Recipes - Maria Runs

Sprinting with Sweatshop

Hey folks

So on Wednesday I was off to Sweatshop, and when I got there they had decided on the dreaded “Hill” route. It is not actually that bad, but the hill in the first mile is pretty steep and just that bit too long. Normally when we do this route the front runners head back after each roundabout and join at the back again, which is good as then when we get to the underpass in the town centre no-one is on their own (I hate the underpass). But although we said we would do this, the faster people must have decided against it while they were running. I got to the top of the hill and realised that the girl ahead of me (who was a bit unsure of the route having only done it once before) had gone straight ahead instead of turning left, and no-one had turned back. I decided that I really should go after her, as there was only one person behind me, and I would not want her being lost on my conscience. So even though I was out of breath after the hill I had to pick up the pace and was shouting “hey, come back, it’s this way”. My poor legs could not go any faster! The trouble was she was wearing headphones, and I didn’t know her name. Luckily when I had nearly caught up with her she stopped to cross a road and saw me. Phew. She said she would have just turned at the next road but I am not sure where that would have ended up anyway. We ran the rest of the way together, chatting at times and gasping for breath at others, and even added on the optional loop at the end. That route ended up being about 4 miles so including running there and back I was over 5 miles for the evening which I was pretty pleased with.

We bought some amazing coconut dark chocolate in France at Christmas, and I enjoyed a couple of piece with some tea after dinner.

Thursday was pump- my back was a bit sore last weekend so I didn’t go too high on the back track. I am going to have a moan also about people who are members so don’t book on. There were not enough steps for everyone, hardly any weights. Non-members have to pay and get a receipt to get through the barrier, but if you are a peak member then all classes are included, so loads of people just turn up without booking on. Grrrr. Anyway, why do the lunges never get any easier???? I find that generally after a while I can add to my squats weight (although I am nearly at my limit of lifting the bar off my shoulders at the end), but the lunges just burn my legs. I stood on a mat this week which really helped as the floor is quite slippery and often I worry I will slide over during that track.

Friday I went to see my Nan after work, and then we watched a film (Behind the Candelabra- weird) and then Gogglebox which I just love.

This morning after my run I tried out a recipe similar to this one, from memory as I think I saw it on Ffion’s blog a while back.

Basically after my run I had to pick up a parcel and just wanted to jump in the shower and not stand by the oven and cook pancakes, so I made a batter with some melted coconut oil, an egg, some soya milk, ground almonds, coconut flour and baking powder, and poured it into a greased dish and baked for 25 mins. When I looked on-line later I was pretty pleased that I had got it mostly right! I had it with some cherries (defrosted in a pan with a little coconut sugar) and lovely teapigs chocolate tea.

Tasted better than it looked! Although I prefer buckwheat flour to coconut flour- the coconut flour just seems really dry in things.

Well it is a gorgeous day here- I have some baking going on at the moment, then a trip to the shops, some work and hopefully some weeding at the allotment too- it’s going to be a busy Saturday!

Red Velvet Cake

Hey folks, I hope your weekends are going well and you have been enjoying this gorgeous weather.

So this weekend I had decided to make a red velvet cake. I have never eaten one before, or made one, but I saw one in the window of a bakery last weekend in Bath, and it looked pretty. Andy had some red velvet fro-yo one holiday and loved it, so I thought I would give it a go.

I had a lot of recipes in various books, but in the end I went for this recipe, mainly because I was doing the shopping online and it was easier to check ingredients online also.

I think the original point of red velvet is that you make a chocolate cake with buttermilk, and somehow the chemical reaction between the cocoa and buttermilk turns it slightly red. But that may be an urban myth. All the recipes now call for plenty of red food colouring.

This one you mixed the food colouring with greek yoghurt and then add it to the cake mix.

I cooked it in two pans instead of one, as I can’t cut straight to save my life. Plus it meant the cooking time was much reduced. I also made an additional cake to take to work.

It doesn’t look too red here, but that is just the light.

Then I made the cream cheese icing- this recipe made loads! I suppose it is meant to be 3 tiers but I had a thick filling, a thick topping and then a thick topping for the cake for work too.

