Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Ah, Cinco de Mayo. A celebration that typically ends with a bad hangover and a bloated gut. Mark and I celebrated a little differently today (not that I'm even totally sure why we celebrated this holiday, but it's fun, so I guess that's reason enough). After a run at a local cross country course in this gorgeous weather, Mark and I picked up a few items at the grocery store for a Mexican-inspired dinner. I was really craving yet another salad. I know, I know, you don't make friends with salad. Oh well, I love them, and this warm weather makes me want cool, light food. A single serving of a little homemade margarita (thank you limeade concentrate, what a time saving trick!) was the perfect accompaniment to this salad. The recipe below serves two really hungry people.

Mexican Chopped Salad with Lime Dressing
-2 servings of mixed greens (I used romaine and mesclun mix)
-1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
-1 8 oz can whole corn kernels, rinsed and drained
-1 large tomato, seeded and diced
-half a cucumber, seeded and diced
-1 avocado, diced
-juice of 3 limes
-juice of 1 lemon
-3 tbsp olive oil
-1 clove garlic, grated
-1 tbsp agave syrup
-1 tbsp chili powder
-salt and pepper

-Divide the greens between two dinner plates and set aside.
-Combine the beans, corn, tomato, and cucumber in a bowl. Toss to combine, and then divide the mixture evenly over the two plates of greens.
-Sprinkle the diced avocado evenly over the two salads.
-In a small bowl, combine the citrus juice, oil, garlic, agave, chili powder, and salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Divide in two and drizzle evenly over the salads. Serve immediately.

Veganomicon Mania

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend. I was definitely happy to have some good stuff going on and good food to eat after this past Thursday. When I was out for a run, just half a mile from my house, I tripped on I don't know what and fell flat on the ground. I managed to get a pretty nasty series of cuts on my knee and my hand. So needless to say, thanks to the bruising/stiffness/healing cuts, my half marathon training has been kind of disrupted. The good news is, the bulk of my training is done, and I got myself on the bike, elliptical, and treadmill this morning at the gym. I think I will be back in action early next week, and I don't think this little setback will have much negative effect on the half marathon in 2 weeks.

On to the food! Since my mom got me a copy of Veganomicon, I have been busy picking out which dishes to make first. This weekend, I made two. My parents hosted visitors from out of state yesterday, my dad's best friend from college and his wife. My mom made a chicken stew for dinner, so I brought along a dish to eat and share - BBQ Black-Eyed Pea Collard Rolls. This was a simple recipe that was easy to put together and that looked really pretty on the plate. They also tasted great! Everyone who tried them enjoyed them. I can tell I will be making the BBQ sauce recipe many times this summer, so yummy. Another great thing about this recipe is that I got to eat it twice. There were a couple rolls and a bit of sauce leftover, so I repurposed them tonight for dinner. I cooked up a serving of brown rice, and added the filling from the leftover rolls (the collard leaves had gotten a little slimy so I tossed them) to a skillet with the extra sauce. The filling was chopped collards, mushrooms, black-eyed peas, and BBQ sauce. Once heated through, I served it with the rice for a delicious meal the second time around.
I tried another recipe from the book today, the Carrot Pineapple Sunshine Muffins. I figured these would make a great snack for Mark and I to take along to work this week. The muffins are chock full of delicious ingredients - pineapple, raisins, orange zest, carrots. It smelled like a tropical paradise in my kitchen while these baked. These came out wonderfully. They are nice and moist, thanks to soy yogurt and the fruit in the recipe, and they are fluffy like a classic muffin. I can't wait to enjoy these at work this week, it will certainly be a bright spot in the day! I think I will store them in the refrigerator though, even though they are so tasty fresh. I don't want them to get soggy. Any advice on storing muffins?
Anyway, have a great week everyone! Hopefully I will have a few new recipes for you this week.

Soup with a Little Bit of Everything

I typically do a big grocery shop once every two weeks, and try to avoid hitting the grocery store in between. I make some exceptions, especially for certain kinds of produce that spoil quickly, but by and large the twice monthly grocery shop gets me through. That being said, I'm approaching the tail end of those two weeks between shops, and my pantry is getting pretty limited. In instances like this, I have a great soup recipe (if you can even call it that) that uses up items commonly in your refrigerator and pantry. You'll also have a few servings of leftovers, which works out well for tiding yourself over until shopping. It was inspired by this recipe, but I made a few tweaks. I served this soup with a salad made from my last head of romaine and some straggling carrots and celery that were in the crisper drawer.

Little Bit of Everything Soup
-olive oil
-half an onion, small diced
-3 carrots, small diced
-3 celery stalks, small diced
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (use 1 tbsp dried if you don't have fresh)
-2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (same as above)
-1 tbsp dried basil
-salt and pepper
-6 cups vegetable stock, water, or a combination
-1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
-2 15 oz. cans of beans, rinsed and drained (any kind will do, I used cannellini and red kidney)
-4-8 oz. small pasta (I had about a third of a box of small shells)

-Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot and put over medium heat.
-Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 8-10 minutes, until softened.
-Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and basil. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring. Season with salt and pepper.
-Add the vegetable stock/water and the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
-Add the beans and pasta, and bring back to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked. Serve.

