North Texas Spring

Seriously, I planted a garden (my first) in the early days of the warm month of March... then there was a cold snap- a freeze- and some of those plants suffered... some even didn't make it. I nursed them for some time, but I finally realized that they were dead.

I waited...

Mid-late April came, the weather has been wonderful, so I went to Covington's Nursery (a local place) and sought advice, then replaced the few plants that had died.

In addition, I sought advice regarding another issue... the dang beetles that seem ubiquitous for the area. The other night, I had noticed that they were every-freakin-where, and especially LOVED my garden. There was certainly evidence of them destroying my plants.

You see, I want to be an organic farmer- OK gardener. I have chosen as many "organic" things as necessary, even considered the fact that bugs like gardens, but until I actually encountered my first pest problem, I didn't understand.

*there's a reason to go as local as you can*

I asked about the beetles and the employee suggested at least 3 alternatives- all natural- that I could use to ward my garden of these pests. One involved an all-natural contact pesticide, another involved sprinkling the ground with diatomaceous earth, and the final was "garlic spray". I understood the words garlic and spray, so I inquired further.

Two bulbs of garlic + two pints of hot water + blender for 1-2 minutes + 1-2 days = a wonderful spray concentrate that repels and possibly kills many a pest. I sprayed this all over the garden.

I tried this and last night noticed that all those black beetles that were on the garden the other night were all over the yard, but when I checked the garden, one or two were straggling around on the dirt until I sprayed them with the garlic spray, I didn't see them again when I checked later.

Now there's a frost warning/advisory for this evening.

I get it, there is a cost to growing your own food that goes beyond money. It's an investment of time, energy, and problem-solving. It's a classic man-versus-nature battle.

There are many complexities involved. Just the other day I noticed ants crawling all over the bed of the garden along with other unidentifiable bugs. Do I try to get rid of them or let them stay? Are they going after my vegetables or just making a home in fertile soil? Are they helpful or harmful?

These are the type questions that we all ask when it comes to our health. I am currently teaching my Sunday school class on the "Three Simple Rules". They are as follows: 1.) Do no harm, 2.) Do good, 3.) Stay in love with God.

Without thinking much about it, I've asked these questions for years regarding my diet and exercise regimen. Am I doing harm? Am I doing good? These are the same questions I must ask when deciding on my gardening experience. How will my actions harm my family? How will my actions do good? Do I still love God?

All I know is that I sprayed the dang garden with some garlic spray and covered it with some plastic bags. If there are vegetables in the summer, then you will know that I have somehow become triumphant in this epic battle between man and nature... and when that epic battle is over, I know- if nothing else- that I have grown and learned so much more that I ever could have by reading about it.

God Bless!

Paul

Am I Really "That Guy"?

To be clear, I am "that guy".

The fact is that I have not been running for a little while due to injury.

So what have I been doing to exercise? Well, I guess the best way to describe it is that I've gone back to my roots... my ancestral roots that is. Yard work... whether that's ancestral or not is yet to be determined, but to be honest, I should confess that I am "that guy" in the neighborhood.

You see, I don't see yard work as a chore, rather I see it as an opportunity to "cross-train", exercise or basically get back to the basic, simple mechanics of the human body.

It is my belief that the human body was designed for work. Throughout ancient history, human beings have accomplished and created amazing things with simple tools. As we have progressed as a species, we have streamlined much of that work; including but not limited to agriculture, food production, building structures, travel, communication, etc. In addition to all this innovation, we have also suffered from diseases that our ancestors did not have to deal with nearly to the extent that we are today, such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, etc.

I bring this up because for everything I do "simply", I remove a modern convenience and make my life slightly more complex. Take my last four posts for example. For me, the process of cultivating yeast and making bread from scratch is easy, but that's because I am committed to it, and I've practiced it for a long while. It is much easier for me to go to a store and purchase bread, throw ingredients into a bread machine, or use a multitude of manufactured ingredients to make my bread "from scratch", but I don't.

Running for me has opened new areas of understanding. It's deeper than just exercise, it's a connection between me and those who have gone before me. When I run, it's almost a primitive experience. My, and your, ancestors ran and walked everywhere. Our bodies were designed and have adapted for this lifestyle.

The problem is that we have lost much of this. Our ancestors lifted heavy things, dug holes, gathered food, hunted, ran, walked, cooked, fought, etc. They were strong and fit, because if they weren't they'd die.

We have cars, trucks, lawnmowers, bread machines, and tractors. We eat food that is made in factories thousands of miles away, drive our cars everywhere (even when it's only a mile away), use machines for just about every activity, and we wonder why we have so many more problems with pollution, heart disease, allergies, diabetes, etc. that our ancestors never experienced.

All this is to say that I am "that guy" in my neighborhood. Today's cross-training was to weed- wack the tall, tough weeds and to mow. I didn't use the electric weed-wacker, or gas-powered lawn mower. I'm the guy that people turn their heads to look at. The one whose lawn-work is not making all that much noise.

