Pass It On

Thank you for all the well wishes everyone! Taking it easy this weekend was a good idea, so I can feel and look well-rested for RVA Fashion Week’s casting today. They’ll be figuring out which models will work for each show. I’ve also got a photo shoot to go to later this day for my fashion photography class. Anyway, the other day I noticed that I haven’t posted any breakfasts lately, but that’s not to say that I haven’t been eating it. Afterall, it is my favorite meal of the day! Since I have class in the mornings Monday through Thursday, I usually just make OIAJ or something else convenient (i.e. bagels!) the night before and bring that to class with me.

However, it is nice that I get a few days in the week where I don’t have to have breakfast on the go.

Oatmeal topped with banana slices, my favorite pumpkin butter, and toasted & salted hemp seeds. Toasted hemp seeds can go with anything! I’ve been trying to use up my jars of fruit butters and jams by using them as a sweetener for my oatmeal.

Caramelized anything is fine by me!

I thought of Erica this particular morning, and was inspired to top my usual bowl of oatmeal with something special. Rather than simply slicing some apples and leaving it at that, I caramelized them. First I heated some coconut oil on a pan and then sautéed the apple slices, dates, and cinnamon sticks. After cooking them for a bit I added a splash of apple juice.

This bit of deliciousness was topped with pistachios and honey to boot!

Now on to lunch, dinner, and some lovely side dishes.

Honey Glazed Carrots

This was a recipe from “The Flexitarian Cookbook” that I finally got around to making. Rather than cooking them in regular butter though, I used ghee. This changed the flavor a bit, and in combination with the honey… I just wanted more.

Parmesan-roasted Parsnips

I haven’t made a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks in awhile! Maybe some of you can guess which book it is, but for those of you who can’t it’s Simon Rimmer’s “The Accidental Vegetarian“. I wanted to marry him because the recipes in this book are so good. He still hasn’t proposed to me, and I’m not the kind of girl who sits around waiting. But that won’t stop me from cooking up his incredible recipes!

Addictive!

Almost a mish-mosh, but not quite.

I had lots of scallions leftover and the first thing that came to mind was Thai food. Then I started thinking of recipes involving noodles since I have a lot to use up. I ended up making a spicy Thai peanut sauce to go with some random veggies I had on hand, fried tofu, and a combination of rice and soba noodles. I’d bring this with me to class, and by now whenever I pull out my meals my mates ask me what I brought this time. They also remark on how everything I bring smells so good. Well, I can assure you that not only do my meals smell good, but they taste good too.

Soup for the season

This past week I made a batch of Angharad’s curried squash and carrot soup. This sounded like one of those soups I see in stores that I don’t buy because I’d rather make them on my own. I usually don’t end up making them, and I’m just left with a reminder whenever I stumble upon one of those convenient soups. This kind of soup was new to me though. I had never made a soup with summer squash, and I was wondering how well the flavors would hold up. The curry added just enough spice, but didn’t stand alone. I find that curry picks up other flavors, and goes well with so many things. Take tabasco sauce (not a big fan), for instance, it just cuts right through everything–so acidic!

A cup of Colombian hot chocolate aka the best hot chocolate.

Why is this the best? Well, first off it’s made using a chocolate tablet vs. cocoa powder. That automatically makes it tastier. I’m going to tell you how my grandma makes it. First she pours milk (almond for me, please) into a chocolatera (and aluminum pitcher), and brings it to a boil on the stove. She’ll let me skim off the yummy layer that forms on top, which is called nata in Spanish. There is a cake that is tediously made entirely of those delicious layers called postre de natas. After the milk is boiling she puts in the tablet of Colombian chocolate and takes a molinillo (a wooden whisker) to froth the melted chocolate. Then it’s lovingly poured into a cup for whomever is dear to you, that includes yourself! In Colombia it’s typical to let a chunk of queso blanco melt in the cup of rich, frothy hot chocolate.

I think you should try it.

The other day I brought in a non-conventional battery to my class.

This was a for a mini-project for my time-based sculpture class to help us think outside of the box. Food can be fuel, and I remembered reading a recipe in Brendan Brazier’s “Thrive:…” that offered fast energy. I didn’t bother explaining the science behind the dates and coconut oil to my class. Instead I just let them enjoy, which they did! Speaking of energy I have a little challenge for you…

 

What if you’re having fun and you want time to slow down?

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! I have quite a few goodies in store for you. Thursday night I stayed up late watching TV with my mom and worked on my post. I have so much fun writing these up. I really enjoy thinking about what I would like to share with you all. So let’s get to it!

