by Sam Tackeff | Oct 5, 2012 | Challenge, Restaurants
Yesterday was free burrito day at Boloco. I didn’t partake, but I thought that I’d share this photo for folks who I went to college with. This is the line at the brand spankin’ new Boloco in the ‘ville. Yes, that’s right. There is now a burrito shop in the town of Wellesley, mere paces from the gates of the college. These kids have it so easy.
The other reason I thought I’d mention this, is in the wake of the scum-tweeter at KitchenAid mocking Obama’s dead grandmother, I remembered this (slightly less embarrassing) social media scuffle involving Boloco’s CEO, and a disgruntled employee making stupid comments on Twitter. The CEO read her tweet, fired her on Twitter, regretted his decision immediately, and then turns the situation around. I actually thought it was an interesting case for brand managers. (Read more on BostInno.)
But enough about that. After yesterday’s breakthrough at the gym, I was excited to go back to complete more handstand-pushups and help our team rack up points. I was also excited about this workout:
WOD (Workout of the day): “Survivor”
4 Rounds for time:
400m Run
500m Row
I was supposed to do a running workout anyway to prep for next week’s race, so because this was cardio-intensive, I went ahead and went to the gym two days in a row to participate in this round of fun. There were a lot of folks in class, so I actually did my rows first, and finished with runs. I tried to pace myself so that my rounds were pretty consistent. My splits were 2:22 (row), 3:26 (run), 2:46 (row), 3:17 (run), 2:51 (row), 3:22 (run), 2:32 (row), 3:17 (run). I finished in 23:57. A little slower than I would have liked – my splits included the transitions, and I always seem to have trouble getting in and out of the erg.
And after that monstrosity? I banged out 150 HSPU’s. Boo-YAH. (Sorry.)
* * *
In the afternoon, my mom came to meet me for lunch! We were supposed to pick up new phones today, but we were thwarted by the fact that it seems that no Sprint 16GB iPhone 5’s exist in the world. But we had planned the date in advance, so she ended up meeting me anyway.
We headed over to Legal C-Bar for lunch, because I was yet again craving seafood, and Legal is known to have a gluten-free menu and they are super accommodating. After checking out the menu, I opted for a version of what I usually get – the crab salad sandwich. They serve it without the bun, and with a side of your choice (broccoli!). While the crab was quite fresh, and the broccoli steamed well, my one gripe was how little food this was. If I can’t have the bun, wouldn’t you at least give a bigger portion of broccoli?
Realizing quickly that I would be starving if I only ate this for lunch, I opted to order a half dozen oysters. Three blue points, and three from Duxbury. Jewels of the sea!
After lunch, we headed over to the huge Whole Foods to pick up a pint of raspberries, which I then devoured. I also introduced my mom to LÄRABARs. We left with two Zyliss julienne peelers, and a Bialetti ceramic pan for my mom, who has heard me raving about mine.
After properly fueling ourselves, we determined that the best thing to do next would be to stop into Williams Sonoma for coffee samples. I started with a Nespresso ristretto from the Nespresso Pixie Espresso Machine. I usually go for this every time I walk into a kitchen store.
And then we went over to check out the new Starbucks Verismo. I had my doubts. My mom had a latte, which she conceded was quite good, and I had a cup of plain coffee. Also surprisingly decent.
After caffeinating, we made a stop at City Sports where I rewarded myself with a new foam roller, and a jump rope to practice my (non-existent) double-unders. I have a funny feeling that these are going to be part of the gym challenge in the coming weeks. Eek.
In the evening, I came home to make dinner: a rack of lamb, and roasted sweet potatoes. My mom and I both picked up these racks of lamb from the refrigerated section at Trader Joe’s. Unlike the frozen racks they have, these are from New Zealand, and don’t come with seasoning. You also don’t have to plan in advance like you do with the frozen ones… I seasoned it with Nom Nom Paleo’s Magic Mushroom Powder from her iPad app, and some rosemary.
