That’s how my day went!
I will save the story for a tell-all book when I am 90, crazy, and bored in a retirement home. :lol: You won’t know what hit you.
Until then, I will tell you about my night…which trumped the DAY by a landslide!
I made thick sweet potato chips… I have never cut the sweet potatoes like this before, but my recent bowl at Kindfood inspired me to cut them this way.
.
Round and round we go.
I find chopping is very soothing at times. It is a bit like mountain biking; it takes all of your focus and brings about an inner peace.
I put the rounds onto a baking sheet and drizzled extra virgin olive oil over top along with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Into a pre-heated oven they went at 400F for 15 mins. on each side. Watch carefully because all will be well until this happens. :whistle:
Sweet potatoes just make my heart warm and tingly inside!
As they were baking, I made a huge batch of couscous continuing my love affair for this fluffy, cloud-like grain.
Then I poured half of a bottle of PC Organic Pasta Sauce and a tiny sprinkle of curry masala and mixed well.
Before I knew it, I had a dinner…
It was pretty good for randomly throwing things into the pot. It wasn’t life-changing or anything though so I wouldn’t go rushing to make it. :tongue:
And this little gem is what I would like to call SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER FAIL.
I know, EW. :sick: I was going to throw it into the garbage but I figured you might get a laugh out of it.
I was all excited because I thought I was going to have a fun recipe to show you tonight, but no such luck!
This was my first attempt at making sunflower seed butter.
I threw in 2 cups of sunflower seeds and processed for a loooong time. I scraped the sides over and over and nothing. No ‘butter’ formed. I added some cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup for sweetener and I was left with a very bad tasting LUMP of brown POO. :lol: Even the sweetener couldn’t make this taste good. Maybe I should have looked for a recipe first! I’m all impulsive like that.
Eric said, ‘It looks like canned cat food….or something a Hummingbird would eat.’ LOL…what!?
After digesting, I somehow managed to get Eric to go on a RUN with me!
He was SUPER SPEEDY again tonight! He actually sprinted for a bit and he was FLYING!!!! I couldn’t keep up. I am SO humbled running next to a 6’2” giant. I told him I would pay good money for those legs. :lol: I think he was a bit creeped out….
He has so much natural ability with running though. I tried not to drool too much and scare him away. I did 2 miles with Eric and then I dropped him off and ran another mile to round out 3 miles.
The run:
- Distance: 3.05 miles
- Time: 28 mins
- Avg pace: 9:12 min/mile
- Avg heart rate: 155 bpm
- Max heart rate: 178 bpm (sprinting at end)
Mile splits:
- Mile 1: 9:42
- Mile 2: 9:26 (Eric ran a strong 2 miles in approx 19 mins…this included lots of walking breaks too!)
- Mile 3: 8:34 (I wanted to finish very strong)
- Mile 3-3.05: 6:51 (sprinted!)
It was an awesome run! I have really been making an extra effort to run negative splits and run my last mile the strongest. It feels good working on my speed again. All my workouts will be updated in my training plan too.
I came home to find Eric with a total RUNNER’S HIGH rocking out to BTO. My dad would be so proud. I finished off the run with Polly’s Yoga for Runners while listening to Twist and Shout…it doesn’t get much better than that.
Shall we…
Swoon.
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{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Angela,
I am also a big fan of baking sweet potatoes + EVOO, salt and pepper. Though, I would like to add a tip: sprinkle on fresh rosemary!! It’s killer, I think they are made for each other! I make it all the time when I have guests and its definitely a winner.
I would like to add that I just bought garlic scapes at the farmer’s market thanks to all of your posts. Can’t wait to play around with a new ingredient!
you and eric are way too adorable :) OH! and i’m making VOO tonight! can’t wait :) they’re going to be amazing!
Must make sweet potato chips! And the post made me look forward to my morning run tomorrow even more!
wow, sweet potato chips! mmm… and haha, that “poo” doesn’t look very delicious.. feed it to the birds? & my honey scooters along while I run. he has no stamina XD
BTo… that. is. AWESOME !! :)
that dinner looks great to me! um, not the sunflower butter tho… ;)
Sweet potatoes were made at my house tonight too. Good stuff.
I would not even know the first thing about sunflower seed butter. I have heard some people use special nut and seed grinders with luck. Sorry it was icky, I’ve had my share of kitchen fails.
I think you needed some oil with that sunflower seed butter. I tried making it in my Magic Bullet and it came out that way too. All the jars of SSB have extra oil added though. It’s weird because the TJ’s one is suuuuuper runny. Like runnier than yogurt! And I don’t mean Greek :)
Nice taters! I like to rub mine with vanilla macadamia nut oil.
I always thought couscous was a pasta! Is it a grain? Either way, I like it.
Couscous is pasta! I thought it was a grain for the longest time, but lo and behold…those little clouds of fluffiness are little bitty pastas.
That’s too bad about the sunflower seed butter! I had a MAJOR fail with banana soft serve last night.. not sure what I did wrong but it was just basically banana soup. Oh well, you win some you lose some.
