I just love a good cookie swap! Not only does it allow you to get together with your favorite people, but you reap the rewards, but not the pain of hours of baking and walk away with all sorts of different cookies that you may or may not have attempted on your own. It’s been a few years since my last cookie swap, but I still remember the joy of multiple mixers humming and flour flying as five of us scurried around the kitchen making cookies.

You can do a cookie swap a few different ways, but here are my basic tips for a successful shindig.

1. Make a game plan:Decide if you want to do pure cookie swapping or if you want to do some cookie swapping and some cookie baking. I prefer the latter, but that’s just me.
   • Pure Cookie Swap: Decide how many cookies you want each person to bring for swapping. Traditionally, you would ask each person to bring a dozen cookies per guest. If you’re having a big group, you may want to cut that back to a half dozen.
   • Cookie Swap/Baking Party: Decide how many cookies you want to make at the party and how many you want people to bring ahead of time. Realistically, you probably have time to bake 2 or 3 types of cookies as a group. Ask people to bring a half dozen for each guest and everyone should walk away with plenty of cookies.
2. Pick a date: It’s the beginning of December, so it’s definitely not too late to plan a cookie swap, but folks are busy, so getting a date on the calendar is something you should do as soon as possible. If you’re finding it hard to get everyone to commit to a date, maybe doing a pure cookie swap is the way to go- that way everyone can bake what they want and only get together for a short time to swap cookies.
3. Invite people: While getting a bunch of different cookies is the goal, you also don’t want to burden your guests with baking 12 dozen cookies ahead of time. Pick a reasonable number to invite- I’d recommend 4-7 people. In your invitation, include a few simple cookie recipes or resources in case your guests need inspiration.
4. Talk to your guests about food allergies/restrictions:Check to find out of any food allergies or dietary restrictions. This is important- if you have a person with a nut allergy, you most definitely don’t want half your guests showing up with cookies that have walnuts. If you have someone on a gluten free diet, you may want to make a game plan with that person specifically. There is no reason they can’t join in the fun, but planning ahead will make sure everyone has a good time and no one gets sick.
   • If you are trying to plan a full gluten-free or allergen-free cookie swap, be sure to communicate the importance of preventing cross contamination and give them ideas for what to bring if they are not sure what to make.
   • If there is anyone on your list with a food allergy- ask the other guests to label the cookies with any allergens that might be present.
5. Party Preparation:
   • If you will be baking, make sure to have extra aprons, measuring cups, butter, flour, eggs and other essentials on hand.
   • Make sure to have extra containers, baggies, aluminum foil, etc. on hand for packaging up any cookies that you bake or need to be split up still.
   • If you’re doing a pure cookie swap- have some holiday paper plates or containers available. You could take advantage of everyone being together to make up gift plates together. Put 2 to 3 of each cookie on a plate, wrap with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and a bow. Now, not only have you saved yourself hours of baking, but you walk away with ready-to-go gifts. Tuck in the freezer until you’re ready to distribute. These make great gifts for teachers, hair dressers, mailmen, and party hosts.
   • Have extra recipe cards on hand in case folks want to swap recipes (not a bad idea to make sure everyone brings a copy of their recipe to include with their cookie contribution).
   • Serve light refreshments and beverages that will keep your guests from needing to break into those cookies.
6. Finally, Have fun! The holiday season is stressful enough without making extra stress for yourself. The point of the cookie swap is to share quality time with your friends and loved ones, save time in the kitchen and walk away with an assortment of cookies.

Simple cookie recipes:

• Old Fashioned Gingerbread Men (or ladies, or trees… )
• Crispy Ginger Cookies
• Strawberry (or any flavor) Thumbprint Cookies
• Basic Peanut Butter Cookies
• Chewy Sugar Cookies
• Holiday Cut-out Cookies
• Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

If you ask me there is no more fun version of bike racing to watch than cyclocross.  Road racing is great if you’re an aficionado or have a really long time to sit in front of the television.  But cross?  Cross is pure magic bike racing fun.  And most likely it’s happening in a park near you all fall long.

