Grandma's Kitchen Table

You Did What?

      You can all stop with the reprimanding emails about not getting my posts up in a timely manner.  I know, I know...what can I say, things have been a tad busy around here trying to put things in place and all.   Championship swim season is like that...we all tend to concentrate on the things necessary to get through that with proper nutrition, proper amount of rest, and the proper togs in proper repair and proper working order. 

      Factor in trimester finals at Guerin these past three days, and things can get a bit wild.   

      The boy had a fine performance last evening at the high school state swimming finals.  He went in seeded 11th in the 200 Freestyle and 12th in the 100 Backstroke and at the end of the evening he had indeed qualified for finals in both swims.   

(Photo top is a good view of the fancy swim togs; photo right is preparing to mount the block for the 200 Free...Matt was the only one with a plain white cap, so that made it easy to find him all night; photo left is Matt and Coach Roch waiting for pool entry during warm-ups, and photo below is Chris P, in blue, Matt's USA coach except during high school season, and the CHS coach during high school season, Matt's Guerin coach, Roch, in the black shirt, both watching the CHS/Guerin warm-ups...the two coaches friends since they met last year.)     

      A fun photo of Chrystal as she holds up the shirt she made for Jay to wear for Harrison's two swims.  Harrison comes back today seeded 8th in the 50 Free.   Chrystal and I had a great time watching Matt and Harrison swim...they got to swim the 100 Backstroke together in the same heat, always fun for the two of them as they are great buddies, Harrison swimming for Brebeuf during the high school season.   

      Photo at right is getting zipped into that crazy suit again...Coach Chris P lending a hand, as season or not, sometimes old habits of taking care of your swimmer is just second nature:  Matt has been swimming with Coach Chris P. for the past 4 years for the USA team...anyway, the photo made me smile.   

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       The CHS girl swimmers and friends arriving to cheer on the boys team...and Matt and Harrison, too, of course!  The whole section was filled by the start of the meet and they cheered their hearts out for the guys...very fun! 

      Matt is seeded 14th in the 200 Freestyle (obviously a bit of a tank on that swim...more on that later) and 10th in the 100 Backstroke.  He has a NEW BEST TIME in the 100 Back, 53.14, so he is most delighted with that, of course, as NBTs are always the goal. 

      The 200 Free was the first event of the evening, after the 200 IM relays, and he was really psyched to get in there and swim, etc., so we thought he would do really well with that one, but for some reason, that swim was not there last night...he added eight tenths of a second, which in the swimming world is a lot, especially at state.  When he finished, he came over to the section of stands where we were sitting (deck is down below and fans sit in stands above it, with no way to enter to and from each venue so the kids just yell up in the stands to the parents or make hand motions or whatever) and shook his head in a negative way, with a downcast look, and Mark and I thought, "Oh, no, he didn't make it back for finals in this swim, we hope it doesn't affect his backstroke swim...."  We gave him the thumbs up sign and big smiles and he worked his way to the warm down pool and then to chat with his coach. 

      When the backstroke came along, he swam like a man with a cause...LOL..and we figured he was determined to get back for finals in at least one of his two swims.   It was clear when he finished that he had made a finals time and was one happy boy. 

      And so it went through the meet, us being happy that he made one swim to come back for finals, etc. and indeed, when we met up after the meet, we were encouraging about how well he did, etc., how proud we were of him, etc., and on the way home, talk ensued about swimming, etc. 

      It wasn't until we were home about twenty minutes and I was checking my email that we discovered he HAD MADE FINALS in the 200 Free also.  Geesh.  I got an email from the Athletic Director which was a copy of one he was sending out to the Guerin community on their network, and it said that he was so proud of Matt for making finals in both his swims....I said, "Uh, oh, Chris B. thinks Matt made finals in both his swims, I am going to need to send him an email telling him that Matt only made one final...." 

      Mark relayed the information to Matt and Matt said, "Yeah, I made finals in both."  Mark: "You did what????"  Matt:  "Why did you think I didn't make finals in both?"  So, we cited the downcast look and the shaking of the head "no" after the swim and he said, "Oh, that just meant that I was not happy at all with my swim, that I could not believe I added time on that, and that I was frustrated that I was going to be seeded lower than I was when I came in tonight.  But, I knew I made finals." 

      OMW...Mark and I were just incredulous that for about three hours we thought he hadn't made the final in that swim...they weren't posting the results up on the sidewalls like they do in USA swimming, so we didn't have any way to check and see where he ended up.  Good golly.  Everyone kept saying, "How did Matt do?" and we kept telling everyone he made finals for the back and not the free.  Won't they be surprised?  Not as surprised as we were!  Kids!!!!!  I told him that after this we need a better system of communicating deck floor to stands...LOL. 

      The last photo is Matt (in white) with the CHS swimmers in the blue Superman shirts...everyone checking that scoreboard for all the all-important times!

       Keep the good thoughts, we swim again today at 1:00!  As Roch says:  "It's been a great ride so far!"

Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Crunch Bars

      This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Caramel Crunch Bars, can be found on pages 112-113, and was chosen by Whitney of What's Left on the Table.

  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Whitney's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      This week's recipe was really easy...basically a shortbread crust with a chocolate and toffee bits topping.   

      The only difficult part being chopping up all the chocolate.  Ten minutes of standing there chop, chop, chopping the chocolate into little slivers...not my favorite by a long shot.  Do you suppose there is anyone that sells chocolate already chopped/slivered?  You know, like you can buy chopped nuts?  I would definitely be in line for a package of that, so let me know.  I know, you all love chopping chocolate so you can sneak a bit or two here and there, right?  The only thing that happens here is that it flies everywhere and I am forever rounding it back up to the center of the cutting board.   

