Recipe: Tomato and Grain Soup

Here's another favorite soup recipe. I accidentally ended up with a bunch of tomatoes, and searched for something to do with them, and stumbled on this. I wasn't sure it would be good - but am happy I persevered because it is AMAZING!!! Now, the recipe I found called for different spices and different grains, so you can mess with this however you like, but here's how I made it:

Saute the following until the onions are soft:
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 2 medium onions, diced

Add:
- 2 chopped celery sticks (I didn't, it was good without, but the recipe called for it)
- 2-3 chopped carrots, medium
- 2-4 diced potatoes
- 6-10 diced tomatoes (I cleaned out the seeds first so it was just the flesh)
- 2 bay leaves
- 5-6 cups chicken/beef/vegetable stock
- salt and pepper
- basil, lemongrass, cilantro
- 1/2 cup raw brown or wild rice (I used a Costco wild rice mix with 7 varieties)
- 1/2 cup raw quinoa (I used red)
- 1/2 cup raw bulghur wheat

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, cook for an hour. Stir occasionally otherwise the grains will sit at the bottom. And viola! One of the best soups I've found. So hearty...


Nutrition, per 1 cup:
160 calories
4.1g fat
0.08mg cholesterol
643mg sodium
39.38g carbs
4.76g fiber
6.78g suger
4.9g protein
422mg potassium
34.5g calcium

Recipe: Carrot Ginger Soup with Curry

I've been raving about some of my favorite soups on Facebook, so thought I'd post a few recipes here and there. This one is a standby that I just love, and note that I like to put double the spices in, but you can go with the minimum if you don't want it too mouth-burny:

Saute the following until the onions are soft:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1-2 medium onions
- 2-4 cloves garlic (I usually put in more than this but I love garlic)
- 2-3 tablespoons minced ginger (again, I usually go 3-5)
- 1-2 teaspoons coriander, ground
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 - 1 tsp curry powder
- salt and pepper

Add:
- 5 lb bag of carrots, sliced (you can go more or less, and add celery if you want)
- 4-5 cups chicken / beef / vegetable stock

Cook until the carrots are soft, then blend in batches, adding 1/2 - 1 cup of milk per blended batch. Mix it together and store; garnish with chopped fresh cilantro if you like.

This makes 16 cups of soup, so you can cut the recipe down if you want. I like to freeze little 1-2 cup servings, so make a big batch once in a while.

Nutrition per 1 cup of soup:
Calories: 117
Total fat: 4.2g
Saturated fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 3.69mg
Sodium: 580.9mg
Total carbs: 17.8g
Dietary fiber: 4.15g
Sugars: 9.6g
Protein: 3.4g
Potassium: 551.6mg
Calcium: 108.6g

Weekend trip to Alaska - pics

How to go on a weekend trip to Alaska for $5

• Step 1: realize that the coming weekend is a 3-day weekend

• Step 2: randomly decide to check flights to Alaska

• Step 3: find nonstop flights for 25,000 miles, when they are usually 40k-75k, (note: it helps to have over 50k miles from skeleton racing flights)

• Step 4: text your siblings to see if they can help you surprise your parents

• Step 5: click "purchase" and pay $5.00 in taxes.
  

Yes, it really was that simple. I got to Anchorage on Friday night around midnight, and my brother Adam picked me up, taking me to my brother Joe's house. The next morning, I got to play with my little niece, and do her hair.


Then, Adam and I drove to the Deshka Landing, about 2 hours from Anchorage, and I geared up in my sister Danielle's snowmobile gear (she and I are twins born a decade apart). She even let me borrow "her" (it's really Joe's) snowmobile to aid in the surprise.


Adam hauls freight out to cabins and lodges on the river, and so he loaded up his sled.




And off we went.


It was a little bumpy, but out of 6 dozen eggs, he only broke 7.


Even though the river trail looks wide and nice, and is now marked with road signs...


...it can still be very dangerous. Both for the observant...






...and for the unobservant.




On the ride, I suddenly saw this:


Yes, this person is 30 miles from anything. I'm impressed. Then I saw them:


Turns out there was an extreme race going on - 100 miles via bike, XC ski, or walking. Phew.

(In case you're wondering, Danielle's snowmobile is fast, so I could stop and take pictures and still catch up to Adam and his slow freight machine. Though, ironically, I was scared to go over 60mph, when I'm willing to do 80mph on my skeleton sled...)

So beautiful - I remember why I love where my family lives.




Finally, the hour and a half ride is over and we roll into the yard.




Little Eric runs up and says "Danielle!!!" I pick him up, high five Adam, and carry Eric inside. My dad says "hey sweetheart" and my mom says "I thought you had to work" and then....she realizes it's me, not Danielle.

Suffice it to say, the surprise was epic. Epic!

Then it was like I'd never left. Helping pump gas, cooking burgers for guests...massive half pounders...


...then my dad says "We need firewood - use the red chainsaw."


So I cut the logs into stove lengths...


