Zopf

At last nights Easter Saturday "Think globally - Drink locally" wine tasting at the Yellow Beacon, this nut bread went over quite well.

Ingredients:

Doug

• 500ml warm milk
• 200g soft butter
• 150g sugar
• 1000g flour
• 1 egg
• yeast
• 0.5 tsp. salt
• 1 tblsp oil

Mix all ingredients to form a soft yeast dough.  Let rise in warm location until doubled in size (tupperware with lid works well)

Filling

• 100g ground almonds or hazelnuts
• 100g sugar
• tsp rum, almond extract or vanilla
• tsp cinnamon
• enough water to make mixture spreadable

Roll out dough into two rectangular shapes of about 0.5cm thickness.  Spread filling evenly onto rectangles.  Cut each rectangle into 3 stripes lengthwise.  Roll up strips so that filling is in the middle.  Pinch seams shut.  Braid 3 rolls into a loaf. Repeat with remaining 3 rolls.

Bake in preheated oven at 165C for about 45min or until golden brown.  If desired, brush braids with egg yolk before baking or cover braids with sugar glaze after baking. 

2015 New Year's Resolutions

It seems I get later and later every year with jotting down my resolutions for the New Year.  Not that I haven't been thinking about them.  2015 will be a year of big goals and changes... But first, since I don't even remember my last year's resolutions, lets have a look how I did:

2014 In Review

Goal #1: Marathon time of under 4h! I signed up for the Abottsford Run For Water Marathon 25 May and are aiming to train for an under 4h time!
(Oops, while I did run the marathon and had loads of fun, I did not make the time to train as much as I should and didn't focus on a PB)

Goal #2:

• Follow training routine for the marathon.  (oops, as above)
• Consistently run 4 times a week (hm, I think 2 runs a week are more realistic. Because of a small injury, I did not run as much as planned)
• mid week runs consisting of one 10km tempo run and one speed work out  (as above)
• weekend runs, ideally two, including one distance run according to the marathon training schedule. (as above, I did keep up my endurance to be able to run 2hs though)
• follow training plan (nope)
• increase pace (do not skip the interval/speed training) - (argh, although, I think I have become a tad faster and have started running with 2 friends in the hope they'd push the pace)
• do not get injured (oops again - I think that was the main damper on my enthusiasm. Hamstring/gluteus irritation seems to finally get better)
• lose another 5kg (hm, need to work on that still)

Goal #3: Participating in the Vancouver New Years Day Fat Ass - custom course of at least 25km - done

Goal # 4: Participating in at least the following other events/races:

• Capilano Canyon MardiGras Night Run - done
• Mountain Highway Madness - done
• Capilano Canyon Midsummer Nite Night Run - done
• Pure Satisfaction - done

Goal #5: run the Trans-Canada Trail. Ideally, parts from Coquitlam to the Coquihalla Summit that I've never been on - not done

Goal # 6: 1 peak in the Peak Bagger Challenge (anticipating being on the road for my marathon training, so keep this one low key) - done, Fromme Mountain with Penny and Hollyburn with Killaine

Goal # 7: ride my bike to work 3x week - weather permitting - done, likely averaged more with the exception of a couple of icy or otherwise heinous weather weeks in November and December!

Goal #8: add a weight/strength routine to my schedule (2x a week at home with free weights and balance ball)  Started out well with this, then waned, then started again with abs and squat challenges, but found I was generally just tired towards the end of the year.  This has to change!

Goal # 9: stretch at least 5 timse a week (focus on calfs, hips and hamstrings) as above, started out well and then somehow lost interest...now everything is so tight, it is not even funny!

Goal #10: Add some other sports to the mix occasionally, ie. skiing , snowshoing, inline skating, badminton, kayaking, swimming, Ultimate. Realistically, I won't have time to add this into a weekly routine, but doing something different every once in a while would be nice.  Well, we ended up mountain biking in Moab.

Goal #11: volunteer for Kneeknacker again (aidstation captain at Cleveland Dam) - done

Goal #12: swim in the ocean at least once a week in the warmer month - hm, I have to try hard to remember...oh right, the beaches in North Van were closed for most of the warm summer months.  That was a real bummer. I did swim Hotel Lake lengthwise with KC and Teresa during one of William's camping weekends.

Goal # 13: have a big athletic adventure of some kind: overnight hiking/snowshoe/bike/kayak trip (or something along those lines) - I think Moab counts, as well as the circle bike route with Wendy from West Van, via Sechelt to Powell River, Comox and Nanaimo and the Cathedral Lakes overnight hiking tour with Ean.

And what are my resolutions for 2014?

