Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake

I DID IT! Yesterday I woke up at 4:45am to get ready for my first race! I was so excited and so nervous when I woke up I couldn’t really eat, but I forced myself too. Then I quickly got ready, picked up my friend Lauren, and headed to ASU to meet up with about 30,000 other runners to run 4.2 miles in honor of Pat Tillman. Let me tell you this: IT WAS AWESOME. My official time was 49:23, that’s about an 11:46 mile – my fastest time yet! My friends Lauren and Charles ran with me too.

We tried to stay together, but eventually all got separated. When I started running by myself I started to talk to my feet (I needed something to get my mind off how bad my knees hurt). I just kept telling them “You can do this!” and “Come on feet! Take me places!” A little bit crazy? Yes. But did it help? Yes. I also liked running in an actual race because having people pass me pushed me to run faster so that I could pass someone else. I think that’s why my time was faster than it normal is. All I know is that It was the best feeling in the world to cross the finish line and feel SO ACCOMPLISHED. My knees were killing, my body was dehydrated, my feet wanted me to sit down, but for the first 10 seconds after I crossed the finished line none of that matter because I accomplished my goal! GO ME!

So to reward myself for my awesome run yesterday I decided to make this oh so delicious blueberry poppy seed cake and eat TWO pieces as soon as it was done! This recipe is originally from Joy the Baker, but I adapted it slightly. I cut out some of the oil and added some Greek yogurt. Instead of making a blueberry glaze, I added the blueberries into the actual cake and then made a lemon glaze on top. SERIOUSLY. LEMON AND BLUEBERRY ARE THE BEST FLAVOR COMBINATION EVER. It’s my favorite. It should be yours too. I also think you should get your butts in the kitchen and make this recipe as soon as you are done reading my post! Deal? Deal.

(Beware I got a little picture happy with this recipe.)

Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake
(Adapted from Joy the Baker)

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup Greek yogurt*
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 – 2 ½ cups fresh, or frozen, blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F**. Grease and flour a ten inch bundt cake pan. Then, in a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set Aside

In a medium bowl combine oil, Greek yogurt, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until there are no lumps in the batter.

Then fold in poppy seeds.

Then fold in blueberries.

Bake 325F for 1hr 15 mins – 1hr 25mins***. Let cool completely in bundt cake pan.

Once cooled, release cake from pan by flipping it over. Then glaze the cake with a mix of powdered sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice). THEN DEVOUR!

Notes:
*You can use plain yogurt if you like, I just prefer Greek yogurt. You could even use the original 1 1/3 cup canola oil if that is all you have
**&*** The original recipe says the cake should be baked at 325 fro 35-45 minutes. Mine took a lot longer than that. I don’t know if it was because of the Greek yogurt, the frozen blueberries, or just because I was too excited to keep the oven door shut. So your cooking time may very. Also, trying baking the cake at 350 for a less amount of time. Let me know what worked best for you!

Running

As you know, my goal to become a runner is to start with Pat's Run in April. The run is less than a month away and I have made much progress - I'm at 3.2 miles! Doesn't seem like much, but I'm proud of myself. Up until a week ago I had only been running on the treadmill. But a friend of mine, Jill, was in town for spring break, and she asked if I wanted to go for a run outside with her around Tempe Town Lake. I was TERRIFIED. I knew running inside on a treadmill was totally different than running outside. Jill guaranteed me that I could do it, so I figured why not?! I'd have to start running outside eventually right? Right. So I did it...and I actually ENJOYED running outside! Since then I've been making sure to run outside as much as possible because the weather is going to get ridiculously hot out here in a couple of months and running outside would be INSANE.

This past Wednesday I went for a run with two of my close friends Ibti and Lauren, and I got REALLY DISCOURAGED. They both kicked my butt! For some reason the loop around Tempe Town Lake was really hard for me, and I found my self falling far behind. I don't know if it was just an off day I was having, or if it was because I was sick, or if I just suck at life and am not meant to run (after the run I felt like this one was most accurate). Does any one have any tips or advice for me? It would be greatly appreciated!

My friend Kate is in town for the week and there will be lots and lots of baking (and lots of champagne, even a tea party), which means lots and lots of posts! Maybe even a guest post...anyways. Keep your eyes on the look out! :)