195 Days of Self-Doubt & Fear

The big day has come…the first day of training for the Walt Disney World Marathon!! (I can’t decide if the exclamation points should be in there or not)  I have been holding on to my post-race “snack” from my last RunDisney race for this day, so even though it expired in December, I’m going to crack into that to try and get myself motivated!  I already feel nauseous over the whole thing, so surely it can’t get any worse.

The training program is 28 weeks long, which also means the Marathon is 195 days away.  The good news is, my mystery injury has improved a little bit.  So now when I run, instead of looking like a kill-deer faking an injury to lure a predator away from her nest, I just look like an old lady who is far too out of shape to be running.  I consider this a win!  The bad news is, I have very little confidence in myself that I can do this.  Quite frankly, I’m not sure I will be ready for the Queen City HALF Marathon in September.  

Looking through the training program, I will try to do as many real “races” as possible if they coincide with my training days.  For example, the Estevan Police Half Marathon falls on October 4 and I am scheduled for a 15 mile run that weekend anyway, so I will do that.  It is always a little easier to run during a formal race, that just around my route as I described in an earlier post.  Of course, how I’m going to run past the BBQ tent at the end of the Estevan race to run another 2 miles and meet my training goal, I have no idea.   I am fairly confident in being able to get my mileage in until the first part of November.  And then I’m going to have some trouble.  In November and December I have a couple of big runs on the schedule and I am NOT doing those on the treadmill.  I am seriously considering showing up on the doorstep of some warmer-weathered friends on these days and asking them to point me in the direction of a running trail.  Seriously considering it…so if this idea scares you, you might not want to answer the door.  But ideally, if I can get some kind of guarantee that we won’t have snow in Saskatchewan until Christmas Day, I’ll be all good!  That isn't too much to ask, is it?

In the meantime, the training starts out very slow, so I should be able to keep up for the first few weeks.  I have just submitted my proof of time to RunDisney and based on that, they have calculated my anticipated 26.2 mile finish time as 3 hours, 39 minutes. Oh that Mickey, he always did like a good laugh!

Raspberry Lemon Chiffon Cake with Lemon Curd & Buttercream Icing

A few weeks ago, I was asked to bake a cake for a birthday party for a group of ladies.  Instead of deciding to make a time-tested favourite, I thought I’d create something brand new.  What is wrong with me?  The worst part of it was I was not at the party to see how it turned out!  I had so much anxiety over how it cut and presented and how the flavours and textures worked together, if at all.  And even though I had great feedback, I couldn’t trust its success until I recreated it for myself.  So, I made another, licked the plate clean, and decided I should share the recipe and process with you!

Lemon Chiffon Cake

7 eggs, separated 

2 C. flour

1 1/2 C. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 C. water

1/2 C. canola oil

4 tsp. grated lemon peel

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Let egg whites come to room temperature.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, whisk the yolks, water, oil, lemon peel and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until blended.  Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form.  Gently fold into batter.

Grease and flour three round cake pans.  Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper if you want a guaranteed “no fail” turnout of the cakes!  Gently spoon the batter evenly between the round pans and bake for approximately 25 minutes.  When lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, remove to a cooling rack and let cool for about 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the outside of each pan to make sure the cake is loose, invert the pans to remove the cakes, and cool completely.  If you are like me, you prefer to do as much as possible ahead of time, so at this point you can wrap the cakes and freeze until ready to fill and decorate!

Note: If you are reading this and thinking, "There is no way I am separating those eggs and dirtying 2 bowls so I won't bother.", just use the eggs whole.  It won't be quite the same texture, but ALL cake is awesome in my opinion, so if it's going to stop you from making the cake, just do it the easy way!

Lemon Curd Filling

(between the bottom and middle layers) 

A friend of mine developed this great lemon curd recipe which I have made quite a bit lately as the husband and kids love lemon.  It was actually the inspiration for this whole cake!  See Culinary Cool for the recipe.

Raspberry Filling

(between the middle and top layers)

There is really no recipe here.  All I did was mash up approximately one cup of raspberries with a bit of jelly that I had on hand (I think it was actually crap apple jelly). Of course, if you had raspberry jelly or jam, that would make even more sense!  You could just put a jam layer here too, but I wanted to bring in some fresh berries, in a very quick and easy way!  And if you prefer, use blueberries or saskatoons, or whatever you love and have on hand!

Lemon Buttercream Icing

1/2 C. Crisco vegetable shortening

1/2 C. butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 C. icing sugar

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

In a large bowl beat shortening, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  On medium speed, add sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.  Gradually add the lemon juice until icing reaches a spreadable, smooth consistency.  

For each filling layer, pipe a large bead of buttercream around the circumference of the circle to hold the filling in place.  Fill with curd or berries and top with the next cake round.  The rest of the buttercream is used to ice the top and sides of cake.  Garnish with fresh raspberries and you are done!

