For Reaz...

"Dear Briana,
Congratulations! You are now registered for 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.runDisney.com"

Well kids, it's official! I encouraged everyone else running with me to register for the race since it had been open a grand total of 72 hours and was already 60% full. And they all did..... so it got kind of awkward when I hadn't, since it was my idea and all. So with much panicky wheezing I plopped down a sizable chunk of change to dear ol' Mickey Mouse and got me and the hubs signed up to run! It's surreal to me that in 8 months I will be running at WDW. Back when we started our semi-weekly chats (In August 2012, wow!) I had serious doubts whether this would be even possible so to have actually registered for the race is a tribute to how far I've come. It is also a tribute to all those wonderful people who are supporting. Specifically, The hubs: who is my rock in everything and just one pretty awesome dude, Cindy: one of the best friends a girl could ask for, and my sister and her boyfriend who are coming along to cheer and run with us. Having a great group behind me is the driving force that keeps me going. And thanks to all the readers! Your support is why I keep barfing my thoughts onto this blog week after week! :)

In running news, last week Kyle and I participated in an area Relay for Life through the American Cancer Society. We took the opportunity to do that weeks 3 mile training run on the high school track the event was taking place on. Why not kill two birds with one stone? We also wanted to get an accurate assessment of our progress thus far. I love my trusty 15 year old treadmill but I just wasn't buying the fact that it said I could barely do a mile in 17:30.  So we popped on our trusty MapMyRun android app on my phone and away we went. Lo and behold our average pace was 13:06min/mile, with walk breaks! This makes me VERY happy because the minimum race pace is 16min/mile and I was convinced I was waaaaaaay slower than that so yay! :)

It's been a happy week full of good things and I hope that trend continues. We're on our way friends, on to the biggest personal goal I have ever set my mind too. It won't be without doubts and downer moments but I'm fairly certain that this is really going to happen :)

And the adventure continues...

Delicious Concerns

Two food posts in a row! Aren't you lucky? Anyway, this recipe has been staring at me every since it was posted. I don't know why but it was just calling out to me, which is funny because 1) I'm not really a huge kale fan, raw or cooked and 2) I think raw cabbage smells like feet. But I just couldn't resist so I made these little babies. OMG Yum.

Crunchy, yummy veggies mixed with just the lightest batter of eggs and flour. They were seriously like the perfect lunch.  I was so very pleasantly surprised that the cabbage feet smell went away even with the little bit of cooking you do. The veggies stay crunchy and the recipe calls for a homemade ketchup of sorts that is tangy and wonderful and the perfect compliment to these yummies.

 Throw a fried egg on top, drizzle with some of the sauce, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Heaven. It took me way to long to make these and I can assure you I will not be waiting that long to make them again. These are so simple, there really isn't much to say about them. They are a great way to get your veggies in and just taste kinda wonderful so make them! Recipe Below

Delicious Japanese vegetable pancakes aside, this weekend was not super motivating. I did my 5 mile training run but it took a long time, like a really long time. It's hard to be excited about this when I'm still not even sure I can get my time fast enough to not be taken off the course (The race has a pace requirement of 16min/mile). Which would prolly be the most devastatingly embarrassing thing to happen to me in like ever. I'm not giving up but I'm sure worried about this working at all. My wonderful hubby has decided (Read: pushed by his doctor to be more active) to run with me. So now I've got at least 3 people who have decided to do this craziness because of me and I'm not even sure if it's possible to make my body do that! Sigh. I'm not giving up but there are a lot of concerns in my mind right now, not to mention some seriously sore hips from yesterday's run. This weekend I'm doing a couple hours for the local American Cancer Society Relay for Life, which is on a track so I figure I might as well do my 3 miles then. It will be my first time not on a treadmill in front of people so wish me luck! Also, here's my shameless plug for ACS donations. Please go Here and consider donating $10 to my walk! Cancer has effected almost everyone in some way shape or form and together we can end it!

And the adventure continues!

