Do you live in a community that supports your accomplishments? If so, you’re lucky. I’m also one of the lucky ones. Today in the UticaOD, an article was featured in the Mohawk Valley iSpy section which recognized my win at the California Raisin Bread Contest as well as commenting on my passion for running. Exciting!

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Some other fun things happened today:

1. I went for my last long 20 mile run before the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th. I wasn’t happy during the run, even though nothing hurt, I was feeling tired. Come to find out, my pace was faster than previous 20 milers. The best part: I wasn’t sore AT ALL after the run. That kind of run leaves me with a positive feeling about the upcoming race.

2. I had a dentist appointment. I really like my dentist. He’s a great guy and always seems to have something to say that gets me thinking. Today it was about the Philadelphia Marathon route. He asked what roads were involved. I said, “Fairmount Park, Schuylkill, …” at hearing Schuylkill, he stopped me and said “We used to call that SURE-KILL because it was such a dangerous road”. Now I’m nervous. I don’t want to be one of the “SURE KILL” victims in this marathon. Got me thinking.

3. After my enlightenment at the dentist, I made my way to work but decided I needed a mental distraction from that SURE-KILL/marathon coupling. I stopped at my lawyers office. As I exited the elevator, the other guy in the OTIS said “Have Fun”. I thought Who EVER has fun when they go to see a lawyer?!!”   I happen to like my lawyer. He’s one of the area’s elite runners and no matter how busy he is, always takes the time to chit chat about an upcoming event. Today, Richard told me he and his buddies were running the Ontario marathon this coming weekend. He also said, NYC is tightening up the qualifying times by something like 23 minutes. YIKES! If I don’t qualify this year, I’ll definitely have to enter the lottery system.

That leads me back into my musings for the Philly marathon. I would like to PR and reduce my time by about 15 minutes which would qualify me for NYC next year. As much as I want to reduce my time, I also want to have fun. The best part of a marathon is the desire to run another. So my final decision, even after printing out 5 different Pace Bands for possible time scenarios, is simply the same as it has been in the past:  LET MY BODY DICTATE MY PACE.

On November 20th (and I’ll probably tell you all this again and again as if reminding myself), I won’t focus on the Garmin. I will run however fast or slow my body wants to go that day. If it’s a good day, a miracle might just happen. If it’s not such a good day, I’ll give it what I’ve got. In any case, it’s going to be another great experience and my marathon number 3.

BELIEF

At Any Given Place,

On Any Given Day,

At Any Given Time,

Something Magical Can Happen.

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Sweet little bay scallops so easy to cook .  They are wonderfully paired with a cooling raita.  Adapted from “Now Serving California Raisins”, page 44.  Original recipe by Chef Alex Ong “Prawn Rendang with Cucumber Golden Raisin Raita”.

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Serves 2-3

Make the Raita/sauce first:

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· ¼ cup Greek style plain non-fat yogurt

· 3 TBS chopped red bell pepper

· ¼ cup California raisins (dark or golden)

· 3 small to medium fresh mint leaves, chopped

· dash sea salt

· 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Mix all the above in a bowl and chill until the scallops have cooked.

The Scallops

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· 16 oz Bay scallops

· Salt and pepper to taste

· 1 TBS soy sauce

· 1 TBS mustard (your favorite: yellow, honey, Dijon, etc.)

· 1 tsp toasted sesame seed oil

· 2 tsp canola oil

Wipe a heavy medium sized pan with the sesame oil. Pour in the canola oil. Heat on medium high.

Wash and dry the scallops. Sprinkle with pepper and salt if desired *but remember, you are using soy sauce so go light on the additional salt.

Mix the soy sauce with the mustard and when blended, pour over dried scallops to coat.

When the oil is hot, add the scallops to the pan and cook quickly, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes.

Serve with Raita on the side.

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Quick and healthy.  Just have to love those tiny, sweet scallops.

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