So Blonde

My birthday party ended up being so much fun!!! I had all my family there and my cousin, a missionary in Nicaragua, came, too. Everyone was in a wild mood and I don't even think people were drinking that much. I mean, there was the Sangria and wine (I had both and they were so nasty). As for the presents, my grandma gave me a pair of her pearl earrings that my grandma bought her. They are so stunning, and it was really unexpected. Then, my great aunt gave me her pearl necklace so I would have a set. If I ever get married someday, that's what I'm wearing! And of course, there was the food. Oh, the food. Let's just say I was not a vegan or vegetarian yesterday. But hey, you only live once, so eat what you want to eat!!!!!! I just hate putting a label on myself for the kind of food that I eat. So as of now, this is what I am: I am a person who lives on a diet free of meat, dairy, and eggs throughout the week. I eat honey because I like it, but that doesn't mean I hate bees. And if I want a piece of chicken once in a while, I'm gonna have myself a piece of chicken!

Whoo that feels good to get that off my chest. But now for the recipe. I'm doing an experiment for biology where I have to transform traditional blondies into vegan blondies. I made up this recipe using my knowledge of fats, proteins, and all of that other stuff. haha I really, really, really like these and so did everyone at the party. They kind of taste like marzipan (that almond sugar candy) and have the consistency of fudge. They do have a weird glossiness to them, but hey, it was my first experiment. I don't even know if I can consider them blondies, but that's what I'm callin them!

Here's the recipe:

Marzipan Chocolate Chip Blondies

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup organic cane sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup brown rice syrup

½ tsp almond extract

1 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 3 tbsp water

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8 in pan with Canola Oil cooking spray.

Mix applesauce, canola oil, cane sugar, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup in a stand mixer. Beat until smooth. Combine Ener-G egg replacer in a cup with 3 tbsp water. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Add Ener-G egg replacer and almond extract to the other mixed ingredients. Blend. Add in baking powder, flour, and sea salt. Stir, not beat, until well-combined. Add pecans, shredded coconut, and chocolate chips and stir.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-27 minutes and allow time to cool before cutting.

The LAST day

All right. So today is the last day of my detox. It's been really beneficial, and I feel so much better. I wake up and my stomach isn't bloated anymore! thank heavens. I almost feel like I want to continue with the fast, but then again, it is my birthday party tomorrow... and I want real food!! I think the absence of wheat in my diet this week made a huge difference. The only grain I could have this week was brown rice, and I've come to really like it. I mean, it is kind of bland with no seasonings, but it's really nutty and filling. I don't have Celiac disease, but it somehow made my digestive system a lot better. And thankfully, my mom said she was going to try the detox diet this coming Monday!

So anyway, my recipe for today is another thing that I've been eating on my detox. I bought this huge plantain from Whole Foods last week and had to wait for it to ripen. I like mine to have black spots on it before I peel it... cuz peeling it is a pain in the ass! I've never learned the right way to do it. But this was really simple to make, and I was dyin' to use this plantain. And it's obviously really healthy because it's basically all raw, and I couldn't have any oil this week.

Here's the recipe:

Insane Plantain

1 plantain
1/3-1/2 cup water
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp peanut butter
handful of raisins

Directions: Peel and slice plantain into 1 inch thick slices. Heat 1/3 cup water over medium and add plantain slices. Add honey and let simmer for a few minutes. When first side is golden, flip over. Add more water if needed. Cook for a total of 5 or 6 minutes, or until desired color is reached. Pour into a bowl, and add peanut butter and raisins.

Note: This is really, really good. I usually use a banana, but we were all out of them. The plantain was a perfect substitute!

Thank God It's Friday

I just got back from Pilates. Wow was it hard today. My stomach and legs were practically crying, but I guess that's what I pay for haha. Tomorrow is my last day of the fast. I must say though, it hasn't been that bad. I'm getting used to the foods I've been eating and don't really mind them. The main thing I missed while fasting was seasonings!! I couldn't have salt, cinnamon, oregano, or any other spice/herb you can think of. My food has been pretty bland, so I'm excited to put some kick back into my food. I have missed baking though... A LOT... and cooking for that matter. Until last night, I hadn't made any cooked food in a week.