Japanese Vegetable Pancakes [Okonomiyaki] with Cabbage, Kale and Carrots
Smitten Kitchen, Adapted, just a little, from Josher Walker of Xiao Bao Biscuit, in Charleston, SC via Tasting Table
Okonomiyaki are traditional served squeeze with a generous criss-cross of Japanese mayonnaise and a okonomiyaki sauce, tangy-sweet-salty mixture I’d liken to Japanese barbecue sauce, which is sold in bottles but I attempted to cobble together a version from recipes I found online, below. Please forgive me if the flavor isn’t perfect; I am new to it, but we loved it, just the same. Pancakes are then sprinkled with bonito flakes, seaweed flakes or even pickled ginger, but we enjoyed ours with a finely slivered scallion and toasted sesame seeds. I imagine they’d also be good with bites dipped in a simpler dumpling dipping sauce.
Yield: 4 large pancakes or I am really sorry, but I forgot to count, but I’d say at least 12, probably 14, smaller ones
Pancakes
1/2 small head cabbage, very thinly sliced (1 pound or 5 to 6 cups shreds) which will be easiest on a mandoline if you have one
4 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
5 lacinato kale leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
Canola, safflower or peanut oil for frying
Tangy Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (note: this is not vegetarian)
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine or sake
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (use 2 if you like a sweeter sauce)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Make the pancakes: Toss cabbage, carrot, kale, scallions and salt together in a large bowl. Toss mixture with flour so it coats all of the vegetables. Stir in the eggs. Heat a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with oil and heat that too.
To make a large pancake, add 1/4 of the vegetable mixture to the skillet, pressing it out into a 1/2- to 3/4-inch pancake. Gently press the pancake down flat. Cook until the edges beging to brown, about 3 minutes. 30 seconds to 1 minute later, flip the pancake with a large spatula. (If this is terrifying, you can first slide the pancake onto a plate, and, using potholders, reverse it back into the hot skillet.) Cook on the other side until the edges brown, and then again up to a minute more (you can peek to make sure the color is right underneath).
To make small pancakes, you can use tongs but I seriously find using my fingers and grabbing little piles, letting a little batter drip back into the bowl, and depositing them in piles on the skillet easier, to form 3 to 4 pancakes. Press down gently with a spatula to they flatten slightly, but no need to spread them much. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the edges brown. Flip the pancakes and cook them again until brown underneath.
Regardless of pancake size, you can keep them warm on a tray in the oven at 200 to 250 degrees until needed.
If desired, make okonomiyaki sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and thick.
Serve pancakes with sauce and any of the other fixings listed above, from Japanese mayo to scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
Do ahead: Extra pancakes will keep in the fridge for a couple days, or can be spread on a tray in the freezer until frozen, then combined in a freezer bag to be stored until needed. Reheat on a baking sheet in a hot oven until crisp again.

Granola Bars!

I've never really been into store bought granola bars. Their sugar content makes my pancreas hurt and their "healthy claims" incense we with amused rage given their ingredient list is about 100 items long. I think they are sort of candy bars disguised as good eats. However, with my recent routine change that now includes a morning workout, I was in need of something that could boost my energy level quickly without weighing me down. I immediately jumped to my blogger crush's website and found a couple interesting looking recipes. Punching the ingredients into the Weight Watcher's calculator, I about had a heart attack. All the recipes had AT LEAST 6, if not 7 points! If you aren't familiar with WW, that's a lot of points when most people's daily allotments are in the 20's, for the whole day. After bemoaning about it for a day, I decided I didn't really care. My morning workouts generally calculate to about 5-7 points so I figure it will all even out in the end!

I'm also working on a new possible venture which I will be mysterious about for now. This new thing requires trying a lot of recipes to find the best so I foresee a lot of granola bars in my future. And the great (and bad) thing about making your own granola bars are the endless possibilities of combinations of add-ins. I pretty much followed this recipe. I'm a fan of chewier, thicker bars rather than hard and crunchy. On my first attempt I learned a few things... dried fruit is EXPENSIVE!, dried dates have the same consistency as slugs (in my opinion) and I prefer things to be on the chunky side for good texture. For my first go round I used old fashioned Oatmeal (I didn't have any quick cooking) sweetened shredded coconut, pecans, almonds, dried apricots, dried cranberries and dried dates, NO nut butter, 1/2 cup of sugar and honey as my sweetener. The result? Well, I loved the texture, the chunkiness was great but they were still MUCH to sweet for me. I'm thinking the sweetened coconut may have been the culprit. I've already began hunting around for unsweetened for my next go round. I plan to cut down the granulated sugar more, afraid that if I cut down on the honey they won't stick together. I think the leftovers would be divine toasted until golden and put on yogurt. NOTE! Use a piece of plastic wrap to really mash the mixture in the pan. Don't be afraid to put a lot of force on them to really get a good compact bar. Put the whole pan in the fridge until they are completely cool and solid before cutting to avoid a crumbly, sticky mess! These store wonderfully in the freezer, individually wrapped in plastic. Rumor has it they also do well in the freezer but I can't vouch for that.

 So I'd love to hear what everyone would want in a granola bar if they were to be options available (Hint hint) Also the WDW Princess 1/2 registration opens next week! AHH! I still can't decide whether to just do the 1/2 or to do the 1/2 And the 10K. I'm terrible at making desicions! Thoughts? Ideas? Just want to tell me what to do? Go for it!

And the adventure continues!

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (She refined this recipe so she gets all the credit!)

"When it comes to granola, what you’re looking for is a basic proportion of chunky (nuts, dried fruit) to sticky (syrups, sugar, butter or oils) and from there, you can really go to town. The vanilla is optional. The cinnamon is optional. You can use no dried fruit or you can use all dried fruit in your 2 to 3 cup mix. You can toss in things like puffed rice cereal or flax seeds"

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use more for a sweetness akin to most purchased bars; use less for a mildly sweet bar)
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces)*
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (I used almond butter) (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (Additional to the sweetener above, this really helps everything stick)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if you’re using it) until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on the back of it.)

Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)

Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.