What do you need to have a super duper spectator experience?

Boots.  Splendid, warm boots to keep your toes toasty when you are stomping around in the mud and rain.  The cyclocross boot of choice is the Wellington.  Nice tall waterproof rubber boots.  Pick em in traditional hunter green for a classic look or something a bit more colorful if you’re looking to make a statement.  When it’s truly cold and wet look for chemical warmers to put in your wellie’s first.  The racers may be mud-covered and hypothermic but your feet will be nice and warm!  Boots should be worn with a puffy jacket, wool socks and preferably something waterproof.  A hat with a frog on it is always the right accessory.

Cowbell. Cross is about noise. Clanging cowbells to encourage riders up slippery run-ups.  Cowbell to encourage riders up off the ground when they tumble in the mud.  If playing in the mud makes us all feel like kids again then making a ton of noise just adds to the fun.   And of course more cowbell…well just because we all need more cowbell. (Watch how much these cows love their cowbell.)

Quality taunts and heckles.   One of the most fun ways to watch cross is to stake out your territory on the course – preferably at a run up or barrier section and watch the action lap after lap.  After a lap or two you’ll recognize the riders and it’s important to taunt them for encouragement.  See a rider with longish hair ripping the legs off the field?  Perhaps start a chant of HIGLANDER every time he comes through.  Believe me, it helps!

A STANLEY Vacuum bottle / mug.   They’re awesome.  You can take your Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut oats and put them in your trusty STANLEY with hot water the night before the race and voila!  in the morning oats are ready.  Take ‘em on the go and you’ve got a hot breakfast to keep you warm at the races and you’ll be there on time.   Once the oatmeal is done, rinse that bad boy out, fill it with hot coffee and you’ve got hot beverages all day until you are ready to….

…Switch to Beer.  Beer is an essential element of the cross spectator experience.  And no crappy light beers allowed.  Cross is Belgian in tradition – and those Belgians do NOT drink Michelob Ultra.  Find yourself  your favorite tasty Belgian quaff and enjoy.  Just make sure you shut it down in time to get yourself home responsibly.  No wonder this is the most fun type of cycling to watch.

So now you’re armed.  Your belly is full of oats, your feet are warm, you’ve had a few beers and your pity taunts and heckles are at the ready.  You’ve staked out the action during the amateur racing.  It’s time to watch the pros.   Oh.  They’re faster.  Much faster.  And there is a ton of action to catch.  Time for your workout.  Stake out a spot near the first turn – the holeshot.  Watch the mayhem as the riders fight to make it through the turn first AND upright.  Then it’s time to book it to the first interesting course element.  Barrier section?  Run up?  Sand pits?   Race across the course in time to see the race action come through.  Hang out.  Drink a beer there.  Hear a ton of noise coming from elsewhere ?  Time to head in that direction.

…insert serious race talk here… please, please cross the course in pursuit of exciting race action at the pre-determined official course crossings.   They’re there for your safety and the safety of the people racing.  Nobody wants to get clobbered by a racer who runs them over because they’re crossing the course where they shouldn’t….

Check out the next section and the next.  Watching cross is active, kinetic.  You get to run around and check out all the interesting, fun, technical or tactical sections.  Or at the very least, the sections where people fall down a lot.  Have fun.

Suddenly you’ll hear a bell.   If you’re at one of my races you’ll hear ONE TO GO ONE TO GO ONE TO GO.  Time to head to the finish line.   Cheer like mad and ring your cowbell when the mud covered winner comes down the finishing straight.

So. Much. Fun.

And remember:

I bet you didn’t know that today is National Homemade Bread Day. Who knew homemade bread got its own day? I thought any day you made bread at home would be homemade bread day… Well, it turns out that today, November 17 is the official day to celebrate homemade bread. Instead of limiting our focus to just more bread recipes, we’re going to share some recipes for turning that loaf of delicious homemade bread into stuffing.