The sweet potatoes were tossed in coconut oil, salt and pepper, and went in the oven at 425 for about 35 minutes. (I put them in before I put the lamb in, and then left them in for a few extra minutes as the lamb sat out resting.)
I started my dinner with some Trader Joe’s gazpacho to get in some extra vegetables.
And here’s the rest of my plate – a few lamb chops, sweet potato coins, and a chopped red bell pepper.
After dinner we vegged out watching DVR’d episodes of NB80’s. Think VH1’s I love the 80’s, but all about basketball. Highly recommended.
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 26, 2012 | Blogging, Books, Challenge, Lists
A few thoughts on list-making. When I read, I make lists. When I walk in the woods, I make lists. I think best in lists. God forbid I find myself without a pen, because I’ll get downright cranky. Perhaps that’s why I dislike long showers. I fear that I’ll forget those small flashes of thought that tend to flicker through my head as my eyes are shut and the water rushes down my face.
And then there is the joy of choosing what to write your list on. I have lists on my computer, on a whiteboard by the side of my bed, but physical tactile lists are undeniably the best. My uncle, who I should note has particularly fine taste, has his own monogrammed mini note pads that fit in his wallet and he carries around at all times. I have notebooks big and small. My favorite, usually, is my smallest moleskine, which has a pocket to keep the lists that didn’t make it in the book and were scribbled on the back of an old envelope, receipt, or library slip.
There is little I like better than writing my lists, except perhaps, reading other people’s lists. I have much to thank my friend Kassie for over the years, but I owe her the biggest debt of gratitude for introducing me to Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings, filled with the lists of creative people throughout history. If you’d like to procrastinate, click on that link.
This was the banana that I ate directly following my morning workout. I headed to CrossFit with trepidation. We’d be working on three things that I’m not good at: pull-ups, hang squat snatches, and toes to bar. One of my biggest challenges with CrossFit has been keeping a positive attitude when I’m not good at something. When you’ve lived your life competing with over-achievers, accepting that you are not good at something takes some effort.
But I’ve surprised myself at how quickly I’ve found joy from my progress at the gym, tackling new challenges that seem insurmountable. Each day I learn something new, I become both physically and mentally stronger, and this keeps me coming back week after week. These days I’ve been coming and going with a smile on my face.
Tuesday WOD 9/25/12
Strength
A. Back Squat – 6 Sets of 4 @ 80% of your 1 rep max, rest 2:30 between sets (20 min. cap total)
B. Strict Weighted Pull-up – 8 minutes to a heavy set of 3 reps (if you can’t do them, practice pull-ups and kipping for your TTB)
WOD (workout of the day): “Black Bart”
AMRAP 8 Ladder of 2,4,6,8, etc.
Hang Squat Snatch 95/65
Toe To Bar
This was not an easy day for me. My two rep max is 95, and although I hadn’t found my one rep max, Coach E determined that I’d work with 80 pounds for my back squat. I’ve been working on keeping my heels down, sticking my butt out, and squatting down low. I felt good at the end of my sets, gaining confidence that I’m building up muscle. I definitely can go heavier.
And then came the pullups. Up until now I’ve been doing jump-ups standing on a 24 inch box to jump up over the bar. Today, we pulled out the green band. Three pullups no problem. (I surprised myself here). And then the blue band (less resistance) – three more down (huh…) . The red? Okay, so I got one. But now I know that I can do this.
After our strength we had our WOD. My technique on my lifts could use some work, so I ended up dropping the weight down to 35#. Because I have to learn how to hang properly on the rig, I ended up with knee raises instead of toes to bar. Toes to bar is infinitely more difficult than when I was six and could do it easily. I think I need more time on the playground. Result? In eight minutes I got past the 8’s and 3 lifts in.
(Black Bart, for the record, is one of my favorite outlaws. He was a poet, and would leave verses at crime scenes!)
