Motivation Monday: Avoiding the Plague

A run in Rhode Island, February 2014

Today is Day 78 of the run streak. Last week I took advantage of warm weather and ran outside several days, getting a few 5K days in there. But mostly the streak has been one mile at a time. This morning we met some friends for a hike. I started out ahead of everyone to run a mile then meet up with the group. Mike carried an overcoat and over-pants for me because even after the run I was going to need another layer to stay warm on a hike. Yesterday I ran a mile on the treadmill then drove to farmers’ market instead of running or walking the mile to the market like I usually do. I discovered a couple weeks ago that the running to the market part isn’t so bad in sub-freezing temperatures but walking around and shopping at the market in my sweaty running clothes when it's that cold is not amazing. (It really sucks, honestly.)

I haven’t felt great for a few days. I’ve had cold symptoms that never seem to fully materialize into an actual cold or flu. As long as I don’t have a fever, though, I’ll continue to run. When my body tells me to sleep, I’m sleeping. I’m trying to drink a lot of water and eat fruits and vegetables for vitamins. But there was a day I ate nothing but muffins and I’m okay with that. (That was probably my sickest day, when I slept from one in the afternoon until seven the next morning.)

It's that time of year when New Year's resolutions, or new healthy habits, or whatever you want to call them, become endangered so soon after trying to make them because of the winter weather and all that comes with it. It's so much easier to run through the winter in San Diego than in Rhode Island. I'm going to listen to my body and rest when I need it. I'm going to listen to my experience that tells me not to brave icy sidewalks because I've fallen twice in the past year (and not even on ice, just regular sidewalks) and each fall took me out of running for a couple weeks. I can't make those decisions for anyone else, though. It's a time to get creative with treadmills and home workouts. It's a time to invest in some good gear in order to stay warm if you choose to go outside. And, really, I can't over-emphasize the importance of some good rest.

Book Review: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

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Here's my review as it appears on Goodreads.

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really liked this book in the beginning. I grew up in an old haunted house in New England, yet I'm always a skeptic. (99% of supernatural activity ends up being the wind or a cat — and cats are creepy as hell.) I liked reading the stories behind the stories, whether they debunked the legends or gave credence to them. I’ve always been interested in history and nonfiction and ghost stories are the old “fake news.” Entertaining but you shouldn’t necessarily take them at face value. As the book went on, I found the stories themselves no less interesting but the format became tedious.

A couple of the stories really stood out to me. There are many cases of ghost stories being used to control a narrative that makes people feel safe. We don’t have to feel guilty about marginalizing someone or face realities of our country’s brutal history if there’s a fun story.

Does it count as spoilers to discuss the historical facts around ghost stories? Just in case, here’s your spoiler alert.
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The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is a place I always wanted to visit when I lived in the area. I was more interested in the weird architecture than in the story of the so-called insane woman who had it built. And it turns out I probably had reason to be. According to Dickey, the worst sin Sarah Winchester committed was being slightly eccentric and misunderstood by her community, and thus the rumors of her insanity flourished. “[Her legend] depends on a cultural uneasiness to which we don’t always like to admit. An uneasiness about women living alone, withdrawn from society, for one.” This is a common thread among ghost stories and horror movies and happens in popular fiction and in real life — a woman is different from how society thinks she should be and is persecuted or even punished for it.

About Shockoe Bottom, Richmond, Virginia, Dickey says so succinctly, “The ghosts of Shockoe Bottom are overwhelmingly white.” This is an area of the country where we find “the first settlements,” as long as we are only counting the settlements of the Europeans. This is an area of the Southern United States known for its slave auctions. Atrocities were committed in the area, yet the ghosts are white people from the 1700s and 1800s who haunt touristy bars and restaurants. Erase history much? If you really want to be horrified by scary stories, read accounts of the slave auctions.

From the Salem witch trials to haunted Southern plantations to the Amityville Horror, a common thread in ghost stories is someone powerful trying to marginalize a minority and coverup their guilt over it. I think it’s time for a lot more of the facts and history to be revealed about the stories that have become so common in our country.


