A Manly Stitch & Bread Pudding to Die For

I have been a predominantly morning runner for quite some time but I have been running at night lately. Last night I was reminded why. Right now I get off work a little after 4 pm and we have dinner shortly after I get home. By the time I run when the kids are in bed it has been a few hours since eating.

Last night, however, I ate a little later than normal and since we had a guest, I had a nice big bowl of key lime bar with ice cream. Obviously I didn't wait long enough before running because I got the worst stitch after a half mile or so. It wasn't just on a side. It was on both sides and everything in between. It felt like my insides had suddenly decided that they'd much rather be on the outside and they were trying to take the shortest route possible.

I kept thinking that if I just kept going eventually it would go away. It eventually did, at the 3.8 mile mark of my 4 mile run. I felt pretty manly running through such a beastly stitch. Manly or moronically stubborn. Take your pick.

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My wife loves bread pudding so we have tried a lot. This is hands down the best.

Caramel Bread Pudding

1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
1 ½ cups milk
¼ lb melted butter
1 ¼ lbs white bread (2 loaves) cubed
½ cup caramel sauce (the caramel recipe found here is amazing in this recipe)
Non-stick cooking spray

For pudding: combine sugar, eggs, cream, milk, and butter in a bowl and mix together. Add the bread and fold it in. Put mixture in a 9 X 13 inch baking pan coated with nonstick spray. Pour the caramel sauce over the top and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Check, rotate, and bake up to 30 more minutes more until golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and more caramel sauce.

Bread Pudding recipe from the Union Grill in Ogden, UT

Sweet Potato Pie > Humble Pie

As I've mentioned several times before, I'm a really slow runner. However, at the end of a race I have a good kick that usually lets me blow by a few of the other slow runners. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment to bear down on someone (usually like an octogenarian with a walker) and pass them with mere yards to spare. It's something I pride myself on.

This used to happen a lot in high school when I was on the high school cross country team. I wasn't good enough to even be on the JV team so it was basically just for fun. There were a couple of races that I still remember because I was able to pass a couple of my usually faster teammates at the end. It was usually the only time I beat them all year but on that day I was the better man.

In a half marathon I ran last year I was cruising down the homestretch, with a grandpa in my cross-hairs when a girl blew by me on my left side. (I guess I'm letting a little sexism show, so I apologize to womanhood everywhere) There were probably two hundred women that had already finished before me, but in that moment they didn't matter. In an all out foot race with a teenage girl, I ate her dust.

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Technically this isn't sweet potato pie because there isn't a crust and it's supposed to be served alongside the rest of your feastly fare, but it's loaded with sugar and butter so I made the editorial decision that it belongs, with pride, among the dessert hall of fame that is this blog. (I was going to call it "My Yammy Vice" but someone once told me that word play is the lowest form of humor. Personally I think the lowest form is watching someone get hit the groin on AFV. It's hilarious!)

Heaton's Sweet Potato Pie

4 cups sweet potatoes or yams, cubed (white sweet potatoes are recommended but can be difficult to find)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbs butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Boil sweet potatoes until tender and drain. Add rest of the ingredients and mash to your desired consistency. (I like it really smooth.) Pour in a 8X8 pan. Sprinkle evenly with topping. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 Tbs butter
1/2 chopped pecans

Mix sugar and flour. Cut in butter. Mix in pecans.

Courtesy of Analise Heaton

The Glory Days & Mint Truffles

The list of my major running triumphs is short, mainly because I'm so slow I once lost a race to a particularly peppy elm tree. I guess that makes the victories all the more sweet.

One such victory comes from my teenage years. There was a man in my neighborhood with whom I went to church. He was a runner and when I was about 16 or so he invited me to train with him and then run a 5K. We went running together several times. I could tell that he was faster than me but I was grateful that he was willing to slow to accommodate my pace. The day of the race came and he slowed up to run with me for the majority of the race. When the end was in sight he took off and I was unable to match his kick.

A short time after that race there was another that we decided to do. We trained again. I can't say that I really felt myself getting faster or anything. But when race day came and it was time for that final kick I left him in the dust. It was a great feeling and he was very gracious in defeat.

For some reason we didn't run much together after that but I hope it wasn't because he thought that if he couldn't even beat the slow kid from around then the corner then it wasn't even worth trying.

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I've posted three of the recipes for the candies that we have given out this Christmas. Here is the fourth. It is probably the one that I have had the hardest time with. It has just never tasted the way I wanted it to. I think I've got it figured it out now and unfortunately, the recipe posted here is better than the one I used to make the truffles we gave out this year. My apologies to all you Michiganders that got second rate truffles.