“I’ve labored long and hard for bread,
For honor, and for riches,
But on my corns too long you’ve tread,
You fine-haired sons of bitches.”
When I came home, I made myself this superbly good bowl of leftover beef stew. Having eaten all the meat off our marrow bones the night before, I cooked up some crumbled fresh sausage from the butcher shop and then heated up the leftover carrots and braise. I topped it all with some fresh parsley and lemon zest, and it was positively the best thing I’ve eaten in weeks. Recipe coming in the next day or so as soon as Yom Kippur is over and I can post my notes without this rumbling hunger. {Edited: recipe here!}
In the afternoon, I was craving something sweet, but decided that I’d make myself a treat for the evening – Chai Chia Pudding. I pulled out my favorite Masala Chai from Samovar, heated up a cup of coconut milk on the stove, and steeped a tablespoon of tea in the milk as it warmed.
After about 5 minutes, I took the creamy tea-milk off the stove, and stirred in about a quarter cup of chia seeds. The seeds expand in the milk and make a gelatinous pudding. Typically I’d add a spoonful of honey to sweeten it, but I’ve been strict about no added sweeteners this month, and the warm spices are enough to satisfy me lately. I put it in the fridge to cool down for later.
In the early evening I took my walk before Devon came home from work, just as the sun was setting. Just as I was coming home, I stumbled upon the IKEA drawer set I used to own (and loved) standing in someone’s front yard. I rushed home to get my car, drove over, and spent 15 minutes attempting to lift the thing by myself (not a problem now!), until I finally had to give up because there was no way it was going to fit in my tiny Volvo.
I headed to the store, silently praying it’d be there when Devon got back with the Tucson. It was not. You can’t win them all.
I did however win with dinner. I picked up a single packet of pre-cooked organic “love beets” at the store. Because I’m the only one around here who eats beets, this is the perfect convenience. I chopped my beets up and dressed them with cumin, coriander, salt and vinegar. I then set about cooking some grass fed beef with peppers and a tomato. Finally, I chopped up an avocado, heated up some spinach, and made myself this delightfully colorful plate:
Devon got his with refried beans, and we sat together and ate happily. For dessert, I ate my chia pudding, and we watched Bourdain’s Sydney episode before falling asleep way too early to admit.
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 21, 2012 | Challenge, Photography
Today’s Happiness Booster: Evening Walks. I remember when I was a teenager spending the summer in France, we used to go for evening walks. Usually before dinner, or in between dinner and dessert, we’d head out as a group, sometimes just the kids, sometimes the whole lot of us, and stroll through the neighborhood. There was always a lot of smiling, laughing, waving to people eating in their gardens or doing the same as us.
This is a practice that I’ve been longing to make a habit of, but it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve been doing it. You get rewarded at that time of day, the blue hour*, when twilight hits and the sun has set and things all of a sudden become magical. (*Also, love this blue hour.)
I took these tonight, on my phone, as the light was fading on my evening walk.
Today was an odd sort of day, trying to fit a few different things into my schedule that I hadn’t planned for. I decided at the last minute to go to the gym because I’m committed twice a week, and although I usually go on Friday or Sunday, I wanted to give myself enough rest for my little road race this weekend.
I had half a cup of coffee, and headed to the gym on an empty stomach, because of my last minute judgement. Although having some food is better than none, if I don’t leave several hours between eating and my workout, it becomes uncomfortable and “an issue”. I’ll leave it at that.
Today’s workout was called “Tarpit“.
AMRAP 20 (As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes):
200m Run
16 Lunges
8 Push-ups
4 Pull-ups (Jumping pullups for me!)
If this looks painful, well, it was. I got in an honorable 5 rounds plus a run. (Three rock stars in my class got 9 + change. Crazy!) To reward ourselves, we did 8 sets of 20 seconds of situps + 10 seconds of rest in between. I did a less than honorable 52 situps. Eek!
