Little miracles everywhere...

So it's not a cooking post, but this story illustrates how something good can come out of something bad.

I've alluded to Mary's birth and subsequent health issues on this blog, albeit vaguely. Although I'm not typing the whole story out right now, I'll go into a little more detail. I mentioned previously that I've had HELLP syndrome. HELLP stands for hemolysis (breakdown/death of red blood cells), elevated liver enzymes (causing inflammation of the liver), and low platelets (those nifty little cells that help your blood clot). You can Google it for some interesting details in how it can manifest in pregnant women. It's extremely rare to have it in the severe form I had it - generally speaking, the cure for it is delivery of the baby. My HELLP was so rapid and severe in its onset - and its rarity - that my doctors didn't realize it for what it was until it was almost too late. Were it not for my OB, who had seen it before just once in her career, neither Mary or I would have likely survived. I like to refer to her as my guardian angel.

Christmas Crack (technically, Turtle Grahams)

OK - so one of the most loved recipes I made last Christmas was a recipe I'd found online called "Turtle Graham Bars" by Claire Robinson, host of Food Network's 5 Ingredient Fix. Her recipes are usually pretty decent, so I decided to give this one a whirl. I ended up adapting it to what I had in house, which happened to be mixed nuts (versus pecans) and light brown sugar (versus dark). The end result was still lovely, however, and so I've decided to go ahead and put it here. 

And we're back to running again...Galloway style?

So I've been having a two steps forward, one step back kinda deal going on with my physical recovery since January. It's been frustrating, but even with the setbacks, I'm still constantly making forward progress, and I can't ask for more than that at this point. Anyhow, after being cleared to run again, I dove in full speed (figuratively; I wasn't going fast at all) and after two runs, I was ready for my first five miler. Well, my lungs, heart, and brain were. My knees were not. After two more runs, both of my knees were howling and all a sudden, I found myself unable to walk downstairs or even sit on the floor to play with Mary without excruciating pain.

Recipe: Oreo cake truffles

It has been WAY too long since I've posted a recipe, so I decided to kick this off with a bang. One of my favorite desserts as of late has been the cake truffle. I first had one at my favorite restaurant here in South Bend - Uptown Kitchen - and ever since I've been wondering how to make one. They taste like a wonderfully decadent cake...but words don't really do them justice.  While researching different ways to make cake truffles, I happened upon the Oreo cake truffle. This recipe doesn't actually involve cake, per se, but the texture is almost exactly the same as a cake truffle, and the way of assembling the dessert is the same. Enough of an introduction, eh? Let's get to the recipe.

Run of the day

Today's run was a short but sweet 4 miles around the ND lakes again - I ran the first two miles, and alternated jogging and walking the last two...mainly walking since I was with my running buddy Phil for the last two and we were catching up.  However, I figure every little bit goes towards building my endurance, so right now my main focus is working on getting my body adjusted to the higher intensity cardio workouts it's now getting.  I'm working very hard on not getting injured in my training, as I know I'm asking my body a lot over the next 80 days.

Donut of Misery, the 2011 version

Although I certainly wouldn't choose to have my sweet husband deployed, I understand better than most why he has to go, and support him in what he does - and part of that support is offering up some humor whenever possible. I suppose it also helps that I've been downrange a time or two myself. 

It's been way too long...but I'm back.

It's almost mind-boggling to me how long it has been since I've blogged. It's been, actually, since I was about 20 weeks pregnant, which seems like a lifetime ago. In some ways, it was a lifetime ago. More on that later.