Oddles of noodles!

I have a noodle obsession! I have at least one portion per week. I have also recently started buying the puffy deep fried tofu you get at oriental supermarkets. Nom nom! I just stick in some liquid smoke and miso at the end and add what every veg I want or have lying around.

Milano Biscuits

In March it was International Women's Day, and in traditional Women styley, there was a bake sale at work! So this is what I made.

They tasted very much of vanilla and I would like to say, a total success!

This recipe can be found at the Post Punk Kitchen website. I think I made only about 10 in the end as the recipe is for a very small amount and it looks like a lot, but then you it's actually half as there is obviously two biscuits per unit. I think it was mostly people in my office who bought the biscuits! Ahh well!

Investing in proper running shoes

I have often heard people talk about how running shoes are so important. Having looked into it, I found that the general consensus of people who really knew what they were talking about was that they don't necessarily get better the more you spend. I have come to the conclusion that whilst this may be true, this is after a threshold amount.

I went to Up and Running yesterday and got my gait measured. For those of you, like me yesterday, who don't know what that involves, it's when they have you run on a treadmill and watch how your feet hit the ground. It's actually really interesting. The lady, let's call her Jane, showed me how my left ankle doesn't straighten and assured me that the correct cushioning could sort this. With the next pair of trainers I could see the improvement. Unfortunately she also showed me that my right foot strikes the ground at a very definite angle and suggested I see a sport's physio to sort this out. It explains why I get pain in my right hip. However, I'm a bit cheap and a bit lazy so until this really really starts to hurt I'm going to leave it as right now it just feels as sore as strained muscles. The pain may increase if I get more serious with my miles and it's good to know that I already have an idea of the problem. I know prevention is better than a cure, but I really don't think it's going to be doing any long-term damage.

Anyway, I did spend quite a bit on my trainers, but I think they are a good investment as it's your most important piece of kit. I would highly reccomend anyone looking into taking running seriously to go to one of these shops as they really know what they're talking about and the fact that you can see it all for yourself is really useful. Having now spent a large proportion of my salary on a pair of shoes, I now have all the motivation I need to get out and make them worth not eating this month.

Oriental delights!

Yesterday I went into Leeds and finally got myself to an oriental supermarket. I bought a Mooli ( a sort of radish) a huge tub of soya bean paste, massive bottle of rice vinegar, some Konbu, various types of tofu and many other things. It was great! So I made some noodle soup today, it was really tasty. I didn't take a picture as it is nothing to look at, but I cooked the konbu in some water and added some boullion. Then added my veg and some liquid smoke, lastly the noodles and bean paste. I have enough left for lunch tomorrow, nom nom!

I'm hoping at some point to have a Japanese themed dinner party. Handy choice as I have no chairs so everyone can sit on the ground around the coffee table, mental coincidence, eh? Anyway, I'm very excited about this idea. I'm thinking some sushi, tempura, some kind of edamene bean salad and then some noodles. I really want to go buy one of those massive packs of chopsticks!

Running and weightloss

I was really happy with my weightloss this week. Lost 1.5lbs and I worked hard for it so it was well deserved. However, I have gone completely off track this week so am hoping to stay the same when I weigh in tomorrow morning :(

I am no runner, but last year gave it a go for a 10k. It was an awful time and I didn't manage to run the whole thing and had to walk sections. This lead me to not running outside again until now. I've upped what I'm doing on the treadmill and attending alot more classes at the gym, so I was hoping the stage I had got to wouldn't have diminished too much. A lovely day on Friday made me leave work early to get my kit on and go out for a little jog. I knocked 5 minutes off my 5k speed and didn't feel nearly as exhausted as I had in the past. Really really thrilled with it. My trainers need replacing so I'm going to invest in some proper trainers for running and just get a little cheap pair for my classes.

Someone said that the fitness levels you can achieve from gym classes is finite. You can only get so fit repeating the same level of movements. I have found this as I'm now realising to work as hard as I did a year ago I need to do more classes. There are only so many anyone can have time to do and I have no intention of spending my life in the gym so by running I hope to have something I can always improve on. I have my Tae Kwon Do too and I hope that this can also help as I can always work harder sparring etc.

Allotment

After only a few months on the waiting list my boyfriend and I got an allotment. We went up to see it a few weeks ago and it's rather larger than we expected. It's still to be split and they seem to want to remove some of the annual crops that are there (don't know why, thought that would be our job, but I'll not complain!). Hopefully should be able to get started next weekend.

We've sown in the house some butternut squash and tomato seeds, so we don't lose too much opportunity waiting to get in. I'm not expecting too much this year as we are novices, but I have my books and working at an agency full of experts I'm hoping to make a success of what I do grow.

I have myself some little gem seeds, but I'm really struggling to find some veg that will come through in the Autumn season. Will need to look harder!

Pancake day!

This week was pancake day. I wasn't planning on making any, but as my dinner was going to be 'something with spinach and tofu', I decided to put that into some pancakes.

I took some flour, water, sage, salt and pepper and cooked up the pancakes in a very hot pan with some low-cal spray. In another pan I cooked the frozen spinach, garlic, onions, mushrooms and tofu. I then sprinkled on some flour and then poured in the soya milk and stirred until done. The result I can only describe as legendary.

Picture isn't too great as the camera on my phone is a tad gash.