Recipe-Packed Post

I can't stand lazy days. They're just not for me. I find that I'm much happier when I'm active and productive all day; I feel better when I've gotten lots done. Today was a great day for me. I have all these recipes I need to post, so first order of business: Strawberries n' Cream Oatmeal Pudding.


A few days ago I made this for breakfast. I wanted to try a pudding recipe since I haven't tried many before, and I'd been itching to try CCK's Kozyshack recipe--with my own tweaks, of course. ;-) Using her basic idea, I prepared the pudding the night before, using the fresh strawberries I picked up at the grocery (very ripe, sweet strawberries work the best). First, puree 3/4 cup strawberries, half a serving firm tofu (I used Mori-nu light), 3/4 cup almond (or other) milk, and 2 teaspoons (you can use less, if you want) pure vanilla extract. Stir this mixture into 1/2 cup oats and leave covered in the fridge overnight.

When you're right-n'-ready for your brekkie pudding, take out the oatmeal and pulse a few times in your blender or food processor. Transfer to a small saucepan and cook on the stove on medium-high, covered, for at least twenty minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another twenty uncovered, or until you've reached the desired consistency and the pudding has cooked down and sweetened up a little. Enjoy warm or place back in the fridge to chill and enjoy it cold later (both ways are delicious! and the chilled one gets a bit sweeter).

I garnished mine with a few goji berries (but fresh, heart-shaped strawberry slices would've looked so much prettier--I'll be sure to upload a better, more professional photograph when I make this pudding again next in the future--with a better camera and better presentation).

Creamy, pink, delicious goop!


 It was absolutely delicious the morning I had it. This morning, however, I enjoyed one of my favorite breakfast soft-serves--a Peppermint Soft-Serve. Using the basic recipe, I just blended together a frozen banana, 1/4 cup almond milk with 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract stirred in that I chilled for a bit in the freezer in advance, and a large handful of frozen spinach. The Ninja whipped it right up into a smooth, dreamy n' minty delight.

Garnished with a fresh sprig of spearmint from the garden. <3

Look at all that green! This would be perfect for St. Patty's Day, don't you think?



Next recipe on the agenda: Pumpkin-Quinoa Bars!


I'd heard of baking with quinoa while putzing around blogs. I absolutely adore quinoa, though I've only ever had it in savory dishes. I figured it'd made delicious baked goodies as well; why not?

I found a recipe online and altered it to my likes (arguably, improving it). Making the bars single-serving, I prepared 1/4 cup quinoa--using the normal method, bringing it to a boil on the stove with 1/2 cup water and simmering for fifteen minutes covered. Then, I blended half of the quinoa with 1/2 cup of organic pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup water (but maybe almond milk would work better next time?), one teaspoon vanilla extract, and half a box of raisins (I used them as the sweetener, because I like to use fruit for my sweetness--you can also use sweetener or choice, like brown sugar, stevia, honey, agave, etc., though you might have to alter the recipe a bit). I pre-heated the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, I prepared a flax "egg" by mixing together a tablespoon of water with a tablespoon of flax meal and letting that sit for a few minutes. Then stirred in the spice for the bars (of course, these measurements can be altered to your taste-buds/flavor preferences): a heaping teaspoon of ground cinnamon, scant 1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. I also added a pinch (about 1/8 teaspoon) of baking powder and an even smaller pinch of baking soda.

Then, I mixed the wet mixture into the bowl, also adding the rest of the quinoa, until all of it was blended well together. I scooped this pumpkin-licious dough into a small glass baking dish (any small oven-safe pan/dish, etc. will do, of course) lined with parchment paper (for super-easy clean-up; some people use tinfoil, but I find that it hinders the baking process), spreading it out into a thin, 1/3 inch layer for my bars. The baking time depends on how thick you make your bars: if you want thinner bars, about the thickness I made mine, bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes. For thicker bars, simply cook longer, and maybe up the temperature to 350 for faster cooking (but I warn you--they might end up being uncooked a little on the inside).

When they were done, I took them out to let them cool on the counter for ten minutes, then I transferred them to the refrigerator to chill for another twenty. At this point, it would probably be best to let the bars set overnight to give them a chance to firm and sweeten up, but since I was so eager to try my Pumpkin-Quinoa Bars, I used the quicker option: I popped them in the freezer for another twenty-or-so minutes. Then, when I just couldn't wait any longer, out they came, onto the plate.

Because of my impatience, the bars had a bit of a strange texture--chewy on the outside and kind of soft on the inside. Next time I use this recipe, I'll be sure to prepare them the day before so they can sit in the refrigerator to properly set and firm up.

And so I discovered another wonderful way to use quinoa! :-)

Another post is coming up soon--I just needed this one to get out some built-up recipes. I have a ton built up. I've been busy busy busy in the kitchen lately, ;-)

Missing My Food Processor

Never buy your food processor at Walmart.

