Music to Move It To

This is some of what I'm using now. Most of which I would never listen to other than I my headphones, running! haha! But whatever gets me moving, I try. I'd love to hear additional suggestions! I'm not really into rap. In fact, I mostly listen to jazz, reggae, bluegrass and oldies, but I'll try anything (as shown). I like techno, oldies, guitar, blues, and general jam bands for dancin' or workin' out. I'm going to to need revamp this list soon! Looking at it, I see how many I just skip now! 


Rehab                        Amy Winehouse                                                           

Boom Boom Pow    BEP       

Bertha Grateful Dead

John Lee Hooker Boom, Boom

Theivery Corporation Lebanese Blonde                                   

Shake It to the Ground (Featuring Rye Rye)            Dj Blaqstarr                       

Shake It Naughty (Fixx vs. Electric Soulside Mix)         DJ FIxx

Don’t Look Now                        Far East Movement                   

I Feel It All                        Feist                                            

Fergalicious                        Fergie  (oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm admitting this..)    
Hardcore Girls        Rye Rye                            

Lip Gloss                        Lil Mama                                               

20 Dollar                        M.I.A.              (awesome interval song.. I love using this on windy trails too)       

World Town                   M.I.A.                                   

XR2                               M.I.A.            

Ching-a-Ling                        Missy Elliott    ("gettin' paid ova heeer")                                          

Work It                        Missy Elliott                                               

We Run This (Stick It Edit)     Missy Elliott           

Fluff (DJ Fixx Remix)                        Nylon Pink           

Babylicious (Continuous DJ Mix By Baby Anne)                                               

Hey Ya! (Radio Mix/Club Mix)                   OutKast         (shake it like a polaroid picsha!)                     

Jerk It                        Thunderheist            Thunderheist    (work it til ya stomach hurtin')                       

Je Veux Te Voir                        Yelle            Je Veux Te Voir                                   

Big Heavy                        Amanda Blank    
Shame on Me   Amanda Blank                                                       

Ground & Pound (Mixed By Baby Anne)  
Baby's on the Decks   Baby Anne                                 

Pulse Drumapella                        Baby Anne                                   

Imma Be            Black Eyed Peas      (I'm burnt out on the peas.. but maybe they'll get ya a few miles)  

Lose Control (feat. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop)    Missy Elliott           (great intro)

Loser (feat. Ce'cile)            Lady Saw       (the queen of reggae!)    

Chat to Mi Back            Lady Saw                                  

Make It Take It            Amanda Blank                       

Might Like You Better          Amanda Blank           

Take It to the Ground      Baby Anne & Eros    (love eros!)       

You Know I'm No Good       Amy Winehouse       (whinehouse is about to go...)    

Monkey Man            Amy Winehouse                                                                       

Trippin On the Bass   Baby Anne                                                                       

Sea Lion Woman            Feist                                                           

Love Me or Hate Me            Lady Sovereign      (ridiculous lyrics, great beat for intervals)                    

Doo Wop (That Thing)  Lauryn Hill                                   

Fuck You            Lily Allen          (just makes me laugh when I need distraction from pain)                   

Everythings Just Wonderful   Lily Allen                                                           

A Cause Des Garcons    Yelle          
Almost all of Flogging Molly is on my list
Some Toots and the Maytals, Peter Tosh
                                  

Here is a beautiful scene from the beach near the trail I run.

Delicious Chili Lime Delicata Squash

 I have quite a few fun squashes left over from fall. One was this beautiful Delicata squash, that is apparently making a comeback. I just bought it because I had never seen it before. I was in luck! It's a fabulous smooth fleshed sweet squash. I tend to make squash with1) nothing 2) maple syrup 3) as soup 4) as raw salad and I needed something different!

Here is how I prepared it:

    1 Delicata heirloom squash
    2 Tbs Olive Oil (or subs with Earth Balance)
    1 Tbs Fresh Lime Juice
    1 Tsp Chilli Powder (you can add 1/4 tsp Chipotle powder-optional)
    Salt and Pepper (to taste)


Directions:
Cut the Delicata lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and place cut side down in baking dish. Add a little bit of water to the pan to help steam the squash and prevent it from sticking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. check for tenderness with fork starting at 25 minutes if your squash is especially small.

in a bowl, whisk oil, lime juice, chili, salt and pepper (one or two grinds from a grinder of each was enough for me).

Once Squash is baked, flip over, brush or spoon dressing all over cut side of squash. Enjoy!!

You could also peel and cut the squash into strip for chili 'fries.'

Source of recipe: Made it up

Makes: 2 servings, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes

Winter Wonderland Running (and mileage increase!)

Oooh, how I love running in the snow! Having the proper 'equipment' this winter (and a lot more miles behind me) has made my snow run the highlight of my day.  Maybe it's how bright everything looks when it's white out, and I'm craving light. Maybe it's just the quiet and the change of scenery. I love that I can't help but work harder in snow! It's a huge boost in effort. I 'd rather be booking it across the snow, gliding kind of, instead of dragging my foot up and out. At least it feels easier once I get going.  In other exciting news, I increased my mileage! I ran an additional 2.5 miles today! I meant to increase only .5 to 1 mile at a time, however, I had no choice unless I wanted to cut through the woods and there was no guarantee I'd know where I was. On top of that, I felt great! We'll see how it goes next time, but I'm positive I can keep those 2.5 miles tacked on and work back up to my summer mileage again by spring or so? It's harder than I thought keeping my base training (much less adding on) during the Alaska winter.

Sundried Tomato Squares (raw 'bread')

It smells so good walking into my pantry in the morning when these are ready. They make fabulous slices of bread for open or closed faced sandwiches, or raw bruschetta or cut into small squares and pop them in the dehydrator for another couple hours and use as crackers.

Sundried Tomato Squares 
    1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked and squeezed
    2 cups sprouted buckwheat (I sometimes sub part oat groats)
    1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked and drained
    1-2 cloves garlic
    3-4 tablespoons flax seeds, soaked to make a gel
    1 tomato or 3/4 cup grape tomatoes
    1-2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 teaspoon salt, optional
    1 teaspoon Herbs De provence


 Directions:
1. Blend it all in a blender or food processor until a thick paste.

2. Spread evenly onto dehydrator trays.

3. Dehydrate at 105-110 degrees F for 3 hours or so, then flip carefully, and leave them in another 5 hours (or lower temperature to 100 degrees F and finish overnight).

Store in airtight container. Although these will be eaten up quickly, they do last a long time, we're talkin' 2 months or more!

Makes: 10 servings, Preparation time: 10-15 minutes, Cooking time: 3-8 hours dehydrate

Spiced Pomegranate Avocado Salad

My first post!

This is a delicious way to enjoy pomegranate arils. The salty/cumin spiciness seems to continually reset your taste buds making the pomegranate flavor more intense than ever. The juice bursting in your mouth is a welcome calm to the medley.

    1/2 pomegranate, seeded
    1/2 avocado, sliced or cubed
    1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

    Dressing:
    2 to 3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
    2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
    1/2 to 1 teaspoon cumin, to taste
    1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a bowl, place avocado and pomegranate seeds. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

2. In separate bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients with fork in bowl or use a food processor.

3. Drizzle dressing over bowl of pomegranate/avocado and enjoy!

I always have leftover dressing.. so perhaps double the salad ingredients.. the dressing keeps well. My husband eats this as a dip with seedy tortillas (like the Food Should Taste Good brand). Delicious!

 RUN:

This morning's run was hot! 32 degrees and I had to take my gloves off after about 1 mile. Even though I decreased layers according to the temp, after the many mornings of -2 to 5,  icy lashes and frozen snot; 32 felt like a sauna in my jacket. My doggy companion must have been heating up too, she stopped, dropped and rolled in the fresh powder!