introducing: Jen and Company

After many hints and teases, the time has finally come.

Welcome to the new site! What do you think?

I’m super excited about my the new name, the new look, and the new web address.

Why the change?

As many of you know, this blog originally started as a co-blogging partnership and has sense morphed into a me being the main author and having featured contributors to keep it interesting. With all that change, it seemed a new look and a new name were in order. To learn more about how the blog came to be, check out the about page.

The name, Jen and Company, was my sister Jackie’s idea. She gets 100% of the credit. She is an idea machine. She helped me brainstorm (road trips are good for that) and then sent me an email chock full of ideas.  When she brought up this name, we came up with so many different interpretations and I love that. She meant it as I have a company of contributors on the blog. My other sister immediately thought of my love of entertaining. I thought of how I love to run and bike in the company of others. It just made sense.

Because I was making a change, I really made a change – new design, look and feel. This is all thanks to Julie who was great to work with and made things very easy for this non-techy gal.

What I’m not changing is the content. There will still be recipes, race recaps, restaurant reviews and random musings/rants on food and fitness.

So, what do you need to do?

If you subscribed to She said. She said., you’ll need to re-subscribe to Jen & Company.  If you go to the old site, it will re-direct you, but re-subscribing to the new site will make sure you get all the updates. To subscribe, you can just click on the subscribe button in the header above, or you can just follow this link to add this blog into your feed.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/JenAndCompany

If you have my blog on your blog roll (thank you!), I’d love if you can update the name and the web address.

There may be some hiccups on the way so please bear with me. In the meantime, I’d love any feedback!

What do you think?

a little bit of blog love

This weekend was pretty dang awesome. How was yours?

Apparently I needed to complain about my spring training for it to turn around. Willa and I had a fantastic 10 mile run on Saturday that was really key to get both us back into being enthusiastic about training. The 50 degree and sunny weather was key in our spirit lifting run. Yay for spring!

In addition to the great run, I also helped out at a Triathlon 101 clinic put on by Trinona (I’m completely biased, but this is the best triathlon MN has to offer). It is so fun to see newbies to the sport. They are so excited/nervous/anxious and are so fun to talk to.

I also got a much needed massage, finished the taxes and managed to relax with Brette. And as I write this, I’m enjoying pizza (sans meat and cheese) and some red wine. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect weekend.

I thought it would be fun to share with you some recipes and articles that caught my eye recently on other blogs. In addition to reading cookbooks and multiple cooking magazines, I read a LOT of food blogs. It’s a little ridiculous. There is just so much great content out there. So here are a few things you might like.

Articles

• Dana (from Dana Treat) did a great post on the Vegetarian Dilemma trying to figure out “why does it feel like the perception of vegetarianism is stuck in the 1970’s?” I agree with her thoughts.
• Jennie (from In Jennie’s Kitchen) wrote a great piece on the obligation to eat locally and organically if you can. I couldn’t agree more. Included is a yummy looking recipe for a french onion tart.
• Matt (from No Meat Athlete) recently went vegan and posted his grocery list and his thoughts on vegan junk food. He posted this right after Willa’s post on the “What do you eat?” question. Kind of funny.
• Speaking of No Meat Athlete, contributor Susan Lacke did a review of some Pear iZUMi apparel and shoes. Part of the post included a giveaway for a pair of Pear iZUMi shoes of your choice. Guess who won? Yep, that would be me. I’m supper pumped. I’m trying the isotranisitions which will make me super fast in the duathlon I’m doing in May.
• Gena (from Chosing Raw) did a very interesting guest post on JL goes Vegan on the ethics of being a vegan. This angle was not why I’m doing vegan lent, but I thought it was very well written and thought provoking.

Recipes

• I’ve been making Emily’s (from the Daily Garnish) Homemade Energy Drink for every long run and I feel so much better about making my own than buying Gatorade. Plus, it’s delish. I prefer to use grape juice in mine, but I’m sure any juice would work.
• Heidi (from 101 Cookbooks) is responsible for my absolute favorite recipe for tempeh to date. Brette loves it too. It’s quick, easy and delicious.
• I can’t wait to make these no bake vegan date squares from Angela at Oh She Glows. I have a serious crush on medjool dates.

 

That’s a good list for now. If this is something you like, I’d be happy to post links to things I find interesting more often…just let me know.