View all my reviews

Eggplant with Basil and Feta

This was originally published at What I Eat on 22 September 2007. We were living in Walnut Creek, California, at the time. Muffin loves the tomato sauce and feta cheese but she’s not a huge eggplant fan. This is still one of my favorite ways to prepare eggplant and Muffin likes to help with the breading. Look for Local Notes at the end of the post to see how I modify the recipe for Hyderabad.

This recipe is inspired by the Crispy Eggplant with Spicy Tomato-Feta Cheese Sauce in the book Vegetarian Cooking for Today. We've modified it quite a bit for our tastes. It's the recipe that convinced Mike several years ago, after we both read Fast Food Nation, that it's not so bad to cut down on meats.

eggplant
1 egg
small bit of milk
pototo starch
bread crumbs
tomato sauce
crushed red pepper
fresh basil
feta cheese

Slice the eggplant into rectangles, peeled or unpeeled, about 1 inch by 2 inch by 3 inch. Let the pieces sit on a plate, salted, for about 10 minutes to draw out some of the moisture. Pat dry with paper towels. Bread the pieces by dipping in potato starch, an egg-milk mixture, and finally bread crumbs. (I use Gluten-Free Pantry Herbed Crumb Coating. I hate the breading process--it seems to take forever. A little trick I have is to ask Mike to do it for me.) Place breaded pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until the outsides are crispy and the scent of herbed bread crumbs is intoxicating.

While the eggplant is baking, heat up some of your favorite store-bought or homemade tomato sauce in a small sauce pan, adding a pinch of crushed red pepper. Wash and pat dry some basil leaves. Sometimes I slice them into attractive little shreds. Get the pack of feta cheese from the fridge. Place eggplant pieces on plate, spoon sauce over them, then top with basil and crumbled feta.

It's a very satisfying meal, combining some of our favorite flavors. It's warm and filling for cool weather, but if you can get good fresh basil you have great summery flavor. And everything is better when it's topped with feta cheese.

Local Notes 
Feta cheese is expensive here in Hyderabad but you can find it. I usually get it from Qmart or Nature’s Basket. The couple times I’ve bought it at HyperCity it had gone bad despite being within the expiration date. Basil can be found at Qmart, Nature’s Basket, and Tarkari. To make the dish gluten-free I use Or-Gran rice crumbs from Nature’s Basket seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried herbs. I’ve found potato starch at Nature’s Basket, but cheap rice flour purchased anywhere works just as well. Crushed red pepper is often called “chili flakes” here.

Chinese Peanut Sauce

This was originally published at What I Eat on 13 September 2007. We were living in Walnut Creek, California at the time. 

Muffin is the only toddler I’ve heard of who likes broccoli. Although she likes it simply steamed with a bit of lemon juice (Lemon-eze here in Hyderabad) and ground black pepper, I like to make this peanut sauce for her everyone once in a while as a treat. 

Look for Local Notes at the end of the post to see how I modify the recipe for Hyderabad. 

All this produce from Planet Organics is sending me on searches for new recipes. When I first saw the price of their broccoli, I thought it was outrageous. But I decided to get some anyway. Holy cow! The amount of broccoli they give you is enormous. It's about 3 times the amount I usually buy for a week. Even though I don't love broccoli, it's good for me and I'm trying to eat more of it. And Mike loves it. So, since one of the points of getting this produce delivery is to introduce more fruits and veggies into our diets, surely I can find a palatable way to serve all this broccoli. I add it to stir-fry, I add it to quinoa, I add it to rice. But I need more.

Recently I remembered that a couple years ago I'd made a peanut sauce that I really liked. But I hadn't liked the veggies I'd prepared with it so I put it out of my mind and never thought about making it again. Until yesterday. I found the recipe in my Moosewood and made Chinese peanut sauce and steamed broccoli for lunch. And it was delicious.

