planetdanika

There is something so quintessentially Seattle about being at Green Lake on a sunny, spring day. This weekend the whole family experienced it in full force. It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and G and I both needed to get out for a run. We’re just gearing up our training for this half marathon in July. In any case, we decided to try out that hand-me-down jogging stroller and all go together. G ran with Lucy in the stroller and I ran solo. It’s all I can do to run at all right now let alone pushing an extra 30 pounds! Green Lake was crowded, as we expected, but it was a very pleasant run around the lake. We did 2 laps plus a bit and ended up with a 6 mile run. G is definitely faster, even with the stroller, but I finished in 57 minutes (9 1/2 minute miles, on average). Lucy did fine but got a bit fussy at the end. All in all, a successful outing for the family. I’m not sure if/when I’ll be able to attempt running with Lucy. For now, I’m pleased to be running at all and getting that heart rate up again. I won’t be setting any speed records with this race, but with any luck, I’ll finish it without hurting myself.

We’re just hanging
The couch is starting to look like one of the favourite places for photos and just hangin’ out.

See more at the Lucy XV link, and gaze in awe at tulips at the (mostly non-Lucy) Tulips link.

Yum, yum, double-yum. I made this last night (using sugar snap peas in place of green beans) and it was a huge hit. The “drunken paste” is excellent and you could easily adapt the recipe to use other meats or veggies. I highly recommend this if you like Thai/Vietnamese food.

Drunken Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans
From Cooking Light, June 2001

Drunken Paste:
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
7 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons minced bird chile or 2 1/2 teaspoons minced serrano chile
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped galangal or peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh lemongrass
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon grated lime rind

Stir-fry:
Cooking spray
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 cups (1-inch) diagonally cut green beans
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 cup Thai basil leaves

To prepare the paste, combine the salt and minced garlic in a mortar and pestle, and pound to form a paste. Add chile, galangal, lemongrass, and lime leaves, one at a time, until each ingredient is incorporated into paste.

To prepare stir-fry, heat a wok or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add paste, and stir-fry for 30 seconds (fumes may cause eyes and throat to burn slightly). Add beef; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add beans; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar; stir-fry for 1 minute or until beef reaches desired degree of doneness. Stir in basil.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 202(41% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 3.7g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 20.2g; CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 50mg; SODIUM 1100mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10g