Chocolate Oatmeal with Dries Cherries and Cocoa Nibs

I have a personal oatmeal challenge: create as many different & crazy oatmeal combinations as possible. This one is not so crazy. . . .though I wasn't too excited about cocoa oatmeal, this is definitely one of my favorites to date. I'm also not a fan of dried cherries, and put these in as an afterthought, but they were surprisingly really good with the chocolate (I used Callier cocoa powder from Switzerland. About 1 tbs.). Then, of course, topped off with my staple almond butter.

Inspired idea: Pumpkin-cocoa oatmeal with chocolate chips.

Pizza Day!

Love that smell wafting through my kitchen.

I have been inspired to make pizza since my Nebraska excursion. The night I got there, I ate homemade pizza with walnuts. YUM! I never had a pizza with walnuts, and now I never want to have one without them. The next lunch we had a build-your-own-type-pizza from a restaurant, then we had more homemade pizza. All had walnuts on them. Cheeseboard could learn from this. So, after I had this whole wheat pizza dough sitting in my freezer for too long, and basil going bad as it always does, I thought there's no avoiding it. And thus today became pizza day.

I wanted pesto, but I didn't have any. Yes, I'm a big fan of basil, so I can be witnessed piling pesto then basil onto sandwiches...so, I went back to the basics:

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Corn (not pictures on my personal pizza)

Squash

Basil

Goat Cheese

Walnuts

Portobello Mushroom

As it comes out of the oven, and as you begin salivating and your brain becomes fuzzy and one-track, don't forget to add the following if you're a die-hard fan such as I:

Brewer's Yeast

Habernero Hot Sauce

Perfect!

My Morning Oatmeal

It only seems right that I should have a post dedicated to oatmeal. I eat it every morning I can, and I love it to death. I've experimented with various combinations. I first started with instant oatmeal. The kind that comes in a package. My first love was with nature's path hemp oatmeal and I'd add almond butter. Yum. Then, I upgraded to steel-cut oats. There was no turning back. Add I just kept adding and perfecting, thinking I was perfecting it, then adding more, and this is the present (delicious)result:

1 serving

*note: I do not measure anything, so these are rough estimates.

1/3 cup steel-cut oats

1 1/4 cup water

1 tsp. rose water

1/2 tsp. allspice

dash of salt

1 tsp cinnamon (I just dunk it on until satisfied. I love my cinnamon)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/5 zucchini (sliced)

When everything is cooked, I add:

1 tbsp. almond butter

1 tsp. pumpkin butter/molasses/honey/maple syrup (aka my favorite sweetener. Lately pumpkin butter.

I want to add some cardamom, but I've had so many cardamom failures that I'm scared. I'll begin with a little at a time.

Add Harry Potter and you're set.

Tahini Quick Bread?

It was such a lie, but still delicious. I think you can tell which was mine...It turned out mree like a brownie/cake thing. So moist and crumby and delicious. I just topped it with creamed honey to make it more sweet. I would definitely make it again, but I think as cupcake/muffins. It's relatively healthy too. The recipe comes from Have Cake, Will Travel, but I pasted it here for your convenience.

I used agave nectar, regular whole wheat flour and oat flour instead. For the cocoa powder, I used a semi-sweet, rich variety that I still have from Switzerland.

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (16 g) instant coconut milk powder, optional
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (85 g) tahini
1/3 cup (80 ml) pure maple syrup
4 ounces (1 individual container, 113 g) unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 ml) soy creamer or nondairy milk

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Lightly coat an 8 x 4-inch (20 x 10-cm) loaf pan with spray.
In a large bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, optional coconut milk powder, and cinnamon.
In a medium bowl, combine tahini, maple syrup, applesauce, extract, and milk.
Fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to over mix.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Place on a wire rack, still in the pan, for about 15 minutes before transferring directly to the rack, and letting cool completely before slicing or storing.

Yield: one 8-inch (20-cm) loaf

Cookies and Cupcakes oh my!

Cookies part 1

So, I really just wanted one cookie, but you can't just make one cookie...or can you? So, I made around five and gave three away. I just wanted one really.

And it was so long ago that I forget what I put in them. Terrible, I know. But they were decked out with chocolate chips and some other experimental stuff that I forget. I'll oupdate this if my memory fixes itself, but I'll probably forget to.

Yummy chewy-ness.