Chocolate Mint Truffles

Ingredients

• 10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 5-8 drops peppermint extract
• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder for coating truffles (If you don’t have Dutch process cocoa you can substitute it by adding ½ tsp baking powder to regular cocoa)

Directions

Place the 10 ounces of chocolate and butter in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, and repeat this process 1 more time. Set aside.

Heat the heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the melted chocolate mixture; let stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently, starting in the middle of bowl and working in concentric circles until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and creamy. Mix in 5-8 drops of peppermint extract according to taste. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Using a melon baller or small cookie scoop, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Place the cocoa powder a pie pan and set aside.

In the meantime, melt the 8 ounces of chocolate using your preferred method. This could be using a double boiler, the microwave or a heating pad. Any way you do it the chocolate should melted but not uncomfortably hot to the touch. The temperature should be about 90 to 92 degrees F. If the temperature goes above 94 degrees the coating will not have a nice snap to it.

Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and shape into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Use powder-free vinyl or latex gloves, if desired.

This next step can get a little messy. Dip a couple of your fingers into the chocolate. Place a truffle from the clean hand into the chocolate one. Roll the truffles between your fingers until it has a thin coating all around. Drop onto the cocoa powder. Move the truffle around to coat and leave truffle in the coating for 10 to 15 seconds before removing. In the meantime, continue placing the chocolate-coated truffles in the cocoa. Remove the truffle to a parchment lined sheet pan. Repeat until all truffles are coated. Allow to set in a cool dry place for at least 1 hour; or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. We found it necessary to knock off the excess cocoa powder by shaking them in a sealed container. Otherwise the powder can be a little overpowering. Truffles are best when served at room temperature.

Adapted from Alton Brown

Blood, Sweat & Apple Dip

I went for a 5 mile run last night at a pace that I thought would be nice and leisurely. During the run, however, I had to slow down a couple of times because I felt like I was pushing it a little too hard. Fortunately I finished feeling pretty good.

Only after I finished did I realize that I had donated blood in the morning. That would explain the lethargy.

The experience was a good reminder to me that not every run is going to go according to plan. When I'm in the midst of training for a race I have a schedule that I follow religiously. But there are days when it's just not there and I feel like I have to take it down a level.

Obviously, if I cut every workout down a notch then I won't reach my goal, but it's okay to cut back today and make up for it tomorrow. I'm glad that I've gotten to the point in my running where I feel okay about cutting my losses and living to fight another day.

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This recipe is fool-proof and fabulous. It is perfect for any type of party.

Apple Dip

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
¾ cup of melted butterscotch chips (1/2 bag) (Nestle works better than generic)
¼ tsp cinnamon
Dash salt
1 Tbs vinegar

Mix all ingredients. Heat in microwave or on the stovetop, stirring periodically until all of the butterscotch chips are melted and the dip is smooth. Great with green apples or bananas.

Wanted: Buckeyes & a Fear of Failure

As I've mentioned before, I've always struggled with my weight, which fluctuates a lot based upon the unsustainable diet of the moment. Almost two years ago I began my current effort using the low-tech "Eat Less, Move More" diet. I've lost 50 pounds and kept it off for more than a year. Although I wouldn't mind losing another ten, I'd be happy to stay where I am.

One of the problems that I've had with past diets has been that the exercise portion hadn't stuck. I’ve done a lot of things including basketball and even running but it wasn't until I started setting running goals that I was able to stick with something long enough to maintain the weight loss.

My first goal was to run a 10K, then I increased it to a half-marathon, then a marathon, then another. I'm now at a crossroads. I've finished a couple of marathons and while I know that it would take a lot of work to be ready for another, I know that I could do it. The fear of failure that has driven me in the past is gone.

So I've been browsing around for new things to challenge myself. There are several options:

Marathons or half marathons with faster time goals
Pros: Cheap. Familiar. Works well with my schedule
Cons: Might not provide enough motivation to keep me pushing

Triathlons
Pros: Something new, fun, excuse to get a bike
Cons: Expensive (see bike above). Have to get access to and arrange time at a pool

Ultramarathon (running anything longer than a marathon, usually 50 or 100 miles, but sometimes as long as 135)
Pros: Challenging
Cons: Time consuming. Crazy

For now I've decided to go the easy route and try for some faster times. My next race is the Martian Half Marathon in April. If that fails to provide sufficient motivation then I'm sure you'll read about it here. Maybe I'll eventually have to rename the blog "Will Run Until My Feet Turn Blue and Fall Off for Dessert".

