Simply Crispy

Posted on January 17, 2015 by lindaharley

20150116_130949

“Are you for real?”

“Has the world gone mad?”

“Whatever will they think of next!”

These were just a few of the comments that greeted the opening of the world’s first crisp sandwich shop in Belfast.

20150116_123357

The idea itself had started as a spoof on the Ulster Fry website, but a pop-up cafe on Bedford Street decided that this was daft enough to work, and set about making it a reality.  It helps to remember that a valid reason for doing anything in Norn Irn is “for the crack”.

20150116_123347

When I arrived on Friday lunchtime, the queue was out the door. Granted, not as bad as it was on Monday’s opening day, and the wait was not unreasonable, about 10 minutes. To pass the time we looked at the photos decorating the walls. There was one of a teacher from Grange Hill, under Cliff Richard. There was one from Roy Walker saying “Your food’s good, but it’s nat right!”. And there were 3 clocks showing the time in Belfast, Derry, and Londonderry.

20150116_123534

First, choose your bread: a Belfast bap is the most popular choice, but it is a mahoosive sized roll with a crusty top. The dials on my internal carb-counter were already spinning out of control, so I applied the “less is more” mantra and rejected the extra thick softee white bread in favour of a Knutty Crust. From the available 20 or so varieties, I opted for by far the most popular crisps, local heroes Tayto Cheese’n’onion. These are a crisp of legendary significance, the banners greeting you as you arrive at Belfast’s George Best City Airport are decorated in its signature colours, with safety advice dispensed from Mr Tayto himself. Ex-pats weep at the memory of those yellow bags.

20150116_125505

I added a slice of ham, just as a nod to the need for some protein. The meal deal additions of chips (fries) and soup brought it to £4, with an extra 50p for the ham. A slice of cheese can be added instead.

20150116_122913

A bag of crisps is tipped onto the buttered bread.  The squishing action is all important when producing the resultant sandwich, I imagine the staff have to go through a rigorous training procedure in order to get the amount of force just right.

20150116_124606

20150116_124612

Places at tables were at a premium, but we did manage to elbow the photographers and journos out of the way to secure some space and settle down to enjoy the experience. That first bite, soft bread gently caressing crunchy crisps, the overpowering flavours of the latter matched by the blandness of the former – it really is a winning combination. I could say something about “mouthfeel” but you’d only accuse me of being all poncey.

20150116_125038

The chips were not really necessary,and the soup wasn’t that exciting. So next time (and there WILL be a next time) I’ll just have the sandwich.

I also enjoyed  the Led Zeppelin playing in the background, which helped with the nostalgic feel, and memories of school packed lunches….
Has the world gone mad? Quite possibly. But maybe what the world needs is a bit more madness like this. It’s impossible to have lunch here without a smile on your face.

20150116_124949

Filed under: belfast, Food | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

5:2 recipes – Red Veg

Posted on January 7, 2015 by lindaharley

It’s January, and I’m back on the fast train.  I also have some leftover Christmas veg to use up, so I decided to make a rich red thick soup.  There was about 1/3 of a red cabbage, some aging carrots, and half a bag of wilting spinach.  I used a red onion to keep the colour theme, and for a bit of added protein and texture added a handful of earthy brown lentils.

2015-01-07 09.46.18

Ingredients

1 large red onion (170g)

2 stalks celery (100g)

1/3 red cabbage (220g)

2 carrots (100g)

100g spinach

500g passata or a tin of tomatoes

50g lentils

1 tablespoon oil

garlic

black pepper

smoked paprika

Lea and Perrins

Start by sautéing the chopped veg in 1 tablespoon oil and a splash of water.  I use rice bran oil as it has a fairly neutral flavour, but any would do. Put the onion and garlic in first, then the cabbage, the carrots and celery.  Stir well after each ingredient is added so that everything gets nicely covered in the oil.

2015-01-07 10.03.10

Add a good grind of black pepper, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika to intensify the warm winter flavours.

Add liquid – 1 pint stock.  I used lamb as I happened to have it, and thought the richness would work, but again, substitute for a stock cube of your choice.  Add 1 500g pack of passata, or a tin of tomatoes.  Stir everything well and let it simmer.  At this stage it should be rich glossy texture.  You could leave it at that, but I felt the need for some additional protein.

