Running Paws and Meatless Roast Potatoes with Romesco Sauce

Zoey was just aching to get outside and run.  While I was doing the Diva in Myrtle, Ted was doggy sitting.  He had his own training schedule and a long run with the dogs wasn’t in it.  Shane is still on walking rehab due to his “plantar fasciitis” so Zoey and I went out for 4 miles Tuesday morning.  It was a recovery run for me and a “just let me stretch my legs” kind of a run for the Zo-Mister.  We went to the golf course where I could let her run without the leash, up the hill and part way down.  She had me running a good recovery pace of about 8:52.  After running a half marathon this past weekend, my legs felt good. Nothing hurt when I worked with weights before the run so I figured I was good to go. As for the foot pain, very slight to non-existent.

This coming weekend  is The Flying Pig, I’m excited because this race has been on my wish list since 2010.  I’m nervous because, well…let’s face it, the Boston Marathon followed by one weekend off, followed by a PR’d half marathon the next weekend, then another marathon is tough on the body – ANYBODY’S body.  I’m focusing on feeling good right now and not worrying about time.  I want to enjoy this race. I would LOVE for my body to feel great and want to go but if not, I’ll take it all in and enjoy the experience.  Besides, Ted will be running the half marathon so it will be fun to recap our runs after the race.

All this talk about running is making me hungry.  Here’s a really good carb loaded recipe to enjoy.

This is a super side dish preceding a tough workout.  It’s taken from the book “Meatless from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living.”

Serves 4

• 1/2 cup blanched almonds, toasted
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 roasted red bell peppers *You can buy the jar of roasted peppers or cut corners like I did and put the sliced peppers in a dry frying pan over medium heat and let them cook, turning over from time to time, for about 25 minutes.  I did NOT remove the skin from the peppers.
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup loose packed fresh mint leaves
• 1 tsp sherry or red wine vinegar
• 2 TBS olive oil – separated
• 1 lb. small red, yellow or purple potatoes – cut in half.
• salt to taste for the Romesco sauce and salt to sprinkle on the potatoes.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Arrange the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 TBS olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast until brown and tender, about 30 – 40 minutes. Stir about half way through cooking.

In the meantime, in a food processor, combine almonds, garlic, peppers, paprika, mint and red wine / sherry vinegar.  Process until smooth about 1 minute then with the machine running, drizzle in the 1 TBS olive oil until combined.

Enjoy!

This was fun recipe to make before my kitchen was torn apart.  Can’t wait to get back to making these kind of dishes again!