The Great CSA Adventure: 'Shrooms (Weeks 5)

It's Wednesday again, which means I picked up another batch of fresh veggies and other treats.  This week, Glen's Garden Market prepared the bags so I also got a dozen eggs from a local farm.  I'm a little overwhelmed, but I have a plan: frittatas.  Also, these delicious carrot cake pancakes are happening with all of the carrots that I've picked up over the last two weeks.  (I made these once before after a run, and I assure you that they are amazing.) But, back to recapping the last week's haul.

Week 5 wins for being the week for which I knew what to do with just about everything in the bag:

Stayman apples

Portobello mushrooms

Shallots

Lettuce

Rutabagas 

Pea tendrils 

Raw honey

Spiced nuts 

I had mushrooms over left from previous pick-ups and, with the lettuce, I got the brilliant idea to make lettuce wraps for my post-run lunch over the weekend.  In fact, it was such a brilliant idea that there was already a recipe on the internet that included just about everything that I wanted to use.

Some assembly required.  I also learned a very good lesson about how much siracha I should use as a topping. 

The Great CSA Adventure: Squash (Weeks 3 & 4)

I didn't anticipate how quickly the CSA pick-ups would arrive each week.  I mean, technically it's a fixed day - every Wednesday - but that means that the Wednesdays are flying by faster than I can eat my share from the previous week.  This means that I should be hosting more dinner parties or making more soup or something...

Week 3 included butternut squash, onions, kale, lettuce, sweet potatoes, radishes, Macintosh apples, and a few bonus goodies (chocolate chip and cherry granola and a chocolate bar with pretzel bits, both locally produced ).  In addition to salads, I added kale to post-workout smoothies (my favorite combination so far is kale, blueberries, bananas, and pomegranate juice).  I wanted to use the butternut squash as a pizza topping, but, instead, I roasted it with shallots and tossed it with pasta.  Quick and delicious.

Week 4's basket included beets, cremini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, spaghetti squash, popping corn, and a cake bite from Cakelove in DC-- which was decadent and a "sometimes food."  

I tackled the squash on Sunday.  I've used spaghetti squash as a taco filling (trust me, it's works) and would have been happy to do that again.  But, courtesy of Bountiful, which is becoming one of my favorite vegetable-focused cookbooks, the squash was served as the "noodle" in a very simple dish with meatballs (but, let's be real here, actual pasta is amazing). 

And, look, I still have kale!

I was very pleased with how it turned out.

The Great CSA Adventure: Jerusalem Artichokes (Week 2)

I finished out my first week of my CSA with a pizza (topped with caramelized onions, tomatoes, and watercress) and beet chips.

Week 2's basket included celery roots, parsnips, purple carrots, spinach, more onions, and this:

When I pulled this out of my basket, I thought it was a different variety of ginger root.  They're actually Jerusalem artichokes.  (It's a little bit of a misnomer -- they're actually a New World vegetable that's the tubular part of a type of sunflower.)

I wasn't sure what to do with the Jerusalem artichokes at first, but, thanks to the magic of the internet, I opted to very simply roast them with cauliflower and brussel sprouts.  And, it was delicious.  Next up -- figuring out what I'm going to do with celery root and purple carrots.

The Great CSA Adventure: Collard Greens (Week 1)

Solidifying my yuppie status, I joined a CSA program for the winter.  Every week, I pick up locally-grown fruits and vegetables (and sometimes dairy items, honey, jam, and meat) from the market near my office.  My hope is that the CSA will inspire me to get out of my food comfort zone.  It will also give me an excuse to try ALL of the recipes featured in Plenty, which I received from a good friend as a Christmas gift. 

The first batch included pink lady apples (some of which I tossed with kale and dried cranberries), beets, onions, purple viking potatoes, watercress, and collard greens.

Growing up, collard greens were featured in every big, family meal.  Of course, I never ate them because, you know, green vegetables are pretty much kryptonite for kids. Now that I'm old enough to cook my own meals, I never think to buy collards and rarely look for recipes where they are the main ingredient.   (This also meant that I had no idea what to do with them when I pulled them out of my bag.)

So, I went for pesto, tossing the collards, garlic, pecans, parmesan, salt, and black pepper into my food processor and mixing with penne.   Easy and delicious. 

Next up: figuring out what I can do with watercress that doesn't involve it being in a sandwich (which apparently tastes like buttered grass).

