I was in the midst of (inadequately) preparing for this year's Broad Street Run, when I realized that I really needed to get my butt in gear for a 10 mile race that was less than three weeks away. Lucky for me, my good buddy Rachel also had the same epiphany. She suggested running to a meeting place and then trekking the bridge together.
You would think that with our combined degrees (in all- two undergraduate, one law, one post-bac program, three-quarters of medical school, and one-quarter of a tax LL.M.), we would easily find each other on a planned course. This was simply not the case as clearly documented by this crazypants route:
That part where I turn west on Race street should only last about 2.5 blocks, not 2.5 miles...
Despite our initial ineptitude, we eventually met each other on the New Jersey side of the bridge and were able to run back to the better side of it together.
If you're a runner (or a walker) and you happen to be in Philadelphia, I highly suggest that you give running (or walking) the bridge a try. Sure, the trail on Kelly Drive has beautiful scenery along the Schuylkill river, but the bridge has unmatched views of the Philadelphia skyline. Plus, if you're looking for a challenge, half of the BF Bridge in either direction is a long uphill stretch. A lonnnnnnnnnnngggggg uphill stretch.
On a somewhat related note, I will (hopefully) complete #18: Run a Marathon on November 18. I'm nervous, and scared, and feel like I'm going to throw up every time I think about it, but mostly I'm excited. Training officially starts on July 30, and I'll no doubt find myself running the Ben Franklin multiple times to help prepare for the 26.2 mile race this fall. Maybe I'll see you on the bridge!
7.11.2012
7.10.2012
Harry Potter Movie Marathon
Dear Applicant:
We are pleased to inform you that
you have been accepted as a visiting student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry.
Your accelerated course, “Muggle
Fiction/Wizarding Fact: A Cinematic Review of Modern Magical History as
Recounted by Non-Wizards,” will be held on March 30 and 31 at our newly
commissioned satellite campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
A course viewing schedule and additional
information is enclosed for your reference. While partial credit may be
awarded, attendance for the entirety of the course is strongly encouraged.
We await your e-owl by no
later than March 23.
Yours sincerely,
Brett W. Murphy
Adjunct Professor, Muggle Studies
Harry Potter Movie Marathon Weekend was AMAZING. I don't care if y'all judge me for having a whole weekend dedicated to watching "children's" movies. 1) You're an idiot if you think the HP series is only for kids, and b) Haters gonna hate.
Invitees received their official acceptance into the course via
Chocolate Frogs
Pumpkin Juice
Pumpkin Juice
Lemon Drops
Knickerbocker Glory
Mini Meat Pies à la Slughorn's Slug Club
Pumpkin Pasties
and of course...
BUTTERBEER!
Everything was pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself. And although I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, it was well worth it (besides, when your kitchen is basically the same room as your living room, you don't miss out on much). I loved hosting such close friends for an unsurpassed Harry Potter experience. Now I just have to figure out what to do with my chocolate frog mold... in the meantime, who's up for another round of butterbeer?
5.22.2012
Claire and Ian, aka the cutest children in the WORLD...
...except when one of them throws up on you.
And now that I've admitted that you did this, Ian, I must also apologize to future-you. So, Future-Ian, I am sorry that I have forever recorded your upchuck onto the vast permanent record of the Internet. Hopefully by the time you are old enough to have my action affect you, the world wide web will have gone the way of the 8-track and the VCR. Either way, I don't hold any grudge against you, even though it really smelled rather horrible.
Despite the heretofore referenced incident, the night went off rather well. Jake and I gave Erin and Michael a gift certificate to a nearby favorite restaurant with an (unsolicited) offer to watch the kids while they enjoyed their meal. Claire made Jake and I a delicious pizza, Jake and Claire watched Cinderella, and I read Ian a few bedtime stories before putting him to bed.
I'm greatly looking forward to at least four more babysitting experiences (hopefully sans puke)!
Seriously though, how could you not love these two:
And now that I've admitted that you did this, Ian, I must also apologize to future-you. So, Future-Ian, I am sorry that I have forever recorded your upchuck onto the vast permanent record of the Internet. Hopefully by the time you are old enough to have my action affect you, the world wide web will have gone the way of the 8-track and the VCR. Either way, I don't hold any grudge against you, even though it really smelled rather horrible.
Despite the heretofore referenced incident, the night went off rather well. Jake and I gave Erin and Michael a gift certificate to a nearby favorite restaurant with an (unsolicited) offer to watch the kids while they enjoyed their meal. Claire made Jake and I a delicious pizza, Jake and Claire watched Cinderella, and I read Ian a few bedtime stories before putting him to bed.
I'm greatly looking forward to at least four more babysitting experiences (hopefully sans puke)!
