This and that

Life continues to return to normal. I am trying to fit in more exercise all the time - walking, riding my trainer and this week I will go to body rolling, Pilates and yoga classes.

Recipe review: Our CSA box last week had lots of leeks in it and I wanted to use them up before the new box came today. I was tired of the same old uses for leeks so I Googled and found a sauce for fish made from sauteed and pureed leeks (with a little cream). We tried it tonight and it was really good. It is so simple I wonder why I didn't think of it myself. I will now try the same thing with other veggies.

I had to go out to get embroidery floss for the Fog is Lifting piece. I also picked up a heat gun because there will be a lot of melted plastic in the "crevices". Here is a sneak peak that doesn't actually give you any idea how it will turn out. I can tell you this - it will consist of repeated elements, it will be large and it is derived from my personal experience. I have those three criteria taped to the top of my design wall. It helps to keep me moving forward.

Memories of fun

Girls' weekend merged into the last group ride I will organize this year. The last few weeks have been all about making memories and that's just what I did.

There were delicious noodles with sausage.

Pigs and apple trees.

Fields.

And more fields. (Susan TM - there's a crow on the bale.)

Mud flats (although today there was ocean).

Flank steak and gnocchi.

Then the group arrived for an easy 45 km ride. We ended with a visit to Taproot Farms (my CSA) for an all you can eat corn boil with salad and blueberry grunt.

And then there was Bert. This is his taper week before he rides the Cabot Trail over Labour Day. He chose to bring both his kids - not most of our idea of an easy ride. He's strong so that's not an issue and the kids are charming and we can all see that they are a tribute to their great father.

Advice for climbers

Recipe report: We tried grilled romaine for dinner. We left it for two minutes on its cut face and then sprinkled on grated Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar. It was a great way to deal with the enormous heads of lettuce we get from the CSA.

I wanted a spread for bread and was thinking about something artichoke-based. George chose Roasted Artichoke Lemon Hummus. It was good. I don't know what the roasting contributed but I liked the effect of the artichokes in the hummus. It lightened it up considerably.

Tomorrow is one of the regular Sunday training rides for the group which will cycle the Cabot Trail in 6 weeks. I can't go along because of my surgery last week. I was feeling guilty this morning about not being able to help people deal with the big challenge I set for them - repeats of two very difficult hills. So I quickly wrote them a note this morning.

I won't be joining you for tomorrow's ride, on my bike or in the car. But I will be thinking of you.

If I was present, here's what I would tell you about the ride I planned. It is all about the hills. And it is all about change. If you want change, you must face stress so that your mind and body can adapt to new demands. If you want to change the way you feel on hills, both physically and mentally, then you must do hills. You must practice and observe and practice some more. That's why you are going to climb, ride to the bottom and climb again.

Here are some brief tips on how to manage your climbing.

Approach with energy. You are defeated before you begin if you let the idea of the climb slow you down before you start. Harvest whatever speed you can on the run-in to the hill and adjust your mindset to success, not failure.

Stay relaxed. As the hill gets steeper under you it is easy to tense up and feel like you need to do even more work to meet the challenges of the hill. You don't and if you try you will fail. I am fond of suggesting that you 'float like a butterfly". If that picture doesn't work for you, develop your own imagery that will encourage you to stay light and relaxed.

Be content with slow. Every body and bike will go up the hills differently. Don't compare yourself to others. Make sure that you gear down so that you don't have a heavy loaded feeling in your legs until it becomes absolutely unavoidable. The fast pedalling (and slow speed) of an easy gear will save your legs - and you will need them for the next hill, and the one after that.

Break it down. Don't look at the top of the hill or even toward the top. Ride from driveway to driveway or telephone pole to telephone pole. Celebrate each achievement and then go on to the next. If it helps (and is safe) look down at the ground near your front tire. The road won't look like it has any slope at all!

Be happy. I wish I could play you some happy bouncing music while you climb. Try to reproduce the energy and outlook you have when you are at a party with good friends and good music. If that doesn't work for your personality, go inward. Celebrate the opportunity to see all the details of the world around you. Notice all the changes in your body. Be aware that this moment will never happen again.

I am not deluded into thinking that those tips will, on their own, get you up the hills you will encounter tomorrow or on the Cabot Trail. More than once you will come to a point where you can no longer pedal. Get off your bike when you need to recover, rest and drink. There is no shame in getting off. And there is no shame in staying off if you decide to walk to the crest of the hill.