Before heading home, I stretched for a good 15 minutes, and swung by the Needham library to flip through a cookbook of mine that is stuck in a box. They have this fantastic statue outside that I just love.
When I got home, I set about making a simple soup of leftovers that turned out better than expected. Butternut squash, roast beef, a few handfuls of baby spinach, and the last bit of homemade beef stock I made last week. I seasoned it simply with salt and pepper and a little bit of Turkish urfa biber (a deep oily red pepper flake).
Later in the afternoon, snack was an entire half pint of raspberries, and some iced tea with coconut milk. I had a heck of a time trying to photograph the milky tea, the camera just didn’t want to do it. It was good, I promise.
In the early evening I headed off to M.F. Dulock again in Somerville to pick up some pasture raised and freshly butchered meat for the next few days. Having a great source of high quality, humanely raised meat is so important to me – leaving my meat c.s.a. in the Bay was really hard, and I just can’t say enough about having access to this stuff. I picked up some beef shanks, beef stir fry meat, fresh pork sausages, lamb shoulder chops and goat! Variety is the spice of life!
After my evening walk, I set about making dinner. First I gathered vegetables to make my salad. 
I chopped up the tomato and cucumber, and tossed them in a bowl with a little bit of salt and thyme, and let them sit while I prepped everything else. This allows the juices to puddle at the bottom, and all you really need is a little bit of vinegar and a spoonful of olive oil to finish it off.
The goat meat I had picked up at the butcher had already been seasoned – salt, pepper, garlic, onions and parsley – pretty much exactly what I do to my ground meat to make Turkish köfte – convenient!
I formed the meat into little balls, and fried it in some tasty lard in my cast iron. Goat is a very lean meat, so a little bit of extra fat was welcome here.
I was surprised at how much they really crisped up in the pan. I made Devon a salad with a little bit of Caesar dressing, sliced up an avocado to share, and made up our plates. This is his, mine had just cucumber and tomato salad without leafy greens for no good reason other than the fact that I had put away the greens before making my own plate and forgot.
And wait! Dessert! Before my walk, I managed to cut up a melon and put it in the fridge. I ate several cupfuls mindlessly while watching “Breaking Amish”. And to think I had seriously contemplated giving up fall TV…
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 18, 2012 | Challenge
Today’s Happiness Booster: The Email Opt-Out. In the spirit of the new year (Rosh Hashanah!), I’m going to be focusing on one new happiness booster each day. These are the little things that I try to identify and implement – consistently making my bed, going to sleep with the sink empty of dishes, 10 minutes of exercise, etc. – that when performed every day, add up. Today, I focused on the email opt-out.
A few months ago I started using unroll.me, a site which actually automates the process of clearing and archiving your inbox. It archives mail into a daily roll up, and lets you choose whether you want future mail from the sender or to unsubscribe. While this was convenient, I realized that I needed to do it myself for prime satisfaction. So each email, I’ve started taking 2 seconds to ask myself: Keep? Or Unsubscribe. I’m reaping the benefits already.
* * *
Breakfast this morning was a leftover slice of roast beef tenderloin, and a sliced tomato from Volante Farms.
I then headed out to a morning meeting with a friend at Formaggio Kitchen. George Howell coffee, black. I’m getting quite used to coffee with nothing in it, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that this is some of the best coffee in the city.
Resisting the urge to buy everything, I left with eggs from Silverbrook Farm. Farm fresh eggs are my vice. Lately I’ve tried Chip-In, Eric’s, Red Fire Farm, trying to determine which I like best. I admit it, I was swayed by the blue box.
Late in the afternoon, I set about doing some prep cooking, to help reduce time spent actually cooking during the week. This entire prep took just shy of 45 minutes, but it’s a definite head-start to the week! [Yep, 4 different things, 45 minutes.]
I started out with a batch of homemade olive oil mayo. It has a whole egg, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of mustard. A minute with my stick blender and done!
