Top Chef Triumph!

Carla Hall, my favorite TV chef, has appeared in this blog twice before. Back in February, I wrote about how she inspired me to make chicken pot pie (which was delicious). Then, just a few weeks ago, I wrote about how my aunt Michele (who is a friend of Carla's) invited me to lunch with her on a day I have to be out of town for work (tragedy!).

 A few days after that tragic phone call from Michele, she called me again. She explained that she had run into Carla at an event and told her about me- specifically that I'm a huge fan and that I'm really bummed about not being able to go to her lunch. Carla, whom Michele has always described as incredibly gracious and appreciative of her fans, apparently took this situation quite seriously. She told Michele that I should come and help out with one of her cooking classes sometime (!). Michele was calling both to tell me the story and because she couldn't remember whether or not I like to cook. She said something along the lines of "I'm afraid I may have just signed you up to chop onions." I reasssured her that I would be happy to chop onions for Carla anytime.

Mentally, I filed this phone call under "exciting future possibilities" and went about my business. Then, to my great surprise, I heard from Michele again. She had learned of a launch party for Carla's (amazing) cookie line happening at a DC cafe last night. She asked if I would like to join her and my uncle for dinner and the party. Once again, I had to work around some conflicts, but I was determined to make it happen this time.

And I did! After work yesterday, I met my aunt at her Union Station office and then we headed off to meet my uncle Joe at Lincoln, a seasonal small-plates restaurant on Vermont Ave. in DC. I had heard good things about Lincoln, and was not dissapointed. I especially loved the heirloom tomato risotto and the NY strip steak- yum! My only complaint was that the waiters kept trying to take our plates away before we were finished. This led to several comments by Michele that we were not going to leave food behind because there are starving children in Somalia. Her comments made me laugh every time, which, in turn, made me look like the most insensitive person on earth. Next time, I hope the waiters will allow me to keep both my plates and my human decency.

After dinner, we were off to ACKC, an excellent cafe/dessert place and host of Carla's launch party. When we arrived, we immediately found ourselves in a line for pictures with Carla. Then, after about 30 seconds, we were told that we had arrived just in time for a drawing and handed some raffle tickets. Within a minute of our arrival, Michele won the raffle! The prize was an Alchemy by Carla Hall t-shirt, which Michele graciously gave to me:

Shirt front: the Alchemy logo, which incorporates an "a," a heart, and a flame. In Carla's words, "I paid for it, so I'm not changing it!"

Back of the shirt: Carla was well-known for this phrase on "Top Chef." At the party, we chatted about where it came from. My uncle suggested she may have learned it from him.

A few minutes after the drawing, we made our way to the front of the picture line. Michele introduced me and Carla said "Your aunt has been pimping you out!"

Carla and I.

With Michele.

Once the pictures had been taken, we got out of the way and spent some time buying Carla's cookies and enjoying some tasty chocolates. As the party wound down, my aunt and uncle got interested in Carla's t-shirts and sent me to inquire about sizes and prices. I walked over to her, just hoping not to say anything stupid (as I have mentioned before, I am crazy awkward around anyone I admire). I was pleasantly surprised when Carla said "Oh- I want to come and talk to them!," and actually joined us at our table for awhile.

Carla was amazingly gracious and down-to-earth. Within a minute or two, I totally forgot that I was talking to someone I watch on TV. Carla has a couple of wonderful traits that I have always noticed in Michele as well: they are both boundlessly enthusiastic and they both make everyone they talk to feel like the most interesting/important person in the world. Watching them together, I was reminded of when I first met Michele, nearly 20 years ago.

Michele is my uncle's second wife and I distinctly remember the family event where she met many of my relatives, including my mother and grandmother. My family tends to be fairly protective of its members and more than a little wary of outsiders. My grandmother, as wonderful as she was, could be a particularly hard sell. From the moment she learned that Joe was dating someone new, she started speculating about all the ways this woman must be unsuitable for her son. I rememeber waiting for Joe and Michele to arrive at this event, sick with worry about how Michele might be treated.

