Leg burn

1. 15kg squat (2 x 10), 20kg (2 x 10), 25kg (2 x 5)
2. Hack squat, no weight (3 x 10) - first time using this machine...WEIRDEST FEELING EVER, LEGS SO JELLY AFTER
3. Standing rows 5kg (3 x 10) - first time using this too, I likey 
4. Back extension (3 x 1)
5. Bench press 10kg (3 x 10), 15kg (3 x 10) - first time bench pressing too! It didn't feel like what I expected, although I don't really know what I was expecting anyway...
6. Lat raises 2kg (3 x 10)
7. Deltoid raises 2kg (1 x 10), 3kg (2 x 10)
8. Bicep curls (1 x 10) - abandoned this cos I was really just procrastinating from working out my core
9. Sit ups, Russian twist 3kg ball, plank - ALL UNTIL FAILURE :'( repeat x 3

Apple and Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients
Pastry
2 cups plain flour
¾ cup self-raising flour
185g unsalted butter
⅓ cup caster sugar
1 egg
¼ cup water 
1 tbs milk

Filling
30g unsalted butter
6 small Granny Smith apples
¼ cup caster sugar
6 stalks of rhubarb
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
1. Sift together the flour and self raising flour, then chop the butter into small pieces and combine with the flour.
2. Using your fingers, gently rub/mash the butter into the flour to combine the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, or until there are no noticeable chunks of butter remaining.
3. Stir in the sugar.
4. Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water, then drizzle into the flour mixture and begin kneading the dough. Add the milk and any more water if necessary.
5. Once the mixture forms a dough, wrap it up and keep it in the fridge in the meantime.
6. Peel and core the apples, then chop them into 2-3cm chunks. Slice the stalks of rhubarb into 2-3cm as well!
7. In a pan, melt the butter, then add the apples and sugar. Cook on low heat until the sugar has dissolved - takes just a few minutes.
8. Add the cinnamon and rhubarb, and continue to cook on low heat for another 5 minutes or until the apple and rhubarb have become soft. Drain any excess liquid (or save it - makes a nice syrup!)
9. Preheat oven to 170°C, fan forced.
9. Divide the dough into two parts, and roll one part out into a rough circle that would fit the bottom and sides of your tin. Dimensions of my tin -18cm diameter x 5cm depth (around 1.5L).
10. Place the rolled out dough into the tin and scoop the filling onto the dough, filling the tin.
11. Roll out the other half of the dough, then cut the dough into strips - the width is up to you (mine are around 4cm in width). This is simply for the lattice design for the top of the pie...if you're too lazy, just roll the dough into a circle and cover the pie.
12. To create the lattice, lay down enough strips to cover your pie, leaving a small gap between the strips. Fold back every second strip and lay down another strip. perpendicularly. Unfold the strips, then fold back the alternate strips and once again, lay down another strip perpendicularly. Repeat this process until the pie has been covered. Since I'm not great at explaining, a detailed explanation with pictures can be found here.
13. Cut off the excess pastry around the edges, press together the edges and use a fork to create a pattern along the edge of the pie.
14. Lightly beat an egg and brush the top of the pie - this gives the pie a shiny golden colour.
15. Bake in the oven for around 35 minutes.



YUMM look at all the rhubarb juices and the slightly melted icecream...I wish I could tell you it was delicious, but I've come down with a cold and completely lost my sense of taste and smell. Guess I'll just have to make this again some time when I can actually enjoy it!

