WIAW – Hot and Cold Foods

 

My legs thought an April Fool’s Day joke yesterday would be funny.

You may think you are heading out for a nice run but we have a little prank in store for you today. Think you are running on a flat path? Think again. We are going to make it as if you are battling an uphill road for all six of your miles keeping you working hard yet you will go no faster than an average pace of 9:45 min/mile.

Very funny legs, very funny.

I haven’t seen a pace like that in, um, can’t remember. My planned run for this morning has now been canceled in favor of the elliptical machine. It is clear to me that I need a day off from running.

Somehow it is What I Ate Wednesday time again.

Have you ever noticed that preparing your favorite foods at different temperatures creates a totally different culinary experience?

Sometimes I forget that I am eating the same foods over and over because I eat them in a variety of ways at a variety of temperatures.

Like oatmeal for example.

Sometimes I prefer my bowl of oats hot but between you and me I much prefer them cold.

I think the only reason I make it through long runs sometimes is because my cold oats are waiting in a jar mixed with greek yogurt and berries.

So often I have warm oats for breakfast and then cold oats for lunch and don’t even realize it since they taste so different.

In case you didn’t know, my favorite snack is still an apple with peanut butter.

Sliced up cold straight from the refrigerator, topped off with peanut butter and a sprinkle of chocolate chips is just divine.

But, sliced and warmed up? There are no words.

The apples become all tender, their sweetness is enhanced, the peanut butter (oh, the peanut butter!) melts to combine with the chocolate which is now all gooey.

It may not look pretty but the taste is what counts.

Fascinating that the ingredients are the same yet the flavors create a totally different experience.

I could talk about peanut butter all day but let’s talk tomatoes. Grape tomatoes.

A normal pint of grape tomatoes are fun and all but roasting them in the oven for a bit?

The flavor of a grape tomato is super magnified when roasted and will enhance the taste of any dish you throw them into including my salad yesterday.

You can also roast a bunch of the tomatoes in advance and store them in the refrigerator. Oh yes, eating the roasted tomatoes cold is terrific as well.

What’s great about roasting these little tomatoes is that they cook up quickly and you don’t need to add any seasoning combination to them at all.

Speaking of seasoning, lately I am obsessed with Dijon Mustard.

Whole Grain Dijon Mustard seems like an odd obsession. I know this.

I am not a sandwich person so it has yet to be used as a spread on bread but I have been using it in a variety of other ways, at various temperatures.

Dijon Mustard straight from the cold jar can be a bit spicy. However, when added to my favorite cold dish of honey dijon string beans, the honey in the recipe helps to balance out the spice.

When Dijon mustard is used in recipes that are cooked and served hot though, the flavors take on a completely new meaning.

Shrimp and sweet potato stir fry using a combination of Dijon mustard and sweet chili sauce. Can’t get enough of this dish and neither can the little boy.

I should probably do an entire post dedicated to Dijon Mustard because I have a few recipes rotating right now in our house including a chicken dish that my son adores.

For someone who hasn’t felt like cooking lately it appears as though I have been making good use of my kitchen and ingredients, doesn’t it?

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating this week!

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What are some foods you eat that you prepare at different temperatures?

Favorite roasted vegetable?

How often do you repeat a meal in one day? I am totally guilty of eating oatmeal for breakfast and lunch and I certainly consume more than one apple with peanut butter in a day.