For most of the year I run the canyon once a week;
it was truly a treat to run an 'official race' there earlier this evening...
The sunset run has been held mid-April every year for the past three decades.
Today, though might have been one of the 'coldest' days.
On an average mid-April afternoon, the temperature will be in the mid-80's.
Today, though, a freak storm blew through; the snow level dropped way down on the mountains,
and there was a little bit of sleet that fell this morning. By the afternoon, the clouds had cleared, but the temperature at the 5:45 p.m. start-time was only in the 50's, with wind..."Cold" for Tucson, especially in mid-spring.
And...speaking of running...here's a book recommendation:
...I'm reading a novel about a runner in Rwanda in the 1990's: Running the Rift, by local author Naomi Benaron. Driving home from work a couple of weeks ago, I heard this review on NPR. Since the author lives here in Tucson, and the plot involves a runner in Rwanda, and my wife and know a few people from Rwanda here in town, and the novel recently won the Bellwether prize--I had to get the book.
Prize founder Barbara Kingsolver calls Benaron’s
manuscript, Running the Rift, culturally rich and completely engrossing.
“It engages the reader with complex political questions about ethnic animosity
in Rwanda and so many other issues relevant to North American readers,"
Kingsolver said. "For one, it conveys the impossibility of remaining
neutral within a climate of broad moral compromise—even for purportedly
apolitical institutions like the Olympics.”
Benaron’s unique background includes a Master of Fine Arts degree from Antioch
University in Los Angeles , and a Master of Science degree in Earth Sciences
from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, with a concentration in seismology. She
is also a certified orthopedic massage therapist, and an Ironman Triathlete.
Currently, she teaches at Pima Community College, works online with women
writers in Afghanistan through the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, and works
with African refugees in the community.
"In my writing, what has always
mattered most is to carry the human consequences of injustice to the reader’s
heart and thus in some small way, bring healing,” Benaron said. “From the
moment I heard about the Bellwether Prize, I knew it addressed exactly those
principles I have strived for in telling the stories I tell. I cannot imagine a
greater honor, a greater validation.”
The Bellwether Prize is awarded biennially to a promising first-time novelist
working in the tradition of socially engaged literature. Manuscripts are judged
blind, to avoid any form of bias; the identity of the author of the winning
manuscript (and all other submissions) is not known by any judge or prize administrator
until after the decision is finalized. A rotating panel of judges selects the
winning manuscript from a national pool of entries.
For the Bellwether Prize’s 10th anniversary selection, judges were chosen for
their special understanding of the award’s mission—to advocate serious literary
fiction that addresses issues of social justice. Barbara Kingsolver herself
stepped into the role, alongside the first Bellwether recipient Donna Gershten
(Kissing the Virgin’s Mouth, HarperCollins, 2001), and Kathy Pories of
Algonquin, editor of the 2006 and 2008 Bellwether winners.
Running the Rift “is truly fearless writing: ambitious, beautiful,
unapologetically passionate,” Kingsolver said. “I’m impressed and proud to add
this novel to the list of Bellwether Prize recipients.”
Athletes all over the world are training for the summer
Olympics in London. We'll hear some of their personal stories as the games get
closer. But now, a fictional story about a man who wants to reach the Olympics.
"Running the Rift" is about an African athlete's struggles with his
country's ethnic divisions.
Here's our reviewer, Alan Cheuse.
ALAN CHEUSE: John Patrick, the main character of
Naomi Benaron's first novel, is a young Rwandan student from the Lake Kivu
region who hopes to run in the Olympics. And he begins to train hard, even as a
young kid. When his schoolmaster father dies in a roadside accident, his mother
and the rest of the family scrape by.
While the country lurches toward the tragedy every reader
will know is coming, John Patrick runs. He runs up and down the paths and the
hills of his home region, strengthening his legs and lungs, his eye on the
distant Olympic prize.
