The Only Solution: The Best Oatmeal Cookies in The World!

Dinner

After class I practiced for a little while but for some reason my stomach felt completely empty. I decided to come for an early dinner. I heated up some leftover Quinoa Vegetable Paella and added Tapatio, salt and pepper.

Then I covered the quinoa with lettuce!
Since I ran out of green tea I got to buy new tea! I went with chai for caffeine and peppermint for decaf.
Quinoa + salad and a mug of Chai tea. The tea was nice and spiced!
I had a little bit of seconds :)
After dinner Savannah and I headed to campus for a late night practice sesh. We are really starting to feel the pressure of the impending recital!!
Stress is the worst feeling to have when there are a lot of important things to be done. Sometimes the only solution is: To Make Cookies!!! Savannah and I decided to make the best oatmeal cookie we could create!
We adjusted the Quaker Oats recipe just but using vegan butter and egg replacer. Looks just like the regular kind.
We added:

• raisins
• chocolate chips
• roasted almonds, run through the food processor till course

There were plenty more spoonfuls that looked just like this one! I definitely ate too much dough... That's my problem, I seem to like the dough more than the actual cookies!

They turned out amazingly! They even spread out while they baked which vegan cookies sometimes forget to do.
This morning I woke up early and got ready super speedy because my friend Bobby and I decided to go to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for some extra credit in anthropology. An early morning trip was all I could fit in so I packed up a lunch before I even ate breakfast.

Breakfast

I thought I wouldn't have time to make oats this morning but I planned my time out better than I expected. I ended up having time to make Pumpkin Oats! My ingredients:

• 1 small sliced banana
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. milled flaxseed
• shake cinnamon
• small shake ground ginger
• small shake ground nutmeg
• shake ground cloves
• small handful walnuts
• maple syrup

I used this pumpkin puree I picked up at the Coop yesterday.

I put 1/4 cup into the measuring cup and just filled the rest with water till it came to a little over a cup. The rest of the process is the same. Cook the banana alone in the pot, add raisins, add pumpkin water mixture, add oats, seeds, and spices.
I microwaved my walnuts for 45 sec. to give them a toasted taste.
Drizzle with maple syrup and voila!
Pumpkin Oats, Chai Tea, and two gummy vites= breakfast Heaven!

A report on the museum and lunch to come soon!!

Lunch With Alex and Aaron

Lunch

My buddies Alex and Aaron invited me to eat lunch with them after class. Woohoo! For lunch I packed up some of last night's Quinoa Vegetable Paella whose recipe came from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. I snagged some salt and pepper for free from the Corner Store on campus while we heated up our lunches.

I also grabbed a Pomegranate Paradise from Jamba Juice using the gift card my mommy gave me for Valentine's Day. It was perfect!
All together now!
There's Alex! He was very proud of his homemade eggplant parmesan with multicolored pasta. It looked at smelled really good.
There's me!
There's the boys! Aaron plays cello, Alex plays viola, and I'm the soprano. We are quite the musical group.
Eating Kiwis with the skin just like an apple is so satisfying for some reason! It tasted sweeter to me.
Savannah and I have a date to make the most amazing Oatmeal Cookies we can come up with later tonight! I am sooo looking forward to it!

Dinner post coming soon!

Quinoa Cook Fest

Snack

For a choir snack I grabbed some crystallized ginger pieces. I popped one in my mouth as I was putting them in the bag :)
Dinner

When I got home from choir I was pretty hungry and I had been mentally planning exactly what I was going to do when I got home: Quinoa Cook Fest! Kelsey and I had decided this weekend on a recipe we could go in on from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen (I'm telling you this blog is the bomb!) Susan V, if you ever read this, we love you!! We decided on a recipe called Quinoa Vegatable Paella.
The recipe recommended that the quinoa be rinsed before using so I used a fine mesh strainer and rinsed 1 1/2 cups quinoa.
Next I chopped up a medium red onion and three cloves of garlic. I sauteed them over medium high with a bit of water to keep them from burning. Using water is something I would never have probably thought of on my own but it's such a good way to reduce the amount of oil that gets slopped into so many dishes. The rinsed quinoa. Next I added the quinoa to the aromatics and allowed that to cook for another 2 min. Now it's only fair to mention that during this step you are also supposed to add saffron but I didn't have any... I really wish I did though because I've never knowingly tasted this spice and I would love to give it a try. Boo.Then I added a can of diced tomatoes which tried to escape on my hand! The spice line-up! Once everything was all mixed up I added a can of pinto beans, two cups of Trader Joe's roasted pepper and onion blend, and 2 3/4 cups vegetable broth. I brought everything to a boil and then lowered the heat, covered it, and let it cook for 15 minutes.While that cooked I chopped up two medium zucchini. Once the 15 minutes was up I checked to see that it wasn't looking too dry and added the zucchini on top. This cooked recovered for another 5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes was up I added a cup of frozen veggies. It was supposed to just be frozen peas but I didn't think the mix would be a problem.Finally the finished product! This is a tribute to Kelsey because the other day she mentioned how she loves putting warm things on salads. I added a little salt and pepper to mine. I don't know how I forgot but there are supposed to be artichoke hearts on top! I totally spaced!So of course I had to have a second portion with some artichoke hearts in it :)
Dessert

