Whole-Wheat Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes

It's been so long since I've had a chance to make a weekend breakfast!  (John's been working some crazy hours lately . . . resulting in a wacky sleep schedule for him, and little time for a leisurely breakfast on the weekend for either of us.)  This past Saturday, however, I managed to whip up a quick batch of pancakes!

We were out of eggs (!) so I quickly whisked 2 tbsp ground flax seeds into 1/4 cup of warm water and let that sit for a few minutes to thicken.  However, in my opinion, flax seeds can impart a strong flavor to what would otherwise be a delicate baked good.  Bananas and whole wheat flour to the rescue!  Pairing the flax seeds with other assertive flavors definitely masked their strong flavor; John noted that he couldn't tell there were flax seeds in the pancakes.  Score!

Whole-Wheat Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes 8 to 12 pancakes, depending on size

Ingredients:
1/4 c warm water
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 c whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large, very ripe banana
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil (canola, sunflower, coconut . . . any light, neutral-tasting oil will do)
1 c buttermilk
chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, and/or blueberries (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine the water and ground flax seeds, stirring well with a whisk or fork.  Let stand at least 5 minutes, or until thick and gelled.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Peel and mash the banana.  Whisk in the sugar, oil, buttermilk, and flax mixture.  Whisk in the dry ingredients until well-blended.
4. Pour batter onto preheated, lightly-greased griddle.  Sprinkle tops of pancakes with chocolate chips, walnuts, or blueberries.  Cook until dry around the edges and bubbles pop all over the surface of the pancake.  Flip, and cook the second side.  Keep warm on a baking sheet in a warm oven until ready to serve.
5. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings!  (I added chocolate chips to the batch I made last weekend, and topped my share with peanut butter and sliced bananas . . . a delicious, healthy, protein-packed breakfast!)

What do you like on your pancakes?

we're back!

Oh my, was that a long illness.  Just as soon as I started feeling better, John took a turn for the worse.  Consequently, I haven't been doing much cooking these past couple of weeks!  However, come Sunday, we both finally had appetites.  Hurry up, Catherine -- cook something!

Dinner Sunday night was a simple, nutritious, and flavorful lentil soup:

Is anyone else as obsessed with Real Simple's recipes as I am?  Winter Lentil Soup has made it onto my list of all-time favorite soups.  Check out this recipe, seriously . . . I know that it doesn't look like much, but sometimes simple is better, right?  John and I both love kale and sweet potatoes, John loves lentils, (although I'm not a fan, there aren't many in this soup, and they are not the dominant flavor,) and I've come to realize I don't cook with leeks nearly often enough.  I even skimped and used dried thyme instead of fresh, then tried to make up for that switch by using half vegetable broth and half water, instead of all water like the recipe called for.  Slurp!  Plenty of leftovers -- some for the fridge, some for the freezer!

On the side -- buttermilk biscuits!

Buttermilk might be my new favorite baking ingredient.  Every recipe I've used it in bakes up light, fluffy, and tender, and has just the slightest sour tang.  Yum!  If you are interested in learning how to serially culture buttermilk, let me know -- I'll do a post.  It's so easy it almost doesn't merit a post, but I'd be happy to oblige!

More baking . . .

Treats for John's house:

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
(By the way, I subbed sour cream for the yogurt called for in the recipe, as that was what John had on hand -- success!)  John doesn't much care for banana bread, but thought he might be able to enjoy it more if it was infused with peanut butter, one of his favorite flavors.  I think it's a hit, and I managed to use up all of the overripe bananas littering up his kitchen.  :)

And treats for my house:

Pumpkin Molasses Spice Cookies . . . thank you, Mama Pea, for introducing the world to the softest, doughiest, chewiest, best molasses cookie EVER . . . let's just say I'm glad this recipe only made 24 cookies, because they are incredibly addictive.  These may be making a repeat appearance around the holidays at my house!

Let's hope we are able to keep the germs at bay for a while!  More cooking, please!

treats!

