Month: April 2014

Healthy Baking Competition

Jemma over at Celery and Cupcakes has organised an amazing baking competition. You have to create a recipe that uses margarine, but make it a healthier recipe. I got my thinking hat on and decided that one of my favourite recipes is my cherry, almond and marzipan cake.

To make it a little healthier I made a few changes: I used coconut sugar instead of regular sugar. I increased the ground almonds and decreased the flour, and added in another egg (this helps the ground almonds to bind). I also reduced the amount of marzipan used, and used natural dried cherries instead of glacé cherries. I am really pleased with how it turned out and actually prefer it to the original!

Most of my ingredients:

Ingredients:

175g margarine (I used Pure spread)

175g coconut sugar

4 free range eggs

200g ground almonds

50g plain flour

2 heaped tsp baking powder

1 tsp almond extract

90g dried cherries

Optional: 20g marzipan

Flaked almonds, to sprinkle

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a brownie pan with baking paper. Cream together the margarine and coconut sugar. Add the eggs and almond extract and beat well. Add in the ground almonds, flour and baking powder, and mix gently to combine. Finally add in the dried cherries.

Pour the mixture into the pan. At this point if you are using marzipan, tear it into little pieces and dot over the top. Feel free to omit this. Then sprinkle with the flaked almonds.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean (be sure not to test by a piece of marzipan as this will be liquid at oven temperature).

Leave to cool in the pan on a cooling rack before dusting with icing sugar.

The coconut sugar means that the cake does go a little darker than when using normal caster sugar.

Leave to cool before slicing. The ground almonds means that it may stick a bit more to the baking paper, so be gentle!

This cake has a gorgeous light texture, and a delicious almond flavour. Of course the “normal” dried cherries don’t stand out as much as the fake red glacé ones, but they still add a lovely burst of sweetness.

What cake would you like to be healthier?

Marathon cheering

And some pondering too.

So over the last few weeks I have been absolutely loving all the marathon recaps that have been popping up in the blog world. Well done to everyone!!! Here are some links in case you missed them:

Jess ran the Greater Manchester marathon.

Anna ran the Paris marathon.

Lauren ran the Greater Manchester marathon.

Tess ran the Brighton marathon.

Lara linked to her London marathon recap from last year.

The marathon talk boys took on Manchester too- you can hear them chat about it on episode 222 (good number for a show too).

Mary is about to take on London (here is her expo trip).

I also came across this article about whether to sign up for a marathon or not.

I spent time on Saturday listening to a radio show that was on radio 5 on Thursday evening- they were previewing London, had an interview with Mo as well as general marathon chat.

And of course I had a look at my marathon recap (which actually made me cry when I read it back- not sure if that is weird?). At the time I had a suspected UTI (I kept getting them at that point), so was on antibiotics, but luckily I felt OK in the morning- I had promised Andy that if I felt bad I would not run it, but it being my first marathon I think I would have had to feel pretty awful not to attempt it. A few months later I was hospitalised, and it turned out that I had a huge cyst on my ovary that had to be surgically removed- so in fact I was not 100% healthy when I took on my first marathon. I was immensely proud of myself for finishing it, and running the whole way (very slowly, but I still ran every single step) but at the time I knew that before I attempted another marathon I would need to speed up. Seriously running for nearly five and a half hours is very tough, mentally and physically.

So since then I have been focusing on half marathons (minus the set back when I could not run at all due to my op). Here is my theory:

When I ran the marathon I had only run 2 half marathons- a hilly one the previous year in 2.32, and then a slightly less hilly one in 2.19. Of course a marathon is more than twice as hard as a half marathon, and your speed will be less, so I think the rule of thumb is double your half time and add 10% (or something). Anyway using my half marathon times from then, (and the runners world predictor) my time should have been between 5.16 and 4.49 (although I think that was rather optimistic). I suppose my time was only 5 minutes off, so not bad really.

I had in my mind a time for my half marathon to get to, and I am getting closer to that goal, but if I take my most recent two of 2.16 and 2.06 the calculator gives me a prediction of between 4.43 and 4.22, or if I use my last 10 mile time it says 4.37. Again there is no way I could keep up the pace I did the Bath half in for double the distance (and I know it does not assume this, but it is pretty close I think), but it means that the slower of the two times is sub 5, which is a bit better I think.

Going off on a tangent, if I submit my best 10K time it predicts my half would be 2.03, so again close, but I am not quite there. And of course it shows that this is a predictor to give you a ballpark figure.

Anyway, I have not signed up for another marathon just yet, but I am really considering it now. I have started looking, even though my half marathon time is not quite at my goal yet. I would like one in the school holidays as I would not want to have to be at work the next day, and I have been looking closer to home as possibly the flight the night before was not the best preparation. I also much prefer smaller races- the crowds get my adrenaline going too much, so I won’t be putting my name in for the London ballot! So 2015 might be the year of my next one, who knows.

