This, That, and the Big News!

By: Matt Frazier

Whoa, way late on the post today! For that I apologize; I had to pick up some shirts from the printer and get them shipped off. (And that means more women’s mediums and smalls are available now!) But Erin and I also did something far more exciting, which I’ll save for last today.

This (food)

I cooked two fun things this weekend, both of which I’m hesitant to call “recipes” because of their simplicity.  The first is twice-grilled peppers with fresh mozzarella; I saw it in Bobby Flay’s Grilling For Life (an awesome book, made only slightly less awesome by the fact that I don’t eat meat anymore).  The recipe is really simple, colorful, and definitely delicious.

To do it, just take nine bell peppers, brush them with oil and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on them.  Grill on high for about 12 minutes, turning every few minutes so that all sides get charred.  Then let the peppers sit in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, for 15 minutes.  Remove the seeds and peel the skins (don’t rinse, you’ll wash away all the juicy goodness), then cut into small strips, season with oil, salt and pepper again, and grill once more for two minutes per side.  Serve layered with about a pound of sliced mozzaralla, and topped with the dressing of your choice.  We used a caper-basil vinaigrette from the same book.

One problem: it’s not really a meal, and I attempted to pass it off as one.  Consider Erin not fooled.  Next time, I’ll serve it as an antipasto.  Another problem: the peppers were much prettier before they were grilled and sliced.

The other fun thing we made was okra.  We found some at the farmers market, and what better reason is there to buy okra than never having tried it before?  The lady who sold it to me (a farmer, I suppose) said to just slice it into little chunks, toss with some corn meal and salt and pepper (it sticks because the okra releases a tacky liquid when it’s sliced), and saute in some nice hot olive oil for four or five minutes.  Southern cooking fit for the heat wave we’ve been “enjoying.”

The result: okra is okray with me!  No mind-blowing flavor explosion or anything, but what’s not good when it’s sauteed in oil, salt, pepper, and cornmeal?  If you’ve never tried okra, do it!  One less thing to regret on your deathbed.  Anyone know any other okra recipes?

That (running)

I’m a few days behind on my training schedule (six weeks left!), so I did an 11-mile run yesterday, and my long run (15 miles) is scheduled for tomorrow.  Funny how 11 miles isn’t the long run anymore, huh?

Anyway, after the one-mile warmup, the  remaining 10 miles were to be done at 7:15 per-mile, exactly the pace I need to qualify for Boston.  I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous going into this run.  Not because I thought I couldn’t do it, but because I knew that on the off-chance that I did have trouble with it, I’d freak out.  After all, in 41 days I’ll have to hold this pace for 26.2 miles!

Fortunately, I had one of my best runs to date.  I cruised along without any issues at all, and relatively comfortably I finished the run in 1:11:40, for an average pace of 7:10.  Go me!  Don’t get me wrong, thinking about running 26.2 at this pace still leaves me with the need for a clean pair of shorts, but at least I managed what the program asked for without a problem.

The Big News!

Ok, here goes…the appointment that Erin and I had this morning was to get an ultrasound (or sonogram?).

Erin is pregnant! We saw our baby’s little heartbeat this morning!

Erin and I have been sitting on this little secret for about a week and a half now, and we’ve been bursting at the seams to let it out.  The secret, not the baby. She’s only six weeks along, but we’ve decided that we’re ready to share the news with everyone.  I know that the first trimester is risky, but god forbid anything should happen, we both agree that we’d rather have our friends know what’s going on than have to pretend like nothing’s wrong.

So there you go, the cat is out of the bag! We are so excited, and only a little scared about the fact that I won’t be finished with my Ph.D. by the time the baby arrives next Spring.  Oops!  No toys for baby, I guess!

Of course I’m kidding.  We’ll figure out what needs to happen, whether that means switching to part-time school or somehow managing to stay full-time.  But for the time being that’s an afterthought; right now we are enjoying the thrill of knowing that in less than eight months, we’re going to be proud parents!

Jokes that have already been made include:

• “When are the No Meat Athlete-in-Training onesies going to come out? ‘Crawls on Plants’?”
• “Can’t wait to get some NMA-approved baby food recipes.”

Please feel free to add your own. 🙂