Since moving back to Jersey, I haven’t had time to cook for myself. I have devoted my spare time to cleaning and organizing my house (and I am far from being done). I have been eating “fast food” - yogurt, oatmeal, peanut butter & jelly, or turkey sandwiches more often than I’d like to. Tonight was one of the rare nights that I had time to make myself a full course dinner from start to finish (including an appetizer). It’s good to be back in the kitchen!

Appetizer: chicken liver with sautéed pea green and ramp.

Entrée: roasted chicken (finally…roasting my own bird), barley, and sautéed ramp.

While eating dinner, I refused to turn on TV or sit in front of the computer - good to have a nice and quiet dinner.

Even The Sweaty Guinea Pig eats irresponsibly sometimes. Check out Mark Bittman talking about eating REAL food.

Warm-up:

• 500 meters freestyle
• 8 x 25 meters kicks

Pre-set:

• 4 X 50 meters: deep water kicks 25 meters, then swims 25 meters back

Main Sets:

• 4 x 25 meters sprints: Rd1 & Rd2 - 30 seconds
• 4 x 50 meters semi-sprints: Rd1 -50 seconds & Rd2 - 55 seconds
• 4 x 75 meters semi-sprints: Rd1 - 1 minute 20 seconds & Rd2 - 1 minute 30 seconds
• 4 x 100 meters sprints: Rd1  & Rd2 - 1 minute 40 seconds
• 2 x 50 meters E.Z. (nice and easy pace) - 2 rounds

All sets were done with fins on.

Warm Down:

• 2 x 50 E.Z.

Total: 3200 meters.

Note to myself: heart rate was shooting through the roof.

Following my great experience at the pig butchering class, I took lamb butchering class last week. Buying a whole lamb is cheaper than a whole pig, which could be double of the price of a lamb. Pasture-fed lamb is delicious and full of nutrients. I highly recommend cooking a lamb dish and pair it with a nice bottle of Petite Syrah, Shiraz, Rioja, or Cabernet Sauvignon. Below are some pictures I took from the class.

Warning: images can get too graphic for some people.

The mighty butcher, Tom Mylan.

and let the class the begin.

Lamb belly is just as meaty and delicious as pork belly. Tom was showing us the simple step of trimming the belly off the ribs.

Lamb belly, best way to cook it - braising.

“I love my Chinese cleaver,” said Tom, as he was chopping up the lamb.

Beautiful lamb chops, ready to be grilled.

Lamb leg, lean and healthy.

Tom dissecting the leg.

Tom taking the leg bone out. Legs are good for roasting.

Cutting a piece of shoulder off the bone. Lamb shoulder is great for lamb stew.

And there goes the whole lamb. Tom cut up a whole lamb by using a pairing knife mostly; a skill that I’d like to acquire one day.

What’s next Brooklyn Kitchen?

Warm up:

• Jumping jack: 30 seconds
• Front lunges: 10 reps each leg
• Front and side planks: 1 minute each
• Medicine ball sit-ups (with a partner if possible): 20 reps
• Jumping jacks: 30 seconds

Strength and Conditioning:

• Set A:
  Bench press: 95 lbs. x 8
  Dumbbell Chest Press: 35 lbs. for 1 minute
  Bench jumps: 10 jumps

• Set B:
  Squat: 135 lbs. x 8
  High jumps: 10 jumps
  Jump rope: 1 min

• Set C:
  Push press: 65 lbs. x 15
  Stretch cord swimmers, 3 exercises: 10 reps each
  V-ups: 20

• Set D:
  Stability ball bridge: 30 seconds x 2
  Get ups: 10 reps
  Flutter kicks: 1 minute

Each set is performed 3 rounds with minimal amount, 20 to 30 seconds, of rest between each round.

Nothing is going to stop The Sweaty Guinea Pig from getting his groove on…not even the Texas size thunderstorm.

Guinea Pig’s Workout:

1. Jump rope - 5 minutes
2. Push-ups - 20 repetitions
3. Stretch cord exercises - 40 to 60 repetitions (e.g. squat, 1-leg squat with shoulder press, swimmers)
4. Ab workout - 1 minute of combination of different exercises (e.g. regular crunches to bicycles to leg lifts)

The four sets were completed consecutively with 30 to 60 seconds of rest between each round, total 5 rounds.

While an aero bar on your bike (I personally don’t own one actually) can help you reduce wind resistance and save energy when riding long distance, you need to minimize the outer resistance when you run too. I have recently discovered a method to reduce air resistance and help me sustain my pace effectively; I keep my elbows bent 45 degrees and close to my body (almost attached to the side). Keeping my elbows on the side reduce the area of my body contacted with air; therefore, I am able to move forward without fighting against the wind. Guinea-pig the method and let me know the result!

After my butchering lamb class, I took home two pieces of lamb shoulder to make stuffed lamb roast. Lamb meat is easy to cook; each piece of shoulder only required 30 to 40 minutes of roasting time. Just sit back and enjoy the show!

First lamb roast, stuffed with chopped organic apricot, toasted pine nuts, and whole grain bread crumb. I also dry-rubbed the meat with toasted cumin seeds and salt. Last, I wrapped the lamb with parma ham (prosciutto), then chilled the lamb in the fridge overnight for better shaping.

Second lamb roast, stuffed with rosemary, thyme, and sautéed shittake mushrooms and pea green. I chilled the meat overnight as well.

Browning, called “sealing the meat” if you want to get technical, the lamb shoulder before roasting it. Browning procedure kept the meat juicy inside and crusty on the outside.

A closer look at the step of “sealing the meat”.

While waiting for the two lamb roast, I pan fried lamb skirt steak and sautéed Japanese parsnip and its leaves to serve as appetizers.

Of course, any lamb dish needs to be paired with great quality wine. Cheers!

Stuffed lamb #1, the most successful dish. Parma ham was crispy on the outside and the lamb meat was juicy and medium rare inside, just as it needs to be. The subtle sweetness from the apricot and nutty flavor of pine nuts made this dish tasted exceptionally well.

Stuffed lamb #2. I did a poor job tying this piece of meat together; therefore, the meat juice came out, and the meat became tough and dry. (You’d still like it if you are a fan of well-done meat.)

Any tips for better roasting, please feel free to share with me. I look forward to guinea-pig more recipes.

I am currently in Dallas for a business trip. Without my bike and a good size of swimming pool, I run in the morning to prepare for the upcoming triathlon event, Tri for Our Veterans. I enjoy Dallas’ warm and breezy weather, around 65 degrees, in the morning. While the run in suburb of Dallas is tedious (all I see is taquerias), I managed to make the run exciting by doing push-ups (200), crunches (150), mountain climbers (4 x 1 min), and jump rope (6 x 3 mins).

My route:

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

I moved to New Jersey last week. Lacking a place like Central Park, hilly and curvy, in my town, I’ve been riding my bike on long and flat roads. To keep my training just as challenging as back in New York, I have been riding on higher gear to strengthen my quadriceps and of course, build endurance.

I rode 15 miles approximately on my first ride in Jersey.

Total time: 1 hour.

E-mail me at reggie.soang@gmail.com if you’d like to join me for a nice and relaxing ride in Jersey.