I can't believe I've forgotten to post about my last TWO baking projects!  The horror.  :)

First up, more rhubarb crumble:

This rhubarb crumble was supposed to be a strawberry-rhubarb pie . . . what happened, you ask?  Well, John and I had planned on going strawberry-picking this weekend, but decided against it at the last minute after calling several farms and hearing tales of the long lines and large crowds . . . we'll wait a week or two until all of the excitement dies down!  So then, no strawberries.  I thought I'd just make a rhubarb pie . . . and then I got to chopping, and realized I didn't have nearly enough rhubarb on hand for a pie!  Oh well -- crumble to the rescue.  :)

I made my standard Joy of Cooking crumble recipe, (3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/2 cup butter for the topping,) and mixed an additional 1/4 cup of sugar with 4 cups of chopped rhubarb for the fruit base.  The last time I made rhubarb crumble, I used only 2 tbsp additional sugar, and it turned out to be a bit too tart for John.  (He's not at all a picky eater, but it seems he's very sensitive to highly acidic foods.  Go figure!)  The additional sugar pleased both of our palates, and organic vanilla ice cream took things over the top.  :)

Next time, I promise I'll (literally) dust off the ice cream maker, and make my own for a change!

And here are some cupcakes I made last week for the church choir end of season potluck:

I whipped together a batch of "Banana Cupcakes" (with chocolate cream cheese frosting!) from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers after work, the day of the party, and still had plenty of time to spare before heading out to the 'burbs to hang out!  Can you believe it?  Cupcakes on a weeknight?  (And I didn't need to go to the grocery store for any special ingredients, either!)  This just goes to show how amazing this cookbook is -- and I know I've written about how much I love this particular book at length in the past.  I have tried many recipes from that book, and every recipe has been simple, speedy, reasonably healthy, and incredibly delicious!  I love the Moosewood cookbooks in general, but Simple Suppers is my all-time favorite.

Anyone own that book?  Favorite recipes?  Favorite Moosewood books?

banana milkshake

I think I've finally hit that moment in my early 30s when my metabolism is slowing down . . . darn!  I was hoping spending my days chasing toddlers would take care of that.  ;)  Alas!  Anyhow, in order to avoid buying new pants, which I can't afford, I'm currently counting calories.  Again.  Ugh.  I'm not going to complain too much, but let's just say . . . I'm not a fan of feeling a little bit hungry most of the day, I'm not a fan of washing all of those extra measuring cups and spoons, and I'm not a fan of the tediousness of entering everything I put into my mouth into the app on my iPhone.

But there are some things I'm a fan of, like banana milkshakes:

Containing nothing more than a frozen banana, a cup of unsweetened almond milk, a teaspoon of agave, some Penzey's "Baking Spice," and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla, this baby is definitely more than the sum of its parts.  High in calcium, potassium, B6, C, E, and fiber, but low in cholesterol, low in fat, and low in calories, (at only about 160,) this is definitely a "bargain" dessert!  Sweet, creamy, flavorful, and delicious.

And I have to say, this whole "counting calories" thing isn't really all THAT bad.  It's forcing me to be more planful about my meals, which is a good thing, and definitely reminding me to be more mindful in my eating each day.  (Being around kids and their endless snacks can be challenging at times!)

Any other tips, ideas, or simple recipes you'd like to share?

With that said, I better go pack my breakfast and lunch now . . .

banana bread and re-charging

I forgot to post about the banana bread I made over the weekend!

Now, I'm not the hugest fan of banana bread in general, but this Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread is TO DIE FOR. I'm having a hard time figuring out how this qualifies as a Cooking Light recipe, because it definitely tastes indulgent and decadent. Best after-school snack EVER!

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Things have been weird for me lately -- it's kind of hard to describe, but I'm feeling a bit . . . "off" lately. Out of balance, not quite myself. There are some exciting things going on in my life, some crazy things going on, and some totally normal things going on. I'm blaming the "off-ness" on work stress, coupled with not enough sleep, coupled with anxiety about the impending holidays, (and remembering how bad they were last year,) coupled with general laziness and subsequently not feeding myself very well. Isn't it funny that, even though I know it's a simple intake-output theory, sometimes I "forget" how important healthy eating is?

For my upcoming four-day weekend, I'm planning a big recharge. I have no plans on Thanksgiving, and although I was invited to join a church friend and her family, I declined -- I need some quiet time. I need to run, do some yoga, watch movies, loop Ladysmith Black Mambazo while reading magazines, and cook! I feel like I haven't prepared a decent meal for myself in MONTHS, and I plan to change that this weekend! I hit up the co-op tonight to restock my produce drawers and prepare for my weekend:

Meals in my plan: chili and cornbread, sweet and sour tofu, spaghetti and "meatballs," and Thanksgiving dinner, just for me! Bonus points to you, if you can pick out my impulse buys! ;)

made for each other

What is it about peanut butter and bananas? I swear . . . those two foods were just made for each other. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, peanut butter and bananas (AND maple syrup) on waffles, peanut butter and banana smoothies . . . and NOW, peanut butter and banana muffins!

Heavily influenced by this recipe from Cooking Light, I, of course, made a few little edits -- can anyone else out there follow a recipe exactly as written? I know I can't. :)

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins
yield: 16 muffins

PUREE TOGETHER UNTIL WELL-BLENDED:
3 medium bananas
1/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp natural granulated sugar
1 tbsp molasses

STIR TOGETHER, THEN FOLD INTO WET INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup flax meal
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Penzey's "Baking Spice"
1/4 cup finely-chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Bake the muffins in lined muffin cups at 375 for about 20 minutes, rotating your pans front-to-back halfway through. Cool in pans 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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What other flavor combinations do you love?

weekend eats, somewhat

I haven't made much of anything noteworthy this weekend, (it's still salad time, in a bad way, and I have also been working on finishing up party leftovers from last weekend,) but I did manage to whip up a couple fresh things!

First, Almond Butter Granola Bars:

I have tried, and failed, many times to make homemade granola bars. They seem to suffer from so many problems: too sweet, too sticky, too crumbly, too hard, just never quite . . . right, you know? However, my homemade granola bar issues have been resolved, thanks to a recipe from Anja. These bars, in my opinion, are PERFECT -- soft, chewy, almost oatmeal-cookie like in texture, chock full of healthy protein and fat, and you know what they don't have? Any sugar! Or maple syrup! Or honey! The base is simply pureed banana and almond butter, with a whole bunch of good stuff stirred in, and then all baked away to perfection. MMMMMMMMM!!!!! These will come in super-handy for those mornings where I just can't stomach food at 5:30 AM, and prefer to munch on something during my commute.

I also made more spring rolls, in an attempt to use up leftover herbs:

I added tofu (yum!) and avocado (kind of weird) this time, which added to the spring rolls' staying power. I have made a meal out of spring rolls and peanut sauce a couple of times already this weekend. :) I only wish I had remembered I had a cucumber in the crisper, too! That would have added to their deliciousness.

I have been spending lots of time with friends this weekend, (tea, walking, movies, biking, bowling, and maybe even fireworks tomorrow,) and it's been good to get out of the house quite a bit! I love enjoying summer in Minnesota, as best I can. :)

why choose?

This bread was born of my need to use both three ooey bananas and a zucchini that had been languishing in my produce drawer for FAR too long. (Translation: I had to cut off a mushy part . . . but the rest of the zuke was fine!) Now there will no longer be a need to choose between banana and zucchini . . . just have both!



Whole-Wheat Banana Zucchini Bread
yield: one 9-inch loaf

Blend together until smooth:
3 overripe banans, peeled
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup milk

Fold in:
1 medium zucchini, shredded and obvious water squeezed out (about 2 cups of squeezed shreds)

Whisk together until well-blended:
3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. (Lumps are ok.) Depending on how moist your batter seems at this point, you may want to add up to an additional 1/4 cup of milk -- both zucchini and banana moisture levels vary greatly. :) (You could also fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips, nuts, and/or dried fruit at this point.) Pour the batter into a greased 9-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 for 60 to 70 minutes, or until well-browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

eats and treats

Hope you have been having a wonderful weekend! Dan and I really took it easy this weekend -- mostly hung out at home, did a little laundry, had a picnic and a hike at Lake Maria state park, etc. I spent plenty of time in the kitchen, of course!

Dinner last night was both speedy and delightful:

"Black-Eyed Peas with Spinach," from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, over cheesy grits, with a few slices of heirloom tomato on the side. Simple, nourishing, and fantastic! I added a few dashes of smoked paprika to the beans, which I didn't really detect in the finished dish, but it couldn't have hurt, right? The cheese grits were easy and amazing, and the sliced tomato added a fresh, bright note to the meal. Best part? I think this entire meal was on the table in less than 30 minutes! Wahoo!

