-
rules for healthy living
When in doubt, go outside and be active. Fresh air revives the body and breathes life into the soul. Trees are living creatures with shapes as unique as a fingerprint. The sound of snow crunching under your feet is the music of a billion ice crystals slipping across each other and calling out your name. Wild animals never go inside but tame animals are often stuck indoors against their will. Sunlight is free solar energy that powers creativity. The wind carries stories around the world as countless voices daring you to listen. The earth is a sphere of rocks, water, air and life held together by gravitational forces that transcend our deepest understanding of the universe. Time only moves forward but memories zigzag though our histories.
-
pancakes
One and third cups of all purpose flour combines with three tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of salt to form a dry base. Blend one egg with three tablespoons of oil and a teaspoon of vanilla into a consistent mixture then add enough milk to total the wet ingredients to one and three quarter cups.
Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and mix lightly, careful not to over-mix, and let the batter sit for about five minutes for the gluten in the flour to properly hydrate. You may want to add a quarter cup of chocolate chips now.
On a hot cast iron griddle drop one eighth to one quarter cup dollops of batter and allow to cook until the edges start to brown lightly and bubbles have stopped forming on the top of the wet side. Flip the pancakes and cook the other side until it is cooked all the way through and no longer raw in the middle.
Serve hot with butter, syrup, berries, or the topping of your choice.
-
ten
Over on the full blog you may have read that I’ve been working to rebuild my running capacity after a six month stint with an injured knee.
I’m happy to say that progress is going well.
I’ve been methodically working through a plan to extend my distance, from zero to … well, I ran ten kilometres yesterday and feel great.
Step by step. Increase by increase. It has been planned out in a carefully incremental way and though it has taken a month an a half just to climb from that hole into something I would consider “normal” and close to back to where I was before my injury, that kind of progression has been an effort of heart and will.
I keep building, but a milestone was reached yesterday and I’m happy about that.
-
the trusty pour-over
It’s a long weekend in Canada and we went away for a night in the mountains.
Can you ever really trust that you’ll get a good coffee maker in a hotel room these days? I mean, lately every place we go seems to be equipped with one of those k-cup pod machines and a couple of cheap commercial-brand pods in a basket with some packets of sweetener and milks.
Convenient, sure.
Delicious, no.
About a year ago I bought a collapsable V60 that flattens down to fit neatly in a ziptop bag with some filters and a few scoops of ground coffee. Thankfully most of the places we go still stock a kettle, so a pour over coffee is just a few minutes of boiling time away.
A few more steps, of course.
Great coffee on the go, definitely.
-
whiskey rocks
I don’t write much about alcohol, but I am a guy who does partake occasionally.
I like my craft beers.
But I also like whiskey. Cold.
I usually just use ice, but about a year ago my wife bought me a set of those steel ice balls that you put into the freezer, chill for a couple days, then put into a glass of whiskey to try and cool it without diluting it.
I mean… everyone has their own personal tastes when it comes to these things, but it turns out that I don’t like whiskey neat, I like it a little watery from that melted ice.
Sometimes you just need to try a variation of something to understand what it is you like about the original I guess.
