Running - Maria Runs

Mincemeat madness, motivation and a muffin recipe!

Hey- I have been having a bit of an obsession with mincemeat this week.

Sunday started with a pile of pancakes:

Wholegrain spelt flour, pumpkin puree, baking powder, almond milk and spices all cooked gently. Served with a massive chopped apple cooked in a tsp coconut oil, and served with that lovely Meridian mincemeat. Yum. Plus a cardamom chai.

On a week day I don’t have time for pancakes- I get up as early as I can! So today started with porridge made with pumpkin puree, and topped with more mincemeat. So good.

Tomorrow we are having a breakfast at work, and I offered to bring muffins. I have seen lots of mincemeat recipes- mincemeat scones on The Pink Whisk look amazing, so I decided to adapt a recipe for cinnamon muffins.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

250g flour (I used half wholegrain spelt and half white)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp mixed spice

115g soft brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

120ml milk (approx)

85g butter, melted

200g mincemeat

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Put cake cases into cake pans ready.

Mix the flour, baking powder, spices and sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter (microwave for 20 seconds), and mix this with the egg and the milk.

Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture, and pour in the liquid ingredients, then add the mincemeat and mix gently.

Put spoonfuls into cake cases- then put in the oven for 15 mins. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (or sugar) and then bake for another 5 minutes until golden.

Leave to cool in the tins before turning on to a wire rack to cool completely. My cases were full so I used some little loaf pans to bake the extra in- might have to have one later as a quality control check.

Yesterday for Sunday tea I took around the orange cake that I made on Saturday- any excuse to use the orange peel 🙂 This time I added dark chocolate chips in the mix to make a chocolate orange cake- yummy.

Today I went on my run and I was listening to marathon talk. They have a Spring motivation challenge (Jantastic! appeals to my love of puns etc)- it is just for fun, but anyway you can sign up on their website. You can enter on your own- for January you just pledge how many runs you would do each week, and then log them each week (nothing lost if you don’t do what you aim for), then for February you do that, and pledge the distance of your longest run each week, and then for March you try to predict to the nearest second a race/ race distance (can be a 5K you do on your own, or a race you are entered in).

Anyway, I am going to do it- I did it 2 years ago but couldn’t last year. But they were saying you could have a team, with a minimum of 6 members. So I was wondering if anyone wants to join up in a blog team? I was trying to think of a good name, but I can’t, so any suggestions welcome. I think it would be quite fun. They say the run has to be over 1 mile, it can be a run/walk, but you have to be wearing your kit, so no counting running to the bus! Anyone fancy it? If so, let me know by commenting here, or emailing me- also if you have a good idea for a team name let me know! Then I think when you sign up the team will appear (once I register it) from the drop down menu.

Might be worth a bit of extra motivation for getting out there when the weather is cold and damp and windy etc.

Cheers 🙂

Bird watching

Hello all,

Man was I looking forward to the weekend- this week has been flat out, and after having a few weekends away it was nice to have time at home to look forward to. This morning (after a lovely lie in and then a trip to the post office along with half the town) I went on a run. I have not been on a long run for a few weeks, but seeing as on Wednesday I managed to keep a pretty fast pace with the Sweatshop run (the guy from the shop even said how much he had noticed I had improved) I thought that I would still be fine for my lovely 8 mile route. It was cold, well, windy really, and after not being sure what to wear, ended up being just right- long sleeved craft top (love these, so cosy) and a jacket, gloves, tights and headband ear warmer- kept it all on the whole time. I did glance at my watch a few times to check I was not going too fast, or plodding too slow- most of the time I was about 11 min miles, so fine, and the 8 miles were just enjoyable. I saw a very pretty Jay bird (rusty coloured with bright blue streaks on the wings), so I stood and watched it for a bit, after all, I am in no hurry. Then later I saw a kestrel (you do see them a lot, but it was really close) so I stopped then too. I did the run in exactly 90 mins, which I am happy with. I have done it quicker, but I have also run it slower, and really I am just enjoying running at the moment. I am signed up to the Brighton Half in the Spring, so after Christmas I will concentrate on speeding up a bit, hopefully.

