Grieving Ducks

Wednesday morning, the day of the massive rainstorm in Michigan, I was out running my normal run, and had to pause in sympathy as I saw three male mallard ducks surrounding a dead female mallard in a grassy area next to a busy road. I can only assume she'd been run over by a car and somehow got to the grass. I felt such sympathy for those ducks as they surrounded their friend.

For those of you not in Michigan, we had torrential rains starting mid-morning on Wednesday through Thursday night. My rain gauge measured three and a half inches. Roads and basements were flooded.

My next run was Friday afternoon. As I got closer to the spot where I had seen the mourning ducks and their dead friend, I actually grew anxious. Would the poor female mallard's body have been washed away in the deluge or would she still be there? As I grew closer, I almost started to cry. Not only was the female mallard's body still there, but one male mallard remained at her side, keeping vigil for whatever duck reasons he might have.

What amazing loyalty through hell, or at least high water, for that duck to have remained at the dead duck's side. And it makes me question how much different, really, is the rest of the animal planet from the human race.

Rest in peace, lady duck.

Best Sandwich Ever

Hummus. Cucumbers. Pita Bread. There is nothing else like it. I almost cried I was so happy when I saw the baby cucumbers at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market a few weeks ago and I've been buying them weekly ever since. I could eat this sandwich every day.

Hummus
Cucumbers - rinsed and thinly sliced
Pita Bread

Spinach -rinsed, spun dry, and chopped
Mushrooms -rinsed and thinly sliced
Red Bell peppers - rinsed and thinly sliced

You can make the hummus yourself or use store bought. Just halve the pita (you could toast it a bit if you like), spread hummus on either side, and layer thinly sliced cucumbers in the middle. You could switch it up a bit by adding a combination of spinach, mushrooms and red bell peppers.

Hummus:

1 14 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup water
splash lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp tahini
3-4 tbsp olive oil

In a food processor, blend the salt, olive oil, and garlic. Add the chickpeas and blend. Add the lemon juice and tahini and blend. Add the water a little bit at a time (you may not need it all or you may need a little more than 1/3 cup) until your hummus looks spreadable but not too fluffy. Refrigerate for a couple hours before using.

First Pesto of the Year!

All right. You've got me. I made it with spinach and garlic scapes and not basil (the spinach and scapes both came from Saturday's Farmers' Market in Ann Arbor). It is mid-May, after all, not June. But yum, yum, yum. Serve it with a side of asparagus and you have a tasty, healthy meal made with Michigan-grown veggies. This serves two in my house.

8 ounces whole grain fusilli pasta (any curvy pasta will do) prepared per the package instructions
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
3 cups spinach (rinse it and spin it dry, then tear the leaves into smallish pieces, disgarding the thick stems)
1/2 cup garlic scapes, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup great northern beans, rinsed (optional)


Toast 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup pine nuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree over for about 20 minutes. You can boil water for the pasta at the same time. Reserve a little bit of the pasta water just in case.

To make the pesto, combine the spinach, olive oil, scapes, and sea salt in a food processor. You want it to come up with a good chop, but not mush. Add the walnuts and about 1/3 of the pine nuts and the cheese. Blend well.

Drain the pasta. Toss with pesto and the great northern beans if desired ( I like to add a little protein). Serve topped with additional parmesan and pine nuts.

Whole Bowl of Wrong

Forgive me for my ignorance on this, but I don't understand how North Dakota finished ahead of Michigan in the USCHO poll dated April 11. Seriously, folks? Michigan smothered North Dakota defensively in their only meeting this season in the NCAA Frozen Four Semi Final to win a tight 2-0 game and then lost in championship game in OT to the number 1 team in the nation, the University of Minnesota at Duluth. Only to come in 3rd in the post-tournament poll? Mind-boggling.

http://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/

Datsyuk

Pavel Datsyuk is the best player in hockey.

Hockey - The M Go Blue Goodbye Frozen Four Edition

Where to begin....

There was the euphoria when Michigan beat an excellent North Dakota team Thursday night - goaltender Shawn Hunwick stopping a phenomenal 40 shots on goal to lead his team to a 2-0 victory. The Sioux had the advantage in the polls and in attendance - I'm not sure how many folks were left in the state of North Dakota this last weekend but I'm pretty sure many were in Minneapolis. Way to represent, Sioux! And way to grind it out Michigan - I realized the whole third period was played like a giant penalty kill to protect a one goal lead. Brilliant strategy and it paid off with a return to the championship game!

There was the heartbreak of losing in overtime in the championship game to the University of Minnesota at Duluth. And the pride in the Michigan team that fought so hard through injuries and penalties and a hostile fan environment only to lose in OT. There was some great stuff in that game. Ben Winnett's goal. The "grind line" of Rohrkemper, Moffatt and DeBlois was tremendous. Hagelin and Rust were amazing defensively as they helped kill penalty after penalty. And Shawn Hunwick once again proved he was the best goaltender in college hockey. Thank you, boys, for the wild ride to the NCAA championship game.

It is the bittersweet nature of college sports that you watch the players develop into a fantastic team and then they graduate and move on to other things. I'm proud to be a Wolverine hockey fan. Hagelin, Rust, Vaughan, Caporusso, Winnett, and Langlais - we will miss you. I'm sure we'll see you in other uniforms playing for professional teams - and we will cheer you on! That said, I will miss the student section holding up the Swedish flag after the fastest player on the ice breaks through the neutral zone to score. And I am not sure if I will ever watch a 5-3 penalty kill with the same sense of expectation again.

We may not get 'em next year but I know we will be in it. With a goaltender like Shawn Hunwick, I'm not sure how we couldn't be. I look forward to seeing what Pateryn, Bennett, Glendenning, Brown, Lynch, Merrill, Burlon and the rest of the boys can do next year.

In the meantime, football is coming.

Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Broccoli

There are probably 200 recipes to make some variation of soba noodles with broccoli in peanut sauce. Today, faced with limited ingredients and a craving for peanut butter, I created my own variation. This recipe serves three generously in my house.

1 package soba noodles
2 cups broccoli, chopped (I include some stalks)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
3-4 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 shakes red pepper flakes
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Add the broccoli to the cooking noodles for the last minute of cooking time (make sure the water keeps boiling). Drain and return to pot.

While the noodles are cooking, combine all the other ingredients (except the broccoli) in a medium size bowl and whisk together until well blended. Pour over drained noodles and broccoli and mix gently but well. Enjoy now, or cool and refrigerate for the next day.