Whole Grain Spelt Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

When determining what type of cookies I wanted to make, I decided that they shouldn't all be chocolate based cookies. I get stuck in a rut at times, as most people love chocolate, so that always seems the way to go. This is weird because my favorite cookie has always been oatmeal raisin cookies - not a chocolate variety (though I am a fan). Not to mention, not everyone can have chocolate (sad!), and not everyone likes chocolate (I can't even understand this!), so I branched out and made some non-chocolate cookies as well.

I love oatmeal raisin cookies, so any spin on them is a good sign in my book. I found some local walnuts at The Root Cellar over the weekend - some of them I used for pumpkin-walnut bread for Thanksgiving - but I wanted to highlight them in something else. I must say, these are excellent. From what I could gather, they were also the favorite at work as well. The walnuts were so flavorful, soft, and provided a creamy and buttery flavor that complemented the sweet and tart dried cranberries really well. These go wonderfully with tea and make a pretty dang good breakfast too, if I might say.

I modified this recipe from here.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Grain Spelt Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

6 tbsp Earth Balance
6 tbsp organic raw sugar
6 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 egg or egg replacer ++
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup + 6 tbsp regular rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped +

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine Earth Balance, sugar, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the remaining ingredients except cranberries and walnuts.

Once well combined, stir in cranberries and walnuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoons a few inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Yummy!

'Til next time!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did a lot of baking over the weekend for a project that I am working on. I've gotten a few spiced bread recipes down (nothing special, just basic pumpkin and zucchini bread recipes, I just used whole grain spelt flour), have worked on brownies and blondies (they need a little work before I blog about them), so over the weekend, I focused on cookies. And who doesn't like cookies?

These are really good - but really, really rich. I was only able to eat one and I was more than satisfied. I love dark chocolate and this is a great way to highlight an excellent, high quality bar of the dark stuff. I took some of these, and the other cookies I will be posting about over the coming days, to my coworkers. They seem to be enjoying them so far!

This recipe was modified from here. I made the recipe dairy free and whole grain - oh, and I halved it because I was making tons of other cookies too.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies

Makes about 12 large cookies

6 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 packed brown sugar
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1 egg or egg replacer ++
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
6 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 +1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 ounces 71% cacao fair trade organic chocolate (I used 3/4 of a 3.5 oz bar), chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine Earth Balance, vanilla, sugar, and egg (or replacer) with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the remaining ingredients except the chocolate, cherries, and pecans.

Once dough well blended, stir in chocolate, cherries, and pecans.

Drop by rounded tablespoons a few inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Brett also had a great idea on how to "up" these cookies' visual appeal. He thought it would be neat to make the cookies a lot smaller, and rather than mixing the cherries in the batter, putting one in the center of each cookie like a thumbprint cookie. I think we might have to try that.

I will leave you with this...

J's Playlist of the Day (the best songs I heard from our music collection today)
"Out of Love" Aberfeldy
"One with the Freaks" The Notwist
"Original Spies" Karate
"Drenched" Calexico
"How We Breathe" Pinback
"Back on the Chain Gang" The Pretenders
"Blackbird" The Beatles
"Subdivisions" Rush
"Don't Ask Me Why" Billy Joel
"Green River" Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)
"Sultans of Swing" Dire Straits
"Goin' Mobile" The Who
"Strange Brew" Cream

'Til next time.

"Everything" Granola Bars (Vegetarian)

My first attempt at making granola bars was a few weeks ago. It went so-so - hence why I never blogged about it. The granola turned out and tasted fantastic, but it didn't really work as "bars". I pressed them, let them set, and then removed them from the pan to cut them, at which point, it all fell apart. I was a little disappointed, but it was tasty homemade granola, so I enjoyed it as is, and decided I would try again...sometime...

Time got away from me a little bit, I had other endeavors I wanted to try and honestly, I kind of forgot about them, and got into the habit of buying Herbal Oats granola bars from the farmer's market or The Root Cellar to have for work. Then last week, I picked up a granola bar from the local Uprise Bakery (where we usually get our beloved ciabatta from), and it was the best granola bar I had ever had - seriously - so good. So I saved the label with the ingredients listed on it so I could try again, this time using Uprise's combination of seeds, nuts, and other goodies.

