Oatmeal Pancakes

These oatmeal pancakes are the basis of almost every brunch I make. Back in pharmacy school, my friends would make a batch after our exams (which were at 7 am!). It would be a way of celebrating having our lives back if only until the next exam. These were ladies who joined me in many adventures, bikes tours, and cooked meals. Also lots of studying that didn't get done. And sleeping in class. The recipe is from an old school cookbook, but I couldn't find it online. Does this count as citing my source? Am I the worst? Probably. 

I had the recipe written on the back of my pharmacology notes with doodles and stickers from my friends. I'll keep it forever but just in case of zombie apocalypse, etc I'll have it on the internets just in case. Just kidding, I have it memorized. 

This is my adaption. The recipe does great with substitutions. Just don't use gluten free flour. They will turn into rubber. Trust me. You can double, triple, etc the recipe.

Other substitutions/additions:

For the flour:

1/2 cup buckwheat + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour 

For the sugar:

1/3 white sugar for brown sugar

Oats:

Same amount of instant oats

Buttermilk:

1 1/3 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar

Same amount of thinned plain yogurt

Egg:

Flax egg instead

Chia egg instead 

Additions:

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 tbsp flax seed

Makes 9 medium pancakes

1 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/3 cup brown sugar 

1 egg

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl with a whisk. Make a well and pour in wet ingredients. Whisk until just mixed and few lumps remain. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Cook over medium heat until golden brown. Keep in oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve.

Moroccan Stew

Lately we've been hosting Sunday night family dinners. Family dinner is basically when my cousins and I get together and eat all the food. We go out to eat or we stay in and have a homecooked meal. It's becoming a tradition in the same way that soup group or girl dinner was in Pittsburgh. Some highlights lately have been fish tacos, peanut noodles, and this stew! Restaurant-wise, Vedge was literally the best dining experience of my life (so far). All vegan. All vegetables. I mean the rutabaga fondue was enough to make me fall of my chair.

Also, with Sunday dinner comes Game of Thrones. Sadly it's over now but this stew from The First Mess makes it better. I doubled the recipe easily to serve all of us.

Moroccan Stew

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 red onion, small dice
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5 dates, pitted + chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled + chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 yellow pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas
salt + pepper

1 bunch lacinato kale

Heat the coconut oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook  until soft and translucent. I just let this cook for 15 minutes or so stirring occasionally. Then add spices plus garlic and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring constantly. Watch out for the spices burning. 

Add the dates, carrots and sweet potatoes. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the vegetable stock. Boil the soup then turn down heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Add the chopped yellow peppers and chickpeas and stir the soup. Season the whole thing again with salt and pepper. Simmer until everything is cooked to your liking. Chop the kale and add to the pot for a couple minutes. Serve with brown rice, additional dates, or bread + cheese to make it a meal.

Zucchini Bread with Flax and Chocolate Chips

This recipe is easily doubled. I know there are a million zucchini bread recipes (and some I've been posted already). This one is my new favorite. It is unique because it has amazing texture. Kind of firm whereas most zucchini breads are just really mushy (in a good way!). I like to make muffins with this recipe and little loaves too. This bread is coming with me to Brittany's place! We're crashing there on our way to Quito. 

I've been kind of on a traveling hiatus but this month has been a whirlwind of trips already. We spent a lot of time back in Pittsburgh for the marathon and the reunion weekend. It was much needed and so so refreshing to see everyone!! Also to get amazing burgers at OTB and to try all the desserts at the new bakery in South Side.

Anyways it has been a year since I've been on a plane. That hasn't happened since I don't know when! So we're going on a 10 day adventure to YOLO and celebrate Kelly's first year of college. Ya!

This recipe is from my cousin's girlfriend via Pinterest via Food and Wine. Sources!

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour (I've also used spelt with success)

1. 1/4 cup flax seeds (whole)

1. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1. 2 large eggs

1. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt

1. 1 cup coarsely grated zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini)

1. 1/2 cup chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease whatever pans you are using. Mix dry ingredients together minus sugar. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, oil, and sugar together. Add the yogurt and then the zucchini. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and just when mixed, add the chocolate chips.

Bake for about an hour + 10 minutes until a knife can be removed cleanly from the center. These are the directions for a loaf pan. Muffins will only take 30 minutes or so.

Toasted Oatmeal

I've been eating oatmeal daily with a cherry smoothie. This is how I've been making it! Actually I've been making toasted oats and oats the regular way too depending on how much time is on hand. The toasted oats from A Couple Cooks take oatmeal to another level. So yum. Also coconut manna is a must. I am so obsessed. You can make it at home easily in a food processor.

The goji milk is part of recipe from Earthsprout's 30 raw breakfasts app. It's actually the first thing I've made from Elenore's recipes. Check out her blog from Sweden! It is gorgeous. Also she just posted about foods that we can use for skincare! 

