Roasted butternut squash, rosemary and pumpkin seed scones

I found a fantastic recipe from the book 'Cornucopia', a vegetarian cookbook from a Dublin restaurant of the same name. They were easy to cook, but you had to factor in 25 minutes to roast the butternut squash beforehand. It was well worth it.

 

Ingredients:

400-500g of butternut squash cut into 1/2cm cubes

Extra virgin olive oil

5 sprigs of rosemary

50g of pumpkin seeds

450g plain white flour

230g wholemeal brown flour

1 1/2tsp baking powder

1 1/2tsp salt

Pinch of pepper

225g butter/margarine

150ml milk

 

Method:

 

Heat the oven to 180c.

 

Roast the butternut squash with the rosemary (cut into very fine pieces) and extra virgin olive oil

 

Whilst this is roasting, sieve both the flours, baking powder and salt together and mix in the butter. When the butternut squash is roasted, leave it to cool and then add to the misture along with half the pumpkin seeds. Make a well in the middle and add the milk. Mix together to form a dough - trying not to break up all the butternut squash. If it's too dry add some milk; too wet add some more flour.

 

Roll out to 4cm thick and cut out about 12 circles using the top of a glass tumbler. Place on a greased tray and brush each scone with some milk. Divide the remaining pumpkin seeds onto the scones and bake in the centre of oven for 25-30 minutes. Try not to open the oven door for the first 20 minutes as they may not rise.

 

I froze half the batch so I have ready made pack lunch for the rest of the week.

A new discovery: Spaghetti Squash

I purchased my first spaghetti squash the other day from our local greengrocer's. It was the first time I'd seen one for sale so I thought I would give it a try. I was amazed that the strands inside the squash actually did resemble spaghetti (well, more accurately, noodles), but are ten times less calorific, according to one website I stumbled upon.

After googling some recipes, I decided to simply cut the squash in half and roast it in the oven in a casserole dish with some extra virgin olive oil, garlic and herbs. I filled the dish with hot water to accelerate the cooking and roasted some vegetables at the same time. Unfortunately, the squash took ages to cook and I had to take it out of the oven prematurely (we were going to the cinema). It was in for 45 minutes, but I think it needed an hour. I zapped it in the microwave for 5 minutes, but I think it would have been better to leave it in the oven.

Once ready, I scraped out the noodle-like strands and mixed them with the roasted vegetables, some more extra virgin olive oil and some grated cheddar cheese.

A great alternative to pasta!

Weird strands of squash!

One of Delia's

 For the last year I have been cooking my way through 'Delia's Vegetarian Collection' after being inspired by the film 'Julie and Julia' (a true story about a woman called Julie cooking all the recipes in Julia Child's book).

I attempted to cook the recipes in sequence, but ended up chosing recipes at random. I've cooked nearly

all the pasta dishes, but have hardly touched the dessert and baking section. I fear the amount of calories in some of the latter recipes!

This is the watercress soup I made the other day (tasted more like leek and potato). I added some home made croutons/dippers - the ones in the soup went a bit soggy, so I'm glad I left some on the side too.

Here's the recipe:

250g chopped watercress

110g butter

400g chopped leeks

700g peeled and chopped potatoes

3 pints of veg stock

4 heaped tablespoons of creme fraiche

salt and pepper

(it serves 4 people)

Method:

Melt butter in a saucepan and add the chopped leeks, potatoes and watercress. Stir to coat in butter

Add some salt, then cover with lid and let the vegetables sweat for about 20 mins, giving a good stir halfway through.

After that, add the stock and bring to simmering point, leave to simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes.

Delia then recommends blending the soup in batches, but I just used a hand blender straight into the pan (but off the heat).

Stir in 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche and serve up with a swirl of the remainder creme fraiche. 

Result:

Delia's watercress soup

Winter Warmer

The cold weather has arrived, which is a perfect time for soup!

