by Sam Tackeff | Nov 11, 2012 | Uncategorized
Despite my best intentions, I didn’t get to CrossFit until the very end of the week. I was hoping to make it to the 9 a.m. class, but was thwarted by the Newton Chilly Half – I couldn’t find a way to get around the runners!
Instead of getting to class at 9:20, and being forced to do lots of burpees, I headed over to the Charles River Center, strapped on my Garmin, turned on my RunKeeper, Pandora, and set about trying to beat my 5k time from 8 weeks ago. I’ve been exhausted for the past 7 days straight, but I still managed to pull out a 31:40 run, which was an improvement on the same course!
After my run, I headed over to the gym to get some strength training in. Things were quiet because most people were watching gym-mates compete at the Garage Games Finals at Crossfit Southie. I went for one of the workouts I missed this week:
Skill: Power Clean & Push Jerk – worked to 2 reps @75#
WOD: “Max”
12-9-6 reps of:
Power Snatch (115/80)
Thruster (115/80)
Although the prescribed weight for women is 80, I went with 55, and it nearly killed me. My Snatch form is horrific, and I spent the whole time just muscling up the weight. (For non-gym folks, this means that instead of using intelligent form and force, I slowly pulled the entire weight and tried to push it with no momentum over my head. Ouch.) After watching me suffer for the 20:21 it took me to get through this, Coach D-Payne was super kind to help me out on technique. Keep the bar close! Drive those hips! DROP INTO A SQUAT! After some serious practice, watching video of myself on Coach’s Eye, and much appreciated patience, my form was significantly improved.
When I got home, I made myself a banana pancake with almond butter and maple syrup, a cup of coffee, and read a few chapters of Shucked, which I’m very much enjoying.
I had a significant amount of work to do today, but maximized my productivity by batch cooking for the week. I started out by roasting carrots with olive oil, salt and cumin.
Then I chopped up two heads of cauliflower, and steamed them with a half dozen cloves of garlic for a half hour until tender. I then drained the pot, added salt, pepper, and a generous spoonful of schmaltz (chicken fat!) and pureed it with my immersion blender. I transferred it to a pyrex and put it in the fridge. The “Mashed Faux-tatoes” will last me several days, and reheats well.
I also roasted some delicata squash with salt, pepper, and coconut oil.
And fried a few fresh sausages for my lunches. One’s a fresh pepperoni, and the other is hunter’s sausage with bacon, both from M.F. Dulock.
For dinner, I fried up some pork chops, served them with some of the mashed cauliflower, and a side of collard greens cooked with bacon and cider vinegar.
Now if I could only get some rest before this long week ahead of me! Happy cooking!
by Sam Tackeff | Nov 4, 2012 | Challenge
Seven weeks. It’s been seven weeks since I started the gym challenge, and today was the day I headed back in for the re-test of our power benchmark. I can’t express how proud I feel at how much I’ve progressed in nearly two months. But it’s significant. It feels really good. I was excited to get back in the gym today even though I’m still feeling a little sick and weak from this long cold. It’s good to be there, accomplishing things. If you had told me last year that I’d be doing handstand pushups, dead-lifting more than my body weight, or running races, I’d have laughed in your face. But here I am. And it feels great.
Strength: Back Squats –we’ve been working nearly every week on back squats. At the beginning of the challenge, I got to 95# for two lifts. Today, I hit a brand new max weight of #125. I attempted #135, but it was a little bit too much for this tired body of mine. That’s 30 pounds heavier than six weeks ago, not too shabby!
Benchmark WOD 1: “Fran”
21-15-9 reps for time:
Thrusters 95/65
Pull-ups
The prescribed weight for Fran for women is 65, but because I had to re-test with the same as six weeks ago, I loaded up to 45 pounds, and subbed jumps for pull ups. I eeked things out at the initial test in 9:40, and wanted to die. This time I improved my time by 10 seconds. Which… was a little disappointing. But 10 seconds is 10 seconds, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much I can improve in the next few months.
