CookRunBeer

CookRunBeer: Cold Weather Running

2012-02-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

CookRunBeer: Cold Weather Running: Cold Weather Running When the weather turns cold, most peoples motivation to run drops off. This is fine if you don’t have a schedule of...

Cold Weather Running

2012-02-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Cold Weather Running

When the weather turns cold, most peoples motivation to run drops off. This is fine if you don’t have a schedule of races coming up in the spring. For those of us who are planning on racing, this time of cold weather is crucial for our training. While I cant help you get out of bed or off the couch, I can offer some tips on making your eventual run more enjoyable, Whether it be dark and cold, rainy and cold, sunny and cold, you get the point. Personally I like running in cold weather because of the all the options. When it gets very cold you can just put on more layers and push forward. It gets tricky in very warm weather; there is a point that you may offend other runners when trying to stay cool. Below are the various layers and combinations that can be used for cold weather running.

Layering

Base layer- this can be from a top to sock. Base layers are usually thin and made of a wool or moisture wicking micro fiber. Wool is chosen because it is warm and has natural wicking ability. The purpose of the base layer is to draw moisture away from the skin and into the other layers. Having your skin dry is going to keep your core warmer for longer. You can use a thin base layer on your feet, legs, and torso.

Mid layer- depending on the temperature outside and your normal core temperature a mid layer could be all you need. The mid layer is there to hold in the warmth created by your radiating body temperature. As your body heats up and the base layer draws away moisture the mid layer will trap the heat in between the two layers keeping you core warm. Fleece, wool, and sometimes down are used to make mid layer clothing. Wool and micro fiber are the best choices for mid layer because of the wicking properties and the ability to stay insulating when wet. Down loses its insulating properties and becomes heavy when wet.

Outer layer or shell layer- the shell is used for blocking wind and water, depending on the brand and material the shell layer can be completely waterproof down to water resistant. Most running shells are water resistant allowing the companies to offer a breathable jacket that blocks water to a certain degree with out trapping in moisture, which is your worst nightmare in cold situations. You are the warmest when you are dry.

Accessories

The accessory category consists of items to keep you warm and/or safe. Included in the category is; Hats, gloves, arm warmers, gloves, socks, reflective vest, blinking lights, gaiters for feet and neck, spikes. These are all personal preference choices and depend on what parts of your body are coldest

Head & Face - is very important for trapping heat where it escapes the most rapidly; heat rises so naturally your head will lose the most heat. Keep your head covered with something micro fiber or wool so that it pulls the moisture away and keeps your head dry. It is also important to choose a hat that dries quickly because a soggy hat can get very cold. Balaclava & neck gaiter- a neck gaiter is a closed ended scarf that slips over your head and protects your neck from cold wind, and a balaclava is essentially a neck gaiter with a hood and face mask, both help to keep the air flowing into your lungs from so cold as well as protecting from cold wind burn.

Hands & Arms - come in many materials and types; wool, micro fiber, cotton, fleece, leather, and I’m sure something else. For our application lets stick with wool, fleece, and micro fiber. The types of gloves are; mittens, traditional glove, a 2-in-1 (five finger with a mitten shell), and the convertible (a five finger glove that covers the finger to the first knuckle and a flip over mitten). Which glove you choose is a personal preference and depends on how your fingers react to cold. For example, I have very cold hands even in mild temperatures so I prefer the convertible because my hands are warmest when the fingers are touching and covered, as the day heats up I like the option to take my fingers out and let them breath, then be able to put them away when they get cold again (they always do).

Feet – to keep your feet warm you want to find a sock that is thinner and contains a large percentage of wool. You can also add a sock liner for additional warmth and moisture wicking. The most important aspect of choosing socks is choosing one that has moisture wicking fabric (which is why wool is a good choice, it is naturally wicking)

Safety - made by Yak Traksâ, or MICROspikesâ. These products give you traction in snowy and icy conditions. In the winter you will have those days of running in the dark. To keep safe, there are many forms of reflectivity and lighting to consider.

So even with all that information, I am sure there are a few out there that are too tough for all this technical stuff. Those of you that fail into the tough category will wear shorts, ankle socks and a single layer top, and that’s fine. A Word of warning, don’t be surprised when us properly dressed folks blow past you late in a training run or race, when your energy has been zapped because your internal systems have been wasting energy on trying to keep your body warm

CookRunBeer: Training Notes: A Rookie Break through

2011-09-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

CookRunBeer: Training Notes: A Rookie Break through: Atop Old Rag Mountain in Syria, VA I don't know if you are like me but when I am interested/passionate about something I immerse my se...

Training Notes: A Rookie Break through

2011-09-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Atop Old Rag Mountain in Syria, VA

I don't know if you are like me but when I am interested/passionate about something I immerse my self with reading, watching videos, listening to podcasts or just asking the veterans Questions about how it works, how to get better etc. Since starting this ultra running thing I have followed so many techniques and read so much. The most common thing i've read about training for ultra marathons is that no one technique works for everyone. In a nut shell, you have to try a lot of methods to build your stamina, pain tolerance, endurance, strength and anything else it takes to run longer than most people like to drive. In my reading I found a runner who has a philosophy that keeps coming back to my mind, Geoff Roes. Geoff has become one of my running hero's because of his laid back approach, I dont mean laid back as in lazy or "whatever man" he is no doubt a hard worker, the proof is in all the wins he has bagged over the years. Is Geoff my only hero? No, but when it comes to training I have found that the mind set he has or at least the one he talks about (I've never had a conversation about it with him, let alone met him) fits me perfect.

I have been trying all sorts of methods to get better: speed training, hill work, all trail, all road, 50/50, 70/30 you get the point. My biggest obstacle has been consistency, I would go hard and then get tired or worse, hurt, Until recently. I have been following the "Relentless Forward Progress" training program (this is not a mantra it's a book written by Bryon Powell, a great book at that so check out the link) I love this program, it gives me guidance, a set schedule, and motivation. However good the program and however much I like it , I have been getting tired and having a days worth of cold symptoms, then it goes and then it comes back. Given the stress I was having of making sure I get the run done no matter what and the cranky pants that comes when I don't get or even don't want to get it done, It was time for a tweak. The problem was that I didn't have a tweak in my holster, I haven't been doing this long enough. Behold a tweet from Geoff Roes. He had an article about consistency, but a different type of consistency than I have been having. This is a long term consistency rather than a, you guessed it, short term. Rather than focussing on your day or week or even month, focus on your year or life. Think long term, if you push your self every day of every week, week after week then you will break down and then if you keep doing it you will break. I would like to say that this is what I took from the article you can read it yourself and take what you may. Think about running consistently for a year in a sense that, if you're not injured or broken you can take a beak when you get tired and unmotivated then pick it back up when your ready. the most important thing I took or interpreted from this is that you never have to run when you dont want to so therefore all your runs are invigorating and fun. Isn't fun the most important part of running? If you're not making money doing it, why be out on the trail miserable? I run for that child like sense of adventure, where it can take you and the things you can experience. From my own experience you cant run into a bear or a rattle snake running intervals around the track. You certainly cant strip down and jump into a cool natural pool after a run in your neighborhood.

The Pool - The Strip = Spared

For the past two weeks I have switched gears and began running when I felt like it and the thing I noticed is that I am not running less but running more and happier. I do my long runs in the mountains on the weekend and they are getting easier or less hard (if it's easy you're not doing it right), my weekly runs have not been so regimented if I go out and feel like doing 10 or 12 miles mid week I do it, if I only feel like 3 then thats all I do. Another thing I noticed is that my millage in the past two weeks is higher than it has been and I feel better than I have ever felt. The interim weight I gained living back home has vanished. I am back down to my 50k PR weight. The funny thing about that, is that when I was down in weight and ran my PR I was training the same way but didn't realize it. I was just out there with my buddies Jake and Ben (who I hope will be ready for an even better time at Sylamore next year) just having a good time and if I did not feel like running there was always something else to do. I hope that I can hold on to this felling and have this consistency through out life because every time I lace up my shoes I want that grin of excitement to wash over me and I want to let it fly.... Or not!

Here is a link to Geoff's blog and the article he wrote on consistency Fumbling Towards Endurance

Running in the mountains

2011-09-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had as good a Labor Day as I did. This year I traded a hot dog and beer coma for hours of trail running and some camping. Was there beer? yes... Was there hot dogs? yes.... The main focus was the trail running. A dinner party brought me to the Shenandoah Valley this weekend and besides making a little money the idea of spending all weekend running around the mountains was a welcome idea.

A day before I left for the Shenandoah I put a post on WVMTR's Facebook page, a call to anyone wanting to run 24 miles out in that area on Sunday. A familiar voice called back, Terrapin 50k race buddy Kenny sent me an email and shortly after that, we had a plan (kind of). All we knew was we were going to run on the Allegheny trail. What we didn't know, is what was in store. The plan was 2 pm at exit 1 on 64, which turned out to be known as Jerry's Run. For those interested in exploring the Allegheny, the southern terminus starts at Jerry's run. Coming from the North you would take I-64 west off of I-81 and take it to exit 1 about 55 miles, from the exit turn right and continue on the gravel road past the sign that reads ".25 miles road ends". From the South, take I-64 east from West Virginia crossing into Virginia at exit 1 take a left and cross the over pass to the gravel road.

At 2:00 or shortly after that, I met Kenny on the side of the road, we parked there because of the strange people parked at the parking area. (I think a good tip for anyone, if there are strange people at a remote parking lot and you plan on being out for hours, park somewhere else and run in to the trail head) We headed out about 2:45, and since it was later in the day we decided to focus more on the time. So off we went for a 2.5 hours out and back. Our first impression was that no one had been out there in a long time. Not much happened to change our impression. The terrain was all but very runnable. A lot of the trail was more of a "connect the blazes" type trail and the amount of wrong turns we took was proof of that. Along with briars and prickers there was enough bear scat to put up a log cabin. I hoped for a sighting but no luck that day. All in all I had a great day, not surprisingly Kenny was great company and a treasure trove of info. Highlight of said info was the new water treating technique that I almost had to use. Summation of the day 15+ miles in 4:48, a very slow pace by normal standards but considering the 7200 feet of gain and loss, poorly managed trail, and wrong turns we had a good time and a good run/hike.

