My nephew played a huge part in our decision. We had a few opportunities to spend time with him over the past year: 10 days in St John in February, 5 days in Chicago in October, and another 7 days in the beginning of November here in Rochester. As soon as my brother and Jack left Rochester, Joel and I looked at each other and we immediately knew that we were ready. A few weeks later, I found myself in Wegmans shopping for a pregnancy test. I knew that I was pregnant (so much for it taking up to a year to happen per my doctor’s comment… HA!). Apparently all the planets aligned and it was the right time. I was ready in every possible way.

My nephew Jack... now does it make sense? I mean... just look at him. :)

My pregnancy has not been too bad so far. I did not experience any morning sickness, which I feel very lucky about. One thing that I have had is food aversions, which has been making my culinary experience a bit challenging.

I am unable to eat any meat, since it smells and tastes horribly. I realized this as I was feeding my kitty his chicken in gravy dinner. His food smelled appalling. Then that same evening, I cooked some chicken. Just disgusting! I am pretty bummed by this since I can no longer eat Bánh Mì sandwiches.

Another thing that I cannot eat is green peppers. Joel and I met for lunch at Chipotle one day and I ordered my usual: two tacos with brown rice, sautéed green peppers and onions, corn salsa, guacamole, and lettuce. I took one bite of my taco and my entire lunch was ruined. I have not had peppers since.

The same happened with nuts (walnuts, cashews, pecans, and almonds). Just no good! Luckily pistachios and pumpkin seeds still tasted ok, since the Matchstick Pasta recipe is on my dinner list pretty frequently and my favorite cereal contains pumpkin seeds. I tasted an almond two weeks ago and it actually tasted good, so I have been snacking on a few lately.

Cooking onions and garlic is also appalling, which is not good since most dishes require these two cooking staples.

The last thing that really bummed me was the aversion to chocolate. Just sad!! I really hope that this changes soon, because I really miss chocolate.

Aside from all these aversions, food still does taste good. Especially Bosc pears, clementines, avocados, blueberries, Pirates Booty Veggie snacks, fish, and salad just to name a few things. So my culinary experience is not completely in ruins.

My belly at 14 weeks.

The last thing that I would like to mention is my growing belly. I frequently find myself rubbing it and talking to the baby. Don’t get me wrong… I have my moments. Sometimes when I look in the mirror it looks like I’ve just eaten 10,000 donuts. But then I remember that it is not true and I feel better. Also, the fact that I have a baby growing in my belly is just mind-blowing! I still cannot believe it. I have experienced a few strange but also amazing things during the past 14 weeks. For example, I knew right away that I was pregnant. I cannot explain the feeling that I had… I just knew. Also, slouching is not too comfortable since I can feel this thing pushing up towards my ribs. I have been told that it will get even worse once the baby gets bigger. Same goes with leaning forward. My bathroom mirror is fairly far from the sink so I have to lean forward to look into it. Whenever I do that, I can feel this ball like thing falling forward towards the front of my belly. So strange! And when I try sucking my stomach in, nothing happens. HA!

My favorite moments so far have been the ultrasounds. I love seeing the baby. The fun part is that the baby was constantly moving during every ultrasound. It is getting ready to pedal, run, and dance. :)

My sweet pea. :)

I look forward to the future experiences that this new adventure will bring. I am sure that there will be many.

I was inspired to cook this evening. Not sure why. I just was. I decided to try a new carrot soup recipe from SmittenKitchen.

The recipe is super simple. You simply sauté chopped onion, garlic, and carrots until the onion is translucent. Then you add vegetable broth and ginger and simmer the soup until the carrots are tender. Once the carrots are tender, you blend it and then add miso paste. That’s it!

It was actually pretty tasty! I really liked the miso in it. It gave it a nice flavor. It’s definitely a keeper.

Monica and Joel waiting in line for the shuttle.

The race started at 10:00 am on Thanksgiving morning in Webster Park. 4852 people subjected themselves to the race. It was crazy! I was very surprised about the turnout since it was Thanksgiving morning. We decided to take the shuttle from Webster Thomas High School to the park. We were happy that we did that, since the parking lots and the streets around the park were filled.

We arrived at the race start with about 15 minutes to spare. I was pumped. The crowd definitely helped. As soon as the gun went off, all the runners took off. “I have never been on this side of a race”, I told my sister. I am usually the one cheering for Joel or my friends. This time people were cheering for me. It was definitely a very humbling and inspiring experience. Also, the fact that my sister was running with me inspired me even more.

