cup vegetable stock
6 ounces veggie crumbles, I used Morningstar
2 good squirts ketchup
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
fresh ground pepper
1 cup peas
butter or olive oil
Verbs:
In an enamel dutch oven or cast iron skillet, brown the onions over medium heat in the butter or oil until translucent, then add the garlic, celery and mushrooms. Cook for several minutes, stirring as needed to prevent sticking. Add the potato, rosemary and thyme and cook for five to ten more minutes. Then add the wine and stock, simmering until reduced by about half. Then add the crumbles, bay leaf and peas, and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. Yumm! Resulting mixture should be the consistency of pie filling.
Yum!
My heroines
After reading this post by my friend, it occurred to me that there are many many women in my life that I look up to, who inspire me, and who may not even know it. And they should know it. There are too many to list out here, but I'll make a start:
Sarah- who is strong and smart and beautiful, who inspired me to run, and who is getting back in touch with the things it's so easy to lose as a lawyer- creativity and community outside the law, through running and choir and so many other things, and who constantly and energetically improves herself. She is the person I look to for inspiration when I need to shake up my life and get things going.
Sara- who is my heroine for wearing heels at 6' tall, and rocking every inch of it; for holding on to her music through law school and beyond, for her insight and understanding and her truly inspirational baking. She is the person I look to for finding grace in the daily things, for holding onto one's essential self through the transitions of life.
Betsy- who is the strongest person I know, who stood up to the wearing forces of illness and injury and the institutionalized abuses of science academia though they spent years trying to grind her down, who is brave enough to say "enough is enough" and to walk away when that is both the hardest and the best thing to do. She is the person I look to when I am really not sure how I can get through something, because I know that she can get through anything and I draw strength from that, and because I know if I am not strong enough to get through on my own, she will literally pick me up and carry me, as she has so many times before.
Miriam- who is my heroine for being the most genuinely herself of anyone I know, for being so gratifyingly and delightfully real that people instantly love her, for being so lovely, so silly, and so loving that I wish I could wrap myself in her as I would a fluffy yellow blanket. She is the person I look to for humor in any situation, for instant understanding no matter what, and for reassurance when I have gotten too far inside my own head.
Angie- who is my heroine for being, every damn day, as polished and put together as I could never quite manage even on my best day, who is stylish and sassy and confident in a way that I wish we could all be. She is the person I look to when I need to remind myself that I really am a grown up, big girl lawyer, and I really can be a beautiful, professional, accomplished woman, even if I can't be quite as a with-it as Ang.
Effie- Who is my heroine for being so smart, so beautiful, so frugal, so hardworking, and so loving, so absolutely and completely delightful that I am overwhelmed with pride that she is my sister. She is the person I look to for a reminder of how to really live the values we were raised on and how to make that balancing act look easy.
There are many more women to add to this list, like Hillary, who is the smartest and hardest-working person I've ever worked with, and Kali, who is hilarious and inspiringly irreverent, and Morgen, who is amazingly ageless, and Erica, who is startlingly beautiful every time I see her. And, of course, my mother and grandmothers, who showed me how to be a woman in the world, to value education, family, independence and to love myself no matter what.
Sarah- who is strong and smart and beautiful, who inspired me to run, and who is getting back in touch with the things it's so easy to lose as a lawyer- creativity and community outside the law, through running and choir and so many other things, and who constantly and energetically improves herself. She is the person I look to for inspiration when I need to shake up my life and get things going.
Sara- who is my heroine for wearing heels at 6' tall, and rocking every inch of it; for holding on to her music through law school and beyond, for her insight and understanding and her truly inspirational baking. She is the person I look to for finding grace in the daily things, for holding onto one's essential self through the transitions of life.
Betsy- who is the strongest person I know, who stood up to the wearing forces of illness and injury and the institutionalized abuses of science academia though they spent years trying to grind her down, who is brave enough to say "enough is enough" and to walk away when that is both the hardest and the best thing to do. She is the person I look to when I am really not sure how I can get through something, because I know that she can get through anything and I draw strength from that, and because I know if I am not strong enough to get through on my own, she will literally pick me up and carry me, as she has so many times before.
