JUNK RUNTAH

Authentic Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patricks Day! At our house, we dont go crazy celebrating this holiday, even though Kevin is Irish. We do usually make a traditional meal with Kevins favorite foods. If youre looking for inspiration, try pairing colcannon with lamb or corned beef. I love colcannon because its a mixture of cabbage and potatoes, its hearty and really tasty! This recipe is very close to what I make, although I usually add cheese. Whats better than loaded mashed potatoes mixed with sauteed cabbage?
One thing Kevin loves to make every year is Irish soda bread. This recipe was passed down to us from his great grandmother, so its both special and authentic!
Authentic Irish Soda Bread
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine,
8 oz. of raisins *optional
2 eggs, beaten
buttermilk (~ 1 cup, enough to make stiff dough)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Mix the butter into the dry mixture with a wooden spoon, until it is well incorporated. Add in raisins and beaten eggs, mix. Add enough buttermilk to form a stiff dough (probably ~1 cup but this amount will vary). Bake until a knife or toothpic inserted comes out clean, for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. We usually bake it in a cast iron skillet and put a cross in the top of the dough. If it begins to brown too much before it is done in the middle, tent with foil.

Enjoy a slice with butter for breakfast or a snack. This makes a good addition to dinner if you omit the raisins (or not, if you like).

Available link for download

as good as sliced bread Trigger Point Massage Ball

One of my many mini ailments over the years has been tight muscles. Yes, Yes i know that Yoga and stretching are things that I need to do, but never seem to be able to get around to it.

My hot zones include my IT band, especially where my bulging quad muscle transitions to the it band, my hamstrings, lower back, psoaz,
soleus by the calf


back of the shoulder


piroformis


Without my usual rub down and physiotherapist on staff Ive resorted to a whole cadre of tools to help. These include some of my most prized possesions and all fall into the Hurts so good catagory. Such as The Stick



Ive got the blue one. I love this thing. the key to it is to get deep into the muscles when they are in an unflexed state. It takes a little experimenting to find the right positons to hit things like the hamstrings totally unflexed and to find the piriformis.



The key to it is these rollers that surround a slightly flexible core so you can really bend it and lay it into your muscles. The transition between my quad and IT band is like a square edge so that when I roll the stick over it it will stop until I give it more oomph.

Love it on my quads, hams, and piriformis.

One of my favorite aids is the Theracane.


I can really get to the sweet spots of my upper back with this. I often combine it with this ointment called Bio Freeze. After using both I can definitely feel some relief on my external rotators.

But while using the theracane feels sooooo so good, I havent found it to truly release my muscles like you hear about. The theory is that stimulating these trigger points of knots helps the muscle release and regain its flexibility.

For the IT band I got one of these foam rollers


This was outside of the hurts so good realm to, omgood help me. It took a few weeks before I could put unsupported weight onto my quad/IT band. Again, with some funky positions I can really get to my piriformis.

Ive been working out my external rotators on a regular basis which has helped significantly with being able to keep my elbows out in downhilling. But they get really tender and soar and knotty. The best thing Ive found so far for relief has been the elbows of my kids. Once they find the right spot I just have them lay into it with their full weight. But it takes about 5 minutes of wait, wait, just a little higher, no to the left, ahhh not there that is my bone, higher, higher...wait wait right there......

Then the get tired, and cya.

Id been thinking about this product called the Trigger Point Massage ball for a while.


Ive tried tennis balls, and the even the corners of walls to get deep into the muscle. The idea behind this is that the ball simulates the same combination of give firmness seen in a thumb. Where you have a flexible outer and then a firm core. This allows you to get deep into the belly of the muscle to really work it out.

When I first got it I was squeezing it and didnt really see how it did what they say. But when I followed the instructions...Well lets just say Im a firm believer in it. The instructions say to either use it against a wall or the floor or to press it in using your hand, to wait 5 seconds then take a deep breath and then roll it around a around the trigger point.

The instructional DVD calls this a hurts so good technology. When I first used it, I put it on the floor and laid down on at my rear shoulder. Well, I didnt need to take a deep breath, because I pretty much was gasping like Id been hit in the solar plexus or had jumped into a freezing lake. It just took my breath away. And rolling it around the trigger point, again. Heavan and hell in one.

But something was different than like when Id used the theracane. For the first time in memory I could turn my head to the side farther than I ever could. I mean it really did seem to release the muscle. Ive used it on my lower back, shoulder, hamstring, soleus, chest, IT quad.

oh man, I went riding over the weekend and didnt bring it. My seat had moved back on the rails over the past few months, and I moved it back to the right spot. This change was very noticeable to my piriformis. And Id left my ball at home.

Im telling you, for real, the first thing I did when I got home was get this thing and sit on it

What Im realizing is that I need to use it almost every day. My muslces just want to revert back to that tight, knotted position. Ive had a little bit of rolfing done years ago. One of the theories behind it is that the fascia that is on top of the muscle hardens up over time and maintains poor position. Id like to go through the whole rolfing procedure sometimes cause I think it did work. This TP ball might be the closest thing.

I want to get this masochistic device made of the same material to replace the foam roller. Ive heard that this thing hurts so good/bad that it makes the foam roller seem like a walk in the park.

Anyway, I love this thing

Available link for download