Daring Bakers Challenge: Doughnuts

When I joined the Daring Kitchen it was with excitement and trepidation. I wanted to bake outside the box so to speak, but I did not want to go to a butcher requesting pig blood for some unholy concoction some random stranger thought would be fun.

So when Lori from Butter Me Up announced this months challenge would be doughnuts, I breathed a sigh of relief. This was something I could get behind. Plus, I could screw over Tim Hortons in my own modest way, and that made me happy.

There were many recipe options given, I chose to go with Alton Brown's yeast doughnuts. I made one type, my all time favourite, lemon filled. I used Martha Stewart's lemon curd for the filling. This combination caused me to create little pillows of heaven. Both the doughnut and the filling were simple, easy and delicious. I would suggest forgetting about Tim's and pulling out your deep fat fryer, your tastebuds will thank you.

Look at those little pillows of delight...

One Hundred

The MS bike tour made me realize something about myself...I need goals, big ones. So, inspired by my friend Wendy, I decided to do one hundred days straight of something. She walked, but it's getting cold out and I get really wussy when it comes to bad weather. I decided on yoga, it's something I can do at home or join a class if I feel so inclined. Plus it's something new, and I think I need something new. I have been doing a yoga dvd off and on, and I like the fact it's about respecting your body, appreciating it for the work it does, and I think I need more of that in my life. This body has got me to Gimli and back, but it has also helped create, birth and feed two children. This is no small feat, and it's time I give this bod of mine the props it deserves. So here I go....wish me luck!

French Fridays With Dorie: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

This is my first post with French Fridays With Dorie. I was tempted to join Tuesdays With Dorie, but considering I am not much of a baker really I decided against it. This however, is right up my alley. Once a week I cook something from this book, post it, and voila, I am transported to Paris via my crappy kitchen.

This week's recipe was, for lack of a better word, amazing. The cake sounds so simple, yet the combination of the ingredients turn it into something magical. It is easy, delicious, and did I mention delicious? I will be making this again and again, which is high praise considering I rarely say that about baked goods. If you don't like cooked apples, this is not for you, but you really are losing out....and you are also insane.

 I served mine with caramel ice cream, next time I think I will just use whipped cream.

 I love that it came out looking like the picture in the book.

But then there's this

After my depressing post in which I admit I'm a failure, I realized that there are some things I have accomplished in the last couple months that I'm proud of. So here they are, my non-athletic accomplishments, but accomplishments none the less.

This is the scarf I knit for Ken. It took me 9 months and it wonky and wonderful.

I made apple jelly for the first time. It set and everything and is the most beautiful colour.

 This is a hat I knit for myself. Off it looks like a gigantic condom. On, I love it.

...And then she crashed

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a while. The thing is, after the bike tour I was on a high, I was ready to do that century ride and kick it's ass. In truth however, I haven't been back on my bike. I had the best intentions, but life has a funny way of challenging you in different ways, and mine came in the form of a third kid. Not mine. I'm looking after another little one during the week and had this fantasy of taking her and my youngest on long wonderful rides while my eldest was in school. The reality of the situation was my new charge napped in the morning and afternoon. By the time her mom came to get her I was too tired to take the girls out, so my dream of a century ride this fall faded, slowly but surely. I didn't post any of this because, well, I'm embarrassed. I avoided this site like the plague wishing things were different, but alas, here we are.

My plan this winter was to take up swimming again, but the deadline for my husbands cheap gym membership came and went and he forgot to sign me up, and the drop in rates are crazy high. I've been doing a lot of walking, and I've been doing a yoga video a couple times a week but in reality I'm flailing around without a goal. So I need some help, how do you all stay motivated? What do you do to get over that feeling you've failed....again?

Ride Grub

The thing about reaching one goal is that I've become thirsty for more, so my next goal is.....my first century ride. That would be 100km (I'm Canadian, we work in kilometers, deal with it). I want to do this on the Thanksgiving weekend, so that would be October 11th. I've thought this through, and I think riding 100km to my Grandparent house for dinner is perfect for one reason. There will be pie waiting for me....and plenty of it!

In order to succeed at this I need to keep training, and since my long rides will be that much longer I figured I would need a bad ass granola bar to get me though them. You can find the original recipe here, I have altered it a bit to look more like a Nigella Lawson recipe I have but cannot find.

Line a 9x13 pan with foil or parchment paper and spray liberally with your brand of Pam.
In a small saucepan slowly heat 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter until the butter is almost melted, then take it off the heat.
In a large bowl combine 3 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup dried apricots (chopped), 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup shredded coconut and 1 cup peanuts (salted or unsalted...whatever floats your boat)

Pour the warm condensed milk into the oat mixture and stir until well coated.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and squoosh it down until the top is level and the mixture is compact. I put some plastic wrap on top so my hands don't get all sticky. (I'm a delicate flower, I know)

Pop those suckers into a 250 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes, until the tops are light brown and your house smells amazing. Let cool for about 15 minutes, lift the bars out of the pan, cut, then let cool completely. You will never look at the store bought ones quite the same again.

Ain't Nothing Gonna Break my Stride....

I have to admit that the week before the bike tour I was a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous. I was shitting myself actually. I knew no matter how nervous I got I would be okay once I started to pedal. And I was. The only thing that really pissed me off was that I forgot my regular riding pants at home and had to ride in my pajama pants. Such is life I guess, I still got the job done.

The girls and I the morning I left

My time goal for the first day was four hours, that meant I had to keep an average speed of 20km/hr. The first 57km was actually pretty easy, it was after that that my butt started to hurt and my legs started to get tired. I don't think I ate enough for lunch either so I started to feel a little worn down. I was on my own for most of the ride, occasionally chatting with people I was passing, or those who were passing me. I saw a Hutterite couple riding together, she in a long dress and sandals, he in black pants and a short sleeved plaid shirt. I also saw a younger guy riding in jean shorts, a wife beater and flip flops, along with cyclists whose outfits matched their bike. I think that's why I had such a good time, there were riders of all levels and most were really nice and very supportive.

But back to the ride. Like I said, I felt good for the most part, even though it rained constantly. I drank lots of water and ate many bananas. While kilometers 58-75 were more difficult, it was the last 10 that were really tough. I was tired and hungry and my motivation was starting to wane. I was fighting the need to vomit and it was all around unpleasant. Luckily I got to Gimli just in time, got off my bike and got some food and water into me, which picked me up. I completed the first leg in 4 hours and 15 minutes with an average speed of 20.1 km. I was sore, so sore in fact that I wasn't sure if I would feel well enough to ride the next day.

One of the many lessons learned is that Tylenol is magic. I popped a couple, stretched and felt great after a good nights sleep. I was ready to go the next day, but this day was much harder on me. I had a dull headache so I mixed gatorade with my water and put some extra granola bars in my handy dandy jersey pouch. By kilometer 35 I was starting to get tired, and I knew the second half of the ride would be very challenging. I tried to combat this by taking a longer (and larger) lunch break. I sat with a couple women who had seen me say goodbye to the girls the day before. They made me feel better about my progress by calling me a machine and saying they were impressed by how consistent I was. This compliment gave me a bit of a second wind, and while I was in a lot more pain then the previous day, I was able to stay positive and fight though it. I also knew that those last 10 km were going to be hard again, so I spent most of this time talking myself up for them.

Self portrait.

The nice thing about the ride back is that most of the cyclists seem to want to chat, and when they passed me they would say something to pump me up, so I did the same when I passed people as well. I was still wet from the rain in the morning, so I was really uncomfortable and my butt really hurt. The only time I actually considered giving up and pulling over was in the last 4 km. I was just so tired and my legs, arms, shoulders and back were so sore I could not imagine going on. But I followed Lindsay's advice and told myself to do one more stroke, then another, then another until I was in Stonewall. There was a volunteer who said "Welcome to Stonewall!" and I said "I grew up here, and Stonewall has never been so beautiful." I then started to cry....again. I continued to cry up Main Street toward the finish line and through it. I was done in 4 hours and 20 minutes with an average speed of 19.8km/hr. I could not believe I had done it. I knew in theory I could probably do it, but the reality of what my body can do when asked has become apparent. I now need to figure out what to do with this new found knowledge.

Special thanks go out to Colleen and Jim, who housed and took care of me in Gimli, Jen P for all the advice and Lindsay Menard, a bike tour veteran who answered all my questions, was my inspiration to ride and is one of the strongest women I know. One day my Auntie DD gave me a hug and said "You've worked so hard Cara, go ride that bike." I did Auntie DD, I rode the hell out of that bike.