Two-a-Days Done

Whew! What a week! Wednesday and Thursday were pretty sore days, but I seem to be bouncing back faster.  Here's a summary of what I've done this week:

Monday:
✓ 5:30pm - Kickboxing class
✓ 6:30pm - Indoor Cycling class

Tuesday:
✓ 12:00pm - Gravity strength training class
✓ 10:00pm - Yoga video

Wednesday:
✓ 2:00pm - 15 min stairmaster, legs & back strength training
✓ 6:00pm - Back to Abs class

Thursday:
✓ 12:00pm - 30 min stairmaster, arms & shoulders strength training
    Jog(weather permitting) or Cardio X video

Friday:
✓ 12:00pm - Kickboxing class



Yeah, yeah, so I didn't complete my cardio session on Thursday. I ate dinner and spent the night at my Mom's house, since I'm leaving for 4 weeks for Chicago and New Haven. I think that's a legit excuse.

Adventures in Brisket

I was recently inspired  to give brisket a try (see Katie's brisket recipe on Trail Mix). I've always wanted to  attempt it, but red meat isn't my specialty. For one, if you mess up a steak, it's an expensive screw-up. And secondly, people feel so dang strongly about their read meat. Luckily, brisket is both inexpensive and can only be made edible one way - by long, slow cooking. You pretty much can't fail if you give it its due process. However, it's traditionally done best in a smoker or BBQ. I have neither. America's Test Kitchen to the rescue! They recently published a slow cooker brisket recipe in their "Cook's County - Best Country Recipes" issue. FTW!

I called up Ben and Stephanie and told them to show up at 6:30pm. I got up at 6:30am to get the brisket going.  I honestly couldn't improve upon Katie's idea to eat them in tacos, so I mixed up a batch of my favorite Salsa Cruda, shredded some cheese and lettuce (and some fingers, unfortunately), and made some homemade tortillas. Yes, home made. And yes, Ben drank his margarita out of a pretty glass with an umbrella, because he's man enough to pull it off!

BBQ BEEF BRISKET - Setting the brisket on an overturned loaf pan or ramekins prevents it from braising in its own juices, so you get a BBQ texture rather than a pot roast. You'll also find that the juices get sucked up into the interior of the loaf pan, so don't be mystified if there are no juices collecting in the bottom of the slow cooker. That's a good thing! Try not to let the brisket touch the sides of the slow cooker insert too much. Those areas will char a little bit from the contact. I little bit was nice, but too much will make it tough and yucky. One more thing on buying brisket - you can buy a whole brisket, but it'll be kinda huge. A whole brisket can be cut down into the point cut, which tends to be a little fattier and tastier, and the flat cut, which is leaner. I bought a 3lb point cut, and then coerced the butcher to cut off 1lb from a flat cut. *flutter eyelashes*

For spice rub and brisket:

- 1/2 C dark brown sugar

- 2 Tb minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (see photo)

- 1 Tb cumin

- 1 Tb paprika

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tsp pepper

- 1 (4-5 lb) brisket roast, fat trimmed to 1/4" thick, surface scored lightly

For sauce:

- vegetable oil

- 1 onion, chopped

- 2 Tb tomato paste

- 1 Tb chili powder

- 1 Tb minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1/2 C water

- 1/4 C ketchup

- 1 Tb cider vinegar

- 1/4 tsp liquid smoke

- salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine spice rub spices in a small bowl, and massage it into the brisket. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. I cheated and did 30 min.

2. Heat oil in a skillet. Cook onion until softened, ~5 min. Mix in tomato paste and cook until starting to brown, ~1 min. Stir in chili powder, the 1Tb chipotle chiles, and garlic, and cook until fragrant, ~30 sec.

3. Mound onion mixture in your slow cooker so that you can cover it with your loaf pan or ramekins. Then place your ramekins/loaf pan over the mound(s). I used 3 ramekins, so I made three little mounds and placed the ramekins upside-down over them. Place brisket on top of ramekins/loaf pan, fatty side up. Add water to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.

4. Transfer brisket to a baking dish, cover with foil or lid, and let rest for 30 min.

5. Meanwhile, remove ramekins/loaf pan from slow cooker (juice will fall out, so be careful!). Pour juices into a bowl or very large measuring cup. Let sit and skim off fat. You need 2 C of defatted juice, so supplement with water if you're short. 

6. Slice brisket against the grain. Pour 1 C of juices over the top.

7. Whisk ketchup, vinegar, and liquid smoke into remaining 1 C of juices. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with brisket. 

FLOUR TORTILLAS - Homemade tortillas are so easy, and definitely worth the little bit of extra work! You can also make the dough ahead of time, then roll them out and cook to order. To save time, cook one tortilla as you roll out another.

