I get questions semi-regularly about certain ingredients, so I decided to start a post series about the common WTF foods.

If you missed the first one, here’s WTF ingredients: nooch

Next up, chia seeds.

Salvia hispanica, aka the chia seed, is yet another example of a food that has been around forever, but has recently risen in popularity due to it’s stellar nutrient profile.  They may be ancient, but superfoods are all the rage for a reason…

[Based on gram per gram comparison]

They’re also:

• vegan
• gluten free
• no sugar
• soluble and insoluble fiber
• 9 essential amino acids
• complete vegan protein source
• omega 3, omega 6, & omega 9
• key minerals phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, & potassium

If you’re wondering about the difference between Salba and chia seeds, the company Ancient Naturals sells a trademarked form of white chia seeds under the name Salba (but as far as I can tell it’s the exact same).

They boast more than an excellent nutritional profile, though. 

These little buggers are strangely wonderful.  They are pantry stable practically for-e-ver and require minimal effort in preparing.  Like flax seeds, they are a common vegan egg substitute.  Unlike flax seeds, you don’t have to grind them up first (they can be used whole).

As for their use…where to begin!

Like I said before, one of the main uses for chia seeds is in vegan baking.  Combining chia seeds with water produces a gel-like goop that acts as a binding agent and can be used in baking in place of eggs.

1 tbsp chia seeds + 1/4 cup water = 1 egg equivalent

Stir the seeds with water, let them sit, and after ~5 minutes they will coagulate into a gelatinous texture. 

In addition to baking, chia seeds can be used to make pudding.  They can also pump up the volume of an otherwise average bowl of oats, or give smoothies a thick and creamy consistency.  I use them in granola, too. 

Find them in your local health foods stores or online. 

What are some ways you’ve used chia seeds?

By the time I got home the other day I was about to fall over with exhaustion.  It was one of the busiest days I’ve ever worked.

To give you a point of reference, I never finished my morning coffee.

Yes, I managed to get away for my lunch break (remember how we have break relief nurses to cover us), but I spent 75% of the time tucked away in the computer room getting caught up on charting.

Anyway.  If you’re looking for someone to blame for my really delayed Wednesday post, I’m removing myself from the running.  Let’s just pin it on my patients and call it a day.  The good news is they were all nice and appreciative people, which made the non-stop (stat) orders slightly more manageable.  [There was only one difficult person who was refusing treatments, but I managed to charm him into some of the MD orders]

But back to the post…

4:25 – damn that alarm, is it time to get up already?

4:30 – yoga and stretching with Andy Cohen in the background (WWHL actually isn’t a very peaceful soundtrack when you’re waking up)

5:00 – shower & vitamins (Kyle thinks this is a weird habit, so you probably will too, but I drink shower water.  It started solely as a means of rehydrating myself after a workout, but eventually it developed into a routine.  So now I always drink water as I shower.  And on some mornings I multi-task and set my vitamins in the bathroom to take with my shower water.  I am so bizarre)

5:30 – coffee time

6:00 – refill the half of the coffee that I sipped while checking emails

6:10 – hit the road jack (with lunch in tow)

6:30 – snack on breakfast #1 (salty cashews and SunRidge Farms chocolate nut crunch mix) in the parking lot while getting zen

Whole Foods is now carrying many of the SunRidge Farms products in their bulk bins.  It’s very dangerous friends.

7:00 – sign up for break time and get patient assignment in the huddle room

10:00 – breakfast #2 (oats with a sh!t ton of peanut butter and 1/2 banana)

10:05 – morning rounds

10:50 – send patient #1 to a test

11:00 – discharge patient #2

11:01 – admit (new) patient #4 from cath lab

11:02 – get report from PACU about patient #1 coming back to the unit

11:03 – get called by patients #1 and #3 for pain meds while hooking patient #4 up to the monitor

11:04 – genetically clone myself to get everything done in a timely manner

11:15 – enter myself in the running for the next Nobel Prize due to aforementioned feat

12:30 – eat (unpictured) banana

14:00 – praise be to lunch!!!

Spinach, quinoa, tempeh “bacon” & leftover fried egg

14:30 – charting with a side of kettle corn

Is Popcorn, Indiana an actual place?  If not, it’s an odd choice for a company name.

They were nice and airy and light, which was nice because it afforded my stomach some room for the remaining SunRidge Farms treats.

The peanut butter covered nuts are the best!

19:45 – call Kyle to tell him I’m finally heading home

19:50 – commuting with a side of carrots

20:10 – shower and brainstorm dinner options

20:30 – look in the fridge and realize I basically just want the same thing I had for lunch

20:35 – start the assembly line

Spinach, quinoa, tempeh, & eggs [if it aint broke…]

21:00 – take a photo of dinner and then make a mini nooch mountain on top

22:30 – dessert!

The only reason I took a picture of this was because of the size of that one cashew.  Have you ever seen something so massive?

It’s hard to tell, but it was abnormal to the Schwarzenegger degree.  Those poor peanuts and chocolate chips look so meek in comparison!

23:00 – crawl into bed

When I was younger I hated nuts and seeds in all forms, but I especially detested them in bread.  When my parents took us to fancy restaurants it made me so sad when the waiter would bring out the bread basket and it looked like the rolls were infested with ticks. 

[The image of my dad using a burned out match to get a tick to crawl out of our dog’s skin was clearly very traumatic for me] 

Aaaand now that I’ve grossed you out with that lovely visual…

Would you like a recipe?

I thought so.

Oaty Seed Bread

[vegan, 1.5 lb loaf for bread machine]

Ingredients:

Bread

• 1 cup 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegan butter (Earth Balance), softened
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 packet)
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp pepitas

Topping*

• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• whole rolled oats
• pepitas
• sunflower seeds

*I didn’t measure the amounts of oats & seeds used as a topping, but together they made 1/4 cup

Directions:

Attach the kneading blade and add the bread ingredients in the order listed (as per your bread machine’s instructions), setting the yeast and seeds aside.

Add the yeast making sure it doesn’t come in contact with liquid ingredients. [Do this by making a small indentation on one side of the flour and carefully pouring the yeast in]

On the opposite side of the yeast, add the seeds.  [You don’t need to make a divot to separate these]

Set the topping ingredients aside for use later in the baking.

Bread machine instructions may vary, but I used the “whole wheat” setting for the bread type and the “medium” setting for the crust color.

Once both kneading/rising cycles are complete (before the baking cycle starts) open the top of the bread machine and drizzle agave on top, followed by the seeds and oats.  The agave helps the seeds stick. 

If you want a completely seedy crust,  you can use a pastry brush to paint on the agave to ensure that the entire loaf is coated.  In this case you may need more than 2 tbsp agave and 1/4 cup of oats & seeds. 

Don’t worry if the seeds go on the side of the dough (that’s how they create the trail on the side of the loaf). 

See? 

Gorgeous.

I don’t think I need to tell you what to do with it next…truth be told, it’s pretty hard to save fresh bread for sandwiches.  It’s so good plain that I usually end up slicing off pieces over the course of the day…and next thing I know it’s been less than 24 hours and the loaf is gone. 

The only chance a loaf has of lasting longer than a day in the hippie household is if I’m working several shift(s) in a row after making it.

Even then, I still have a hard time practicing moderation.  I mean, after 12 hours of racing around the hospital, why make a “real” meal when there’s fresh bread on hand?

There’s no good answer I want to hear to that question.

Ordinarily, this heel would be 3 slices.  Screw that! 

Earth Balance is good.  Nut butters are better.  But this bread doesn’t need anything to shine.

Spotlight stealer.

February is my second favorite month (after October of course) because of it’s heart healthy theme. 

So happy February 1st! [and rabbit rabbit]

Back before the blog, I started my mornings like this every single day.

