A long day

Well, yesterday ended up being one of the best days of my life. It was all about myelf! haha I haven't had one of those days in forever. I got everything on my list done and then some. I used a LUSH cupcake mask on my face as well as did laundry too. I was just bangin things out yesterday. Well, except for my homework. I completely forgot about it until 11:30 last night. Okay. Forgot is a lie. I avoided it until 11:30 because I didn't think I had a lot... WRONG! There was a shitload of stuff to look up on the computer. Thank God Animal Witness was on after all that crap. That is a damn good show. Everything on Animal Planet never really disappoints me... especially Animal Cops. I wanted to be an Animal Cop for about a week after I watched that show. Now I don't know what I was thinking. haha

Here's the interesting recipe for today. I ended up trying the Ruby Red Quinoa from the Ruby Red Vegan Blog. It was all right, but I wasn't crazy about it. I think there's definitely a different between regular quinoa and red quinoa. As you can see, I used red. It was way to crunchy and I cooked it for a really long time. I also didn't have the chocolate soymilk, so I used cocoa powder mixed with vanilla soymilk... Use Chocolate Soymilk!!! I'm positive it would've been more chocolately that way. I'll give you the recipe Ruben Red Vegan uses because I'm positive it will be better. The flavors were there and it makes A LOT. I had it for dinner.

Here's the recipe:
Ruby Red Quinoa Porridge

1/3 cup dry quinoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup light or unsweetened chocolate non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons raw hazelnuts, chopped in half
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 teaspoon crystallized ginger chips, finely chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (totally optional, but I've had a sweet tooth lately)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Rinse 1/3 cup dry quinoa in a fine mesh strainer thoroughly (2 to 3 minutes) to remove the bitterness. Combine with 2/3 cup water and 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste) in a small-medium pot over the stove. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn to low, allowing the mixture to simmer 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the lid and add 1 cup chocolate non-dairy milk. Heat slightly over medium until mixture begins to bubble, then turn heat down to medium. Stir occasionally while the mixture thickens and condenses.

Meanwhile, gather 2 tablespoons raw hazelnuts and chop each hazelnut in half. Toast in a dry skillet on medium high, until hazelnuts are browned and fragrant. Set aside for later.

When quinoa has absorbed a large amount of soymilk (wait until it reaches the thickness and consistency you desire), place 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch in a 1 tablespoon measure, then fill measuring spoon the remainder of the way with cold water. Stir until cornstarch is dissolved and add to the quinoa, stirring to incorporate. Bring the heat up to medium high to let the cornstarch do its work, until the contents of the pot bubble energetically. Turn heat down to medium again and stir. Add 1/2 cup raspberries and 1/2 teaspoon chopped crystallized ginger. Heat through and remove from stove.

Pour the quinoa porridge into a bowl. Add some freshly grated nutmeg to taste, maple syrup to taste (I used 1 tablespoon), and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Stir to incorporate and sprinkle the top of the porridge with your toasted hazelnuts.