Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

To busy to cook? Don't know how? Tired after training? Well, I may have the solution to your excuses. Slow cooker Pulled pork. All you need is a slow cooker, pork, onion soup and water. 

Tossed everything in before going to work 

10 hours later 

Shredded goodness 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork 

Pork shoulder

Garlic (more or less to your liking)

1 packed onion soup mix

3c Water (add more to cover pork)

Open soup packet and placed in slow cooker. Add in pork shoulder and water. Be sure that pork is covered by water so exposed part doesn't dry out. Add in garlic. Cook on low for 10 hours. Remove and shred.

With this pork, you can make burritos, sandwiches, have it with roasted veggies or whatever you choose. 

Enjoy!

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 Tags and I'm not talking about the art you see on walls and stuff. Kepa the Flying Hawaiian Tagged me, but I don't know 11 others so the wave kinda dies here. Sorry. However, for you readers, I'll play along. 

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 Random Things About Myself...

  1. I'm slightly allergic to cilantro. Thus you will never see it in any of my recipes. 

  2. I don't like nuts in any of my baked good. 

  3. I rarely wear white socks. 

  4. I have a degree in Cell and Molecular Biology but have no desire to work in that field. 

  5. I make mead (honey wine). 

  6. I'm addicted to New Zealand Marmite. 

  7. I haven't eaten at McDonalds in almost 10 years. 

  8. I'm horrible at saying Japanese and Hawaiian words. 

  9. In 2001, I was the 3rd fastest high school breaststroker on the Big Island and 20th in the state. 

  10. I'm not a Tim Tebow fan. 

  11. I'm great about remembering random facts, just not about me. 

If I tagged you, here are 11 questions for you to answer...

1. Do you keep a training log? - Yes, so I can track my progress through the season.
2. Do you think videos of guys getting hit in their privates are funny? - It's no laughing matter once it happens to you. It's funny if it's someone that I'm not too fond of.
3. Train/Race - socks or no socks? - Socks
4. What is your favorite movie? - I watch so many it's hard to choose one. "Remember the Titans" is up there.
5. Do you listen to music while you train? - I don't train with music since I can't hear the traffic. I don't trust Oahu drivers.
6. Heel striker or mid/forefoot? - Used to heel strike but now I'm more of a midfoot.
7. How many pairs of running shoes do you own? - 4, three running shoes and 1 trail/hiking shoes.
8. What is your favorite color? - Dark Blue
9. Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, Other... Don't Care? - The best party
10. At what training distance do you decide to carry your own hydration? - Always for biking but never for running. I choose my running routes well.
11. Do you wear your workout clothes more than once before washing them? - Yeah, unless I get rained on or get really muddy. I live and train alone so no one really complains.

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Waking up

Don't you hate that feeling when you wake up with no recollection what happened the night before? Even worse when you wake up with a new attachment to your arm? 

 

 Cowboys vs Aliens 

Well, that didn't exactly happen, those days are long gone. Anyways, through a series of fortunate events and good deals, I managed to pick up the new Timex Run Trainer. So how did it happen? Timex was giving a $50 rebate if you purchased a TRT if bought from a authorized dealer. Being my frugal cheap triathlete, I searched every authorized dealer on the west coast to see who had the cheapest/best deal (Hawaii omitted since prices were higher). After searching some 20 something sites, I came across Road Runner Sports in classy San Diego. Road Runner sports has the option to join their VIP family for $1.99 which includes a 10% discount and FREE shipping to Hawaii. If you live in Hawaii, free shipping is pretty damm awesome. So with the membership cost, discount and rebate, my total cost was around ~$120. Not bad being that regular the regular price is $189.99. 

 It's big but not as big as Jakes nor does it shoot anything

The usual Timex colors

Comparison to my everyday watch. I didn't realize the times were different till I took the pic. 

I'm sure your thinking "But why did you get this? You hate running!" Yes I know it's got "Run" in the name and it's more geared toward running but 1) I couldn't resist the price 2) It can be used for biking too as seen in DCRainmakers review. You should check out his review since it's more in depth than mine. I'm still trying to figure out what this bad boy can do.

Since my runs are pretty sad, here's some data for a Tantalus ride I did this past Tuesday (Ride data). It's not the greatest since the vog was killing me that day. If you're unfamiliar with the backside of Tantalus, it's once of the better hill climb locations in town, has a lot of shade, traffic isn't crazy and it's pretty relaxing ride. Here's a vid of the the route going down.

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Baked Spaghetti

With 1/2 Ironman training starting up again and 2 workouts a day becoming more of a common theme, batch cooking is more practical than cooking something different every night. Since I live alone, theirs no one to complain about eating the same thing for the 3rd night in a row. That's not much of the case since isn't too shabby. Anyways. 

Couldn't resist. Ate some before taking a pic.

Baked Spaghetti

1/2t salt 

6oz angel hair pasta

2t extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2lb Italian chicken sausag, casings removed

2 green bell peppers, diced

1/2lb cremini mushrooms, sliced 

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes 

1c fresh torn basil leaves

part-skim mozzarella cheese

shredded cheddar cheese 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. 

Heat olive oil in large non-stick skillet or pot over medium heat. Once heated, add in onion and cook till soft. Add in garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add in sausage and be sure to break up meat. Cook till browned. Add in mushrooms, bell peppers, salt and cook till everything is soft. Stir in crushed tomatoes, 3/4c water and basil. Cook till boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer till sauce thickens. 

Preheat oven to 375deg. Spray a 2qt baking or casserole dish with cooking spray. Add pasta to sauce and give it a good stir to combine. Spoon 1/2 of the pasta mixture into the dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the pasta mixture. Add remaining pasta on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle more of the cheeses on top. Spray foil with cooking spray and cover loosely. Bake until cheese is bubbly, 20-25min. Let cool for 5min before serving. 

Enjoy!

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Pierogi

So I have this bad habit of writing recipes down, making them and somehow misplacing the recipe. Once again, I've misplaced the recipe. Anyways, when I find it, I'll update this post. 

According to Pierogi.com, "The Pierogi (a pocket in dough, filled with vegetables, fruit or cheese) comes to us direct from Poland. In concept it is similar in some way to the Chinese Potsticker, or the Italian Ravioli". 

These are pretty good for late night snacking or whenever you're too lazy to cook anything. All you have to do is warm it up in the microwave and a quick fry and you're good to go. 

 If you didn't know, they aren't poisonous. Well, I'm still alive after touching it.

*Update*

The recipe can be found here . 

Pierogi

Makes about 25 or so 

Dough:

1.5c flour + additional for kneading

1/2c water

1 egg

1t vegetable oil

1/2t salt

Potato filling:

1.25lb potatoes

3oz grated cheddar cheese 

1 Portuguese sausage, cooked and minced

1/8t salt

1/8t black pepper

Using a food processor (mixing by hand can be done as well) add flour, water, egg, oil and salt. Pulse  or stir till a soft dough forms (you want it slightly sticky but not too sticky). Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead. Dust with flour to prevent it from sticking. Knead till smooth and elastic. Invert a bowl over the dough and let stand at room temp for 1hr. 

While dough is standing, peel potato and chop into 1/2in pieces. Add to pot of boiling water and cook till tender. Drain potatoes, add salt and pepper and place in a food processor. Pulse till smooth. Remove from food processor and stir in cheese and sausage.

Roll out 1/2 of the dough on a lightly floured surface with a slightly floured rolling pin or dowel. Roll in to a 15in diameter circle, with about 1/8 thickness. Using a wine glass or cookie cutter (2.5in), cut out circles. Holding one circle in the palm of your hand, place a small scoop of the potato mixture in the dough. Pinch edges together to seal completely. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pierogi, stirring once to keep from sticking together. Once the pierogi float to the surface, cook for 5min. At this point you can fry in butter or flash freeze in fridge. 

Enjoy.

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2012 Race Outlook

So with the new year, comes another year of races for me. Here are a few races I'm planning to do depending on funds. 

In no particular order 

V-day biathlon

Tantalus TT

Mokuleia TT

Lanikai Tri

Honolulu Tri - Relay?

Honu 70.3 

North Shore Swim Series 

Dukes Swim 

Tinman - Relay?

Sadly, the deciding factor for most of these races with the exception of the Honu, is the cost. These races aren't very cheap and when you live alone, have bills and loans to pay, things get a little tough. 

I'm sure you looking at this and wondering "where are the running races?" Yes, you are correct, you don't see any. I'm not a big runner, it's not because I'm a slow runner, it's just that I don't like to run. With that said, I wish you all the best for 2012.

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Foam roller not good enough?

If you've bought a foam roller, you probably noticed that it doesn't exactly keep it's shape anymore. You can try to even it out by using other parts but that's a pain. Money doesn't grow on trees at my house so buying another wasn't an option.

So, I thought, why not use a PVC pipe. 

I found this scrap piece for around $5. 

The diameters a little smaller but it gets the job done. 

At first it's a little tough but you get used to it. I've read things about others cutting up yoga mats and gluing it around the surface for some cushion. I'm not about to do that since it just adds to the total cost of things.

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Short Trip Back Home

So after many months, I finally went back home for the new year. 

Flying in between Maui and the Big Island. Clouds looked weird. 

Mauna Kea. Still a little bit of snow left. 

Fireworks

It was this cold most of the time. 

Overall, it was a nice trip. Mornings were sunny followed by dark gloominess till the next day. I was pretty surprised that it didn't rain. After a two days I was glad to be heading back to Oahu.  

 

Just started to rain. 

 

Makapuu in the morning. 1-3 and glassy. 

More to come soon. Happy New Year!

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2012

Yes I know I've been M.I.A. Things will get back into the flow. 

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