Did you know that today is National Running Day? There are loads of sweet discounts available to celebrate, so if you've been putting off registering for that goal race, do it today!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Tasty Snack Tuesday - Vegan "Cheese" Dip and French Bread
If you've looked at my blog more than a few times, you know that occasionally a vegan recipe catches my eye and I deem it worth trying (vegan brownies, anyone?). Nothing against a vegan lifestyle, but there are just some things that I will not be giving up in my pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.
Cheese is one of those items. Brie, feta, gorgonzola, GOUDA, oh the gouda! Could a vegan version ever be as tasty? Sorry, but I think not.
This statement comes with a BUT.
Once in a while, a good friend such as Kristin, who is not vegan, but enjoys many of the health benefits of the lifestyle, enlightens me to something I might enjoy. She and her husband introduced me to The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude by Brian Patton. There are actually some really tasty-sounding recipes in there, and some that have been tested out by Kristin and her family.
The recipe I want you to consider checking out is a faux cheese sauce, primarily composed of cashews (who doesn't love cashews?) and... you'll never guess..... silken tofu. Add in some spices, nutritional yeast, and you've got a really tasty dip, or even pizza or pasta sauce! Its really good, I promise! By the time I finish this post, I'll probably have gotten up to have a little taste of the leftovers more than once.
This past Sunday we had our second prelaunch meeting of UrbanChurch, so I made this dip to go with a French bread recipe that I made. I'll share the bread recipe with you, but I'm just going to give you the link for the "cheese" dip. The blogger who shared the recipe had special permission, and since I'm a newbie blogger with limited knowledge on the rules that go with such things, I'll just tell you to check out the link I gave you. I made the dip as directed but skipped the boiling of the cashews, did not add miso powder (didn't have it), and did not add extra water. I didn't feel it was necessary, but you could if you want a thinner "cheese."
Anyway, the bread. I love a good French bread. The recipe I used on Sunday was perfect. I ended up with 2 PERFECT, huge, lovely baguettes. I was all kinds of giddy over my beautiful bread. Here's the recipe:
Quick Baguettes
3 cups warm water, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon (1 package) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (my new love in bread products)
1 teaspoon salt
Combine 1 cup of warm water with the sugar and yeast in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer, which is what I did). Allow to proof and become foamy. Next, add all of the flour and 1 cup of warm water. Knead, either with your dough hook, or your hands, for 5-7 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle the teaspoon of salt evenly over the dough and knead for another minute or two. Place the bowl in a warm place to rise for an hour. After the dough has doubled in size, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and place a broiler pan in the bottom of the oven. Divide the dough in half and either stretch or roll it into a loose rectangle. From the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough tightly, jelly-roll style, and repeat with the other half of dough. Place the baguettes on a baking pan that has been covered in parchment paper and gently use a knife to create the slits of the French bread. Allow the dough to rest from this point for about 20 minutes. It will rise a bit more. About 5 minutes before you are ready to put the loaves into the oven, carefully pour your remaining cup of water into the broiler pan. Finally, bake your bread for about 15 minutes, or until nicely golden! Let the bread cool before slicing.... if you can wait that long!
If you like this bread, you will probably also like this bread that I blogged a few months ago, its from the same source.
Vegan "cheese" from Tabi Happy
Quick Baguettes from The Cooking Actress
Cheese is one of those items. Brie, feta, gorgonzola, GOUDA, oh the gouda! Could a vegan version ever be as tasty? Sorry, but I think not.
This statement comes with a BUT.
Once in a while, a good friend such as Kristin, who is not vegan, but enjoys many of the health benefits of the lifestyle, enlightens me to something I might enjoy. She and her husband introduced me to The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude by Brian Patton. There are actually some really tasty-sounding recipes in there, and some that have been tested out by Kristin and her family.
The recipe I want you to consider checking out is a faux cheese sauce, primarily composed of cashews (who doesn't love cashews?) and... you'll never guess..... silken tofu. Add in some spices, nutritional yeast, and you've got a really tasty dip, or even pizza or pasta sauce! Its really good, I promise! By the time I finish this post, I'll probably have gotten up to have a little taste of the leftovers more than once.
This past Sunday we had our second prelaunch meeting of UrbanChurch, so I made this dip to go with a French bread recipe that I made. I'll share the bread recipe with you, but I'm just going to give you the link for the "cheese" dip. The blogger who shared the recipe had special permission, and since I'm a newbie blogger with limited knowledge on the rules that go with such things, I'll just tell you to check out the link I gave you. I made the dip as directed but skipped the boiling of the cashews, did not add miso powder (didn't have it), and did not add extra water. I didn't feel it was necessary, but you could if you want a thinner "cheese."
