I can’t believe it’s already THAT TIME OF YEAR.

It’s the run-out of the summer, still warm, but the angle of the light hits a little different, and there’s an ever-so-slight promise of falling leaves in the wind. The end of summer means fall sports season; and my other labor of love, coaching high school cross country, is starting.

Anyone who knows me can tell you, I have three passions: family, food and running. The first two have been with me all along, while the third began when I was a freshman on the Garfield High School cross country team.

I thought that this would be the transition to the “what running means to me” section of the blog post. Honestly, though, I’m struggling to write. Not because I don’t have anything to say, but because there is so much, that words feel like they won’t fully capture it.

This is a written medium, though, so I’m going to try. The next few paragraphs might be word salad, but at least you get a recipe for Rice Krispie treats at the end!

When I started running, I wasn’t the best at it. In fact, I might have been the slowest person on my high school team. But, I plodded along at every practice, and every meet, because I knew in my bones that I had found my thing.

Inhabiting a teenage body is fraught. Existing in a time (cough, cough early 2000s) and culture of low rise jeans, didn’t help either. So, there’s something to be said for being at home in one’s body. Especially at that age.

When I was running, I didn’t care what I looked like or what other stresses were weighing on my teenage mind and body, I just felt free. Like my body was doing the thing it was meant to do. I guess that’s what finding your passion is; the thing you were built to do. I still feel that way when I run. It’s not always fast and it’s not always easy, but there are still days, and even moments, in an otherwise “meh” run, when the air in my lungs and the ground passing under my feet make me feel like I’m flying. Nothing else matters.

By my next year of cross country, I’d improved. I was one of the top runners. It wasn’t so much a matter of goal-chasing or striving (not that there’s anything wrong with goal chasing and striving – go get those dreams!), as continuing. Continuing to let my body do the thing that it loved. Day after day, week after week, year after year. And working within the community of the team – for each other.

The next year I was the top runner. And things continued on like that. Not necessarily linearly, every important journey has peaks and valleys. But the net trajectory was upward enough that it carried me through a college career of running track and cross country. I had success, yes. I even ran my way to MVP of my college cross country team. I also had regrets: years, opportunities and competitions missed. Any runner will tell you, it’s not a matter of if you’ll get injured, but when. If I had understood then, what I know to be true now, that recovery is as much of a part of the training as workouts, would I have been injured less and set even faster PRs?

At the end of the day, though, it’s all part of the journey. Running has taught me that I can do hard things. It has given me freedom, purpose, opportunities, and most importantly; community, and a sense of belonging.

My teammates, in both high school and college, remain some of my best friends to this very day. The countless hours spent traveling, eating, sweating, laughing and crying together forged bonds lasting far beyond the years we spent together on the team. Being on a team gave me the gift of being part of something greater than myself. Teammates and friends; showing up for each other, encouraging each other, and working together. That’s what it’s all about.

I was lucky enough to be coached by people, in both high school and college, who were fits for me. It’s an undefinable thing, really. Not every coach is going to be right for every athlete. Boy, do I know it, from both the perspectives of athlete and coach. And in school, you get what you get.

My high school coach Anny was a tough-love gal. To be honest, some kids were scared of her, and not everyone loved her. But I did, from day one. She didn’t take any guff. She pushed us. Pushed us because she believed in us and because she wasn’t afraid to. We all have moments when we don’t know the strength we have inside of us, until someone else sees it, takes our hand, and leads us through the tough stuff to show us who we are and what we are capable of.

Aside from my parents, no other adult made as positive and lasting impact on me than Anny. For better or for worse (but really, mostly better) she shaped me. She is the reason I eventually became a high school coach. It’s an honor, privilege, and huge responsibility.

As a coach, I know I won’t always be the best fit for everyone. That’s something I’ve been learning to make peace with over the years (it’s a process). But if I can affect some kids’ the lives the way Anny affected mine, then it’s worth it. Worth the meager (and I mean meager) paycheck (no one does this for the money, but coaches do deserve to be paid a wage commensurate with the blood, sweat and tears they put into their work). Worth the shifting of childcare burdens on my family (I’m getting stressed just writing about this). Worth the time, effort, mental and emotional energy. It is worth it (does it sound like I’m trying to convince myself?). Especially this year, because I’m returning home. To Garfield. To the place I fell in love with running and truly found myself.

One of the many services I offer, as a coach, is making Rice Krispie treats. I started making them for recovery snacks for workouts and meets because they check a lot of high school sports-team-food boxes. They’re pretty good on the allergen front – no nuts wheat, or eggs – and they’re chock-full of glycogen-rebuilding sugars that athletes need after a hard effort.

I use salted butter as a bit of an insurance policy because I am often making these late at night before a meet the next day and sometimes, just sometimes, little bits of ingredients slip my mind. I also include salt as an ingredient, making the treats taste ever so slightly salty, but in a balanced, salty-sweet kind of way. And if you forget it, at least you used the salted butter. Because athletes need to replenish salt after a race. And baked goods without salt are a crime.

If you usually make the recipe on the side of the Rice Krispies box, you’ll notice that I’ve increased the butter from 3 tablespoons to 6. Six tablespoons is the exact right amount to make creamy treats without becoming greasy. You can trust me on this one. I have done the extensive tests to determine the right amount of butter.

Luckily, I never have a shortage of taste testers with all the cross country runners in my life. Runners are really the best people to bake (and cook) for. They enthusiastically consume any and everything you put before them.

So, here it is, my recipe for Cross Country Crispies (also known as Track Meet Treats in the springtime)

Cross Country Crispies

Adapted from the original Kelloggs Rice Krispie Treats recipe.

Yield: 25 treats

Time: 15 minutes active time, 45 minutes total

Ingredients:

6T (3oz, 85g) salted butter

1 10z (285g) bag mini marshmallows

1/4t Kosher salt

6c (6oz, 170g) Rice Krispies cereal

sprinkles, for decorating

1. Line an 8in x 8in pan with a piece of parchment paper so that is overhangs the edges on two sides and forms a sling for removing the treats from the pan later. Use the wrapper from the butter in the recipe to butter the sides of the pan. Save the wrapper scrap.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
3. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted, but no longer (or too much moisture will evaporate and the treats will become hard and brittle).
4. Remove pan from heat and stir in the Rice Krispies and salt. Making sure to coat evenly with the melted marshmallow mixture.
5. Pour Rice Krispie mixture into the buttered pan. Scrape the sides of the saucepan with a flexible spatula, getting all the crispy bits, as best you can.
6. Press the Rice Krispies mixture evenly into the pan using the reserved butter wrapper between your fingers and mixture so it doesn’t stick to your hands. Discard wrapper when through.
7. Top immediately with sprinkles so that they adhear to the still-warm surface of the treats.
8. Allow treats to cool for at least 20min. Then remove treats from the pan by lifting the parchment paper sling out by the free edges. Transfer to a cutting board.
9. Using a sharp knife, cut the treat block into 5 evenly spaced strips in one direction. Then turn the treat block 180 degrees and slice again into five even slices crosswise. Creating 25 perfect cube-shaped treats.

So what’s happening with Tremonte’s bakery for the next 3ish months?

More of my working time will be dedicated to coaching, but don’t worry! the biz is not going anywhere!

While I don’t have control over the WSDA’s timing of the review of my cottage industry app and subsequent inspection, I am hoping that will all be sorted during the next few months, in time for some bona fide pop-up bakery events for the holidays 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 Christmas cookie party, anyone!?!🎄🍪✨

At this point in my life, and with the support of my family, it is a privilege indeed, and I am incredibly grateful, to pursue my passions in my work. Thank you to everyone reading this blog and for encouraging me along the way. I appreciate you.