Why are you here?

Some of you are here because you're my friend, or a friend of a friend. But some of you are here because you found me somehow in the ether of the Internet. Let's take a look at some of the Internet searches that landed you here on the magical soft pillow of my blog:

• onion goggles
• Il Sogno - A lot of you are here for that. I understand why, they don't have their real site up yet, so you are forced to google it and find me.
• how to rub someone's blog en blogspot - This I do not understand. People, please do not go rubbing on other people's blogspots. That is just rude and gross.
• make marscapone - surely you can just buy it?
• "cake-baking"-"utensils" blogspot - who doesn't love cake?
• how doyou make a hard chocolate topping for cake - Buy it a drink! Heyo! I'll be here all night!

From this information, I can only conclude that some of you really like cooking and going to Il Sogno, and at least one of you likes rubbing blogs. You, sir, are disgusting.

10 more miles!

I ran 10 miles again today. To celebrate, I thought I'd tell you exactly how it went.

Let's start by talking about what I'm wearing up there. It's a lot of crap, no? Ripped up, painted tshirt, biking short, GPS armband, watch, water bottle, headband, sunglasses, iPod shuffle, headphones. I look awesome.

Here's what I usually do on my runs: I start by running laps around my neighborhood. My neighborhood is 0.85 miles around. Then I usually run out onto Hausman, towards the light at University, turn right and head down to the corner of University and Silicon, where Sam's is. Then sometimes I turn right again and run up Silicon, towards Wal-Mart. One time, I kept going right again onto DeZavala and turned right into the neighborhood where Jarret and Casey live. That's how I found out that they live 3.2 miles from me. Today, my plan was to do laps around the neighborhood and then run to Jarret and Casey's house. Let's see how that went.

0.00 miles Start walking. Aerosmith comes on.

0.10 Lady in pink shirt is mowing her yard.

0.85 Back to my house.

1.04 Thank god it's cloudy today.

1.57 Passing the same houses. This is getting boring.

1.70 Have to pee. Stopping at my house.

1.99 OK, new plan. Going out of the neighborhood and going the other way on Hausman. I am already behind in my time (my goal was 12 minute miles). But my new goal is to finish 10 miles today, by hook or by crook.

2.16 Hey, good plan! How else would I have known they're opening a sports supply store here?

2.22 Encounter huge, scary drainage ditch. Filled with tree branches, zombies, drugs, possums, etc. Turn around.

2.48 Back at the neighborhood it is then.

2.50 Missy Elliott, "Get UR Freak On."

2.56 New plan - run laps around the neighborhood until I hit 7 miles, then run to Sam's and back.

3.40 That lady is still mowing her lawn! Does it really take this long?

3.85 (shame) The new Miley Cyrus song just came on. I know. Miley Cyrus. Shameful. But it's a fun song, and I need fun songs to keep me motivated. (/shame)

4.03 Hello, bald man walking tiny Chihuahua. The dog, who can't weigh more than 5 pounds, is frantically straining at the leash, trying to say hello to me, his teensy claws ineffectively scratching at the asphalt. I laugh. The bald man laughs.

4.76 This is hard. Can I make it even to 5 miles?

4.89 Passing my house again.

5.07 Evidently I can make it to 5 miles. Sudden burst of energy. Have I hit my stride?

5.48 311, "Down." "Fuck the naysayers" indeed.

5.55 I don't know if I can really do 10 miles today. It looks like it's about to seriously pour down rain.

5.70 But it's not raining yet.

6.15 Chihuahua, we can't keep meeting like this.

6.20 That burst of energy didn't last long, did it?

6.25 Stopping at my house for more water. I have already drunk half a liter. It is now noon and I have been running for over an hour.

6.31 Oops, I meant to make one last lap around the neighborhood, but I got distracted by the blue patch of sky peaking from the clouds. I followed it, and it led me to Hausman.

6.69 HOLY SHIT A SNAKE RUN RUN RUN

7.02 OK, I'm pretty sure that snake was dead, but I wasn't taking any chances there.

7.53 Pass a neighborhood with pink "1" balloons tied to a rail. I deduce that someone's daughter is having her first birthday party.