And then got to try to remember how to split the wood. I'll admit, it took a few tries before my aim came back, and I had to tell the little boys to stand back so flying wood wouldn't take them out.


My memory came back ok though, and it all got split.


Matthew had to take this one on for me though - it was just too bendy!


Eric, Anthony and I also got to play a bit - sledding.




Then, it was time to head back, all too soon. This time, my mom and Adam accompanied me, she to get a load of groceries


Adam to tow a broken down machine back


and me to go to the airport. It was a great visit, and I was able to see my brothers and sisters (sans Jeanette in California finishing school) and parents, and have a good time. Glad I went.

Intercontinental Cup 2nd Half - spring 2010

You won't believe this, but I didn't take a single photograph the entire second half of the Intercontinental Cup tour this season....

.....I know, I know, I bombarded you with images of Europe for the first half, but just couldn't bring myself to take out my camera.

Why?

Well, one day after I arrived in Lake Placid for the first race of the second half, I started to get sick. Just one more day found me down for the count, and I remained down for the next 2+ weeks. The wracking cough wouldn't leave, nor the exhaustion from sleeping upright and coughing all night. (In fact, the British team called me "the walking dead" and I scared people by coughing myself into a bloody nose in Calgary, blech.)

Anyway, all I did was slide and sleep. Didn't have energy to respond to emails, didn't have energy to read. Read! So, the camera stayed in its case.

I do have to say, sliding on cough syrup was awesome - I was so loopy that it felt even more like flying than usual! Wheeeeee! Whoopee! Super fun....

Anyway, by race day, I somehow managed to pull out my best finish thus far, 10th!!! I was flying high. Heh, literally...

But by the time I got to Calgary the next week, in Alberta Canada, I was plumb tuckered out. My pushes went from top 5 or top 8, to 16th, and I just tanked. Terrible finishes: 16th and 18th. Ouch.

And then Park City. I made some TERRIBLE mistakes on my home track, and was frankly just over it all. So tired, still coughing, still taking narcotics to sleep every night, still sleeping sitting up....add in those mistakes and I finished 8th.

Yes, my best finish of the season, but with the ICC tour whittled from 29 women down to 13, 8th FELT pretty terrible. No, I was really just demoralized from being so sick for 3 weeks.

Now that I'm finally healthy, I'm much happier with my results. Funny how that works...

• I was the top US woman finisher in both the Placid and Park City races
• I held my place as USA 5
• I improved all my push and finish times, even in Calgary, Personal Besting everywhere!
• My worst finish this season was better than my best finish last season
• I was racing the most competitive IC circuit yet (several World Cup athletes dropped down to the IC in a hope to get more points)
• My rank moved from the mid-50s in the World last season, to being 35th in the World now
• I finished the IC tour ranked 10th. 10th!!! I was in the 20s last season!

Yes, I'm happy. How can I not be? I mean, yes, need to improve, and I'm ready to start training for next season.

Well, after a break of course...

Coming home

Things change really fast on tour - you aren't always guaranteed to have the same teammates or even be on the same tour for a full season.

Friday, after the Cesana race, some of those changes happened.

As you might recall, I had originally intended to stay in Europe after the IC tour first half ended, and race in the Igls Austria Europa Cup. Annie and Matt were going to stay with as well, in a bid for both individual points and nation points.

Annie had strained her hamstring, and was having a rough tour, and after the results on Friday decided to go home to rehab.

Then there were two.

Matt had podiumed in several IC races, and was close in points to the lowest World Cup guy - and Friday afternoon got called up to the World Cup.

And then there was one.

So, after thinking it over - I would have been fine on my own in Igls, having been there before and having friends there, but it would cost me both money to stay and race and money lost with time away from work - I also bailed on Igls. By 5pm on Friday, all three of us had our travel plans changed.

Saturday morning we drove (a 2 hour drive at 5am mind you) Keslie, Matt, and Orvie (coach) to the Milan airport, Orvie and Kes to go home and Matt to go to Altenberg for the next WC race. Then Annie and I drove the remaining 6 hours (ouch) to Munich, and Sunday morning we both were on planes to the USA. Crazy!

Now I'm home, and Brad got home yesterday from the Lake Placid America's Cup race, and we can Christmas together after 4 weeks apart. Good to be home.

ICC 2009-2010, Cesana ITALY!

Yes, I'm a bit late posting this, per usual.

The day after the Königssee race and Krampus (what a party!), we had to drag ourselves out of bed and drive nine, yes NINE hours to Sestriere, a couple hours past Torino, Italy. It's pretty much a day that fades into the memory, since it was just driving, sleeping, stopping for gas/food, and more driving. It was beautiful, but 9 hours in a van will make that enjoyment disappear after a while.

Anyway, we arrived safely in Italy around 9pm, grabbed some dinner, and went to sleep. After hauling all our stuff upstairs.




There was no sliding the second day, so it consisted of unpacking, eating (it's Italy, after all, and they feed us incredible amounts of food, 1-2 hour meals each time), sled work, etc.

