The Spring Weekend In Review

First, It is nice outside!   That is pretty much all there is to say.  I believe is hit over 50 today and Cheryl even ran in short…briefly.  You see..yesterday was our Long Run so today we are meant to take it easy.   However, when you set yourself up for a routine, it is difficult to break… .Even if the rest day is meant to be part of the routine!   
So,  I have been having trouble with my bike…namely the handlebars….and replaced them today.   I needed an excuse to test them out, and Cheryl has an Idea to snap pictures of her while she was running.   Mostly to see how her form works out.   With the weather so nice, I’m sure she was looking for an excuse to be outside as well. 
But besides all that,  I guess the only other thing to note is the beer and waffles.   Waffles?
Cheryl has been inching to eat waffles ( or French Toast) ever since the waffle house.   We have a wonderful waffle iron here at home, but as a RULE:  Never let Cheryl make the batter!
There are things that normal recipes do not tell you.   Like,   make the batter slightly runny….add vanilla, add some sugar!   All of these to TASTE.    Meaning…if you do not taste it in the batter…you need to add a little more.  Now I’m one to never really follow a recipe….I always add the LOVE that makes me more of an artist and less of a scientist.  But Cheryl believes in the science of baking…and that should follow over to the art of cooking.  That might look right on paper….but in practice, they are worlds apart.
So we made the waffles.   A Little out of practice, but they turned out pretty good.   Cheryl’s Idea was that the topping would add the flavor and the waffle was a blank, bland, platter for the flavors to sit upon.   Namely, the waffle did not need to actually taste “good” ,  just not taste “bad”.  
And so it happened.    The batter was thick….failed to run into the cracks and crevasse of the waffle iron properly.     Thus causing it to rise like bread instead of a pancake.    The Waffle was bland.    How Bland?    Think IHOP bland.    ( Remember our ill fated IHOP expedition?)   With no flavor in the waffle ( even a LITTLE vanilla would have been helpful) the strawberries had to pull ALL of the weight.   And without Whipped cream or Cream Cheese…..it lacked the blending of creamy sweet tart that strawberry waffles are known for.  
Not that I was much better.   I tried to salvage the batter by adding a little more milk….but forgot to add the vanilla…and sugar.   I really should have added the sugar.   But Cheryl wanted to follow the recipe and not have me mess things up.  ( I always add calories!)   Then while cooking mine…I forgot to add my almonds.    So…you see…I have little room to talk.      Besides that,   Cooking usually requires a trial run before perfection is achieved anyway.  That is usually why it is called “ Adventures in the Kitchen…with Cheryl And Ethan. “   At least we do not hurt ourselves or burn the apartment down.
Other than that…..Beer!   The Beer test subject this week was a hoppy Japanese Green Tea Beer.  Most notable was the hops.   It was hoppy.   But not happy.    I can’t even remember what was special about it.   It did not taste like green tea.   I’m not even sure what the name even suggests.   It was nice and drinkable…but I’ll stick with my Honey Brown.

hopefully everyone is having a great week so far…and if you are in Iowa….Hope you are Enjoying the weather as much as we are.   I’m looking forward to running/biking this week as it is meant to get into the 60’s   We shall see!