Birthday Whilwind

Willy Porter concert at the Union Terrace

Karen at the farmer's market

Mom and Kristin sample at New Glarus Brewing Company

Kristin and Dad

Surprise birthday party!

Green Lake Art Fair

Moonlight cruise

The last five days have been a whirlwind of anticipation, great friends, surprises, exhaustion, and extreme happiness. As many of you know, this past Saturday marked my 27th birthday. In five short days, I managed to cram in the following:

• A 100-mile bike ride, complete with two flat tires, much frustration, 40-minutes at the bike shop, and unknown quantities of Lemon Lime Gatorade and Cliff Gu Blocks
  
• A very distressing $400 repair bill at the bike shop--all in the name of Ironman


• A surprise Friday night dinner at my favorite restaurant, the Weary Traveler, complete with my favorite meal, the West of the Andes Sandwich, followed by ice cream and a Willy Porter concert at the Memorial Union Terrace


• A lovely Saturday morning stroll at the Farmer's Market and a shout-out from the cute guy at the RP pasta booth (he said he liked my shirt)


• Beer tasting and a rudely interrupted brewery tour with my parents at the New Glarus Brewing Company (home of the Spotted Cow)


• A surprise birthday party thrown by my best friend, Karen, which included a backyard barbeque and an amazing evening with my parents and many of my closest friends--definitely the highlight of the weekend


• A solid 22-mile run around Lake Monona (twice)


• Two meals at Jimmy John's (#4 with chips) and two meals at Culver's (single butter burger with cheese basket)
  
• A leisurely Sunday stroll through the Green Lake Art Fair


• A fancy Sunday night dinner at Norton's of Green Lake Restaurant
  
• Much reading and relaxing on the pier overlooking Green Lake, as well as a few pontoon boat rides


• Much disappointment and consternation over John Edwards' extra-marital affair, and many heart-felt moments for Elizabeth
  
• A very bad head cold and several doses of decongestants (perhaps the ultimate result of my whirlwind weekend)

Who's the Real Root Beer King?

One of my favorite summer treats is a root beer float. I love the combination of creamy ice cream and cold, frothy root beer. I especially like to enjoy mine in a Ball canning jar, like the one pictured, left.

Apparently the roots of the root beer float are disputable. While A&W Restaurants have become the most popular purveyor of this refreshing treat, most agree that the ice cream float was created by either Robert M. Green of Philadelphia or Fred Sanders of Detroit.

Green's account, published in Soda Fountain magazine in 1910, states that he created the treat to strum up business at the Franklin Institutes's semi-centennial celebration in 1874. Apparently he was attempting to compete with another vendor who had a bigger and nicer soda fountain. At the event, Green sold vanilla ice cream with 16 different flavors of soda water. The new treat was wildy successful. Take that fancy pants soda foutain man.

Fred Sanders, on the other hand, owned the Pavilion of Sweets shop in Detroit, which first opened in 1875. One night, as the story goes, some customers came in and ordered sweet cream sodas. Sanders' ice delivery hadn't come in that day, so he decided to substitute with ice cream.

So who was first, Green or Sanders? I'm going to go with Sanders, but only because of the Midwest connection. But maybe it doesn't matter. Honestly I'm thankful to both men, who obviously each contributed to the Root Beer Float and it's resulting popularity.

More Green Lake Pics

Kristin and Emma, ready for some big waves!

Kim awaits her turn from the boat

Emma and Megan enjoy a wild ride

Karen and Allie on Fun Island

Nothing beats waffles on the boat house

Green Lake County Fair

Kristin, Karen, and Kim at the Green Lake County Fair on Sat. night

Karen and Kim checking out the prize-winning cows

Kim, Jen, and Kate prepare to get sick

Mmm...the Classy Cafe...perfect pre-race food

Playing Bingo

Kim plays 4 cards at a time!

Jen scores a BINGO and takes home a hand-written check for $2.50

Zucchini Bread & Brownies

I declared yesterday a national zucchini holiday. And as such, in between reviewing a few of the 86 (!) applications I received for the position I’m hiring, I decided to make two recipes last night involving significant quantities of grated zucchini. The first recipe, for zucchini bread, I found at one of my favorite cooking blogs—101 Cookbooks. The recipe involves many interesting ingredients (perhaps too many), including poppy seeds, curry powder, and lemon zest. I enjoyed a slice with my coffee this morning, and it was delicious.