2015-01-07 10.12.21

I’d been looking for a reason to use these reddish brown lentils that I’d bought a while back, but they are high in calories.  So I carefully measured out 50g.  Over 4 portions this shouldn’t add too much to the calorie total, but if you left the lentils out the calorie amount will be lower.

2015-01-07 10.20.18

2015-01-07 10.10.52

Add a dash of Lea and Perrins.

Let simmer for 30 minutes while you have a  cup of tea and a slice of Christmas cake, since we’re clearing the festive leftovers.

Check that the veg and lentils are soft, and stir in the spinach.  Let it wilt for a few minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle of some green parsley, snipped chives or coriander.

Makes 4 portions at 190 calories each (150 without the lentils).  Non fasters can have a slice of crusty bread to dunk in the rich juices! 2015-01-07 11.27.08

Filed under: Food | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

NI parkruns: Wallace

Posted on December 27, 2014 by lindaharley

20141025_101240Wallace Park in Lisburn is my home course.  My first ever parkrun was Wallace’s 2nd event, which I ran in a time of 34:31.  The following week I took my Weimaraner, Max, with me, as he is a super companion on my long runs.  However, drama-raners are very emotionally sensitive creatures, and all the adrenalin and hi-viz gear really unsettled Max, and he strained at the leash, howled and yelped the whole way round the course.  All that stress added a few extra seconds to my time.  It was only when I started bringing along my younger dog, Mini the cocker spaniel, that my times started to improve, and she has been my faithful companion for over 50 parkruns now.

20141005_110042

Access:

Wallace Park is near Lisburn city centre, and the back gate to the park is beside the railway station.  Car park spaces can be limited, especially if there’s a football match going on.  It’s a beautiful park with some stunning old trees, but the paths can sometimes be slippy especially in winter.

20140917_104419

Course:

Briefing and post-run chat takes place at the bandstand.  The course is one small inner lap, followed by 3 large outer laps.  These encompass the notorious car park hill, which is a real toughie the third time round. At the top of the hill there’s a nice flat stretch before reaching the duckpond, from where it’s a fast downhill section past the back gate and its little gate house, along the side of the railway embankment where there’s an ever so slight incline, and round the outside of the football pitch.  There is a metal start and finish sign, and wooden markers at each kilometre.

20140917_104115

Gear:

When I started out I had the dogs on an ordinary short lead, but one of my favourite bits of kit is the waistband hands-free leash.  Being able to use your arms is important for running well.  After cursing at MapMyRun on my phone too many times, I invested in a Garmin watch, and treated myself to some bluetooth cordless headphones.  But the best bits of kit are those which keep me warm on freezing cold days – light gloves, a headband, and my sweat/wristband which has a handy pocket for keys, money, poo-bag etc, and which I use to wipe either my nose or my sweaty brow, depending on the time of year!

SAMSUNG CSC

Strangely Appropriate Song:

Kate Bush’s “Keep Running Up That Hill” is one that makes me smile here, as does Daft Punk’s “Harder, Faster, Stronger”.  It has been consistently running Wallace that has made me a better runner, and I try to go faster and harder each time.

10572116_797480390283399_5711504792681986448_o

Crowd:

There are regularly just over 100 runners, which is just a nice size of a group.  I’ve made some fantastic friends amongst the runners and volunteers, and there’s always some good banter over a cuppa afterwards.  And someone usually provides biscuits to celebrate 50 or 100 runs!

1532028_771761066188665_5738019334188733110_o

Time:

My times have gradually got better.  This is the result of many factors, including losing some weight, persistence in going along each Saturday, doing other training during the week including core work. But sometimes a good run just happens.  One morning I wasn’t particularly prepared for a fast run, but I wanted to go along as I knew some friends from Waggy Races would be there, including Zola, their gorgeous Samoyed.  We set off – I tend to go off fast and out to the right, keeping out of the way of the front runners, until we can find a good space to slot into.  Zola overtook us, and Mini clicked into chase mode and kept up the pace.  Zola stopped to inspect something near the back gate and we raced ahead.  They overtook us again, and we tried to catch up.  This was repeated on each of the 3 laps, and made for a very exciting neck-and-neck, paw-and-paw race, and managed to cross the finish line in under 25 minutes, a fantastic PB (at time of writing…..), and an age graded percentage of over 70.