Were the bananas frozen?
They were! I did everything the way I usually do.. 1 frozen banana, a small splash of almond milk, all in the blender. But no matter how long I blended it, it never turned into the right texture! Just pure liquid.
This was a long time ago, so I dought I’ll be of any help; nonetheless, I will try.
The longer you blend it, the warmer it would become, so that probably wouldn’t help you. For me, if it’s ever to runny, I just put it all back in the freezer until it firms up again. Then, if you want to blend it once more for a more soft serve texture, it might work out better for you.
I love to cut the sweet potato fries that way because the other way never seems to cook right for me. This way I can flip them.
That’s hands down my fav way to eat sweet potatoes… It’s like a party in your mouth. I like to dip them in sweet chili sauce… WWOOOOTT
Awesome run… I love going for runs together, so fun!! :)
oooh I made sunflower seed butter last week – and yes – it stayed kinda firm. But the taste was all good! Next time I am going to try and add some more oil and perhaps process it longer?
Oh I LOVE sweet potatoes, they are my LIFE! I actually like them better than normal white potatoes (I don’t think they taste like much) and I love dipping them into nut butters ;)
Maybe you needed a little oil in with the sunflower seed? I’m not entirely sure how they make it, though, because when we eat sunflower seeds as they are, we always shell them. Maybe they process only the middle bit? :S
Wei-Wei
LOL – I love that sunflower seed butter!!
I bet you will perfect it in no time!
Awesome, I love that song! You always seem to throw together the tastiest looking dinners! :)
Haha, I love that Eric had a complete runner’s high! I just feel all warm and bubbly inside on my runner’s high.
I wish I had long running legs too!! Running with a partner is so much more fun though, isnt it?
mmm i love sweet potato chips!
i have to admit i sort of chuckled at your sunbutter fail because the EXACT same thing happened to me a couple months ago and i can COMPLETELY relate. see here: http://cinnamonbums.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/operation-s-u-s-sopping-up-the-surplus/
yes, the exact same thing: BROWN POO that did NOT taste good – and i did the exact same thing (add tons of sugar, cinnamon, spices, etc.) haha i hated that i wasted it so i would TRY to spread it on crackers and stuff and i just.. did NOT like it. i think the key is to use roasted (maybe salted?) sunflower seeds (i used raw, did you?)
BEATLES BEATLES BEATLESSSSS!!!!!
no, i’m no obsessed, why do you ask? ;)
anyway, sounds like such a fun night! you and eric are too cute :)
I had a long and trying day (and night), and tomorrow doesn’t look much better. But your post totally made my day! Why? Because you ended with The Beatles, of course! Awesome! I thought I was the only one who embedded such things in my posts. :)
Everybody has cooking “fails” once in a while, so no worries,
How would we learn new things if we never made mistakes?
I’m inspired to make couscous, I haven’t had in a long, LONG time and it looks delish.
Jenn
I love the idea of cooking the sweet potato’s like that. And couscous is also a new favorite grain of mine – so light and fulffy!
And congrats to Eric on the runner’s high haha
I made sunflower seed butter in my vitamix a while ago http://makingfoodandotherstuff.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/raw-and-addicting/
It was perfectly creamy though. I wonder if the difference is that I used raw sunflower seeds?
YAY BEATLES!!! And yay for running husbands! :)
I looooooove sweet potato rounds! So yummy!
Sorry about the sunflower seed butter :( You sure that wasn’t a present left behind from sketchie in his litter box??? Hahaha I joke :P Pardon my very childish sense of humour!
Ahhh, sweet potatoes are my favorite food in the world and those look amazing!
I did my turnip that way last night… topped with basil and garlic. As for the sunflower seeds – that looks like something I would have tried… Sorry it didn’t work out.
My husband isn’t over 6′ but his legs are still longer than mine and I struggle to keep up with him…
You are so not alone in the sweet potato love – I would eat them for every meal if I could! Have you ever done sweet potato in a PB jar? I did it the other day…AMAZE!
Well done on the run :)
Dinner looks fantastic. Inspiring, as always.
I am loving your sweet potato pictures :)
Your dinner looks delish. I make sweet taters almost every single night!
See I TOLD you chopping is relaxing :P
I love sweet potatoes too… such a comfort food!
xo
Kris
I like the thin cut sweet potatoes. The seed butter looks like cookies in a way, that’s what I thought it was at first.
Lump of brown poo! Hahaha, sorry, but i was thinking the same thing before you wrote that. So funny.
I had the same problem with homemade pistachio butter! It still tasted incredible but looked like baby food gone horribly wrong…
I love sweet potato fries. I let mine get nice and crispy–mm…the best!
I love round sweet potatos!! But I have jet to try couscous!
And I can’t wait to start my ‘try on running’ again after our Performance (upcoming weekend) is over and my sore body is recovered!
