So much food, so little time

I'm so confused.

Yesterday, I accidentally fell asleep at 6 pm. At 2 in the morning, I'm up and about.  Great.

I was still determined to stick to my regimen, so I did my hour of hula hooping. At 2 am.

Anyway, enough about strange sleeping patterns. I'm sorry I've been gone for a bit, but life happens. So onto food...

It may not look like much, but this is one of the most adventurous oat bowls I've made to date.

Into my pot went:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup water
1/4 rolled oats
3T wheat bran
1T coconut flour
1/4t cinnamon
powdered stevia (a lot)


And topped with:
sliced banana
shredded coconut
white chocolate chips
coconut cream (1T coconut flour mixed with enough almond milk to dissolve it. I read about it on HEAB who found out about it from Non-Dairy Queen.

So after a decision to make a rather complex dinner, a trip to Bristol Farms was made.

The deli counter was visited...

...and the cart was stocked.

Then a stop was made at Whole Foods to look for their coconut. I read on HEAB that the coconut butter I  (tried) to make a few days ago it truly an exact science. Apparently, I was NOT supposed to use flaked coconut, but shredded coconut. Did I listen?
No. So I bought coconut that best fit the description at Whole Foods, and headed on my way.

Of course, I had to stop at the flour aisle, just to make sure nothing was exploding over there. (Taking one for the team, I was.)

Don't laugh at this recipe.

Meat Chips w/ Thyme Dijon (This is not nearly as gross as it sounds)
Adapted from Real Simple
Desired amount of your meat of choice
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2-3T fresh chopped thyme

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spritz baking sheet with nonstick spray. Line meat on baking sheet and spritz with nonstick spray.Bake in oven at 375 F for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together Dijon and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve "chips" with the thyme Dijon. Dig in!

Next...
Blueberry Preserves
Adapted from Real Simple
2 packages of organic blueberries (I'll see later if this works with other berries)
1/4 granulated stevia
1T fresh lemon juice
1/4t salt

Mash all ingredients together with a potato masher until the blueberries have released there juices.

Pour everything into a food processor and process until pretty smooth (I guess you could skip this if you really wanted to.)

I poured into a small saucepan over medium-high heat like the original recipe, but it smelled like burning. I don't really like my preserves burned, so I just turned down to medium heat. That worked fine.

You're going to let that sit for awhile, about 18-25 minutes or until pretty thick. It probably won't be exactly jam/jelly/preserve texture right out of the pan. Don't worry, it'll firm up once cooled in the fridge.

And...
Curried Yogurt Dip
Adapted from Real Simple
1.5 cups nonfat Greek yogurt (I think Fage is the best)
1T curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
Dijon mustard
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Whisk it all together until smooth.

Once it was all together and uniform in color, it was time to taste. Good, but missing something.

So I added the juice from half a lemon and enough Dijon to bring it to the desired consistency. If you want it more or less Dijon-y, just adjust to your tastes. Yum.

Meanwhile, our preserves are almost done, but not quite.

Behold the glory of the finished dip!

It tasted great when I dipped a carrot into it.

Perfect.

Sorry the lighting isn't very good, but the pan is black, and the preserves are dark. Just believe it's good.

Pop into the fridge until cool.

Yes, there is more.

Balsamic Strawberries
Loosely based on Real Simple
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
as many strawberries as you want

Put the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and boil for 3-4 minutes or until reduced by about half. Serve balsamic with or poured on top of strawberries. This combo is unexplainable and AMAZING!!!
Try it.

Bear with me:


Red Curry Glazed Salmon
Adapted from Real Simple

4 4 oz. fillets of salmon
1T+1-2t of Thai red curry paste
2t canola oil
1/2t brown sugar
1/2t granulated stevia
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler.

Whisk together all ingredients except salmon in a small bowl.

Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil. Place salmon fillets on foil-lined baking sheet and rub evenly with curry paste mixture. Broil for 5-7 minutes, or until "opaque throughout. (Real Simple's words, not mine)

Very simple.

Garlic and Red Pepper Green Beans
Adapted from Real Simple

1 bag of snapped, pre-washed green beans
about 1T garlic powder
2t crushed red pepper
salt to taste

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Add garlic powder, red pepper, salt and stir to distribute. Cook until desired done-ness.

Beauteous.

Excuse me, I have food to devour.

OK, one more thing. My mom found a white nectarine at a Farmer's Market, and it was amazing. Sweet, but not too sweet. Yeah, I just though I'd share that. ;)

Enjoy!

-Kelly M

Q of the day: Have you ever heard of a white nectarine? If so, what do you think?

Edible Education

Aah, learning.

Since school if officially out for the summer (thank goodness,) naturally, I had to go off and take a class. Duh.

But... we may all be able to learn something from this class. It's a teen cooking class at Sur Le Table at The Grove. It's only a week long, but I have a feeling there is much to be learned in this week (and of course y'all will be learning too.) The course has a "Tour around the World" theme, and today was Mexican food day.

I walked there in light of a Fiasco Mission, but I ended up coming twenty minutes late. They were really nice about it, and class went on!

