Running and refueling

I have to rewrite this post because the one that I did last night was published as an empty post. Frustrating really. I went for my 'long' run on Sunday and the weather was gorgeous plus because it was a public holiday, there were hardly any cars on the road. I need to burn off the gazillion calories I have consumed in the form of chocolate eggs. I ran for a little more than 10km with average pace of 6:31/km. I know this is walking with licking ice-cream pace for a lot of people but it's running for me. I will am slow but I will keep trying. My shins were a little grumpy after my run on Thursday so I took 2 days off without any workout to rest and did some stretching and yoga at home. The overall run was pretty good although it was a little hotter for my liking. For the next 6 to weeks I will be trying to increase my weekly mileage as base training. I have also learnt not to increase my mileage too rapidly to avoid injuries. I have learnt my lessons!

The cows who didn't want to be on the photos but they were photogenic. I don't live on a farm, I just happen to runthrough Cornwall Park with lots of adorable farm animals.

The perfect thing to 'reward and refuel' oneself after a massive effort to get out of bed on a Sunday morning to run is going for a great lunch. Hubs and I went shopping and then drop by at Mac's Brewbar for a bite. I had a Calabreze Sausage with potatoes, poached eggs and salad. Delicious!!

Lunch was followed by a stroll on the beach and a ginger breadman ice-cream!!  I decided that treating myself to a good lunch followed by ice-cream is much more economical than heading into Lululemon. I didn't even get close to one, fearing that I might succumb to the temptation.

The annual Adidas Auckland Marathon is going to open for registration tomorrow. I think I might do the half marathon. I've promised myself that once I can finish a half marathon at sub 2, I will consider a full marathon.

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Hot Cross Buns and Easter break

When this post was written, there has been 10,000 calories consumed. Mostly in the form of chocolates and other forms of sweets. It certainly didn't help that I decided to make some hot cross buns at home myself this year too. This is my first time.

 I am so excited about having Easter break so I can catch up on watching DVDs, try out some recipes, bake, a few long runs and read lots of blogs! That's my idea of a good break. 

Laying out all my ingredients for a batch of 12 hot cross buns.

I mixed 3 cups of standard flour, 3/4 cup warm water, 1 tbsp yeast,1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/2 tsp salt 3 tbsp butter into the breadmaker to make the dough and added 3 tsp of cinnamon and 3/4 raisins before the end of the knead cycle and let it rise for 1 hour and then rolled them out as 12 balls and let rise for 40 minutes.

Before putting the buns into the oven I mixed 1 egg yolk with 2 tsp of water and brush all the buns 

evenly before baking at 200c for 20 minutes.

Voila! Freshly baked hot cross buns to devour! For the crosses, I mixed 1/2 cup caster sugar with 1 tsp milk and 1/2 tsp ground vanilla.

I hope everyone is enjoying Easter break with loved ones and enjoying the spare time for long runs. I went out for a 11km run this morning and it was fantastic! Not fast but good enough for me. Next week I will need to work harder after the break to burn off the extra holiday calories!!

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The week that the migraine spoilt the running and my running must-haves

I hate migraines with a passion. No less. It's one of the worst feelings ever and all you can do is lie on the bed with the agonizing pain. Horrid. What a bad timing too because after a sweet run last Sunday ,I was planning to increase my mileage for the next 6 weeks as my base training and. But all the planning and running is stalled until the migraine is gone for good. Anyway, it's just a small speed bump and I am pretty sure I will be rewarded with many many great runs soon. Fingers crossed.

I tell myself it's a mental break, so when I am well to run again, I will be so excited and start running with a huge grin on my face.

So what can you write about running when you can't run ? Lots.

There are a few essentials that I must have with me when I go out for my runs and here are a few of them:

I don't carry a Sharpie, it's just for comparison in size.

1.Spi-belt. This baby can hold up an iphone, cash, keys and 3 gels and stay put around your waist and doesn't look as awful as a fanny pack. I got mine in high viz so in winter months, it's additional visibility for me which is really fantastic. I love this so much that I never went for a run without it. The material is really strong and stretchy doubles as my passport holder when I travel so I don't have to dig into my large bag at immigration checkpoints. It costs about USD20 and is worth every cent.

That gross looking yellowish spot is actually a Compeed blister pack, ibuprofen and more blister pack. 

2. 2XU running cap. It's light and dries real fast. I wear it all year round, rain or shine. I have a habit of taping ibuprofen and plaster underneath my cap. So not weird. But it has been handy when I needed a plaster during a half marathon race.