Anyway, the bread. I love a good French bread. The recipe I used on Sunday was perfect. I ended up with 2 PERFECT, huge, lovely baguettes. I was all kinds of giddy over my beautiful bread. Here's the recipe:
Quick Baguettes
3 cups warm water, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon (1 package) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (my new love in bread products)
1 teaspoon salt
Combine 1 cup of warm water with the sugar and yeast in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer, which is what I did). Allow to proof and become foamy. Next, add all of the flour and 1 cup of warm water. Knead, either with your dough hook, or your hands, for 5-7 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle the teaspoon of salt evenly over the dough and knead for another minute or two. Place the bowl in a warm place to rise for an hour. After the dough has doubled in size, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and place a broiler pan in the bottom of the oven. Divide the dough in half and either stretch or roll it into a loose rectangle. From the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough tightly, jelly-roll style, and repeat with the other half of dough. Place the baguettes on a baking pan that has been covered in parchment paper and gently use a knife to create the slits of the French bread. Allow the dough to rest from this point for about 20 minutes. It will rise a bit more. About 5 minutes before you are ready to put the loaves into the oven, carefully pour your remaining cup of water into the broiler pan. Finally, bake your bread for about 15 minutes, or until nicely golden! Let the bread cool before slicing.... if you can wait that long!
If you like this bread, you will probably also like this bread that I blogged a few months ago, its from the same source.
Vegan "cheese" from Tabi Happy
Quick Baguettes from The Cooking Actress
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tasty Snack Tuesday - Experimental Carrot Cake Smoothie
Do you like carrot cake?
Do you like smoothies? (Or, as my 2 year old would say, smoobies)
What if you could have them all in one? Sounds good to me!
So, I labeled this post as "experimental" because, after browsing a lot of carrot cake smoothie recipes, I really just threw this one together, and honestly, it needs some tweaking, but I'm sharing this test version of it with you because I'd love to know if YOU have any thoughts! Here's what I did:
Carrot Cake Smoothie
1 cup carrot juice (I used the kind from Trader Joe's, its 80 calories/cup)
1/4 cup milk of your choice (I used almond)
1/2 ripe banana, preferably sliced and frozen
1/4 cup dry oatmeal
splash vanilla extract
spices to taste - I used a little nutmeg and cinnamon
about 1 cup of ice, more of less depending on how thick/thin you want your drink
sweetener of your choice to taste (I love liquid stevia)
Blend everything up until its nice and smooth, and enjoy!
Now, this version is pretty tasty, but I'm feeling like it could still use something. More oatmeal, less carrot juice, maybe some applesauce, etc. If you have any thoughts, I'd love it if you would share them! At any rate, this version only sets you back about 200 calories, so its a win, and super healthy!
Do you like smoothies? (Or, as my 2 year old would say, smoobies)
What if you could have them all in one? Sounds good to me!
So, I labeled this post as "experimental" because, after browsing a lot of carrot cake smoothie recipes, I really just threw this one together, and honestly, it needs some tweaking, but I'm sharing this test version of it with you because I'd love to know if YOU have any thoughts! Here's what I did:
Carrot Cake Smoothie
1 cup carrot juice (I used the kind from Trader Joe's, its 80 calories/cup)
1/4 cup milk of your choice (I used almond)
1/2 ripe banana, preferably sliced and frozen
1/4 cup dry oatmeal
splash vanilla extract
spices to taste - I used a little nutmeg and cinnamon
about 1 cup of ice, more of less depending on how thick/thin you want your drink
sweetener of your choice to taste (I love liquid stevia)
Blend everything up until its nice and smooth, and enjoy!
Now, this version is pretty tasty, but I'm feeling like it could still use something. More oatmeal, less carrot juice, maybe some applesauce, etc. If you have any thoughts, I'd love it if you would share them! At any rate, this version only sets you back about 200 calories, so its a win, and super healthy!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Thankful Thursday - "Snug-gle?"
First of all, do you know how hard it is to get a picture of this guy now?! Its nearly impossible!
Secondly, every other word out of James's mouth these days is "snug-gle?", with emphasis on splitting it into its 2 syllables. I love it! Most mornings (though not today when he was up and ready with no need to lay around for a bit) he lays in bed with me and every couple of minutes cuddles up to me and and asks to "snug-gle." And now at night when we sit down on the couch to unwind together as a family, he just wants to "snug-gle." I know it won't always be this way, so I am super thankful.
I'm also thankful for a conversation that Chris and I had the other day. There are no super serious details but the gist of it had to do with working and Chris telling me he didn't want me pursuing anything but fitness and/or baking because he knows its what I love. That meant the world to me.
And finally I'm thankful for the much nicer (though hotter, we had to turn on the a/c) weather we've been having! We're walking more, playing outside more, and yesterday we ventured to the (still cold) pool. Its great!
What are you thankful for today?
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
A little late, but....
Here's a link to the delicious chocolate pudding cake that Chris made for me on mother's day:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-thornton/gooey-chocolate-pudding-cake-recipe/index.html
A hilarious snafu here and there, but the end result was a completely delicious pudding cake, complete with homemade whipped cream (not hard, people, 1 pint of heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of sugar, whip it until, you know, you have whipped cream!). And I'm pretty proud of him for doing everything himself.