 

What have you been reading lately that you found thought provoking or appetite arousing?

the night I cooked at the Corner Table Restaurant

This past week I attended an event specifically for Minnesota Food Bloggers. Getting together with people who like to geek out about food as much as I do is one sweet way to spend an evening.

What makes it even better? I actually got to cook with a fellow food blogger in the kitchen of the Corner Table!

But let me back up.

This evening was the second gathering of local food bloggers and I see it becoming a regular occurrence. This edition was hosted by  Scott Pampuch from the Corner Table. Why? Because Scott is a very smart man. You’ll see why by reading the following.

Upon arriving, we got to mingle with fellow food lovers which is always super fun. Plus, I got to speak with Scott himself and tell him how much I enjoyed my experience at his restaurant (you can read my review here).

Photo by Amy Peterson

I may or may not have touched his arm about 12 times. Apparently I was a little star struck. I’m confident he dug that, but was sick of me touching him. We all have our social awkwardness. Touching other’s arms is mine.

During all the chatting, bloggers feasted on an amazing spread that consisted of a very large charcuterie platter and various breads and relishes. It was nothing short of amazing and it got rave reviews from fellow bloggers. Us bloggers, we like to rave about good food.

Then came for the main event and the reason he invited us into his establishment for the evening. He spoke to us about all he’s doing to elevate the local food movement – he is the best in the city about working with local farmers. Seriously. Most importantly, he wanted to tell us about his latest project: Community Supported Kitchen (or CSK). Similar to the concept of a CSA, a CSK box includes locally sourced meats, dairy and prepared products like chicken stock, pickled carrots, braised cabbage or similar items that are in season. It’s a pretty cool idea and would be a great compliment to those who have a CSA. The project will be starting soon and has options for families of 2, 4, and 6 and it’s very flexible as far as the commitment is concerned. Keep your eye on their web site for more details and while you’re there, check out the menu.

After hearing from those who had piloted the program (all feedback was positive), Scott allowed us to tear into the CSK boxes and head to the kitchen.

Ummm…excuse me? I can cook in the Corner Table kitchen and you will provide me with everything I need? Um…okay. You’ll even let us use chef Dan to cater to our every whim? Check.

I followed fellow blogger, Kate, when she jumped up and grabbed a box before Scott could stop talking.  With very little prodding, we ran headed into the kitchen and got cooking. The crowd of camera-crazed bloggers followed.

Kate tackled the marinated chicken and also cooked up the sausages in a lovely red wine reduction. As a bed for the sausages, I put together somewhat of a hash out of bacon, onion, apple and the braised cabbage. And yes, I had Chef Dan cut up my apple. I had to have him do it twice – and can’t believe I told him what to do. He was so nice about it too!

Here’s what it looked like after it was finished…and a few bites were taken. (Yes, I tasted it. I was not going to serve food bloggers something I didn’t try! I’m hoping my fellow vegan lent participants forgive me. )

Thanks to fellow bloggers, Joy and Amy, here is a photo journey of the evening.

Here’s me telling Scott what’s up. Clearly, he is impressed.

Photo by Joy

Maybe not.

Photo by Joy

Inside the CSK Box…

Photo by Amy

Surely if we point to the contents in the box long enough, we’ll figure out what to do with them…..

Photo by Amy

Kate praying that I don’t slice my finger open.

Photo by Amy

 

Feeling the pressure….

Photo by Amy

I can’t believe I’m cooking in this kitchen!

Photo by Amy

 

Please don’t let me mess this up.

Photo by Amy

 

Stacks of All-Clad pans – a dream come true.

Photo by Joy

 

And scene.

After we finished our stint, other bloggers and Scott and Dan all got cooking in the kitchen. Burger, eggs and lots of bacon were enjoyed by all. Well not all, I abstained…except for that one bite!

Photo by Amy

 

Having cooked with the contents of the CSK box, here are my thoughts.

The food is high quality and is better than anything you’re going to find at the store.

This would work well for a family who likes to cook and has confidence in the kitchen. Recipes are not provided. Scott is against providing recipes and while I can understand him wanting people to learn technique and then get creative, I do think some general suggestions would be nice. Something like, “this chicken would go really well with the following in-season produce”. Somewhat of a roadmap without getting as specific as a recipe would be nice.

Families who are busy (and who isn’t) that want to eat quality food from quality sources and like meat (the box was very meat-heavy), this is for you. You’ll still need to go to the farmer’s market or grocery store to round things out, but this saves you many steps and will provide some yummy eats.

Vegetarians, this might not be for you. However, maybe if it goes over well, Scott will consider a vegetarian box? Just a thought.

