What's happenin' - Jennifer Reid

Obviously from my last post, you can probably tell that a whole lot has been happening in the Reid household since we got back from our dream holiday.

In case you missed it, I announced here that I’ve committed to participating in a marathon next year, to raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation! Yes, a 42 kilometre marathon!

What was that? You think I’m crazy? Well, I must admit I’ve had days when I’ve thought the same thing. “Am I crazy??”

To be honest, when you’re busy training for a 42 km marathon, you don’t have too much time for negative thoughts. All my energy needs to be focused on staying positive and staying in the “zone”! I’ve been reading a book on marathon running, which has been very informative, but the thing is, I’m not going to be running because of my ankle and back injury. I’ll actually be walking. But the principle and main aim remains the same – to cross that finish line for a cause I believe in, and to prove to myself that I can do it!

I find it quite amazing that God has created the human body in such a way that it can go from this…

Me around my 40th Birthday in November 2009

to this…

Me with my beloved husband on my 42nd Birthday picnic celebration – Cockatoo Island, 5th November 2011

God has certainly brought me such a long way. And for me to be even considering participating in a marathon – well, all I can say is that I’m grateful beyond words!

So for the next few months, leading up to the marathon in April 2012, I hope you won’t get tired of my constant chatter about the marathon, training, kilometres walked, how my fitness develops – because basically, that’s the sort of thing that will be constantly on my mind. Of course, I’ll probably share stuff about what’s going on with my family at times too – after all, they come first before anything else, so the challenge will be to make sure they always know that!

To prove that they won’t be neglected because of all this marathon talk, I thought I’d do some baking before they all arrived home this afternoon. I haven’t really been doing a lot of baking since our holiday, so I think it’s time I get back into the swing of things!

You probably know from my last post too, that it’s not just any old marathon that I’m doing…it’s the Marathon de Paris! Which means you’ll be hearing a few things about gay Paree and all things French-related along the way. You may recall from back here when I shared paintings my daughter and I had done during my days of chemotherapy, that Paris was another dream holiday destination on my list. Painting was something we could do to spend quality time together, and I also found it very therapeutic. We chose a Paris theme for our subject that day…

A street in Paris by me!

The Eiffel Tower by Jas!

I wrote that “I put up my watercolour painting of a street in Paris, one of my dream holiday destinations”. I reckon God hears those whispers and desires of the heart. Back when I mentioned that it was a dream of mine to go to Paris, I probably didn’t really believe that it was going to actually happen. Not so soon anyway. But it’s official…I’ll finally see Paris in April!! A perfect example of God hearing my whisper!

Now, what better way to build the excitement than to do some French cooking. A couple of weeks ago, before I even had any inkling of my impending trip to Paris, I received this cookbook from the lovely people at Pepr Publicity and Phaidon Press….

French baking sounds so posh and complicated, but I absolutely love how simple the recipes are in this ccokbook by Ginette Mathiot, who is apparently France’s favourite cookbook author. I baked a batch of Almond Crescents and my family loved them. They said they were crunchy and delicious…

I’ve now discovered I love “French baking” and plan to do a lot more of it over the coming months. Oooh, I can’t wait to get to Paris to eat all of those yummy French pastries and baguettes in one of those beautiful little French cafes you see in the movies!

Pepr Publicity’s generosity didn’t end there though…I also got an invitation to attend a blogger only family meal dinner event from the book, The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria. Adria is considered one of the best chefs in the world, and his new cookbook was launched on the night at Kika Tapas Restaurant in Darlinghurst. I couldn’t make it, much to my dismay, but I sent along my gorgeous niece Renee to report back. She also brought back a copy of the cookbook for me which was given out on the night. I can’t wait to use it – it’s an awesome design, in which pictures are shown for every step of the recipe, rather than just describing the method in words.

Ren’s report…

Hey Aunty Jen,

I chose Menu 1 and it was a bonus that the whole thing on that menu was gluten free as I suffer from coeliac disease. So I didn’t have to worry about each dish that came out.

I took photos of some of the dishes, plus a photo of the chef when he came out to talk to us, which we really enjoyed! It was great hearing about how he prepared and cooked our dishes! It was a nice touch to the whole experience.

Lime marinated fish

Not really a fan of raw fish but this had a certain tang and flavor to it that made it very eatable. The raw onion added texture and a new dimension to the fish. It was fresh and the surge of flavors made you feel like you just jumped into a cold pool on a hot day, with the random sea salt adding a new dimension to every mouthful. It was complimented by the lime which acted so like lemon but yet so different to create a real uniqueness.

Osso Bucco

Tender off the bone. The bone marrow was amazingly tender and had a meat fat mashed potato type consistency to it, which added a beautiful succulent flavor to the meat.

Piña colata

Refreshing like puréed pear. Eating it made me feel like it was time for a holiday, not quite like the drink but more like its cousin with a thicker consistency.

Bread with chocolate and olive oil

Perfect combo of salty and sweet.

Thanks for the invite. It was a great night! Love ya xx

Thanks for your report Ren! Sounds like I missed out on a great night…C’est la vie! (French for “such is life”!)

Jennifer xo

P.S. Please check out my website and My Road to Paris Fundraising Page to help me get to Paris and to raise $10,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation!