Yesterday’s run was the best I’ve had yet! I may have broken my casual “no more than 5 miles” rule (barely), but it was beautiful and I felt great. 5.03 miles, 9:43 min/mile Next week I think I’ll bump my long run up to 6 miles, but stick with the every other day plan.

I ran past the finish line of the Nike Women’s Marathon, which they’re setting up right now.

That race was my first marathon back in 2005, when I was far more focused on my social life than training, my longest run was 16 miles, and I swore, after finishing in 4:41, that marathons just weren’t for me.

I’m glad I gave them another chance!

I’ve started a new thing with my meal planning and grocery shopping, where I go to the Farmers Market on Thursday, buy a ton of produce, and then plan my meals around what I’ve bought, instead of planning before I shop. It’s been working out really well for the past few weeks, but sometimes I end up with a ton of random vegetables that I’m not sure what to do with.

Salads are great, obviously.

My current salad obsession involves lettuce, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and mint, with the best dressing EVER. It’s just tahini, lemon juice, and Bragg’s liquid aminos in about a 3:1:1 ratio (or to taste). I love it so much.

Quiches are also awesome for using up vegetable odds and ends. Especially this one, which has vegetables in the crust too. The crust doesn’t get crispy like a normal pie crust would, but it’s a lot healthier.

I don’t have a quiche pan, so I used a 9″ springform pan. Since they sometimes leak, I put it on a sheet pan to bake.

Recipe
(adapeted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest)

crust
3 medium zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 medium carrot, shredded (about 3/4 cup)
2 small red potatoes, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp melted butter

quiche
1 tbsp butter
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
6 oz bag baby spinach
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 eggs
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

To make the crust, toss the shredded zucchini with salt and place in a mesh strainer for about 15 minutes. Squeeze to remove extra liquid.

Combine the zucchini, potatoes, and carrots, and stir in the flour and melted butter. Press into a quiche pan or springform pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden.

Remove from the oven to cool while you prepare the quiche.

Heat the butter in a skillet and add the onions and mushrooms. Cook for about 7 minutes over medium, or until the onions are very soft and the mushrooms have browned. Stir in the spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook just until the spinach wilts.

Sprinkle the parmesan over the crust. Top with the spinach mixture.

Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour over the vegetables and cheese. Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, or until set.

I looked at a few different recipes for Nasi Goreng, and even though I’ve never had it I pretty much immediately knew I’d love it (since I adore Thai style fried rice and this didn’t look that different.) It’s incredibly simple – just fry up some garlic and shallot, add the rice, add some vegetables, add some sauce, and top with a fried egg.

The one thing you’ll need to find is Kecap Manis, which is sweet soy sauce (I found it at our Asian grocery store). It pretty much has the consistency of molasses, and is mostly sugar with some soy sauce flavoring. You only need a tablespoon, so it might work to make a sugar syrup and add some soy sauce, but I have no idea what kind of ratios you’d use. I realize that’s extremely helpful.

This isn’t completely authentic because I didn’t use shrimp paste, but this recipe is a great starting point for adding whatever vegetables or protein you may have on hand. Not pictured, but essential (at least according to me) is a ton of chili sauce on top!

Recipe:
(inspired by Epicurious and Simply Delicious)

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups day-old cooked rice (I used half brown, half white)
1 1/2 cups chopped vegetables (I used about a cup of broccoli and half a cup of cabbage)
1 Tbsp kecap manis
1 egg per serving, fried
chili sauce (Sambal Oelek or Sriracha – optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for a few minutes, until soft and very fragrant.

Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the vegetables and continue to stir fry until they are cooked. Turn off the heat, add the kecap manis, and mix well.

Divide among bowls and top each serving with a fried egg. Serve with extra kecap manis and chili sauce on the side.

I love meeting other food bloggers. Particularly those who run and appreciate good coffee and are perfectly content to sit on a bench overlooking the bay talking about running Boston and stress fractures and boys and family and meeting famous bloggers. I got to hang out with Joanne this afternoon, and over some delightful drinks from Blue Bottle, two hours of conversation flew by.

One of the million things we talked about was creating recipes. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Joanne’s blog, but she puts together some pretty awesome flavors and makes ridiculously good (and healthy) stuff. I am woefully inadequate in this area, but thanks to The Flavor Bible, I’m starting to branch out a little bit.