When I got home, Devon had picked me up a Barbacoa Bowl from Chipotle – meat, vegetables, pico de gallo, hot tomato salsa, lettuce and guacamole.
I then set to work doing a massive amount of cooking for the week.
I roasted parsnips in coconut oil with salt and pepper, I did the same to a delicata squash, sliced into rings. And while I was at it, I roasted a whole spaghetti squash. I also roasted a piece of lamb liver, but forgot to take a photo of it – a little too much juggling in the kitchen!
And then I made a big pot of Mel’s Chocolate Chili. The whole batch this time instead of being stupid like last time and making a half of a batch. Next time, I’ll double it.
Then, I took a dozen eggs and I baked ’em! I popped them in the oven at 325F for 30 minutes, sitting in one of my madeleine tins. You can place them right on the rack, but this makes it a lot easier!
When they were done, I put them in ice water for 10 minutes to cool, dried them off, and popped them back into their carton.
Then, I put together another braise – Maple Cider Vinegar Braised Beef.
I seared some beef shank meat in coconut oil, removed it from the pan, and then added onion, garlic, and shallot. I let it cook for a few minutes, de-glazed the pan with a quarter cup of maple syrup, a quarter cup of cider vinegar, and a cup of homemade beef stock. Nestled in a few bay leaves, and the shanks, covered the pot, and braised the meat for 2.5 hours, turning the beef every half hour or so.
After two and a half hours, the meat was tender and falling apart, and the liquid had reduced to a sticky sweet and sour sauce.
I took out the meat, reduced the sauce for another 15 minutes or so on the stove top, and put it away for a meal later in the week so the flavors would continue to meld.
Last but not least, dinner!
I pan fried some chicken thighs with salt and pepper in my cast iron, and made salads with avocado. Light and fresh! We devoured it in front of the TV watching old episodes of Dexter.
What are you cooking up this week?
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 25, 2012 | Blogging
(Wellesley, 1931 via the Wellesley Archives.)
Hello! It’s been a long, fabulous, drawn out week, but I’m happy to be back. The bulk of my weekend was spent at Wellesley, participating in the Alumnae Leadership Council. I went to the beautiful campus to convene with hundreds of fellow graduates, all smart, sophisticated and accomplished women who have achieved so much good in the world. It was just what I needed. Wellesley is a very special place.
When I struggle or feel nervous about my future, I think of all the brilliant role models I have. Women with incredibly varied life experiences. Women who make a tangible difference. Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, the late Nora Ephron are just a few of them. Women whose will and spirit I aspire to emulate. One of the highlights of this weekend was listening to a panel of current students discussing their experiences at the college. These were four incredibly eloquent and accomplished young women, who I couldn’t have been more impressed with. If these women represent our future, it will be a bright one.
The best part of the weekend was getting to spend time with Lizzy – one of my dearest friends, a Minnesotan, Data Scientist, Kiteboarder, Dog Lover (her family breeds and shows Bernese Mountain Dogs) and the super human being who accidentally introduced me to Devon more than half a decade ago.
Here’s a week-long catch-up:
Wednesday: Acquired Lizzy from the airport. Went for a long walk through the city, grabbed lunch at Felipe’s in Harvard Square. Visited the Honey Store. Walked through Kendall. Headed down to the water. Cooked up dinner – chicken thighs with brussels sprouts and bacon.
And… a Pinkberry run. Did you know you can just get fresh fruit and toppings? Well, you can!
Thursday: Headed to CrossFit to complete my challenge of the week – 100 overhead squats for time. 5 burpees everytime you drop the bar. There was a 20 minute cap, and I made it to 75 with a light 35# bar, having dropped the bar one too many times and dying on the burpees. (I was not pleased with my results.) Lunch was a hugely underwhelming bowl from Boloco. In the early evening, we met up with a friend at Barbara Lynch’s Drink, and I ate an entire bowl of delicious warm olives, and a single taste of each of the night’s cocktails: Old Fashioned, a Champs–Élysées, and a Ramos Gin Fizz. Next time I head over, I’ll be having a Ramos Gin Fizz of my own! I happily partook in the steak tartare, minus the toasts! For dinner we got Anna’s to compensate for our lackluster lunch experience. Burrito bowls have been my go-to when ordering out, and I never tire of them.
Here’s the inside of Drink:
Friday: We went for long walks and headed over to the North End. Lizzy got her cannolo at Modern, and I made do with an espresso, standing up at the bar at Caffe dello Sport. For lunch we picked up some food from Whole Foods – roasted brussels sprouts and beef stew. Dinner was spaghetti squash with Rao’s marinara and Trader Joe’s Italian sausage.
Isn’t this the most fabulous photo of Lizzy? Those cheekbones! That delightful ricotta filled snack! The powdered sugar explosion! I digress.
Saturday: Leadership council! We snuck onto campus early to have brunch at Tower Court. Eggs, bacon, a little bit of chicken, grapefruit, and pumpkin coffee. (Although I rarely ate in dining hall – despite being forced to stay on the meal plan – brunch was one of the best parts of my college experience.)
I smartly loaded up, fearing the worst with my dietary needs and the impending catered meals. While I would have just brought my own food or been flexible, I had decided to make advanced plans with all the caterers giving proper notice of my gluten and dairy free requirements. Multiple caterers were being uses, all in the running for reunion events, and as I’ve volunteered as dinner chair, I thought this could be a good test. Lunch was salad and a chicken breast, and I had to argue with a server who was going to take away my chocolate mousse because I had requested “no dairy” and they “needed it for someone else”. This, for the record, was ludicrous as they had plenty of extras (including one at an empty seat at our table). I was looking forward not to the mousse – which wasn’t challenge friendly- but the raspberries on top. After clarifying that I was not allergic to dairy, and getting snapped at, I had to scowl to keep my three beautiful raspberries. Dinner was not much better. Steak, two pieces of broccoli and purple potatoes. I had to clarify that dairy free meant I couldn’t have the mashed potatoes made with butter, which the server brought back a second time insisting it was rice. My final plate consisted of a 4 ounce piece of steak and about three spears of broccolini. The food, despite the mishaps was all actually quite good.
After a day of not eating nearly enough, I found myself starving, and regret to say that I cheated on my challenge. Considering the majority of folks have cheated since week one, I only felt a tiny bit bad. The worst part is that it wasn’t even food I’d crave normally: my downfall was roasted marshmallow on graham cracker at the Wellesley fire pit. C’est la vie.
Sunday: Leadership council day two! Yet another morning breaking into doing hall for brunch. This time I grabbed a few extra eggs and a banana to go as hunger insurance. For lunch, most people got butternut squash ravioli, but the gluten free meal was a portobello mozzarella stack with a tomato vegetable sauce. Which I had without cheese. Which means my entire meal was a mushroom. Sigh. After the conference, Lizzy, Devon and I headed to Basho for a meal, and by meal, I mean, for $70 we ended up with enough food to qualify as “appetizer”. Basho has a really nice atmosphere, but the food for the price just doesn’t cut it. I should note though that they were particularly accommodating for my needs. I ended up with three very small rice-less hand rolls, but they were kind and flexible. We were so hungry after dropping off Lizzy that we went to the store and picked up some food. I went with kielbasa and salad.
Monday: Back to reality. Met up with a friend for a long walk/run. 4.5 miles in the crisp early evening air. Food: I ate it. Mostly leftovers – cabbage and kielbasa, tomato braised cod with olives and artichokes. Dessert was a shake – blended a frozen banana with 2 Tbs. of cocoa and some light coconut milk. Highly recommended.