7.69 Going up the hill. It's not a big hill, but it's enough to make me dread it.

7.72 Passing Espana, the closest restaurant to our house. Unfortunately, it sucks.

7.89 Turning right onto University. Cutting through the parking lot, past The Boiler Room.

7.95 I don't know what the Boiler Room is. They only have a sign right now. A sign, and a bunch of PVC pipe, piles of metal, scaffolding, and exposed beams.

8.06 Passing the San Antonio FBI.

8.10 I feel like I'm being watched. Probably by the FBI.

8.17 Black truck, why did you slow down and turn around when you saw me? You're making me paranoid.

8.23 That giant cloud is so dark and close it looks like a UFO.

8.31 That would suck if it was a UFO. I might get abducted.

8.39 But that I wouldn't have to finish this run, at least.

8.41 But I would have to run from the aliens on that UFO.

8.45 But maybe aliens wouldn't be so judgmental as humans are. Maybe they wouldn't judge me for watching "Dance Your Ass Off."

8.48 But they would probably dissect me.

8.53 Or maybe they would revere me, like a god.

8.60 I can't really take that chance though.

8.66 It's settled: I'm glad that's a cloud and not a UFO.

8.73 The Boiler Room again.

8.85 I stand at the top of the hill and just look down at the rest of my run. Someone honks at me. I hate it when people honk at me. Why do they do that? Is it a compliment? It always freaks the hell out of me.

8.91 I make tiny deals with myself to get through this - run to the end of this street, run to the end of the sidewalk, run to that fire hydrant/crack in the ground/brick wall, and then you can walk. I make another now: run the rest of this mile and you can walk some.

9.00 Walking now. The sun is shining on my back, slowly killing my will to live. I can deal with rain, humidity, no breezes, but I can't deal with sun. Go away, sun.

9.23 Almost got hit by a car.

9.45 Almost to my neighborhood!

9.55 OK, there's that snake again. It hasn't changed position. I'm gonna call it dead now. I hope.

9.64 Sun, PLEASE GO AWAY. Back in my hood now.

9.71 I can run the rest of this block, til the corner.

9.83 No, I can't.

9.86 OK, maybe I can.

9.88 "Hey Jude" comes one. One of my all-time favorite songs. I WILL RUN UNTIL 10 MILES.

9.90 I'm almost there, I'm almost there, I'm almost there.

9.95 I am going out of my damn mind.

10.00 After two hours and seven seconds, I hit 10 miles. I beat my time last week of two hours and 15 minutes, and I managed to keep to my 12 minute mile goal today. I can now walk the rest of the way.

10.09 The sun comes out right when I round a corner, spy my house, and hear the swell of the "la la la la, LA LA LA LAAAAAAAAAAAA" in "Hey Jude." So I run some more.

10.15 OK, almost to the corner. Time to resume walking.

10.17 I am home, two hours later.

My legs hurt

Friends, I am tired. Tired in body, tired in spirit, tired in mind.

On Monday, I ran 10 miles. In a row.

Do you know how far that is? If you were to drive that at 60 miles per hour, it would take you 10 minutes. It took me far longer than 10 minutes - it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The weather here in San Antonio was pretty hot, humid and sunny on Monday. But since it was a holiday, and I had nothing better to do, I decided to run 10 miles.

I'd run 6.5 miles on Sunday, in an effort to get back into running. I'd stopped running so much because it's been so hot recently, but the "cool spell" (i.e., 90 degrees) made me get off my ass and start running. And after running 6.5 miles, I figured 10 miles wouldn't be much more.

But it is. It so is. By the last mile, my calves, thighs, ankles all hurt. My skin was chafing. I was noticeably red. I'd worn sunscreen but sweated it all off. I probably looked like I was about to pass out. But the great thing about running outside is that you have to keep going, or you'll never get home. So keep going I did, even if it meant my running became sprints with long walks between.

Regardless of how I did it, I did it! When I signed up for the half-marathon, 13 miles sounded insurmountable. An Everest. An unattainable goal that would most certainly kill me. Now that I've made it through 10 miles, I'm pretty sure I can tackle 13.

Underground Kitchen

WARNING: DELICIOUSNESS AHEAD
Side effects include intense hunger, envy, jealousy, and eating.

Friends, I will never be the same. I fear my life has reached its pinnacle already. I have peaked. Colors will never be as bright, birds not as joyful, food not as delicious, laughter not as loud.