Goal #1: This is a non-athletic goal that will supersede all other goals for this year. I am enrolled in the Re-Entry for RN's Program at Thompson Rivers University. This will take all of 2015 and then some. The courses will require about 30 hours of study time per week. I scaled my work days back to 4 and will put my head down...Yikes, nervous!

Goal # 2:

• keep up my running routine of at least 2 weekly runs. 
• do not get injured 
• lose another 5kg 

Goal # 3: Participating in the Vancouver New Years Day Fat Ass - custom course 17km - done

Goal # 4: Participating in at least the following other events/races:

• Capilano Canyon MardiGras Night Run 
• Mountain Highway Madness 
• Capilano Canyon 
• Midsummer Nite Night Run 
• Pure Satisfaction 

Goal # 5: 1 peak in the Peak Bagger Challenge (likely no time for more given my studies)

Goal # 6: continue to ride my bike to work 3x week - weather permitting

Goal # 7: add a weight/strength routine to my schedule (2x a week at home with free weights and balance ball)

Goal # 8: stretch at least 5 times a week (focus on calfs, hips and hamstrings)

Goal # 9: If studies go well and Kneeknacker date does not interfere with courses, volunteer for Kneeknacker again (aidstation captain at Cleveland Dam). This is a stretch goal and might have to give.

Goal # 10: swim in the ocean at least once a week in the warmer month

Goal # 11: have a big athletic adventure of some kind: overnight hiking/snowshoe/bike/kayak trip (or something along those lines)

Goal # 12: Start working on a book I have in mind about my adventures as bike commuter - again this might be a stretch goal given the studies, but I want to at least collect ideas as they come up and have an outline.

Abbotsford's Run For Water

Abbotsford's Run For Water Under My Feet:

• apprehension yesterday due to injury and not putting as much training in as I had planned
• sleepless night. Afraid to miss the 4:00am alarm
• getting up that early was astoundingly easy
• I had prepared a breakfast to take along and coffee for the drive. Coffee making didn't quite work out as I forgot to put the lid on the automatic coffee maker. Ended up with an interesting brew
• good that I gave myself ample time to get to the late race packet pickup, stretch of the highway was closed overnight and required a detour though BBY and Coquitlam.
• pre race routine falls into place. Not many runners milling about. No lineups for start numbers
  or portapotties. 
• start at 7:00. No jostling for space.

• course winds out of town quickly and leads through mostly agricultural land with small farms, cows in barns, horses. Beautiful kept gardens and a very intense smell. 
• aid stations are plentiful and manned with enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. Course is marked every km and there are motivational signs posted even more often. It seems like the whole community is fundraising for clean water for villages in Ethiopia
• What a nice little marathon
• set out too fast for my training with km splits from 5:09 to 5:30 for the first few kms. Figured I seize up after about 21km anyway. Pain in my left hamstring is constant but not getting worse
• having fun and enjoying the scenery, including an abundance of redwing black birds. The weather is perfect, coolish. Light rain starting at about the 1/2 marathon point just over 2 hours in.
• slowing down until passed by a runner who I decided to hang onto. Nice conversation with this marathon virgin who is running for his 50th birthday. We pick up the pace, but eventually he drops back.
• Nice to see Ryan Hill, my physio, cheering along the course. Hang on, he wanted to run this thing....
• pick up a young dude who hit the wall, is in tears and walking. I tell him that it's all mental and will hurt if he walks or runs and 'order' him to start running again . He lasts about 3 km but eventually can't dig deeper.
• trying to pick up the pace for the last 10km but don't have it in me. Digging deep to not walk.
• still, picking off a few suffering half marathoners. Trying to hang on to a woman who by the looks is an experienced runner in my age group. Have to let her go.

• with three Km to go I get passed by a gaggle of East Indian Canadian runners (and their friends running them in) and manage to keep with them.
• Digging deep. Just before the finish chute I pick up another suffering soul and tell him that he can do it. Little did I know that he would fall into a full blown sprint. I fear for my muscles but we cross the finish line together.
• Nicely organised finish area in Mills Lake Park. I load up on food then head to the car to change. The rain is now coming down hard. 
• after putting on some warm clothes I hanker for a coffee and would have liked to mill about the finish area a bit, but I decide against it because of the rain. A bit of a let down end to the run
• happy to have this in the bag... I might have to come back next year for that PB, but for now I will add some more trails to my running routine. Enough asphalt for my legs for awhile. I might even drag Ean out for some yoga with Desmond.
• what is it with the chafing... yowl under the shower...ugh.
• it is not too late to donate on my pledge page for RunForWater. Thanks to all who have chipped in, Kristie, Tundra the Dog and Pat.

New Year's Resolutions, Looking Back and Ahead!

