Portobello Mushroom Burgers

I've been very leery about trying the whole substituting mushroom for beef idea but after trying this burger I'll never make another beef or "veggie burger" again.



Ingredients


4 portobello mushroom caps
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
4 (1 ounce) slices provolone cheese

Tomato slices

baby spinach leaves



Directions


Place the mushroom caps, smooth side up, in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the mushrooms. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so, turning twice.


Preheat grill for medium-high heat.


Brush grate with oil. Place mushrooms on the grill, reserving marinade for basting. Grill for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, or until tender. Brush with marinade frequently. Top with cheese during the last 2 minutes of grilling.



Top with tomato and spinach

Zucchini, Corn, and Potato Tacos

Made this last night. Very filling and tasted great. I also used the left over filling as a breakfast side dish this morning.

Ingredients:

1 Medium Potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1cup)
2 Medium Carrots, chopped
12 Taco shells
1Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, cut into thin bite sized strips
1 cup cut fresh corn or frozen whole kernel corn
1Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
8oz firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup shredded cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tomatoes chopped
taco sauce

Directions:

1. In a covered medium saucepan cook the potato and carrots in a small amount of boiling water for 7-8 minutes or until tender; drain and set aside. If desired, heat taco shells according to package

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and corn; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add chili powder, salt, and pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute more. Gently stir in the potato mixture and tofu; heat through.

3. To serve, fill the shells with vegetable mixture. Top with tomato, taco sauce and cheese

Long Run Training for Stone Steps 50K

Ok Peeps, I finally sat down and scheduled my long runs leading up to the 50K. Most of them are on Sunday mornings due to work on Saturdays. They can be adjusted to Fridays or Mondays if given enough notice. I know most of you will not be doing some of the higher mileage but if interested we could start or finish a run together. Here is what I'm looking at

Sun 7/11 13miles

Sun 7/18 Vacation

Sun 7/25 Vac

Sun 8/1 16miles

Sun 8/8 18m

Sun 8/15 20m

Sun 8/22 10m

Sun 8/29 22m

Sun 9/5 Cheetah Run 5k

Mon 9/6 26m

Sun 9/12 17m

Sun 9/19 24m

Sun 9/26 State to State Half

Sat 10/2 Reggae Run 5k

Mon 10/4 26m

Sun 10/10 20m

Sun 10/17 15m or C-Bus Half

Sun 10/24 STONE STEPS 50K

I will also be doing shorter runs throughout the week some morning some around 11pm

Roasted Chickpeas

Ok, so I've been M.I.A. for a few weeks due to 1) slacking on my training and 2) lack of internet. Here is a really short and easy recipe. These roasted chickpeas "Chickers" are a great protien packed snack to grab on the go.

Preheat oven 400degrees.

Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas and coat with 2tbs of olive oil. Place beans in a large baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Eat at room temp.

"Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You'll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success." Juha Vaatainen

Apple Oatmeal Cookies II (AKA “Muffin Cookies”)

Here is a cookie recipe from one of my favorite people in the world Kim B. Everybody loves these things. If you're not paying attention you'll end up eating a good 1/2dozen or more without even knowing it.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1/4 cup oil
¼ cup apple sauce
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 small apples, cored and chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, honey, egg and vanilla until smooth. Combine the whole wheat flour, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats and apple. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Shitake-Stuffed Sesame Potatoes

Asian flavors abound in these rich and satisfying stuffed potatoes. Although they make a terrific side dish with a terriyaki or hoisin-sauced entree, they also are substantial enough to be enjoyed as the main event of a meal.

