Monster From The Deep? Nah, Just Breakfast.

Mostly everyone who reads food blogs has stumbled upon a post/recipe/discussion about overnight oats. This dish is usually prepared the night before you plan to enjoy it because the ingredients need hours to settle, combine, and work their magic before being eaten.

The pictures that accompany these kind of recipes, are kind of monster-from-the-deep looking (i.e., gooey, chunky, kind of scary), however, I have seen some lovely (vegan) overnight oat displays from Angela over at Oh She Glows (see below.)

I've tried to make overnight oats a la vegan, but the consistency never really jived with my tastes. I could very well have been making it wrong, but even though I'd follow the recipe, my oats would turn out too liquidey and be more like sweet oat soup.

After some thinking and playing around with ingredients, I think I stumbled on a gem.

Ultra Creamy, Super Easy Overnight (or in a few hours) Oats
(Makes roughly a one 1 cup serving)
You'll need:
1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
1/3 C quick oats
2 T Jelly or fruit preserves
1 T chia seeds
(optional: 1 - 2 T honey)
1/4 + 1T plain unsweetened almond milk

To make:
1. In a medium-sized dish, combine the yogurt, oats, jelly, chia, and optional honey (if you'd like your oats to be on the sweeter side). Mix until thoroughly combined.
2. Add almond milk and stir gently until mixture is mixed through.
3. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours before enjoying.

This dish is awesome because, in the summer time, it's a sneaky way to get your protein, calcium, and healthy breakfast carbs, and still stay cool. This recipe produces a cool, thick, creamy oatmeal that is sweetened/flavored by the jelly (and optional honey). The 1 cup serving may not seem like it would keep you feeling full and energized, but the combination of protein from the yogurt and carbs from the oats processes slowly in the body and produces a steady, slow releasing stream of energy.

Please forgive the utter grossness harshness of this photo - it was hastily taken at work. Half my co-workers already think I'm a nut for eating things like this...I can't even imagine what they'd think if they saw me taking pictures of my food at my desk. Haha.

Good Day, Bad Cake.

My little sister graduated yesterday from The University at Buffalo with a double major in English and Environmental Sciences.

Her graduation was on Mother's Day, just like mine was 4 years ago...from the same place, with the same major! (Well...just English...she went the extra mile and tacked on Environmental Science.)

The ceremony was about 2.5 hours long. There were a lot of kids to get through; and this was only the College of Arts and Sciences!

Their speaker was New York Senator Charles Schumer. He gave a nice, short, sweet speech that I actually think was very similar to the one he gave at my graduation 4 years ago. He talked about growing up, taking risks, reaching higher, and "going for it."

Kay and Me

Our family

Kay and her boyfriend

The graduate!

So, I mentioned in a past post that I bought a Wilton cake decoration kit. I wanted to make a cake to celebrate Kayla's graduation, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to break it out and give it a go.

I made two 8'' round cakes the night before. I took the recipe from the same book that I used to make my chocolate cake with coffee butter cream frosting, however, the recipe called for all-purpose flour...all I had was Bob's Red Mill stone-ground whole wheat flour.

While I cooked with that flour a few times before, it was mostly for pancakes and biscuit-type cookies - not cake. But, it was all I had and I needed to make the cakes the night before to ensure they had proper time to cool before frosting. So, I used the stone-ground whole wheat flour.

I will never, ever do that again.

I first knew something was wrong when it came out of the oven. The cakes smelled slightly...play dough-y. Yeah...not good. Nonetheless, I let them cool and planned on using them for the cake.

I woke up Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. to prepare the frosting and the piping tubes. This was my first time playing with frosting tips and bags, so I wanted to be sure I had some wiggle room before I had to start getting ready to head out for the graduation.

I stacked up the two cakes with a layer of frosting in the middle and went to town on the decorating.

I only used two tips (a star tip and a #3) to keep it simple for my first try. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, given it was my very first time. After decorating, I packed up the cake and headed off to watch the ceremony.

When it finally came time to eat the cake, Kayla cut into it and as soon as we removed the first slice, it smelled like fresh...play dough.

We put slices on the plates, took our first bites, and it tasted like fresh...play dough.

Well, shoot.
That didn't work out as well as I hoped it would.

The only good thing about the whole darn cake was the frosting. The stone-ground whole wheat flour was DEFINITELY not made for cakes.

I will never be making that mistake again.

 

Kayla was a champ, though. She pretended to like it.

It's okay, we're getting together next weekend for dinner and I promised I would redeem myself with a TASTY treat.

So, no recipe, but I thought you'd get a kick out of my little story. Hey, you can't win them all.

Have you ever had a baking/cooking disaster and had no choice but to serve it? Did it turn out horrible, or is it something you laugh about today?

Spring-Fresh Veggie And Bocca Stir-Fry

Things around here lately have been very spring-like.

The sun has been shining bright and Jon and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather. We visited Buffalo's Delaware park and also, Williamsville's Glenn Falls Park this past weekend.

Paging through National Geographic, people watching, picture taking, and cat naps are a great way to waste away time on a lazy weekend afternoon. We saw a wedding party taking photos, people fishing and riding ATVs in the park (and then getting kicked out), screaming children, and lot and lots of people walking dogs (*sigh* someday I'll have my own dog).

I've also been getting better and I'm slowly making my way back to normal health. Yesterday, I ran 5 miles in 44 minutes before work, and then went to a concert that night!

Jon and I went to see one of my favorite bands, Beats Antique.

They're a funky band that originated making mostly tribal (yet melodic) instrumental belly dance music. More recently, though, they've been delving into the world of electronic music and mixing their traditional sound with synthesized tones and beats.

I still love them just the same, even though their music not as raw and traditional as it was when they first started. In fact, I really dig this new direction in which they're headed.  If a band doesn't experiment with their style/sound, I can't see how they would grow and continue to be inspiring.

The thing that really drew me to this band was Zoe Jakes.

She is one of the best tribal belly dancers I've ever seen. Her style is earthy and gritty...not polished and flashy like traditional belly dance. She moves LIKE music, not WITH the music (if that makes sense; I just got poetic about it). It's been a while since I last belly danced, but I aspire to move like her someday.

Maybe with a healthy stir-fry dinner I can find some energy to train for my half marathon AND practice my long-missed belly dance hobby. . .

Spring-Fresh Veggie And Bocca Stir-Fry
You'll need:
1 C dry whole wheat quinoa
2 C water
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
dash of salt and pepper

1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 C mukimame
1/2 C sugar snap peas
1/2 C mushrooms
1 roma tomato (chopped)
3 T chopped sweet onion
2 bocca burgers (optional)
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T teriyaki sauce

To make:
1. In a sauce pan, combine water with spices. Stir in quinoa.
2. Bring water/quinoa mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook (covered) for about 12-18 minutes. When finished, water will be gone and quinoa will be light and fluffy. Set aside.
3. In a high-sided pan (I use a mock wok-type pan), heat olive oil and saute onion on medium heat.
4. Add all veggies and saute to desired texture (still slightly crunchy, cooked until soft, or basically mush)
5. Cook 2 bocca burgers in the microwave for 2 minutes. Chop into bite-sized bits and add to veggies.
6. Add the teriyaki sauce and stir to combine.
7. Scoop quinoa into a bowl and add the stir-fry on top.

This is a super easy, super fast week night dish. It's light, yet filling and combines a lot of great flavors.

Finally Moving

Welp, last time I posted, little did I know I was on my way down a steep slope of sickness.

For the past week I've been a feverish, snot producing, nose blowing, never-ending cough machine. Yes, lovely, I know. I tried to stay hydrated and eat as many healthy foods as I could, but with my throat being so painfully raw, all I managed to eat was mostly bananas, soup, and Bocca burgers (i.e., anything that could be easily chewed into mush).

I was doing pretty well until Sunday. I even mustered up enough energy to go for a walk in the park with Jon. It was such a nice day, I couldn't pass it up.

The sunshine was great, however after about 2 hours of being outside, I had to sit and gather myself. We went back in the car and I knew we had to go home. I was so exhausted and feeling just terrible. When we got home, I crawled in bed and slept for 3 hours.

Come Monday, I was not healed. That vicious cold virus led into an ear infection. Currently, I cannot hear too well out of my left ear, my ears are constantly ringing, but I have some antibiotics to help.

Needless to say, I was a lump for the past week. I did not cook, I did not train - I slept, medicated, and watched too much TV. Oh well, you have to deal with the things you cannot control and hope for the best. I hope to get back on the treadmill tomorrow morning before work for a few miles.The half marathon is at the end of this month!!! I have to get back on track with my training and make up for my lost time.

Today is the first day I feel half way back to human (cough is subsiding, sniffles have just about vanished), and what luck, I got to bake today, too! Tomorrow is a co-worker's last day, so we're throwing her a farewell breakfast bash.

I volunteered to make . . .

Carrot Cake Breakfast Bites
You'll need:
1 C gluten free flour
1/2 rolled oats
1/2 unsweetened coconut
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
Dash ground clove
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1 C shredded carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
1/2 C raisins (soaked for about an hour)
1/2 C coconut oil (softened in microwave for about 30 seconds)
1/2 C maple syrup
1 t vanilla extract

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 350' and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, coconut, baking powder, salt and spices.
3. Add in walnuts and raisins. Stir.
4. In a small bowl, combine softened coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and carrots. Add mixture to the large bowl of dry ingredients and combine until thoroughly mixed.
5. Roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place on to lined cookie sheet.
6. Bake for about 13 minutes. Let cool before removing from sheet.

The cookies are soft, sweet, and very easy to eat...for breakfast! They have a healthy serving of vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber from the carrots. They're a slow-release carbohydrate (from the oats) which provide a steady source of energy, contain omega-3s, protein, and fiber from the walnuts, and have healthy sugars to satisfy a morning sweet tooth. So go ahead and have one or two to get you through your morning.

Vegan French Toast

So, last I left you, the arches of my feet were starting to hurt badly because I was logging in about 20 miles a week and doing it in trail shoes. Silly girl.

I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got myself a pair of Asics gel-1170 running shoes. They were written up in Runner's World magazine as being one of the best sneakers for marathons and long training runs.

I tried them out last weekend.

Boy, these babies were great! I could definitely feel a major difference in the arch support when I ran. The rubber on the soles are soft and help with the bounce back after striking the treadmill. The top of the toe and sides of the shoe are very breathable and keep my feel cool, but there is still enough padding in the back by the ankle to keep stability and support.

These were,in my opinion, a great buy and I'd recommend them to any runner looking for a new pair of stability running shoes. I've already logged about 15-20 miles in them since last Friday!

In other news. . .

it snowed this week.

It's almost May.

Just when Buffalo thought it was well on it's way to spring, this happened:

"Issued by The National Weather Service Buffalo, NY 3:53 pm EDT, Sun., Apr. 22, 2012 ... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING "

Well great. All the buds have sprouted, the animals are making their new homes for the summer, and now the snow is going to come by for one more visit. Oh, well,make the best of it and cook something warm and comforting, right?

How about vegan french toast....perfect.

Vegan French Toast
You'll need:
3-4 slices of whole wheat bread
1/3 C unsweetened almond milk
1 med. banana (preferably ripe)
3 T canola oil
2 t honey
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t nutmeg
1/16 t clove

To make:
1. Mash banana in bowl until smooth
2. Add the almond milk and stir until combined.
3. Add the vanilla, honey, and spices until combined.
4. Soak bread slices individually in mixture for 30 seconds on each side
5. While bread is soaking, heat a small frying pan on the stove at low-medium heat. Once pan is hot, add 1T of the oil and place one piece of saturated bread in the pan.
6. Let bread cook on the one side until you can see the bottom edges are getting golden brown; flip and let brown.
7. Repeat the 1T oil, cook bread sequence until all slices have been used. It is best to cook them one piece at a time because they don't take that long to cook and it's easier to keep an eye on them.

The result was a soft, spongy, spicy, sweet french toast! I was very pleased with the texture - it was just like the real thing. This recipe is a great healthier alternative to a traditional recipe...and if you don't have any more eggs in the house!

What  is your favorite cold-weather breakfast? Has Spring sprung where you are?

Staying Above Water

The name of the game these past couple weeks has been: Just keep your head above the water.
Life has been a busy flurry of work, training, work-work-work, training, work, little bit of play. So, although I'd love to come here and share with you all the goodies I've been making, baking, and eating, I'm sad to say there just hasn't been too much of that lately. There's just no time (insert The Guess Who's "No Time" lyrics here.)

I haven't completely given up on my hobbies and daydreams, though. This past weekend, I bought a Wilton Decorating Basics course kit.

I'm really excited to break this baby open and play with frosting.

I've also been creeping a new blog that's all about cookie decorating and it's only fueling my desire to bake and create.

I also bought a new pair of running shoes! Woohoo!

They're Ascis GEL-1170. They were rated very well in Runner's World magazine as being "a great choice for long training runs and marathons." Perfect.

I needed a new pair so badly. I've been running in trail shoes (yes, I know, I know), and the arches of my feet are really beginning to pay for it. Sometimes during the day, after I complete a long run, the muscle in the inside arch of my feet will seize up and it hurts so, so badly I have to stop what I'm doing and try to massage it out.

Good news, however, is that my last longest run (this past Sunday) was 9.5 miles! I'm doing a really good job of staying on schedule and pushing myself to complete my goals. This weekend I was scheduled to run 10 miles, but I'm going to a concert on Saturday night.To make up for it, I think I might do 5 miles tomorrow and then 5 miles Saturday morning.

I hope these new shoes will help and I can break them in before the 1/2 Marathon at the end of May.

But, that's about all the excitement in my world at the moment. I'm currently working on a homemade peanut butter frozen yogurt recipe, so once I think I have it down, believe me, I will share. But, in the meantime, I promise I'll try to be better at posting  :)

Chocolate Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

I know, I know. . . it's been a while. This past week has been busy with work, the Easter holiday, training, and life.

I really would love nothing more than to stay in the kitchen all day and make delicious vegan and vegetarian treats, but work has to be done, duties have to be carried out, and money has to be made. I always have weekends to play. . .

With that said, I really haven't gotten to make anything really spectacular lately, but I did manage to get this together for Jon's mom's Birthday with help from Have Your Cake and vegan too, By Kris Holechek.

Chocolate Cake With Coffee Butter Cream Frosting
You'll need (for the cake)
1 3/4 C flour (I used gluten free flour)
1 1/2 C organic granulated sugar
3/4 C baking cocoa
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1/2 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 C canola oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 C boiling water

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 350'F. Lightly grease 9''x13'' pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, combine milk and vinegar with an electric mixer. Add oil and vinegar. Combine with mixer.
5. Incorporate half the dry mixture into the wet, blend until smooth. Add remaining dry mixture and, again, blend until smooth.
6. Add the boiling water to the mixture and blend until smooth. Batter will seem watery. Pour into greased cake pan.
7. Bake in oven for  40 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center). Let cool completely in pan on wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting, you'll need:
1/2 C Earth Balance Buttery Stick
1/2 - 1 t instant coffee granules (I used 1/2 but next time I'll do more)
1 T unsweetened almond milk
1 3/4 C powdered sugar

To make:
1. Cream Earth Balance in a medium bowl with beaters.
2. Dissolve coffee in almond milk and add to Earth Balance. Mix.
3. Add the powered sugar in 2 parts, mixing to combine. Beat until smooth and creamy.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this cake. It came out much better than I thought it would. The cake was mildly sweet, and the texture was similar to pound cake in that it was very compact, but it was not dense - it was very light and almost spongy.
The frosting was very smooth and the coffee sang through the sugar and combined with the bittersweet chocolate flavor of the cake to harmonize into a lovely Birthday treat!

P.S.: Notice anything a little different about these photos? I used natural sun light and WOW, what a difference!