Day 2 put me about 40 miles east on I-64 at Douthat State Park. This was my 2nd visit there and I really love it. I put together a nice 13 mile loop on the fly. I was feeling a little stiff and exhausted, I think due to my deflated air mattress, putting my rib cage right on a tree root, or maybe all the driving, or even the realization that I had not had enough electrolytes. The latter of the reasons was a humorous realization mid way through my run on Monday. On the recomendation of a recent purchase of "Fixing your feet" a book written by John Vonhof, I purchased some lysine and glysine to ease an Achilles strain. The humorous/potentially dangerous part of this is that glysine looks exactly like Endurolytes. The bottle they came in was glass, I dropped it, put it in a baggie and stuck it in my running kit. Two weeks later I found them right before we stepped on the Allegheny. So for that 5 hour run and the 2.5 hour run the following day I was taking glysine, instead of Endurolytes. It doesn't work quite the same, either way I lived and ended up having a good run. If your ever near Douthat check out The Buckhorn camp ground just out side the park heading toward Clifton Forge. Take care everyone, till next time.

Fuel For The Soul and The Run

2011-08-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Using foods from your own garden or a farmers market adds and aspect to you recipes that you may not normally use. Most people buy things like carrots and beets and never see the tops or the leaves. What you may not know is that these things pack a lot of flavor and nutrients. The tops or greens can also add a visual appeal to your dishes. In the following recipe I used as much of the vegetable as I could. The vegetables meld together to create a sweet, earthy, rich vegetable dish and the addition of the poached egg add some satiety and richness. I hope you enjoy it a much as my family did.

Warm Vegetable salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 carrots with tops
6 small beets with tops
2 sweet onions (i used onions from the garden and used the tops also)
2 cobs of corn
1/2 pound of green beans
2 tbsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch chili flake (optional)
4 eggs
crispy warm bread

Directions:
Remove tops from the beets, carrots, and onions. Gently wash the tops and thoroughly wash the root part.
Place the beets in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil, boil for 35 to 40 minutes or until fork tender. While the beets cook slice the onions into 1/4 inch slices, strip the corn kernels from the cob using a knife, wash and cut the green beens into 1 inch pieces, cut the carrots into oblique, and roughly chop the beet greens and a few of the carrot tops. In a heavy pan like a cast iron or a ceramic braising pan (I used a ceramic brasier) heat two tbsp of butter, once the butter bubbles and gets hot add the carrots and onions. Cook the carrots and onions until the onions start to caramelize then add the corn and beans and cook until the beans start to turn vibrant green. Next, add the greens and cook everything until all the vegetables are tender season with chili flake salt and pepper. Once the beets are cooked place them in cold water and peel under water (the skin should come right off) cut each beet into 12 pieces and stir into the other vegetables.

For the poached egg heat a wide pot of water filled up 4 inches, add salt and white vinegar. Add enough vinegar to make the water taste acidic. The water should be at a low simmer, just a few bubbles rising from the bottom. Once the water is heated, gently crack the eggs into the water and let cook for around 4 to 6 minutes. Most importantly the whites should be cooked completely and the yolk warmed through. Eggs are cheap and a tester never hurt anyone.

Spoon about a cup and a half of the vegetables into a bowl and place one poached egg on top of each. serve this with some crispy bread and unsalted butter.

A Trip to the Garden

2011-08-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

I spent the past weekend in Olean, NY, I will admit that the first couple of visits when I was too cool for school, fat, egotistical chef boy, I didn't much like Olean. As my Love for my wife's family grew stronger, because I got to know them. Of course I loved them by default but know I have reasons for the love. Being that this is a running and eating and drinking blog I will save the sap for another time. This last trip I got to spend 80% of the time with my brother in law. He lives on a dead end road in the hills of Western NY. This is the most time I have spent with him and we are a lot alike, about as much as I thought we were. On this huge country property he has three amazing gardens. He grows corn, beets, carrots, sweet potato, onions, green beans, squash, radish, the list goes on. Among other things I spent a lot of time in that garden. I picked carrots, beets, onions, green beans, I got so inspired I went right into his kitchen to begin cooking. Unfortunately, due to renovations there wasn't much to work with. For that day's amusement, I found an old lodge cast iron in need of seasoning and so we drank beer while I seasoned it and he did some plumbing work.

The next day I whipped up a warm vegetable salad so that he and his girl friend could taste the fruits of there labor. It was a hit, I used the carrot tops and the beet greens along with all the other vegetables. What we had, was a vibrant, sweet, and earthy combination of vegetables that begged for something else, a poached egg and some crispy bread perhaps. I am going to have to let you know. I brought home a bag of fresh vegetables from B.I.L's garden and tomorrow I am going to come back to you with a recipe or two and some pictures of this amazing garden feast. What an inspiration a garden can be and i cant wait to start a garden of my own. There is only one thing better than shopping the perimeter of a grocery store and thats shopping your own back yard. Who would have thought it would take a trip to Olean to truly understand that.

See you tomorrow with this awesome recipe

A New Training Lesson

2011-08-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hey blog land, I want to first apologize to you and to my self for letting this fall to the wayside. My mental state has not been very desirable as of late. I kind of lost focus of life and geared up focus on training for my next race. This may have not been the best way to approach life at this delicate time I am in. As you all know I recently moved back to Maryland, much to my chagrin. However, we are in the process of making changes to please my wife as well me. Since moving I have been unemployed. One scenario after the next and the excuses piled up why I shouldn't be actively pursuing a job and Here we are 6 months later (the longest stint of unemployment since 16 years of age). Could I have a job at any restaurant? Yes, but it's not the life I want anymore. I want to live the dream and work for my self. Which brings us to the topic or the lesson I have recently learned.

Over the last 2 years I have been embarked on a journey to change the way I live. Through this journey I learned that I no longer like working in the restaurant, that I love to run and I still and maybe even more love food, and lastly I care where the countries eating habits are going. Unfortunately my love of running and challenges have been taking up all my time. I knew this wasn't smart, but i've lost control.

The Lesson:

Don't give 100% of yourself to any one thing, but give everything you have to what ever you are doing.

I know your supposed to give 110% blah blah blah, but lets all be honest, in regards to time 100% is all you have 110% of the clock puts you into the next day. Case and point: all I have been thinking of is running and every couple weeks something malfunctions on my body and it makes me depressed and irritable. This behavior is not fair to my family or myself. Rather than throwing a pity party for my strained Achilles maybe I should limp into a place of business and ask for a job. I am not sure how my wife is so patient with me but I love her for that. I don't want to give the impression that for the last 6 months I have just been running and napping, just running and hiding. There are plenty of things to do when you live this close to family. Plenty of chores and odd jobs to hide behind, I know in my heart if I told my family, "cook your own dinner I have been busy trying to find a job" they wouldn't have asked me to leave. I recently had an interview, the owner of the company explained to me how he only sleeps 15 hours a week, that was inspiring to me. There are 168 hours in a week I am training about 15, that leaves 153 hours to get it together, for my sanity and my families happiness I have to get it together. so this is my first day back,

I will find a job!

I will Blog!

I will still cook dinner!

I will start my freelance writing again!

I will Build this business that I have a passion for!

I will change the way this country eats one willing family at a time!

I will be a better husband!

I will be a better son, grandson, nephew cousin and brother!

Life training starts now.

New Examiner Article

2011-05-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey blog world i've got a new article on the examiner so check it out. We had a lot of fun the other night, click to see why. http://www.examiner.com/beer-pairing-in-arlington/american-craft-beer-week-dinner

Blue Cheese Burger with Tart Cherry BBQ sauce

2011-05-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

To read about a wonderful beer paring follow the link to the examiner website

ROASTED ONION BURGER

Serves 2

Ingredients:

6 ounces 93/7 ground beef

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp worchestershire

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

4 slices roasted or grilled sweet onions

2 slices blue chesse or smoked cheddar

2 pieces natures own deli thins

Mix everything together and form into 2 patties.Put in the refrigerator while the onions roast

To roast onions you will need 1 onion sliced into1-inch slices. Heat oven to 425 and brush a baking sheet with olive oil, thenbrush the topside of the onion and season with salt and pepper put in the ovenfor about 20 to 25 min. they should be soft and caramelized on the pan side.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO “fries”

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

2 sprigs thyme

1 clove garlic

Heat oven to 425.

Cut the potatoes into desired shape and put in abowl. Mince the garlic and thyme together and put in bowl toss together withthe olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Lay out on a baking tray and bake about 20 to 25min (you can bake at the same time as the onions on the same tray).

Cherry BBQ sauce

Yields: 1 cup

Ingredients:

3 strips bacon (diced)

½ Onion (diced)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp smoked paprika

¼ cup sorghum or molasses

1 cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup ketchup

½ ounce dark chocolate

Directions:

Heat a heavy saucepot to medium high and add the bacon, cookuntil bacon starts to brown and the fat is rendered out. Add the onions andgarlic, cook until they start to brown, add the spiced and sorghum and cookabout 1 to 2 minutes to allow the flavor to develop. Add the vinegar and cookdown to ½ cup and add the ketchup cook about 10 minutes. Put in a blender withchocolate and blend till smooth. You can strain it through a fine sieve orleave it chunky. I prefer to strain it.

New Venture

2011-05-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I have a new gig, I have started writing for an online publication called the Examiner. I could use a little support and in return the recipes will be plentiful. I am required to write at least 3 times per week and the more I write the better it is for me. I will be posting the recipes on the blog to increase traffic, in addition the article's link will be posted on the recipe blog. My aim is to educate people on food and beer pairings. The version of Examiner I am writing for is localized (Arlington, VA), but that doesn't mean that everyone can't learn and reap the benefits of some tasty dishes. Here is the link for the first article. I did not include it in the last post because I wasn't officially live at the time. Thanks in advance for your support.

John

http://www.examiner.com/beer-pairing-in-arlington/john-leonardis

Buffalo Bills Brewery Orange Blossom cream ale steamed clams

2011-05-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

This is a sure fire crowd pleaser, it takes 10 minutes of cooking time, pair that with crispy bread and a cold, crisp Orange Blossom Cream ale and you will be fighting your guest off with the baguette. Obviously orange and clams go well together. The clams are sweet and tender (when cooked right) and any citrus goes well with shellfish so why not use a cooking liquid full of orange and floral notes to cook these tender morsels. Add a little ginger and tarragon and you have yourself an aromatic "party in your mouth". So take some time this week and cook up a bowl of these and see what I mean.