Those of us with more cycling experience have all battled the demons which encourage us to stay on the bike no matter what and beat us up when we stop for a rest. We can testify that those demons disappear the first time you make the big decision to dismount. At that point you realize that you have actually won your personal battle by doing what is right for you. If you want to keep the demons at bay, take control. On a long hard hill make a plan in advance to stop at regular intervals, e.g. every third telephone pole. Now you are in control and you can't ask for more than that.

I am having you do repeats of each of the hills tomorrow because you will learn a tremendous amount from your first time up. Your second trip will let you capitalize on that learning. I think you will be surprised at how much your attitude and ability will change once you know a little more about what you are facing.


There is nothing particularly insightful about the advice. And it isn't particular to climbing a hill on a bike. The approach is universal but sometimes we all need a reminder.

Green sunshine

It was another grey and chilly day. I think it felt worse because we have now had two perfect summer days this week. But it was hard to stay gloomy when unpacking the CSA box tonight.

That's lettuce, beet greens, bok choy, spinach, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes (greenhouse), strawberries, raspberries, Jonagold apples, cranberry juice, eggs and a bouquet of Sweet William.

It is all sunshine in a different form.

Summer approaches

Last year our CSA started offering flower shares for a couple of months in mid-summer. This year the shares are starting earlier. Here's the teaser for this week as posted on the Taproot Farms Facebook page.

Veggie report

This is the list we receive on the Friday or Monday before our Wednesday CSA deliveries. We get entree boxes of both vegetables and fruit and a half dozen eggs every week and meat every two weeks. Soon we will also get flowers! Yes, it is a lot of food but we go through it all somehow. I really appreciate the advance notice so I can do some menu planning to deal with the most perishable items.

50 Week Veggie Share 2014

• Dilly Carrots - 1 jar (Appetizer Share); 1 jar (Entree Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Non Organic
• Celeriac - 1 (Appetizer Share); 1 (Entree Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Certified Organic
• Beets - 1.5 lb (Appetizer Share); 3 lbs (Entree Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Non Organic
• Beet Greens - small bunch (Appetizer Share); large bunch (Entree Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Certified Organic
• Leeks, overwintered - small bunch (Appetizer Share); large bunch (Entree Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Certified Organic
• Stinging Nettles - large bag (Entree Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Certified Organic
• Asparagus - 0.5 lb (Appetizer Share); 1 lb (Entree Share)
  Vermeulen Farms - Non Organic

Egg Share 2014

• Farm Fresh Eggs - 1/2 dozen (1/2 Dozen Eggs); 1 dozen (Dozen Eggs)
  TapRoot Farms - Certified Organic

Fruit Share 2014

• Rhubarb - 1 (Appetizer Share); 2 (Entree Share)
  Noggins Corner Farm - Non Organic
• Idared Apples - 3lb (Appetizer Share); 5lb (Entree Share)
  Noggins Corner Farm - Non Organic
• Grape Tomatoes - 1 pint (Entree Share)
  Non Organic
• Frozen Blueberries - 1 (Entree Share)
  Noggins Corner Farm - Non Organic
• Beths Raspberry Jam or Apple sauce - 1 (Appetizer Share); none (Entree Share)
  Noggins Corner Farm - Non Organic

Meat Share 2014

• Whole chicken - 1 (Meat Share)
  TapRoot Farms -
• Rabbit Pieces 2/pack - 1 (Meat Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Naturally Grown
• Ground Pork 1lb/pack - 1lb (Meat Share)
  TapRoot Farms - Pastured

This week's haul, minus some asparagus that we already ate.

Spring veggies

Recipe report: After a long cold spring new veggies are finally arriving in our CSA box. This week there was a large bunch of radishes. Using them up could be a challenge because I can quickly tire of radishes in salad (unless it is potato salad). The manager of our CSA, Taproot Farms, posted a recipe for radish dip. We tried it last night and it was nice. It married the bite of the radish with the smoothness of goat cheese and yogurt. We had it with Mary's crackers but it would also be good with raw vegetables.

Radish Dip

Ingredients:

½ cup grated radish

8 oz. fresh soft goat cheese

½ cup plain yogurt

½ cup fresh herbs (e.g. dill, chives)

zest and juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Grate the radishes and mix with all other ingredients. If you like a thicker dip, add less yogurt, and vice versa. Try making this dip with different herbs as they are seasonally available.

Our box this week also had fiddleheads (which we gave away), green onions, a large bag of mixed Asian greens, a bunch of asparagus, some huge over-wintered parsnips, lots of carrots and a bag of frozen yellow beans. The fruit box contained 2 litres of cider, a bag of Crispin apples, a jar of jam and a box of frozen raspberries.