So apparently, the class (of about 10 people,) broke into two teams; Team Awesome vs. Team Charlie (yet nobody is named Charlie.) The teacher's name is Annie, and she's is sooooo nice. After class, she even gave me a mini tour of the store while we gushed over kitchen appliances. (I love meeting people who understand the importance of a Kitchenaid mixer.) :)

So I slept in until 11:30, and I enjoyed my bowl of stove top of oats at noon. Into the oats went:
1/4 cup oats
3T wheat bran
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup milk
1/4t cinnamon
a generous handful of stevia

After I put the oats in my mug (I love eating my oatmeal in mugs,) i stirred in some WF (Whole Foods) white chocolate chips, and topped it with some kiwi, sliced banana, and white chocolate almond butter. (I'm working on getting that recipe to you guys, honestly.)

So after class at the Sur, (that's my new abbreviation for Sur Le Table,) I poked around and found this really awesome looking ice cream/sorbet/granita/frozen yumminess cook book. Unfortunately, It was almost 20$, and I don't have an ice cream maker. (Although I certainly wouldn't mind one... ;)  )

So here are the Vita mixes. Sadly, the one on the right is 599.99, and the one on the left is 499.99. But Annie told me Vita mixes have the horse power of a motor boat. So if I ever need to pulverize a boulder, I know what appliance to go to.

I think I have this exact mixer, but in Green Apple. Another difference is that, I didn't pay the 299.99 (or is is .95?) listed here. I payed under $220 at overstock.com.

Just leave me here and pick me up next year.

This is a page inside The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. (I didn't even have a copy before today!) But, it was $40, so I decided to look elsewhere.

So I couldn't help myself. I went back to the exact same ice cream place I went yesterday.  (But they posted nutritional information AND ingredients. Does that count for something?)

My mom ordered the exact same fro yo I ordered yesterday, but dipped in chocolate.

I, being the wild person I am, ordered the exact same thing I ordered yesterday. Living in the edge, I am.

Yay, Bennett's! 

So afterwards, my mom and I used the need of a parking validation as an excuse to go to Barnes and Noble. Thanks, validation!

I heart Cooking Light. (No I didn't buy ALL the books. Yet.)

This is the book for the stand mixer. At the end of this, I'm going to have a wish list of books so long it'll fill a book itself!

I was on my way out, promise. But it looked interesting. I just had to look at it.

This is in a Brazilian cookbook. My friend Priscila, (remember?) is Brazilian and makes an amazing version of this with her grandmother. (Can I please have the recipe, Pri? Pretty, pretty please? But the people want to have the yummy cheese bread recipe share with them! Pwease?)

Being the Irish girl I am, I looked in the traditional Irish cooking book. Of course, I opened up to the recipe to Batter Pudding. I'd lighten up the recipe for you all, of course!

Another mishmash dinner. It was inspired by today's Mexican food lesson.

Deconstructed Skillet Mexican Lasagna (say that five times fast)

2 small corn tortillas

1/2 cup Boca soy crumbles (their natural version is the best!)

1/2 cup- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes (I didn't measure, I just poured)

sprinkling chili powder

1/2 -1t minced bottled garlic (or about 1-2 cloves minced)

salt, to taste

about 2T fat free/low fat cheese

Spritz corn tortillas with nonstick spray, cook in a skillet on medium high heat until crispy, about 2-3 minutes on each side. I didn't time it, so just watch. Remove tortillas from pan. Spray skillet with nonstick spray, and add soy crumbles, tomatoes, chili powder, garlic, and salt. Tear tortillas into bite- sized pieces, and add to skillet. Once mixture is thoroughly heated, sprinkle cheese on top and cover until melted. Picture note: The cheese is in their, but after I scooped it into my mug, (more mug eating!) the cheese wasn't on top anymore. It still tastes good. 

As a quick side, I snapped the ends off some green beans. I tried to do it quickly by just lining them all up and cutting all the end up at once. I also cut them in half once or twice more because I like them kinda short. It's just a personal preference, so feel free to not do that. (I would still take the ends off, though.) I just browned them up in a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray. Along with the green beans, I added a dash of salt and some bottled garlic. Play around with it if you want. Use a few cloves of garlic (more or less, whatever you like,) and put in your favorite salt substitute if you want. Yay, versatility!

Enjoy!

-Kelly M.

A Dijon Day

Happy Father's Day! (Well, not anymore...)

I had a quite a day, and I know I'm supposed to be catching up on posts for the pasta few days, but I though today (tonight,) I would actually talk about today. What a concept!

I got up relatively early for a weekend in summer, so i decided to take my mom to yoga for the first time. After going to the wrong place and finally showing up there more than 20 minutes late because (naturally) I got the class time wrong, the nice ladies at the desk decided to take pity on us and let us in anyway.

The class was fantastic. Yoga is great and I really hope to do more in the future! But I read on the website of a local yoga place (I don't think it's the one we actually ended up going to) that I shouldn't eat three hours before the class. So I skipped breakfast.

I survived, but I don't think I'd do that again. So after class, I went to Father's Day lunch with my dad, where we went (by his choice) to a bar-type restaurant called Saddle Ranch.

