Light and Fresh, Hearty and Nutty

So I realize that the last few things I've made have been beautiful shades of tan, beige and brown. And today is no better. Let me explain.

Yesterday, I woke up cold. I hate waking up cold. It was also grey outside. A typical February. I also had a baking bug, even though I had just made this beautiful chocolate cherry cake (did I mention that it's vegan and delicious?) for my grandma's 96th birthday. I thought about another chocolate treat, or maybe oatmeal crackers or banana bread, but I wanted something fresh and tangy to shake myself about of these February blues. I also wanted something hearty and toasty to warm the chill that had settled in my bones. Usually tangy and toasty don't go together.



But they did yesterday morning! I made mini-muffins -- a perfect weekend morning treat. I made them with lemon juice and zest, and the goodness of whole wheat flour, toasted almonds and rolled oats. Substantial enough to warm me up and bright enough to wake up my taste buds. They're also vegan (soaked oats make a great binder -- no egg replacers needed!) with only 1 tablespoon of heart healthy olive oil. They have a lovely light and chewy crumb and the toasted chopped almonds give it some nice texture.



So it's brown and beige. So what? It was just the thing I needed to set my weekend straight. No guilt added, to top it off. Go try them. You're welcome.

Vegan Lemon Almond Muffins
makes 24 mini muffins

1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of soy or almond milk
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup of natural cane sugar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
3 tablespoons of apple butter (or 2 tablespoons of apple sauce)
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup of toasted almonds, chopped

1. Put the lemon zest and juice, oats and soy milk in large bowl. Let it stand for 15 minutes. This would be an ideal time to toast and chop your almonds.

2. Mix in the sugar, olive oil, apple butter or sauce and almond extract.

3. Sift in the flour and baking soda. Mix until just combined. Stir in the almonds.

4. Spoon of the batter into prepared muffin tins and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden on the top and sides.

5. Enjoy! Best served warm with a cup of coffee.

Anzac Cookies + Happy Blog Birthday

Just a quick little post to say HAPPY (belated) BLOG BIRTHDAY to ursula over at Apples and Almonds, one of my favourite blogs. In honour of ursula's blog birthday, I made a batch of Anzac bicuits, one of my favourite posts on her site. They're super tasty and really easy to whip up. It's also easily veganized since there are no eggs involved. I was going to make something with almonds and apples in it ... but I thought that would be a bit too weird and cheesy! :)

Let me tell you more about these biscuits. First, they make your house smell like a bakery. The combination of oats and coconut give these cookies a toasty, hearty flavour, absolutely perfect with coffee or tea. They're slightly crunchy on the outside and magically chewy on the inside. I made a few tiny tweakings, because that's what ursula always does and I felt that she would have approved! First, I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of self-rising flour (you could add a bit of baking powder to make up for it, and I meant to, but forgot. The cookies were still fabulous), honey instead of gold syrup (which I'm sure what it is exactly .. ) and I added a splash of almond extract. Likes I said, these cookies are pretty toasty perfection.


I've said enough. You should head over to Apples and Almonds and find the recipe. You'll find a whole bunch of other cool and funky things as well. I love it for many reasons:

- Ursula lives on the other side of the world, so it's sooooooooo cool to see her cooking wintery soups in May and summery fresh pastas in January
- There's a video, often featuring funky music at the end of each post
- There's so much more than food! Crafts, sewing, fashion ...
- Ursula makes crazy classics likes Julia Child recipes, french pastries, multiple layer (and coloured!) cakes, and lots .. of .. treats!

There's more, but I won't spoil it for you. Head on over and take a peak. And make the Anzac biscuits!

Bouncy Berries

This summer, I fell in love again with local berries. Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries .. I was sad to see them go when the chilly weather set in. But with the crisp weather, chilly wind, changing leaves and starting of school came a different berry, one that I had never played with before: the cranberry. Don't get me wrong; I love dried cranberries, especially in muffins and granola. But I had never cooked or baked with fresh cranberries before .. until now.