 This is my weed-wacker. It's powered by me, and my arms. It's cheap and simply requires that I walk while swinging it at the tall weeds... talk about a workout!

 This is my backyard, I include it to show the area that I generally had to work the weed-wacker and the lawn-mower... you'll see why this is important (perhaps)

This is my front yard- a before picture, though I'm not sure the prevalence of tall weeds is shown in this picture.







This is the front yard, after the massacre of the weeds took place

This is my lawnmower- a reel mower, completely controlled by me, my arms, my legs and my body

This is to shame anyone who thinks that a reel mower would be too much work, as my six-year-old begged me to help... then I took a picture

It is my opinion, my theory that as we have made life easier for ourselves, we have complicated our health way beyond what those before us had to deal with. All those machines in the fitness center, all those weights, exercises and diet plans come from the fact that we are not performing the work or consuming the food for which we were designed. Thus, one might conclude that this is our chief problem as a species.

Cultures and societies without our modern conveniences don't have our problems. I had always wanted a reel mower, but did not get the opportunity until I moved to Texas and bought a house. I do own an electric weed wacker, but use it mainly when I want to get the job done quick.

However, I find it much more rewarding and healthful to go back to the basics and complicate my life a little more. My goal is simple, yet very hard to do- to get as much off-the-grid as I can and to lead a more healthy and vibrant life.

God Bless,
Paul

Bread With Homegrown Yeast

My last three posts had everything to do with capturing and cultivating your own, unique yeast. Now, it's time to use the yeast to make your own bread at home.

What you'll need:

FOR THE POOLISH (bread starter)
1 Large bowl and a wooden spoon
1 C starter
1 C spring/filtered water (to avoid the chlorine in tap water)
1 C whole wheat flour
1 lint-free towel/cloth

FOR THE DOUGH
1 Large bowl and a wooden spoon
~5.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 TB Kosher salt
2 Cups spring/filtered water
Olive oil
1 lint-free towel/cloth

TO PROOF THE LOAVES
2 bread pans
2 lint-free towels/cloths
Whole wheat flour for dusting

TO BAKE THE LOAVES
1 large pizza stone
1 pizza peel
Whole wheat flour for dusting
Sharp knife
1 pan of water

Making the poolish (bread starter)- usually done the night before I am going to make bread
1. In the large bowl, mix together the starter, flour and water with the wooden spoon
2. Using warm/hot water, soak the towel, wring it out so the towel is damp and warm
3. Cover and set aside for 9-12 hours

*Replace the starter with 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water

Making the dough
1. To the bread starter, add all the water, 1 cup of the flour and the salt, then stir
2. Add the second cup of flour and continue to stir, then add the third and fourth cup
3. After the fourth cup, the dough should be harder to stir- dust the counter with half a cup of flour and scrape the dough onto the surface- put the rest of the flour over the top and get about 1/2-1 full cup and set that aside, you'll need it to dust the dough while kneading it (fill the bowl with water and let it soak)
4. Knead the dough, incorporating the flour- it will be sticky, but be patient, just keep working the dough by flattening it and turning it, etc.
5. As the dough ball is formed, dust with flour ONLY if the dough ball is excessively sticky- you want it to be moist and tacky, but when it gets too sticky you can dust it with flour
6. Once the dough ball is firm and springy to the point that it rebounds when you poke it, you can set aside and scrape out and dry the bowl
7. Coat the bottom of the bowl with olive oil, place the dough ball into the bowl and lightly coat with olive oil
8. Cover the bowl with a damp, warm cloth and let it sit for at least 3 hours

Second rise
After 3 hours, knock the dough ball down, lightly knead it, then cover and let sit for another hour









Proofing the dough
1. Remove the dough from the bowl, separate into two dough balls, let rest
2. In two bread pans, place the other towels and dust with flour
3. Flatten and roll the two dough balls into loaves and put into the pans- cover and let sit for 2-3 hours
4. One hour before baking, place a pan with water on the bottom rack of the oven, place the pizza stone on the top rack, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees








Baking the loaves (oven at 450 degrees)
1. Dust the pizza peel with flour and gently turn one loaf onto the peel
2. Using the knife cut 3 diagonal slashes into the top of the loaf
3. Open the oven and slide the loaf onto the stone
4. Repeat steps 1-3 with the second loaf
5. Set a timer for 20 minutes- don't open the oven
6. At the end of 20 minutes, reduce the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes- don't open the oven
7. Using the peel, remove the loaves and put on wire rack to cool (minimum of 20 minutes)



 *Just dust off the excess flour




Don't worry if the dough looks a little flaccid when you put it on the peel and onto the stone, and don't worry about those three cuts you made, as you can see, they are necessary for what happens in the oven.  Once you put the dough onto the 450 degree hot stone and close the door to the 450 degree steam bath you've just created for it, the phenomenon known as "oven spring" occurs.

In that 40 minutes of baking (20 in 450 degree and 20 in 400 degree) the loaf springs up and becomes plump. The crust will be chewy and hard and the inside will be soft and flavorful. There is nothing about this bread that I don't like. It's hearty, soft, nutty, buttery, and chewy all at the same time. There are no flavors outside of yeasty, sourdough.

The lengthy fermentation process has made this bread significantly more nutritious than anything you can buy in the store. There's even some argument that the lengthy fermentation process might alleviate some of the adverse symptoms of diseases involving gluten intolerance.

And the cost? Well, once you have all the equipment (which isn't all that much), a bag of whole wheat flour costs about $5-6 and it takes about half of that bag to make these two loaves- well worth the risk of trying. You can also make these into round loaves using the exact same process with just different pans... so the possibilities are numerous.

Storage
I always take one loaf, put it in a gallon bag and into the freezer - to thaw, I let it thaw naturally inside the plastic bag until it is completely thawed

For the other loaf, I cut slices to order from one end and place the bread on that end, upright and cover it with a towel

*the loaves last for about 3-4 days before becoming stale, let it sit out much longer and it will become a host environment for mold

Let's Grow Some Bacteria! Part 3

In my last two posts I discussed some of the history of bacteria, including the vilification and attempt at control of the bacteria around us. In this post, I intend to show you how to cultivate your own bacteria that can be used in bread-making or pizza dough making, etc.

There are a few good things about making your own yeast, or shall I say "capturing" your own yeast as yeast is always around us looking for a host. Yeast gets its energy from sugars found in various fruits and vegetables. It's bacteria and ultimately a decomposer- as it works, it releases gases which are used in the manufacturing of alcohol and the rising of bread.

In order to capture or "make" (you like how I reversed the quotations?) your own yeast, you need 2 essential ingredients and 2-3 important pieces of hardware.

Ingredients
1. Flour- either whole wheat or rye
2. Water- either spring or filtered

Supplies
1. Cheese cloth
2. Medium sized ceramic, clay, stainless steel or wooden bowl (NOT PLASTIC)
*3. Optional- rubber band or rope and/or wooden spoon

Process
1. Put 1/2 cup of flour into the bowl
2. Add 1/2 cup of water + 2 tablespoons
3. Stir, then cover and secure with the cheesecloth- leave out in the kitchen (you may want to transfer it to the top of the fridge or somewhere out of the way as it develops)
4. Every morning- uncover it, stir it and re-cover
5. Every evening- add 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons water then stir and re-cover

The transformation will be interesting, nerve-wracking, and fascinating all at the same time. The mixture will bubble up, subside, show small bubbles, stink like rotten milk, smell like old beer, smell like bread and so on for about 2 weeks. After two weeks or so, you should have a yeasty starter ready for your first breads.

Like I've said before- simplicity is king here... simplicity and patience and you will have a healthy, tasty starter ready for nutritious bread baking for you and your family.

Once the starter has been used once for bread baking, then you have a choice. You can leave it out, continually feeding it, or you can cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator... then you only need to feed it once or twice a week. Either way, if you follow these simple directions, consider it a first step in reducing the dependency on foreign yeast and bacteria and one step closer to being off-the-grid.

As the bacteria grows, stay tuned for my new series... how to make the bread.

God bless, and good luck!
Paul

Let's Grow Some Bacteria, Part 2

I have read many books and articles that have blamed the advent of agriculture as the cause of many, if not all, of our modern health problems. The argument is that the human species used to roam the Earth hunting for meat and gathering nuts, fruits, vegetables and berries. Once we introduced agriculture into the mix, the problems started. We stopped hunting and gathering and began to divide into classes of farming, manufacturing and whatever else- because ultimately once we had a set system for food, we could settle down and start a more organized society.

At some point, grains entered the scene, and the downfall of the health of our species began. My counterpoint to this is that agriculture has been around for hundreds of thousands of years, but our current health crisis has only really been around for the last hundred or so years.

My argument is that our current health crises derived, not from agriculture, but from a system of "enhancing" our agriculture in order to produce more food with a consistent and predicable product. This requires a strict regiment of processed ingredients- derived from agriculture- but not ingredients that occur naturally in our environment or in our bodies.

Enter... or shall I say, exit... the bacteria.

There are two types of bacteria- the good kind, and the bad kind. When these two meet, they compete and, more often than not, the good ones win. However, if you want a consistent and predicable product, this is the very last thing you want- because, sometimes the good bacteria loses. So, considering all this, food manufactures have developed preservatives and alternative methods (alternative to what was established thousands of years ago) in order to make food faster and last longer- thus making it cheaper. This, I believe, is a large part of our problem.

Flashback... the original process of fermentation.

Thousands of years ago, a regular dish consumed by the ancient Egyptians was called "Wheat Mash". It was simply wheat and water mashed together and eaten. Not that difficult a concept. Somewhere down the line, someone must have left the mash out too long and noticed something quite unusual. From that potentially simple mistake was born, quite possibly, beer, wine, and bread... and would be the advent of pickles, cheese, kimchi, etc.

