Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tangy Honey-Mustard Green Beans

My fiance and I have been doing a lot of experiments with making our own dressings. I've always been picky about buying all natural salad dressings from the store, but it's a fun challenge to make up your own. This honey-mustard dressing took a number of attempts, but I like the final product. It's got a lot of zing! You can tone it down by just adding less to your green beans, or you can sweeten it up with some extra honey.

The green beans and tomatoes at farmers markets are perfect right now! There was no better combo to put my new honey-mustard dressing on.


Tangy Honey-Mustard Green Beans

4 cups green beans, blanched
1/2 cup leeks, sliced thinly
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons fresh dill
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or any other white vinegar)
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons olive oil

Blanch the green beans by cooking them in boiling water for three minutes then rinsing them in cold water. When you add the green beans to the pot of water, do not wait for the water to start boiling again, start the timer right away.

While you are waiting for the water to boil, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium high heat. Saute the leeks until they are soft, add the tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of the fresh dill. Cook until the tomatoes are just coming out of their skins.

For the dressing whisk together the rice vinegar, mustard powder, honey, salt, and olive oil. Taste and tweak as you see fit. Remember it will not taste as strong when it's spread out over the green beans.

Mix the sauteed veggies, the green beans, and the dress. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of fresh dill onto the dish and enjoy!


Serves 4
125 Calories, 9g fat, 5g dietary fiber, 3g sugar, 3g protein

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

What I do with an Anthropology catalog

Catalogs are always fun to flip through, especially ones as colorful and well produced as Anthropology. What is even more fun is cutting them apart and turning them into something else!

After an exciting and exhausting weekend away, I settled down on my couch to relax and play with paper. What really sets this catalog apart from others is the great details and quirks that Anthrolopy puts into each photo. Little deer are hidden under a bed, a cool vase is set in the shadows of bookshelf, among many other treasures. What's more, the textures and colors of their goods are rich and interesting on their own. There was so much content I decided to cover both sides of an old notebook. That said, I did need to go to a different magazine for a couple of images to round out my design. While I used decoupage glue to hold the paper onto the slick notebook cover, I decided I wanted to leave the collage mat rather than lacquer it with coats of decoupage on top as well. I also added some fun sayings I've collected off of Yogi Tea bags. Here is my new notebook! Can anyone figure out which three images are not from the "Anthro" catalog?

The front cover.


The back cover.


Inside the front cover.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

It's been a busy month!

Hi Readers,

I am so sorry that I have not been writing this month. I miss blogging, but I have been very busy getting ready for my wedding! If you want to see what I've been up to check out my wedding blog.

I hope to be writing more cooking, crafting, and running posts soon.

Thanks for reading!

Leah

Here is the paper for my wedding invitations. Look for my handmade invitations in an upcoming post on my wedding blog.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Back to Morning Running

For most of my decade of running, I have run in the morning. At first it was simply the most convenient time, but eventually, it became part of the pattern of my life. Running happens in the morning. There have been exceptions to that rule, however, including this past winter. I was under employed for a few months, giving me extra time in the afternoons to run. I was able to completely change my schedule and run during the warmest part of the day.

It was a shock to my system when I switched back to morning runs at the end of March. It had not crossed my mind that I would need to adjust to my old (now new) schedule. Well I did. But the change could not come at a better time. With the humidity settling in, 6 am is becoming the best part of the day for running after all.

The tail end of sunrise this morning on my run

I also forgot how much I like running early in the morning. I love the atmosphere and community in the morning. I get to see the sunrise and the mist rising off the fields. The air feels crisp and fresh and I come across a lot more wildlife than in other parts of the day. I even saw a beaver! There is also a whole community of people out early, even more so than in the afternoon when most people are at work. I see the same neighbors each morning walking their dogs or jogging. We smile at each other, say hello, and encourage each other. I didn't realize how much I missed being part of that community. Not only is it nice to see them, but I feel safe knowing that friendly people are around. While I miss the flexibility of open afternoons, I am glad to be back in the swing of my morning runs.

REPOSTED: The Crafty Runner goes to Craft Shows

So, this post was deleted when Blogger.com had a glitchy day. I am attempting to rewrite it:

One of my favorite sources of inspiration is the handy work or others. I love going to craft shows and art galleries where the artist is there to talk about their work. In the past couple months I went to two great shows. The Smithsonian National Craft Show and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Both were a lot of fun and had beautiful and inspiring works.