I love making soup as it's the best way to use up any veg in the house and it's super healthy. For this Winter Warmer I fried off some onions then added chopped sweet potatoes, runner beans, a chopped courgette, two grated parsnips, chick peas, pearl barley and about a litre of veg stock. The secret ingredient that makes the soup spectacular is roasted tomatoes. We tend to make huge batches of roasted tomatoes, blend them up and then freeze them so they are ready for pasta sauces, soups etc.

Grated cheese and some bread on the side completed the dish :-)

The first of many Winter Warmers

1 hour 50 mins 37 seconds

I feel like I should be pleased with my time, but in reality I'm disappointed. Over two minutes slower than my PB (1 hr 48 mins 5 seconds). So what went wrong? My pace was good until about the 9 mile mark where I was faced with a steep incline. I think my mind lost it at this point and fatigue in my calves set in. I ran the first 6 miles in 49 minutes so I was on course to get about an 1 hr 47 min time, my pace was good, but in the end  I overheated and started to slow down. If I had gotten just under the 1 hour 50 mark I would feel a lot more celebratory!

However, I did just run 13.1 miles early on a sunday morning when many people are still in bed, so I need to give myself some credit! And the meal and drinks with friends afterwards was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Now I have to think of the next challenge. Some more half marathons for sure...but maybe it's time for the Big Marathon!

Half marathon tomorrow...

Hmm, not feeling my best. My legs are feeling ok, but I'm definitely coming down with a cold and have sneezed all day. Grr, if it's not one thing it's another!

Anyway, I'm going ahead and running. Kit is all ready, ipod is recharging and I'm getting ready for bed.

This time tomorrow it will all be over. Thankfully!

Alternative training

So, I still have shin splints. It's been a week since I last ran, and I have a week until the half marathon. I keep on kidding myself that there's no pain in my shins, only to be reminded when I try to put pressure on them. I think (well, hope) things are getting better and that I will actually be able to run the race. So far I've tried cross training, rowing, swimming and yoga so that I don't lose any fitness. Only swimming is completely pain free. Annoyingly, it's my least favourite sport - I get really cold in the pool and am not the best swimmer.

My plan next week is to swim at least twice and may be test out a little run on Thursday.

Keeping my fingers firmly crossed.

Shin Splints

Disaster has happened. Two weeks before the half marathon both shins are hurting - that old familiar pain of shin splints. I've been to yoga and one circuits class this week, but I have now resigned myself to resting. I'm hoping that two weeks off running won't impact on my race too much, but more worryingly I'm wondering whether I'll be able to run the race at all. Last year I was forced to take a few weeks out because of shin splints - I ended up running my race (this time the Bristol Half marathon) but the lack of training meant I was 10 minutes slower than the previous year.

So, it's rest, ice and compress for the timebeing. Maybe some swimming and yoga would be beneficial too.

This forum is pretty helpful:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?UTN=2406

post-run muesli bars (more like granola...)

To celebrate a really good fartlek running session I decided to make muesli bars. I did this last week too, but my attempt wasn't very successful and I ended up with a container full of granola. I realised my mistake - not enough butter (trying to be too healthy) - so this time around I thought I would follow a recipe and use as much butter an needed. However, I am now left with a sticky pile of granola! I have no idea what went wrong. I followed the recipe (well, mostly - I substituted some oats for bran and prunes for apricots, but the quantities were right) and when I brought the tray out of the oven they looked good...

Golden muesli bars - looked good in the tray, not so good out of it

However, on attempting to lift them out of the tray they pretty much all collapsed into a heap. So, now I have incredibly buttery and sweet granola for breakfast.

There's no point adding a link to this recipe - I wouldn't bother using it again. In fact, I think I'll give up on my muesli bar/flap jack quest.

At least I had a very good run today! Less than three weeks to the half marathon. Feeling good, but still need to do the distance.