While this salad was inspired by a recipe I found in my Gourmet cookbook, I left out the bacon, added some sauteed mushrooms, and changed up the seasonings. I loved this meal, but I think if I were to do one thing differently, I would wilt the spinach a little bit before putting it in the bowl. Still, I was really happy with the way it came together, and any recipe that makes lentils taste good is a keeper in my book!

Recipe:
(inspired by Gourmet)

1 cup French green lentils
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
10 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
2 tsp red wine vinegar
4 eggs
4 big handfuls fresh baby spinach

Combine the lentils and broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat down the heat and simmer, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain any excess liquid that remains in the saucepan.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add the shallots, carrot, and celery and saute until all the vegetables are soft. Transfer to a bowl and add the lentils. Toss with the vinegar, thyme and add a few pinches of salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the butter in the skillet, then add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until softened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Wilt the spinach (if you’d like) in the skillet, then divide among salad plates or bowls.

Fry the eggs in the skillet.

Top the spinach with a scoop of lentils, then place a fried egg on top and sprinkle with mushrooms.

I did something this weekend that was kind of unusual. I ran with music. I hadn’t done that in probably 3 years, since I had my iPod on a trail run and got so distracted and irritated by it that I took the headphones out at mile 3 and left them out for years.

But for some reason on Saturday morning, with 12 miles ahead of me, I grabbed my iPhone and hit the road. I usually stay out of the “what songs are good for running?” discussion but right now I can say with confidence that The Killers, Mika, and K’Naan are the absolute BEST for running. You can fight me on this if you want to.

The run was good. Weird to have music, but good. The whole time I just kept thinking about how incredibly lucky I am to be able to run in San Francisco. It’s seriously the most perfect running city in the world. You can fight me on that, too. The two pictures above are from the run…one is along Ocean Beach and the other is in Golden Gate Park. It was awesome.

Post-run, it was time for a little more city exploration. Mike and I are realizing it’s probably in our best interest to move into San Francisco, but we still have a few months to figure out where exactly we want to be. We’re pretty familiar with some neighborhoods, we know where we definitely don’t want to be, and now we’re just trying to narrow it down. We’re using a very scientific formula that takes into account running options, commute times for both of us, proximity of good coffee and grocery stores, and of course, rental costs (which are way too high, everywhere).

Dogpatch is kind of random… it has some of the oldest houses in the city and some run-down looking warehouses, and it’s sandwiched between a lot of industrial shipyards and Potrero Hill. It also happens to be the home of Piccino Coffee Bar which I instantly fell in love with.

There’s a case full of fresh baked goods (which looked fantastic, but we didn’t try any), and the soy foam was PERFECT!

The weekend was too short, like they always are, but an easy and comforting Monday night dinner makes the transition a little more manageable.

I mixed some sweet potatoes with regular, added red onions and cooked them over low heat until they were soft. With chorizo, eggs, and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro, it’s a hearty meal with minimal effort (and dishes!)

Recipe:
(adapted from Pinch My Salt)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled
1 medium potato, peeled
1 red onion, chopped
4 ounces soy chorizo
2 eggs
queso fresco and fresh cilantro, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the sweet potatoes and potato into small cubes (you should have about 3 cups).

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low. Add the potato and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. If anything begins to brown excessively, turn down the heat. Add more oil if things are sticking.

Once the potatoes are tender, stir in the chorizo. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Crack 2 eggs over the hash, then put the pan in the oven. Cook in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until the whites are set.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cilantro and queso fresco.

Omelets are not just for breakfast. Really. I mean, neither are pancakes (which I will happily consume at any hour of any day) or cereal, but this omelet in particular just screams DINNER.

I’ve been busy in the kitchen lately, but the blog has been a little neglected. Oops. It’s not that I haven’t been making good stuff, I just feel like my 7.5 – 8 hours of sleep are non-negotiable, and when the alarm goes off at 5 AM every morning I MUST go to the gym, so if 9 PM rolls around and blogging isn’t done, well too bad. It’s great to be back to teaching after a 2 week break but it’s KIND of draining after basically lounging on the couch for days on end.

I made a VERY important find this weekend. Although I gave up meat on November 1, 2009, I never really called myself a true vegetarian, because I still ate fish sauce (I’m addicted to Thai food and I just couldn’t, or I guess I should say wouldn’t give it up). BUT, thanks to a random Asian grocery store in San Francisco, I am now a REAL vegetarian because I got my hands on a bottle of vegetarian fish sauce!

