Moab Red Hot

Last weekend, my friend and training partner Justin, competed in the Moab Red Hot 50k.  I tagged along to cheer him on, find some dry trails to run on, and spend some time amongst the red rocks.  My end of the bargain involved cooking a post-race meal for Justin and company.  I'm pretty used to this, it seems like I am always being coerced into the kitchen during family gatherings, ski trips and the like and cooking for everyone.  Justin is a bit of a challenge however.  You see, his taste buds apparently stopped developing somewhere around age 13 and he has spent the last 18 years sustaining himself on hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and quesadillas.  To illustrate my point, on the way to Moab, we stopped at a Subway. Justin got a footlong sub with turkey, american cheese, and mayo on white.  That's it.  So that was my challenge for the weekend, produce a meal that Justin could eat that had plenty of nutrients and proper balance of fat, protein, and carbs needed after the draining effects running 33 miles has on the body.

The most important thing after expelling that much energy is simply to refuel.  This is easier said than done.  Running for 5-6 hours can reek havoc on anybody's digestive system and make eating anything seem like a monumental task.  Justin has a very sensitive stomach and is prone to poor post-activity eating habits (I have seen him complete a 40 mile mountain bike ride, have 2 beers and pass out till morning).  Given all of this, I decided to give flavor a higher priority than nutrition when selecting the menu.  I wound up using some rosemary pomegranate marinade leftover from valentines day to marinate some top sirloin steaks.  The steaks were pan seared and accompanied by a broccoli mac and cheese casserole and a salad.  I used whole grain shells for the pasta and Amy's Organic butternut squash soup to counterbalance the mountain of cheddar cheese. 


It should be noted that Justin did amazingly well in the race.  He blew away his goals finishing 32nd in his age group in 5 hours 50 minutes. (He also ate all of his dinner)



Rosemary Pomegranate Marinade
2/3 cup 100% pomegranate juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (stems removed)

Puree all ingredients in blender.  Marinate meat overnight reserving a little bit of marinade for brushing on while coooking.  This marinade would be delicious for a number of meats- pork tenderloin, lamb chops, steak, chicken breast...

Whole Wheat Shells and Cheese Casserole
 

16oz box whole wheat shells (you could substite penne or macaroni)
8oz shredded cheddar cheese
12oz can organic butternut squash soup
1 crown of broccoli (16oz bag of frozen)
salt and pepper to taste




1.  Bring large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tlbsp salt to water and put in pasta. Cook for 10 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375
2.  While pasta is cooking, rinse and chop broccoli.
3.  Add broccoli to pot and cook for an additional 2 minutes. 
4.  Drain shells and broccoli in a colander and dump in a 9x13 baking pan.
5.  Add can of soup and half of cheese to pan and stir it around so everything is coated. Season with salt and pepper.
6.  Top with remaining cheese and bake uncovered for 12 minutes.
7.  It is done when cheese is melted and turning golden brown on the edges.


*There was no baking pan at our rental condo, so the picture shows the mac and cheese being baked in a large frying pan. This works too if you don't have a baking pan.