3 Weeks and Counting

I officially have 3 weeks till the Flying Pig Marathon and I'm being plagued by an injury. Not sure what it is. Started off thinking it was shin splints then maybe something with my calf. Now I'm thinking I may have been suffering from two ailments at the same time. The shin splints seem to have gone away over the past week or so if compressing and icing, but there is still another pain I'm feeling on the inner front side of my calf. Thinking I may have stained it when I was pushing myself farther in the VFF's. Gonna back way off the miles this week, do some water workouts and see how I feel come next week.

I'm also a little disappointed that my friend Ben will not be running with me in the race, but he has been very busy with work and hasn't had the time to train. Maybe later this year we will be able to hook up for a race.

Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Fresh Mint

Tried this one for lunch today. Not bad, not my favorite but would definitely make again.

Ingredients:

4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped

1 Shallot, finely chopped

1tsp Turbinado Sugar (raw sugar)

4tbs Vegetable stock

3 cups (24 1/2 ozs.) canned Crushed Tomatoes

Sea Salt and Pepper

14 ozs. Potato Gnocchi

Handful of fresh Mint leaves, roughly chopped or fresh Basil leaves

Directions:

Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic, shallot, sugar and stock. Cover, and cook gently for about 10 minutes, or until the onion has softened and the liquid has evaporated. Add the tomatoes, cover, and cook for anther 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the remaining olive oil. Mix well.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, and cook the gnocchi for approximately 4 minutes. They will rise to the surface when they are cooked. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon, and drain them on paper towels while you empty the sauce pan. Return the gnocchi to the saucepan, add the sauce, and mix well. Scatter fresh mint or basil over the top and serve.

Tofu and String Beans Teriyaki

Well I ran 20 miles yesterday then decided to eat an entire large pizza and crazy bread from Little Ceasers. I had to make up for that today and found a great recipe to do so. I've been experimenting with tofu for about a year with out much success. I found this recipe on Post Punk Kitchen. The site is devoted to vegetarian cooking and vegan baking.


Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb. of Extra Firm Tofu, cut in approx 1 in wide and 1/2 in thick slices
1 lb. of String Beans, snapped
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or to taste)
Teriyaki Sauce
1 package of buckwheat soba noodles

Directions

In a frying pan, put your olive oil and tofu. Brown your tofu. Whilst your tofu is browning, put on a pot of boiling water. When it boils, throw in your string beans and noodles for 5 minutes (how convenient, they both take 5 minutes!). When done, strain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

When your tofu is brown, take it out of the pan and set it aside. Put in your garlic and brown for a minute. Then throw in your string beans and noodles and stir fry for a few minutes. Add back the tofu and coat everything with a nice glaze of teriyaki sauce. Cook until it all thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Just made this, very yummy. I did leave out the prunes though just because I didn't have any on hand.


Ingredients:


1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can(s) (15- to 19-ounce) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can(s) (14 1/2-ounce) stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup(s) pitted prunes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/8 teaspoon(s) crushed red pepper, more to taste
1 cup(s) couscous
1 cup(s) vegetable or chicken broth
2 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh cilantro or parsley



Directions:



In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, squash, and onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes.
Stir in garbanzo beans, stewed tomatoes, prunes, cinnamon, salt, crushed red pepper, and 1 1/2 cups water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, prepare couscous as label directs but use vegetable broth in place of the water called for on label.
Stir cilantro into stew. Spoon stew over couscous to serve.

Mediterranean Couscous & Beans

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. Grass is turning green, trees are alive with buds and birds. Children are out and playing. It's time to dust that patio furniture off and kick back with some friends and have some good food. Here is a great spring/summer recipe I'm sure you'll love.

Ingredients:

3 cups vegetable or chick broth
2 cups uncooked couscous
½ cup raisins or currants
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 small tomato, chopped (½ cup)
1 can chick peas, drained, rinsed
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Prep:

1. Heat broth to boiling in 3-qt saucepan. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese; remove from heat.
2. Cover and let stand about 5 min or until liquid is absorbed; stir gently. Sprinkle each serving with cheese

This is also good served at room temp or chilled.

Enjoy

The Christian's race is not a sprint- it's a marathon.

40 Days till the Pigs Fly

40 Days left until the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. This will be a big one for me. I've been wanting to run this race for a few year but haven't due to injury or lack of training. This will finally be my year though. I have a couple of friends that will also be running in it and a few cheering me on from the sidlines. It's a beautiful coarse that starts in downtown Cincinnati, proceeds up to Eden Park. Where you have a veiw of the city, Ohio River and Northern Kentucky. Then continues into some of the upscale neighborhoods like O'bryan Ville, and Mt. Lookout. Cross over the river into Newport KY though Covington and finish back over in Cincinnati. Can't wait it's gonna be a blast.

Vegan Black Bean Brownies

I found this recipe on the No Meat Athlete blog and had to share it. It's the first time I ever made a vegan dessert.

For the Mix:

1 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour
1tsp salt
1tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups raw sugar
1 1/4 cups cocoa
4tsp instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts

Also Need:

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and filled with new water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of water (eyeball it by filling up half the empty can)

Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.

drain a can of black beans and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Return the black beans to the can and fill with water. Puree the beans and water. Add the puree to the dry mix along with the vanilla and extra cup of water. Stir to combine

Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. When brownies are finished they should be firm in the center and the edges will slightly puffy and starting to pull away from the sides.. It's important not to over bake in the oven because they will keep baking once you take them out

Let brownies cool completely then use a 2x2 inch cookie cutter to cut into 24 squares

Moroccan Lentil Soup

Hey everybody, this will be my first post under my new format. It is an excellent recipe that's cooking on my stove as I type this.

Ingredients:

2 Onions, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1tsp Grated Fresh Ginger

6 Cups Water

1 Cup Red Lentils

1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans, drained (chick peas)

1 (19oz) can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 Cup Diced Carrots

1/2 Cup chopped Celery

1tsp Garam Masals

1 1/2tsp Ground Cardamom

1/2tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

1Tbs Olive Oil

Directions:

1. In large pot saute; the onions, garlic and ginger in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes

2. Add the water, lentils, chick peas, white kidney beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, garam masala, cardamom, cayenne pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.

3. Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir and enjoy.

serves 8