Homemade Hummus and Half Marathon Training

Aren't they beautiful? We purchased these at the markets on the weekend to decorate the table for the high tea. I love having fresh flowers in the house, there is something about the life they bring to the table and the fleeting beauty in our presence that just freshens the atmosphere.

These ladies and gentlemen are tomatoes from my vegetable garden! I can't wait to chop one of these up for my dinner tonight. I hope they have soaked up a little of the last summer sunshine, I could definitely use it to brighten up this wintery evening.

Last night I set out to make my very own hummus, a feat that I had never accomplished before because buying it always seemed so much easier. But as I was walking yesterday afternoon (more on that in a minute) all I could think about was going home and creating some yummy chunky hummus to have for my dinner.

It was so easy! I don't think that I will ever rely on the store bought version again.

Into the trusty blender went a (drained) can of chickpeas, 1 (enormous) garlic clove, 1 squeeze of lemon, 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of tahini paste and about 1/4 cup of water. Then I blended to the consistency I wanted.

I practically licked the inside of the blender.

Who am I kidding, I did lick the inside of the blender. It was fantastic!

I love this little garlic jar, perfect house for my favourite seasoning.

The finished product. Wonderful texture, with some whole chickpeas still in the mix. I would love to experiment with some different beans and flavourings as well.

My very dunkable dinner. Steamed broccoli with left over roasted pumkpin, sweet potato and carrot, along with three gluten free sundried tomato and olive mini muffins leftover from the high tea on Saturday. Recipe below.

Gluten Free Sundried Tomato and Olive Mini Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups gluten free self raising flour

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

10 sundried tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped black olives

1/4 cup olive oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and spray a 24 hole mini muffin tin with olive oil spray.

2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add dried herbs, tomatoes and olives and mix well.

3. Beat olive oil and eggs together and then whisk in milk.

4. Stir into the flour mixture and divide amongst the muffin tins.

5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until puffed and golden on top.

These muffins are great served warm or cold and also freeze very well. I froze those that remained from the high tea on the same day they were baked in order to preserve their freshness, they have been defrosting very well for dinners all week.

Now, a little half marathon update.

Last week my training was delayed because I was feeling a little under the weather. Instead of giving up on exercising altogether I decided to just walk instead of running. I got scared this week that I wouldn't be able to get back to running again, that somehow taking a week off would somehow sap my ability to run at all. I know this is a silly notion but this half marathon is something really important to me. I sense that the other side of those 21.0975 kilometers I will have learnt something about myself, or that they mark some right of passage for me from the girl I used to be to the woman I am trying to become.

I was relieved this morning when I got back in the saddle (well, on the treadmill belt anyway) and managed to complete 9 kilometers. So now, I'm back on the road and there are only four and half weeks to go until the Gold Coast!