not your usual Friday post

equipment check

We are on our way to the beach.  I'm hoping for sunshine and whales and clear water for snorkeling.  Happy Friday!

downtime

The girls have this week off.  The school year here is trimestral with a week off between terms.  I came back from my run this morning to find them still sleeping (and they are still sleeping, even now after my breakfast and coffee).  I am tempted to shower and crawl in with them.  But I have things to do and this is their holiday not mine.  Soon enough they will be stomping down the stairs looking for breakfast.

Yesterday I was reading about positive visualization for race preparation.  I believe in the power of the mind and I have no doubt about the benefit of this kind of thing.  But strangely, the dream I was having when I woke up this morning was like a negative visualization.  I was at a half marathon, but I hadn't had breakfast and I didn't even have the chip on my shoe.  I was trying to quickly drink some water and find my chip when the race started....  I felt so stressed out and then thankfully I woke up (to go for a run).  I guess I'm a little worried about this upcoming half-marathon.  And while I visualize doing well and feeling strong during the day, during the night my brain is working out the part about feeling like a loser.

I'm tired and I'm looking forward to a couple of days at the beach with no running.  I think my brain and my legs need a bit of a recharge.

a minor procedure

Mowgli Von Bogler

  We had a quiet weekend.  The most notable thing that happened was we got our cat neutered  (poor fella).  I think sterilization must be that cat-equivalent of alien abduction.  The what the.... look on his face when he woke up from the anaesthesia was kind of unmistakable.  I feel a little bad for him, but there are a lot of strays in our neighbourhood and he seemed to be getting his butt kicked fairly regularly out on the street.  I hope this curbs his urges and keeps him out of fights.  Also, I'm not interested in contributing to an already out of control cat population.  He had his procedure at Spay Panama, a wonderful organization that does sterilization clinics all over the country as well as their regular clinics here in the city.

5 observations and beef shank soup

1. My kids are ready for a little break.  There's no school next week and we are all very happy about it.  This week seemed to drag on and on.   It's only Wednesday?  why is this week going so slow?  Well, it's finally Friday and I am possibly as happy as they are about it.  I'm looking forward to a fun lazy week next week.
2. I am so sick of my braces.  I'm in the home stretch (just a couple of months to go) but sometimes I fantasize about prying them off myself and never going back to the orthodontist.  I will be so happy when I can eat spinach in public again.
3. I adore Haruki Murakami.  I finished a short story by him this morning, and I thought, It's like Borges, but with more sitting on the sofa and drinking beer.
4. My kids love it when I make stuff for them.  This week I made some party invitations for one daughter and a sheet cake for my other daughter's class.  Their proud pleasure in these kind of things always surprises me (I always wonder, in the throes of one of these projects, wouldn't store-bought be better?).  I need to do it more often.
5. This is a great song for a Friday and a holiday week:

Soup doesn't seem very tropical but they make really good soup here in Panama.  It's because of the culantro.  Culantro has brought me around to all kinds of meat dishes that I didn't like before.  It totally changes and brightens something dull like beef stew.  The other thing that has really gotten me into soup is plantain.  I love plantain in soup.  It really holds up to the long cooking time of the beef shanks and it's just slightly sweet (so nice against the brightness of the culantro and if you add some hot sauce--heaven).

Beef Shank Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 bone-in beef shanks
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 handfull of culantro chopped fine
2 carrots cut into large chunks (3 or 4 pieces/carrot)
2 plantains cut into large chunks (4 or 5 pieces/plantain)
5 cups of potatoes, ñame, otoe, yucca cut into large chunks (if you cut it too small it will disintegrate by the time the meat is tender)
10 cups of water or stock
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, over a high flame, quickly brown the shanks in the oil (I put a little salt and pepper on the meat at this point).  Remove the meat and add the onions and culantro to the hot oil.  when the onions are soft, add the other vegetables and the stock or water.  Put the beef back into the pot.  Partially cover and bring to a low boil.  Turn the flame all the way down (I move the pot to the smallest burner with the lowest flame at this point) and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.  Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, I take the shank out and cut up the meat and remove the gristle.  My kids like it with a bit of white rice.  But personally, I think the rice is totally unnecessary.  The typical hot sauce here is made with habaneros and it goes very well with this soup.

I love you but...

This morning I had to go up town to pick up my new ID.  As we drove into the heart of the city where the public offices are, I was reminded of my first impression of Panama and the infatuation I felt.  Before my husband took his job here, my daughters and I came with him to check it out while he went to some meetings.  We explored the city, hopping in and out of taxis, going from park, to movie theatre, to bookstore.  We had a great time.  I was delighted with Panama, but it wasn't the city that captivated me, it was the people.

It was the Panamanian accent, and the 'tu' instead of 'usted.'  From easygoing and quick-to-laugh taxi drivers, to the friendly kids in the park, I fell in love.  And I still love this place and the people.  This morning, after some banter with a civil servant and then the joking between the guy watching the parked cars and the guy with photocopy business in the back of his van, I thought, I still have a big crush on these people.  Then of course we turned on the radio to hear to a couple of pundits talking about the latest political scandal.  And there's the rub.

I love this country but I am alarmed and dismayed by its politics.  Corruption is taken for granted and there is no evidence that anyone in public office has any real concern for the people of this country.  When I got home the first article I read was this.  How can I conscionably live in a place that treats its children so badly?  It's like being in love with someone who's beautiful and fun but totally destructive.  You know, one of those people who has to hit rock bottom before they can get their life together.  I hope, for the sake of the people of this country, that there is no rock bottom in Panama's near future.  I hope, but I wish I felt more optimistic.

Punta Culebra

I had a great Sunday that started with Dim Sum and ended with a 15k run in Clayton.  In between we went to the Smithsonian's marine exhibit at Punta Culebra.  We hadn't been in a while and I was happy to see that they've made some improvements.  It's looking really good.  The exhibit is small and ideal for little kids.  There is a tank with sea turtles and nurse sharks, there are a couple of touch pools with star fish and sea cucumbers which are always fun and there is an indoor aquarium exhibit.  The kids' term break is next week and we are planning to do some snorkeling.  This was a good way to get them primed.

5 observations and quinoa pudding

gratuitous lapin lovelies

5 observations:

1. I am on the verge of supreme nerdiness.  I finished Dances with Dragons on Monday and I'm suffering a little.  I've even been lurking on A Song of Ice and Fire discussion boards.  My enthusiasm for the series has definitely cooled but I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious for the next book.
2. Panamanian drivers have no respect or compassion for people running on the street.  I'm not really surprised by this when I'm running in my neighbourhood, but I expect a little more from people durring a race.  Seriously dude, where do you have to be at 7:00 AM on a Sunday that you can't slow down and let runners go by?
3. Renovations are torture even before they've begun.  We will be starting some work on our house in October, and getting quotes and answers from contractors has been an ordeal.  I know it will only get worse once we actually get started.
4. Short stories should get way more love.  I was blown away this week while rereading some Raymond Carver and Alice Munro.  There is nothing like dipping into a favourite collection of short stories--novel shmovel.
5. "Lay of the Last Survivor" is my favourite song (right now) on Okkervil River's latest.  I am a big fan of Will Sheff's writing.   I enjoy his lyrics like poetry, rolling the words around in my head...  And old, piled fathers/ Soft-sighing daughters...

We are heading into the thick of the rainy season.  It's perfect pudding weather.
Quinoa Pudding
3/4 cup rinsed quinoa
3 cups whole milk
1/4 turbinado sugar
1 egg
1 small stick cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon butter


In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa, 2 cups milk, cinnamon and lemon peel to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, unti tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and remaining cup of milk. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stirring constantly, slowly pour egg mixture into quinoa; add raisins.

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes (be careful because it can curdle at this stage if you leave it too long). Stir in vanilla and butter.   Pour pudding into a glass dish and let cool slightly. Cover surface directly with plastic and refrigerate until cold.