      Actually, I cheated a little on the second round of chopped chocolate...it was supposed to be sprinkled on the hot crust and would melt nicely that way.  I figured as the goal was melted chocolate, I could just melt it, spread it over the top, and sprinkle on the toffee bits, no one would be the wiser, and no chopping any more chocolate for me.  (Except now I confessed, so you all know.)  I just could not see me chopping another round of chocolate.   

      Did the guys like the cookie bars?  What do you think...it's a cookie, it's chocolate, it's got toffee sprinkled on top, it's food, and they are pretty much gone.  Next question?  They were a big hit.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Lyb of And Then I do the Dishes and is Chocolate Armagnac Cake:  The Cake That Got Me Fired, and can be found on pages 279-281.

    

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

Who is Going Where When?

      The Blonde is Gone...we are now in the bald phase of swim hair.   

      Matt qualified for the state swimming championships in his two events yesterday.  Coach Voigt instructs, advises, encourages during warm-ups today. 

       He began the day by finishing second in the 200 freestyle in a new personal best time of 1:43:64, just 45 hundredths of second out of first place, which went to Michael G., a senior from CHS, a fellow CSC teammate, fourth went to Matt F., a CHS junior and fellow CSC teammate, while sixth went to Peter, a Westfield High School freshman, and fellow CSC teammate.   In the photo the whole left side are these guys.       

      Here is a good look at the fancy body suit the guys were wearing for finals.  Coach Voigt not only has to know all the swimming techniques, she has to know the techniques of getting her swimmer into that skin-tight, no room to hardly breathe, body suit!  The last step of zipping that thing up rivals the scene in Gone With the Wind when Miss Scarlet is being laced into her party dresses!   

      Later in the afternoon Matt finished 3rd in the 100 backstroke, again in a new personal best time of 53:52 (the 3rd place performance was just 2.14 seconds out of first place, first going to JJ, a senior from CHS, a fellow CSC teammate, second going to Nick, a junior from CHS and fellow CSC teammate, missing from the photo for some reason, and fifth went to Mark C., a CHS freshman and fellow CSC teammate).  I know it seems like maybe there were only three teams present from these podium pictures, but there were in fact eleven high schools represented at this sectional...should be fairly obvious the ones that dominate the lanes.  And Guerin, despite the fact that it is a one man team with no relay points, did NOT finish last...GCHS finished with 25 points and in tenth place, the ninth and eighth places only had 27 and 29 points and they had a whole lot more swimmers!  Not a bad finish for a one man team.   

      We have one very happy boy here today.  We are particularly excited as he is only a sophomore, so we have two more years of high school swimming and this is going to look pretty darn good on the college resume.   

      Here are some fun photos from yesterday, and you know what...I have a long way to go to figure out those camera settings...I think I was doing better before that class...LOL!  Be patient.   I like this photo of Matt F., Michael G., and Matt after the 200 Free...no matter what team you swim for, the CSC kids find their way to the ropes to congratulate and encourage each other...very nice always.     

      Peter and Matt with a "thumbs up" for me after his 100 Back, happy with his new best time.  Peter, Matt, and Alex started swimming together in the same class when Matt and Alex were 7 and Peter was 6...they are the only two left swimming at CSC from their original class of about 20.  Peter and Alex were swimming buddies for years, their birthdays being one year and one day apart.  Peter goes to Westfield High School and swims for them, but as you can see, it's the CSC connections that draw these guys all together...ten years of swimming together is a long time!   

      The last photo is a cute one of John and Beth...Beth running a little late from her volleyball team commitments and John happy she managed to get to the meet to watch him swim.  What a lovely girl Beth is, we had the nicest chat.  It's very strange seeing the boys growing up over the years and now discovering some of them have "girlfriends," while others are going off to college, and some are entering high school...it's all moving way too quickly! 

      Once again, the GCHS Athletic Director, Chris Buhler, came to the swim meet sectionals to support Matt...and stayed for the whole time Matt was participating, about three hours, I think...how nice was that?  Way beyond the call of duty to spend that much of your free time watching ONE student athlete.  That's why we like Guerin...it's always like that in everything.   Very very nice. 

      Keep The Boy in your thoughts and prayers...he has three days of finals starting Wednesday and then the State Swimming Finals on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  That's quite a bit in a short space of time for one 16 year old to concentrate on.  It's going to be another exciting week! 

 

Friday's Favorites Fare

 

READING:  American Lion:  Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham.  I had an array of books from which to choose when I started this book last week, and I picked this one as I had just finished reading several books about Lincoln, the Civil War, etc., and figured that really this would be the way to go, backwards, but the way to go.  In Lincoln's First Inaugural Address he refers to AJ and the seeds of abolition, etc., and it started me thinking about those years when America was changing so very much, i.e. not only the presidency going from the first six presidents who were all wealthy educated men to the seventh, who was decidedly not, but the changes that this president brought about for the democracy at the time: the changes rapidly occurring with expansion, the beginnings of moving away from the agrarian-centered culture to one of expanding industrialization, the railroads, the steamships, the canal system, the growth, the beginnings of accelerated immigration, the removal of the Indians, territorial acquisitions, etc. etc.  So, it was that my hand was wavering over three final choices of reading material and upon thoughts of all the things I have listed and more, my hand dove for the AJ book and I have not looked back since...it is one fine read and I am already overwhelmed with the directions I want to go when I turn the last page of this book.  Life is just great, isn't it?  I know, I know...I lost every single one of you when you read the title of the book and saw it followed by some sort of paragraph of my musings on historical fare.  I am prepared to walk alone, accompanied by my library cards, of course.  Fortunately, I am married to a history geek lover, who is big on aiding and abetting, so it is not as lonely as you might think.

