Stayed up waaaaaay to late last night watching movies, and preparing for a cooking experiment (will go more into this in a minute). Slept in real late, and because of the nasty rain storm outside...I decided to sleep more and go on a Mountain biking thang later in the afternoon. Woke up @ 3pm completely rested and ready to go biking in the chilly air. It was still a little misty out, but felt great to be outdoors.

Came home and cleaned up and headed out to the stores to get a few things, including some items for the tableau of the food photo shoot that I did this evening (tablecloth, new candles, placemats, et al. I also rented King Kong on DVD and watch part of it while I baked the salmon. To make a long story short...I watched that long ass film while I set up the tableau for the photo shoot to capture the Macadamia Nut, Rosemary & Lime Encrusted Salmon on a bed of Butternut Squash and Tempura Style Bean Threads.

If you don't beleive me, see the photos below (the recipe for this will follow in the next day or so - and in my cookblog):

photo by d. scott gregory Macadamia & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon click on photo to enlarge	photo by d. scott gregory Macadamia & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon click on photo to enlarge
photo by d. scott gregory Macadamia & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon click on photo to enlarge	photo by d. scott gregory Macadamia & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon click on photo to enlarge
photo by d. scott gregory Macadamia & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon click on photo to enlarge	photo by d. scott gregory Macadamia & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon click on photo to enlarge

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What a strange and wonderful day. Woke up this morning to rain, and groggy from yesterday's events of sorts. But it was a Friday rife to exploit. That became my mantra as I drove to work, in traffic - typical commuter drama, mixed with thoughts of how to deal with the corporate bullshit that I was to encounter all-day-long. I was a soldier, fought the battles and saluted because that's my role. Sometimes.

photo by d. scott gregory Preparations for something - yummy click on photo to enlarge

My workday had an elixer of sorts - being that it was on the cusp of the weekend, teemed with the fact that a project or two was managed well. I was feeling giddy, even though the weather was calling for thunderstorms. I was patient with the prospects.

Finished up work and decided to forego a full training ride out towards Leesburg before the thunderboomers quashed my spirit. I saw the bruised sky and headed out to Leesburg and back - was a relatively fun 22 mile ride - warm and breezy with a tailwind pushing me back home so I could avoid the meterological drama, so I decided to go to the gym and join the spinner class at 6pm.

Finished up and then I booked over to the gym where I spent a 1/2 hour on the spinner bike to warm up before the class started. It was a new instructor - who was sort of a nurse ratchett type who was technical and strangely unfriendly for an instructor of a spinner class. It was only a 55 minute class..not an hour... 55 minutes...How odd. I spun faster than the entire eternity and sweated buckets, concentrating on my hill regime. I felt fantastic afterwards.

photo by d. scott gregory Prepped to Bake... click on photo to enlarge

Went to the store on the way home and got a few provisions for the evening... some DVDs and some items to make up a recipe of what to cook over the weekend for my cookbook. Speaking of "how gay is that", I rented Broke Back Mountain, which I found to be a fantastic film, despite all (tactfully limited) the men-on-men "action", the kissing, et al. Overall...it was a great film that deals with love, relationships, it addresses "lifestyles" and acceptance...or the denial of acceptance. By far - it was a great film.

Following the film, I embarked on prepping things for the item I was attempting to evolve into a moment of epicuriousness...some kinda Salmon dish....encrusted with....

photo by d. scott gregory Fried Bean Thread click on photo to enlarge

So I decided to put some dried rosemary and dried curry leaves into my trusty mortal & pestle and grind up into a very fragrant base for the dredged encrusted layer for the salmon. So far...I've envisioned a Baked Salmon encrusted in Macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, curry leaves & rosemary (pictured). I want to make a coconut curry sauce to drizzle over it. Served on a bed of fried bean threads (pictured). And to round the plate out...I'm going to try to attempt to pair the ensemble with some baked spaghetti squash in a butter & rosemary vinegrette.

The biggest challenge is to justify why I'm doing this. Well, to be perfectly honest...I fucking love the challenge and the experience of doing something new.

Life is Fantastic.

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Very sore still - after yesterday's overindulgence of a spinner training session. I need to cool it until Friday.

Work was just out of control productive and a blur of a day with an on site all day meeting. But felt great to push the project forward with a little elbow grease and rolled up sleeves. I ended up working a little late, but needed to go out and enjoy the weather - it was farkin beautiful. PERFECT cycling weather in the high 60s, low 70s, sunshiny. I headed out towards Hamilton/Clarks Gap, met up with one of my cycling buddies - we did the whole 38 miles together. He has an interesting job working for the CIA - coudln't talk about much, but from what he described about it....very fascinating.

Originally I was going to bike with my cycling club's first training ride of the season.....but I was in too much pain...I needed a long stretch out ride. So the ride with my CIA buddy was just the ticket. Tomorrow I'll be back at the gym for more masochist fun (we are supposed to get major thunderstorms), a few hours, including an hour spinner class.

I'm looking forward to a relatively relaxing weekend of mountain biking, cooking, domesticity, gardening, and some movies (Damn, I sound like a walking stereotype of a lesbian) - it's been a wild work week.

Life is Springlike.

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Today is 4/5/6 and it was wonderful to see the digital clock show 1:23pm on April 5, 2006 - 123456.

Wow, I am sore sore sore. After work, I ran a few quick errands and came back to the gym and hopped on the spinner bike for an hour, and then the spinner class started and went on for almost 2 hours - the advanced class. It was a hard core workout. But it felt GREAT. The folks in this class that I train with all know me by now - think I'm crazy by doing a full hour+ before the actual class starts. Oh well, it was a fantastic workout - but now I'm paying for it. Feeling a little sore, but I took some recovery hydration and 4 advils.

Work was a very busy day per usual, but it slid by - this whole week has become a complete blur.

After my workout - which lasted until almost 8pm, came home and honched some food, prepared for tomorrow, stupid domesticity while watching LOST and CSI. I'm tuckered out. But I'll be equally tuckered out tomorrow night after my first voyage training ride with my cycling club for the season. But the rides start out light - less than 40 miles (because it still gets dark early, even after daylight savings time [rides start at 6pm]). I hope we have good weather - the temperatures dropped and it's been windy as hell.

Life is Good.

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Was a busy farking day. Work was a wild whirlwind. And the weather had windy reminants of the storms that passed thru late last night/early morning. I went for a very short 32 mile ride after work and enjoyed all the sunset aspects of it despite the annoying wind. Came home after a few errands and spent the evening settled into silly domestic chores. Still sore from my 2.5 hour spinner debacle yesterday. But life is good.

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"EXPECT STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OVERNIGHT IN THE WAKE OF A COLD FRONT. WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED. OVER THE HILLS AND RIDGES...GUSTS MAY REACH 50 MPH." Oh joy. Must be April. The weather is a funny factor today - was rainy off and on all day, and then in the early evening we had a wicked thunderstorm blow thru here. But it rendered the sky beautiful with the drama of the storm speckled with both bruised clouds, lightning and then rainbows. It was wonderful.

Work was a shitty tailwind from the drama that unfolded last Friday - so it made for a very quick, yet productive day. Tomorrow will be a very busy one too with a high profile client coming to our offices all day to conduct business - which I'm responsible for. Oh well, I'm more comfortable with these kinds of thangs these days.

After work, I decided to go to the gym and hop on the spinner cycle for an hour and a half (before the spinner class started, at 6pm). Unsure if I needed to work out a little stress, but I stayed for the hour spinner class taught by this really wonderful cyclist instructor. So I cycled for another hour with the class. All told, I was on the spinner bike for 2.5 hours - I was sweating profusely even before the class. The instructor asked if I was going to join...I said for maybe 30 minutes, I had already been on for an hour and a half. Strangely she was impressed that I stayed on for the full hour.

Finished up, drove home after a few errands and settled in for a night of loose domestic chores, avoiding shitty tv programming. All in all - it was a fun, productive day.

Life is Thunderstormastic.

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Was another wonderful day, cycling, more cooking & great Spring weather. Not looking forward to this work week, filled with mixed uncertainty. But, at least the weather will be cooperative (albeit, raining tomorrow). I'll be at the gym tomorrow afternoon - to avoid the major thunderboomers.

Spent the afternoon mountain biking along the Potomac river on Heritage Trail. It was a beautiful afternoon to be out and about. Came home and took a long nap, woke up in the early evening for a time to prepare for the work week. Boooring yet relaxing.

Life is still good.

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I have yet to wake up - but I feel the need to post this (and included on my cookblog, Knees & Bees):

Asparagus, Smoked Salmon & Canadian Bacon 3 Cheese Fritatta

10 large eggs
2/3 cup fat free Half & Half
10 stalks fresh asparagus, lightly blanched
6 strips coarse cut canadian bacon, cooked & thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, roasted & minced
1/2 cup red onion, loosely chopped
6 oz smoked salmon, fork separated
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup Asiago cheese
1/4 cup sharp Cheddar cheese
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, Half & Half and wisk until smooth. Pepper and add the bacon, cheese, asparagus, garlic, onion & cheeses. Fork mix until completely combined.
Pour mixture into 2 shallow pie dishes to bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
Lay a sprig of asparagus or two atop to bake. Remove and allow to cool for 3 minutes, and serve immediately. Suggestions to garnish: reserved smoked salmon chunks and asparagus.

photo by d. scott gregory Fritatta click on photo to enlarge	photo by d. scott gregory Fritatta click on photo to enlarge
photo by d. scott gregory Fritatta click on photo to enlarge	photo by d. scott gregory Fritatta click on photo to enlarge

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