Date: 2009-02-27
To: 2 days....@#$%$#@#^^%!!!!!!
Miles today: 0.0

With 2 days to go before boarding a plane to Georgia, I'm finding myself organized and ready to go with the exception of packaging up all my maildrops. It's a tedious process and I really hope it's worth it! I sent my first 2 maildrops down to GA, and will be sending off my Fontana Dam maildrop tomorrow. I have 9 all packed up and 14 left to go. Wow. I really hope it's worth it! I also shipped my backpack down to the Hiker Hostel, and after tracking it viciously online for 3 days, I saw that it arrived safely yesterday. If anyone is thinking about shipping your pack, I found it to be less expensive than I thought it'd be. It weighed 29 lbs (which included my full pack, hiking poles, and 4 days of food) and only cost $45 for 3-day shipping with UPS from Portland to Dahlonega. My pulled rib muscle (what my doc thinks) is on the mend and has been feeling much better in the last 2 days. I have been laying low though as not to agrivate it any more, which means no exercise for the past 3 weeks. Ugh. I eventually fought my oncoming cold although it was a close call. I'm feeling much healthier than I was a week ago! Dom and a friend organized a surprise going away party for me last night, which was great! Thanks to everyone who came! It was the perfect way to see all my Portland friends before taking off for 6 months. My parents and sister have arrived in GA and I'll be meeting up with them after my flight gets in on Sunday. I think my dehydrator will be on non-stop from now until Saturday night. I'm currently dehydrating a really good meal that I thought I'd share the recipe for. It supposedly makes 6 servings, but I was only able to get 4 out of it. I've dehydrated this before, although I haven't tried rehydrating it yet. I'll test it out once this batch is done and give an update, but for now, here's the recipe:Butternut Squash Risotto (from the Rachael Ray website):¢¢        4 cups chicken broth (I used veggie)¢¢        2 Tbsp olive oil (I used 1 or less for easier dehydrating)¢¢        1 small onion, finely chopped¢¢        2 gloves garlic, finely chopped¢¢        2 cups Arborio rice¢¢        1 cup dry white wine¢¢        1 12-oz box frozen butternut squash puree, thawed¢¢        nutmeg¢¢        salt and pepper¢¢        1 cup grated parm or romano cheese¢¢        1 Tbsp butter (I used about half of that)¢¢        10 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped1. In a large saucepan, bring the broth and 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn heat to low.2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 minutes. Add the rice and toast for 3 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.3. Add 2 ladlefuls of the warm broth to the rice and stir until liquid evaporates. Repeat with the remaining broth, cooking the risotto until creamy, about 18 minutes. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, stir in the squash; season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. During the last minute of cooking, stir in the cheese, butter, and sage.Follow the dehydrating directions from my December journal entry. Enjoy!   UPDATE!! The risotto dehydrated GREAT and rehydrated even better. In the pot, I covered it with water and simmered for about 7 mins, then turned off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes more. Tasted just as good as it did before dehydrating.