Tuesday: Crossfit! A fairly strenuous workout. The workout of the day was called “Ace + Gary”. There were two rounds: the first was 15 minutes long, alternating a 400 m. run with as many unbroken pull-ups as you could do. You scored based on total pull-ups, which for me was… 13. Then a 7 minute rest, and round two: alternating between a 500m row an as many handstand pushups as you can do before toppling over or tiring out. Over my four rounds, I made it to 30 – although scaled by getting into a headstand and pushing up. (My cartwheeling into the wall still needs practice, so this made it easier to actually get in pushups for the workout.) For dinner, I roasted a chicken, and served it with salad.
Wednesday: Rest day! Breakfast was a banana and egg “pancake”, with nut butter and a little maple syrup. For lunch I made do with Trader Joe’s Gazpacho, a handful of black olives, and some canned sardines with mustard. In the late afternoon I picked up some decaf coffee at Formaggio. (Note to self, just don’t do decaf. It’s never as good.) For dinner, a low point of the week, I crumbled up some ground beef with spices, and served it with roasted delicata squash, nothing else. Devon got his with mashed potatoes.
* * *
Before I go, I want to give you a few shots of breakfast over the past week. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and walking into the kitchen when someone else has made coffee for you.
Banana and egg “pancake”.
The Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Coffee we blew through… fantastic until we went back to TJ’s and were informed that they wouldn’t have any more due to a production snafu. Grumble.
Lizzy’s cocoa oats.
Apples and nut butter.
Back to the grind – and regularly scheduled postings. I’m looking forward to it.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 13, 2012 | Challenge, Meat
My morning started with no coffee because I was running late, but this gorgeous Spencer apple which I grabbed on the way to the gym for an early workout. To warm up, we did several rounds of medicine ball torture – burps, squats, ball tosses and lateral tosses with a partner, more squats. By the end of the warm-up, I was dying. We then set to work on the strength: back squats. I like back squats! I’m still trying to get used to squatting deeply – my left leg isn’t as strong as my right, but I’m working on it.
Strength: Back Squat – 6 sets of 2 @ 80% of max., rest 2:00 between sets (I used 80#, and knocked these out no problem.)
Workout of the Day: “Snatch Balls” (Snicker…)
AMRAP 7 (As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes):
7 Power Snatch 95/65 (I used 45. I could go heavier by weight, but my form…is lacking.)
10 Wall Ball 20/14 (I used a 10 pound ball.)
Now, these two moves happen to be some of my least successful ones, so this workout did not go well. I ended up finishing only two rounds, the 7 lifts, and 5 wall balls. I wish it had gone better, but not every day in the gym is a personal best, so I’ll accept it as valuable practice.
After out workout, several of us hung around to watch Coach Steve perform 20 rounds of “Cindy” (5 Pullups, 10 Pushups, 15 Squats) with a 20 pound weighted vest, to raise money for Barbells for Boobs, an awesome non-profit raising money for breast cancer prevention.
* * *
For lunch, I had the leftover eggplant from my braised lamb shanks two nights ago. Because there wasn’t really much lamb, I topped it with two eggs and called it a meal.
After a busy afternoon, I didn’t manage to get to the butcher (M.F. Dulock) until well past six, and I was worried that they’d be out of everything. I shouldn’t have been worried! Here are some shots of the gorgeous cases this week.
I ended up going home with some ground beef, garlic-thyme sausages, bone in pork chops, lamb neck, baby merguez sausages, and lamb kidney. Unsure of what to do with the kidneys (no soaking in milk!), they lent me a copy of Jennifer McLagan’s Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal to play with. I adore her books – excellent monographs on meat (Fat, and Bones) – truly inspired histories and recipes on the subject.
For dinner, despite having purchased a week’s worth of meat, we ended up going out to Strip-T’s, one of our hands down favorite restaurants. Hidden away in Watertown, the place has been open for three decades, but recently went through a renaissance when the owner’s son came back from New York, working in David Chang’s empire.