The recipe for today isn't for what I made last night... I made a carrot cake for my neighbor. She tried it the last time I made it and said she LOVED it. It is really good. The recipe is under my cake section already, but I made it in a different pan. It turned out so lovely because I used a rose bundt cake pan. Today's recipe is actually for my breakfast I had this morning. I just made it up because it was so damn easy. It was rather good, a little bland, but you could definitely add some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. I really enjoyed it and it reminded me of pumpkin pie hot outta the oven! This recipe is what I would eat if I could have it.

Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

1 cup water or 1/2 cup non-dairy milk + 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Directions:
Heat water, oats, and pumpkin over medium. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. Add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Stir until well-combined. This cooks very quickly. Cook for a total of 4 minutes, or until the mixture is nice and thick. Pour into a bowl and add pumpkin seeds. Eat up!

Day 4

Well, my birthday was just divine. Since I am fasting this week, my mom got me an Edible Arrangements Fruit Bouquet as my cake! It was so thoughtful and adorable of her. She just went crazy with presents- a bread machine, waffle maker, 2 new perfumes, brownie pan, set of strainers, earphones, 2 cookbooks, and tons of LUSH soap. It was pretty much everything on my list. I'm so damn spoiled haha I'm not a spoiled brat though. I really appreciate everything she got me. She just always goes overboard, but at least bread making won't be such a pain in the ass now. haha

As for the recipe, I've been drinking smoothies like crazy. I used a bunch of the fruit from my fruit bouquet for today's drink. It's was good, but I liked yesterday's better. I think I was just being too creative with the fruit, so there wasn't really a distinct fruity flavor. Anyway, I'll probably make it again tomorrow morning just because it wasn't all that bad. haha

Here's the recipe:

Tropical Smoothie

1 cup tropical fruit (pineapple, kiwi, cantalope, strawberries)
1/3 cup quick oats
1/3 cup tangerine juice
1 Tbsp tahini

Blend and drink. It's that easy.

Day 3 and... MY BIRTHDAY!!!

So today I'm 19. I feel like I did yesterday, only more tired. haha. I woke up 3 times last night because I was itchy and then this morning, I tried to use my Dandelion Root Tea as contact lense solution. I'm just beat. I have class all day today and I'm not doing anything tonight. I have way too much homework to even think about leaving the house : ( Oh well, this coming Sunday is our big family party for the September birthdays so I'll be able to have fun there. My fast also ends this Saturday so Sunday I'm going nuts and having something good to eat!

Here's a taste of what I've been drinking this week. I just threw this smoothie together with what we had in the house, and it's really good. It doesn't make a lot but it's so thick that it took me about a 1/2 hour to drink . haha or maybe I'm just a slow drinker. The thing I like most about it was that it filled me up. I always feel hungry after I eat but this kept my belly pleased for about 3 hours. Also, just know that it is a chunky smoothie, but to me, the chunkier the better! It feels more like a meal that way.

Here's the recipe:
Tahini Oat Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup tangerine juice
1 Tbsp tahini
1/3 cup quick oats

Put everything in a blender and press start! Enjoy!

Day 2

So the first day of the fast went really well. I'm not on an all water/juice fast. I'm pretty much just eating all raw foods, tofu, natural live soy yogurt, nuts, a ton of water, and tea. It's amazing, though. My stomach is usually bloated ALL the time and this morning when I woke up, it was completely flat. I'm not gonna lie, my system got really cleaned out yesterday. This Dandelion Root Tea I've been drinking doesn't taste that good, but it does help you go to the bathroom. I pretty much just loaded up with all the fruits and vegetables I could think of and Whole Foods is always good for that. My mom and I didn't go too buckwild yesterday, but we did buy a good amount of stuff.

And today's recipe isn't part of my diet this week, but I made it last week and LOVED it. It's a tofu scramble, and I've been seeing them on blogs for months now. I was so excited to make it and used Bryanna's recipe from the "Vegan Feast Kitchen" blog. I added some other spices because I just couldn't stop! It's a combination of spices and nutritional yeast that you add to the tofu scramble. It makes a ton of scrambler mix, so I quartered the version. Most of the spices are staples in my kitchen, so it was an easy mix to make. This mix will be enough for one block of tofu.