1/2 cup good peanut butter
1/2 cup hot water
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. sugar
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 to 2 Tbs minced fresh cilantro
cayenne, to taste
salt, to taste (if peanut butter is unsalted)

1) Place peanut butter in a small bowl. Add the hot water, and stir patiently with a spoon or a small whisk until uniformly mixed.

2) Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Let come to room temperature before serving.

I used a chunky peanut butter for some crunchy texture. For soy sauce I use San-J Organic Tamari Wheat Free Soy Sauce.

This peanut sauce keeps in the fridge for a couple days and can be used on a variety of grilled or steamed vegetables. Or as a dipping sauce for spring rolls or fried tofu or something like that. Or even as a salad dressing. Add a little water to thin it to your needs.

Now we are down to about one serving of broccoli left. However our next produce delivery is today. We will have a broccoli surplus on our hands.

**Gotta go! My produce arrived as I was giving this post a final edit.**

Local Notes 
I have not been able to find gluten-free soy sauce in Hyderabad, so every time I come back from the United States I bring a bottle or two of San-J Tamari Wheat-Free Soy Sauce with me. You can order gluten-free soy sauce packets from Minimus.biz. If you are ordering through the pouch, the packets are small enough that you can order quite a few and be within the liquid restrictions. They offer international shipping as well. I've bought cider vinegar from HyperCity, in the Waitrose section.

Rosemary Roasted Pork Tenderloin

This was originally published at What I Eat on 6 September 2007. We were living in Walnut Creek, California, at the time. With my recent trip to the Minerva Pork Shop in Secunderabad, we have a lot of pork tenderloin in the freezer so I went through my old posts for some ideas of what to do with it. Look for Local Notes at the end of the post to see how I modify the recipe for Hyderabad. 

A couple years ago I came home with a handful of fresh, beautiful rosemary from farmers' market and had no idea what to do with it. (I tend to make impulse produce purchases.) A Google search for rosemary recipes led me to this one on About.com.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pork tenderloins, about 2 pounds [1 kg]
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, or about 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, halved
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking pan with foil, spray with cooking spray and place in oven. Trim fat from pork tenderloins and butterfly the meat, cutting them nearly in half lengthwise. Open the pork tenderloins and lay out, pounding to flatten with the palm of the hand or the bottom of a heavy skillet.

Chop rosemary if using fresh. Rub pork tenderloins all over with cut sides of garlic halves then olive oil, then sprinkle rosemary on both sides.

Remove baking pan from the oven and place pork on hot tray. Return to oven and roast for about 20 minutes (about 155° to 160° internal temp). Remove and let stand 5 minutes, then slice.

Rosemary roasted pork tenderloin serves 4 to 6.

We've modified it a bit for ourselves. Last night for the first time we did just one tenderloin, and it worked out much better for our dinner and leftovers needs. I always forget to spray the aluminum foil with oil and it doesn't seem to matter. We love garlic, so we use several cloves sliced into spears, and stick them into the meat for roasting.

On the side I had a small plate of red pepper slices and cucumber spears; it's still summer after all, so we should be eating lots of cool, crisp veggies. I also roasted some potatoes -- a handful of fingerlings, a purple one, and a sweet potato -- with salt and pepper, and I tossed in one of the rosemary sprigs.

Local Notes 
In Hyderabad I’m more likely to throw in some carrots and small onions for roasting (they look sort of like shallots to me, but are called madras onions I think) along with whatever potatoes I find at the store. During the winter I love the pink local carrots that come into season but throughout the year I can find very tasty regular orange carrots. The tenderloins I get here are much smaller than what you’ll find in the United States. Rosemary can often be found at Qmart, Nature’s Basket, or Tarkari.

