Tasty Tuesday #4

I know, I know! It seems like all my posts lately have been food posts, but I hear that people like them so until I get complaints, they'll keep comin'. Training is going really well, don't worry. I've got a couple of posts coming on that soon enough.

But for now, here is ...

Soft Polenta with Sliced Beef and Parmesan
Adapted from The Athlete's Palate Cookbook

My mother gave me an early Christmas present last week, The Athlete's Palate Cookbook. It was on "the list". For years, I have been tearing recipes out of Runner's World - thank goodness they had the where-with-all to put them in a nicely bound book!!

This is the first recipe I have made from the book and it was AMAZING!! The polenta was nutty and buttery (even though I used 1% milk instead of 2%), the beef tender, and the sauce the perfect compliment to it all. Serve this with a side salad for more veggies.


I am not going to include the the full-recipe for the tomato sauce, because I didn't make it. Pressed for time, I used half a jar of marinara, a can of diced tomatoes (drained), and some chopped fresh basil.

Also, I'm including the full, six serving proportions, but I actually halved it and got three meals out of it - one for dinner, one for lunch, and one to freeze for later.

Polenta
4 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups 2% milk
2 cups instant polenta
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup grated or shredded parmesan

Beef
2 tablespoons EVOO
1.5 lbs sliced beef sirloin
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley


Polenta
Melt the butter until foamy over moderate heat in a medium pan. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is lightly colored, about 3 minutes. Add milk and bring to a boil. Slowly add polenta and cook, stirring constantly, until liquids have been absorbed (this will happen quicker than you think - the book says 5 minutes, but mine came together in 3 min. Polenta will get thick and rubbery as it cools. The more fat and liquid, the smoother the texture.)
Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in parmesan. Keep warm.

Beef
Add the olive oil to a medium saute pan over moderate heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef and saute until it is lightly colored, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the beef over and cook the other side. Add garlic and tomato sauce and cook until beef is done.

Spoon the polenta into the center of soup plates. Arrange the beef and tomato sauce equally over the polenta and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Tasty Tuesday #3

I've been a little lazy this past week and forgot to take photos of all the tasty food I made. Last Wednesday, I posted a random update about what I was eating for lunch - leftovers. It really surprised me how many people weren't familiar with half of the things I was eating. Surprising because I thought EVERYONE ate these things!

SF wanted the recipe for Salmon with Coconut Butter wrapped in Nori, Quinoa, and Kale with Lemon.

There really isn't much too it, and I wouldn't call it a recipe. ;)

I think I stole the idea from a blog post LOOOOONG ago from one of three people ... it could have been Bree Wee, because she seems to really love seaweed ... it could have been these people who I don't know but have a crush on their So-Cali life ... but most likely it was the Cotters, but before Lindsay went gluten-free.

Anywhooo ....

To make the salmon you will need:

Salmon fillets (skin removed - VERY IMPORTANT!)
Coconut Butter (NOT coconut oil)
Sheets of Nori


Preheat oven to 375. Spray a glass baking dish with Pam or lightly brush with olive oil and set aside.

Microwave the coconut butter, still in the jar (but with lid removed) for 30 seconds on high or until it becomes smooth when stirred. To soften the nori, hold it over a gas burner on your range for a couple of seconds until it turns bright green - then WORKING QUICKLY (or the nori will become dry and stiff) place it in the baking sheet, top with salmon fillet, drizzle about 2 T. of coconut butter on the salmon, and then wrap remaining edges of nori around the fish. Continue the process for the rest of the salmon.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until salmon flakes.

That's it!

You could season the salmon with a little salt before adding the coconut butter.

What you get is a nice piece of fish with a coconutty flavor. The nori has NO flavor but can have a chewy texture. It will also attach to the skin of the fish if you don't remove it first, so be sure to do that so you don't end up throwing that part away (unless you like to eat fish skin).

I served this with a side of Quinoa, cooked in chicken stock for more flavor, and kale sauteed in olive oil and lemon juice.

This brand of Quinoa is more expensive, but it is pre-rinsed and
that is a plus if you don't have a fine mesh strainer.

Kale: Be sure to remove tough stems,
then roughly chop before adding it to the pan

Hopefully next week I'll have something a little more exciting and exotic to share. :)

Tasty Tuesday 2

Inspired by my friends, Meredith and Dave, I am going to add a new weekly segment to the blog called "Tasty Tuesdays".

I love Martha Stewart. ADORE HER! Everything about her ... okay, not Martha the person, but really, Martha the BRAND. All the people working for her at the magazine, the website, the show, the people who come up with all the cool crafts sold at Michael's, the paint colors at Home Depot, the Flor tiles - WHAT DOES SHE NOT HAVE HER FINGER ON?

Martha should come up with some GU flavors. I would totally eat the crap out of them!

I picked up the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living because the cover looked SO good - pumpkin pie! Pie in general! Pie! Pie! Pie! I love Pie!

Most of the recipes in the magazine require about 3 hours and a long list of ingredients, so I usually save them for weekends or special occasions ... however, with a quick glance I did find this little gem:

Pork Chops with Apricot-Almond Stuffing
3 oz dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2 oz almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 T. EVOO
Coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
4 bone-in pork chops (I used boneless because that's all the store had)
1 c. homemade (ha!) or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
2 t. red-wine vinegar

Mix together apricots, almonds, parsley and 1 T. oil. Season with S&P. Cut a 2 inch slit into the side of each pork chop using a paring knife, cutting through to the bone to form a pocket. Fill each pocket with 2 T. stuffing mixture, and press to flatten. Season the meat with S&P.


Heat remaining T. oil in a large skillet over high heat. Sear pork chops until browned, 3 - 4 min. per side. Add 1/2 c. stock. Reduce to low; simmer, covered, until cooked through, 6-8 min. Transfer pork chops to a plate.


Add remaining 1/2 c. stock to skillet; raise heat to high, and simmer, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon, until sauce is thick, 5-7 min. Add vinegar; simmer for 30 seconds. Strain sauce through a sieve (did not do this!) and drizzle over pork.


Viola! I served (ha! "served"! it was just me that night for dinner) the pork chops with my new, all time favorite side dish: kale sauteed with anchovies, olive oil and lemon juice. It is AMAZING!!!

And don't worry, I am totally going to make one, or three, of those pies on the cover!

The Little Things

Happy New Year everyone!! Yes, to you it might be November, but I celebrated a new year on November 1st. Out with the old and in with the new. Training for the 2011 race season has begun!

Here are the races/tris I will be doing this year (but the goals are TOP SECRET!):

TriZou Sprint Tri - Columbia, MO
Kansas City Triathlon Oly - KCMO
Quartermax Oly - Innsbrook, MO
Evergreen Oly - Bloomington, IL
WIN for KC Sprint - Smithville, MO

Nothing big or fancy razzle-dazzle (ie. no WTC events) just keepin' it real and focusing on the training, preparation and outcome. Okay, there is a big race that is tentatively on the schedule for the end of the August, but it's one of the "top secret" goals, so I'm leaving it off the list here.

Speaking of keepin' it real, last month while I was putting this list together, I started to think about the all the little things that I always blow off year after year. Blowing one or two of these items off every now and then, probably doesn't have a substantial effect on one's performance, but compounded over time ... well, it got me pondering ... what if I really started focusing on the little things? Would my performance improve? Would I be a better athlete? Would I get faster? Um, yeah I will! Cuz the little things really add up!

Another list! Yay! Of mini-goals that I am implementing EVERYDAY with hopes of a big pay-off in the end:

Get 8 hours of sleep every night - Easy! I am in bed every night by 10:30pm and my alarm goes off at 6:30am. Even on weekends!! Although, maybe I don't quite need all eight hours right now. I've been waking up at 530am the past two weeks.

Take a multi-vitamin every day - Another easy one. I eat pretty well, but I know I am lacking in the iron category, and probably some other areas too. A multi-vitamin can't hurt. When I was home sick a couple weeks ago, I was flipping channels and came across the Dr. Oz show. He said that taking a multi-vitamin is great, but you should cut it in half and take half in the morning and half at night because our bodies often can't absorb the nutrients in the entire vitamin all at once. Therefore, it absorbs what it can and you pee the rest out, (which is still better than nothing). So I bought a pill cutter at Target for $4 and tried it out. One tiny little extra step that can't hurt, should the good doctor's claim turn out to be false.

