Sorghum Flour Birthday Cake!

Hi friends!

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

I am currently blogging from my grandparents house, because my family is in town. They arrived in Boston late last night and are renting a lake house in NH for a week starting tomorrow, but came to good ole’ Dartmouth for today/tonight. My aunt and other cousin also drove over for the day, so we had a nice little family reunion.

Dad & Tracy

This was an especially exciting trip because my step-sister and her cousin came and, neither of them had ever been to New England or on a plane before! I am so excited for them to see this area of the country – I know they’re going to love it 😉

It was actually two of my cousin’s birthdays this weekend, so I capitalized the opportunity to bake them a cake. I had quite a few things going on for this cake: one cousin requested vanilla with chocolate icing. The other has an egg allergy. I wanted it to be gluten free. Thanks to some quick googling I found a cake recipe that suited all needs!

Fresh out of the oven

Frosted

I used this really easy recipe for the frosting.VERY chocolatey 🙂

Decorated

Candled

Singing

And cut! Mmm!

The cake turned out pretty well! It was a little gummy, but I’m thinking it may be because I couldn’t work quickly enough because I was making two batches of the recipe at the same time to be able to make it a 2-layer cake (I read in the comments that doubling the recipe would have messed up the proportions for it being gluten-free).

This recipe called for sorghum flour, which I have never used before. Tracy (step-mom) and I were both curious of what it actually is, which lead to some more googling later tonight. Apparently, it is a grain that is primarily grown in Africa and India, and now also the U.S., as it has become an increasingly appealing alternative grain.

Running Stuff 

Interesting stuff. Tomorrow, I am attempting a 9-mile run. Last weekend I ran 7, and although it was slow, I recovered okay and feel pretty good about trying for 9. This is a good thing because my race is only 3 weeks away!!! Where is the summer going!?!

I’m off to bed…fingers crossed the rain we’re having clears up by the morning…I’m looking forward to a run near the water! 🙂

Beach Lovin’ & 5 mile success

Hello all!

Sorry it has been a rather long time since I last checked in. This is kind of going to be a random post, just FYI.

I have been busy with/ exhausted from camp, but am really happy that it is going great this summer. I LOVE my group and the other counselor I am working with, and things are just a lot less stressful compared to last summer.

I have been to the beach the past 2 weekends in a row, which I am super happy about because as close as I am, beach opportunities just don’t happen that often!

Last weekend, I headed down to the Cape to visit some of my family. It was an excellent beach day!

Cousins!

Today, I went to Crane Beach (North Shore) with a friend. The water was COLD, but very refreshing because today was super hot!!

In other news, running has been going pretty well! For the past couple of weeks, I’ve run a few times (just 2-3 miles at a time). Although my pace is super slow, I’ve felt very little pain in my knee!

Today, I made it my goal to run 5 miles…I figure I do need to start doing a few longer runs if I’m going to attempt my race in August. Well…….It was slow, it was hot, but it WAS 5 miles. Fingers crossed my knee feels a-ok tomorrow!

Also, recently made Mama Pea’s  Thai Crunch Veggie Burgers and they were delish! Highly recommend – great flavor and texture. I got the recipe from her cookbook, but I’ve seen it posted here.

Ingredients

Processed

Pre-flip

Done!

Goodnightttttt!

Things I’m Loving Lately #2…w/recipes!

Hi everyone! Hope you had a fantastic Fourth of July!

I had a pretty nice day, although I wasn’t feeling well the past few days and of course Wednesday was the day my voice was totally gone. Oh, well! I’m planning to make up for it with the fun things I have planned for this weekend. 🙂 

I thought think we are long over-due for another Loving Lately post. Let’s get right into it!

1. Iced coffee. Both of the homemade and Starbucks variety

2. On the same note, Starbucks Gift Cards. I’m lucky to have quite a few at the moment thanks to some generous students (end of the year gifts)

3.  Riding my Bike

4.  Watermelon

5.  Homemade Quinoa Chocolate Chip Protein Bars. Made using this recipe (w/ chickpea flour and vegan rice protein). I stored some in the fridge and have been enjoying having them as a snack.

6. These Veggie Burgers. Again. 

7. New Salad Spinner! I bought a salad spinner at the recommendation of the girl who sold me a head of lettuce at the farmer’s market. Why did I not have one before?! Fresh, crisp lettuce for days without the hassel of washing it each time. Duh!

8. Big pans of Roasted Veggies. I love roasted vegetables and am loving making huge pans of them to use throughout the weeks in wraps or on salads.

Just olive oil, salt, pepper, (and maybe another spice or two) roasted at 375 until tender. Turn once after about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

9. And last but not least, Warm Hot Weather and Summer Camp. My camp started on Monday and so far I am loving my new group of kiddos and co-workers. Good times!

Plans for this weekend include relaxing the rest of the evening, Farmer’s Market trip, Magic Mike matinee, and Country Night tomorrow, and a Cape visit Sunday!

Have a great one, friends!

Biking around Boston (+back to running?)

Hi friends! 

Once again, it’s been a little while…sorry!

2 pieces of exciting news on the fitness front.…

Biking

First, I am happy to report that after over 6 months of having my bike parked in my living room, I finally bit the bullet and rode it here! 

Craigslist beauty

I was really nervous about riding around the city streets of Boston, even though there are literally people out doing just that ALL the time, and there are many bike lanes in my area.

After getting a series of parking tickets over the past couple of weeks (I don’t wanna talk about it – basically I’m an idiot), I was extra motivated to take out the bike.

So far I have ridden to Starbucks, the gym, and a Farmer’s Market! I love how easy it is to get around via bike and not have to worry about parking. Why it took me so long to figure this out is beyond me.

Unfortunately, my body is not quite up to par when it comes to biking; especially around here with so many hills! But it’s a good challenge and I know it’s helping to build up my muscles that will in turn probably help me recover my knee.

Running

Secondly, I think I am ready to get back into running! It has been hard, especially with seeing so many runners out lately, but I have taken a full 4 weeks off  and I am ready to start trying again.

Last night was my debut 2 miler, and let me tell you it was not easy. It’s been quite hot here lately. We don’t have AC in our apartment, and when I came back I was literally dripping in sweat...I’m not sure I’ve ever sweat that much in my life. Honestly.

In addition, my route was a bit hillier than I had wanted it to be, so I’ll be scoping out a flater area for next time.

During the run, I did have some pain, but I made sure to stretch and ice a lot afterward and today I felt pretty okay.

My PT gave me the clearance to run today when I saw her, but said to keep it at 2 miles for now and do “dynamic stretching” (going to google that one later…).

With just about 8 weeks until my next planned race, the Providence Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon, I’m not feeling terribly optimistic. I’m going to give it my best shot though!