AfricanKelli

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Call me a sucker, but lookie what I just bought:

May I present, Ms. Olive Oil. Aptly named because she is a mean, green, healthy machine. We’ll just call her Olive for short.
Holy guacamole! Isn’t she lovely? Granted, she’s not a Townie and I’m no longer an Electra wannabe. Alas, I rode the Townie and the fit wasn’t right for my height. For $500, you better get a darn perfect ride. I was about to leave REI empty handed — with my Blackberry ringing off the hook with comments reading, “Buy it!” and me laughing, thinking, “I’m trying!” when the cycling stars aligned.

With complete resolve I wasn’t going to make a foolish purchase, I was headed out the door when out of no where, my Kryptonite entered the picture. A beautiful man appeared, chatted with me about bikes, triathlons and if I’d considered a commuter bike instead? He had gorgeous eyes and I became exceptionally self-conscious all of a sudden that I was standing there in yoga pants and a sweaty t-shirt. Didn’t seem to matter though. The Novarta was really nice. Had I ridden it? Would I like to?
Yes please.
Nearly two hours and a lot of eye lash batting later, Ms. Olive Oil and I were riding home. Oy vey I should have looked at the price tag. Thank goodness he wasn’t selling cars. I’d be driving home in something I really couldn’t afford. Regardless, I’m thrilled with the purchase. She’s perfect for what I need. I’ll be giving her a fair shot tomorrow for the first time — riding to the gym, to work, to a few appointments and then to a dinner date with friends. I’m bound to be sweaty (it’s still August in Phoenix) but most happy hippies are. It’s a title I’m loving more and more these days.
Thanks for your encouragement!

~K

I’ve been dreaming of buying a new bike. I gave Esme away because the fit wasn’t right and after spending weeks of my life on Ruby, I wasn’t willing to ride with a cramped bike. Riding Ruby to work isn’t practical for a dozen reasons, namely clipping in, leaving her downstairs in the bike rack and having to ride her on the street. Sweet Moses, you wouldn’t believe how many people I know who have been hit by cars lately, including one man in front of my running group this week. A car pulled right in front of him and we watched him hit the pavement. Phoenix must be the worst city for cyclists.

So, I haven’t been wishing for just any bike, but a dreamy, pretty, comfortable, stylish ride. Isn’t she glorious? I could ride her on the sidewalk when there isn’t a bike lane and wouldn’t worry as much about losing this investment vs. her older, much more demanding high maintenance sister. She’s also one pricey mama. At $500 after taxes, the basket and lock, it is the equivalent of 12.5 weeks not filling up my car with gas. The inherent frugal monster in me is screaming, “Are you crazy? Go to Target and get yourself a $100 beach cruiser and suck it up.” The realist in me is standing in the corner coolly whispering, “If you don’t love this bike, you aren’t going to ride it. So why bother with some cheap Target bike?” The environmentalist is hugging a tree chanting, “DO IT. You drive less than 15 miles a day. A bike would be a great way to make your carbon emission zero. And the weather is only going to get cooler. Do it!”

What to do. What to do?
~K

A simple cloth napkin turned apron with some stamped initial cards for a new bride. What bride doesn’t want to use her new name? Mrs. Bradley J. Boner, that’s who. I went to college with BJ Boner and I hear through the grapevine he is happily married these days to an awesome girl. But seriously? That’s a crazy married name. Needless to say, this girl got a simple new last name after walking down the aisle. I’m thinking this one will love the paper and domestic love.

These photos don’t have a thing to do with the post. They were floating about on my laptop and I’m too tired to find something more relevant. Today I had to have a tiny lump removed from my side. It had been growing for about 6 months and had recently turned purple and tender. My dermatologist took one look at it pre-Africa trip and her eyes grew wide. She wanted to cut it off immediately. Needless to say, I had other things to accomplish and just got around to getting it removed today.
A couple of shots, a little cut, removal of a gross marble-sized “fatty tumor” and a stitch later I was on my way home. Thankfully, I had a great friend there to hold my hand. I could have driven myself, but am thankful I didn’t have to. Have I mentioned this week how blessed I am by good friends? I would be lost without my circle of girlfriends and this is yet another ode to them. (Could be the anesthesia, but I am feeling more sentimental than usual.) Rebs not only took the afternoon off to transport me, but talked about pop gossip during the procedure to keep my mind off of the scalpel and the such and then took me out for frozen yogurt afterward. Simply put — true friendship. And to keep me humble, she did let me know that my mini-lipo procedure would be the source of humor after the stitch came out. We laughed so hard at my new form of weight loss, I was crying in the car.
Some girls do pilates. I do fatty tumors.