There Was a Naked Man Walking Down the Street and Other Issues With My Run

Yesterday was one of those runs where a lot of things got me down. Mentally I just wasn't there and it proved to be a difficult morning in India as well. Every day for the last week I'd been waking up naturally at 5:30, but with Mike being out of town I was spending my time enjoying early morning quiet time rather than going running because there was no one to stay with Muffin (and she was miraculously sleeping until nearly 7:00 each morning -- I didn't want to wake her up for a stroller run). Yesterday, though, when the alarm went off at 5:25 I rolled over and fell asleep for half an hour. Not an in-and-out, thinking-of-getting-up sleep, but full-on totally conked out. When I did get out of bed the sun was already up. I quickly pulled on my (stupid) leggings. As I tip-toed past Muffin's room I heard her saying "MOM-ee, MOM-ee," and I ignored it with a twinge of guilt. I had to get out the door before she knew I was awake.

I opened the front door to a wall of heat. It was hot and dry, a bit like a Santa Ana day in Southern California. I looked at my watch. 6:15 am. I had planned on 5 to 6 miles but if it was already this hot and sunny I didn't want to be outside an hour later finishing up that last mile. I decided to test out a new route to see if it was in the 3-to-4-mile range for the easy runs of my upcoming training plan.

At first I was amusing myself pretending I was running in San Diego on a Santa Ana day, not running in India. I ran through the back roads of my neighborhood. There wasn't too much traffic yet. I approached a busy intersection at the main road where the traffic was surprisingly light. I crossed the intersection easily. Then, on the sidewalk of the main road, right out there for all the early morning traffic to see, was a guy walking along with his loincloth pulled up, fully exposed, scratching himself. Not just for a quick second, but several minutes. And I lost it, mentally. No one is yelling and honking it this guy for walking around fully exposed, yet if I'd been wearing shorts I would have been the center of attention. And that is not fair! I was really mad at India for that. I stormed along for awhile, fuming over the sight I'd been forced to see just by trying to enjoy a public road. (As I wrote that, I realized maybe that's how people feel when they see me. Blerg! Twist! I stand my ground in that double standard not being fair though.)

I entered the park and jogged between two parking lots, then exited for a different route home. By my Garmin, it looked like the route was going to be just three miles by the time I got home. Hilly, but not too bad. It's impossible to completely avoid hills here. I turned onto the last road before my street and wondered why everyone was driving so quickly. Then I realized the road had been paved recently, so instead of having to drive slowly to avoid potholes everyone could speed along and lay on the horn to alert everyone else to get the hell out of the way. I was so crabby at this point I did one of the most provocative things I've done on the road here -- I gave the evil eye to an auto-rickshaw full of people who stared at me as they drove by.

And a few minutes later when that auto stopped near my house, I booked it to run past and avoid those people. (It was thankfully only an old woman who got out -- and she gave me the evil eye back.)

My run was only 2.86 miles, which was the last straw of the day. How hard can it be to find a stupid three-mile route? Why are they all either over five miles long or just short of three? Why can't I just open my door and go for an easy three-miler? It's the cornerstone of every stupid training plan and I shouldn't have to spend an hour driving back and forth between treadmills or parks just to run an easy three miles.

When I went inside and heard Mike talking to someone on Skype, I immediately went to my room and cried. Stupid video phone where you have to look as cheerful as you sound if you want to convince the person on the other end that everything's fine. Muffin found me in my room and cheered me up. She brought in her bottle of milk and we laid on the bed together. Mike got off his call and joined us. I told him all about my run and said that I should have continued sleeping and then stayed home to drink coffee with him and Muffin. I didn't feel accomplished to just be out there. He said the distance didn't matter. He said any one of those obstacles, either physical or mental, would have kept a lot of people home but I ignored them all and went out there anyway. It didn't immediately make me feel better but I appreciated the words.

I will not be braving the streets today. I decided to hide out with the treadmill at the gym today rather than hide out at home and not run at all.

Travel Photo Friday: Yosemite National Park, California

From the archives.

In 2007 we lived in Walnut Creek, California, which is about an hour (maybe a bit longer) away from one of the Yosemite entrances. We went there for one night with another couple in April. It was cold and rainy! And we could hear bears in the campground at night. I didn't sleep a wink. Gorgeous scenery though and I'd like to go back some day with Muffin.