LISTENING TO:  Queen 

FAV NEW FIND:   Cindy and I took a photography class last week designed to teach us more about using the settings on our cameras...I learned a lot!  I have been practicing all week.   Stop laughing.  Right now.

FAV THING TODAY:  Subbing at GCHS...it's always nice to be amongst all the people and students there.  Closely followed by a nice quiet evening at home tonight as we have a busy weekend ahead.

GOING TO:   Sectional swimming finals; unfortunately going on at the same time as the Hoo/Boilermaker game; Hawks play Sunday at 5 in IC taking on the Wolverines; various choir, church, visiting, etc. gigs in the works...a busy and fun weekend. 

PRAYING FOR:   The students at Guerin who will be taking trimester finals this week, please join me, or pray for the students you know. 

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Pintadeaux au Chou (Guinea Hen with Cabbage) pages 44-45; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Caramel Crunch Bars, page 112-113.  You can cook/bake along, too!

Who Did What at Sectional Prelims

       Sectional prelims went well.  Matt went in seeded first in the 200 Free and came out seeded first in the 200 Free.  He added about a half a second in time, so hopefully a little better start and third turn work will shape that up for finals.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

      He went in seeded third in the 100 Backstroke and came out seeded third in the 100 Backstroke, taking off a bit of time, going from 54.34 to a 53.89, so a new best time there, which was nice.  Josh and Nick finished in front of him, as predicted.  (Pictured at left, top to bottom:  Mike V., Josh, Nick...Carmel's powerhouse lineup and Matt's fellow CSC teammates.)  All in all, it was a great evening.   

      We all missed Roch, who couldn't be there due to a work conflict, more on that later in the week, but Mary Lynne is one very fine coach, so she gave Matt lots of encouragement, advice, and support.   The Guerin Athletic Director came to see Matt swim tonight, which was very nice.  How many Athletic Directors do you know who would go to a swim meet in his free time just to watch one student swimmer?  Not many, I would venture.  It meant a lot to Matt that he would come to watch him swim.  We are very lucky.  Pictured on the block is Matt and the last photo is Coach B, the Guerin Catholic Athletic Director, Matt, and Assistant Coach Mary Lynne V all with happy grins this evening, happy to see Guerin Catholic represented in the high school swimming realm.  It was a great evening.  Keep the good thoughts for Saturday's Finals.   

      Gotta go...the Hoos are playing at home against Wisconsin, and my seat is TV side tonight, but down in Hooville, it is another SOLD OUT game.  IU is ahead by two at this point, thought I would say that while I could!  Have a great evening!

 

What's Up?

       The team moms at CHS all decorate the swimmers' lockers, etc.  Since I am the "team" mom at GCHS for our team of one, I made him a poster of sorts for his locker for this week, pictured at the left.  He was happy with it.  At least the kids will know he made sectionals!

        The 2009 Indiana High School Boys Swimming Sectionals begin today!   Here's a little preview going into tonight:  Meet starts at 5:30 at the CHS pool (they alternate pools yearly, so this year happens to be in Matt's home practice pool, which can be good, i.e. you know where all the bathrooms and refreshments are located and you are used to swimming there, and it can be not so good as there is a certain amount of complacency that develops when you are swimming somewhere so familiar).  Prelims are tonight; Finals are Saturday, State is next Friday and Saturday at the Nat in Indy. 

      There are about a dozen high schools represented...from the very large (that would be Carmel) to the very small (that would be Guerin).  It's a tough sectional, one of the toughest, if not THE toughest in the state.  Swimmers can swim two swims and relays (Guerin, of course, does not have a relay as it would not be possible for Matt to swim, jump out, dive back in, swim the next leg, etc. etc.). 

      Matt's two swims are the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Backstroke.  He is seeded first in the 200 Free and third in the 100 Back.  The two seeded ahead of him in the Back are CHS swimmers, fellow CSC teammates of his:  JJ (a senior) and Nick (a junior), both absolutely fantastic swimmers...JJ is going to swim in college at Ohio State next year.  

      I just want you to know that I am more nervous than Matt is...by the end of the evening, I will have absolutely no fingernails left to speak of.   

      Here is a blonding photo from the party last Sunday for the CHS swimmers.  Some of the guys look very very different, Charles and Johnny look exactly the same before and after! 

      I had several emails remarking on my comment in another post about the CHS boys being so cordial to Matt and asking why I found that amazing.  Hmmm...well, here's why:  The CHS girls team is outstanding (obviously winning 23 state championships will back me up on that).  The CHS boys team has always been ranked very high and is very competitive also.  Both teams feed from the Carmel Swim Club. 

      At the high school level, several of the top boy swimmers have chosen to go to private prep schools and not Carmel High School, leaving the boys high school team without some of their top CSC teammate swimmers...i.e. Daniel, Stevie, Matt, Harrison, Scott...with those five not eligible for the Carmel High School team because of their/their parents' choices to attend other high schools, there could be hard feelings from the CHS swimmers, as with those five swimmers on that CHS high school team, there isn't another school in the state that could touch them for the state championship...with those five swimmers, CHS would have both the girls' and the boys' titles. 