Round 2

1. Bike (3.77km in 10:38 mins)
2. Chest Press 5kg (1 x 10, 2 x 8) - still finding this so hard, but this explains my inability to do a pushup...
3. 10kg squat (1 x 10), 20kg squat (3 x 10), 25kg squat (1 x 10)
4. Tricep pushdown 7.5kg (3 x 10) - probably could've tried harder but I did this in my squat breaks. I think the old lady on the ergo was watching me, and went over to the tricep machine after I was done...except she added more weight to it and was mindlessly pulling on the thing as if it was super easy (okok I'm just jealous)
5. Lateral raises 2kg (3 x 10)
6. Deltoid raises 2kg (2 x 10)
7. Bicep curls 3kg (3 x 10), 4kg (1 x 10)
8. Seated rows 6kg (3 x 10) - I'm guessing the little circle weight things are 1kg each? I don't actually have a clue
9. Pec deck 5kg (3 x 10)
10. Seated leg press 15kg (1 x 10), 17.5 (3 x 10) - my ass hurts now

Run #4: Lone Wolf Edition

With Susan overseas for a week, I had to suck it up and run alone. Since I hadn't run for a week either, this was not fun - left home around 4pm instead of the morning to avoid the breakfast hassle, but this surprisingly didn't stop my nausea. No stitch though! Made it 2.5km today (although I have to admit I probably could've run to the end of the trail to hit that glorified 3km mark...) but it was a little tough without having the support of a friend...and also hard not to throw up when I ran past the patches where I threw up last week.

The route: 

I think I prefer the morning run despite the early wakeup. You feel like you've accomplished so much before the day has even started, there's less pollen in the air burning through my nasal cavity, and the sun isn't on a mission to turn me into a baked potato. 

Full Body Workout (Leg Dominant)

1. Bike (4km in 10 mins)
2. First time trying the leg press machine - started off on 7.5kg but it was too light, so I moved up to 15kg (3 x 10)
3. Attempted chest press but pretty sure I injured something after last time...not a good feeling of pain, so I stopped
4. 10kg squat (2 x 10), 20kg squat (5 x 10)
5. Tried the leg extension machine on 5kg. Couldn't carry on after doing 2 reps so I gave up on that too - maybe one day!
6. Back to leg press (2 x 8)
7. Seated rows 5kg (3 x 10)
8. Tricep pushdown 7.5kg (2 x 10) - this initially felt too easy, but then Lawrence reminded me to keep my elbows in place and suddenly 7.5kg got more difficult. Moved up to 10kg (4 x 8) even if it was kinda hard, so I struggled a bit but it was good struggle?
9. Abdominal crunch machine 7.5kg (3 x 10)
10. Calf raises 10kg (4 x 10) - weight of the machine on my shoulders hurt more than the actual calf raise, and now I have weird marks on my shoulders that'll probably bruise tomorrow...

This list is probably inaccurate since I can't really remember all the weights and what order I did everything in, plus I got to play with some new machines today so I was still sorta experimenting. Once I know how to use all the machines and know what weights are comfortable for me, I'll stop being less lost/whiny/annoying (sorry bebe) and start keeping track of what I'm doing. Also I got really mad at my earphones at the start of my workout because one of the earbuds broke and ruined my mojo, hrmph.

Easy Mini Quinoa Patties

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 brown onion

1 clove of garlic

2 tbsp of parmesan cheese

2 tbsp of dried oregano

1 tbsp of lemon juice

¾ cup breadcrumbs (adjust depending on moisture of quinoa)

1 large egg

(Whenever I cook I'm pretty much guesstimating the amount of ingredients I put in so I apologise if the amounts are inaccurate!)

Method

1. Combine the quinoa with some water (the water level should be 1 finger joint above the level of the quinoa), bring to boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all water has been absorbed. Set aside to cool. 

2. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic, then fry until they begin to brown.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the cooked quinoa, garlic and onion with the remainder of the ingredients.

4. Using a tablespoonful of mixture, roll into a ball and flatten to create the shape of the patty. Lightly dip both sides into some flour to prevent sticking and assist browning

5. Pour a generous amount of oil into a pan and carefully place the patties down. Cook them on low-medium heat and flip when the patties are slightly brown on one side (at least 5 minutes)

Here's how mine turned out - paired it with a tuna and sundried tomato salad (excuse the bok choy, the asian in me can't help it). If you'd prefer it a little more brown, turn up the heat at the end and give it a minute or so to really crisp it up. Since there's no meat, it really doesn't matter how long the patties need to be cooked for because everything is already cooked on the inside. Enjoy!