http://www.madcitygirl.com Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:17 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last Saturday morning, my friends Karen, Emily, and I road tripped to Stevens Point (about 2 hours north of Madison) for the Point Bock Run. It's a 5-mile road race that takes place at the Stevens Point Brewery every year in early March. I've done the race several times and it's ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/03/point-bock-run-2010/ I'm pretty sure I consumed my body weight in chocolate last Saturday night. My friend Julie and I (along with our very intoxicated friend Kurt), attended a wine and chocolate tasting event at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. It was definitely my kind of event---$25 all-you-can eat/drink. And you know ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/03/indulgence-wine-chocolate/ Over the last few years, compression socks have gained immense popularity among runners and triathletes. It took me a while to decipher the phenomenon. When I first saw several athletes sporting knee-high socks at Ironman Wisconsin two years ago, I thought it was just a strange and unfortunate fashion statement. Eventually, I ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/03/hot-pink-compression/ [gallery] Sometimes you stumble upon a great recipe when you least expect it. This was one of those times. A few weeks ago, I came across a recipe for Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies on the back of an 8 oz. bag of Heath English Toffee Bits. At the time, I ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/03/heath-bits-peanut-butter-cookies/ I had another fantastic weekend enjoying the great outdoors and warm comforts of winter. I kicked off the weekend by meeting my friends Paul and Meghan at the Nordic Trail, located in the heart of the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest (just east of of Whitewater). The ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/03/kettle-morraine-nordic-trail/ I'm always a big fan of the recipes featured in the Real Simple magazine. They're great for the perfect mid-week dinner---quick and easy, but still unique and tasty. I just received the March issue in the mail last week and particularly enjoyed the feature entitled "Put Down the Knife: save ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/02/asian-dumpling-soup-with-shiitakes-and-edamame/ With falling snowflakes, sunny skies, and a thick coat of snow covering the landscape, this past weekend was one of those idyllic Wisconsin winter weekends that people in warmer climates sometimes fantasize about. It all made for a perfect setting for two of my favorite annual Madison winter traditions. The ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/02/winter-wonderland-weekend/ Fromagination is a specialty market on the capitol square that sells artisanal cheeses and "perfect companions." A stroll though the quaint, yet perfectly merchandised store, yields an other-worldly experience---with all the charm of old-world Wisconsin and the culinary luxuries of modern times. Certainly the focus of the store is the ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/02/fromagination-fondue-lunch/ Yes, I know. It's taken me an eternity to write this post. Or two weeks. But it feels like an eternity. So like I said earlier, Jill and Ryan hosted the February edition of our Iron Chef dinner series two Fridays ago. Peanuts were the "secret ingredient"---although I'll let you ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/02/iron-chef-peanut-recap/ The addition of toffee and dried cherries in this recipe for chocolate cookies is what initially drew me in. I found this one in a cookbook my brother gave me for Christmas---In the Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker's Companion, by Regan Daley. Ever since I baked up a batch ... http://www.madcitygirl.com/2010/02/chocolate-fudge-cookies-with-toffee-and-dried-cherries/