“S” is for….

Sleeping in until 8.30am!

Smoothies…

sporting supplies…

(Is it not ridiculous how much ‘stuff’ you need to take with you for a combined run / swim training session!)

A 16km run in the sun…

Sunburn :(

Stretching…

A Silly self video…

A Swimming session in the pool, followed by a few hours spectating my favourite sport…

  

Sentimental sayings…

Shopping….

Soothing ale…

And now for some Sweet treat baking ….

“S” is for a Spectacular Saturday!

Happy Baking :)

Lessons learned

Training: Swim / Run

Another double training session completed! Today started with an early morning 1.2km swim which was rather uneventful. Well aside from the aggressive swimmer in the "medium" lane (even though there were two "fast" lanes also) who insisted on swimming fast, bumping into me and overtaking everyone. While it was annoying, I figured it was good practice for my race given that 'crowding' will no doubt be an issue.

Lesson learned: some people are really bad at self-seeding into appropriate swim lanes!

After work I headed out for my scheduled 9km run. My knee was a little tender after yesterday's encounter with a rock, although I suspect it is only bruised and noting too sinister. I finished the run in around 54 minutes (approx) - which seems to be my regular training pace. 

Lesson learned: You wont get faster just running for 'distance'. Time to include some interval training!

Dinner

I was in charge of making dinner this evening, and was in a creative mood, so I decided to have a little fun in the kitchen.

Using what we had on hand as a base, I decided to make an Italian lentil and vegetable slice. “Italian” because I included sundried tomatoes and olives…of course ;)

I cooked a few cups of lentils. then added sautéed onion, zucchini, carrot, garlic, mushrooms, semi dried tomatoes, GF breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Into a slice pan, and topped with olives, thyme and a tomato / mustard glaze.

Baked at 180C for 40 minutes until browned.

Sliced and served …

Unfortunately the slice fell apart when I attempted to cut it.

Lesson learned: Cook for an hour next time!

But when served with good ol’ mashed potato and spinach, this ended up being a tasty little dish!

I especially loved the combination of the sweet tomato  / mustard relish and the salty olives.

 

Lesson learned: Not all dishes need to be ‘pretty’ to taste good!

On that note - I hope you are all having a wonderful Friday evening.  Time for some quality TV time and kitty cuddles:)

Happy Baking :)

Biking and…butter chicken?

Training

This morning I headed to the pool for another 'quick' 1km swim, which I missed out on on Tuesday. It's funny how 'short' a 1km swim feels now in light of my longer swims.  One reason I decided to just have a short swim was that Mr BBB and I had after-work plans that also involved exercise….

A mountain bike ride after work with friends!

We parked the car at the bottom of Mr Stromlo, and slowly meandered our way up the mountain using the fantastic (although challenging!) single track.

Although the views from the top certainly made the climb worthwhile!

   

Can you believe this is only 5 minutes from our house!? Canberra really is an adventure playground!!

The sun was shining, and Canberra gave us perfect evening weather to work our way through the stunning forest trails.

However, it has been a very long time since my last mountain bike ride, so it took a while for me to get the ‘feel’ of it.

Oh and a few scratches :(

 

(Rock + knee = that’s gonna hurt tomorrow)

After a few hours on the mountain, we and made it back to the car just as the sun was starting to disappear.

It was then time to head home for dinner and get cooking!!!

Dinner

After our weekend of indulgence, I am still craving vegetables like they are going out of fashion. However, when I selected a Mystery Box ingredient...

I was a little stumped as to how to use yoghurt and still satisfy my vegetable craving. I was tempted to put the ingredient to one side to use another evening, but then I had a light-bulb moment. Indian food!  And in particular, a Butter Chicken – veggie-fied of course.

Did you know? People have been making and eating yogurt for at least 5,400 years - with the oldest writings attributable to Pliny the Elder who remarked that certain nomadic tribes knew "how to thicken the milk into a substance with an agreeable acidity". Yoghurt is nutrient-rich and a great source of protein, calcium, riboflavin and vitamins B6 and B12. 

I made sure to take the yoghurt out of the fridge before I started cooking so that it could reach room temperature.**

 

I cooked chicken thigh fillets with a mixture of spices, onion, tomatoes, passata and green beans.

 

Before stirring through the yoghurt at the end.

Topped with a sprinkle of coriander and flaked almonds.

And served with a side of brown rice and steamed broccoli.

This dish was fragrant and rich, without being heavy. I loved the tart creaminess of the yoghurt, and the crunch of the almonds. A wonderful healthy take on an old favourite.

Biking + butter chicken = a winning combination.

 

BBB's Butter Chicken (GF) – serves 6

• 800g chicken thigh fillets, quartered
• 20g butter
• 2 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2tsp ground paprika
• 2tsp ground cumin
• 2tsp garam masala
• 400ml tomato passata
• 250ml chicken stock
• 300g green beans, trimmed
• 4 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 120ml natural yoghurt
• 2tsp cornflour
• Coriander and flaked almonds to serve

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Brown chicken in batches and transfer to a plate.
2. Add butter to pan, and sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes until soft. Add spices and cook, stirring, for 30 second or until fragrant.
3. Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat with spices.
4. Add passata, stock, beans and tomato. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Combine the yoghurt and cornflour in a small bowl. Add a few teaspoons of the curry sauce to the yoghurt to bring it up to temperature.
6. Remove curry from heat, then gently fold in warmed yoghurt.
7. Transfer to a serving dish, and top with fresh coriander leaves and flaked almonds.