Drink 64 oz of water daily - This one is sooo hard for me to do, especially on the weekends. I feel like I am chugging water ALL the time - and then I am in the bathroom ALL the time and I can't get anything done!!! On the weekends, running errands, I am constantly looking for the restroom at Target, Whole Foods, etc. I'm really working hard on this one.

Drink 16 oz of water after every workout - This is even MORE of a challenge. I fight with this one every day. I hydrate enough in prep for the workout, but I HATE drinking water, or anything at all, afterwards. I just want to eat, shower, and go to bed. This week, I have been FORCING myself to drink at least this amount. I know I probably need more, but it's a start.

Stretch after every bike or run - another one I struggle with. Mostly because it's just one more thing to do, but I know it is SOO important for staying injury free. Just have to get into the habit of doing it and not considering the workout "done" until this is complete.

Eat a recovery snack 15 min. after every workout - NO PROBLEM! I love to eat! And since the temps have become cooler lately, I've been happily drinking hot chocolate (Horizon Organic 1% chocolate milk) after EVERY workout. I even bought a little thermos to take with me to Masters. What a treat!

If you think you need an ice bath – TAKE ONE! Oy vey. I have a love/hate relationship with ice baths. Who doesn't? They are terribly uncomfortable but sooo worth it. I took one last night and feel like a million bucks today! Of course, I cheat a bit ... I don't actually use ice in the winter. Since the temps outside are in the 30s-40s, the pipes are cold so the water temp straight outta the tap on the coldest setting, is just fine.

Cut back the alcohol - I already blogged about this. I have cut back SIGNIFICANTLY. I'm going to see if I can make it through the whole month of November without a drop ... until Thanksgiving where I plan to imbibe with two glasses of wine at dinner.

I'll keep you posted as to the results of this little experiment, but so far, so good. I've only implemented ALL of the above for the past 5 days, but already I feel AMAZING! Just really good, happy and healthy! And ready to achieve all those TOP SECRET goals for 2011!!

Tasty Tuesday

Inspired by my friends, Meredith and Dave, I am going to add a new weekly segment to the blog called "Tasty Tuesdays". Meredith and Dave call theirs "Mondays Menu" so if we get a couple more people to do blog posts on food, we won't go hungry any more!!!

I love to cook! RDJr. loves to eat. Therefore, we are a match made in heaven!! He came over last Thursday evening and we made this:

Butternut Squash Pizza

I got the inspiration for this dish from a 2006 Spring issue of Self magazine. In that recipe, they suggest that you make the squash filling from scratch: peel the squash, cut it in half, place it in a microwave safe dish with a little water and cook until soft. Wait for it to cool, then mash it up with a fork, some nutmeg, and a little salt and pepper.

And I have done that before, but ... for this time-pressed athlete, I cut a corner and bought frozen, already cooked and pureed winter squash! It comes in a box and you can find it in the freezer section next to all the other frozen veggies.

So here's the recipe we followed (I made it up based on what we already had in the house):

Butternut Squash Pizza
1 thin whole wheat pizza crust
1 pkg frozen winter squash
grated nutmeg
salt & pepper
olive oil
1/2 a yellow onion, thinly sliced
1-2 c. spinach, torn/chopped into little pieces
fontina cheese (low-fat if you can find it)
pre-made turkey meatballs

Preheat the oven according to pizza crust directions. Thaw out squash in the microwave until warm and becomes smooth when stirred. Add ground nutmeg, salt & pepper (to taste) to the squash and set aside.

In a sautee pan, add olive oil (I always eye-ball this) and onions. Cook until translucent. Add spinach and cook until wilted. You can season the mixture with a little salt & pepper here too.

Shred the cheese using a grater.

Spread the squash mixture over the crust. Top with cheese, then top cheese with onion and spinach mixture. Add the meatballs (we cut them up into quarters). Put it in the oven and cook according to crust package directions, or until crust is at desired crisp-ness. :)

ENJOY!!!

The 'Boucha is Back!!

I washed it down with a cocktail. Not really, but I'm so glad my favorite alcohol substitute is back on the shelves at Whole Foods. (For some reason, they were not able to carry it for MONTHS!!) And yes, I know it is FERMENTED tea, so it has alcohol in it, but it's far less than a beer, a glass of wine, or a high-ball of whiskey on the rocks!