These. Are. Delicious.

I've had a jar of matcha powder sitting in my cupboard for... oh, maybe 6 months. Other than putting it in smoothies (and maybe milkshakes), I haven't had much use for it. Rick and I went to the Sacramento flea market over the summer, and there is a woman there who has a booth set up with jars and jars of herbs and spices. I don't remember if she grows most of them herself, but she has strange spices and her tea blends are amazing. Matcha is a powerful antioxidant, as well as a weight loss supplement. It also detoxifies, which is helpful while Rick and I are on our 'diet'. He has quit smoking so we are on a whole-foods, liver and kidney healthy, lots of fruit and veggies diet. It's been challenging, to say the least. I've already comprised a long list of healthy desserts to help curb my sweet tooth cravings when I have them. There's also a dark chocolate stash somewhere. It's comforting, you know. To know it's there if I need it. Anyway.

The bars. They're chewy. Sweet and just a little salty. Rick says they're healthy versions of almond joys but pft, please. These are way more decadent. And they take maybe 20 minutes to make!


raw vegan matcha coconut bars with dark chocolate drizzle

3/4 c. rolled oats OR almond flour
3 t. matcha powder (iherb.com)
1 T. flax seed meal
1/4 t. salt
14 oz. shredded coconut
3 T. coconut oil, divided
5 T. agave (or honey for non vegan), divided
dark chocolate


1. You can either use a loaf or tart pan, or you can use an 8x8 for thinner bars. I've done it both ways but prefer the 8x8 pan. Line pan of your choice with plastic wrap.
2. In a food processor, pulse oats into a fine meal. Transfer oats (or almond flour) to bowl and stir in matcha powder, flaxseed meal, and salt. Add 1 tablespoon of soft coconut oil and stir until combined. Add 3 tablespoons of honey and stir.
3. Transfer to prepared pan and stick in freezer to harden.
4. In a food processor, pulse coconut into small flakes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of agave. Spread over frozen oat mixture and place back in freezer.
5. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler. I melted about 1/2 a cup's worth. It helps to add a tiny amount of coconut oil so it drizzles a little bit easier. You can also melt coconut oil, then add honey and cocoa to taste if you'd like to keep this entirely raw. Drizzle (or completely cover like I did) over coconut mixture and place back in freezer.

I take mine out and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into bars. You can also cut them into bars first, and then keep them in the fridge, they will just be a little soft.

I love cookies in any form and to me, the blondie is the ultimate cookie experience. These served warm with ice cream on top is one of my favorite desserts. I'm always wanting to try new cookies and bars but most of the recipes I come across call for absurd ingredients, and take a little more time than I'm willing to spend when the cookie urge hits. Even though these have a cup of sugar, they're slightly more healthy than the ones I'm used to making.


chewy vegan blondies

2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 t vanilla
4 T melted earth balance/margarine
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup dark chocolate chunks


1. Preheat oven to 325. 2. Combine sugars, vanilla, and almond milk. Add melted earth balance. 3. Mix powder, soda, salt, and flour, then add to wet ingredients. 4. Stir until combined, then stir in chocolate chunks. 5. Press into greased or lined 8x8 glass dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

I call this a 'christmas' shake because cinnamon & chocolate remind me of christmas, okay. The coconut adds something special too. You can just as well drink this in the summertime and call it a summer shake. Whatever. When I worked at a coffee shop, we had a 'white christmas mocha' that had a secret ingredient (coconut) & it was beyond yummy. We had to say it was a secret ingredient because most people would turn their nose at any coconut & coffee flavored drink, but no. Coconut, chocolate, and cinnamon = yummy perfection. Plus I've been on a coconut kick lately, I dont know. I've recently rediscovered how delicious it is in almost everything, plus a lot of my favorite recipes include it in some form or another. Since I left my coffee job earlier this year I haven't been able to be quite as creative with my coffee beverages, but I do like a good shake once in awhile.



vegan christmas shake

1.5 cups coconut ice cream
3/4 cup chocolate almond milk
8 coffee ice cubes
handful dark chocolate chunks
cinnamon


1.Simply blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. I used coconut cookie dough ice cream that I had made, but any coconut ice cream will do honestly. Mine had bits of dark chocolate in it so I omitted the extra chunks. The coffee cubes are basically my favorite thing ever and during the summer we always had a tray full. Mine does have regular whipped cream on it because, well, I havent quite mastered coconut milk whipped cream quite yet.. soon though :)

This bread will change your life. I'm fairly certain I've started off a post like that before but no, no.. really, this bread is extraordinary. I almost want to call it a cake because it's so moist and flavorful, I don't even feel compelled to top it with butter. Not to mention it has a delicious crumb topping that melts and crisps perfectly and even seeps into the middle a little bit. I may or may not have made this twice in one week.



