Recipes - Maria Runs

Red Nose Day Cookies

Hey everyone, can you believe that February is nearly over? It seems to have flown by!

It is coming up to Comic Relief day, and I was asked by the people at Sainsbury’s to come up with a cookie design to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Red Nose Day. Well, I could not resist, as I love baking cookies.

The Sainsbury’s site has loads of recipes for bake sales (to raise money) but I adapted a recipe from an old book called “Cookies Galore”, as I wanted to make jam sandwich style cookies. Mine were peanut butter and jam sandwich cookies.

It will make around 8 large cookies, but of course it depends on the size of your cookie cutter.

Ingredients:

125g butter/spread

50g caster sugar

1 egg

200g plain flour

6 tbs cornflour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Peanut butter and raspberry jam, to fill. Writing icing to decorate.

First up, preheat the oven to 180C, and line baking sheets.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift in the flour, cornflour and baking powder, and mix gently to form a dough.

Roll it out gently, and then cut out the shapes. For each cookie you need a circle for the bottom, and then the same size circle for the top, with a hole cut out for the nose. I used a little cookie cutter for the centre, but you could use an apple corer for a smaller hole.

Place them on the baking sheet, and bake for around 15 mins, until the edges have started to brown. Then leave to cool.

To prepare, thinly spread the bottom with peanut butter, then cover with raspberry jam. Put the top on, and then use writing icing to draw on the eyes and mouth.

I think they look quite cute (and very home-made- some worked out better than others!)- they emphasise the red nose I suppose.

They also taste lovely- they reminded me of a cross between a shortbread and a scone, if you can imagine that? Plus the pb and j combination is always a winner in my book.

Are you doing anything for Comic Relief? Do you have a good cookie design?

Relaxing half term

Hey peeps, I hope you are all well and staying warm (how cold did it get yesterday???)

This week I have been on half term, and it has been fab as I have caught up with friends, spent time sorting things out at home etc. I have taken some random photos, so here goes:

Yes, I know I am about 2 months too late, but I made some chocolate peppermint bark! It was super easy, and so pretty too.

I melted 200g dark chocolate, stirred in 1 tsp peppermint extract, and spread it thinly on some baking paper. Then I melted a little white chocolate (80g I think), poured that over the top, and sprinkled on 2 crushed candy canes. I didn’t have to leave it too long to set (as it was so thin) and then I chopped it up with a sharp knife.

So pretty, and it went down rather well with my friends too.

I also made an orange and almond cake for a meet up (but there was some left over for me to enjoy another day).

Although it did not taste very orangey to me, compared to when I have made it before. Maybe the oranges were not as ripe or something?

I was sent some popcorn from Lord Poppington’s (fantastic name) to try- we shared the sweet and salty last night and it was lovely- soft popcorn, like you would get if you popped it yourself, and not covered in a crunchy tooth-destroying coating like a lot of the sweet ones are. I look forward to sampling the other flavours.

I have also been drinking lots of tea.

The Twinings everyday tea is a nice black tea, and not too strong (not a builders tea).

This morning I tried some of the black tea with echinacea (10%)- it had a rather fruity delicate fragrance, and I really liked the flavour. I can’t quite put my finger on what it reminds me of, but it is more gentle than a normal black tea. I don’t drink that much plain black tea any more- I love Earl Grey, or something with another flavour in there, and this tea was great because it was not too strong, and had a hint of something else. It is probably not something I would have chosen to buy had I seen it in the shops, so I am really glad I have tried it.

The tea went very well with some lovely pancakes (made with peanut and wholegrain spelt flour- my fave combination)- I needed these after my run this morning.

I have not done that much exercise this week (compared to other weeks off where I would be out walking more, and running further too), as I felt I needed to recover from the half marathon, but I have kept up most of my usual routine. I went to Body pump on Thursday, and kept the same weights, but that turned out to be a bad idea, as I struggled for some of it. I had been out for lunch so I did think I would be full of energy, but then afterwards I realised that for one, I missed last week due to being at work, and then the rule of thumb with running is one day recovery per mile run, so I won’t be back to normal for another week. My legs found the squats and lunges especially tough, but that is no surprise really. This morning I went on a 6 mile run- that will be my longest of the week, and actually it was OK. I quite like that distance as I can run that before breakfast, so I don’t have to wait around for ages (and then delay going out)- although after 5 miles I suddenly got awful hunger pangs and actually felt really sick.

