Maple Glazed Pecans

Have you ever heard the soundtrack for “Hamilton: an American Musical?”

I finally started listening to it this past week (better late than never) and I. CAN’T. STOP.

It is so dang good. The tunes are catchy, the writing is phenomenal, and the singers are so talented as they rap AND sing. I used to not like rap very much, but after this listening experience I like it a lot. I maybe don’t like trap rap… but I’m in love with the “Hamilton” rap. If you haven’t listened to Hamilton, this is your friendly suggestion to listen to it as it will improve your life.

The “Hamilton” music is getting me through my final exams, which are this week and next. Any time I don’t think I can make it through exams, I listen to Hamilton and think about how I’m going to study hard so I’m not not “Helpless” and that “I’m not throwing away my shot.” I think that I’ll “Stay Alive” through exams if I study “Non-Stop” but also “Take A Break” or two. I’ll be “Satisfied” if I get good grades. Ok I’ll stop with the Hamilton references now.

You know what’s also keeping me sane through the midst of final exams? DEEZ NUTS. They’re sweet and salty and utterly delicious. What’s not to love about pecans glazed with maple syrup and roasted in the oven until they’re caramelized? Pecans are full of protein and magnesium, which reduces blood pressure. It’s good to reduce blood pressure now as it will probably spike during exams due to stress.

The sweetness in these nuts makes them addictive. They taste like fall. They make a great snack by the handful, and they are wonderful added to salads.

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 cups pecans
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then spread out the pecans on it.
3. Drizzle all the maple syrup over the pecans, making sure to really coat each pecan.
4. Sprinkle salt over the pecans.
5. Bake the pecans for 35 minutes, taking out every 10 minutes to stir, until maple syrup hardens.
6. Let cool, then enjoy! These keep for a few weeks when stored in an airtight container.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Rhuberry Muffins

Happy Wednesday! How are you? What are you up to? I’m back at my cottage (aka my home for the summer) after a five day trip to Chicago, USA this past week! I went to Lollapalooza, a huge four day music festival in one of the Chicago parks, and it was tiring but fun. 🙂 Has anyone else ever been to a music festival? This was my first one, but hopefully I will go to more as I love music!

You know what else I love? Muffins!These rhubarb and berry-filled muffins are a great way to use all the fresh produce here, since it’s the end of raspberry and rhubarb season and the beginning of blueberry season.

Believe it or not, this was the first time I’ve ever used rhubarb. I didn’t even TRY rhubarb until this summer, when my grandma made my family and I a rhubarb crumble. It was very tart- way more so than I was expecting! Because of rhubarb’s tartness, I decided to pair it with sweet (but also sometimes tart) raspberries and blueberries in this recipe. It took a few tries to get the right berries-to-flour ratio, but eventually these muffins were perfected!

I like these muffins because they are fruity, but they have a little zing to them thanks to the fresh ginger and other spices. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

(Rhubarb Raspberry Blueberry Muffins)

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oat flour (to make: process an overflowing 2 cups of oats in a food processor for a minute, or until it turns into a fine flour)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp fresh ginger, grated
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup applesauce
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or 2 more heaping tablespoons of brown sugar)
• 1/3 cup chopped rhubarb
• 1/4 an overflowing cup of blueberries
• 1/4 an overflowing cup of raspberries

For the crumb topping: mix together 1/4 cup rolled oats and 1 tbsp brown sugar, then sprinkle a handful of topping over each muffin before you put the muffins in the oven.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Rinse blueberries, raspberries and rhubarb stems.
3. Peel the outer layer (strings) off of the rhubarb stems, then cut stems it into ½ inch cubes. Now set aside all the fruit.
4. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg).
5. Add in the wet ingredients (vanilla, applesauce, and maple syrup).
6. Whisk to combine the wet and dry ingredients.
7. Fold in the fruits.
8. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Scoop batter into tins so they are 3/4 full.
9. Sprinkle the crumb topping onto the muffins, if desired. I like it because it adds a nice crunch.
10. Bake the muffins in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins.
11. Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy! They only last for a few days, so eat them quickly! Or freeze them for later.