Steamed clams
Serves: 2
Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds cherry stone clams or Prince Edward Island mussels
1 clove garlic (minced)
2 tbsp ginger (grated)
2 sprigs tarragon (chopped)
1 shallot (minced)
1/2 bottle of Buffalo Bills Brewery Orange Blossom Cream ale
1 tbsp butter
4 slices rustic bread (toasted)

Directions:
Heat a large saute pan (equipped with a tight fitting lid) to a high heat, add the oil and allow to warm, this will happen quickly. Add the shallot, garlic, and ginger, saute for a couple of minutes just until they start to form color. now add the clams or mussels, saute until the pan recovers and becomes very hot again. (this step is important because if you put beer in a cold pan the there will be no steam and you need steam to open the shellfish). as soon as you add the beer place the lid on the pan to capture the steam. now pour the other half of the beer into a glass and wait roughly ten minutes or until the clams open. Now, wasn't that good? Once the clams open remove the lid and add the butter to let reduce for 3 to 4 minutes on high heat. Place the clams in a bowl with a slotted spoon then add the tarragon and season the broth, pour the broth over the clams, straight from the pan. Serve with the toasted rustic bread.

*important note mussels open twice as fast as the clams in roughly 5 minutes.

CookRunBeer: West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful part 2

2011-05-05T08:18:00.001-07:00

CookRunBeer: West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful part 2: "the overlook at coopers rock Well, once again it was time to head to West Virginia, duty called. My little sis needed a ride hom..."

West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful part 2

2011-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

the overlook at coopers rock

Well, once again it was time to head to West Virginia, duty called. My little sis needed a ride home from college. So I headed out about 4 am on Tuesday morning. I was headed for Coopers Rock State Park, which is on the way to West Virginia Wesleyan college where my sister was waiting. I only had about 2 hours sleep so I decided to stop at a rest stop and sleep for about an hour. I quickly found out that I stopped 1 exit from the park. The regret subsided shortly after I began running. Last time I ran here I brought my phone to take pictures, I decided to leave it this time due to the fact that last time photography slowed my run down considerably, equalling less distance covered and less of the park enjoyed. This is a decision that I would and still do, and may always regret not bringing it.

Cheat River

I arrived at the parking lot so tired it felt like my face was swollen and like I just got punched. So I did what any respectable trail runner would do, got dressed, filled my fuel belt and headed onto the XC ski trail. My plan was to head to Clay Furnace and link up to Scotts Run to create a loop and see where that gets me. I was feeling very stiff and sluggish, but i pressed on. Once I got onto the Clay Furnace trail this feeling went away. At this point I am kicking fast on this 2 mile down hill. The trail had nice flow while being rocky and technical(maybe that is where I preform better on rocky and technical, probably because I learned how to run trails in Little ROCK). Now for the camera regret, here I am kicking hard and fast with extreme concentration I was hitting 7 to 7:21 minute miles, then BOOM, my brain kicked in with a thought, STOP, Quickly following with JUMP UP AND BACK. I abruptly did so and figured out why my brain put me in this stressful contortion. What I found in front of me was a sun bather, not a nude human being stretched out on the trail, more of the dangerous venomous type of sun bather. Respectfully I backed up slowly to drink in what was placed in front of me. I was faced with a beautiful four and a half foot timber rattlesnake. Luckily the snake allowed me to get closer and have a look. I have never seen a rattlesnake up close in the wild. Needless to say I was very excited, promptly followed by a sad feeling. Of course I did not bring my phone, then oh sh%*, what if.... I don't want to think about that 2 mile uphill hike back to the car with a rattlesnake bite. Thankfully this was not the case. After a 15 or 20 minute stand off he let me by, but not without letting me know that he was still there and he is the boss. He slithered up 2 feet off the trail and turned around to face me in a slightly defensive position.

The rest of the run was more alert than normal but awesome. I had no specific direction in which I was traveling, I went for the steepest trails, they usually bring you to the best parts of a park. I descended down to Cheat Lake, then climbed back up and then farther about 1500 feet over 2 1/2 miles. I ended up making a lollipop with a big loop on the end of the stick. Included in the run were; overlooks, small waterfalls, lakes, grueling climbs, fast flowing downhills, rattlesnakes, and vibrant green foliage, All in two and a half hours. What a day! After aiding my sick sister with moving her into a storage unit I rewarded my self with some good brews from Mountain State Brewing Company, Magic Hat, and Rogue and I pared that with what Allburgars restaurant called the sunny side up burger.

On our way home we stopped back at the park to take pictures at the overlook so I hope you enjoy the pics.

Terrapin Mountain 50k: Lesson learned

2011-03-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday my family and I made our way toSedalia Va. So I could run the Terrapin Mountain 50k and my wife could run thehalf marathon. As the race was approaching my nervousness was increasing. Asyou may have read, I ran the Arkansas held race the Sylamore 50k trail run andit went great I improved my time by almost 2 hours and post race was fantasticas far as walking and talking goes. The Sylamore 50k has an elevation gain ofaround 6000 feet but with no climbs higher than 1000 feet so it is up and downthe whole way. I figured up and down what is the difference, I can run a 6:20maybe a 6:40 cause of the elevation. Well, Lesson learned.

Right before the gong

The Terrapin starts promptly at 6am at the Sedaliacenter in Sedalia VA. At 5:30 I was crawling out of my skin for the sound ofthe gong (a signature start of the race by director Clark Zealand). I have notbeen that excited in all my runs. So once the gong was banged we were off at anice respectable pace. We start out on road for about 1mile then turn right ontosome gravel and begin the 2500 ft climb in just 3 short miles. This is wherethe mortals walk/run. So we did at a pretty good pace. My wife and I came intocamping gap in about 1 hour on the dot, 10 minutes slower than I anticipated orguessed. You see I have never climbed that high in my running career, so 10minutes wasn’t bothering me. We filled our bottles, kissed and off we went. Sheclimbed another 1000++ feet and I went flying down 5 miles and 2500 feet ofgravel road to the other side at Goff Mountain rd. I say flying because I madeit down in 45 minutes, with 2 pee breaks and a bottle fill up before hittingthe second aid station at the bottom.

At the Goff Mountain road aid station, my quadswere obviously concerning me, having never done that before. I had some weirdsensations in those puppies. Luckily for me we had to climb up again, so Icould rely on other parts of the legs. As we started our accent up Goffmountain Rd, I had yet another scary thought, "if I walk this section itis going to take 12 hours, better yet if I walk all the hills I am certain tobe left out here". So I followed a couple of guys in technique. Run fromflag to flag then walk from flag to flag. It breaks up the monotony as he saidand was working quite well. We jumped onto some single track after a while andI felt right at home. You see I am back in Maryland by way of Little Rock, werethe stride is a little something like stride, stride, stride, hop, jump,stride, hop, you get the idea. In Little Rock once you master this you can bean accomplished runner. After a successful technical decent I was back at thehorse trail aid station.

Now all I have to do is run back up to camping gapfor 3.1 miles and something around 2000 feet, I think? Here we go from flag toflag. I met a guy at Goff Mountain Rd and we had been chatting off and on sincethen (I am pretty sure his name is Kenny) in conversation he mentioned that Iwas going to get tired of seeing camping gap. To be honest at the second visit,I wanted to kiss and hug the station, this feeling continued throughout theday. It marked the next step andanother step complete. Despite not agreeing with Kenny he provided me with somedistraction and turned out to be great trail company. So if you’re readingKenny, thanks for the trail company. I must be honest I made up a nickname forKenny in my head strictly based on his hiking technique and skill. Every timewe hit a steep one I knew I wouldn't see him until the downhill, my specialty.To me Kenny will be forever known as the "Billy goat". As we made ourway through "WHORE LOOP"(I am not sure why it is called this but thatis what they called it) I hit a low point on the climb up to the firstorienteering point. These hills seemed relentless and I thought we would neverget to the top. We did and I promptly used that down hill to regain my momentumto finish. At the orienteering point there was a lot of bathroom breaks andsnacking. I used that time to pass up a lot of people and I wouldn't see themthe rest of the race.

Post race meal with dad

Sore, tired and hungry, but damn good looking.

I carried that down hill momentum into the gravelroad and back to camping gap #3 were I came in at 4:40. This leaves me 2 hoursand 9.9 miles to achieve my 6:40 time. Do-able in my mind. So I filled upsnacked lightly and headed up Terrapin Mountain. Along this hell of a climb amantra was created “WTF” with less acronym more words. I reached theorienteering split of overlook and fat mans misery and went right. I punched atoverlook and headed to "fat mans misery". I was so excited to squeeze in between those rocks; I hadbeen looking forward to that since 5:30 that morning. I squeezed and off Iwent. Just as I was attempting to lift my leg onto a rock, an angel said."Did you punch", "of course I did not, thank you" Ireplied. Some banter was exchanged and off we all were, a gentleman whom I didnot get a name and a team of 2 women. They graciously allowed the gentleman andI to lead the decent and we obliged. Now this was not running down hill, it wasslowing yourself down, down hill aka a controlled fall. About 3/4 of the waydown we ran into the "Billy goat" and the guy in the kilt. Very niceguy, since I was full of fire coming down the hill they let me go ahead ofthem. This could have been a fatal mistake, no use crying over spilled milk soon with the story. We popped out onto what looked like a 4% graded creek bed.And descended down to the Terrapin Mountain lane aid station. In passing, a mansay's to me "this is some kind of F-in cruel joke, making us run down tothe bottom and then back up". For a split second I thought he meant we hadto run back up Terrapin Mountain!! I almost burst into tears and collapsed,then I remembered why I went over the course and map so many times. (to avoidmelt down). With my mind at ease I ate and drank and off to the last 5.5 milesto the finish.

I like to call this "thedark time". I went into my fuel belt for the 5 reserve endurolytes I foundthe night before and decided to leave in belt just in case of emergency. Theywere crushed, all but one. So I took it and promptly licked my fingers and"fun dipped" as much powder as I could. Gross, but helpful. This partwas lonely, painful, emotional, beautiful and, cold. All reasons I am out here.I have been living by the philosophy "it's not an ultra or a worthwhile raceif I don't have to talk to my self". I first start off with a little drillSergeant then to a consoling mother figure, what ever it takes to finish. Atthe creek crossing I think I managed a smile for the camera and then 1 mile togo. I did what I do and flew down the hill passing once again and feelingremorseful about it, the "Billy goat" and "the kilt". I didnot pass to beat these guys so I could beat them, only to get it over with. Ialways save a little to finish strong, it's part of my plan every time. So Idid, I ran the last mile faster than the first mile. At the finish the fanfarewas so awesome it made finishing even more emotional. No 6:40 but at least Imade a sub 7:00 coming in at 6:59. Another highlight was getting to hugmultiple family members and the welcome from Clark, Steve and the"stands", a group of runners all cozy in field chairs and blankets.Thanks to all of you. Thank you also to all the aid station volunteers, none ofcould do it without the volunteers.