      That said, the swimmers and coaches could have chosen to harbor a little wishing that those five were swimming for CHS, but they don't hold it against these swimmers at all, and in fact, go out of their way to make sure everyone feels the same camaraderie they all feel during the USA team meets.  Priceless, believe me.  We are very lucky. 

      Tonight I will be cheering just as hard for the CHS swimmers as the GCHS swimmer...it's a swim family thing as we have been swimming with these boys for ten years.  At this point, they are all "my kid" in the water!  Go guys!  Swim New Best Times!

 

                           

 

Top Row:  Mike V, Charles, Johnny B., John S.

Bottom Row:  Jack, Nick, Jimmy V., Cameron 

Tuesday's with Dorie: Devil's Food White Out Cake

       This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Devil's Food White Out Cake, can be found on pages 247-249, and was chosen by Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater.   If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Stephanie's site above and she will have it posted today.

      If you have seen the cover of the cookbook we are using, you are well familiar with the photo of this week's recipe.  And, I am happy to say, mine looks pretty close to the photo on the cover.  Which took a lot of effort.  A. Lot. Of. Effort.  And THREE kinds of chocolate.   (I have decided that with Dorie's chocolate recipes, you are basically in it for three kinds of chocolate each time.)  The guys here couldn't be happier.   

      The cake part went together very nicely (as usual, I managed to have chocolate from one end of my six foot baking prep area to the other, I don't know how that happens...it doesn't happen normally, but there is always chocolate everywhere when I finish these chocolate recipes...yikes).  I didn't sub anything, baked it exactly as she specified, used the same size pans, etc. and it looked pretty perfect when I took it out of the oven.   

      The frosting, however, was very exciting.  I have never made marshmallows before, so it was rather fun to get to basically make marshmallow icing.  Whipping up egg whites, boiling sugar and water, pouring them together when the liquid is boiling and beating it like crazy for five minutes...what's not to love about all that???  Very exciting. 

      We were to cut the layer cakes into four halves and then crumbled one of the halves to use for the cake crumbles you see on the white icing on the outside.  Let me just say, that despite the fact that it was more messing around with chocolate than I thought possible, it was a VERY GOOD THING that those chocolate crumbs went quickly and directly onto that cake, because otherwise, I could easily have been dipping into that icing all afternoon. 

      That icing is so very good...I literally licked the spatula...something I rarely do, but soft, warm, gooey, oozing, vanilla-scented, marshmallow...just too much to resist.   

      My taste testers are Mark and Matt this week...both of them absolutely delighted with the results.  I would give you more comments from them, but their mouths were full of cake and icing with looks of ecstasy in their eyes...I think that is probably recommendation enough. They both did say this is probably one of the very best things I have made from the TWD recipes.  (And those of you who tune in just on TWD days, if you are wondering about Matt's newly blonde hair, you can scroll down to last Friday's post...it's a swimming thing...only another swim parent can really understand swim hair.)

      Make the cake...the hugs and kisses you get are great rewards!   

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Whitney of What's Left on the Table and is Caramel Crunch Bars, found on page 112-113.  

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Who and What

      It's been quite a weekend around here.   I think I have pretty thoroughly covered the girls swimming and now am ready to start thinking toward boys swimming sectionals which are Thursday night for prelims and Saturday for finals.  I happen to have a boy swimmer in the sectionals, so that seems a fair way to get my mind thinking now.  His shoulders seem to be holding their own, so we are hopeful that the swims will be good this week. 

      Unfortunately, the sectionals and state fall during Guerin's second trimester finals prep/finals time and there is more than just swimming for Matt to stay focused on...we shall see.    

      We celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday rather than Saturday as we knew we could have the entire day together.  Yellow roses...I have never gotten yellow roses before, so that was different, lovely, and nice...they look so cheerful sitting on the kitchen counter.  I really love flowers...you can say anything you want with flowers and never need to go a step further...Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday, I think, as I always get flowers...what a treat! 

      Yesterday in Hooville was wonderful.  We had a lovely drive down and back, always nice to get to chat and have actual conversations with your spouse without the daily interruptions, oh, and kids....  Lennies for lunch was great...can't go wrong with their French Onion Soup and a crab cake...we arrived just as they were opening and by the time we left, it was packed with every single person wearing cream and crimson IU attire. 

      I have mentioned before that Mark has a brother, who shall not remain nameless...Al...who attended Purdue and works for Purdue, as does his wife, Susan.  A little while back I mentioned that there was no better place to be a fan than at IU and he begged to differ, of course, those Boilermakers being what they are and all about their feelings about IU (and vice versa, of course), so I am going to present it to all of you and let you decide. 

      Yesterday's game was a complete sell-out, rafter to rafter at Assembly Hall.  There were no seats unsold.  They may even have worked in a few seats that aren't normally there...it was that SOLD OUT!  How many teams do you know that can SELL OUT their stadiums in a year with a brand new coach, the youngest team ever assembled, only one conference win to date, only six wins on the year, and for a game they KNOW they probably do NOT have even a prayer of winning?  Like I said, there is no better place to be a basketball fan than at IU! 

      While the first half was a little (okay, a lot) shaky, the second half was riveting!  On your feet, leave your seat, action!  While our win column is a little lacking this year, our GIVE THEM A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY column is outstanding!  Just wait.  Just. Wait.  

      And, speaking of those Boilermakers, who were, incidentally in Hawkeye land this weekend, the Hawks gave them a run for their money also.  Get this:  Hawks were playing without their three best players, one of their "count-it three-point shooters" could not buy a basket in that game, Jake while good, wasn't his stellar self...all that coupled with the young team, the coach only in second year, and those HAWKS had those Boilers running and sweating and scared until the very end.  I'm just saying...just wait! 