Seriously though, how could you not love these two:
4.16.2012
Banana Cream Pie
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| This is the pie from ba.com. Mine did not look nearly this good. |
Peanut Shortbread Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cups unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°. Pulse peanuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Set aside 1/4 cup for garnish. Pulse remaining peanuts until peanut butter forms.
Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat both sugars, peanut butter, and butter until well combined and mixture resembles wet sand, 2–3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until well blended, about 3 minutes (mixture will be clumpy). Gradually add dry ingredients and beat until just combined. DO NOT overbeat or the crust will become tough. Gather dough with your hands, place in prepared 9" pie dish, and press evenly onto bottom and up sides of dish. Bake until edges are deep golden brown, 15–17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. According to BA, this can be done up to 2 days ahead.
Vanilla Pastry Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
In a medium saucepan, slowly bring milk and cream to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add egg yolks; whisk until thick and smooth. Whisking constantly, gradually add milk mixture to yolk mixture. Return to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until very thick. BA said this would take 2-3 minutes. I disagree, as it took my mixture much longer. BE SURE it is very thick or it will never set correctly and will become runny upon serving as it reaches room temperature.
Transfer to a blender with butter and vanilla. Purée just until smooth, a/k/a NOT THAT LONG. Transfer to a medium bowl; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream. Chill until set, at least 3 hours. According to BA, this also can be done up to 2 days ahead. I would recommend doing this step the evening before to ensure that it sets fully, while giving you plenty of time to whip up a new one if it does not.
Assembly
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ripe banana
Using an electric mixer or whisk, beat 1/2 cup cream and powdered sugar until medium-stiff peaks form. Cover and chill.
Stir sugar, 1 tablespoon bourbon, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon water in a medium deep saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat, bring to a boil without stirring, and cook, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until sugar is deep amber in color, 6–8 minutes. Remove caramel from heat; whisk in remaining 1/4 cup cream, butter, and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Let cool for 5 minutes; whisk in remaining 1/2 Tbsp. bourbon and vanilla. Let bourbon caramel come to room temperature before serving. You can do this step hours before you need to serve it.
Spread 1/4 cup vanilla pastry cream evenly over bottom of peanut crust. Slice bananas into 1/4"-thick rounds. Layer half of the bananas over pastry cream. Top with 1 1/2 cups pastry cream. Arrange remaining bananas over; top bananas with remaining pastry cream. Garnish with whipped cream and reserved ground peanuts. Serve with bourbon caramel.
Devour.
3.05.2012
Running the trails in Ridley Creek

We took to the white trail, a 3.9 mile loop through a large part of the park. I've been doing most of my trail running in Wissahickon lately, and although I love it, it had not prepared me for all the hills of Ridley Creek. It was a fun, but exhausting run... for me at least. Riley seemed to bounce her way up and down the trail, stopping frequently to turn back, tongue wagging, with an expression that could only mean "COME ON!"
This is the first park I've visited as part of #35: Visit all the state and federal parks in Philadelphia and its countryside. I added this task to my list for two reasons: 1) I love spending time outdoors - hiking, camping, canoeing, etc. - and found myself always saying that I wanted to do more of the aforesaid activities; and 2) Pennsylvania really is a beautiful state and has done a pretty darn good job preserving some of the commonwealth's natural beauty. Ridley Creek is no exception. It's a mere 10 minutes from my hometown, and I know I must have gone there a handful of times as a boyscout or with my family, but I didn't realize how beautiful the park really is. It has a number of different hiking trails; a paved 5-mile all-purpose path for biking, walking, and running; a trail for horseback riding; a gorgeous mansion that can be rented out for events, weddings, and parties; a colonial plantation for all you history nerds out there; and horse stables, which offer a number of really cool services. I'm sort of ashamed that I didn't take advantage of the park more frequently when I was living so close to it!
I've finally compiled the full list of parks I need to visit. As far as federal parks go, there are a number of things that classify as a park: historic sites, battlefields, national memorials, etc. Given my goal of getting outdoors, I'm using the term as I originally stated to mean either "national park" or "national historic park," which leaves me with two federal sites to visit in the Philly area.
There are 15 state and federal parks in all, and to be completely honest, I'm more than excited to visit each of them.
Philadelphia County
Benjamin Rush State Park
Independence National Historic Park
Bucks County
Delaware Canal State Park
Neshaminy State Park
Nockamixon State Park
Ralph Stover State Park
Tyler State Park
Chester County
French Creek State Park
Marsh Creek State Park
White Clay Creek Preserve
Delaware County
Ridley Creek State Park
Montgomery County
Evansburg State Park
Fort Washington State Park
Norristown Farm Park
Valley Forge National Historic Park
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