Aduki bean burgers with parsnip chips and sweet potato humous

I wanted a super healthy post-run meal that wouldn't take too long to cook, but would still be a bit special with lots of different tastes. I thought that if I put most of the veg in the oven and cooked the beans on the hob I could leave them whilst I ran for 45 minutes and it would all be done by the time I got back (well, I had my husband to prod them every ten minutes or so). It didn't really work out like that as it took about 50 minutes to assemble everything when I got back from the run (with 10 minutes inbetween to have a shower). So, this was a great meal, but potentially not one to do mid-week if you want a run too!






So here's how it goes:

Aduki bean burger

200g aduki beans soaked overnight and then simmered in water for 45 mins
1 onion
2 bulbs of garlic
Handful of almonds
Handful of fresh herbs - your choice
Handful of breadcrumbs
lemon juice
A few cherry tomatoes
Mozzarella cheese (optional - could be made vegan)
Breadcrumbs (to coat)
olive oil to fry

1. Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil
2. Place the onion and garlic mixture with the above ingredients - except for the cheese and breadcrumbs to coat - into a food processor and whizz until the mixture is slightly chunky (you don't want it too smooth)
3. Divide into how ever many burgers you require - I made three big ones, but I think this mixture could make 4 average-sized ones or maybe a few even smaller ones
4. Divide each burger ball into two and make two burger shaped patties (i.e if you are making 3 burgers you will have 6 patties altogether). Then on one of the patties place a spoonful of mozarella cheese and then cover with another pattie, squash slightly and make sure the edges are sealed. Do this for each burger and then roll in breadcrumbs and lightly fry in olive oil.
Make sure they don't stick to the pan (inevitably, a lit bit always does)

Parsnip chips

1. Par-boil some parsnips (however many you want)
2. Lightly shake in a colunder and coat with olive oil, honey and wholegrain mustard
3. Roast in oven for 45 minutes

Sweet potato humous


I can't claim this recipe as my own as I found it on this blog:

http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2010/10/sweet-potato-hummus.html

Amazing humous - it involves roasting sweet potato in the oven for 45 mins beforehand...


I also roasted some figs and then mixed them with sundried tomatoes and feta cheese. This didn't really go with the meal so I would leave that out in future!

A hunk of wholemeal bread was a lovely finishing touch.

Green tomato chutney

Another year of kilos of green tomatoes! This time around though they have not gone to waste. I found a great recipe on the BBC Good Food website (I love this website as you can list the ingredients you have and the perfect recipes pop up!)

This is the recipe:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2865/green-tomato-chutney

I have to admit that it was my husband who cooked all the chutney - it's so tasty with cheese on toast and not too calorific either.

Why won't they turn red?!

Mmmm, lots of tasty chutney

10 milers

I've just completed my third 10 mile run and am feeling pretty good! It's difficult coming home from work knowing you have one hour and a half of running before you can sit down to eat and relax, but it is very rewarding (well the glass of wine was a reward!)

I'm really starting to think seriously about doing a marathon next year, but it's going to take a hell of a lot of training and will power to do. And then there's the risk of injuries... Runner's World has a great First Marathon training guide available from their website. Seeing all the training written down somehow makes it more doable.

The half marathon is in one month time, so I may see how I feel a week after that... quite tempted by the marathon in Copenhagan on 20 May - quite some time away so plenty of time to train. Something to think about anyway...

Apple and Blackberry Pie

We have a beautiful apple tree at the bottom of our garden, but never seem to do anything with the apples and so they often go to waste. We also neglect our growing blackberry bush. I suppose the slugs and maggots are happy in our garden!



However, this year we've been ploughing through the fruits and I have found a great recipe on the BBC's Good Food Guide:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2749/gales-blackberry-and-apple-pi


This is my husband throwing me apples :-)










And here are the results!

It's great as there's not too much pastry nor sugar so it's not overly unhealthy. We only had a few handfuls of blackberries growing in our garden so I put in quite a few extra apples instead.

