Ah, life.

To begin, I apologize for my extended absence! I blame loads of school work+work+severe allergies making me not feel so hot. Ack. BUT! I was inspired this morning by a glorious post over at Love Veggies & Yoga! I glanced at the post this morning before class, couldn’t stop thinking about it throughout class and immediately upon getting home, I whipped out the VitaMix and went to work. The can of pumpkin puree was calling my name and the weather outside made this perfect! It’s been overcast and chilly, which I love! Fall is here. Leaves will start turning soon, though here in Denver, they aren’t as plentiful as in Michigan. I will soon be seeking out a cider mill/apple orchard to quench my ravenous desire for fresh donuts! and hot cider! I LOVE FALL.

Back to the matter at hand. Love Veggies & Yoga‘s beautiful post on making your own pumpkin spice latte ran dear and near to my heart. All too often I give in to $tarbucks and indulge in their overly pricey and overly sweetened lattes. NOT TODAY! I pretty much followed her recipe verbatim, except I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice. So I threw in some ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and hoped for the best. Almond milk worked great with this! SO GOOD. Thick and spicy. I loved the froth that just appeared when I mixed the pumpkin milk with the coffee. As always, I highly recommend making your coffee from a french press! So much more flavor and with all the essential oils found in freshly ground coffee beans. Nom nom nom. Many thanks and praise to Love Veggies & Yoga! It literally made my morning.

I will make a valiant effort to contributing more to this blog! I feel so disconnected from the blogging world. I haven’t even been keeping up with my favorite food blogs! For shame. Oh, and is anyone else on Pinterest? It’s really addictive. Methinks it might help me actually get some wedding planning done…but who knows. So many neat ideas out there!

And now, some obligatory pictures of Izze:

Happy Wednesday! 🙂

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal & Quinoa-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Looks like I have some bloggin’ to catch up on! Yesterday morning had me craving something sweet and filling…and oatmeal easily fulfills that task! Oats are high in fiber and help lower cholesterol…and taste good. Always remember to use rolled oats and not quick! I’ve been inspired by Kath over at Kath Eats Real Food because she always has such great looking oatmeal! Check out her “Tribute to Oatmeal” page for lots of tasty variations!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Sliced Raw Almonds, Chia Seeds and Wheat Germ

• 1 apple, chopped
• Lots of cinnamon! 1-2 tsp
• 1 tbsp of your favorite sweetener (i.e. honey, agave nectar, etc)
• pinch of salt
• Nutmeg, cloves, or pumpkin pie spice (optional)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup almond milk (or water or any non-dairy milk you prefer)
• Any toppings you like. In this case I used sliced raw almonds, chia seeds, wheat germ

Throw chopped apple + spices + sweetener into a saucepan. Let cook for a minute or two…then add rolled oats, stir, and add the almond milk. Bring to a low boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes (though everything takes longer at high altitude!) or until you have your preferred consistency. Top with tasty things and enjoy in your favorite dish (in my case, in my UGLY mug!)

Yum. So many different things you can do with oatmeal! This made enough to split between two people (I get so full after eating oats).

I had some green bell peppers sitting on the counter form the farmer’s market this past weekend and they were just on the brink of being too far gone, so I had to use them! I was able to whip this meal up in under an hour. Lots of protein from the quinoa and a variety of veggies make this a healthy, hearty dinner.

Quinoa-Stuffed Bell Peppers

• 4-5 Bell Peppers, tops cut off and seeds/innards cut out
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water or vegetable stock
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (or use fresh!), not drained
• Small can of sweet peas
• Small can of sweet corn
• 1/2 medium sized zucchini squash, chopped
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp garlic powder (I LOVE GARLIC)
• Vegan shredded cheddar cheese (highly recommend Daiya brand)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Parboil the bell peppers for 5 minutes, drain and set aside. Sprinkle a bit of salt on the inside of each pepper.

Prepare quinoa per your brand’s instructions. Add diced tomatoes, peas, corn and chopped zucchini. Mix spices in!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an oven-safe dish (PYREX IS AWESOME), place bell peppers upright. Carefully spoon the filling in. About halfway, add a layer of shredded cheese. Continue to fill up to the top and then add more cheese! Breadcrumbs would be tasty too. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until everything is looking cheesy, goopy and delicious.

Notes:

• Want more protein? Add some black beans to the mix! Cilantro, jalapenos, onion and cayenne pepper would make this a great spicy dish!
• No quinoa? Use rice or couscous!
• Looking for a meaty version? Add your favorite veggie crumbles, like Gimme Lean!

Yesterday was tasty, I must say. So glad it’s FRIDAY! Most likely going GARAGE SALE-ING (sailing? yes. like on a boat.) tomorrow to try and find some interesting things. Estate sales are the best! Just have to weed through all the crap to get to the good stuff. Happy Friday!

Leftover Surprise

It’s always fun to take whatever you have in the fridge, throw it in a blender and hope for the best. Quite the adventure! I had some leftover mashed potatoes from the pierogies last night and a crap load of vegetables just on the brink of the point of no return. Since I have yet to get a food processor (definitely would have made this a bit easier), I used our trusty, ridiculously powerful VitaMix to create a mash of vegetables: broccoli, red bell pepper & zucchini. I came up with a sort of hybrid vegetable fritter/potato pancake thing. Super easy and quick to make using any vegetables sitting around in the fridge. I don’t have any sort of real measurements, mostly just winging it!

These were great complemented with some ketchup and hot sauce! And a side of iced chai tea... 🙂

Potato/Vegetable Fritter Pancake (Pancatter? Fritcake?)

• Leftover mashed potatoes (These had chives, garlic powder, almond milk and some Earth balance buttah)
• A variety of hearty vegetables (In this case, I had zucchini, broccoli and red bell peppers)
• Garlic!
• A tablespoon or two of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt/pepper to taste

Place all the vegetables (except the potatoes) in your food processor or blender. Blend until you get desired consistency (if ya like chunks, go for it). This should be kind of a thick paste.

Dump vegetable paste in with the mashed potatoes and mix until it becomes an even thicker paste! How exciting. Add any more spices you like to the mix. Next, add the flour and baking powder. Mix with your hands (more fun) until you are able to make them into patties that don’t completely fall apart on you. They shouldn’t be super sticky, but somewhat moist. If too wet and falling apart, slowly work more flour in until they stick.

Have a skillet ready on medium heat sprayed lightly with canola oil. Form the fritterthings into balls then flatten in your hands. They turn out with a nicer consistency the thinner you make them! Let cook in pan for a few minutes each side or until they are brown and smelling amazing. EAT.

Notes:

• Mine held together pretty well, but if you find yours falling apart too much, Vegetarians can add an egg to the mix and Vegans can use water + flax seed blended together to bind the mix a little better.
• Shredded carrots would add a bit of sweetness and great color
• Might be interesting grilled…
• Used minced garlic instead of powdered
• Onions would give a flavor boost
• Try adding some jalapenos and cheddar cheese! Mmm spicy!
• Cholula (hot sauce), ketchup, and sour cream pair well with these

Hearty, easy breakfast, my favorite. Looks like it’s going to be another hot one today. Hopefully the air conditioning at the library won’t be on the fritz again! It was 84 in there yesterday! I’m surprised the books didn’t melt.

To the library I go!