I found the second recipe (below) at Soda’s Farm Market near Green Lake. Soda’s is a ma and pa produce shop that we always stop at to pick up fresh veggies and fruit while we’re at the lake. The owners are kind enough to leave out copies of their favorite recipes, and this time I found a recipe for zucchini brownies. It was labeled “Excellent!!,” so I figured it was worth a shot. The recipe was quick and easy, and the brownies are moist and delicious. I also think the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts scattered on top just before baking are a great addition.

Zucchini Brownies (Soda’s Farm Market)

1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup margarine
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 ½ cups grated zucchini
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. cocoa
½ tsp. salt

Mix the above ingredients together, spread into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Topping: sprinkle on top of batter just before baking—1 cup chocolate chips, 2 tbsp. sugar, ½ cup chopped walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Ripon Medical Center Triathlon (Green Lake, WI)

Driving to the race site via pontoon boat at 6:20am

Kate, Kristin, Karen, Julie, and Jen

Kristin setting up transition area

Kristin and Karen pre-race

Speedy transition from bike to run

Post-race rehydration

Karen cruising to the finish line

Jen and Kate celebrating a team victory

Group photo back home

I had an incredible weekend with friends at Green Lake. It was a full house with Kate, Jen, Kim, Karen, Karen’s sister Martha’s family (Martha, Brian, and the three girls—Megan, Emma, and Allie), and myself. Yesterday, several of us competed in the 10th annual Ripon Medical Triathlon. The race takes place on the grounds of the Green Lake Conference Center, which is a short boat ride from Karen’s family’s house. My favorite part of the race is being able to arrive in style, straight off the pontoon with our bikes in tow.

The race went well. Besides race delays caused by supposed early morning engine failures resulting in the postponement of swim buoy placement, the race was very organized and went off without a hitch. I loved the long course race, which features a 1.5k swim in the pristine waters of Green Lake, a 24-mile bike ride along the rolling hills of Green Lake County, and a 10k run through the wooded grounds of the Green Lake Conference Center.

As a group we did well. Kate, Jen, and Megan (age 9!) placed first among all-female teams in the Short Course race, Karen was second in her age group, and I was the overall female winner of the Long Course triathlon. Impressive, right? As long as you don’t know that there was only one female team in the short-course race, two people in Karen’s age group, and a mere 28 female entrants in the Long Course race. Just pretend you don't know that part.

I was most happy with my performance in the run leg of the race. I ran my fastest 10k time within a triathlon—46:26, which equates to approximately 7:30 miles. I definitely sped things up at the turnaround when I saw three very fast looking females closing the gap behind me. Astonishingly, I was able to hold them off. The swim felt good, but very long. And I didn’t have my wet suit, since it’s out of commission with zipper issues, so I definitely felt the drag of swimming in my tri shorts and top. The bike was also good, and I very much enjoyed the smooth, curving roads.

Today I start the toughest week of my Ironman training plan. Over the weekend, I’ll work to complete a 112-mile ride on the Ironman bike course, followed by a 22-mile run the next morning on very tired legs. The week will be trying and exhausting, but at least I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s always nice to have small rewards along the way, like a lucky win at the Ripon Medical Triathlon!

Blueberry Scones

I decided to make blueberry scones last night. Actually, I chose scones over sleep. But how could I not? The heaps of blueberries at the farmer’s market and grocery store recently have been calling my name. And I don’t even like blueberries all that much. But I do love scones, and am continually on a mission to find the perfect recipe. These scones are quite good, but a tad too spongy for my taste. I like scones that are dense and firm. But perhaps mine would have firmed up if I would have follwed the directions and "recrisped" in the oven this morning. But either way, I really enjoyed one of these with my morning coffee today after a nice long run. It was a perfect summer breakfast.

Blueberry Scones (from Cooks Illustrated)
It is important to work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted.

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole (see note above)

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (about 7 1/2 ounces), picked over

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for work surface

1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Score and remove half of wrapper from each stick of frozen butter. Grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (you should grate total of 8 tablespoons). Place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.

2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Following illustrations, fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to counter top. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.

5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen. See final step for information on making the scone dough in advance.