Here's the recipe:

Tofu Scrambler Mix

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:
Just mix these together in a bowl, and you're done. As for the tofu scramble, I added half of this mix to half a block of of mashed tofu. I don't know how many ounces that is, but I ate the whole thing. Mix it around until the spice is over all of the tofu and scramble it in a non-stick pan sprayed with a little olive oil. It will get very yellow!

Day 1

Alrighty. Really late last night I decided that I was going to go on a fast. The idea came from my friend, Max and I figured I would try it, too. We are both doing different fasts, but they should have the same effect. The main thing I read was to drink a TON of water... so I've pretty much been drinking my body weight in water haha. I really think that yesterday was just an eye opening day. It was my last day at Sears (until Thanksgiving), and I've never felt so stress-free. A huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I feel like I can breathe again. I came home and did a Tai Chi video just because I felt so good. I LOVE Tai Chi. It's so easy and beautiful... and when I say beautiful, I mean the host. Wow he was hot. So now I'm all in my Chi and I'm drinking one of my fruit juice smoothies. It's good to be alive!

However... I still have a bread recipe for today. My fasting diet doesn't consist of bread, but I made this last week and it is just amazing. I found it on "have cake, will travel" and it's just a really dense, hearty bread. It makes two loaves and I'm proud to say that they both rose beautifully. It was my first time making bread, so I was damn satisfied!

Here's the recipe:

Carrot Bread

(for a 1 1/2 pounder, or about 12 slices)

3/4 cup room temperature soy milk (I used half almond milk, half soymilk)
1 cup finely grated carrots
2 Tbsp turbinado sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
about 3 cups light spelt flour, might need more or less: up to you to find out as you kneed
2 tsp bread machine or instant-rise yeast

Directions:
If you want to proof your yeast, heat your soymilk to lukewarm, add yeast and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes; it should get foamy.

After 10 minutes, combine soymilk mixture, carrots, canola oil, sea salt, wheat gluten, and 2 cups of bread flour. Stir with a wooden spoon and pour onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Add the rest of the flour as you kneed until the dough isn't too sticky anymore. It should be smooth and elastic.

Place in a large bowl coated with a little oil. Swirl ball-shaped dough a little until it's lightly coated with the oil, cover, and let rise (in a warm, draft-free area) for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

20 minutes before dough is done rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Punch dough down and flatten it with you hands into a rectangular shape. Cut in two in length, roll each portion tightly in the shape of a loaf. Place on a parchment/Silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. The top should be golden brown and if you have an instant-read thermometer, it should read 190-200 F.

Let cool on rack before slicing.

Today should be fun

I'm going to a Pirates game tonight with the Honors Program from my school. I haven't been to a game in a while, but I'm excited. We are going on a tour of PNC Park before the game starts, so you know I'll be getting into some trouble haha. I wanna break into the kitchen and steal one of those enormous bags of fake nacho cheese. I'm sure I could use it for some kind of prank... actually, I can think of 10 things off the top of my head. and ALL of them involve taking it to Sears and letting it loose somewhere. As for getting to the game, I'm taking the trolley with my friend, Pierce. Neither one of us know how to get there on the trolley or where we are getting off. It's just perfect. I don't expect him to know because he's from Delaware and rides everywhere on his bike anyway. He's a mad cyclist. So as of now, we'll be lucky if we can even find the park. Atleast the trolley ride should be fun... they have poles in them. And you know what that means... Trolley Pole Dancing!

But let's get serious. Here's the recipe for today. I absolutely love chocolate pudding. LOVE it. I just love the consistency of it and the chocolate part isn't bad either. I've been searching for good silken tofu pudding recipes, but came up dry. So here's my own. It is a little chunky because my blender is terrible, but I'm sure if I had a good blender, it would've mixed better- Maybe use a food processor. And this is really good. I finished off the entire bowl as soon as I made it. It doesn't have THAT many calories anyway haha that's probably a lie.

Here's the recipe:

Chunky Chocolate Pudding
(That sure sounds good. ha)

1 pkg firm silken tofu
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup almond milk

Directions: Throw all that stuff in the blender or food processor and press start. Enjoy!

Thank God It's Thursday!

