Chili Blanco and on my new Tripod Status...Booyeah I'm a Nerd

This should be every indication that I have too much time on my hands. But then again you already knew that and maybe judged me for it. It’s been a great week in which I celebrated my 26^th Birthday on every possible occasion. Homemade sushi, sparkle cupcakes (no really) and also I floated down the river with 17 strangers and several good friends. All of whom were great sports in that they told me it was all in celebration of me and sang me Happy Birthday. Who could be so lucky. Floating the river, as it always is, was messy. Lost sunglasses, wet food and more than a few flipped inner tubes. Just the way it should be. Today I detoxed from it all with laundry and also I cooked, because that’s what you do when you watch the foodnetwork 4 to 5 hours per day. I started to make chili blanco, but half way in realized I didn’t have green chili’s, so abandoned it temporarily and started to make homemade caramel sauce for my Granny Smith’s and then realized I didn’t have brown sugar. So basically total success in that I completely failed. Abandoned all effort at productivity and settled in for my first experience of Jersey Shore. The marathon. And for that I have only three words. Tan. Gym. Laundry. Jersey was just put on my long list of places to visit. Mainly I want to experience a place where fist punching and over groomed men is the typical not the acception. I also feel dumber for watching it. Go Snooki go.

The chili blanco has been made as has the carmel sauce but its too late for me to eat it now. Also I took my Birthday present, my grandfather’s tripod, out to the park by our house and shot the moon. It was difficult getting the focus right, my composition might be muddled because I was like twisted in a knot trying to see into the viewfinder and by the time I finished I was dirty and out of breath but that’s just the altitude people. It was magical and worth every second of frustration. Also I think I need a filter to get the moon right. See Click for the results.

Chili Blanco is delicious, healthy and will feed 5/6 people as a main which means single me will be eating it all week. Or as long as I can make it last anyway! Thanks Murchisons for the recipe!

Chili Blanco Recipe

1 large white onion

3 cloves garlic

1 can each cannelloni beans & white beans

2 cans diced green chili’s

1 can chicken broth

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salt, Pepper, Red Chili Flakes and Cumin to taste

Garnish with sour cream and cilantro

Optional Jack Cheese for added yum factor

Poach the chicken in a large pot while you chop then sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil in a separate pot. Add the beans, green chili, chicken broth and spices to the sautéed mixture and bring it to simmer for 30 minutes. While that simmers shred or chop the chicken and finally add it to the simmering mixture. The chili is thick with chicken so I suppose you could use less if you wanted. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream and cheese or add it in while it’s still cooking.

In other news I am volunteering at Wanderlust this coming weekend in Squaw Valley. So stay tuned for stories of yogic breakthroughs, and lulu lust. I’ll be wearing my “Spiritual Gangster” tank. I plan on it being a big hit.

13.1 Miles, Live it, Love it then take a cold bath in ice and get back on the horse!

Way back when, 2 years ago or so, some random weekend when I was probably residual drunk from the night before and KM was staying over for the weekend at my old apartment on the Embarcadero (living with Caro and Rusty the evil flesh tearing purse puppy…may he rest in peace. Actually I don’t know if he died yet but there are a few people with enough physical and emotional scars to hope he is. But that’s for another day) Kate was all do you want to do the Nike Women’s half marathon with me… she said “it’s supposed to be good and at the end they give you a TIFFANY NECKLACE.” – sold - . And I was like sure without even stopping to remind myself that while I had run a mile here and a mile there on the treadmill, road running 13 miles is really another ball game. So she entered us into the raffle which I pretended to be excited about meanwhile the whole time I was praying to sweet baby Jesus that we wouldn’t make it and then of course we made it. So we started training long distance together. We had a motivational excel spreadsheet with the miles we ran through the week and a pump song to go with it and every Friday Kate would drive down from Sacramento for the weekend and we would do a run together on the Embarcadero. One time we went for a really long run in Golden Gate Park (9 miles maybe?) and then within 45 minutes of finishing went to go drinking on a sailboat on the bay for the day. I would council against this – long runs make you a lightweight and also a little bit nauseous – Anyway those runs on the Embarcadero are some of my favorite memories. The happy hour crowds we would pass longingly at the ferry building and Americano, the water on our right the city scape on our left. When we moved into Casa Hot Mess in Nob Hill we trained at the Lyron street steps which is probably the most stunning place to inflict physical pain upon yourself. I miss them and the opportunity we had to catch up on our week while walking that mofo of a hill on Pacific. But enough of the nostalgia. Kate has apparently recovered from it and is doing it again with CS, LM and LG and I am pretty sure they've stepped up the training for this one.

I can't be there to cheer them on even though they try every time I see them to sell it as a great way to celebrate my Birthday. The truth is I have been on the road for over two weeks now and I have laundry to do for days, plus I miss Tahoe a little bit. Can you imagine! Anyway doesn't mean I won't be cheering you on from up North ladies! In fact I might even do a short run in solidarity since I intend to take it up again. Just stay on the look out for the news story "Girl passes out from running 3.1 miles at altitude along the Truckee river in Tahoe city... is rescued by gorgeous fireman who happened to be mountain biking by after just receiving news of substantial inheritance from very wealthy previously unknown deceased Great Uncle. The soon to be married couple fell instantly in love after she awoke to him sitting at her bedside in the hospital. When asked where the couple will live he said "We will be sharing our time between the half dozen estates that my Great Uncle kept all over the world until we decide on a more permanent home, but I will continue to work on a volunteer basis where-ever they need me."

So good luck ladies, have fun! Drink the water when they have it and if they offer you chocolate at mile 12, it seems like a good idea but trust me...it's not.

*Image from Lululemon

Roadtrip: Adventures from the road, Journey to Mexico and Back

So the title of this blog was only to lure you in. There haven't been adventures per-say so much as my car hasn't broken down in the middle of nowhere, I haven't gotten lost, not even so much as a road rage incident to report. The 8 hour drive from Tahoe to Pasadena did get good after I bought a liter size "Starbucks something or other lite" somewhere on highway 5 sometime between hours 3 and 4 and despite it tasting worse than anything ever - like a frappucino laced with red-bull (my worst nightmare in a can) - I polished the thing off and less than 30 minutes later I was driving high on caffeine and what may have contained large or small traces of amphetamines singing along to Usher's "OMG" it's as good as on repeat on the radio so that's nice. I could have driven to Mexico if I had had another one. I love getting the caffeine shakes, so many good ideas come and go quicker than you can write them down to remember what they were and also it makes Highway 5 and all it's not beautiful scenery seem downright fascinating. Then hour 7 struck and I came down from my high. Twice I got tricked into listening to Christian music stations, in my defense some of their songs are really cleverly disguised as good rock and once I woke up from my sugar and caffeine induced hangover daze only to find I was mumbling along to words of a song that was in spanish. True I usually mumble along to songs in English that I know the words to but spanish radios getting really catchy!

It's been a whirlwind of cousins and long overdue visits to friends. "If it's Tuesday this must be San Clemente" (that is a clever reference to an amazing movie made in the 60's. I'll buy you a Starbucks frappe-amphetamine if you figure it out)

I'm off to bed only to wake up sore tomorrow from the kick ass yoga class I did this morning at The Yoga Loft in Manhattan Beach....we started with abs so you can only imagine how much the perfect non-hot mess of a teacher tortured us. Namaste people. Namaste.

*Image = Hint to above riddle

Okay so I really love grocery shopping. Does this make me a freak?

I mean I really really love it. Whole foods makes my heart beat faster and Trader Joes makes me smile. The Golden Nugget in Davis, well it makes me want to relocate there so it can be my neighborhood store. I mean this is not normal. I suffered terribly in 2008, living without a car on the Embarcadero when it was a regular thing for me to enter the gorgeous Safeway on King St. only to exit with way too much stuff to carry on the mile walk home. Tragedies of a first world girl I had to start taking only a hand basket in with me to ensure I wouldn't end up cabbing it 3.5 blocks. Sometimes I tricked my Dad into giving me a lift home after work but incidentally he never wanted to allow me the 2 hours I would, if I could have, chosen to spend going up and down each aisle. Squinting at the per measure costs, comparing prices and picking the perfectly ripe avocado. Enjoying the beautiful produce displays, talking up a storm with the butcher and after every aisles been visited doing a quick second round through just to fill in any late in the game grocery decisions. I told you...I seriously love it. Which is why I drove to the Safeway in Truckee when I was already in Tahoe City just to do the grocery shopping for this weekends 4th of July hostessing extravaganza I am doing. It's a shiny new Safeway and I've been looking forward to it all week long. Please don't judge. Thanks.

Anyway I'm off as my heart goes pitter patter - this maybe now for several reasons A. the impending grocery shopping trip B. The gorgeous firefighter that just walked into the internet cafe...in uniform C. The large coffee I drank - either way it's safe to say I am way overstimulated right now-