Me + coffee + crossword.

All through undergrad and nursing school it was the only way I woke up.  Once I moved to NYC and started working, the real world took over, and my AM “me” time somehow got sidelined.  It’s a little sad. 

Well this morning was different and it made me happy.  No tv.  No computer.  Just me, my caffeine, and my newspaper stained hand. 

Still almost got it. 

I nearly forgot to take a picture of my buttered (Earth Balance-d?) bread.  Not exactly a gourmet breakfast, but I was keeping things real simple because all brain power was going to the crossword.

I had a real breakfast later on though.  But I ate this at 1 pm, so it’s not very accurate to call it breakfast.  Yeah, I slept in a LOT.  Don’t judge.

Toast x2

Earth Balance x3

Eggs x2

Seriously, I feel so lame for posting this because it’s not innovative or interesting or anything, but whatever.

I took these pictures because eating buttered bread is such an anomaly for me.  I typically prefer nut butter on toast and reserve plain butter for baking.  Also, I usually buy the soy free Earth Balance, but this time I got the olive oil one and I may like it even more. 

The meal was good, but weirdly I wasn’t even hungry enough to finish it.  Not sure what’s wrong with me.  So I saved one egg for later.

The toast is the best part anyway.

I spent the rest of the day making food.  [To be shown later]

And then I went for a run.  [Girl look at that body…I work out]

And then I attempted to figure out my Nike+ app. [I really don’t get it]

I’m an iPhone newbie, but all I can manage to figure out is twitter.  I’m really revealing my true colors in this post.  Apparently I’m an octogenarian who enjoys sleeping in, doing crosswords, sipping coffee, and shunning new technology.  Sweet.

But for reals, I can’t figure out how Nike+ works.  I do love the WF recipes app though.  It’s pretty clever the way it generates a grocery list for you from the recipe ingredients and you can search recipes based on dietary preferences (vegan, GF, dairy free, low sugar, wheat free, etc.) or kinds of meals.  It also figures out what dishes you can make based on what food you have on hand.  If only it cooked for you too…

This new tofu recipe (that I found on the WF app) is evidence that digital media is taking over the world.  Soon there will be no need for book stores at all.  [That’s a nice story Grandma]

So.

Who saw last night’s Glee?  Love me some MJ.  Kyle won’t let me post the proof, but trust me, his moon walk is fantastic.  Anyway, I probably mentioned this at some point on the blog, but I was a band geek.  And I’m still a complete music nerd.  So yeah, I was pretty damn impressed by the Smooth Criminal cello show down.  The actual plot lines of the episodes are less than amazing, but I won’t bother going there.  I watch Glee for the music not the “drama” anyway.

Favorite spread for toast?  Butter, nut butter, jam…

Anyone else with musical backgrounds?  Instrumental or theater?

Favorite apps?

Going into the weekend I had all my meals ready to go.  Starting with Thursday night, I made a typical hippie bowl.

If I had to choose a combination of ingredients to eat forevermore it would probably be these: quinoa, carrots, corn, seitan, avocado

I recently got a question about the ratio of grain to veg to protein in my “hippie bowl” type meals. 

In all honesty, I don’t consciously compose them with a specific ratio in mind, but if I had to guess I’d say it is pretty much 1:1:1. 

Sometimes I use less protein, in which case I add more fat (avocado, nuts, etc.) to give the carb-heavy meal some staying power. 

As an aside, I add nutritional yeast and/or Bragg’s liquid aminos 99% of the time after taking photos of the dish.

Yeah, this is definitely a meal I could eat seven days a week. 

I made the same thing for lunch the next day. 

The only change was the addition of teriyaki tofu (because I didn’t have much seitan left).

I also made another tupperware version of the dish to have on standby for either a post-work dinner or bring-to-work lunch.  See?  Prep queen. 

