2006-06-14 Making Pancakes 006

2006-06-14 Making Pancakes 006, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.

 

2006-06-14 Making Pancakes 008

2006-06-14 Making Pancakes 008, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.

 

Clematis in the rain

2006-06-13 On our porch 011, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.

Funny weather. It's been extremely muggy and hot. We even had a few thunder storms, which are rare in Vancouver. This shot was taken this morning on our porch when an almost tropical rain fell.

Mexican Corn Muffins

Mexican Corn Muffins, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.

Ingredients:

• 140g cornmeal


• 120g wholewheat flour


• 1 Tblsp. baking powder


• 1 tsp. salt


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp sugar


• 1 medium onion, diced


• 1/2 tsp hot chili powder


• 1/2 green pepper diced


• 2 eggs


• 250ml buttermilk (or yoghurt)


• 125ml vegetable oil


• 200g shredded cheese


• 1 can corn

Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  In blender pulse together onion, pepper, chili powder, eggs and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients. add oil, cheese and corn. Mix well but not too long.
Bake at 210C for 18min. Yields 12-18 muffins.

 

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp wheat germ
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups pumkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tsp pumkin pie spice
• vanilla
• 4 tbsp chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 180C (165C convection). Combine all ingredients (except of walnuts) and mix until combined. Spoon the batter into lined muffin tins, sprinkle with walnuts. Bake for 25 - 30 min, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the pan, serve warm or cold.

Sour Dough Bread

Sour Dough Bread, originally uploaded by Turtlepace.

 

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup sour dough starter
- 6 cups whole wheat flour
- 1tblsp salt
- 1 tblsp yeast
- warm water to make a soft, non-sticky dough

Mix ingredients and let rise in warm location until the dough has doubled in volume. Knead dough and form 2 small oval loafs or one large one. Place on greased baking sheet and let rise again. Bake at 200C (400F) for 50 minutes. In convection oven bake at 165C for 40 minutes.

 

May - Progress Report

Despite worsened asthma symptoms and a long recovery from a cold virus, I have been positive about training and running this month.  Given that I lost all the endurance I had built up earlier in the year, I focused on getting back on track and running shorter distances.

The weekend long runs are down to about 1:30h to 2h's of slow hike/runs.  Earlier in the month, I would find myself exhausted after these runs, but my energy seems to be slowly coming back.  During the week, I have been getting up early, to get a 30-40 min run or gym workout in before the daily routine.  This is working well and I am hoping to keep it up over the summer.  Being a long time insomniac, it is actually nice to stop the tossing and do something productive.

Tomorrow, I will get my asthma assessed. Big deal, because I don't like to take any medication. It is almost as if taking regular meds for this is an acknowledgement that I have asthma.  Still hoping that my symptoms settle down once the spring pollen season is over.  One thing is certain, I won't be winning the New Year's Resolution contest ;-)