I needn't have worried. Michele breezed in and charmed the entire family in a matter of minutes. To put it mildly, her work and lifestyle are very different from much of my family, and she could have easily come off as snobbish or intimidating. Instead, she was warm and genuinely interested in every single member of the family. By the end of the day, my grandmother was claiming that she always knew Michele would be great for Joe. For the rest of her life, my grandmother never missed a chance to sing Michele's praises. Michele, in turn, developed a knack for buying my grandmother presents that completely suited her over-the-top style. I have great memories of my uber-stylish aunt presenting my grandmother with watches and rings that would have suited Cher or Dolly Parton, ca. 1970. Michele always seemed genuinely happy to make my grandmother happy, and I always found these exchanges touching.

So, watching Michele and Carla together, I could understand why they are friends and why they both do so well in the hospitality industry. Who wouldn't want to entrust their special event to one of these ladies? I feel very lucky to have spent some time with one of them, and even luckier to have the other in my family!

Dispatches from Staycation, #3 (the End)

I have a very exciting post-staycation story to tell later today. Before that, though, I want to report on the final results of my staycation. Here are a few photos from some of the big projects:

New bedding for my room. I also fixed my bed, replaced my broken TV, and moved all my school stuff to my office.

New shelf for the kitchen. Everthing on here had been on the refrigerator, the main table, a smaller table, and the floor. This is much better.

New tray for the kitchen table, replacing a faded wicked tray I had for the past few years.

Re-organized shelves (the brown ones) and a new shelf. These contain all of my grad school books and many photo albums. The two boxes of photos on the top used to be four boxes. I still need to purge things from those magazine holders.

Still in progress: finding some way to organize/display these three boxes full of random memorabilia.

Re-organized shelf of academic work (some of it going back to high school!). Some of these binders are newly added, including my last semester at Loyla and random things like my grad school applications.

On Friday and Saturday, I had to devote most of my time to writing my sermon (see previous post), resisting the temptations of unfidnished staycation projects and this very engaging book (The Secret History by Donna Tartt). It was challenging.

All in all, a productive week. There are still a few projects to be done, but I do feel much better coming home everyday to a neater and more organized home. My marathon and tri training continued during staycation week as well, so I'll write a training update soon!

Just the Way You Are (Suitcase Adventures, pt. 2)

My final update from my final days of staycation (boo!) is coming soon, but first I thought I would post my sermon from this morning. I preached this at Baldwin Memorial UMC, the church where my mentor in the ordination process is pastor. This sermon also serves as the long-awaited sequel to my first Suitcase Adventures post: the story of my experience at this year's grief camp.

If you read this and want to learn more about volunteering for the camp (and I hope you will!), you can find more information on the website of the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing.


Romans 8:26-39

26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Just the Way You Are:
Romans 8: 26-39

Before I ever set foot inside this church, I used it as a landmark. Before I knew this church as the home of my candidacy mentor, I knew it as the place where I turn to get to Arlington Echo. This “old stone church with a cemetery” is mentioned on the printed directions I use each summer to find my way to a very special camp.

For two years now, I’ve been a volunteer at Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC, a weekend camp for children and teenagers who have lost loved ones to death. The camp is a program of the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, a grief counseling center where I once served as an intern. Every summer, Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC brings together 50 kids from all over Maryland, DC, and Virginia. The campers come from many different neighborhoods and backgrounds, but they all share the common experience of grief. This is also true of the 75 adult volunteers who work with the children. Adults of all ages, professions, and backgrounds choose to volunteer at camp, but we also share the experience of loss. In fact, you must have lost a loved one to death in order to be a camp volunteer. I volunteer at Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC in memory of my two grandmothers.

Camp only lasts for one weekend a year, but what happens during that short time makes a lasting difference. The children are divided into “grief groups” by age, and each child is paired with an adult buddy who accompanies them throughout the weekend. All weekend, the children and adults share memories of their loved ones, talk about difficult feelings, and offer one another support and encouragement. We also laugh and have fun together, enjoying traditional camp activities like swimming and canoeing. We eat together in the camp cafeteria and sleep on bunks in the same cabins. In a remarkably short time, our grief groups become little families and the camp becomes one big family. Year after year, this camp brings forth new life from loss.