About a week ago, our old Cuisinart mini-food processor kicked the can. It'd done it's job well, having lasted for such a long time--especially since I'd been using it at least four or five times a day lately. That little processor and I had a close relationship. We were tight. But it was time to move on. It had to happen eventually.

So, low on money, dad and I headed out to Walmart to pick up a new one that very same day (with my insisting that I needed another one immediately).
Of course, I would have taken so much more delight in buying a processor at a real kitchen appliance store, but, of course, such things were out of our budget--and I (and dad too, probably) would've gone straight for the most expensive, bad-butt model.

You get what you pay for, though.

And Wally-World is definitely not the best place to buy kitchen tools. The selection was limited to a mere single processor--not a selection at all!--and it was cheap (fifteen dollars) and didn't look like much at all, rather plastic-y. But we figured it would do the job, so we bought it.

At first the food processor worked okay. Although the motor was a little weak and it took a while to fully blend frozen fruit and nuts and things and usually needed some added liquid to help out, it still managed to do it well enough.
But just a few days later it died. Piece of crud. Turns out my previous fears about the motor and such were correct. Never again will I buy cheap tools.

I'd learned my lesson, so I went online to Ebay to find a new processor: a good, solid one that would last. Of course, I couldn't afford a really nice, state-of-the-art model, but I was able to find a new, "buy now," free shipping, twenty-five-piece Magic Bullet set for sixty dollars. I've heard from others, particularly from other bloggers like CCK, that the Magic Bullet works really well and is really good for personal (and other) processing.

But the package isn’t going to arrive until Monday. How am I supposed to live that long without my beloved processing abilities? After just one day I’m already suffering from a processor “withdrawal.” I can’t make my morning soft-serves, shakes, or smoothies; I can’t blend nuts or dried fruit or other goodies to make into my favorite snacks—the raw, homemade bars, balls, and bites I love so much. There are so many yummy vegan recipes that just aren’t practical without a hand-sized blender. I need it. I can’t wait until Monday. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself until then. I miss my dear mini processor dearly. </3

I’d had banana oatmeal the morning last, so I went with something a little different: Figgy-Flax Granola (I said a little different; it was hard to find a way to shake up my brekkie without my [beloved] food processor. I ended up still having to go with oats). Except I didn’t have enough time to make a real granola—very slowly cooked for a very long time at a low temperature—and I added a fourth a cup of almond milk, so it ended up turning out more like a baked oatmeal, very soft and not too crispy. It was basically like a baked cereal. I loved it anyway, of course.

To make the Figgy-Flax Bake, I combined a serving of oats, a tablespoon of wheat germ, and a tablespoon of milled flax (but I’m sure whole flax seeds would work just as well, if not better for a granola). I chopped up four dried mission black figs superfine and then mixed them into the dry stuff, then added a teaspoon and a half of pure vanilla extract and the fourth cup of almond milk. Next time, if I’m going for granola, I’ll skip the almond milk, or at least only use one or two tablespoons, and I’ll bake it at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for at least an hour or so, probably more like two or three.

But this time, to get more of a baked-cereal kind of thing (and because it was breakfast time and I was hungry for some breakfast munchies) I spread the mixture on a baking dish lined with parchment paper and popped it in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for thirty-five minutes or so. But halfway through I upped the temperature to 400 because I got impatient. ;-P If you wanted to use this basic recipe to make a baked oatmeal, you’d just add more liquid in the beginning and cook it like I did, maybe longer. What I did was a little too moist for a cereal, so I think next time I want to use it that way I’ll only add half the almond milk.

Once it was out of the oven and had cooled a bit, I scooped it into a cereal bowl, topped it with some fresh, juicy, in-season blueberries and enjoyed it with a little (just a little—it didn’t need much at all) almond milk.

The recipe for Figgy-Flax Oatmeal Bake/Granola will be posted after I get a chance to perfect it, but as you can see its pretty basic; just play with the ingredient amounts a little to see what works best for you. For full-on granola, you might even want to add extra seeds, nuts, dried fruit, or anything else. Maybe make a Figgy-Coconut Granola, with unsweetened shredded coconut? Coconut and fig makes a good match. J

So somehow I’m just going to have to deal until Monday afternoon—using/crafting recipes that don’t need a food processor (agh!) It will be EXTREMELY AGONIZING. Ants in my pants! (Though that saying doesn’t usually really describe how I feel… it’s more like there are ants in my head.) I’m anxiously awaiting that day... but I think I can manage. ;-) Either way, I have to. For now, if I want to make anything that needs blending, mushing, or any kind of other processing, I'll just need to do it by hand the good ol' fashioned way, with a fork or a spoon (which is fine and all, but I just don't get the same consistency, and I can't do nearly as many things... *sigh*).

QUESTION:
Do you have a kitchen tool that you just can't live without?

Pumpkin-Vanilla Ice-Cream Sandwiches!

Oatmeal and Banana Soft-Serve are two of my favorite breakfast treats. So why not combine them? Actually, the real question is: Why didn't I think of this sooner?