Within a few years, he heads off to school; courts a girl
from a Hutu neighborhood near the university; trains hard with a Hutu coach;
wins some races, loses others; and deepens his affection for his native land, a
land which a visiting American academic, a geologist at the university,
describes as having a landscape twisted and folded, tied in knots by a history
of pressure and heat.
That's how Patrick's story unfolds. And I have to say,
novelist Benaron, with her fusion of research and firsthand observation of
Rwandan society, knows how to tie the reader in knots as she develops Patrick's
life-affirming story while the reader waits for the inevitable genocide.
At one point, as the killings begin to spread, John Patrick
finds that the blood smell was overmuch in his nostrils. And he wonders if it
would ever wash away. I know that thanks to this novel, I won't soon forget it.
The book is "Running the Rift" by Naomi
Benaron. Our reviewer, Alan Cheuse, teaches writing at George Mason University.
This month's issue of OUTSIDE magazine has a 'Wanderlist:' 51 'getaway secrets, perfect weekends, and undiscovered places.' For the category of 'best weekend escape,' Vancouver BC gets the top spot...
...but the runner-up is Tucson! Here's the magazine's write-up (on p. 68 of the April 2012 magazine):
World-class athletes know that Tucson is an excellent place
to train in winter. For one thing, it’s warm: the dry Sonoran Desert sees
84-degree highs in October and November, and temps range from 68 to 99 February
through June. Base out of the Arizona Inn (doubles, $299), then
start exploring. There are more than 500 miles of premier road biking nearby,
and desert singletrack radiates in every direction, including the 16-mile
Molino Milagrosa Loop east of the city, which climbs up the side of Mount
Lemmon. Hikers can choose from more than 165 miles of trails in nearby Saguaro
National Park.
Our current hometown also made a list of 'the best'back in October...
If you live here, it's good to count your blessings about this time of the year, as the mild winter and spring begin to heat up--summer's inferno is inevitable and approaching quickly...and the roads are awful right now (budget-pothole crisis)...But it's still a great destination. (And there are worse places to live.) The palo verde are in bloom and water's still flowing in Sabino Canyon...
============================
On another note, perhaps you've caught the 'pinterest' craze. The travel magazine AFAR posts some things on their pinterest page; here's a link to one set of 'pins' in particular--highlights from their recent photo/highlight contest, showing finalists and runners-up--a fun collection of snapshots-with-a-sense-of-place...
...another week, another home-page feature on afar.com!
The selection of thumbnails of highlights changes weekly, but at least for this week, my parrot photo from Costa Rica (see it in the middle?) is being featured...It's been fun to catch the eye of the editors at that travel magazine website...Below is the fullhighlight.
Last week, another photo, one I took just a couple of weeks ago,
Since the 1940's, "Cheerios" have graced many an American breakfast table...what's more 'white bread American" than a bowl of Cheerios, right? Well, lo and behold:
We don't have small children, so I don't often linger in the supermarket cereal aisle--but when I saw this box, I had to get it. They're muy deliciosos...
Culinary multi-culturation continues. Just had to share.
And because I'm a language-teacher, I have to include this little pronunciation lesson: pronounce 'dulce de leche' as 'dool-seh deh leh-cheh'...and NOT 'dol-cheh'...
A few years ago, Starbucks was serving a 'dulce de leche latte' (not that different from the caramel macchiatto), and almost every time I would order it, the server would 'correct' me by repeating my order: "Okay, so you want a double 'dul-che' de leche latte?" To which I would patiently reply, "Yes, I would like a DOOL-SEH de leche latte." "Okay, a 'dul-che' de leche latte for you, um, what's your first name?" Irritated.
Please--know how to pronounce what you serve. If you're going to charge nigh four bucks for a cup of cofffee, know the difference between Italian and Spanish, POR FAVOR! PER FAVORE! (And no, 'venti' does not mean 'extra large' in Italian.)
No, that wasn't a rant.
Time for a happy taste to take you to a happy place: dulce de leche breakfast cereal--Bon appétit, amigos!