I then set about making some Coconut Chile Beef from Melissa Clark‘s ‘Cook This Now‘. Love, love, love this cookbook. Beef, coconut milk, chile, and lots of lime, cooked down into a sweet, tart, and savory sauce. The prep takes 12 minutes, and then you put it in the oven to braise for a few hours.
Because I always aim to maximize the work my oven does, I quickly chopped up the last of my Volante Farms eggplant and popped it in the oven as well to roast for an hour.
And then, on a roll, I decided to quickly brown the ground pork I had with some Italian Seasoning. I’ll use this with eggs for breakfast, or on leafy greens, or to add some depth to soup. I might also add some sauce and serve it on spaghetti squash. We’ll see. It helps to have it on hand.
Finally, I made myself a quick lunch before sitting down to work at the computer for several hours! Chicken soup with homemade stock, the last of the roasted chicken, a large handful of kale, and a good squeeze of lemon.
As if all that cooking wasn’t enough, tonight was our very first benchmark workout of the challenge at my gym! The challenge is 8 weeks, so we’ll likely do this at the end again to see how far we’ve improved.
The WOD: (Workout of the Day)
It’s split up into two parts – a strength workout, and then a workout set.
Strength: Back Squats – 6 sets of 3 @ 80% of your 1 rep max*, rest 2:00 between sets*If you don’t have a max, take the time to get one. I didn’t have a max, so I worked to get one today. I ended up hitting 85 lbs. for 3, and then 95 I managed to eek in 2 lifts. (85 is 20 pounds heavier than last time, so I’m feeling pretty good). 95 next time!
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 I’m still working up to full capacity. I eeked things out in 9:40, using 45 pounds. And I wanted to puke. But, that’s 10 pounds heavier than I did it last time. As for the pullups, well, jumping for me. This looks easy. It is not! I’m looking forward to what two months more of progress will bring me to.
When I got back home, I walked to the store to pick up a few vegetables, and set to work making a crunchy salmon salad. I was happy to have leftover grilled salmon on hand from last night, so it came together quickly. I’ll definitely be making this again soon with some of my frozen Copper River salmon – although you could also make it with a high quality wild canned salmon.
Just like tuna, but with salmon! I served it with a half an avocado, and two small tomatoes.
Crunchy salmon salad
serves 2 with leftovers for lunch
This recipe has a lot of mayo – but I make mine fresh, with good olive oil and a fresh egg, and it makes all the difference. You can reduce the amount you use to your taste, but it tastes better with more. Note, you can (and probably should) make this an hour or so before you eat it, and let the flavors meld in the fridge.
2 cups leftover cooked salmon (preferably wild)
2 hard boiled eggs
1 shallot
juice of a lemon
salt
1 red bell pepper
1 cucumber
1/4 cup homemade mayo
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper to taste
Mince your shallot, and place in a small bowl, adding a pinch of salt and the juice of a lemon. Let sit while you prep the rest of the salad. This tempers the shallot so it won’t have such a bite! In a large bowl, flake your salmon with the two hard boiled eggs.
Prep your vegetables – peel and dice the cucumber, and dice up your red bell pepper. Add to the salmon and egg mixture, and stir to combine. Add about a quarter cup of homemade mayo, and the cayenne, celery seed, and dill. Stir gently, add the lemon and shallot mixture, and stir again. Taste, and season with a little bit more salt if need be.
You can eat this right away, but it tastes a lot better if you give it an hour or so in the fridge. (Well learned lesson from my dad, tuna/salmon/crab salad master.) Serve as is, on lettuce, or a soft bun.
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 14, 2012 | Challenge
{Scroll down if you aren’t interested in fitness enthusiasm and only care about food. It’s okay, I understand, sort of.}
I took this picture last weekend at the CrossFit New England Firebreather Festival of one of my fellow Charles River CrossFit members. I’d never been to an event like this before, but it was something like homecoming/tailgating, minus the massive amounts of booze and grilling. Although, I’m not sure why there wasn’t more grilling. B.Good had set up shop, but I find their burgers to be “meh” at best. Where were the delicious grass fed meats?
