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In the aftermath of this weekends impressive snow storm, a few crazies thought it would be fun to organize a little cyclocross race in the snow. It was a good idea, but that’s about it. It was a crash fest for everyone on bikes, and the “race” part of the day ended up being more of a foot race, with shoulder-mounted cross bikes. Still, a fun way to start the day.

I apologize if it seems like all I write about these days is snow. But it seems like we are getting a lot of it this winter in DC. A few pictures for this weekend’s storm:

Saturday it snowed quite a bit. Not nearly the level of the snowpacalypse in late December, but enough to cover everything with 4-6″ of snow. I took advantage of it (like I did last time), and today went hiking for a few hours in Rock Creek Park. It’s amazing how quickly you can feel like you are in an entirely different world. Hike a mile into the forest, and you can’t hear anything of the sounds of the city. My favorite part was the Western Ridge Trail, in particular the “strenuous” path. It ambles along Rock Creek, taking you high above the creek, with steep drops to the water below, and only a foot at most of trail. Covered in snow, it was more frightening than strenuous. There were a couple sections of steep climbs, and I even had to scale a couple rocks. Not what I was expecting. It was a great time.

In most retail situations, especially those involving crowds and lines, one would think frigid temperatures and steady snow would encourage people to stay home. But these mean nothing to the REI crowd. Today all the local REI’s had an attic sale. I went up to College Park, planning to arrive just as the store opened and get my pick of the merch. Apparently I was supposed to get there far before the store opened, and pick up a ticket. Instead I arrived as the store opened, and spent an hour browsing around the normal REI, before they let me into the warehouse-style back room to pick and choose what was left.

The REI attic sale is semi-annual sale REI retail stores hold to get rid of the somewhat large quantity of imperfect returns they get, thanks to their very generous return policy. Plenty of clothes that have been worn once, but also shoes that have seen week long hiking trips, water bottles without lids, cycling shoe wind covers with broken zippers, and – somehow- tripods with only two legs. People will apparently return anything. I got a pair of running shoes, normally $90, for $30, with no explanation for what was wrong with them. They seem new. I also got a pair of XS women’s tights  for $19 – not for myself, obviously. They were normally $70. Apparently these tights were involved in a photoshoot of some sort, though they also seem new. And then I got a pair of cleats for my cycling shoes, normally $30 (at REI, somewhat less elsewhere) for $15, missing the hardware – screws you use to attach the cleats to your shoes. But while cleats wear out, the hardware usually doesn’t, so I’ll just what I have.

Overall, it was just barely worth the effort, but I had nothing better to do on a 18 degree snowy morning. At some point I’ll give it another shot, and I will plan on getting there half an hour or so before the store opens.

I have been trying to move the class-factor of my cooking up a notch recently. This week I made chicken thighs in white wine & herbs, a recipe from a new cookbook I got for Christmas. And tonight I made sweet potato and sage gratin, my new favorite way to eat sweet potatoes, inspired by a recipe from the kitchn. Basically baking sweet potatoes in sage-flavored cream, then covering them in bread crumbs and cheese. The pecorino romano adds a little more punch than your standard parmesan , but that will work too. More flavorful than any other way I’ve had the tubers.

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 med onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/8-1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
• 1/8 tsp chipotle pepper powder
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
• Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Peel and slice the potatoes. Toss them in the baking dish w/ a little salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat and slowly caramelize the onions. When the onions are dark, add the garlic and cook just until golden. Reserve a tablespoon of the chopped sage and add the rest to the onions, along with the chipotle powder and cream. Cook until the cream is slightly reduced then remove from the heat.
3. Arrange the potatoes in a single (or close to single) layer in the baking dish. Lifting the onions out of the cream with a slotted spoon, and layer on top. Pour the cream over the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are barely tender.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in the skillet and toast the rest of the sage and the breadcrumbs until golden and fragrant, a few minutes. Remove from heat and toss with the Pecorino Romano. Sprinkle over top of the gratin and return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until brown and crispy.

Can’t be beat, I promise.

I had a great holiday in Chicago, with highlights including football in the snow, a long day snowboarding, New Year’s Eve at the cousin of Koi, and a lot of relaxing time at home.

Now I’m back in my apartment, enjoying the DC winter (slightly warmer than Chicago). I went for a chilly ride on Saturday; the first half was fast, then I realized we were dropping people, and I didn’t want a fast ride, so I dropped back and took the rest of the ride easy with a buddy. Sunday it was too cold too ride, so I spent most of the day indoors. Despite that, I was able to check something off of my list that I’ve been eyeing for months. I have a giant space of blank wall between my bedroom/living room and my kitchen. I’ve been wanting to put a giant mirror there ever since I came across this Apartment Therapy post on big mirrors in small spaces. This is a favorite. Anyways, yesterday I came across a 6′2″ tall mirror on craigslist that I thought would be perfect, and I was able to convince the owner to deliver it. My apartment feels much more complete now that that is done.

Tonight, in a reckless spending spree, I decided I had enough of dreaming about real vanilla beans. So I ambled on over to Beanilla and took care of that. I’m eager to make another batch of vanilla cupcakes based on this recipe, but this time with real vanilla beans.

I need to get back to riding to work, but I keep telling myself there is probably snow on the trail. The winter has a way of sapping one’s ambition.

At least I have a trainer and an air conditioned fitness room in the basement.

Saturday it snowed all day. It was definitely the most snow I’ve seen at one time since I moved to the DC area. Around noon I took advantage of the relatively mild temperatures and beautiful, snowy day, and went for a hike on the Rock Creek Trail. Or at least I think it was the Rock Creek Trail. Everything was covered in snow, and once you got off the roads, there were really no landmarks. No way to get your bearings. It was fantastic. There were a few other people on the trail; not so many that it preventing you from feeling alone in the woods at times, but enough that if you got lost, somebody else would probably find you huddled in the snow. Everyone was having a great time and just soaking it all in. When I came up for air, out of Rock Creek Park, I found myself somewhere near Whitehaven and Massachusetts. I walked back home on the streets, though Dupont, where I saw several foolhardy cars trying to make it up the hill on Connecticut.

It was a fun day. Sunday was bright and sunny all day, as DC tried to dig out. The work continues today, and I have the day off from work as a result.

And to think, just yesterday there was no sign of snow on the ground.