Holy crap, your hubby is only 6’2″??? I thought he was way taller than that, haha. My husband is 6’6″, but I’m 5’8″ so it isn’t too bad, haha. I recently ran with him and at first thought very highly of myself because he was panting and we were going at a decent pace. Then all of a sudden he sprinted off and left me in the dust, urgh, guess he wasn’t that tired. I love my giant though :)
I’m so envious of your knife skills. Your veggies are so symmetrical! When I make parsnip fries it looks like a 2nd grader cut them with safety scissor. Practice makes perfect right?
you and Eric are hysterical. I love it :)
Angela, your sweet potatoes look awesome and I also know what you mean about the long-leg envy… mine is 6’6″ and when we started dating, he took up running with me just to spend time together, but I found out years later that he hated it and just did it to get closer to me!
The same thing happened to my attempt at a hazelnut butter! Except it was the smell that really put it over the top. Haha, its weird how soo many food fails end up looking like cat food though! :P
The key to sunflower seed butter is two things:
roasted sunflower seeds (throw them on a sheet in the oven for a couple minutes until they begin to brown)…. raw taste horrible! the roasting gives them flavor.
also, when I made sunflower seed butter i added some grape seed oil, it really helps! And a some agave syrup (or maple) to sweeten it up (also a must… the sunflower seed butter always needs some sweetness added or it just doesn’t taste right).
good luck!
The same thing happened to me when I tried to make maple cinnamon almond butter recently. No matter how much oil I added, it stayed a big lump. I finally ended up making almond butter balls out of it and those are actually really tasty!
That’s so awesome Eric’s getting more and more into exercise! This gives me hope for my husband ;) He’s got the lifting part down, but that’s about it, heh heh.
Hello! Was wondering if you’ve ever tried roasting purple sweet potatoes?
:]
Cheers from Singapore.
mmmmmm sweet taters! Those look fabulous!
Ha! Twist n’ Shout is on my running playlist!!! :D
I LOVE sweet potatoes! YUM!! I am not a huge fan of couscous though! I used to devour it at LEAST once a week but then I got sick one night and attributed my vomiting to the couscous. Ever since I cannot stomach the smell, taste, or texture. blah lol Any foods do that to ya?
I love making sweet potato fries, but I need help – how do you cut them so nicely? Mine are a hack job! I would love to try them in chips like that, but what is the cutting secret?
I have been wanting to make my own coconut butter, but I have the world’s worst food processor. I need a Vita! :)
I must say that I am very envious that your hubby is doing the try-a-tri’s with you. I’ve asked my man a couple of times, but he doesn’t have the time or (mental or physical) energy to train with me this summer. He is outside being active at work this summer, so by the time he get’s home he doesn’t want to work out/train/be active. He wants to veg. Gotta give him that. Maybe next summer ;-)
You know what was sad to find out? Cous Cous is PASTA! It isn’t a grain. I’ve replaced most couscous usage with quinoa or wheatberries or brown rice. Not that there is anything wrong with pasta…but, sigh..
I believe I read somewhere that it is made from semolina wheat, I think Wikipedia. It’s still good. :)
I can never get my sweet potatoes to slice so nicely! I always end up hacking and sawing at them.
That’s awesome that Eric is getting so into this. Muahaha you’re slowly converting him into a runner!
Sorry about the sunflower “poo”. Haha. The same thing happened to my while trying to make nut butter.
Glad Eric is getting into running. :)
I have found that the key to homemade nut and seed butter is to add oil (I add canola oil). Regular household food processors are not strong enough to create a smooth, creamy butter like we buy in the store so adding oil really helps to achieve that consistency.
I love sweet potato fries too but I don’t think I’ve ever tried making them as chips, might have to try that and on top of couscous…that sounds yum. As for the sunflower seed butter, oh well, sometimes we don’t know how stuff will come out until we try it. Kudos for trying. :)
Oh how I love sweet potato fries..love how you cut them in rounds! I had a scary experience while making some this weekend. My glass pan completely shattered as I put the hot pan down on a wooden cutting board..ahh! I was alright but I had to throw away my fries which was the worst part:(
I made sunflower seed butter before and I think you need to add in a bit of oil to get it to that nut butter consistency. That’s the recipe I followed anyways on goneraw.
http://goneraw.com/recipe/basic-sunflower-seed-butter.
My hubs also can just RUN! It’s annoying..haha! He actually has a crazy heart..no joke. We got this test done at the ND and they said he has the heart rate of top athletes. Me, not so much lol!
And no it doesn’t get much better than twist and shout!!
Eric is looking so lean and lanky these days! I wish I could convince my husband to cut out soda and exercise from time to time (instead of playing computer games!) I’m trying to lead by example, but so far no luck :) You’re a lucky lady!
Haha I always remember that song from Ferris Bueller, where he’s on the float with the German (Dutch?) ladies
I searched sunflower on here and this post came up…I’ve been hearing about blended sunflower kernels being used as a base for certain vegan sauces, I wanna buy some and try it out
Those sweet potato fries look so pretty! I make low-carb fries out of turnips and butternut squash. Gonna try acorn squash too, next time :)