Zumba Party: Dance Until You Drop

The day after Thanksgiving is a good day to do a blog on exercise. Like most of you, I stuffed my face on T Day and now realize the damage that was done. (totally worth it, though). But in my case, I will be leaving for New Orleans in two days, which means more eating, and maybe just a little drinking. As I have stated many times, exercise is the balance between my being able to eat a little too much, or eat a little unhealthy at times. So it is off to yoga this morning and probably a little walking later in the day. If I had the opportunity, though, I would do what I did several weeks ago: I would dance for three hours at a Zumba party!

In Asheville, Zumba parties are held once a month in a downtown club from 7-10 pm. With a reasonable cover charge, you can dance for three hours, led by zumba instructors from all around town. I had attended these parties a couple of times, but it had been awhile. A couple of Fridays ago, I decided that three hours of Latin and hip-hop music was what I was craving. The club was lively from the first dance, with between 50 and 60 dancers, 6 dance instructors, and spectators! By the way, zumba parties are for fun, but primarily for fitness, so you wear your regular workout or zumba attire. Also, even though the club has a bar with a great selection of alcoholic beverages, there is no way you can drink alcohol and exercise for three hours straight. It was either water or ginger ale all night for me!

The instructors are all experienced dancers who are excellent in helping those who are not used to zumba learn the steps. The good news about the zumba parties is that there is no pressure - everyone is there primarily to dance and have fun. If you have never danced zumba, you can sit out a few dances, observe, and then try it. A lot of new people stand near the back, which works, since the instructors are elevated on a stage. The music is generally a mix between Latin, hip-hop, and even some oldies but goodies. Speaking of a mix, the dancers are the same - some young, hip dancers combined with oldies but goodies like myself. The result is a room full of enthusiasm, laughter, inspiring rhythms, and incredible fitness.

In terms of fitness, zumba ranks high on my list of calorie burning activities. People have often looked surprised when I tell them that I consider zumba to be my most important exercise option. I am not sure that most people realize how many calories one can burn from dancing. I actually brought out my fit bit that night and at the end of the night, after 3 hours of dancing with a few breaks, I had done the equivalent of almost 9 miles and over 17,000 steps! Add to that the fun factor, and you cannot lose.

I will say that I was pretty beat at the end of the night, but I plan on doing it again soon. One nice thing about the night I went was that the money was going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. What a great way to be fit and contribute to important research. Another fun fact is that zumba parties take place all over the world, including Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China! I believe that the Asheville party will be called "Fitness in da Club" in the future. If you have thought of trying zumba, I would suggest this- you really can't lose anything except weight!

A Pie Party with Friends: Lemon Chess, Cranberry Sage, and Old Favorites

For the past nine months, I have blogged about pies, specifically pies from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by the Elsen sisters. I have enjoyed making and reviewing various pies from the book. But I decided to try a different challenge of hosting a party of fellow pie lovers. My idea was to prepare several of my favorite pies from the book and try a few for the first time. Most of us (at least, those who are so called "normal") think of eating pie as a dessert, after a regular meal. But my idea was to have an event where everything was about the pies. Fortunately, I have friends who like pie as much as I do, so a pie party was planned!

Hosting a party is enjoyable to me and I usually look forward to the challenge of trying out a new recipe or two. One pie from the Elsen sisters' book that I had been wanting to try was the Lemon Chess pie. Chess pie is an old southern pie that my mother-in-law used to make. But I had not tasted the lemon version. The main ingredient is, of course, lemon juice and plenty of lemon zest. Added to this is sugar, cream, eggs, flour and a little yellow cornmeal. Finally, there is a pinch of orange and vanilla extract. The result was a lemony custard that was really refreshing, according to my guests.I was surprised that this pie turned out well for my first attempt. No whipped cream is needed for this pie - it tastes great all by itself!

The other "new" pie was the Cranberry Sage pie. I had actually made this pie once last winter, but I served it only to my husband and sister-in-law. We liked it very much, so I decided to make it for guests. This pie uses dried and fresh cranberries, sugar, one apple, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and arrowroot. The arrowroot is the thickening agent, as opposed to cornstarch. Finally, there is fresh sage, which is a rather unusual combination with the cranberries. The crust was my usual butter crust from the book. This pie is really very lovely, with the red color peeping through the lattice top. It is fairly easy to assemble, compared to other pies in the Elsen pie book. The party guests really loved this pie, with several wanting to  make it for Thanksgiving. To me, it has a flavor similar to cherry pie. I would certainly make this pie again. But I would consider adding a little extra fresh sage, as some said that they couldn't really taste the sage. My friends said that a slice of the cranberry pie followed by a slice of lemon chess was perfect!

The other pies I made were the Bourbon Pear Crumble pie and the Salted Caramel Apple. I still love these tasty pies, particularly the Salted Caramel Apple. The Salted Caramel pie is very labor intensive, but worth the effort, in my opinion. After the pies had been served and my friends had finished stuffing their faces with pie, I took a poll to determine the group favorite. The result: a tie
between the Cranberry Sage and the Lemon Chess (4 votes each), 2 votes for the Salted Caramel Apple, and one vote for the Pear Bourbon. I was torn, but my vote is still for the Salted Caramel Apple, so it technically got 3 votes.  I decided that another Salted Caramel Apple will be served at Thanksgiving.

So, thank you, my friends, for helping me celebrate pie eating, and for giving me a good send-off from Asheville to Florida for a few months! Speaking of which, all of that pie eating necessitates my getting back on my exercise regimen so that I can hang out on the beach. Look for my next blog, in which I will talk about a "zumba party" that was almost as much fun as the pie soiree! Remember my motto when you indulge in your Thanksgiving meal: if you exercise, you can occasionally indulge in eating pie!!