I know that is not a word but I don’t have another word for a gathering of cousins from all over the country and Canada who are landing in Hilton Head for a mini-reunion to celebrate a birthday. What started out as a group that had gathered five years ago, has expanded to include even more cousins. There are a lot of us. Twenty years ago we had a family reunion when three of our parents siblings were still with us and there were over 100 of us. Now all the older generation are gone, with the passing of my mother last June, so it is up to us to make a reunion happen. The cousins are spread literally across Canada and into the United States. Many of them leave the frozen north in the winter and make their way to Florida, Arizona, California and South Carolina. Only two of us actually live in the US, the others are still residents of Canada. In Canada they live coast to coast from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. It really is quite remarkable that we get to see each other considering the distance. So, happy reunion.

Training This Week

This week has gone well despite the fact that we traveled to Tennessee and back so spent quite a bit of time in the car. Still trying to figure out how to use my Apple Watch properly but was able to get a pretty accurate record of my walks. What is interesting is that some of the walks are intervals and I have actually being doing a slow jog during those times. I have always done a little jogging, not running, when it felt right and what has happened over the last five weeks is that I am more and more comfortable doing a little bit of jogging. To give you an example, today’s was a 40 minute interval which started out with a 10 minute warm up, then a series of 2 minute faster paced walk/run/jog, 2 minute recovery, repeated 3 times, then a 3 minute with a 3 minute recovery, then a final 2 minute/2 minute recovery into a 10 minute cool down. I loved it and could not believe how fast it went.

Walking in Tennessee

While in Tennessee, I did manage to get in a long walk/hike through the campus of The University of the South. It is always fun to explore, on foot, new places and this I did. I did ask for directions from a lady on a horse and then from a student when I was coming out of the woods and wasn’t quite sure which way to turn but it all worked out really well. Directions are a funny thing and when the horse lady said to turn right go to the end of the road and turn left and right in front of you is a path through the woods to a dormitory where you turn right and go up the hill and back to the center of campus, she left out a few details. However, I did get back and didn’t really get lost.

Great Recipe for You to Try

This recipe comes to me from a cousin on John’s side of the family. Anne served it to us on Thursday night and it was delicious. She shared the recipe with me and I know you will love it. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnuts and Crispy Bits

Source: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/pan-roasted-romanesco-with-hazelnuts-and-crispy-bits

Ingredients

• 1 medium head of cauliflower (about 2 lb.), trimmed
• Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• ¼ cup skin-on or blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 2 tsp. white wine vinegar
• Flaky sea salt
• Lemon wedges (for serving)

Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Stand cauliflower on its stem and cut it from top to bottom into 1″-thick slabs. Don’t worry about the outer edges that may crumble or smaller florets that break away; nudge those into a pile along with any nice-looking leaves. Cut loose bits into ½” pieces; season bits and cauliflower steaks with kosher salt.
• 2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add 2 Tbsp. oil and slip cauliflower steaks into pan—puzzle them together so they don’t overlap; work in batches if needed. Cook, rotating skillet periodically for even browning, until dark brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn and drizzle a bit of oil over second sides and into empty areas of pan. Scatter chopped pieces of cauliflower into spaces between steaks and toss gently to coat with oil (add more if needed).
• 3. Transfer pan to oven; roast cauliflower until a tester inserted into stems slips through without much effort, 15–18 minutes. Steaks should be firm enough to still hold together without being crunchy.
• 4. Transfer steaks to a platter. Return pan with loose pieces of cauliflower to medium-high heat. Add butter, hazelnuts, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until everything is toasted and crisp around the edges, about 4 minutes. Add parsley and vinegar and stir up any browned bits. Spoon over steaks and season with sea salt. Serve with lemon wedges.