The second day we did a track walk. The Cesana track is notoriously difficult, and is a track where you can't let your focus slip for even one moment.

Such serious faces!


Coaching.




I was a good student. Mostly.


The ice wasn't always curved either; here's Stokes showing how vertical a certain curve is, comparing it to his pen.


We got a little lost and bumbled around for a while, then finally figured out that we had to climb a wall and fence to get out, oops.






Hmm, it was really funny when we took the pictures, but I guess you had to be there.

The track crew had taken a couple days off after the World Cup the week before, so there were lots of ice bumps formed by water dripping off of the shades. They took care of them before we slid, but still, there were some, um, funny ones. That's all.


Sorry, couldn't help it. We laughed about that for days.

There isn't as much fun stuff to do in Cesana/Sestriere as in Winterberg or Königssee, but we managed to get out and have some fun.

A couple of us (I missed this one) went for a night walk in the square:


We goofed off in the start house (such tall ceilings and windows!):


We went to the ski lodge and drank coffee in the sun:




We enjoyed the views from our hotel:




Sliding went well, but I don't have any pictures of the races or training. I felt pretty comfortable, surprisingly, and even managed the last day of training to completely screw myself: a personal record (PR) by over 1 whole second, 9th and 12th in training.

Why does that screw me, you ask? Well, it's my experience that if you have an amazing day of training, you won't have an amazing race.

And it was true. I came out in the race 17th after two not-hot runs, and had to remind myself that
a) it was 7 spots better than last year,
b) at least I got a second run,
c) both race runs were faster than my PR last year, and
d) I PR'd both pushes in the race (5.17 and 5.15, whew!)

All in all, it was a success, and I started to really enjoy the track instead of dread it like last year. See you next year Cesana!

Krampus!

We are packing and just about to leave Königssee, but I have to put this up before the thrill fades!

Last night was one of the top 10 nights of my life, and definitely the number 1 skeleton race after-party!

Krampus. A Christmas tradition in this part of Germany, where St. Nickolaus and the Krampus parade through town - the Krampus monsters scare and whip the evil out of people, and St. Nickolaus forgives. It's a big deal, and a rite of passage for the young men in the neighboring farm towns. They spend HEAPS of time putting the outfits together, with hand carved wooden masks handed down from father to son.

I kept trying to get a good face-on shot, but that's terrifying! Still, I got pretty close.

Of course, Krampus is also an excuse to party and get drunk, and as a result the whippings get progressively more violent as the night goes on.

I came prepared - wearing tights, jeans, AND snowpants as protection.

Some are dressed in masks with huge bells.

Some are dressed in straw, though you can still see the intricate masks.

The ones you have to worry about are the mobile ones. They carry the whips, and you want to watch out for the ones with narrow whips, since they hurt more.

The Krampus come through town in waves, with a St. Nickolaus at the head of each one.

Annie and I went off together at one point, to use the restroom, and got tagged. A whole parade of straw-bales came jingling and rattling by, and we were pinned up against the wall. At the end of this construction fence.

Here's the start of the group that got us...somehow I kept my wits enough to snap photos.

They are scary! And the scariest is that you don't know how hard they're going to hit - some are quite gentle, and some are angry teenagers using the excuse to get violent.

We pulled our legs up to take the brunt of it, and of course got whipped quite a bit, but then the last monster reached in and rubbed our faces. I'm actually jealous that Annie got the brunt of that one!

Rindy also got tagged, earlier in the evening.

So for the rest of the night, our faces were dirty. (It's a badge of honor, so we weren't supposed to wash it off.)

We had a great time with the Brits, Australians, New Zealand, Jamaica, and more.

Keslie did a handstand and had a British coach hold her legs.

Then, a British slider, who used to be a gymnast, decided to handstand-walk over to her.

Then Stokes decided to try it, and....

Annie found a stick and decided to play Krampus.

We all fell down.

At the end of the Krampus night, on our way to meet up with everyone else (for the actual after-party), I grabbed a Krampus monster and asked Annie to take a picture with him. The dialogue:

"Annie! Take my picture with the monster!" Such things aren't free, there are consequences (as I saw with a middle aged American mom tourist earlier, hugged a Krampus for a picture and got, um, smacked around) so then I said "Then he'll try to whip me and I'll run away!"

He spoke English, oops, and suddenly there's this evil panda grabbing a hold of me and saying perfectly in a sultry voice "I will do what? What is it that I'll do?" And pushed me against the wall.

I was pretty nervous, since I'd heard stories about this, but luckily he just pushed me back, smacked my leg once, laughed, and walked off. I remained leaning against the window, laughing my butt off, I couldn't help myself.

After gathering our wits, Annie, Matt and I sprinted away as fast as Annie's injured hamstring would let us, since this was a crowd of rowdy ones. We passed a mean one, who took a swing at Annie and missed, hit Matt on the backswing, and left my only welt of the evening on my knee. We couldn't stop laughing.

On our way to the after-party, Keslie decided to try her hand at being a Krampus.

Then the real after party.