Essentially, it comes down to the competition of good verses bad bacteria. The process of fermenting grains, fruits and vegetables by making the environment conducive for good bacteria to prevail. Why all this? It's simple- thousands of years ago, there were no refrigerators or freezers. There was no such thing as harvesting your crop, eating some of it and then freezing whatever you needed for the winter... you needed to can it through the process of pickling it. In addition, water was not all that safe to drink, so fermenting grapes or grains would produce a low level of alcohol which would kill any bad bacteria that existed in the drink.

What all this did was to help human beings develop gut bacteria that was conducive to processing all this fermented food. If nothing else, it kept us alive as a species... however, in the modern era, we have developed processes that no longer need all that unpredictable fermentation. Instead, we have introduced a lot of chemicals and ingredients into "food" and water in the name of health... but we have a higher cancer rate, heart disease rate, and obesity rate than any of our ancestors ever had.

Why?

Agriculture?

Grain?

I do the best I can to stay away from fad dieting, artificial sweeteners, and any other kind of processed food. But it's hard to avoid. I started this blog a few years ago when I overheard a teacher in the teacher's lounge during lunch explaining that it was "impossible" to not consume high fructose corn syrup... I wanted people to know that it was more than possible, that I had been doing it for years, and I wanted people to know how much simpler it was that they were lead to believe.

I wanted to rise above the standard, climb to the top of the mountain of truth and scream, "We can do better!" It's takes time, and the Lord is well aware that I am not completely there yet, but I am trying. I encourage you to try, too.

This part two is more on my rationale for attempting to make my own sourdough starter... stay with me for part 3, because I am going to give you step by step instructions on how to make your own sourdough culture with wild-caught yeast and then, hopefully, to develop your own bread using only 4 ingredients- flour, water, salt, wild-caught yeast... it's a start- and well worth it.

God Bless!
Paul

Let's Grow Some Bacteria! Part 1

OK, I am well aware of the fact that America has somehow decided that bacteria is the devil incarnate. Most of everything we do involves some sort of anti-bacterial campaign. Hand sanitizer companies, antibiotic companies, antibacterial soap companies, etc have certainly benefited from the hype... of course, you know who else has benefited from this trend?

Bacteria- not the good kind, the bad kind.

We like things controlled. So, we want a sterile environment, but we forget what our bodies are capable of. Our bodies learn, they adapt and it is those adaptations that make us stronger as a species. When we kill all the bacteria around us, we don't realize the actual damage we create... then we hear about the "super-bug".

We have so overused antibacterial everything, that we have actually become weaker as a species while allowing the bad bacteria to evolve and become stronger. Call me crazy, and I'm not a scientist, but our desire to control everything around us- from processed food and processed footwear to processed bacteria and processed air and water, that we have actually held our bodies captive to the adaptations necessary to become stronger.

One of the ways we take control of bacteria is through yeast.

Ok, I get it... yeast? This guy is beyond crazy. But here me out.

Exodus 12:14-15
"14 'This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. '"

I never knew this before, but this Sunday when I heard this passage, I finally understood the importance of the line "remove the yeast from your houses" as sacrificial as it was.

If you've ever made bread, rolls, or any type of bread with leaven, you have most likely made it with a yeast that you purchased in a store, just as I had always done. You may have even bought sourdough bread or ordered a sandwich with this type of bread without ever really knowing what you were ordering.

I did all this until I read the book, "Cooked" by Michael Pollan. In it, Pollan describes the ever-appetizing thought about "gut-bacteria". In brief, we've lost that development of gut-bacteria which has potentially led to many disorders of digestion and possibly a lot worse. What I want to highlight here, however, is the idea of yeast.

Commercial yeast bought in stores is actually cast-off yeast from brewers. I didn't know that. That is the yeast that the vast majority of bread makers use. Commercial or Baker's yeast is called  Saccharomyces cerevisiae; however, yeast used in sourdough bread- the wild caught kind- the very kind that the Israelites would have used, the kind that is cultivated over time and even passed down from generation to generation is called  L. sanfranciscensis- a name bestowed upon it when the prevailing thought was that this was a specific strain of yeast only found in San Francisco. However, this same strain was discovered across the globe to be in wild-caught yeast.

What's important about the bacteria discussed is what it does and has done to our guts. Our guts are so accustomed to the norm that our immune system has trouble adapting to changes. The gist in "Cooked" is that fermentation is an incredibly important facet in our species and it's almost been completely eliminated by processed, controlled, and structured food production.

I have since learned about the importance of fermentation, and I have made my own sourdough culture/starter. It's simple, but does take time, patience and care. I have started to make my own bread, which I had been doing before, but now with yeast that I have cultivated.

Please consider these words as a precursor to tomorrow night's exciting continuation of "Let's Grow Some Bacteria!"