As you can tell from the picture, it didn’t have avocado at the time, but I added spinach and avocado to it right before it was consumed (which ended up being the following night).  After a long day at the hospital, there is nothing more satisfying than a fabulous meal all ready to go. 

So, back to work food.

I got this Cherry Almond Two Degrees bar in my latest Lollihop box and as far as I can tell it’s ingredients are totally FODMAPs friendly. 

The coolest thing about this company is that they are committed to making an impact on childhood hunger.  For every bar you buy, they provide a meal for a hungry child.  What an honorable mission (you can read more about how they work with non-profits here).  What an easy way to support a great cause. 

The cherry almond flavor kinda tasted like peanut butter and jelly.  It was good and my GI system was a-okay after eating it.  The only FODMAPs are from the dried fruit, which is in a small enough portion that no symptoms resulted.

I will definitely be buying these again.  Who would have thought a delicious snack could do good.  There’s really only 2 degrees of separation between you and a hungry child thanks to this company.

For breakfast, I made quinoa porridge. 

After the previous week’s crock-pot steel cut oat success, I decided to try another grain in the slow cooker.

Quinoa Squash Porridge

[vegan, gluten free]

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup butternut squash puree
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 3 cups water

I added everything together, stirred it all up and let it cook 7 hours on low heat overnight. 

Then I woke up to this…

Yum!

Butternut squash gets so so sweet when it’s left to cook slowly over such a long amount of time.  It was already cooked before I added it to the crock-pot, but it was almost caramel-y after slow cooking the night away.  Cinnamon and quinoa and raisins on top?  Yes please.  It was almost like pumpkin pie. 

Needless to say, I got some odd looks when I busted this one out at work.

My lunch was much more break room acceptable (not that I eat lunch in the break room).  I soaked up the 80 degree weather outside while digging into my lunch leftovers.  After my shift ended I headed home to my previously tupp-ed up dinner. 

Exhibit A + avocado and spinach.  Dinner.  Done. 

I stocked up on seasonal Theo chocolate bars (Gingerbread Spice and Nutcracker Toffee) and cracked one open for dessert.  A little goes a long way with these bad boys. 

The next morning was especially lovely. 

Made even more lovely by the easy peasy breakfast sitch.

Course deux of quinoa squash porridge with extra almond milk.

I headed off to the hospital, pre-packed eats in tow.

Weekend warrior.

My lunch course had spring greens, macaroni noodles, soft boiled eggs, and nutritional yeast on top. 

I had to refill my nooch stash after making so many seitan logs and quinoa quiches this past month, hence the massive tub from WF. 

The rest of my food (above) is self explanatory, but I did want to mention the Snapea Crisps.  I’ve seen these products before, but I can’t recall where (Ethel, were they yours?).  In any event, I’d never tried them before but they intrigued me. 

I got the sample size in my Lollihop box and based on the photo, I was expecting some kind of “healthy” soy bean fry thing.  Clearly I’m an idiot, since the product name has “peas” in it.  It also says “baked” on the wrapper.  So far I’m 0 for 2. 

Ingredient check?  Wholesome enough.  FODMAPs friendly and vegan. 

They are basically crispy peas that have been baked in oil and salt.  In a blind taste test, I’d doubt I would have known they were peas at all.  They tasted airy, yet left my fingers greasy.  But they were delicious. 

Now I have to go on a semi-rant about the whole 100 calorie pack thing.  It’s so stupid!  First of all, it’s the opposite of environmentally friendly.  Secondly, the idea that calorie-controlled snack bags are somehow healthier is such a lie.  Who cares that there are just 100 kcals in a pouch?  If the pouch is filled with 6 mini Oreo cookies, you’re still eating Oreo cookies.  Hydrogenated fats and HFCS don’t vanish just because you are eating a small amount of them.  I’ve also read studies that people eat several packs at once because one isn’t satisfying enough which results in more calories consumed than if they were eating out of a box and just stopping when they were full.  Rant over.