Gingery Veggie Stir-Fry

I’m all about using fresh vegetables in the summer. We have a square foot garden at my cottage, which is where I live in the summer. I live in the cottage, not the garden btw. I may eat a bag of baby carrots a day, but  I’m not THAT much of a rabbit.

We grow all kinds of vegetables in our garden, but the plants that thrive there are broccoli, green beans, swiss chard, lettuce, and kale! I used three of those five fresh vegetables in this stir-fry, which is one of my go-to summer meals. It has a great natural flavor thanks to the fresh veggies, but it also has a little kick from the ginger and garlic.

fresh veggies from our garden  : green beans, broccoli, and swiss chard

I use the vegetables we have on hand when I make this stir-fry. I often just step outside and grab veggies from the garden! No worries if you don’t have a garden. You can just use whatever veggies you have in your kitchen for this stir-fry! This ginger / garlic combo tastes great with almost any vegetable (although I’m not sure how great it would taste with beets or cucumbers…).

It is the perfect light summer meal, but it also makes a great side dish. I can see this being served at a dinner party, as a potluck dish, or as a side to a veggie burger!

Enjoy one of my favorite simple, flavorful, and fresh meals!

serves 2

*This is a very “laid back” recipe. Below is what my mom and I usually stir-fry, but you can add and subtract as many veggies as you’d like!*

• 1 head broccoli
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1-2 cups beans
• 1-2 ears of corn
• 1 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 1-2 cups swiss chard (3-6 large leaves)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger OR you can use squeeze-able ginger like the one linked HERE.
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Chop the veggies into bite-sized pieces.
2. Spray / oil a large pan with cooking spray / olive oil.
3. Add the veggies to the pan. Turn the heat on the pan to medium-high. Sauté the veggies (stir them back and forth with a spatula) until the swiss chard is wilted and the veggies are a tiny bit brown and look ready to devour! Pour the veggies into two bowls, season with more ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper (if desired) and enjoy!

Have a happy, veggie-filled day!

xx Ellie

5 Minute Quesadilla

Quesadillas are perfect for days when you a) don’t feel much like cooking, b) are trying to clean out the veggies from your fridge, or c) when you’re running late and need to make and eat something quickly.

This quick and easy quesadilla takes only 5 minutes to make! And it’s customizable — you can put whatever veggies you have on hand into it! Hooray for simple recipes! Quesadillas are also a great way to eat more veggies.

VEGAN QUESADILLA

MAKES 1

• 2 tortillas
• ½ cup vegan cheese, such as Daiya mozzarella (sold at most grocery stores)
• 3-4 tablespoons salsa
• 1 cup sliced broccoli
• green beans
• ½ cup spinach
• olive oil OR cooking spray (for pan)
• OTHER ADD-INS: mushrooms, asparagus, carrots, avocado, zucchini, swiss chard, meat substitutes (tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc.)

Chop the veggies. Drizzle 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan OR spray the pan with cooking spray. Add a tortilla to the pan. Sprinkle cheese on top of the tortilla. Add the veggies and the salsa. Add more cheese. Add a second tortilla on top. Turn up the heat on the burner to medium-high. Let it cook for a minute or two, then spray the top tortilla with cooking spray. Now, flip the quesadilla with a giant spatula if you have one! The flipping is the trickiest part of the whole recipe! I’m proud of you for doing it. Then let the other side cook for a minute. When both sides are light brown and crispy, turn off the heat, take the quesadilla out of the pan, and put it onto a plate. Cut it in fourths (like in the pictures), or just eat it as one gigantic thing. Your choice!

I HOPE YOU’RE HAVING A FUN WEEKEND! WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?

XX ELLIE

Pesto Protein Bowl

What is your favorite “type” of food? By type I mean ethnicity, a.k.a. where the food originally came from.

I honestly don’t have one favorite type of food. I LOVE Mexican food (salsa’s where it’s ATTTT), Costa Rican food (beans and riceeeeee), Thai food (peanut noodles = heart eye emoji), and Mediterranean food (baba ganoush and HUMMUS >>> ). But sometimes I crave Italian food (pasta, pizza, and LOTSA BASIL) and “American” food.

Okay change of subject (but it’s related) : what counts as American / USA food? I feel like it’s a mix of a bunch of other cultures’ food. When I think of USA food I UNFORTUNATELY can only think of McDonald’s type of food : burgers, fries, milkshakes, ice cream. I also think of pizza and spaghetti (but then I’m like, “aren’t those Italian!?”). SO anyway, tell me in the comments what YOU think is “American” food!

So back to my favorite food culture. I LOVE Mexican food, but I also like Italian food. That’s why I love this bowl. It’s a Mexican-type bowl full of grains, black beans, and salsa-like ingredients like corn and tomato. Then you add pesto and it adds an Italian flair to what I previously decided was a Mexican-themed bowl. So if you have a hankering for Mexican food and ALSO Italian food, try this bowl! That way, you can enjoy the foods and flavors of both cultures!

It’s a pesto protein bowl because it’s very pesto-y and chock-full of protein thanks to the quinoa and black beans. Enjoy it!

serves 4

*It’s SUPER quick and easy to make!*

For the Pesto

from pg. 12 of The New Basics cookbook

• 2 cups of fresh basil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Process the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper in the food processor. Slowly add in the oil through the “feed tube” while the motor is running. Process until the basil is puréed.

For the Bowl

• the pesto (obvi)
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1  15.5 oz. can black beans
• 4 ears of corn
• 3 tomatoes
• basil leaves (to top the bowls)

1. Measure 1 cup of dry quinoa and cook according to package directions. Pour the quinoa into a big bowl when it’s done cooking.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans (keep the liquid to make aquafaba!) and add them to the bowl.
3. Cook some corn and add it to the bowl.
   • Side note: a great way to cook corn is to wrap the ear in a wet paper towel and cook it in the microwave! Cook each ear for 2 minutes on high. So if you do 2 ears at a time, set the microwave for 4 minutes. ***Thanks Dama for the tip!***
4. Wash the tomatoes, then cut them into small pieces and put them in the big bowl.
5. Pour all the pesto into the bowl and mix all the ingredients together.
6. Scoop the mixture into bowls, and serve with fresh basil leaves and salt + pepper. Enjoy!

Have a fun day!

xx Ellie

Strawberry Jam

Strawberry jam should be in all households. I can’t live without it! Well, technically I can, but I’d miss it a lot. So I should just say that I’d be sad without it.

Strawberries are tasty. They’re tasty by themselves, sprinkled with sugar, in pie, in baked goods, and most importantly IN JAM. Seriously, what’s better than bottled up strawberries?

Chocolate, if we’re being technical again. However, nothing is better than chocolate in my book.

So back to strawberry jam. It’s tasty. If you don’t like strawberries… well who doesn’t like strawberries!? But if you truly don’t like them, you can make this jam with other berries instead. You could make raspberry, blueberry, or blackberry jam. More yumminess.

My family has been making this recipe for a long time. I’ve been making strawberry jam every summer since I was a wee babe! My grandma would wash and cut the tops off the berries, I would mash them, and my mom would mix them with sugar and Sure-Jell. Making jam together with your family is a fun bonding experience, and it has become a tradition in my house! Hopefully it will become a tradition at your house, too!

The BEST StrawberrY Freezer Jam

instructions found in a Sure-Jell container

makes 5 jam jars worth (5 cups of Jam)

• 1 quart (2 cups) of mashed strawberries
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 Sure-Jell packet (Sure-Jell = fruit pectin)

1. Wash the berries.

2. Cut the stems off them and put them in a container.

3. Mash them.

4. Fill a bowl with 4 cups of sugar.

5. Add the berry mixture into the sugar bowl and mix until combined.

6. Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of water into a saucepan.