My experiences at Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC have been so powerful that I can’t help but remember them every time I come to this church. I also remember them when I read today’s text from Romans. Paul’s powerful words at the end of this text are very familiar to me: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is my pastor’s favorite passage of scripture, and he often reads it at funerals. I remember hearing it at one of my grandmother’s funerals, and it was a great comfort to me.

I understand why my pastor chooses this text for funerals, and yet I also find it a bit odd. Both in my personal life and in my work, I’ve spent a lot of time with grieving people, and I’ve noticed that people often feel very separate from God after a loss. Of all our human experiences, grief seems to be the one that makes us the most lonely, sad, angry, and scared. I imagine that some people in the midst of grief are upset by Paul’s words. To some, these comforting words must sound hollow, or even like a slap in the face. Paul assures us that death can not separate us from the love of God, but it sure can make us feel separate. It can make us feel lonely, abandoned, and lost. Even if we believe with all our hearts that the one we lost is with God, its hard not to feel left behind and deserted.

Its natural to feel lost and lonely when we lose someone we love, but expressing those feelings can be hard. When we’re grieving, people often try to help by saying hopeful, comforting things. Our friends and family mean well when they say these things, but bright and positive words can actually make us feel more alone if our true feelings are dark and difficult. What’s more, our friends and family may not want to listen to our painful thoughts and feelings. Death and grief are such difficult experiences that people go to great lengths to avoid thinking and talking about them. This is perfectly understandable, but it can be very isolating for those who are grieving.

Many of the kids who come to Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC are feeling isolated and separated. Some campers have lost the person they trusted most and don’t know who to turn to in their grief. Some feel they have to be strong for surviving family members and keep their feelings to themselves. Many are cared for by relatives who are also grieving, and may not have any emotional energy to spare for them. Some campers have tried to voice their painful feelings, but found that nobody really listens to them. Seeing a child in pain is so difficult that we adults often rush to comfort them, without giving them a chance to really express themselves.

One of the main purposes of Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC is to give grieving children a place where they can express all of their feelings. Camp follows the same basic schedule every year, and the first night is always about getting to know each other and getting comfortable opening up. In one of the first camp activities, all of the kids and volunteers gather in a big circle. The grief group leaders go around the circle and hand everyone a can of seltzer to shake up. As everyone shakes their cans, a counselor stands in the middle of the circle talks about what happens when we bottle up our feelings. When we try to hold our feelings inside, the pressure of those feelings builds up and up until finally we just explode. When the counselor says the word “explode,” everyone pops open their cans. Within seconds, the circle becomes a free-for-all of laughing kids and adults, spraying seltzer all over each other. It’s a lot of fun, and it also gets across an important message: camp is a place where its okay to let everything out.

Church should be that kind of place too- a place where we can bring our whole selves, in good times and in bad. I visited Baldwin a few weeks ago, and one of the things that really impressed me was the amount of time you take with joys and concerns. In many churches, the prayers of the people are limited to a few seconds where people whisper the names of those they wish to pray for. Here at Baldwin, you really take the time to share and listen to each other. I think that’s exactly as it should be. Church isn’t meant to be a place where we come as individuals, have our own individual experiences, and then return to our individual lives. Church is meant to be an intimate community- a family, where we share our whole selves with God and one another. There should be no experience, thought, or feeling that we can’t share with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sharing our joys and concerns breaks our isolation, and draws us closer to God and one another.

At Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC, the second day is all about sharing. In the grief groups, the children and adults share the stories of their loved ones: what they were like, how they died, what we miss most about them. In the middle of the day, everyone decorates a small boat in memory of their loved one. Then, right around sunset, we have a memorial where everyone releases their boats as the names of their loved ones are read out loud. For me, this is both the most painful and the most hopeful part of the weekend. I find it incredibly difficult to look at all those little children and hear the names of the people they lost: mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents- all people who should have been in their lives for much, much longer. Yet, at the same time, I find it incredibly hopeful to look around at the 75 adults and know that we all chose to share our losses so that these children won’t feel alone.