God's Peace,
Paul

Salsa Party

I just thought of a great idea. A "Salsa" Party! We provide salsa music and the salsa and you just bring your own chips to share... it's a win-win! I only say this because I have just consumed some of the best salsa I have ever made and this completely ties into yesterday's post (Put It in a Taco).

This evening I had some leftover London Broil, so I sliced it into small pieces and heated them up on my cast iron skillet.

In addition, I heated up a few tortillas and placed the beef inside... wait a minute, I should at least start from the beginning, because, often when dealing with beef, the veggies take much longer. Let me start from the... start.

1. I diced a yellow onion and put it in in a small pot with peanut oil over medium heat.
2. After the onion started to really cook, I diced 1 jalapeno with the seeds in tact and added it to the onions (I lightly covered the pot with a lid, because One does not simply cook a jalapeno without making the air around them unbearable.)
3. I then peeled about 3-4 cloves of garlic and chopped them into smallish pieces, then added them to the onion and jalapeno mixture and recovered letting them simmer on lower heat.

*keep in mind that with this mixture, I continually checked and stirred for even cooking

4. I then diced about 4-5 medium sized tomatoes, and , in a separate, bigger pot, I put them on the stove to slowly start to simmer.
5. When I was confident in the cooking of the "aromatics" (onion, garlic, and jalapeno), I added them to the tomatoes and stirred and turned the heat to medium and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes.
6. I added cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Then I waited.
7. I let the pot cook down a little while, then...
8. I used a hand blender in the pot to break down the mixture into "salsa-sized" chunks (only you can determine when to stop) *note that a blender works just fine, you'll just need to spoon it into a blender and chop and puree it to your liking.
9. I put the whole amazingness into a bowl and dreamed about its future.

10. While dreaming about this amazingness, I (cooked my child's food) heated up some tortillas, put the now hot steak into the tortillas, sliced an avocado and put it in the tortillas, then finally put the amazing-should-be-making-me-a-million-dollars salsa on top.

So, I made some awesome steak tacos from yesterday's steak with a touch of whatever I had in the fridge made into a salsa. Salsa is the perfect condiment. Full of vegetables, low in carbs and fat, and high in necessary nutrients for a successful life.

I write this mainly because I was thinking about what raw ingredients should we always have on hand. My answer is that we should always, at least, have the necessary ingredients for a salsa. Think about that for a moment. Tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and garlic. The seasonings are all about what your individual taste is, but consider the number of things you can make with just those 4 main ingredients.

You could make pico-de-gallo, pasta sauce, side dishes, just serving them as vegetables, etc. These are the main ingredients I try to make sure I always have on hand, because even though I think making anything into a taco sounds easy, sometimes it's much better if you add a little more.

Eating simply is all about that. Cooking fresh and homemade food can be as simple as what I described. First, stock your refrigerator and pantry with the essentials, then go wild. If time is a constraint, just keep in mind that I did all this after working all day and then coming home and doing a 15-mile bike ride. Then, of course, I still had to make lunches for tomorrow, get the boy in the bath and do our nighttime routine, and clean the kitchen. And, oh yeah, I also sat down to write this.

Point is? I'm going to throw an amazing salsa party and if you're not there, it's your loss.

Love you :-)

Paul

Put it In a Taco

The other night I posted about a stir-fry meal I made with rice, chicken, and veggies.

It was very good and flavorful, but there were left-overs. And you know, there's just nothing all that exciting about left-overs.

That is... until you put it in a taco.

That's right, I just took last night's leftovers and put it in a taco... just say those words with me, "Put it in a taco".

Need to spruce up some leftovers?

Put it in a taco... need to find a way to make breakfast portable and fun?

Put it in a taco. Think, "cereal taco"- cheerios with yogurt in a taco shell, then of course eggs and cheese.

I don't even care what it is. Just put it in a tortilla call it a taco and bam! Instant taco night, and you name me one person who doesn't love taco night. This could easily make every other night taco night... just think, if every other night was a taco night, or every other morning was a taco morning, or every other lunch was a taco lunch... what a world we would live in!

You can put just about anything in a tortilla and call it a taco. I believe it was Taco Bell that actually put a taco inside a taco and called it a taco something. The possibilities are endless, but the point is very simple. There are more creative ways to have fun with your food.

My simple suggestion? Take something bland, put it in a tortilla with some avocado and a splash of salsa, and... hello! TACO NIGHT!

Have fun, and play with your food a little!

Peace,

Paul

When You've Done Everything Right, but It All Goes Wrong

I'm trying to figure out a problem. Before I moved to Texas I had already decided to run the Dallas Marathon in December. My training went pretty well, and my taper was almost perfect... then, there was an ice storm, the whole city shut down and my marathon was cancelled.

I took a week off and decided to set my focus on the Big D marathon in April. Instead of just riding the wave of my previous training, I decided to start over- from scratch. This time, however, I was a lot more formal, adding a slow-building of one-day-a-week speed work outs (starting small and working up) and one-day-a-week tempo runs (designed to train me how to run at my goal pace). In addition, I started my distance runs, simply enough, with 8 milers, then 10, 12, 14, and 16. I went so slow with this build up that I did 2 weeks of 12, two of 14 and two of 16.

Then.

My first attempt at 18 was a disaster. My right heel was in such pain that I had to stop after nine miles, the last few of those miles were sluggish. My second attempt, the next week, ended with the same result. I rested throughout the next week- rolling my foot, my calf, my legs- stretching, doing yoga, etc. Then I attempted it again. Same result... and one more for good measure the next week, you guessed it.

Well, needless to say, I'm glad I didn't pay and register for the race. I took a couple weeks off and everything started to feel better. After a few good suggestions from some good friends, I decided that maybe it was time for new shoes. Got em- my favorites and mostly successful brands, makes and models were even on sale- win!

I ran a few times successfully, then thought that maybe the half-marathon would be a better fit this time, so I tried running 13 miles this past weekend just to be sure. As I approached 7 miles, I realized that I hadn't run more than once a week and no longer than 6 miles for about 4 weeks... 13 may be a bad idea, so I stopped at 10.

When I analyzed my split times, I noticed the same thing across the board. For the first 3-4 miles I ran rather consistently, but after that I slowed down significantly. A month + ago I was running record half-marathon, 5K, and 10K times, but now I'm barely able to perform on short runs. Frankly, I'm at a loss.

The muscle issues are either in my right heal, my right calf, my right hamstring, or my right glute. I stretch, I roll them. I don't know. I've gotten new shoes, I pay extremely close attention to my stride and breathing pattern. To be honest, it's frustrating.

Probably no one out there can help, but it's important to know that no matter how much work we put in and no matter how much we do it right- something can always go wrong. It's hard to say this, but sometimes, we need to accept that injury, pain and hurt happen while we try to improve. The reasons for this are numerous, but the one thing we cannot do is give up.

I'll do some yoga tomorrow and play it by ear for Thursday. I'll take Friday off as I normally do, then if I can run 13 miles on Saturday, I'll register and run the Big D half-marathon the next week. My best guess is that I won't PR, but at this point I'm not even sure I'm running the race... and that needs to be OK. Sometimes we don't run the race; but we heal, rest and recover, then come out fighting the next time around.

These are always hard decisions, but ones that only we can make. I encourage you to not only consider what you can do that pushes you to your limits, but what will it take to go beyond those limits. I also encourage you to consider your ego as you go... sometimes, you just need to heal.

God bless,
Paul

Three Simple Rules to Cooking

I love cooking.

If you knew me prior to 2002, you'd probably say that I was lying and likely recount some ridiculous thing that I attempted to make and, if you were being honest at the time, you probably asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead. I mean, I burnt spaghetti... spaghetti! The one thing that I was told I couldn't screw up.

Cooking for me is a lot like writing. When I was in high school, I was a decent writer. I had creative ideas, but was forced into a 5 paragraph essay format. Even the longer research papers fit neatly into the mold of "tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them." In college, my freshman English professor threw that mold in the trash like a moldy piece of cheese. From that point forward, I felt free to write in any style I chose, so long as there was a solid thesis somewhere that was supported then concluded. I started to enjoy writing and the writing process ever since.

Cooking was very similar. Follow these steps and these recipes and that's how you cook. Frankly, it's overwhelming, and that's why I think so many people run away from the fresh food cooking ideals that they could provide for their family. And it's certainly not woman's work, nor is it man's work- it's human's work. Cooking fresh, homemade food is actually very simple. In fact, in light of my current Sunday school series (Three Simple Rules), I think it best to put cooking to the test. These are the three simple rules of cooking wholesome, fresh homemade food.

1.) You need a protein (meat, fish, tofu, etc)
   -Fish- there are thousands of awesome ways to cook fish, but to summarize- cook them until they are flaky (some can be rarer, like Tuna and Salmon, some need to be well done)
  -Beef- ground beef needs to be completely cooked/ others between 160-170 (get a meat thermometer)
  -Pork- cook until 170 degrees
  -Chicken/Poultry- cook until 170-180 degrees
  -Tofu- heat it up, it will take the flavor of whatever is in the pan
  -Beans- can be used as a starch, but they have good fiber and protein and have all the essential ingredients to create life... so they're pretty good for you
  -Eggs- they've gotten a bad reputation, but eggs are an excellent source of a lot of goodness- if you think about it, eggs (with the yolks) have all the amino acids, nutrients, proteins, etc necessary for life
2.) Vegetables- rule of thumb for cooking vegetables. You do not need to cook most vegetables, but if you choose to cook them, think of it more as heating them up.
  -Blanching vegetables (ideal for broccoli, or other hearty vegetables that can be eaten raw)- simply boil water in a kettle and pour over them, then serve
  -Steaming vegetables- I actually haven't done this in a while, but the idea is that they shouldn't touch the water and the steaming should be light
  -Grilling vegetables- should be the last step in the cooking process, thrown on the grill or in the pan in the last few minutes to give them that grilled taste, but not to overcook them
3.) Starch/Grain- everyone will have an opinion on this, so I'll try to make it brief. Find starches like brown rice, quinoa, beans (beans can be your protein and starch)- basically you want your starch to be high in fiber, nutrients, and ideally protein. I generally avoid potatoes- however- they can fill you up fast (good for over eaters), and are fairly high in potassium... the skin has fiber.

Meat serving size is arguable (old rule is, no bigger than a deck of cards), eat as many veggies as you want (load up the plate), and eat the starches sparingly.

I had left-over rice in the fridge, so this evening I decided to make black beans and rice... then I decided to make black beans, rice and chicken... then I decided to make chicken, veggies and rice stir-fry. These decisions were made fluidly and without thought. In the end, I realized that I had a lot of veggies in the fridge and left-over rice. I just needed to thaw and cook the chicken.

1. I started by chopping up and putting some chicken on a hot pan with some peanut oil- I sprinkled it with salt and pepper
2. As it cooked, I chopped up some onion, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, green beans (never from a can), okra, and jalapeno (de-seeded- if you want spice, leave the seeds in)
3. I added some fresh herbs from the garden (now at this point, if you don't have a garden, then this is more complicated than it needed to be- I added rosemary, thyme, cilantro, chamomile)- you can add whatever the heck you want, it's your food!
4. Once the chicken started to brown I added all the veggies and cooked them all together on medium heat

5. Once everything started looking done, I added the left-over rice and mixed it all together
6. I added some soy sauce to taste
7. I served it in a smallish bowl

Ta da.

Cooking is not magic. Sometimes it just takes someone with an idea that grows. It might take a day to figure out what you want to cook, or an hour, or 10 minutes. If you simply follow the three simple rules, then you can experiment and learn how to do it... just like I had to. Just don't let yourself get too bogged down with all the dang rules, and have fun!

God Bless!
Paul

Gardening... Yes, Gardening- My Biggest Failure Would to Be to Not Try at All.

Let me give you a little history.

My wife and I do NOT have "green thumbs". What we actually have is what we know so affectionately as a "black thumb". This means that instead of growing living things, we are more prone to killing living things. The very fact that our 6 year old boy is, indeed, 6-years-old is a freaking miracle of God.

Our death tally includes: every living thing that has ever been put into our care, with one exception.

So, the idea that I would actually follow through on a lifelong goal of having a garden should, at the very least, give you some investment in the story of it.

A million years ago when we got married, we lived in a tiny, beautiful, lovely town called Knoxville, PA- population 618, when we left, two people moved in... 618. We had a a wonderfully loving grandma, Pauline, who had raised several children. She still cooked for several children and planted a garden for several children. She regularly instructed us to harvest from that garden as often as we could. I was envious at her ability to grow things and feed people- this was during the time that I was learning how to cook, live healthy, exercise, and to teach (I was going to school- again).

Fast-forward a few years. My wife was appointed to a church in Tower City, PA, and we moved into the parsonage where the former pastor had planted a plentiful garden. We harvested tons of tomatoes, green beans, zucchinis, broccoli, etc. The years that followed... well, let's just say, nothing planted, nothing grown. Though I always envied the idea of growing my own food.

Fast forward just a few more years. Now we have moved to Texas and "purchased" our own home. The backyard belongs to "us". So, finally, I decided to try my first attempt at growing my own food- in a drought, with clay-tacular soil (i.e. muck with no real benefit).

I have visited the local nursery- which is what I would suggest to anyone wanting to try this. Local nurseries have insider knowledge of your soil and how to overcome the deficiencies therein... ie. North Texas, nutrition-less clay. I have started to compost and have built a simple, above ground garden 8' x 4' in area. I have used as much organic soil builder stuff as possible. And though I'm not sure how it's all going to turn out, I am loving every minute of it.

I have heard an equal amount of success and failure stories about trying to overcome the frailties of the North Texas climate and have come to one conclusion...

My biggest failure would be to not try at all.

Let's just call that a lesson for life. Have you ever thought to yourself, "gosh, if I would have tried _______, I would know by now whether it was successful!" Welcome to my thought-process.

If we never try, we'll never fail; if we never fail, we'll never succeed.

I believe this to be true, and I just pray that my garden (though I can already see wilted leaves) turns out to be a success- if not, then I guess I'll have learned a lesson for next year's garden. I am committed to make this work.

God Bless You!
Paul

Life is So Very Fragile

I don't know how to articulate this point more clearly than when I read a story of a young 16 year old athlete, Cameron Gallagher, who crossed the finish line of the Shamrock Half Marathon in VA Beach, VA then collapsed and died. Her father stated that she was smiling "ear-to-ear" as she crossed the finish line.

I cannot even begin to imagine the feelings of losing such an inspirational, wonderful young girl. Even at such a young age, she had already accomplished so much... but life is so very fragile.