**If you have ever tried to add yoghurt to a hot curry, you may have ended up with a curdled mess. However, there are a couple simple steps that I normally follow to prevent yoghurt from curdling.

1. Use yoghurt (preferably full fat) that has reached room temperature, and not straight out of the fridge.
2. Stabilise the yogurt by whisking in 1 to 2 teaspoons of starch before cooking. I like to use cornflour or chickpea flour.
3. When you are ready to add the yoghurt, take the curry off the heat, and add a little of the curry sauce to the yoghurt to raise its temperature gradually.
4. After the yogurt temperature has risen sufficiently, gently fold in the yogurt to the curry by stirring in one direction until the yogurt is well combined.

What about you? How do you like to cook with yoghurt? I really love using it in place of sour cream for topping nachos, chilli etc.

Happy Baking :)

Getting back to normal

Wow - I feel like I haven’t done a 'normal' blog post in forever! But I am sure you understand why - considering all of our weekend adventures.

Training

I must admit that finding time to fit in decent training sessions over the last few days has been difficult. I was super tired on Monday, and decided to take an extra rest day. Then I was in Sydney until late on Tuesday for work - although I did manage to fit in half an hour in the pool beforehand.

Its not that I am in a training 'funk' as such (which I accept can happen when you are training for a few months), its just that I feel my 'normal' routine is a little out of whack. And I am 100% a routine girl so it is frustrating for me. But then I read about Ashley and her amazing inspiring ironman experience, and I felt the pressure I had been placing on myself ease. With 5 weeks until race day, a few days "off" routine is ok. After all - I am racing for fun and achievement - not to win!

Yesterday I was planning on attending a spin class, but as I got close to the gym I didn't stop. Rather, I felt like running, so I continued to work then headed out for a run at lunchtime. 9km later, and I was feeling somewhat back to 'normal'.

Dinner

Part of the reason I decided to run at lunchtime (instead of after work) was that I knew we had another dinner to attend. This time, we met with family for dinner to say goodbye to our interstate (and overseas!)  friends who were heading home after the wedding.

On offer was a delicious home-cooked roast dinner, with all the trimmings.

I had a little of everything except for the cauliflower that was unfortunately topped with breadcrumbs :(

And seconds thirds of these amazing roast potatoes / onions!

 

Seriously, I could have eaten the whole platter!  

Wanting to contribute, I decided to bring a sweet treat for dessert.

Knowing that lemon slice was normally a crowd pleaser (with the added benefit that I didn’t need to bake it) I made a batch on Tuesday night and placed it in the fridge to set.

Then, it was simply a matter of cutting the slice into squares and arranging them on a platter.

And there were none left by the end of the evening – so they cant have been too bad!!

Lemon slice (makes 30+ squares)

        

• 2 x 250g packets of plain biscuits (I normally use granita or marie biscuits)
• 2 cans of light sweetened condensed milk
• 150g butter
• Grated rind of 2 lemons
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 2tbs lemon juice + 2 tbs water (adjust as necessary)
• 1/2 cup coconut

1. Line a large slice tray with baking paper.
2. Process the biscuits in your food processor until they resemble fine crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl and add the lemon juice and rind.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the sweetened condensed milk and butter over a low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into the biscuit mixture, and stir until well combined.
4. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the prepared pan, then place in the fridge while you make the icing.
5. To make the icing, heat the icing sugar and lemon juice over a low heat until smooth. Add water if the icing is too thick.
6. Pour the icing over the slice, spreading to coat evening. Sprinkle with coconut and place in the fridge for a few hours (or even better - overnight!) to set.
7. Slice into squares and serve.

(This recipe will make an extra big slice, although you could easily halve it and make a more modest one if you prefer a thinner slice or you are using a smaller pan. It is really adaptable, and feel free to experiment! I sometimes add more coconut to the biscuit mixture and / or add butter to the icing for an extra 'sheen'. I have also made it with GF biscuits before so that I could also enjoy a slice, or two.)

What about you? Do you have a ‘go to’ sweet treat that you like to take to a party?

Happy Baking :)

Wedding adventures – part 3

• Part 1 here.
• Part 2 here.

In case the previous day was not enough of a party, the wedding festivities continued on Sunday also.

We were up early again, and headed down to breakfast with most of the wedding guests who had stayed at the resort overnight.

Still feeling quite full from the previous evening, I opted for a lighter breakfast of yoghurt, apple and banana, with a big glass of orange juice on the side.

It was then time to take advantage of the resort's mini golf course - as my young second cousins challenged me to a match.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I of course said yes!

18 holes later, we declared the game a draw - and I must say that my mini golf skills leave a lot to be desired.

Desperately in need of some post-match caffeine, Mr BBB and I then headed into Tathra to do a little exploring and to satisfy my caffeine craving.

A pot of tea, served beachside, was the perfect cure!

Caffeine-crisis sorted, Mr BBB and I made the most of the remainder of the morning exploring the local area, before heading back to the resort for lunch.

Again, there was a fantastic spread - with lots of salads and meat.

(plus some sausages!)

I also made sure to save room for dessert as I knew my Aunty's pavlova was on offer.

Oh my goodness. Meringue, fruit and cream = what a winning combination!

This plate of sugar-heaven  well and truly put me into a "food coma".

Unfortunately we did not have time to linger for very long after lunch, and with the day slowly getting away from us, we packed up the car and headed back to Canberra.

2.5 hours later we arrived home, weary but having had a great weekend away. Back to reality tomorrow!

Happy Baking :)