Reunion

I was on my way to Whole Foods, to buy some salmon for dinner - I was planning poached salmon with steamed broccoli - when I stopped at the light and saw my Aunt Nancy, Uncle Mike, and cousin Scott crossing the street. I haven't seen them in 2 years, and 16 years prior to that. We ended up having dinner at Whole Foods, so while I didn't get to make anything, the time spent catching up with my childhood family was well worth it :) The best part - I get to see all of them again in 2 weeks for Scott's wedding :)

Kombucha

Another batch of kombucha is in the works. I'm trying an open air second fermentation this time, to see if that makes any difference. Flavors are black currant and wild berry lemonade - we'll see how that turns out :)

Snow Angel

I only made it through a couple rows of the shawl before exhaustion took over and I started nodding off. I love this thing, it's so pretty, but I really shouldn't knit lace over the summer. It requires too much dedicated time and concentration.. and I don't have a lot of either of those right now..

Cous cous

I made this for the first time on Saturday night, and again today. Cous cous with tomato, cucumber, feta, salt and pepper.

Raita

Indian take out for dinner at mom and dads, but we made our own raita this time. Yogurt, shredded cucumber, mint, salt and lemon juice to taste, pinch of cayenne pepper.

Spiced Soy Poached Salmon

I went to yoga class today, for the first time in 3 months. I'd stopped going partly because of the resurrection of sailing season, and partly because of the tendonitis in my shoulder and the bursitis in my hip. In any case, during the first few sun salutations, my shoulder wasn't too happy, but then eased into the practice and actually feels no worse off now, several hours later.

I also have a bit of dinner tradition post yoga class. During the winter, I will usually stop at Whole Foods on my way home, buy a salmon fillet and a vegetable for a side, and typically make something out of that for dinner on Saturday nights. I make a soy-poach recipe I picked up from Mark Bittman/The Minimalist a couple of years ago. The veg usually gets mixed in with some type of whole grain.

It was nice to cook dinner tonight (finally back in my kitchen!) and it was nice to get back to familiarity.

Snow Angel

First day home. Sleeping in my own bed felt great, drinking my own coffee from my own familiar mug tastes great, and I'm slowly plugging through a massive to do list. I was only able to knit 4 rows, and then my energy and concentration maxed out. But slow progress is better than no progress at all :)

Home

The past two weeks have been a crazy whirlwind of fun and adventure. I sailed over 700 miles, learned a ton, made new friends, laughed until my face hurt, survived a storm, underwent a root canal, overstressed about work, and deepened the bonds within my existing friendships. Sailing always puts life in perspective and balance for me; these two trips are definitely unforgettable life experiences and I know I'll be reflecting and learning from them for a while.

That said, I finally made it home. I haven't unpacked and I don't care yet.. nothing beats the feeling of finally sleeping in my own bed :)

Snow Angel

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Coming back from the island (again) with Snow Angel in my lap (again). I was able to start the first lace chart on this trip and I'm already completely in love with this shawl. I have a feeling this one is going to turn out really well :)

Breakfast

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

We made it to the island on Monday afternoon. Mike, Ryan, Natalie and I all slept on the boat, but the crew split up in the morning for various island activities. Nat and I took our time cleaning the boat, getting ready, getting Starbucks, making breakfast, and wandering around the island. It was nice to take the morning to decompress from the race.

Coffee

Monday, July 21, 2014

Food on a boat is a process. Actually, anything on a boat is a process. Coffee is no exception, especially when the boat is heeling over, it's dark out, your crew mates are sleeping, and water is boiling away in the ship's galley.

The kettle is secure, but I only had a few seconds to snap this photo of the french press before it went sliding… Fortunately, no coffee spilled!

Sandwiches

Sunday, July 20, 2014

We're about 24 hours into the race, and they were a tough 24 hours for me. Between Bayview, the root canal, and the drugs to help mitigate the pain of the root canal, my body finally crashed; I probably slept, on and off, for about 15 of those first 24 hours. Not good.

When I finally started feeling better, I made sandwiches for Natalie and myself for lunch.

3rd Chicago Mac

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Today is the start of the 106th Chicago Mac race. I consider it lucky that I actually made it on the boat, with the helter skelter week of coming off the Bayview Mac and a root canal in between as well.

ETA: also, this is my 200th blog post!

Snow Angel

I'm on some pretty strong meds as a result of my root canal; even though this is currently stockinette, I'm finding it too difficult to concentrate. I barely knit one row before I had to set it down and take a nap. I'll have to make sure I feel better before I start the lace charts!

Kombucha

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Today saw a second batch of kombucha. This time I flavored the base tea with black currant juice and sour cherry juice. I'm curious to see how they turn out!

Made a Dentist Appointment

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

I started feeling a little bit of pain in one of my molars on the drive back. I didn't think too much of it until the pain increased on Wednesday. With another sailing trip this weekend, I didn't want to take any chances. My dental trip resulted in a root canal; fortunately, the dentist prescribed both an antibiotic and pain medication, which is helping me recover.

Snow Angel

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

I finished Ribby Scarf on the night before we started the race. I had thought ahead enough to bring my next project, Snow Angel, with me along for the ride back home to Chicago. I'm pretty excited about this shawl. It's also a gift, and I'm glad to be knitting lace again :)

Made it to the Island

Monday, July 14, 2014

Our race lasted about 44 hours. We saw almost every type of weather condition but overall, this Mac was WET and COLD. Since this was my virgin Bayview, the crew found a creative way to give me my obligatory dunk.