Stuffing made our list of intimidating items and my guess is that it’s the actual bread component that causes the stress- after all, stuffing is pretty basic. The principles of a good stuffing are the same whether you use gluten free bread or conventional bread—you want to use day-old, or oven-dried bread, so plan ahead. To really save yourself time, bake a loaf of bread this weekend and let it sit out overnight. Then dice it and freeze it until Wednesday night.

It’s hard to boil down the basics of stuffing when every region of the United States has its own way of doing things. Here are some pretty simple gluten free bread recipes that you can use in the basic gluten free stuffing recipes that follow. Want a truly simply way to make stuffing? Try our Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix- it’s fairly basic and a great place to start your gluten free bread baking education. We also have a great Gluten Free Cornbread Mix, if that’s more your style.

Basic Gluten Free Breads

• Delicious Gluten Free Bread from Gluten Free Goddess
• Gluten Free Multigrain Bread from Gluten Free Girl
• Basic Gluten Free Sourdough Bread from Jean Layton, the Gluten-Free Doctor
• Basic Gluten Free Bread from Celiac Chicks
• Basic Gluten Free Cornbread from Carol Fenster via Bob’s Red Mill

Stuffing Recipes (make sure you use a gluten free broth or make your own to avoid any hidden sources of gluten)

• Homemade Wonderful Stuffing: This recipe uses our Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix as a base, but you could use any gluten free bread in this recipe.
• How to Make the Best Gluten Free Stuffing from Elizabeth Barbone via Serious Eats (great step-by-step guide!)
• Basic Stuffing (Video Guide) from Gluten Free Girl
• Cornbread Stuffing Recipe with Curried Apples and Cranberries from Gluten Free Goddess

As I mentioned in my post about making a good gluten free gravy, one of the keys to finding a recipe that you can trust is finding the common denominators.  What seems to come up over and over again in the recipes? When I first heard about ratios for baking and cooking, I pretty much ignored it- that stuff is for fancy cooks and people who make their own recipes. However, the more I think about it, applying mathematical thinking to recipes is pretty spectacular. Finding rules for what works and doesn’t work is pretty novel when you apply it to converting recipes to be gluten free. While I’m hesitant to take the plunge and buy the book or download the app, I’m definitely fascinated by this idea of rules to follow for successful baking.

Thanks to Gluten Free Canteen and Gluten Free Girl, I found the ratio for pie crust: three parts flour to two parts fat to one part liquid. Does it matter that you’re attempting a gluten free recipe? Not in this case. From everything I have found, a pie crust does not need xanthan or guar gum to be successful. That makes two awesome discoveries in two days! Seems more and more folks cannot tolerate xanthan or guar gum and finding recipes that don’t need one or the other is truly something special around here.

Before we get to the recipes, we’re missing one last piece of the puzzle and that piece is chilled butter and/or chilled water (or milk). If you don’t know why this is so important, let me tell you. Chilled butter is where all of the flakiness comes from in pie crust. As you cut together the flour and butter to make small pea-sized pieces, what you’re doing is creating little fat pockets in your dough. When you cook your crust, the butter melts leaving behind little tiny air pockets… at least, I’m pretty sure that’s what happens. Cold water keeps the butter from melting prematurely.

Finally, if you have a food processor—by all means, USE IT. It will make your life easier and produce pretty darn good results. Even Julia Child moved to using a food processor for pie crusts when she discovered how much easier it was.

Here are some recipes that I found for gluten free pie crust that I would stake my Thanksgiving pie on. And you want to know why? They use the same general rules of thumb as the ratio AND they’re almost all the same. We’re getting closer and closer to the big day,  if you can do a dry run this weekend I recommend it. You can do it! I know you can!

• Gluten Free Canteen: http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2011/06/22/oh-my-pie-crust/
• Gluten Free Girl: http://glutenfreegirl.com/were-having-a-pie-party/
• Simply Gluten-Free: http://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2011/10/perfect-gluten-free-pie-crust-recipe.html (this one does use xanthan gum, but looks pretty good)
• Bob’s Red Mill Easy as Pie Crust (GF): our go-to recipe, which does use xanthan gum and produces lovely results: http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes.php?recipe=1126 (pictured above)

Want to know how to make vegan pie crusts? Check out this great post that we put together last year.

