September 10, 2008 by brianglass
Because I left my blackstrap molasses in Michigan (and the store I was shopping didn’t have it), I was forced to revamp my recipe. This is actually quite tasty. It pretty much tastes like limeade.
- 3T raw unfiltered honey
- juice from 2 limes
- 1/2t celtic sea salt
- 2 liters of water (or dilute the above ingredients to taste)
This is good, but I don’t think it’s as good as the previous. I got a cramp in my calf on mile 15 with this. Of course that might have more to do with the change in altitude. But it sure does taste good.
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August 26, 2008 by brianglass
Well, I got what I wished for - a one-way trip to Colorado.
Little did I realize how hard it would be. As I sit here in a quiet house with the kids in bed, I look around and realize that this is the last night I will spend here. Shari and I built this house 10 years ago. Both our kids were born right here in this house.
On Sunday I said goodbye to my friends at Crossroads. It was my last regular visit. And though I’ll probably someday take a sentimental journey back, it will never be the same. It felt like I was leaving home… and I was.
Tomorrow I will say goodbye to the guys I have worked with at Math Reviews for the last 12 years. They’re more than just co-workers. They’re friends. They’re friends who would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. Heck, my manager even loaned me his car when mine broke down. I’ll be camping with one of them Thursday and Friday before I embark on my journey. Because they are co-workers I took their friendship for granted and only now realize what I’m leaving behind.
I remember when my grandmother died. I watched my grandfather say goodbye to her in the casket. He leaned over and gave her one last gentle kiss before the casket closed. To this day I tear up whenever I remember that moment.
Life is full of both greetings and departures. Some are temporary and some are permanent. Some of them feel as though a part of you has been yanked out and left behind.
Lord, heal my heart.
Posted in cooking | 4 Comments »
August 19, 2008 by brianglass
The Glass family is moving to Colorado. Read more…
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August 17, 2008 by brianglass
I’ve tried a few different concoctions for my marathon training, but I tried this one on Saturday for my 15 mile run and felt great and had plenty of energy the whole time. I’ll have to try it again to make sure it wasn’t just a good day for me, but here it is:
- 2 liters of water (I carry mine in a Camelbak)
- 3T blackstrap molasses
- 2T raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2t celtic sea salt
I’ve done this with honey as well, but have occasionally experienced heartburn with the honey. The molasses didn’t do that and I also seemed to have more energy. The molasses is probably higher in numerous minerals (e.g. potasium) so that may be what does it.
The taste isn’t the best at first, but during the run you actually grow to like it. I think your body craves certain substances and your taste for it grows.
Posted in exercise, recipes | 1 Comment »
July 27, 2008 by brianglass
My kids had one of those marshmallow/rice-crispy dessert thingies this morning at church.
I got to thinking about those. Basically what those are is melted marshmallows mixed with Rice Crispies. Would my great-great-grandmother have been able to make those? Nope. They are made from a highly processed cereal and a highly processed “candy.” Each of those things are made out of highly processed other ingredients (the marshmallows are largely corn syrup from corn). When my great-great-grandmother was alive, Rice Crispies hadn’t even been invented.
This is how people cook these days. For most modern home cooks, raw ingredients are the things that come in boxes at the grocery store. They take highly processed foods and then process them some more. For my great-great-grandmother, raw ingredients were things that came out of a field or garden - with the exception of sugar and flour. My great-great-great-great-grandmother probably wouldn’t have even had those.
While I actually quite like those Rice Crispy treats, for the most part foods that are made with raw ingredients that come out of the ground or from some animal instead of a factory are far better not only in the health department, but taste, texture, and smell. Now I’m unusual in this regard because the vast majority of people have become so accustomed to processed foods that they actually prefer them. Velveeta is a prime example. I still don’t understand how anybody can confuse that stuff with cheese…
Posted in foodosophy | 2 Comments »
July 20, 2008 by brianglass
I’ve been trying to perfect a healthy pizza for quite some time now. This is by no means perfect, but it is by far the best pizza I have ever made. I actually liked this pizza better than the local Onsted pizza place’s pizza (Hattie’s). Several of the ingredients came from my garden.
Insert your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500F. Let it pre-heat for at least an hour.
Follow my no-knead bread dough recipe. Instead of shaping into bread loaves, cut the dough in half, fold it a few times, and stretch it out into pizza shapes. (I won’t describe that as I’m not very good at it yet). Place on a well floured pizza peal or an edgeless cookie sheet and let rise for about 1 hour.
- 2 tomatoes (mine aren’t ripe yet so I bought some)
- fresh oregano (from the garden)
- fresh basil (from the garden)
- garlic
- onions (from the garden)
- 1lb good quality whole milk mozzarella
- good quality Parmigiano-Reggiano
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Slice the tomatoes into about 1/4 inch slices and salt both sides. Lay out on a kitchen towel to dry for at least 20 minutes (hat tip to Chef Snow for this tip.)
Just before baking, top the pizza. Chop the herbs and spread directly on the dough. Mince the garlic and spread it with the herbs. Shred the mozzarella (I used my Cuisinart food processor) and put half on each pizza. Slice the onions and spread on top of the cheese. Lay out the tomatoes as in the picture on the very top. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
Slide the pizza (bake one at a time) onto the hot stone and immediately close the oven. I did not fill the oven with steam as with my bread recipe. Turn the oven down to 450F and bake for about 12 minutes.
Grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top. Individuals may enjoy adding garlic salt or red pepper flakes.
Slice and serve.
Posted in baking, recipes | Tagged u | 1 Comment »
July 15, 2008 by brianglass
Here is an update on my marathon training.
Last Sunday I ran 10 miles with a pace of 9:57 minutes per mile. That’s certainly not going to break any records, but not bad for a first. Let me tell you though, 1 hour and 40 minutes of running seems like a long time. I’m following the Hal Higdon novice training program. This weekend I will be running 10K in the Kelly Carter Scholarship Run in Tecumseh, MI.
I have scaled back my weight lifting to once per week in order to maintain what I have gained. I am making very little to no gains, though I seem to have made some minor gains on chin-ups. But the goal here is simply to maintain.
Shari and I took a Chi-Running class. It has been very helpful for me in implemented the Chi-Running form. This form has made running more enjoyable and easier. It has also helped to improve my Taiji.
Weight loss has not occured. In fact I have gained almost 5lbs. Some of that is no doubt muscle, but this much activity has simply made me a lot more hungry all the time. If I listen to that hunger I eat and I gain weight.
Posted in exercise | 4 Comments »
July 8, 2008 by brianglass
My wife Shari recently twittered that at this year’s visit to her eye doctor her prescription actually decreased for the first time in 30 years of steady increase. I guess the doctor was actually somewhat surprised.
Shari attributed it to aging.
I attribute it to my healthy cooking. Shari says I can’t claim it’s because of my healthy cooking because I have no proof of that. Well, that’s true, but that won’t stop me. I say it’s because she’s getting more nutrient dense food than she used to.
You decide.
Posted in healing | 2 Comments »
June 8, 2008 by brianglass
My son came home from a field trip and told us that he learned that you are supposed to plant corn, beans, and squash together. Being curious, I Googled it. It turns out that the traditional planting method of many native American groups (I specifically read about the Iriquois) was to plant these three vegetables together. They called them the three sisters.
Most internet accounts describe planting the corn and beans together in mounds and then planting squash near it in a checkerboard pattern. The corn provides something for the beans to climb and the beans fix nitrogen in the soil for the corn. The interspersed squash makes a nice ground cover that helps to keep the weeds down.
This year we expanded our garden so we decided to plant 3 rows like this. I probably should have read more before planting because we didn’t do quite what most sites recommended, but it seems to be working so far. We simply planted a corn and a bean seed in the same hole and then a squash plant (or seed) every other hole about 1ft apart. We varied the squash varieties. I’ll post more on the progress as the summer progresses.
Posted in gardening | 2 Comments »
April 30, 2008 by brianglass
I recently picked up a book called ChiRunning at my local bookstore. I have been practicing Taiji for several years now, though I haven’t attended classes in several years. I’ve been afraid that I’m diverging from where I should be because of lack of corrections from my teacher. Hopefully in the next year or two I will go back to school.
