Christmas Wrap-Up

Christmas gifties! (a selection of my favorites)

Asics Gel-Nimbus, running socks, mittens, and gloves.Polar Heart Rate Monitor
Finally used my Crate & Barrel b-day gift card: Modena balsamic-vinegar, microplane grater, peppermint bark, mini spoons!

Culinary presents: recipe binder, Cook's Illustrated subscription, Vegan cupcake cookbook, coffee bean grinder, cake stand, lemon zester, cookie spatula, Barney Almond Butter (!!!), and cranberry butter.
This might be my last year with a real Christmas tree - ugh, so many pine needles to clean up!
Dinner creation with my new mini spoon! Plain Stoneyfield Farms yogurt, 1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch, 2 Tbs almond butter, 1 Tbs pumpkin butter, and small handful of chocolate chips.
NYC Reunion!

Holidays at Home!

Christmas Traditions - My family always has baked ham, potato salad, and baked beans for Christmas Dinner. Yum! This year I was the master chef :-)

Classic Potato Salad:

Ingredients: 5 small all-purpose potatoes

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 hardboiled eggs, chopped

salt, pepper, low fat mayo (to taste)

Directions: bring large pot of salted water to a boil, carefully drop in whole potatoes

boil 10-15 minutes or until fork tender, remove from pot, and cool

Peel and cube potatoes and place in large bowl

In a small bowl - mix celery, onions, S & P, hardboiled eggs, and about 1/2 cup mayo

Add contents of small bowl to potatoes - stir gently until combined

Skillet baked beans

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp canola oil

1/2 of a large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp sea salt

8oz tomato sauce

15 oz can lima, drained and rinsed

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) In a cast iron skillet or non-stick skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and sauté for about five minutes or until soft and translucent. 3) Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds more. 4) Add the maple syrup, tomato sauce, salt, mustard, and ketchup and simmer for five minutes. 5) Add the beans , stir, then cover the skillet with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, stirring once during the baking process. 6)Allow to cool and serve warm.

Note: if your skillet has a plastic handle - cover it with aluminum foil and it becomes oven safe!

Baked ham with pineapples, cherries, and brown sugar glaze.

Instructions: Score ham and insert about 2 dozen cloves. Prepare glaze by mixing 1/3 cup brown sugar, tsp of mustard, and a few Tbs of pineapple juice. Drizzle over ham. Place pineapples and cherries on top. Cook for 8-10 minutes per pound (for a pre-cooked ham) at 350 degrees. Baste with extra pinenapple juice half way through cooking.

Christmas Eve Apple Pie

I used a modified version of a Bon Appetit recipe (because I forgot my Whole Foods recipe in NYC!). The filling and homemade whipped cream turned out great, but I still need to perfect the crust. I used all butter (vs. shortening) and although I added a tsp of vinegar, the result wasn't as tender as I would have liked. I also used a "deep dish" pie pan which may have affected the crust texture. In any case, the pie was well received and every last crumb was devoured :-)

Me and Kiwi!

Pies, Pies, Pies - December 2008

Happy Holidays!

Seasonal Fruit Basket - grapefruits, oranges, apples, and pears. Thanks Mom and Gram!
Peach-Blueberry Peanut Butter Crisp

Recipe from: The Peanut Butter & Co. cookbook
On Saturday, December 6th I took a Pie Baking Fundamentals class at the Whole Foods Bowery Culinary Center. The 4 hour course was taught by Judiann Woo (chef and creator of the Haagan Daaz ice cream flavor - sticky toffee pudding!). We began with a brief lecture/discussion on pie baking techniques and a demonstration on making apple pie with crumb topping. We then proceeded to make our own blackberry hand pies and coconut cream pies with animal cracker crust. After everything finished baking, we sampled some of the warm apple pie with homemade whipped cream - I think it was the BEST piece of pie I've ever had.

My finished coconut cream pie (in a professional pastry box!)

Homemade whipped cream, yum!
Blackberry Hand Pies with turbinado sugar topping

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients: 12oz fresh cranberries (rinsed in water)
3/4 cup sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup)
1 cup water
Directions: Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups. This was great - you couldn't even tell it was reduced sugar!

Quick wheat loaf

This recipe uses 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, Tb sugar, 12 0z beer, and a bit of butter. It's really easy to make - I found the recipe on the back of a King Arthur flour bag.

Caramel-Apple-Walnut pie from Sanitary Bakery (Nanticoke, PA)

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving dinner! Turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade (healthy!) stuffing, lightened-up sweet potato casserole, and green beans.



Healthy stuffing recipe
Ingredients:
6 slices lite bread
1 cup each of chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 Tb butter
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Salt, Pepper, Sage to taste (~1tsp each)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degress
Cube the bread (make sure it's stale or lightly toasted), place in greased casserole dish
Cook onions and celery in broth on medium heat for about 8 minutes
Add apples to pot, add seasonings, allow to cool for a few minutes
Add egg beaters and butter - stir to combine
Pour over bread in the dish
Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes
Remove foil, fluff stuffing mixture, and cook for 15 more minutes un-covered

Lightened-up sweet potato casserole recipe:
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup egg beaters
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup lite maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini marshmallows
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Peel and cube sweet potatoes
Place sweet potatoes in a bowl with 1/2" water, cover, and microwave just until tender
Combine cooked sweet potato cubes with all ingredients EXCEPT marshmallows
Bake for 45 minutes
Remove dish from oven, sprinkle marshmallows on top, bake for 5 additional minutes

Mid-November Baking

Chocolate chip-banana bread pudding!