During this year’s boat launch, I was standing next to a girl of about 7 while we watched a group of adult volunteers release their boats. Many of the volunteers were crying, including one of the men. The little girl was shocked. She said “Look- grown-ups are crying! A man is crying!” “Yes,” I told her, “That’s okay. Grown-ups cry too sometimes.” That one tiny moment, watching that little girl learn that its okay to cry, made the whole camp worthwhile for me.

Unfortunately, when I look at the church today, I sometimes think we’ve forgotten this simple lesson- that its okay to cry. Or to be angry. Or to feel lost and lonely. Take a look in the Christian section of Barnes and Noble, listen to Christian radio, or watch one of today’s TV preachers and you’ll hear an awful lot about being positive: having positive thinking, using positive language, supporting positive values. Today’s pastors are encouraged to grow their churches by having upbeat services, focused on praise and joy. I understand why people want to hear a positive message in a world that seems so negative. Still, I worry that all of this emphasis on the positive sends the message that our negative feelings don’t belong in church. In today’s churches, we hear plenty of hymns and prayers about love, joy, and gratitude. How often do we hear about sadness, loneliness, and anger? We need God and our church family the most when we’re struggling and in pain. Yet, some would have us believe that church is only a place for joy.

Paul knew differently. In today’s text, he quotes Psalm 44: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” Psalm 44 is a lament from a community who lost a great battle. They believe that God abandoned them, even though they served him faithfully. In their psalm, they freely voice their anger with God. In another verse, they ask “Why do you hide your face? Why do your forget our affliction and oppression?” Psalm 44 is hardly unique. If you read through the psalms, you’ll find plenty about joy and praise, but you’ll also find many about anger and grief. And its not just the psalms- the Hebrew Bible is full of people who take their pain, anger, and loneliness to God. Look at Job, or Lamentations, or the prophets- all of these books are full of people crying out to God with their whole selves: the good, the bad, and everything in between. Jesus does the same. In the Gospels, we see him weep over the body of Lazarus, lash out in anger at the money-changers in the temple, and cry out to God from the cross.

Over and over again, our scriptures remind us that we can and should take all of our emotions to God. Even when we feel the most separate from God, God longs to hear from us. It doesn’t even matter if we don’t know what to say; Paul promises that the Holy Spirit will intercede “with sighs too deep for words.”

At Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC, we see many children who feel isolated in their feelings of sadness and anger. As adults, we try to break through that isolation by helping them express themselves and sharing our own experiences of loss. But there are other isolating feelings I haven’t talked about yet: guilt and shame. In my experiences with grieving people, both children and adults, I’ve noticed that many people feel guilty. Children, who are too young to understand how death works, often feel like they did something to cause the death. Adults wonder if they could have done something to save their loved one. Many grieving people feel damaged, like they must be bad people because bad things have happened to them.

When I interned at the Wendt Center, I noticed that many of my grief counseling clients needed to confess something. In our first few sessions, they would voice their sadness and anger. Talking about those feelings would help, but afterward I would start to see signs that something else was bothering them. I had many sessions with clients who were clearly holding something back. Eventually, if we built a close enough relationship, the confession would come. My clients would share feelings of responsibility for their losses. They would share remorse for things they said or didn’t say to their lost loved ones. Some would tell me about the worst things they had ever done in their lives, wondering aloud if they were being punished.

If I really listened to their confessions, allowed them to share the full burden of their guilt, and still accepted them, I would start to see real transformation. In order break their isolation and move forward, my clients needed to share their whole selves with someone who cared. I was always happy to receive these confessions, just as I know God would be happy to receive them. Like sadness and anger, guilt and shame can make us feel separate from God, but they can’t take away God’s love.

At Camp Forget-Me-Not/Camp Erin DC, the last day is all about celebrating our time together and looking forward with hope. One of the Sunday activities is a performance by an all-male acapella group called REVERB. REVERB has a beautiful, uplifting sound and they do a great job choosing songs for the camp. This year, toward the end of their performance, REVERB announced that they had a special song to sing for the campers. Within a few notes, most of us recognized the song. It was “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. That song has been all over the radio this year, so most of the kids knew the words. I’m guessing that many of you know them too. It’s love song in which Bruno Mars tells his girlfriend “When I see your face/ there’s not a thing that I would change/ because you’re amazing/ just the way you are./ And when you smile/ the whole world stops and stares for awhile/ because you’re amazing/ just the way you are.”