Cupcakes part 2

Katja, Eva and I are sharpening our vegan cupcake skills for a vegan cupcake bake-off! We made a chocolate cupcake to start, which was pretty tasty if I do say so myself, although I'm really not into chocolate flavored things. I just like my good ol' chocolate bar. That's all it needs to be. Anyways, we tried this buttercream frosting, and although it was yummy, we all consented that we couldn't make it again. So much butter and sugar it was almost unappetizing. I ate three, nonetheless.

We made one large batch and divided it up so we could each experiment a little.

Peete's Coffee

Cayenne Pepper + Ginger

Almond

My favorites were Cayenne Pepper & Ginger and the Coffee one. So. Good. Honestly, cupcakes are way up there with my favorite foods. Especially the one that an awesome Teen Team girl got me from Love at First Bite. I swear to god, best cupcake ever. Gingerbread with cream cheese frosting with candied ginger piece (love ginger!). She gave me two of these. Plus a chocolate one.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I get into phases of food where I eat them constantly. I've been obsessed with these foods for quite sometime.

1) Yogurt with stuff
Current Yogurt With Stuff Ingrdients: (they change, but this list is what I am currently inlove with)
- Plain, Whole Soy & Co. yogurt
- Granola! (Especially the 13 Rabbits kind with cashews, almonds, hazlenuts, pumpkin seeds, cocoa nibs etc. It's amazing)
- 1/2 a banana thinly sliced
- 1 big strawberry or 2
- 1 diced date (my mom has been getting the most amazing dates. They have the most perfect texture and flavor ever)

BEST YOGURT EVER!
How long have I been obsessed with yogurt, granola and bananas? Since late November when I started reading the 6th HP book again.

Fond memories? Cuddling up in my blanket and eating maple yogurt (so sad there is no vegan maple yogurt at BK Bowl...yet...) while reading about Harry Potter and his magical world.

2) Popcorn!
Current Popcorn Ingredients:- margarine
- salt & pepper
- nutritional yeast
- jalopeno hot sauce (my popcorn necessity)
- kernals (duh. I buy a container from Target so I can pop as much as I want)

How long have I been obsessed with popcorn? Too long. It's true that I go through phases and have been known to eat two bowls of it by myself, but definitely since middle school.
Fond memories? Oh boy yes. I used to eat popcorn while playing various Sim games with apples. Now I eat it while reading Fruits Basket online, though it is kind of a struggle.

3) Oatmeal with Almond Butter
Current Oatmeal Ingredients:
- Nature's Path Instant Hemp Oatmeal
- cinnamon
- almond butter*

How long have I been obsessed with Hemp Oatmeal and Almond Butter? A while, but not too long. I have always loved oatmeal, although my stomach protested to this love. When I bought Nature's Path, all that changed. I think we were destined to be together. After I read an article about nut butters, I had to try almond butter in my oatmeal and it was divine. Next, I tried peanut butter and hazlenut cocoa butter which proved vastly inferior to my love. I always come back to almond butter.

Fond Memories? Nothing so emotional and dramatic as those I shared above. Just nice mornings/lunch hours/nights reading while eating oatmeal and almond butter.

*note you CAN go overboard with almond butter. Or, at least I can. Just like with nutritional yeast and butter *shudders* This week I got exciting and put a lot of almond butter in it and my stomach wanted to commit suicide. But then again I have a sensitive stomach. I like it best when the almond butter's taste isn't prominent in every bite. It gives the oatmeal some diversity.


I often eat these for dinner and lunch too. My meals are not conventional. I love breakfast foods!

Too many bland apples

I love apples. I have at least two of my small, crisp and delicious Pink Lady Apples. I'm so over Granny Smiths, Red Delicious and Fuji, but I will forever love my Pink Lady (though I need to try Crispens....). Last Berkeley Bowl trip we *gasp* forgot them. We forgot those beautiful little ladies somehow. So, my mom purchased a few apples, probably Fuji or something similar, and wow... they had barely any flavor. So, I decided I should use them up today by making an apple galette from http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/?p=1427#more-1427. I haven't eaten a large piece of it yet, but it's really not fabulous (it needed more cheese, I think). Luckily, it's off-shot was (scroll down to see what!)

Before and after shots!

BAKED APPLE AND KIWI!!!

This dish is like the story of the ugly duckling that turned into a beautiful swan. I probably just think it's so delicious because the materials were so bland that I had no positive expectation for this dish. So we also had four small kiwis that no one had eaten. They were super mushy by this time, so it probably wouldn't even have mattered if I baked them or not, but I threw them in anyways. What went into this little dish besides the fruit?

1 1/2 lemons. I stole these from our neighbor's yard like a stealthy cat. I had to jump up on a couple fences and crawl on them until I could pluck the fruit from their tree. They wouldn't have been able to get them anyways so there was no crime or harm. Really the opposite.