 

So, have you figured out why Scott is such a smart man? Clearly, if you invite food bloggers to your restaurant and let them cook (and eat. and drink), we will take photos and write about it.

 

What do you think of the CSK idea? Would it be something you would get involved with?

 

Note: The food and experience provided at this event was free. However, my opinions are my own and I was not asked to write about it.

 

 

 

 

 

friday highlights

Since I’m lacking the time and the brainpower to put together an in-depth meaningful post, I thought I’d share some highlights of my week. Some of which I will expound on in later posts.

Friday is a good day for bullets, don’t ya think?

• I ate at the all-raw restaurant, Ecopolitan, Monday night with Meghan and Willa. It confirmed that I’m not completely hippy, but I can survive among them happily.

• I got a flat tire one block from my house. Be careful of large puddles of water. There are pot holes underneath them just waiting to bite you.
• Thanks to Liza, the local vegan lent participants participated in a meal swap. It was awesome.
• I ran….outside! I’m very hopeful that spring has finally sprung and the rest of this snow will disappear quickly.
• I have very strange leg pain going on that is either concerning or a sign that I’m aging.
• I made this dish in the Corner Table Kitchen with Kate. I will definitely expound on this evening. Holy crap was it cool.

• Aside from the above, I haven’t cooked anything all week. It was awesome and sad all at the same time.
• I am very excited for my weekend as it includes running outside and Gourmet Dinner Club: Mexican style. I’m attempting vegan enchiladas. Wish me luck.

Did you have any highlights of the week? Anything you’re looking forward to this weekend?

Amanda’s 25 Things

This is the final introduction to the new featured contributors to the blog. Please welcome Amanda!  You can read more about all of these lovely ladies on the new Featured Contributors Page.

 

1. My favorite song is ‘Groove is in the Heart” by Deeee-Lite. My husband, Dave, and I walked down the aisle to it after saying, “I Do.”

2. I’ll try any food once. I think.

3. I’m a lover of languages, but only speak one fluently: English.

4. Favorite movies: Amadeus and Ghandi.

5. I don’t like microwaving things, but I’m becoming more of a believer thanks to busy schedules. Boo.

6. I’ve done a handful of triathlons, but didn’t really enjoy them. Still, I’m glad I challenged myself.

7. I used to own a pogo stick. I loved it, but it squeaked.

8. I’ve got two brothers (both in L.A.) and a sister in Minnesota.

9. I lived with three male Packers cheerleaders in college.

10. I used to collect hats. I don’t remember why I stopped.

11.  I consider myself to be one of the ‘lucky ones’ with amazing in-laws!

12. During my solo, “On My Own” from Les Miserables, in Paris, I forgot the words!

13. The first time I dyed my hair was when I was 19 at a hair show in Green Bay. Unless you count the times I used kool-aid to color it in high school.

14. My husband and I have weekly battles on how much I spend on groceries.

15. I used to have a dream of being a motivational speaker.

16. I’ve lived in three different countries outside of the U.S. and hope to live in at least one or two more!

17.  I took Tabla (drum) lessons while living in Bangladesh.

18. I wrote depressing poetry in high school.

19.  I was the Easter Bunny at the Mall of America in 2002. Worst job ever.

20. I have a hard time saying “No.”

21. Pizza…pretty sure I eat nothing else for the rest of my life if need be!

22.  With just a few months to go before completing the 27 months of Peace Corps service in Bangladesh, my group was evacuated because of 9/11.

23. Indian and Thai food? Anytime! All the time!

24. I believe in the power of positive thinking.

25. My students teach me something new everyday.

25 things – Willa

Meet Willa – one of the new contributors to the blog.  I’m so excited that my running buddy is joining the team!

A few details to enhance our acquaintance.

1.       I was born in Marin County California. Although I have not lived there for many years, I still consider myself to be Californian.

2.       My mom packed a lunch for me every day until I graduated from high school. They were extraordinary too, often including inspirational notes for the day. These details do make a difference.

3.       Canning scares me. Or, maybe it is just that I perceive it to be so much work.

4.       I want to inspire others the way that I have been inspired.

5.       I love grocery shopping.

6.       My bookshelves are overflowing with cookbooks covering everything from South American to Vegetarian food. I am admittedly enticed by their lovely photos and delicious words.