I've REALLY been loving my Moosewood cookbooks lately. Example #2:

"Banana Cupcakes," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Oh yum! I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from the pumpkin muffins I made last weekend, and decided to melt a little semi-sweet chocolate and whip it into the leftovers -- ta-da! Amazing!!!!! Dan and I split one of these this afternoon, and they are GREAT. Dan mentioned the frosting tastes a little like chocolate pudding, and I loved the sweet, dense, comforting banana cupcake. I think the only thing that could possibly make this treat better would be the addition of peanut butter in some form . . . hmm . . . time to experiment! :)

Since you can't have cupcakes for breakfast, (well, technically you can, but you know,) I felt compelled to make a breakfast treat as well:

Now, we usually have granola, toast, or PBJ for breakfast, but every once in a while, it's lovely to look forward to a little pastry something first thing in the morning! AB in Five bake-a-long to the rescue! Crystal, Victoria, and I have been talking about starting the brioche dough, and I decided to take the plunge this weekend. Now, know this -- I will probably bake my way through the dough, and then wait a year while I work on losing all the weight that I will inevitably gain! (The dough recipe, which yields 4 to 5 pounds of dough, enough for 4 to 5 projects, calls for 3 sticks of butter and EIGHT eggs. Gasp!) Oh, but how delicious these "Sticky Pecan Caramel Rolls" are! Buttery, soft, light, with a wonderful, crisp-chewy caramel topping. Jeff and Zoe, how dare you make caramel rolls so EASY!

Thankfully, the dough freezes well, so I have appropriately-portioned chunks waiting patiently for us to detox from all of the saturated fat. :)

Sunday night is a great time for pizza!

Artisan Bread "Olive Oil Dough," topped with organic pizza sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses. The front slice also has red onion, green pepper, mushroom, green olive, oregano, and chili flakes. The back slice has roasted red peppers, dried tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, and oregano. Side of green salad with apple, fennel, walnuts, bleu cheese, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. A GREAT way to end the weekend, if you ask me!

The kitchen is still a mess, so I'm off. G'night!

baking and cooking, cooking and baking.

This isn't a complaint, but does anyone else feel like sometimes that's all you do?

I did bake a couple of things yesterday:

At the top is a glorious apple pie that I didn't have to do much for, since the crusts and filling have been in my freezer since apple-orcharding this fall. All I did was thaw, assemble, and bake. Fruit pie is such a TREAT! At the bottom are some muffins that I made for Dan's breakfasts this week -- his work schedule has changed, so he's going to have to leave the house much earlier. I tried to come up with something that he could grab on his way out the door and still get his omega-3s! Each muffin contains an full tablespoon of ground flaxseeds, which makes them a little more dense than I'd prefer, but I guess that's the trade-off, right??

Banana-Flax Muffins
yield: 12
Whisk together:
3 overripe bananas, mashed well
1/3 cup milk (or more, depending on how moist your bananas are)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine, then stir into wet ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Bake for 15 minutes at 400.

I also made a batch of granola yesterday, (but didn't photograph it,) cooked a TON of brown rice to go with several of our meals this week, prepped the broth for the pho we had for lunch today, (picture coming up,) and started some pizza dough.

I'm definitely not sick of eating pizza, but I'm kinda sick of posting about it:

Excellent, as always.

Pie a la mode for dessert:

Yummmmmmmmmmm.

Sunday lunch may officially be "Asian Noodle Soup" time at our house:

Enjoying homemade pho again this weekend was great! I love the combination of spicy, sweet broth, slurpy noodles, and fresh herbs and veggies. Dan commented that a big bowl of pho seems to treat his Sunday blues!

I haven't decided yet whether we're going to have Thai curry or Indian curry for dinner, so stay tuned . . . .

I baked! I cooked!

It's been a weird week -- we had so many leftovers from the holidays, I barely had a reason to bake or cook! I did manage each, once, though:

Overripe bananas are always the best excuse:

This is the first time I tried replacing all of the oil called for in a recipe with ground flaxseeds, and it worked well! The recipe called for 1/2 cup oil, and I used 1/2 cup flaxseeds and 1/2 cup applesauce. The banana bread stayed nice and moist, even though I used whole-wheat pastry flour, too! Success.