The kids started singing along, and by the end of the first chorus, I had tears in my eyes. I looked around and saw many other adults crying, all over the room. I thought about why so many of us found that particular song so moving. Before that day, I thought of it as just another sappy, catchy love song. But when I heard those children sing it, it meant something totally different. The whole weekend, I had heard story after story of how much these kids had suffered. I knew that they were sad, confused, angry, and scared. I knew that many of them felt guilty, weird, and damaged. I had witnessed their pain, but I had also witnessed their resilience and their beautiful spirits. That song moved me so much because I want so badly for those kids to know that they are amazing, just the way they are. I think its what all of the camp volunteers want- to help these children know that they are good people who can have great lives, no matter what bad things have happened to them.

Bruno Mars is an unlikely prophet, but whenever I hear that song now, it makes me think about grace. I can’t think of a better definition of grace than the fact that God loves us just the way we are. Sometimes, painful experiences like grief make us feel like God is far away. Sometimes, feelings of anger, guilt, and shame make us think we can’t go to God. But Paul brings us the Good News that this simply isn’t true. We can and should take anything to God, because nothing can take away God’s love. God already knows us better than we know ourselves, and in God’s eyes, we’ll always be like those little children at camp- amazing, just the way we are. 

Amen.

Dispatches from Staycation, #2

Staycation is more than halfway over now, and I am exhausted, impressed with everything that has been done, and overwhelmed by the thought of everything left to be done. I had intended to put up some pictures with this post, but I don't have the energy to get up and take them. So, here's a quick, text-only summary of some of the major accomplishments:

-Donated old glasses.
-Recycled broken TV, computer, and cell phones.
-Disposed of old and broken grill, table, and fan blades in bulk pickup.
-Bought and assembled new shelf for kitchen. Re-arranged stuff in kitchen.
-Replaced some Teflon-coated pans with non-toxic ones and took old pans to Goodwill.
-Took two boxes of books to Goodwill. Moved school books from bedroom shelves to office and put fun books on bedroom shelves (yay!).
-(With help from Mom) rotated mattress and fixed bedframe.
-(With help from Dad) hooked roommate's room up to cable.
-Added new recipes to recipe books.
-Had two years' worth of pictures printed and put them in albums.
-Purged old magazines.
-Went grocery shopping and cooked.
-(With help from my brother) upgraded old computer with new memory.
-Purchased new bedding, a replacement for the broken TV, and a larger food processor. Ran out of money.

I think there's actually more, but I can't think of it all right now. In the midst of all this, I have also managed to work out once or twice a day, see the new Harry Potter movie, and hang out with a friend (though I did meet her at Ikea). So, obviously, the staycation is going well, but there is still so much to do! I have barely started on the biggest project- cleaning out my attic/office. That could easily take up the remainder of my time. I also have to write a sermon for a guest-preaching gig on Sunday, which I am finding hard to do without my office.

Also on my things-to-do list is updating this blog with some recent happenings. So, here is one such update:

Over the past two weekends, I ran two Annapolis Striders' races: The Women's Distance Festival 5K and the John Wall mile. Both of these races happened on Saturdays (aka: long run day), meaning that I had to get creative in order to reach my planned mileage for those days.

On the day of the WDF, I was supposed to run 12 miles. I ran to the race, which wound up being 3 miles. Then, I ran the race as hard as I could manage, coming in at 27:30 (about 15 seconds over my 5K PR). Afteward, I joined my tri-training friend Lauren and did another lap of the 2-loop race course. That got me to 7.5 miles, so I should have kept going, but I was hot and exhausted. At the end of the bonus lap, I met up with a high-school-friend-turned-amazing-triathlete, Scott, and we went for bagels. So, I came in 4.5 miles short that day.

On the day of the Wall Mile, I was scheduled for 14 miles. I went to the track early to get in a few miles before the race. I ran 4 miles before the race, which did not help me much in the race itself. I was good and warmed up, but I was also hot and a little tired. I ran it in 8:11, which is 16 seconds faster than last year, but dissapointing compared to the 7:45 mile I ran during tri-training. After that race, I had to come home and get ready for my niece's birthday party. So, the next morning, I got up and tested a potential new running route. I was unsure of the distance when I set out; it turned out to be 7 miles. So, 4 pre-race miles, 1 race mile, and 7 miles the next day= 12 miles. Still a couple miles short, but better than the previous week.

