Finding Comfort Around the Kitchen Table

What happened at the Boston Marathon today was horrifying. In fact, the past few days have been tough. Last week we learned a young family friend has cancer. Friday we found out an amazing person and her husband experienced a horrifying, unexpected situation. Today we watched as bombs went off at the finish line of one of our country’s most prominent marathons. These past few days have been filled with pain, confusion and a need for comfort. Not only for me,  but for many people in my life, the running community and this nation. These are situations that impact so many people. So many good people. This is a time to remember what’s important in your life and to hold your loved ones close.

I recently read Shauna Niequist‘s new book, “Bread & Wine.” Shauna is a powerful writer whose words have had a big impact on many people in my life. Her writing is honest, relatable and exactly what I needed over the past few days. This isn’t the first time I reached for one of Shauna’s books for a little direction, and it won’t be the last. In “Bread and Wine,” Shauna encourages readers to start cooking and invite loved ones over to gather around the kitchen table. Whether you are serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a three-course meal, the moments around the table aren’t necessarily about the food. While a great meal won’t hurt, the moments are about being surrounded by loved ones sharing stories, exchanging laughs, wiping away tears, making memories. At the table, we are fed and nourished at every level.

The book is filled with short stories of cooking and entertaining encouragement. Today as I watched the events unfold in Boston and I thought about these past few days, I had a need to be at the kitchen table surrounded by love. With short notice, traveling family members and the last bouts of a flu, I started considering other ways to find comfort. Then I remembered a line from Shauna’s newest book: “What people are craving isn’t perfection. People aren’t longing to be impressed; they’re longing to feel like they’re at home. If you create space full of love and character and creativity and soul, they’ll take off their shoes and curl up with gratitude and rest, no matter how small, no matter how undone, no matter how odd.”

It didn’t have to be perfect. I looked past my excuses, called my brother and made plans to make enchiladas. Dressed in our pajamas and with the Minnesota Wild game on, we sat around the Ottoman (ok, so it’s not the kitchen table) and talked about recent events, our family and who would make the NHL playoffs. We shared stories, discussed evil and even laughed. Turns out, once again, Shauna was right. It didn’t have to be a perfect dinner party, it just had to include a meal and someone to talk to. We often talk about comfort food, but maybe it has more to do with those we share the meal with. Don’t get me wrong, a big plate of mac n’ cheese or gooey enchiladas can turn around a moment, but friends and family can turn around a day, week, month or bad season.

Below is the enchiladas recipe we enjoyed tonight. It’s from Shauna’s book and turned out delicious. In “Bread & Wine,” she mentions Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in Napa Valley‘s rule of three when it comes to cooking. The first  time make it according to the recipe. The second time, rewrite the recipe according to your own tastes. The third time, make it from memory. This enchilada recipe is the perfect place to try that. There are so many variations you could experiment with. But remember, it’s not always about the dish but instead who you share it with.

Annette’s Enchiladas (Serves: 6)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream 
• 1 28-ounce can green enchilada sauce
• 2 4-ounce cans green chiles, diced
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 12 small corn tortillas
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Cilantro (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix green sauce with chiles and sour cream. 
2. Smooth 1 spoonful of the sauce mixture around the bottom of a 9 by 13 greased pan.
3. Simmer the chicken broth in a skillet, and before placing each tortillas in the 9 by 13 pan, use tongs to pass the tortilla through the broth for just a few seconds. If you leave the tortillas in the broth for too long, they’ll fall apart, so just dip each one in for a few seconds to soften it before putting it in the enchilada pan.
4. Layer 4 tortillas over the first layer of sauce.
5. After tortillas, add half the chicken, then one-third of the sauce, then one-third of the cheese.
6. Repeat so there are 2 full layers.
7. Finish with a layer of 4 more tortillas, the remaining third of the sauce, and the remaining third of the cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees until warmed through and the cheese is melted, about 30 to 35 minutes.
9. Let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting. Top with chopped cilantro, if desired.

I received a free advance copy of “Bread & Wine.” This did not impact my thoughts on the book or the content of this post. I truly love and find value in all of Shauna’s writing. I hope you enjoy it too! 

To purchase “Bread & Wine,” click here.

Twitter Converting All Profiles to Header Image Layout

 Twitter announced that starting tomorrow, all existing Twitter accounts will automatically be converted to the new layout. This means  all personal and company/brand accounts will now have a gray header image unless the account was previously updated with a personalized header. 

