Thursday, February 25, 2010

Loving the Lentils and Making M'judra

By mid-week, I usually realize that we have already eaten one of the key ingredients that I had bought with a recipe in mind. This week I had been hoping to make Yetakelt W'et, the tastier of the two Ethiopian dishes that I made a few weeks ago. Alas, it requires making a spiced clarified butter first and I used up two of the spices while making soup on Sunday. After a short search, I turned up a few recipes for M'judra with rave reviews and very few ingredients, all of which we happened to own. With that, my desire to try M'judra was born.

M'judra (served with steamed broccoli drizzled in BBQ sauce because it tastes good that way)


Ingredients:
  • Lentils, dry, 245 gram(s)
  • Brown Rice, uncooked, 376 gram(s)
  • Onions, raw, 2 large
  • Olive Oil, 2 tbsp
  • Salt, 1 tbsp
  • Water, about 6 cups more as needed
  • Plain Non-fat Yogurt (optional)
Directions:
  • Boil lentils in the water until nearly tender, about 25 minutes.
  • While lentils are boiling, slice onions finely into half circles and cook over low heat in olive oil until caramelized.
  • When onions are finished cooking, set them aside on a paper towel to absorb excess fluids.
  • Add rice to the pot of lentils after they are tender and add a few cups of water if necessary, return to a simmer.
  • Add salt and simmer slowly until the rice is tender and all the fluid is absorbed – approx 20 minutes.
  • Continue adding water as necessary until rice is tender.
  • Serve hot or cold, garnished with the crisp brown onion slices and few spoonfuls plain yogurt (not shown in picture).
Serves 8
Calories (w/o yogurt) ~ 322, Carbs ~ 57 g, Fat ~ 5 g, Protein ~ 13 g

This one seemed to be a big hit with Chris. He appreciated the price point, about $2 for 8-servings and he is a big fan of rice in any form. I liked it a lot as well. I was pretty excited to have leftovers for lunch for a few days!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Bread Success!

I have been trying to bake a decent loaf of bread for quite a while. Each of my efforts has resulted in a spectacular failure, until this weekend. I finally got my hands on a recipe with detailed enough instructions of me to follow with success. On Saturday, I baked one batch (two loaves) of honey whole wheat bread. This bread is SO GOOD! It is the first time that I have actually made bread that has the taste and texture that I expected it to.

I used a recipe posted by butterflygroove on Livestrong.com (http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/honey-whole-wheat-bread/).


Chris and I were eating the bread at such a rapid pace that I decided to bake four more loaves on Sunday so that I could freeze some to have for the next few weeks. We made one cinnamon swirl loaf on Sunday which was amazing. Not exactly diet friendly, but what a treat. I would really like to make French toast out of it, but I doubt that it will last until the weekend and I probably won't actually cook breakfast until then.



Lastly, Duke decided to get dressed up this weekend (or maybe that was Chris that felt like playing dress-up).


That can't feel good for Duke's ears. Poor guy!

Exercise - February 14-21

  • Sunday: Rest (a little hike in our yard)

  • Monday: 4 miles (warm-up, 6 x 400 @ 8:30 w/400 meter recoveries, cool down), upper body weights
  • Tuesday: 6 miles easy (1 mile warm-up, 5 miles @ 9:42)
  • Wednesday: 3 miles (1 mile warm-up, 2 miles @ 9:17), upper body weights
  • Thursday: 5 miles (part tempo) (1 mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 8:49, 1 mile cool down)
  • Friday: Rest
  • Saturday: 5.17 miles @ 8:48
Total Miles: 23.17 miles

Friday, February 19, 2010

Update on My Nepali Bread - Roti Pizzas

I posted a few days ago about my Nepali bread fail. It turns out that while my Roti made an awful bread, it makes awesome super thin whole wheat crusts for personal pizzas.

Roti Pizza Crust
Ingredients:
  • 4 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1/2 cup warm milk
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, melted butter, salt and sugar.
  • Make a well in the center and add warm water and milk, mixing it with the flour until a soft dough is formed.
  • Dust kneading board with flour; place the dough on the board and knead for ten minutes or so.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for an hour or so. (I'm not sure why we are letting the dough rest here, this is unleavened bread.)
  • Divide the dough into 10 equal sized balls.
  • Cover with plastic wrap.
  • Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat.
  • Flatten the dough balls into circles of your desired size and thickness. Ours looked were somewhere between pita and tortilla on the thickness scale. I flatted one as the one ahead of it cooked.
  • Place one roti on the skillet, top-side down and cook for 30 seconds or so.
  • Turn over and cook for another minute until small air pockets emerge.
  • Turn it over once more and cook for another minute.
  • With a lightly-wet towel, press on the roti, forcing it to develop more air pockets.
  • Cool finished Rotis on a cooling rack.
Makes 10 servings
Calories ~ 182, Fat ~ 2 g, Carbohydrates ~ 37 g, Protein ~ 7 g

