Cookies For Breakfast?!

Thanks to one of my favorite bitches I now receive Bon Appetit magazine - this means I have even more recipes and ideas from which to choose. Yay! I'll admit, some of the magazine's recipes can be a bit too high-tech and fancy for me (aka they require rather expensive ingredients and/or equipment...I don't own an ice cream maker, nor do I have walnut, truffle, and hazelnut oil...sorry). However, the majority of recipes look simple enough that I'll give 'em a try, delicious enough that I'm 99% sure I'll enjoy 'em, and interesting enough that I think "I've gotta give this a go". 


After skimming the first magazine that arrived in the mail, I knew immediately which recipe I'd be trying to make ASAP because it was entitled "Hallelujah: Cookies for Breakfast". Excuse me? Did you say cookies for breakfast? The recipe looked fairly simple, all the ingredients were fortuitously in my pantry, and I was fairly certain the result would be nothing short of yummy...how can you go wrong with a cookie? So I decided to try out the recipe. To my delight, the cookies fell nothing short of fantastic. 


Like I said, the recipe - Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies - is pretty basic to follow. The cookies are made with white whole wheat flour (c'mon, it's a cookie for breakfast, so obviously you can't use regular all-purpose-stripped-of-important-nutrients flour), old-fashioned rolled oats, cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, and almonds, in addition to some regular baking ingredients - sugars, butter, eggs, etc. If you're not a quinoa fan, you may not like these cookies, as they definitely have a quinoa taste. In this case, try substituting brown rice, barley, or even doubling the amount of rolled oats, for the cooked quinoa. And if you don't have some of the baking ingredients required (baking powder, vanilla extract, brown sugar, to name a few), bite the bullet and purchase them - guaranteed I'll have more baking recipes and it never hurts to keep your pantry well stocked with baking supplies!


Below I've listed the adjustments that I made to the recipe, but I'm sure if you follow the recipe "as written" it will come out just as good. On Sunday I ate one of the cookies for breakfast, along with some scrambled eggs; but mostly I've been eating one or two of the cookies as my mid-morning snack (you know that time of day to which I am referring - it's around 11am, when you start to get hungry again after breakfast, but you are not quite ready for lunch). Not quite a muffin, but definitely not a dessert, these cookies are perfect for breakfast and/or as a snack if you want something quick to grab that is healthy and satisfying to eat. Who would've guessed? Cookies, for breakfast!

Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies

1. I used 1/2 cup of Smart Balance instead of butter - either one works.

2. I only used 2 tablespoons of honey, because there's already 1/2 cup of sugar (white & brown combined). Next time I may use less white sugar and 1/4 cup of honey, because I like the flavor of honey better.

3. I used 1/2 cup whole almonds (unsalted) that I then chopped, using a food processor

4. I used 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup dried cherries, because that's what I had in my pantry.

5. My batch of cookies yielded 32, even though the recipe says it only makes about 24.

What do you think of cookies for breakfast? 

Food for Thought

Today's post is short, but sweet. We all have those moments - "mmm, a jelly-filled donut sounds delicious right now" - but hopefully you realize (especially after reading this blog) that these thoughts should only be turned into action on a once-in-a-blue-moon basis. Sure, everything in moderation, but really, the majority of what you eat needs to be healthy for your body, soul, and mind. You've probably heard the 100000+ reasons as to why eating healthy is so important, so here's another one to add to that ongoing list: eating healthy may protect against Alzheimer's disease. Check out the article and let me know your thoughts. When I ran across the article earlier today, immediately I thought "this is the umpteenth reason as to why people need to start eating healthier than they currently do". So during those moments of weakness, when fast food seems like the easier choice compared to cooking at home, remember that you literally need food for thought...healthy food, not junky crap...home cooked meals, not microwavable TV dinners. What do you think? 

For Peanut Butter Fans

Do you like peanut butter? I hope so. But regardless of your feelings toward the great PB, as long as you are not allergic to this salty treat, then you should continue reading. For those of you with a peanut allergy, I am sorry...there is always almond butter - a personal favorite, but alas, not the topic of this blogpost. This post is for those of you peanut butter fans who are bored with getting your daily dose of peanut butter from either a PB&J or that shameless spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar (eaten as if it is a PB lollipop). I have a solution...another way for you to get your PB fix - one that does not include jelly, honey, or a spoon large enough to fit in your mouth. I am referring to peanut butter sauce...more specifically, Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Butter Sauce, modified from the recipe in Quick-Fix Vegetarian: Healthy Home-Cooked Meals in 30 Minutes or Less (I sometimes refer to the dish as Peanutty Noodles). 


Here's what you need for the sauce (enough for 2 servings of Thai Noodle Salad): 1/4 cup peanut butter (duh. crunchy or smooth...totally up to you), 1 tablespoon soy sauce (this badass ingredient is worth purchasing, not just because of the PB sauce, but because it can be used in so many other recipes), 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lime juice, a pinch of brown sugar, a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional...it gives the sauce a subtle kick), 1-2 tablespoons warm water. Mix all the ingredients together (add water last...and add a little bit more water if mixture is too thick), and voila! Peanut butter sauce!


Now, you can either save the sauce in a tupperware in your fridge (for about a week) and use it as a salad dressing. Or you can read on and see how to make Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Butter Sauce. Reading on? Excellent. Here's what you need for the recipe (2 servings...dinner and lunch!): 1/4 box of linguine, udon, or rice noodles (long, thin noodles is what you need, so really any of these options work), about 2-3 cups worth of cut veggies (I'd recommend sliced mushrooms, sliced red onion, grated sweet potato, and/or sliced red bell pepper...the more colors, the better!), and a small handful of chopped cilantro (not absolutely necessary, but this herb makes the dish absolutely fantastic). 



Cook the noodles according to package. Mix cooked noodles with a drizzle of canola or sesame oil (to prevent sticking), then add chopped veggies. Add peanut butter sauce to noodle-veggie mix. Top with cilantro and serve! 

Give the recipe a shot...but be warned, it is quite addicting. Once you make this peanut butter sauce, you may never want to make a PB&J for dinner again. In fact, you might even stop eating PB straight from the jar, because you'll want to save all your peanut butter for the purpose of making this sauce. For all you peanut butter fans, this recipe may be your best discovery since sliced bread...literally. 

Show Some Love

Why is cooking so enjoyable? Obviously, there is the fact that the end result of cooking is a delicious array of food you get to eat. But why else? Well...perhaps because cooking is a way of expressing your feelings. If you are having a bad day, cooking can help you decompress, release some frustration, and (sometimes) give you that sense of accomplishment you've been craving all day long. If you're feeling creative, cooking is a great outlet to experiment with new ideas and unleash your imagination - sure, the dishes may not always come out great, but at least you're trying. And most importantly, when you want to show people that you love and care about them, then make them a meal. Cooking involves time, effort, and energy, so it is a fabulous way of saying "you're worth it" to whomever  - be it your family, friends, significant other, or you. 


You don't need to be a professional in order to cook for others; and at this point you should know that it is O.K. to make mistakes. Whether the menu is as easy as scrambled eggs with toast, or as complicated as handmade pasta with five-herb pesto, the important thing is the simple act of cooking  - it shows that you care.  Everyone will be grateful for, and impressed by, the effort you put into cooking even if the dish comes out of the oven in flames. Sure, you could skip this minor embarrassment by just going to a restaurant; but, nothing says "i love you", "you're a great friend" or "thanks for always being there for me" like a homemade meal.


This weekend I had some love to show. I was reunited with a couple of dance friends from Bates, and rather than spend an excessive amount of money at a crowded restaurant, we made a stellar three-course meal together. Everyone contributed to the menu: Sarah made a decadent cheese platter with crackers to start; Kate brought angel food cake with fresh blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream for dessert; and I was in charge of the main course - handmade sweet potato gnocchi, a veggie side dish, and a salad. Though I was the primary "chef" in the kitchen, I was assisted by two wonderful sous chefs, without whom the meal would not have been possible. We washed down each course with a glass of wine - white to start and red to finish. Not only did we have a wonderful time catching up on life, but we also had a fun, intimate, and superbly flavorful night because of the food we cooked and ate.  


The next time you step into your kitchen or have plans to see someone special, make sure you show some love. Cook something...anything. Below is the main course from my dinner this weekend (with links to some of the recipes). It was a wonderful meal and certainly showed how much we all care about each other. Feel free to use the recipes during your next dinner date. But in the meantime, what is a dish that you usually make when you want to show someone some love?  

Sweet Potato Gnocchi from the blog Kath Eats Real Food

*I used dried rosemary instead of fresh and I added about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to the gnocchi while they sauteed in the pan

Roasted Cauliflower, Raisins, and Vinaigrette from Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian 

*the recipe I used does NOT include anchovies, so just ignore that part of the directions from the link above

Side Salad: a few handfuls of leafy greens (you choose) + 1 cup chickpeas + 1 orange (sliced) + 1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese + 1/4 red onion (sliced) + whatever vinaigrette you like!

A Resolution You Can Keep

You've made your health and diet related new year's resolutions: to eat more veggies, go to the gym as often as possible (or at least more than last year), drink fewer alcoholic beverages, cut back on the sweet snacks, stop drinking soda, consume fewer sugary cereals, take it easy with the salt, and on and on the list goes. But did you make any resolutions that aren't so vague? A resolution that doesn't have you hating yourself every time you break it? Or how about a resolution you'll actually remember to do? How many of this year's resolutions did you make last year (which you clearly failed to adhere to)? Seems to me like you need a resolution that you can actually stick to, that is easy enough to follow and yet satisfying in its simplicity. That is exactly the type of resolution I made last year - a resolution I could keep.

By the end of 2010, I was sick of coming home from work and always eating my concoctions of refrigerator ingredients. I'm sure that many of you can empathize...there is no fun in eating the same random mixture of food night after night (pasta with sauteed vegetables again?), and it's expensive to order take-out food on a weekly basis. So when it came time to make my 2011 new year's resolution, this is what I decided: make one new recipe (NOT my own jumbled mess, but from a real cookbook or online recipe site) at least one time per week. But how? I lucked out and during the holiday season I received a cookbook from my brother - Quick-Fix Vegetarian: Healthy Home-Cooked Meals in 30 Minutes or Less (by Robin Robertson) - which became my go-to cookbook during the beginning stages of my new year's resolution. I refer to this cookbook as my training wheels. I didn't have time (or so I thought) to make complex meals, but thirty minutes or less? Heck ya! I could make some of those recipes. 

So, I began 2011 by making one recipe per week (all the other nights were my signature refrigerator mixtures), for about the first two weeks of January. But then I realized the easiness of the recipes from this cookbook. And so, as long as I decided on a recipe one night in advance (so that, if need be, I could go to the supermarket to pick up any ingredients), I could make a real recipe 2, 3, 4, even 5 times a week! I was ecstatic about cooking and would take a picture of every dish I made, to prove to myself (and show off to others) that I could make coherent and delicious meals. Some of the recipes from the cookbook were not appealing to me, but by the time I'd exhausted my favorites I felt comfortable cooking from other cookbooks. Who says that cooking during the week is impossible? All you need is a little planning.

I'm not saying that I have just given you the key to a magical resolution that will have you signing up for culinary school by the end of March. What I am saying is that this is a simple resolution - cook one new recipe a week, from a cookbook - that you'll be able to follow, will ease you into the world of cooking, allow you to make healthier food choices (like eat more veggies or use less salt), and help you save some money (time and again it is proven that, despite the misconception, it is actually cheaper to cook your own food than to eat out). So, go to your local bookstore to pick out a cookbook that looks interesting, but easy (and compatible with your lifestyle) or sign up for a website like Epicurious, which sends you monthly emails of new recipes and also has a huge archive of healthy recipes. Get on the metaphorical bicycle of cooking and find yourself a pair of training wheels. Make the resolution you can actually keep.