Mom and I knew that we’d be waking up early today for a kickboxing class – 8:30! But I know there are some people who take cycling at 5:30. Imagine having the energy to do a cycling class at 5:30. Do any of you get up super early for a workout? After we came back, despite having a big pre-workout snack, I was so hungry! I didn’t have to wait to cook anything though because I had a bowl of muesli I had sitting overnight in my fridge. My mom made a pouty face and said, “you didn’t make one for me?” Aw man! I quickly made a bowl of muesli for mi madre.

Mom’s bowl consisted of pomegranate seeds, a baby banana, sultanas, and some plums

I had pomegranate seeds, plums, sultanas + honey & peanut butter

Do you see that beautiful pink and green fruit on the side?

A guava! You can eat the skins as well.

My mom also put peanut butter and honey in her muesli. I love how she tries whatever I’m having!

After lounging around some we got ready for the beach and packed a lunch. Oh my gosh! The weather was beautiful, but the wind + sand = painful.Then we went swimming in the water and I saw a huge sting-ray and a big fishtail + chunk of fish floating around. Gross! So we battled it out in the sandstorm for a bit, went back in the water, then headed home. Atleast I got my tan on though! When we got home I took a shower and tried to get as much of the sand out of my hair as I could. After I got ready it was time for an outing with my dad. And I looked up recipes for tonight’s dinner while he drove.

I highly recommend the cookbook on the left! Both are great, but the one on the left is my favorite.

We went to the local health food store called Tunie’s. It’s a really great place with so much selection. They sell a lot of things that are hard to find – even in places like Whole Foods. Not to mention, they have some of the cheapest prices around – even cheaper than Vitacost sometimes. So let me show you some of their selection…

Check out all the seaweed!

I instantly thought of Katie and grabbed a bag of arame. Okay okay, I will warn you guys. What I’m about to show you requires your full attention and a moment of silence.

The Land of Milk and Honey

Those are jars upon jars of nut butters. Did you know that Maranatha has dark chocolate spreads – like dark chocolate almond.

So this is what I got:

Dulse and Arame

So good!

This pasta made out of quinoa sounded interesting. My favorite BBQ sauce (thick style) and my favorite pumpkin butter. Replenished my coconut oil supply. I’ve never tried hemp protein powder. My dad also noted that I can use it in baking to add some protein. Brilliant! I also got some sample packets of other kinds of plant based proteins. Don’t worry I didn’t forget the jar of cashew butter! If there’s a word to describe cashew butter I think it would have to be… sophisticated. I know that’s a weird word to be describing a nut butter, but it’s so subtle yet delicious.

Coconut girl?

So much So Delicious action going on here. I had a coupon for the ice cream and yogurt, and I’ve never tried to kefir.

Duh!

I got the Purely Decadent Blueberry Cheescake. This was so good! I loved the little blueberries and just everything. I announced to my family that dessert was coming after dinner. This was before I even started making dinner!

Yay! My mother asked what could she do to help.

My dad turned on some Best of Simon & Garfunkel and poured us glasses of wine.

What a coquette.

Recipe? Measurements? I’ll just eyeball it! As usual.

Baked butternut squash (ketchup in the background), avocado, and hot sour chickpeas

Deeelicious! I went out with my friends later on Friday night, and I’ll be posting those pictures up next. It was definitely an eventful night; but when you’re in Miami, when is it not?

I made the FAQ video on Friday but  due to some technical difficulties it’s just not available right now. Sorry!

p.s. thank you for the compliments on the dress! I bought it awhile ago at none other than… Anthropologie.

*For some reason my comments were disabled but I fixed it!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Oatmeal

 

This morning I knew exactly what I wanted for breakfast… oatmeal! But not just any oatmeal. I had this See’s Candy butterscotch lollipop. The ingredients started out the way I usually make a batch of oatmeal, but this time I decided to mash the banana a bit. I also included some vanilla extract, stevia, and flaxseed (optional of course). So this morning I stirred my oats with the butterscotch lollipop instead of a spoon. I also mixed in the last of my jar of McCutcheon’s pumpkin butter. Oh by the way… McCutcheon’s is the best pumpkin butter I’ve had! Even the consistency is different from most pumpkin butters. For garnish I sprinkled some pumpkin seed granola. I wish this bowl could last forever. Unfortunately, I don’t have another lollipop and that was the last of my pumpkin butter. Darned it!