After having taken the pottery class, I found the craft fairs to be much more educational than ever before. I had a great time talking with artists about types of clay, firing heat, and chemical reactions in glazes. There was one artist who made the same sculpture out of different clays and fired them at different temperatures. She took me through each one explaining how the piece acted differently. It was great!

As a closing note, what would a crafts blog post be without a picture. Here is one of my favorites from the New Orleans Jazzfest. It's by A.me and Mitch Alamag:

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Gluten Free Rice Flour Waffles

I did it! At last I made a rice flour waffle that tastes like a waffle and doesn't totally crumble! The secret ingredient? Apple Sauce! I have been working on this recipe for months, so I hope you like it. It is not the healthiest recipe out there, but the extra egg and the oil help keep the waffles moist and cakey.

For those of you who are not bound to a gluten free diet, use whatever flour you want, half the apple sauce, one egg, and no oil. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Rice Flour Waffles

1 3/4 cups rice flour (I use a combination of white and brown rice flours)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup apple sauce
water, added 1/4 cup at a time
cinnamon, honey, vanilla, or almond extract

Preheat your waffle maker to your favorite setting.

Mix the rice flour, baking powders, salt, and cinnamon if using it. Add in the apple sauce, egg, and oil. At this time, add any honey or extracts you want. Mix thoroughly, adding a 1/4 cup of water at a time until the batter is smooth and the consistency of pancake batter.

Pour the batter 2 cups and a time into the waffle iron, cook, and enjoy!



Serving: 1 waffle, 1/4 cup of batter
227 Calories, 8g fat, 1g dietary fiber, 3g sugar, 3g protein

Monday, April 25, 2011

First Time Potter: The Finished Products

Tah-Dah! Here is the bottle from my previous post as well as a few of my other favorites:

1) Here is the finished bottle. At the last minute of glazing I thought it would be fun to poor some blue into it. I'm glad I did. I like the subtle blue tint at the mouth of the bottle. I also really like the interaction of the shiny bottom glaze and the mat white top.

2) This was one of the first successful bowls I made. It's actually pretty even and centered! I did a double glaze on this one, doing a dark glaze with a white glaze over it. It's hard to see the resulting iridescent sheen in this picture, but it's there (a little).


3) I have a lot of chopsticks (as you can see) so I thought it would be fun to make something to keep them in. I did not take seriously enough the instructors warning that pottery shrinks in the firing process. So my chopstick vase is a little small. I like it none the less. I also wanted to make a spoon rest for my kitchen, so naturally I thought the two should match. I think overall, the glaze has more depth on the spoon rest than the chopstick vase, but they still make a nice pair for my kitchen counter.
Overall, I came home with about 15 pieces of pottery. Some are great, some are ok, and a couple are just terrible. The class was challenging and fun, I can't wait to take another one and hopefully bring home a few more stellar pieces.

Friday, April 22, 2011

First Time Potter: The Bottle Saga

When I took the pottery class this spring, I mostly just wanted to have fun. But true to my nature, I found myself looking for a challenge. Though the class had little structure, the teacher did demonstrations every now and then. One such demonstration was how to make a bottle. You make a cylinder, which is a great thing to practice, and then you bring in the top. That was the easy two steps according to the teacher, anyway. I thought it looked like fun, so I set out to make my own bottle. My attempts produced a number of bowls and vases, but I could not get my cylinder tight enough and tall enough to bring in the bottle neck. Finally, after a good couple weeks of work, I made my first bottle.

Here it is in all the phases of pottery making!

First you throw it (make it on the wheel)....

Then you bisque fire it (fire at a low temperature)...

Then you glaze it...And lastly, you fire it again! But you'll have to wait for the next post to see the final product.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Best Laid Plans

Since last April, I had planned to run the George Washington Parkway Classic. Since September, I had been building up my base runs. Since January, I had been timing my runs and training my pace... But not all plans work out.

In mid-March I started working full time again. This meant no more running in the afternoons. The adjustment to the full work week and running in the mornings was more than I had anticipated. After a long and tiring first week, I started to reevaluate my 10 mile race plan. From there it all unraveled. A long story short, today was the race and I was not in it. Instead I took this week off running and spent time with family after my fiance's grandmother passed away.

This morning I took a peaceful 4 mile run through farmland. It was much nicer than a crowded race course, after all.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Yoga+ Running= Yes!

I've been running for years, but I just started doing yoga this past summer. I guess I was a little skeptical of yoga because people only say amazing things about it. I just didn't believe any one thing could really be that great. I'm not about to tell you that yoga changed my life, but it definitely changed my running. Here is how:

Mind set- Right off the bat, I started thinking more about the intentions I had for each of my runs. This has helped me stay motivated.

