Weekly Recipie: Tabbouleh

I'm Lebanese. When I was kid, piles of olives, feta cheese and hummus where the food staples. Look out kids, this third grader was packing a Pita Peanut Better sandwich and baklava to school everyday (as if kids couldn't find other reasons to think I was weird).

Looking back, I am SO THANKFUL that my mother helped me foster a love of her families traditional foods. As an athlete, its important to fuel your body so that you can fuel your activities. One of the ways I do this is maintaining a "mostly" whole-foods, plant based diet. I say mostly because I'm a sucker for a good piece of cake or pulled pork sandwich. At a professional athletic event for example. I WILL order a hot dog, that's all there is to it. In future posts I'll be sharing my eating habits, tips, recipes and so on. For today, I'll be sharing one recipe that is made in my house almost weekly: Tabbouleh

Here is the way its done in my house. I've included some variations as its VERY difficult to find fresh mint sometimes or sometimes I'm too lazy to chop three bunches of parsley.



What you'll need:
-3 bunches of parsley. I've subbed Romaine lettuce if I'm just NEEDING to eat this
-1 bunch fresh mint. You could use dried. Again, I've used dried mint in place of fresh if I'm in a pinch
-3 tomatoes (the big ones)
-1 sweet onions. If you use just a run of the mill yellow onion, the flavor gets a bit overpowering. Avoid purple onions
-1 Cup Bulgar Wheat. I get this at Safeway, Barber World Foods and Winco.
-Olive Oil
-Lemon Juice
-Salt
-Pepper

Step One: Prep your wheat
Put the Buglar into a bowl of warm water and let it sit while you prep. This will plump the bulgar and the wheat will soften and expand.

Step Two: Show off your chopping skills
Dice up the Parsley, Onion and Tomato and Mint. When dicing the tomoto (this is KEY!), go to the sink and remove the gooey liquid and ALL of the seeds. Good Tabbouleh has a wet/dry consistency meaning that the dressing is absorbed by the bulgar and the salad is light and airy. Tomato goo ruins this effect. Add all diced veggies to a mixing bowl

Step Three: Add the Wheat
Take a taste and make sure it is soft and doesn't have ANY crunch. Add wheat to bowl

Step Three: Season to perfection
Dressing for the salad resides in a harmony between EVOO, Lemon Juice, Salt and Pepper. Start by adding a light amount of all four. NOTE: Less oil is more- lightly dizzle the oil until the veggies are ever-so-lightly coated

Salt and Lemon should be strong flavors in this dish along with the mint. Keep this in mind as you work the seasoning magic

Step Four: Eat and Eat A LOT of it!
A 1/2 cup of the stuff is around 60 calories. This salad goes REALLY well with roast lamb, hummus + tomato's + feta or simply as a starter to ANY dinner. NOTE: it doesn't keep super well. If you want this salad to last the week (like I do... Here is a tip: Don't dress the salad all together. Keep chopped items in a bowl and add the dressing when you place to serve, It should keep about 5 days this well

Ode to lipstick

For those of you that know me, you know that I like to experiment with fashion and trends as they grace the runways. This winter and spring in an effort to make my "look" a little more modern and sophisticated, I decided to try my hand at wearing lipstick instead of the gloss or Chap Stick. Being a runner and wearing NO makeup and workout clothes most of the time left has left me a makeup (more specifically Lipstick) novice. I turned to the ladies at MAC Makeup to give me some tips.


Tip One- Get some help in picking out a lipstick! I wanted three looks 1) A solid Red Lip 2) A everyday-nudish pink that I could wear work 3) A brighter pink lip for going out when red just didn't fit. I'm pretty fair skinned so hear's what I ended up with.

MAC- Russian Red and matching Red cream pencil (my red)
MAC- Pink Pigeon with a Trimmed In Pink Liner (my hot pink)
LipStick Queen- Nude Pink Lipstick (my everyday)



Tip Two- Application is an art! Here are the steps the applying the perfect pucker

1. Condition lips with chap stick while you put on the rest of your makeup
2. Wipe off extra chap stick then, with your concealer brush, apply concealer all over your lips (essentially whiting them out completely)

3. Apply a light dusting of press powder to set the concealer
4. Line the lips.. completely. Yes, color in the whole thing!