All in all, I was pleased with these two weeks, running-wise. Even though I came up a little short in terms of mileage, I have been much more consistent than last year already. At this point, I am feeling confident that NYC can be a much better marathon experience than MCM. Of course, the real heat starts this weekend!

Dispatches from Staycation, #1.

Greetings from the land of un-procrastination! I am about a day and a half into a 9-day "staycation," which I scheduled to catch up on the zillion nagging tasks I neglected during the end of school and the beginning of summer. I got the idea from an article I read in either Real Simple or The Oprah Magazine. The author wrote about how she and a friend declared a certain Saturday "unprocrastination day" and devoted the day to dealing with tasks like replacing watch batteries, changing light bulbs, returning ill-fitting clothes, etc.. I let a ton of things slide while I finished school and traveled, so a day wasn't going to cut it for me. Thus, I took next week off work and made minimal plans for the weekends on either end of that week.

So here I am, working on such projects as replacing my holey quilt (done), purchasing a larger food processor (done), ordering 2-years' worth of photos and putting them in albums (about half done), cleaning out my attic (starting tomorrow), upgrading my computer memory (almost done), figuring out why my bed now creaks and dips in one spot (to be done when I have help), etc., etc.. Its a long and expensive list. I know I don't have the time or the money to get it all done this week, but I'm hoping to make a very large dent, because nagging tasks stress me out. If this week goes well, I hope to come out on the other side feeling more relaxed and in control of my life. I'll keep you posted.

The problem with planning un-procrastination week is that it became an excuse to let things slide. For weeks now, I've been throwing things everywhere in my attic (which is totally unlike me) and thinking "I'll figure out where that goes on my staycation." I have also been slacking on the communication front, including blogging. I've barely turned my computer on the past few days, because every time I do I am faced with a pile of unreturned emails, a blog that has not been updated in over a week, and social networks that will forget I exist soon.

Thus, I have added "catch-up blogging" to the to-do list for my staycation. Over the next few days, look out for many updates, including reports on my last two races, marathon and tri training news, the miserable results of my last few weigh-ins, and a trip to a restaurant that was even better than Graffiato. See you soon!

Top Chef tragedy and triumph.

I don't watch much TV, but one show I never miss is Top Chef. The obvious reason I love this show is that I'm way into food and cooking, but on a more basic level I just enjoy watching talented people compete at what they do best. The contestants on "Top Chef" work under very challenging conditions- they don't get to use recipes or cookbooks, and their time is severely restricted. They also get thrown crazy twists pretty much every episode. Yet, they consistently put out remarkable food. I feel pretty confident in the kitchen, but I'm not sure I could produce something as simple as a batch of cookies with 30 minutes and no recipe.

I've been lucky the past few seasons because some of my favorite Top Chefs have been from the DC area. You may recall that last summer, my friend Katie and I had an amazing dinner at Volt, which is owned and operated by "Top Chef Las Vegas" finalist Bryan Voltaggio. This week, two of my other "Top Chef" favorites crossed my path. One encounter was tragic; the other was terrific.

First, the bad news: My all-time favorite "Top Chef" contestant is Carla Hall, who was on both the "New York" and "All-Stars" seasons. I would have loved Carla simply for her personality and positive attitude, but she also happens to be a friend of one of my favorite relatives, my aunt Michele. Michele is the special events director at Union Station in DC, and she and Carla are both members of the same philanthropic/professional organization. Michele is even busier than I am and watches almost no TV, so I gave her email and text message play-by-plays of both Carla's seasons. Ever since I learned of their friendship, I have been waiting for the call from Michele inviting me to one of Carla's events.