Taiji is an ancient (i.e. traditional) Chinese martial art and exercise. Meld that with the most fundamental and oldest form of human exercise in existence and you have ChiRunning.
I thought it would be interesting to see how application of Taiji principles to running would affect my marathon training. I am about 1/3 through the book now and already it has revolutionized my running. Running used to be a chore and 30-50 minutes of unpleasantness. Now I actually look forward to my runs and miss running on my off days. What used to be difficult now feels almost effortless.
As far as the book goes, the first four chapters seem a bit repetitive and there to just increase the page count. They could be compressed into 1 chapter in my opinion. It matters not. The techniques Danny presents starting in chapter 4 are well worth wading through the first 4 to get to.
This book is a must read for anyone who runs, even if you’ve never done Taiji.
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April 30, 2008 by brianglass
Posted in foodosophy | 2 Comments »
April 9, 2008 by brianglass
No, I’m not talking about keeping food fresh.
For me, staying interested in something can sometimes be a struggle. For me it is important to keep things fresh and new in order to hold my interest. That sounds odd coming from a blog about tradition as it relates to food. Yes, I want to follow wise traditions in my cooking, but for me that means learning new things (we’ve been too familiar with unwise traditions).
So how do I do it? Well, I don’t always succeed, but I have a simple technique for keeping things fresh. My family isn’t too thrilled about it because they are not adventuresome when it comes to food. But I attempt to try making 1 new thing per week, or at least every other week. If we decide we don’t like it, I don’t make it again. If we do, it gets added to my repertoire.
Last week I tried whipped sweet potatoes. These are essentially mashed potatoes with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. I threw in some salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and milk and I really liked them. Nobody else did and so I probably won’t keep them in my repertoire.
Posted in foodosophy | 4 Comments »
March 18, 2008 by brianglass
Now I’ve done it. I have payed the big bucks to run in the Chicago Marathon. That pretty much means I’m committed.
I’ll be working on a way to continue my weight lifting in addition to my marathon training program. My goal will not be to gain muscle, but to maintain what I have gained over the last year or so.
One thing is for sure, diet will play a huge role in my training program. I’m starting to think now of how to get more liver into my diet. I’d also like to get some water kefir grains to make hydration drinks.
The race is in October. I’ll be posting about my discoveries and progress along the way.
Posted in exercise | 1 Comment »
March 7, 2008 by brianglass
Most people I know decide what food to buy by comparing prices. If you have two chickens of equal weight and one costs $1 more than the other, the cheapest one is by and large the one that gets purchased. A chicken is a chicken, right?
Even many of the people who purchase organic foods spend the extra money not for a better chicken, but for the absense of synthetic chemicals.
What most Americans overlook is the issue of food quality. There is a difference between the $6.80/lb sirloin steak I buy from my farmer, and the steak that costs less than half of that from Wal-mart. While yes, the steak straight from the farm doesn’t have the bad chemicals or growth hormones, it is also grass fed, which means that it is drastically higher in omega 3 fatty acids, CLA, and a list other nutrients too long to list. Likewise, organic vegetables aside from being free of pesticides have also been shown to be as much as 30% higher in various nutrients than conventionally grown produce.
The fact of the matter is that your body wants and needs these things. Most people don’t notice an immediate difference in how they feel or how their body operates and so figure why spend the extra money. I’m here to tell you that it does make a difference over time. It requires consistency.
We are willing to spend money on expensive homes and cars, sophisticated home theater systems, clothes, lawn-care, computers, jewelry, and $5 Starbucks coffee, but we are unwilling to spend a little extra on the food that goes into our bodies. As long as it tastes the same who cares, right?
Your car will last you maybe 10-15 years. Your home theater system will be obsolete in 5 years. Your computer will be obsolete the day after you buy it. Your clothes will be out of style next year.
Your body will be with you for a lifetime.
Where should you spend your money?
Posted in foodosophy | 5 Comments »
