SF Marathon 2023
Third marathon in the books, and another quite disappointing result. My legs and feet keep giving up to the point that I have to do some half walk half run routine for the last 10k or so. This turned what looked like it could have been a sub 5 hour result into something way above 5 hours... less way above than before, but at 5hr 20min, still way too high. It also made this feel like not much of a workout... I'm pretty sure my pulse was walking pulse.
At least the views were good though:
I've already signed up for Honolulu in December (my second Honolulu and an excellent excuse to Hawaii) and hope to solve my feet and leg problem by then.
Shrimp Brains For a Running Boost
I decided on sushi as a pre-marathon dinner because one must carb load before a lengthy race and... oh whatever I just like sushi.
Anyhoooooooo on the way back from the San Francisco Marathon Expo over at Fort Mason, I stopped off at House of Sushi in what I think is SF's Nob Hill neighborhood (I don't know my SF neighborhoods very well) to get my usual sushi order of various nigiris and a California Roll. Yes, I love California Rolls and I won't take any disparaging remarks from the likes of YOU (yeah... YOU... I have tracking and know who YOU are).
I noticed "ama ebi" on the menu, marked seasonal. Why was it seasonal? And why did the lady come out and tell me that it's "raw" and it "comes with the head"?
Despite 10 years in Japan, I guess I didn't know what ama ebi was because I thought it was the cooked shrimp nigiri that I always get. Nope... it was this:
Raw shrimp on the right, a deep fried shrimp head in a broth on the left.
Both delicious and special. $20 special? Sure why not. I suppose I could have gotten an Otoro instead, but this was new and unique.
I hope the shrimp brains and various goo give me a running boost for my run tomorrow.
My First Strawberry Shortcake
I don't know what Strawberry Shortcake is supposed to taste like but this version from Sally's Baking Addiction with biscuits layered with macerated strawberries and whipped cream was most excellent and received the coveted nephew mouth full thumbs up of approval.
The only thing you really need to make on the spot is the biscuits. Biscuits are totally the easiest thing to make especially if you do what I do and cut them into squares instead of circles. Also make cream biscuits instead of the butter biscuits shown here because those are even easier and I've found that they can rise just as high.
I was surprised to find biscuits in this recipe, but it makes a lot of sense -- biscuits are great with jam and macerated fruit is just like that. I think I'll try this out again some time using a combination of fruit for extra color.
Crumbl Cookies
I found this poor kid in an alley and gave him a box of warm cookies from Crumbl.
(It's actually my nephew and we were just hiding so his parents wouldn't see us sneaking in some pre-dinner cookies, but he did look like a little street kid with his hoodie and lack of visible face.)
Anyhow... Crumbl cookies are 5 bucks a pop but an excellent warm and cakey cookie experience.
The Flight
My previous exposure to Charles Lindbergh was through the alternate history thriller Plot Against America where he was depicted as a Nazi sympathizer who defeated Roosevelt in a WWII presidential election and lead America down a dark path.
I don't know much about the real Lindbergh's politics or views, but the depiction of his solo flight across the Atlantic in The Flight is thrilling. Following Lindbergh as he journeys across the Atlantic over a 33 hour period, oblivious to the uproar building up down below, reads like the best fiction.
The Flight is presented from the pilot's perspective. I feel like not much has changed in nearly 100 years, as Lindbergh flies The Spirit of St. Louis like I'm supposed to fly my Cessna 172 trainer. But he flies way closer to the ground for some reason -- like 10 feet up at times, close enough that he worries that waves will kick up and pull him down.
As I fight to to land consistently enough that my CFI deems me solo worthy (VERY CLOSE -- FLARE ANOOP FLARE!!!), this book is giving me some much needed encouragement. Maybe one day I'll be able to fly from the US to Europe. Like these the reverse of these guys:
Oh Beautiful Bento
I'm not too down on my company's recent return to office policy. First, it's only twice a week, second BART susprisingly doesn't suck and provides the perfect time for me to read, and third... well just look at this beautiful bento box from Delica in Ferry Building.
I'm going to try everything on their menu, then find the next delicious San Francisco restaurant and do the same.
I'd originally planned on using return to work as an opportunity to pack my own box lunches but I just can't pass up the opportunity to try out the offerings of one of the world's best food cities.
My Japanese Breakfast
There are many Japanese breakfasts, but when I tell people I'm making Japanese breakfast for them it's usually something like this:
Shiozakana, rice with some furikake, some sort of mini veggie side (here kinpira gobo), miso soup, and an egg. I previously fried my egg, but my nephew insisted on a 7 minute boiled egg with a mega runny yolk and he was totally right -- max yolkage this way.
See some recipes here:
Get some salmon filets, salt 'em up, and store 'em in the freezer so you can make Japanese breakfast whenever you get the cravings. I go heavy on the salt -- it should be super salty.
I've seen lots of recipes for this but this one is my favorite because of the multiple reductions.
I steam and shock chill for the easiest, quickest and cleanest boiled egg experience.
Favorite Tofu
Actually my favorite tofu is the tofu in mapo doufu. But that's cheating. When it comes to pure tofu, this is my new favorite: spicy braised tofu from Bon Appetit, aka dubu jorim.
Shown here with fried coconut rice (fried because the coconut rice I'd made was mushy so I added some cornstarch and fried it real good and crisp) and sigumchi namul.
I changed one thing from the Bon Appetit recipe: I coated the tofu pieces in cornstarch and gochugaru. Not sure if this is the reason but my tofu pieces had a nice crisp which stayed even when coating in the spicy sauce.
My Favorite Running Trail
After my previous flight lesson, I did a run around my local airport starting in my flight club's parking lot... and I kept on running and running and I looked to my left and realized I was running right alongside the runway as planes were taking off and landing. The trail looped around the runway right past the 13 numbers, then around a golf course (which I aim for when flying home from the East Bay), and back to the airport.
This was a nice 4K trail, but could easily be converted to a 5K with a few additional twists and turns. And I can also take a right somewhere and run right under the base and final legs of the 31 approach, making for an alternative 5K which can also be modified to a 2K or a 6K or a 10K (this is actually the path that is used for the annual Palo Alto Moonlight Run).
Definitely my favorite place to run, particularly on busy pattern work days!
African Chef John
Chef John went African with his latest recipes, so I did for this week's Mamu-Nephew hangout: Jollof Rice and Suya. The suya, grilled beef in a peanut butterry marinade, was great, but the spicy and flavorful and colorful Jollof rice was the star here.
(Not sure what happened in my pic, but in the real life simulation of my head the rice was definitely more of a tomato pasty color than a tumericky color.)
I grilled the Suya on my Yak Grill, a table-top skewer grill which I supported on Kickstarter in my excitement at getting my house at the start of the pandemic following a brief period of self hate when I had been forced to move in with me mum cuz my city hopping Air BnB lifestyle was not compatible with a deadly contagion, but I did not use it until now two years later and I suddenly realized what I had been missing out on. This thing makes grilling tiny amounts super easy.
I don't have a table to use it for table top grilling so I just put it on the grill of my Weber, but once I have a patio set up I'm definitely going to be using it with much frequency.
Check out the Chef John videos.
