What's Cooking'?!

Walking into the store, I scanned quickly for an open seat. Found one in the second row, sat down and in front of me was a clipboard with recipes. I saw the chef/instructor putting items in pans and prepping for other dishes. I was already lost. The cooking class started promptly at 6:30pm.

"Not a lot of people cook from scratch, anymore. Everything comes pre-packaged for time and convenience," the instructor said to the class. I felt my body starting to sink into my chair. "It's very easy to just throw your Michelina's in the microwave and be done with it."

I sat there feeling my face grimace. I knew I wasn't innocent from this 'cooking crime'.

"And you look guilty!" He said as he stared and points to me. My face turned red as I laughed nervously with the rest of the class.

Cooking really has never been my 'bag'.  I'll do it if I have to, but making things from scratch or testing out new recipes are not very high on my priority list. The only reason why I was in the class is the fact my boyfriend signed me up because he's sick of sandwiches. Don't get me wrong, (I'll always love sandwiches but) I fully realize the value of cooking the 'right way'. It's 100 times more nutritious, often cheaper and generally, not full of as many chemicals/preservatives. This isn't 'news'. It just takes more effort. You have to actually write out a shopping list, go to the store and search for items, then bring it home and organize it all and set up/think about what it is you're going to make... *sigh*  ...I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it. I do however, eat and feed my family lots of vegetables (greens) and monitor sugar content. In the end, it's sort of futile if I'm also feeding them pre-packaged items like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, food dyes, nitrates, sulfites and words that I can't pronounce like butylated hydroxyanisole. I'm basically trading the health of my family in for what's easiest for me. However, I also don't think it's realistic to completely rid of all convenience foods overnight but I will certainly try to start the process of incorporating more interesting, healthy foods they won't turn their noses up at.

This particular class I took was called "Fall Flavours" and it was done in demonstration format. As the foods became ready, they were served to the class with a BC wine. The instructor was fantastic. He was not only entertaining and descriptive, but he would explain the "why's" of doing certain things. He gave hints and tips to your everyday cooking and inspired me a bit to do my own experimenting. Things like: don't over-saturate your already tasteless potatoes by boiling them in water - steam them instead.  Or why add water to your chilli (or other food requiring water) if it's going to evaporate and not change the taste at all - think about other liquids like wine, juice or even beer to add flavour (if deemed appropriate to the dish). I suppose a lot of it was common sense, but for a beginner like myself... not so much.

On the menu was: Pumpkin and Cranberry Salad, Oven Roasted Root Vegetables, Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Pot Roast with Wild Mushroom Gravy and Spiced Apple Loaf. I'm not a big pumpkin fan (no, not even pumpkin pie), but the pumpkin salad dressing was absolutely fantastic. The biggest surprise for me on the menu was the Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Apparently, here in Canada we call sweet potatoes yams and yams sweet potatoes. I did not know this. So when I heard he was mashing up yams (as I always skip those at Thanksgiving and Christmas), I felt myself gagging inside. I have to tell you, it was absolutely amazing! Tasted almost like a dessert. They were sweet, buttery, with a nearly pudding-like texture. He garnished them with candied pecans which complimented them perfectly.

Sweet potato (aka orange fleshed yams).

Originally, I was a bit leery of the price of this workshop ($59+ tax), but it was very worth it. You got fed, taught how to do the recipes (which you got to bring home) and it was a night out (that ended promptly at 9:30PM). This particular class was a fairly quiet bunch, but the chef encouraged questions (in regards to anything about cooking - not just the dish he was working on) as well as taking notes. The place I took the class at was called Cook's and Corks. Click this link to check out their website and for upcoming classes. The instructor was Chef Dez who has a few cooking books out (which I got one of and had him sign for me). He also has a food column in many local papers. Definitely check out his site and sign up for his newsletter. I highly recommend taking one of his classes whether you're a newbie like me or a veteran home cook looking to pick up some new tips or inspiration. Happy cooking!

Happy Thanksgiving and Thanks for Reading!