5. Apply lipstick!
6. With some liquid concealer, take a super-thin eyeliner blush and go around the line between the lip and your face. This will help to make sure the lipstick stays put and doesn't bleed into cracks around the mouth.

7. Enjoy your pretty new lips :-)

Spinning 101

Although I live in Oregon and find myself outside all year round, sometimes I really get sick of the rain. For times like this when a run seems like the last thing I want to be doing, I turn to an amazing workout offered at my local gym: Spinning! Maybe some of you have tried it, or maybe just saw the class and ran the other way... I encourage you to put the horror stories you might have heard aside, and try it out. I'm going to give you the 411 on how to make this class your new best friend.



First, mentally prepare for the workout:

1. It's difficult
Don't kid yourself, those people you see in spinning who are rything in pain ARE IN PAIN. This class is hard and in a 50 minutes session you can burn anywhere from 400-800 calories. With that in mind, enter classes with the mindset that you are there to work, and hard

2. Its sweaty.
I was shocked when I left my very first class. I was COVERED from head to toe with sweat and looked like I just emerged from the pool. Dress to accommodate this. Tank tops or tee's that are not obstructive to arms or shoulders as well as tight fitting shorts or crops work great.

3. You might be sore, on your backside
Even for the fittest of people, those rail-thin bike seats (or saddles as the bike community calls them) hurt your butt. You might see people wearing fancy bike shorts with padding, this is NOT a fo-pa. Get some.

Now that you are mentally prepared, here are some tips to help you really kick butt during the ride:

1. Get your bike set up properly.
When walking into your very first class, put your pride aside and ask the instructor to assist you in getting your bike dailed in. I cannot tell you how many times I've been riding and seen people in the most uncomfortable of positions just because they felt they knew how to do things themselves. Trust me, the bikes are odd and are made to fit people from all different heights and weights so you'll need some adjustment to get something comfortable.


Bike Fit Rules of Thumb
-When pedaling, your knees should not be flying up past the resistance knob
-Your seat should come to about the height of your natural waist. The seat should NOT be much lower then the handle bars or much higher

Want to see how its done? Here is a video from YouTube with some tips

2. Shoe 411.
Spin bikes are made for two different types of shoes. 1) Sneakers. Don't bring your best pair or a minimal shoe. 2. Cycling shoes. These shoes have clips on bottom for you to clip-into the bike. Bike shoes are really the way to go. Why? The clips will help you be able to pull up on the pedel when resistance in addition to just pushing down. Think of pedaling a bike like a clock. . . Those "good" cyclists will be pushing and pulling during all numbers on the clock where as a notice will push down to the 6 and then recover and repeat. As you get better, you'll be able to push down to 6 then pull back up to the 12 and repeat. . . .
Clips of spin bikes are usually the SPD


3. Prepare to sweat.
Drink lots of water before and bring a water bottle and towel with you. You'll notice even the instructor suffers though this too... come prepared to go the distance. I add NUUN to my bottle to help replace the elector-lights I expend during the class. NUUN is tasty, easy to plop into a bottle of water and honestly, makes me feel awesome.



4. Feel the music
Rap to oldies, I've heard it all. Different teachers like different things. If you go to a class and dislike the tunes, just try out another instructor next time. Spinning workouts are all about moving to the music and allowing it to help you handle the resistance you feel on the bike. I can't tell you how many times I've found myself clinging to a beat or mouthing the words of a song to myself to help cope with the stress my body was taking on... this is why the tunes matter

6. Enjoy the burn
Spinning leaves you like jelly- Enjoy the feeling of kicking your butt and working hard. Maybe a cookie for a reward?

The importance of being uncomfortable

So much has gone on since my last post (news and updates to ensue in the following days). Even with bunches of things to share I wanted to take a moment and talk about potentially the most valuable lesson I've learned in adulthood: Learning to be uncomfortable.
Tonight I decided to head to the pool to swim. To anyone else, this might seem like a totally casual thing but it was the context of this swim that in there lies the lesson. To let you know, I'm not big fan of group workouts. I've always found to be a solo runner or someone who likes to run with close friends. Being the marketer that I am (and also hungry for knowledge/gossip/tips or whatever) I follow all of the local running clubs/teams/stores/brands etc. I hear all of the time about things like Group Pancake Runs, Ladies-only bike rides, Pain in the park boot camp classes and more. I never go. For a long time I would blame it on my schedule, my lack of energy, or even conflicts with my personal training calendar. After those excuses got old I moved onto excuses that dug a little deeper, "I have a workout in mind, and that's not it".... the ole I knew better routine. Now, YEARS later I decided that the reasons I was giving were pretty much bullshit.

Truth was, I was suffering from a lack of confidence. What was I afraid of? Being the slowest? When I run by myself I am both first AND last.... what’s really the matter with finishing last after all?
Lately, as I would go on my long runs, a question would run though my mind over and over "how do I get better as this?".More runs- sure. Mix up my eating habits- good thought. Maybe different shoes or more cross training? All were good thoughts but in the end I determined that "I" was my own biggest hurdle to getting better

My head wasn't in the game. Running (especially) has this intense mental component that no amount of training will exercise (unless you let it). I realized that my inner self was the thing that needed work and that to make progress I was going to need to take a different approach to myself, my life, and my training. Why change? Because I refuse to be someone who's goals and/or life is stunted by something that could be changed . . .And that's exactly what living my life worried about being uncomfortable or nervous about my performance was doing. Running alone had become a comfortable place to be with no judgment and no expectation. I started to contemplate the other activities in my life and I realized that MOST of my life’s routine was built in a similar fashion. I took the same classes with the same instructors, fixed dinner from a finite set of items and shopped the same stores and websites.

Crap.

Here I thought my comfort-zone was a good place, a happy place. I now know that this comfort-zone I speak of is an illusion of my own creation. Life changes, it’s inevitable. We will grow old, technology changes, people come and go. Was I clinging to routine to help me cope? I decided it was time to help myself for a change and practice... Practice dealing with changes and get “comfortable” with being uncomfortable. The more I thought about my game changing plan, I liked it. I remembered back to the times I ventured outside of what I was good at and tried something completely out of the box. Snowboarding, triathlon, swimming, rock climbing…. All things I love to do that came at expense of effort and the loss of a touch of personal sanity.

So this pool workout I did, it was a group swim. 50+ swimmers of all levels, none of which I knew. The swim was tough and it pushed me MUCH HARDER then I would have gone myself. I met great people and although I felt nervous and slightly uncomfortable going into it, I was so glad I went

Valentines Day Cake

With a weekend of double workouts behind me, I'm ready to jump head-first into a week dedicated to decadent foods and non-stop chocolate eating. One of my New Years resolutions for 2013 was to not bake ANYTHING from a box this year. That's right, Betty move over. With a Kitchen-Aid mixer and trip to Powell's books store, I am ready to begin my year of "from scratch" baking. For my first endeavor, a Valentines Day cake is in the works. I wanted to find a recipe that was simply, rich, and contained some of the gorgeous seasonal fruits I've seen at the market. I found a recipe for a Vanilla cake with whipped cream and raspberries.

Here's the Recipe:

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Raspberry Simple Syrup for Valentine Cake (Simple Syrup= 1/2c water, 1/2c sugar, same crushed raspberry juice. Boil and let cool)
Whipped Cream for Valentine Cake
2 pints raspberries
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)
Directions

Step 1: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11 1/2-by-9 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch heart-shaped cake pan and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment paper, and set aside.

Step 2: Set the bowl of an electric mixer over, but not touching, a pot of simmering water. Combine the granulated sugar and eggs in the bowl, and whisk until mixture is warm to the touch, about 2 minutes.

Step 3:Transfer the bowl to an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat on high speed until the mixture is very thick and pale, about 4 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sift in the flour in three additions, folding gently after each. Combine the butter and the vanilla, and add in a steady stream as you fold in the third addition of flour. Fold gently, and transfer to prepared pan. Smooth the top with an offset spatula.

Step 4: Bake until the cake is springy to the touch and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When ready to use, turn out cake onto a cutting board or a cake turntable covered with parchment paper, and carefully peel the parchment paper off the cake.

To put it all together: Using a serrated knife, cut cake in half horizontally. Brush cut sides of cake liberally with simple syrup. Spread bottom layer to within 1/2 inch of edge with half of the whipped cream. Cover cream with an even layer of raspberries. Spread remaining whipped cream over berries. Place top of cake cut side down over cream. Dust with confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder, if desired.



I really like video tutorials, so here is Martha Stewart walk through this step-by-step: http://www.hulu.com/watch/448652?playlist_id=1474&asset_scope=all

wednesday motivation

My creative juices are spent. I'm fried. I need a little extra something to get me out the door and on the road tonight.

This was it.

impromptu photo shoot

In need of web art? The HTC/PTC office was today and so guess who got picked to be the model? Yup. Me.

Was I nervous? Sort of, I mean I don't generally get photographed when I run. Actually the closest thing I've come to seeing myself in action is when I run past a bank of storefronts and glare into the wall of windows reminding myself to straighten up, relax the hands and land gracefully. A coworker pointed out this picture once to me and I find it to be VERY true.

Anywho, my coworker and I hit the streets of PDX today to photograph me running. The result? Maybe the best photo's I've seen of myself EVER. . . See for yourself but I really think I am channeling my inner-Nike ad

who am i?

Greetings from Portland Oregon!

My name is Adrienne and I'm 28 years old and am from Cleveland Ohio. From my day's as a little adrienne, I dreamed of being a doctor.

The intensity, the dedication. . . I thought for sure that's what I was meant to do with my life. I went to college at Marquette University (good old milwaukee, wisconsin) and upon graduation, started work in medical research and eventually pathology here in Portland Oregon. When I left the Midwest and started my life here in Oregon, everything changed. The smell of the air here was intoxicating. My mom told me I would hate the nine months of rain I would endure each year, but after the first winter I couldn't understand how I had lasted my entire life in snow and bitter cold. Aside from nature, I quickly discovered the lifestyle here was drastically different from what I had been used too. Raised on midwest cooking and Wisconsin style drinking, the college years left me with an amazing education but also an extra 30+ pounds.

I was overweight, unhealthy and living in a community that worshiped veggie burgers and vegan cooking (boy was I a fish out of water). I needed to start somewhere so I took advantage of the high school track I lived across the street from and started on my journey. My first steps were painful, and to be honest- embarrassing. I had been a high school varsity athlete that worked hard to stay fit.... did the pursuit of good grades and my lack of willpower set me this far back? Super slow running turned into not so slow running. I decided to put off buying a car for almost 2 years after moving to Portland so that I could take advantage of my newly found love of movement and run or walk everywhere.

My coworkers at the hospital decided to do a Hood To Coast Relay team and ask me to join up. I was nervous, my last experience with running was grade school track. Nerves however were not an excuse to NOT to do it. And so it came and went. It was an experience unlike any other I had before. It reminded me of my childhood and the comradery of the team sports I knew and loved. But it did something much more. No matter how fast I moved during the race, no matter what my time. . . it was faster then if I would have done nothing and kept myself bigger and unhappy. To me, that race represented days of training; of feeling uncomfortable and sore and broken. It was my gift to myself I had been waiting years to give.



After completing my second HTC Relay, I wrote a letter to the event saying how amazing the experience was and asked how I could help. Nearly three have passed and I am now the Marketing Director for Hood & Portland To Coast Relays and their new event venture, Better Series. Those reasons I mentioned before about wanting to be a doctor (the intensity, the dedication) . . . I feel all that and more doing this job. I absolutely love putting on running and walking events and providing others with the same life-changing experience I had.



As for my 40+ pounds?They are long gone. I run, do triathlons, cycling, snowboard, hike and camp. I'm not the best runner, not by a long shot...I still however try my best and improve every year. This blog is about my path, my past and my future. It's about where I am and where I want to go, I hope you enjoy the ride.