Lists, Lists, Lists - Songs I can't stop listening to, 2011 style

Again, the end of 2011 leaves me in the mood to make lists.  Here are listed the songs I keep coming back to this year, not necessarily the most played, but my favorite.  Some may be older than I am....

Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane.   This may be my life's anthem and the greatest song ever.
http://www.tomcochrane.com

Soldier - Ingrid Michaelson. This song makes me feel, even at my age, that I can accomplish anything
http://www.ingridmichaelson.com

You and Me - Elizabeth and the Catapault.  Just love the groove.
http://www.elizabethandthecatapult.com

Rainmaker - Harry Nillson.  For the days when Life is a Highway is not the best song ever, this song is. 
http://www.harrynilsson.com

 Dyamite - Taio Cruz.  Because every time I hear it I think of hockey (either playing or spectating).
http://www.taiocruzmusic.co.uk

One Step Away - Ratt.  Because I am true to my roots.  And Ratt was a damn fine band.
http://www.therattpack.com

Without Me - Eminem.  A little because he is from Detroit.  But mostly, because I dare you not to dance.  Seriously.  At least if you are over 18.
http://www.eminem.com/splash

What's Victoria's Secret? - Rick Springfield.  For too many reasons to name. 
http://www.rickspringfield.com

Beautiful, Dirty, Rich - Lady Gaga.   Again, I dare you not to dance.
http://www.ladygaga.com

Walking in Memphis - Mark Cohn.  Because we saw him in concert at The Ark this year and he is as funny as he is talented.
http://marccohn.net

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes. Because it has the best bass riff ever and because Michigan beat Notre Dame at football.
http://www.whitestripes.com

Tonight, Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae.  See Taio Cruz.  And The White Stripes.  This song was also played at the greatest dance party ever (aka the Post-Game Celebration at Michigan Stadium after the 2011 Notre Dame Game).
http://www.hotchellerae.com/us/home

Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen.   No good reason - just that this song always sounds like a good idea.  And it always rocks.
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html


I'll get the top-played songs of 2011 out soon.  But I wanted to get this list of the songs I loved in 2011 out as well. 

Lists, Lists, Lists - Where I Loved Eating in 2011

There is something about the end of the calendar year that lends itself to lists - so expect to see quite a few in my blog over the course of the next few days. 

Here's my list for where I loved to eat in 2011.  We did some traveling this year, but I'm going to constrain my list to Southeastern Michigan (aka the best place on earth). 

Logan, Ann Arbor. I love this restaurant.  The food, the wine, the experience.  Make a reservation and take your time - this restaurant is meant to be neither a quick nor an inexpensive meal but it is so worth both the time and the money.   http://logan-restaurant.com/

Giovanni's, Detroit.  Again, I love this restaurant.  Hands down, the best Italian food in the area.  Use the valet parking and make reservations, but absolutely visit.  http://www.giovannisristorante.com/

Afternoon Delight, Ann Arbor.  Yum!  Breakfast after the farmers market on Saturday mornings.  You can't beat it in Ann Arbor!  http://www.afternoondelightcafe.com/

Beezy's Cafe, Ypsilanti.   Best egg salad sandwich anywhere, ever.  Breakfast is also amazing (try the French toast or the chorizo scramble).  Faygo in bottles as well.  Love the vibe of this restaurant.  http://www.beezyscafe.com/


West End Grill, Ann Arbor.  Very, very good food and excellent wine.  http://www.westendgrillannarbor.com/

Tony's Coney, Canton.  Unfortunately, out of business but it was the best Coney Island restaurant I've eaten in (ever) and I miss it, so I'm including it.


