Recreating Italy - Homemade Pasta

It's been quite a while since I last posted. Life seems to be getting in the way.

Yesterday we re-created our Italian experience by making homemade pasta - in 2 courses. It was delicious!

We started off with some Italian bread drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Brought us right back to Tuscany.

Everything prepped for pasta making. Since we did all of our prep right on the kitchen table, we used a disposable plastic table cloth. Makes the clean-up really easy!

Making pasta is really easy. Using flour, create a little well for an egg and then slowly mix together with a fork. Then knead the "dough" until you get a good consistency.

Use pasta press to roll out pasta. mmm mmm. Use a round cutter or glass to cut circles for ravioli. Or, for linguine, simply run pressed pasta through the cutter on the other side. Voila!

Fill pasta circles with spinach & ricotta filling, fold, and seal with a fork.

Finished ravioli and linguine. Waiting to be cooked.

Primi: Linguine with bolognese sauce.

Secondi: Ravioli sauteed in a little butter, covered in freshly grated parmesan.

A great rainy day meal

Last night, during the beginnings of Hurricane Igor, we went for a run with the 10 km clinic.

It was raining HEAVILY and we were all soaked through by the time we got back to the running room in the dark. It was a lucky coincidence that we had supper ready and waiting for us in the slow cooker for us when we got home.

It was a new recipe, so I had been hoping it would turn out OK. Turns out, it's probably my favourite slow cooker recipe so far!

Slow Cooker Provencal Beef Stew

Here's the Recipe (source: Kraft Canada)

1 lb. (450 g) boneless stewing beef, cubed

3 Tbsp. Flour

1 lb. (450 g) sweet potatoes (2 large), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 can (28 fl oz/796 mL) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

1 Zucchini, cut into 1-inch-thick slices

1 Onion, chopped

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 cup 25%-less-sodium beef broth

1/4 cup Kraft Calorie-Wise Sun-Dried Tomato & Oregano Dressing

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Toss beef with flour in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except basil. Cover with lid. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir in Basil just before serving.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much flavour this had!

The slow cooker is one of our best friends on running nights - no worrying about what to eat when you get home late!

Cupcake in a mug!

source: coffee and sunshine

Craving a little chocolate?

Make this "cupcake" in a mug, in your microwave in seconds!

I recently experimented with the recipe - you might want to add chocolate chips or similar to make the chocolate flavour more intense!

Here's the link to the recipe I used - Chocolate cake in 5 minutes

However I'm now tempted to try this recipe, which uses chocolate chips (see, I know what I'm talking about!) and vanilla.

Try it for yourself, and let me know how it works!!!

Summer Salad

A few weeks ago we spotted a great summer salad recipe in our new edition of Runner's World. Last night we finally made it! What a great, light, fresh and unique salad.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

Watermelon is a good source of lycopene, an antioxidant that may lower risk of developing certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration. Pair the salad with a few slices of toasted French bread for a light lunch.

SALAD
2 pounds watermelon, rind removed
1 cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup fresh mint leaves, cut into a chiffonade (thin strips), or left whole if small *(Note: the mint adds a very strong and unique flavour. If you are not a fan of mint, you might want to leave this out)
1 cup mixed baby greens

LEMON OLIVE OIL DRESSING
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or lemon oil

Cut the watermelon into large chunks. Place an equal amount of melon on each of four chilled dinner plates. (Alternatively, cut the melon into four large circles, each one inch thick and four and a half inches wide, and place one circle on each plate.)

Sprinkle one-quarter of the cheese, mint, and greens on the watermelon.

Then make the dressing: Place the salt and lemon juice in a jar with a lid and shake to blend. Add the oil and shake once more.

Taste for seasoning, then drizzle the dressing over each salad. (The dressing will also keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.)

Serves four.

Breakfast: Part One

HOMEMADE GRANOLA = DELICIOUS!

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup dried cranberries, blueberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine oats, bran, wheat germ, almonds and cinnamon in a bowl. Heat the honey and oil in a saucepan until small bubbles appear around the sides of the pan. Pour over dry mixture and toss until well combined. Spread evenly in a foil-lined shallow baking pan. Bake 40 - 50 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Add cranberries and blueberries. Makes about 5 cups.