So if you have a race to recommend to me, then feel free.

 Anyone else running a marathon? Good luck!

I am off to watch London!

First week of the holidays

The week has gone by fast! I am going to work backwards.

This morning I was up and off to parkrun. Still the off road course (I know- crazy!), I picked up my brother and we ran together for a bit although I ended up slightly ahead of him. Just got my text through- 29.01, 145th out of 234 runners (although I got number 144 token so not sure why that is?), 29th female and 6th in my age category.

Of course I then made pancakes, and this time put some figs on them after flipping so they heated up a bit.

Yesterday I was up early for a 5 mile run- I wanted to try out the longer fields route as the last time I did it it was rather boggy. Thankfully it was drier, but hard going as it was so rutted, and the paths are so narrow. I got half way through the cow fields and then noticed one cow with massive horns sat near the fence. By that point it was too late to go back so I just had to run as fast as I could and hope that the cow stayed where it was.

Later in my run I saw a woodpecker, and a massive red kite sat on the grass, and a little rabbit run out in front of me! Love seeing all the nature.

Then I was off to a friends house for a get together with lots of lovely food- I made some lemon squares (from Hummingbird), and one friend made the most amazing salted caramel cupcakes. When I got home I persuaded Andy to have a walk as the weather was so lovely.

Thursday morning I was up doing some work, before meeting some friends for a waffle. How I love The Waffle House. Freshly made, organic milk, free range eggs, loads of vegetarian options….

Hummus and avocado might be the best one ever! They make their hummus with organic chickpeas- it is so good. The little blobs are sort of spicy sundried tomato paste, although they look like raisins!

I popped in to see my Mum on the way back home, and as Andy was working at home I went out on a walk to enjoy the sunshine- I saw a pair of jays fly past and land on a branch right by the path.

Then after dinner I was off to pump. It was good but hot in there.

On Wednesday I did some work in the morning, and then at lunch time we walked up to the shops, and were so hot we got an iced chai from Caffe Nero to have on the walk home- not sure what syrup they use but it tasted very american (in a good way)- more cinnamon I think.

In the afternoon I got my bake on! I made the not cross buns, and a cake for Jemma’s baking competition, before going to Sweatshop in the evening. We did the fields loop but backwards, which is tougher. I ran with my brother at the start and then started trying to catch up the people in front- I managed it with about half a mile to go (partly because the girl in front had to stop because she got a bug in her eye)- it was nice to run the final bit together. I had taken a jacket with me as the last few weeks I have got quite chilly on the way home, but I was very hot then!

On Tuesday I did a 6.7 mile run- my old loop which I don’t think I have run since doing the Bath half- it was good to get out there in the morning even though the wind was quite cold at times. Then I spent the day doing work before having a little walk in the evening to get away from the computer screen!

This week has been great- afternoon tea, Waffle House, seeing friends, lots of walks in the fresh air and lots of running too. Hooray!

Tomorrow I shall be watching the TV in the morning- the elite field looks to be amazing, and of course I shall be cheering on Mo for his marathon debut, but I am just excited for a proper race.

Will you be watching London tomorrow? How has your week been?

Not cross buns (recipe)

But first up, the winner of the Cake book give-away is…. (chosen by putting names into a pot and taking one out at random);

Lara! Email me your address and I shall send it off.

To the recipe:

Recently I saw this fan competition on The Pink Whisk (link at the bottom) for an Easter recipe so had to get my thinking hat on!

I have a few ideas for other recipes, but here is my first one:

Not cross buns

I wanted to make something to use up chocolate, but that was less time consuming than normal hot cross buns. I also love marzipan, and fruit cake, so I fancied something with a similar flavour to Simnel cake.

The centre is based on these gorgeous dark chocolate cherry energy bites from Oh She Glows. They are then dipped in chocolate, and finally the cross is made with marzipan (if you don’t like marzipan or have a lot of white chocolate left over then you could replace this with white chocolate).

Centre:

(for approx. 24 balls)

1 cup raw almonds

3/4 cup dates

1/2 cup dried cherries (Sainsbury’s are gorgeous, but Urban fruit ones are also good)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (to get that spiced bun vibe going)

Water (if needed)

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Blend the nuts in a food processor until they look like gritty sand.

Then add the dried fruits and cinnamon until a sticky paste forms. If your dates are quite dry (mine were) then add a tablespoon of water and process again- you want the mixture to begin to stick together in the food processor.

Form into balls and leave on the baking tray.