      I enjoyed the movie very much, and we had a lovely dinner at Claddaugh (I know, French Onion Soup twice in one day...now that's a celebration in itself!).  Hope you all had a great Valentine's Weekend and are enjoying this fine sunny day.

      When Matt finishes swim practice this morning, we are just going to spend the day enjoying going from here to there on whatever whim inspires us as he has no school today.   Happy President's Day!

Who, What, When, Where: Part III

Congratulations!

Sent to me from Paul, CSC Board Member and CHS Swimming Parent:

Subject: 2009 IHSAA Girl's Swimming State Champions

The Carmel High School Girl's Swimming & Diving Team captured is 23rd consecutive IHSAA State Championship this afternoon at the IU Natatorium.  The win establishes a new National Record for consecutive state championships by all female sports.  The Hounds did not disappoint the hundreds of loyal supporters that packed the east side of the Nat. 

Some of the highlights:

200 Yard Medley Relay Champions: Jessie Hammes, Lauren Stauder, Devon Mason, Megan Detro (1:41.68) - New School, State, and National High School Record

200 Yard Freestyle Champion: Logan Mason (1:48.99) - New School Record

200 Yard Individual Medley Champion: Trish Regan (2:01.83) - New School Record

50 Yard Freestyle Champion: Megan Detro (:23.47)

100 Yard Butterfly: Jessie Hammes prelim time of :54.50 was a New School Record

500 Yard Freestyle Champion: Lauren Jordan (4:53.95)

200 Yard Freestyle Relay Champions: Megan Detro, Jessie Hammes, Logan Mason, Trish Regan (1:31.75) - New School, State, and National High School Record

100 Yard Backstroke Champion: Jessie Hammes (:55.29) - time of :55.02 in prelims was a School Record

100 Yard Breaststroke: Lauren Stauder finals swim of 1:02.84 - New School Record

400 Yard Freestyle Relay Champions: Carly Marshall, Logan Mason, Rhiannon Sheets, and Trish Regan (3:24.22) - New School and State Record

In total, the girls captured all three relay championships, 5 individual championships, set 9 School Records, 3 State Records, and 2 National Records.  The point total of 427 was the most scored by a girl's team in IHSAA history.  Head Coach, Chris Plumb won the Coach of the Year Award and Senior Jessie Hammes won the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award. 

Who, What, When, Where, PART II: CHS Wins 23!

From Bob Kravitz' article in the Indy Star:

Today, though, the country's most overwhelming sports dynasty -- in high school, college or the pros -- belongs to the Carmel High School girls swimming and diving team.

With Saturday's dominant, record-setting performance, the Greyhounds won their 23rd straight state championship -- yes, 23rd -- establishing themselves as the longest-standing active sports dynasty in the United States.

Twenty-three.

Consider this: The seniors on the 1987 team who began this run are now . . . 40 years old. Just don't ask them for an ID.

And you thought this was a basketball state.

He goes on to say a lot more, explain the USA Carmel Swim Club "feeder system" for the high school, and various other fun facts. 

      It is always difficult for those who know us to understand the difference between the Carmel High School Swim Team (CHS) and the Carmel Swim Club Team (CSC).   They practice in the same pool at the Carmel High School and are made up of mostly the same swimmers. 

      The high school team is made up of swimmers at Carmel High School, most of who are also members of the year-round USA Carmel Swim Club team. 

      The Carmel Swim Club team is made up of swimmers from about age 6 through high school, and then some of the college kids who swam with the team in those years also come home in the summers and swim with the Carmel Swim Club.

       It gets confusing at the high school level because the majority of the Carmel Swim Club members go to Carmel High School for their high school careers, they swim for Carmel High School during the high school swim season (October through February).  There are Carmel Swim Team members who do not go to Carmel High School, but go to private high schools...Matt, Ali, and Harrison, for example.  Then there are some like Daniel and Stevie who don't swim for their private high schools, but just swim club year round.  It gets confusing! 

      So, while Matt swims for the Carmel Swim Club (for the past 10 years), he does not swim for the Carmel High School team as he goes to Guerin Catholic High School.  So, for the high school season, they are all still members of the Carmel Swim Club, but the high school swimmers also have different teams they swim on for high school sports.  Make sense now? 

      All that said, the Carmel High School swimmers are fantastic to Matt...they include him in as much as possible and last year, Matt the lone Golden Eagle, was invited to sit with them on their bench at sectionals and state, which meant a lot to him that all his friends would support him even though he did not choose to go to CHS for high school.  Believe me, it could easily have gone the opposite, but the CHS swimmers and coaches are a class act in things like that, no ill feelings whatsoever on the choice.  It's a great group, both the CHS swimmers and the CSC swim family. 

      I will try to get photos posted with this later, but I am off and running today to Bloomington...hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!  NUMBER 23...WOW, CHS...WOW!

      Oh, and also, the 200 Medley Relay team that broke the national record on Friday night, came back yesterday for the finals round and swam even faster, by about a half a second, I believe, to break their own record and now have even a faster time!  It's been quite a weekend! 

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE....NEW NATIONAL SWIM RECORD FOR CHS!