Let me explain: Jason Dady cooked in my kitchen last night.

It all started weeks ago on Twitter. Jason Dady (@chefjasondady) said he was starting DUK, Dady Underground Kitchen, where he would come cook, in your kitchen, for you and 4 other couples. 10 people total. The menu would be a secret. We would provide the wine, a wine for each of the 5 courses.

So we assembled the DUK crowd - our usual dinner group (John and me, Kate and Sam, Casey and Jarret) and we asked our friend Beth and Jason, and Nicolette who brought her friend Vickie.

We cleaned the house. We bought fresh flowers. We gave everyone our address. And then we waited.

And then Jason Dady was here!


Here are some facts about Jason Dady: he has Tre Trattoria, The Lodge, Bin 555, and Two Brothers BBQ. He is really tall. He will give you a hard time. He makes magical meals.

Let's see him cooking again, shall we?


Jason Dady came with a helper, Josh. Josh didn't talk much, but he kept our glasses full.

Jason Dady announced that the first course would be out of things he found in our fridge. I was struck with fear, because we hadn't gone shopping the previous weekend because we were in Cleveland. I was afraid he would be forced to make something out of frozen bacon and pudding.

But he came up with a bruschetta with cheese, leeks, and peaches.

He also made some popcorn with butter and smoked paprika for a snack.

Then came more appetizers. This is chorizo with Nutella and olive oil. Gotta admit, we were dubious, but it was fucking delicious. From now on, that's how I eat chorizo.

Who doesn't love meatballs? If you count, you'll see that there are 12 meatballs for 10 people. I ate one of the extras, and Sam ate the other one.


Jason Dady gave us the menu for the night. I look insane here because I saw that it said "ohmypuddin" at the top. OMG, that's meeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

That's Josh there in the background, looking for some wine to pour.


FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGS!

With goat cheese, honey, balsamic vinegar, and proscuitto. Oh man, it was good.

Crusted scallop in a bed of forbidden rice corn and peas, and the most delicious tomato beurre blanc in the world. Seriously. I would leave John for that sauce. I love you, sauce!

I think this is when I started getting really drunk. 10 bottles of wine for 10 people. Cmon. I'm only 5'2".
Rabbit head-to-toe. Or, as Jason Dady calls is, head-to-fluffy-tail. Rabbits are adorable, and delicious. There's also some celery bulb puree and japanese eggplant.


Kate dreams about the crostada she had at Tre Trattoria. Dreams. Every day. Sam (not so subtly) hinted to Jason Dady that he wanted a crostada, so he got one. This is a nectarine crostada. Remember my onion goggles? Jason Dady wore them for me! ZOMG!

Also for your amusement:


No, I did not actually eat this butter. I only pretended to.


I am such a dork, I made everyone sign my menu. Jason Dady wrote, "Explore your palate!"

I would like to thank my fellow DUK-ers, John, Beth, Jason ("Pumpkin"), Kate, Sam, Casey, Jarret, Nicolette, and Vickie, for being awesome and enjoying this experience. Thanks to Casey and Jarret for watching Buster so he wouldn't go berserk, and for loaning us the table and chairs. Thanks to John for all of the cleaning we did. Muchos gracias to the internets and Twitter for facilitating this. Thanks to Josh, for being patient and helping Jason Dady.

And the biggest thanks of all to Jason Dady, for cooking us dinner, being cool, wearing onion goggles, telling us stories, not mocking the food in our fridge, and drinking wine with us. Will you come cook for me all the time? Pretty please?

More photos on facebook and flickr. And don't forget to read Kate's account of the night on her blog, Sincerely Yours, Kate.

Talking Dirty at Il Sogno

For John's birthday, we went to one of our new favorite restaurants, Il Sogno. I called when we got home, and they were miraculalously not busy, so we rushed over. Il Sogno has an open kitchen with seating at the bar, so that's where we sat so we could watch the chefs work.

I know the sommelier at Il Sogno has read my blog. When he spotted us at the counter, he spread his arms and said "Miss Blogger!" Haha, awesome! He advised us on which wine to get. He chose a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is very impressive to say and even better to drink.

We got the margherita pizza for an appetizer. It says "market price" on the menu, which makes me hesitate to order it, because "market price" usually means "fucking expensive." What exactly is market about a pizza with mozzarella, basil, and tomato sauce? All it means is that they price it by the hour, so at 5 o'clock it's $5, $6 at 6 o'clock, etc. So that's solves that mystery.