Thank you to Clark Zealand for putting on such a beautiful and wellorganized race. This race is now one of my favorites and I can’t wait to run itagain next year. What’s next for cookrunbeer? The North face ultra endurancechallenge 50k. I decided to wait until next year for the promise land, becauseI am planning on the MMT50 in November and trying to put on the smart hat forthis one. Until next time, stay tuned for a BEER:30 review of the CrispinJacket whisky cask aged cider. Seeyou on the trails.

Weekly Fuel: A Guilty Tasting Dinner

2011-03-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned previously I have been using myfamily as guinea pigs. Ever since my wife and I began running it has sparkedquite and interest in all around improvement of health in the family. So while Iam here we have decided to go for it and all get to that optimal healthtogether, under my guidance. Even people I did not think would be on board areon board. So I was inspired to post this because of the comments at dinner. Overthe past week I have been guiding the family as to what should be eaten forbreakfast and lunch, all the while teaching what certain foods can do to yourdaily caloric intake, as well what wholesome food can do for your belly. Nowfor the comments: mmmm... Wow...., what is this...., and most important, I feelso full on such a small portion. Well I got news, it wasn't just your bellythat was full, it was your mind as well. that fact that the food tasted richand unlike the misconception of "health food" tasted good. It tricked you mind intothinking that you ate something guilty and satisfying. These types of dinnersare not magic it's just a home cooked meal with conscious choices foringredients and portion size. So enough ranting and down to the nitty gritty. Thegood stuff. I’m fairly certain that the star of the night was thespaghetti squash, along with that was a simply sautéed piece of chicken breastand a tomato salad.

All of this packs just; 300 calories, 8.2 grams of fat, 17.4grams carbs and 28.3 grams protein.

sauteed chicken breast
serves: 6
Ingriedients:
3-8 oz chicken breasts
slat and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
3 thyme sprigs for each side

Directions:
Place one breast at a time into a heavy plastic zip top bag, pound it out to 1/2 inch thick with a rolling pin. once all chicken is pounded, place on sheet tray. Crack fresh pepper and sprinkle garlic powder onto. put thyme sprigs on each side and let sit for and hour. heat a non stick pan to med-high heat and then spray with pan spray. season the chicken with salt just before it goes into the pan. cook on each side to a golden brown and until its cook through. let rest and portion by cutting each breast in half.

Spaghetti squash gratin.
serves 6
Ingriedients:
1 spaghetti squassh
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fat free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
heat the oven to 375
poke hole all over the squash with a fork, bake in a 375 oven for about an hour or until the squash is soft. once cool enough to handle remove the steam in and split in half long ways. remove seeds with a spoon careful not to remove too much flesh(you will lose a little this way). now using a fork scrape the flesh out completely and put in a bowl with spinach, sour cream and cheese. mix throughly and season with salt and pepper. place into a 8x8 pan and bake for 15 min on 375, then put on broil for 3 to 4 min until the top browns slightly. after 10 minutes of rest cut into.

Tomato salad
Serves 6
Ingredients:
12 large capri tomatos(quartered)
1 avocado(sliced)
1 red bell pepper(julienne)
1 tbsp aged balsamic
1 yellow onion(sliced 11/2 inch thick)
2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:
heat oven to 375
Lay the onions on a sheet tray, spray with pan spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until soft and sweet.
once onions come out of the oven, rough chop and put in a bowl, mix that with all other ingredients and let sit for one hour. season with salt and pepper and serve with chicken and squash.

Terrapin Mountain 50k live stats

2011-03-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and family race director Clark Zealand set up live stats for this race so follow along with us tomorrow. The first link is my race and the second link is Siobhan's race. Of course stay tuned for the race report. Go Team cookrunBeer!!!

John Leonardis Race BIB #169
Siobhan Leonardis race BIB #350

Wild and Wonderful

2011-03-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

   Recently while sitting in my parent's living room, I over heard my youngest sister on a phone conversation. The conversation did not seem so to go so well, upon hanging up she sorrowfully lets me know she will be heading back to school the following day at 1 pm. Now as a big brother I couldn't have this. She clearly did not want to go back 1 day early. So I swooped in with a plan in mind. You see, my sister attends school in West Virginia. Trail runner in training for 50k with a good bit of mountainous climbing and a sister in need of a ride to mountainous West Virginia. Not mention my cousin also lives in Morgantown. This plan seemed to be working out beautifully, I could stay on a couch and not in a college dorm room.

   The only set back is that my wife and I were set to go to a party, where it was sure to be the pre tapper steam blow off that I seem to be making a habit when training. I assure you, that is exactly what it turned out to be, and what a great time it was. Before we headed out to the party we did make sure to get in a nice 16 mile loop at a local trail, so feeling good about my self I let the kettle boil for as long as I could. The next day brought moms famous gravy and pasta with meatballs and sausage. This on top of the two hours left of moving furniture my dad and I did left next to nothing in the tank. So after several cups of coffee and a long personal debate weather or not to leave at 9 pm or the next morning at 3, I went to bed, where I laid wide eyed and tossing until 3. Then off we went as scheduled at 3:16 in the morning.

   Working on no sleep we finally made it to Morgantown, West Virginia and had breakfast at the Eat and Park(by the way I find this request of the restaurant pretty impossible, I would much rather park and then eat. Call me old fashioned if you like). I knew that I was planning on running shortly there after, planned... right? I had some mediocre at best, whole grain pancakes and egg substitutes, what could I have possibly expected? After a hard last hour of driving with the window down hoping that the mountain air would keep us awake, we arrived and I napped for two hours. I said my good byes and headed back to Morgantown. My cousin and I tinkered with her car bit and finally by 4:30pm i was arriving at the Cooper's Rock State Park. I guzzled a G1 aka Gatorade Prime, and i was off with no clear map or direction.

   I started my run on the cross country ski trail. That little quarter mile stretch ended up at a three way intersection. Advanced cross country ski trail.... Tempting, a trail with no name, and the road side trail, which sounds boring but underneath that sign was another that read Cooper's Rock overlook 2.8 miles. Sounds good, at least we have an overlook and 6 miles of trail running as a start. I headed down the road side trail feeling surprisingly good fueled on a G1 and 2 hours of sleep following a night of partying. The trail ran along the road of course, just as described. There were a good amount of climbs as one would expect on the way to an overlook. Once at the overlook, I paused for 5 minutes or so to take some photos. I love an overlook with a river running through the valley.

Being that this is a run and not a day hike i put away the Droid and stopped pondering the meaning of life and back tracked out to the road were I noticed a few other trail heads. I went with the most dangerous sounding one. The Rattlesnake Trail. This was by far my favorite trail it shot down below the overlook and climbed up just as quick through the rocks, and back on to a trail. By far some of the most technical running I have done, considering I was trying to keep a 10:00 minute mile going.

This is the point where I have no idea where I ran but I got some amazing pic's. I believe I was on the ridge trail for a while, as well the eagle, rock city, a couple of places that were not blazed and the raven something for a short out and back. All of the trail was beautiful and I would say a great excuses to visit family or vise versa. This was that kind of trail run that brings out that internal music that you hear when all is good and you cant help but to grin from ear to ear. It is an experience you can only get out in the woods all alone with your internal mp3 player making songs you've never heard but that sound good. I passed a few people and over heard one of them say, "The air is so fresh and crisp up here", thats right and it cause all the gates in the park are locked and only the people who are willing to hike or run in are up here and from the looks of it, that is not many people. Thankfully for us, right? I had to write about this because it reminded me of a run in Little Rock that inspired me to start this blog in the first place. I think I forgot why I started it and this brought that back. So onward and forward with more running entries. Now its out the door for a light run. I have 9 days until the Terrapin 50k a part of the Beast series of trail running. I am hoping to beat last months 50k time of 6:20:14. Enjoy the pic's and Happy St. Patty's day. For more pic's follow the link

Sylamore 50K trail run: Race Report

2011-03-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

This was the only pic of race day I have.

                     First off let me stress how much I love this race in northern Arkansas. This is such a beautiful area of the country and despite what people may think; there are some knarley climbs and fast descents. Not to forget the creek crossing which is my favorite part. Every year you pay attention to the rain fall, melted snow ect. you just never know how deep it's going to be. It builds mental toughness right off the bat. I would also like to shout out to New Balance for the MT101. This is my shoe of choice from now on. It has rid my stride of bouncy, sloppy trail running, as well the turned ankles and braces are nonexistent. So thank you New Balance, I can't wait for the Minimus to hit the shelves.

            Training for Sylamore went so well this year, I got in quiet a few long runs, and by suggestion of my ultra running doctor I took up daily yoga sessions. Top all that off with a twice a week crossfit work out, I was stronger and lighter than I have ever been. I paid close attention to my hydration and diet. opting for a lower than usual calorie count, I felt light and fresh every morning. For pre race dinner I roasted a chicken with thyme and olive oil, accompanied by a roasted sweet potatoes and a salad of grapefruit and point Reyes blue cheese. Two of my weekend race buddies Jake Edge and Adiel Looney joined me for dinner at the pinewood cabins and offered a nice red wine from Chile. My number 3 and consistent training partner Ben Mansur was long behind and I am not sure how he made it out of bed. I am however very proud of him for pulling out a 6:40 for his first 50k and I think first race period.

            On the morning of, I woke about 4:30am and prepared breakfast for Ben and I (egg whites, whole wheat toast with apple butter). after the pre race foot greasing ritual we headed out. We arrived at the anglers restaurant at about 6:30 and hung out and I was anticipating a morning movement. Unfortunate for me it never came and this will go on to haunt me all day. We all lined up at around 5 till 7 checking watches, chit chatting, bouncing nervously awaiting the horn, and then at 7 on the dot, we were off. I am sure we all were thinking the same things (do I have everything?, do I want to do this?, are my shoes tied the way I like, and is that a pain in my groin?). Taking off heading up to the trail head Ben and I were feeling really good trotting along at a slow comfortable pace. Our plan was to make that first 6.4 miles feel like 2 miles. We settled into a group that was run-walking and it was hard to control ourselves from jetting around and flying past the 15 people in the trail conga line. Once we reached Blanchard springs A.S. I asked Ben if he wouldn't mind filling my two water bottles while I give the morning movement one more try. With a little success and Ben waiting right outside door, we were off up the steep climb on the way to gunner pool.