I am happy to say that they not only set and held together, they taste almost just like the granola bars from Uprise. These are a lot cheaper than the $2.50 a pop Uprise granola bars, and I was able to use some local ingredients to make them. And we all know that local ingredients make everything better, right? :-)

I have been enjoying these for my breakfasts at work and Brett has been enjoying them at home - though it seems he is also eating them as snacks too. And Brett isn't a huge nut/seed fan, so his eating them for snacks says a lot about how good they are. I think I might start making my own granola bars for work breakfasts - at least until some California clementines become available. Between the months of November and February, Brett and I almost turn into clementines. I kid you not when I say I was bringing 6-10 to work with me a day and eating them all last year at this time. Now I know clementines are small, but that is a lot of fruit! No wonder I didn't get sick very often last winter!

There I go, off on a tangent again. You would figure I talk people's ears off - Brett yes - but pretty much everyone else gets a fairly mute Jennifer. I guess when I am typing my long-winded nature really shows through. If I wasn't so shy and didn't have such "out there" opinions, I would likely talk it up more, but alas, that is not the case, so you all get to deal with my long-winded typing.

















The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

"Everything" Granola Bars

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped pecans *
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 ground flax seeds
1/2 cup regular rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup honey *
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter +
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400.

Layer all the nuts and oats except the sesame seeds on a baking sheet.

Toast for 5 minutes. Shake pan and add sesame seeds.

Toast another 3-5 minutes, keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Meanwhile, combine honey, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt over low heat in a small sauce pan.

In a large bowl, combine the dry and wet mixtures.

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.

Spread mixture in pan and press down firmly to get the granola to stick together.

Cool completely and cut into squares (ours made about 12).

Store in an air tight container for 3-5 days.

These rocked and have made excellent breakfasts. Yum!

'Til next time.

Homemade Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits with Apple Butter

So what do you think I did with the rest of the apples Vern gave us? Well, I made a recipe that I enjoyed from my Nanny when I was younger - apple butter! Brett had never had apple butter, so I knew this was a treat he needed to experience, and what better way to try it than with Vernalicious apples?

As some of you know, I'm also quite intimidated by bread making of any kind. I don't know why, as I know it isn't as difficult as I make it out to be in my head, but I always imagine myself with cramped hands, covered in flour, sitting in front of a limp ball of dough that won't do what it is supposed to. As you can see, I've really psyched myself out about it. The thing is though, you can't just eat apple butter by itself - I knew I wanted some sort of bread, but I wasn't sure what kind. Eventually I decided to try my hand at making biscuits - I am damn tired of buying those icky tubes of biscuits that source their ingredients from who knows where and contain all sorts of less-than-pleasant ingredients. I also thought this would be a good way to get my "toes wet" in the bread making department. The end result? Bread making is not that hard and it is actually quite enjoyable. I liked getting my hands in the dough! While I might not be baking up a bread storm, as Brett and I don't often eat sandwiches, or many "flour oriented goods" beyond tortillas really, I will now make my own biscuits. I also have a wild hair up my ass to make my own pita next time it is called for. And yes, I will eventually try my hand at making tortillas. I think this weekend I am going to work on our pizza dough recipe some more. I'm taking Courtney's advice and using whole grain spelt flour. We found some in the bulk bin at the grocery store the other day (sadly not local), and we picked up a few pounds of it to work with.

Enough of the flour related tirade. Onto the food!















Such a yummy brunch! We enjoyed these bad boys while watching some pigskin on the tube.















We have a whole pint of this stuff to enjoy!

A quick note: The recipe for the apple butter came from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, so for fear of copyright infringement, I cannot reprint the recipe here. If you would like it, please just drop me an email and I would be happy to send it to you.

Also, I halved the recipe for the apple butter so that we would get only one pint or so (it is always a little off for some reason). We didn't go through the whole boiling water bath canner process as we aren't putting this away for winter - we are eating, and very much enjoying it now.

Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits
Recipe adapted from here.

Makes 10 mini-biscuits or 5-6 regular sized ones.

1 1/4 cup flour (I used all-purpose white flour as we are still trying to finish off this lingering bag)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp organic raw sugar
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
3-4 tbsp raisins
4 tbsp Earth Balance
6 tbsp rice milk (or other milk)
1 Ener-G egg (or other egg replacer)

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Using a fork, work in the Earth Balance. The batter should be fairly dry and crumbly.

Add the milk and egg replacer and knead with your hands until well combined.

Lightly flour a counter or some other work surface, as well as a rolling pin.

Place your ball of dough on the floured surface and roll out until 1/2 an inch thick.

Form your biscuit using a cookie cutter.

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

You can also stick a toothpick in the biscuits to make sure they are done.

I think I may make more biscuits tonight or tomorrow so we can enjoy more of the apple butter. It is so good. Now I know what I will do if I ever go apple picking. I really like apple butter, and it, with a couple of homemade biscuits, make quite the tasty breakfast or brunch.

'Til next time.

Sushi 'Burgers' with Asian-ish Slaw

This meal was one of the more experimental things I have tried and I'm pleased to say it turned out really well. I modified the recipe for the sushi 'burgers' from here. I loved the spiciness of the burger and it even had a slightly "fishy" quality to it, but not overpoweringly so.

I added shredded beets to the coleslaw for some sweetness, which complimented the savory and slightly spicy burger quite well. The dried cranberries offered more sweetness and a nice addition of texture. The peanuts add an additional burst of protein and good fat, while adding a nice crunch to the dish.

The meal was also quite easy as I had my microplane grater and food processor do most of the work for me.















Sushi 'Burgers'
Makes 4 large patties

1/2 cup sushi rice, cooked
1 cup adzuki beans, cooked
1 sheet of nori, shredded
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded (I used a microplane grater)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and shredded (Again, I used a microplane grater)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated with the microplane (or finely minced)
1/2 yellow onion, shredded with the microplane (or finely minced)
2 hot banana peppers (or jalapeno, Anaheim, Hungarian Wax, Serrano, etc), stems removed, shredded with microplane (or finely minced)
1 1/2 tbsp seasoned brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp shoyu (or other soy sauce)
1 tsp wasabi powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl, lightly mash the adzuki beans with a fork.

Combine with the rest of the ingredients.

Form into 4 large patties and refrigerate for about an hour to let the patties "set".

Lightly coat the bottom of a small skillet with oil (I used coconut, probably about 1/4-1/2 tsp). Fry patties for about 5-8 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Top with Asian-ish slaw (recipe follows).

Asian-isn Slaw

Salad:
1 cup red cabbage, shredded
1 cup green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 yellow onion, shredded
2 beets, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1/4 cup crushed peanuts

Dressing:
2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup seasoned brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2-4 tbsp raw sugar
2 green serrano chilies, seeded and minced (Thai chilies would be even better)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salt and white pepper to taste

Shred all the salad ingredients except the peanuts and cranberries in a food processor or with a box grater. Set aside.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.

Refrigerate for about an hour to allow flavors to meld.

Right before serving, stir in the cranberries and peanuts.

This meal had quite a bit more oil in it than I usually use, but we had a more active than usual day. We had this on Saturday, so, as usual, we walked to and from the farmer's market and we also went out walking for a couple of hours with a good friend at a local park, so this meal was very nice after a long day walking outside. We were lucky to be able to walk in a shaded park, it felt so much cooler beneath those trees than out exposed to the scorching sun.

Well, I'm off to prepare a simple dinner, enjoy a fresh batch of sun tea (our favorite recipe is a gallon jug filled with water and 4 fair trade, organic Darjeeling tea bags and 1 organic peppermint tea bag, so refreshing!), and probably take a sneak peek at the book I chose for the month of July's "Blogging Borkworm" review, though I still have to finish Wealth and Democracy by Kevin Phillips (it's a really long book). I chose "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman, he explores how the planet would respond without the pressures of human civilization. Interesting topic to ponder.

Oooooh, and we stopped by the smaller, but still lovely, farmer's market that runs on Monday's and Wednesday's here in Columbia and picked up some gorgeous local peaches. They were so yummy looking we both just ate one right there at the market, along with everyone else who had gotten peaches. :-) Never done that before.... They were so juicy, and perfect, this was my first local peach, and I gotta say, no peach I've had before even comes close. And to think, we got 9 local peaches for $5, who says buying local has to be expensive?

'Til next time.