- 2 3/4 C all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 tsp salt

- 6 Tb vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

- 3/4 C + 2 Tb warm water, at ~110 degrees F

- vegetable oil

1. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Rub shortening into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until combined. Knead briefly on a flat surface to form a smooth, cohesive ball. 

2. Roll into 2 1/2 Tb balls, about 1 1/2 to 2" in diameter. Makes about 12-16 dough balls. Transfer dough balls to a plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate 30 min to 3 days.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the balls out very thinly to 6-8" rounds. They should almost be translucent.

4. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet until just smoking. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel so the skillet has a thin, even coat. I keep an oily paper towel next to the skillet, so I can re-wipe the skillet frequently.

5. Lay 1 dough round in skillet. Cook until surface begins to bubble, ~1-2 min. Flip and cook until browned and puffy, ~1-2 min.

6. Transfer to a plate or baking dish. Cover with kitchen towel or foil to keep warm.

GTS

Two-a-days seemed like such a good idea, but my legs say otherwise. Today I went to Judy's "Gravity Interval" class. This class uses the Gravity Training System, or GTS, which is basically a sliding bench on an inclined platform with various attachments. To work your legs, you can lay back on the bench and do squats up the incline. You can also do these crazy lunge exercises, but those just stress me out. You can work your abs, obliques chest, back, biceps, triceps, and shoulders by attaching pulleys or adjusting some bars, and you literally pull the platform (with you on it) up the incline. It's a fantastic full-body toning session, especially if you set the incline higher to challenge yourself.

Judy upped the ante by having us hop off our machines for cardio intervals. For example, we'd do 30 seconds of jumping jacks and 30 seconds of burpees, followed by 20 seconds of each, and then 10. Then...back to the GTS.
Needless to say, it was a tough workout. However, it was a nice change of pace from the normal weights routine! If your gym offers a GTS class, I recommend you give it a try!




Here's how the week has gone so far:
Monday:
✓ 5:30pm - Kickboxing class
✓ 6:30pm - Indoor Cycling class

Tuesday:
✓ 12:00pm - Gravity strength training class
✓ 10:00pm - Yoga video

Two-a-Days

I have the week off from work, so why not make a week of two-a-days out of it? It'd be nice to blast off a pound or two before I traipse off to Chicago. Here's my schedule:

Monday:
5:30pm - Kickboxing class
6:30pm - Indoor Cycling class

Tuesday:
12:00pm - Gravity strength training class
evening - Yoga video

Wednesday: 
morning - 15 min stairmaster, legs & back strength training
evening - 15 min stairmaster, Back to Abs class

Thursday:
morning - 15 min stairmaster, arms & shoulder strength training
evening - Jog(weather permitting) or Cardio X video

Friday:
12:00pm - Kickboxing class

Sat:
morning - 30 min stairmaster, Abs circuit training
evening - Christina's wedding!

Sunday:
4:00pm - Teach Indoor Cycling

In other news, my cycling book arrived in the mail! I have a lot of learning to do, including how to buy the right bike, courtesy and safety in traffic, changing a tire and other endless repair tasks...oh dear, mustn't get intimidated. I'm woefully ignorant, but we all have to start somewhere, huh?
It did have a moment of revelation today. After class, I approached my friend and co-instructor, Julia. I wanted to know the type of pedal that the spin bikes use, so I can get the same pedals on my bike. To explain, there are different types of cleats for cycling shoes, and you have to use the corresponding pedal for your cleat. Your cleat "clips in" to the pedal. Being "clipped in" to your pedal drastically increases your power. Rather than just stomping down on the front stroke, clipping in allows you to push down, pull back, pull up, and push forward with your pedal stroke. Way more efficient.
Now, I really should know the type of cleat I have on my shoes, but have long since forgotten. And Julia is an experienced spin instructor, yoga instructor, and cyclist. But hey, she didn't know either. We both looked at each other a little sheepishly, and she recommended I just take my shoes to the bike shop and get what they tell me to get. The truth is that we can't know everything, and even if we could, we'd probably forget some details.

80 Degrees and Running

Today was glorious, wasn't it? It started out a little dreary, but then the clouds broke apart and the temperature shot up by mid-afternoon. I might have spent 9 hours at a copy machine (only one...more...day), but I raced home and put on my tennis shoes.
Sadly, I don't run much these days. I have to be careful of high-impact activities with my back, and my hamstrings are no good for long distances. I hate this, because I absolutely love the rhythm and joy of running. I make the most out of the miles I get.

I always start out with at least a mile of brisk walking to fully warm up, and then I'll briefly stretch if I still feel stiff. I always slowly jog the second mile. I'm talking a 9-11 minute mile, people. If I take care of my legs on those first two miles, they'll usually give me an extra mile in the end. From there, I run how I feel like running. And of course, if I feel any discomfort in my legs (aches are fine, pains are not), then I stop immediately. It's easy to ignore discomfort when you've got them endorphins pumping through you, but you'll hate yourself the next day. I do, anyway.