Inaugural Surrey Music Marathon

When I originally heard about the Surrey World Music Marathon happening (about a year ago), my expectations weren't all that high. It is "Surrey" after all. I've lived in different areas there - Whalley, Fleetwood, Scottsdale and Cedar Hills - so I know the area. For those of you who don't know, Surrey has had a bad reputation for gangs/shootings/drugs/prostitution. The Skytrain runs right through Whalley, so it's definitely more of a high traffic area than other suburban places around Vancouver. While some of it can can be nice, I didn't think it was great enough to hold a Marathon. However, I'm eating my words now because the event was definitely a success! I had a lot of fun and the course was very pleasant - I didn't even have to break out my bullet-proof running vest.  Har. Har. It's been a long time since living in Surrey, and it looks like it's improving.  Originally, I was thinking about doing the marathon distance but at the last minute, I decided against it. Mostly, because it was a double loop course and if the course sucked, I didn't really want to see it all twice. Plus, with my health, I didn't want to risk hurting myself. The course was nice, and will consider running the full next year.

 Countdown to the beginning of the Half Marathon.

Package pick-up was held in one of the rooms in the SFU part of Surrey Central mall/towers. The volunteers were very friendly and efficient. I was in and out of there in less than 5 minutes. The race shirts were AWESOME. As I was late signing up, I was disappointed to see that they only had small and medium sizes left. Typical race shirts generally fit short and I'm tall, so I have to get a large. However, when I picked up my medium shirt, I noticed the length was perfect for me. I was also excited it was an Addidas shirt - I ❤ their gear.

The morning of race day, the skytrain was nice enough to open early to accommodate the runners. Lately, I just haven't been feeling well, so I decided to take a cab up to the skytrain rather than a bus so I could leave a bit later. I left the family sleeping in their cozy beds as I took off around 6:45am-ish. It was pretty cold out but I decided to still leave my jacket at home and stand around freezing. (Shivering burns more calories, anyway.). I wore my arm sleeves instead. ...and of course, the first 15 minutes of the race I was already hot and sweaty so I pushed them down to my wrists ...looking like a dork for the remaining of the race. (Didn't want to take them off and carry them).

At the beginning of the race, like usual, I seeded myself in the back. It took me about 2 minutes to get up to the start line when the race started. LOTS of people! There was a decent amount of water stations and lots of music and cheer stations along the course. I definitely felt "encouraged" throughout the course. Personally, I think this race is ideal for newbies as there was just enough hills and lots of spectators.  The music was interesting for sure. My favourite being the German organ grinder and accordion player!

Around the 12k mark, my knees started to hurt. The hills on the course (as mild as they were) combined with the pavement running, didn't really agree with me. The pain lasted about 3-4k and it started to dissipate, thankfully. The aid stations were stocked with water and Gatorade. I didn't see any gels, but I personally didn't need any.  Around the last 5-6k, I noticed a lot of backed up traffic due to the road closures from the race. People were going as far as getting out of their cars and complaining to the police officers directing traffic. Surrey is a very busy and I was surprised that they shut some major streets down. While, as a runner, I'm VERY thankful that they did this, I could feel the seething rage of the motorist penetrating through their cars. lol.

Coming through the finish line, I could hear my name being called which is always pretty cool. I was met with some volunteers holding the biggest, shiniest bling of a finisher's medal I've ever seen! I felt like a pimp wearing that thing home. It's by far, my new favourite medal. lol. My chip time was exactly 2:24:00 which was just over 4 minutes faster than last weeks half marathon time. I was pretty happy with that, as going any faster for me would have done some damage. Around the corner past the finisher chute was the runner's area, where they had lots of bottles of water, bananas, bagels, etc. Typical post race food. I'm rarely interested in eating right away after a race, instead I generally drink my weight in water and/or other liquids (soup, juice, etc). They also had the stage set up with dancers and other musical performance acts. Soon after I was finished, I cleaned myself up a bit and headed back home. Overall, it was a great race and a good experience for me. Looking forward to next year! :-)

My finishing Bling!

October/November has quite a few races happening but I haven't signed up for any, yet. Not sure what will be next. I did register for a Creative Writing course starting this weekend, so hopefully, I can at least, get my writing/blogging skills more up to par (and more interesting for you readers... or reader. I'm hoping there's more than one of you, though.)

That's it for now! Thanks for reading!