Here's the finished product for breakfast with yogurt and blackberries. mmmmm mmmmm!

Quiet Time

Trying new tea from the lovely Britannia Teas in downtown St. John's. This particular one is Organic Blueberry.

From the Web site:

"Wild Blueberry Organic Fair Trade"

A unique blend of black teas combined with Canadian wild blueberries. Steep 2 to 3 minutes only. Serve without milk but lightly sweetened to enhance the natural berry taste.

I got my run back

Today I finally had a good run. Patience is not my best virtue, but it paid off. Let's hope I can continue to have good runs for the rest of this upcoming week!

Yesterday the SUN was shining. I was WONDERFUL. I planted a small indoor herb garden - hopefully later in the summer we will be able to have fresh herbs with some of our meals. We are also trying to move into a healthier eating plan (more to come on that in a later post).

I have been reading an entertaining book called "The Guinea Pig Diaries" by A.J Jacobs. Basically, Jacobs is an experiential journalist - conducting life experiments and then writing about them. It's an easy, amusing read, and I highly recommend it. Various chapters highlight his experiments, such as outsourcing his entire life, passing as a celebrity for a day, and practising "radical honesty" (where he tells everyone exactly what he thinks ALL the time).

but the chapter that really got me is the one called "The Unitasker". Jacobs trys to eliminate multi-tasking from his life, and just do one thing at a time. It's really all about trying to be present in the moment. It made me think about running.........when you run, it's just you, your feet, the pavement, and wherever you want to go.

Once you get into a rhythm it's very peaceful. Everyone needs a break from their crazy lives, and even though we come out of University bragging about our amazing ability to multi-task.....really? It sucks. Everyone should take a little more time to try to be present IN THE MOMENT.

I'll leave you with a few Spring-like pictures from my garden.

Spring Tulips

My outdoor herb garden - chives, lemon thyme and lavender

flowers on the deck

My Weekend - Local Flavour

There is really nothing better than a Saturday when you have absolutely nothing that HAS to be done. No weekend work, no school, no obligations or commitments.

Yesterday was one of those rare days for me.

We had lunch at a delightful local restaurant in Portugal Cove called the Ferry Last Stop. Tucked in off the road on Portugal Cove Road, shortly before the Bell Island Ferry turnoff, you might almost miss this cosy spot!

Probably the most unique restaurant in the metro area for sure, the food is homemade, many of the products come from the organic farm, and it is delicious. We had the stuffed french toast, cream cheese "stuffed" between 2 of the thickest pieces of homemade bread I have ever seen and covered with local berries in a white wine sauce. It was AMAZING. and I was full for the entire day.

I highly recommend that everyone make plans to visit. Artwork covers every wall, and you feel like you are dining in the sunny home of a dear friend. A "typical" restaurant, this is not - I love unique and interesting dining experiences.

Happy eating!

Gingerbread Muffins

Occasionally, between work, school and running, I find time to do some other things, like baking! I had this recipe bookmarked for a while and decided that April 2 was the perfect evening to make them. The weather has been beautiful and spring-like. Yesterday morning we went for the traditional "Tely Teaser" run - hundreds turned out because it was such a great day! You can see some photos on the NL Running Web site, including a photo of myself AND Steve (YAY!) (Also photos of our friends Selina, Clark, Quinn, G1, G2, Colleen, and Lisa!!)

Now, on to the recipe!

Gingerbread Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp plain, low fat vanilla yogurt
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 1 & 1/2 c. flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 c. boiling water

In a stand mixer (or a medium bowl) beat yogurt, oil, molasses, and sugars. Add in egg and beat till incorporated. In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the egg/sugar mixture. Then mix in the 1/2 cup of boiling water until it is completely mixed in.

Fill greased (or paper lined) muffin cups 2/3 full. If desired, you can sprinkle with a bit of white sugar before baking. Bake @ 350degrees for 20-25 min (min took 23 min) until done. Yield 1 doz muffins. I sprinkled a little icing sugar on the top!!!

Think Local

In my recent travels to Nova Scotia, I was introduced to the WONDERFUL Two if By Sea Cafe. In a nutshell, I loved it. It had such wonderful local flavour. and by local I mean, makes pastries on site, is homey, and has a wonderful "slow food" feel. If you are in downtown Dartmouth, this is a MUST visit.

