Wuss for the Cure

Every year I contribute to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Race for the Cure. It's usually on a Saturday and my job keeps me from participating in any other way. This year it was on a Sunday and I convinced my wonderful husband to get up extra early and come out to do the Race with me.

I haven't been feeling well lately so I opted for the 1 mile family walk (Wuss for the Cure) as opposed to the 5k run/walk (Race) Also participating with us was my sister Lora Ferguson, my nephew Jacob Sisco, my neice in law Melissa Long my grand"daughter" Baylee and actually running in the 5k, my brother in law Don Ferguson. Due to a back injury my sister Cate Sisco Slept in for the Cure and good friend Brandi Davis might have had a little too much fun at a party the night before and also Slept in for the Cure. Together we were Team Piece of Cake.

Sunday morning dawned and after a nourishing breakfast of black currant yogurt topped with cranberry almond crunch and approximately 400 phone calls to find out who was going and where we were meeting, we arrived at Robert's Stadium parking lot to wait for the rest of the team and lament that we hadn't brought any coffee.



And I got up at 6 am to wait for your family in a parking lot?


It seemed like forever before Lora and Don arrived and of course Melissa and Jacob hadn't even left their houses. Everyone did get there before the last bus left, so in the end it was fine.



Lora Ferguson, the first of our team to arrive, with Baylee the last of our team to arrive.


Yes, that is Melissa taking off her shirt in a public parking lot. She says she can do the same with undies.


Here is Jacob, the only one of us with enough sense to preregister for the Race.


There wasn't anyone handy to get all of us and Don had run off already but Jacob took this photo of all the Pink Shirts on Team Piece of Cake.



Don left on one of the earlier buses but the rest of us wanted to sit together. So after everyone who was going to get there (remember Brandi may or may not have had too much 'fun' the night before.) got there we headed off to the big, yellow school bus which I forgot to take a photo of.


Baylee, who is just one year old had never ridden on a school bus before.


Karl, who is British, hadn't either.


The bus dropped us off a short distance from the actual race and we had to walk the rest of the way.

The crowds were unbelievable. It's hard to imagine that so many people could care enough to get their butts out of bed on a Sunday but they were there. In fact over 13,000 people participated in the Race this year.

We managed to find Don almost immediately in spite of the huge crowds. (Most likely because he's hilariously tall and skinny and was wearing a bright red shirt with a cake on it)


Grandpa Don (who actually RAN in the 5k) holding Baylee, who Strolled for the Cure.

After finding Don we headed off to late registration to get our T'Shirts and Race bibs.

If you've never done a Race this is the part that is hard. You pay your $25 for the privelage of a white shirt with the Race logo, a racer's number and in addition you can pin bright pink In Celebration or in Memory of placards onto your shirt to tell people who you are Racing for. You look around you and there are women in special pink Survivior t'shirts. Some of them don't have any hair, some of them are carrying signs that say "10 years" or "6 years". Over to the right is a group of people wearing matching T'shirts that proclaim the name of a woman they are racing in memory of. Then you think of some woman that you know and love, maybe more than one woman that you know and love, and if you're lucky you put her name on a In Celebration of instead of In Memory of and pin it to your back.

This is my first year racing. I didn't know that it was gonna make me cry. But I did and so did Lora and so did Melissa and when I asked my husband if it would be okay to carry his parents names with me too I could feel his sadness. I was fortunate to carry the name of two survivors with me. However being at the Race for the Cure brought back what they had gone through to become survivors.

I also discovered the night before the Race, that my Aunt Judy, who is on her second round with breast cancer, has been diagnosed with Lupus and a degenerative bone disorder. Carrying her name with me felt like an extraordinary responsibility and honor.

We got ourselves registered, dried our tears and Team Piece of Cake

waited for 9:30 and the start of the 5k race. Again, the amount of people participating was stunning. We tried to see Don but despite the hilariously tall and thin thing and the red shirt, lost him in the crowd.


Baylee and Melissa looking for Grandpa Don
and Karl foiling one of Baylee's escape attempts.

The 5k is the bigger part of Race day and literally thousands of runners and walkers pass through the opening gate. An announcer calls out team names and the names of Survivors as they pass. After the majority of the 5k-ers pass they let the ones walking in the 1 mile Family Walk line up at their start.


This is Karl heading towards the starting line.



And we're off!
The 1 Mile course takes you from the back of Eastland mall past Macy's and around the front almost to JC Penney's.

We decided about 3/4 of the way through that we all could have walked the 5k.


In fact it was an easy walk and a beautiful day for it.

The people in front of us.

The people behind us.


Apparently a few others agreed


For the last leg of the race we let Baylee out of her stroller to walk. She was initially way more interested in the flowers than actually walking anywhere. With Grandma Lora on one side and Mommy on the other she decided it was ok to go, go, go!

Which was a good thing because we were almost at the end where you get to be attacked by the big, pink, balloon arch.


All in all it was a great experience and if they continue to have it on Sunday then I will continue to Wuss or Race depending on my health at the time.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!! I'm a PIRATE!

Your pirate name is:
Black Jack Rackham

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Arrrrrrrr

My pirate name is: Dirty Bess Kidd

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

On vegetable broth...