The icing has a little lemon juice in there which I really love- I think the lemon flavour lifts the cake and makes it more interesting somehow.

I might add some chocolate curls or something. I can’t decide.

After baking I gave the house a major spring clean before heading out. I parked away from town, walked in, picked some bits up and walked out. When I got home I had a slice of the cake for work (can’t really take the other cake around tomorrow for tea with a slice taken out!)- I think it is quite nice, but I don’t think I would make it again. I am not a massive fan of chocolate cake and when I make it I usually use recipes that contain melted chocolate. The cream cheese icing was really good though and I would use that again for different cakes.

Are you a fan of red velvet cake?

National Porridge Recipe Competition

Hey peeps.

This week I was contacted by the folks at Mornflake as they are running a competition to find the best porridge recipe. Now, you all know how much I love porridge. I eat it every week day for breakfast (and most weekends, except when I have pancakes), and only when it is super hot do I change to bircher muesli. It is my staple food for sure.

A while back I even did “Pimp My Porridge” to see how many add-ins I could come up with.

My favourite porridge at the moment is this: 40g oats, some milk (at the moment Alpro soya light)- I just pour it in until it looks right but it is probably around 150ml-200ml, a tbs of chia seeds and a few dried cherries (those Sainsbury’s dried cherries are so delicious)- I leave that in a bowl in the fridge overnight so the oats and seeds and dried fruit all soak up some of the liquid. Then (sorry porridge purists) it goes in the microwave for 2 mins 20. I can nearly empty the dishwasher in that time! Then I add a blob of peanut butter.

They also sent me a lovely recipe by The Porridge Lady.

Sweetheart Porridge

This recipe uses the natural sweetness of berries topped with the sweet treat of white chocolate.

Serves: Two

Cooking & preparation time: 6 mins

Ingredients

15g white chocolate

80g Mornflake jumbo oats

200ml milk

200ml cold water

80g frozen berries

1 dessert spoon runny British honey

Method

Coarsely grate the white chocolate and set aside.

Into a deep saucepan place the oats, water and milk.

Then put the saucepan over a high heat and cook for 2 mins stirring constantly.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the oats for a further 2-3 mins or until you have a nice creamy porridge.

Pour the porridge into two bowls.

Swirl the frozen berries into the porridge (they will be like little frozen fruit pops!).

Top with a swirl of honey.

Finally garnish with the grated chocolate and serve hot to your sweetheart for breakfast.

Sounds good, huh? I think I would have dark chocolate instead (I prefer it)- plus Andy is not a porridge fan but of course the recipe could be easily halved.

Anyway, if you want to enter the competition then here is the info:

Simon Rimmer (TV chef) and Britain’s oldest family oat miller, Mornflake Cereals, are urging porridge fans to share their oaty masterpieces, for a chance to take part in the first ever ‘Porridge Stir-Off’, at the home of Mornflake Oats, in Cheshire, on Saturday 5th April.

The ‘Stir-Off’ will take place in the scenic, 13th Century Bunbury Water Mill, near Mornflake Cereals, where the winning recipe will be chosen by Simon, Porridge guru and Golden Spurtle winner, Anna Louise Batchelor (aka the Porridge Lady), together with Mornflake MD, John Lea.

The winner will enjoy a fabulous Gourmet Evening-for-two, hosted by Simon, at his award-winning Cheshire restaurant, Earle, a year’s worth of Mornflake Porridge Oats and an all-expenses-paid trip to enter their recipe into the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championships, in Scotland. The recipe will also feature in Mornflake’s annual Oat Recipe Book.

Fellow judge, Anna Louise Batchelor, said “For the Stir-Off we are looking for imaginative and creative recipes – we are looking to find a Great British Porridge!”.

To enter, simply upload a video clip or picture of your oaty masterpiece, with full recipe details, to their dedicated web page.

Entries end next Thursday (6th March) so if you fancy entering then get your porridge hat on quickly.

What is your favourite porridge topping? Does your other half like porridge?