I had a VERY long day at school. Nothing bad really happened... it just dragged on and on. I'm sure you know what those days are like. I couldn't wait to get home!!! So now I'm home and there's no school tomorrow!!! I just finished my dinner and I don't feel like moving. haha. My head is telling me to go to the gym, but my body is saying "I want ice cream!" I have a feeling that I'll go with the latter because I'm just beat. I watched an episode of Parental Control when I got home. Honestly, who on earth would go on that show? I mean, it's hilarious and all, but you have got to be crazy. I feel so bad for some of these parents... but I do laugh for the majority of the show. I think I just watch way too much tv. Anyone catch the premiere of Fringe? It's a new show and I love it! I really shouldn't get addicted to another show, but this one is just THAT good. It's not LOST good... don't get me wrong, but it kept me on my toes.

As for the recipe... it's meatloaf!!!! Okay, Tofu Oat Loaf. I found it on some food blog a while ago, and I feel really bad that I can't give this person credit. I've searched for this recipe on a bunch of people's blogs, and I can't seem to find it. If this is your recipe, it is very good! I changed some ingredients because I didn't have a lot of them and because I like a little spice in my meatloaf. It turned out SOO GOOD! I also made it in my muffin tin because it was sitting right on the counter staring back at me. You know how it is. haha

Here's the recipe I used:

Tofu Oat Loaf

1 pkg firm tofu
1/3 cup tomato or marinara sauce ( I used spicy)
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the muffin tin with Canola Oil cooking spray or use regular Canola Oil to grease the tin. Drain the tofu and pat it dry. In a large bowl, throw ALL of the ingredients together. I used my hands to mash everything together, but I suppose you could use a potato masher. Make sure everything is well-incorporated. Make little balls with the mixture and press into muffin tin. The mixture will be loose, but will firm up when as it cooks. Makes 6 muffins! Enjoy with some spicy marinara sauce.

Wednesdays are amazing

I officially proclaim Wednesdays the best day of the week. No school, no work- I can do whatever the hell I want!!! So pretty much I'll be baking all day and doing a little bit of homework. Taking it easy is key, and I'm a pro. I'm determined to make my own bread today. I've never done this before, but I figure I'll need to know so I can sell it at my bakery someday. It's between chocolate tahini bread and carrot bread... or both. haha It wouldn't be unlikely for me to make the same thing anyways. Either way, it'll be good. And speaking of really gross things (which we weren't), I was doing laundry this morning and I had to pick up a huge crapload of clothes on the floor. I picked up the first half, and a gigantic spider crawled out. I screamed and cried of course. Then, I picked up the second half, and a mountain lion millipede walked out. I was like "wow, how disgusting can our basement get?" haha Can't wait to go take everything out of the washer... I'll probably get attacked by a lizard or something.

Now that all that madness is over (until I go back down there), here's the recipe for today. I didn't feel like cooking last night, so I'm posting a cake recipe that I made a little while ago. It was for my sister's birthday, and it's one of the best cakes I have ever made/eaten. It was vegan of course and every person who tried it really liked it. It's from Dreena Burton's cookbook "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan." - I love her. She is a goddess! I added the raspberry filling because it needed something fruity. Oh the really sexy guy in the picture is my best friend, Mitchel. We cook all the time together when he's home, so birthday cakes are no exception haha. I made him do ALL the sifting and he wanted to murder me.

Here's the recipe:
Coconut Cake with Coconut Dream Frosting and Raspberry Filling

Cake (makes 2 round cake layers):

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, including coconut, sifting in flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, almond, and coconut extracts, lemon juice, and oil. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until just well combined. Lightly oil 2 round cake pans. Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 23-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer cakes to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Dream Frosting

1 pkg (12 oz) silken extra-firm tofu
1 pkg (8oz) Tofutti cream cheese
1 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
1/8 cup macadamia nut butter
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Directions:

Put tofu with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. In a food processor, puree tofu with cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and process for 1-2 minutes until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Refrigerate until completely cool before using.