For dessert I had one of the Berry Puddings that I prepared the other night. I was looking forward to this pretty baby all day! A little bit of the liquid separated during the chilling in the fridge but I didn't mind at all.
See how it's firm like a pudding and holds it's shape?I savored every bite! (Even if I was doing some required reading...) It wasn't too sweet and the texture and flavor of the berries was so refreshing. The only drawback was all the seeds. Kelsey and I talked this morning about doing it with bananas or peaches!
Breakfast

For breakfast this morning I went to make myself the usual cup of green tea only to find that I've somehow made it through my entire supply!! I couldn't believe it! I had to take a picture. There were 100 bags in there!All Gone!
Breakfast was a hearty batch of banana oats. In the mix:

• 1 small sliced banana
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. milled flax seeds
• splash vanilla
• shake cinnamon
• scoop peanut butter
• drizzle maple syrup
  

Banana oats, two gummy vites, and a mug of mint tea. I'm definitely not getting tired of my banana oats but I do think it's time to mix it up before I do go crazy and begin to resent my beloved banana version. I think the next item on my shopping list might have to be...Pumpkin! Also, I am trying not to spend money on wonton purchases but I am officially on the prowl for inexpensive, stylish, interesting, and portion appropriate oat bowls! I use the same bowl every morning and I think it would be nice to have a contrast every now and then.

The Best Part About the Afternoon Is...

Lunch!

I came home for lunch today and made a fantastic salad which included

• red leaf lettuce
• cilantro
• avocado
• cherry tomatoes
• cucumbers
• mushrooms
• red bell pepper
• scallions
• salt and pepper
• balsamic vinegar

I stacked up some carrots, snow peas, and half a crostini for dipping into my three dips! Hempseed hummus, bruschetta, and olive paste.

My water bottle was feeling left out and I definitely should be drinking water water water.

This kiwi was delicious and juicy!

I was still feeling a little hungry so I grabbed a soy yogurt in one of my favorite flavors: blueberry!!
Then I was still craving something sweet and chocolaty so I decided a little hot chocolate would be a good way to go. I used stevia, the miracle plant, to sweeten my gourmet drinking chocolate!
The hot chocolate consisted of

• approx. 1/4 cup soy milk
• 2 spoons of drinking chocolate powder
• the rest of the mug filled with hot water
• shake of stevia to taste

Well I have an hour before choir now and I am going to do my best to get through the portion of the essay assignment for 20th Century Analysis that's due on Wednesday.

Hope your first day of March is going well!

Happy March!!

It's the first day of March!! I didn't even know it was today but it looks fairly sunny out right now and I'm hoping the first day of March will stay that way. Inspired by a frustrated post by Tina, I downloaded ecto and am using it now for the first time to create this post! So far so good but I'm hoping with time I will figure out more of just what this program does and hopefully blogging will become easier and faster.

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning I whipped up a quick batch of banana oats. In the mix:

• 1 sliced banana
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. milled flaxseed
• shake cinnamon
• splash vanilla
• scoop peanut butter
• soymilk

I made some piping hot green tea and had two gummy vites on the side.

I used the technique of cooking the bananas on their own first again and I think it really does make the oats taste more banana-ie.

I guess today is all about firsts because not only is it the first day of March, my first time using ecto, but it's also the first day I've worn a skirt (without tights or leggings) since school started! I just hope it's as nice out as it looks.

Actually, I just tried to publish using ecto and it didn't work at all. I don't have time right now to figure it out but that was frustrating and I will have to mess with it later!

Well I have my work cut out for me today so it's time to get serious, get down to business, and git 'er done!