Bill's Hot Dog Stand, Ypsilanti.  Just go, get 2 coney dogs with onions and root beer (during the time of the year Bill's is open) and enjoy.  Life is short.  Eat here a few times a year.  Bill's doesn't have a website, so I'm including a link to their reviews on Yelp.  http://www.yelp.com/biz/bills-drive-in-ypsilanti

Conor O'Neill's, Ann Arbor.  Or maybe I just love drinking here.  I always get the Ploughman's Sandwich and it is good, but I love Harp on tap.  And the maps of Ireland all over the establishment.  http://www.conoroneills.com/annarbor/

Bode's Corned Beef House, Plymouth.  I never deviate.  Scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, rye toast, and coffee.  http://www.bodehouse.com/

Taqueria Lupita, Detroit.  Perfect, authentic tacos.  http://www.taquerialupitari.com/

Best Lasagna Ever

No, seriously.  I don't know what quirk of fate made this lasagna different than all the other lasagnas I've produced over the years, but it was different.  And it was good.  This recipe takes some time because you will make the sauce from scratch, but it is worth the effort and really, it isn't that much work to put together - it just takes about 4 hours.This recipe makes an 8 x 8 pan's worth of lasagna.

For the Sauce:

1 yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground sirloin
1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1 tsp dried basil
1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dried oregano
dash salt and a few grinds of pepper

Brown the meat in a big pot and drain.  Return the pot to the heat and add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until they are soft.  Add the tomato sauce, paste, water and seasonings and simmer 2 hours over low heat.  I turn off the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes before I assemble the lasagna.



Heat your oven to 350.

For the Lasagna:

6 no-boil Lasagna noodles
2 turkey Italian sausages, cooked through and sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces
4 cups fresh spinach - rinsed, spun dry, and chopped (remove the thick stems first)
1 container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup shredded parmesan
2 cups shredded mozzerella

Spray an 8 by 8 cooking pan with non-stick cooking spray.  I put a piece of aluminum foil on my pan and  then spray it - it makes the clean up much easier.

Mix the cheeses and eggs together in a bowl.

Begin layering the Lasagna:

Sauce
2 noodles (side by side)
Cheese
Spinach
Sauce
2 Noodles
Cheese
Italian Sausage
2 Noodles
Sauce

Cover pan with foil and bake for about 60-70 minutes and until the Lasagna is completely heated.

Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Post Title IX Musings - The You Throw Like a Girl Edition

I was jostled out of a happy place tonight watching Michigan's hockey team at Yost.  And it wasn't because we lost (rather messily) to Northeastern.  It was because of the jeering of the 30-something guy sitting behind me.  Let me explain.

At hockey games there are two intermissions.    A lot of times there is entertainment during the intermissions to keep the fans engaged - like games or "skill" competitions.  Fans are selected to compete in these games. One common event at Yost in an intermission is the tricycle race.  Two fans are selected to race tricycles to one end of the rink and back.  Tonight's competitors were students - a young man and woman who finished the race fairly closely, although the young man did prevail.  The crowd is usually fairly enthusiastic in cheering the participants on - how awkward it must be to try to propel a bicycle on the ice, after all.

The man behind me heckled the winner. "You beat a girl!"   More than once.  As in, your victory was meaningless because your competition was unworthy.

Seriously?  In 2011?   By a 30-something educated person?    In a for-fun competition with non-athletes?  Involving tricycles?  A girl is unworthy competition?  And it is acceptable to shout this in a crowd?   That the thought even occurred to the heckler in the first place is stunning.  

I'm not talking about weight lifting or professional or college sports, I'm  talking about a recreational game played for fun as an interlude at a sporting event.  And I'm speaking as someone who finished ahead of a heck of a lot of men at the 5K I ran Thursday morning.   Not that I'd thought about my recent race that way before tonight.

And silly me, for thinking in 2011, we had finally moved beyond "you throw like a girl" or "you run like a girl" and assuming that doing either of these two things "like a girl" was synonymous to doing them poorly.

My post-Title IX complacency was jostled tonight by someone younger than I.   And to the heckler in my section, I say  the following:  Please lace up your running shoes, sir, and let's go a few miles.  You can eat my dust. 

Spinach Lentil Salad

This week's CSA goodies  inspire creativity once again!  Having been informed by my perennial dining companion that his daily lunch salad needs a little more diversity of ingredients, I used up a few odds and ends and came up with a keeper.  This recipe feeds two, generously, in my house.  I did put a lot more spinach in my bowl than my PDC's, however.

Salad:

 1 cup cooked lentils (see note below)
 4-5 radishes, well rinsed and diced
 1/4 cup red onion, diced
 4 smallish carrots, peeled and chopped
 4 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and spun dry and chopped (remove any thick stems)
 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (plus a little more for topping, optional)

Dressing:

1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup  good quality olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
few grinds of black pepper


Combine the salad ingredients and toss.   Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and stir into the salad ingredients.   Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Divide the salad into two bowls and top with additional feta crumbles if desired.