It’s easy being green

There is a green theme to this post in case you had not guessed.

Green section 1.

I tried the matcha tea from my beauty box parcel.

I am not a green tea fan at all- I do keep trying it in case I change my mind, but I find it bitter and weird tasting, not for me at all. I looked about on the internet and the consensus seemed to be that it went with creamy flavours, and lattes seemed to get thumbs up, so I went for that. I used Alpro soya light, as I think it froths up really well.

It was hard to get the powder out of the packet, especially as the pack contained 2 servings but it was all stuck to the sides, so I have no idea if I used the right amount. I heated the milk, added a little warm milk to the cup, frothed (love my aerolatte) and then added the rest of the milk. It frothed up so well it only just fitted in the cup!

It looks more grey than green in the photo, but it was bright green! It smelled more like normal black tea, and the taste was not bitter at all. I could not put my finger on the taste, and of course the soya milk tastes quite sweet, but it was nice enough. Not sure it gave me loads of energy (it is meant to give out a steady stream of caffeine instead of a big burst and then slump) but I got on with some baking and cleaning after that.

Lots of green froth left at the end!

It was quite hard to dissolve all the powder- I still had a few lumps in there. But I would have it again, now all I have to do is decide on how to have the second half of the packet.

Green section 2:

I made Laura’s fudgy avocado brownies.

I halved the recipe as I only had one avocado to use, and instead of walnuts (not my favourite) I added dried sour cherries and flaked almonds. I only cooked them for 30 minutes and they were pretty well done- I think my oven runs fairly hot.

I had one in the afternoon with a cup of tea and it was very good. You can’t taste the avocado (not that I thought I would be able to) but they are so rich and chocolatey. Of course, as Laura says, they are not exactly a health food, but compared to a brownie with white flour and plain sugar they measure up much better.

I am going to freeze the rest so I shall have a delicious brownie in stand by for when I fancy something sweet.

It has also persuaded me to try the chocolate avocado cup things I keep seeing on blogs- next time I have a ripe avocado anyway.

Have you tried something new recently? What shall I do with the other bit of matcha?

Coconut flour and how not to recover well

Ages ago I bought some coconut flour, but I just could not get on with it. I tried it in a few different recipes but it seemed to make things so dry and some of the cakes seemed to not cook.

Last week I used the last of my lovely Orgran Buckwheat pancake mix (sad face) so was looking to order some more, but Ocado don’t stock it. They popped up with a suggestion of Biona coconut flour, so I thought I would give it another go.

So after my 12 mile run on Sunday I gave them a go. I have been having a few dates before a run, and then some almonds and a nuun tab in water when I get back, which tides me over until after my shower.

The recipe on the box seemed a lot, so I halved it:

1 egg

1 tbs melted coconut oil

3 tbs milk

1 tbs agave (I used maple syrup)

1 tbs coconut flour

1/3 tps baking powder

Method:

Mix together the coconut oil, eggs, milk and maple syrup. Add the coconut flour and baking powder and mix until smooth. Heat some coconut oil in a pan and then cook them as small american style pancakes.

I was not sure when to flip them- they seemed to have a bit of a funny jelly-like texture.

I had them with a cooked apple and banana, a little chocolate pb and a sprinkling of coconut. Plus coconut water (from my treat box) and a tea.

After that the day didn’t quite go as planned (well for optimum recovery). We had taped the snowboard cross to watch as a treat after our run, but after that I didn’t want to sit around as I knew I would get stiff. So in the afternoon we drove and parked near town, walked in and went to Starbucks- my first iced chai latte of the year. We shared a cinnamon roll as we were both hungry again. Then after a bit more of a walk we visited both our parents- I had made Andy’s parents a cake (the same clementine cake I made last week) so we had a small slice of that with some tea after a little walk with them, but didn’t get home until about 7pm- we were ravenous as had missed lunch. Luckily we had a pizza and some salad in the fridge so we got it ready pretty quick. I think all the walking was good, but we should have thought through our timings a bit better!

The runger well and truly got me on Sunday! What do you normally do to help recover after a long run/ hard workout?