Color Me Rad

So, I have a new blog design, courtesy of the lovely Kathleen. It's a lot less standard blogger and a lot more individual which I like. What do you think?

It's been a bit dull over here in the Valley the last week or so. I did, however, get to do something pretty cool. I got to run in the Color Me Rad 5K here in Vegas.It's a neat race... they have them all over the country. Basically, you run and you get pelted with paint powder at various intervals throughout the race, and a whole bunch at the end. It's non-competetive and it isn't timed, so it's a lot of fun.

I really like running 5K. I've gotten a lot better at them, and I really like running with a bunch of people.

Here is my before shot, with the lovely Dan and Kate. Dan wasn't running, but he was nice enough to hold the car keys. We also made sure he got a good dose of paint on him at the end. 

Here is how we looked after. Nice and messy in front of the final paint station. We'd had an adult slumber party the night before and stayed up very late drinking rum, playing Wii bowling, and chatting, so we were running on less than four hours sleep. I'm amazed at how energetic we looked!

Afterwards I heading home to shower. The amount of paint was ridiculous! I had to wash my hair twice to get it all out, and my shower looked like it had been attacked by a parade of angry smurfs. It was back to bed and then a bowl of my favorite comfort food... mashed potatoes with peas and gravy, washed down with a cup of tea.

All in all a good time was had, and I'm really glad I did it. Time to find another race to run! I'm really wanting to do a 10K next.

Apple, Cheddar and Sage Flatbread and 31:18

Well, today was the day. I competed in my first 5K, after several months of training. Now, by training I don't mean hardcore Rocky Montage stuff.... I mean working on running a few times a week. See, when I started this I couldn't even run for a minute without having to stop. I'm really quite happy that I pulled this off.

I came in 368th out of 946 people. I was 27th in my age category, and I ran the race in 31 minutes and 18 seconds. Hurrah!

My good friend Myles kicked some serious ass though, finishing in a little over 22 minutes. Next year maybe I can get a little closer to his time!



In celebration of succeeding in this event, flatbread was definitely in order.

I've had this in my brain for a while. The combination of apple, cheddar and sage is always a winner. I've had some pizza dough stashed away for just such an occasion. I highly recommend having pizza dough in your freezer. It always comes in handy when you've got a craving, or need a speedy meal.

The key to this flatbread is the type of apple and the type of cheese. Use a good, tart apple like a granny smith. Pick out a good sharp cheddar, preferably one with a little age to it, and preferably one closer to white than to yellow. I used a three year old Australian cheddar for this. If you are looking in a standard store brand, you might try Dubliner.

Apple, Cheddar and Sage Flatbread

8oz Pizza Dough (Whole Wheat is best but either will do)
Half a Granny Smith, thinly sliced
1/2 Cup Sharp Cheddar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Sage
Salt and Pepper
Whole Dried or Fresh Sage for sprinkling



Preheat your oven to 450F. Roll out the pizza dough very thinly. Mix the olive oil with the ground sage and a few good grinds of salt and pepper and, with a pastry brush, brush over the dough in a thin layer. Grab a fork and dent the dough all over. Sprinkle half the cheese on, then layer over the apples, then top with the rest of the cheese. Grind over a little more salt and pepper and then sprinkle over some whole sage (a little goes a long way).



Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the dough is cooked all the way and the top is browned.

Serves one for a large lunch, two for an appetizer or lunch with a salad, and more if you cut it into little squares and serve it at a party.



Want something sweet to go with this? Try some Dark Chocolate Brownies