Several months ago, I wrote a blog post  explaining how to change a header image and highlighted the benefits brands will see from the new layout. Similar to Facebook’s cover photo, Twitter’s header image is now a focal point of the profile page. All companies, brands and personal accounts should be taking advantage of the new layout. The Twitter header image is a great opportunity to tell a brand story and strengthen messaging, or tell your own story. Unlike Facebook, this header image does not yet have regulations and can be used for branding, contests and much more! 

A few of my favorite headers images include Nike, Coca-Cola and General Mills. What are some of your favorites? 

 

Nutella Stuffed Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

The final product for the bake-off

I work at a healthcare agency and like most good communications agencies, we usually have an abundance of food. From free lunch to cooking/baking contests, we are very well fed. Today we had a bake-off to raise money for multiple sclerosis, a disease close to the hearts of several people who I work with. About 20 people baked amazing bars, cookies, pies and cupcakes for the panel of judges to score by taste, presentation and overall experience. After the judging, all employees were invited to an all-you-could eat baked goods feast for a $5 donation. The bake-off raised more than $300 for a great cause AND my cookies got first place! I can’t take credit for the recipe, but I thought I’d share it with you along with a few tips and pictures. I plan to try several variations of this cookie, so stay tuned.

Here is the recipe for Nutella Stuffed Sea Salt Chocolate Chips Cookies, originally found on Ambitious Kitchen’s blog. Scroll to the bottom for some pictures that might help make your baking experience easier!

This is one of the best cookies I’ve ever had!

Nutella Stuffed Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep: 2 1/2 hours      Total time: 3 hours        Servings: 24 – 28 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt (I used fage 2%)
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator for at least 2 hours
• Course sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl, and set aside.
2. Brown butter: heat thick bottomed saucepan (light-colored is easier to monitor butter) over medium heat, cut butter into equal size chunks and melt it in the saucepan. The butter will begin to foam. Continuously whisk the butter and watch for it to begin to form brown flakes in the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from the heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent it from burning. Let it cool for several minutes. (NOTE: Browning butter can take some practice. Watching a few YouTube videos about it first is helpful.)
3. With an electric mixer, mix the butter, brown sugar and sugar until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla and yogurt until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on a low-speed until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Chill the dough covered for two hours in the refrigerator.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
6. After dough is chilled, measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball. Flatten the dough thinly into your palm and place 1 rounded teaspoon of chilled Nutella into the middle of the dough. Fold the dough around it and roll back into a ball. (NOTE: It doesn’t have to be rolled perfectly, but make sure there isn’t Nutella seeping out of the sides. If it is, add more dough to fully cover the Nutella).
7. Place dough balls on ungreased cookie sheet about two inches apart and flatten the tops with your hand.
8. Bake the cookies for 9 – 11 minutes (error on shorter side) or until edges are slightly golden brown. They might look a little undone but that is OK because they will continue to cook on the pan.
9. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for two minutes and then sprinkle with a little sea salt.
10. Continue to cool the cookies on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. ENJOY!

Let me know if you try them or do a variation. I think pumpkin in the center would be good!

Here are a few tips: 

Browning the butter correctly is one of the most important steps in the recipe. It provides a slight nutty flavor that compliments the chocolate and salt perfectly. Here is a picture of the first step in browning butter:

The dough tastes amazing…I almost didn’t even make the cookies.

Before baking, make sure you flatten the tops of the cookies with your hand. This creates a flat surface to sprinkle the salt on, otherwise it will roll off:

Getting the Nutella to stay inside the dough can be a little tricky. The thinner you get the dough in your palm, the easier it will be to roll back up. Also, chilling the Nutella helps a lot!

Officially a Tough Mudder

Some of our team post-Mudder

After about 11 miles, 22 obstacles designed by British Special Forces, more mud than I could have imagined, bruises, cuts and awesome team camaraderie, I am officially a Tough Mudder. Yesterday when I toed the line with hundreds of people I’d never met and my team of about 15, I had no idea how important we would all be to each other for the next four hours of our lives. The Tough Mudder is considered one of the toughest events on the planet and I couldn’t agree more. While marathons test endurance and mental strength, the Tough Mudder also requires overcoming fears, risking the unknown, trust and teamwork.When asked which was more difficult, I would answer they are just different and probably not for everyone.

True story

To train for the Tri-State Tough Mudder I didn’t change my running program much. I continued to run about 20 – 25 miles a week, with  one long run (10 – 13 miles) on the weekend. However I decided to start strength training to try to pull my own weight during the race. For the past seven weeks I did the weights portion of P90X three days a week. While I feel I was stronger, I was hoping to be able to complete a few more of the obstacles without falling directly into the muddy water (i.e. the monkey bars…AKA Funky Monkey and the rings…AKA Hangin Tough). Next year I’ll definitely start doing my push ups and pull ups earlier!

Everest….just keep running, jump and trust your team

That being said, the event really isn’t intended for anyone to be able to do it alone. Like the shirt says, “It is a challenge, not a race and no mudder is left behind” I think the most memorable part of the amazing day was how complete strangers and teams came together to help ever “mudder” complete each obstacle. As you ran up to the Berlin Wall or the Ladder to Hell, you’d see every mudder reaching to help someone else up and over each obstacle. It was so inspiring to see so many people come together. Also, I credit much of the positive experience to our awesome team. Without them I’m not sure it would have been such a successful day. We ended up running in a group of nine and as we approached each obstacle I knew together we would get through it…or over it, under it, etc. From words of confidence to being carried wounded warrior style through a field and diving forward just trusting someone would catch me, it was a sense of security to be with such great people who had our backs. We even had two teammates get their faces stepped on, but you didn’t hear anyone complain (because only kids whine).

It was one of my most memorable experiences and I can’t wait to do another one. Going into the event I was most worried for the live wires (Electroshock Therapy) and the halfpipe (Everest), but turns out I didn’t need to worry. Adrenaline, awesome people and mental strength will get you through. While it’s tough to train for most of the obstacles, here are some of my recommendations to have a great Tough Mudder experience:

• Sign up with a team of people you trust and who want to have a good time – you’ll need them
• Wear your bib number on your back, unless you don’t mind losing it on the course
• Wear tight fit clothing (spandex) if possible – guys, I’d wear it under your shorts
• If you have a late start time, eat a big breakfast because you probably won’t get real food for about five hours
• Have your team wear matching colors or shirts so you can spot each other easier – the brighter the better
• Bring flip flops to change into afterwards – everything is muddy and wet, so it’s just easier if you leave your sneakers to be donated
• Bring a lot of towels and maybe even a blanket – it was 70 degrees on our race day and we were freezing from the wet mud
• Bring plastic bags for your wet, muddy clothes and something to change into
• Shop at the Tough Mudder store before you run
• If you want to try to save your knees and elbows, wear long sleeves and capris/pants…it helps, but you’ll still get scratches/bruising
• I didn’t really find that wearing gloves helped – everything was so muddy and wet anyways, that if you are going to slip, they don’t help
• Trust your team and fellow mudders – sometimes you just have to count to three, jump and have faith that someone will catch you
• When you are tired or want to quit, remember our soldiers do this everyday….with boots on and carrying gear
• Have a friend or family member come to take pictures because there aren’t a lot of photographers and usually they can’t read your number
• Don’t race, but work hard – It’s muddy, slippery, uneven terrain and we saw a few injuries…we called what we did a trot
• Do your best to get in shape before the race to prevent injuries, conquer the obstacles and have the most amount of fun
• It doesn’t hurt to have a cheerleader or two on your team, they know how to build human pyramids, throw/catch people and encourage the team
• One of the guys on my team warned that “while mud slides look fun, they are incredibly painful. And never go down on your stomach.” – Remember these courses are in nature so most of these mud slides have sticks, rocks and tree stumps
• Wear your orange sweatband with pride and enjoy the post-race beer, you earned them!

Thanks to Tough Mudder, my team and all the strangers for making yesterday so awesome! I’m sore today but can’t wait to see you next year.

Any other Mudders have advice for new Mudders? Leave it in the comments. Hooray!

Before the Tough Mudder….still trying to get the marker off my face today

I tried not to get too beat up because I’m a bridesmaid next weekend, but I’m proud of my battle wounds

Running: It’s a Zen Thing

Read this is Competitor magazine. It’s a good reminder to just let your legs carry you on every run. Also, for those running Fall marathons, trust in your training and just go! Good luck out there.

 

Don’t Give Up

I saw this quote on Pinterest and really related. Remember, you’re alive for a reason. The author is unknown.

Runner’s Prayer: Run By My Side

Taken during an evening run on the East River in NYC

Sometimes running can be a lonely sport. While races are filled with hundreds of cheering fans and many congratulatory texts, training runs are often long, solo and rarely celebrated. For many, this alone time is part of the joy of running. A time to reflect, let go and just run. But even during those 20-mile training runs or quick run commute, remember, you are not alone. I saw this Runner’s Prayer on Pinterest and had to share it. It is originally from “Day by Day: The Notre Dame Prayerbook for Students.”

Run by my side; live in my heartbeat;

give strength to my steps.

As the cold surrounds, as the wind pushes me,

I know you surround me.

As the sun warms me, as the rain cleanses me,

I know you are touching me, challenging me, loving me.

And so I give you this run.

Thank you for matching my stride.

Amen.