Wheat Berry Couscous Salad TWO Ways

Believe it or not, I do eat real food on a regular basis. Every day actually. I love veggies and salads and eggs and rice and curry and pizza and squash and all that satisfying stuff. Bowl-o-dinner on my couch is my favorite thing after a long day.

And this bowl-o-dinner is fabulous! It's healthy and satisfying and so easy to make! I've made it twice now - the first time was for a housemate dinner, and the second was for Jess when she visited. 

The recipe is from These Peas are Hollow. I knew I HAD to make it the second it appeared on my Google Reader. 

This is my first time working with wheat berries, and I love them! For more info on this great grain, go here. 

Israeli Cous Cous & Wheat Berry with Veggies and Goat Cheese

makes enough for 6-8 main courses or 12-14 side dishes

1 cup Israeli cous cous

1 cup wheat berries

2 small-medium zucchini, quartered and sliced into 1/8 inch slices

1 small head of cauliflower, broken into small florets

4-5 green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups halved grape tomatoes (because why not?)

1 lb frozen thawed shrimp

 

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

 

To finish:

1-2 tablespoons chopped parsely

3/4 - 1 cup crumbled goat cheese

In a small sauce pan, combine wheat berries with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain off any excess water and set aside to cool.

In another small saucepan combine cous cous with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside to cool. (I suggest mixing the wheatberries and couscous immediately together with a splash of olive oil to keep the couscous from sticking together and becoming a couscous brick.)

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute a few minutes just until fragrant. Turn heat to high and add the zucchini and cauliflower and saute until starting to brown a bit, but still retain some crunch, about 3-5 minutes, tossing a few times. Set veggies aside to cool.

In a small, sealable bowl (or mason jar) combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and salt and pepper. Close container tightly and shake until completely emulsified. Set aside until just before serving.

In a large bowl, combine cooled wheat berries, cous cous, veggies, green onions, parsley, to disperse evenly, and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can store this mixture in the fridge overnight, but I would recommend dressing just before serving, otherwise the zucchini and cous cous will get soggy. When ready to serve toss with just enough dressing to coat, and top with a generous amount of goat cheese crumbles and parsley.

Once I understood the basic principles of the whole wheatberry situation, I was ready to get creative! 

I bought a small box of delicious red beets at the farmer's market (just $3! How could I refuse?). But I will warn you now (Alert - TMI): beets + running = bad day. So be careful. 

Here's my ingredient list for Salad Take 2 (follow same directions above unless otherwise specified). 

Wheat Berry Couscous Salad, Mollie-ified

1 cup Israeli cous cous

1 cup wheat berries

2 small-medium zucchini, quartered and sliced into 1/8 inch slices

2 cups broccoli florets roasted (see roasting directions below)

3 large beets, cubed and roasted (see roasting directions below)

1 medium red onion

1 large tomato, diced

1 teaspoons garlic powder

1 large chicken breast, cooked and diced

1/3 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

 

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of one lemon

(Vinegar makes Jess's lips swell to unnatural proportions, so I omitted it this time around. However, if you're a vinegar fan, I suggest adding a few tablespoons balsamic vinegar)

salt and pepper

How to Roast Veggies:

Peel and cut beets in quarter-inch cubes. Toss them with a tiny drizzle of olive oil, salt, and garlic powder and spread on a pan. Preheat your oven to 350. Roast beets for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and mix in broccoli florets. 

 Mmmm, beautiful! Right???

Literary Bite: Anna Karenina

"All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" (1).

A month ago, my book club chose to read Anna Karenina, which is quite the solid brick of literature. It’s 817 pages of Leo Tolstoy-ness, so you’ll understand why I haven’t blogged about reading in a while.

I’m a fast reader, so I have to remind myself that not everything can be finished in a week. Anna Karenina took me a whole month to read! That’s the longest I’ve spent on one book since I read A Suitable Boy back in 2004 (which happens to be one of the longest books in the English language). It’s the kind of book that you just settle into, get comfortable, and realize that you are going to spend a lot of time with these characters.

And spend time with them I did! This book accompanied me to Costa Rica and back to DC and then home to Tahoe – not to mention many many inner-DC trips on the metro and busses.

Though it’s long and solid, it’s really quite a breeze. Anna K. (as I so fondly refer to it) reminds me of a Jane Austin or Charles Dickens book, with a wee bit of philosophizing thrown in just to remind you that you’re reading Russian literature.

Like Dickens’ books, Anna K. was originally published in installments in a 19^th century Russian magazine. For readers today, this means that the chapters are short and concise, which I think really kept the story moving. Compared to his other books, Anna K. is Tolstoy-lite (even thought the book itself feels like carrying a brick in my purse!), and is supposed to be a good introduction to his writing.