THE CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL GIRL'S SWIMMING STATE IS OFF TO A GREAT START...EVENT NO. 1 AND THEY HAVE SET A NEW NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL RECORD in the 200 Medley Relay!  They are now FIRST in the entire nation in this swim...WAY TO GO, CHS, AND, OF COURSE, JESSIE, LAUREN, DEVON, AND MEGAN!!   See news story below from Lane 9:

Carmel High Girls Set National High School Medley Relay Record -- February 13, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, February 13. AT the Indiana High School State Championships, Carmel High broke the national high school standard in the 200 medley relay during prelims. At the prestigious IU Natatorium at IUPUI, the foursome of Jessie Hammes (25.45), Lauren Stauder (28.68), Devon Mason (25.31) and Megan Detro (22.65) clocked a collective time of 1:42.09. The performance cleared the public school record of 1:42.71 set by Arrowhead High in Wisconsin in 2005, while the time also beat the overall standard of 1:42.35 set by The Bolles School last year, which will still stand as the independent record.

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  American Lion:  Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. 

LISTENING TO:  Neil Young's Heart of Gold. 

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Blanquette de Lotte aux Petits Légumes (Monkfish in White-Wine Cream Sauce with Vegetables); Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Devil's Food White Out Cake, page 247-249.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Matt looks good as a blonde, too!

FAV THING TODAY:  Spending the day with Matt as Guerin has a 4-day weekend for President's Day.  We had a nice time just ambling about doing this and that as the spirit moved us.  Picked up his new swimming togs for the upcoming sectionals/state high school swimming meets.   

      And, who in their wildest dreams knew we would be bleaching Matt's hair today...OMW! 

      The Carmel High School boys swim team has a tradition of bleaching their hair the week before sectionals (Matt goes to Guerin High School, but he swims with all the Carmel High School boys in the Carmel Swim Club, confusing, I know), so they invited him to join them in this little tradition by bleaching his hair with them.   

      Since they were all going to do it on Sunday afternoon while Matt had choir rehearsal, we decided to just get it done today.  How much fun was this????   

      So, the hair is bleached, and will remain so for about twelve days, when the boys all shave their heads for the state swim meet, at which point all the blonde will be gone.  It was fun day. 

GOING TO:   Watch Big Ten Basketball, that's always a given this time of year, Hoos play on Sunday at 1:00 in Hooville, so we will go down for lunch, game, movie, dinner, etc. and Hawks play Saturday at 4:05, Eastern Time, in IC, taking on the Boilermakers...lots of black and gold at that game; probably check in at the girls swimming state finals to see how the CSC girls are all doing (ranked first in the state for the past 23 years, I would think the answer to that would be "fairly good") and hopefully catch Ali on a relay team for the Braves; numerous bits and pieces between the above.  It promises to be one very fine weekend. 

PRAYING FOR:   Safe travel for all the swimming families on the road to Indy this weekend...and all other travelers as well...Guerin had a long weekend, and many of the families are on the road, taking advantage of the additional days to vacation here and there, please join me. 

PHOTOS:  Matt's little transformation this afternoon.  I knew you would all have to see it to believe it!

Whisk Wednesdays: Pigeonneaux en Papillote (Squab Cooked in Papillotes) {Substitute salmon for squab.}

       The recipe prepared for this week's assignment is from Class 21, Part 3: Pigeonneaux en Papillote (Squab Cooked in Papillotes). {Substitute salmon for squab.}  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu At Home on pages 219-220.  

       Since we are focusing on cooking fish, I made the salmon substitution for the squab.  I was going to try snapper with fennel, as that was another option, but I could not come up with any decent snapper, while the salmon was lovely this week.   

      I have cooked en papillote before, and in fact is an excellent choice to send along when cooking a meal for another family as you can do all the prep ahead, they just need to pop it in the oven at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes, and dinner is hot and on the table!   

        There are so many combinations you can use when cooking with this method...this week I used shallots, mushrooms, lemon, a little white wine, and just a dot or two of butter with a little salt and pepper in the packet with the salmon.     

      You can buy parchment paper in white (more elegant looking for a more formal occasion) or brown (more rustic looking, and my preferred color as I think it just looks lovely with the little brown packet all toasty looking with splatters of melted this and that all over it), the price is the same. 

      Very delicious...Mark raved about it, and there was nary a crumb to be seen on his plate at meal's end.  The younger guys were not here for dinner this evening, so you will just need to trust the recommendations of Mark's clean plate with my "very delicious" review.  Easy, easy recipe. 

      Come on, give it a try...it's sort of like campfire cooking with those little foil packets we used to call Hobo Meals when we were kids...just as fun now as it was then!  

      If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there. 

Next Week's Assignment

• Class 21, Part 4:
Blanquette de Lotte aux Petits Légumes (Monkfish in White-Wine Cream Sauce with Vegetables) pages 408-409

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Floating Islands

      Well, this week's recipe is happening this week, just can't say for sure when...obviously not in a timely manner on Tuesday.  Sorry about that, fellow TWD bakers!  I will try to post it here at some point during the week. 

What: Something Special!

       Tonight was the presentation of the sophomore class rings at GCHS.  The parents and students celebrated with a Mass, a blessing of the rings, and the presentation.  (Photo at left is Principal Wagner calling the students to the front, Father presenting the ring to Matt.)  

      We managed a few photos, not too many, so hope you enjoy these.  (Photo at right is AJ getting his ring, since quite a few of you know AJ, I figured I would include his photo, and the next photo is Father with The Lovely Tess and Laura after the ceremony.)   

     

 

 

 

 

 

      We had a wonderful time, beginning to end...it is always fun seeing the kids and seeing them excited about things, like new class rings!   