Now that the Christmas and New Year activities are slowly coming to an end, the Christmas Tree is ready to be taken down and the house is in need of a major post holiday clean-up, I thought I'll give my New Year's Resolutions a shot. CBC Radio had a few good pieces on making and keeping resolutions this week and I felt somewhat smug thinking I did good on last year's set.

So here are my 2013 goals and how I did for the past year:

"Despite feeling more like a cyclist than a runner these days, my athletic goals for 2013 centre around running. Together with pals Wendy and Pat, I signed up for the Berlin Marathon, September 29. Ever since the Berlin wall came down, I wanted to run the Berlin marathon and run through the Brandenburg Gate. Growing up in postwar Germany, running under the Brandenburg Gate was not a realistic thing to have on your bucket list ;-) Well, it is on my list for this year and planning for our trip is slowly kicking into gear, as is the training.

Goal #1: Complete the 2013 Berlin Marathon - done, success

Goal #2: Establish a training routine for the marathon done, success

• find time to add 2 weekday runs to my 3 bike commute workouts (this is going to be the most difficult part for me) 
• consistently run at least 1 day on the weekend, with increasing length according to training plan 
• pending a 10km road pace run, obtain training plan from dad (marathon runner, coach and mentor extraordinaire) 
• follow training plan 
• increase pace (do not skip the interval/speed training) 
• do not get injured  - well, while I didn't get a training injury, I had a bad fall, ripping my MCL (grade 3 tear). Was sidelined for 3 months, but the marathon goal helped me to stay focused and work on recovery and later on getting back into running and increasing mileage to the marathon distance. 
• lose weight to (as the skinny boys participating in the Resolution Contest call it) get into fighting shape - done, success, lost 9kg! 

Goal #3: Participating in the Vancouver New Years Day Fat Ass - custom course of at least 10km - done

Goal # 4: Participating in at least the following other events/races:

• Capilano Canyon MardiGras Night Run - done 
• Mountain Highway Madness done - that is where I ripped my knee... 
• XTC 25K - off running because of above 
• Bill's Great Peak Ascent - off trail running because of above 
• Capilano Canyon Midsummer Nite Night Run -  done 
• Go Deep or Go Home -  done 
• Go Deep -  not done 
• Seymour Super Fun Run - not done 
• Pure Satisfaction - done 

Goal #5: run the Trans-Canada Trail. Ideally, parts from Coquitlam to the Coquihalla Summit that I've never been on - not done, as I was very focused on the marathon goal and didn't do much else after getting back on the road

Goal # 6: 1 peak in the Peak Bagger Challenge (anticipating being on the road for my marathon training, so keep this one low key) - done - DePencier Peak with Ean

Goal # 7: ride my bike to work 3x week - weather permitting (I've been averaging 3.5 per week rain or shine in 2012, but will need to adjust to accommodate my marathon training). done

Goal #8: add a weight/strength routine to my schedule (2x a week at home with free weights and balance ball) - hm, did some as part of my rehab and up until the marathon, but have lapsed since

Goal # 9: stretch at least 5 times a week (focus on calfs, hips and hamstrings) Intermittently successful, needs more of a routine still

Goal #10: Add some other sports to the mix occasionally, ie. skiing , snowshoing, inline skating, badminton, kayaking, swimming, Ultimate. Realistically, I won't have time to add this into a weekly routine, but doing something different every once in a while would be nice. Did go swimming in the summer

Goal #11: volunteer for Kneeknacker again (aidstation captain at Cleveland Dam) done

Goal #12: swim in the ocean at least once a week in the warmer month done

Goal # 13: have a big athletic adventure of some kind: overnight hiking/snowshoe/bike/kayak trip (or something along those lines) Family kayak trip in Desolation Sound"

And what are my resolutions for 2014?

Goal #1: Marathon time of under 4h! I signed up for the Abottsford Run For Water Marathon 25 May and are aiming to train for an under 4h time!

Goal #2:

•  Follow training routine for the marathon.  
• Consistently run 4 times a week
• mid week runs consisting of one 10km tempo run and one speed work out  
• weekend runs, ideally two, including one distance run according to the marathon training schedule.
• follow training plan
• increase pace (do not skip the interval/speed training)
• do not get injured
• lose another 5kg

Goal #3: Participating in the Vancouver New Years Day Fat Ass - custom course of at least 25km - done

Goal # 4: Participating in at least the following other events/races:

• Capilano Canyon MardiGras Night Run
• Mountain Highway Madness
• Capilano Canyon Midsummer Nite Night Run
• Pure Satisfaction

Goal #5: run the Trans-Canada Trail. Ideally, parts from Coquitlam to the Coquihalla Summit that I've never been on

Goal # 6: 1 peak in the Peak Bagger Challenge (anticipating being on the road for my marathon training, so keep this one low key)

Goal # 7: ride my bike to work 3x week - weather permitting

Goal #8: add a weight/strength routine to my schedule (2x a week at home with free weights and balance ball)

Goal # 9: stretch at least 5 timse a week (focus on calfs, hips and hamstrings)

Goal #10: Add some other sports to the mix occasionally, ie. skiing , snowshoing, inline skating, badminton, kayaking, swimming, Ultimate. Realistically, I won't have time to add this into a weekly routine, but doing something different every once in a while would be nice.

Goal #11: volunteer for Kneeknacker again (aidstation captain at Cleveland Dam)

Goal #12: swim in the ocean at least once a week in the warmer month

Goal # 13: have a big athletic adventure of some kind: overnight hiking/snowshoe/bike/kayak trip (or something along those lines)

Hot Pepper Jelly

For the last month or so I have been getting the "warnings" from the family, that "we are almost out of Mama's Special Hot Sauce".

Mama's Special Hot Sauce aka Hot Pepper Jelly is a favourite around our dinner table and comes out of the fridge almost every night.

Whipped up a new batch last night.  Unlike in previous years, I used powered pectin as I only had one package of the liquid left and couldn't find more at the store.

Here is the recipe:

• 8 cups finely chopped red bell peppers (I run them through the food processor
• 20 hot red jalapeno peppers, chopped (used peppers from Ean's crop grown with love in pots on our front porch)
• 2 cups vinegar
• 2 packages certo pectin
• 10 cups (yikes) sugar

Sterilize canning jars and lids.  Mix peppers, hot peppers, and vinegar in large saucepan on high heat. Add pectin.  Stir constantly and bring to a full boil. Add sugar and bring to boil again.  Boil for 1 minute, keep stirring. Remove from heat and laddle into hot jars.  Close jars and wait for the pop when the vaccum builds.

Yummy!

Pizza

 I was asked to divulge my pizza dough recipe.  It is embarrassingly easy:

Ingredients:

Dough

• 500g flour
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 400-500ml warm water

Toppings

• olive oil
• minced garlic (lots and lots if you like)
• sliced fresh tomatoes or sliced soaked dried tomatoes
• sliced red peppers or roasted hot chilies
• fresh garden herbs when available (thyme, oregano, sage, chives work well) or dried herbs
• cheese (feta is nice, but you can switch it up and use cheddar, mozerella or parmesan

Mix all dough ingredients well.  Slowly add the warm water to form a kneadable dough.  Cover and let rise for 1h.  divide into three equal portions.  Roll out thin on cookie sheets or pizza stones.
Drizzle with olive oil, garlic and herb.  Then cover with tomatoes and peppers.  Add cheese.

Bake at 175C - 200C for 20-25 minutes.  

Happy Riding

Happy riding today:

• Unexpected sunshine and beautiful sunrise this morning 
• Love my "social circle" of other riders/walkers:
  
  This morning, the chatty Brit, who almost always passes me somewhere near The Bridge, had a big smile on his face, as did I, as we marveled about the unexpected sunshine.
  
  The disheveled looking young man, who looks like he can hardly make it out of bed, yet there is is every morning on the bridge riding to North Van. Last year, he didn't have a bike light nor a helmet, now he at least rides with a light. Last year he stopped to make room for me to pass, but never made eye contact, now he looks at me and after I sing my "good morning, thank you" at him he raises his hand in a military salute. The stories I invent about him...
  
  The girl who I often see mornings and eves: powerful, lean. Not sure where she is going or from where she is coming, but she must add distance, because sometimes she passes me twice. This afternoon, we ended up waiting at a red light together. I didn't recognize her (I guess I only know how her rear looks) and made a comment about what a nice day it was for riding (we were both soaking wet and the rain was teaming down) and she smiled and happily replied, "yes, it is lovely"...and she wasn't being sarcastic and she was right.
  
  ... and then of course there is the guy who I hardly ever see, but his bike is there rain or shine, summer or winter, parked in the underground at work. He has his spot, I have mine. I worry, when his bike isn't there when I arrive in the morning. Ran into the rider today and I remarked that we are the only ones in the building riding year long. He said, he'll soon won't be there anymore as he is getting transferred to North Van.... I might end up seeing him on The Bridge. 
• How many friendly social interactions did you have on your commute today?
• BTW, no incidents with cars today. In fact, there was hardly any traffic both morning and evening.

Random Commuter Exchange

Interesting exchange this morning.  Me, on my bike in the left turning lane at the red light at the bottom of Fell, preparing to turn left onto Marine.  A couple of cars are ahead of me.  My lights are flashing, I am wearing my yellow biker uniform.  It's still darkish, but not raining.
A car pulls up beside me.  I always have a sixth sense when somebody is going to talk to me out of the car window... anyway, was already expecting a comment when dude, about my age rolls down the window and  says:
"Did your mama not teach you that cycling in traffic like that is dangerous?"
Proud to say that I didn't miss a beat - usually I do ;-) - and responded with:
"Life is dangerous!"
Under different circumstances this could have turned into a lengthy philosophical debate, however, after his response of:
"True, but riding in traffic like that really is dangerous", our lights turned green and we went our merry ways.
And I kept thinking about this all day...

• Dude was friendly.  One could see the comment as a passive-aggressive version of get off the road, cyclists have no business to mingle in traffic... but I didn't pick-up that vibe.
• Dude was genuinely concerned about somebody taking their chances and riding in traffic.  Yes, how else would I bike commute but in traffic.  Reality check, there is no continuous bike route from my home to my work in Burnaby.  It certainly would increase cycling safety to have more cycling infrastructure, but if I wait for bike lanes to be built before daring to hop on my bike...I might be too old to cycle.
• Dude was concerned about me at a relatively low traffic time in bucolic North Van...Hey, he would have really been concerned seeing me 30 min later navigate to the left hand turn lane across three lanes of traffic on Boundary before turning onto Lougheed.  
• It be interesting to see statistics on the dangers of a sedentary life style over the dangers of bike commuting regularly in Vancouver
• He has it all wrong...it's not cycling that is dangerous...it's the cars around the cyclists ;-)

But perhaps, his comment was just a cute pick-up line

Moron Of The Day Award

It's a toss up for the Moron Of The Day Award on the  bike commute home yesterday:

The Translink bus driver going north on Gilmore in the left hand lane turning west onto Lougheed  had it nailed until the unshaven, unkempt dude in a white van told me to get onto the side walk...

The bus incident was gnawing at me most of my ride home. Here is what happened:
I am going north on Gilmore. Traffic is heavy and I am attempting to cross two lanes to position myself in the left hand turn lane. I get cut off a few times despite signalling (it is still light outside and beautifully sunny - visibility is not an issue today), but finally make it into the lane beside the turn lane. Signalling to move left into the turn lane when I notice the aforementioned bus in my rear view mirror barrelling down the left turn lane (probably in an attempt to make the advanced turn signal). When I see the bus I abandon my lane switch. Got a car behind me that wants to make the light. Cars on the right of me moving through the intersection... Bus slows down and I move into the lane (signalling again and just about to give the bus driver a little thank you wave when she honks her horn at me (angrily). WTH. Stopped at the green light now yielding to traffic before turning left. Checking behind me to see what is up with the driver. She is gesticulating wildly and I mouth "where do you want me to go?". Ok, I probably startled her, but I certainly didn't force my way into the lane. She slowed down and I took that as indication that she is allowing me to merge.

Lets think about this for a moment...if I as a bike rider cut off a bus, who do you think will come out as winner?  Correct.  No matter who has the right of way, I will always lose.  Dear bus driver woman, please consider this next time you think you have been wronged by a bike rider.  

You know what irked me the most after the incident and after getting over my fear of being re ended in a road rage incident ?  We took the same route west on Lougheed and then north on Boundary.  I caught up with you when you parked your bus somewhere on Boundary to wait for the schedule to catch up...You weren't even in a hurry or late on your schedule...you were just annoyed with yet another bothersome cyclists.

Tell you what... I have been riding, driving, walking and running accident free all my life.  Considering that I am in my 5th decade, that should account for something.  I am a law abiding citizen, pay my taxes and obey the traffic rules.  I even stop at stop signs, slow down on yellow (am I the only one?), come to a full stop before turning right on red and stop for pedestrians.  3-4 times a week, rain or shine, I take my life into my hands and cycle to work.  I prefer riding over driving for various reasons and only take the car if I have groceries to buy for my family or I don't feel up to fighting the weather.
My commute is about an hour long each way and involves several dangerous intersections, heavy traffic, steep hills, pot holes, debris on the bike path,  the Second Narrow Bridge and streets with no considerations for cyclists.  The reason I have not been injured yet, is not your good driving, it is being constantly on the alert for drivers disobeying rules, not stopping at stop signs, turning right on red without yielding to me, turning left without yielding to me, opening their car doors into my path, swerving out of a parking spot without yielding, cutting me off when turning, passing me scarily close.... You get the picture.  Those dangers are not the exception, they are the rule and reality of cycling on the streets of Metro Vancouver.

I know that cyclists have a bad reputation: they don't signal, they pop up right beside you, they ride without a helmet, they don't have lights, they run red lights, they don't obey the rules...Ok, hang on, do you in your car obey the rules?  Today I witnessed two people stopping at stop signs...that is a record as I usually just see drivers roll through stop signs.  So, when driving becomes civil again in Vancouver, when you stop killing pedestrians and cyclists, then we can start taking about the bad cyclists out there...but they might be dead by then.

Until that time, I just hope that in your hurry and rage, that I won't be your next victim.

As for the moron in the van telling me to get on the side walk, you will see a lot of change in our car oriented culture in the future.  Single occupancy vehicle traffic in our city is not sustainable in the long term.  The changes implemented over the last few years by forward thinking, bike riding Mayor Gregor Robertson are only the beginning. Better get used to alternative methods of transportation and bike riders sharing your lane!

Elisen Lebkuchen (Geman "Gingerbread")

I got this recipe a few years ago, but never tried it until this weekend.  My dad was humming and hawing over Skype that Oma made Elisen Lebkuchen and they were sooo good.  I asked for the recipe and it turned out to be the one I must have asked for a few years ago... Feeling guilty, I roped one of my teenagers and her friend into a baking session.
The original recipe is in German and has "sehr gut" scribbled on it.  And indeed it is "sehr gut", very good.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 150g butter
• 250g Zucker
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cacao
• 1/2 tsp ground gloves
• 200g lemon peel and 200g orange peel - I used 400g finely chopped apricots and prunes)
• 300g ground hazelnuts
• 200g sultanas, soaked in water - I used cranberries
• 1/4 l milk
• 500g flour
• 2 tblsp baking powder
• 4 drops bitter mandel oil - you can find this in European Deli's - Dr. Oetker brand)
• Back Oblaten (7cm circumference) - this is edible paper and you can also find this at an European Deli
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• juice of 1 lemon

Cream butter, sugar and eggs.  Add spices, orange and lemon peel, hazelnuts, sultanas and flour.  Add milk last.  Spread doug about 1cm thick onto Backoblaten.    Place on cookie sheets.
Bake for 20min  at 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees in a convection oven).
Immediately after baking, glaze with mixture made from icing sugar and lemon juice.  Yields 4 baking sheets

German Stollen

4 Stollen (double recipe)

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas bread full of nuts, candied fruit and raisins with a marzipan filling.  Most recipes use yeast, mine calls for Quark and baking powder and I replaced the candied fruits and raisins with dried cranberries.

Ingredients:

• 500g flour
• 1tblsp baking powder
• 275g unsalted butter
• 200g sugar
• a few drops vanilla extract or a packet of vanilla sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tblsp rum
• grated fresh lemon peel
• 1/4 tsp cardamom and nutmeg
• 250g quark (you can substitute with Greek yoghurt)
• 50g pistachios
• 100g walnut pieces
• 100g dried cranberries
• 125g marzipan
• 2 tsp icing sugar

Mix flour and 175g soft butter, add eggs, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, salt, eggs, rum, lemon peel, quark, nuts and cranberries and mix to a dough ball.  Gently roll dough out to form an oval.  With the marzipan form a log and place on dough.  fold dough over to make a loaf.

Bake at 175C in preheated oven for 1 hours (or if you are making two smaller loafs, bake 40min).  Remove from oven and immediately brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with icing sugar.  Let cool completely.  Can be eaten fresh or wrapped in foil and stored for a week.

Fairmont Road Hot Pepper Jelly

This has been a family favourite. The sauce goes well with potatoes and pork and is spicy but sweet.

What you need:

• 10 x 500ml canning jars with lids, clean and sterilized

Ingredients:

• 5-6 large fleshy red bell peppers
• 50 red hot chilli peppers
• 3 cups of vinegar
• 12 cups of sugar
• 2 boxes (4 sachets) of liquid Certo

How To:

Remove stems, pulp and seeds from bell peppers.  Careful when handling hte peppers.  Either wear gloves or make sure not to touch your face and eyes for days ;-)
Puree all peppers in food processor.  Combine pepper mixture, vinegar and sugar in stock pot.  Bring to a rolling boil and simmer for 20min.  Add liquid Certo and boil on high for 1 minute longer.  Ladle hot mixture into sterilized, hot jars and close lids.  Vaccuum should build and all lids should "pop".

Evening Ocean Swims

This summer I rekindled an old love. No, old Jackson has nothing to fear, this relationship is strictly platonic.

I always had a fascination with water.  As a child, I would jump into every puddle, no matter how cold.  Even now, I could not imagine a holiday away from water.  I need to dip in, often before everybody else is up and enjoy the coolness of the fresh water on my skin.

For years I have regretted living so close to the ocean, yet hardly ever going for swims.  Almost every summer, I hope to hit the water more often, but apart from going to the beach with the kids before they hit the teenage years, I never had or made the time.

This year was different. I can't remember if it was my friend Wendy or me who suggested it first, but either way, the other was an easy sell and we started going to Ambleside Beach for weekly evening swims sometime in early August.

We usually would be there just before the sun was setting, although once or twice it was pretty dark by the time we got out.  Because of the cold winter, spring and early summer, the water never reached comfortable summer temperatures, but remained more or less frigid, depending on the amount of waves and sunshine.  After a couple of times, we had our routine worked out.  Dressed in bathing suit, capris and shirt, we'd be at the water's edge in no time.  Wendy tended to take for ever to get in, while I jumped in and them froze to death waiting for her to get ready for our swim. Later in the summer, I smarted up and waited until Wendy was at least in to her waist, before getting wet.

Most evenings, we managed about 20-30 min of breaststroke.  Attempts to crawl were quickly abandoned because the freezing water would give us 'icecream' headaches.  Initially, we would swim out the the buoys, then east towards the Welcoming Statue and back again.  When the temperatures were almost unbearable and the buoys hauled in for the fall, we just swim along the shoreline over the 'the man" and back.  Only once did we bail after getting in the water and realizing that it was just too cold.

Swimming in the evening was a perfect zen ending to often stressfull days.  The sky would be pink and orange, the mountains of Vancouver Island looming purple in the distance.  The setting sun would bath the North Shore Mountains in a golden glow and more often then not we'd see seals poking their heads out of the waves nearby and fish jumping.

Wendy's Cheese Fondue

This has become a favorite of Wendy and me...so far, we only made it when Jackson was out for meetings...hopefully, he'll get to taste it soon, too.

Ingredients:

• 1 glove garlic halved cross wise 
• 1.5 cups dry white whine
• 250g Gruyere grated
• 250g Emmental grated
• 250g Raclette grated
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tblsp corn starch
• fresh nutmeg
• 1 bsp Kirsch
• ground white pepper

How To:

Rub fondue pot with garlic. Heat wine on medium to low. When liquid bubbles add cheese, stirring constantly until melted.
Whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch. Stir into cheese mix. Season.

Serve with yellow nugget potatoes, fresh bread, pickles, grape tomatoes, mushrooms and salad.

Icy Dreams

Spring break... a few days off work and unsuccessful in motivating the teens in the house to do something memorable. What better to do than abandon the teens and dig a snow cave on a nearby mountain!

Once the decision was made, we piled our gear haphazardly into the overnight backpacks hoping not to forget essential items. It's been a while that we backpacked and we left with the nagging feeling that we did leave something important behind. The kids, perhaps?

I kept my escape route wide open. My plan was to build the cave, have dinner and then assess the situation. My plan B was to hightail it back to the parking lot and drive home to a warm bed. Ean was determined to spent the night, no matter what.
We drove up to Mount Seymour and bundled up for the short hike to First Lake. Already the temperatures were much colder than we had expected. Instead of hovering around 0 degrees Celsius, as they had for the last few days, it was clearly below freezing and a deep layer of fresh, fluffy powder covered the hills. As we hiked the 20min in on the Dog Mountain trail, most other hikers were heading the other direction, back to the parking lot.
The spot we picked for our inaugural snow cave is a popular one for winter house builders. In previous years we had marvelled at some pretty amazing structures in the little glade just a few steps off the trail out of sight of the day trippers. This year, too, there was evidence of previous building activity. Ean started digging in the hope of finding the entrance to a prefab ice cave, but no luck.

Unlike Ean's dream of sleeping in a snow cave my igloo building ambitions started much earlier. As a little girl, every winter, I piled up all available snow in the effort to build a shelter. Unfortunately, with the exception of one memorable record snowfall in the 70s, we never had enough snow to succeed. The closest I came was building a little shelter, big enough for my dolls and a tea light ;-)

One long ago winter, just before starting a family, Ean expressed his wish to go winter camping. Now, I camped in all kind of adverse weather and can't say I enjoy fighting the elements when trying to sleep.

However, being pregnant with our first child, I figured, that if we do not get out to camp in the snow this winter, it won't happen for a long time. And right I was. The night in our little blue tent near the Red Heather shelter in Garibaldi Park and a frigid night in a tent with the kids on Dog Mountain a few years ago, were the last times we entertained notions of winter camping. Until now...