10628179_491737377635616_6139129106618706450_n

And finally….

I’ve had many stand-out moments at Wallace, and was inspired by 2 groups who have run it as part of a tour of all the NI parkruns.  I’ve also been lucky enough to have my husband photograph some of the runs, so I was able to put together my favourite pictures into a video montage.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: , | Leave a comment »

NI parkruns: Valley

Posted on November 22, 2014 by lindaharley

At the time of writing, Valley is the newest addition to the NI parkrun family, and I joined them on a clear crisp November morning for their 16th event.

20141122_085702

Access

The Valley leisure centre was always known to my little darlings as “the froggy pool” after one of the water slides in the swimming pool.  It sits under the towering mass of Cavehill, and has lovely views down to Belfast Lough and the shipyard cranes.  It’s very easy to find, near the Abbeycentre, and there’s plenty of parking.  The start of the run is behind the main building, and signs point the way.  There are toilets in the main building as well as in the smaller centre at the back, where the final scanning is done.  Fancy that, being able to scan in the warm and dry!

20141122_090411

Course

The course is 2 laps (always nice, you know when you’re halfway there).  It’s on a slope (the clue’s in the name), but not a very pronounced one.  It’s on gravel paths all the way round, though they are included to get muddy and puddley.  But the scenery is lovely, and there’s a pretty duck pond to skip round.

20141122_090221Gear

I discovered when I tried to put my car keys in the zippy pocket of my long sleeved shirt, that I’d put it on inside out!  Oh, well, that’s lucky isn’t it?  I was a little slow pressing go on my Garmin, but all my other equipment was faultless.

Strangely appropriate song

The playlist I was using was one called “Scotland” rather than my specific “jogging” one, and as my feet flew over those puddles, I almost felt I was flying to “Lift Me Up”, by a Luxembourgian group, ODC. But my biggest smile came when I was finished and driving off in my car to the strains of Jupiter, the bringer of Joy.

20141122_090918

Crowd

There were 60 runners that day.  I like these smaller crowds, it’s easier to find some uncluttered space to run with Mini on her hands-free leash, and people seem to be a bit chattier and friendlier.  And there was a lovely treat of a box of gummy sweeties at the end – I do think I should ask Haribo to sponsor me!

20141122_095815

Time

The all important time.  I’d been very good all week – I’d had a long run, a hill training session, and a speed run.  I’d worked on my core by doing 2 lots of 20 push ups and squats every day, as well as some hula-hooping.  I hadn’t had any alcohol on the Friday night, and I’d had a light breakfast of Greek yoghurt and buckwheat muesli.  Did this all work?  You betcha!  I romped home as 3rd lady (best gender position), in position 24 (best actual position), at an age grading of 69.20% (best ever), and a PB time of 25:10.

valley parkrun age category

Valley has pacers, which I’ve never seen before at a parkrun, and I want to say thank you to the 25 minute runner, whose heels I was clipping on the final 100m.  A great morning.20141122_100229

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

5:2 recipes – Quick Quorn Supper

Posted on November 12, 2014 by lindaharley

Frozen quorn fillets are a must-have in the 5:2 faster’s freezer – 45 calories each, and ready in minutes, they are packed with protein, low calorie and low carb.

I made this hearty bowl of broth with 2 fillets, which I simmered in a vegetable stock cube for added flavour.  Added about 6 stems of broccoli and 6 chestnut mushrroms, cut into chunks.  These are so low in calories that you don’t need to be too precise about the amounts.  Just before the 12 minute simmering time was up, I added in 2 fillets of anchovy for an extra kick.  But you could omit this for a vegetarian version.  I cut the quorn into bite sized pieces before serving.

20141111_182439

In total, the calories were around 150.  You could reduce them further by just using one fillet.