Photo Friday is hosted by DeliciousBaby.com.

Travel Photo Friday: Joshua Tree National Park, California

From the archives:

Joshua Tree National Park, California, June 2005

When Mike and I first met he was living in Twentynine Palms and I was in San Diego. His house was close to one of the Joshua Tree entrances. We spent a lot of time in the park, even after he joined me in San Diego. This was our last trip there, just a couple weeks before we moved from San Diego. A friend of ours from Germany went with us; he took these photos.

Photo Friday is hosted by DeliciousBaby.com.

I Admit, I Forgot

We both forgot. Five years ago Tuesday we had our legal marriage in San Diego when Mike got his job offer. And three years ago today we had our big family wedding in Berkeley.

Here's to all the adventures we've had and the many that are still to come!

Hiatus

Yes, we've been on vacation. We've been doing our part to keep the economy afloat by shopping at Target and eating at Uno's. We've been enjoying staying in our old neighborhood, although we could do without all the chatty people in the breakfast room each morning. We've loved seeing friends. I'm not loving the relatively chilly temperatures. (I know it's one of the warmest spots in the United States right now, but forgive me. I live on the equator. To me, it's chilly here.)

We thought about buying a house, but the stars are not aligned in our favor at this time. Maybe over summer vacation.

We've been buying new clothes instead of doing laundry. We bought several pounds of chocolate chips. I got my Mac fixed, somewhat. We love high-speed American internet. We don't love all the commercials on the radio and television.

We've taken care of some doctors' appointments -- all healthy. Mike's been indulging in my Pizza Safari, as I sample gluten-free pizzas throughout California. We're eating our favorite Mexican foods and sushi. We've probably gained a few pounds in tamale weight alone.

On Sunday we begin our thirty-hour trek back to the Buj, away from Peets and Starbucks. I'm not looking forward to all those long flights and long layovers. But I miss the cat and I miss being back at the home base.

Wandering the Berkeley Hills

It's been a busy week at home and at work (which is also technically at home). Yesterday, though, I managed to get outside for some fresh air.

A friend told me about a walk through Berkeley and we decided to check it out. It was a 7 mile walk through the Berkeley hills and the guide told us about the geology of the various rocky out-croppings and pointed out flora and fauna. He also talked about the architecture and some of the history of the city. Did you know that in 1908 or thereabouts, there was a campaign to move the state capital to Berkeley? (It didn't pass.) There also used to be a streetcar that ran through Berkeley. We learned how land developers would sponsor outings for people to get out of the city for the day and picnic in Berkeley parks, and oh, wouldn't this be a lovely place to live? If you're a well-to-do white person?

We climbed up some steep hills. Carved into the rocky hillsides are steps and paths that run perpendicular to the roads. They encourage people to walk into commercial districts for their morning coffee and paper rather than drive. They are great shortcuts on the way down. Walking back up, well, maybe that's why so many people seem so fit in Berkeley. At the tops of the hills, though, are wonderful views of San Francisco and the Bay Area. It was an unusually clear day and we could see everything. We had wonderful sunny weather. A smidge too warm after working it up a hill, but pleasant at all other times.

The walk was sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance. They do guided walks and hikes throughout the Bay Area. Our guide said they do some farm tours, too, which sounds like fun.

A hazy shade of... September

There's a wildfire out near the Nevada state line that's sending smoke into the East Bay, particularly as far east as we live. It finally cooled down enough to have open windows instead of the air conditioner, and now I'm torn between opening the windows for cool air and closing them for smoke. Right now we can't actually smell the smoke, but you can see it's there, and we can feel it in our throats. The cats aren't sneezing yet, so I'm not too concerned.