Posture- I never thought about my posture while running until after I started yoga. Maybe other runners think about this all the time, but not me. Keeping my shoulders back and thinking about what part of my body I'm "leading" with has reduced cramps and helped me push more easily through hills.

Speed- The craziest part is, any time I run after doing yoga, I am a lot faster. I honestly feel lighter on my feet. Very strange, but I'm not going to knock it!

So... Yoga + running= fast runs, with fewer cramps, stronger hill running, and a better mind set= Yes!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Decoupage: A New Frontier

I have always loved to collage. It's one of those arts and crafts activities that is so easy, but can turn out looking really good. You've just got to find the right balance of images and textures.

Recently, I decided to take my collaging to the next level and I got some decoupage glue. The cool part about decoupage is that you can collage onto anything. Glass, cardboard, wood- it all works!


The idea of this box was born from an abundance of bridal magazines and bobby pins. I cut out my favorite flowers from the magazines and used them to decorate this small box. Now I have a pretty container for the pins (which were previously all over the house) and I put those magazines to good use!

I also have lots of cooking magazines, so keep your eyes open for vegetable covered picture frames and other fun creations.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Peanut Butter and Banana Biscuits (aka the Butterless Biscuits)

This biscuit recipe has been in my repertoire for a long time and has taken many forms. I first made it with my friends D and S over a Thanksgiving break. It's great because it's easy and adaptable. After making plain biscuits, I used the same recipe to make sweet potato biscuits, banana biscuits, and lemon poppy seed biscuits. I could go on and on. I always billed them as "healthy" because the recipe calls for yogurt or puree instead of buttermilk or cream, but the stick of butter was always nagging me.

Today I present you with the Butterless Biscuits! I am sorry it's neither vegan nor gluten free, I will have to work on that. But they are a whole lot healthier than any other biscuit I've made. The trick is to use fat free Greek yogurt so you have high protein but less fat. After doing the tallies, the biscuits are officially much lower in fat and calories than their butter filled counter parts and much higher in protein (see the info at the bottom). What's more, they still taste like biscuits. The banana and peanut butter are very subtle.

To make these biscuits even more fun, use different fruit or vegetable purees instead of the banana or try using flavored yogurts. You can also cut back on the yogurt and add more of whatever flavoring you like. I hesitate to completely take out the yogurt though, since the enzymes found in dairy help with the rising. I have made some very flat biscuits in my day, believe me. Anyway, here's the recipe, go to town, and let me know what you think!


Peanut Butter and Banana Biscuits

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz fat free Greek Yogurt
1 medium banana, mashed
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a medium size bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the yogurt, banana, and peanut butter. Mix and then knead the dough. Add a tablespoon of water at a time as needed until the dough is pliable but not sticky. If you add too much water, just throw in a little extra flour.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 3/4 of an inch thick and use a glass to cut out circles. Place the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. The biscuits should be golden and a little brown on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack and eat.

Makes 12 biscuits

114 Calories, 3g fat, 1g dietary fiber, 3g sugar, 5g protein

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Running with Music


When it comes to running with music, I go through phases. For a while I couldn't get through a run without a good beat keeping me going. When I trained for my first race, though, I was told I couldn't listen to music during the race. Apparently its a safety thing. So I weaned myself off the iPod and found others ways to motivate and entertain myself. When I showed up at the race everyone had their headphones on! Apparently, the rule only matter if you expect to win the race (clearly, not me!).

So now I'm left with the question: music or no music? On one hand my quiet runs are relaxing and give me time to think. On the other hand, the music helps pump me up and keep me entertained. For my most recent 8 mile run, I tried using music as a mid-run pick-me-up. At mile 5 I put in the earbuds and listened to some Red Hot Chili Peppers and Cake. It seemed to help me keep me going, but I didn't see any big change in my average pace.

Do you listen to music while running or working out? Does it help? What do you listen to?

Friday, March 4, 2011

First Time Potter: After the Firing

This past weekend, our first batch of pottery went into the kiln and out came... not so blue! I knew going into the glazing process that it would be unpredictable, but I was still shocked to see my pottery. The blue glaze I used on half the pieces was messed up. The person who mixed it may have left out one of the chemicals, possibly the cobalt. Oh, well. You live and learn, right?

The piece I photographed for my previous post about glazing now looks like this. One half was supposed to be blue. Even though its more of a light gray, I still like it. I was also surprised by how much the pottery shrunk in the kiln. I am not sure how to use this piece. Is it a bowl? a vase? What do you think?