3. Retrosuperfuture Sunglasses in Flat Frank II. I wear these everywhere and you will see them on all my holiday and running photos. Strangers will think I was wearing these when I was born. They are perfect fit for me and I love the Carl Zeiss lens and doesn't hurt my ears.

4. iphone and earphones.

5. House key and small change in case I need a drink. No need for photos of these I think.

I don't know why everything is white, I don't have an obsession with matching my running gears,it's a coincidence really. You may ask why I don't own run with a Garmin. I need to know too. I use Runmeter to log all my runs but I am sure that's not enough.

There are a few things that I am planning to buy soon for my winter runs.When I started running I thought I only need a pair of good shoes and I'm good to go and I always thought that it's a relatively cheap sport. This is not true when you actually get too many ideas of how to equip your long runs to make it more fashionable bearable.

On my wishlist are :

1. Arm warmers for the autumn running where it's still too hot to wear a baselayer. I saw these at Lululemon but not stoked of the price (NZD 45) and color options. I don't know if I am vain but I know for sure I don't want to look like I am wearing old socks as arm warmers.

2. Garmin Forerunner 305 - I am still undecided which model to buy but I think I need to get one.
    My hubs got a Garmin Edge 800 for cycling and he's been having problems with the HRM strap
    and told me to go for Polar instead. Still undecided.

3. Running skirt-I have been wanting to buy a running skirt for a while but have yet to find one that is not too long on me (I'm only 5'1!). The one in the photo is Lululemon's Pace Setter Skirt in Black/ Blush Quartz and I really like it. I should see if the store has it when I go there tomorrow for  yoga.
 

If you use a heart rate monitor or GPS for your runs,please share your opinions about which brand and model and why everyone who runs need one. I have to convince myself before I am willing to fork out hundreds of moolah to get an arm computer.


Last but not least, some interesting information I found on Pinterest:

Source: blog.runkeeper.com via Tobi_S on Pinterest

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Blossom Court Malaysian Restaurant, Panmure

Penang Assam Laksa- A must try if you want a zesty laksa packed with flavours

The weekend has been good with lots of eating and although I have wanted to run more than last week, I haven't been able to do so. I will explain this in the next post about running. I will just keep my food post mostly about food for now and share some food photos that will make you drool at work. Yeah that's just me being bitter for eating too much and running too little and I want to believe that everyone is the same. Hah!

Anyway, I have been going to Blossom Court for when I want need a fix of Malaysian food and I guess it's about time that I should review it here. This place is a little gem for our cheap and cheerful eat outs. The chefs used to work at Sri Puteri's in its early days when S and I worshipped its food but has stopped going in the last few years since they have changed ownership and the food standard has dropped. The food at Blossom Court is pretty good   and prices are reasonable except for the butter prawns which I find a little steep but everything else is pretty good. My favourite dishes here are the Char Kuey Teow and Kam Heong Chicken. Sorry the photo of the Kam Heong Chicken was too blur to be used.

Their Char Kuey Teow is one of my favourite. Really smokey flavored.

Butter Prawns. Their version is the creamy one but I personally prefer the dry version with egg white floss.

Blossom Court is only about 100 meters away from Sri Puteri's if you are in Panmure it's a good spot for a quick lunch or dinner. The service is courteous and prompt  with plenty of parking around.


Blossom Court Malaysian Cuisine
135 Queens Rd
Panmure 
09 527 7022

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Strawberry Sponge Cake with Vanilla Custard

We have less than a week until daylight saving to officially end summer. Although Madame Summer had made a detour from Auckland this year as she didn't feel like drenching us with her glorious sunshine and humid sticky nights. See you around next time!

Usually our household of 2 will have bottomless supply of strawberries in summer but that was cut short due to the rainy season and strawberries were much forgotten together with her friend the watermelon.

Anyway, I made a gorgeous strawberry cake before all the strawberries vanished and thought it may be great to share the recipe here. The sponge recipe is just a small tweak on the wonderful Annabel Langbein's lemon cake recipe I've posted before and I halved the ingredients to fit a smaller 20cm cake tin. I halved the cake and spread a layer of custard.

If you are like me who doesn't like it too sweet, reduce the sugar. My hubs likes it that way but I do find it a little too sweet because the recipe was originally for a lemon cake and omitting the lemon juice makes the cake sweeter.