For some reason, this place made me think more about the slow food movement, and eating "local". One of my goals for the upcoming Spring and Summer is to buy and eat more locally grown produce.

There are a few options, even here, in our cold North Atlantic climate

1. The St. John's Farmers Market - a leisurely Saturday morning outing.

2. Lester's Farm Market - with in-season produce

3. The Organic Farm

and given that the slow food movement was founded in Italy, perhaps we will have to check something out there!

Smorgasbord

Hmmmm I'm feeling out of the blogging loop. Life has been very busy these past few weeks, with a weekend trip (FUN!) followed by a weekend of paper-writing (NOT so fun!)

Here's a variety of things that have been happening in my life, that I feel like sharing:

1. In between schoolwork, I'm currently reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" - An amazing read, I highly recommend it. I really am having a hard time putting the book down. Read the NY Times book review to find out more! Sometimes, when things are crazy, it's really nice to curl up for a few minutes with a book and a cup of green tea with honey.

2. I will find out my entry status for the NYC marathon at the end of this month!

3. Steve made an amazing chilli this weekend. This is not usually something that we have on a regular basis, but it's so easy, tastes great, and makes lot's to go in the freezer for all those busy nights! We will be having it more often!

4. Sometimes the best thing about running is that it means you don't worry too much about what you eat. These study snacks appeared for me this weekend, and I enjoyed every bite as I made my way through writing a 20-pager. mmm mmm.

5. Two weekends ago (how times flies!) I was in Halifax. While in Halifax we went to the superstore that is Bed, Bath and Beyond. Here, I discovered my new love - the Shiatsu Back Massage chair. If anyone would like to buy me an expensive gift, this is it!!!!

MMMMM

A little piece of cupcake heaven from Suzie's in Halifax.

Combining 2 of my favourite things: chocolate and peanut butter. DELICIOUS. This one flew on a plane to me this week, because I am THAT special! I would eat these every day if I could.

The perfect treat for finishing a GREAT half-marathon. Thanks G :)

Snack Attack!

I haven't had a post about FOOD in a while, which is strange, considering it's one of my favourite things!

Last night, we went to an Indian Food Extravaganza with some of our great running friends. I wanted to bring something to snack on, and had been planning to make these pretzel snacks for a while. They are SUPER easy, totally yummy, and got RAVE reviews.

Here's how you make them.

Lay small pretzels out on a pan

Put one block of Caramilk bar on each pretzel

Heat in the oven for about 5 minutes (just enough to make the chocolate soft)

Remove from oven and press a pecan half into each piece of chocolate

Cool and VOILA!

Happy Snacking!

mmmm.....Waffles!

I'm glad I got my run in earlier today, because this is the current state of affairs outside!

And what better time, than after a run, and when

it is snowing, to make WAFFLES. I've been experimenting with a few recipes since getting our new waffle maker - today's waffles..banana walnut.

Here's the recipe.

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup vanilla yogurt

3/4 cup milk

1 cup banana mashed (I used 1 whole banana)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

These make 8 waffles, so make sure you're hungry (or half the recipe).

Here's the finished product....mmmmmm

Even Casey wants some!

Enjoy!

Why NYC? Why not??

Why is this my goal marathon? What's not to like about New York City? The city that never sleeps, the culture, broadway, the glitz, and one of the best (some will argue the best) marathons in the world. The marathon is in November, at temperatures that I can handle. (Training on an island in the middle of the North Atlantic means cool-ish training temperatures for most of the year)

I have been to New York City once before, concidentally, in November, the same month as the NYC marathon. I mostly did "the tourist" thing - saw the sights, but did uncover some great gems that can only be NYC!

Many know that I heart peanut butter! Especially peanut butter and chocolate combinations. One of my favourite meals while in NYC was at a tiny sandwich shop called - wait for it - Peanut Butter and Co. Everything on the menu involves Peanut Butter!

Here I am, chowing down at Peanut Butter and Co.

(as an aside - I have also just discovered that PB and Co. publishes a cookbook - ummm, wishlist!)

My next trip to NYC, I would like to uncover some more hidden gems, see a show (Broadway was on strike during my last visit) and EAT some more delicious food. Tell me your favourite spots and things to do in NYC and I'll compile a list of must-see ideas for a future post!