          On the way to gunner pool we hike/ran up the hill and then we flew down the opposite side. Staying a course with my hydration and nutrition plan all of this felt flawless. Our Plan was a Power gel and Hammer nutrition electro tab per hour washed down with 2-8oz btls of water. At the aid stations I dined on oranges and Gatorade and a few handfuls of M&M's. It was fueling me just right. Gunner pool had wonderful views of the creek down below and great fast downhill sections. I did not stop to enjoy the view as much as last year because this year I was shooting for a time of 7:30:00 a 30 minute improvement from last year. as we push along, we began passing quite a few people. I also noticed that we were making the aid stations in about 1 hour. this felt really good but a little uncomfortable, seeing as how I felt like shit at this point last year and a race volunteer jokingly let me know that at the turnaround.

once we hit Gunner Pool I was feeling so good. we were at the aid station for about 4 minutes then back on the trail. this was a killer for me last year it seemed like a long slow accent to a rolling section that involved a lot of walking. but not this year we ran 90% of this I was feeling very good minus the stomach discomfort.

            once we reached the turnaround I hit the bathroom once more, just in case the sun aligned with the moon but no avail. I filled my water and a handful of M&M's and headed back to the finish. I took long enough in the bathroom to have to catch the 10 people I had lead and caught 3 times before. I was feeling amazing so I took off and pulled off a 6:00 minute pace down into Blanchard springs (thanks to gravity, of course). I felt strong until after I left Blanchard springs where I started to cramp a little due to a miss calculation of my water needs, running out 3 miles before the finish. once I hit the road with 1 mile to go I rallied and pulled off a 7:30 pace all the way across the line for a 6:20:07 finish. 1 hour and 43 minutes better than last year.

I would love to thank all the volunteers for a great race support and Steve Appleton and Greg Eason for putting on a great race yet again. and thanks to all the people who pushed me into this wonderful sport and all the friends who run alongside me and support what I am doing. I have chosen my nest race and I will be running the Terrapin Mountain 50k in Sedalia, VA

Sauce Class: A break from the healthy regiment

2011-02-18T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I have some recipes to share with you on this beautiful sixty degree day in Little Rock. Now these recipes do not have nutritional Facts, and one or two of them might not be in a runners plan. The reason for sharing is because the class last night was so much fun and the food was delicious. Today is my 29th birthday, I am now 1 year closer to my 100 miler goal cut off. I will be celebrating my birthday with a few close friends in Mountain View, Arkansas. Doing what? Off course running in a race. Tomorrow is the Sylamore 50k. i have been looking forward to this since I took my shoes off at the angler's restaurant (the start and finish) last year. I am going to try to tweet at the aid stations to give quick updates, so follow me on twitter @cookrunbeer. the only obstacle I can foresee is the reception.

I also wanted to run something by everyone. I was having a conversation with my dad last week about blogging and he suggested I create an alter ego blog, I know that I have been very inconsistent with my post's but, I have big things going on right now, so I am working on this. The reason I ask this question, is because I am a foodie first. I love wine and food or food and beer. I want to share all of this with you. So if you interested in this other side of me, leave me a comment and I will find a way to do it.

Well enjoy these dishes, especially the sliders with the slaw.

Potato crusted fish

Yields: 4 portions

2cups potato buds

1-cupflour

5eggs

4pieces of fish

Saltand pepper

Directions:

-Putbuds, eggs, and flour in separate containers

-Wiskeggs thoroughly

-Seasonfish on both sides

-Dipone side into flour then eggs this is to make glue then dip into potato

-Panfry on med heat until golden brown finish in the oven.

Boulanger sauce

Yields: 1-cup sauce

4 strips of bacon

1 baking potato (cut into 4 pieces)

1/2 yellow onion (in cut form)

3 cloves minced garlic

3 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in braising pan or high-sided sautépan in separate areas of a braising pot place bacon, onion, and potato andcaramelize all sides

Once all ingredients are golden brown addgarlic and broth and reduce by 2/3

Strain into smaller pot. To finish season andwhisk in 2 tbsp soft butter.

To freeze this sauce for a later date, take itto the strained point and pour into a ice cube tray and once frozen pop outinto a zip lock bag. To reheat add 3 cubes in a saucepot and reduce slightly,finish with butter to add body to the sauce. A dab of black truffle butter is awonderful addition especially with game like squab or quail

Burre Blanc

Yields: 1-cup sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup white wine

½ tsp minced garlic

½ tsp minced shallot

1 tsp olive oil

2 pepper corns

2 tbsp cream (optional)

1 ½ to 2 sticks butter (cold)

Directions:

In a medium sized pot sweat the shallot and garlic untilsoft, add the wine and peppercorn, reduce by ¾. Add the cream and heat to asimmer; slowly add the butter chunks one at a time. It is important to not letthis come to a boil once the butter has gone in. and this is a sauce that isserved warm not hot. Once about half the butter is added and the emulsificationhas started you can add the butter a little faster. You can finish this saucewith anything. Today we will finish it with mint; capers, tomato, parsley, andlemon zest then toss it with penne.

Salsa Verde

Yields: 2 cups sauce

2 packs of chives, mint,

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch cilantro

1 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp Dijon or brown mustard

3 white anchovy filets (optional)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2-cup olive oil

1 large handful of ice

Directions:

Place everything but oil inblender and blend to liquefy while adding the oil.

Once all the oil is in seasonwith salt (you may need to add water a little at a time to get it going)

Use the herbs in this recipe as a guideline do notsubstitute just leave less desired herbs out and add more of the others.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

Porktenderloin

5sprigs of thyme

2tbsp oil

1tbsp butter

1shallot

1clove, garlic

1tbsp capers

Saltand pepper

Directions:

Preheatyour oven to 375°

Removethe pork from the package and dry thoroughly. Remove the silver skin and mostof the fat. Set aside on a plate and wash your cutting board. Mince the shallotand garlic, and then chop the capers. Heat a heavy sauté pans to med-high. Addthe oil and allow to heat. Once pan it hot (when the oil shimmers and runsacross the pan very fast). Season your pork with salt and pepper and add it tothe pan. Sear it on all sides until it is browned. Add the butter, shallot,caper, thyme, and garlic. Now baste the pork off the heat for 1 min and place itin the oven. Allow to cook through, about 2 to 5 min. a thermometer should read148° to 155°, depending on the desired doneness. Let it rest for 5 minutes thenslice and serve with Salsa Verde.

Mayo

Yield 4 cups

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks

Juice of half a lemon

3 to 4 cups oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Place yolks in a food processor with lemon juice blenduntil smooth

-While processor is running slowly drizzle oil in to tophole (putting at east 3 cups in)

-If your mayo is too t hick you can add a little water tothin it out

*I like to make it thicker and thin it out so that is hasmore structure.

Lemon mayo

Yield 1 ¼ cup

Ingredients:

1 cup prepared mayo

Juice and zest of one lemon

2 tbsp corn syrup

1 tbsp turmeric

Directions:

Wisk everything together and let set for 1 hour inrefrigeration

Lime ginger mayo

Yield 1 ½ cup

Ingredients:

1 cup prepared mayo

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 tbsp fresh ginger (minced)

2 limes juiced

Small bunch of chives (minced)

2 tbsp carrots (minced)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp water

Directions:

-In a sauté pan sweat garlic and ginger in oil untilaromatic and soft

-Add limejuice, sugar, water, and carrots, cook untilcarrots are soft set aside to cool.

-Once cool stir lime ginger mix and chives into mayo andadjust seasoning

Asian sliders

Yields: 4-2 slider servings

Ingredients:

½ pound ground pork

¾ pound ground sirloin

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp Sriracha (chili paste)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 egg

½ tsp cinnamon

2 tsp rice vinegar

Pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Placein the refrigerator for 1 hour. Divide up into 8 patties and roll into balls.Smash into patties. And cook in a non-stick pan until cooked about 2 to 3minutes on each side.

Slider assembly:

You will need 8 Hawaiian rolls, 8 slices of smokedprovolone, 4 tbsps of lime ginger mayo, and 8 tbsp slaw (see recipe)

Warm the rolls in your oven simultaneously melt the cheeseon each burger. Spread a littlelime ginger on each side, place burger on bottom bun and then top with 1 tbspslaw

Slaw

Yields: 4 cups slaw

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups Napa cabbage

½ cup sliced onions

2 tbsp chopped mint

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Slice cabbage head in 4 long ways, and then thinly slice itcross ways. In a bowl whisk together vinegar, honey, oil, and mint. Add cabbageand onion to bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix together and adjustseasoning accordingly.

WEEKLY FUEL: KNIFE SKILLS CLASS RECIPES

2011-02-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone I attempted to shoot some videos, not successful. With that said I am only giving you the recipes for right now. I am going to keep at it, and try to figure out this final cut software. I apologize for the infrequent posts. I am up to my face in life. This race on the 19th is all I can think about. Unfortunately I also have to work, pack, move, and have a full schedule of classes booked. Don't get me wrong, these are all good problems to have, it's just not leaving much time for anything else. All of the following recipes are under 150 calories and include small amounts of healthy fat. They are from a knife skills class I recently taught.

I am planning on posting a training summation before the race and then a race report. I am off for a run in this lovely 20 degree weather, luckily I have my under armor ninja mask to somewhat protect my lungs. I guess mother nature had a case of ADD when I said, "The weather needs to cool down, I would rather run in 28 degrees than 70". 28 not 20 and it appears that snow has started to fall, at least there's that. I will talk to you guys soon.

For now here are the recipes:

Dressing for cucumber salad
Yields 1/2 cup

Ingredients:
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp EVO

directions:
put everything into a bottle and shake vigorously until a temporary emulsion is formed

Cucumber salad
Yields 4- 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:
1 english cucumber
2 green onions
1/4 red onion
2 to 3 tbsp dressing

Directions:
After removing the plastic from the cucumber, slice it into half long ways, then slice in half once more creating 4 long pieces. Remove the little nub from each end and angle your knife in a little and slice each piece on a bias. Remove the end from the green onion and slice the same way as the cucumber. Finally, slice the red onion very thin and toss everything together. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the dressing.