When I got home it was time for a late lunch- tomato soup and some pop chips, which I was sent to try. I was quite impressed.

This week I have been finishing getting all the Christmas things ready. I have made marmalade, fudge, written cards, wrapped presents- I love it. We put the tree and decorations up on Wednesday evening.

I can’t seem to get a good photo, so that will have to do. I went for lights and decorations, but no tinsel or beads this year. Each year we have been adding to our decorations, and I have some lovely ones that I don’t want to be hidden by the tinsel.

This is one of my favourite decorations- we got this in Denmark a few years ago- it is nice to link decorations to memories I think.

I got some cute little tags in Bath so have been labelling the marmalade (and fudge) with those.

I am also going to be playing with my new present! We had “Christmas” with my parents last night as we are away (hopefully) over Christmas itself. They got for us a hot water dispenser- it will be getting a lot of use that’s for sure! We gave them their gifts, and they loved the robin Christmas cake- I don’t think they were expecting it at all. 🙂

I am also going to do a bit more baking- I need to make another batch of fudge for more presents, and we are seeing Andy’s family, and having a breakfast at work. I was sent a lovely book and some cookie cutters as a thanks for my Baking Mad post- how sweet. 🙂

Right, off to do some baking I think. Have a lovely weekend 🙂

Snowmen and Gingerbread men Christmas cake decorations

Hey peeps

Gosh it has been windy! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I did an 8.3 mile run on Sunday morning, and got home starving. Then I remembered that I had some rhubarb that needed planting out, and I really have to do it in daylight hours, so decided to have a snack and head there right away. Lucky I went, as our shed had blown over- it is a 6ft high metal shed- think all my body pump training came in handy as there was no-one about to help me.

Anyway, on Sunday evening I did the next cake decoration. I decided on snowmen, and I could not find good instructions on the internet, so I sort of free-styled.

I decided to have them sat on a blue circle (ice?) surrounded by stars, so I made them first. Then I made the snowmen with little balls of icing, and ribbons of icing for the scarves.

The eyes were hard to do (and buttons) as I had to roll the black icing into tiny balls, and in the end I used a cocktail stick to push them in to place.

Anyway, I was quite pleased with how they turned out. I think they need little hats though.

On Monday I went on a short run, as I was a bit stiff from Sunday and I thought it might help. Then I did more decorating!

I keep my cutters in those gingerbread tins- they are so cute 🙂

I had some little ones (I made these as a surprise for Andy, but he has seen them!)- these ones were easy as I have little gingerbread man cutters, and to make the candy canes I twisted together two ropes of icing. Then I made the little hearts as I had some red left over.

I got a ribbon cutter from the Amazon black Friday deals (which went on all week), and I had a go at using it to make a ribbon to surround one of the cakes, but I realised after that I had put it together wrong- anyway the icing still sort of came out in a ribbon.

Now I have one cake left- I think I am going to go with penguins. I loved the idea of reindeers, but when I was looking the antlers looked very fiddly. Lots of places used pretzels but I am not sure they would last- anyway it has given me an idea for baking for the school Christmas fayre 🙂

This evening I went to aerobics- it was a bit of a rush because they have moved it to an earlier slot, but I made it and it was still great- I have not been there for weeks. It feels good to be getting back to my old routine again.

On a side note, I have been loving muesli for breakfast this week (and last). I normally have porridge, but if I do not feel 100% then I get really put off it, so I go to muesli with cold milk instead. Not sure why. Anyway, it has been a nice change, and I have some mint tea to warm me up still.

Oh, and also check out my last post for a giveaway 🙂

Night 🙂

Starting the decorating (of the cakes, that is)

Hooray!

Hooray for so many reasons! It is the weekend (at long last! It has been a busy week, and I spent Friday night back at work as we were running the PTA quiz). I am feeling better (also at long last, in fact longer). I went on a run this morning before the rain! It was a speedy run- 4 miles with every mile under 10 mins! Usually I can keep it up for 3, but not 4. Feeling it now though!