vegan pumpkin bread

3/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 T agave or honey
1 T vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
3/4 t. cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 1/4 cup flour
2 t. baking powder

crumb topping

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (or earth balance), softened
about 1/2 cup flour
sprinkle cinnamon


1. For the crumb topping, mix all ingredients and set aside.
2. In a bowl mix pumpkin, sugars, oil, milk, agave, vanilla, and spices.
3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder, then add to wet mixture.
4. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil and lightly flour.
5. Pour mixture into pan, it'll be slightly thick.
6. Sprinkle crumb topping on top and bake at 375 for 40 minutes! My ovens a little weird with temperatures so I use a toothpick to check. It's okay if the topping falls into the middle. Actually, it's preferred. Enjoy :)

Can I just say that besides the pumpkin, cinnamon, and spices, I crave foods that are completely inappropriate for fall. It's okay though, I'm sure I'm not the only one. Do people really eat foods that are 'supposed' to be eaten seasonally anyway? I'm all for buying veggies when they're in season, but I have no objection to making thanksgiving dinner in summer. I made these a couple of weeks ago but have been dreaming about them the past few days. They're moist (ugh I hate that word), chewy, and the chocolate drizzle is perfect. I suppose if you want to make them 'autumn appropriate' you could add nutmeg and cinnamon, maybe a pumpkin drizzle instead. Or pumpkin ones with white chocolate drizzle?!

coconut macaroons with chocolate drizzle

1 can condensed milk
2 egg whites
2 t vanilla
salt
2 bags coconut (14 oz)
chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 300. Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy, 2-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla, and condensed milk until combined, then stir in coconut. 2. Drop 'dough' into table spoon-sized mounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake about 15-20 minutes. I did larger sized ones and baked for about 25, so adjust time accordingly. You want them golden brown. 3. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler, in in the microwave. If you're doing it by microwave, heat for 30 seconds and then stir every 15 seconds after that. Wait until your macaroons are completely cooled before drizzling!

Now that it's getting darker earlier, I have to take pictures under the harsh yellow glow of our one light in our tiny kitchen. Which is fine, I don't see myself making dinner at 4 or so. I just don't have the greatest camera for low light conditions but I'll do what I can. Anyway, with fall here I thought it was suitable to make something with squash in it since the prices are so cheap right now, but I don't necessarily like eating it by itself unless it has brown sugar on it. I've had butternut squash in ravioli before, so I was hoping this would be just as delicious. It was. And then some. And it's healthier than traditional mac & cheese, plus more flavorful.


butternut squash mac & cheese

3 c pasta shells
1 small butternut squash, cubed, uncooked
2 T coconut oil
1 t pepper
1 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 c vegetable stock
1 1/2 c milk
2 T butter (i used smart balance)
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 c parmesan
1 c roughly chopped spinach
breadcrumbs
herbs


Prepare pasta shells and set aside.

1. Preheat oven to 400. Toss squash with coconut oil, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Add stock and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring until the squash is soft. 2. Reduce heat to low and mash squash, smooth until creamy. 3. Add milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese. The first time I used parmesan, but you can use white cheddar or any cheese really. 4. Add pasta shells and spinach to mixture until coated, and place in 9x9 baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and herbs (and maybe a little more cheese) and bake for 15 minutes.

Rick calls these 'granola bars part two'. So... I got it into my head that granola bars are a piece of cake and I was going to make the best ones ever. So I mixed my ingredients. They were vegan, so I had bananas, coconut, oatmeal, and a bunch of other stuff mashed up and put in a pan. It smelled delicious. It looked delicious. And when I pulled the pan out of the oven, the coconut was toasted perfectly and the chocolate was slightly gooey. Perfect. Or so I thought, and then I took a bite... and stopped mid-chew. I had forgotten the almond milk, and I'm not sure if two tablespoons would have really made all that much of a difference, I don't know. Maybe its one of those magic ingredients that just doesnt work without it. I fed it to Rick who took one bite and laughed and said "what is this?!" Needless to say, they ended up in the trash.