Cardiff 10K

Well, it didn't go too badly. I ran the 10k in 48 mins and 55 seconds. Not my best, but still a good time and something to work upon in the future. After all the bad weather we've been experiencing, the sun decided to come out in full force today along with a strong wind (which constantly blew in the wrong direction to be of any help). 

I now realise that I need to up my training and concentrate more on actual running than circuit training and nice little runs in the park. More fartlek and more structured training is needed! The Half Marathon is in just over a month so enough time to up the training and see if I can get close (and maybe break) my previous best of 1 hour 48 mins.

Now it's time to relax.

Ratatouille - post run bliss!

I have spent the last few days on holiday (in a very wet and windy Cornwall) and so the training has taken a bit of a hit. I have also consumed too much rich food and am feeling quite sluggish. To combat this (and because the 10k race is THIS Sunday) I have run two days in a row and have made a super healthy dinner that's lasted my husband and I two nights. I also have enough left for lunch tomorrow. :-)

Here's my ratatouille with cous cous and wholemeal flat bread:

It was very easy to make and great for using up vegetables and tinned beans. I just fried off some onions and garlic in a little olive oil, added about 8 chopped tomatoes and a couple of handfuls of chopped runner beans (yep, they are still growing!) and let it all simmer. I also fried up some mushrooms, peppers and courgettes in a separate dish and then added them to the tomato mixture - with all the juices - and some olives and tinned butter beans. To accompany the ratatouille I made some simple cous cous (wholemeal) and chucked in some capers, a tin of sweetcorn and some feta cheese. To finish it off I grilled some flat bread sprinkled with a little extra virgin olive oil, garlic and thyme. Oh, I also added some houmous. It's the kind of dish that lends itself to any vegetables - it just needs a good amount of tomatoes (and I would always go for fresh ones when available)

It tasted great post run and felt healthy too :-)

Runner Beans!

 Well, it seems only right that my first blog about food should be regarding runner beans! Every year my husband and I grow runner beans in our garden - basically they are one of only a selection of veg that we are able to grow really well. And we have hundreds of the little beans every year. I don't find them the most versatile of vegetables, but I have found a great little recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall called: Runner Beans with tomatoes. Here's the link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/05/borlotti-runner-french-bean-recipes?INTCMP=SRCH

It's quite easy to make (which is always a plus point) and goes really well with cous cous.

 Fruits of the garden

The result! Food photography is something I've yet to master...

Football Fartlek

In order to run faster in my upcoming 10k race my husband has devised a fartlek training course using the goal posts in our local fields. I must point out that he is not a trainer and doesn't run that much either, but he thought it would be fun if he made me suffer! It worked anyway. So, here's the drill: there are three football fields back to back and the aim is to sprint to the first goal post, jog back and then have a 45 second rest before sprinting to the second set of goal posts, jogging back and another rest. The third set of goal posts is the real killer as you are basically sprinting the length of three football pitches. I did this 4 times back to back today and am now feeling great, although my hips have started to hurt slightly.

I used to hate the idea of fartlek, but it's fun to use actual goal posts! I also felt more like an athlete as I sprinted through the fields (huffing and puffing). I'm hoping this will help my 10k time. My best so far is 47 mins 47 seconds, but that was a couple of years ago and I've got slightly slower through the years.

We'll see anyway. I have 11 days until the 10k...

My first post!

Hello, I'm very new to this blogging malarky so please bear with me whilst I find my feet! I've created this blog as I love running and healthy eating. It's bank holiday weekend and that's pretty much what I've been doing since Friday. I've racked up about 25 miles and have cooked numerous healthy dishes including a runner bean and tomato salad using veg from my garden (thus the name 'Runner Bean Runner'!)

In the coming weeks I hope to add some recipes, musings about my runs and info on my 10k and Half Marathon races that are fast approaching.