themuddyshoe - Foil Wrap Chicken

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 (1-inch) chunks of fresh ginger, pressed through a garlic press
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
Pinch of sugar
3 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds toasted
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice (optional).

In a zip lock bag, combine chicken with the rest of ingredients. Shake and let marinate in refrigerator 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a roll of heavy duty aluminum foil, cut off 6-inch square pieces. (30 or so squares)

Place a heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture in the middle of a foil square. Fold in half diagonally to create a triangle. Fold the edge of each open side of the triangle over three times to seal well. Flip back each bottom corner.











































Place filled foil triangles on baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, and serve.



Serve with rice or Udon Noodles for a great meal.

It went splosh

The time had come for the first bike ride in Seattle since moving here in December.

We started the adventure by heading to REI and spending way too much money for bike stuff, new pedals for my wife, shoes, gloves and other assorted bike gear. I should mention that REI was having a sale so that meant we would spend more money. After the shopping trip I came home to prep the bikes. I attached the crankbrothers - candy to my wife’s bike; I also replaced the tube in her tires and dug out the Arizona thorns that seemed to be all over her tire tread, I also oiled the chain. I then showed my wife how to get in and out of the crankbrothers - candy which made her nervous at first. We completed a test ride around the neighborhood and made a few last min adjustments to the bikes.

The day of the ride was here and as my son described it, the day was “switchie” which meant that it could be raining, sunny, or just cloudy or all the above. We set off to find a nice easy trail for this is the first time my wife was using egg-beaters and also going off road. My wife is more of a road biker then a mountain biker; she is always willing to try something new.

The trail was smooth at first and then it started to get a bit muddy. As I prepared to tackle the mud I peddle faster as not to get stuck in it, mud seemed to fly all over the place and I was like a school boy all over again. The trail seemed to be dry again which made me long for some more mud to fly through, and then I got my wish as I turned the corner the trail was completely coved in mud I decided to go straight down the middle as it seemed like the best option at the time, as I peddled faster and faster to get through the mud I could see solid land just a few feet ahead. Then the inevitable happened I was stuck with no place to go, so I had no choice but to unhook from my bike. I put my foot down onto what I thought was solid ground as it turns out I was wrong. My foot sank in the soft mud all the way to my ankle as I stood there one foot hooked to my bike the other coved in mud I couldn’t help but to laugh and smile. It’s been a long time since I had been mountain biking and at that moment I remembered why I started. The sheer joy of getting dirty and discovering new places with my friends is what it was all about. I remembered my Saturdays filled with getting the bikes ready, and meeting my friends. We would start early in the morning and end late in the day laughing and smiling the whole day. We would pack a lunch and set off in a general direction with no idea where we would end up. As I got older I just couldn’t find the time to get out and bike with my friends.

So as I pushed my bike out of the mud and waited for my wife to catch up, I just looked at the sight of my one muddy shoe. I was thinking how lucky I am that as much as things change in my life I am still able to go biking with my friend and have a blast. We did finish the trail without further incident and as we packed the bikes up on the truck we made plans to go out next week. So here is to growing old and making time for what’s important.