Filed under: recipes | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

parkruns: Perth (that’s Scotland, not Australia)

Posted on November 9, 2014 by lindaharley

20141108_083501There’s an old joke that goes – what’s the smallest city in Scotland? Perth, because it’s found between 2 inches.

20141108_083231

The North Inch and South Inch are peninsulas or spits of land into the River Tay, which flows quite briskly here, and Perth retains many fine features befitting its long ancestry, including beautiful old churches, fine bridges, and tiny entries called Vennels.

20141108_130526

I was in town for a Scottish Dancing do.  I was here last year, too, but the Perth parkrun hadn’t yet started – in fact at my visit they were full of enthusiasm for their upcoming first birthday.

20141108_102008

Access:

To my great delight, the parkrun starts right beside Bells Sport Centre, where my dancing actvities were taking place, and I booked myself into Perth (if not Scotland)’s oldest hotel, The Salutation, an easy 5 minute walk away.  There’s plenty of parking in and around the Centre, and toilets and showers are available there too.

20141108_100735

Course:

There had been heavy rain during the week, and though Saturday dawned bright and crisp, the Perth parkrun Facebook page was warning of flooded parts of the route, due to the Tay bursting its banks.  During the new runners briefing, the marshall explained that we would be re-routed onto some slippery grass sloping sections, and that yes, a lot of the course was very muddy – trail shoes recommended.  Trail shoes I have none.  I usually travel in my second best trainers, the green/purple KSwiss which are slightly sturdier and heavier, but I’d done a quick de-pooping of the back garden before I left, and managed to stand in a hidden dog-poo.  So instead I’d brought my bestest trainers, the Brooks Ravenna that were my Sweatshop prize.  They’ve quite a lot of mesh, and I wouldn’t normally choose to wear them in mucky conditions, but they were all I had.  The route is just beautiful, hugging the banks of the river with its gorgeous trees and glimpses of wildlife.

20141108_084232

Gear:

I’d underestimated the cold – meant to pack a long sleeved top to wear under my JogLisburn tee, but forgot.  Luckliy enough I’d brought a lightweight Craghoppers cardi in white cotton, and wore that as a base layer.  And of course it got covered in mucky paw prints when I said hello to a lovely Vizla, making her parkrun debut…

20141108_092200

Strangely Appropriate Song:

Given the over-flowing river, I’ll say that The Bellamy Brothers “Let Your Love Flow” was the right song for the moment.

20141108_091321

Crowd:

I was one of half a dozen tourists – I guess Perth is a city that has more than a few visitors.  I particularly loved the marshalls with their big foam hands.  The start and finish are at the same point, so many runners leave their outer layers decorating a nearby tree.

20141108_100013

Time:

Ach, it wasn’t great.  Since it was more Tough Mudder than parkrun at times, I wasn’t expecting anywhere near a PB, and at 29.54 it was a few seconds faster than last week!  But part of me is disappointed that I don’t seem to be making much progress.

20141108_095903

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: , | Leave a comment »

parkruns: Crane Park, Feltham

Posted on November 6, 2014 by lindaharley

20141101_083050While I am working my way through the Norn Irn parkruns (8/19 at time of writing), I do try to visit others in the vicinity of where I travel.  I happened to be in London one weekend, and had a go at Crane Park, Feltham.

20141101_083032

Access:

My best friend lives in Feltham, and is my usual lodgings any time I visit the big smoke.  So I was truly delighted to find that this run was quite literally round the corner from her – a leisurely 10 minute jog took me to the starting point beside the children’s play area.

20141101_094351

Course:

Crane Park is a long thin patch of green around a stream.  The course is 1 1/2 laps of this rectangle, with the 2 short sides run on public footpaths.  It is very pretty, taking in an old shot tower.  And there’s plenty of wildlife around including the obligatory ducks, and a couple of squirrels.  The paths are a bit lumpy and narrow, but there are no hills to worry about.

20141101_093852

Crowd:

The turnout when I visited was 117, which seems about average.  They’re a speedy bunch, and they seemed to zoom through a pre-run brief, and didn’t hang around much afterwards.  What threw me a bit was the 9 am start – it’s 9.30 in Norn Irn and Scotland!