Note: Make the frosting a day or night before icing the cake. It will firm up and thicken. Also, when icing the cake, I iced the first layer, then put raspberry jelly between (about 1/2 cup) that layer. It tasted great with the coconut icing!

i have a thing for making the same thing 2 days in a row

Good Morning Everyone! I'm hardly awake right now, but I have class this morning. I didn't really get all of my homework done, but that's the least of my worries. haha. I only had night class yesterday but spent most of the day doing things that I wanted to do... like sleeping and looking at food blogs. So if I have any pop quizzes or turn-in homework, it's completely my fault for not being prepared. haha. I think I've just come to a point in my life where I like doing things for myself. If I don't get one thing done, it's because I found something better to take up some of my time. And I'm okay with it :)

So anyways, it's another Seitan recipe for today. I have made Seitan with barbaque sauce before, but I used a few different ratios of ingredients. This wasn't as thick, but I still really liked it. Maybe it's because I just really like Seitan? I don't know. But I ate this up really fast. haha

Here's the recipe:
Barbarian Seitan

1 (8oz) pkg Seitan, chopped in bite-sized pieces
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup vegetable stock
2 Tbsp Worceshire Sauce
1/3 cup barbeque sauce (I used half sweet onion sauce and half spicy sauce)
1 Tbsp brown rice miso

Directions: Heat 1/2 cup vegetable stock over medium. Add seitan and onion and simmer for 5 minutes. Add Worceshire sauce, barbeque sauce, and brown rice miso. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes. If sauce gets too thick, add the rest of the vegetable stock (another 1/4 cup). At this point, the barbeque sauce cooks pretty fast. When the sauce is at the consistency you want, the seitan is done!!

I need to learn how to make this stuff

I've seen vital wheat gluten in the store for a while now but have always been too scared to buy it. Just the name creeps me out but I did get some at Giant Eagle yesterday. And let's not forget how I made a complete fool out of myself. I was grocery shopping with my mom and she said she would meet me at the deli. I picked up all of my dried fruit, put it in the cart, and walked over to her. I asked her why the cart was still buy the fruit and she said that wasn't her cart. I went over there and picked up my stuff out of some random person's cart. " Mommy, I just put all of my stuff in someone else's cart," I said as I slid my stuff into another shopping cart. " Just as you put all of your stuff in my cart as well?" a really hot guy said to me. Dear God. You have got to be kidding me. haha. Two wrong carts in 2 minutes? How does that happen? I felt so stupid, so I just hung out in the organic aisle for a while after that. And it was hell trying to find Ener-G egg replace by the way. I was going nuts! The spot that was labled Egg Replacer was filled with Tapioca Flour Bread. Great. haha

But anyway, about the vital wheat gluten. It's because I've been dying to make my own Seitan; however, the recipe for today is made with packaged Seitan. I first bought it at Whole Foods because I had no clue it was capable of making my own. I'm trying to get a feel of how it cooks and tastes before I whip up a batch. I made this recipe up yesterday because I can't find any recipes online for Seitan. I swear I've been on so many blogs and sites trying to find easy stuff made with packaged Seitan. It turned out really delicious and the fresh ginger makes a huge impact on the flavor. I loved it.

Here's the recipe:
Garlic Ginger Seitan

1 (8oz) pkg Seitan, chopped in bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup vegetable stock
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
2 Tbsp Tamari
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp brown rice miso
2 Tbsp ginger, grated

Directions:
Heat the vegetable stock over medium heat. Add the Seitan and onion. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Tamari, garlic, miso, and ginger. Stir together until the ingredients are well-incorporated and the miso is broken up. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has thickened. Eat up with some nice spinach!

I'm so sorry... this is the last muffin... for today?

I have to go to work today. Blahh. Cannot wait til next Saturday (my last day). Thank Heavens. As for the man in the picture, it's my old boss Charlie. He's back again as a cashier and I'm like putty in his hands. I love that man!! I'll still see him because I'm doing seasonal but that won't be til November. Today, I work til 4:15 and then I gotta go home and test some recipes for school. It's for my cooking show for Biology. I'm transforming traditional blondies to vegan blondies. It shouldn't be too hard considering all the damn baking I do. haha. I say that now, but I'll probably be going nuts later.

So this is the recipe for today. It's another muffin. haha. You guys probably think I don't eat anything but muffins, but that's probably true. I ate 5 yesterday. They are just the all around health food. I found these ones on the "Have Cake, Will Travel" blog, but I adjusted the recipe. Here's what I used because they turned out really good!!! I even halved her recipe and got 5 muffins, so this is the halved recipe. The hemp seeds give this a distinct hempy flavor, but I don't mind it. I accidentally deleted all of these muffin pictures... damn... but that doesn't mean I didn't eat these like crazy. I had them with cream cheese and maple syrup. Yum.

