Month: September 2011

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Carbonara (the countdown)

Sunday is marathon day.

Gulp.

I’ve been training for months.  But not quite as hard as I could have, perhaps.  The longest run I’ve done in preparation is 18 miles.  People keep telling me that’s fine: if I can do that in training, I can do the extra 8.1 miles on the actual day.  I choose to believe them…   I desperately want to believe them.  But if the worst comes to the worst and I just can’t run anymore, I will walk, hobble or crawl over that finish line!  Whatever it takes to honour the £2555 my family, friends, colleagues and blog readers have donated to Cancer Research UK.

The other thing I’ve been doing for months is eating pasta.  Am I sick of it?  Hell, no.  I could survive on the stuff.  Though perhaps not on carbonara.  If I tried to survive on that, I’d get really fat, really quickly. Carbonara is a treat.  One which I am having tonight, as it happens.  This is how I like to make mine…

Carbonara

(serves 2)

Olive oil

1 onion, sliced thickly

100g bacon lardons

2 egg yolks

50ml single cream

Handful of parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

175g tagliatelli

1/2 small lemon

  • Fry the onion gently in olive oil until golden brown.  Set aside.
  • Increase the heat and fry the bacon lardons until crispy. Drain and set aside.
  • Add the egg yolks, cream, a little salt and a good pinch of pepper to a bowl and whisk gently to combine.
  • Cook the pasta in plently of boiling salted water.  Drain and toss immediately with the cream mixture, the cheese and a little squeeze of lemon.  Stir through the onions and bacon.

P.S.  There’s still time to sponsor me for the Loch Ness Marathon.  Just visit:

http://www.justgiving.com/Wendy-Harrison

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Rosemary Roasties

Excuse my prolongued absences recently.  My head is full of running and working and other non-food/blog related stuff.  That might change after next weekend though…

Until then, here’s David’s favourite potato dish, at the moment.   They’re like a cross between chips and roast potatoes.  No bad thing at all!

Rosemary Roasties

Floury Potatoes

Rosemary, chopped and bashed about to release oils

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

  • Peel the potatoes and cut into 2cm chunks.  Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.
  • Scatter on a baking tray.  Don’t crowd them or they won’t crisp properly.
  • Cook in a 200 oC oven for 30-40 mins (turning occasionally) until golden brown.

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Loch Ness Marathon

There’s only two weeks left until I run the Baxter’s Loch Ness Marathon.   Off out this morning to run 13 miles, the last of my longer training runs, then I’ll mostly be relaxing and psyching myself up for the big day.

As I’ve said before, my main reason for running is to raise money for Cancer Research UK, as per my mum‘s request.  So far, I’ve raised a whopping £2,300. If you too would like to sponsor me, please visit my Just Giving page:

http://www.justgiving.com/Wendy-Harrison

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Sweet Potato Parcels

I was saving this barbeque idea until the warm summer weather arrived and now autumn is here.

It’s warm somewhere in the world, right?

Rosemary & Sweet Potato Parcels

Cut the sweet potatoes in to 1.5cm chunks.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Double over some tinfoil, approximately 20cm square, and pop a pile of sweet potato chunks in the centre along with a sprig of rosemary.  Cook over hot coals for 25 mins, shaking frequently to prevent burning.

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Fuel

Settling into a new job and training for a marathon has led to a lot of pasta being eaten in this house lately.  One of our favourite dishes at the moment is the following courgette, garlic and chilli pasta.  It’s super-easy, super=quick, carb-tastic and (hooray!) helps us use up some of our garden courgettes.

Courgette, Garlic and Chilli Pasta

(serves 2)

2 tblspn olive oil

2 garlic cloves

A pinch of chilli flakes

2 medium courgettes, julienned (if you can do this without a mandoline, I am mightily impressed)

200g wholewheat pasta

Parsley and Parmesan to serve

  • Bring a large pan of water to the boil.  Add the pasta.
  • Add the oil, garlic and chilli and heat gently.  Once the garlic becomes fragrant and starts to sizzle, add a good pinch of salt and pepper followed by the courgette.  Stir well to combine.  Increase the heat and cook until the courgette is tender.  This won’t take long.
  • Drain the pasta and combine with courgette.
  • Serve topped with parsley and Parmesan cheese.

PS  It’s only four weeks until I take part in the Loch Ness marathon raising money for Cancer Research UK.  If you would like to sponsor me  you can do so at:

http://www.justgiving.com/Wendy-Harrison