WEEKLY FUEL: TOFU STIR FRY

2011-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

I have a treat this week in the form of two weekly fuel post's. I did not have time to post yesterday due to a class. Which brings us to the reason for two posts this week. Last night I taught a knife skills class to a talented bunch of home chefs(the most hard core breed in my opinion, since they do it for free, day in and day out). So the post for today is going to be a tofu stir fry. Tomorrow I will be presenting you with 5 recipes and pictures of techniques. I would love to say there will be videos but I cant promise that. The amount of involvement in tomorrows post is exactly why it's going up tomorrow. Now, today's Tofu stir fry is kinda cool because my mom cooked up a batch and provided me with pictures. I gave her the recipe yesterday. Mom and dad transformed into a prepping machine and knocked out a double batch. It looked delicious and from what I here it was. This is a dish that I would make for my wife and I all the time, I once made it on one of my trips home and now it is a favorite. It has quite a bit of knife work, so if you want to double this recipe and freeze the left overs in single serving bags, it works well. I hope you enjoy this family favorite Remember tomorrow there will be 5 recipes and some knife work demonstration in the form of pictures. Maybe video if I can figure it out.

Tofu stir fry
Yields 8-1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:
1.5 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
1 clove garlic
1tbsp fresh ginger
4 heads baby book choy
1 cup broccoli florets
2 large carrots
1 small can bamboo shoots(drained)
1 small can water chestnuts(drained)
1 package extra firm tofu(1 inch cubes)
1/2 cup orange juice
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin(japanese rice wine)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:
grate the ginger and garlic on a micro plane/rasp grater. set aside
For the knife work: cut the carrots into julienne, halve the water chestnuts, slice the bok choy in half and remove the core then cut into 1 inch pieces, cut broccoli into small florets. Once vegetables are cut, set aside.

Cube the tofu into 1 inch pieces. As an option you could toss the tofu in cornstarch and fry in a medium sized pot, fill the pot 1/2 way with coconut oil or vegetable oil, heat the oil to 325 degrees and place 5 or six pieces of coated tofu in at a time. Fry until it turns a light golden brown, remove to a paper towel to let drain, repeat until it is all cooked. You can also just put the tofu in the saucy vegetables to heat through to save on fat.

For the stir fry: heat the 1.5 tbsp of oil in a large saute pan or stove top wok. Once it reaches a med-high heat add the garlic and ginger, cook for about 1 min until aromatic. Now add your broccoli and carrots and cook 2 to 3 min until the color starts to turn vibrant. Add the bok choy and cook 2 more minutes. Now add the water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and cook for 2 more minutes. In a bowl mix all the liquids together, reserve 2 tbsp of it and pour the rest into the vegetables, cover and let cook until the vegetables are al dente. Be sure to not have your heat to high so you don't lose any liquid through reduction or evaporation. Mix 2 tbsp corn starch into the reserved liquid, once the vegetables are cooked, bring the liquid to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture.
Cook until it is thick and glazes the vegetables. Now add the tofu, cook until tofu is hot, and it's coated with sauce. You can eat this with rice or on it's own. To keep healthy enjoy this with some steamed brown rice or your favorite whole grain.

Nutrition Facts

CRB
tofu stir fry

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories

134

Total Fat

7.4g

Saturated Fat

3.5g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

0mg

Sodium

434mg

Carbohydrate

10.9g

Dietary Fiber

2.5g

Sugars

5.2g

Protein

6.9g

Vitamin A 100%	Vitamin C 34%
Calcium 6%	Iron 8%

BEER:30 ISSUE #5 MOYLANS CHELSEA PORTER

2011-01-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid there is no story along with this BEER:30 review. I picked this porter simply because I love it and would say its one of my favorite porters of all time. Well, I guess there is something else to talk about. I have a race coming up, it's the first race of the year. It's held in Mountain View, Arkansas, they call it the, "Sylamore 50k trail run". I ran this last year in 8:03:17, my goal time is set at 7:30. I really want to set a lower time goal but, i will shock myself if i do better than 7:30. Shaving 30 minutes in one year's time is a B.F.D. My excitement for Sylamore is almost too much to handle. The trail out in Mountain View makes this run spectacular. The fact that Sylamore was the first ultra I ever ran doesn't hurt its chances of staying in the top 5. Training is going very well and with the recent addition of a strict low calorie diet and daily yoga, I am feeling stronger than ever. The race is on February, 19th, 2011, one day after my 29th birthday. Be sure to keep on the lookout for the race report shortly after race day.

"GET TO THE BEER ALREADY"

Moylans Chelsea porter pours very dark black but held up to the lights you get some red hues. The head is dense with a cappuccino color. Already the beer is sexy and we haven't even smelled it. First thing that happens is the right jab of chocolate. When I say chocolate don't think heresy's bar, more like dark chocolate, bitter sweet and hints of berry. The second thing that struck my nose is coffee. These are very typical descriptions for a porter. If you've never had a porter, you may be thinking that this beer is going to be really bitter, thick, and strong. Well, it's not true. Chelsea porter has a nice carbonation that lightens all the strong bitter profiles in the nose. With that carbonation you really get to enjoy a clean coffee and chocolate flavor. It's not too cloying on your palette. This is not a beer that takes 20 minutes to drink nor is it a "i'll just have one" type of beer. Just a side note, Moylan's Chelsea Porter was just in BEER magazine and received 90/100 points in there rating section. Get out there and find this one while its cold. I would like to try something with those following along, my next BEER:30 will be the Moylan's White Christmas Spiced Winter Ale. It would be cool if you picked one of these up when your made the trip for Chelsea porter. This way we can start a discussion on what we all think about it. Let's make this interactive. I Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. GO BEARS!!

WEELY FUEL: STUFFED CHILIS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES

2011-01-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday, I was treated to a post run snack, courtesy of my dad. As far back as I can remember my dad has been cooking peppers and eggs, and I love it. The peppers caramelize and become sweeter. Scramble that up with cheesy eggs, it's a winner in my book. This last trip I received something different. That nostalgic dish was wrapped up in these little pepper blankets. I am going to be honest, it kinda blew my mind when I first laid eyes on it. This is not to say I have never seen a chile rellano, its just that the rellano is normally seen fried. Which is a quick cooking method not giving the egg time to leak. After I relayed my disbelief that those peppers couldn't have been cooking back there on the stove for 10 minutes at least, and no egg was spilled. I was reassured that that was indeed the case and then it was explained to me. I was swiftly overcome with the feeling, "Why didn't i think of that". Then the thought, how can I make this healthier, so I can eat it all the time. That brings us to present day and I have successfully overcome all of the above. The tomatoes in the picture and recipe below was made out of necessity of a more attractive plate. They did more than that it completes the dish, now all we need is a piece of toast with apple butter and a hot cup of coffee. I will see you at the breakfast table, enjoy!

Stuffed Anaheim chile
Serves 3

Ingredients:
6 medium size Anaheim peppers
7 egg whites
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 slices 100% whole wheat bread
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Slice a 1/4 inch off the stem side of the pepper, remove the seeds with a paring knife(careful not to break the pepper). In a bowl crack and separate 7 eggs, discard the yolks. Whisk whites and salt and pepper with the cheese, set aside. Remove the crust from the bread and cut into half. To assemble, fill a pepper 3/4 full and smoosh the bread to create a plug gently lay on a plate and repeat until all the peppers are full. Heat a heavy pan to med-hi, add oil to the pan and let heat up. Once the oil shimmers add the peppers and cook about 7-8 minutes turning frequently to brown and blister the skin. Once browned place in a 350 degree oven for 10 min until the peppers plump up and the eggs are cooked. Serve whole or cut on a bias to display the egg. Accompany the peppers with roasted tomato.

Nutrition Facts

CRB
stuffed anaheim

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per ServingCalories216

Total Fat7.9g Saturated Fat2.5g Trans Fat0gCholesterol13mgSodium826mgCarbohydrate19.2g Dietary Fiber2g Sugars5.3gProtein19.7g

Vitamin A 123%	Vitamin C 255%
Calcium 40%	Iron 4%

Roasted Tomato
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 med sized vine ripened tomatos
1 tbsp olive oil
6 sprigs oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Slice the tomatoes into 1 inch thick slices, coat a heavy pan with half the olive oil, lay out the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, strop the leaves from the sprig over the tomatoes, and then drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven for about 15 -20 minutes. Serve immediately or chill for a salad.

Nutrition Facts

CRB
Roasted tomatos

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per ServingCalories47

Total Fat2.7g Saturated Fat0.4g Trans Fat0gCholesterol0mgSodium4mgCarbohydrate5.4g Dietary Fiber0.9g Sugars3gProtein0.8g

Vitamin A 15%	Vitamin C 30%
Calcium 2%	Iron 2%

BEER:30 ISSUE #4 SAMUEL SMITH'S WINTER WELCOME ALE

2011-01-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

On a recent run around the neighborhood I realized that it is as cold as a witches tit(pardon my out of date metaphor for the severity of the temperature). Couple that with a walk through the store and you have my arrival at this weeks BEER:30. Since Little Rock's winter is just starting it seems appropriate we drink the Winter Welcome. I look forward to the coming of this beer every year. Samuel Smith always pleases in my opinion.

As the beer hit the glass I noticed quit a bit of carbonation. Lots of tiny bubbles flying to the top to create an off white head with medium density. It has a nice light amber color with hints of golden hue. The aroma that this beer gives off is not what you or i would expect from a winter welcomer. Apricot leads the way on the nose following with caramel malts. All in all this beer is fruity, I get a little stewed cherry along with the apricot. All of that fruit carries into my first taste, but it is transformed by a creaminess almost like a curd of apricot. The malt and hops are balanced to give a slight grilled lemon characteristic to this beer. The toasty malt gives that caramelized citrus flavor and the bitterness of the hops offer that of the citrus itself. Winter Welcome finishes crisp and dry. It is not your typical winter beer and I think that is why I like it so much. Thank you Samuel Smith for offering something different, and breaking the monotony of the normal winter beer. It's a long season and it can get tiresome drinking the same style over and over.

Well, I am going to the couch to finish this beer comfortably, then it is off to bed. I have an early run of around 15 cold trail miles, i just hope thoughts of the Winter Welcome warms enough to stay out of ice cube status.