Recipe:

For cake:

2 eggs

375 ml unflavoured yogurt 

1 cup sugar ( you can add an extra 1/2 cup

2 cups self rising flour

1 cup neutral oil ( I used rice bran oil)

a pinch of salt

For vanilla custard

1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 whole vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp ground vanilla
6 free-range egg yolks
a pinch of salt

For strawberry topping (mix and refrigerate)
1 punnet (approx 250gm) strawberries
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tbsp caster sugar

1.To make custard,use a saucepan to heat milk in medium heat until it bubbles slightly and then add in 1 vanillar pod/ 1 tsp ground vanilla. Remove from heat and let the vanilla pod steep in a for while.

2.In a saucepan, stir remaining ingredients for vanilla custard and gradually add in warm milk. Simmer over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon to prevent from sticking. You can also use a whisk to prevent lumps. Remove from heat and let it cool.

3. For the cake, mix all the cake ingredients beginning with the liquids in a food processor or a large mixing bowl before adding the flour. Give it a gentle stir and don't overdo it, just enough that the ingredients are well mixed together.

4. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper and pour in the cake mix.

5. Bake at 160c for 90 minutes. I used Fan Bake on my oven because it's not very hot and losing heat through the broken seals.

6. Once finished, remove from oven and let it cool. Do not attempt to get it out of the tin or the cake will crack (advice to amateurs like myself).

9. Wash and cut strawberries and mix with lemon juice and sugar. Refrigerate until you need it.

8. You may want to halve the cake to create an extra layer but if you don't, it's fine. Just spread the cooled vanilla custard with a spatula on the cake and decorate with strawberries or any other summer berries.

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Sunday Long Run High & Lululemon treat

I was doing a lot of reading up on Saturday night and one article on Runner's World stresses on the importance of Base Training in order to increase general cardio fitness and on-the-feet endurance for most beginners/ slow runner (yes I am slow). And once you are able to crack the 1:45 for a half marathon speedwork will be beneficial for your improvement but limit it to no more than 3 continuous weeks so that your body is not stressed out from all the speedwork. So, with that in mind I was all excited on Sunday morning to go out and run.Plus it was a fabulous day after non-stop raining on Saturday, the air was clean and there was virtually no cars on the road. Freaking fantastic !

This is part of my 12km run and just looking at it makes me want to run now while I am sitting behind my desk.

The sight of sheep is not uncommon even if do not live on a farm but I find this sign on the gate of Cornwall Park quite hilarious, maybe it's just me.

Like all good runners (yeah right!) I obediently ice my shins after the run. Sorry for the ugly feet with bulging veins. To be different, I used a bag of frozen mozarella cheese instead of the usual peas to ice my shins. Also because I ran out of green peas so mozarella it it.

Before I went out for my run I promised myself that I can only go and buy myself something nice from Lululemon if I went out for a run. Great motivation huh? Like a carrot for the rabbit. When I finished I was happy as a clam because I enjoyed my run so much and felt like I had loads of energy and I can treat myself to something nice from Lulu.

I should have hidden the tags but this just looks more 'authentic' haha.

I never thought I would want to run in a skirt but slowly I am getting my head around it because I saw some really cute running skirts on other people like msfitrunner. I went to the store and tried on size 4 and was suprised how loose and long it looked on me. I am size 4 and the occasional 6 if I want to breathe.Also tried convincing myself into accepting a bright tank  it's just not my colour. So no skirt and bright orange tank for me. There's an urban myth that hardly anyone leaves Lulu without a purchase (I made that one up). I bought a bright blue tank and a sports bra which I will post later when I collect my tank from the store after it's been hemmed. I love the complimentary hemming service they provide, who does that ? I just hope I don't end up at Lulu each weekend because I will have to eat dust bunnies if I do. Next week it will be something like a burger and fries combo at Burger Fuel because it's much cheaper than buying gym clothes.

What is your running plan for the week?

Do you treat yourself for sticking to your running plan?

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Brick by Brick Cafe Onehunga

One of my favourite cafe has got to be Brick by Brick Cafe in Onehunga. They serve brilliant Allpress coffee and lots of honest good food. This place is always packed on Saturday afternoons and it's easy to see why. The food is good, prices are very reasonable and very friendly staff.

Corn Fritters with Bacan and Salsa $14 The salsa was so good that I've asked for more.

It always feel very cosy here and they have stacks of reading materials for customers that you can easily spend an afternoon here reading glossy imported magazines. I love that this is one of the lesser known cafes in Auckland that serves good honest food plus their flat whites are strong and smooth. I usually like my coffees on the strong side and have often requested for double shots.

Our favourite Cinnamon Brioche with large cup of flat white.

Toasted Muesli with Berry Compote $10

If you are in the area and wants a good feed this would be a good place to go to.