Chris made awesome pizzas out of our Roti. He topped them with pizza sauce, crushed red pepper, and crumbled queso fresco. He baked them at 400 degrees, because he is an impatient pizza baker, until the cheese had melted nicely.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Half Marathon Training Experiment

After having almost a week of unscheduled running post-marathon, I have put together what I hope will be the ultimate half marathon training plan. I'm not really sure what my goal for the year is, but I am signed up for three half marathons this spring and I have a distinct goal in mind for the first one and tentative goals for the next two. Here goes:
  • Sam Costa Half Marathon - March 27, 2010
    • Goal Time: <2:00:00
    • Goal Pace: <9:09
  • Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathon - April 24, 2010
    • Goal Time: <1:57:00
    • Goal Pace: <8:55
  • Geist Half Marathon - May 22, 2010
    • Goal Time: <1:54:00
    • Goal Pace: <8:42
I feel like the first goal is a pretty realistic one. I did a training 13.1 a few weeks ago in 2:01:59 (9:18/mile). In a race setting I should be amped up enough run a bit faster. I may reset the last two goals as I go.

I have tried to include two days of speed work each week in hopes that I can achieve my race goal times. On my schedule for this week:

Sunday: Rest
Monday: 1 mile warm-up, 6 x 400 @ 8:30 w/400 recoveries
Tuesday: 6 miles easy
Wednesday: 3 miles easy
Thursday: 5 mile tempo run
Friday: rest
Saturday: 6 miles

Monday, February 15, 2010

Soupy Sunday - Curry Infused Creamy Tomato-Lentil Soup

Sunday morning Chris surprised me with pink potted tulips and half of a Hershey's Cookies and Cream chocolate bar. It was the perfect Valentine gift for a girl like me. Hopefully the tulips will last long enough for me to put the bulbs in the ground in the spring. I always hate getting cut flowers because it makes me really sad when they wilt. Hershey's Cookies and Cream chocolate bars are just about my favorite candy. At about 200 calories per bar and full of white choclate-y goodness and bits of oreo-like cookie, they can't be beat.



We did not do a very good job of making a grocery list this week. Combine that with a cooking failure, we cooked something for a pot-luck that was so bad that we didn't even keep it for ourselves, and it was slim pickings at our house yesterday. After scouring the internet for some time, I adapted a Nepali soup recipe to the ingredients that we own and it turned out great, although nothing like the original recipe. We also made some Nepali bread to go with it, but I will write that off as another cooking fail.

Curry Infused Creamy Tomato-Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
  • Canned Tomatoes, 3.50 cup
  • Lentils, dry, 140 gram(s)
  • Milk, canned, evaporated, ~ 8 fl oz
  • Ground Coriander, 3 tbsp
  • Ground Cumin, 1 tbsp
  • Tumeric, 1.5 tsp
  • Onions, raw, 1 small
  • Garlic, 1 tbsp
  • Cayenne Pepper, 1 tbsp
  • Basil, 1 tbsp
  • Black Pepper, to taste
  • Salt, to taste
  • Parmasean Cheese (optional)
  • Sriracha (optional)
Directions:
  • Wash lentils thoroughly. Place in a pot with 3 cups water and 0.5 tsp turmeric. Cook, partially covered, until very tender, about 30 minutes.
  • Drain lentils.Combine lentils and 1 cup water in a deep pot. Add the tomatoes, cumin, ground coriander, cayenne, onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, and the remainder of the tumeric and bring to a boil.
  • Lower heat and cook, partially covered, 10 minutes.
  • Add lemon juice and evaporated milk and simmer for several minutes longer.
  • Puree entire mixture in blender until smooth.
  • Return to pot, simmer until thickened to desired consistency.
  • Garnish with parmasean, basil, and Sriracha (optional).
Makes 4-6 servings
(Based on 6 servings) Calories ~ 157, Fat ~ 4.4 g, Carbs ~ 27 g, Protein ~ 11.6 g

This stuff was killer. We finished it all before I could even pack some up to save for lunch today. Even with his discriminating palate, Chris thought this was good enough to serve to other people!