20141101_093307

Strangley Appropriate Song:

I was in town to attend my daughter’s debut at Saddlers Wells, so “Keep On Movin'” by Five made me grin.

20141101_083225

Gear:

I’m familiar now with my cordless earphones and Garmin watch, and they all performed well.  Had a bit of a panic when I got home and couldn’t find them, but they were safely tucked inside my toilet bag.  Phew!  I also got an email telling me that my red 50 Tshirt is still stuck in production limbo. Shame, I’d love to show it off on my parkrun tourism jaunts.

20141101_083239

Time:

I was disappointed with my 29:57.  I know I run much faster with canine-assist, and realistically, this is my first sub-30 without Mini helping me along.  But it was more than 3 minutes slower than last week, I was 97th, and 5th in my age category!  Oh well, parkrun is clearly doing wonders for the fitness levels of 50 year-old women in West London…

20141101_094200

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: London, Parkrun, running | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

NI parkruns: Ormeau

Posted on September 20, 2014 by lindaharley

20140920_085156

My lovely Jog Lisburn crew like to do a bit of parkrun tourism now and again, and so we had chosen Ormeau, Belfast for our next assault.  We’re quite choosy – we like flatish courses, with not too many laps, and we do like a good bun afterwards.

20140920_091739

It was Autumn when we visited, and so early in the morn, the shadows are long, and the sun low in the sky.

20140920_090622

Access: Ormeau Park lies between the Ormeau and Ravenhill Roads, and it is definitely the Ravenhill end that you want to be aiming for.  There is an indoor tennis arena and football pitches onsite, and as I arrived a marshall ascertained that I was a parkrunner, and directed me to  dedicated gravel parking area.  Loos are available in the Ozone/ tennis centre.

20140920_085556

Course: I loved the course.  It is basically 2 laps, although the second one incorporates an extra detour through the trees.  The signs for the start and finish, each km marking, and at each fork, are on wooden posts, and there are also plenty of marhsalls making sure no-one takes the wrong path.  There are lots of pretty features to look at en route, and to remind you that you’re in East Belfast, the Harland and Wolff cranes are visible at certain angles.

20140920_090120

20140920_08595420140920_090325Gear: MapMyRun wasn’t playing ball with me, so I had No Idea how fast I was going.  It seemed quick – I was trialling my new Trixie belt for runningwithyourdog.  This has a stiff bungee cord to stop the dog catapulting you dangerously, and a grab handle to grasp if the dog sees a bird/ squirrel/ bicycle that they’d rather chase.  I was a bit worried that the lead was longer than my usual one, and I would die of embarassment if we impeded another runner, but it was fine.  We started at the back, I shot past the tail end of the pack on the grass to the side, and we soon found a wide space that I could let go of the grab loop, and let Mini pull me along. It has a little pouch for treats, poo bags and keys etc, which I found was best to position at my back.  We have a canicross event coming up soon, and I’m looking forward to using the belt in its intended context in the very lovely Tollymore Forest for the Waggy Races.20140920_09043120140920_090609

20140920_090019

Strangely Appropriate Song:  Ormeau is another park that I am familiar with from days gone by – we used to live a stones throw away in Roseberry Road.  My teeny tiny children loved to play on the swings and slides, and when they were older on the BMX track, and my son had a teddy bears picnic birthday do here.  It was he who introduced me to Paramore, and as I’m working hard on my crap finish, it was “You go out in style” that made me smile.20140920_090139

20140920_090201

Crowd:  I found it hard to hear the briefing at the start, but we got the usual types trying to befriend Mini (hint: don’t approach her, she’ll bark; come and talk to me, and she’ll come and say hello in her own time).  I did get chatting before hand to an English parkrun tourist, which was nice, and she took some photos for me.  They’re a young and fast group!

20140920_090454

Time: My previous 4 parkruns had been in the 28s, so I was really hoping for a 27 something, and a sub-100 position.  MapMyRun being unhelpful,  I had to analyse what info was available to me: I felt it was fast, especially with the bungee lead.  I had finished, scanned, returned to my car, drunk my chocolate milk, Mini had had her bowl of water, and I was pulling out of the car park by 5 past 10.  But I’d been position 120! The text results were slow coming through, but late in the afternoon I learned that I’d achieved a time of 27:51, and was 4th in my age category.  4th!!!!!  An analysis of the results poured salt into that wound when I discovered that 2 out of those 4 were less than 10 seconds ahead of me.  But I always defer to my own scale; Under 30- good. Under 29 – great. Under 28 – brilliant. Under 27 – fabulous. Under 26 – standing ovation.

