Friday links – Craft beer edition

Kramer gets stuck between subway cars for hours. George refuses to drink microbrews. "If they're so good, they'd brew more of them."—
Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) March 22, 2013

 

It is no secret at all that I love craft beer. When I’m out with friends, it’s not uncommon for someone to bring up craft beer, be it an new beer someone had or heard about, someone asking if I want a taste of his or her beer, or someone trying a new beer. I use the Untappd app to keep track of my beers I try and keep notes on how they are. I reference the app when I go to restaurants or the store to seek out new brews (and, the hoppier the better, FYI). So with all the craft beer in the news this week (you have noticed that, too, right?!?) I decided this week’s links would be about craft beer.

• In the Florida legislature, there are bills to allow on-site sales for craft distillers. This has a chance of not passing or might be revised. But the bill I’m really hoping gets passed is allowing 64-ounce growlers. I have a 64-ounce growler and can’t get it filled in Florida, not even just halfway. 32-ounce and 128-ounce growlers are allowed. There is something in the history books as to why 64-ounce growlers aren’t OK (you don’t see 40-ounce beers sold in Florida for this reason). This Tampa Bay Times article from last year does a good job of explaining how and why Florida’s laws are the way they are.
• All Things Considered: Craft Brews Slowly Chipping Away At Big Beer’s Dominance
• And, it’s that time of year: Beer Bracketology!  I mentioned this last year, but here are two great noteworthy beer brackets: The Paste IPA challenge (my favorite style, so I’ll be watching this) and the Washington Post Beer Madness.
• And, this is the newest beer to hit South Florida that I’m interested in trying: The Rogue chocolate peanut butter banana ale. What are you drinking?

Healthy Orange Julius smoothie and running update

When I found what I’m calling the Healthy Orange Julius smoothie (because that is what it reminds me of, though I haven’t had one for about 15 years) on Pinterest, I knew it would be the perfect South Florida winter smoothie. It’s basic ingredients, sweet and frothy, and great after a run in the Florida sun (sorry, Northerners!).

If you follow the original recipe (I have modified mine) and just use an orange, ice, milk, honey and vanilla, it’s 150 calories. To add more protein or thickness you could add yogurt. This is thicker than most of my smoothies, but you could add more milk and less ice, though that would change the calorie count. And to mine I use almond milk (great flavor), the peel of one segment of the orange (for fiber and added flavor) and flax seeds (for omega-3 and fiber).

Healthy Orange Julius smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 orange
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp flax seeds
• 1/6 of the orange peel

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth. Continue blending another 30 seconds to make sure everything (especially ice and orange peel) is fully blended.

10k running update

A week after my 5k race, I have started looking forward to a 10k. I think I’m about 6 weeks out from one Kim and I are going to do. I’m excited, but I know I’m out of shape for it, so I need to stay focused. But honestly, I love the training process and working toward a goal. And in South Florida, this is the time of year to do that and enjoy the weather and building up tolerance. So I am looking forward to it.

I went on a 4 mile run a few days ago, the longest distance I’ve run in many months. And I really didn’t feel bad until the last quarter-mile. I’m ready for a little longer run in a few days. Kim found a training plan and I think I’m going to follow it as well (jumping about halfway in) soooo, so far, so good!

If anyone else is up for a 10k, please let me know and I’ll pass along the information. The more, the merrier.

What I’m not into: Beets

Beet smoothie: A little sweet, but more tolerable than the average beet.

How do you get yourself to eat a veggie you don’t like? Beeeets me! (See what I did there? Eh? Sorry.)

I get my veggies delivered to me, not fully knowing what I’ll get. It’s based on what’s ready at the time (part of the deal when signing up for my CSA. Sometimes I’m stuck with something I don’t like, or an abundance of something that is just ok.

It’s the time of year for beets, something I cannot figure out how to prepare or enjoy. I’m at a total loss. I’ve had beets at restaurants prepared well, but my beets never turn out anything like that, they are just a red, runny, mushy mess. I’m determined to find a way to prepare palatable beets. I usually end up roasting them and tolerating them in salads or sandwiches or something. I have pickled them (similar to this), but I have never met a pickled food I didn’t like. I know they are ok grated on raw on a salad, mainly because they don’t have a lot of taste. Heck, I like the greens sauteed into pasta better than the root part of the beets, and I’m picky about sauteed greens, so that goes to show how not into beets I am!

I honestly think part of what I don’t like about beets (besides not having them growing up, from what I remember, which is rare since my parents wanted me to try “a few bites” of everything) is that they are sweet. I don’t like a lot of root vegetables that tend to be sweet.

Anyway, so I have these beets. I know they are high in iron and help with endurance and oxygen intake, so I knew when I saw this beet smoothie it would be perfect for my last post-run smoothie before the Race for the Cure tomorrow.

And this NPR article I got the recipe from is all about  preparing beets in a way the beet-averse will enjoy. So next time I get beets I may try another recipe. Next up i think i’m going to make a raw salad. And if that doesn’t work, here is 50 ways to prepare beets. I have to like at least one way. Right???

Beet Smoothie

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

•  1 small roasted beet, chopped
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 to 1 1/4 cup milk of your choice, such as almond, soy or low-fat milk, depending on how thick you prefer it
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour and enjoy.

How do you prepare beets? Annnny advice will be much appreciated.

Bloody Mary granita

This recipe had me at hot and spicy. And Bloody Mary. And Granita. Heck, it was a great, easy recipe.

Hangover drink as dessert? Sure. And spicy from Sriracha and horseradish? Bring it.

It really is just a bloody Mary in the freezer. That’s it. And it’s delicious.

Hot and spicy Bloody Mary granita.

Friday links

Pumpkin edition! Can’t get enough of this stuff, so I’m sharing some links regarding my favorite squash that is so popular right now. (If you don’t believe how into pumpkin I am, check out some of my other blog posts featuring pumpkin in recipes here.)

I have a lot of recipes that use pumpkin, but since it’s still way too hot in Florida, I really want to try the 4-ingredient pumpkin frozen yogurt. I’m going to try it with Greek yogurt. While I’m at it, the pumpkin pecan ginger snap ice cream wouldn’t be terrible either, I suspect.

5 pumpkin beers to try right now. My favorite, Pumking, didn’t make the list. What is your favorite pumpkin beer?

Pumpkin keg, ’nuff said:

Sadly, pumpkin prices are higher than normal because of the drought.