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It must be Christmas time because people around me have started to inquire when they will receive their annual bag of homemade chocolates. My wife and I gave out about 70 bags last year to friends, neighbors and coworkers. Almond Joys are always there (see recipe in previous post) as are Buckeyes. They are awesome.

Buckeyes

1 ½ cups creams peanut butter (12 oz.)
½ cup butter, softened (1 cube)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted powdered sugar (1 lb)
1 cup rice crispies
Milk chocolate for dipping

Mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Dough should be smooth and stiff but not too dry. Add rice crispies and mix gently until distributed. If you mix too much you'll crush them. Shape into balls and place on wax paper lined tray or cookie sheet. Chill thoroughly (I freeze them solid. Seriously, in the freezer for two days.). Prepare chocolate in a double boiler and dip chilled balls. You can drop, coat, and pull out with a spoon, leaving part of the peanut butter mixture exposed looking like a real buckeye nut. What we've found works best is to stick the frozen balls with a bamboo skewer, let drip, put onto wax paper, and pull out skewer. You can press the top to get rid of the little hole later. Return to wax paper and chill to set.

Drug-Dealers & Hawaiian Weddings

A few years ago I was on a business trip to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. A colleague of mine was also a runner. We had some spare time and we both wanted to go for a run. The problem was that he really wanted to go outside and I really wanted to use one of the hotel's treadmills. He thought I was nuts and teased me a little. So he went out alone and I watched something, probably a Mexican soap opera, on TV while I ran on the treadmill. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

For one thing, even though it is much worse now, Ciudad Juárez was not the safest place in the world to be an unarmed blond guy (I guess I do feel a little guilty for letting him go out alone). For another, I really don't mind a treadmill. For yet another, I'm not a very social runner. I'm always worried that I'm holding them back and it's usually too much of a hassle to arrange times with others.

There seems to be a prevailing thought in the world of running that we're all supposed to love going out in packs and loathe those terrible weather days that force us into the basement on the 'mill.

I say live and let live! I have other interests in life besides running. Among other things I love reading and watching a little TV. One of the ways that I can fit running into what I feel is a well rounded life is by combining some of my interests. When I'm on the treadmill, I can also watch TV. When there's good running weather I get to listen to audio books while I run outside. (It's hard to chat with a running buddy while concentrating on the latest Grisham.)

The moral of this story is to run whichever way gives you the most pleasure and fits the best into your life circumstance. That, and don't get kidnapped by drug-dealers.

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I'm not sure how authentically Hawaiian this cake is since I first had it in Michigan (not exactly a hotbed of Hawaiian culture), or what it has to do with weddings, but it sure is tasty.

Hawaiian Wedding Cake

1 cup margarine
2 cup sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 lb graham cracker crumbs
1 (#2) can crushed pineapple, drained
6 oz (½ bag) coconut
1 cup milk
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Cream the butter & sugar, add eggs and baking powder. Mix together. Slowly add milk and the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

PRs (Personal Record & Pumpkin Roll)

The traditional thing for runners to do on Thanksgiving morning is to do a turkey trot. Detroit has a really nice one that I've never done. I had looked into it this year but missed the sign up deadline.

So I decided to have my own little turkey trot and since it was raining outside I decided to do it on my treadmill in the basement. (Okay, I realize that it is sounding less and less like a turkey trot. Oh well.) I had been thinking of doing a 10K in the real race so that's what I decided to on the treadmill.

While I was at it, I decided to go for a personal record. I've only run two 10Ks before, but I've done 6 miles or more dozens of times while training for other things. My previous PR was about 54 minutes (I forgot the seconds). Yesterday I set the speed at 7 miles an hour and went after it. I was watching Man v. Food of course.

I was doing fine until mile 4. I seriously considered stopping at 5 miles but kept trucking along. I was nearly dead by the time it hit 6.2 miles. It wasn't pretty, but I set a new PR by about a minute.

I stumbled around the basement a few times in a feeble attempt at a cool down. The recovery shake helped and then there was the ice bath. I don't know if it helped, but it was cold.

I walked a little gingerly the rest of the day but felt good knowing that I had preemptively countered a small portion of the calories that ate later in the day. A very small portion.

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In honor of Thanksgiving, I am posting one of my favorite pumpkin recipes. It tastes great and looks cool.

Pumpkin Roll

Cake:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg


Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
4 Tbs butter
½ tsp vanilla

Beat eggs for 5 minutes. Add sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice and set aside. In separate bowl, stir together dry cake ingredients. Mix wet and dry ingredients and spread into greased and heavily floured 11X16 baking pan (1/2 flat baking sheet. Make sure it has sides. Tip: lay wax paper in bottom). Top with 1 cup walnuts (optional). Bake at 370 degrees for 15 minutes. Put lots of powdered sugar on a clean towel. Take cake from oven and immediately turn on to towel. Roll up and let cool for one hour.

Combine filling ingredients and beat until smooth. Unroll cake and spread filling evenly over top. Roll up and let chill for several hours. Cut into ¾ - 1 inch slices.

Don't Call Them Monkey Nuts

When I was a missionary in south Texas there was a nice little retired couple that would often invite us over for meals. They probably felt sorry for us, and I don't blame them. My meals at our apartment usually consisted of peanut butter and jelly tortillas.

The nice woman made many wonderful things, but one of them stands out. She called them "Monkey Nuts". My fellow missionary and I would always snigger whenever she said it because we were still technically teenagers, and teenagers are supposed to snigger at things like that.

I guess the "Nuts" part of the name came from the pecans. I later found out that the rest of the world calls it "Monkey Bread", but that's not quite as snigger-worthy. To this day it is one of my favorite desserts.

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Monkey Bread

Ingredients
• About 30 oz refrigerated tubed biscuit dough
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch Bundt pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. (Or you can just mix the cinammon-sugar in a bowl and roll the dough in it until completely coated.) Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.

In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

Irony & Lemon Blossoms

In an uncommon moment of thought I realized that I often eat junk food while watching The Biggest Loser and work out while watching Man vs. Food. Kind of ironic.

So, while watching Man vs. Food last night I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. We've had a lot of company lately so my workouts have been very sporadic. I have my eyes on the Martian Marathon in early April. It's a fun local race that I've done the last couple of years. My only problem is deciding between a half marathon or a full.

After finishing my second marathon in May in near dead condition I vowed I'd stick to half marathons. I reasoned that I just have too much mass to run that far without doing damage.

However, the last few weeks I've started considering it again. I think it's generally the same phenomenon that happens to women after giving birth to a child. After seeing my wife give birth to our first child naturally I'll never understand how she brought herself to have another. It's like we get amnesia after doing something that is supremely unpleasant but ultimately good for us.

I'll let you know what I decide. I just hope I don't end up deciding to have another kid.

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I'm back on the treadmill because Detroit is awful... in the winter. Today's recipe is like eating a little bite of sunshine. Somehow I always end up eating 15 bites of sunshine before my wife manages to pull me away from the plate.


Lemon Blossoms

Ingredients
18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel.

Glaze:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

From Paula Dean

Toffee Scones

These scones have been a real hit every time that I have made them. Scones are a lot like cookies, but more fluffy in texture and normally less sweet. They are perfect with hot chocolate.

Toffee Scones

Makes 8 big scones or 16 little scones . Preheat oven to 400°.

Ingredients:
• 3 C. Flour
• 1/3 C. Sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 C. Chilled Butter in tablespoon-sized chunks
• 1 C. Chilled Sour Cream
• 1/2 C. Toffee Chips

Toppings
• Glaze (preferred): Mix 2 cups powdered sugar with ¼ cup milk (after baking)
• Sugar Crust: small amount of milk and sugar (before baking)

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixer or food processor and mix until combined. With the machine running, add the chunks of butter until mealy. Add all of the sour cream and mix but do not over mix. Remove from machine and place on floured surface. Knead in toffee chips using dustings flour to moderate the stickiness. Divide in two equal balls of dough make discs of each about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 small wedges each for a total of 16 (or one big disc cut into 8 big pieces). If using Sugar Crust topping: brush the wedges with milk and sprinkle with sugar before baking - use plenty of sugar, it makes a wonderful crust on top.

Put foil on a cookie sheet and spray coat it, spread out the wedges (about 8 small ones to a cookie sheet). Bake until lightly golden on top about 12-15 minutes. If using glaze topping: Using a pastry brush, coat top and sides of scones. Repeat until desired amount of glaze is achieved (2 coats recommended). Let sit until glaze is dry.

TIP: These freeze really well. Follow the recipe up to the point where you would bake them and pop them in the freezer instead. After they are frozen put them in a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake them, put them in the oven frozen - increase the cooking time by a few minutes.

Adapted from Steever House Bed & Breakfast