Polar Bear Plunge

For the past three years, Kurt has participated in The Polar Bear Plunge. It is possibly the craziest charity event ever. People run into the ocean, in February, in New Jersey. It benefits The Special Olympics and each person raises money before taking the plunge. I signed up for the first time this year and let’s be honest, I was far from excited. I was flat-out dreading it. I do not enjoy being cold. I love Winter, but only when I can be curled up under a blanket, inside a heated house, drinking hot cocoa. I take super hot showers and don’t even like air conditioning that much (I end up turning it off half of the time because it gets too cold). So was it surprising that I had an awesome time at the Plunge on Saturday? Yes. Is it even more surprising that I plan to do it next year? Absolutely.

We lucked out. It was originally scheduled for February 27th, but it had snowed a lot on the 26th. While most people would think a little snow would make it that much more authentic, I would think a little snow would cause a lot of frostbitten toes. I think the organizers agreed with me. It was postponed until March 6th, this past Saturday. The bad news was that Kurt and another team member had to work and so couldn't make it. The good news was that it was a balmy 50 degrees and the water temperature was a scalding 42 degrees. Alright, not exactly sunbathing weather, but it was WAY better than 30 degrees and snow, right? We waited until the very last second to take off our coats, sweatpants, and sweatshirts (see "before" picture below) and get down to our bathing suits and even then, I stood there in my bikini, shivering and jumping from one foot to the other.

There are two ways to do the plunge. The first is to race into the water when they blow the horn. This allows you to get in quickly, but you then realize that getting OUT quickly is not going to happen since 4,000 people are running in behind you. The second option is to wait a minute or two before going in, thus allowing you to get out quickly. This was the option we chose. While we were able to get out quickly enough, we could not get IN quickly enough. While walking down to the water on wet, freezing cold sand, weaving through the throngs of wet, cold people who have already plunged and trying desperately not to touch them, my feet began to go numb. We tried to push through faster, but it just wasn’t possible. I finally got to the water, ran in, dove under a wave, jumped up, and promptly ran out to take pictures before drying off (see "after" picture below).

The whole “plunging” experience lasting about 10 seconds, but it was totally worth it and it was invigorating! It was fun! It wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. Even attempting to (and succeeding in) changing out of my swimsuit on the beach without revealing ANYTHING was fun.

All in all, we raised over $900,000 for the Special Olympics. I may rave (and complain) about the experience and the fun and the cold, but let’s not forget the true message. The Seaside Heights Polar Bear Plunge is the largest in New Jersey, but it’s only one of the many across the country raising money for a worthy cause. I will definitely be participating again next year. Who’s with me??

On my nightstand:

I started a new book yesterday. One of my favorite books is The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. It won the Newbery last year, so I picked it up…and couldn’t put it down. It was amazing. I loved the story, the characters, the voice, everything. So, while I was at Borders the other day searching for a new title, I came across Neverwhere, also written by Gaiman. It sounded interesting, so I picked it up. I’m about 100 pages in, but you know those books that you can tell you’ll love after the first page? This is one of them. I’m thinking of going on a Neil Gaiman kick – reading all of his books thus far. He’s written so many wonderful books that I just haven’t had the time to pick up – Stardust, American Gods, Coraline – just to name a few. Neverwhere is about a young man who moves to London and makes the decision to save a young girl. By saving her, he enters a world full of mystery and magic: the London Below, where people who have "fallen between the cracks" live. How could you NOT love a book like this? I’ll update as I read more.

Rekindled Obsessions and a New Discovery

This week, I rekindled an old love: Quaker Rice Snacks. I know what you're thinking. Quaker Rice Snacks? But really, they're amazing. Especially the Caramel Corn ones. Back in college I was obsessed with the Peanut Butter flavored cakes, but today I confirmed it, they've been sadly discontinued. I had held out hope for years - "maybe they're just out of them, they must be popular!" I'd tell myself whenever they weren't with the other flavors. But no, I'll have to make do with Caramel Corn.

Everyday after lunch, I have a craving for something sweet and giving up chocolate for Lent has drastically limited my choices. Apparently, the company who stocks our cafeteria believes that the only sweet things in the world are chocolate. Today, propelled by my craving, I found myself standing in front of the vending machine in search of a non-chocolate sweet. While desperately trying to avoid the snickers bar, milano cookies, and oreos, my eyes landed upon the Caramel Corn Quaker Rice Snacks. Finally! Something sweet, that's not chocolate, that I would actually consider eating! AND it's healthy! I pretty much inhaled the 100 calorie bag and I want more. I'm back on the rice cake bandwagon! It looks like I have a new obsession to give up for Lent next year.

Giving up chocolate is not easy, especially for someone with a sweet tooth like me. Every week, some of my girlfriends and I get together to watch Grey's Anatomy. Whoever hosts that week makes goodies for everyone. Mine almost always include chocolate: chocolate-chip cookies, brownies, s'mores. This week, I hosted and needed to find something to make for the girls. My mind immediately went to brownies, until I realized I wouldn't be able to eat them. And let's be realistic, if I made brownies, I was eating them. I don't have THAT much will power. At the last minute, I thought of lemon bars. Perfect! Everyone loves them, they're easy to make, and they're not chocolate, so I could eat them! I found Paula Dean's recipe online and got started. You make the dough first, bake it for 20 minutes and while it's baking, make the filling. The filling goes on top of the dough, and you bake it for another 25 minutes. Let's just say Paula's oven must not be as hot as mine. The dough burned a little bit, on the bottom, but they were still tasty. I've learned my lesson. I will check on my creations periodically to make sure they're not burning. For my first time, they weren't bad! I'd like them to have more of a lemon flavor than they did, so next time I'm adding more lemon juice. (Note to self, buy a juicer).

On my nightstand:

I know I've been slacking in this part of my blog, but I haven't read anything that I could really tell you about. They're mostly manuscripts. I did read a manuscript though, that I can tell you about. It's called Kiss in the Dark, by Lauren Henderson. It comes out on 4/13/2010, which is still 6 weeks away, but it's the third in a series, so you can get started on the first two in the meantime. They are Kiss Me Kill Me and Kisses and Lies. They're all murder mysteries set in England. Scarlett Wakefield becomes the main suspect in a strange murder and must investigate to find out who the true murderer is. These books are fast paced and fun reads. Scarlett's voice is chatty and cute. You instantly want to be her friend. She can be a little frustrating at times, the way characters can be when they do something you KNOW they shouldn't do, but she's a strong heroine. I really enjoyed these books. There's also the added aspect of teen romance in each for those who enjoy chick lit. Highly recommended.

Food-Shopping Aversions

In my quest to become a better and more experienced cook, I attempted 2 new recipes this weekend; one spontaneous and one planned. On Friday, while at the grocery store (one of my least favorite place – more on this later), Kurt picked up a Butternut Squash. “It’s only $1.50! Let’s try it!” So, that night, I found a simple recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash. We halved and seeded the squash, placed it flesh-side up on a baking sheet placed a tablespoon of butter where the seeds used to be, and sprinkled it with brown sugar, salt and pepper. (By the way, brown sugar is my new obsession – I spent the entire time I was in the kitchen eating it with a spoon). We baked the squash at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I think we did well for our first try. The whole house smelled wonderfully of baked brown sugar. But the squash needed more butter and more brown sugar (because you can never have enough, really) to give it more flavor. We made the squash the focus of our dinner and accompanied it with sauteed green beans and white rice (and a dirty martini or two).

On Sunday night, I made Chicken and Dill Souvlaki. This was the easiest recipe yet and one of my favorites. I mixed dill, lemon juice, olive oil, sliced kirby cucumbers, sliced onions, and chicken (cooked) together, making sure the chicken was coated completely with the mixture. I spooned out about 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt on a piece of flatbread and put the mixture on top of the yogurt, folded the flatbread and voila! Dinner! If you use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store (I sauteed 2 chicken breasts instead), there is no cooking involved at all. It’s a little messy to eat – using a pita might help with that – but it was so tasty!

So, now onto my hatred of grocery shopping. I never used to loathe the grocery store the way I do now. I used to enjoy it actually. Now, I can’t wait to get out. I have fond memories of grocery shopping. As a child, my mom would take me shopping with her and I’d sit in the front of the cart (I always had an irrational fear that my legs would get stuck in the little holes and I’d never be able to get out, but that's beside the point). The person behind the deli counter would always give me a piece of cheese to nibble on and my mom would buy me a doughnut to eat on our way through the store – most likely just to keep me quiet. In Italy, I loved the grocery store. It was fun to look through all the new foods. The produce was ridiculously fresh and it was never crowded. The same went for the market. I loved walking through the market, buying fresh ingredients for dinner that night. Now, my food shopping experience is much different. People leave their carts in the middle of the aisle, abandoned, and then yell at you when you move it out of your way. The lines snake through the store and when you finally get your purchases on the conveyor belt, the person in front of you has 20 coupons or runs off to find something they forgot as if you have all the time in the world. The produce is mostly brown and unappetizing, and the aisles are so cluttered with displays, I become claustrophobic. But all these things are not why I hate the grocery store.