7.       It should be no surprise to know that I adore cooking and consider myself to be knowledgeable in the kitchen.

8.       I am in constant search of my “calling” in life. At least I have determined that I love food and cooking.

9.     Frequently, my decision making process is paralyzed by too much information.

10.   While I have a desire for perfection, I am flexible as a result of my own laziness.

11.   I love running and feel very fortunate to be able to run.

12.   My gratitude is endless for the friendships that have grown as a result of running.

13.   I want to run faster.

14.   I am uncertain as to whether or not I want to run farther but might be persuaded to do so.

15.   I am a very proud wife of an amazing Army National Guard soldier.

16.   I make a concerted effort to enjoy every moment and I know that health is central to being able to do this.

17.   My undergraduate degree is in Spanish and Portuguese. I speak Spanish fluently but would love to be even better; my Portuguese is very rusty.

18.   I studied for one semester in Toledo, Spain and wish I would have stayed longer.

19.   The focus of my college thesis was how food, restaurants, and grocery stores are central to the preservation/continuation/introduction of immigrant cultures in the Twin Cities and, moreover, how food is often the first, and key, introduction that people have to a different culture.

20.   I love simple recipes with short ingredient lists.

21.   I am having a difficult time thinking of a type of food that I don’t like.

22.   I once made a winter vegetable stew including what I thought was a parsnip; it was actually horseradish.

23.   I admire chefs and restaurant owners but don’t know that I would want to be one myself.

24.   I absolutely hate it when people add seasoning or sauce to something they have been served before they have even tasted it.

25.   Along similar lines, I don’t understand why people don’t taste their food as they are cooking it.

Missed the other new faces around here?

Meet Meghan

Meet Liza

25 Things – Liza

This is an introduction to one of the new contributors here on She said. She said.  Welcome Liza!

1. I believe in the 80/20 philosophy when it comes to eating.  Eating healthy and consciously 80% of the time and not worrying about the other 20%.
2. I have never read a book twice.  I love to read so much and I figure I have thousands of books to read yet, why would I take the time to repeat one?
3. I will pretty much eat anything except for mushrooms.  I have tried them numerous times and can’t get past the texture.
4. Tiramisu is my favorite dessert of all-time.
5. I swore I would never own a minivan, guess what we just bought?
6. I believe in past lives.
7. Breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out.  A runny egg on anything is my idea of a fabulous morning.
8. I wish I was more eloquent and graceful; I tend to be a bit blunt and aggressive.
9. I want to learn how to meditate well.
10. I am not a morning person.  I am at my best from about 2pm-10pm.
11. Growing up I ate a lot of pizza, cereal and taco salads.  I was a skinny-minny and thought I was fat then.  Oh how I would kill for that body now.
12. I would like to live in NYC some day.  It is my favorite city in the world.
13. I find cooking to be cathartic not stressful.
14. My husband is also a great cook, nothing is sexier in a man in my opinion.
15. I often dream things and then they happen weeks later.  I only know they are about to happen a couple of minutes before they do.
16. I grew up in Wisconsin and have a deep love for any kind of cheese.
17. I wish more people were honest about saying what they really thought.
18. I am addicted to reading food blogs and bookmarking recipes.  No seriously I read about 50 food blogs, it is a problem…
19. At no time do I have less than eight tubes of lipstick in my purse.
20. I worked at a Pizza Hut in high school and college summers in my hometown.  Pizza is still one of my favorite foods.
21. I met my husband in college.  We were both in the University of Minnesota Marching Band.  I play clarinet and he plays tuba.  Yup band nerds…
22. Last year I traveled to Scotland and learned to like Scotch.
23. I have never liked the taste of beer.  Ironic being from Sconnie huh?
24. I have had naturally curly hair since I was 10.  I used to fight it, straitening in it which only made it frizzy.  I accepted it at about age 15 and have loved it ever since.
25. When I was a kid I wanted to be a professional tap dancer.  I took lessons for 10 years.

If you missed it:
Meet Meghan

25 things – meghan

To kick off our “meet the contributor” series, here are all sorts of interesting facts about my friend (and sometimes twin), Meghan.

25 things that may or may not have to do with food and exercise that may or may not be humorous.

That is one helluva shroom!