20140920_085930

Post-run: Sadly, I had to run and, errrr, run, as I was heading for the birthday luncheon of my godfather and 70 year old uncle in BallyGally Castle.  And I’m not sure any of my co-runners stayed for post run socialising either.  Maybe we should go back and see what the buns are like.  I mean, I have  an age category target to conquer!

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: , | Leave a comment »

NI parkruns: Bangor

Posted on September 15, 2014 by lindaharley

 

20150214_091107 I attended the inaugural parkrun in Bangor’s Ward Park, which took place in March 2014.  It was the first time I’d ever been at an inaugural do, an event so auspicious that even the mayor attended, and was imortalised by the cartoonist in the local paper.  Aside from the mayor and me, there were over 200 other attendees, easily the biggest event I’ve experienced.

Bhe93EZIIAASTTm

 

At the inaugural do there were very welcome bacon butties at the finish, and on my subsequent visits it’s been clear that the post-run buns are Very Important, and there’s a rota for bun-makers.

20150214_091858

Access:

Ward Park is on the far side of Bangor when coming from the Belfast direction, and can be approached either via the ring road or through the town.  There is ample parking, and loos are available by the bowling pavilion.

20150214_091453
Course:

I have to be honest, I didn’t like the course.  It has a number of tight turns, doubles back on itself, and the paths are at times quite narrow.

20150214_09123620150214_090837

 

 

 

I found myself hemmed in on a number of occasions, and I nearly cannoned into the back of a runner in front of me who stopped dead after having rounded one of the sharp bends.  The path runs alongside a small canal, where there is no guard rail.  Mini decided she was running a triathlon, and promptly jumped in!

20150214_091325There’s plenty of very cheeky squirrels around too.
Gear:

After the unscheduled swim, I make sure that I always carry a towel with me.

20150214_091026
Time:

Despite Mini’s dip in the water, I managed a respectable 27:27, in lucky position 100.

20150214_090953
Oddly appropriate song:

Snow Patrol – Take Back the City.  The last time I’d visited Ward Park it had been to see these local boys turned superstars perform an open air concert.

20150214_090812
Atmosphere:

 

It was certainly interesting to experience a First event – the hoopla and press attention, the huge crowds, and did I mention the bacon butties?  When I attended on Valentines Day, there were roses being handed out to some lucky finishers. And the training for sighted guides, to be able to make parkrun accessible to blind and visually impaired runners, took place at Bangor, and was extremely interesting.  I look forward to being able to working on my new skills in the future.20150214_10044020150214_100410

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

5:2 recipes – Chilli Crab Noodles

Posted on September 11, 2014 by lindaharley

I find shiritake noodles an absolute saviour on fast days.  They divide opinion, some people find the texture just too rubbery, and they come packaged in an odd smelling liquid which has to be rinsed off first.  If you can find the ones with some added tofu (try an Asian grocery), they have a better texture and flavour, for marginally more calories.  They are sometimes known as konjac noodles.

20140911_182412

Tinned seafood is another of my go-to foods when surviving on less than 500 calories. It has the added advantage of being high in protein, as well as darn tasty.  I have a 1 to 10 rule of thumb on protein foods – 10g protein for 100 calories is good going.  Crab packs in twice that rate, with a 100g of crab giving 12g protein for only 60 calories.

20140911_182425

I decided to combine the 2 in a stir fry dish.  First I dry-fried the noodles, and then added pak-choi and chestnut mushrooms. For flavour, I added a cube each of frozen chilli and ginger, a squeeze of garlic paste, the juice of half a lime and a good slug of light soy sauce.

20140911_183713

The result was a very flavoursome LARGE bowl of food for 150 cals, 10g carbs and 15g protein.

20140911_184104

Filed under: Food, recipes | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »