Finally a weekend in Houston with no major plans! Saturday I ran 5 happy miles on the treadmill in much better form than Thursday’s rocky and slow 3 miles. And then on Sunday I swam for about 30 minutes and did a 50 minutes spinning class.
And as a typical Sunday, I spent time in the kitchen. I baked muffins, boiled eggs for the week, and made gazpacho.
Oatmeal Raisin Muffins (with a special ingredient):
I love mufins. They are perfect for me to take to work or have for a snack, and there are so many varieties! I have been in search of a new kind of muffin, and found this one from Anne P. at Fannetastic Food . These muffins have no eggs, butter, oil, or white sugar, but are still sweet from the bananas, raisins, and maple syrup. And a powerhouse of nutrition from the flaxseed, whole wheat flour, and sweet potatoes. Potassium and Vitamin A and C anyone?
I made a few changes to her recipe, noted below.
Ingredients:
makes 12 muffins
Dry:
1.5 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 C oats
1/3 C ground flaxseed (I had a problem finding ground–I only found flax seeds or flaxseed meal, so I bought the seeds. I tried to pulse it in a food processor, but it didn’t work. Luckily, can’t tell in muffins.)
1/3 C walnuts
1/3 C raisins
1/8 C brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
Wet:
1 C canned pureed sweet potato (I only found sugared sweet potatoes in cans, so I baked a sweet potato and spooned out 1 C and mashed it)
2 large overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 C (overflowing) skim milk
1/4 C pure maple syrup
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. In two separate bowls, mix dry, then wet, and then combine, adding wet to dry and stirring gently until the mixture is uniform-ish.
Spoon the mixture into a non-stick muffin pan (or use muffin cups). Sprinkle a couple raw oats on the top of each muffin to make them look pretty when they’re done.
Pop them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes and do a fork check near the end. (Mine baked in under 25 minutes.)
Once they’re out of the oven, transfer them over to a cooling rack, and enjoy!!
Next up is Gazpacho. This is my mommy’s recipe, and I grew up eating chunky gazpacho. I don’t like it pureed like many restaurants serve it. Here is our recipe, a great summertime soup for lunch or dinner. (I hope you like to chop!)
Mom’s Gazpacho:
Ingredients:
24 oz tomato juice
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tomatoes
1/4 C onion
1/2 C red bell pepper
1/2 C cucumber
1/2 C celery
2 tsp parsley
1 tsp chives
Instructions:
In blender, combine tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chives, worchestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and one tomato. Move to large serving bowl or sealable container.
Chop onion, one tomato, celery, bell pepper, cucumber and add to large bowl.
Shake container, or stir all together in bowl.
Refrigerate until serving. I like to eat it with chicken or shrimp inside, or serve on top of chopped spinach.
How to Boil an Egg:
1. In a medium sized pot, put 6 eggs in, fill with water, and cover. (note–I don’t boil the water then add the eggs.)
2. Place on medium heat, and bring to rapid boil. Today it took about 15 minutes to boil.
3. I let the eggs boil rapidly for about 2 minutes before I turn the heat completely off. But watch your pot so the water doesn’t overflow.
4. I leave the eggs covered for about 10 minutes, but this part isn’t necessary. I think it helps the eggs harden so you don’t bruise it when cracking.
5. Pour out hot water and cover with cold water. This makes the eggs able to be held to peel.
6. A tip I learned from Ina Garten, roll the egg on a cutting board or counter to break the shell. Then peel off.
7. Sometimes it works perfect, and sometimes they still look butchered, even from the same batch of eggs!
Finally a weekend in Houston with no major plans! Saturday I ran 5 happy miles on the treadmill in much better form than Thursday’s rocky and slow 3 miles. And then on Sunday I swam for about 30 minutes and did a 50 minutes spinning class.
And as a typical Sunday, I spent time in the kitchen. I baked muffins, boiled eggs for the week, and made gazpacho.
Oatmeal Raisin Muffins (with a special ingredient):
I love mufins. They are perfect for me to take to work or have for a snack, and there are so many varieties! I have been in search of a new kind of muffin, and found this one from Anne P. at Fannetastic Food . These muffins have no eggs, butter, oil, or white sugar, but are still sweet from the bananas, raisins, and maple syrup. And a powerhouse of nutrition from the flaxseed, whole wheat flour, and sweet potatoes. Potassium and Vitamin A and C anyone?
I made a few changes to her recipe, noted below.
Ingredients:
makes 12 muffins
Dry:
1.5 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 C oats
1/3 C ground flaxseed (I had a problem finding ground–I only found flax seeds or flaxseed meal, so I bought the seeds. I tried to pulse it in a food processor, but it didn’t work. Luckily, can’t tell in muffins.)
1/3 C walnuts
1/3 C raisins
1/8 C brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
Wet:
1 C canned pureed sweet potato (I only found sugared sweet potatoes in cans, so I baked a sweet potato and spooned out 1 C and mashed it)
2 large overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 C (overflowing) skim milk
1/4 C pure maple syrup
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. In two separate bowls, mix dry, then wet, and then combine, adding wet to dry and stirring gently until the mixture is uniform-ish.
Spoon the mixture into a non-stick muffin pan (or use muffin cups). Sprinkle a couple raw oats on the top of each muffin to make them look pretty when they’re done.
Pop them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes and do a fork check near the end. (Mine baked in under 25 minutes.)
Once they’re out of the oven, transfer them over to a cooling rack, and enjoy!!
Next up is Gazpacho. This is my mommy’s recipe, and I grew up eating chunky gazpacho. I don’t like it pureed like many restaurants serve it. Here is our recipe, a great summertime soup for lunch or dinner. (I hope you like to chop!)
Mom’s Gazpacho:
Ingredients:
24 oz tomato juice
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tomatoes
1/4 C onion
1/2 C red bell pepper
1/2 C cucumber
1/2 C celery
2 tsp parsley
1 tsp chives
Instructions:
In blender, combine tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chives, worchestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and one tomato. Move to large serving bowl or sealable container.
Chop onion, one tomato, celery, bell pepper, cucumber and add to large bowl.
Shake container, or stir all together in bowl.
Refrigerate until serving. I like to eat it with chicken or shrimp inside, or serve on top of chopped spinach.
How to Boil an Egg:
1. In a medium sized pot, put 6 eggs in, fill with water, and cover. (note–I don’t boil the water then add the eggs.)
2. Place on medium heat, and bring to rapid boil. Today it took about 15 minutes to boil.
3. I let the eggs boil rapidly for about 2 minutes before I turn the heat completely off. But watch your pot so the water doesn’t overflow.
4. I leave the eggs covered for about 10 minutes, but this part isn’t necessary. I think it helps the eggs harden so you don’t bruise it when cracking.
5. Pour out hot water and cover with cold water. This makes the eggs able to be held to peel.
6. A tip I learned from Ina Garten, roll the egg on a cutting board or counter to break the shell. Then peel off.
7. Sometimes it works perfect, and sometimes they still look butchered, even from the same batch of eggs!