Yep, I can’t not mention it I am afraid. So I will try to be brief.
Friday evening:
Keeping warm with a hot chocolate (swapped this mug with some smaller ones which are now at work instead). Got a bit of a cold.
Saturday morning:
Pumpkin Pancakes (made with peanut flour so they basically fell apart)-plus cooked apple and some meridian mincemeat- plus teapigs chocolate tea for a late breakfast.
Opening a parcel from the blogging team at confused.com for me to use for the blog- giveaways for some of the items will be coming up at some point.
Saturday afternoon:
Making chocolate covered mango with some yummy urban fruit mango.
Eating a lot of the mango while Andy cleared a lot of the parking area outside.
(This was Sunday morning, when the snow started and had begun to cover where he cleared- although you can see a lot of what he cleared...)
I also helped Andy for about half an hour with the sweeping of the snow- we ended up with 3 piles as the area is communal so we have to move it right to the edge so it is not in the way of any of the parking spaces.
Going on a snowy walk (mainly to see the state of the pavements).
Pavements near us were not good!
To be fair, neither was the road.
Frozen pond (usually has fountains running in it too).
Later Saturday afternoon:
Baking a carrot cake (used the recipe from the new Leon book- a pretty healthy recipe, using a little oil- I used hazelnut- plus agave nectar, wholegrain flour, carrots, coconut, spices…).
Saturday night:
Enjoying a slice of the carrot cake (topped with a little icing made with orange juice and icing sugar).
Sunday morning:
Went out on a snowy run. The pavements were OK on Saturday- they had been cleared and gritted, and my cold was loads better, so I decided to do a short run to get my third of the week (so not 100% for week too, boo)- instead of the 10 miles planned. Ah well. It was fun- the snow was coming down while I was running, and I ended up looping around the same bit several times- I ended up running next to my first lot of foot prints so it looked like someone had jumped along with their feet next to each other. It amused me, anyway. That photo was when I got back, and the bit that we cleared on Saturday was covered completely!
Cranberry pecan swirl for breakfast after a shower to warm up.(Yes, I did a lot of baking this weekend!). I used this recipe, but divided it into 9, so I made 2 generous ones.
Sunday evening:
Deep heat on my back- one side was really sore and I can only think it was from sweeping up all the snow on Saturday- pointless as it turned out to be!
Monday:
Spent the day working as my school was closed (I was very relieved as the roads around here were not gritted)- I usually have planning time on a Monday so I did that at home instead.
Late in the afternoon I needed some fresh air, so I went for a run. The pavements were awful! They seemed to be cleared in short places (the business park by me usually clears them as they have these little mini truck things), but then not in others. So I was jumping over piles of snow, running through inches of slush- my socks were wet through and my feet were freezing by the time I got home. 4 miles was quite enough! Luckily the deep heat can be used on chillblains too. The snow went past my ankles (I don’t think the picture shows it very well)- and more snow below that was compacted! Anyway, at least the roads were clear so driving tomorrow will be fine once I get off my road, as it still is covered in compacted snow and ice.
I also made some foccacia bread (from the Hairy Bakers book) and roasted up some butternut squash and sweet potato, for some soup.
Soup and warm bread = a perfect dinner after a run in the snow.
So, to sum up, my weekend was a bit like my Jantastic team (which are all awesome by the way)- filled with running, baking, and now a long blog!
Bye 🙂
All the baking you’ve been doing looks so good, it is what snowy weather is for!
I totally agree- keeps the house warm when the oven is on too!
Ugh, the pavements here are like that – 3ft high piles of slush. It’s worse than when the snow was compacted…there’s no way to run on it now. First day I haven’t seen at least one other runner outside and I’m stuck on the dreadmill for the foreseeable now. Bloody winter.
You have been busy! That bread looks incredibly good – very impressive 😀
xxx
Thanks 🙂
I was hoping the pavements would have been cleared, although today no doubt they will be worse as that will all freeze overnight.
Slush is the worst! Here it stays cold enough at least so that snow doesn’t turn to slush, and it’s compacted so it’s pretty much like running on the road, but softer and kinder on the knees. A massive improvement from Gothenburg winters, which are just like the one you describe. Slush and ice – bleh!
Yes the slush was really tough, and more slippery than I expected too.
I can imagine the snow is just fine- on Sunday while it was still snowing it was fine- I just had to mind any icy patches not covered by the snow.
It looks like you spent your snow day wisely with lots of baking, perfect!
I bet your house smells amazing, baking in the cold in the best! Well done for going for a run, the pavements are horrific near me so I haven’t been able to get anywhere. Hmph. Fingers crossed it will all pass over soon!
Great effort getting out there in the snow! I only got one outdoor run in last week, rest were on the treadmill, it was far too icy/cold/snowy! Looks like you cooked up a baking storm over the weekend! I wish I’d done that with my dried mango now, although it was pretty good on its own! 😛
I love it on its own too, but I love the Divine mango coated in chocolate, so decided to make my own!
Ugh, same happened with the snow that I cleared! Ho hum, I am sick of it now, hope it clears off! Love the look of your baking 🙂
Yep, had to clear more today!
Am partial to a carrot cake! Yours looks yummy and I like that it’s in loaf form!
I ran in the snow a few years back and never again. I get terrible throat crackliness and productive, without being TMI. Not the best experience have to admit!
I love loaf cakes too, they seem more homely or something?
oh those pecan swirls………..
Yes, that is why I only make 2, as otherwise it won’t take long for them all to go..
Ah sucks about spending all that time clearing the snow! It’s such a nightmare. So many people around us were digging their cars out of the snow. And running is so tricky at the moment. Finding good routes is hard.
All your baking looks so yummy, especially the cranberry pecan swirl! I’ve recently got some peanut flour and was wondering what to do with it. Might try pancakes!
That chocolate mango looks amazing! I have a bag of the mango in my cupboard, will have to get melting chocolate!
Carrot cake is my favourite too 🙂
We have had no snow. I’m glad really as I’m not a fan of the cold/wet or ruined plans (!) but the children would’ve loved it! Ah well, living by the sea makes up for lack of snow, we hardly ever get it here!
Looks like you got the snow worse than us, hope it’s gone now. It’s just not fun trying to get about when it’s like that…
Those deconstructed pancakes look fab, they always seem to taste better when they fall apart like that!
I’m being sent one of those boxes too so I didn’t look too carefully at what’s in yours 🙂 the carrot cake looks lovely.
I’ve tagged you for the Liebster Blog Award 🙂
Thanks 🙂