Coating:

Easter egg chocolate- 100g approx

Marzipan- 20g approx (or use melted white chocolate instead)

Melt the chocolate- I do this in a microwave by putting it in a heat proof bowl and heating it for 20 seconds at a time. Roll out the marzipan into thin sausage shapes and cut into short pieces.

Dip the balls in the chocolate and put back on the tray. Then carefully place little pieces of marzipan over to create a cross shape.

Leave to harden on the tray and then enjoy.

I love how they look!

A little easier to make than normal hot cross buns.

How do you like to use up Easter egg chocolate? I always loved making cornflake cakes.

I am going to enter these into the Pink Whisk Easter Baking competition: run in conjunction with Two Little Fleas. (I have tried to include the badge but the code won’t work).

www.gamevillage.com could occupy your time while you wait for the chocolate to cool!

*Contains a sponsored link.

Allotmenteering and afternoon tea

Hey peeps, I hope you are all well.

The Easter holidays are here, and that means it is high time I tackled the allotment. A couple of weekends ago my Dad came and helped us do some digging, but I knew I would have some time over the next couple of weeks.

On Sunday my plan was to head there as soon as I woke up. Unfortunately on Saturday night I was meant to pick up Andy but my car wouldn’t start. It has been a bit temperamental lately, but did just pass its’ MOT (and have a service) -usually if I try it a few time it starts up, but this time the scary red “STOP” light came on. So Sunday morning turned into phoning the breakdown people, and waiting for the person to come out. Amazingly, he fixed it without me needing a new battery or starter motor! But it meant time had got on, so I spent less time digging. Luckily I had pancakes for breakfast as I didn’t get back until about 4pm!

I sometimes add fruit to the pancake before I flip it, but this then means that the fruit sticks to the pan. This time I added it after I had flipped it, which meant the berries were warmed through in the pan- good plan Batman.

The night before I cooked some apple in the oven, but didn’t end up eating it, so I added that to my next pancake- warm apple pancakes are delicious.

Digging fuel right there!

On Sunday evening we went to see Muppets Most Wanted, which I loved! The last Muppet movie was great, and during the first part of the film I was a bit worried that I would be disappointed (I hate it when my expectations are high like that) but it was such a fun film, with some excellent “real” actors in there too. Worth a see for sure.

On Monday morning I was going to have a run, but it was raining, plus I had not got as much digging as planned, so I headed to the allotment first thing. I did more digging, weeding and even used the mower again.

Then it was porridge time! I keep forgetting about the rest of the Matcha powder, so I added it to my porridge. I thought it would go very green, but it didn’t, and it stayed in lumps (so no photo- it didn’t look good!) but I liked the flavour. I still can’t place it, but thankfully it tastes nothing like normal green tea.

Then I was off to London! I ended up getting into the centre earlier than I thought, so I wandered to Wholefoods for a drink, before meeting some friends for afternoon tea:

Moan alert! Originally I had booked a deal on Groupon for a chocolate afternoon tea. The email came through, but it would not let me book a table before the deal ended. Then the deal ended but I still could not book it. I emailed Groupon who said there was a problem with paypal, and really I should not use Paypal because payment can be delayed. I emailed back to say they should put that on their site, and should have contacted me as soon as there was an issue because then I could have bought the deal again with a different payment method. I then checked my Paypal account because I didn’t think I had paid that way- I hadn’t. Then they emailed back to say that actually I had paid with credit card, which was fine, but they had a “technical glitch” and no vouchers were issued to anyone, and they then refunded me. Anyway, the way they handled it really annoyed me, so in the end I looked on afternoon tea.co.uk for a different offer. Not sure I would use Groupon again after that.

Anyway, the place we went to was very relaxed- with very comfy chairs, so great for catching up. However I had requested one vegetarian, and when the lady brought our tiers over she said “this one is vegetarian; cream cheese and cucumber, smoked salmon” (at this point I laughed rather loudly- I was just not expecting that! So didn’t even hear the third sandwich)-she had no idea why I was laughing so I swapped that one with one of my friends! One of the dessert options was panna cotta which I am sure always contains gelatin so I left that one too. The scone was lovely, and the carrot cake and macaroon were delicious, and the chocolate cake was quite nice. We had one refill of tea, and I would have liked another, but the servers were a bit too relaxed and didn’t check on us that much. It was good to not feel hurried, but at one point my friend noticed some mould in her cream, and it took ages for someone to come and replace it. We were given some champagne to make up for it, but as I don’t drink it was down to my friends to have mine. Overall it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, but I think the service could have been better. And honestly, salmon is NOT vegetarian!!!!

Trip advisor review is being written!

Do you ever contact places after bad service? I do sometimes, especially with things like incorrect vegetarian items (I am a one woman crusade against the use of parmesan in “vegetarian” meals!), but I read reviews far more frequently than I write them!