Tuesday 19 May 2009

All my shoes are muddy

All things are defined by names. Change the name, and you change the thing. Of course there is a lot more to it than that, but paracosmically that is what it boils down to...
-
Pyramids by Terry Pratchett


Yes, my shoes did used to be white but I ran through some mud when they were quite new and never quite got around to cleaning them properly! I am SO tired. Working on speed/sprint training at the moment which is not something I enjoy. The long distance event in orienteering is my specialty where endurance (and navigation but that's rather obvious and the same for any distance), rather than speed, is the key!

Things haven't been so good round here lately but when I got home last night and discovered another package for me sitting on the stairs (which J promptly ran off with and hid under his shirt and I had to wrestle him for it!) I was so excited. I ripped it open to discover...


...a whole lot of Cocoa Loco bars!
Emma, you've totally brightened up my week so thank you.

I've been going to a vegan cooking class taken by
Alice of Angel Foods and last week we were looking at the different grains and ways of cooking them. I was so inspired by the pearl barley dish she made that I promptly went and created my own variation the following evening.


Warming, filling, healthy, delicious plus it made leftovers for the freezer. Awesome! We also covered this really delicious quinoa salad which I can't wait to make despite the fact it's winter and totally not salad weather!

Last night's dinner was a little adventure. J's aunty had given us 2
chayotes which, for a start, I've never heard of let alone eaten before. At least she gave us instructions on how to cook it otherwise I would have had no idea. Obviously this was perfect for Katie's New Foods Challenge.


The chayote is the vegetable that looks like pear slices (hence another name for it, the vegetable pear). What did I think? It wasn't anything particularly special but not bad for a little variation from the same old vegetables in the stir fry.

And lastly,
Free-Range Tofu...

6 comments:

  1. I've never heard of that vegetable before. I will have to keep my eyes peeled =)

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  2. Yet another food I've never tried! Good thing I'm doing this challenge!!

    Uck, when shopping for a new running shoe, I am always drawn towards the pretty, shiny pairs... but I know that after one run, they'll look (and smell!!) awful, so what's the point of buying a shoe for its looks?

    Do you do a lot of trail running? I run around neighborhoods, but for the sake of my knees (and also because it works my muscles), I tend to stick to the grass instead of the pavement. So I never know if I should buy durable, water-resistant trail shoes or light, breathable road shoes! Ah, decisions decisions...

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  3. Who doesn't love getting something in the mail, especially a parcel full of yummy vegan snacks!

    The cooking class sounds like fun, and I love the look of your barley dish. Aussies call chayote's "chokoes" and I've tried them a few times but like you said, they're nothing special really!

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  4. Wow, that food looks amazing!

    And I can definitely relate to the tired feeling you get when you're in the phase of training that involves speedwork!

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  5. Gladyou got the bars ok, enjoy!

    mm that pearl barley dish looks great! I have never cooked with pearl barley before. I must try it in a stir-fry sometime soon! Is it easy to cook?

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  6. I've always been curious about chayote, but never tried it. Your dish looks great!!

    Good luck with the speed training... it was never my favorite either (back in the day when I use to run).

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