Friday Recipe: Chilled Cucumber Soup

I don't think I've posted a recipe on here in a couple years which is kind of crazy given how much I cook. As someone who tries to eat healthy and keep the food bill from getting too out of hand, I end up bringing breakfast and lunch to work pretty much every day. My wife and I also try to eat in for dinner most weeknights too, though sometimes at least once a week we do give into cravings for Chinese, Middle Eastern, or Mexican takeout.

Given our schedules, it makes sense to cook large dishes that we can eat several nights in a row. For example, if I know I've got a rest day on Monday, I can plan on having extra time to cook then so that on Tuesday, when I usually have a long speed work session, we can just pull something out of the fridge.

Since it's finally starting to feel like spring here, I had a craving for chilled soup this week. Chilled soups are some of the best weeknight dinners to make because (a) you don't have to cook them and (b) you never have to reheat them--suck it microwave! Anyway, this week I settled on a chilled cucumber soup because our local fruit guy was practically giving away cucumbers. I kind of made up a recipe after looking at several different ones and was very happy with the results.

Hope you like it too!


Chilled Cucumber Soup

3 lbs cucumbers, peeled, halved,     seeded and coarsely chopped*

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

2 tbls. lemon juice

1/2 red onion,

chopped

2 garlic cloves

1/3 c. loosely packed fresh dill

2 tbls. loosely packed fresh tarragon 

1/4 c. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Salt and white pepper

For Serving:

1 avocado, roughly chopped

Croutons

Combine the chopped cucumber with the yogurt, lemon juice, onion, garlic, dill, tarragon. and the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Using an immersion blender or food processor to blend until relatively smooth (I like to make sure there are still some chunks of cucumber). Season with salt and white pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight (this lets all the flavors meld together).

When ready to serve, pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with the avocado and croutons, and top with a drizzle of olive oil.

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*You can really use any kind of cucumber. I used a mix of English and garden cucumbers.

Feeding the Runner: Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad

In the bible of running, Once a Runner, Quentin Cassidy lives by the mantra, "If the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." As much fun as that philosophy may be, it's not the approach most runners take these days. With that in mind, here's the newest installment of my occasional posts on healthy recipes for runners (and other people too). Bon appetit!

One of my favorite parts of being a runner is all the new friends I make. First, there's my teammates, a great group of people, and second there's the larger running community. Whether it's chatting with someone during or after a race, or meeting folks while volunteering, there are so many opportunities to make new friends.

If there's one ultimate way to make new friends, however, it's through food. Bring something delicious to any event and suddenly there's a whole crowd just waiting to make your acquaintence. Except, maybe if that food is salad.

There's a classic episode of the Simpsons, "Lisa the Vegetarian," where Bart and Homer taunt the newly-turned-veghead Lisa with the refrain, "You don't win friends with salad!" That may be true if the salad in question is some limp lettuce, but it's sure not true with the salad I'm posting about today. This warm butternut squash and chickpea salad is extremely filling and perfect for a cool fall day. It's easy to make ahead and reheat so you can have it waiting for you after a run.

It's only downfall? With all the raw onions in this salad you probably won't be kissing any of your new friends.

Get the recipe after the jump.

Feeding the Runner: Fall and Oats

In the bible of running, Once a Runner, Quentin Cassidy lives by the mantra, "If the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." As much fun as that philosophy may be, it's not the approach most runners take these days. With that in mind, here's the newest installment of my occasional posts on healthy recipes for runners (and other people too). Bon appetit!

As I posted yesterday, Sandy (or Frankenstorm) has necessitated a lot of indoor time in front of the TV enriching my brain. It turns out, however, that there's only so much reality television self-enrichment one can handle in a day so I turned to cooking for a little distraction.

Normally I'm a cold breakfast kind of guy. I like cold cereal, iced coffee, granola and yogurt mainly because these things are quick to prepare. It turns out, though, that not only does being trapped inside due to a hurrican mean that hot breakfast sounds good, it also means you have all the time in the world to sit in front of the stove.

Since last year's visit from that unwelcome guest Irene, I've had a few canisters of steelcut oats sitting around (though I'm not sure why that's what I decided to buy when I heard a hurricane was coming through). Yesterday, I got a little creative and decided to mix some fall flavors into those oats and the result was surprisingly delicious.

While steelcut oats take a while to make, they make great letfovers and are extremely filling. You might be able to make something similar with rolled oats, but don't steelcut oats sound a lot more badass?

Anyway, I recommend this recipe even if you aren't faced with a natural disaster anytime soon.

Pumpkin Spice Steelcut Oatmeal
Adapted from my really bored self

4 cups boiling water
1 cup steel cut oats
4 tbsp pumpkin butter*
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 or more tbsp of maple syrup
1/4 dried fruit

Bring four cups of water to a boil and stir in your steel cut oats. Add in your pumpkin pie spice and dried fruit. I like to add the dried fruit early (I used a mix of cranberries and raisins) so that they soak of liquid too.

Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the pot, for roughly 25 minutes. Kind of like risotto, you can add extra liquid as needed and the oats will continue to slurp it up.

Finally, add the pumpkin butter and maple syrup to taste (obviously you can add more than I did if you want it sweeter), keeping on the stove for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Spoon into a bowl and serve with milk, cream, more syrup or any other toppings you feel like. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for several days, though you will likely need to add more liquid when reheating.

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*You can use puréed pumpkin, but the flavor won't be as strong and you'll need to add extra maple syrup for sweetness. You can also make your own pumpkin butter if you're really ambitious; I wasn't.

Feeding the Runner: Spicy Veggie Burgers

In the bible of running, Once a Runner, Quentin Cassidy lives by the mantra, "If the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." As much fun as that philosophy may be, it's not the approach most runners take these days. With that in mind, here's the second installment of my occasional posts on healthy recipes for runners (and other people too). Bon appetit! 


As a vegetarian one of the questions I get asked the most is, "What about bacon? I mean, bacon and eggs, bacon ice cream, bacon wrapped tator tots..." The question I get asked the second most? "How do you get your protein?" Well, this recipe is one of those ways. 

The ingredients ready for some mixin'!

These veggie burgers are a mix of high quality carbs and protein so they're great after a run when you want to replenish your system (they also have a lot of fiber, so maybe not the best meal too soon before a run if you know what I mean). 

I swear it tastes better than it looks.

Of course, if you don't run (and even if you eat meat) these are still a satisfying treat. I like these over a bed of mixed greens and roasted beets but you can certainly pop one on a satisfying bun with the topings of your choice. 

Yum!

Spicy Veggie Burgers

Adapted from Runner's World

1 can black beans (15.5 ounces)


1/2 c. cooked quinoa


1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder


1/2 tsp cayenne pepper


1/2 tsp paprika


1/2 teaspoon sea salt


1 tbls nutritional yeast


1 tbls dijon mustard


1 tbls extra-virgin olive oil

Cook your quinoa according to the instructions on its packaging. While it's cooking rinse your black beans well with cold water.




Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.

Using your hands or a fork, thorough mix the ingredients, mashing the beans so that they form a paste that holds the mixture together.

Scoop out individuals patties of your desired size between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick. In a skillet over high heat, cook the patties in 1/2 tbsp of oil oil on each side (be careful not to burn them!).

Transfer the patties to a baking sheet or casserole dish and place them in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

EAT THEM!!!

Feeding the Runner: Roasted Eggplant Soup

In the bible of running, Once a Runner, Quentin Cassidy lives by the mantra, "If the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." As much fun as that philosophy may be, it's not the approach most runners take these days. With that in mind, I'm going to start doing the occasional post on healthy recipes for runners (and other people too). Bon appetit! 

Monday was Columbus Day, a holiday for many of us on the East Coast. Having the day off was the perfect excuse for a nice 13 miler but it was also a good excuse for a visit to the Union Square Greenmarket.

My greenmarket haul, ready to go.

For those who don't live in NYC, the Union Square Greenmarket is the largest farmers' market in the city but unfortunately it only goes until 6pm during the week so I don't get to go very often.(Yes, they also have it on Saturdays, but somehow I never seem to make it then either).

Since the cool weather has finally hit I knew I was in the mood for soup but figured I would let the produce inspire me. That strategy worked great! After scouring the market I decided on eggplants, tomatoes, and onions--all of the necessary ingredients for Roasted Eggplant Soup. Eggplants are nearing the end of their season so I figured I'd better do something with them before they're gone.

This soup is surprisingly easy--you simply roast all the ingredients, simmer them together on the stove, purée, and then eat.

I made a couple modifications to the recipe, first by making it vegan (no, I'm not vegan, but I use almond milk on my cereal and in my coffee so that's what I had on hand). Second, although I was sure I had some thyme it my spice cabinet, turns out I was wrong, so I substituted cumin and curry powder instead. You know what? It turned out super tasty.

Post-roast.

See my version of the recipe after the jump.