Racing (and eating) for the Cure

I’ve run or walked in the Vermont (now the Vermont/New Hampshire) Race for the Cure for the past fifteen-plus years. It’s all about superstition. My mother died from breast cancer at fifty-nine after dealing with the disease for over five years. I know that participating in the Race doesn’t mean this illness won’t hit me or other members of my family but … you get the idea.

Last weekend, Vermont was in the midst of the heat wave gripping the entire Northeast. Friday and Saturday the temperature in Dorset, VT, reached the low nineties and even my cats were limp fur stretched out against the walls to maximize their cooling surface. Saturday morning (race day) we awoke to find it had rained during the night,  (a big cheer as I didn’t have to deal with watering the garden). One of my daughters-in-law,  (long distance runner, mother of three, quilter extrodinaire and much else ), and I headed off to Hildene meadows at eight-thirty, thrilled with how (relatively) cool it was.  (Side note: Hildene was the summer residence of Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s only son who lived to adulthood. It’s a beautiful house on gorgeous grounds, open for tours and used for weddings and other events.)

Hildene, the home of Robert Todd Lincoln

We enjoyed the 5K walk, admiring the lovely houses that line the route and the clever “shower” someone had set out so that anyone who wanted to could walk underneath and get cool, however briefly. We will not discuss my time, except to say that in 2009, when I’d pushed for speed, the next day my legs were sore and this year, walking in a leasurely way, my time was almost identical.

The night before,  of course carbs were on the menu. Real runners eat carbs, right? (They probably don’t drink wine the evening before an event but then, I’m not a real runner—and wine converts to carbs so there.) Actually, my daughter-in-law and her family hadn’t yet arrived and those of us already present ate grilled swordfish with green olive relish. The next day, what was left of the fish became a great salad mixed with the leftover relish, lemon juice and a little mayo. We also ate caprese salad, the standard tomato, mozzarella and basil deal with basil from our garden. The basil photo is pure show-off.  Here’s the relish recipe.

Tomatoes, mozarella and "our own" basil

Green Olive Relish

1/4 c drained bottled pimento- stuffed green olives

1 small garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley

2 T. olive oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice

Put olives in food processor or mini-chop and, chop fine. Add other ingredients and pulse until olives are minced. Serve on the side to accompany grilled swordfish or any other white-fleshed fish. Relish would also be good on chicken or anything else that can use a little kicking up.

Fish topped with Green Olive Relish

Here’s to all the 2010 runners and walkers with hopes to see everyone and more  back in 2011!