Ingredients:

3 slices lite bread; lightly toasted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1 cup skim milk

2 tbsp. brown sugar; not packed

1/3 cup Egg Beaters, Original

2 tbsp. peanut butter

1 sliced banana

Chocolate syrup (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place toasted bread cubes in 4 ramekins coated with nonstick cooking spray; sprinkle with chocolate morsels. Combine milk, brown sugar, Egg Beaters, and peanut butter in a bowl. Pour mixture over bread cubes (make sure all bread is covered); let stand 5 minutes. Top with banana sliced. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until pudding is firm. Eat warm. Serves 4. City Bakery's semi-famous cookies and hot chocolate (with homemade marshmallow!). The thick hot chocolate had to be eaten with a spoon - very similar to the cioccolatta calda con panna that I was obsessed with in Italy!

Trader Joe's truffle brownies - yum! This recipe is easy to make - just add 2 eggs and a stick of melted butter to the mix.

Caramel Apple Butter Oat bars -

I brought these to the Slow Food NYC Annual Meeting & Potluck

Ingredients
2 cups flour (1/2 whole wheat if desired)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
Topping:
1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Caramel Apple Butter
1 1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped (approx. 1 1/2 apples)
1 cup chopped pecans or almonds
Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8" x 8" pan.
Using a food processor or a pastry blender, combine flour, powdered sugar and butter. Blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press crust mixture into the bottom of a 8"x 8" or square baking pan, saving 1/3 of mixture for topping.
Sprinkle apple pieces over bottom crust.
Pour Caramel Apple Butter over apples; then top with pecans.
Crumble remainder of topping mixture over apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool and cut into squares.

26.2!

I finished and qualified for Boston!

Race report November 2, 2008

The start: Woke up at 4:45am, drank coffee, got dressed and headed to the subway. Took the 6:30am Staten Island ferry and then shuttle bus to the start at Fort Wadsworth. Ate a banana, cinnamon raisin bagel, 1/2 power bar, and some water. The start was crowded and quite windy. I curled up on a curb and put my blanket over me like a tent to keep warm. I was scheduled to the 1st wave start at 9:40am, so about 40 minutes prior I started looking for my corral. However, I began hearing announcements that said "wave 1 corrals are now CLOSED - if you are not in a corral you will have to wait for the 2nd wave start at 10am". I started freaking out! If I had to start in wave 2 at 10am - I would be with much slower runners and my family and friends might not be able to find me (I was very specific about when I would be passing certain mile markers). Luckily a nice volunteer let me duck under a barricade to catch up with wave 1 runners. Phew! We stood on the bridge for about 30 minutes and everyone began tossing their sweatshirts, pants, etc.

The race: After the national anthem was sung, a cannon boomed, and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" began playing. We were off! The first mile was pure adrenaline, but I was conservative - 8:35. The second mile, however, was down hill and probably too fast - 7:25. eek! The next few miles flew by and despite some knee/IT band twinges I felt great. I ate a pack of clif shot bloks between miles 8 through 15. Around mile 13 I stopped to pee in a port-a-potty (~30 seconds) and I hit the halfway point (13.1 miles) in 1:46:36 After running over the Queensboro bridge and rounding the corner on to 1st avenue I saw my mom, sister, and Hannah. I was still feeling great! However, around mile 18 my legs started to feel the pounding, ugh. For the next 8 miles they felt like jell-o and I knew my muscle glycogen was depleted. I had a chocolate power bar gel at mile 20. For the next few miles I was in a daze - luckily the weather was beautiful (sunny and 50 degrees) and I just let the crowd carry me a long. For miles 21-23, I had some great support from Saturday, Tom Hammer, Nate, and some CPTC spectators. FINALLY, we were in the last mile - I saw my mom, sister, and Hannah (and Mad Dog!) again more at mile 25.5 on Central Park South. I crossed the line in 3 hours, 38 minutes, and 41 seconds.
Post-race: After I finished I felt quite dizzy and lightheaded. I don't think I've ever felt so depleted in my life. I told a volunteer that I was going to pass out and he said "no, you'll be fine. you look better than any of the finishers i've seen in the last hour". umm. lucky for him i did not throw up on his shoes. Volunteers passed out mylar space blankets, medals, and food bags. I ate an apple and some gatorade and met up with Nate (gave me warm clothes!) and my family. We proceeded on to Firehouse for burgers and then I came home, showered, and was asleep before 8pm!

Room for improvement: more carbohydrates & salt (and maybe less halloween candy) in the days leading up to the marathon, try to drink more during the race, do at least one long training run of 21-22 miles, and do more core strength work and stretching (IT band!!) during training.

Apple Crisp, yum!

Beautiful crisp jona-mac apples.
Apple Crisp recipe:

Ingredients -

5 medium apples, sliced

1/2 cup sugar

6TB butter(or smart balance)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

cinnamon

Directions -

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Slice apples and place them in pie plate

Sprinkle apples generously with cinnamon

Mix together oats, flour, and sugar (and more cinnamon!)

With a fork, cut butter in to dry mix

Top apple slices with crumb mixture

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is crispy and apples are tender

Cool for 15 minutes - enjoy!

Marathon Monday: Red Velvet Cake from Penelope Bakery

Flowers, finisher's medal, and heat sheet.

CPTC uniform and race number #13462.

Pre-race dinner: whole wheat bagel, peanut butter, honey, and banana.The night-before-the-night before: oatmeal, soymilk, raisins, and peanut butter.