Dinner Thursday night:

Pasta alla puttanesca! With a random 2 cups of white beans thrown in, since they were languishing in the fridge. Deeeeeeeeelicious. I didn't follow a recipe at all, and was very pleased with how this turned out. Success #2!

UGH -- I'm off to CPR and 1st Aid training from 8 - 4:30 today. Blah! (At least I get to take a day off next week to make up for it!) After I get home, though, it's grocery time! I'm excited to get back to meal-planning and cooking!

my new favorite smoothie

It's like getting to have a milkshake for breakfast:

Rough recipe: one frozen banana, sliced, two tablespoons of peanut butter, a small spoonful of ground flaxseed, a small spoonful of agave, and enough almond milk to make it a thick but drinkable consistency.

Milkshake texture and flavor or not, this is one nutritional powerhouse -- protein, fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, and omega-3s, to name a few! A happy breakfast, if you ask me.

really healthy meals

We have had a plethora of produce around here lately -- between strawberry-picking, a trip to the Farmer's Market, and Dan's brother sharing half of his CSA for the week with us, the fridge has been at capacity with fresh fruits and veggies!

Result? Some really healthy meals.


A strawberry-mango-blueberry-banana-orange smoothie.


Sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt, a couple of slices of baguette smeared with herbed goat cheese, and steamed beets and greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.


Beans and rice and steamed broccoli!

I've also had cinnamon-peach oatmeal for breakfast the last two days in a row, which has been yummy and filling. Hooray for healthy food!

breakfasts.

I forgot about this one!



Dan's generally a big fan of sleeping in on the weekends, so he surprised me when he got up about fifteen minutes after I did on Sunday morning! Cause for a mini-celebration, no? Vegan, wholegrain, blueberry pancakes, topped with sliced bananas, walnuts, and maple syrup. Made having to go to work on Sunday ALMOST bearable, with a belly full of pancakes. :)

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I'm glad it's finally smoothie season!



Today's blend: 6 ounces of organic, local, plain yogurt, a couple of handfulls of fresh spinach, 2 teaspoons of ground flaxseeds, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 a banana, and enough orange juice to make it liquid.

This is totally hitting the spot this morning, especially since I'm in one of those sleepy/crabby moods where I don't feel like chewing anything. :)

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Here's a question: what are your favorite "sneaky" ingredients to put in smoothies?

deliciousness, vacay

Friday night dinner:

Barbecued tempeh, sweet potato fries, and artichokes! Vegenaise for dipping my fries, lemon and Earth Balance for dipping my artichoke. Nummy. (Oh yes -- and I made iced blueberry herbal tea to drink. Very refreshing!)

Friday night dessert:

The affordable organic strawberries made me think, "hmm . . . fondue! Yum." So, there you have it. Nothing like tons of fresh fruit and melty, creamy, rich chocolate to dip it all in.

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After dinner last night, Dan and I sat down and mapped out/started planning our vacation we plan to take in June. Woo! I'm so excited -- we're going to see several places I've never been! We plan to hit several state parks for camping, do some hiking in the Boundary Waters, and also return to one of our favorite Minnesota places. I can't wait -- only five weeks away!

cupcakes, muffins, and kamikaze pancakes!

Finally, the cupcake reveal:

"Lemon Gem Cupcakes" from Vegan with a Vengeance. I didn't make Isa's lemon frosting, however -- my buttercream intuition kicked in, and her recipe seemed to call for way too much liquid, in my amateur opinion. So, I made a simple lemon buttercream out of Earth Balance, powdered organic sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Delicious!

Cupcake for breakfast, anyone??


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I made "Vanilla Ricotta Muffins" from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe this morning, just to have on hand . . .

Not much to look at . . . but mighty tasty! Even though the recipe said the yield was 8 to 10 muffins, I ended up with 12 . . . could have been 13, actually, but I didn't want to waste all of that electricity just to cook one additional muffin!

