Instead of the traditional pies (yummy lemon meringue, apple, pumpkin and butter tarts) that I usually bake with Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, I opted for a new idea that uses my favourite new ingredient: quinoa.
It's such a quick, healthy alternative to pasta, crackers, cereal, beef, etc., and I've discovered it in bulk (flour, yellow, black and red) at Community Natural Foods, which is making it more affordable, too.
The cookbook Quinoa 365 by Green & Hemming is wonderful - it gives you lots of options for everything from breakfast to dessert. I've tried several recipes, including a hot cranberry cereal that has become a breakfast staple in my fridge, several soups that rotate thru my kitchen, a tuna casserole that my kids will eat, muffins, loaves, and now, chocolate cake!
This chocolate cake has NO FLOUR in it, and my guests and kids loved it. Here's the recipe:
Moist Chocolate Cake (Quinoa 365 by Green & Hemming, pg 159)
2/3c white or golden quinoa
1 1/3c water
1/3c milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4c butter, melted then cooled
1 1/2c cane sugar
1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Bring quinoa and water to a boil, cover and simmer 10 min. Turn off heat, leave covered for 10 min. Fluff with a fork and cool.
Preheat oven to 3 50 degrees. Lightly grease 2x8" cake pans. **Line the bottom of the pans w parchment paper.
Combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add 2c of cooked quinoa and butter and continue to blend until smooth.
Whisk together in a large bowl the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add contents of the blender and mix well. Divide evenly between the two pans and bake on centre oven rack for 40-45 min. Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan before serving. Frost if desired I just served it with a sprinkle of powered icing sugar and ice cream).
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week of freeze for up to 1 month.
Yummy!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Race Report: Calgary Police Half Marathon, Sunday, April 17, 2011
Yep, the conditions today were horrible. Lots of snow and ice, the single-track, hard-packed, icy trail with divets that were perfect for rolling your ankle, the sidewalks had "brown sugar" snow which made it feel like running in sand.... yeah, not a lot of positives there. In fact, my feet are killing me.
The temperature was good - at least, I dressed for it. The thermometer read -4C when I left the house, and while the snow continued to come down, the sun did break thru just as I crested the top of the Weaselhead hill.
My point about the weather report? It could have been worse, no one was out there running for a PB (certainly not me!), and if you walked away without falling down, it was a good day.
And my day got even better!
Richelle and I tossed around a number of potential paces for me to run. Then the weather forecast kicked in (see above), so we revamped it to be a run for heart rate. We agreed on some HR zones for various stretches of the race. I pointed out that those HRs would make me slow; but keeping my HR under control helps me on two fronts: 1) it helps me avoid detours into the bushes (sorry, too much info?), and 2) it is good practice for IMC.
Here's the good news about my race today: I stayed close to or within all the HR zones that Richelle gave me, my goal of "consistent and persistent" during my intervals was bang on target, I had no tummy troubles, and I gained a huge measure of confidence for running at both Great White and IMC. The final 4km I kicked it up a notch, as per Richelle's directions, and felt spent at the line. Another plus: I recovered quickly, ready to keep going.
My training has been going well over the winter and early spring - although I've lost my speed. I feel like a tortoise (or a tank, depending on my mood!): slow and steady gets you across the line. I know that I'll need the endurance element, but I miss a bit of the speed.... oh well, today wasn't about speed anyhow!
Today's race was about consistency, pacing, HR zones. Does it matter that this is the slowest half Mary that I've ever done? Nope. Was it good prep for IMC? Absolutely.
The temperature was good - at least, I dressed for it. The thermometer read -4C when I left the house, and while the snow continued to come down, the sun did break thru just as I crested the top of the Weaselhead hill.
My point about the weather report? It could have been worse, no one was out there running for a PB (certainly not me!), and if you walked away without falling down, it was a good day.
And my day got even better!
Richelle and I tossed around a number of potential paces for me to run. Then the weather forecast kicked in (see above), so we revamped it to be a run for heart rate. We agreed on some HR zones for various stretches of the race. I pointed out that those HRs would make me slow; but keeping my HR under control helps me on two fronts: 1) it helps me avoid detours into the bushes (sorry, too much info?), and 2) it is good practice for IMC.
Here's the good news about my race today: I stayed close to or within all the HR zones that Richelle gave me, my goal of "consistent and persistent" during my intervals was bang on target, I had no tummy troubles, and I gained a huge measure of confidence for running at both Great White and IMC. The final 4km I kicked it up a notch, as per Richelle's directions, and felt spent at the line. Another plus: I recovered quickly, ready to keep going.
My training has been going well over the winter and early spring - although I've lost my speed. I feel like a tortoise (or a tank, depending on my mood!): slow and steady gets you across the line. I know that I'll need the endurance element, but I miss a bit of the speed.... oh well, today wasn't about speed anyhow!
Today's race was about consistency, pacing, HR zones. Does it matter that this is the slowest half Mary that I've ever done? Nope. Was it good prep for IMC? Absolutely.
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