SoCal Ragnar 2012: Recap

Our dear, beloved Ragnar Relay has come and gone... sigh..


I  know I've mentioned it before but Ragnar was sort of the focus of my life for the last few weeks. Trying to work in running every night - juggling a toddler schedule, 2 soccer games, making dinner, the occasional cleaning spree or laundry event made running sometimes hard and frustrating, but it all paid off and we had a great race. 


I shall share a short recap in pictures. 

This is our team - A Case of the Runs - pre-race, aptly located in front of the port-o-potties. It was about 5am.

The Start Line. It was 5:15am so everyone had to wear their reflective vests and headlamps. 

  

 Me (center w/o bib) with about half our team at Exchange 3

Our most stylish runner, by far!

My husband... who makes running 5 miles look like a walk from the living room to the kitchen. And, yes... his legs really are that white. 

Probably the most unflattering picture of me... and notice I'm not exactly running... It was 110 degrees off the pavement so I was walking at this point. Notice I have water, Gatorade and Mark has 2 ice bags for me. It was ridiculously hot. I want no comments about my outfit not matching, either. It did match. And it was bright and cheery! 

Skip ahead about 25 hours and here we are on beautiful Coronado Island - finished with the race. I am on the left end - I  was runner #12 so I had just finished my last leg about 10 minutes before this. Thus the sweaty glow and stellar outfit choice. Notice our very cool medals (they double as bottle openers!)

Our celebratory lunch at Pizzeria Luigi on Golden Hill in San Diego. The pizza is worth doing the race for. Delish!

It was a great race and our team did great! Everyone is so pumped that we're putting together a team to do the NorCal race in September.


But for now... amidst the running... back to food! 


photo credit: Erin & Roger McCraner

It's Peanut Butter & Jelly Time!

Did you know there is a National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day? There is! And we missed it... it was April 2nd. How could I have missed such an important day? Easy... I was working and all that other stuff that diverts my attention from national holidays. Sheesh! 

So tonight while Mark was at his soccer game and I was milling around the kitchen with a hankering for something that wasn't a goldfish cracker (Drew's fav) I came across my jug-o-peanut butter (marked with a "baking only!" disclaimer on it) and was inspired to do something fancy with it. 

I was a bit hesitant to go down a path with something that may-or-may-not resemble a crispy treat because, truth be told, I suck at making crispy treats. I can never seem to get the mallow to crispy ratio correct and they're always dry and bleh. But since I was home alone I figured I could give it a whirl. If I blew it completely, I could easily get rid of the evidence before Mark returned home.

 Since we're celebrating PB&J day, I figured peanut butter was a given and obviously marshmallows since we're going to crispy town.. but WAIT! no crispies! I forgot... I threw them away because they were stale. Damn you, air! 

But what was in my cupboard was even better! Triple Berry O's from Trader Joe's. YES! These have little berry bits in them - a perfect "jelly" to my peanut butter. This was divine intervention if I've ever seen it. God must have wanted me to have PB&J treats! 

What?! He did!

Adding the mallows to the melted butter.

Mixing the mallows up - this actually took much longer than I thought it would...I figured I was doing something wrong. But apparently it just takes a while.

Adding peanut butter to the melted mallows.

Mixing in my cereal and berries. The berries definitely add a good flavor to these!

I used a loaf pan but you could easily use an 8x8 pan as well.

Waxed Paper with a bit of non-stick spray on it is the best way to press your cereal & mallows into the pan without sticking. If you use your hands it will be a mess... I know this from previous experience.

The finished treats. Look at all those little berry bits - so colorful and tasty!

I have to say, these turned out pretty well considering it was completely unplanned. I feel more whole now that I have officially observed National PB&J Day. I will definitely need to request my calendar be updated with all national holidays - not just the "day off" kind. There will be no discriminating here. 

I read somewhere that April 7th is No Housework Day - I can definitely get behind that one!

Cheers to the cook!

PB&J Treats (adapted from RiceKrispies.com)

• 2 Tbsp Butter 
• 8 oz Marshmallows
• 1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 3 cups Triple Berry-Os

Melt butter in medium sauce pan over low heat; add marshmallows & stir constantly while melting. Once marshmallows are completely melted, remove from heat, add peanut butter and mix well. Add cereal to mallow/peanut butter mixture and stir so cereal is covered with mixture. 

Empty sauce pan into a greased loaf pan - you can also use an 8x8 pan. Using a greased piece of waxed paper, press cereal mixture into greased pan. Cool completely. Remove from pan & cut into desired size.

Store in air-tight container for up to 3 days.