 

 

 

 

      It was also fun to see what colors and styles they all chose.   Matt chose his birthstone color, red.  His hands have grown since the sizing, so it will need to be resized.  He got it on his left hand long enough for me to take a photo (there was no way he could get it on his right hand at all).  At first I thought maybe he just couldn't get it on as he had just finished swimming practice for three hours, and his hands might be a little swollen, water-logged, or whatever from that, but I think regardless, we are going to get it resized right away so that he can comfortably wear it rather than struggling with getting it off and on. 

      He is very excited to have a class ring...one more step on that path to eventual graduation, I guess.   

      Did you all catch the CBS News Sunday Morning show yesterday, the segment about Lincoln, and see James McPherson chatting about his book Tried by War?   And, I am sure you all remembered that this is one of the books I am currently reading...now all those comments about me reading books that "no one EVER reads or KNOWS about or has even ever HEARD of..."  See...I kept telling you, it was only a matter of time until I ended up on the cutting edge!  LOL!  Oh, and I highly recommend the book...it is very very good.  And, when you finish that one, he has about a dozen others that are just as nice.  Justsoyouknow.

      The foot of snow is GONE...all melted away in the high 40s-high 50s temperatures we have been having here these past several days.  I don't need to see any more snow this winter, really...I am just fine going directly to spring right now.

       Last but not least this evening, because I have had many emails asking for the update on Ali's swims this weekend, here again is our guest contributor, via an excerpt from an email to me after the meet on Saturday, aka, the proud papa, Buddy:   "As for my prize challenge, she made me very proud. She was the top seed in the Fly consolation finals and won that heat.  Her time was 6^th fastest but she came in 7^th.  She returned in the 500 Free seeded 9^th but had a great race, cut time from Thursday night, and came in 8^th.  Should have won and come in 7^th.  Ali will once again be an alternate on the 200 IM Relay next weekend since we had a state cut time.   I am a very proud Dad tonight."

     Buddy isn't the only one proud of The Happy Girl...we are all very proud of all that Ali accomplished this year as it is her "aging up" year and she is a year young for her grade in school...great job, ALI!  New Best Times!!!

 

Friday's Favorites Fare

 

READING:  Decided to go back through Team of Rivals and Tried by War and re-read bits and pieces...they compliment each other nicely, and there are things brought up in each book that explain things a little better than in the other book, some of the viewpoints of the same people, occasions, etc., differing in viewpoint and therefore interesting to read the two together. 

LISTENING TO:  I'm getting really tired of winter...listening to the Beach Boys and counting the days until Bill comes to open the pool...80 days in case you were wondering. 

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Pigeonneaux en Papillote (Squab Cooked in Papillotes) pages 219-220 {Substitute salmon for squab.}; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Floating Islands, pages 401-402.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Update on Ali's Swims last evening, compliments of Buddy:   "Top 6 come back for big deal Finals. 7 thru 12 swim in Consolation Finals Saturday. Ali finished 7th in fly.  Missed 6th place by .05 second.  Finished 9th in 500 Free but comes back for consolation in that event. Looks like the Braves are solidly in 2nd place behind the Panthers."  (It's rather nice to have a guest contributor here every once in awhile!  Good luck on Saturday, Ali!  Remember, they can never take a better time away from you...swim for best times!) 

FAV THING TODAY:  Lunch with Katie...always a nice time.  

GOING TO:   Watch Big Ten Basketball, that's always a given this time of year, Hoos play on Saturday at 4:00 at MSU and Hawks play right after that at 6:00 in IC, taking on the Wildcats; probably check in at the girls swimming sectional finals to see how the CSC girls are all doing (ranked first in the state for the past 23 years, I would think the answer to that would be "fairly good"); check in with the parental units in Elwood on Sunday; Matt is going hiking with the Knights in Brown County on Sunday as it is supposed to be 50 degrees here by then, be still my heart! 

PRAYING FOR:   Okay, I admit it:  warmer weather! 
PHOTO:  Something from around our pool from last summer.  No one really wants to see any more snow photos, do they?  I didn't think so.  From closest, around clockwise:  Adam, Colin, Matt (with pink football), Alex, and Jake...summer cannot get here soon enough!

Who, What, When

      Photo of Matt and Ali on their way out the door after a concert during the Christmas season...Ali sporting her Swimming and Diving sweatshirt from her school team.

      Championship swimming season is at hand, well, at least for the girls!  (The boys' sectionals begin in two weeks.)  Ali swims tonight, so all kind thoughts and any number of prayers for success as she is looking for a state time...tonight she is seeded 6th in the 100 Fly and 7th in the 500 Free.  Prelims tonight, finals Saturday at 1:00.  Go, Ali, Swim Fast!  

      Did you see the HooHawk game last night?  Hoos prevailed, and the fans were on fire at Assembly Hall...you would have thought it was a game for the National Championship instead of the Hoos just looking for their first conference win and getting it!  Even in a building year, even with the youngest team ever assembled, even with a coach in his first year:  there is no better place to be a basketball fan than at Indiana! 

 

Whisk Wednesdays: Bar à la Normande (Sea Bass with Mushrooms and Cream)

• Class 21, Part 2 (Post on Wednesday, February 4):
Bar à la Normande (Sea Bass with Mushrooms and Cream) pages 180-181

      I finally made this bass recipe this evening (a week late, February 11th), and it was a very big hit here...the guys, as well as myself, loved every last bite of it. 

      The bass is very mild and fresh tasting (scored it at a fancy seafood restaurant here in Carmel that has it flown in, so it was very fresh tasting and wonderful texture...oh my!).  It doesn't smell up the house while cooking at all, which is a very big plus.   

