Baking With 6-Year-Olds

Yesterday was the Performance of Champions at Galena High School, their major fundraiser where they invite marching bands from all over the area to perform their field shows and compete. And since all the band parents were helping put on this event, I got to have a little party with the kids. What else is there to do besides let them put up the Halloween decorations randomly around the house, and bake cookies? We (or I should say I) decided on gingersnaps because that seemed like a good holiday cookie to make when it was about freezing outside! Plus I had these cool Halloween cookie cutters that cost a whole dollar, and I am totally willing to pay $1 to entertain some 6-year-olds for an hour. Anyway, on to the pictures! Here they are, ingredients at the ready:

That Ashton is such a goofball! (And I'd like to add a side note here that I love our vinyl under-tablecloth- it not only protects the wood underneath from spills, but is also super easy to clean!)
And Ellie taking a turn with the mixer (she sure was concentrating hard not to tip it!):

I meant to take pictures of the kidletts cutting out the shapes (and Auntie Alice helped too!) but my hands were sticky and I forgot. Oh well. But I did get a shot of them herding the finished hot cookies!

And a close up of some of the shapes~

Some of them didn't quite turn out, but you get the idea... Fun stuff! And tasty too. :)

New Haircuts and Apple Tree Pie

This is not any ordinary apple pie. This was inspired by my Maman-in-law! She has painstakingly gathered all the dropped apples from her tree and fed her family with all her glorious recipes, cutting out the bad parts and keeping the good. With this pie, I did the same. Except for gathering the fallen apples- I picked these from the tree, but used all the ones that had been bird pecked or had a little "friend" feasting on the inside. We have had a fantastic apple season this year- I think because it wasn't as windy this spring, so the trees were able to keep most of their blossoms. My tree is a Golden Delicious, and the apples have been getting bigger and sweeter by the day. Since I had so many, I decided to make a pie, with a top crust layer only- and it is a very special crust. You put an almost-cup of flour, 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 water and some cinnamon in a Tupperware, snap on the lid and shake it about 10 times. Voila! Insta-crust! And even enough left over for a mini apple to decorate the middle. (Yes, that's what that's supposed to be. :)
The other picture I wanted to share with you this morning is of the boys! They got their first haircut in a salon since they were 2 (from which we were asked to leave because they were screaming and wouldn't sit still, and haven't tried to go back since). They were a bit wiggly, but were well enough behaved that they earned their sucker. Why the haircut, other than the fact that they were getting pretty shaggy since I cut their hair the last time? Today is picture day! Yeah! They were all super cuteness with their shirts tucked in. Aren't first grade and gap-toothed smiles grand?

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

I had a bit of a mad dash to the start of the race, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure- I didn't count on the stopped traffic on the freeway trying to get off at Virginia St. to head up to UNR that way, so I went all the way around and parked at Rancho San Rafael instead. And ran to the registration booth, making it to the start line with only about 5 minutes to spare. Whew! Got a good warm up this morning! I was packed in like a sardine in a can behind the start line, and when the announcer said "All fast runners up at the front!" I hesitated- first of all because even though I wanted to run fast this morning, I am still not a fast runner. And second, I couldn't have gotten up there even if I wanted to. Then came the shout to start! And we were off! Trotting. Or on my part, walking. I didn't start my watch until I went under the pink balloon arch (about 15-20 sec. later), but even then I was still walking. Maybe another 15-20 seconds after that was I finally able to start jogging. It was a chilly morning, so I left the house with sweats and a sweatshirt, but after about 10 min. in, I was a little warm. The course started at the bottom of the quad, and we ran down to 9th St., and then right again up Virginia. It was a bit of a hill, but I pushed through it, weaving in and out of people. As we wound our way through campus, I noticed SO many people wearing pink signs pinned to their backs with loved ones names on them who have cancer. One man in particular had "My Wife T" and we played leap frog all the way to the end. (I think I passed him though finally.) Another man had sweat just pouring off him and all down his sign- so much dedication by so many people, and it really started to choke me up as I let loose on the down hill. And not only were there a TON of people running, there were even MORE people on the sidelines cheering everyone on, and it gave me chills, despite being warm in my sweatshirt. I signed up for this run with a minute time in mind, and didn't even think about the cause. My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor- she gave us all a big scare. As I was running, my time stopped mattering, and I decided to run for her instead. I love you Grandma!

I stopped my watch at the finish line (after being passed by a sprinting 10-year-old in the last 10 steps- that made me smile!) at 26.48. Not quite my 25 minute goal, but it was a good day, and I had a great run. And with this many people (especially at the start!), maybe it wasn't the best race to try to set a minute goal for. The finshers were just flying down the chute, so I have no idea how they were able to keep track of times (or maybe they weren't?), but I'd be curious to see what they got for me. Whatever it is, I'm sticking with the time off my watch and writing that on my bib to staple up in my garage/workout room. But there is another 5k on November 1st- the Spark-a-Delic run that I can try to drop some time on (does anyone have any info on this one? I can't find my flier.)...

Update: I made it into the RGJ! Here is the article, and you can see me in the picture- bottom center with the blue sweats with the white stripe, white sweatshirt, white hat...

Baking with Tofu

I found a recipe on a vegan blog I've recently found, called FatFree Vegan Kitchen I wanted to try on coconut tofu cookies. So, I bought the necessary tofu (firm), but decided on just a half batch in case I wasn't crazy about them. They look almost like potato pancakes- very white before they are baked.

They were super easy to make, and were cake-like when baked, but chewy on the outside! The sprinkled sugar on top didn't hurt either. :)

Only 80 cal per cookie, and 1g of fat? I didn't even feel guilty eating them. AND I got to make chocolate tofu pudding with the rest of the tofu I didn't use in the cookies! Double score! Tofu pudding might not sound very appetizing, but it is so thick and creamy, it puts regular instant pudding to shame.

Sean and Ashton LOVED both of these recipes, so next time I'll have to make a full batch (and buy extra tofu for the pudding).

Race Goals

It has been one LONG week this week, mainly because I've had a huge cataloging assignment for my class I'm taking. So, running short of sleep usually means not being able to get up and run in the mornings. Tuesdays I start work late so I did get in 3 miles, but today was the first day since the I was able to force myself out of bed. I decided that since my group and I submitted our assignment yesterday, I deserve a reward. I'm definitely going to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday. It is a 5k starting at UNR on Sunday (10/05), so there shouldn't be too many hills. And for the first time, I decided to run for time. My goal has always simply to finish, and if I'm feeling really good (on the long distances), also to not stop. The short races I don't usually make any kind of goal, but stopping is not even an option. :) I am very much a steady runner, and not too fast- if I start out too fast, then I always get tired right away and have a crappy race ending. I ran 3 miles on my treadmill (2 - 2.5 incline, but mostly 2.5), and decided to see how much I could push myself, with this goal in mind. It usually takes me about 25:20-26:00 depending on the day to run 3 miles, but this morning I started at my usual pace (6.5 mph), but kicked up the speed much sooner than I usually do, and did a few intervals as well. I wanted to run in 25:00 or under. That was my goal this morning. My time? 25:01. So close... My goal for Sunday? Somewhere between 25 and 27 minutes sounds reasonable to me- accounting for any hills, weaving in and out of people, and the extra .1 - .2 miles (every course is different!), plus the added adrenaline that will be coursing through my veins...

So. Anyone one want to run with me? :)