So I decided to try again, with peanut butter this time. Because peanut butter improves mostly everything. And for some reason they taste better when they're rolled into balls. Rick doesnt believe I threw the granola bars away and thinks I just mixed it up with some peanut butter, but no, I swear these are 10000000x better.



vegan granola protein balls

2 c old fashioned oats
2 c toasted coconut
1 c peanut butter
1/2 c ground flaxseed
2 T wheat germ
3 T chia seeds
1 T vanilla
1/2 c honey
1/2 c carob chips


You can substitute protein powder for the wheat germ, I haven't experimented with it but I'm sure it'd be fine. All you do is mix all of the ingredients together and form into bite sized balls! I refrigerated mine for 30 minutes before I formed them, it made it a little bit easier.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I don't really like scones. They're usually dry... or chewy. Or flavorless. And I know they're supposed to be somewhat dry, but, really? I don't like my pastries to scrape the roof of my mouth. Starbucks has a pumpkin scone though, that is freaking delicious and I order it whenever I go in. It's full of spices and it's not too dry. The frosting-to-scone ratio is a little off to me, and for almost $3 a scone I said forget it, I'm making my own. So I did. And I'm not going to lie, they're 10000x time better than any crummy scone I've had. They are dense without being dry, full of flavor, and I was able to put as much frosting on them as I wanted.


pumpkin scones with glaze & spice drizzle

1/2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
6 T butter (cold)
1/2 c pumpkin
3 T cream or half and half
1 egg


2 c powdered sugar
4 T milk
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
pinch ginger
pinch nutmeg


1. Preheat oven to 425. 2. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. 3. With a pastry knife, cut in butter until crumbly. 4 In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, egg, and cream. Add to dry mixture and mix until combined. 5. Shape dough into small triangles.. you can do 6 large ones or 12 small ones (I made small ones). 6. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes (15 for the large scones) until golden brown. Place on cooling rack and let cool.
7. Combine powdered sugar and milk in a bowl, whisked until smooth. Top your scones but leave about 1/4 a cup for the spice drizzle. With the 1/4 cup left in the bowl, add your spices and drizzle on top of sugar glaze.

This is one of my favorite meals because it's easy and fairly healthy. Okay maybe not the pasta part.. or the bacon. Or the butter. I like to think it's healthier than the mac and cheese I just made though. We got the bacon from Rick's parents, who had their old pig butchered a little while ago. It truly is unreal. I don't buy bacon often because it's usually really salty and just, gross... but this didn't even taste like meat. I don't even know what I'm saying. Buying meat from local farmers is just so much better for you, tastes better, and I feel better knowing what this pig was fed and where it lived, that it lived a good life, rather than taking a bite and imagining little piggies in cages in a slaughterhouse. I wish I had the means to buy all of my meat local but sometimes I just don't have the extra cash or am able to drive out to the ranches. There's not much of a sauce to this but the combination of the flavors is truly yummy.


bacon chicken pasta

2 chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
4 strips bacon
2 cups penne (or fettuccine, in this case)
2 handfuls of spinach
1/2 c. shredded parmesan
1 T butter



1. Prepare your chicken. I say this because you can prepare it however you'd like, grilled, baked, etc. I put 2 T of butter in a pan and set the chicken in it, covered, for about 15-20 minutes. 2. While your chicken is cooking, put onion, garlic, and a little olive oil in a skillet. 3. This is when I prepare the bacon. I usually bake bacon when I do it eat, but I simply heated the slices up stovetop on a cast iron skillet. 4. Prepare your pasta. I chose fettuccine because that's what I had, but penne is what I normally use. 5. Once your chicken is cooked through, cut it into smaller pieces and add the onions and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Maybe a little Tony's seasoning. 6. Throw your spinach in there. Toss for about 5 minutes. 7. Add your parmesan and toss until melted. 8. Cut cooked bacon into small pieces and add to chicken mixture. 9. Drain your pasta and return to pot. Melt butter with the pasta and then chicken mixture to the pot. Stir to combine. If you want to be really adventurous, add a little of the bacon drippings in there. Yeah I did that.

Let me just say this. I will never, ever make soup as good as Panera. I dont know what it is. They probably throw frozen ingredients into a pot in the morning yet it somehow still tastes amazing at 5pm. Since we dont have one here in Nevada, I made my own. Take that, Panera. Who needs ya.

Okay, I do, cause their pecan rolls are ridiculous. It's practically fall and I haven't had one yet. And there's no way I'm trying my hand at those (maybe... I mean, how hard can they be?). This is enough for the two of us and a little bit leftover, you can double if you want for 6 servings or so.



broccoli cheese soup

4 T butter
1/2 onion, diced
2 T flour
1 clove garlic, diced
2 1/2 C chicken broth
1 C half and half (or heavy cream and a little milk..or just milk.. its up to you)
1 carrot, shredded
3 C broccoli florets
salt and pepper
nutmeg
2 C sharp cheddar cheese


1. In a saucepan, melt butter and add garlic and onion. Saute and take onions/garlic out and set aside in bowl. 2. Add flour to remaining butter and whisk in flour. Keep whisking as you add broth and milk. 3. Bring to a boil. 4. Add your veggies, onions, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes. 5. Once veggies are soft, pour mixture into blender and pulse a couple of times (I literally do 3 pulses). 6. Pour back into pan. 7. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Top with a sprinkle of nutmeg!