This story hits many nerves for me. I grew up very near VA Beach, and one of my favorite marathons is the Shamrock Marathon. It was this marathon where I earned both my best marathon time in addition to my favorite hoodie as a finisher's prize. In addition, my wife had run the Shamrock 8K twice (once with me pacing her, while I pushed my son in a jogging stroller). Our friend, Faith, joined us at the running festival for the Half Marathon. One year, we had a runner in every race, including the kiddie marathon (26.2 yards). This year's running, on the same day that this horrific event occurred, one of my good friends from high school completed this same marathon (Shamrock), her first. So, to hear such tragic news in the midst of such joy, and so close to home, is heartbreaking, to say the least.

Another story, that I've told in this blog, is one of a good friend who died several years ago- one week after running the same half marathon (my first half-marathon) that he had run for many years- a man with a 20+ year running streak and an extremely healthy lifestyle suddenly dies without warning.

There are countless stories like these, so what is one to think? No one knows the day, the time, or the hour that they will be taken from this earth. We cannot predict when we or our loved ones will depart. We cannot determine when our bodies will fail us or injuries will occur. All we can really do is hope, pray, and fight.

We all deal with a huge pile of stresses that can easily overtake us. We deal with these messes in many different ways- some good, some bad. In the end, we have to choose whether to let fear, stress, or anxiety take over our choices; or we have to choose another path, the one that leads to enjoyment in life.

We need to explore ourselves, exploit our limitations and go beyond our capacity. I encourage you to explore faith in these endeavors, seek God. You will be amazed at what the human body can do when we treat it the way that our Creator intended us to treat it.

In the end, though, it might be that our time will come when we least expect it. In fact, those who are closest to us will taken entirely too soon. We can only fight genetics, current circumstances of our world, and our fellow pilgrims for so long. My prayer tonight is that whenever we cross that last finish line, we will all be smiling ear-to-ear.

God Bless,
Paul

A Restart? Perhaps it's Time

I've made some new friends in the last year and a half or so since my last post. I've learned many new things, and there have been a lot of changes. I've run a couple more marathons and have had a couple new running injuries and stories of a race cancelled on me and me cancelling on a race. I've moved all the way to Texas, and I've also gained a few pounds and probably picked up a few bad habits. But mostly, I've learned that, at least in some part, my former posts meant something to more people than I thought, including myself.

You see, writing this blog used to be a discipline, a good habit- hard to keep- for me. It sounds silly, but once something becomes habit, it sticks and is hard to break. Creating new, terrible habits are easy to do; these are the things that fill the void of old habits- especially good, disciplined ones.

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to read from the beginning, where everything started- to learn more about my story, my quips, my sillies, my whatchamacallits. Enjoy some old stories and learn. There are some good recipes for easy, fresh homemade dinners; there are some good tips on exercise; there are good tips on weight loss and diet; I've even put beginner running programs in there; and, of course, race stories.

If you were one of my first readers, welcome back- so sorry to have been out of touch for so long.

A really good friend of mine, Jason (read his story here), recently introduced me to a friend of his who struggles with weight, and he pointed his friend to my blog. This has rekindled a fire, a passion I once had in helping others do the seemingly impossible. By changing some simple things in our lives, learning new ways to live, and rediscovering the joy of eating and living a healthy lifestyle, many of us have renewed ourselves and rediscovered who we are. I feel as though this is a calling to me, and I've certainly missed it.

I guess what I'm saying is, I want back in, because it meant something to me before, and it meant something to others. So, I hereby recommit myself to my simple blog with these two, extremely easy tips to make a very wholesome sandwich.

Homemade Almond Butter
It's very simple

1. Buy raw almonds
2. Spread almonds on cookie sheet, spray lightly with cooking oil (optional)
3. Sprinkle with kosher salt (optional)
4. Roast in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, let cool
5. Put roasted almonds in blender and puree for a few seconds
6. Add 1-2 tablespoons (depending on need) peanut oil or another oil of choice and puree again until the almonds turn into a recognizable butter-looking substance
7. Add salt to taste
8. Put in container and place in refrigerator

Homemade Strawberry Spread
I totally made this up the other night and it shames me that I never did it before

1. Put a bunch of strawberries, without the stem, in a bowl
2. Take two forks
3. Mash them until they look mashed with some lumps or to your liking
4. Put in container- mix with the juice of one lime
5. ta-da!
6. If you want sweeter stuff, guess what you need to add (though I recommend the evaporated cane type, but to each his/her own)
7. Optional- if you want a really healthy way to make the spread thicker, add a few tablespoons of chia seeds, mix them in and let it sit
8. I feel as though I need the 8th step because the Almond butter needs 8 steps, so- keep in mind, there are no preservatives, so it is best to store a small batch in the fridge with small batches in the freezer :-)

OK, folks, that felt good. It's nice to be back! Invite your friends and all that good stuff!

Peace!
Paul