Quinoa bowl with green tahini sauce

 Ingredients

750g sweet potato, cut into 1cm thick half moons

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt

½ brown onion, sliced into 1–2cm wide slivers

¾ cup quinoa, rinsed

1½ cup chicken or vegetable broth, see tips above

1 x 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed

A squeeze of lemon juice

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, toasted, see tips above for substitutions

For the green tahini sauce

35g (a generous handful) flat leaf parsley leaves

1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon (25g) hulled tahini

¼ teaspoon garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon ginger, minced

2 teaspoons runny honey

A tiny pinch of fine sea salt

Method

Roast sweet potato in air fryer

Over low heat, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small to medium-sized heavy-based saucepan for which you have a lid. Add the onion and a small pinch of salt and stir. Cook the onion for around 10 minutes — slow and steady over low heat — until soft and sticky. Then add the quinoa and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer with the lid slightly ajar. Allow the quinoa to cook for around 15 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the centre of the quinoa grain/seed is translucent. Remove from the heat, place the lid on the pot and leave for 10 minutes.

Place the black beans in a mixing bowl and add a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt. Stir then taste, and adjust seasoning as desired.

To prepare the green sauce place the parsley, oil and lemon juice in a mini food processor and blitz until the parsley is finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz again until smooth. Taste and adjust the flavour as you wish — more lemon, more salt, etc. 

To serve, place a spoonful of quinoa in a bowl, followed by a spoonful of beans and roast sweet potato. Drizzle the sauce over the top and scatter some toasted seeds. Finish with an extra drizzle of olive oil if desired.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies-From Sam

 INGREDIENTS

2 ripe bananas

1 flax egg 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water

1 cup rolled oats gluten-free if needed

1/2 cup quinoa flakes or more oats

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small mixing bowl, completely mash the banana. Stir in the flax egg.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until fully combined.

Spoon the cookie dough on the cookie sheet, and gently flatten with the back of a spoon.

Bake 13 – 15 minutes, until browned and only slightly tender to the touch. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Store in a covered container for 2 – 3 days (if they last that long!).

Snowball series 2024 #3 Frontier Park

Good run in Frontier Park. Not a bad pace for me, but slower than last year. Still 3rd in my group so hopefully can keep my 3rd place after Kirkwood next week-my least favourite!!!!

 

Frostbite series #5 3 miles

 I felt like I was slow today, but still placed 2nd in the 3 miles and overall in the series.  Weather was fine-sunny and 34 degrees.  That's it for frostbite 2024.

Snowball series # 3 Creve Coeur 7K

 

Well, I ran this in almost 10 sec/mile quicker than the last 2 years, although I thought I had done terribly!!!  Weather was OK-40 degrees and threatening to rain (but didn't).  Not bad for someone who is still recovering from Covid (it just won't go away!)

Black Bean Soup

 INGREDIENTS 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon kosher salt

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 (15-ounce) cans low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth, or more??

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Optional toppings: fresh cilantro, red onion, avocado, or sour cream. Plus extra lime wedges

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and jalapeno pepper, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened.

Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, coriander, cayenne pepper, and salt, and stir together for another minute, until fragrant.

Add the black beans and chicken broth, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup a few times to have a mix of creamy and chunky textures. Alternatively, you can scoop out a cup or two of soup, blend it in a standard blender until smooth, and then stir it back into the pot. Then, stir in the lime juice.

Snowball Series 2024 #1 5K in Forest Park

 

Not a bad first run of the series.  The weather was not too bad and I did pretty well since I had a cold!!!!