Sous Bow and Sous Chef

Sunday, July 13, 2014

On the second day of the race, I helped Mickey make dinner for the crew. We'd bought frozen beef and potatoes which cooked up quite nicely and provided a nice, warm, hearty meal for the crew. With an air temp of 50 degrees, by the time those who were sitting on the rail were done eating, the food was cold.

Made it through the storm

Saturday, July 12, 2014

The first evening of the Mac, we hit a storm and spent about 6-7 hours sailing through it. This was my first storm, which also happened to be at night and laden with fog. It was so dark that I didn't actually realize how hard it was raining until someone turned on a flashlight. The entire boat (inside and out) got wet, and stayed wet, through the duration of the sail. And it was COLD.

Ribby Scarf

I spent most of the day traveling to Port Huron for the Bayview Mac. This is my first Bayview and I'm racing on a Nelson Maerek 36 called Surface Tension. We'll be sailing the long course, across the lake to Cove Island, turning around a mark, then heading west to Mackinac. I'm pretty excited for this race, despite that it'll probably be cold the whole way up.

I decided to make good use out of the drive today and spent most of my time catching up on work with Maddie hanging out between me and Mickey. I forced myself to finish working before I pulled out the scarf and was fortunately able to get a few rows in before we hit Port Huron. Maddie was gracious enough to model it for me :)

Made It Fit

This week has been so crazy, that of course packing for the Bayview Mac happened at the last minute, and in Chris and Mickey's living room. In a rush this morning, I simply threw everything into a variety of bags, knowing that I would sort it out later. This has probably been one of my more efficient packing jobs, but I also know that once I get on the boat, the entire bag is going to explode anyways.

In any case, I'm looking forward to this trip and this sail, and learning from Chris and Mickey :)

Kombucha

I started my second batch of kombucha today, and I already have plans for flavoring the second fermentation :) Fortunately I'll be in and out of town over the next two weeks, so this batch will feel like it's ready in no time :)

Mushroom Soup

I had a bunch of vegetables that needed to get eaten before they went bad. My solution for this is usually soup or stew. For tonight's soup, I simmered onion, mushrooms, and zucchini in chicken stock, added the pasta for just a little more substanance, and seasoned with soy sauce, maggi, and sriracha. Easy, tasty, and light - a perfect summer meal.

Scarf..

..is finally starting to look and feel like a scarf!

BBQ Ribs

Had dinner at mom and dad's; ribs, potato salad, beet salad, and grilled baby potatoes were on the menu tonight. My contribution was to help make it disappear! :)

Kombucha

The first fermentation of my first batch of kombucha is done!! I used 4 teaspoons of English Westminster tea for 3 1/2 quarts of water, brewed for 10 mins and mixed in 1 cup sugar. I cooled that overnight, then added the SCOBY a coworker gave me plus 2 cups of store bought kombucha. This has been sitting in my kitched, covered with a paper towel, for about 10 days. 

For the second fermentation, I've decided to experiment a little bit. I added 1 Tbsp of honey to 4 cups of the kombucha, split across 2 bottles. I'm wondering what the difference in flavor and fizziness will be compared to the kombucha that just went into the bottle plain, without added sugar or juice. I'm drinking 1 bottle now (semi tart, semi sweet, slightly fizzy, delicious) because I'm impatient (the second fermentation takes another 3 days) and the remainder went back into the jar with the SCOBY.

I'm pretty excited about the result so far and I'm looking forward to trying it again in a few days! Meanwhile, I think I'll brew again this week, maybe with a different type of tea.. :)

Green Dark 'n Stormys

Last year I brought back 6 bottles of rum from Grenada. To celebrate the 4th, I took the last bottle with me to the dock party. Since this was spiced rum, I thought it'd be perfect for dark 'n stormys. However, when the ginger beer mixed in with the rum, the entire mix turned GREEN (so bizarre!) and tasted horribly. After two sips, everyone just dumped out their drinks. This is, by far, the worst rum I've ever had. I should also note that the other 5 bottles of Grenadian rum were absolutely fantastic. Guess you can't win 'em all..

Scarf, con't

As you can see by the reduced size of the ball of yarn, I'm finally making some progress on this scarf!

Never Ending Scarf

...la la la..this is the scarf that never ends..yes it goes on and on my friend..la la la... 

I think I've had just about enough of this scarf. I'm hoping to get a good chunk of it done over the long weekend, in order to get it done in time (and move on with my life). Also, if you ever see me start to knit a Dr. Who scarf, you will then know that I've officially lost my mind.

In other news, today is the 183rd day of the year, meaning we're exactly halfway through 2014. It's all downhill from here!

Pasta Bake

I was jealous of the pasta bake my friend Simon made the other night; thinking that I needed to cook something to last me through a few meals, I asked for the recipe, though I modified it slightly from his version.

Below is the recipe for what I made, but the versatility of this dish is great - vegetables, herbs, and spices can be added (or not) to adapt to whatever you prefer.

1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes + 1 can water

5 oz dry pasta

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1/2 zucchini, roughly chopped

4 oz cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp fresh oregano, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp crushed chili pepper

1/4 tsp smoked spanish paprika

1/4 tsp hot hungarian paprika

salt and pepper to taste 

1/2 c grated cheese

Mix everything but the cheese in a casserole dish, bake in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes. Pull out and top with cheese, then back into the oven for another 20 minutes to melt the cheese. Makes 4 servings. Yum yum!! :)