This week, I got that call. Michele has been invited to a special luncheon where Carla will serve a menu based around one of my very favorite foods, the tomato. My uncle is unable to attend, so Michele asked me to come with her. I was giddy with excitement... until I checked my calendar. On the day of the luncheon, I am traveling to PA to speak to a church on behalf of my office. What's worse, everyone else in the office is also traveling to speak at churches, so nobody can take my place. So, for now, my closest encounter with Carla will remain this amazing tin of cookies my friend Corinne ordered from Carla's company for my birthday:

Order your own from Alchemy by Carla Hall. You will thank me!

Now, the good news. Last night, I was able to soothe my Carla disappointment by enjoying dinner at a new restaurant opened by another Top Chef: Graffiato, owned and operated by Mike Isabella of "Las Vegas" and "All Stars." Mike was definitely not one of my favorites on the "Las Vegas" season, but he showed up on "All Stars" with new skills and a better attitude. It was fun watching his transformation, and I was totally rooting for him by the end. In the finale, he made a dish involving a pepperoni sauce, and judge Gail Simmons spent her entire deliberation raving about it. Thus, I was very excited to see Graffiato open in DC and even more excited to see the pepperoni sauce on the menu. Graffiato opened less than a month ago and has been getting a ton of attention, so getting in is not easy, but my friend and I were lucky enough to snag a 5pm table on a Thursday night.

Graffiato is located in a 2-floor space in Chinatown, with a bar and smaller dining area downstairs and the main dining room upstairs. There are open kitchens on both floors, and I spotted Chef Mike multiple times checking on things in the kitchens. The menu is (very reasonably priced) Italian-inspired small plates and brick oven pizzas. There is a $55 tasting menu, but it must be ordered by every guest at the table. My friend is a vegetarian, which can be tricky for tastings, so we just ordered off the regular menu. The staff were very attentive and willing to explain things. At times, they were a little hover-y, but I'm willing to forgive less-than-stellar service in a restaurant that just opened. Here's what we ate:

For first course, we had hand-pulled mozzarella with fava bean sauce (a special) and sugar snap peas with tomato pesto, goat cheese and sesame seeds. The snap peas were delicious, especially with the goat cheese and the sesame seeds. I'm not sure that the tomato pesto added much, and I started eating it with the mozzarella instead (which was a good decision).

After the first course, I had the thing I was most excited about: chicken thighs with the pepperoni sauce. Unfortunately, for me this was the most disappointing course. It was very good, but after watching the "All Stars" finale, I had expected the sauce to be spectacular. Instead, I found it a little weak. The pepperoni flavor was so subtle that I might not have picked it up if I hadn't been looking for it. Good, but just not great.

To quote Gail Simmons, "Pepperoni Sauce!!!"

What was great was the risotto ordered by my friend for his second course. He offered me a bite, and I went back for several more trying to figure out exactly what made it so delicious. I tasted parmesan, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar (all of which are listed on the menu), but I thought I tasted something sweet as well. Risotto is one of my favorite things to cook, so I'm looking forward to spending a few hours in the kitchen trying to figure this out. One thing I definitely learned from this dish is that I need to cough up a little more for better balsamic!

After the chicken thighs and the risotto, my friend had sweet corn agnolitti and I had polenta with pork meatballs and a soft egg. My friend said that the agnolitti was delicious, and it must have been because he ate the whole plate in minutes! The stars of my plate were the meatballs, which were easily the best I've ever had. They were as good as I had expected the pepperoni sauce to be. I was a little confused by the rest of the plate (the egg and the polenta). It was all tasty, but I really did not understand how the three components went together. Also, the dish was served with a fork, which was useless for the polenta and egg. It should definitely come with a spoon! I requested one as I did not want to miss a single bite.

Finally, we tried 3 desserts: a chocolate tart with sea salt gelato, nutella sandwich cookies, and pistachio gelato. The tart was good, but totally overshadowed by the sea salt gelato, which was AMAZING. I have an unreliable ice cream maker at home and getting it fixed never seems to get off the bottom of my "to-do" list. The sea salt gelato changed that in an instant. After my long run this weekend, I think I'll head straight to Bed, Bath and Beyond for another ice cream maker and then to Whole Foods for some sea salt. I must have more of that gelato! While I'm at it, I'll probably pick up some pistachios, because the pistachio gelato was also delicious. Continuing the salty/sweet trend, the nutella cookies were light wafers dusted in salt with the nutella in between. Simple, but brilliant. I could have eaten a whole bowl of them.