I have also been using my new oven (hooray, we finally got around to having it installed after our old one packed up before Christmas) to make some Red Nose day cookies, but I think I shall save them for a separate post!

Have a lovely weekend! What will you be up to?

Marmite pancakes (and some other food)

Tuesday seems a long time ago now! I had decided to have savoury pancakes for dinner, so I made the batter the night before (as it is meant to be left to rest for some reason). I have no idea where the pancake recipe is from, but they are all fairly similar I suppose. Mine was:

112g plain flour

2 eggs

210ml milk (I used Alpro light)

90ml water

This made 6 massive pancakes; next time I would make them a bit thinner and cook a few more.

The recipe said to use a little butter in the pan while it heats up, but then I find the first pancake is not so good, so if you have a non stick pan it is probably fine without. I didn’t add any more, anyway.

Pour the batter onto the pan to coat, leave until the sides come away from the edge of the pan (maybe 30 seconds) and flip.

In the end I had one savoury one- I spread the warm pancake with cream cheese and marmite, and then rolled it up. With some rocket, to balance it out a bit!

OK, it does not look that great, but it was yummy. Seriously marmite and cream cheese go very well together.

The second one was a bit like a cheesecake filling- cream cheese and lovely meridian cherry spread.

A little later, I cooked some pancakes for dessert.

We both had them with nutella and sliced banana- scrumptious.

I was looking forward to them during my run after work on Tuesday, and they were all worth it.

Work has been busy this week (parents evenings) and I was very pleased to find a little parcel waiting for me when I got home one night.

As a thank you for doing some posts on their tea, Twinings sent me some tea- Everyday tea, and some fab looking black tea with echinacea, which will be very handy for warding off the germs from the children!

On Monday, we had some delicious wraps for dinner.

We roasted up some butternut squash (a bag of pre-chopped stuff), a red onion and a pepper (for about 40 mins I think). Then we put the mixture into a wholemeal wrap, sprinkled on some goats cheese, and baked in the oven for about 10 minutes, and served with some salad. I love the combination of squash and goats cheese, and this was just such an easy meal to make after work.

Well, onto the running. I went out twice this week- Monday and Tuesday after work. Considering I did my long run on Sunday, I was not too stiff compared to some weeks. I only did about 3.5 miles each time, but I tried to keep the speed up. Due to being at work I missed my Wednesday night run, and pump on Thursday, and today we are getting the train down to Brighton, so this week I am only going to manage 3 runs. But it can’t be helped, and hopefully the long rest will mean I am raring to go on Sunday morning. Next week is half term so I can relax and head out when I fancy it- I am soooooo looking forward to that.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Chocolate peanut pancakes with caramelised banana

So, on Saturday I decided to put back my weekend long run to Sunday. I was glad when there was no snow on Sunday morning, but not so happy to see the rain and drizzle. I had some porridge and pottered about (sort of delayed going out) but after a while I had to get out there and just do it!

For most of the run I really enjoyed it- I wore my tennis visor to keep the rain off my glasses, but by the end the rain was coming down harder and I was getting a bit cold. I wanted to go a bit faster today. For the past few weeks my long runs have been slow- I think last week I had no had a rest day for about 5 days or something, and before then I had the end of a cold so kept having to stop to wipe my nose. But on Sunday morning I was feeling good, and I know from doing my Sweatshop runs that I can run faster than I give myself credit for. There is an 8 mile loop that I do, and I was planning on doing that, but recently the last couple of miles of that loop have really dragged, but I didn’t want to find a new route as I enjoy most of it. So I ran out for just over 4 miles, then turned around and came back, adding a little bit on the end to make it up to 9 miles. I finished in 1.36, which is fast for me. Seeing that the 8 mile loop was taking me around 1.30-1.33, and I do 10 miles in about 1.50 usually.

As a bit of bribery (can you bribe yourself?) I had made up some pancake batter so I could have them for lunch when I got home.

For the batter I used:

20g peanut flour

20g wholegrain spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

40g pumpkin puree

100ml soya milk (for some reason this batter needed more liquid than the last ones- I just add milk until it is a fairly thick batter, but pourable).

I mixed it up and left it in the fridge overnight, so it was easy and quick to cook.

For the banana I just used a banana, 1tsp coconut oil and probably a tbs coconut sugar (although butter/ brown sugar etc would work just as well).