Midwestern Spice Chili

I have been craving chili for awhile, but had avoided making it until I could come up with something creative, as I have, over the years, pretty much ‘chilied’ myself out. You see, chili was one of the first things I learned how to cook back when I was still an omni, so I made it all the time and wore myself out on it (and Brett too!). Then I came across SusanV’s Gold Rush Chili and thought it was a good starting point. I modified it to our tastes, and this is what I came up with!

A little note of warning though, if you don't like spicy food, either cut out or cut down the roasted hot peppers and cayenne.

Midwestern Spice Chili
1 cup kidney beans, cooked
1 cup navy beans, cooked
1 cup black beans, cooked
15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 butternut squash, cubed and roasted
1 sweet potato, peeled, cubed and roasted
jalapenos and other hot peppers, roasted and sliced
1/2 bell pepper, roasted and diced
1/2 cup corn, cooked
1/4 onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
regular chili powder
chipotle chili powder
Mexican oregano
cumin
cayenne (of course)
black pepper
salt

Heat water in a large pot, add onions and cook 5 minutes, add garlic and cook another few minutes or until veggies are soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Spice to your liking and simmer over low heat for a half hour to an hour for the flavors to meld.

This makes quite a bit of chili. We had our fill for dinner, portioned out two servings for lunch and then froze the rest. You could also just cut the recipe in half.

I also thought I’d leave you with the ‘recipe’ for one of my favorite snacks: mixed nuts and dried fruit. I call it a ‘recipe’ because there is no actually preparation really involved other than mixing the ingredients together in a bowl. But I thought I’d share this snack as it’s delicious, healthy, and filling.















J's Yummy Snack Mix

(Note: All my ingredients were organic and purchased from the bulk section. It cost less that $5 to make a HUGE container full of this.)

roasted peanuts*
raw almonds
raw sunflower seeds
raw cashews
dried mango
dried cranberries
raisins
dried cherries

*This is the only nut I bought roasted and salted as I wanted a little salitness in the mix. You could just use raw peanuts too if you wanted.

Mix everything together and chow down.

So yummy!

'Til next time!

Pasta, Sprouts, and Pretentious Rice Crispies

For dinner tonight was simple baked tofu and spinach pasta. I adapted this from a Vegetarian Times recipe for Garlicky Tofu. The original recipe called for much too much garlic for my taste (and I like garlic!), prebaked tofu (I can bake the tofu myself, thank you, it takes 20 minutes), and not enough spinach. This recipe was very simple and very filling. I used a different pasta this time, an organic whole grain pasta with flax, and neither of us were particularly sent by it. But the rest was good, so I’ll do this again, but with a different pasta.

I used the Veganomicon recipe for Italian Marinated Tofu and baked it, the above stated not-anything-to-write-home-about pasta, an entire bag of fresh baby spinach steamed, and store bought mushroom onion marinara. It only took about a half hour to cook, and it was healthy and so-so (we mostly ate around the noodles and there was plenty of spinach to allow for it).

I also tried Lizzy’s Roasted Mustard Brussels Sprouts again and they turned out much better. I made a lot more mustard sauce, and it had too much zip, so I added a little agave and that smoothed it out. I basted the sprouts again about half way through cooking time, and I think that helped with the flavor as well. Yum!

I felt like baking tonight, but not really baking. Anyone else ever feel that way? What to do, eh? I decided to make vegan rice crispy treats, as, well, this is ‘baking’ without baking. I made what I like to call a ‘Pretentious Rice Crispy Treat’ as I added chopped hazelnuts, diced dried apricots, and shredded coconut to them. Brett and I discovered this lovely flavor combination from a box of organic granola bars we bought a bit back. Both of us had been wondering where else we could use this flavor combination. We came up with two ideas, a rice crispy treat or oatmeal (super creative I know).

I found a product called ‘Ricemellow Cream’ at the store and it’s vegan with no hydrogenated oils or sugars added. So I decided to try it out, and it’s pretty good and makes a mean crispy treat.

J’s Pretentious ‘Not Your Momma’s’ Rice Crispy Treat
1 10 oz box organic puffed brown rice cereal
1-2 tubs Suzanne’s Ricemellow Cream (or other marshmallow substitute)
1-2 tbsp Earth Balance (I like the organic whipped variety)
handful of chopped hazelnuts
lots of organic dried apricots, diced
1 cup (or more) shredded coconut (I used organic reduced fat)

Pour cereal in a large bowl.