CHEESY LASAGNA WITHOUT THE GUILT

2011-01-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

I love lasagna, come to think about, who doesn't? It has everything we crave cheese, pasta, sauce, sometimes the trifecta of meat(pork, veal, and beef). On the other hand, Putting in 10 to 12 hours of training a week, I don't want to see it spoiled by a 900 calorie slice of lasagna. If your in the same boat as me or simply want to try a different recipe for this classic dish, your in luck. This is like a cross between eggplant parmesan and lasagna. Well, I just checked it and it looks delicious. Leaving the pasta and meat out we can go all out on the cheese and feel good about it. The recipe still has a good bit of fat, but fat is not as bad as most think, it is it is an important part of our diet so take comfort in that. If the amount of fat makes you uncomfortable, You could use 2% mozzarella and leave out the goat cheese. I personally love good cheese so I went all out. I hope you enjoy this, and please leave me feedback on how it turns out. Of course questions are welcome and encouraged.

Eggplant lasagna
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 eggplant(roasted)
2 zucchini(roasted)
10 spears asparagus(roasted)
2 cups tomato sauce(see recipe or use your favorite jar)
1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2/3 cup parmesan cheese(grated or shredded)
4 oz goat cheese
1 ball of fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Trim the ends off the eggplant and cut it in half cross ways, then slice in 1/4 inch slices. Toss with 3 table spoons salt and then lay out on a cooling rack set on a cookie tray, place another cookie tray on top of eggplant and weigh down with cans or bags of flour. Let this sit for an hour. This step removes the bitterness that eggplant has. While the eggplant sits mix the parm, ricotta, and goat cheese, set aside. Slice the zucchini the same as the eggplant. Now rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Place the eggplant and zucchini on a sheet tray and spray with olive oil pan spray and season, roast in a 400 degree oven until slightly browned (about 20 minutes). do the same for the asparagus on a separate tray (only cook the asparagus until it is bright green and tender). Put a couple spoons of sauce on the bottom of an 8" by 8" lay out slices of eggplant, zucchini and asparagus to cover the bottom. Top with sauce and cheese mixture then repeat until all is used and the pan is full to the top. Slice the mozzarella into 7 or 8 slices and put on top. Place in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the top is nice and bubbly brown. I like to let my lasagna sit for about 20 min to settle because it makes slicing way easier. Slice into 6 pieces and serve with a salad.

Nutrition Facts

cookrunbeer
eggplant lasagna

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories

313

Total Fat

18.9g

Saturated Fat

11.3g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

58mg

Sodium

254mg

Carbohydrate

17.9g

Dietary Fiber

6.3g

Sugars

6.6g

Protein

1.7g

Vitamin A 20%	Vitamin C 26%
Calcium 35%	Iron 8%

Tomato sauce
Yields 6 cups
Ingredients:
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can tomato puree
1-12 oz can tomato paste
4 sprigs oregano
3 cups water

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a pot and saute the sliced onions about4 minutes, add the tomato past and reduce the Heat to low. Cook the paste for about 5 min to caramelize and develop a sweetness in the tomato. Add the puree, water, and oregano and cook about 30 minutes or until the acidity is reduced and the sauce is thick and rich. You could omit the olive oil to cut the fat to 0g. just cook the tomato paste with a little water to the same state then add everything at once and cook as directed.

Snow Run

2011-01-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

Pinnacle Mountain from afar

This will be a quick post. It's getting late and I am in need of a shower. I split my run today, not on purpose but it happened to work great. I'm thinking of doing this more often. My number one agenda is to share the pictures I took on the earlier run/snow climb. A while back I was talking to man on the trail. We were swapping stories of running and trips up Pinnacle. I was climbing Pinnacle 3 to 5 times a week at that time. He mentioned that he made the accent to 1,020 feet, In every weather condition. The man went on to list; 110 degrees. 20 degrees, stormy weather, perfect weather and snow. I was not aware that his story stuck with me until this afternoon. Seeing the snow accumulate, and reading my favorite running blog, Riding the Wind. I was immediately jolted with energy. Nothing pumps me up to run more than reading Anton Krupicka's blog "Riding The Wind". I realized I have never ascended pinnacle in the snow and since I'm leaving Little Rock in March, it was a no brainer. I jumped up filled my bottle with water, put on some warm gear and headed out to shovel my way up the court. I live on a 12% graded hill. It was not easy, once I got to the base of the accent, footing was a guesstimate. It took 34 minutes to summit, my fastest time is 13 minutes. Heading down took about 22 minutes, with my fastest time being 9 minutes to get to the trail head. The trip around was a normal 12 to 13 minutes. For the condition I was pleased, although I'm sure that my time could be beat with another shot. Today was a great day for running, the trail was beautiful, the weather was brisk and clean. As for my evening run, all that I can say is, "I had the road to myself." Check back tomorrow, I am making eggplant lasagna for dinner and would love to share the recipe with you.

This is looking down from the base of the summit.

Looking up at the base of the summit.

The view from the top.

Heading down

over looking the valley

what could beat this

A foot in the deep snow

BEER:30 ISSUE #3 Infinium by Sam Adams and Weihenstephan

2011-01-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

I would like to start off by first apologizing for being away for so long. I realize that no one will come back to read this blog if I don't write anything. Problem noted and deemed correctible. Now to the meat and potatoes of this post. About 30 minuets ago I cracked an Infinium, this is a collaboration between Jim Koch of Samuel Adams, and Josef Schradler of Weihenstephan(the oldest brewery in the world). I love, love, love this beer. The color, the head, the taste, the aroma. Everything about this beer is exciting, regardless of what all the snobby single, ponytail wearing beer snobs on rate beer think. Rate Beer gave this a 87 score, I disagree. Side note; Rate beer is a wonderful site, it is my go to rating site when we are purchasing beer for the store, all hail rate beer!

Now, what do I think and why do I recommend this beer? As the beer hits the glass I immediately notice the beautiful honey color, reminiscent of the tub of local Petite Jean honey in my pantry. It has a nose full of tropical fruit and orange with a little background straw/wheat characteristic. The first thing I noticed on my pallet was, sweet honey and tropical/orange with the malt and carbonation rounding it out giving that luxurious mouth feel, All capped off with a nice acidity. Exactly like a perfectly balanced dessert wine. The carbonation is cleansing to not let the sugar become so cloying. It finishes clean and crisp leaving you with round tropical malty loveliness. The only mistake I made with this one is opening it by myself. Once opened it must be drunk, so I did. Now I am left to think about my 30+ mile mountain bike ride tomorrow at 10am. On second thought it is totally worth it and the sip i just took verified that. You must go out and find this beer it is delicious, but hurry before it is all gone.

New Belgium Beer Tasting Tonight

2010-12-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I just wanted to spread the word to all the Little Rockiens about a beer tasting tonight. Jeff Sipes of New Belgium brewery will be at Creegan's irish pub in Argenta, sampling the brewery's offerings.
The tasting is from 6pm to 8pm I am not sure if there is a price of admission, I couldn't find any evidence of one. I love New Belgium so I will be there with my tasting shoes. While your there, stay and have a bite to eat. The food is great! As for the weekly segment beer:30, stay tuned tomorrow to hear about the tasting as well as a review of one of my favorite seasonal beers New Belgium Frambozen. I am off for a run on the Ouachita trail, hope to see you there.

Combating the cold weather at the dinner table

2010-12-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

The temperature has dropped and the uniform has changed. I've added gloves, hat and jacket, before heading out the door. My runs are ending in thoughts of hot soup and warm baths rather than cold beer and swimming pools. I love this time of year because it really lets you know how committed you are. Besides, All it takes is another layer of clothing, to get out there and log the miles. Why fight it when you can reward yourself with this hearty low fat chili. Did I mention that it is almost easier than opening a can? I hope you enjoy this recipe and no matter what your winter activity, this should warm you up when your finished.

White Bean & Turkey Chili
Yields 6/1.5 cup servings

Ingredients:
1 pound 99% fat free ground turkey
2 cans canellini beans(drained and rinsed)
2 yellow onions(small diced)
1 1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
2 tbsp turmeric
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground red chili
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp ground cumin
salt to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a deep pot, add the onions and saute until they turn translucent and smell sweet. Add the turkey, mushrooms, and beans. Cook for about 2 min then add the chicken stock and all the spices. Cook for 1 hour to reduce the liquid about 1/3. Season with salt to your preference.

Topping: Mix 1/2 chopped avocado and 2 tbsp fat free sour cream to create a chunky avocado sour cream. I also topped the chili with 1/4 cup 2% cheese. Nutrition facts do not include toppings.

Facts for 1.5 cups; Cals. 216 Fat. 4.2g Sat. Fat. 0.4g Cholesterol 47mg Sodium. 287mg

Carbs. 19.6g Dietary Fiber 5.4g Sugar. 4.3g Protien. 27.1g

Vit. A. 10% Vit. C. 6% Calcium 6% Iron 14%

2010-11-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

ROASTED ONION BURGER

Serves 2

Ingredients:

6 ounces 93/7 ground beef

2 ounces mashed black beans

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp worchestershire

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

4 slicesroasted sweet onions

2 slices smoked cheddar

2 pieces natures own deli thins

Mix everything together and form into 2 patties. Put in therefrigerator while the onions roast

To roast onions you will need 1 onion sliced into 1-inchslices. Heat oven to 425 and brush a baking sheet with olive oil, then brushthe topside of the onion and season with salt and pepper put in the oven forabout 20 to 25 min. they should be soft and caramelized on the pan side.

Facts For 1 Burger Fully Dressed

Cals. 421 Fat. 16.5g Sat. Fat. 6.1g Cholesterol. 62mg Sodium. 2796mg

Carbs. 41.6g Dietary fiber. 11.7g Sugars. 6.5g Protein. 30.3g

Vit. A 4% Vit. C. 8% Calcium 21% Iron. 27%

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

2 sprigs thyme

1 clove garlic

Heat oven to 425.

Cut the potatoes into desired shape and put in a bowl. Mincethe garlic and thyme together and put in bowl toss together with the olive oiland season with salt and pepper.

Lay out on a baking tray and bake about 20 to 25 min (youcan bake at the same time as the onions on the same tray).

Facts for 1/2 the recipe

Cals. 128 Fat. 5.2g Sat. Fat. 0.9g Cholesterol. 0mg Sodium. 1160mg

Carbs. 18.9g Dietary fiber. 3.1g Sugars. 7.6g Protein. 2g

Vit. A 346% Vit. C. 29% Calcium 5% Iron. 4%

ARUGULA SALAD

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 cups arugula or rocket in certain parts of the country

1 tbsp oliveoil

½ Meyer lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

If you have a grill fired up you can brush the cut side ofthe lemon with olive oil and place on a warm spot on the grill to get a grillmark and some grill flavor.