Snapeas are yummy, but I don’t know how healthy or filling they really are.  I think they’d be a good topping to a salad, to give it some texture variety and crunch, but otherwise I’m not sure if I’d buy these again.

After work I threw together a hippie plate of spinach, wild rice, soft boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, and avocado.

I had nuts and chocolate for dessert, laid out my scrubs, packed my food, and then hit the sack.

Shift three started with a cookie.  A double chocolate chunk cookie to be exact.

A few days ago I got a package of treats by Erin Baker’s wholesome baked goods.  It may seem unconventional to start the day with a cookie, but if you look at the ingredients, they are basically as healthy as a bowl of oats.

This is the mini breakfast cookie, which has just 100 calories.  I had it on the way to the hospital with my coffee knowing that I’d have another more substantial breakfast in a few hours.  I wasn’t really expecting much but it was soft and chewy and chocolate-y and really really good! 

I can’t wait to try the granola and other flavors of breakfast cookies next!  Check out the rest of their products…the flavors will have you drooling in no time (gingerbread? yes please!).

Anyway, after I assessed my patients, gave meds, sent labs, hung heparin, yadda yadda…it was time for breakfast number two. 

Plain greek yogurt topped in another new (to me) product. 

Giddy Up & Go granola is vegan, nut free & gluten free and packed with all my favorite seeds.  The most interesting thing about it was that it had GF corn flakes in it.

I’ve never thought of adding cereals to my granola, but this was really delicious and might lead to a new home-made recipe. 

Lunch was essentially the same as the previous night’s dinner (spinach, sweet potatoes, eggs, and Bragg’s), plus leftover quiche and tofu.

I had a similar dish for dinner with the mac ‘n cheese I ordered to-go from The Veggie Grill. 

Time for your input:

What are your thoughts on 100 calorie packs? 

Cookies for breakfast – yeah or nay?

Are you content eating the same thing for multiple meals in a row?

Pate. 

When I lived in Spain, my senora made me sandwiches with pate spreads all the time.  At the time I wasn’t vegan, but I already shunned dairy and avoided most meat (chicken and fish were still in my diet though).  I told her over and over again I didn’t like pate – it reminded me of cat food.  But she repeatedly made it for me.  As a result I get shivers up and down my body whenever I see or hear the word. 

This is especially unfortunate because many raw spreads are dubbed “pates” because of the similarity in texture. 

Loaf.

Another item that gave me the heebie jeebies growing up was meatloaf.  Now, to be fair, it wasn’t actually my mom’s meatloaf ground turkey loaf that I disliked, but the ketchup topping.  But either way, I wasn’t a fan of the dish. 

This makes me seem like a really picky eater!  I promise I wasn’t one of those kids.

The fact of the matter is, to me loaf and pate are two of the nastiest sounding foods.

So now that you have some background info, you may understand why I felt like the hugest hypocrite as I prepared dinner the other night.

WTF! 

Lentil loaf AND pepita pate in one meal!?!  Who am I?

Let me assure you, this recipe bears no resemblance to a true pate.

Pepita Pate

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
• 2 T water
• 2 T evoo
• 1 medjool date
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp miso paste
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Puree pepitas and water together until nearly smooth (chunky texture is fine). 

Add all other ingredients (except spinach and oil) and puree again.

Once blended, add spinach and oil and blend until consistency is pesto-like. 

Serve with noodles, smear on bread, top a potato, or use as salad dressing.

If you’re a fan of spinach you will like this.

As for the main part of the meal…

I’ve made a lentil loaf before, so this isn’t a new dish.  I just happened to write down the exact recipe this time.  

Lentil Loaf

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup lentils (dry)
• 3/4 cup raw walnuts
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 cup water (used separately as 1/4 cup + 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
• 1 tsp cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp BBQ sauce

Directions:

Bring water to boil and add 3/4 cup dry lentils.  Cook until they are soft (you’ll know it when they get fatter and start to smell).  You can always taste test a few to see if they are done.  Leaving them slightly al dente is fine since they will be cooked again in the oven. 

Pulse walnuts with 1/4 cup water until they are almost completely ground up.  Chunks are okay.

Puree nuts and (drained & cooled) lentils together adding 1/4 cup water at a time (totaling 3/4 cups water).  You are looking for a well mixed consistency with a little bit of texture, so don’t worry about completely pureeing it. 

Add the nuts, lentils, bread crumbs, chia seeds, and spices to a bowl and combine until everything is uniformly mixed.  Let the chia seeds “gel” for 10 minutes.

Finally add in the ketchup and BBQ sauce and (again) stir together.

Once the “batter” is ready, pack it into a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Top view vs. side view.

Then drizzle extra ketchup or BBQ sauce on top. 

Patterns are optional, but go ahead and get artsy with this!

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once cool, slice and serve.

Kyle swore it was “just like real meat” and told me so several times. 

Are there any meals you have horrible memories of, which have forever ruined them as foods? 

It took me a LONG time to get over my almond phobia.  I used to be completely anti-nuts, but since blogging my palate has grown and expanded so much!  I now enjoy cashews, peanuts, and almonds.  The rest of the nut family better be really well hidden (ie: walnuts in a loaf).

The title sounds like cat food, but it’s not where I’m going with this post. 

Kyle’s parents sent him home from the holidays with a bunch of gourmet cheeses. 

We froze them (because that’s a crazy amount of cheese to have in your fridge) and have been pulling them one by one. 

#1 Grilled mozzarella with marinara sauce.

The key to getting that beautiful golden crispy crust is buttering the bread before it hits the pan. 

The other trick to grilled cheese perfection is getting the ratio of cheese to bread just right – allowing the cheese to get super melty while not burning the bread.  Obviously, a thinner layer of cheese will melt quicker, but you don’t want a dry, overly bready sammie either.  Start with one slice of bread on the grill, open-faced with a few really thin slices of cheese.  Several paper thin slices will melt quicker than the same thickness in one fat slab.  Once the cheese starts softening, add the second slice of bread and flip it until the layers are melted together. 

Voila!

#2 – Sizzlin’ Swiss

Same technique as sammie #1 with different ingredients.  This version has Swiss cheese on home-made wheat bread.  The best part about making your own bread is that you can slice it as big as you want.

Yeah fatty.  

#3 Brie and apricot preserves.

The sweetness of fruity jam contrasts the soft, creamy brie to make a nice little marriage of flavors.

This was a quick one to throw together – no stove, no spatula.  I smeared the brie on one piece of bread, then heated it (in the microwave) until it was semi-melted.  The other slice of bread got a spread of jam and – bam – a sandwich was born! 

#4 – Goat cheese with dried cranberries.

Sometimes you don’t need anything else, just warm sourdough and fancy chevre.  Done and done.

#5 – Grilled Gouda with ketchup.

Gouda is an aged cheese.  There are actually two kinds, though.  The older gouda is creamier but more pungent.  It has a strong flavor, as opposed to the younger gouda (which is softer and doesn’t have as much of an underlying bitterness).  For this reason, it’s a perfect cheese to use in small portions. 

The ketchup kinda brings the “fancy” factor down a notch, but Kyle likes ketchup so who cares.

Anyway.

I haven’t eaten cheese in a loooong time, and I don’t see dairy re-entering my diet any time soon, but if you have pairing suggestions for Kyle feel free to chime in here.

What’s your favorite cheese?  Favorite cheese sandwich?

I have a formula that I use to make dinners in as little time as possible, but it relies on food prep.  I always prep ahead of time.  Have I convinced you to do the same yet?  I feel like a broken record, but the posts that seem the most basic and obvious to me still get the most follow up questions.

So.  About that “formula.”