I keep a gallon zippie bag in my freezer. Every time I peel a vegetable (except potatoes) snap a pea or bean or cut the end off a tomato or squash I toss these normally discarded bits into the bag. When it's full I plop the frozen veggies into what I think of as my pretty big pan. I then fill it with water, bring it to a boil and let it go for anywhere for 1/2 an hour to an hour depending on how distracted I am whilst making it. After I notice it again I strain the vegetable broth into one of my gallon pitchers. I return all the cooked once veggies back to the pot, fill with water and repeat. I do let this second brew cook slightly longer because it kinda seems like you should have to. (Although I've never scientifically tested this.) I strain this batch into the second of my gallon pitchers (You could use large bowls if you don't happen to own gallon pitchers or both of them are filled with Kool Aid or iced tea.) Toss the veggies, (if you have one, put it on the compost pile) wash the pan out, combine both (approximate) gallons of veggie broth and allow to cool.

Once the broth is cool enough to handle, I place 1 and 2 cup amounts in quart size zippie bags, (Label them before you start) place the bags flat in the freezer and let them freeze solid. I also fill standard muffin cups with 1/3 cup of the broth freeze these solid then pop them into a gallon baggie for when I just need a wee bit of broth.

Some things that I've put in the bag-Asparagus ends, bean and pea snap offs, celery tops, carrot peels and trims, mushroom stems, tomato tops, zucchini and yellow squash trimmings, onion peels and tops, garlic peels, lemon peels (from when you've juiced a lemon, but I wouldn't go overboard) trimmings from broccoli and cauliflower (again not too many) cabbage cores, I've even used lettuce leaves.

Basically any non starchy and not too 'strong veggie'

What I would avoid-Potato peels or trimmings, beets (too staining) brussels sprouts, corn cobs, excessive amounts of any strong smelling or tasting veggie like fennel or raab.

I do know of people who will toss their leftover dinner veggies and the juice from canned veggies. I tend to avoid this as I like butter on vegetables and I really don't eat a lot of canned veggies.

"What's the point?" you may ask. Several things. I use a lot of broth in my cooking. A can of vegetable broth costs about 79 cents. For the cost of the zippie bags, 2 gallons(ish) of water, enough gas to boil it up and a bit of time, I can get the equivalent of 16 cans of vegetable broth. (If you do the math that's about $1.25 instead of $12.64) It's also a delicious, high quality broth with no added salt.

I can control portion size more easily than canned broth. A can of vegetable broth is about 15 oz (close to 2 cups) I don't always need 2 cups of broth and I often waste the remainder of the can. I have good intentions but the can sits in the fridge until it ferments or spills on the eggs, sometimes both.

I also like the idea of further using something that would normally just get pitched. Back in the days when I had more time I did pitch the spent veggies onto the compost heap. In turn the compost went into my pathetic garden which provided me with at least a few new veggie peels and trims to put in the zippie bag. That's a cycle I can get behind.

Oh, and I have a freezer to store the equivalent of 16 cans of vegetable broth, so it's also practical for me.

For me making my own broth makes sense. It's a money saver. For me it's also a time saver because I am forever forgetting to buy it and then having to run back to the store for it. Finally it's my little stand against the throw away society we live in. Reduce, reuse, recycle and eat well.

7 Grain Bread

Okay, so I may be trying to beat you to death with the staff of life.


2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
1/2 cup 7 grain hot cereal such as Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal
1/4 cup demererra sugar (or brown sugar if you're husband isn't British)
1/4 cup malted milk powder such as Carnation or Horlick's
3 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups milk warmed to about 120 degrees
2 Tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl mix 2 1/2 cups of flour, the cereal, sugar, malt powder, yeast and salt together. Add the warm milk and butter all at once and stir to combine. If needed add up to a 1/2 cup more flour to make a soft workable dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 minutes. Form into a ball, place into a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down, form into a loaf allow to rise bake at 375 35-45 minute until golden brown and hollow sounding.

Curried Beef Stew

Curried Beef Stew

2 lbs thick cut round steak cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons curry powder (I used Ship)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon each black pepper, white pepper and paprika
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 bell peppers cut in large dice
2 large onions diced
*1/2 of a 12 oz package snake gourd*
3 15 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
3 cups water
1/4 vindaloo curry paste (I used Patak's)

In a bowl or ziploc bag mix the flour, curry powder, salt, black pepper, white pepper and paprika together. Add the meat cubes and toss or shake to coat.

Heat some of the vegetable oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat in a single non crowded and layer and brown on all sides. Do this in batches if necessary. Remove the browned meat and set aside. Add the peppers and onions to the pan and saute briefly in the drippings. Add 1/4 of flour to the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Add the tomatoes, water, *snake gourd* and the vindaloo curry paste. Gently add the meat and it's drippings back to the pan. Adjust salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 2-3 hours until meat is tender.

*snake gourd is apparently a semi common foodstuff in India but not so much in Indiana. We bought it because we've made a pact to try new things (I would not recommend salted dry gooseberries.) Check the freezer section of an asian or Indian market and you might find it. If not, I'm pretty sure zucchini or yellow squash would work or you can of course leave it out entirely.

Notes-This smells fantastic. We're gonna have homemade naan, the Bharji bread, brown rice pilaf, peas, hot mango chutney and yogurt with this.

More notes-The snake gourd didn't taste like zucchini or yellow squash but they really would make a good substitute. This was particularly good piled onto the Bharji Bread and dotted with yogurt and chutney.