Pasta with Sardines

This is so totally out of order it's niggling at my brain.  Partly, this is because I recently did a cleanup of my phone photos.  And now I can no longer find (as in, I'm pretty sure I deleted them because they no longer exist) the photos I took of the meal I was meant to post about today.  So I'm just going to have to make that one again (ooh, tough) and tell you all about this other one instead.  This was part of my carb-loading before the City2South run. 

From the Jill Dupleix book Good Cooking: the new essentials, it's really meant to be Bucatini with Sardines.  I tried to find bucatini.  I don't think the food stores in my local area have heard of it.  Well, maybe they have, but the closest I could find was fat spaghetti.  Not very fat, mind you, but not the super skinny stuff.  And as the little blurb at the top of the recipe reads along the lines of make do with what you've got, I thought (slightly) fat spaghetti would have to do.

Ingredients:
400g bucatini (fat spaghetti)
sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed (my favourite way)
1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes or cayenne
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
300mL passata, or 400g tin tomatoes, drained and chopped (I always buy diced tomatoes so I just used the whole thing)
300g tin sardines or tuna, drained (I used sardines)
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted (forgot to put these on)
1 tablespoon roughly torn parsley (very approximate measurement here, and I put it all on my plate)

Method:
Cook the pasta - you all know how to do this.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a low heat, and add the garlic, capers, chilli flakes and anchovy fillets, stirring.  Add the tomatoes, stirring well, and simmer for 5 minutes.
When the pasta is almost ready (this was the first time ever I put the timer on to cook pasta), drain the sardines (if not done already) and roughly chop.  Add to the sauce and gently heat through.  Drain the pasta, reserving a few spoonfuls of the water, and add the pasta to the sauce, tossing well.  If dry, add the reserved hot pasta water.
Scatter with the toasted pine nuts (...or not...) and torn parsley, and serve in warm pasta bowls.  Or just, you know, bowls.

In the book, it says it serves 4.  Ha. Ha. Hahahahaha.  I had one large serve the night before the run.  I had a recovery-carbs meal - another large serve - the night after the run.  It served 3 of us for dinner on the Monday (not girly serves, either).  And another 3 serves later... And we're up to 8.  I added bits of protein to each option, but still - double the expected amount.  Wow.  Next time I would probably reduce the amount of pasta but keep the sauce the same - I like to have a bit more sauce in the ratio.  But this is a nifty way to eat some unattractive fish without thinking about it!

City2South

This morning, I ran in the inaugural City2South race.  A few firsts: first time running that distance officially (as opposed to a proper half marathon, the Great Ocean Road 'extended version' half marathon, or a 10km); first time paying to run in a Brisbane race that included part of my regular run; and first time I ran to raise money for a cause.

As far as race organisation went, Brisbane did quite well.  Things that could have been better were signage at the start area, as well as the baggage drop off point actually being marked on the map on the back of our bibs; barriers along more of the route (the absence of these resulted in a number of bottlenecks in the first quarter or so); and timing.  Every other race I've done has provided a gun time and a net time.  Even those races - like the Twilight Half Marathon - in which there was maybe a 30 second difference.  But this one - where they even started us at different times, and I couldn't hear the starter anyway, and it was a good few hundred metres from where I was past the start of our zone and around the corner to the official start line - no.  I know a lot of people would use their own timing devices, but that doesn't count for future race things where they only go on the official time.  So my official time is about 7 minutes slower than what I wanted, and I have no idea how close I actually was to my goal.  Thanks, Fairfax.

On the upside with timing though - they showed times at 5km, 10km and finish (14km).  So I could see just how consistent I was - it was a matter of seconds difference between my first 2 timings.  My PT sometimes calls me Miss Consistency and I can see why!  Towards the last 4km I could really feel the effects of my recent cold - every breath reminded me that things are still not quite what they should be.  And I really dislike running with a runny nose.

I really appreciated the kilometre markings (like, really).  I also really appreciated the folks who came out early on a Sunday morning to cheer us on.  I had a little giggle when we passed a dad and 2 kids - the younger kid whined "How many people are there?!" and the older one replied "About 500".  Ha.  Admittedly, 500 would seem like a ridiculous number to a 6-yr-old, but they were about 5000 off.  And the best sign was the one which read, "It's all down hill from here".  Such a relief. 

Another aspect I appreciated (and always have, since Melbourne) was hydration.  This was so well done - thanks people!  Water in white cups, Lucozade in coloured cups, and volunteers calling out enthusiastically to point us in the right direction.  And there was no waiting, they had a few people lined up with cups ready to give out as well as the tables all filled and ready to go.  Bonus - at the finish line, water, then a free bottle of Lucozade.  Score!  Baggage was also well-organised.

Other bonuses: being on a really early train (again, better than Melbourne!) with a whole lot of other people clad in running gear... alongside the occasional passed-out or sobering-up passenger.  Ahem.  Also, starting with my brother... Who is much faster than me... But it was nice to have a smiling cheering friend at the finish line. 

Sunrise over the river.  Which has inspired me to get up early at least one day these holidays.  Ooh, and recovery breakfast. 

As for fundraising... This didn't have as much effect on me while running as I expected.  It did help me beforehand though, and I feel pretty good at having raised some money for a worthy cause.  After I'd made a donation, they actually called me to say thank you - I could tell they really appreciated it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the people who did donate, and was really encouraged by their words of support (so if you're one of those and reading - THANK YOU!).

Running for a Cause

I just put in an entry for the inaugural City2South.  Yay!  I love running.  This one is very much a charity run, and I thought I might as well.  Whenever I see a runner in an event wearing something that indicates they're not just doing this for personal achievement/glory/pain/to beat somebody else, I think that's so good of them.  And so small of me.  So here we are.

There were a fair few charities listed.  A lot were health-related (tempting), or aid-related (also tempting), or schools (??).  The very first one on the list was for Prison Fellowship Australia.  I put it on my list of maybes.  I thought I'd investigate all the charities on my list of maybes, but I did this one first, and couldn't not support it.  What really clinched the deal was my initial unease and feeling of 'what will people think?' - I've found those are often the best options. 

Some of my other reasons:
*Occasionally, I'll read a book which involves prisoners - whether they're wrongfully imprisoned or not - and feel that I'm just 'walking by' the problem, that the only time I think about it is when I read about it, or when prison chaplaincy is on the prayer cycle at church.  And that doesn't do much, long-term.
*My dad has been involved in similar work.  I'm not sure if it's the same group, but the same idea.  I went with him on one occasion and remember how much the families appreciated what he did. 
*Being an avid reader of crime fiction, I often forget the Others involved in crime.  Regardless of why someone is in prison, there are often people left behind, partners and children and siblings and parents, who all need support as well.

So - will you make a donation?  If you follow this link you will get to my Everyday Hero fundraising page.  Thank you!