Thank you DuClaw Brewing for sponsoring this post and sending me the DuClaw Farmhouse Gypsy. All opinions and the pork recipe are my own. Welcome to the February edition of “Cooking with Beer”! Each month DuClaw Brewing sends me a beer and a friend and I create a recipe. It's a fun time to think outside the box and try a new beer and new food. This month's beer is "Farmhouse Gypsy", a hybrid beer that combines their bestseller Neon Gypsy with a saison yeast. Each month when I get my beer from DuClaw, my friend and I brainstorm ideas for the recipe. IPAs are one of the hardest beers to cook with as it's entirely possible to end up with a super bitter recipe if you aren't careful. The saison yeast in the DuClaw Farmhouse Gypsy adds … [Read more...]
Duckpin Bowling and Love the Run 5K
It's Monday, mmmm, Monday. Hmm, that doesn't quite have the same feel as "It's Friday, frfrfr, Friday" does... We have a busy, but fun weekend this weekend. On Saturday, Beer Geek wanted to try out something new to us - duckpin bowling. What, you ask, is duckpin bowling? Well, it's bowling with small balls (3.5-5 pounds) and smaller pins. While it looks a lot like regular bowling, the different weight and sizes make the pins act differently. And I'll be the first to admit that we kept the bumpers up for the whole time we bowled. It would have been a depressing game otherwise LOL. I also found that I actually had a preference of which ball to use, even though they all looked basically the same. Certain balls just seemed to slip … [Read more...]
DuClaw Mysterium Grains of Paradise Bread
Thank you DuClaw Brewing for sponsoring this post and sending me the DuClaw Mysterium. All opinions and the bread recipe are my own. Welcome to the January edition of “Cooking with Beer”! Each month DuClaw Brewing sends me a beer and a friend and I create a recipe. It's a fun time to think outside the box and try a new beer and new food. This month's beer is "Mysterium", a Belgian Spiced Ale. Each month when I get my beer from DuClaw, my friend and I brainstorm ideas for the recipe. This beer sounded a little challenging since it's spiced with chamomile, cardamom, and grains of paradise. Confession: before I had this beer, I didn't even know what grains of paradise were. Turns out that they are a seed that you can grind like you … [Read more...]
DuClaw 865cc Coffee Stout Sweet Potatoes with Candied Walnuts
Thank you DuClaw Brewing for sponsoring this post and sending me the DuClaw 865cc Coffee Stout. All opinions and the sweet potato recipe are my own. Welcome to the November edition of “Cooking with Beer”! Each month DuClaw Brewing sends me a beer and a friend and I create a recipe. It's a fun time to think outside the box and try a new beer and new food. This month's beer is "865cc Coffee Stout", an stout with an intense coffee flavor from the addition of cold steeped, Cafe Racer XXX 865cc coffee which is roasted in Baltimore, MD. I have to confess that this is one of my favorite beers that I've had from DuClaw. I kind of didn't want to cook with it or share it. If you love coffee, you want to try this beer. Since Thanksgiving is … [Read more...]
Five things I’m loving this fall
Happy Friday! This week has been, umm, interesting. This was the first Presidential election where one of my kids was old enough to really be interested and invested, even if he isn't quite old enough to vote. This led to some great conversations and bonding time, but it sure cut into my sleep time. And we all know I'm sleep deprived normally, so you can only imagine how much sense I'm making these days. So, for Friday Five today, I'm going light and easy: 5 things that I'm loving right now as fall arrives. Before that, I want to say thank you to all of our Veterans for all that you do and all that you have done. It's because of you that we even have the opportunity to experience election night. And check out this awesome picture of … [Read more...]
DuClaw Mad Bishop Spicy Beer Cheese Soup
Thank you DuClaw Brewing for sponsoring this post and sending me the DuClaw Mad Bishop. All opinions and the Spicy Beer Cheese Soup recipe are my own. Welcome to the August edition of “Cooking with Beer”! Each month DuClaw Brewing sends me a beer and a friend and I create a recipe. It's a fun time to think outside the box and try a new beer and new food. This month's beer is the DuClaw Mad Bishop, a German Style Oktoberfest. I'm always excited to see Oktoberfest beers start coming out. It means that summer heat is coming to an end and soon it will be my favorite time of year. I love cooler weather, the colors of the leaves, and the darker beers that start gracing the shelves. The DuClaw Mad Bishop nicely fills the niche between … [Read more...]
30th Annual Great Taste of the Midwest for the win!
Every August for the last 7 years, Beer Geek and I have had the opportunity to enjoy the Great Taste of the Midwest. This beer festival is hands down one of the top beer festivals in the country. (I'd say THE best, but I haven't been to every festival out there. Yet.) Before picking up Beer Geek from the airport on Friday, I got in a slow, easy 4 mile run. It hasn't been as hot in Wisconsin as the crazy heat in Virginia, but the humidity was all kinds of gross. I've been struggling with some achilles issues, so I was happy that it didn't bother me much. Once I picked him up at the airport, we headed to Madison. I love Madison. It tops my list of places besides DC that I'd love to live. Ah, well, someday. We started out our fun … [Read more...]
In Pursuit of the Perfect Race
Happy Tuesday, y'all. Hope your Independence Day was a fun! Mine was awesome as I completed my 21st half marathon in 21 states in 365 days. Only two more races to go! Today on Tuesdays on the Run, we are talking about how you choose the races you run. What is your thought process? Mine is pretty straight forward: Run.All.The.Races! No? OK, really my first thought is "does it get me a new state?" If the answer is yes, run it. If no... Create Your Own Visited States Map Is it near a new brewpub? (Map is FAR from comprehensive.) If the answer is yes, run it. If no... Does Shoo have a soccer game or tournament? Yeah, I don't check his schedule first. I'm sure that makes me a bad mom, but soccer season and race … [Read more...]
ZOOMA Annapolis weekend
This past weekend was jam packed with lots of fun, quite a few hills, and a whole lot of beer! Of course, that means it was ZOOMA Annapolis weekend! Up until Friday morning, I wasn't sure if I was going to get to head to Annapolis early or if I'd be driving in the morning of the race. Thankfully, ZOOMA offers a few DC area packet pickups in addition to their Friday Expo in Annapolis, so I picked up my bib early, just in case. Luckily though, the stars aligned and I was able to head out of DC around 2 and Cynthia offered me space in the room she was sharing with Sandra and Sue. Halfway to Annapolis, I realized I'd forgotten to eat lunch and that I had also not brought anything to eat the morning of the race. Oops. I thought about … [Read more...]
Thinking out loud about winter
Winter. The season most Virginians love to hate. It's been an interesting one this year, so I'm joining up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for the Thinking Out Loud link up... This last week, Virginia has really gotten into the concept of winter. After a December filled with warm days and runs in skirts, January has included some wicked cold days and is now gearing up for what the "experts" are calling an historic storm. Estimates are all over the place (seriously, one guy said 5"-20" - way to cover your bases), but the general consensus is that we are going to get walloped. The only question is when. As a prelude to the SNOW, we got a little bit of snow on Wednesday evening. Beer Geek and I were already out for a run, so we got … [Read more...]
Savor, FitFoodie Rock My Run, a winner, and 20% off
Woo, that's quite a title! But seriously, so much going on that I needed a catch all post! Today is the marathon of the craft beer world! It's like Marine Corps used to be - you have to be fast with the fingers to get tickets. What am I talking about? SAVOR! If you've been around for a while, you know that Beer Geek and I love this event. It's a chance to meet brewers and owners of craft breweries, while having the opportunity to try out new beers and sample yummy foods. Like a marathon, even if you are well trained and take it slow (AKA hydrate like crazy), there will be "soreness" tomorrow. Thankfully, my Mother's Day present from Beer Geek and the boys is a day in the house by myself. ;o) Now let's talk music! As you … [Read more...]