You can't read the menu, can you?

"Smart Drinks" is legible, but I think that's about it.

Since I did miss breakfast, I did start wolfing my salad down before I snapped a pic. I ordered the Thai Peanut Crunch, and I must've given the poor server a headache with my special ordering. I didn't take notes on the subject, but I think I ordered it without noodles, different noodles, won ton strips, sesame seeds, and with the dressing on the side. Can I also have a side of Dijon mustard? Whew. That sounded long even to me. (Take another look at the pic. That whole bowl was practically filled to the brim with salad. It was HUGE.)

I love ordering salads dry and then dipping my me salad goodies into Dijon. As you can see, I cleaned this bottle out. I wanted my 12.99 worth. (Yeah I know, paying thirteen bucks is probably too much to pay for a huge bowl of lettuce and salad related items. Oh well, it is a holiday.)

Look at all the dressing the gave me on the side! When you think about it, it would probably take that much to coat a salad like that. So I guess I don't need to feel so bad about cleaning out that jar of Dijon, should I?

There were also peanuts, edamame, carrots, and cucumber in there. Yum! (But I was soooo full.)

I tried to get my dad to go on that bull (to no avail. Maybe next year?)

Check out these guitar dudes that hang around the tables playing for customers for tips.

I think this sign is pretty funny.

So after that, I went to go see a movie at The Grove with my mom, and we took a detour to Sur Le Table, that amazing (and kinda overpriced) kitchen supply store.

I love this place.

By the way, I'm taking a teen summer cooking class here in this very Sur Le Table kitchen. I'm not sure they'll let me take pictures, but I'll try my best to fill you all in afterwards.

More kitchen. Eventually I had to ask my mom to drag me out of here before I put us in the poor house. (Thanks, Mom!)

So at the Farmer's Market...Yes, yes this is chocolate pasta. I think the sample would've been better if it had been cooked, because raw pasta typically isn't overly appealing.

I just wanted to hop in a start basking in the fruit bath. (But that might've looked weird. Just maybe.)

So I swiped (but not before paying :) ) some seedless grapes, a package of strawberries, a mango, and three bananas before continuing on our Farmer's Market journey. 

To any gluten free readers out there, check these out! The man at the counter said they guaranteed you'd love it, or your money back. (Cool!)

Ahhhh, choices.

So on our way out, we stopped at this awesome ice cream/fro yo place called Bennet's, where I order some nonfat and no sugar added blueberry cheesecake fro yo. 

Yes, for calories, that actually says 50 per half cup. I'm  not really sure that's right, but, oh well, the blueberry frozen yogurt was DELICIOUS!

I think I'm smiling behind my fro yo. :)

Oh look, I am! (That's my fro yo smiley face.)

A nice man offered to take a picture of me and my mom. (It can be fun to have people think you're tourists.)

Ok, so I'm kinda obsessed with popcorn. I usually pop up an 100 calorie bag, but they can be laden with unpronounceable ingredients, and, because I have I probably have a bag a day on average, I decided to pop my own! I sprayed a large, heavy pot with nonstick spray, and put in two tablespoons of Archer Farms (Target) brand golden popcorn (only one ingredient, popping corn, which is a whole grain, and it only has 70 calories per two tablespoon unpopped, about 4 cups popped, serving!) Cover the pot and let it be until you start to hear popping. (I wouldn't take the lid off. Patience! It took a few minutes, but it did happen.) Once the popping slows, take the lid off and check on it. I

I'm ashamed. My two favorite popcorn topping are I Can't believe It's Not Butter! spray and Kernal Seasons popcorn salt. It's a habit to be broken, I know.

So by the time I got to dinner because of when we got home from the movie, I just had it in my mind to feed myself something pretty decent.

My Mishmash Egg Hash

1 cup frozen hash browns (Yeah, I know, this is probably not considered "health food." But the ingredients aren't that scary and there's some serious convenience there.)

1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or 4 actual egg whites)

1 onion, diced or chopped or however you like to cut your onions

a few pieces of celery, chopped

about 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if you are a serious salt avoid er)

I literally just through this in a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray and stirred it around until it looked done. If anyone cares, I think I put it in in the skillet in the order the ingredients are listed, and let them cook for however long it took me to get the ingredient ready. 

At the end, I stirred in some Dijon mustard for flavor, and plus, I think I must've been in some kind of Dijon mood. It may not win the pretties dinner of the year award, but it was pretty darn good given the circumstances.

So for a before bed snack, (doesn't that bring back memories?) I made some of my stove top oats. Why? Simple, a day with oats is sorta like a day without sunshine. So I stirred in some Whole Foods white chocolate chips, and topped it with coconut chips, (got them at Whole Foods,) banana slices, some white chocolate almond butter, (hang on for the recipe,) and some frozen blackberries. I've topped my oats with frozen berries lately because it's kinda like topping your oats with chunks of fruity ice cream that won't melt all over everything immediately (although that might taste awesome.)

I think I might be done rambling on for today. Thanks for reading!

Enjoy!

-Kelly M.