One piece I am really happy with is the ikebana vase I made. I used a shiny black for the inside and a mat white on the outside. As I was pouring the excess black glaze out, some dribbled down the side creating the patch of brown. Now, I just need to glue the flower stand into the middle and it will be ready for showing off the first spring flowers.

Not only did we pick up our finished pottery this week, but we also glazed the next batch to go into the kiln. I felt like I had a better understanding of how glazes work after our first round. I stuck mostly to glazes I knew I would like and tried to recreate some of the chemical interactions I liked in the previous firing. I definitely tried pairing the black and white again. We'll see how it all turns out!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Three Things Tuesday

1. "Warm up to the week" runs
Often, after I fall into a slump with my running, I it's hard to just get up and do a long, timed run. So, I use a "warm up to the week" run to get myself going again. It's a light, easy run with the singular goal of feeling good. I've found it's a positive way to kick off a new week. The theory is: starting with a good run will help keep me motivated as I face more challenging runs during the week. These warm up runs are just two or three miles long, but I come back feeling more up-beat and confident.

2. Running in the rain
Yesterday, I was coming off a weekend of no running, I was tired, and it was raining. I decided a warm up to the week was needed. Standing in the doorway and looking out at the rain, it was hard to believe that a run would really help at all. Once I stepped through the door, though, I was reminded of all the perks of running in the rain. The air felt clear, I didn't get too hot, and the neighborhood was quiet. It was very refreshing to jog along at my own pace and take in the ultimate calmness of a spring rain.

Image from http://www.rocbike.com/tag/rain/

3. It worked!
After yesterday's warm up, I felt rearing and ready for my 5 mile run. The goal was 5 miles in less than 47 minutes and 30 seconds. I completed the run in 45 minutes and 40 seconds; goal accomplished!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Balsamic Broccoli Rabe with Carrots

When I was in college, my friends and I would host a lot of pot luck parties. For every party, guests would bring desserts or appetizers, so as a responsible host, I started making vegetable dishes for each of the pot lucks. I wanted to make sure my friends were getting a balanced meal. Now veggie dishes are some of my favorite things to make. Vegetables can be very versatile and delicious.


In this picture I used regular broccoli, I was all out or broccoli rabe.

This is a recipe I came up with recently. I am a big fan of broccoli rabe and am always looking for ways to use it. You can definitely make this recipe with any type of broccoli, but I like the broccoli rabe best. The strong flavor does not get over powered by the balsamic. For this recipe you can also dial up or down the amount of garlic and balsamic vinegar to your taste. If you want to add this dish to pasta, add a little more oil and vinegar.

12 oz broccoli rabe
3 oz carrots, julienned
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Blanch the broccoli rabe in the boiling water by putting it in for 2 to 3 minutes. Start the timer as soon as the broccoli rabe is in, the water does not have to return to a boil. When the time is up, drain the broccoli rabe and cut it into sections. I keep the hot water for pasta or rice if I am cooking either of them as well. It has nutrients that have leaked out of the broccoli rabe.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil to medium high in a small pan. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or until it begins to smell good. Reduce the heat to medium and add the carrots, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir frequently and saute until the carrots are a desired softness. Pour the carrots over the broccoli rabe and serve. This can be served hot, room temperate, or cold and tastes great the next day, too!




Serves 3
102 Calories, 9g fat, 3g dietary fiber, 3g sugar, 5g protein

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Training Tuesday

I mentioned in my last running post that I ran a 10 mile race last year. I've decided to run one again this year, too. Last year I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. It was a lot of fun, but very crowded. This year I am giving the George Washington Parkway Classic a try. I did their 5k last year and it was fun, this time I'm going for the full race.

For my first race ever, the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler was not so bad. It's a big deal in DC, so I felt specially riding the metro to the race early in the morning and warming up with all the people at the event. Once I started running though, I felt really packed in. I ended up missing my goal by 16 second, too. Not too bad for my first race, but this year I'm hoping to do better!


I started this year's training in January, and despite some wintry set backs, I've been keeping up with the schedule. Each week I do one long run, two medium runs, and one quick "warm up to the week" run. I also do yoga and weight lifting on a weekly basis. Originally, I planned to work on pace on the medium runs and work on endurance with the long runs. So far though, I have been keeping a pretty consistent pace regardless of the number of miles. Hopefully I can keep that up. It occurred to me on a recent run that I may actually have to slow down my initial pace on my medium runs in order to speed up my over all time. It feels like a contradiction, but as I time out each of my miles, it makes more and more sense. The race is in April, so I've got another month and a half to really add on the miles, I hope I can make it! Like last year, the goal is to finish in less than 100 minutes. My pace so far has been 9:30 minutes per mile, hopefully I can keep it there.

