Friday Five: 5 Items I’d Buy All Over Again

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Running Belt. Seriously, when you find one that works for you, it’s so comfortable, no chafing, plenty of room. I hardly notice it’s there.

Baltimore Running Festival shirts. In fact, I just bought 2 more in the post-Thanksgiving sales! If you’re around DC, Corrigan Sports sells them at race expos and has tent sales in Baltimore!

Baltimore shirts, running belt and amphipod water bottle.

Zensa compression sleeves.

Oiselle Long Pocket Joggers/Pocket Knickers/Pocket Tights. So much room for phones, keys, spare doggie bags.

Oiselle Long Pocket Joggers

Amphipod water bottle. I don’t love the new top (squeeze to drink) because while it’s simpler to drink, it also spills in my bag/car more easily. And I’ve accidentally squeezed and shot water at running buddies. Oops!

Restart Once Again

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It seems fitting the in advance of the anniversary of launching this blog 3 years ago that I write my first post in over 2 years.

I have a whole list of post ideas, and photos… and not a single word written. In my own defense, the popularity of blogging has decreased while Instagram has gone up, and I’ve been busy. I went to Peru for 2 weeks, got engaged, got married, bought a house, got promoted. I’ve been spending more time on IRL activities. You get the idea.

From anishbkumar.blogspot.com

But I now I want to return to writing. Not just the Insta-perfect everything is good kind of writing. More the here’s how life actually is, here’s what worked for me kind of writing.

  • So here’s a list of what I’m going to try to write about in the next month or two:
  • Running! Race recaps, summer training, the ups and downs
  • Travel: Peru recap, honeymoon in Singapore, VA Beach, taking someone to NYC and Philly for their first visits, Tokyo, Taiwan, France, Georgia (the country), packing for solo and couple travel
  • Adventure: What I’ve learned house-hunting and buying a house, adjusting to new life routines; completing my first sprint triathlon!

Recipe-Garlic Scape Pesto

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For the pesto

  • 10 large garlic scapes
  • 1/3 cup unsalted nuts (I like it with pine nuts or almonds)
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and black pepper

 

It’s a pretty simple recipe. Start by washing, drying and roughly chopping the garlic scapes into 1-2 inch long pieces. This will make the pieces more manageable.

Puree the garlic scapes, nuts, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly pour the oil through the opening. Season the pesto with salt and pepper to taste.

As with many recipes- there’s a lot of customization you can do. If you’re planning to use this with pasta, you may want it more of a puree with additional oil to give it a looser texture. If you’re going to use it as a spread or dip, you will want to leave it a little coarser texture (don’t puree it as long), and only as much oil as you want. I don’t have a powerful blender, so mine always turn out coarser. Which happens to suit me just fine- my favorite use for garlic scape pesto is as a dip for chips or carrots!

 

*The base of this recipe comes from Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-with-garlic-scape-pesto-395769) I customize it with different nuts and texture.

Peru Planning: Part 1

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I’m going to Peru in May! I’m so excited, and I thought I would take my readers along with me- through the different parts of planning and the trip itself. Once a month through June, I’ll post about how trip planning and preparation is going, the trip itself, and lessons learned. Read More →