How to Train in  Saskatchewan

Thousands of years from now, when school children are learning about Saskatchewan Mythology, I will be referred to as "Deanna, the Goddess of Wind", because apparently I control its direction with my running.  As in, whichever direction I am going, the wind will shift so that I am running directly into it.  Of course, when you train running into the wind, it helps when you travel away for a race because you may not have that weather factor to contend with.  Although Saskatchewan is flat so I don't get any experience with hill training until it's too late.  So, it all evens out in the end.

Okay, so we've discussed the wind.  Next thing you need to think about when running out in the country at this time of year are the sprayers.  There is nothing worse than running down a road and seeing a high clearance sprayer coming at you, booms down.  If this should occur, take a quick survey of the wind.  Is it coming directly at you?  Well, of course it is.  So the trick is to plan your breaths so that you take one deep one just before the cloud of spray hits you so you can hold your breath until it dissipates.  This takes some practice.  Lucky for me, I usually hold my breath when I run so I'm pretty good at this.  It gets a little trickier when the spray planes come out as they can sneak up on you pretty fast.  I usually step outside in the morning and listen for planes.  If there seems to be one around, I'll have another cup of coffee or dawdle a bit longer because they move pretty fast and they're not usually around very long.  But the principles are the same...you hear/see a plane coming at you, check the wind, time your breath, and hold.  And you're going to have a shower when you get home anyway, so you'll be fine!

Pictured here is my run route.  It's a 5 mile lap which brings me past our house so if I am making more than one lap, I can stop at the bathroom.  I run clockwise, because I am OCD.  Inevitably I will play a game of "chicken" with some piece of farm equipment around the red square marker.  It's usually the same person.  No matter the time of day, he's always moving something (you know who you are).  So, in Saskatchewan, you also have to watch out for the farm implements.  And my apologies for all of you who come up behind me because we all know I can't hear you coming and am usually in the middle of the road.  I know for sure that this is how I'll die, and I'm okay with that.  I do try and wear a colour that will stand out.  Last year I was on a bright yellow kick, and was fairly proud of myself for being so visible until I realized the crops were blooming and I was running between canola fields.

Proof-reading this, I realize it's a bloody miracle I have survived this long.  The farmers probably have a pool on who will get me first.  And I'm okay with that too.

The Simplicity of Sourdough

I bake some kind of bread every couple of days.  There is nothing like having fresh bread with dinner and it often steals the show.  A few years ago, I began a sourdough starter, which is what I often dip into to make up a quick couple of loaves.  My starter is on the verge of needing to be divided again, so I thought I might entice you to want to try it yourself (and take it off my hands!).  If you live across the miles, and cannot grab some of mine, you can easily make it yourself.  Keep it on hand to have quick, easy fresh bread any day of the week.

Making the Starter

1 package of traditional yeast

2 C. warm water

2 C. all-purpose flour

In a large, non-metallic bowl, mix together all ingredients and cover loosely.  Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4-8 days.  When mixture is bubbly and has a sour smell, it is ready to use.  Transfer to a storage container and keep it in the fridge (I use Becel margarine tubs...I know, fancy!).

Using the Starter

When you are ready to bake, bring the starter to room temperature.  I usually put it on the counter the night before, but a couple of hours at room temperature will work just fine.  You will notice that a light brown liquid may have accumulated on top (this is good news!) so just mix your starter up before you use it so it has a uniform consistency.  When you use some of your starter in a recipe, you will have to replenish it (just replace what you used with equal parts flour and water).  For example, in the following recipe, I use 1 1/4 C. of starter.  So, stir back into the starter 1 1/4. flour, 1 1/4. water, and a pinch of sugar.  Stir until incorporated and leave it on the counter for about an hour until it starts to bubble a bit.  Then, back into the fridge it goes until you need it again!  Sourdough starters improve with age so think of the great wedding gift you can give your children one day!! (not to mention how excited the grandchildren will be on their wedding days!)  There are tons of different uses for starters, but my "go to" bread recipe is as follows:

Sourdough Bread Recipe

1 1/4 C. sourdough starter

1/2 C. warm water

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I use canola because my canola-growing husband says I have to)

3 C. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. white sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. quick-rise yeast

Now, here's the really tricky part.  Put everything into a bowl and mix it together.  I'm not even joking.  You can throw it in a bread-maker or the bowl of a stand-mixer and just let it go.  You could  mix it by hand but I am WAY too lazy for that, so I never have.  Mix until the dough comes together and then knead it until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes).  Put dough into a large greased bowl, cover lightly with a clean towel and let rise for about an hour in a warm spot (I put mine in the oven with the light on).  It will rise beautifully...I guarantee it!  Punch dough down, and form into two loaves as pictured above, or you can make smaller loaves, buns, round, long, whatever you like!  I have been known to make loaves in the shape of Mickey Mouse, turkeys, Easter Bunnies, or trademarked logos that could get me in trouble (see below).  Whatever you choose, let rise for another hour on a lightly greased baking sheet or stone.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes and then just try and wait for those babies to cool down enough before you slice into them.  That's the hardest part of the whole process!