43 minutes later, we arrived at the finish line. The crowds were cheering once again. It felt so nice! It was definitely a big accomplishment for me.

During the run my sister mentioned that she might consider riding a century with me. I told her that it would a lot of fun. “But you will have to run a marathon with me”, she quickly added. Hmm… I don’t know about that. I think that 4.4 miles is the perfect distance… no?

The photos are so beautiful, which make the recipes mouth watering. (I so wish that I had one of those nice cameras… sigh!) As I was reading recipe after recipe and admiring photo after photo, I stopped at the Herbed Flatbread with Prosciutto, Arugula Pesto, and Sheep’s Milk Cheese recipe. I love prosciutto and arugula pesto! I decided to make it for dinner tonight.

The recipe for the flatbread is super simple. You just mix almond flour, fresh sage and oregano, salt, baking soda, eggs, and oil… and voilà, you have the flatbread dough. I was excited that the dough did not require yeast. Yeast really intimidates me. I once tried making bread and it was a failure. That was my last attempt at bread making.

But this flatbread came out beautifully and super delicious!

I topped it with my own arugula pesto, prosciutto, goat cheese, and a drizzle of this really nice balsamic vinegar. When Joel joined me at the dinner table, he said “WOW! You’ve really outdone yourself this time Veronica.” Nice! :)

I cannot wait to try some of the other recipes. No worries… I will definitely let you know how they are.

Monica and Jeni running in the Chicago Marathon.

The marathon was very inspiring. I have never seen so many participants as well as spectators for an event. It was really nice to cheer for Monica and Jeni. I know that they greatly appreciated our support. Since all of us own iPhones, we were able to use Google Latitude to track both of them throughout the course. It was super helpful, since 45,000 runners subjected themselves to this race.

Since we knew exactly where they were on the course, I managed to snap a few photos of them, which was fun. We were even able to give them a few hugs, which I know helped them to keep going. I am very proud of both of them! It is definitely a huge accomplishment.

They did it!!

Chicago was great! We walked a fair amount, since that is what you do in a big city. We also went to the aquarium, a few playgrounds (my nephew Jack’s favorite spots), Chinatown (for bubble smoothies of course!), downtown (for shopping and architecture spotting), and to a few restaurants (also, of course!)

When it comes to eating, I must admit that the best dishes always come out of my brother’s kitchen. He made a really nice pasta dish and a delicious curry. I love eating at his house! We did, however, manage to check out a few restaurants. My absolute favorite was Big Star.

I have this thing for fish tacos. When my brother mentioned tacos, I was game. The place is really neat. It has a fairly large outdoor sitting area, which is where we sat. I decided to order a Taco al Pastor, which included pork, grilled pineapple and onions, and cilantro, as well as the Taco de Pescado, which included beer battered tilapia, chipotle mayo, cabbage, cilantro, and lime. It was definitely a plate of heaven! Especially the fish tacos. In fact, the fish tacos were so good, that I ordered another. I really wanted one more, but had to restrain myself. :) When we arrived in Chicago, my brother asked if there was something that I really wanted to do right away. Now I have an answer. :)

Fish tacos at Big Star.

Another place that we went to was Panozzo’s Italian Market. The market sells lots of different types of cured meats, in-house freshly made mozzarella and fresh pasta, side salads, Italian cookies, and gelato. They also offer sandwiches, which is what we ordered. Each sandwich is carefully made to order using the delicious meats as well as a number of other toppings such as pesto, arugula, and cheeses, just to name a few. It was definitely a nice place for lunch or dinner, since the sandwiches were pretty filling.

Jack playing in the leaves.

We also went to a nice bakery/café for pastries. The culinary experience was definitely a successful one.

The last thing that I would like to mention is my nephew Jack. He is the cutest child in the world! Ok… I might be partial, but others do agree with me. :) Spending time with him made the trip even more special, especially since he is now old enough to speak and play. We had some really fun times at a few playgrounds as well as just hanging out at home.

Jack and I hanging out.

Downward dog!

Spending time with both my siblings and their families at the same time is always a rare and amazing opportunity. I miss all of them already!

The Bánh Mì scene was non-existent in Rochester. Then one day, my friend Thuan mentioned that not one but two shops opened! My taste buds were bursting with anticipation.