TGI Carb Night: Curried Butternut Squash and Lentils

TGI Carb Night is making a come-back!  Unfortunately, I didn't do much experimenting in the kitchen when I trained for the Philadelphia Marathon last fall, but I'm armed with a few new cookbooks and a pledge to fuel better before my runs.  First up:

Curried Butternut Squash and Lentils - adapted from the Athlete's Palate Cookbook

You'll need:
1 cup dry lentils
1 small butternut squash, cubed with skin-on.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
Cooked long grain rice (optional, for serving)

Pour lentils into a deep pot and cover with water.  Bring the water to a boil and add the squash pieces.  Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is soft.  Remove the pot from heat, drain, and set aside.  Separate the butternut squash chunks into a bowl and mash roughly.

Add the lentils to the bowl and mix with the olive oil, lentils, curry powder, ground ginger, salt, and pepper.

I spooned the mixture over rice, but it works well as a main dish.

Starting Out on a Journey

June seemed to go by very quickly, and it struck me how little I actually ran this month. If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll recall that one of my goals for this year is to run 1,000 miles. As of today, I’ve run 428 miles. I imagined that I would have more mileage at this point in the year, but I’m not worried since I know that I’m going to kick my training into high gear starting tomorrow.

Week 1 should be an easy transition back into heavy training:

Monday: Cross and Strength Training
Tuesday: 3 Miles
Wednesday: 5 Miles
Thursday: Tempo Run, 30 Minutes
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10 Miles
Sunday: 3 miles
Total Miles (excluding Tempo): 21 miles

In other news, I can’t remember the last time that I cooked an actual meal at home. (Last week was a little crazy, and bowls of pasta with tomato sauce were the way to go most nights.) So, I tried a recipe that I picked up from Eat, Live, Run for a quinoa and black bean salad. I can’t say that I’ve also been my best at eating vegetables lately, so this was exactly what I needed this week. You can check out the full recipe here, but photos of food are never a bad thing.

The salad combines corn, red peppers, red onion, avocado, black beans, grapefruit, and quinoa.  The flavor combination was incredible.

 The vegetables and fruit are the first to go into the bowl for mixing.

 Followed by the quinoa and a lime juice-based dressing.

The salad keeps for about five days in the refrigerator, which is great because the recipe yielded more than I can ever consume in a few days.  Yum!

Dinner Tonight -- Curry Chicken and Mango Wraps

I seem to be having one of those weeks where I struggle to motivate myself. Yeah, I know...it's only Tuesday.

I felt sluggish this morning (it didn’t help that it was overcast and rainy), and the only thing that seemed to get me out of the door was putting on the brightest dress in my closet and listening to dance music on my walk to work.

I ran speed intervals tonight to break up my usual workout routine. Adjusting the speed every one to two minutes helped with being stuck inside on the treadmill.

Intervals x 3
2 minutes at 4.0 MPH
2 minutes at 5.8
1 minute at 6.6
1 minute at 7.0
2 minutes at 6.6
2 minutes at 5.8

After my workout and a quick shower, I started dinner.  This recipe comes to you courtesy of the time I had chicken, scallions, and a mango in my fridge and decided to throw them in a frying pan.

Curry Chicken and Mango Wraps

You’ll Need:                                                                                    
1 mango, peeled and cubed
2 scallions, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon sugar
1 lb chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized portions
Chicken broth (start with ¼ cup and add as needed)
1-tablespoon curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Tortillas
Raisins

Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook on stovetop until brown. Add scallions; cook until fragrant. Next, add mangoes, curry power, and chicken broth. Simmer, stirring occasionally until mangoes are tender.

Add sugar, stir, and remove from heat. Spoon mango-chicken mixture onto tortilla and top with raisins.

Wrap and serve.

Dinner Tonight -- Black Bean Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

I’m starting to look forward to outdoor grilling now that warmer weather has arrived.  (I’m also looking forward to flip-flops and summer dresses, but that’s a topic for another day.)  I tried my hand at black bean burgers last week; they were so delicious that I made them again for tonight’s dinner and paired them with sweet potato fries.

Something tells me that these will be even tastier with that oh-so-delicious smokey flavor from the grill…

Spiced Black Bean Burgers from Epicurious

1 15-oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained   

1/3 cup chopped red onion

¼ cup dry breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chunky salsa

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon Tabasco

2 slices whole wheat bread

Using a fork, mash beans in a medium bowl. Mix in onion, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons salsa, cumin and Tabasco. Season with salt and pepper. Shape bean mixture into two 3- to 4-inch-diameter patties. 