Miriam- who is my heroine for being the most genuinely herself of anyone I know, for being so gratifyingly and delightfully real that people instantly love her, for being so lovely, so silly, and so loving that I wish I could wrap myself in her as I would a fluffy yellow blanket. She is the person I look to for humor in any situation, for instant understanding no matter what, and for reassurance when I have gotten too far inside my own head.
Angie- who is my heroine for being, every damn day, as polished and put together as I could never quite manage even on my best day, who is stylish and sassy and confident in a way that I wish we could all be. She is the person I look to when I need to remind myself that I really am a grown up, big girl lawyer, and I really can be a beautiful, professional, accomplished woman, even if I can't be quite as a with-it as Ang.
Effie- Who is my heroine for being so smart, so beautiful, so frugal, so hardworking, and so loving, so absolutely and completely delightful that I am overwhelmed with pride that she is my sister. She is the person I look to for a reminder of how to really live the values we were raised on and how to make that balancing act look easy.
There are many more women to add to this list, like Hillary, who is the smartest and hardest-working person I've ever worked with, and Kali, who is hilarious and inspiringly irreverent, and Morgen, who is amazingly ageless, and Erica, who is startlingly beautiful every time I see her. And, of course, my mother and grandmothers, who showed me how to be a woman in the world, to value education, family, independence and to love myself no matter what.
This week, per The Husband's request, we are having
Falafel Wraps
Spicy Orange Tilapia with Rice and vegetables
Calzones with salad
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken
Chili
Race for the Roses
We did it!
The official times are in, and by golly, we made our goal. I'm so so so glad we decided to shoot for our original goal even after all the training setbacks of the last few weeks. As usual, having a buddy was key. I have had a rough time of it for the last week or so, and whatever mental toughness I originally had was pretty much gone on race day, but having an ally and one on one encouragement through every mile meant that I not only persevered, but I really enjoyed myself.
The weather was sunny and cold, and running over the bridges in the early morning in downtown Portland was so beautiful and crisp... I remembered in those moments why I run. That perfect early-morning feeling, the sunlight, the hundreds of other people out to test themselves and share in the camaraderie of mutual accomplishment... I found a meditative state for the first 7 or 8 miles that was relaxing and thrilling at the same time. Once the real work began around mile 9, I felt such a kinship with everyone else out on the course, and such a sense of pride in each step. I knew that I could only keep up the pace because I'd worked so hard, could only keep going because I'd been keeping going for so many months.
We set out to run it in under two hours, and we ran it in 1:59:41. That time is a full 25 minutes faster than my first half marathon six months ago, or two full minutes per mile faster. I'm proud of that.
Today I hurt, but not nearly so much as I did the last time, and it's a good hurt. An accomplished hurt. A sense that I pushed my body as far as it could safely go, that I didn't leave anything out on the course.
Thanks, everyone for your support and encouragement through this process. It means a lot to me.
The official times are in, and by golly, we made our goal. I'm so so so glad we decided to shoot for our original goal even after all the training setbacks of the last few weeks. As usual, having a buddy was key. I have had a rough time of it for the last week or so, and whatever mental toughness I originally had was pretty much gone on race day, but having an ally and one on one encouragement through every mile meant that I not only persevered, but I really enjoyed myself.
The weather was sunny and cold, and running over the bridges in the early morning in downtown Portland was so beautiful and crisp... I remembered in those moments why I run. That perfect early-morning feeling, the sunlight, the hundreds of other people out to test themselves and share in the camaraderie of mutual accomplishment... I found a meditative state for the first 7 or 8 miles that was relaxing and thrilling at the same time. Once the real work began around mile 9, I felt such a kinship with everyone else out on the course, and such a sense of pride in each step. I knew that I could only keep up the pace because I'd worked so hard, could only keep going because I'd been keeping going for so many months.
We set out to run it in under two hours, and we ran it in 1:59:41. That time is a full 25 minutes faster than my first half marathon six months ago, or two full minutes per mile faster. I'm proud of that.
Today I hurt, but not nearly so much as I did the last time, and it's a good hurt. An accomplished hurt. A sense that I pushed my body as far as it could safely go, that I didn't leave anything out on the course.
Thanks, everyone for your support and encouragement through this process. It means a lot to me.
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