A Run And A Review

Guess who laced up her sneakers and when for her first real run since the half marathon?

3.03 miles in 29:50, averaging a 9:50 mile.  Weeeeeee!  Here's my breakdown ...

Mile 1 - 9:24
Mile 2 - 10:13
Mile 3 - 9:57
3.00 - 3.03 - 0:15 (8:03/mile)

It felt so good to run again!  I've only really run 1.0 mile since my race (maybe a couple more as I was running back and forth between our apartment and the moving truck) so it felt good to just push myself past the mile mark and get into my groove.

Also - it was 27 degrees out.  I am serious when I say I am a cold weather runner.  I just feel so free when I run in the cold.  I do need to get some more cold weather running clothes, though.  I made due with Bruce's cycling tights and lots of layers, but I need my own stuff!  Does anybody have any good suggestions?  I just read a post by Jamie about cold weather running gear, so I'm going to check some of that stuff out.

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So let's get back to this post.  The fine folks over at CSN were kind enough to send me this wok to review in our kitchen.  I really appreciate them being patient with me as we moved and I had to hold off on the review for a little bit.

Here she is in all her beauty!

Before the wok could be used, we needed to treat the stainless steel to remove a factory coating that protects the wok during shipping.

 

To do this you start by putting one tablespoon of oil in the wok and slowly heat the oil on medium-high heat.

When the oil is heated up (it will spread out across the bottom of the wok), take a paper towel and (CAREFULLY!) wipe the wok clean.

Bruce said that at this point he could feel the film on the wok, so you'll know what you're trying to get rid of.

Then rinse in warm, sudsy water.

Repeat these steps until the paper towel wiping up the oil comes up clean (the one on the left is the last paper towel we used, the one on the right was from the time before).  I think we did this about four times (it doesn't take long, I promise!) to get all of the coating off.  It's okay if you get some burn marks on the bottom of the pan - they'll come off.

Well worth the wait!

We did this in the morning and by the time I got back from my run I was ready to put it to work!

I couldn't think of a better first meal to prepare in my new wok than a huge serving of fried rice!

I kept this batch vegetarian and simple, just using a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and two eggs.

This batch was delicious - I think I am FINALLY starting to get the hang of fried rice!

Even Bruce said that this batch turned out really nicely and I was starting to get a hang of the flavors.  Next time I make it, I'll take some pictures and post my recipe and process, I promise!

All in all, I really like this wok.  I didn't realize I would need to treat the stainless steel, but I appreciate the fact that they want to protect the product during processing and shipping.  And we cook with a lot of cast iron that needs to be pre-treated, so it wasn't that much of an inconvenience for us.  And I love the spatula, chopsticks and ladle that come with this particular set.  The fit in nicely in my kitchen.

Thanks again to CSN for gifting me with this beautiful new kitchen tool! 

p.s. Thanks to those of you who have sent me meatloaf recipes after this post.  My mouth literally waters every time I read your recipes.  I can't wait to to try them!  Keep 'em coming!

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Now for some legal chatter: I was contacted by CSN to do a review of one of their products and was given this product free of charge. However - the opinions I expressed in this post were completely my own.  Over and out.  Amen.