      I didn't do all the cleaning, skinning, etc., as I just purchased it with all that done for me.  While a bit pricey ($26.00 a pound), I had them cut three 5 ounce portions (the one you see on my plate is half of one portion, so it was about 2-1/2 ounces, which was a nice size), so we splurged a little on this meal, but it was very good, delightfully flavorful, and there was not a scrap left when all was said and done.   

      The fish was poached in wine and water (we had the option of using fish stock in place of the water, but since the bass is so mild tasting, I figured I would stick with the wine and water and not complicate things overly much) with a minced shallot thrown in also. 

      The sauce is made from reducing the cooking liquids by half and then adding the creme fraiche and whisking that in.  I might reduce the liquids even further next time to produce a thicker sauce, but this sauce was very lovely on its own. 

      This was one very easy and quick meal...we rounded it off with steamed broccoli and cinnamon glazed butternut squash and I surrounded the fish with the sauteed mushrooms as the recipe suggested...I love mushrooms, can you tell?  The guys also put away a mini loaf of bread, because, well, because they like artisan breads and can do things like that because they are guys and all. 

      Go ahead, buy the book...you can substitute other kinds of fish for this...the method, sauce, and taste is so wonderful, even if you never make another recipe from the book you will be happy you have it (but, I promise, you will make many of the recipes!). 

      If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesdays members fared in this class, click

here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there.

 

  Next Week's Assignment:  

Class 21, Part 3:
Pigeonneaux en Papillote (Squab Cooked in Papillotes) pages 219-220 {Substitute salmon for squab.}

Whisk Wednesdays: Truite aux Amandes (Trout with Almonds)

       The recipe prepared for this week (actually last week as this one is a week behind) is from Class 21, Part 1: Truite aux Amandes (Trout with Almonds).   It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu At Home on pages 49-50.   

      For this class, we were supposed to clean six whole trout and cook them.  You think?  Hmmm...  First of all, who eats a whole trout per serving?  That is way too much of a portion for around here, so I made half a trout per person, and it was plenty. 

      I didn't clean the trout...I have a fish guy who does all that and packages it all up so nicely for us, so to keep him in business, we let him do things like that...that's my excuse for getting the trout cleaned, boned, heads, tails, and fins removed. 

      I followed the rest of the recipe instructions on cooking the trout, first dredging it in a bit of flour and then frying it stovetop for a few minutes on each side, followed by the browning of the butter sauce, toasting the almonds in that.   

     When I poured a little of it on my portion of trout (and doused the guys' portions with the rest as they swear there is no such thing as "too much butter"), I could instantly see that the figure-friendly fish was no longer going to able to hold that title.  It certainly tasted delicious, though!  The toasty almonds in that butter sauce over that trout was very very good.  I can certainly think of lots of other fish which would certainly love to be bathed in such a sauce.   

      I forgot to chop parsley to sprinkle on top, and while I had lemon available, I am not a fan of lemon on trout for some reason.  I like the taste of the trout to come through.  (And, if you know me at all, you know I am always looking for excuses to have lemon on or in anything, so this is a bit unusual.  I left the lemon out  in this recipe, it was just a slice per portion placed on top before serving.) 

     The guys raved about it all and definitely would like to see this appear more often, so I do believe it will.  This is one very fast meal...the alfredo took the longest and even that was not long...Mark likes pasta with fish, so you will be seeing a lot of pasta in the next few weeks on the fish plates.

 

      If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click

here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there. 

 

The next assignment is:  • Class 21, Part 2 (Post on Wednesday, February 4):
Bar à la Normande (Sea Bass with Mushrooms and Cream) pages 180-181
 

Tuesdays with Dorie: World Peace Cookies

      This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is World Peace Cookies (apparently the story of the name comes from someone commenting that there would be world peace if everyone had one of these cookies a day), can be found on pages 138-139, and was chosen by Jessica of cookbookhabit.   If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Jessica's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      Okay, more cookies...the guys love cookie weeks!  And, if it is chocolate cookie week, even better!  Easy recipe, easily scored ingredients, went together and baked exactly as specified (I tried to get an inside photo, but all chocolate looks alike to me, so I don't know if you can tell anything from this broken cookie on the plate or not, even if you click on it to enlarge it), and from all accounts, absolutely wonderful in taste and worthy of the title of promoting world peace and any other kind of peace, they are that good (the guys, of course, as you all know I wasn't going to taste test these, right?). 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by my fellow Whisk Wednesdays member, Shari of Whisk:  A Food Blog and is Floating Islands, found on page 401-402.

       

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Who, What, When, Where, Why

Who:  Mark and I

What:  A whole day of Date Night

When:  Saturday

Where:  Bloomington

Why:  Because we haven't been out together to just run around having fun for a whole lotta weeks, and we both missed just doing that, so we planned an entire day!

 

     Saturday was a real treat for me...more so than usual as I have been housebound for a couple of months. 

     Since the Hoosiers were playing at home in Bloomington, of course that seemed the natural direction as the starting point.  It was a beautiful sunny day, the drive down was very nice with time to chat, etc.  The Hoos ended up losing the game, but that was not a damper as this year we are just in it for the watching-the-growth taking place...so, from that standpoint, it was a good game. 

     We got to have lunch at the Limestone Grille, always lovely.  As we were by the mall, we did some shopping, and even saw a movie.  Since the game ended at 6:30, we decided to just head out of town and eat dinner further north...college town restaurants are always packed after games!   A great decision.  After a nice dinner, and more basketball on tv...it was declared that this had been one very fine day. 

     It felt so good to be out and about!  A great day:  start to finish.

     Hoo/Hawk game on Wednesday night...they play in Hooville at 6:30...see you there!