Adventures in cooking and other things

Oh man, so much has happened since my last blog post. I’ve turned into a gourmet chef, changed my name and been quite nifty. Life does feel kinda different at the age of fifty.

Foods that I’ve cooked over recent days include a pepper & tomato sauce with tomato & mozzarella tortelloni, cheesy black bean enchiladas, pan-fried steak with black bean veg and rice, fragrant chicken balti with basmati rice, veggie goulash with potato cakes and soured cream, a chicken ‘something’, spicy chicken with zingy spinach quinoa and avocado and many more besides. SJ informs she is going to continue working full time for a spell so that means my cooking stint will continue. My delights don’t taste too bad, shame my girls won’t give it a try.

As a family we visited the seaside recently. This was pretty awesome as Ernie was able to run on the sand and swim in the sea for the very first time ever. Lovely day out despite slightly burning in the sun.

Saw the Pixies play for the first time ever in May. This was such an awesome gig and they played like 28 songs. Went with Phantom and Tim Walton (Timmo). Just to avoid any confusion, Timmo and Phantom would address me by my new nickname ‘Merlot’. (Merlot came about after a rather wild and vivid dream, though that’s another story for another time). Not long after the gig, my ‘Bossanova / Trompe Le Monde - Live’ vinyl (2025 RSD) turned up in the post. Aces!

Oh, I got this on vinyl too...

My daughter Moo got awarded with a Star of the Week award at school. This was great especially as I was able to watch her being awarded. When she collected her award she said ‘don’t ask me any questions’ to the teacher.

Hello Ernie...

Have now completed 88 ParkRuns and my last event was at Arrow Valley. My time was 24:52, which is my fastest this year. I finished 111/482. Super pleased with this run especially as I beat all my running club buddies that were there including Ernie and John L. Doubt I will ever beat my PB which remains at 21:39.

Balanacing Act?

Mave and Doo

Last month or so proved a bit of a blur. My bro ‘Mave’ (who chose his own nickname) had come over from Australia so I figured I would ditch being healthy for a spell. In place of eating healthy, I ate my usual high cholesterol nonsense and lots of it. I drank well (mostly at the Lark). I don’t think I cycled at all and am aware my Zwift subscription had expired, not to mention 2 x bikes out of action. Continued to walk Ernie and goodness knows how, but, I managed to run 2 ParkRuns during Mave's stay.

The first of these ParkRuns was  my 85th to date. I ran for the first time at King George V Playing Fields. My time was 26:37 and I came 36/111. This was a nice ParkRun as it had relatively few participants. The route was mainly trail and had some steep banking and 3 laps had to be completed before the finish.

Obviously, the next ParkRun was my 86th, and my first at Coventry (on the May bank holiday weekend). The Phantom joined me on this run, alongside 873 others. My finish position was 273/875. My official time was 26:01. I think the Phantom had ran his fastest ParkRun to date. This was a crowded run in a beautiful War Memorial Park and all on tarmac. First run where I’ve encountered a triple funnel finish.

Quite emotional all around when it came to say ‘goodbye’ to Mave. Moo and Spoon were tearful the night before. Ma, Pa, Mave (and maybe me) all a little teary at the airport. All these changes hurt one’s headspace for sure.

chilli ‘non’ carne with sweet potato & smashed avocado

Once back from the airport, figured it was time to re-start the healthier eating. I prepared and cooked a chilli ‘non’ carne with sweet potato & smashed avocado. I know most folk will find this hard to believe so took the photo’s for proof. It didn’t taste too bad either and SJ was stoked that I had cooked for the first time in donkeys years. (Gousto and their recipe box were the influence behind the meal. I had ‘won’ 50% off for my activities on Strava. So, I guess there was sense in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating well).

smoky garlic king prawn & spaghetti

Was to slow in posting the above in a timely manner, however, pleased with some additional updates. I know Mave hasn’t been gone even a week yet, however, I’ve prepared and cooked a further 2 meals, ran another ParkRun and been out on my fixie!

Chinese-style chicken & sweetcorn stir-fry

The meals I served up were a smoky garlic king prawn & spaghetti dish, and a Chinese-style chicken & sweetcorn stir-fry. The prawn and spaghetti dish looked well presented and SJ said it tasted delicious. I found it a bit creamy and wasn’t keen on the soft cheese that was added. The Chinese chicken dish was delicious and full of flavours. SJ helped me prepare this one and we both agree it was nice and spicy.

Dan-the-man, Cass, Spoon, Doo and the Phantom

The latest ParkRun to be completed was my 87th and this was my 3rd run at Brueton Park. 601 runners participated in this event and I was accompanied by the Phantom and his soon-to-be  son-in-law ‘Dan-the-man’, my niece Cassia and my daughter Spoon. Spoon and I ran together and we finished in a time of 32:32 and finished in positions 431 and 432 respectively.

Spoon, pre or post ParkRun (am not sure which)

(Don’t be fooled, despite my healthier eating, running and very recent limited cycling, I still continue to succumb to eating cholesterol full foods too. How could I refuse an invite to the Phantom’s bbq when steak, Jerk chicken and other delights were on the menu? I guess it’s a balancing act?)

Figured I'd finish this post with my latest vinyl (it's a classic)