In my humble opinion, gravy is one of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner. I was a bit surprised when  gluten free gravy, was listed as one of the foods that intimidates you the most about Thanksgiving. And a quick internet search will reassure you- you are not alone. It’s been a hot topic online these days and I’ve been on the hunt for some great resources for you guys to help take the worry out of gravy. I will also be sharing some pie crust tips and stuffing how-to’s later in the week, as those were also on the most-intimidating list.

The most fool-proof way to make gravy? Follow a recipe from someone you trust and try it first. If it’s your first time or a dish that freaks you out a bit, there is always someone who has a great recipe and who knows how to avoid the pitfalls. This weekend, try your gravy recipe and make sure it works. If it’s not working, you still have time to find out why.

How do you know if a recipe is good? What I do is look at 4 or 5 recipes for something and find the common ground. In this case- almost all of the gravies I have found that are gluten free use Sweet White Rice Flour.  If you find an outlier, save it for another time. Tried and true methods are the key! Now is not the time to play around, unless you are utterly confident and have a fall back plan.

I’ve gone ahead and done that part for you- each of these recipes would be one that I would make for Thanksgiving dinner. I still urge you to find the time to try it first, no one wants Thanksgiving dinner without gravy… well, almost no one.

Gluten Free Girl has a beautiful video and offers some great insight into making a delicious gluten free gravy. Check it out here: http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-gravy/ In fact, if you click on this link, you get a whole slew of amazing gluten free Thanksgiving recipes complete with main dishes, sides, salads and baked goods.

Elizabeth Barbone via Serious Eats offers very similar advice, an easy recipe and some great tips for converting your gluten free gravy to also be dairy free.

Living in the Midwest, a region that undeniably has 4 very distinct seasons, one is presented with the full spectrum of riding conditions. In the past year I’ve worn ice socks down the back of my jersey for training in July and snowplowed down untouched roads in remote areas in January. Being able to ride, and ride safely in any type of weather condition that Mother Nature can throw at you requires one thing: preparation.  When I say preparation, I mean preparation on every possible level. Today I want to look at what you can do to ensure safety and enjoyment on all of your fall and winter rides during the cyclocross season.

The first thing you’ve got to do is do a little bit of research as to what exactly you’re getting yourself into. By that I mean pull up your preferred weather outlet on your phone or computer, or even cue up the local news if you’re into that sort of thing. Regardless, you’ve got to know what you’ll be up against so you can plan your next steps accordingly. For our ride today, let’s just say that we’ve got a “Midwest Special”, 39 degrees and raining.  In my opinion, this is just about as bad as it gets. I HATE being wet.

When riding in the cold and rain you’ve got to think about your extremities. My two favorite strategies for keeping my feet and hands comfortable are both cheap and easy. I don’t own any high-dollar waterproof booties or shoecovers, but I sure do have a few pair of DeFEET oversocks and some plastic grocery bags. Quite simply jam your foot into the bottom of that grocery bag, tear a hole in the bottom so your cleat can get into your pedal, then cover the whole mess with your shoecover or oversocks. Now you’ve got yourself some very capable and very cheap waterproof booties! As for your hands, I would recommend a similar strategy involving thin plastic or rubber-like gloves. What you’re looking for is something that you can keep the water out of you regular gloves. You have a few options here, depending on how particular you are with your hands and gloves situation. I like to put one pair rubber gloves on first, then a pair of thin wool gloves, and then on top of it all, another pair of the thin rubber gloves. Your hands might get a little prune-like from the lack of breathability in this set up, but it should provide maximum comfort and sustained feeling in your fingers, while your competition is sitting on the couch. Oh, and to top it all off, makes sure to throw on some sort of waterproof rain cape and a cycling cap and your riding attire should be spot on.