When they were cooking I added on some chocolate chips (the yummy beyond dark ones I picked up on Saturday) as I fancied the peanut butter/ chocolate combo. I also sliced the banana and cooked it in a tsp coconut oil, and added a little coconut sugar to make it go a bit caramelised.

When I dished them up I sprinkled on a few more chocolate chips, added in a little bit of dark chocolate dreams, and sprinkled on a few honey salted peanuts (I fancied a bit of salt after my run, and the salt/sweet combo is very trendy at the moment).

The banana, chocolate and peanut butter combination was lovely, and perfect for a post run meal. Of course normal banana slices would be good (banana and nutella is a wonderful combination) but I wanted something warming, plus I think the cooked banana goes better with the peanut/ chocolate flavour somehow.

Now, the energy team at confused.com have found out that the pancake is one of the cost effective meals you can make, as it is so quick to cook. They have a competition for the most creative pancake recipe, you can check it out here.

I think my favourite topping is cooked apple with mincemeat, but I only have one jar of the mincemeat now so am saving it for a bit.

When I was younger my Mum would always make “real” pancakes (you know the thin ones, and she could flip them in the air too!) and we would have savoury ones first, and then a sweet one for after (orange or lemon juice and sugar). My favourite savoury combination was cream cheese, marmite and cucumber. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! I am tempted to have that at some point this week now…

What is your favourite pancake topping/ filling?

Perfect pancakes (again, and this time the real recipe)

Pancakes for a leisurely Sunday breakfast are becoming part of my weekend routine. I made the batter the night before again, to speed things up a bit, and they turned out so pretty again!

The black stuff is mincemeat, not burnt apples!

To make the batter, mix in a bowl:

20g peanut flour

20g wholegrain spelt flour

1tsp baking powder

40g pumpkin puree

60-70ml soya milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

I also added in some cinnamon, but I could not taste it in them, so next time I would leave that out.

Then, in the morning, I have it down to a fine art. I heat up the pan over a medium heat, and drop the first 3 pancakes on there (I like little ones- easier to flip), then heat a tsp coconut oil in a little milk pan. While that is melting, chop up an apple and add to the pan with the coconut oil. Sometimes I add a little coconut sugar here too if I fancy them to be more caramelised.

Flip the pancakes once little bubbles appear, and shake the apples in the pan a bit. Make a cup of tea (teapigs chocolate flake tea is my Sunday breakfast tea of choice currently).

Put the first lot of pancakes on the plate, put the second lot on to cook, and then add some mincemeat (I shall be so sad when my supply of the lovely Meridian stuff runs out) to the apple, just to heat it through.

Serve with a little pb, and enjoy.

After that relaxing start to the day, we headed into London. We had a little walk around Covent Garden, went for lunch at Pizza Express, and even managed a bit of time in the National Portrait Gallery, before going to see Let It Be. I was expecting more of a musical (you know, a bit of a tenuous story) but in fact it was basically Beatles song after Beatles song, being played and sung live. It was fantastic- very lively and good fun.

Then we popped to Starbucks for a drink before heading home. A lovely relaxing Sunday.

I mentioned on my facebook page that the Deep Freeze gel really impressed me, so I thought I would mention it here too. I really think that ice baths or cold showers really help after a long run/ hard effort, and in the summer I will often spray my legs with cold water at the end of a shower. Apparently they do it to racing horses? Anyway, the idea is that the cold water contracts the blood vessels, and then when you warm up again after, nutrients etc flood in and help with recovery.

Anyway, after the 11 miles on Saturday my knees were a bit stiff, and my hamstrings always get tight, so I put some on. On Sunday I felt tired (as tired as you would normally feel after a long run and a busy week I suppose) but my legs were not stiff at all. I am really impressed! So worth a try I would say, and more appealing than a cold shower in this weather. I must warn you, at first it just feels cool, but after a few minutes it does actually feel freezing- it did take me by surprise!

Jantastic is now into Febulous- we have to choose the length of the longest run each week as well as how many per week. I have started with 4 runs, as I managed this on 3 out of 4 weeks, even with the snow- it was having a heavy cold that put a stop to one of them. I think I put down to do 10 miles next week, then 13 (for Brighton) and then drop back to 6, as I am not sure what I will feel like doing for those last 2 weeks.

Oh, and don’t forget you can enter the giveaway on my last post– I am loving all the answers so far.

What is your idea of the perfect weekend breakfast? Actually, can I choose The Waffle House?