Black Bean Soup and a Training Update

Everyone knows that beans are an athlete's best friend. Packed with protein, fiber, antioxidants, and iron, beans cover a lot of nutritional bases and make a great recovery food. Black beans are at the top of my favorite bean list, and I use them a lot. Tonight I made a simple soup that's quick to whip up and is super flavorful. I also had corn tortillas that needed to be used, so I sliced them up, fried them quickly in canola oil, and used them as dippers for the soup. Avocado slices or sliced scallions would also make tasty garnishes.

Simple Black Bean Soup
-olive oil
-half a large onion, diced
-half a red bell pepper, diced
-half a green bell pepper, diced
-1 jalapeno pepper, minced
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tbsp chili powder
-2 tbsp cumin
-1 tsp oregano
-1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
-1 25 oz. can black beans, with liquid
-2 cups vegetable stock
-salt and pepper
-1/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
-juice of 1 lime

-Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the veggies start to get tender.
-Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
-Add the tomatoes with their juice, the beans with their liquid, and the vegetable stock to the pot. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, covered.
-Add the cilantro and lime juice and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve, garnished with cilantro leaves and tortilla strips.
Now for a quick training update. As you know, I am running the Long Branch Half Marathon on May 2nd. On Monday this week, I got an email; it was the first of ten emails (one for each week until the race) covering race details and updates. That really put those 10 weeks in perspective! I'm happy to say the first 2 weeks of training have gone really well. I've already started bumping up my paces since my body is used to this again, and the weekend long runs really start ramping up now. I still have a long way to go, but I know it's going to go fast. I don't think I will do any races in March, but I'm planning on doing three in April. It will be good for a change of pace in my workouts and for getting back into the racing mentality. I'll keep you posted!

Hearty Pasta from your Pantry

Ever notice how it feels like there is just not enough time in the day during the holiday season? I know I do. I am happy to report that I am just about done with shopping, but I have grocery shopping to do, TONS of baking to do, a holiday party, and some family get-togethers from now through this weekend. Anyway, it's times like this when a stocked pantry comes in really handy. Pasta of a few different shapes and sizes is always in my house.
Combined with other pantry staples like canned tomatoes, dried herbs, and beans (and served with a crunchy salad, of course) you have a meal. It's important to be nourished when you are super busy, and there isn't a much more comforting thing than a big pot of marinara sauce on the stove.

Rigatoni with Marinara and Cannellini Beans
-1 lb rigatoni
-olive oil
-1 onion, small diced
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tsp crushed red pepper
-1 tbsp tomato paste
-1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I'm loving the Jersey Fresh brand! These come from 6 New Jersey farms and are processed in NJ as well)
-1 8 oz can tomato sauce
-salt and pepper
-1 tsp dried thyme
-1 tbsp dried basil
-1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
-2 tbsp parsley, chopped

-Put a large pot over medium heat and coat with olive oil. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts getting tender.
-Add the garlic and crushed red pepper to the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
-Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook, stirring, for a minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce and stir to combine.
-Season the sauce with salt and pepper and add the dried herbs.
-Cook over medium-low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. About halfway through the cooking, add the beans to the sauce.
-While the sauce cooks, cook the pasta in well salted water until al dente.
-Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, along with the parsley. Stir gently to coat completely, then serve with a salad.

Rice and Beans with a Twist

I can't take credit for tonight's dinner theme. One of my husband's (his name is Mark, by the way) favorite home cooked meals is black bean cakes and rice. He would eat rice and beans in any way, shape, or form, I'm pretty sure, but the cakes are a nice change of pace. Anyway, he suggested these pretty early on in the day and luckily I had just about all the ingredients on hand at home. Mark wasn't too upset about needing to run out to the store and grab a tomato and some cilantro, though! I served the cakes over chopped romaine for some crunchy freshness and I mixed up a quick pico de gallo with a tomato, half an onion, and some cilantro. I like to set out all the fixings for the bean cakes and rice and let everyone put their own plate together. Besides the salad and pico, I pulled out a few different kinds of salsas and hot sauces to top the meal with. This is a hearty meal that's full of protein and fiber. The recipe below serves two.

Black Bean Cakes and Spanish Rice
-1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
-half a red bell pepper, minced
-1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-3 scallions, minced
-1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
-1/4 cup bread crumbs
-1 tbsp chili powder
-1 tbsp cumin
-salt and pepper
-2 tbsp of your favorite salsa
-2 tbsp vegetable oil
-3 tbsp cornmeal
-2 servings of cooked Spanish rice (I used the Near East brand, but if you feel so inclined and have a bit of extra time, go ahead and make your own!)

-Mash about 3/4 of the beans in a shallow bowl. Leave some beans whole for texture.
-Add the peppers, garlic, scallions, and cilantro to the mashed beans. Mix well.
-Add the bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, and salsa. Mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
-Form the bean mixture into 6 cakes that are about 3/4" thick. Place the cakes on a tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes. This will allow them to firm up a bit and make them easier to handle.
-Remove the cakes from the refrigerator and heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Put the cornmeal in a shallow bowl. Dredge the cakes in the cornmeal, shaking off any excess, then place them in the hot skillet.
-Cook the cakes about 4 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy on the outside and heated through.
-Remove the cakes from the heat. Serve them with Spanish rice any fixings and toppings you like. A salad, pico de gallo, salsa, hot sauce, or guacamole would all be great options.