Exercise - February 7-13

  • Sunday: Surf City USA Marathon - 26.2 miles
  • Monday: rest
  • Tuesday: rest
  • Wednesday: 2 mile run - easy, core, upper body strength training
  • Thursday:  3 mile run - easy
  • Friday: rock climbing
  • Saturday: 6.22 miles (2 icy miles @ 10:45, 4.22 miles @ 9:32)
Total Miles: 37.42

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Eating Ethiopian

After being inspired by another blogger, I decided that tonight was the night to try cooking Ethiopian food. I picked two dishes at random based on what ingredients we had on hand. The first one was Yetakelt W'et which is a spicy vegetable stew. The second dish was a lentil based dish called Mesir Wat. Both of these are served over Injera, an Ethiopian bread that is similar to a buckwheat pancake. In order to make the Yetakelt W'et, I also had to make Nitter Kebbeh which is basically a spice infused African version of ghee. During the cooking process I was fairly sure that Chris would like the Mesir Wat because it was fairly hearty and spicy. I was not so sure about the Yetakelt W'et, I figured he would write it off as a pot of veggie stew. I was wrong on that one. Chris raved about that spicy veggie stew and the lentil dish.

The first thing that I made was the Nitter Kebbeh because I needed it to start the Yetakelt W'et. I combined many recipes to finally arrive at something that I had all of the ingredients for. Here is the final product:

Nitter Kebbeh
Ingredients:
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/4 onion chopped
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3 slices fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
Directions:
  • In a small saucepan, gradually melt the butter and bring it to a boil 
  • Add the other ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer
  • Gently simmer, uncovered, on a low heat for about 30 minutes
  • When the surface becomes clear, pour the liquid through a cheesecloth into a heat-resistant container
  • Discard the spices and solids
Yetakelt W'et
Ingredients:
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup niter kebbeh
  • 1.75 cups canned green beans
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • 6 medium red potatos, cubed
  • 1.75 cups canned diced tomatoes
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
Directions:
  • Saute the onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, and paprika in the Niter Kebbeh for 2 minutes
  • Add the beans, carrots, and potatoes and continue to saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning
  • Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and the vegetable stock
  • Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are tender
  • Add salt and pepper to tase and mix in the parsley
  • Serve with injera
Number of Servings: 8, Calories ~ 135.9 per serving

Mesir W'et
Ingredients:
  • 140 grams dried lentils
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 2 cups vegetable broth or water
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 ts Garam Masala
  • 1 Tb berbere OR an additional 1 Tb paprika OR 1 Tb cayenne pepper
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Olive oil for frying  
Directions:
  • Soak lentils for at least an hour in water
  • Drain and rinse lentils and set aside
  • Saute onions and garlic in oil until onions turn clear
  • Add broth or water
  • Add spices and tomato paste and bring to boil
  • Add lentils and turn down heat and simmer until lentils are tender the broth thickens
  • Serve with rice, Injera bread or pita bread
Number of Servings: 4, Calories ~175 per serving

Injera (based on a recipe from Branny Boils Over - http://brannyboilsover.com/?s=injera)
Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup diet tonic water
  • 1.5 cups water
Directions:
  • Combine dry ingredients
  • Add tonic water, water, and vingar and whisk until smooth
  • Preheat a nonstick skillet and spray with olive oil
  • Ladle 1/4 cup of batter unto the heated pan and swirl the contents to spread the batter all around into a thin circle
  • Cook over a low heat until top surface is no longer shiny, do not flip
  • Cool on a rack
Number of Servings: 4, Calories ~170 per serving

Surf City USA Marathon Race Report

After months of anticipation, I completed my first marathon last weekend. For weeks I had been agonizing over what pace group to join, which socks would be most likely to keep my feet blister free, how many Gu's to eat and when, and many other seemingly trivial race-day details. On February 7th at 6:30 AM, I started my race and a big new learning experience.

My typical MO is to ignore advice, instructions, and most words of warning and try things out for myself. I went about my first marathon endeavor as usual. Big mistake. Partway through running 26.2 miles is not the time to be thinking about what great advice you were given and have chosen not to follow.

Most of my try-by-doing strategies worked. I alternated between Vitalyte and water to balance my fluids and electrolytes. (Who gives Vitalyte at a race instead of Gatorade anyway?) I ate my Gu's every 5 miles eating the last one at Mile 20. My favorite purple Mountain Hardwear shirt and my Mountain Hardwear Pacer Advance running shorts kept me comfortable, cool, and dry-ish, if not a little bit salty for the whole race! I even made a good sock choice; I finished the race with only two blisters.

The most problematic decision that I made was to start the race too quickly. If I had slowed my pace by a minute or so per mile at the beginning, I probably would have finished many, many minutes earlier. This advice was given to me many times, but of course I did not listen. Next time I will pace myself better. Yes, there will be a next time. While 4:38:53 is an okay time for a first-time marathoner, I hope to better that sometime soon!