Place aruglua in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil andsqueeze the lemon over top season with salt and pepper.

*You can dress this with whatever you like. Being in LittleRock right now all of my friends seem to have an abundance of arugula.Personally, I don’t want to ruin a nice fresh picked lettuce with anything morethan citrus and oil.

Facts for 1/2 the recipe:

Cals. 54 Fat. 4.5g Sat. Fat. 0.8g Cholesterol. 0mg Sodium. 12mg

Carbs. 2.8g Dietary fiber. 0.6g Sugars. 1.4g Protein. 1g

Vit. A 20% Vit. C. 22% Calcium 8% Iron. 3%

BEER:30 ISSUE #2

2010-11-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I feel like being lazy today, but that won't stop me from delivering the "Beer :30" this Friday. My beverage of choice, a Sierra Nevada "Celebration". The celebration is a fresh hop ale that hits on all parts of the pallete.

The Nose:
Right out of the gate I am excited pouring the beer. It pours a dark honey color with a nice tan head that is dense, frothy and creamy. At first it has an immediate piney smell with floral notes (something that most fresh hop ales have.) As my nose dips deeper into the glass and I put on my serious hat, I am greeted with a grilled citrus aroma. Could these aromas get any better? The anwer is yes. That citrus smell turns to a roasted honey with a hint of malted toffee. Wow! I havent even taken a sip yet...I can't imagine what lies ahead with the taste.
The Taste:
The first sip lets me know that I was not imagining things, especially with the grilled citrus. The pronounced hops are nicley balanced by that creaminess and the hint of toffee that those malts are bringing to the table. The celebration finshes long and strong but the parity leaves you wanting more.
The Pairing:
While enjoying my celebration I was doing a little munching, and it just happened to work out beautifully. I reccommend the following: cook a 92% lean buffalo burger, topped it with a piece of smoked white cheddar, roasted onions and substitute that french fry craving with some roasted sweet potatoes. You can accompany this burger with an argula salad ( mine was locally gown in Mrs. Libby's garden )dressed with grilled lemon and olive.Yummy! stay tuned for those recipes on monday.

CookRunBeer say's

Pour it, Drink it, and Enjoy it.

WEEKLY FUEL # 1 THANKSGIVING EDITION RECIPES DAY 3

2010-11-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

Cauliflower Gratin

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

2 oz goat cheese

1/3-cup light sour cream

1 pinch garlic powder

1 pinch onion powder

1 pinch chili flake

1-cup cheddar cheese (and cheese that melts nicely willwork)

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, while the water is coming toa boil cut the cauliflower into small florets. Once the water has reached aboil, salt it and add the cauliflower. Cook at a full boil, about 8 to 0 minuntil it is soft but has a little firmness (you don’t want to cook it untilit’s mush). Place 1 cup of thecooked and drained cauliflower in a food processor with the other ingredientsand puree until it is smooth. Fold together with the remaining cauliflower and adjustthe seasoning with salt. Put the cauliflower mixture in a oven safe crock orpan. Top with the crust mixture and bake at 425 for 10 min, until the top isgolden brown.

Crust

Ingredients:

3-1 inch slices multigrain bread (use bread from the bakerynot pre sliced)

1/3 cup Parmesan

Directions:

Dry the bread in a 250-degree oven for about 20 min. put ina food processor with the cheese and blend until it is a fine crumb.

Cals. 199 Fat. 11.1g Sat. Fat. 6.4g Cholesterol 33mg Sodium. 388mg

Carbs. 13.6g Dietary Fiber 2.2g Sugar. 2.8g Protien. 12g

Vit. A. 9% Vit. C. 39% Calcium 20% Iron 6%

WEEKLY FUEL # 1 THANKSGIVING EDITION RECIPES DAY 2

2010-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

Beans and Beans

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1-pound fresh green beans

3 green onions

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tbsp apricot preserves

2 tsp sriracha

1 can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)

5 sage leaves chopped

1/2 cup water

1 or 2 tsp salt

Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. While the water iscoming to a boil slice the green onions on a bias.

In a pan heat butter, gingerand sage together, cook until the ginger starts to brown,

then add thesriracha, apricot preserves, and water. Cook until the liquid thickens (thiswill happen quickly) remove from heat and add the drained cannelloni beans. Buythis point the water should be at a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 6 to7 min until cooked and still green. While the beans are cooking prepare an icebath, once the beans are cooked remove from pot to the ice bath to shock. Bringthe saucy liquid to a simmer and add the beans and adjust seasoning with apinch or two of salt serve immediately.

Facts for 1/6 recipe

Cals. 79 Fat. 2.3g Sat. fat. 1.2g Cholesterol. 5mg. Sodium. 53mg.

Carbs. 15.2g Dietary Fiber. 5g Sugars 4.2g Protein. 3.7g

Vit. A 14% Vit. C 26% Iron. 9% Calcium. 5%

WEEKLY FUEL # 1 THANKSGIVING EDITION RECIPES

2010-11-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

Braised brussel sprouts with dates and walnuts

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

2-14 oz packages brussel sprouts

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2/3-cup chicken stock (I use kitchen basics unsalted)

1/3-cup water

5 dates peeled and diced

10 clicks of fresh ground pepper or 1 tsp

1 to 2 tsp salt

Directions:

Heat the butter in a wide heavy bottom pan on medium high(it’s important the pan is big enough so the sprouts do not stack up on topeach other). Add the walnuts andcook until the butter and the nuts start to turn slightly brown. Add thesprouts and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, brown sugar, and water. Bring itto a simmer and cover. Let cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the center iswarm, once the brussel is warm remove them from the pan with the slotted spoonleaving as mush of the liquid in the pan as possible. Turn the heat to high andreduce the liquid for about 2 or 3 minutes until it becomes shinny and is thicklike a glaze. Add the dates and the brussels back into the pan and toss to warmthe brussels check your seasoning and serve immediately

facts for 1/6 servings
Cals.185 Fat.8.5g Sat. fat.2.9g Cholesterol.10mg Sodium.27mg
Carbs.25.7mg dietary fiber.5.4g Sugars.15.2g Protein. 5.5g

WEEKLY FUEL

2010-11-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, for the inaugural edition of "Weekly Fuel" we are going to have a special Thanksgiving theme, The theme, trading some of those coma inducing starched sides for a side that is lighter,tastier and yes a vegetable. I am probably not alone when I say, "I am tired of falling into a deep coma before I can even leave the table". I blame the following; 3 types of sweet potatoes, 2 types of white potatoes, 2 pasta dishes, and 3 types of stuffing. Now I am not saying I don't like all that goodness but, usually the veggies at the table are just steamed afterthoughts. How do you know if your making an after thought? Let me tell you, I am here to free your table of this tragedy by offering a recipe for each of the 3 remaining days before Thursday.

All the recipes I have for you are easy enough that they actually can be after thoughts but do not have to sacrifice the taste and still be healthy. I can't guarantee a coma free, Thanksgiving especially if you just add these to the arsenal and eat 8.5 plates. However, this should get you on your way to making it through the parade, all the football games and that great game of Scattagories after coffee and pie. I hope you enjoy all of these offerings. The first recipe will follow this posting and tune in Tuesday and Wednesday for the remaining recipes.

Monday-Brussel sprouts with walnuts and medjool dates

Tuesday-Spicy green beans with ginger

Wednesday-Cauliflower and goat cheese gratin

CookRunBeer says

"Happy thanksgiving

and burn a calorie or two, so you can enjoy all of that quality time with your family"

IT'S BEER:30 EVERYBODY

2010-11-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

THIS BEER MAKES ME WANT TO JUMP INTO A PILE OF LEAVES!

The season is changing again and the temperature is dropping, bring on the dark malty beers. Shiner Cheer drinks a lot lighter than it looks. Pouring as a dark pecan color, you would expect a little chocolate or coffee or possibly both. Instead this beer is surprisingly refreshing, the Texas peaches add a nice bright acidity and a slight sweetness, that is backed up from the malted barley and wheat. The roasted pecans add a nice nutty characteristic creating a well balanced beer. All said and done there will be 6 or so of these in my fridge all season long.

Let me tell you about the little snack to go with this deliciousness. I toasted a piece of pumpernickel bread, cut it into little bite size squares and smeared it with cambozola cheese, topping it with a teaspoon of apricot preserves. The apricot preserve made the beer seem a little sweeter and peachier. Teamed up with the beer, they worked together to cut the bitterness and pungency of the cheese. All the while, the nuttiness of the bread the nuts in the brewing process just rounded out the whole experience to make the perfect bite and sip combo. Out of this world.

YEA BEER

CookRunBeer says

Buy it, drink it, enjoy it.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

2010-11-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, just a heads up i will be posting the first BEER:30 segment.
I will be reviewing the Spoetzl brewery's holiday seasonal Shiner Cheer .

Cooking Up The First Run

2010-11-18T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hello world ! John Leonardis here. Recently I have had many changes in life. I transitioned from 12 years of working in the busy restaurant industry to a more relaxed career and way of life. With this change came the realization that I love things other than cooking. What started as being outdoors in the woods hiking turned into a little jogging here and there. A little over a year ago I ran my first 5K race. Since then I have been able to build my running miles up to doing 50K ultra runs. With this addiction I have set a new goal. To run my first 100 mile race by the time I am 32 (in 3 years.) With this new goal I would like to take you along for the run.

As a reader, the question you are probably asking yourself is "What do you have to offer me in return for all of my support?" It's simple.With all this running I am noticing how much diet effects your running. As a chef, I have become accustomed to eating food that always tastes good, but may not be the best fuel for a run ( i.e. fatty foods.) To remedy that problem, I have been tweaking all of my favorite dishes to make them more healthier and I would like to share them with you. I will be posting weekly healthy dishes for the health conscious runner or anyone for anyone who is looking for healthy recipes in their diet.

Along with the "Weekly fuel" segment of healthy recipes. I will bring to you in a frosty mug of course, weekly beer reviews and food pairings.

Here are some other tastes of what to expect all my journey to 100miles ultra run:

training posts
race reports
cheat meals worth eating
video recipes(in the future)
product reviews
and any other thoughts i may have

Thank you in advance for stopping by and please leave your comments. I would love to provide any knowlege I have and if you have any questions or comments...please don't be shy. This is a place to learn, learn and live a healthy lifestyle withough sacrificing the true flavors of food. Well,I am off for a run, but tune in on friday for the first beer review.

Good Talk,

John