Breakfast of pumpkin choc chip pancakes + apple was well needed! (I started off making pancakes with some protein powder I was sent with an i-herb order, but it turned green, and smelled so bad- really sickly, and it reminded me of the old protein powder I had before, and why I just don’t get on with protein powder, so anyway I made a second batch with just flour and they were scrumptious).

Plus, I got to start decorating my cakes today. Hooray!

Originally we were going to go in to London for the day, but seeing as the weather forecast predicted torrential rain, we gave it a miss. In fact it was not raining at all when I woke up, so I was pleased to squeeze the run in. Instead we have been sorting out things at home- we had to buy new blinds for a couple of windows- so anyway while we were out we went to the little cake decorating shop nearby and I bought some red and black icing.

I had to ice the final cake, as I had run out of icing when I did the other ones.

Then I got down to colouring the icing- I bought red and black as apparently they are hard to make, but the green and brown could be coloured using the little gel colours that I have.

I tried to follow the instructions from this recipe, but when I clicked on the step by step bit it would not work.

I thought they still looked cute anyway.

All assembled on the cake!

This one is for my Mum and Dad, as they love birds, and bird watching, so I thought robins would be perfect for them. I think it needs a red ribbon or something, to set off the red of the robins, but I can do that later. I did buy some ribbon, but then this week I bought an icing ribbon cutter thing as it was super cheap on Amazon (love the black Friday deals), so I could try to make ribbon with icing. I got some bargain tins from Sainsbury’s last week (reduced to £1.95) so I am keeping them in those before I give them away. The cake boards don’t fit in the tins which is why they are on silver foil.

Now I need to decide how to do the other ones. I quite fancy penguins this year. Any other ideas?

How have you all been? We are off to see some friends this evening, so no more decorating for me today! Have a lovely weekend 🙂

Wonderful Autumn

Hey peeps

I know I have used this picture before, but I didn’t take any new ones, and yesterday was such a beautiful autumnal day- this picture just captures for me what I love about those days- bright blue sky and wonderful colours on the trees.

Well, last week didn’t go as planned. I felt better on Thursday- no dizziness, but I gave pump a miss because I had such an awful headache- I went out on a walk with Andy instead.

On Friday I did a short run after work, as I was feeling much better, and then Saturday morning was my usual favourite run- a long one of 8.3 miles. The weather was drizzling, and actually much colder than I thought, so I did worry that I would be too cold in my t-shirt, but actually (of course) I warmed up. The only time I got cold was when someone asked me for directions (well actually she asked for help reading her map)- I did explain I was rubbish at maps, and could not work out where I was on the map but she kept insisting that I help her. In the end I was stood talking to her for 5 mins, and I was really cold after that.

Anyway, it took me 91 mins, so I think I was running quite fast, because I was stopped for all that time, but anyway it was great to be out there.

After lunch I popped to the shops for some bits- got some yummy mince pie filling and soya crisps from Holland and Barrett, and treated myself to a gingerbread latte (no coffee)- they are the nicest warm drink ever!

Saturday night we went to a birthday party, and then Sunday was a relaxing day- started with pancakes and cooked apple- yummy.

Then I had a cooking session- I roasted some butternut squash with paprika (for a chilli I made today) and I made some mexican casserole (roasted veggies in one tray, quinoa, tomatoes, sweetcorn, beans and chilli in the pan)- one of my favourite winter meals.

Then I made some caramel shortcake for Sunday tea- mmm I love those so much.

We also went out on a lovely walk in the autumn sunshine, and had some warming tea when we got home- lovely teapigs tea 🙂

Now I have got a bit of a runny nose (so maybe the stuff last week was down to me getting a bit of a cold?)- after work I went on a 3 mile run, just to get some fresh air, and I think it was the right decision because I felt better once I was out there. On the drive home I was thinking “shall I just have a cup of tea? Or shall I try a run???”- and in the end I am glad I chose to run. I think I am much better now at knowing when I am OK and when I need a break, although because I had a few days off last week I did feel more like I should.

Right, off to relax in front of the TV now- I think there is a slice of caramel shortcake left over from yesterday…