Hey
Before I head off to Italy I was due to meet up with some friends, including my friend with coeliacs. When I saw the quinoa flour the other day, I decided it would be perfect to try out in place of regular flour in some baking.
I found a brownie recipe in the Great British Book of Baking (a Christmas present which I have not yet used), and the recipe only needed 50g flour. So I thought it would be a good place to start.
I left out the nuts in the end, as my pack of pistachios said they were packed on a line that also handled gluten. The recipe was a standard brownie recipe- melt chocolate and butter, add eggs, vanilla, sugar, then stir in cocoa powder, flour and nuts. I baked them for a little longer than the recipe said, as although I like them squidgy, they were really really gooey. But they turned out really well. 🙂 I was a little apprehensive, as on the packet of quinoa flour, it said that it was typically used in savoury recipes (and it did smell like the packet of quinoa) but actually the brownies are very sweet. I needn’t have worried- we all enjoyed them anyway!
Before I headed round there I had time for one more run. I was supposed to do 5 miles, but in the end the weather was so lovely and I was feeling great, so I ended up doing 6.8 miles (in 69 mins- my fastest ever I think!). I kept my Nike+ on pace, and kept an eye- on the flat, down hill and gentle uphills I was under 10 min miles. I was feeling so strong (perhaps the slice of fruit cake- Andy’s birthday cake- last night was the key?)- the weather was fab as the breeze was cold, so in my vest and capris I was cold so I had to run fast to warm up. On the steep uphills I was slower, which is why my pace overall was a shade over 10 min miles. But for me, sustaining that pace on a longer run is great going.
Once home I had some yummy pudding- (sorry it looks like a mess- I mash it all up the sides and did not want to waste a bowl on making it look presentable!)- mashed banana, 15g ground flaxseeds, tsp carob powder (literally, 5g or something), a tsp (15gish) pb, and left to set in the fridge. Yummy! I topped it with a pear, and alongside some alpro milk with nesquick it was filling enough to be lunch! So good.
So, I am off for a few days. No guest posts lined up or anything like that (I am not that organised- also have no idea of the logistics of that)- enjoy the next few days 🙂
Those are red pears (they were on offer in Waitrose)- very soft pears in fact that are not red on the inside. But they are tasty. Plus a delicious food doctor pitta with some brazil cacao spread (I could not wait to try it!). And a fridge apple- great in this weather.
In my head I look cool and calm as I run. In reality, see above!!
The rest of the day has been spent pottering about- I popped to the shops and ended up getting a few new bits from the health food shop.
Including carob flakes (I was so excited when I found them- now I can make carob cookies!), xylitol (might make my mum a birthday cake) and some quinoa flour. How exciting!
Cannot wait to start baking/ eating this stuff! Although unfortunately there was a jar of molasses that was broken and had leaked all over everything (hence the torn labels- all the jars needed a wash!).