The story is about the tragic love of the title character, but also just as much about Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin ("Kostya"), who is Anna’s brother’s wife’s sister’s suitor (are you confused yet?). Both stories run parallel and intermingle within the Russian elite. I actually preferred Levin’s story to Anna’s, minus the parts when he philosophizes about the state of the Russian worker/farmer. But the dull parts are short and interspersed within the narrative; so don’t let them dissuade you!

Go here for a complete plot summary. But I actually recommend you don't - the story is easy to follow and will be better if it's a surprise!

I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. There were some I liked more than others (Dolly, Kitty, Stiva). I will warn you in advance – the names are TRICKY! I suggest you read the note on names in the front of the book. Also, read the end notes as you go, it will make some parts make a lot more sense.

Check out this character list to clarify as you read.

Since this is kind of an impressive academic book, let’s talk about themes. According to Lemony Snicket, "The central theme of Anna Karenina is that a rural life of moral simplicity, despite its monotony, is the preferable personal narrative to a daring life of impulsive passion, which only leads to tragedy."

That sounds pretty solid to me. I thought a theme was the unreasonableness of love. Levin comes to that conclusion at the VERY end of the book (page 797-ish I think).

Anna K. is one of those impressive classics that you just want in your reading repertoire – so I suggest you read it! Good luck!

Running Smart

It’s been a rough long while for me running-wise. So I just want to say, in case you have any doubts, that I love love LOVE running! I wish I could honestly blog about the gloriousness of  working out every single day because running is glorious!

But in all honesty, the journey through injury and recovery is a long and arduous one…

Back in November I shared Wise Words on Days Off. Starting in May, there was Hope and Physical Therapy and The Comeback, but I got Overexcited: Too Fast, Too Soon. Then I wrote some very wise words about How to deal with aches and pains when you’re getting back into running. And then there was my First Track Workout (yay!), shortly followed by A Story of Running AWFULNESS. It's been quite the saga, to say the very least.

And now I have another to add to the saga – let’s talk about Running Smart. Because I think I’m a pretty smart person…but oh man! When it comes to running, apparently I am dumb dumb DUMB! While thinking I’m making good training decisions, I make bad ones. Even when I think I’m being smart, and taking it easy, and heeding my own good advice…I’m often not. So here I am, back again like a teenager’s mom, telling you to make good choices!

There’s just something about loving running and wanting to run so badly that clouds your perspective on reality.

SpeedyKate and I realized this as we both had to drop out of last night’s workout. We are supposed to be intelligent…but when we voiced our problems, the absolute absurdity of our logic (or lack thereof) became apparent.

Me: Well my shin’s been hurting for like a month, and my hamstring isn’t feeling too hot, and yeah I kinda limp around my apt. in the mornings…but for some reason I thought I could run mile-800-mile-800 tonight! WTF?

SpeedyKate: I had to stop a couple times during my morning run today because of pain…and after the first mile tonight I was kind of limping…and now my shin and my foot and hamstring aren’t feeling too awesome…so after 3 repeats I thought I’d stop.

Both of us: Wow…when I say that out loud I hear how absolutely ridiculous I sound! What was I thinking?????

We know that we shouldn’t run through pain. We know that we should stop before limping forces us to. We know that a day off now is better than weeks off later. 

We know, we know, we know, but somehow logic and reason escape us in matters of running. 

I realized last night that when I’m completely honest and voice the state-of-Mollie aloud, it’s a lot easier to make good choices. Once I told SpeedyKate about how I felt and why I had to stop, it made sooo much sense! From now on I’m going to try doing that. And if I need someone else to weigh in and tell me that I’m being stupid, I will tell SpeedyKate.

So here’s to running smart and being honest with ourselves! 

And if you have no idea what kind of running mentality I'm talking about, read Jess's article: Man v. Mileage.

Cake of the Week: Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Walnut Streusel

I think I’ve passed a growing up milestone in my life. Like my first Junior High dance, or when I got my job, or the time I “handled” a cockraoach situation in my apartment (btw that is a GREAT story, but it has no place on my lovely G-rated baking blog). 

Basically, I made crust. And it was good. And it wasn’t stressful. I didn’t scream or cry or whine (LLC can attest to this). And I may do it again voluntarily. So look at me - so adult, so mature!

This crust has changed my life. And this tart just may change yours.

For Emily’s birthday Jess and I made a semi-disastrous but ultimately delicious Caramel Cake (read about it here). There was a lot of leftover caramel, sitting in my fridge, just begging to be eaten with a spoon (which I totally did until I had to tell myself ENOUGH! Make something instead!).

So here it is, my creation in celebration of the feeling of fall in the air. Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Walnut Streusel.