Here’s one of my lame excuses for not blogging much this week: Baby shower cupcakes for a co-worker took up my whole evening

And I’ve been making an entire separate lunch instead of just taking left overs, because apparently Mike and I are eating far more than ever before and we never have anything left after dinner. I don’t really know what’s going on there, but I DO know this bent-box type concoction was awesome.

Brown rice, steamed broccoli, nori, liquid aminos, sesame seeds, pan-fried tempeh, and avocado. This will be a staple for sure.

So with random stuff going on, the best thing about this meal is that it’s pretty quick. You want to get everything prepared before you start cooking because it moves so fast, but that’s not hard, it just takes some chopping.

Whisk together eggs, curry powder, and coconut milk.

Cook the filling.

And make an omelet. I think this is only the third omelet I’ve ever made in my life, but it’s amazing how easy it is if the pan is hot and has plenty of oil in it!

Note: Garlic chives are MUCH bigger than regular chives and are flat, kind of like giant blades of grass. They can be found at Asian grocery stores, and regular chives are NOT a substitute. Seek them out, it’s worth it! They’re also great in stir fry.

Recipe:
(adapted from Asian Vegetables by Sara Deseran)

makes 2 omelets

4 eggs
2 tbsp coconut milk (light is fine)
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
pinch tsp salt

1 tbsp canola oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped garlic chives
1-2 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce
1/4 tsp sugar

Whisk the eggs, coconut milk, curry powder, and salt together in a bowl.

Heat the oil in a wide skillet and and add the garlic and shallot. Saute for about 30 seconds, then add the tomato, chives, fish sauce, and sugar. Cook for about a minute more, then taste and add more sugar or fish sauce if needed. Remove from heat and wipe out the pan.

Return the pan to the heat and add about 1 tsp of oil. Swirl the pan so the oil coats the bottom. When it’s hot, add half the egg mixture but don’t stir! Let it sit until the edges are cooked and the center is just a tiny bit runny. Add half the chive mixture to one half of the omelet, then fold the other half over. Cook for about 2 minutes then transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining egg and filling.

“This is the best pizza I’ve ever had. Literally. The lemon makes it.”

Those were Mike’s exact words on Friday night, which is almost always pizza night at our house. I can’t say for sure whether or not it was the best pizza I’ve ever tasted, but it is definitely high on the list. I’m not sure if it’s the unexpected brightness of the lemon or the texture of roasted potato in contrast with the thin, crisp crust, but this pizza is definitely something special.

I started with my favorite pizza dough of all time (the one from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook). Only this time, because I forgot to make it the night before, I doubled the yeast (1 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp) and let it sit in the fridge all day. It was pretty much perfect, which is good to know because far too often, I forget to start the dough the night before.

Anyway, I found the recip for this beautiful pizza on In Praise of Leftovers but it was Mike’s idea to crack the egg on top, which was a brilliant addition. He also commented that for the carnivorous among us, prosciutto would be another nice touch.

Recipe:
(adapted from In Praise of Leftovers)

makes 2 10-inch thin crust pizzas

enough pizza dough for two 10″ pizzas
cornmeal
3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Toss the potato, garlic, onion, and olive oil with a few pinches of salt and pepper and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Turn the oven up to 500 F (use a pizza stone if you have one). Sprinkle a few tablespoons of cornmeal on a pizza peel or cookie sheet, and stretch your dough out to about a 10″ circle. Set on the cornmeal, then evenly spread some potato mixture and half the lemon slices on the dough. Sprinkle half the thyme over the top. Slide gently onto the pizza stone and bake for about 5 minutes, then quickly crack an egg in the center and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Continue baking for 5-7 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the egg is cooked. Repeat with remaining dough and ingredients.

This morning almost felt like summer. It was sunny, it was warm, and I felt kind of miserable on my run because of it. I’m just not used to temperatures above about 65 when I head out in the mornings! Can’t complain though…we definitely get spoiled here.

For about the four hundredth time I’m trying to make more recipes from my cookbooks. I pulled out Japanese Home Cooking and the Summer Soba instantly jumped out at me because of the warm day we had. I love how pretty and composed the plate looks, and of course I love just about anything made with soba noodles. I deviated from the recipe in the book a little bit – I marinated the cucumbers, and baked some tempeh to add a little extra protein. I like the flexibility with recipes like this – you could put all sorts of different fresh vegetables in here and it would look and taste amazing.