The first opportunity we had, Thuan and I were at the first shop, Lee’s Vietnamese Sandwiches. The sandwiches were not bad, but they did not live up to Hanco’s. And then we went to Whatta-Bánh Mì Vietnamese Sandwich Café. One bite and I was sold! It was just delicious! The ingredients are fresh and the bread is perfect. Chicken, pâté, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, and jalapenos nested between a perfectly baked roll… what more can you ask for?!? (Apparently, pâté on the chicken sandwich is forbidden, but they make it for me anyway. Ha!)

The café also has smoothies with bubbles. I have tried a few and my favorite is the mango smoothie. They even make it for me without milk. How great is that!!

I am a regular now. You can find me in the café weekly. In fact, I don’t even have to order anymore, since they know exactly what I want. I love it!!!

After I sluggishly packed the car with my cycling gear, we were ready to leave the house around 6:00 am. As we were driving towards Bristol mountain, I was suddenly wide awake. All it took was one look at the sky. I watched the most beautiful sunrise! The sky was completely orange. It was just spectacular! I was so happy to be there at that moment. I completely forgot that it was 6:00 am and that I was about to ride 100 miles.

The ride was great! The route was fairly similar to last year’s route, so I was looking forward to riding on my favorite roads (Neil’s Creek Road and the downhill on Italy Hill Road into Branchport). Also, I had a great group to ride with and the weather was beautiful, which made it even more enjoyable. In the end, I was very happy with the ride. The stats were the following: 104.3 miles, 14.9 mph average speed, 6197 feet of climbing, and 6:58:05 ride time.

Jane and I at the rest stop in Prattsburgh.

I did have a couple of hiccups during the ride. I started to feel tired around mile 75. Serves me right for not riding longer rides during the season! My longest ride prior to this century was 55 miles. I usually try to ride at least one ride that is around 75 miles. I planned one, but unfortunately it rained that day.

In addition, my right knee started to hurt around mile 85. I think that it was also due to not riding long rides. The pain lasted for the remainder of the ride. I was worried about climbing up RT 12, but I paced myself, so it ended up being fine. The scenic overviews of Canandaigua Lake were a bonus and it made it more pleasant.

Lastly, the downhill ride on RT 53 into Naples was horrid! The road was grooved in preparation of paving, so we had to ride on it. My brain felt as if it was in a blender and my hands were hurting since I was squeezing my brakes super hard. Also, this whole scenario did not help my knee.

One thing that I noticed for this particular ride was how hungry I felt after the ride. I ate a fair amount while riding. I ate 3 small peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, 1 ½ bananas, 3 slices of watermelon, and a bunch of pretzel sticks. I also drank about 6 or 7 bottles of Gatorade and a bunch of water. The event also included a post ride dinner, so I ate a large plate of pasta, salad, and a roll. I thought for sure that it did the trick. But once 7:00 pm came, I was hungry again. I ate 3 pieces of pizza (they were home made and smaller than your typical slice), a fairly large bowl of pasta, and a chocolate Tofutti Cutie. I was still hungry but I had to restrain myself from eating more. :) I was also pretty hungry the next morning. I ate 1 bagel with peanut butter and honey and another bagel with nothing on it. My hunger was finally tamed. :) Apparently I worked pretty hard during the ride.

I look forward to next year’s ride! Yes… I am positive that I am going to sign up for it again.

During the ride on Saturday, I was super hot, super sweaty, and super dehydrated. My legs started to cramp… one leg at a time, starting from the shin and up my leg to my thigh, and again cycling through my legs. It was the worst feeling! I was trying very hard not to push the pedal down, because I could feel my leg cramping. But even as I was pulling the pedal up, the back of my leg was cramping. After a few cycles, tears started to roll down my cheeks. It was very painful.

I have not experienced this much pain in about 4 years. I was a novice rider then. I did not know much about nutrition and hydration. Plus, since I was a beginner, I always pushed myself in order to keep up with my friends. Not a good idea! I remember this one particular ride where the same scenario occurred… cramping cycling back and forth up and down my legs. It was so painful, that I was in tears then too. The unfortunate part was that I was pretty far from the ride start, so I had to keep going.

I greatly welcomed the rest stop on Saturday’s ride, which was at a gas station in the village of Bloomfield. I really needed some water and food. As we were hanging out, my friend Sara mentioned that she wanted to check out the bakery across the street from the gas station. As we entered the bakery, both of us looked at each other in awe. We found the most gigantic cookies that we both have ever seen. We have also found the largest scones that we both have ever seen. After a mere $3.50, we walked away with a gigantic peanut butter cookie and large blueberry scone.