It was a great mother's day, complete with flowers, cards, food, and a new Willow figure to add to my collection.
I hope you're having a great week!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-thornton/gooey-chocolate-pudding-cake-recipe/index.html
A hilarious snafu here and there, but the end result was a completely delicious pudding cake, complete with homemade whipped cream (not hard, people, 1 pint of heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of sugar, whip it until, you know, you have whipped cream!). And I'm pretty proud of him for doing everything himself.
It was a great mother's day, complete with flowers, cards, food, and a new Willow figure to add to my collection.
I hope you're having a great week!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Tasty Snack Tuesday - Secret Ingredient Chocolate Protein Shake
This is one of my absolute favorite snacks lately. And the fact that my 2 year old loves it and now asks for "smoobies" because of it, is awesome. Even my husband liked this.
That is, until Chris found out what the secret ingredient is. Remember, my husband is missing the genes that incline you to be okay with knowingly eating healthful ingredients (which is why I have to sneak them in most of the time, shhhhh!)
Before I tell you, let me just say that I would never have tried this some months ago. I would have deemed this a "hippie vegan" recipe and snubbed my nose at it.
But you know what? This secret ingredient is flavorless. But, it adds thickness, creaminess, and best of all, natural, not-powdered (ie, child-friendly) protein!
Okay, are you ready?
It's tofu, people. TOFU.
Now, maybe you're vegan or a vegetarian and this doesn't sound crazy. Well, our house is far from either of these, so this was crazy to me. And then I tried it. And its flipping awesome. Here's what I do:
Secret Ingredient Chocolate Protein Shake
1 cup milk of your choice (I use skim milk for an extra protein boost)
6 ounces Nigari silken tofu (or whatever kind you want, I get this from Trader Joe's and its $1.50 for 12 ounces)
2 tablespoons Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
sweetener of choice (I like liquid stevia)
about 1 cup ice
Mix it all up in your blender or with an immersion blender and enjoy! Made with these exact ingredients will give you a shake for right about 200 calories, only 5 grams of fat, and 22 grams of protein! I frequently have this mid afternoon to hold me until dinner. Sometimes, if James has just gotten up from a nap, he will share it with me and he loves it!
I promise you with everything in me, if you're a tofu-hater like I was, you will never taste the tofu in this. It just gives a creamier texture. I have tried a firmer tofu in this when I was using what was left from something else, and I did not care for the texture. It never became smooth. But this kind, the one listed above, blends up so smoothly. I love it. Its a staple in my pantry now. When you buy it, you don't even have to refrigerate it until you open the box it comes in. Pretty cool.
So I dare you - try it! You'll see. Super yummy!
Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie
That is, until Chris found out what the secret ingredient is. Remember, my husband is missing the genes that incline you to be okay with knowingly eating healthful ingredients (which is why I have to sneak them in most of the time, shhhhh!)
Before I tell you, let me just say that I would never have tried this some months ago. I would have deemed this a "hippie vegan" recipe and snubbed my nose at it.
But you know what? This secret ingredient is flavorless. But, it adds thickness, creaminess, and best of all, natural, not-powdered (ie, child-friendly) protein!
Okay, are you ready?
It's tofu, people. TOFU.
Now, maybe you're vegan or a vegetarian and this doesn't sound crazy. Well, our house is far from either of these, so this was crazy to me. And then I tried it. And its flipping awesome. Here's what I do:
Secret Ingredient Chocolate Protein Shake
1 cup milk of your choice (I use skim milk for an extra protein boost)
6 ounces Nigari silken tofu (or whatever kind you want, I get this from Trader Joe's and its $1.50 for 12 ounces)
2 tablespoons Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
sweetener of choice (I like liquid stevia)
about 1 cup ice
Mix it all up in your blender or with an immersion blender and enjoy! Made with these exact ingredients will give you a shake for right about 200 calories, only 5 grams of fat, and 22 grams of protein! I frequently have this mid afternoon to hold me until dinner. Sometimes, if James has just gotten up from a nap, he will share it with me and he loves it!
I promise you with everything in me, if you're a tofu-hater like I was, you will never taste the tofu in this. It just gives a creamier texture. I have tried a firmer tofu in this when I was using what was left from something else, and I did not care for the texture. It never became smooth. But this kind, the one listed above, blends up so smoothly. I love it. Its a staple in my pantry now. When you buy it, you don't even have to refrigerate it until you open the box it comes in. Pretty cool.
So I dare you - try it! You'll see. Super yummy!
Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie
Sunday, May 12, 2013
This one is for my mom....
Happy mother's day to my mom, Laura! I love you very much. I might be kind of be a grown-up now, but you know what? When I need something, much of the time my first thought is, I need my mom.
Love you so much. Happy mother's day - I wouldn't be here without you!
Love you so much. Happy mother's day - I wouldn't be here without you!
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