Ingredients:

4 large baking potatoes, well scrubbed
1Tbs peanut oil
8oz fresh shitake mushrooms
stems removed and caps chopped
1Tbs tamari or other soy sauce
4oz soft silken tofu, drained and mashed
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the potatoes with a fork and bake until soft, about 1 hour. Remove from oven.
2. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tamari and set aside
3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and, leaving the shells intact, carefully scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Add the tofu, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste and mash until well combined. Add the mushroom mixture and mix well. Spoon the stuffing into the potato shells and arrange in a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake until hot, 15 to 20 minutes. serve hot.

serves 4

I'm Back/Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

Ok, so it's been a couple weeks since I posted. Had a nice relaxing week after the Flying Pig. Spent the following week out in Washington and Oregon. Didn't get as much running in out there as I had hoped to do, but had a great time. Spent a day in Seattle, went to Astoria Oregon (Goonies) and Long Beach Peninsula. My dad and I also did a couple day hikes one to Ape cave which was formed by St Helen's lava flows and we did a 12 miler to Tunnel Falls.

Pike Place Market

Tunnel Falls

I was planing on doing my first ultra on November 6th. It's a 30 mile road race and I turn 30 the following day. The more I've thought about it though I would prefer my first ultra to be a trail race so I'm doing a 50k on October 24. Can't wait to see how my body responds to the training for this. I will also be doing my annual State to State Half in September and a few 5 and 10k's along the way. Guess I had better start hitting the pavement on a regular basis again here soon.

Ok, now it's time for the good stuff.....Food

INGREDIENTS:

16oz Whole wheat Gnocchi

2Tbs butter

2Tbs Extra Virgin olive oil

12oz fresh mushrooms, stemmed, sliced (Porcini, Portobello, and,or Shitake)

1/2 cup diced shallots

1 3/4 cups chicken stock

1Tbs chopped fresh sage

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Bring water to a boil in a 4qrt pot add gnocchi and cook for 3-4 minutes or until gnocchi float to the top. Drain in colander. Cook butter and olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add stock and sage; simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add hot gnocchi to sauce in skillet and toss to coat. Serve with cheese sprinkled on top

Flying Pig Marathon (part 2)

It's now been just over 48 hours since I finished the Flying Pig. Still a little stiff in the quads and hamstrings but over all feeling really good. Sunday was a warm stormy morning. Lighting was flashing in the sky as thousands of people took to the streets of Cincinnati waiting for the race to begin. Our feet were squishing in our shoes before the gun even went off.

As the sun started to rise the rain tapered off a bit coming and going as the miles added up. It didn't take long before I realized I had lined up way to far back in the corral. I was weaving back and fourth across the the roads trying to gain ground for the first few miles. I was finally able to pass the 4 hour pacer around mile 8. Things were looking good. I felt great, I had conquered THE HILL with ease. Then suddenly it happened without notice. Both of my hamstrings cramped up. I stooped for a minute and tried to stretch them out several times but couldn't shake them. I kept on pushing but knew I wasn't going to be able to keep my sub 4 pace.

Somewhere around mile 16 the 4 hour pacer caught back up with me. I insisted on sticking with them as long as I could but eventually I could no longer see them. Somewhere around mile 21 or 22 the 4:15 group caught up with me and that's when my heart dropped. I really wanted to hit the goal of a sub 4. At this point I knew it wasn't going to happen so I went to a run walk routine.

In the end I finished with a time of 4:15:55. Despite the rain, cramps, 4 hours of sleep, and a hilly ass coarse I was still able to set a new PR by 38 minutes. Kim and Spen were awesome also, cheering me on at several different locations along the coarse. Can't wait to try again next year.

Flying Pig Marathon (part 1)

16 hours away from the start of the 2010 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. I've had a calm excitement over me the past week or two. This race has been 3 years in the making for me, due to injury or lack of training.

The 5k and 10k was this morning. The women's first place finisher (Shari Klarfeld) collapsed 3 times, just feet in front of the finish line. The second place woman (Amy Schoenfeld), helped her up and made sure she crossed the line before her. (Awesome sportsmanship)

Looks like we will be running in the wind and rain tomorrow. Maybe even a few thunderstorms with 1-2 inches of rain expected. Figure if I was able to run through the snowiest February on record in the middle of blizzard like conditions this should be a walk in the park.

I've got the gear laid out and ready to go for the morning. Bib is pinned on. Timing chip is attached to my shoes. Camelbak is filled and stocked with a few other goodies. Body Glide and Nipple guards are waiting on the sink.

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." -PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian