Coriandrum Sativum : An Herb and a Spice

We experienced the cycle of the Cilantro plant in our backyard.

During the summer, I bought a small Cilantro plant for our herb garden. And it grew beautifully! We enjoyed the herb in many salsas and burritos.

As the summer aged, so did our Cilantro. It flowered and all the tasty leaves changed from their roundish, broad, fringed shape into a thin, stringy form, with thick stalks.

And then the entire plant expired and dried, leaving twigs with seed pods where the flowers used to be.

Then, while perusing our beautiful Herbs and Spices book by Jill Norman, I discovered that Coriander is Cilantro seed! Those pods were Coriander!

This may be old news to many, but it was a fun new fact for us!
So I harvested the Coriander and put some in the soil and some in a jar for the kitchen.
And the seeds have sprouted into new Cilantro plants! Yay!

I absolutely LOVE Cilantro and was saddened by it's short life before it went to seed.
But now I can keep the cycle going and have fresh young Cilantro all the time!!

What I'm doing this Saturday!

Metro Dash is the ultimate test of athleticism. Competitors run city streets in search of scattered physical challenge points, power through intense interval workouts, and conquer "The Gauntlet," our extreme urban obstacle course.

Runners have marathons, triathletes have triathlons, and cyclists have cycling races. If you aren't one of these athletes what event do you have that tests your overall strength, determination, teamwork, and mental tenacity? Even if you are, it doesn't hurt to spice things up every now and again. CrossFitters, Triathletes, Bootcampers, Runners, Kettlebellers, Desk Jockeys, and anyone who enjoys a kick-in-the-ass workout – Metro Dash is for you!

What competitors are saying.....

"Amazing Event! Loved every second of it and I will for sure compete again! I love that the course is challenging and lives up to the hype!"

"It was an awesome test of endurance!"

"I loved the Gauntlet!"

Our philosophy is simple: We create hardcore, bare bones events that push competitors beyond their limits both mentally and physically. You won’t find a 50-tent expo at the finish line, nor will you find an after party. Metro Dash is about you and your ability to conquer an extremely grueling course. Metro Dash is not a race; it is a challenge. There are no places, no times, and no awards. It’s just you and your ability to push yourself as hard and as fast as possible. You only have yourself to cheat. If you are concerned with times and places, this challenge isn’t for you.

A Metro Dasher is a person who laughs in the face of adversity, who is ready and willing when most others would run away, and who knows that the only way to success lies in hard work, sweat, and pain. A Dasher isn’t concerned with place, time, or status. A Dasher would rather help a competitor complete a challenge than finish first. A Dasher will do the right thing even when nobody is watching, won’t complain, and above all else will never quit.

Prior to the Metro Dash Challenge competitors will receive a list of 5-7 challenge points. While competitors are required to go to these points in the order listed, it is up to them to determine the fastest route between points. Competitors will navigate from point to point completing the challenges listed below. The Challenge is not timed, and the reward is finishing the day knowing that you pushed yourself as hard as you possibly could.

• Tabata Challenge – Tabata is an interval training cycle of 20 seconds of maximum effort followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. You will do as many reps possible of the stated exercise during the 20 seconds, anything less and you've failed yourself.
• Stair Climb – You'll run up and down the equivalent of a 15-story office building.
• The Gauntlet - This is our extreme urban obstacle course where you'll flip tractor tires, low crawl, and launch yourself over an 8 foot wall.

The course is designed by Navy SEALs - let's just say these guys know how to dish out one hell of an ass kicking! If you don't feel like you've been hit by a Mack truck after completing the challenge, then you've only cheated yourself!

• Metro Dash is a Challenge
• Metro Dash is physically grueling
• Metro Dash is a test of your ability to push yourself
• Metro Dash is about helping others along the course

• Metro Dash isn’t a race
• Metro Dash isn’t timed
• Metro Dash isn’t for the weak
• Metro Dash isn’t for everyone

1. You must be 18 years of age on event day to compete.
2. All competitors must complete all of the challenges.
3. You cannot use bikes, personal vehicles, taxis, skateboards, rollerblades, or any other form of propulsion other than your own two legs!
4. Competitors must be physically capable of completing all challenges.
5. Every competitor must wear the Metro Dash bib.

Crossfit Fun

This is a short video of a recent crossfit competition at our gym.

The person with the shortest time wins 3 months of membership.

I didn't compete because I did the challenge the weekend before.

So I filmed parts of it.

It's called "The Filthy Fifty"

and it's painful.

The object is to complete all exercises as fast as you can.

The completed times were between 25 and 45 minutes.

(i did it in just under 40 minutes last week)

50 - 24" tire jumps

50 - jumping pull-ups

50 - kettlebell swings (25lb women/ 45lb men)

50 - walking lunges

50 - knees to elbows

50 - push presses (45lb women/65lb men)

50 - stiff leg dead lifts (45lb women/65lb men)

50 - wall ball shots (12lb women/20lb men)

50 - burpees

*50 - double unders (double rope swings per jump)

*or 150 single unders (single rope swings per jump)

Pickles!!!

As a freakish lover of the fermented cucumber, I can't believe I didn't do this a long time ago.
It was so easy!
It actually took longer to get the giant canning pot of water to boil than it did to put it all together!
And they are YUMMY!!!