Seeing members of my own gym and my coaches killing it was a pretty awesome experience, and got me excited to get back into the gym and push my limits.
Inspired by the weekend festivities, I headed into the gym this morning excited to tackle this workout:
9/14/12 WOD (Workout of the Day)
Warmups: With a partner, switch off between 200 m. runs. While the other is running, we did a few minutes each of leg overs, frog steps, and a few other torturous moves. Nothing like working up a huge sweat before you even start the workout.
Strength: Push Press – establish a 5 Rep Max.
WOD: “Trenchcoat”
AMRAP 6: (As many reps as possible in 6 minutes of this combination)
6 Hang Power Clean 115/80 (I’m not quite at the women’s prescribed #80, but getting there!)
6 Ring Dips (I use a band to keep the rings together. It’s still hard.)
Today I chose a heavier weight than I’m used to, and thus made it through just over three rounds and some change before dying. It was fun though!
I’m growing rather fond of lifting in all forms, because I had no idea that a) I could lift heavy things, and b) how well it translates into the real life activities that I do all the time, such as bringing heavy groceries up three flights of stairs, or lifting ikea furniture, or come winter, shoveling massive amounts of snow. (Just kidding on that last one!)
On to the food!
After my workout, I had a sub-optimal post workout snack of a venti black iced tea at Starbucks. So sue me.
Once I had cooled down, I headed over to Volante Farms in Needham to pick up some fresh produce at their farm stand (which is really a small grocery). I ended up with their homegrown eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and a few pounds of tomatoes.
When I got home, I made a batch of roasted vegetables. I chopped up some of the zucchini and eggplant, drizzled them with olive oil, a big pinch of salt and pepper, and roasted them at 450F for about 45 minutes. I’ll eat them over the next couple of days.
In the meantime, I was now starving, so I put together this simple lunch: sauteed zucchini, leftover roast chicken, and Rao’s marinara sauce. You heat them up together on the stove until warm, and eat!
It took me a long time to get through this bowl, and I ate while sitting at my computer getting some work done. Later in the afternoon I chowed down on a snack: a sliced banana with a spoonful of almond butter and a spoonful of coconut butter. After years of not eating bananas because they weren’t seasonal, I admit that I’ve succumb to the tasty fruit a little too often. In San Francisco, I always had delicious local fruit to eat – here, not so much.
In the early evening, I went for a short walk around Fresh Pond, and then headed out on my most exciting field trip of the day: M.F. Dulock!
M.F. Dulock is a local pasture raised butcher shop that just opened last week in Somerville. I was there on opening day, because, a grand opening of a real live butcher is a blessed thing indeed. I left last week with pork chops, beef, ground pork and Italian sausages, and everything was good. Meat that tastes like meat.
The cases are full of whatever has been butchered, and changes up every day. (Yes, those are bacon burgers down there.)
I ended up leaving with some ground pork, beef stew meat, ground beef, and a small amount of lamb liver. You’ll be seeing it around.
When I got home, I took out the ground beef – gorgeous large grind, a healthy amount of fat. So good you could eat the stuff raw. But I had better plans – a beef and carrot stir fry with Asian flavors.
I used this “Emergency Protein” as the basic template for the dish.
I blitzed an onion, ginger and garlic in the food processor, and softened them in the pan in a little bit of lard from Formaggio kitchen. I grated a carrot and added it to the pan, and then added my ground beef. I seasoned it with a few tablespoons of coconut aminos and a dash of fish sauce. When the beef had browned, I added in a cup of shredded cauliflower for bulk (you can’t really taste it).
I doused it all in a dressing of lime juice and fish sauce, added some chopped mint and basil, and served it with tomato wedges.
Ta da!