Since I turned 17 and got my driver's license, I have been taking/going grocery shopping for my grandmother almost every week. Between having to buy hemorrhoid cream, returning coffee, produce, and various other purchases for a refund, fighting with her while in the express line with 90 items, and generally having a nightmarish experience almost every time - I could write a book from all my experiences - I have begun to loathe the grocery store. It's simple conditioning: I've actually begun to associate grocery stores with anxiety, embarrassment, and frustration. I now have a full-blown grocery store aversion. It's similar to the aversion one develops to tequila after it's made one terribly sick. Grocery stores are my tequila. It's unfortunate, my situation, since I cannot altogether avoid grocery stores if I ever want to cook again. I wish I could do what restaurants do and have all my fresh produce delivered daily. That would solve a lot of problems. Or else, find a farmers market that in no way resembles a grocery store. Hm, that would have the added benefit of supporting local farmers. I'm on it.

A note to Snow from a tired commuter, and some new recipes

Dear Snow,

As you know, I love you very much, but we need to talk. You are incredibly beautiful and until today, you used to make me happy. While I cannot deny your beauty and the warm feeling you used to invoke in me, lately, I have been feeling stifled. I love you, I really do. There are days when nothing makes me happier than watching you fall gracefully from the sky, but I feel that our relationship has become one-sided as of late. And frankly, I want a break, particularly one filled with warm weather and sun. In the past month, I've been feeling suffocated. You show up when you know I'd rather not see you, ruining my commute, keeping me from parking on the street, and making driving in general, a hassle.

I won't give you the old cliche, "it's not you, it's me", because really, it is you. I'm sure that after a much-needed (on my end) break, I will feel for you the way I always did. I will fall back in love with you and you will see my face light up when you arrive. But until then, please give me some space and go away.

Best,

Tired

Well, now that that is out of the way, let's get back to food. Earlier this week, Kurt and I made Grilled Swordfish with Soy and Ginger. It was my least favorite recipe thus far. First of all, I didn't read the recipe in advance, and it turned out we needed to marinate the swordfish overnight. After making the marinade with soy sauce, dijon mustard, garlic, and fresh ginger, we placed the marinading swordfish in the fridge and ordered pizza. The next night, we went back to the fish with renewed energy. Since we don't have a grill or grill pan, (I made a mental note to add one to the registry), we sauteed the fish in oil. It sauteed beautifully and smelled amazing. I was very excited. We made fresh veggies and rice pilaf as sides and sat down to dinner, eager to taste our new creation. Let's just say it did not live up to our expectations. The ginger was overpowering and didn't go well with the soy and mustard. I'm thinking if we used more mustard and less ginger, it might taste better. The fish itself was perfect. I love the "steak" quality of swordfish. It's a little heartier than sole or tilapia. This recipe, we'll keep in mind, but will be sure to modify.

Today, we have planned for dinner, Roasted Butternut Squash, White Rice, and Green Beans. We're planning on seeing Avatar tonight in 3D, so wanted something quick and simple to make beforehand. I found a quick and easy recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash (though I can't imagine roasting butternut squash would ever be long and difficult). First, you half the squash and seed it. Then place on a baking sheet, flesh side up and place a tsp of butter in the middle of each half. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and pepper, and roast for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. So easy! We'll see how it comes out. More to come later.

A Test of Will

Every year for Lent, I choose something different to give up. It's less to do with religion and more a test of will really. It usually takes me awhile to come up with something good. It can't be too difficult, or else it won't work. It can't be too easy, or else it wouldn't be a test of will. I try to find something bad, some vice of mine, that I should cut back on. It's my New Years resolution two months late.

My favorite thing that I ever gave up was elevators. It wasn't too easy, or too hard, and was more than a little creative if I do say so myself. It was while I was studying abroad. We lived in an apartment on the fourth floor. The building had an elevator so we usually ditched the stairs and took the lazier way up. For those long weeks, I took the stairs while my roommates took the elevator, laughing at me the whole way.

This Lent, I'm giving up chocolate and limiting my sugar intake to one packet per tea/coffee. I love chocolate, too much. I crave it every single day. It's time to cut back. As for the sugar, normally, I use a lot of sugar - about 4 packets per drink. What can I say? I like my drinks sweet. But I know it's not good for me and it's probably ruining my taste buds, so for Lent, I'm cutting back.

Lent, for me, is a better motivator than New Years. I'm not completely sure why. It could be that there's an end in sight, so it feels more doable. Strangely though, even when Easter comes, and I'm allowed to binge on sugar, or chips and dip, or take the elevator, I find that I don't want to. I find my practice in self control stays with me. The thrill of completing something and actually following through makes me want to keep going. At least for a few months.

Stuffed Peppers and New Relationships

The best part of finding and making new recipes is learning from them and adjusting them, making them my own. Last Wednesday, I make orzo-stuffed peppers with pecorino cheese, mint, tomatoes and zucchini. They were good, but the mint was little much. Next time, no mint, more cheese, and more seasoning. They were fun to make, although they took forever. I had neglected to read the recipe before I started and so I did not realize that it would take over an hour to make the peppers. By the time they were ready, I was no longer hungry (whether that was because it took too long or because I ate too much pecorino cheese in the process, I don't know). They came out better than I expected. The peppers had to bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. The entire 45 minutes I was nervous that they would burn or overcook. My anxiety was unnecessary. Giada knows what she's talking about. The best part of this recipe is that it makes an entire meal. Next time I know to leave more time for eating.

On my nightstand:

Last week, I read a new manuscript for a book coming out in the Spring of 2011. I loved it, so I'll try to make sure to remind you to pick it up when it comes out. It is a young adult novel about a girl in a dystopian alternate past. It takes place in the 1930s or 1940s, but history has changed. The entire world runs on steam and is ruled by reason, no magic or imagination is allowed. The book was so good and I was so into it, that I couldn't bring myself to start the next book I had. Every time I finish a book I loved, I become somewhat depressed that it's over. I tell myself that no other book could ever compare. Each time, I pick up magazine after magazine, thinking articles about fashion and weddings will bring me out of my funk. I could best compare this experience to a difficult breakup. The manuscript I had just finished became a meaningful long-term relationship that had just ended, the magazines meaningless flings, rebounds, aimed at helping me move on. Finally, tired of thoughtless articles and pictures of stick-thin models, I decided to move on, and started my new book, my new relationship.

I picked up Lucky by Alice Sebold. It's the newest selection in my book club. At first, I was more hesitant than usual to pick this one up. It's the author's memoir and describes her life after being raped and beaten in a park while attending college. Stories like these in books, on TV, or in movies, are hard for me, and I assume all women, to hear. They stay with me, weighing me down, disturbing me to the core. And yet, I can't stop reading once I've started. I'm riveted, if sick to my stomach. This book, so far, is amazing, and yes, disturbing. It starts out with her rape, so the hardest part to read is in the beginning. It then moves on to how she and her family dealt with it, how she healed and moved on. This glimpse into an event that -thankfully- many people will never experience, is a beautiful, moving portrait of a broken woman, making herself whole again.

When Dinner Becomes Four Lunches

Last night, the special was Whole Wheat Linguine with Ricotta, French Beans, and Lemon from Giada de Laurentiis' cookbook. First of all, let me say that I should have cut the recipe in half. I now have lunch for the next four days. Although, given how much my grocery bill was this week, not buying lunch this week is probably not such a bad thing. Last night's dinner also took much longer to prepare than Sunday night's. The recipe called for a 1/2 pound of french beans, "halved, lengthwise." Halved, lengthwise - as in julienne. Has Giada ever SEEN a french bean? Each one is about 1/8" to 1/4" thick, and she tells you to HALF each one. There were a 1/2 pound of them. Since I am not a Cordon-Bleu trained chef, nor do I have the knife skills of one, this took me much longer than I'm sure it takes Giada. Multiple times, I almost gave up and just tossed the whole beans in the pan. But I wanted to follow the recipe exactly, so I halved, lengthwise a 1/2 pound of french beans.

The whole wheat linguine, after being boiled, is tossed with part-skim ricotta, then added to sauteed french beans. Halved grape tomatoes are added at the end and tossed with the pasta. For added flavor, lemon zest is grated over the pasta. The pasta was really light, salt and pepper adds a little more flavor and brings out the lemon zest a little. It's a good thing I liked it since I'll be eating it every day for the next week.

Tonight, I made Balsamic Barbecue Chicken, also from Giada's cookbook. The recipe was actually for the balsamic barbecue sauce. The sauce was good. I'd probably make it again for a barbecue party, but just for me, barbecue sauce in a bottle is good enough.

What I've learned more than anything while making these last three recipes, is that my kitchen is severely lacking in equipment. I have learned I need a food processor, mortar and pestle, large bowls, large saute pan, small glass mixing bowls, and much more. I've begun making a list for our registry and the more recipes I find, the longer and more obscure the list becomes.

Stay tuned for my last recipe of the week: Orzo-stuffed peppers.