Vegan Blueberry Hemp Cinnamon Crunch Muffins (. . . an after ten mile run pick-me-up, me and sis visiting the flowers, mammograms and "more" of life at fifty)

Although the blog's been quiet, the life has been anything but that. Let's catch up a bit, then I'll talk about these amazing hemp muffins I created. (Hemp. Seed. My new best friend.) As I mentioned earlier, I signed up to run the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon . . . in two weeks. (Blog flashback moment: I broke my ankle on November 11th.) Yesterday I accomplished my biggest challenge in my training for the half to date: I ran a ten mile training run in just over two hours. Can you say "Happy"? (Which is my favorite running song, thank you Pharrell Williams.) No ankle pain! 

Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Heart-Shaped Cookies (because he asked and because I needed chocolate. . . my half century/half marathon countdown begins)

I was having one of those recipe moments where I saw a picture, fell in love, scanned the ingredients, then stopped in my tracks after this: egg yolks. This cookie required four. Four egg yolks. Must I always be fighting the vegan fight? (Well, yes I must, but that's beside the point.) I had bookmarked AND stored this particular recipe twice. It was destined to be made, I just kept forgetting when it popped up as eye candy that there was this little hurdle to get over: Vegan Egg Conversion Nightmares. I've faced down many an egg. I'm not letting a little fancy-pants chocolate chip cookie ruin my kitchen 

chocolate hopes.

The GO St. Louis Half Marathon: 2:22 Finish Time (For Almost Fifty, I'll Take It!)

Pardon me while Vegan Thyme talks running. Serious running. So serious, she is still only able to walk--not run--with a bit of a limp to her stride. But I am one heck-of-a proud runner today!

Here's my play-by-play of the day (if you aren't into running--that's a shame first of all, second of all--feel free to skip this.) I'll be back with my vegan eats soon (and the vegan cake I treated myself to for having finished this race--well, it's worth the wait, trust me!).

This was the 10th Annual GO St. Louis Marathon and Half Marathon. It was the largest participation sport ever held in St. Louis. I was a bundle of nerves. How could I not be? The whole crowd thingy alone! Cripes, I tested some resolve yesterday, let me tell you.

So I found myself wide awake at 4:00 a.m. I was worried all night I'd oversleep, so all told, I probably had about five good hours of shut eye, if that. The half marathon started at seven sharp. I am not a morning person, nor am I a morning runner. This was going to test my will to be sure. The weather for the day was going to be a warm one, especially for a run of 26.2 miles (marathon) or 13.1 (half marathon). A good temperature range would be low 40s, high 50s, anything above that, you have trouble. Add the full sun bearing down--that spells double trouble. The weather, though sunny and "nice" was too warm for a run like this.

Love Thy Dough: Cinny Buns and Italian Rolls (Where is Steve Perry?)

After discovering the amazing yeast master's book: The Bread Baker's Apprentice, I just had to have Whole Grain Breads by Peter Reinhart as well. Mostly for these cinnamon rolls--I could not bear the thought of only having an all-purpose flour option--I needed a healthy "out" for my cinnamon roll obsession (Thanks, Cinnabon!). These were all I wanted in a cinny roll--full of cinnamon, soft inside, a little chewy on the outside and topped with creamy powdered sugar/soy milk glaze--and, yes, a bit more healthy. And the aroma that filled my home was just like one big cinnamon party! Mmmm. I saw the writing on the wall with BBA--I was going to love bread baking, but I had to act fast--these rolls were calling me!

These are the rolls proofing--I think that's the term. I'll just call them, "Sitting Pretty"--because that's what they're doing--sitting pretty before I bake them!

Okay, let me draw your eye to the middle of this Italian Roll. Look at that airy crumb in the center! Heaven! When these came out of the oven, I said, Oh, here we go again, another addiction! These rolls should have a nice plate of vegan mostaccioli to join them--and they did!

This is what they looked like when they came out of the oven!

First of all--the Grammys last night. I never miss the Grammys--I love music. So here we were all settled in and Lady Gaga opens. I am like, okay, I'm no VHI-MTV nut (more of a CMT kinda gal), but I had never, ever seen her in person--on TV. Ever. I've heard the music--(when I run)--and generally love it--nice to run to, but had no idea what she looked like--I swear! So we sat there all slack-jawed. Me, I'm like trying to process it all--making past connections--who might she have been influenced by and all. So I turn to Mr. Thyme and said, "I feel like I'm watching the female Elton John"--no lie--I totally said this! Then BAM--here comes Sir Elton himself--I was blown out of my chair! He sounded amazing! A. Maze. Ing. Elton was the man--always--in his earlier music, there is nothing but pure genius coming from him. Madman Across the Water. That's all I'll say. A couple of the performances last night reminded me of Cirque Du Soleil. Not that I've seen it live, I haven't lived under a rock, I am familiar with the general theme. Then, another of my faves appears--but this time, sadly joined with T.S. I won't name her (I am not a huge fan). And if you listened to T.S.  for even a minute trying to kick out those low registers--she sounded awful--her live TV singing is for not--I wish she'd lip synch (bless her punkin' heart). But Stevie Nicks--OMG! I loved, loved, and still love her! I wish she'd grabbed that mike, taken her tamborine and jumped out off the stage and belted out Rhiannon alone! Then, I secretly wished for Lindsey Buckingham to jump out and make the whole night's affair one to remember--not that it wasn't--it really was a great show. Pink--what did she take to keep from, you know, getting ill--all of that twirling--my god. I have one wish for Grammy night next year--that in my lifetime, Steve Perry performs. That's all. Just one wish. He can sing alone, it doesn't matter. Journey or not. Just let Steve Perry sing. Where did he go?