Carb: usually a whole grain like quinoa or rice, but sometimes I opt for noodles, and sometimes I just turn to bread

Fat: avocado, nut, oil, something

Green: veggie of any sort, but spinach and kale are my faves

Protein: seitan and tofu are my #1 and #2, tempeh is the often overlooked step child, and then I have the freezer supply (think veggie burgers) or the pantry (think canned beans)

Put them all together, and BAM!

A meal in minutes.  Sometimes less.

That’s why you MUST MUST MUST keep your fridge tupperware ready.

Here are a few posts you may be interested in:

No more excuses – tips to make meals like the above even when you’re coming off a 12 hour shift

Prep for the work week

Make bring to work meals

BYO lunch special

Tutorials

Well hello!

I keep thinking it’s Sunday night because Kyle and I just got back from an overnight stay in San Juan Capistrano.  We randomly decided to skip town after Kyle’s classes on Wednesday…he only has class one day a week and I didn’t have to be back at the hospital ‘til Friday, so why not?

Kyle’s parents were happy to see us and took us to dinner at a new Thai place that just opened near their house.

If you think the name is cheesy, you should see the menu!  Thai Juan On is very pun-y.

We started with an order of Handroll Salad (Salad Mouan) for the table.  The rolls were stuffed with lettuce, bean sprouts and tofu and topped with peanut sauce, avocado and roasted shallot.

The sauce and avo were great, but I could have used more tofu inside.

It was hard to decide on a main course because the menu was BEYOND overwhelming.  It just went on and on…so I went with the oh-so-standard noodle dish…

Phat Thai with tofu.  I think the portion grew as I ate it because the noodles and peanuts went on forever.  It was delicious, but I definitely had leftovers.

Kyle got the dish I was considering as my second choice, which looked like a winner too.

Golden Thread (Ba Mee Phat) with tofu, egg noodles, onion, green onion, cabbage, celery, broccoli, mushroom, carrots, baby corn, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts.

The next day we met up with Kyle’s brother for a round of golf (9 holes) in Laguna Beach.

Eat your heart out East Coast, this is how we do January in So Cal.  Holler!

I played on the horrible side, except for one fabulous put.  In my defense, I haven’t even touched my clubs more than twice in the past few years.  Rather than get down on myself for sucking, I just celebrated how much I improved over the course of the day.

After golf we headed back to Santa Monica.  Starving.

Enter Veggie Grill.  We chatted with T.K. while we waited for our food and he told us they just opened a new restaurant in Oregon.  Hear that Beaverton?  You guys can now enjoy this beauty.

All Hail Kale salad with blackened tempeh.  This dish is simply perfection.  I also got a side of mac ‘n cheese to go.  [planning ahead for my upcoming 3 shifts in a row]

Kyle got the Bayou Chickin’ sandwich with a side of mac ‘n cheese, too.

And that’s my mid-week vacay (by iPhone).

When was the last time you ditched your normal weekly routine for a getaway?

Any resemblance this sweet & salty snack has to an eight legged arthropod is completely unintentional.

I made them on the late night because I was craving both chocolate and salt at the same time and couldn’t find anything on hand that would satisfy my sophisticated palate. 

I would rather die before heading to bed with an un-sated appetite, so clearly I had to make something to get my dessert fix. 

• cocoa powder
• peanut flour
• water
• raw almonds
• pretzel sticks
• turbinado sugar (or stevia)

Mix the cocoa, peanut flour, sugar, salt and water until you have a thick sauce.  It should be paste-like, but still liquid-y. 

Enclose the pretzels and almonds in a tupperware with the chocolate/peanut sauce and shake them until everything is coated.

Spread out onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 200 degrees.

Wait for them to cool, or don’t, and dig in.

The recipe is simple and easy, but you could jazz it up if you are so inclined.  Even a dash of cinnamon, vanilla and/or salt could really give it some oomph. 

That said, it’s pretty dang perfect like this.

I’ve been eating the small clusters first, because the big ones seem so fun to keep whole.  I don’t want to break them up!

Salty, sweet, savory, scrumptious.  Score!