My other challenge is dealing with the race atmosphere. I felt prepared last year when it came to running, but I had not anticipated the crowds, free water stops, and other distractions. As I get closer to the date I'll have to work on that.

How do you prepare for a race??

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Intentional Running

It's crazy to think about, but I have been running for 10 years-- a decade. I started running my freshman year of high school. A couple of my friends ran before school and it sounded like fun. Once I got into it, I never really stopped. Over the years, I have learned a lot about running, but there is always so much more to learn. I hope you will join in with comments, tips and questions.


It was only a couple years ago that I really began to run with purpose. I started training for my first race and started analyzing how I run with specific goals in mind. I never made it to my first half-marathon, but the next year I came back strong and completed my first ever 10 mile race. Now, any time I head out the door, I set a goal for my run. Sometimes it's to keep a certain pace, sometimes it's to think about a specific topic. My "intentional running" has helped me stay motivated and get through bumps in the road.

Today was my first good run in weeks. I have had bad luck between getting sick, the ice storm, and pulling muscle in my leg. My only goal for today's run was to have a good time and I did!

Friday, February 11, 2011

First Time Potter: Glazing


I have always loved pottery- whether its a raku tea bowl or the thrift store mugs I drank wine out of in college. For me, pottery is the ultimate combination of function and art. After years of admiring and collecting pottery, I finally decided to give it a try. My fiance and I starting taking a class about a month ago.

It's hard, but a lot of fun. The three hours we spend a week at the studio fly by. I've mostly been making small items like mugs and bowls, but I have tried larger pieces too. It's fun to use my hands, problem solve and think creatively. The photo is of a vase I made. It was going to be a mug but got away from me and I thought it would be fun to square the top. This photo is from the day we learned how to glaze. I'll post a photo of it after the kiln firing too to compare the difference in color.

The process of glazing was different than I had expected. I guess I imagined it to be more like painting- you put a color in one spot and it stays like that. Glazing turns out to be more of a science experiment than a controlled painting. We estimated what the glazes will look like on our pieces and went from there. Plus, glazes react to each other; they are chemicals after all. So you don't know what that reaction will look like. I'm really excited to see what changes will happen in the kiln!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Candied Pecan and Pear Cake

Welcome to The Crafty Runner! This blog is about my passion for running, cooking, and all things crafty. I got into blogging through wedding blogs, but it wasn't long before I was reading other blogs, too. I rely on cooking blogs for off-beat recipes and I have learned a lot of tips from running blogs. I decided I wanted to contribute my two cents in the hopes that someone might learn something from me, too. When I added my passions together, The Crafty Runner was born. I hope you add your own comments, tips, and experiences as I write about and explore my favorite hobbies. Thanks for reading!


Candied Pecan and Pear Cake

I recently celebrated a friend's birthday and made this cake for him. He is on a limited diet and cannot have a lot of the typical cake ingredients. This to me is the ultimate challenge. I enjoy cooking with a limited number of ingredients or other specifications. It makes me step out of the box and think more creatively. I put together the list of foods I could use and went to work. It took a couple tries, but eventually I got this cake. It turns out to be a yummy, nutty alternative to the typical birthday cake. Plus it's a tiny bit healthier.

2 cups brown rice flour
1 scant cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4- 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 tablespoons honey
1 pear, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
1.5 cups candied pecans (see Cafe Johnsonia's recipe, I replaced the butter with oil)
parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9 cake pan with parchment paper. I cut out a big square of parchment and then cut slits at each corner so that it would conform to the inside of the pan. (If you are not using rice flour, don't worry about it, you can just grease the pan)

Combine the first 9 ingredients (flour through honey) and stir until just mixed. Add water a little at a time and stir until the batter has the consistency of pancake batter. Add the pear, cranberries, and half the nuts. Mix thoroughly.

Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cake sit for 10 minutes in the pan before flipping it onto a serving plate. Cover the top with the remaining candied pecans. When ever I can, I will include nutritional information for my recipes at the bottom of the entry. I strongly believe in knowing what you put into yourself.


Serving Size: 1/16th of the cake
264 C, 11g Fat, 25g Sugar, 2g Dietary Fiber, 3g Protein