Brick by Brick
359 Onehunga Mall,
Auckland

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Poussin Wrapped in Sage Butter and Pancetta

I bought some gorgeous pancetta (yes,cured pork belly is very attractive to me) from Parnell french market and can't wait to use it for roasting poultry. Usually I'd go for chicken but when you watch too many celebrity chefs programs you want to try something new. So I went for a poussin, also known as Cornish hen. The pancetta is from Salas and I have always bought their salamis as they taste really good; smokey and flavourful and perfect for stews.

First I cleaned two poussins, I have tiny hands and they are the size of my hands. Cute huh?  Towel dry them before seasoning with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 Heat olive oil in pan and pan fry the poussins with garlic and rosemary and turn it around to get both side of skin crispy. About 2 minutes on each side. Take them out of the pan and put on a roasting pan. Spread sage butter on the skin and wrap with pancetta and roast at 180c for 35degrees minutes and take it out just to check on crispiness.

Garnish with pea puree, balsamic glaze and micro greens.


Ingredients:

2 poussins/cornish chicken
100gm good quality pancetta/ prosciutto
1 small sprig of rosemary
4-5 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper

for Pea Puree:
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp cream
salt
pepper

for Sage Butter
50gm unsalted butter
8-12 small sage leaves.

Boil frozen peas for about 10 minutes, drain and put into a food processor or hand whisk.
Add cream and blizz until smooth and velvety.

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New running motivations

I have been reading lots of running blogs recently and it has been a real motivation for setting my goals and hopefully achieving them this year. Of course, buying some new running gears has always worked for me. Over the weekend, I bought a pair of Saucony Fastwitch 5. I have been eyeing them for a while and wasn't too sure if they were for me. Anyway, I found out last week this is a recommended shoe for me and of course I bought them.

They are shiny and you can probably spot them from some distance away. I must have a thing for blue and lime green. Went for a run with them last night and they felt so light on my feet ! Can't wait to go for a longer run in them again. I also love the writing on the heels. Not that anyone can read them while I run but it's a funny touch.

One of my current favourite running blog is HungryRunnerGirl. Janae is hilarious and updates her blog twice a day and it's been really fun to read about her training.


I have also become a pinterest addict before Christmas and here are a few of my favorites for running pins. If you'd like to share your pinboards you can find me here.

I keep reminding myself this quote when I can't get out of bed to go for a run on the weekends.

Happy Running Everyone  !!

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Olaf's Artisan Bakery & Cafe Mt. Eden

I finally got around using my voucher from Grabone. The morning was miserable as it was raining and cloudy. I bought a $22 for 2 breakfasts voucher a while ago and decided to go to Olaf because they have my favourite Supreme coffee.

Olaf's has been voted as one of Metro's top 50 cafes in Auckland and is located in a cluster of great cafes in Mt. Eden village. Walking into the cafe, you will see the wide array of artisan bread and other goodies on displayed and the kitchen is churning out freshly baked bread. The owner, Olaf is from Germany and has brought his bread making expertise to Auckland. Great news for those of you who adores hearty European bread.

Olaf's display cabinet was decked out with delightful treats and makes decision making harder.

My Eggs Benedict with Citrus Cured Salmon. 

S ordered Eggs Benedict with Citurs Cured Salmon and mine was with Bacon. It came with a chunky slice of sour dough bread instead of the usual english muffins and topped with a zesty hollandaise sauce. I really like the sauce. The value of the meals were good for the fact that it was only $22 but I am not sure I'd be as thrilled to pay $18.50 for the what's presented on my plate. It was an overall good experience, I would definitely be back for the coffee and good looking salads on display but not very sure if I would come back for the Eggs Benedict. It's really not bad but it's not unforgettable either.

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Lululemon wishlist

This is post is going to be a little different than my usual postings about food.

Lately I have been bitten by the Lululemon bug. I love their products and I can't seem to get
enough. I start categorising my wishlist as a 'need' now. But given the high price, I usually
wait around for reduced prices. For the record, I don't work or benefit from Lululemon other
than going there for their free yoga classes.

I bought these Turbo Run Shorts in 'Ink Blot' color a week ago and love them! The liner is super comfy plus it doesn't look like running shorts too much so I can wear them to the beach or around town for lunch.

And here is my list:

1. Jodhpur pants in denim: would be great for daily wear and walking around town.

2. Speed shorts- like I really need another pair of shorts ?? 

3. Push your limit tank. So cute.

I have a few other items that I would love to have including the new arm warmers but I can't find the photos yet. Now I just need to avoid going anywhere near a Lululemon store.

Have a happy weekend everyone !

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