I had possibly the laziest weekend ever, but we got some much-needed stuff done around the house, including hanging pictures (FINALLY! It only took us 6 weeks of living here)

There are still a ton of bare walls, including above the crib, but we’re going to order a tree decal soon. (Yeah, it better be really soon considering I’m due in LESS than 3 weeks!)

We got a HUGE box of baby stuff from Amazon, including the Twilight Turtle, which I completely adore. I kind of want to order one for our room too.

It’s basically a fancy night light that projects stars onto the wall and ceiling in calming blue and green light.
Mike re-potted a ton of plants for our porch garden, and I sat on the front steps providing moral support. I’m really good at that these days.

I made this salad for dinner tonight because I knew it would leave enough leftovers for both of us to take to lunch tomorrow. It’s really similar to the pineapple quinoa I made a few months ago, but makes an excellent dinner when topped with a fried egg.

Recipe:
(adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook)

4 cups freshly cooked brown rice
3 tbsp peanut of vegetable oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple in juice (do not drain)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 green onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 cup roughly chopped roasted peanuts
leaf lettuce
fried eggs (1 per person)- optional

Whisk the oils, pineapple, soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar together in a large bowl. Toss with the rice, then cover and chill while you prepare the vegetables.

Taste the rice and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Stir in the green onions, celery, bell peppers, and peanuts. Serve over lettuce, topped with a fried egg (if you wish)

I am so happy to be back to normal eating, and super happy to still be running, although a couple days ago after a particularly atrocious run I was thinking I might be done. This weekend, though, was perfect, and I ran out to Fort Funston.

It was a beautiful day and even though it took me about 2 miles of warming up to feel normal, I had an awesome 4.5ish mile run. I’ve been trying to do something active every day, usually alternating yoga with running. I feel like I get slower every day, but just getting out there definitely helps me keep my sanity, especially since I spend my days with eighth graders who only have a few weeks of school left and are totally ready to be done!

This awesome meal comes from Veganomicon, and i think it was one of the first recipes I made when I bought the book three years ago. It’s pretty much like pineapple fried rice, but much more filling thanks to o the quinoa. You definitely want to have everything chopped and ready to go, because once you start, it comes together really fast. It’s superb while it’s still warm, and just as good cold for lunch the next day.

Recipe:
(adapted from Veganomicon)

1 cup qinoa
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup cold water
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/3 cup cashew pieces (raw and unsalted)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano chili, sliced very thinly
1″ piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup cooked edamame
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil, cut chiffonade
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 a medium fresh pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
lime wedges for garnish

Combine the quinoa, juice, water and soy sauce in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and you can see the little curlicues on the quinoa. Remove from heat, let stand covered for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

Toast the cashews in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until golden and fragrant. Remove from the pan and reserve for later use.

Raise the heat to medium. Heat the vegetable oil for about a minute, then add the garlic and green onions and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the chili and ginger and cook another minute or two, then stir in the bell pepper and edamame. Stir fry for about 3 minutes, or until the bell pepper is softened. Add the pineapple, quinoa, basil, and mint and mix well.

Pour the mirin and soy sauce over the quinoa and continue to stir fry for another four to five minutes, making sure everything gets mixed well and heated through. Serve garnished with lime wedges.

I found this recipe on the absolutely beautiful Sweetapolita and made just a couple changes. I halved the recipe to make a 6″ cake (because as much as I may have wanted to eat a bigger cake, that’s probably the last thing Mike and I need right now. I also added raisins because it’s just not carrot cake without them. I left the coconut and sour cream out of the frosting to keep it simple. Plain cream cheese frosting is a beautiful thing.

In other completely random news, Mike was feeling a little nostalgic about Korea (it happens rarely, but it does happen), and picked up a few things at the Korean grocery store up the street.

I think it’s hilarious he actually bought Hite, because the entire time we lived in Korea, we both complained about how awful it was. In the bowl are the crunchy snacks you can’t have beer without. The little square plastic container has yellow pickled radish that quickly became one of my favorite foods in Korea.

My running this week was kind of sporadic. I have been really tired lately, so I think I need to switch back to morning treadmill workouts to make sure I get the miles in. Yesterday morning was absolutely PERFECT – 60 and sunny, so I did an easy 6.5 miles and felt awesome.

There were a ton of people running around the lake, including lots pushing their kids in running strollers. I can’t believe that will be me in just a few months!

After my run, I came home to my new obsession.

I was really skeptical about $60 socks, but I LOVE these, and I see why they’re so popular! I haven’t tried running in them yet, because I feel like you look ridiculous in them unless you’re really fast, but people say they actually DO make you faster, so I might have to try it someday.

Recipe:
(adapted from Sweetapolita

makes 1 6″ layer cake; double the recipe for a 9″ cake

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
2 cups grated carrot
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
1 stick (4 oz) butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp golden brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup raisins

frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
2 cups sifted icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two 6″ cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together in a medium bowl.

Stir the vanilla and milk together in a small bowl.

Cream the butter in a stand mixer and add the sugar. Beat for about 3 minutes on medium, or until fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix gently. Stir in half the milk and. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, ending with the flour. Stir just until all traces of flour disappear. Fold in the carrots, pineapple, and raisins.

Divide evenly among pans, and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the eges and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When cool, cut each layer horizontally in half so you have 4 layers.

Fill and frost the cake, then refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Two of my favorite things about visiting my parents are my mom’s fully stocked pantry for baking and my dad’s willingness to run with me (pretty much any distance and at any time of day!)

My parents had a stack of Listener magazines sitting on their coffee table, and one of them had a feature on cupcakes. I keep saying that I’ve moved on from cupcakes, but obviously that’s not true. The recipe for Hummingbird cupcakes looked especially promising, and I’ve never tasted or made them before (so obviously I have no idea if these are authentic hummingbird cupcakes or not, but I do know they’re really good!)

The pantry had everything I needed, but I totally messed up the metric conversions on my first attempt. After returning from the Far North this afternoon I made sure I had the conversions right and then made them again, with the right amount of flour this time. These could just as easily pass for muffins if you leave the frosting off, but of course in my personal opinion, there’s never any reason to forgo frosting.

Recipe:
(adapted from New Zealand Listener Magazine)

cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 1/2 tsp orange zest
1/3 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple

frosting
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp marmalade
1 tsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 14 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside.

Beat the oil, sugar, and eggs together, then stir in the flour mixture. Gently stir in the carrots, bananas, orange zest, and pineapple. Divide evenly among cupcake tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat the butter and sugar together, then beat in the marmalade and milk (a few drops at a time, if you need it). Spread evenly on the cupcakes.

I think my sister likes to bake even more than I do, so when she was in town for a few days, cupcake-making had to be on the agenda. Although she doesn’t like coconut, she figured this recipe would be a crowd-pleaser and it definitely was!

I was a little nervous as the cupcakes went into the oven because the batter seemed really heavy on the pineapple. They turned out beautifully, though, and I love how the flat tops were perfect for icing. The frosting didn’t taste very coconutty, so next time I might sub coconut extract for vanilla, or, as my sister suggested, use a little Malibu rum!

Recipe:
(adapted from Coconut & Lime)

10 oz (canned) crushed pineapple in juice (not heavy syrup!)
1 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Mix the baking soda, flour, sugar and salt together with a fork.
Beat the oll and eggs together in a glass measuring cup and pour into the flour mixture.
Mix well, then add the pineapple and stir gently until combined
Pour into the prepared muffin tins, and bake 15-20 minutes or until the cupcake bounces back when you press lightly on the top (they’ll be pretty golden-brown when they’re ready).
Cool on a wire rack, and frost when completely cooled

Frosting:
(adapted from Epicurious)

1 stick butter
3 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 300 F and spread the coconut onto a baking sheet. Toast for 4-8 minutes or until just golden, then remove and set aside to cool.
Beat the butter and powdered sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the coconut milk about a teaspoon at a time until the icing has a smooth, creamy consistency. Beat in the vanilla.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag, and pipe onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.