Lentil Note:

I used Bob's Red Mill brown lentils, rinsed and picked over, if you use a half cup of dried lentils and 1.5 cups of chicken broth when cooking, you will be in good shape.  I made the lentils and then let them cool in a separate bowl while I prepared the rest of the salad ingredients.

Running in November in Michigan

I am normally a morning runner.  There is something tremendously satisfying about kicking off your morning with a run (topped perhaps only by kicking it off with a hockey clinic).   A morning run starts the day with fresh possibilities, allowing time for planning and reflection.  And even if all you plan out is your outfit for work that day, having that thirty to forty-five minutes to zen out  while  pounding the pavement is priceless.    Best of all, it is done.  Nothing in the day that comes after your run can take it away. That good running feeling lasts the whole day and makes it better.

That said, I don't like to run in the rain.  Especially if there isn't a soccer ball involved.  But I hate missing a run.  Especially in November when I know my days of running outside in Michigan are numbered.  And so this morning, despite the relatively warm temperatures, I went to work in the rain without my run, only to watch the sky brighten throughout the day.  And an idea took hold.

I arrived home about 6:30, and quickly changed into running gear (shorts and a t-shirt as it was over 60 degrees out) before I could talk myself out of it.  After all, the house needed cleaning,  the cats missed me,   I had email to answer, lunches to assemble,  and a hockey bag to pack for my Wednesday morning clinic.  But nothing could deter me.  I was going to have at least one more sixty degree run this year. And it was going to be tonight.

What an awesome run it was!  Summer bugs still chirping and calling yet I could smell fall in the  leaves on the ground and hear them crunch under my feet.  The air warm with a breeze out of the south on my skin.  Perfection.  

And I know winter is coming.  But it isn't here yet.  And I will hold onto this run as long as I can, until spring if need be.  And whisper a quiet thank you for the beautiful day we had today.

Team Sports and Life

Life would be better if we all played team sports as adults.   There is the obvious reason - physical activity is good for the body and the spirit.   And a lot of folks who don't like to run,  walk or go to the gym will show up once a week to chase a ball or a puck and have a great time doing it.  There's the psychological benefit - almost everyone I know who plays a team sport as an adult talks about how awesome it is to lose all your worries and cares for the hour you are on the field or the ice or the court.  Not to mention, as we get older it is harder to fit time in to see our friends. Playing a sport with your girlfriends is a great way to guarantee seeing each other once a week.  And it keeps us young in body and in spirit.

Team sports remind us of the things we learned as kids. Many of the life lessons we learn in grade school are emphasized by playing sports.  And when we move into adulthood, we lose the daily or weekly reminders of these important rules.  The intangibles.   The following life rules we learned as children but sometimes forget as adults:

1.  Play nice.  You never know when the player on the other team will end up playing with you.
2.  Pass the ball.  That's the nice thing about being part of team.  You don't have to win by yourself.
3.  Back up your teammate.  Every one makes a mistake from time to time.  If you back up your team mate, odds are good she'll back you up as well.
4.  Keep your head up.  It's easier to see what's coming if you are looking for it.
5.  Keep your stick on the ice.  It's hard to score if you aren't ready.
6.  Pump up your team.  At least half the battle is mental.  If you think you can win, you CAN win.
7.  A team is greater than the sum of its parts.  Find a place for everyone and play to their skills.  Everyone has something of value to contribute and the best teams find a way to get the most from all of their players.
8.   There's a reason they play the whole game.  The team that scores first doesn't always win.  The game winner can't always be predicted ahead of time.  And, if you do lose, it is better if you win the second half.  Plus, few things in life feel better than a come from behind victory.
9.  Sports give you a (well-deserved) excuse for beer and pizza.  In my case, at least tonight, a Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA (yum).

And that brings us to the most important factor in the equation.  Life is short.  Have fun. And very few things are more fun than playing a game.  Kicking a ball.  Shooting a puck.  Laughing with friends.  Cheering each other on.  And celebrating life.