~K

The first jars of renewal project requires a bit of time to prepare — hence its place in the lineup. The December 2007 issue of Sunset magazine featured a myriad of ideas on what to do with all those lemons us living in the southwestern US would soon be seeing. Sure enough, John’s tree was brimming. With a rosemary limoncello recipe in hand, I harvested dozens of lemons. I had to laugh out loud when later in the year he mentioned he thought the tree was sick because it didn’t produce as much fruit this year. I reassured him that in fact it produced more than ever. I was, um, just using them.
Hey! He’s a bachelor. It’s not like he was sort for a lemon meringue pie. Plus, I’m thinking he’d love what I turned those golden babies into.

Rosemary Limoncello
“Italy’s Amalfi Coast and adjoining Sorrento Peninsula are the regions most famous for this intensely lemony liqueur, traditionally served ice cold as an after-dinner drink.”

Prep and cook time: About 1 1/2 hours, plus at least 2 weeks and up to 80 days of infusing time.
Makes: 10 2/3 cups (ten 8.5 ounce bottles)

Notes: Either Meyer or Eureka lemons work in this recipe. To speed up the process, shorten the infusing time in steps 2 and 4 to 1 week each, and you’ll have a fine although less intense liqueur. Limoncello keeps indefinitely in the freezer.

Ingredients:
18 lemons, washed and dried
One 4-inch rosemary sprig, washed and dried
2 bottles (750 ml each) 100-proof vodka
4 1/2 cups of sugar

Peel lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, taking only the zest and avoiding any white pith. Put rosemary in a 1 gal glass or ceramic container with a tight seal. Add zest to jar. Pour 750 ml of vodka over rosemary and zest. Seal container. Let sit undisturbed in a cool, dark place for 40 days. (This is a great time to go to Africa, for example.) In a saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add sugar. Cook, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Leg sugar syrup cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour syrup and remaining 750 ml of vodka over lemon-vodka mixture. Stir and seal. Let sit in a cool, dark place for another 40 days.
Pour limoncello through cheesecloth into a large spouted pitcher and divide among gift bottles.

That’s Sunset’s way. My way includes using what you have — two sprigs of rosemary, a giant tupperware container for the mixing and leaving the lemons in the bottles at the end because I think they are pretty and add character. Oh, and I tried peeling them and it was a disaster including skinned knuckles. So the rind stayed on most of these suckers.

To fill and then jazz up the bottles, you’ll need a couple supplies:
Several wide-mouth jars with tight lids, tongs, a funnel, a ladle, fabric, cards, ribbon, pinking shears and rubber bands.

Voila — fancied up moonshine ready to go in recycled jars. If lemons aren’t in your pantry at the moment, I’m thinking this would also be great with oranges or even Mexican-style with limes. Spicy! If you try it out, let me know. I’d love to hear how you play with the recipe.

Official jar count: 7

~K

I’m working all weekend at a leadership retreat and spent much of the last week preparing for this event. With a dozen other young leaders from Tempe, we’ll spend the next two days focused on how to best work together to improve the well-being of Arizona’s refugee community. And of course, we’ll eat. My mom’s arroz con pollo recipe beat out the week’s plan of cooking ginger-stuffed chicken breasts. I did, however, bake the vegan chocolate cake as planned. I’d show you a photograph, but then you’d see the missing corner. Not sure where that corner went but I’m thinking it may be in my belly.

The icing on the cake of this weekend, so to speak, is my dad will be here for dinner on Sunday. It has been so long since I’ve seen my papi and I cannot wait to sit down for dinner with him and catch up. Yay!

~K

* Recipe:
Karel’s Arroz con Pollo:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken, skinned
1/2 cup drained Italian canned tomatoes
3 ounces uncooked long grain rice
1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 1/2 tablespoons capers
1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 cups of water
1/4 tablespoon oregano
Pepper to taste
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt

Directions:
Combine vinegar, garlic, oregano and pepper in a small measuring cup. Brush mixture over chicken and place in a sealed container in the fridge for at least one hour. Over night is even better.

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat, add chicken and cook turning occasionally until brown (6-8 minutes). Remove chicken and set aside on a place. To same pan, add tomatoes, onion and bell pepper. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until onions are softened (5-7 minutes). Add water, rice, olives, capers, cilantro, broth mixture, salt and 1/4 tablespoon of pepper. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and return chicken to pan. Cover and let simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (25-30 minutes). Makes 2 services, or if you use 1 cup of rice, 4 servings.)