Recipe:
(adapted from Japanese Home Cooking by Shunsuke Fukushima)

makes 2 large servings

tempeh
8 ounces tempeh, thinly sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp freshly grated ginger

cucumbers
1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup rice vinegar

eggs
2 eggs
salt and pepper
pinch sugar

dressing
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

noodles
2 bundles soba noodles (about 6 ounces total)
1 sheet nori, toasted and cut into thin strips
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Prepare the tempeh: mix the soy sauce and ginger, then evenly coat the tempeh slices, cover, and chill for about 4 hours. Then place in a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Let cool, then cut into matchsticks.

Prepare the cucumbers: toss the sliced cucumbers with salt and sugar, then stir in the vinegar and let stand for about an hour at room temperature.

Prepare the eggs: Beat well with a pinch each sugar, salt, and pepper. Heat a small nonstick pan over medium, add the eggs, and cook until set, then flip to cook through. Remove to cool, then cut into thin slices.

To make the dressing, mix all ingredients and set aside.

Boil the noodles just until tender, then drain and rinse with cold water. Arrange on 2 plates, then pour some of the dressing over the noodles. Arrange the avocado, cucumbers, egg, tempeh, and nori on the plate, and sprinkle with sesame seeds to garnish.

Having never been to Japan, I have no idea whether or not this is authentic. A close relative of these Korean pancakes, this has a light, fluffy texture thanks to the water and small amount of flour mixed in with the egg. There are also lots of great flavors coming together, between the serrano chiles and red onions inside, and the fancied-up ketchup, nori, and sesame seeds on top.

I made this for dinner at a friend’s house and the pictures were terrible. I thought about blogging it anyway, but I know how unappealing photos can ruin any chance a reader will ever try a recipe. I was stoked when Mike asked for this for dinner only a few days later, both because it’s really fast and easy, and because it was still light out. After pulling it off the stove and adding the toppings, I took it out to my front porch, which is where the best light is in the evenings. Maybe not the perfect photo, but a whole lot better than the one I started with.

And now, my wonderful readers, I want to hear from you about your okonomiyaki, because I have a feeling this will be in the dinner rotation a lot. If you’ve got your own recipe, or ideas for toppings, please let me know in the comments!

Recipe:
(adapted from Asian Vegetables by Sara Deseran)

Pancake:
3 eggs
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp soy sauce
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups finely shredded napa cabbage
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 serrano chile, finely chopped
2 tbsp canola oil

Sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp dry mustard
2 tbsp sake
1 tsp soy sauce

crumbled nori
toasted sesame seeds

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

To make the pancake, whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the water and whisk until blended, then stir in the soy sauce, salt, flour, and vegetables.

Heat the oil in a 10″ skillet. When hot, add the egg mixture and cook until golden brown on the bottom (about five minutes). Carefully slide the pancake onto a plate, then invert so the raw side is down in the pan. Cook for another few minutes, until that side is also golden. Transfer to a serving plate, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with nori and sesame seeds. Cut into wedges to serve.

I also have to consider whether I have the necessary equipment, because my kitchen currently consists of 1 medium saucepan, 1 large nonstick frying pan, a big knife, a small knife, a large spoon, and a large spatula. THAT’S IT! No mixer, no food processor, no baking pans…

It’s good for me though. I like a challenge.

I knew I definitely wouldn’t be able to find mu shu wrappers at my grocery store, and toyed with the idea of making my own, but in the end, just decided to serve this on its own. It’s still fantastic! If you can find hoisin sauce and mu shu wrappers, I think you’ll absolutely love this. But even if you can’t…it’s worth making anyway.

(adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles. originally from Use Real Butter)

3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp corn starch
3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
12 ounces tofu
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
1 small head of napa cabbage, julienned (about 2 cups)
10 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cut into thin strips

Whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, and corn starch and set aside.
Cut the block of tofu in half horizontally. Press between clean towels to remove excess moisture. Cut into thin 1″ strips.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Add the tofu and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until tofu is golden brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Whisk the two eggs together, and heat another tablespoon of oil. When it’s hot, add the eggs and swirl the pan to make a thin sheet. When just set, flip to cook the other side. Remove to cool, then cut into thin strips.
Heat the last tablespoon of oil, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for about a minute, then add the garlic. Cook another minute or two, then add the bean sprouts, cabbage, and sauce. Stir well, then gently stir in the tofu and egg. Cook for about a minute, then remove from heat and serve.