1. I had a job in college that enabled me to tour every single theme park from North Carolina to Canada and back- I’m a roller coaster pro – what? I would be jealous too.
2. While touring for said job in Canada they already had veggie dogs at their hot dog vendors in Toronto-yeah that is RAD!
3. I wish I could create a work space that enabled me to bicycle all day – you know like those walking work stations but a bike station instead.
4. I’ve been a vegetarian for 17 years. In that time I have had shrimp, scallops and crab legs more than once and felt bad everytime. I also took up fishing this past summer. Feel free to judge.
5. I compost. Then drink 7up out of a can to compliment my whiskey. Again, feel free to judge.
6. I do what I can to take care of our resources and the animals on this planet but nobody is perfect.
7. I bike on my trainer in the basement while watching The Amazing Race dreaming up ways to win the million.
8. The only two people in my life who I would do The Amazing Race with want nothing to do with it.
9. I gave up dairy a month ago and I’ve never had more energy in my life. Well maybe when I was 5 but who remembers that?
10. Tiramisu and Tres Leches owned my heart when I ate dairy and would be a good reason for me to eat dairy again.
11. At my first job in Minnesota I was obsessed with peanut butter. I would eat a spoonful at 4 p.m. everyday to fuel me up for the gym. My colleagues bought it in gallon sizes for me as a joke – it was the best!
12. I read cookbooks like novels and own more than I can keep up with.
13. I did a triathlon once. Pretty sure I did the doggie paddle the entire swim. This, even after I had a professional coach. Thanks Mr. Z-sorry to be your worst student of all time.
14. Based on outcomes of #13 I now do duathlons and LOVE them.
15. I am a horrible runner. Every other year I actually like running… which means every other year I don’t. This year I like it!
16. That may have something to do with the fact that T-dogg bought me a Garmin Forerunner for x-mas and I am straight up GEEKED about it!
17. I hated olives until I lived with Beth in college. Now they are one of my most favorite foods.
18. My ex-boyfriend is still one of my best friends – that rules!
19. Biking is hands down, 100% what I would rather be doing at any given moment on any given day.
20. I met the love of my life while biking.
21. The first CD I owned was Vanilla Ice, the second was Ooooooohhh…On the TLC Tip. RIP Left Eye.
22. I could eat an avocado every day for the rest of my life and never ever get sick of them.
23. I had a boyfriend once who called me mango due to my obsession with the fruit-it is my favorite nickname to this day.
24. I’m not a mid-westerner and it is painfully obvious everyday.
25. However, I LOVE Minnesota and imagine I will be here for a while.

fun announcement!

I am very excited to announce the first of many changes that will be happening to the blog over the next couple of months.

I have contributors! I’m very lucky to know so many smart and intelligent woman who all have perspectives and points of view about food and living a healthy lifestyle. These perspectives need to be shared. They are such a wealth of knowledge.

So in addition to my musings, I will now be featuring regular guests posts from these lovely ladies.

Amanda, Willa, Meghan, Liza and Anne.

I totally feel like the mother hen in this photo.

These women have very different backgrounds and all lead busy full lives. They all have one thing in common. They love food. They love to eat food. They love to eat good food. I love them for that. That’s why I knew I could bribe them with food. It always works – you should try it.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be introducing them to you one at a time, so you can get to know them. They are each going to share 25 super interesting things about themselves.

Remember when I did that in November? This will be very similar.

I’m confident you recognize Anne as she was my co-blogger from the beginning. She’s now taking over a contributor role as her life is way crazier than mine. She also has her own blog here. You can reconnect with Anne by perusing her 25 things.

There will be at least one post a week from one of these fine women. I hope you enjoy reading about food and health from a variety of perspectives as much as I do. I truly find it fascinating.

Bear with me as we go through some other fun changes that include: moving the blog to a new site, a new feel and….. a name change!

Lots of change in the air. Change is good. Who’s with me?

goodbye. so long. farewell.

As I’m sure many of you have noticed, Jen pretty much runs the show on this blog. When we began our blogging partnership I was doing a fair amount of cooking, a fair amount of dining out, and also had a fair amount of time to blog about it all. Since becoming a mom to a second kid last April, I do a lot less of all things food related (unless one considers the cleanup of a gooked-up high chair to be food related [and blog-worthy]), have way less energy to compose my thoughts into a coherent post, and pretty much have been an all-around blog slacker here on She Said. She Said. With that, I am going to hang up the towel as a pseudo food blogger, and will leave Jen to her own very capable and very talented devices.

I know Jen has some great ideas in store for her readers, including a possible name change. You may see me around here at some point as a contributor or guest blogger, too. (If Jen will have me:)

Thanks for reading! It’s been fun!

*****************

and before I go, I just wanted to share that this was my favorite post that I was a part of.