I wish I could tell you that it was a welcome relief, but it was kind of a bust. The wait was longer than usual, service was spotty, and the kitchen was having a serious off day.
For an appetizer I had the roasted brussels sprouts and sardines (minus the romesco, which contained bread). This was a good combination. The sardines were fresh, but cured slightly like pickled herring.
For my entree, I opted for my usual flank steak, but had to modify it for my challenge. Unfortunately, this meant that most of the delicious accoutrements were missing, so I got a medium rare flank steak over a big bed of braised greens. This would have been fine, save for the fact that someone may have dumped three tablespoons of salt accidentally into my greens. At this point, almost two hours since we had arrived, I was starving, so I asked for some lemon to see if the acid would cut it enough. It did not.
They were kind enough to make me a fresh batch of greens, but the experience left me feeling like I had done something wrong.
After dinner, because I can’t have my favorite mocha sheet cake of theirs, I had a double espresso. (Which was delicious.)
To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement, but the dozens of stellar meals we’ve had there make up for this fluke.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 12, 2012 | Local stores, Shopping
Quiet mornings. I love them.
After downing my cup of coffee, I headed over to CRCF for a morning workout. I hadn’t been in for almost a week because of my race on Monday, and was excited to do some lifting. Less excited for the jump roping. I still feel like an uncoordinated five year old when you hand me that particular torture device.
Wednesday WOD 10/10/12
Strength
A. Power Clean – 10 minutes to a heavy set of 2 (I worked up to 75#)
Rest 5 min.
B. Press – 10 minutes to a heavy set of 3 (I worked up to 65#)
Rest 5 min.
WOD (Workout of the Day): “Forrest Gump”
10 min. running clock
Complete 100 Double Unders then with remaining time:
Ladder up of:
Deadlift 225/155 (I used 125#)
Deficit Push-up (25lb Plates) (I did strict pushups)
*Start with 1 of each, then 2, then, 3, etc.
Result: After spending 4 minutes to get to a whopping 32 double-under attempts, Coach Steve kindly let me continue the rest as single-unders to 150 jumps. I then managed four rounds of the ladder + 2 lifts.
After the workout, I spent a few minutes practicing our challenge skill of the week: pull-ups. After months of subbing jump-ups in workouts, I’m ready to master a new skill. I have the next week to get the longest unbroken set of pull-ups I can, using my scale-sanctioned light green band. So far? 3. Gotta work on that technique!
Finally, I headed over to Starbucks for my post-gym reward of iced tea and dried mango. I love these Peeled Snacks unsweetened organic dried mango packs!
After drinking my body weight in tea, I headed over to Volante Farms to pick up some of my produce for the week. Volante Farms is a great family farm in Needham, and their farm stand is full of beautiful produce, much of which they grow on location or source from local farms. They also have a deli, ice cream, and dried goods, as well as greenhouses with plants galore. I’m never there with my camera because I’m usually picking stuff up right out of the gym, but now that I have this new fancy-pants iPhone, I thought I’d put it to good use.
Here are some scenes from the farm:
I ended up coming home with spaghetti squash, ambercup squash, a cauliflower, a romanesco, parsnips, three different varietals of apples, and some Komatsuna, a leafy green similar to bok choy.
For lunch, I decided to make a stir fry of the Komatsuna with leftover ground turkey, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, coconut aminos and sesame oil.
In the afternoon, I roasted a delicata squash. It was going to be for dinner, but I ate the entire thing while getting some work done on my computer.
For dinner, I braised lamb shanks from M.F. Dulock with tomato, eggplant and anchovies. Devon got his off the bone over some spaghetti with parmesan, and I got both shanks, extra eggplant, and a garnish of parsley. This meal was a keeper! I’ll be posting the recipe soon. {Edit: recipe here!}