Basically it’s tart crust, filled with apple slices mixed with caramel, with butter/brown sugar/cinnamon/walnuts sprinkled on top. The soft tartness of the baked apples balances perfectly with the sweet and rich caramel, and the crunchy topping gives it that nutty something extra that takes it from good to omgsogoodicanbarelyhandleit. Top it with French vanilla ice cream to be transported to a place you didn't think tart could take you...

Tart crusts tend to be dry and chalky (ick), but this one came out just right. It’s somewhere between a sugar cookie and a pie crust. Thank you Sweet Pea for bringing this crust into my life!

Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Walnut Streusel

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons water (as needed)

Beat butter until softened (you can do this by hand or with a mixer). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball, add water if your crust is too dry.

Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

Remove dough from refrigerator, unwrap and roll out on a lightly floured surfac. Transfer to an 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom by lightly rolling the pastry around the rolling-pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll. Unroll the dough on top of tart pan. (Ok this part didn’t work for me. The crust totally fell apart as I transferred it. But it doesn’t really matter! You can just press the dough together once it’s in the tart pan and you’re good to go!) Working around the circumference of the pan, ease the dough into the pan corners by gently lifting the edge with one hand while pressing it into the corners with the other hand. Press the dough against the fluted sides of the pan. Roll the rolling-pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. Prick bottom of dough with a fork to prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400*. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.

For the Filling:

4 large Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons flour

½ to 3/4 cup caramel sauce (depending on how sweet you want it)

Mix all filling ingredients together until evenly coated.

For the Streusel:

½ stick butter (aka ¼ cup), softened

½ cup flour

1/2 cup oats

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup chopped toasted walnuts

Pile filling into crust. Use a fork to mix up streusel ingredients until they're crumbly. Sprinkle streusel evenly over the top. Bake at 400* for 35 minutes.

And another awesome thing to say about this tart - it travels really well! My roommates and I enjoyed a few slices, then I let it cool completely in my fridge. The next morning, I sliced it up, wrapped the pieces in plastic, and conducted drug-trade-like tart transactions throughout the day with various friends who work in the area. They'd better love me, right?

Weekend Report: Blogger Picnic and Caramel Apple Cupcakes

With all my recent vacations, I feel like a negligent blogger. But never fear! I’m back in full force, packed with ideas, pictures, and posting possibilities!

I just returned to DC, so this weekend was relatively low-key. (What is it about needing to recover after vacation? Actually, it was more about needing to rest after the red-eye-straight-to-a-10-hour-work-day combo.)

On Saturday, the lovely Liz from Liz Runs DC organized a blogger meet-up picnic in Rock Creek Park. (This is the same girl who did the Workout Party back in May.) We spent a lovely afternoon lounging on blankets, eating delicious salads, and chatting about running and yoga and biking and blogging. Check out her post here.

I say “salads” but let’s be real here…I brought cupcakes. I guess I can kinda sorta squeeze myself into the “Healthy Living” blogger category, but not really. I mean, I blog about running and that’s a healthy lifestyle choice...but I also blog about breakfast cookies and eating butterscotch straight out of the Tupperware, which may or may not be construed as “unhealthy.” And reading? Well it’s healthy for your mind, right?

Hmm, it’s a bit of an EatRunRead identity crisis up in here…

Anywho, the picnic was great, and I rounded out a wild Saturday night with some yoga and an AMAZING new book (get excited – post to come!).

While I ran a 5-miler pre-Saturday picnic, 6x6 ran 10! This is the girl for whom I wrote a running plan last summer. Her first running plan involved days that were only 1 mile! And now she can do 10! (Share in this proud parent moment with me, will you?)

In light of her accomplishment, I felt obligated not to whimp out of my own long run on Sunday. (Not in a competitive way, just in an other-people-do-it-and-it’s-no-big-deal-so-I-should-just-woman-up-and-run sort of way.) So I did 11ish early Sunday morning. The first 5 were rough but 6x6 joined me for the last 6, and that made it much better!

The rest of the day was spent being tired from running and enjoying the gray and cool day (sooo nice after the blistering summer we’ve had). I met up with some friends for a Baked and Wired experience (the best cupcakes/coffee combo in DC!). The Chai Cupcake = awesomeness. And the Texas Chocolate Cookie = divine!

Then we walked up to Adam’s Morgan Day. The city closed down two streets of AdMo for food and clothes and jewelry vendors, and live music and dancing. It was an Eastern Market-ish experience, but much closer to my house!

By 3 o’clock I was tired (to quote LLC: Why is it that whenever I hang out with you we’re both tired and almost cranky but actually just lazy??? Me: I guess I just have that effect on people. You’re welcome. You can come over and lie on my couch it you want.)

So we did that. Or she did, while I baked up something even better than the cupcakes!!! (Ooh, more foreshadowing…again, check back later this week!)