Toasted oats (serves 2 people):

1 cup rolled (old fashioned) oats

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 cup cashew milk 

1/2 cup water

Pinch salt 

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the oats and toast for about 5 minutes until they smell nutty and delicious. Don't toast so much that they start browning. 

In a separate pot, boil the water, milk, salt, and cinnamon. Turn off the heat as soon as this happens, add the oats, cover, and let sit for 7 minutes. Serve with goji milk and toppings!

Goji milk:

1/2 cup cashew milk

2 tablespoons goji berries, soaked overnight in 1/4 cup water

Blend cashew milk, goji berries, and soaking water until completely smooth. This recipe makes extra.

Toppings:

Coconut manna (same as coconut butter)

Goji berries

Almond butter

Maple syrup 

Apple Custard Pancake

I'm always on the lookout for brunch recipes since it's my favorite meal to host. Back in college, we would call it epic brunch. After Sunday mass, we would gather any friends that showed up and have what we called epic brunch. Brunch would last until the late afternoon and we would put off our studies to eat and spend more time together. It is a tradition that has carried on even after graduation. Even though we're all miles away, we still have brunch during our reunions. Since Sunday is a day for sleeping in and general relaxation, I like simple recipes that can be thrown together quickly. This apple pancake is one of them. I made it with the anticipation that it would be more like a German pancake. It wasn't. It was really more of a custard- at least, to me! It reminded me of Laura's apple cinnamon bread pudding minus the bread. The recipe is from the Kitchn.

Apple Custard 

3 medium Granny Smith apples

4 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs

Brown Butter Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles

At this point, I've made a couple batches of chai snickerdoodles that just didn't have enough chai spice in them. This recipe will change that! It has spices in the dough and also in the sugar coating. That makes all the difference. The recipe is from Will Cook for Friends from the great cookie exchange for bloggers. I vote we do this next year among ourselves through the mail. Also browned butter makes the cookie even better. I've made a gluten free version with gf all purpose flour mix that turned out well.

I've also been making my own chai concentrate lately! I'll be posting that soon. As you can tell, I love chai as much as I love pumpkin flavored baked goods.

When baking these you want to bake them just until they are barely set! The inside of the crackles will look bubbly and but not too gooey. Use the first tray of cookies to gauge how long you want to bake the rest of the cookies for. Remember they will continue to bake and set after taking them out of the oven. If you take these steps, your cookies will be chewy yet crispy and awesome.

By the way, happy New Year's Eve! We're on the turnpike towards Pittsburgh! I do not miss this drive but at least this year we're not all afflicted with food poisoning :)

1 cup + 4 tbsp unsalted butter 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gf mix

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt 

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. finely ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Turmeric Milk

The idea for this milk came from My Edible Sunshine's Instagram one day. Turmeric has great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Since I had been feeling sickly (too many cookies + freezing cold weather during December), I figured I would give this tea a try. You can definitely taste the turmeric but it's surprisingly subtle, and the honey balances it out nicely.

Fast forward to Vietnam!! I discovered that my grandpa also drinks turmeric tea! By turmeric tea, I mean he just mixes the turmeric with water. He also eats bee pollen (like me!) and bird's nest water (ew). I promise you, my version is a lot tastier.

The practice of medicine is dramatically different here and it has taken me awhile to get used to it. I agree with the practice of Eastern medicine (herbs, acupunture, and food as medicine), but I can't agree with the rampant use of antibiotics plus other drugs. Then again, it's a third world country. What can I expect?

On the other hand, the people here know so much more about food than I do. It's just common knowledge on what foods cure which ailments. Sore throat? Drink some aloe vera. Stomach pains? Tapioca+water. In that way, the pharmacist here has been teaching me so much. Lastly, there's a lot of focus on what foods make you hot (mango, longan, rambutan) or cold (coconut water, avocado, watermelon, and green mango). If there's an imbalance, then you're more susceptible to sickness. It's a pretty cool system that teaches you to be in tune with yo body! So now you know!

 

Turmeric Tea (one serving)

1 1/4 cup cashew milk
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1-2 tsp raw honey

Warm up the cashew milk in a little saucepan until lukewarm. You don't want it to get too hot since heat destroys the awesomeness of the enzymes in the raw honey. Meanwhile, mix the spices with the honey in the bottom of a large mug. Once the milk is warm enough, pour into mug while stirring to incorporate all the goodness. Add more honey if desired. Drink up first thing in the morning.
An alternative is making cashew cream to store in the fridge and then mixing it with the spices and honey. Then adding some warm water to the mix.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

I made these last week for no apparent reason. Just because the recipe looked so good and I had a lot of pumpkin to use (as usual). The recipe is from a blog called Tessa Domestic Diva.

1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chia meal mixed w/ 2 tablespoons hot water or 1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Grease 2-3 baking pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, egg or chia, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix the flour into the wet ingredients until a sticky dough forms.
3. Place dough inside a large ziploc bag. Cut a hole in one corner of the bag and pipe some dough into a doughnut shape onto the greased baking pans. Slightly overlap the ends of the dough. I actually made my hole too small so I had to make like 3 circles on top of each other to get reasonably sized doughnuts.

4. If you want cinnamon sugar doughnuts, mix 1 tbsp cinnamon plus 3 tbsp raw cane sugar and sprinkle over doughnuts.
5. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until firm. Let rest for a few minutes, the place on wire racks to cool. For chocolate drizzle, melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips and add 1 tsp coconut oil. For glaze mix 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp coconut oil and 1-2 tsp almond milk.

Pumpkin Roll

Thanksgiving is not a huge deal for my family. We actually used to spend it in Mexico, but these last couple of years we've been sitting down to an actual Thanksgiving meal. The first time I turkey or stuffing was in high school when we would go to my friend Amanda's house after Thanksgiving and eat all of her mom's leftovers. Gradually my family is learning to make the staple American dishes with some Vietnamese food thrown in (this year we finished up our dinner with my aunt's pho) Pumpkin roll is one of our favorites. It's my job to make it every year, and my sisters also pitch in to help. We use the Libby's pumpkin roll recipe.

Cake

• powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup raw cane sugar
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Filling

• 1 package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I just roasted my first pumpkin of the season, so it's time for endless pumpkin recipes!!! I made this for a perfectly fall dinner with our friends, Chris and Angela. We made some beef pho for them and Laura made an amazing ricotta, pear, and roasted garlic pizza. This recipe is from an old roommate (Colleen). This pie looks swirly since I forgot to add the cinnamon into the mix before pouring it into the crust. Instead, I sprinkled the cinnamon on top and used a spatula to swirl it into the batter.

The crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/2 sticks cream cheese (2 if you want a creamier cheesecake)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla

Pumpkin Chili

This dish was made for a Halloween feast. I am so glad I made it for dinner since I spent the day at the pharmacy gorging on lots of sugar. The chili was the perfect end to the night along with the chicken and chickpea salads that Laura contributed. It was a rainy night for trick or treating but some cute neighborhood kids did make it out to our house. This recipe is from The Kitchn, and I chose it because it included some cornmeal in the recipe which I found intriguing. Turns out, it is delicious.

1 medium pie pumpkin (3 pounds!)

3 parsnips  

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 head garlic, minced

3-5 hot peppers, sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups vegetarian broth

1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes 

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can black beans

2 cups frozen corn

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cumin

Several dashes Worcestershire sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

It was freezing this last week, so naturally homemade cinnamon rolls had to be made. Specifically PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS! The recipe I used was from Smitten Kitchen and I didn't change it much. Laura and I ate these watching a marathon of Pretty Little Liars all day. We only took minor breaks to make whatever food we were craving.

Dough
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup warm milk (or almond milk)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 large egg

Sugar Filling
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup pumpkin butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Butter

Well instead of carving my pumpkin, I roasted it. I was never great at carving pumpkins anyway. My sisters always did the designing and actual carving. I probably just watched and ate lots of candy. I used a smaller pumpkin to make the pumpkin butter. Ideally you want to find a pie pumpkin which has more flesh and a higher sugar content. Normal pumpkins work too, though.

1/2 small pumpkin
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves

To roast the pumpkin: Cut a ring around the stem and remove. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all of the seeds and the stringy business. Place the pumpkin cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 1/2 hour at 375 degrees. The pumpkin is done when you can pierce the flesh easily with a fork. Let the pumpkin cool. Then using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a blender or food processor. Blend until it forms a smooth puree. I only used half a pumpkin since I only wanted about 1 pint of pumpkin butter. Feel free to use all of it! I used the other half to make the pumpkin snickerdoodles : )

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Our friends Kate and Mark got married this weeked! My contribution to the Pittsburgh cookie table was pumpkin snickerdoodles from A BItchin' Kitchen! They went perfectly with the Weyerbacher pumpkin beer that was served! The wedding was full of gorgeous DIY decorations and lots of great homemade food. (Kate made dozens of cottage cheese pierogies from scratch!). My only advice is to make these as soon as possible! Halloween is tomorrow : )

Cookie Dough:

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 slightly heaping cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar mixture (makes extra):

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Snickerdoodle Blondies, or "Oh hey, blog, I'm back"

So I am one of those... I search Pinterest for recipes from time to time.  Not too ashamed to admit it.  In July I went to meet my boyfriend's parents for the first time (after only dating for a couple months), and I was way nervous.  Momma D always says to not go to someone's home empty handed, and that Italians typically bring bread and wine.  Momma D also says a lot of things that aren't appropriate for this blog.  Michelle believes in always bringing baked goods, and showing people you love them with delicious foods.  With all this in mind and extensive searches and worrying, I set out to make this recipe.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Adapted from My Own Sweet Thyme  

2 2/3 cups all-pupose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 cup butter, room temp
2 eggs, room temp
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup white sugar (last time I used turbinado sugar, added a good texture)
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon (last time I accidently added a lot; feel free to do the same)