Grill burgers until heated through, about 3 minutes per side. Serve patty with lightly toasted bread.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 large sweet potato

1 tablespoon brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

vegetable oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel and cut potato into long, thin strips.  Lightly coat with vegetable oil and sprinkle with brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes, turning once.

Yum!

TGI Carb Night – Quinoa with Shrimp and Vegetables

Cooking with my dad was one of my favorite things to do growing up.  When I was younger, it meant that I got to pretend to be his little sous-chef in a five star kitchen; when make-believe became less cool -- whoo teen angst -- Dad and I still spent many Saturdays preparing family meals and talking about anything and everything.  Well, maybe not everything – but, you get the idea.

One my favorite dishes that my dad prepared is a simple shrimp and vegetable mixture served with pasta.  I've prepared that tonight but have substituted quinoa for the pasta.

You'll need:

1 pound cooked shrimp, tails removed

2 yellow squash, cut into thick slices 

2 pounds roma tomatoes, cut into thick slices

1 ½ pounds broccoli 

1 cup quinoa 

1 stick unsalted butter

1 tbsp. dried parsley 

½ tsp. kosher salt

Soak and rinse quinoa in water before cooking.  Add 1 ¼ cup of water and quinoa to a small pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.

 In a large pot, steam squash and broccoli until squash is tender.

Add tomatoes and shrimp. Cover and steam until tomatoes have softened slightly.  Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan.  Add salt and dried parsley to butter sauce; then, add to vegetable mixture.  (You may need to drain some of the water from the vegetables.)

Plate quinoa and top with vegetables. 

The National Half-Marathon is so soon! The organizers sent an e-mail with final instructions, and I was reminded about how awesome it was to get the official e-mail for the Baltimore Running Festival.  I'm excited!

Dinner Tonight -- Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Tonight was my night to host our (bi-)weekly rotating dinner party: French Night.

French Night started as a way to learn and/or brush up on French conversation skills. (After nearly ten years of studying the language, I can proudly say, “Je parle français comme une vache.” Madame would be very proud if she knew.)  In all honesty, I can't remember the last time we spoke French at French Night, but I'm okay with that since it has evolved into an intimate group of young women who enjoy good company, good conversation, good food, and -- most importantly -- good wine.  

It is French night after all.

 This evening's wines included a 2003 red from Spain and a 2009 white from France.  There was also brie, gouda, and apples.  Cat brought a 2009 red made from montepulciano grapes (grown in Italy's Abruzzo region) that we'll likely enjoy later. Side note: I am no where near being an oenophile. But, I did just order $75 worth of wine from Wine Insiders thanks to a sweet Groupon.

One of the joys of French Night is that I get to cook dishes that I could never finish on my own.  (You should see my freezer.)  For tonight's dinner, I served eggplant parmesan lasagna with a very simple simple salad.

 I'm starting to become a huge fan of lighter lasagnas. This recipe is 432 calories and has 28.3 grams of protein per serving.

And, for dessert, chocolate-dipped fruit.

I swear, this is healthy.  See -- there's fruit! The chocolate sauce is very simple -- Stirring constantly, melt a bag of quality, milk chocolate chips over simmering water and mix in two tablespoons of evaporated skim milk. 

Bon soir, mes amis! 

TGI Carb Night: Recipe - Pasta with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

I spent a few days in Greensboro, NC on a business trip; now, I’m back in DC and ready to start the weekend! 

This afternoon, I took a walk over to City Sports to pick up the Garmin Front Runner 110 that I’ve been eyeing.  Sometime between the marathon in October and now, my pedometer decided that it had no interest in accurately tracking my distance and speed. I thought that adjusting my stride length, weight, and sensitivity would help, but it didn't.  

Most of my runs ended with me calling it a liar. 

After debating whether or not I wanted to spend as much as I did on a GPS/heart-rate monitor, I decided that it would be a worthwhile investment since I intend to run as long as I'm physically able.

In other news – it’s carb night!

To fuel for my 12-miler tomorrow, I prepared another recipe from the good people at Cooking Light: Pasta with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes. 

You’ll Need:

8 oz pasta (I used penne tonight)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken tenders cut into strips

1 cup sliced asparagus

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped basil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Heat a large, nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. 

Add chicken and asparagus to pan. Sauté for five minutes.

 Add tomatoes, garlic, and basil to pan.  Sauté for one minute.  Remove from heat. In a large bowl, mix pasta with chicken mixture.  Stir in balsamic vinegar and oil. 

Plate and top with goat cheese.

Finally, I made the decision not to run the ¡VAMOS! 5K.   Instead...

...Jenny -- widely known for her love of party shades, delicious eats, and being a total badass -- is coming to DC next weekend. (I'm so excited!) There will be brunch.  There will be a dance party. And, there will be the St. Patrick's Day 8K. 

Time to break out the party shades! 

Dinner Tonight -- Butternut Squash Burgers

My original plan for tonight’s dinner was derailed a bit when I realized that I neglected to defrost the chicken before I left for the office this morning. This, of course, meant that I spent the second half of my day thinking about what I could do for dinner that didn’t involve my still-frozen chicken and wouldn't take too much time to prepare after my workout.

Thankfully, I had a butternut squash, chickpeas, and a great recipe from Liz Runs DC for burgers. (I recently added her blog – and a few others – to my list of subscriptions on Google Reader. I love reading other runners’ stories, and the blogs are great sources for advice, motivation, and culinary delights.)

After my tempo run, I put on some sweet tunes and started dinner. You can check out the recipe on Liz's blog.  But, because I like posting pictures of food, here are a few photos of my cooking adventure. You may start salivating...now.

The chickpeas and butternut squash just came out of the oven.  This reminds me so much of autumn...

Grilling the burgers. 

Om nom nom nom nom....

The recipe yields seven burgers, so I stashed a few in the freezer for later.  My taste buds are still dancing with delight.

Post-Workout Treat: Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

I was inspired by this chocolate hemp shake recipe to make something delicious after this evening's workout. This is what I came up with:

In a blender, combine 1 cup low-fat milk, ½ cup almond milk, 5 strawberries (leaves removed), and 1 scoop vanilla whey protein. Blend until smooth. (I know that it seems impossible to mess up an already delicious combination, but I was very happy with how this turned out.) Enjoy!

TGI Carb Night: Recipe - Chicken with Quinoa Tabbouleh

Pasta was nowhere to be found on my plate this evening, my dearest readers. Instead, I planned a bit of a culinary adventure (Adventure...we're going on an adventure, Charlie.) -- just me, recently purchased quinoa, a ton of vegetables, and thin-cut chicken breasts.

According to the interwebs, quinoa is something of a super food. (I’m very happy that there are entire websites dedicated to the joys of quinoa.) It’s rich in protein, low in fat and cholesterol, a great source of carbohydrates, and delicious.

Having never cooked with quinoa before, this recipe from Charlie Trotter (and featured in the Athlete’s Palate Cookbook) turned out well! However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the parsley vinaigrette dressing.  The parsley was a little overpowering even after I made a decision to reduce the amount used, but I will be experimenting in the very near future (hooray leftovers!) with a couple of things that are likely to pair well.

TGI Carb Night: Recipe - Chicken Tenderloins with Spiced Tomato Sauce

Protein is one nutrient that I’m rarely sure if I’m consuming enough during training. And, now that my Meatless Mondays have become Meatless Most of the Week, finding alternate sources of protein has become very important. (Thankfully, Fage yogurt has 15 grams of protein per serving.)

But, in the spirit of getting more protein into my belly, I decided to cook a meat-based dish and prepared a spiced tomato sauce with chicken tenders (served with rotini). This recipe comes from Cooking Light, but I omitted from and added to the recipe with delicious results.
 

TGI Carb Night - Recipe: Linguine with Shrimp and Tarragon Sauce

Ah yes, Friday. The one night that I know that I plan to put carbs on the dinner plate. When I trained for my first marathon, this dish (which I saw in Cuisine at Home) appeared often on Friday nights before my long runs. I'm not a huge fan of shallots, so I cut back on those just a bit.

You'll need:
1 shallot, minced
a handful of tarragon leaves
1 pound shrimp (the original recipe calls for medium but small shrimp increase the amount of shrimp per bite; I also use cooked shrimp if I'm in a hurry)
1 28-oz can of whole tomatoes
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt (to taste)
linguine for serving
crumbled goat cheese
olive oil

Cook the pasta according to your tastes. Saute the shallots in oil until softened. Add the red pepper flakes, tomatoes (with their water), and tarragon and simmer for ten minutes. Season with salt. (If you're using raw shrimp, add and cook until pink.) Plate pasta, top with sauce and sprinkle with goat cheese.

Monday Morning Link

As promised, I present to you a link to incredibly delicious oatmeal cross posted in Cat's blog (which you should all read): Eat Like Us. Your taste buds will dance with delight!

Oatmeal with Greek Yogurt and Honey. And Cinnamon. And Granola. Or Nuts. Oh, Fruit, Too.