Here's the recipe:

Cornmeal Hemp Muffins

3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of sea salt
1/8 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp hemp seeds
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/8 cup applesauce
scant 1/2 cup soy milk
scant 1/2 cup freshly squeeze orange juice ( I used a mineola)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan. In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, hemp seeds, and coconut. In a smaller bowl, combine applesauce, milk, juice, and vinegar. Mix together until just mixed. Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pan.

YAY for Muffins

Alrighty. So last night might not have been my brightest moment. I was working in mens and a group of about 7 guys and one girl came up to me. They asked me if we have bright orange shirts and of course we don't. We talked for a while and they were all really nice guys. They asked me if I could drive them to Walmart to get orange shirts and I told them sure (they said they would pile into my car like Mexicans). Yeah, I know. They are strangers and such but do I give a damn? No. haha. When my managers saw all of those kids, I told them I was giving them a ride to Walmart and they went nuts. "No, Joanna!! I will not allow that!!! You are too valuable and you don't know what they could do to you!" They all went on and on about it, so when it was time to go out to my car, they made someone walk me to my car. And of course, the boys were outside waiting. Just great. So obviously, nobody would let me drive them to Walmart, but I didn't think it was that big a deal. Maybe I'm just used to picking up random guys and taking them places. haha

Anyway, here's the recipe for today. It's muffins again!! I love MUFFINS!!! Woohooooooo. It's Cinnamon Cornmeal Muffins from Dreena Burton's Cookbook. I actually forgot half the flour and the baking soda and used almond extract instead, but they were still AMAZING. I've posted the original recipe just in case you want to make them Dreena's way because there's probably more ingredients that I forgot, too. haha I didn't even throw the cinnamon in until the whole mixture was mixed. Let's just say botching a recipe can lead to a beautiful creation. The tops of these muffins were really mushy... I LOVED that. I've never had a mushy muffin top, but I hope to have many more of them : )

Here's the recipe:
Cinnamon Cornmeal Muffins

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 fine cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup kamut flour or more whole wheat flour (i forgot this)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
couple pinches sea salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or almond extract-so good)
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine soy milk and cornmeal to soak while you prepare the other ingredients. In a large bowl, combine all other dry ingredients. Mix well. To the soymilk/cornmeal mixture, add maple syrup, applesauce, and vanilla or almond extract. Mix together well, then add to dry mixture. Stir through then add canola oil just as mixture starts to come together. Spoon into a lined or lightly oiled muffin pan and bake for 16-19 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 8-9 muffins.

Note: If using whole wheat flour instead of the kamut flour, the muffins will bake faster so check the muffins at 16 minutes to avoid dry muffins.

I heart Muffins

So I pretty much slept as soon as I got home from school yesterday. I was ambushed. haha love that word. I got my Bio test back, and I got an 84%!!!!! Praise the Lord. I thought it was so much worse so I didn't even look at the grade myself. I handed the test to my mom when I got home and had her read me the grade. I ended up hittin up the gym really late last night, and I'm goin again this morning. Pilates time. Love my Pilates!! And of course, I have to work tonight... but that's a given. It's my dad's 43rd birthday, and I can't go out to dinner with him. Damn Sears. I won't have to deal with them much longer, only another week.

Anywho, here's today's recipe. I am obsessed with muffins. If I've never said that on here, I'm saying it now. I make muffins all the time because they are the perfect breakfast, snack, dinner, what have you. I had 4 yesterday, and I have to share the first recipe with you. you'll get the other one tomorrow. haha. These ones are called the "As-You-Like Muffins" from Dreena Burton's cookbook. They are so delicious and really hearty. I halved my version, but this is the full recipe. It makes 9-10 medium muffins.

Here's the recipe:

As-You-Like Muffins

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour
1 cup ground oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup fruit or nuts
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
couple pinches of salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup vanilla or plain soymilk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp canola oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, ground oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, fruit and nuts. Combine well. In another bowl, mix applesauce, soymilk, maple syrup, and vanilla and add this to the dry mixture. Stir and add canola oil as it starts to come together. Mix until well-combined (do not overmix). Spoon into a lained or lightly oiled muffin pan and bake for 19-24 minutes, until golen brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Mine were done in 19 minutes exactly.