Pumpkinny Oats

This morning I was inspired by Kath to make a delicious riff on my usual oatmeal. I had leftover pumpkin so I started out knowing I wanted some pumpkin oats. I cooked my oats with 1/4 c. of hempmilk and 3/4 c. of water. While they were boiling I added 1/2 of a mashed banana and a 1/4 c. of canned pumpkin. I also added a splash of vanilla, a pinch salt, and a few shakes of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. With Kath as my inspiration I made a maple cream "icing" by mixing yogurt and maple syrup, which I drizzled on top. I also added a few spoonfuls of granola.


I was at work for lunch today so no good pictures. After work I went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things. I got more trail mix for my oatmeal. I bought some of the first strawberries and tomatoes of the season! My most fun purchase was a bag of ciabatta (sp?) rolls which I plan to eat with soup and sandwiches. I ate a sneaky little bite off the corner of one when I got home and it was delish! Dinner was just a big salad and another glass of wine. Dessert was ice cream, in a cone for a change. The perfect treat!

Pumpkin Bread

When Kath posted a recipe for super doughy pumpkin bread I knew I had to try it. So this morning I baked up a loaf right when I woke up. Of course I had to make a few changes to the recipe: I used a 1/4 c. of maple syrup instead of one T. because I wanted my bread sweeter. This was not the best idea as I'm not sure I could even taste the mapley-ness :) I also spiced my bread like a recipe I already love for pumpkin bread, Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread. These spices kind of overwhelmed the bread so I think next time I would definitely scale them back some. All in all though I am incredibly pleased with the recipe and I am sure I will be enjoying it through out the week. It's a great healthy bread with awesome nutritionals, 5g of fiber and only 189 cals in one slice bread! I made it a little less healthy this morning by adding some smart balance and a bit of maple syrup.


My mind is running wild with all the different ways I can serve it: with brown sugar and cinnamon, with a quick cinnamon maple butter, with cream cheese, with whipped cottage cheese, with honey roasted p.b.! I can't wait!

Of Cabbages and Kings

I woke up early today in order to prepare a new twist on my oatmeal: Steel Cut Oats! I checked out a couple of recipes and ended up using this method:
-I toasted a 1/4 of oats in a pan with a 1/4 T. of melted butter
-Then I added 3/4 C. of boiling water
-I put a lid on the pot and then turned the heat down to a
simmer
-Then I let the oats cook for about 15 min.
-Then I added a 1/4 c. of vanilla hempmilk and a mashed banana
and let them cook for ten more minutes on a simmer.
- I topped my oats with 2 T. of peanut butter granola and ate
them with a spoonful of chunky peanut butter.

They were delicious but I don't love the chewy texture. If I made them again I would leave out the step of toasting them I'm not sure it did much for the flavor. I'll be back around lunchtime!


For lunch I actually did some cooking. I made Jenna's Sweet and Sour Cabbage it was soo good! I had it for lunch with some more pea soup.


Dinner was more cabbage, steamed broccoli with a drizzle of garlic expressions, and half of a pita with half of a Veganomicon Chickpea cutlet from the freezer dressed with mustard and barbecue sauce. Dessert, though not pictured was a cup of yogurt with added vanilla and mashed banana, topped with peanut butter granola. I also had another delicious pink lady.


Tomorrow is my day off from both work and classes and I have a TON of cooking planned! It should be exciting!

Thursday's Post

This blogging thing is hard to keep up with, I've been soooo busy lately. So this is Thursday's post....I decided today would definitely have to be a cooking day! I woke up this morning and made myself a half recipe of Kath's Baked Oatmeal. IT WAS SOOO GOOD! Not too sweet and I actually felt that I could be satisfied with less of it than my normal serving. I like to try messing with the recipe a little to see if I could make it creamier, my came out more bread like, but this is definitely going on my breakfast rotation.

Then after class and before work I made Sweet Potato Lentil Chili from Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink and Be Vegan and Maple Cornbread. I was inspired to make Maple Corn Bread by Jenna at Eat, Live, Run. I looked at a lot of recipes for them but ultimately I made up own.
Maple Cornbread
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 c. cornmeal
1 dash of cinnamon (optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 t. salt
1 egg (I'm sure egg replacer could be sued as well I just fdon't ave so much experience with it)
3/4 c. non fat milk or soy milk
1/4 c. low fat vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt
1/3 c. maple syrup
2 T. melted butter


Pre heat your oven to 425. When heated place an 8 in cast iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl mis all of the wet ingredients. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry. Stir to incorporate but do not over mix. Batter should be thick. Remove pan from oven and spray with cooking spray. Add batter to pan and smooth over the top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The corn bread came out great and was a HUGE hit with my roomates who upon my invitation gobbled it all up. I barely had time to snap a photo before it was all gone. I meant to take a picture of my Sweet Potato lentil chili when I had it again at dinner but I completely forgot. I recommend that everyone vegan or otherwise buy Eat Drink and Be Vegan and try this recipe! It is really THAT good!