They are so cute! And they bounce and float in water! I had a blast this past weekend, making Anna Olson's cranberry vinaigrette which I used to dress a fall salad of wild rice with roasted squash and fennel, and also her cranberry apple crisp, which was the perfect dessert to bring to a mid-week family gather. The cranberries have this wonderful, tangy tart flavour that brings out the best in the apples, and gives salad dressings a whole new meaning for me. But while these recipes were a smashing hit, yesterday, I was more in the mood for a loaf-type treat, or something more muffiny and wholesome. Surrounded by loaves and quick breads in the blogging world, I took that as inspiration and made this Wholesome Cranberry Oatmeal Loaf. Totally, healthy, very berry-licious and quick to make for guilt-free week night treat that went perfect with a cup of tea. The texture is light despite the oatmeal with a very moist-but-not-dense crumb. It's not too sweet, and just tart enough to keep my taste buds awake.


This recipe makes one little loaf, which was more than enough for me and my love to snack on while watching CSI New York off the internet. But I'm betting that it could easily be doubled, and would also work great as muffins. You could also add orange zest which would probably go great with the cranberries, or some wheat bran if you're feeling extra healthy .. even some grated apple and flaked almonds would be awesome. Go play with cranberries! I dare you!


Wholesome Cranberry Oatmeal Loaf

2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 egg
6 tablespoons of skim milk yogurt
2 tablespoons of fruit juice (I used Ceres Young Berry juice)
splash of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of cardamom
1/4 cup of rolled oats
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of fresh cranberries

1. Whisk the oil, honey, brown sugar, egg, yogurt, juice and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.

2. Sift in the the flours, spices, baking soda and baking powder and stir to combine. Add the oats and cranberries and stir.

3. Pour the batter into a small loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top gets nice and golden and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

4. Enjoy with a cup of tea (coco rooibos chai would be lovely if you're so lucky ..)

Help! Health Contradictions

Ok, so I did something that I didn't think I would do anytime soon: I signed up at the gym across the street from me. It's not just any old gym. It's like a weight-lifting, mind-changing, philosophy-pumping gym filled with large, muscly, oily looking men and women in tight spandex work-out shorts who don't smile back when I smile at them. Why? Well, the thai-boxing didn't work out (waaaaaaay too expensive!), and my partner and I wanted something exercise-y to do together that was convenient, interesting and a challenge. After muathai proved too hard on my summer budget, we signed up at the gym across the street.

Now, the signing up came with a 3 hour lecture on how to eat better and exercise better and a 1 hour training session on how to do 4 different lifts properly. We brought coffee, but I still left yawning. All I wanted was something to supplement my cardio workouts, something that would allow me to get stronger and more capable at doing certain physical tasks. The messages I got, were not only confusing, but hard to follow. Yeah, I'll spare you the gorey details, but apparently, cardio is a waste of time because it lowers your resting heart rate and you end up burning less calories when you're sleeping or resting -- but by lowering your resting heart rate aren't you making things less difficult on your heart?? It gets better. Apparently we're supposed to cut dairy out of our diets because it's so unnatural and no other mammal drinks another mammal's milk (so ... no other mammal wears clothes ... or uses technology ... or friggin pumps weights!), AND we're supposed to stop eating grains too because their not part of our "original diets" (yet at the end of it, he said that we should take advantage of the global market and eat a variety of meats and fruits and vegetables ... yeah, I don't think the global market was around when the first humans hunted and gathered!). Oh yeah, and basically all vegetarians have it wrong because you'll end up chubby and will never be able to build muscle because there's no protein in a vegetarian diet (Hello!! Brown rice + beans = complete protein!).


So ... does that mean that this (and I quote) "best oatmeal I've ever eaten," inspired by this gal and this lady shouldn't ever be made again? Oh come on! Peanut butter, bananas, strawberries? Until last summer when I read the mentioned posts, I never even thought to bake oatmeal. Now I do it all the time and experiment with different fruit/flavour combinations (apples, raisins, cinnamon and rhubarb, cherries and almonds). And that big dollop of skim milk yogurt on top .. that's no-no too??

The Best Baked Oatmeal

1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter
1/2 cup of soy milk
3/4 cup of skim milk
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 banana, chopped
1 handful of strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup of quick cooking (5 minute) oats

1. Put the peanut butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the soy milk a little at a time so that the peanut butter gets incorporated (as opposed to just having big lumps in the liquid).

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well-combined. Pour into a cake pan or square baking dish and bake in a 350 degree oven until all the liquid is absorbed and it gets little golden at the sides.

3. Prepare to taste oatmeal that you have never tasted it before! It's like having cake for breakfast! Even better topped with yogurt (oh no! the dreaded dairy! How am I ever going to build muscle!)

