June Coffee Date – Make Mine Iced

Hello and welcome to the May edition of The Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco from Running With Perseverance and Deborah from Confessions of a Mother Runner, where we dish over coffee (or tea, if that is your preference) about all things running (and some non-running topics too).

If we were having coffee, the first thing I would do is give you this recipe for coffee. Iced cold-brew coffee, to be exact. One of my favorite summertime treats.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you if you have ever tried planting lettuce stumps. Why did it take me so long to learn about this phenomenon?

I did it with three heads of Romaine, but apparently any type of lettuce works.

You cut the leaves off the lettuce and make them into salad, then, rather than discarding the stumps, place them in a shallow bowl of water for a few days.

The center of each stump will green up and begin to sprout.

At that point, you can plant them in dirt and the lettuce will generate enough leaves to actually make it worthwhile.

This photo was taken after about a week or so. Now, after three weeks, the lettuce plants are almost a foot high, and I am ready for some free salad!

Botany is amazing.

Of all the races that have been canceled this year, the one I am most disappointed about is The Vinewinder 5K, held at a local vineyard.

It was supposed to be my youngest son’s first race.

He started running this spring and we all planned to do this race together. The race could not be rescheduled. We did get our registration fees refunded, which I was grateful for,  but I was looking forward to seeing my son cross the finish line of his first race.

Luckily, that pleasure will not be deferred for too long. I found a race within easy driving distance of our house that will be held in real life this summer.

The Hellbender Half Marathon is a race I have done several times before, including last year. We, of course, will do the 5K this year.

The tiny race, done on a beautiful flat rail trail, will be perfect for a first-race experience.

I am so happy to have a real live race on my calendar again, and to be able to participate in my son’s first race makes it even more special.

Finally, if we were having coffee, I would tell you about my favorite day of the year.

It’s the day the first fresh strawberries are available in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, this year, May 16.

I take my strawberries seriously.

Grocery store strawberries should not be allowed to be called strawberries, in my opinion. They should have to have a silent “p” in front of their name – “pstrawberries“. The “p” stands for “pseudo-”

Just like “krab” cannot be spelled “crab” because it’s not really crab, “pstrawberries” do not taste or smell like “strawberries” to me.

The first quart of strawberries was practically gone by the time we drove home from the farm, so we had to go back the next day and get two more quarts.

My goal is to eat fresh strawberries (without question my favorite food) every day until the season ends in late June or until they start coming out my ears, whichever comes first.

Thank you for joining me for our Coffee Date. See you again at the beginning of July for more coffee and conversation.

 

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