This is the closest we've been to a wildfire since the 2003 San Diego fire. Adjusting to earthquakes had been bad enough in moving to Southern California from the East Coast. But waking up one morning wondering why it smelled like a campfire and why it looked like it had snowed (inches of ash covered everything) is probably something I'll never forget. We weren't ever in any danger, but what a bizarre few days, as we breathed the smoke and felt the heat of a huge fire burning just 10 miles from us. The smoke and haze today is just a tiny portion of how bad it was those few days. For us, anyway. Once again we seem to be the ones who just happen to be in the right place. But I spent all last summer and fall glancing up at the dry grass covering Mt. Diablo, and I'm doing it again this fire season.

(Image from EON.)

Playing tourist

We are in a weird inbetween state where we've lived here for a year, so we're not tourists but we'd never claim to be locals either. And we won't live here long enough to ever be considered locals. Someone stopped me on the street the other day to ask where the nearest Togo's was and I had to think for a second, "What city am I in?" and "What's a Togo's?" (we move around a lot, and from coast-to-coast; and Togo's is a mediocre sandwich shop chain that I haven't been able to eat at for about 5 years now) before I could answer that I didn't know. I drew a complete blank and could not think of a single sandwich shop, let alone specifically a Togo's, in town. I know how to get to the library, Peet's, and Target. What else do I need to know in any town?

Anyway, today we went searching for unique NorCal gifts to bring to my cousins in Poland. It's apparently very important for them to drop everything to make a houseguest feel welcome, as long as the houseguest brings presents. Fair enough. But other than wine, I was drawing a complete blank as to where one goes to buy California things. I put myself into tourist mode and came up with the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

On a Saturday morning that was probably one of the worst ideas I've ever had. At first it didn't seem so bad. Even though I got a little motion sick on BART, getting aboveground into the cool air made me feel better. We bought sweet Vietnamese coffees and had a short pleasant walk. Then we entered Crowded City. I had a headache and I was annoyed by everybody. For some reason I get afflicted like that every time I enter the Ferry Building. It was farmers' market day there, so extra people were milling around. There were lines for the bathroom, lines for the ATM. I was reminded that I don't like being a tourist in San Francisco. I don't like going anywhere crowded in San Francisco. I had a plan though and I was going to stick to it.

My plan didn't really work out. I bought one thing off of the list of ideas I had. We ended up BARTting back home to Walnut Creek and buying the rest of the stuff there. I'm glad I did get that one thing in the city (can't say what it is yet, in case my cousins read this!), because it's something I really like and I hope my cousins will too. But it was hours before my headache subsided.

And I got motion sick on the BART ride home, too. I never know when it's going to hit me. Doesn't bode well for all the train travel we have coming up in the next few weeks though, does it?

Bunnies in my backyard

Apparently four years ago the City of Walnut Creek changed the Easter Bunny and his Easter Egg Hunt to the Spring Bunny and Spring Egg Hunt, and this year one guy got irked enough to dash off a letter to the editor of our local newspaper (which I don't read; I heard about the story on Colbert Report) and now the War on Easter is being fought right here in my own backyard. I am bugged by so many different aspects of this story. The city was too polictically correct on this one. According to CBS13.com one woman complained about the word "Easter" being used in a community newsletter, so it's out. Logically, now that one man has complained that the word "Easter" isn't being used, it should be back in, right? But why did this guy wait four years to complain? Maybe he could have opened up some legitimate debate if he got outraged four years ago. Now, though, he has FOX News to back him up. Apparently downtown dub-cee has been invaded by "Action News vans" trying to stir up a media frenzy. I haven't been down to look yet. I haven't noticed this on the local news, but I wonder now that both FOX and Colbert have picked up the story if the frenzy will get started.

C'mon. The Easter Bunny has nothing to do with religion. And if you're that concerned about community events, you should actually pay attention to them when they happen.

Easter Bunny Is out in Walnut Creek
Easter Bunny Unwelcome in Walnut Creek
No Bunnies Were Harmed...

I just have to say that I love California winters. After, what, 25-odd New England winters and only a handful of California winters, they are still a very welcome novelty. It's February and it's sunny and in the 60s. I'm downright giddy.

Yes, it's supposed to rain later this week, and it may even downpour and mudslide. But at least it won't be freezing.