It took Ean about 3 hours of digging to build a cave big enough for the two of us and our gear. In the process, he did discover the remnants of an igloo built earlier in the winter. For those

unfamiliar with snow cave building, the idea is to sleep higher than your entrance tunnel, to

keep the warmer air in. Ean dug a creative version of this...first digging down, making a big enough area for him to stand and then dig up and in. My task was to move the snow piece he pushed to the entrance away and running around in circles to keep warm.

Around 6:00pm I decided it was time to cook dinner. Melting snow is a tedious effort and takes forever. Not having the stove sink into the melting snow is a whole different story altogether. By 8:00 we finally cozied up in

the cave with red wine, chicken noodle soup and mac'n cheese. I still was undecided if I should stay for the night or hightail it out. Needless to say that with a belly full of warm food and huddled in my sleeping bag, I opted to tough it out. We called our teens right from the cave, to let them know their parents were still alive and of course to check if they hadn't burnt the house down yet.

The night was not comfortable ;-) It was cold. The sleeping platform wasn't level and a tad too short for me. The thought of masses of snow above me unsettled my dreams. Ean snored. He

claims I snored. I had to pee... Definitely room

for improvement and with Ean planning to make this an annual adventure, we might just have a perfect night next year.

Emerging out of our hole around 8:30am the next morning we found a blizzard had blown in over night and dumped about 30cm of snow. Breaking camp only took a few minutes and after hiking through fresh, untouched powder back to the parking lot, we soon found ourselves in a cafe, enjoying a steaming mug of coffee and a cinnamon bun. Here's to next season's winter adventure.
Lessons learned:

• Make sure Jackson brings spare, dry clothes and gloves!
• Bring extra clothes for Jackson, just in case ;-)
• Bring light wooden board to cook on
• check the lighters, bring extra
• Wear jacket with hood
• Bring ear plugs

What My Kids Do When I Am Not Looking

Oma's Schneckchen

This is a recipe from my mom, Oma Brigitte.

Ingredients
Dough:

• 150g Quark (substitute with Greek Yoghurt)
• 6 tblsp milk
• 6 tblsp vegetable oil
• 75g sugar
• 1 pk vanilla sugar (Dr. Oetker) or vanilla extract
• dash salt
• 300g flour
• 1 pk Dr. Oetker baking powder

Mix all dough ingredients well. Roll out on a floured kitchen towel to a rectangle (35x45cm).

Filling:

• 30g soft butter
• 50g sugar
• 1 pk vanilla sugar
• 125g raisins (or other dried fruit - cranberries or chopped apricots work well)
• 50g chopped almonds

Brush dough rectangle with butter. Sprinkle the other filling ingredients evenly onto the dough. Using the towel, roll rectangle into a long roll. With knife, cut of 1.5 long pieces. Place onto grease cookie sheet and press down to prevent filling to fall out. Repeat. Makes approx 12 Schneckchen.

Bake for 15-20min at 175C.

Icing (optional)

• 175g icing sugar
• 2 tblsp hot water

Mix icing sugar and water to smooth paste and spread on hot Schneckchen. Let cool.

Enjoy.

The Ongoing Project: XS-NRG Documentary

The Ongoing Project: XS-NRG Documentary

Last Day at Grouse

What a perfect end to the ski season - ahem beginning and end that is for me as today was the only day I skied this year.

My quads were screaming a bit and fighting the heavy slushy snow, but by the last run I was managing well on my new to me skies.

Beet Green Soufflé

This is the first recipe I ever made cooking with beets. I found beets a bit intimidating and never bought them...until I received a bunch in a box from Urban Organics (a delivery service for organic foods that we subscribed to when the kids were both in diapers and lugging a lot of produce, a stroller and two toddlers was a bit much. It ensured that we always had some fresh stuff on hand and opened up my mind about beets. Luckily, the box of fruits and veggies always was accompanied by a newsletter with recipes for the more exotic things....

This recipe is from theFebruary 15, 1999 edition of the Urban Organics Today newsletter:

Ingredients:

• 2 tb Parmesan cheese grated
• 2 md beets, cooked and peeled
• 2 tb butter
• 2 tb flour
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup beet greens, chopped and sautéed
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 3 egg yolks (I use 4)
• 4 egg whites

Butter a 1qt soufflé dish (granny's corning ware works fine). Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Slice the cooked beets and line the bottom of the soufflé dish with them. In a saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, add the hot broth and continue to cook until slightly thickened. Add beet greens along with the Cheddar cheese.

In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks; blend with beet green mixture. Beat egg whites until they form peaks. Fold into bowl with other ingredients, blend well. Transfer all to buttered soufflé dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 175C (Convection) for 30 minutes or until soufflé is puffed and golden.

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