The gigantic cookie!

I was sure that these would help my legs feel better. My legs felt fine for about 5 miles and the cramping started once again. The damage was already done. As I stopped to relieve my cramps, I was thinking about what I did the day before. I rode about 21 miles in an also hot day and for dinner I ate some broiled fish with French fries and drank a pint of beer. Not a very good way to prepare for a ride. I should have known better.

Nutrition and hydration are an important part of an athlete’s training. What you do and eat the day before can make a huge difference in the way you feel during a ride the next day. Also, if the ride is challenging, what you do and eat several days before the ride can make a huge difference. I hope that my legs will feel better for this weekend’s ride… a mere 100 miles. :)

I have had this obsession with France ever since I was 8. It was due to the numerous Alexandre Dumas novels from my neighbor’s book collection. My sister and I spent countless hours reading them to each other. Since my family decided to leave Romania, my sister and I were not able to go to school during this time. The waiting period lasted for 3 years, so we had enough time to go through the entire collection. :) It is one of my favorite childhood memories.

Due to this obsession, I decided to immerse myself into the language as well as the culture. Once in the US and as I entered 8th grade, I was excited to find out that French was offered as a course. I continued to study it all the way through college. Finally, while in college, I got the opportunity to go to France for a study abroad program to study the language as well as the culture. It was the best 3 months of my life.

During my stay, my French mother baked a Cherry Clafouti for dinner one day. It was so delicious! I still think about it. I have attempted it several times, but it has never come out as good as hers. It must be because she is French! So jealous! :)

While grocery shopping last week, I came across a display of cherries. They were so beautiful and they were even locally grown. How great is that?!?! Of course the fairly large container ended up in my shopping cart. The silly part about this whole thing is that I cannot really eat a lot of cherries and Joel is allergic to them. HA! “They would be great as a cherry Clafouti”, I thought. So they became Cherry Clafouti… a Cherry-Almond Clafouti, that is.

I found the recipe on Epicurious. It is very simple. It simply requires whole milk, almonds, sugar, cherries, eggs, almond extract, salt, and flour. The interesting part about the recipe is that it requires you to make almond milk from scratch. I decided to use store-bought almond milk, to save time. Also, I did not want to use whole milk due to my lactose intolerance. The worst part about the entire process was pitting the cherries. Now I know why pitted cherries or a cherry pitter are ideal. :)

The Clafouti turned out great! It is not quite as custardy as I would have expected it to be. This, I am sure, is due to the fact that I used almond milk instead of whole milk. I also think that I used more cherries than what the recipe required. But since I spent all that time pitting them, how could I not?!?

“Bon appétit!”, as my French mother would say.

They are super simple, and the result is just delicious. Also, each batch usually makes a fair amount, so you can use it for multiple dishes. It also freezes really well.

My all time favorite pesto is an arugula pesto. My friend Bruce brought me an amazing cookbook from a restaurant that I hope to visit one day. It’s my dream. The restaurant is called Hell’s Backbone Grill and is located in Utah. The restaurant grows all of their vegetables onsite and seeks all of their meats and dairy from local farmers. How amazing is that!! And to add to that, the restaurant is owned by two women. Even more amazing!! :) The cookbook is called With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant. I never thought about making pesto with arugula, but it was just delicious! The pesto includes arugula, spinach, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, and salt and pepper. That’s it. It is definitely a favorite.

Toasting the pumpkin seeds.

Another favorite is the pistachio pesto, which is used in the Matchstick Pasta recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I have written about the recipe not too long ago (Matchstick Pasta post). That particular pesto does not require any greens, but it is just as delicious.

Throughout the years, I have experimented with different nuts and greens. The different nuts are what make the pesto more interesting, perhaps more so than the greens. You can use any nut, really. I have tried walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, pistachios, and pecans. The possibilities are endless! Also, due to my lactose intolerance, I no longer include cheese in my pestos. I really do not miss it at all. I think that they are just as good without it.

Back to the beautiful bunch of basil… For this particular pesto, I decided to use basil, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and of course olive oil and salt and pepper. I believe that a key enhancement to any pesto is to toast the nuts that you are using. It really brings out the flavors. I also do not like my pesto very oily, so I usually do not use the typical amount of oil. I use just enough to hold it all together. The pesto made a great sauce for a pasta that was topped with grilled chicken and goat cheese. We savored every bite!

I was lucky to find more basil and a bunch of arugula at the market this week. I foresee more pesto in the near future!