Hi there, friends…remember me? Once again…sorry for being MIA. Life has been getting in the way of regular posting. I hate not being able to post every day! But instead of just sporadically posting whenever we get the chance…Mary and I decided to accept the fact that we cant post every day (womp womp 
) and instead commit to posting 3-4 times a week. Some weeks Mary will do the majority of the posts, and other weeks I will (based on how busy we are)…that is the plan anyway. Sound good? okay, great!
Anyway…Philadelphia Marathon training is under way (already!?). This year, I decided to follow Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 2 plan. I followed his Novice 1 plan for my first marathon (3:39), his Intermediate 1 for my 2nd marathon (3:35) and his Boston Bound plan for the Boston Marathon (3:43). So far things are going okay. It is really difficult to run in the summer, though! I am finding that I am struggling on most of my runs these days I try to either run early in the morning or at night…but even then it is hot! I just cannot wait until the fall! Question: How do you deal with running in this heat? Are you training for any upcoming races/marathons?
Mary (left) and I (on the right in yellow) crossing the finish line (philly 2010)
Onto another topic… FOOD! Mary e-mailed me this recipe (from Food & Wine) a LONG time ago but for one reason or another, I never got around to making it. The night before the Mud Run, my friends Jen (and her husband Adam) and Kelly came over for dinner. And this is what I made! We all loved this dish (except for Adam who hates goat cheese…but I made him a separate dish using a different type of cheese). Mary was down the shore when I made this dish for my friends so last week I made this recipe yet again so Mary could try it for herself…& she loved it! I had
leftovers (lunch and dinner) quite a bit last week. After 3 days….I must admit..I did get sick of eating the same old thing! haha
Anyways…this pasta dish is super easy to make and delicious! If you think you do not like mushrooms perhaps you should give this recpe a shot anyway…I thought I hated mushrooms for years until I gave them a chance and now I LOVE them…especially portabella burgers 
If you try out this recipe…let me know what you think of it…I would love to hear your feedback!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved and then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (you could also try using a couple different varieties of mushrooms…the first time I used all portabella but the second time I used half shitake and half portabella…came out great!)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
- 3/4 pound ziti
- 3 ounces soft goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- In a large frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderate heat. Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are well browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan.
- In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and brown, about 8 minutes. Add the reserved onions, the parsley, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper.
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the ziti until just done, about 13 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water and drain. Toss the ziti and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water with the mushroom mixture, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the goat cheese, and the Parmesan. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Serve with additional Parmesan.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
3 onions?! I can smell you all the way on the other side of the country
Hahaha. Actually, this looks really, really good! I love anything with lots of mushrooms, onions, and cheese. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Philly already? Time flies! Warm weather running isn’t easy, but it makes you stronger (so they say). Good luck with training!
This dish truly is DELISH!!! Adam and I enjoyed it so much, and I can’t wait to make it on my own!! I’ve tried so many times to get Adam to like goat cheese, but he just doesn’t:( He is missing out for sure!! haha
Mushrooms are absolutely one of my favorite foods. I’m learning to explore all the different varieties, and find it interesting how unique each texture and flavor can be! I must say though, portabello’s continue to reign supreme in my book! Being a vegetarian, I find a hardy portabello to be much like a nice piece of steak to the meat eater!! I like them served all different ways, but I agree with you on the portabello burger being dynamite!!
You know how I feel regarding these hot runs:( Running next to you last week hallucinating that a water fountain was a bike, considering taking a gulp of the schuylkill river, and finding myself in tears next to you as I tried to find a breathe in the humid air. I keep telling myself “this isn’t forever, Jen”…and honestly, it’s already AUGUST!!! Before we know it we will be out enjoying cool, crisp fall runs and drinking apple cider to warm us up when we finish:) For now…run for those “water fountains” and cold smoothy finishes!!! haha
Love you
Jen
OOOooooh I wish was doing Philly marathon this year. I always struggle with running during the summer months. Right now, I am keeping my runs shorter and slower. BUT, if I were training for a marathon right now, I would get up really early for my long runs (like 5:30am). Also, I always freeze my water bottles the night before so my gatorade/water stays cold. Also here’s a great trick. Freeze your hat! Take your favorite running baseball hat, get it wet, wring it out just so it isn’t dripping, then freeze it. In the morning, work with it until it is soft enough to go on your head. It keeps your head nice and cool for a while. Also, try freezing a bandana and use that to wipe the sweat off your face. i haven’t done that, but a friend of mine swears by it. Drinking a slushee before running in heat helps too. those are my suggestions.
Yum this looks sooo yummy. So many people are running Philly. I am seriously thinking of coming to watch. So I am coming to AC on the 19th and need long run buddies for that Saturday morning, u ladies interested?
yeah philly is a very fun race!! I’m excited for it
and thats awesome that you will be in AC! I believe I will be down there that weekend but I wont know for sure until maybe next week…can I get back to you on that? I just dont want to commit and then bail on you! haha what distance do you have to do?
freezing your hat!? wow I never heard of that before….it sounds refreshing
yeah it’s a lot of onions! the first time I made this dish I think I used a little TOO much onions (they were 3 BIG onions) and not enough mushrooms. For the second time I reversed the ratio and added a TON of mushrooms (portabella and shitake) in comparison to onions…liked that a bit better….although my breath still smelled hahahah
That sounds great. Haha i have no idea how many miles. have to wait for the PT to comment, some where between 7-10 would be my best guess…
Hey Tina! I saw this recipe show up on Facebook and I had to try it. It is absolutely delicious! Tony and I just got done eating it and we both said this was one of the best meals we ever had. I added grilled chicken and it turned out amazing! i only used two onions, but they were HUGE and i used a little more portobello mushrooms then they recipe called for. I will definitely be making this again!
Alex,
You have no idea how happy it made me to come on here and see this comment!!! It’s sooo good to here from you! I havent seen or talked to you in forever! oh and how could I forgot….congrats on getting married!!!! I’m glad you and tony tried (and liked!) this dish…sn’t goat cheese the best?! I did the same thing you did (using less onion and more mushroom) the second time around making this recipe…and it came out better…so good call on your part! haha Glad you two enjoyed it!!
-Tina