I’m pretty pleased with my weekend.  As I said, I made cupcakes for the blogger meet-up. They’re kind of healthy! I mean, there’s apples and whole wheat flour…so I think they’re more like an airy muffin with frosting than a cupcake. Either way, they’re delicious!!!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting (from Something Sweet)

Caramel Apple Cupcakes (adapted from Crazy About Cupcakes)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 1/2 all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 medium Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, chopped)

 

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter (softened)

8 oz Neufchatel cheese (you can use regular cream cheese too)

1 box powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup caramel syrup (found near the ice cream in your supermarket)

 

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a stand mixer, beat together the brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, and extracts on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, then beat until well-blended. Stir in the apples.

Fill the cupcake liners ~1/2 full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

While the cupcakes are cooling, mix together all the frosting ingredients, then frost the cupcakes as desired. For added caramel flavor, pour some caramel syrup over the frosted cupcake. Enjoy!

California Vacation

I’m back! Did you miss me? I just returned to DC from an absolutely lovely week at home in Petaluma and Lake Tahoe. In that far-too-short week I did almost all of my favorite things: eat-run-reading of course, but better than usual because it was all with my family! I ran on trails with Sister2 and Dad, ate Sister1’s cupcakes (yummmmyyy!), read on the beach, lounged in inner tubes with my mama, and watched a Christmas movie (yes, true - judge accordingly)!

As I said in my pre-vacation blog post, I arrived in the Bay Area extremely late Wednesday night (or early Thursday morning, depending on how you think about it – either way it was tired o’clock). Thursday morning we woke up, packed up, and got in the car for the oh-so-familiar 3 hour drive to Tahoe. First we drove through the vineyards. The hills of rows of bright green vines sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight thanks to the streamers vintners attach to the vines to ward off birds. Behind the vines were the yellowy-brown California hills, spotted with the occasional rounded clump of dark green trees. Then we drove through the Sacramento Valley – flat, brown, and booorrrinnnggg. But soon enough the oaks gave way to evergreens, and we were in the mountains.

My family bought a cabin in Tahoe 16 years ago, and to this day it is the most consistent “home” I have. Tahoe means beaching in the summer, ski-bladeing in the fall (omg - scariest thing ever - I’ll tell you about it sometime), and skiing in the winter and spring. All things I LOVE.

In Tahoe, everything slows down. There isn’t much to do, so you’re never in a rush. The only rush is to get to the beach early enough for ample tanning time. And I’m pretty sure we accomplished that – now that I’m back to DC-pretty pencil skirts and blow-outs I’m almost offensively tan…

Our days in Tahoe follow a comfortingly predictable pattern: wake up, eat something small, go for a trail run, get ready (a.k.a. eat, bathing suits on, sunscreen applied) and go to the beach. 

At the beach we read/work on a crossword/play scrabble until overheated, then go lie in a tube in the ice-cold snowmelt lake to cool off. Repeat as desired.

In the evenings, we walk our dog, make dinner, watch a movie, then go to bed.

If all feels so natural, I’m disappointingly surprised at the end of each day that this isn’t my life.

Sister2 is just back from a summer in CO, so she’s all kinds of in shape for high-altitude trail running. (We look pretty good for just finishing a long run, right?) 

We did an 11-miler one day to prepare for an epic breakfast experience at the Old Post Office, our all-time favorite breakfast restaurant. Back in the day, Sister2 was all about the side of potatoes and a chocolate shake, but she’s now matured to enjoy Bananas Foster French Toast and a side of sausage. Mama and I split Blueberry Pancakes and a Spinach, Bacon, and Swiss Omelet, and Dad copied us and ordered the same thing!

And my family knows how to eat. I promise you there was not a scrap of food left on the table by the time we were done!

Well-fueled and tired, we headed to the beach for a long day of reading in the sun. There’s really nothing better. I promise.

(The only thing (or I should say “person”) missing from this vacation was Sister1! She and her boyfriend were visiting his family in Las Vegas, so I only saw them for a short time Tuesday evening.)

After 6 days of Tahoe awesomeness, we headed back to Petaluma. Mama and I went to her yoga studio (yes, I take full  credit for starting my whole family on Bikram yoga!). 

Then we tried a new Petaluma restaurant for lunch – Punjab Burrito. My two favorite cuisines are Mexican and Indian, so the deliciousness of this surprising fusion was no surprise at all! We split pumpkin and crab enchiladas, and a lamb and roasted eggplant rice plate. (Look at Petaluma! Getting so mature and multi-cultural!!!)

Alas, it was time to get on a red-eye back to DC. Back to work. Back to real life. Or, I should say, back to my current real life. I love DC, but every time I go home I realize how much I miss CA…