Now that your body is ready to go, you’ve got to get your bike up to the task as well. The first item, an absolute must for your bicycle, is a set of fenders. I rode for a long time without fenders on my bike, and I had no clue what I was missing. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities for riding in adverse conditions. I use a set of SKS Raceblade fenders that can be easily mounted and removed in the span of 2 minutes. When you’re riding in the freezing rain, you don’t realize how much of the discomfort comes from having your feet and backside constantly soaked with water coming off of your tires. A good set of fenders are worth their weight in gold! The final adjustment I make to my bike for riding in foul weather is lowering the tire pressure. When it’s cold and rainy and the roads are covered with leaves and other debris from the trees, you need all of the grip you can get, and grip comes from tire contact. I like to run my 25c training tires around 75-80 psi during the winter because it offers a much smoother ride and also gives a nice solid contact area between the tire and the road. The next time that you go out, experiment with lower tire pressure and I bet you’ll find your steed becomes more sure-footed as you get down under that 100 psi mark.

The final aspect of safe and enjoyable late season riding comes from how you ride your bike. When you’re riding in adverse conditions, you’re bike and tires aren’t exactly performing up to their summer standard. And by this I mean, your bike doesn’t stop as quickly, and you’ve got less traction at your disposal. With these factors you need to be alert and thinking, as well as looking, down the road so that you can anticipate any situations that may be coming your way. You’ve got to be processing information about leaves on the road, a corner with painted lines in the middle of a steep descent, really surveying the situation with a critical eye and riding conservatively through those obstacles.

Like I said, it’s all about being prepared. If you’re dressed for success, your bike is doing its part, and you’re mentally prepared for the obstacles that you might encounter, you’ll be having more than your share of fun and safe rides even when the sun isn’t shining.

Triathletes are all about their gear. Naturally, I have plenty of pieces of gear that I am borderline obsessed with. There has one piece of gear that really made a difference for me this season though.

Going into my second season of racing 70.3 distance events I was looking for a more effective way to manage my nutritional supplies throughout the race. During transitions I try to minimize the steps needed from one leg to the other as much as possible, and one thing that always worries me is the need to grab and stash all my nutritional supplies before heading out on the bike from T1. The solution I found was the XLAB Rocket Pocket–a little pouch that is strapped behind the stem of the bike and conveniently fits several packs of gel and bars. The rocket pocket has helped me with the following issues:

• No need to worry about laying out the food supplies for the bike leg prior to the race at your transition spot. I can now pack them the night before and do not need to worry about them again.
• One less thing I need to do during the T1 (loading up the supplies into your tri suit pockets) and T2 (emptying the garbage out of your pockets).
• No more digging blindly through my tri suit pockets on my back in order to find the snack I am looking for during the bike leg of the race. Everything is right in front of me in my rocket pocket.

Another popular comparable product is the Bento Box, but I prefer the aero design of the Rocket Pocket. The Rocket Pocket is light weight and attaches to pretty much any bike via three Velcro straps. It was a great addition to my gear this season and has helped make race days a little more hassle free!

Every cyclist has a favorite piece of gear that they wear or ride or use for the red letter, circled in red sharpie, A+++, “must do well” races.  I’m no different.  When I’m looking for an extra advantage, that little bit of something-something that is going to give me if nothing else a psychological edge, I reach for my Zipp 303 wheels.

www.zipp.com

These are my fall back wheels.  I am totally confident when I’m racing with these babies.  At less than 1200 grams for the set (tubular weight) they’re as light as the lightest sets of climbing specific wheels, but they’re also virtually indestructibly durable.  Fabian Cancellara has used these wheels to win two of the toughest one day races in the world, Paris-Roubaix and The Tour of Flanders.  Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders are races in which there are extensive sections of brutal cobble stone roads. I’ve used them in races here in Illinois that go over several miles of clay and gravel farm roads as well.

If I’m racing in a criterium where cornering and acceleration are critical, I never have to worry about being stable taking sharp corners and sprinting out of those corners or attacking in a straight.  They have a low profile so I don’t get knocked around by strong cross winds but they’re still very aerodynamic and give me an edge on calm days as well.

Whatever any cyclists holds dear as they’re favorite piece of gear, it is generally a piece of equipment that provides comfort such as a saddle or a pair of shoes, or confidence such as a brilliant frame or an advantage life the most technologically advanced component set or ultra light wheels.  For me – it’s this wheel set.

Good luck!

When it comes to triathlon, I always seem to have a new book or reading material to converge on. Whether it’s about coaching or training reference, new equipment, technical studies or biographies, the stack remains high. Magazines in the sport are abundant and keep me up to date on the latest trends, gadgets and results. I’ll list a few of my favorites and a couple of my “Go To” selections that seem to get pulled off the shelf more often.

Magazines ~

Triathlete & Inside Triathlon: Both bring the latest news and equipment offerings to the sport. Race tips as well as destination races one might consider.

Outside: It’s a view in to those other areas of life I like to explore. Whether it’s surfing in Bali, kayaking in Croatia or just reading about top athletes in the great outdoors. It provides a nice escape every month.

Reference Books ~

The Triathlete Training Bible by Joe Friel: Let’s face it, with a name like that, you better know your stuff, and if anyone does, it’s Joe Friel. I can always find a reference source in this book when looking for the whys and hows of training and racing.

Strength Training Anatomy by Frédéric Delavier: This book, and it’s counterpart for women, always seems to be at an arms length. It is the most comprehensive, well-illustrated and in-depth book on strength training I have ever found. Got something that’s hurts? Pinpoint what muscle it is with this book. Want to know how to do more specific strength training and which muscles are actually doing the work? It’s in here. When the Body Works exhibit came to Portland, I brought this book along to see how the printed page actually translated to the three-dimensional human body display. It’s the best!

Workouts In A Binder by various authors through Velo Press: These are reference books for Swimming, Biking and Running. Workouts are categorized or broken down based on goals and distances. They’re great for changing up your routines and keeping workouts interesting or at least different. The sweatproof pages are a great help too.

There are a lot more books than I have space for. If there’s a particular area of the sport you’re interested in, chances are there’ll be several books to choose from.

Train With Grain!!

In honor of Oktoberfest, which is in full swing all over the world, here are some great Beerfest Do’s and Don’ts from Mark. Be sure to check out more Do’s and Don’ts from Keyon over here.

I find myself uniquely qualified to report on this subject. I have just recently returned from a reconnaissance mission for the Train with Grain editorial board in which I was sent to Munich, Germany and without argument the largest Beerfest in the world – Oktoberfest.  He is what I learned…

• Dress Appropriately

• Do your best to not attract undue attention to yourself with outlandish and inappropriate attire.  The party is about the party – not about you.

• From time to time, take a breather.  You will never succeed at drinking all the beer in the world.  If it were possible, Munich would be a dry city by September 20^thevery year.

• If you’re in for the long haul, find a quiet place to take a nap.  You’ll wake up invigorated and ready for another round.

• EAT!  Nothing puts a good Beerfest to an early end like a belly full of nothing but fermented grain beverage.  Beerfest is an endurance event and you need sustenance in order to perform at peak levels.  Some suggested sources for proper Beerfest nutrition…

Weisswurst und Sauerkraut

Curry Wurst

Schwein Shaxen (pork knuckle) – the undisputed king of all Beerfest cuisine

With the exception of the sprinkling of chives on the perfectly beautiful potato dumpling above, you’ll note the complete lack of anything green on the above plates.  This is intentional.  Proper Beerfest fare is specifically designed to absorb and achieve a perfect carbohydrate and protein balance.  Arugula simply has no place at the Beerfest table.

• Enjoy the company of a few great friends

• Dance!  The movement is necessary to stimulate your metabolism to break down and absorb the beer and sausage.

  

• Finally and in all seriousness if you do not have a designated sober driver – Walk.  Cab.  Public Transportation.  There is no lower life form than one who mans the rudder while under the influence of intoxicants.