All in all, Graffiato was well worth the visit and the cost (which adds up because so many things on the menu sound so good!). It was a very different experience from Volt, where the food was much more technically complicated. Everything I ate at Volt was spectacular, but I would have no idea how to re-create it at home. The food at Graffiato was much more basic, in a great way: simple, straightforward, delicious. It made me want to try it at home, and also come back to try everything I missed the first time. Well-done, Chef Mike! 

Another thumbs up (and other updates).

As you may recall, back when I blogged about my experience at the Virginia Wine Country Half-Marathon, I structured the story as a series of thumbs up/thumbs down ratings. Well, now I have another thumbs up to add! The official race photographer (from Brightroom) actually managed to get two good photos of me:

Note the nice scenery AND flattering pose!

Is that a smile? I usually look like I'm about to collapse.

These photos are a near-miracle. My parents, siblings, and I all suffer from some kind of genetic abnormality which makes us look awful in about 95% of photos (fortunately, the next generation seems to have been spared). For me, this problem only gets worse in race photos. I always seem to be making a pained face, caught in a horribly unflattering pose, and/or blocked by another runner. Every once in awhile, I will get one decent photo from a race (see slideshow above). Two is unprecedented. Brightroom photographer, I give you a very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Two other updates:

1) Normal life is exhausting. As most of you know, I spent September '07- May '11 both working full time and attending grad school full time. Between those obligations, church committments, and running, I was left with roughly an hour of free time every other week. Now, I have graduated and I am re-discovering long-forgotten pleasures like going to movies, attending friends' parties and events, and (gasp!) meeting friends on weeknights. Over the long weekend, I saw friends every day. I probably have not seen friends 4 days in a row since 2007. At one time, seeing my friends often was normal, and I am excited that it might become normal again. I must admit, however, that right now it is exhausting! I woke up this morning so beat that I skipped my scheduled run without a second thought and I have been dragging all day. If you had told me 5 years ago that one day I would find it easier to run 10 miles than to go out 4 nights in a row, I never would have believed you. Yet, that seems to have happened.

2) I love my gym. Spend even a short time with me and you will probably hear me sing the praises of my gym, Annapolis Athletic Club. I love AAC for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones is that the people who work and work out there are very friendly and caring. In many ways, it feels like a big family. I was reminded of that this past Saturday when I attended a wedding celebration party for one of my Group Power instructors, Kelly. Kelly got married in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, so a fellow trainer and a member of our GP class threw a local party in her honor. The party was a decent size, and it was all people from AAC. It was fun to hang out with everyone away from the gym, and touching to see how much we all value the relationships we have there. The most entertaining part of the evening was seeing what everyone looks like in regular clothes. Every time someone walked into the party, the whole room would gasp "Oh my gosh! You look AMAZING!" Its easy to impress a group of people who usually see you sweating in shorts and tank tops at 6am!

Here we go again.

Happy 4th of July! Blogging (along with cleaning) has been on my to-do list throughout this long weekend, but I have been basking in my new non-grad student lifestyle and taking up long forgotten activities like going to movies, meeting up with friends, and attending parties. Good times all around.

Over this long weekend, I also began my second summer of marathon training! Bright and early Saturday morning, I joined the Annapolis Striders back on the B&A trail for our first 10-mile long run. This run turned out to be an excellent opportunity to experience what has changed and what has stayed the same about marathon training compared to last year. I am definitely faster this time around, which means its going to take a few weeks to figure out exactly what my training pace should be. I went out pretty fast this Saturday and felt good for the first 5 miles, but was definitely dragging by the end. So, I may need to slow it down a bit. A side effect of being faster is that I was running by myself for much of the run because my normal traning buddies were a little behind me. It made things a bit lonelier, but I also think I need to spend a good chunk of this traning running on my own, as I plan to run NYC on my own. All in all, it was a good first day back at marathon training.

And now I need to get to bed. Far and away my biggest training mistake last year was skipping too many weekday runs. Thus, I'm trying to be diligent about my weekday schedule this time and that includes a Tuesday AM run. Good night, everyone!