Race Day and an Organic Dinner

Today was the oldest North American road race: the Around the Bay 30K Road Race and it poured. Kudos to all those who RAN ANYWAY, including our friend and running partner, Dana- pictured here about the 20K mark and still smiling. I was chatting and holding a Tim Horton's coffee when she appeared suddenly in front of us, so I took this jogging beside her, struggling with a coffee (got coffee up my nose at one point) and the camera. She was still happy and smiling. Watching this race always makes me want to do it again. Gotta cut down on the excuses (like bad weather: I've become a wimp!) and just do it. kwim?

I really enjoyed tonight's dinner, which was pretty much entirely shaped by the remaining veggies in my organic delivery. I had a number of things to use up. Firstly, I tried the crockpot beet recipe in my new cookbook from Montreal: art of the Slow Cooker. This is the second recipe I tried from it and so far it's 2 for 2 in tasty recipes. Tonight's Slow-Roasted Beets with Walnut Gremolata (2 pts a serving) was very flavourful and really not too tricky either. I wore plastic gloves for the beet preparation this time: no purple pinkies. The beets were tender and firm with the orange zesty walnut gremolata sprinkled over top. mmmm...Beets aren't something I'd want every day, but if you're going to have them, this recipe is the way to go.

Slow-Roasted Beets recipe in brief: After scrubbing the beets (I used 4 oversized organic ones), you heat them in the micro for 8 mins to soften so you can peel the skins off. Next you slice them into quarters once cooled down (I cut mine in more pieces since they were jumbo large) and put them in the crock. Toss with 1/4c orange juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, quartered garlic clove, salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 hours on high. The walnut gremolata part is made separately and sprinkled over the cooked beets. (gremolata: toasted 1/2c walnut pieces, orange zest from 1/2 orange, 1 tsp chopped parsley.) 6 servings, 2 pts. each

I also made a couple of recipes from a public library cookbook. (I went a little crazy in ordering cookbooks at the library while I was waiting for dd. I currently have a huge stack! ) Inn on the Twenty Cookbook is a compilation of recipes by Anna (of In the Kitchen) and Michael Olson served at their restaurant in Ontario. With just a quick skim, I saw so many recipes that I'd like to try.

I did a modified version of their Warm Mushroom Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette. (In that I completely skipped the tomato part, being without any sundried tomatoes.) Using the small bag of shiitake mushrooms I had left from my organic box, the salad was delicious. Who would have that a dressingless salad except for a mushroom concoction would be so tasty? As the only mushroom lover in the house, though, I was the only one who really ate it. It was so good though!

Mushroom Salad summary: In a med skillet, over med-high heat, I sauteed 1 tbsp of diced onion (didn't have shallots) in a bit of olive oil for 1 min. Next I added sliced shiitake mushrooms (it called for 1 pound, I had around 1/4 of that- under 100g), fresh thyme and a minced garlic clove. After the mushrooms were softened, I stirred in a tbsp of balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with salt and pepper and cooked for just a couple of mins more. The Olsons use a salad green mix, I used the watercress and arugula that I had from my delivery. Loved it! You should try it!

Finally, on my dinner plate, I roughly followed one of the potato recipes from the same book- basically potatoes tossed in olive oil and fresh rosemary AND did a chicken recipe from the new Clean Eating. (May/June 2009) Spice Islands Marinated Chicken served with a fresh mix of island fruit. It was very tasty, too. The only change I made was to use some of my light Coconut milk mixed with water (1/2 and 1/2) for the coconut water which I couldn't find.

Hope everyone has a good week, full of exercises without excuses- even under pouring rain.