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And, I made kamikaze pancakes for brunch this afternoon:

I used the recipe for Banana-Oatmeal Hotcakes with Spiced Maple Syrup from The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook, and topped the 'cakes with sliced bananas, fresh blueberries, and toasted, crushed walnuts. The pancakes were awesome, even though a bit labor-intensive to make -- the pancakes were strangely buttery-tasting, although there was no actual butter in them! I'd skip the spiced syrup next time -- I didn't get any cinnamon-clove flavor from the syrup, so in my opinion, it wasn't worth the extra effort (and extra dirty saucepan!)

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I'll probably be back tonight with a yoga report and a dinner report -- later!

Yoga Challenge (day 11), minis, and another photo-less FLOG

First, I thought I was going to get up early this morning and do yoga . . . THAT wasn't happening, since I had a lousy night's sleep. Then, I thought I'd come home during my break and do yoga . . . but it's FREEZING outside, and I just didn't feel like going out until I had to. So, that left yoga for getting home from work time!

I did 20 minutes of "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" tonight, which was just what I needed. I've noticed that since this challenge started, I'm more able to focus on my breathing, especially during less challenging practices. I really had the "ocean-wooshing" thing going on tonight!

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Even though I have no photos for the FLOG today, I do have one delightful little thing to show you:

Well, really, many delightful little things! I made a mountain of mini-muffins for church choir practice treats tonight -- pumpkin-pecan, hearty spiced cocoa, and banana-date, all from Joy of Vegan Baking. (I used whole-wheat pastry flour for all three recipes, and cut the sugar in half for the banana and pumpkin ones. I also used the banana recipe, subbing pumpkin and adding pumpkin pie spice, for that variation.) All three are deeeeeee-licious! I hope they are well received, and folks aren't creeped out by spicy sweets. (Those cocoa ones are deep, rich, and have a touch of heat to them! Woo-eee!)

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Breakfast:
Black coffee, Cream of Wheat with soymilk, and a banana.

Lunch:
Mr. Dennis's alfredo pasta, a scoop of diced canned beets, my homemade coleslaw, and a frosted sugar cookie.

Snack:
Muffin, pear, and a cinnamon-roll flavored "Dum Dums" pop.

Dinner:
Three mini-muffins, (one of each flavor,) diced mango, and leftover chili topped with shredded cheddar and diced avocado. And I'll go take my multivitamin now, too!

made-up soup, muffins

I had been planning on a mock chicken (i.e., seitan), noodle soup for one of our meals this past weekend, and never got around to it. I thought I'd make the soup tonight, but by the time I got home from work, seitan just wasn't sounding good to me for some reason! Lentil soup sounded MUCH better . . . so I stuck the seitan back in the freezer, dug out some lentils, and began experimenting. Results:



HEARTY BARLEY-LENTIL SOUP

Yield: approximately 3 1/2 quarts

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pearl barley
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 very large carrot, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 teaspoon each dried basil, thyme, marjoram, and oregano
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon powdered dried garlic (I would have used real garlic, but I was out! The horror!)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup dark green French lentils
1/4 cup tomato paste
8 cups vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring at least 2 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the barley, and boil for about fifteen minutes, or until the barley is tender but still chewy. Drain and reserve the barley.
2. Heat the oil at medium heat in a 4-quart or larger soup pot. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook about 5 minutes, or until the veggies begin to soften.
3. Add the remaining ingredients except for the barley, and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer 35 minutes.
4. Stir in the barley and simmer 10 more minutes. Serve with a slice of crusty bread.

This soup is good. Very good, to be precise! I forget how much I like barley. :)

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I also made muffins tonight! I majorly modified this recipe of Diann's, to make Multigrain Banana Walnut Muffins!



Substitutions . . .
Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Hot cereal (uncooked) instead of the millet
oat flour instead of the whole-wheat pastry flour
banana instead of the pumpkin
1/3 cup maple syrup instead of the 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup sucanat
walnuts instead of the chocolate chips

Verdict? This version of these muffins has AMAZING flavor . . . but the texture is a little gooey/gummy. My guess is the oat flour, since my waffles acted the same way over the weekend, and I used oat flour in them, too. Does anyone out there have much more experience than I using oat flour? Is this expected?

Don't worry . . . I'll still eat them all, gooey or not! :)

flogging and weekend in review

First, catching up with the flogging:

Yesterday, 8/31/08:

BREAKFAST:
two cups of black coffee
slice of zucchini bread, toasted, with fat-free cream cheese
canteloupe

SECOND BREAKFAST:
another slice of zucchini bread

LUNCH:
tabouli in a pita
a plum
terra vegetable chips
two slices of havarti cheese
a piece of baklava

DINNER:
Dan and I went to the Namaste Cafe, which I have visited before, but Dan has not. I ordered their coconut curry with eggplant, mushrooms, and tofu -- SOOOOO delicious! Served with white basmati rice, of course. I also ordered their "Spicy Masala Chai" -- excellent chai with a hit of black pepper. Deeeeeeeelicious! I do really love that restaurant -- the food is excellent, the servers are polite and helpful, and the ambiance is clean, hip, and interesting! (The restaurant has orange walls, for example.)

Today, 9/1/08:

BREAKFAST:
coffee with agave and half-and-half, and

granola with almond milk

LUNCH:
picnic at Fort Snelling State Park:

Salad of tomatoes, avocado, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, with bread on the side to sop up the juices. Also, some watermelon! (More about the state park below.)

MIDAFTERNOON SNACK:
ice cream! (see below)

DINNER:

Whole-wheat pasta with sauce made last weekend from Dan's garden veggies, topped with parmesan, and a salad on the side.

BEDTIME SNACK:
slice of banana bread (see below)
more ice cream (only one scoop this time!)

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And now begins the weekend review . . .

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Yesterday afternoon, we went canoeing with Dan's parents. I had meant to bring my camera along to take some pictures during our trip, but . . . it's a good thing I didn't. Why? Because, well, Dan and I had a major canoeing mishap, resulting in everything in our canoe ending up in the river, including us. Hm. What happened, you ask? Well, simply, we hit a rock -- and the current tipped the canoe sideways, and then buckled the canoe around the rock, creating a giant dent and two holes in the sides of the canoe. All this, only about ten minutes into our canoe trip! So, I spent the rest of the trip sitting in Dan's parents' canoe, as did Dan's mom, while Dan and his dad paddled like crazy to steer around all of the remaining rocks and many, many tubers. I didn't realize tubing was such a big thing in Minnesota . . . and frankly, I don't like tubers very much. Why? Because Dan and I hit the rock because we were trying to get around a bunch of tubers who were NOT paying ANY attention to where they were going or what they were doing, and we just didn't see it. BAH. So, moral of the story: I was really wet all afternoon yesterday, but at least my camera's not toast.

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I stopped at Kowalski's on my way home from the restaurant last night to pick up just a few groceries:

Dan brought over more garden tomatoes, so we, of course, needed more basil and bread with which to enjoy them! I still have plenty of balsamic vinegar, mozzarella, and olive oil. Yum.

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I also made homemade ice cream last night! I used my basic vanilla recipe, edited to include a hefty amount of fruit preserves to turn it into cherry ice cream. And then I added some chopped chocolate to make a homemade "Cherry Garcia!" Yum:

This is the easiest and tastiest fruit ice cream I have made to date . . . who knew that the secret was preserves? Just make sure you choose as natural a product as possible, with as few ingredients as possible. :) (Bonne Maman is my favorite jam of late . . . good amount of sweetness, great flavor!)
Recipe for Fruit Ice Cream:
Whisk together 3 cups half and half, 3/4 cup fruit preserves of your choice, and 1/4 cup agave nectar until smooth. Chill the ice cream base until it is very cold. Proces in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. During the last five minutes of processing, add any extras you would like: coconut, chopped chocolate, nuts, etc. Enjoy!

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Believe it or not, there is a State Park in the Twin Cities metro area! Dan and I decided to enjoy our extra day off today by enjoying a picnic, and then taking a 3 1/2 mile hike around the park. We hiked out onto Pike Island, at the tip of which the Minnesota River joins the Mississippi River! Pictures from our hike:









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I also made banana bread today:

I can't follow a recipe. Can anybody? Anyhow, here's what I did tonight:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup barley flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup agave
3 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup yogurt (I had dairy on hand, but soy would work just as well)
2 flax "eggs"
1 cup mashed ripe banana

350 for about an hour. Not the best banana bread ever, not the worst.

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And last, my silly Oliver:

Loving the catnip inside the grocery bag.

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Question of the evening:
What's your worst nature mishap?

Me? I think the canoeing adventure Sunday takes the cake!