Chef Andrew Weissman was there last night. His daughters were eating at the restaurant and they kept talking to him and waving. It was adorable.

First entree to come out was the hog with polenta. Let me see if I can describe it: think of the best meal you've ever had, and then multiply it by 37 and add some sprinkles and maybe some crack on it. It's just that good.

We totally hated it. Ha!

Next entree was the roast chicken and truffle fries. I must confess, while this was delicious, it suffered in comparison to the hog. That hog was MAGICAL, people. The chicken was awesome, but it just can't compete. The truffle fries were really good too. I consider myself a conniusseur of fries. I love all fries and will get them anywhere they're served. These were good fries, y'all.

I forgot to get a picture before we tore into the chicken, so you get to see it half eaten.

Cheese course! Who doesn't love pungent cheeses covered with bee pollen and honey? What, you don't? More for me then.

Sitting at the counter means you can watch the chefs cook your food. We saw them make pasta, pizzas, fish. We watched things go into the enormous oven.

Watching all of this food being cooked was like food porn. That's what the title of this post was about. I won't repeat what I said about the food, because it is downright filthy. It's just what I do.

We couldn't decide on one dessert so we got two. This is the chocolate tart and gelato. See how close we are to the chefs? I told them if they needed anyone to taste anything, I'd help them out. The chef laughed. I was being serious. Il Sogno - I'm here for you! I will taste things and make sure they're good! All you have to do is ask!

This was the strawberry dessert with strawberries, vanilla cream, chocolate sauce, and then strawberry sauce on top. It was also divine.

I don't have a picture of the last event of the evening, which was John and I moaning on the couch about how full we were. Ha!

Happy Birthday John!

Today is John's birthday! He is old(er)! Look at him, giving his best Blue Steel.

John makes me laugh every day. He tolerates me when I'm crabby and short, and cheers me up when I am sad. He does really silly dances and a dead-on Will Smith impression, if you are ever fortunate to see it. I am fortunate enough to see it.

John told me the other day he loves me more than cheese! He had to think about it a bit, but he said it. Me > cheese. The fact that he said it is one of the many reasons I love him.

Happy birthday to John!

Sarah and Chris got married!

Sarah is John's sister. We went to Cleveland last weekend for her wedding.

John, his brother Matt, and his sister Christina were in the wedding, as was Christina's boyfriend Joe. That's Christina and Matt there, laughing at Joe at the rehearsal. They are taking their wedding duties seriously, obviously.

We had the rehearsal at the church and then went to Frankie's for the rehearsal dinner. It was basically an all meat dinner, a vegetarian's nightmare. The appetizer was ribs, pork shoulder and sausage and peppers. The APPETIZER. SO MUCH MEAT.

It was John's grandma's birthday last weekend, so Chris and Sarah had a special birthday cake for her. Grandma cried. In addition to being a beautiful gesture, it was a delicious cake! Butter pecan.

The wedding took place the next day. Chris doesn't always show it, but he's a big sap. He was very emotional during the ceremony and started crying when Sarah walked down the aisle. They kept things traditional, so he had never seen the dress before. It was really sweet. Chris might never admit that he cried, but I have photographic proof.

I think the theme of the weekend was food. Lots of food. We had pork schnitzel, stuffed cabbage, and mashed potatoes at the reception, along with a lot of wine and champagne. A lot of alcohol. It's disconcerting to be so drunk while the sun is still shining. After the reception, Chris and Sarah had everyone over to their house. John and I went back to the hotel to change and I had a wee nap that I almost didn't wake up from, and then we went over to their house to eat more food, as if we needed it.

On Sunday we all met up for breakfast and then went to the airport. Due to freak weather, me and John hung out at the airport with Chris and Sarah, John's parents and John's grandma, all of whom had delayed flights through Atlanta. It was great because we thought were going to be bored for hours, but we had lots of people to hang out with.

It was a great weekend! We had a lot of fun and now Chris and Sarah are frolicking in Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Congrats y'all!

We couldn't NOT decorate the car, right?

John's dad thinks they should become a comedy duo, The Straight Man and the Other Guy. Which is which? You vote!