Toronto Breweries

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Kym Zest

Hello Friends,

Just days ago I posted about how serious I was about resuming strength training, and really with 6 weeks to go before the Superior Man Triathlon there’s no more time to procrastinate.

Of course my annual visit to my dad’s side of the family was a rather indulgent time.  It was 56 hours with 5 large meals.  My iPhone camera does not do the large spread of Chinese dishes justice.  I didn’t even try.  It did do a fantastic job highlighting the beer.  One afternoon between a substantial lunch, and an even larger dinner we piled into the family van.  We ventured out of the deep suburbs into downtown Toronto for their budding brewery scene.

We went first to Bellwoods where my uncle Pao and I hung out last year when my dad was on his personal light speed tour of Toronto’s art museums. He was doing the same thing this time and missed out on these fantastic brews because the place, the whole place had been reserved for the rest of the night.  We had 1/2 hour to drink as much as we could.

Bellwoods selection Continue reading →

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Reviving my strength

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Kym Zest

I was passed flushed. I was a strange tint from both being hot and oxygen being drained from my face to my quivering muscles. I was slightly embarrassed at how hard it felt but I was desperate not to let it show. From racing I’m decent at not letting my form get sloppy with fatigue but my face and nervous eyes gave me away. It had been only  15 minutes of strength training and my extra week of “recovery” was killing me. To be entirely honest it wasn’t just an extra week, it was neglecting strength training all spring. Who am I kidding, winter too.

Last summer I was all over my strength training. Continue reading →

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Bacon Bean Pesto Potato Salad

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Kym Zest

I meant to get back to the honeymoon story by sharing some wedding pictures today.  Alas, while we do have power again after the big storm on Friday, I am behind.  It doesn’t help that in two days I’m leaving for Toronto with my dad to visit our family.  Nor does it help that I’ll be leaving my husband behind.  The Passport People apparently are suspicious of a man changing his name in marriage and wouldn’t issue him a passport.  He may have been able to scramble it together in time, if it weren’t that he’s been mostly in the woods working for Outward Bound.  He’ll get it eventually but it will be another whole year before he meets my dad’s side of the family.  So while I’m pre-occupied with laundry and work projects, spending a few precious days with Will, and doing more cooking, you get another food post.  I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and saved it just for times like these.  Bacon Pesto Potato Continue reading →

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Cilantro Chicken

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Kym Zest

There’s nothing like having your own kitchen for the first time.  In 2007 I moved out of my dad’s house to a studio apartment.  I was determined to learn how to cook.  Dad taught me a love of food and cooking and Mom taught me creative eating on a budget.  Still I had never felt comfortable to truly tackle real cooking in their kitchens.  With a place of my own I was at liberty to try and fail at anything.  This applied to dating as well as cooking.

I had invited to dinner a guy I met while lifeguarding at the YMCA.  Having a repertoire of ramen, boxed mac and cheese, and pasta with veggies and marinara, I searched for something new.  I knew I trusted The Splendid Table and chose Madhur Jaffrey’s Cilantro Chicken.  It looked simple yet impressive.  I think I had to borrow a blender.

It took way longer than I figured it would.   Continue reading →

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Something Magical: My Watershed Biking Moment

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Kym Zest

Almost as soon as I finalized registration I got a sinking sense of dread, “Oh, no. What have I gotten myself into?” I had selected the Trinona international distance triathlon because it had gotten a great reputation and I felt I ought to experience it. The bike course has a mile of 10% grade “hill” that is legendary as being a favorite of Greg Lemond, Tour de France champion. It has its own time trial: the Battle of The Bluff. None of this information seemed to mean anything to me until after my non-refundable registration. A 10% grade had been just a number; then I visualized the only hills of that grade I knew. There are few in the city, and they seem impossibly steep but mercifully short.

I could only think “I suck at biking!” Despite six years of gradual improvement from petrified to competent I couldn’t end the “I’m a bad biker” story.

Calvin and Hobbes Continue reading →

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Rainbow Quinoa Salad

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Kym Zest

This is an excellent summer salad. I planned on making it as a pre-race dinner weeks ago. I’ll take it with me tomorrow afternoon when I drive to Winona for the Trinona triathlon. It would be cool and refreshing and hold up well over the next few days. If only it actually felt like summer. It’s going to be in the low 60s with an 80% chance of rain.

I’ve made it a few times. It’s very forgiving and I haven’t made it the same way twice. I found the recipe on Eggs On Sunday a few years back while killing time on Taste Spotting.

Rainbow Quinoa Salad Continue reading →

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Preparations

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Kym Zest

I stood in front of mounds of food. It was piled on the dining room table, and collected on to chairs and the hutch. Most of it was fairly unappealing. It would take me the rest of the day to pull this overflowing mess of bags and boxes into compact meals.

Food Pile

There were 4 days until our wedding but this project was for the honeymoon. I had delegated most of the wedding preparation. My mom was making the wedding cake, my dad was making the soup, my sister was in charge of decorations along with my future mother in law who would take on all the guests in her yard and home. Will and I were happy to be getting married but our focus was on preparing for our big adventure. He was in charge transportation, gear, and navigation. My primary responsibly was feeding us. Continue reading →

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A Beginning

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Kym Zest

I had been awake for an hour, listening. We figured we had only 37 miles to go. Just two more days. It was 7am and I finally sat up. With my head unwrapped from my sleeping bag under our yellow tarp I could feel the wind. I insisted on listening to the weather radio. Then I had to see the waves. I despaired at being stuck there.

Nooooooo! I was anxious, and angry, and miserable. I stormed back into my sleeping bag to keep warm, rotting in my own stench. It had been 16 days since my last shower, 10 days since I last washed my hair, and a week since I changed my base layers.

Will was beaming positivity and I could do nothing but apologize for my foul mood. He went about sqawking and burbling happy tunes while creating a branchy wind block to keep the snow from entering the mouth of our tarp.
I fumed while sipping my tea and journalling my struggle to adjust my attitude.

I wrote   

This was my honeymoon.

In the summer 2011 Will proposed a honeymoon. Continue reading →

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My triathlon journey

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Kym Zest

I swam before I walked. I grew up as an otter playing in a semi-weightless world. I loved the freedom of creative movement in the water. Of course my disciplined dad also taught me the four competitive strokes. He would guide my tiny arms in precise patterns. So early on I zipped around pools cavorting in the depths under people’s treading feet, and passing lap swimming adults.

While I don’t remember learning to swim, I do remember learning to run. It was dreadful, uncomfortable, and boring. Dad would bring me on epic shuffles. We probably started with a half a mile, slowly building to three. We would later do form drills on the lawn, and run with precision from one tree to the next. Continue reading →

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