-thyme

-cinnamon

-nutmeg

-agave nectar and some brown rice syrup

So simple and so delicious. It was really all that lemon juice that made it. I let it soak in the apples while they baked.

Sweet Potato Fries and Peanut Butter Cups

Katja eating melted chocolate

Sweet Potato Fries: Okay, I'll admit that they aren't really sweet potato 'fries.' They are more of the healthy variety, I like to think. What we did was we cut the sweet potato (yes, we only used one and it was more than enough) into thin slices, put them on a non-stick cooking sheet and coated them very liberally with olive oil. Then, we sprinkled on them an assortment of spices. It was very sporadic sprinkling, let me tell you, which made it all the more interesting. Because it wasn't even at all, you got a different flavor each time. Awesome. I believe I even dumped a bunch of cayenne pepper onto three or four poor and delicious sweet potato slices when Katja wasn't looking. The surprise was awesome.

I ate them later with my leftover pizza, and offered a few to George to be nice. He turned them down. I saved a couple in the fridge and went to fetch them for a snack and they were gone. I believe I swore when I saw the empty plate except for the orange. Yes, the bland orange. That was actually the food I meant for him to take, but he chose the wrong one.

Peanut Butter Cups: This required essentially no cooking! Just a little melting, but that can be done in a microwave if you're gross and lazy. We just melted dark (vegan) chocolate in a pan, this time spreading the product evenly in cupcake holders. Leaving an opening, we put them in the fridge to cool. Once cooled, we put a heaping dollop of organic peanut butter. Please don't disgrace the recipe with skippy's or something with more than two ingredients tops. After that, we spread the remaining melted chocolate on the pb cups and put them in the fridge for a couple minutes.

They melted in our fingers.

VARIATIONS: After, I became way too excited with the endless possibilities at hand.

1) PB&J Cups

2) PB&Banana Cups

3) PB&Honey Cups*

4) PB&Pumpkin Butter Cups

5) PB&Lemon Curd Cups

6) PB & Apple Cups (or another fruit variety. Blueberry would be awesome. Also in jam...)

7) Almond Butter & any of the above

8) Macademia/Hazelnut/Cashew Butter & any of the above cups

9) Go Lindt-out and put nutella inside.....and PB

*And think of the endless possibilities here! PB & Star Thistle Honey, PB & Lavender Honey, PB & Pumpkin honey (mmmm)...I mean, the list goes on.

Close-up shot!

Pizza Day!

A couple days ago, Zoe and I made vegan pizza with pesto, lemon garlic tofu, portobello mushroom and some fresh orange pepper. I still have leftovers and it's awesome. We didn't have a lot of time, so we just bought some pre-made whole wheat dough from Berkeley Bowl West for $1.30. Very simple: no oil or spices.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Lemon Pie Failure

currently eating: organic white corn tortilla chips and garlic fresh salsa and the vegan pizza Zoe & I made.

I've been craving a vegan lemon tart/pie/bar lately. I thought it would be cute if I made mini pies in cupcake holders. And if I made them healthy, because I'm on a healthy spree. Well, yea...I improvised. I used a few different flours, brown rice syrup for the dough which tasted mediocre at best, and honey for the lemon filling with the wrong flour. Honey was a bad idea, let me tell you. I never thought I would say that before. On one of them I put a bottom layer of chocolate and bananas, which was a great idea except that the lemon aftertaste and honey sucked. Luckily, my cooking week has been a relative sucess, so this was my only real failure. So, let's just call today a "learning experience."

My Favorite Food

Before the pix start rolling in, I've decided to compile a few lists about me and my food. Let's begin with favorites.

Dessert:

Bread Pudding

Fudge

Chocolate*

Coffee Bread

Mango Sticky Rice (my favorite dessert dish by far)

Macarons

Breakfast:

Oatmeal

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Yogurt with bananas or blueberries and granola. Specifically maple syrup yogurt

Lunch:

Grilled cheese sandwich*

Salad*

Quesadillas

Burritos

Dinner:

my mommy's rice dish

Snacks:

Cheez-its* (been eating them since I as four)

Cashews

Walnuts

Peanut Butter

Almond Butter

One of the above butters on toast with honey.

Almonds

Honey*

Fruits:

Dates

Apples

Bananas: It's always been a dream of mine to pick a ripe banana off of a banana tree.

Avocados

Blueberries

Vegetables:

Carrots

Yams*

Fungus:

Mushrooms of all kinds

*denotes an obsession

This is subject to change.