I Don't Think I Can Do This

I tell you what...I don’t know if I can do this.  I am so out of shape and am nursing some kind of injury where my whole right leg and back hurts with any kind of jarring motion.  I do not want to offend anyone with this comment, but I run like an amputee.  Actually no, most amputees run better than me!!  I keep telling myself not to panic…I have a whole 220 days until the Walt Disney World Marathon.  But then I remember that I’m signed up for the Queen City Half Marathon and that is only 101 days away!  This is a very, very scary situation.  The good news is, I am treating the QCM as a “training” run for the full marathon.  It’s not my "big" race, so I’m not looking for a great time, I just want to finish it.  Which, at this point, is going to be questionable.    

This week the fabulous people at QCM released their new routes so I have looked at the Half Marathon course a bit.  I love that we are going to spend so much time around Wascana Park, and a spin through downtown Regina will be a treat.  I thought perhaps we could have made a run past Milky Way, but I likely wouldn’t have gotten myself going again after that, so it’s probably for the best.

The only bad thing about not going east of Ring Road is that I always found the spectators over there had the best signs.  So the rest of Regina is going to need to step it up!  We NEED those signs!  My favourite one of all time was “You can’t quit!  You’re not the Pope!!”  It’s funny how something like that can pull you through just a little bit longer.  

My annual “Deanna’s Week of Awesomeness in Regina” is coming up at the beginning of July.  This is the week out of the year that the kids are in day camps so I spend my time doing what I want to do in the city.  I’ll get to the Farmer’s Market, go somewhere new for lunch, and go to a movie all by myself!  It is absolute heaven!  

I will walk the new Half Marathon route sometime that week and may have more to say about it after that.  All in all, I think it looks great!  I am also very excited to have everything based in the Conexus Arts Centre area.  It's easy to access and has great parking and awesome food so I’m already looking forward to post-race refreshments!  Why does everything always come back to food??  That really may explain a lot of my problems!!

For all you thinking, "I could never do that", trust me I thought that too (and still am at this very moment), but there is a distance for everybody!  Registration is still open at www.runqcm.com.  If running or walking is truly not your thing, there's room for volunteers (I'm signed up for that too!) and if nothing else, start thinking up witty and distracting signage to cheer on the runners.  Believe me, I will be watching for them!

My Cookbook Collection

I’ve published more cookbooks than most Celebrity Chefs.  Of course, I only sell four per year (and I buy them all myself to hand out as gifts), so the proceeds aren’t very good.  But I still consider myself an author.

It started out as an idea, many years ago, to keep track of great recipes I find that I don't want to lose.  I also had the idea to add photos from the year since I stopped printing photographs a long, long time ago.  So, at least this way, when my computers, Facebook, and Instagram crash (don't even get me started on the mysterious cloud), I do have the odd image of the kids from their childhoods.  Of course, it will be of them next to a Lasagna recipe, but at least it's something!!

I also created a special edition Masterchef Canada book this year to keep track of all the recipes I prepared for my auditions, on the show, and that I cooked in media appearances.  So in all, my first book dates back to 2008 and I now have 8 editions.  Every fall I curse myself when I have to start putting it together as it is such a big pain!  But it’s kind of like a long run…you’re always glad you did it once it’s over!

I wish all my friends had the collection as well so when someone asks for my "such and such" recipe, I can just say, “It’s in the 2011 book!  Go look there!”  But sadly, that is not the case, and to save us all the trouble, here are a couple of recipes that I have given out too many times to count:  

Chocolate Chip Cookies (2008 Edition)

1 C.  butter or margarine

3/4 C. white sugar

3/4 C. brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips (who am I kidding? may as well make it 2 cups!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until creamy.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.  Stir flour mixture into egg mixture, just until combined.  Add chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets (I use the Pampered Chef medium scoop).  Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are beginning to brown at the edges and are set, but are still soft in the centre.

Salted Toffee - Chocolate Squares (2010 Edition)

approximately 2 sleeves of graham crackers
1 8 oz. bag toffee bits (aka Skor bits)
1 1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. sugar
1 C. butter or margarine
3/4 C. semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp. coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and place graham crackers in a single layer to cover the sheet.  Sprinkle the crackers with the toffee bits and pecans.  In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes, until syrupy.  Pour over crackers and bake for 12 minutes, until topping is bubbly.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips and salt over top.  Immediately cut into 24 squares.  Chill in fridge until hardened and then break apart into squares.