vegan chocolate banana avocado shake

2 bananas, diced, frozen
1 avocado, diced, frozen
1 1/2 c chocolate almond milk
2 T cocoa
1/4 c peanut butter (optional)


We rarely, if ever, let avocados go bad in our house. I will eat them raw with a spoon or smeared on toast. I had one that was a little soft yesterday though, so I scoured pinterest and remembered that I had liked some milkshake recipes... one of which used avocados. I know, it sounds gross. But people put avocados in their brownies and I mean, they're not too flavorful. So I diced it up with 2 bananas and let them freeze for a few hours. I used chocolate almond milk, which is like, a huge treat in itself for me, but I suppose you could use regular almond milk and chocolate syrup if you'd like. A little bit of cocoa, and I added peanut butter which is optional (but highly recommended). This is ridiculous, creamy, and good for you - and I bet it'd be even better as a post-workout shake with some protein powder added!

I got this recipe out of the 1947 revision of American Woman's Cookbook. It's falling apart, and written in, and there's still some notes and little paper place markers in it, so it was well loved once upon a time. Understandably, because this coffee cake is absolutely yummy. It's crumbly. And gooey. And it was gone by the next morning.

cinnamon coffee cake

2 T shortening or butter
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
3/4 c flour
1 t cinnamon
2 t baking powder
1/4 c milk
1/2 t vanilla

filling

1/2 c brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
2 T flour
2 T melted butter.

1. Cream the shortening and sugar, add beaten egg and vanilla. 2. Sift all dry ingredients together and add to mixture. 3. Add the milk. Spread one half of the mixture into a pan. I used a bread loaf pan which turned out to be the perfect size. 4. For the filling, mix all ingredients together and spread over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the cake batter, then the remainder of the filling over the top. 5. Take a knife and create a swirl pattern. 6. Bake @ 350 for 50 minutes or until knife in middle comes out clean.

I may or may not also have put a crumb topping on the top with some chilled butter, flour, and brown sugar..

Okay. Let me tell you a little story. When I first started talking to R, I didn't believe he could cook. We would text each other a lot & I remember asking him once what he was making for dinner, and he said, "spinach and cheese stuffed salmon." I'm pretty sure my reply was something along the lines of "HAHAhahaha... wait seriously?" Upon meeting him he took me to a vegan restaurant and ordered slab tacos and that might have been the moment I decided to not, under any circumstances, let this man out of my life. One of the first things he cooked me was etouffée. It was seriously one of the greatest things I have ever tasted, and I hate celery. With a passion. Not with peanut butter. Not smothered with ranch dressing. But he changed my mind about it forever (he keeps thinking he'll change my mind about cilantro too - sneaking it into my food & stuff - but no). I've never met a man other than my brother who loves to cook, so I got extremely lucky. He cooks me food every day and teaches me little tricks he learned when he was a chef, which is a bonus. Food is literally the way to my heart, if you haven't guessed already. This is his recipe that he created from his time being in louisiana, I promise you won't be disappointed :) You can also use shrimp instead of crawfish if you like.

étouffée

2 c rice
12 oz. raw crawfish tails
4 T butter
3 stalks of celery, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 small tomato, diced
6 cloves chopped garlic
2 c milk
3 T corn starch
1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 T pepper
1 t Tony's seasoning
1/2 T dried parsley
1/2 t cayenne pepper
pinch of salt

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, make your rice. He drains his in a colander so it gets sticky.
2. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Add salt and lemon juice. Bring to a low boil.
3. Add milk and crawfish. Stir all of your dry seasonings in. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
4. Add corn starch and stir to thicken.
5. As it thickens, remove from heat and let cool for a moment. Serve over rice!

I was never really a huge fan of banana bread, I was never really a fan of snack breads in general.. and after working at starbucks for years and having access to all the pastries my little heart desired, I couldn't touch the stuff. This bread here though is much heartier than the light, spongey breads I've always had. It is completely vegan, and although I am not vegan, I do like to try my hand at vegan recipes - its a little challenging for me, but rewarding when I find completely guilt-free and healthy recipes that are ridiculously delicious like this one.

vegan banana bread

3 ripe bananas (i freeze mine until theyre black)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 almond milk
1/3 c. melted coconut oil (you can use regular oil, or butter for the almost-vegan version)
1/4 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
3/4 c. rolled oats
1 1/2 c. flour (unbleached or wheat)
walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips are optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mash your bananas and add in the vanilla, sugar, oil, and milk. If you're using butter, make sure it is room temperature. 2. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add to the banana mixture. 3. Add in the oats last, along with any nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips you want to add. 4. Bake for 50 minutes. And for the record.. its especially yummy with a glob of earth balance on top :)