So,the recipe I posted last week--my wife wondered if it would work in a slow cooker/crock-pot... ...and it does!
Same ingredients--just layer them in a crock pot and follow your machine's instructions as if you're making a pot roast. You'll end up with more liquid--more of a stew...you could use less than the whole bottle of Riesling, if you want less liquid...
We served it to some visiting 'snowbirds'--two couples from Québec spending the winter RVing around California and Arizona--they could definitely say that they'd never had Alsatian-Korean fusion food before, but they said it was 'délicieux'...
And thus, we learned how to say 'slow cooker' in French--I'd never thought about it before; when I lived in France I didn't have a crock-pot, so it had just never occurred to me how to say 'crock-pot'...So. the technical term is 'cocotte-mijoteuse.' ('Mijoter' is the French verb 'to simmer,' by the way.)
Eating such hearty meat-and-potato fare--good fuel for running. So, speaking of running...this afternoon I went for my usual run inSabino Canyon, (saw a bobcat, incidentally!), loved it as usual...so when I got home, I went ahead and signed up--I'm committed now to this year'sSabino Canyon Sunset Run.
Here's the course profile:
I love it! The equivalent of climbing a 50-story building...but it's spread out over a couple of miles, and with glorious desert riparian canyon all around you--it's a balm for the soul...
French/German meets Korean--right away I knew that I would have to try it!
So, one night last week, with my Korean mother visiting us, I made it for dinner.
The prep took a bit of time, but then once you've chopped and layered, you just leave it in the oven for a couple of hours or so. The fusion of the kimchi, meat, potatoes, and Riesling--a cross-cultural alchemy of deliciousness! Mom and Wife were pleased.
Here's a play-by-play, in case you'd like to try it..
(Merci, Chef Vongerichten!)
=====================================
Les ingrédients
for "Korean Baeckeoffe:"
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
Coarse salt
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cups coarsely chopped sour kimchi
(the kimchi--Korean sauerkraut with a kick--must be 'sour.'
Ask your Korean grocer.)
2 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into chunks with excess fat discarded
(I used a combination of lamb chops and beef chuck roast instead)
1 teaspoon 'gochugaru' (Korean red pepper powder)
1 bottle (750 ml) of white wine (preferably a Riesling, Alsatian if possible)
crusty baguette, or white rice, or both, for serving
While the oven is preheating to 400 degrees Fahrenheit,
put about half of the potatoes in the bottom of a baking dish (that has a lid),
sprinkle with some of the coarse salt,
and then place about half of the carrots, green onions, garlic, onion on top...
...and then place about half of the coarsely chopped kimchi on top:
Season the meat with some of the coarse salt and red pepper powder,
(which looks hot, but it won't be overly fiery)
then arrange it on top of the kimchi.
Cover the meat with a layer of the remaining potatoes,
carrots, scallions, garlic, and kimchi,
and then for the finishing touch,
pour the Riesling into the baking dish,
just covering the meat and vegetables.
You may or may not, depending on the shape of your baking dish
and the density with which you pack it,
need the entire bottle of wine;
I used it all:
Cover the dish and bake for 2 1/2 hours at 400 degrees,
checking every now and then to see how the level of liquid is doing.
If it dries out, add a splash more wine or water.
(I didn't need to add much.)
Cook until the vegetables are soft and the meat is tender.
When you take it out of the oven, it will look something like this:
Voilà--fini!
(You'll have enough to serve four to five people.)
Serve hot in soup plates with the liquid;
This "Korean Baeckoffe" is a hearty yet not heavy stew:
====================================== Today's gem from the classroom: "Wait, rabbits don't have eggs?!" Seriously. Several students--14 and 15 years old--said that today. Context: learning vocabulary about rural life and farm animals in a second-year foreign language class. The Easter Bunny has left behind a troubling legacy, it seems. These are the same kids who've said: "OMG, olives grow on trees?!" "Turkeys have eggs?! I thought only chickens did!"
& One last thing--an update about last week's posting and the "Catch" photo competition: click here.