So, does this ALSO means that the honeyed cherry muffins I made yesterday morning are nixed from my repertoire as well?? I thought they were super healthy -- oatmeal, fresh fruit, honey, canola oil, psyllium husks (ok yeah that was random.. I tried to sneak that one in but it didn't work. My Dad brought over this huge jar of psyllium husks because it's supposedly super healthy. If you don't have it, just use wheat bran or wheat germ). The secret here is soaking the oats in the liquids for 5 minutes or so before adding the rest of the ingredients - makes a very tender, moist crumb for the muffins. But the grains are a no-no ... really?!

Honeyed-Cherry Multi-Grain Muffins

1/2 cup of quick cooking oats (5 minute kind)
1/4 cup of psyllium husks (or wheat bran or wheat germ)
1/2 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup of skim milk (or instead of milk and yogurt, use all buttermilk)
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of honey
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1 egg
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of cherries, pitted and chopped

1. In a large bowl stir together the milk, yogurt, oil and honey until well blended. Add in the oats and psyllium husks and stir. Let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes (this would be a good time to pit and chop your cherries).

2. Add in a beaten egg, brown sugar, vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

3. Sift in the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined (don't over mix!). Stir in the cherries.

4. Spoon the batter into lined muffin tins (makes 12 big ones and 24 mini-muffins) and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

5. Enjoy your whole grains! Yeah, I'm never going to get a six-pack anyway!

I'll always have the Weekend ...

March break maybe a week gone, but I've still got the weekend. What do weekends mean for me? Lots of different things! A weekend could mean brunch or coffee with my best friend, catching up on my marking that I haven't done all week, cleaning the bathroom, seeing my sister and parents ... Weekends are walking around outside and enjoying the sun, nice long workouts at the gym with my Mom, lazy moments curled up on the couch, long streetcar rides to the middle of nowhere... I love weekends and I have a favourite weekend breakfast that I love to have. Nope, it's not scrambled eggs and bacon, waffles or pancakes or French toast. It's oatmeal, that's right, oatmeal.

I love cereal of all kinds, but I think oatmeal has become my favourite type of hot cereal. I'm no stranger to oatmeal on weekdays. In fact, I have oatmeal for lunch everyday. It's quick, it's easy, it's nutritious and it's easy to keep all the ingredients on hand at work so I don't have to worry about packing a lunch. Weekday oatmeal usually consists of 5-minute oats, wheatbran and a bit of brown sugar, boiling water from a kettle poured over top and a splash of soy milk at the end. Paired with an apple and some giggly students watching teeny bop music videos on YouTube in my classroom, and I have the perfect weekday lunch.

But on the weekend, my regular oats put on a jacket and tie for breakfast. I have the luxury of cooking the oats in milk instead of water, and I can add a million different toppings. Recently, I've been alternating between three different types of oatmeals. Here they are. (I know some of you are probably gagging at the thought of oatmeal as a treat on the weekends, but give it a try. I know you'll become a convert!)





Basic Weekend Oatmeal

1/4 cup of quick-cooking oats (the 3-5 minute kind)
1/2 cup of skim milk
1/2 cup of almond or soy milk
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
a splash of vanilla

1. Put the milks, sugar and vanilla in a pot and heat on medium until tiny bubbles form at the sides of the pot.

2. Add the oats, turn the heat to low and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring.

3. Turn off the heat and let it stand for a minute or so.

4. Top with anything you like! I topped mine with a big spoon of skim milk yogurt and this wonderful citrus fruit salad.




This version is what I have when I need an extra special treat. I replace the brown sugar with 1 heaping teaspoon of peanut butter and add half a chopped banana with the oats. It's served with skim milk yogurt and strawberry jam. An almost guilt free PBJ (cuz oats lower your cholesterol... right :)



This version is, I think, my cuddly partner's favourite. It's a spiced berry version. I replace the soy/almond milk with 1/2 cup of pomogranate juice blend, and add frozen mixed berries and a pinch of cardamom right before I add the oats. It's topped with the same yummy yogurt and jam, but it's also got some slivered almonds.


I found it so fun to play around with the combinations of liquids, toppings and fruits that go into the oatmeal. So go ahead -- make some oatmeal, curl up with your favourite book and enjoy your weekend morning.


Oh by the way! I drizzled my oats today with a sesame seed butter with flax added to it. Soooooo good!