Heat Earth Balance and ricemellow cream in a sauce pan until they begin to melt. Add the hazelnuts, apricots, and coconut and stir well.

Once melted, pour over puffed brown rice and stir.

Spread mixture into a 9x13 pan and let sit until cooled. Cut into squares.

Yum!

These were really easy and quick, between dinner and these treats I was in the kitchen for less than an hour. Nice.

So, before I close, I had to let people know that Brett finally started a blog! I am so happy he did. I can tell you, it definitely has nothing to do with food (though I’m sure he [or I as I may post on his blog from time to time] may broach the topic of veg*nism at least once). His points of view are – well, different, but not far out there or unreasonable (as are, I believe, my own). I have always thought Brett has a great way of articulating his opinions on things, so I am happy others get to enjoy (or fume at) his musings as well. If anyone dares, they can pop over and check it out. That is my plug, but seriously, I’m stoked, I love a good debate as much as the next person and hope to see some lively discussion going on around some important and touchy issues. Sometimes you have to get uncomfortable and really rethink some fundamental things to really get somewhere. These are just, of course, my humble opinions, but I thought I’d share.

Well, anyways.

‘Til next time!

Omega 3 Oatmeal and Healthy Vegan Comfort Food

I forgot to mention in my last post that I made those pancakes with hemp milk. I saw it when I was at the store the other day and decided to pick it up to try it out. I have to say, it might now be my favorite non-dairy milk – it is really good and also high in Omega 3’s, awesome.

So, as I had mentioned in my last post, I was contemplating making some sort of spicy brunch dish, but somehow the morning got away from me, so I opted to make some oatmeal. Man I love oatmeal. I made Brett a bowl of Sweet Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal and made myself something I decided to call Omega 3 Oatmeal. It was a bit of an experiment, I just kind of threw some stuff together, but it was really good. Brett tasted it and said he liked it better than his oatmeal. I will definitely make this again soon.

Omega 3 Oatmeal
1/3 cup regular rolled oats
2/3 cup plain hemp milk
3-4 dried apricots, diced
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2-4 tbsp agave
1 tbsp brown sugar
dash cinnamon

Stir all ingredients together in a sauce pan and bring to boil, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!

For dinner, I made Sautéed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach from Veganomicon and served it over quinoa. This recipe was alright, but if any of you out there make it, I would taste it before adding the salt called for, as ours turned out a bit salty. This was remedied by serving it over lots of quninoa. I really like quinoa, it is probably my favorite grain, and I feel like I don’t use it enough, Brett loves it as well, so I’m going to have to find more places to work it in! I also made Mashed Cauliflower for the first time. Lizzy gave me this recipe, but I believe she said she had gotten it from someone else. I apologize that I’m not crediting the original individual, but alas I don’t know who it was. Whoever made this up – wow, it was wonderful. Brett went to town on this. I think I’ve found a great way to get him more veggies.

I was really in the mood for veggies, so I also whipped up some of Lizzy’s Roasted Mustard Brussels Sprouts . She seems to be the Queen of Good Tasting Simple Veggies, and I don’t think I hate Brussels Sprouts anymore! Now these didn’t turn out as good as they probably could have, but this is my own error. I left my pizza stone in the oven, so the sprouts took forever to cook that is until I noticed I had left the stone in. I also think I’ll make more mustard sauce next time too, it was really good. The only thing I did differently in this recipe was use malt vinegar instead of balsamic at Lizzy’s recommendation.

This meal was vegan comfort food, and healthy to boot. I am stoked that I have leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow.

‘Til next time!

Weekends = Lots of Cooking, Pictures, and A Long Post

Well, it's the weekend, which means that I have more time to cook.

Let's start off with Friday. I ended up making some nachos to use up the ingredients I still had on hand. This was a nice, tasty, quick meal, which was much appreciated after a long week at work and lugging home a mighty heavy load from the grocery store. I simply sautéed diced leftover marinated seitan (see the fajita post) in olive oil with some chopped up onion. I heated up the leftover black bean puree (see the flatbread post). I seasoned up some leftover brown rice I had. Then I got out some blue corn chips, spread 'em out on a plate, and topped them with the above stated ingredients. I popped it in the oven (set at 300 degrees) for a few minutes for everything to get nice and warm. Then I topped the nachos with some tofu sour cream, chopped up green onions, sliced black olives, and some salsa (not shown in the picture). It was good.

Yesterday, for breakfast I made some cinnamon raisin oatmeal. It was hearty, sweet and delicious. Oatmeal is very filling, which is something I forgot, since it has been awhile since I've had it. Neither one of us could eat more than about half the amount pictured. I over estimated our oatmeal appetites a bit, but hey, you live and learn, right?

Sweet Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

2/3 cup regular rolled oats (not instant)

1 1/3 cups plain or vanilla soymilk (or rice, oat, etc)

raisins (as much as you like)

dash nutmeg

pinch salt

cinnamon (to taste)

brown sugar (to taste, but I used lots)

sliced almonds (optional)

Bring oats and soy milk to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Stir in the rest of the ingredients except the almonds. Let boil for five minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, let stand five more minutes. Top with almonds before serving.

I spent the rest of the morning doing a bit of baking, but before I get to that, I just wanted to give a big thanks to Happy Herbivore for so kindly fielding my questions about vegan and healthful baking, it was a big help!

First, I made a vegan apple coffee cake, per Brett's request. Well, he didn't really request it, he won't do that, but he said he thought apple coffee cake would be good, I thought it could be easily veganized, and that someone out there had probably already done it. With a few short minutes of web searching, I happened upon Julie Hasson's recipe for Crumble Coffee Cake. I made only slight modifications to the recipe. For the cake, I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose white flour. And I also added up a peeled, diced up apple. This is a delicious recipe, it's not too sweet, and it truly does go well with a nice, warm cup of coffee.

Notice I have small versions of that really cool plate too.

I have been getting tired of having granola bars for breakfast at work, so I decided to try my hand at muffin making. You know, I'm not sure why anyone would make muffins from a box or package, they are really easy to make from scratch! I made plain 'ol blueberry muffins, and topped a few with some sliced almonds. These turned out so good, I'm not sure they will last long enough to make more than a couple of breakfasts for work. These could also double as a dessert, snack, meal, etc. - hehe. I modified this recipe from Recipe Zaar.

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

1/4 cup Earth Balance (melted)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup soymilk (plain or vanilla)

fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen)

sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Combine wet ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Slowly stir the wet ingredients with the dry in the bigger bowl. Fold in the blueberries.

Fill paper muffin cups (or greased muffin pan) 2/3 of the way full with batter. Top with sliced almonds if desired. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

And for dinner, something completely different. I made a tofu-veggie stir-fry with peanut sauce and served it over rice noodles. I had heard or read somewhere that the reason home made stir-fries never tasted like what you get at the restaurants is because people don't use peanut oil at home. Well I think they were right, I used peanut oil for my stir-fry last night and it turned out much better than anything I've made in the past.

Tofu Peanut Stir-Fry over Rice Noodles

Peanut Sauce:

1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (no salt added if possible)

1/2 cup hot water

4-6 tbsp shoyu (or other soy sauce)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tbsp lime juice (start with one and add more if desired)

4 tbsp brown rice vinegar

4 tbsp brown sugar

a bit of regular sugar if you like it sweeter

pinch of cayenne

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan on the stove. The peanut butter will melt and ingredients will then blend easily. Keep over low heat, stirring occasionally, adding a bit more water here and there if it starts to get too thick.

Tofu Peanut Stir-Fry:

Peanut Sauce

1/2 block firm tofu cut into small pieces

bell pepper, chopped

onion, chopped

broccoli, cooked

cauliflower, cooked

crushed peanuts

bean sprouts (optional)

green onions (optional)

peanut oil

Hot, cooked rice noodles

Cook rice noodles according to package directions.

Sautee tofu in peanut oil until browned. Add to peanut sauce and simmer while preparing the veggies.

Sautee onion and bell pepper in peanut oil until they begin to caramelize. Add broccoli and cauliflower. Cook a few more minutes.

Layer veggies and tofu with peanut sauce over the rice noodles. Top with bean sprouts, green onions, and crushed peanuts.

That's all for now.