Making hot sauce-Sriracha is up 1st!

Sriracha is easily one of my favorite sauces, with a good amount of heat and garlic it works on a lot of different things.  To get started making the sauce, Thai chilis came to mind first. However, after tasting Sriracha and over and over trying to decipher which pepper to use, I decided that for my first attempt I will be making it with red Jalapenos or red Fresnos.

Ingredients:

1 lb red Jalapenos or Fresnos (I used Fresnos because it was all I could find)
1 red Bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 T. brown sugar
2  tsp salt
4 T. white vinegar

Puree all but the vinegar in a food processor until smooth and scrape into a clean quart sized glass jar. Make sure the rim of the jar is wiped clean, cover with cheese cloth or a paper towel, and secure with a rubber band to keep bugs and dust out.  Store in a cool dark place for 4-7 days or until you like the taste of it.  Check it everyday to make sure everything is ok; nothing furry should be growing but if it is remove the fur (bad stuff) and the rest should be ok:>  When you like the taste place in a sauce pan on medium heat with vinegar and bring to a boil.  I wanted a smoother consistency so I used a immersion blender.  Strain the mixture and reserve the strained liquid because it is essentially Tabasco.  This will last indefinitely and the Sriracha mixture refrigerated should last for 4-5 months.

* I will try this with a little more of the peppers (and different peppers some time) next time for some added heat but overall I liked the outcome. 

 I did write on my book this month.  I laid out chapters and went between them as ideas came to me; I'm up to 4 pages:>  I am very excited for next months hobby- Bitters!!

Running revelation and more Parkour

I have not run outside in several months but it seems with all the sun we get here in Denver there are many chances through our "winter" to do it.  Recently I ran outside with Scout (my dog) and had an outstanding run physically and Scout was off the leash for most of it, so that was cool.  In addition, I had an epiphany to write a book!  I have always wanted to feel I could write a book but never really had an idea to what to write about.  What I decided was to write about is, what makes me happy.  A lot of what I believe help motivate this decision to start is 30day1hobby@blogger.com.  Exercise often gets my mind in the right mode for ideas etc. but particularly my runs outside through City Park gets my mind boiling.  This particular run made something click in my brain that seems
 to be very positive so far; I'll keep you posted on my mind and the book thing.

Seven classes now in Parkour and it is starting to be more fun.  It continues to amaze me that Apex Movement has developed a curriculum around Free-running (Parkour).  A lot of the stuff they are teaching me I already knew a bit about but learning how to execute it by building on steps works very well.  It also helps to connect the different movements together.  My instructor Hefe aka Jeffrey Strening is very knowledgeable and is also very funny; I enjoyed working with him.  In addition to Hefe; there are always other instructors or soon to be instructors that are willing to help you out. Overall I would recommend Parkour to anyone who is looking for a different kind of workout or would like to try out for American Ninja Warrior.

I missed my last class so I was allowed to pick a class of my choice: so I picked free-running!  Free-running encompasses everything we learned in intro to parkour and a whole lot of other stuff.  My class was on the Super Bowl so a 2 pm class resulted in me being the only attendee.  My teacher was a very experienced gentlemen by the name of Christian.  He asked what my experience was in flipping and I replied that I had none expect a little at 12 years of age on a diving board.  Having very little experience I was very nervous but at the same time felt comfortable with Christian leading me. I began by jumping front flips (mine) into a foam pit and after many jumps progressed into a pad.  It comes down to learning the mechanics of the movement and being able to perform it correctly.

I am going to take a break from parkour for a bit so my next hobby will be Hot Sauce (to include Sriracha!!)  I will update on this as well as my book.

Parkour (American Ninja Warrior)

Parkour-the activity or sport of moving rapidly through a course, obstacles by running, jumping and climbing.  My decision to try Parkour was fueled by watching The American Ninja Warrior which aired a marathon during the holidays.  I searched Parkour in Denver and Apex Movement came up first and happens to be America's largest education organization for Parkour.  I researched what they offered and decided to do the adult introduction to Parkour class ($145) which meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 4 weeks.  The membership includes unlimited visits during the month.

I walked into my first class with my own ideas of what to expect.  It was a very relaxed atmosphere with many people (instructors and students) hanging around the front desk.  We began class with stretching and our instructor's and our own introductions.  This first classes topic was quadrupedal movement (QM) which is using all four limbs to move; the way we all started to move in the beginning of our lives.  After a lot of QM we moved into learning how to land from a jump or an elevated spot quietly on the balls of our feet.  The class ended with 12 minutes of a cross-fit style workout which involved box jumps onto and off and hip lifts with weight.  We stretched as a group to cool down.

My second class started with a new instructor introduction that just received his certification.  We had the bonus of a second instructor (I suppose to help out the new guy) for the duration of this class. Both instructors from this class and last class were great; very knowledgeable and funny!  The focus of this night was the Parkour roll (courtesy of Ryan Doyle) which has roots in martial arts.  We combined QM from our first class with the Parkour roll for some interesting combinations.  The class ended with eight minutes of three pull-ups, five bur-pees, five wall squats and five scapula wall slides.  A few of us hung out to stretch out and cool down.   My goal for the month will be to attend two classes the first week (I did:>) three the second week four the third week and finish with five visits the fourth week.

I will continue to update especially as the classes and new movements become more difficult!