Happiness is... Part Duex

Being a Texan, and a food nerd, there has been a gaping hole in my life for the last 8 months... When I moved houses in November, such horrid shape was the grill in that it got "donated" to the deer hunters down the street. And by "donated" I mean, if you drag this piece of shit down the street to your house it is yours. Thank you very much (they also took the dilapidated patio furniture and the non-functional chest freezer.)

So, after months of agony being relegated to cooking on the electric stove in the house, the issue was remedied last night. Ordered and picked up my new gas grill (notice I didn't say BBQ Pit... there is a difference. One that I will pick up at a future date.)

Working hard into the dark of night last night, Jina and I assembled the new grill. Not that difficult really, just sometimes the instructions were a little tedious. What do you mean "loosen the screws?" I am trying to make this tight.

Anyway... got a new grill... what to do with it? Hey, I got a novel idea... let's cook on it! Yeah! That's the ticket.

Heat 'er up... let the varnish burn off (mainly whatever they sealed things with... don't want that aroma in the food.) While that's going...

A quick marinade. Orange, Lemon juices, fresh peppers, garlic, ginger and soy. Add in a healthy Ahi steak. Soak for 45 minutes.

Whip up a little black quinoa and some wild mushrooms.

Hey... while that is cooking, gotta throw some MEAT on the grill. What do I cook? I mean I am not going to eat anything with the tuna... I know. Medina County venison sausage. Yeah, that's the ticket. Yumm!

Quinoa almost done, throw the tuna on for 1.5 minutes on the first side, 1 minute on the second. A perfect rare. Let it rest 5 minutes, slice and serve with the quinoa/shrooms.

Voila. Citrus Ginger Soy Ahi and Black Quinoa.

Happiness is a new pair of Running Shoes... or THREE!

After a short week at work, we are getting ready for the wonderful end of the quarter grind. And in my spare time, I have to find some time to go over training materials that I will be starting to deliver Aug 1.

So, what to do to relax over the weekend? Wait...wait... don't tell me...

I got it. Get up at 5:30 on Saturday and go for a run. Yes, I said. 5:30... AM. The Lifetime Fitness Run Club met this week at Hill Country Running on Parmer. A nice run that didn't include T&C Optimist Park? Yes please.

After the group gathered, we had a little discussion on finding the right shoe, lef by Troy of HCRC. Which reminded me, I need to retire the Brooks Adrenaline 10 that I ran San Antonio. Well, in Michael Jordan fashion, I needed to retire them a second time. I initially tried after the SA Marathon, but the Brooks Racer ST-4 that I chose were tearing up my knees. Too fast into a more minimal shoe? Too many miles? Perhaps. So I broke the Adrenalines back out. Much past the 400 mile mark, they needed to go. Fortunately, we were running from a store.

I picked up three new pair of shoes... for road work, the Brooks Adrenaline 11. Hey... if it ain't broke...

For track/speed work, the Saucony Fastwitch 4.

And for overall balanced shoes, the Mizuno Wave Eclipse 6.

Oh, and I got two free reusable grocery bags with them. As if I didn't have 15 in my house already.

After I got home, it was time to take Elvie to the vet for her first check up. She did extremely well, and goes back Saturday for her boosters.

Then, after a quick stop at TacoDeli for some Steak and Chicken Fundido, and it off to look at some river front property in Blanco. I can say this definitively... the Texas Drought is depressing as hell. Very little water in the river. God we need some rain. Please.

Yes, that is the Blanco River. Sorta.

Sunday morning coming down. On my head.

Joined the Lifetime Cycle Club for a Parmer Road out and back this morning. My friend Amy Carlton is in town to watch Jason umpire at the Round Rock Express, so she decided to join us for the ride. Only one issue... she forgot water bottles and her helmet.

Water bottle? Easy. I have a couple of extra. Borrow one of mine.

Helmet? Not so easy. But not tough. This is why I PREACH to work with local running and bike shops. I stopped in to see Mark Bittman at AJ's Cyclery to see if I could borrow a helmet for Amy. Kind of embarrassing since I did the same last Sunday for me. But, no issues. Sure. Got one to loan.

Of course, when we dropped it back off today after lunch, Amy and I spend about $100 on gear at the shop. And I have the target for my next ride. Lightspeed!

Have a great day, and go do something!

Road Trips, Street Food, Moon and BBQ

First, let me start off on this Independence Day by saying Thank You to every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Coastie who has ever had the guts to don the uniform of the United States and stand a post. You are the reason that my family and I were able to gather today in Bigfoot, TX for the 11th Annual Shebang. It is your selfless sacrifice that keeps us free. There are too many of you on my mind to name you all. But you know who you are. Ooh-rah.

Sunday was a great day! Got up early, met my friends Kim Slaughter, Andrea Fox, Mark Bittman and the rest of the AJ's Shop Ride group for an early morning ride out Parmer. Only one problem... as I was driving to the ride, I realized I forgot my brain bucket. My helmet. Now I have been told for years that I am hard headed, but riding without a helmet is just DUMB. Fortunately, Mark owns a bike shop and had a helmet to lend me. 22 miles, as Andrea helps Kim get used to riding.

Came home, showered, lazed around the house till about 4PM. Then we loaded up the pups for their first road trip. If you have never traveled with two pups under the age of 6 months, its an adventure. But we got it done. Arrived in SA and introduced the pups to Dad's dog, Turk. Well, Turk in a Cone. See, Turk got in a scrap Saturday morning and got cut up pretty bad. a $450 vet bill later, he has the Cone of Shame.

We spent about an hour letting the dogs socialize, then loaded up in Mom's new Cadillac CTS for a ride down to the old Pearl Brewery for dinner. San Antonio has done a fabulous job reviving the old brewery on Grayson into a multi use market and housing center. It was a bit bittersweet. I mean, Dad worked on building part of the old brewery as a teenager, my Grandps Pawlik drove a truck for Pearl for 30 years. Dinner at La Gloria, they have Pearl in a can. But its a crying damn shame that it is not bottled/canned in SA any more. From the Country of 1100 Springs.

Dinner was good... I had the Tacos Al Pastor (PREACH ON!) and the Coctel a la Campechana (Mexican style seafood cocktail.) Sis and Jina got a little sauced, I got to drive the Caddy home. Its a sweet ride. If you have a spare $45K lying around, go buy one. Or spend the extra $5K and get the CTS-V!

Got up Monday and headed to the aforementioned Bigfoot for the 11th Annual Shebang. What on God's green earth is a Shebang, you ask? Well, its this community BBQ that is held every year at the Bigfoot Community Pavilion. Dad's brother, Joe, along with Dusty and Jack Center, have been BBQ'ing for all 11 years. They work on tips only. Locals from Devine, Moore, Yancey, and other parts of Medina and Frio Counties gather for some fun, food, fellowship. And of course some dominoes! Can't be a Shebang without a friendly game of Moon. (I need to teach Dad and Ronnie how to play 42!)

Wish I could say it was all good... I actually had two people today tell me I was getting fat again... Really? Do you think I need that? Yes, I know I have put about 20 pounds back on. But hey, its marathon training season. I expect it to go away. I am still wearing size 33 jeans, Medium or Large shirts... but FAT? Yeah, that felt good. Guess it was a little bit of a reality check? But last year, when they saw me at the same BBQ, I was a the pinnacle of my weight loss. I know we all gain some back. I just didn't expect it to hurt so much to be reminded of it.

One other bad thing? Its HOT! Well, DUH... July in Texas? You were expecting snow? Yeah... about 95 degrees today. We stayed till about 2:30 then headed back to Austin.

After all the meat at lunch (brisket, ribs, and chicken... along with some pintos and pickles,)

I decided a light salad would suit me well for dinner. Break out the local greens, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes. Add in some Full Quiver Raw Milk Feta and some Whole Foods Greek olives. Mix up a little Greek dressing. Bam! Salad.

Finish off with some fresh local peaches and organic berries and fresh whipped cream. What a light, refreshing dinner.

Back to the grind tomorrow. 5 weeks left in the quarter. But hey, at least I get a tempo run in the morning and a nice 90 minute massage tomorrow night. Thanks to Velvet for squeezing me in.

One last thing... my sister hates the term "foodie." She thinks I should change this to "Bariatric Food Nerd..." What say you?