7. Add Sure-Jell into the pan.

8. Boil the mixture on medium-high heat. Stir constantly for a minute while boiling. Remove from heat.

9. Add the Sure-Jell mixture into the berry mixture and stir constantly for 3 minutes.

10. Spoon the jam into jam jars. Leave a ½ inch space at the top of the jar.

11. Leave the jars out for 24 hours to let them set.

12. Put the jam in the freezer, and keep it there until you want to use it!

That’s it! Clear, concise directions, right from the mouth of my mom (I understand her directions better than the ones from Sure-Jell).

This jam is great on peanut butter & jELLIE sandwiches, on toast, in these muffins, and by the spoonful! Enjoy!

xx Ellie

 

Peanut Butter

True fact : I eat peanut butter every. single. day.

I’m pretty sure that I’m obsessed. Peanut butter is a good thing to be obsessed with, though, because it’s full of protein, good fats, AND it can pretty much go on anything to make it taste delicious! I put peanut butter on sandwiches, dip fruit into it, dip carrots into it (it’s good, I swear!), and dip chocolate chips in it for a healthy homemade Reese’s cup! Peanut butter’s powers have no limits.

Because I eat so much peanut butter, I figured it was time to make my own. Making your own peanut butter is better than eating store-bought peanut butter because not-so-good ingredients like palm seed oil and sugar sneak into the processed kind. I figure that if I make my own, I can have more of it because I don’t have to worry about eating too much sugar or icky oil! Hooray for more peanut butter!

There’s only one ingredient in this peanut butter compared to the 7 or 8 ingredients in processed peanut butter! It also only takes a minute or two to make. Hooray for simple recipes!

Homemade Peanut Butter

makes 3/4 cup

• 1 cup of peanuts (I used ½ raw jungle peanuts and ½ salted, roasted, canned peanuts. That way, I get the benefits of raw peanuts with the tastiness of salted and roasted peanuts!)*

Pour the peanuts into a high speed blender (I used a Vitamix)**. Slowly increase the speed on the blender and process at high until the nuts turn from a flour into a butter (about a minute and a half). You may have to stop the blender a few times and mix it around so all the nuts blend. Take the peanut butter out of the blender and enjoy!

**I haven’t tried this, but it would probably work to make peanut butter in a food processor! You’ll just have to blend it for longer.

*You could use this same method to make almond butter, cashew butter, sun butter, and coconut butter, too! Just sub whatever you want to make into a butter for the peanuts and blend it up!

Have a great Mother’s Day!

xx Ellie

Yummy Hummus

 

I hope you are having a rocking day. If not, watch this video and you will feel happier.

I am having a rocking day because exams are over and I have much less homework than I’ve had in the past three weeks! Hallelujah!

A great way to spend that free time is by cooking and baking. One of the things I’ve been making is hummus! Hummus is a staple food in our house. We eat it all the time! It’s great for lunch with veggies in a veggie wrap, as well as for dipping veggies in for snack! It also takes 5 minutes or less to whip it up. Enjoy!

adapted from the cookbook Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?

makes 2 cups

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed but with a few teaspoons of the liquid reserved
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice (2 lemons)
• a few dashes of Sriracha sauce

Drain the chickpeas but reserve a few teaspoons of the liquid and put both in a food processor. Add everything else and blend, baby, blend! If the hummus is too thick for your liking, add some more lemon juice. If it’s not spicy enough, add some more Sriracha sauce! A little drop of sauce goes a long way, though, so try not to add too much or you will have steam coming out of your ears (insert Scooby Doo video reference that makes me laugh every time I watch it)! You can enjoy this hummus with raw veggies, crackers, bread, or whatever else you fancy! The hummus tastes even better the next day!

Have a fun day!

xx Ellie

Thanksgiving Feast: What I Ate + A Recipe

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I sure did because I ate scrumptious food, walked the COLD beach near my cottage and found pretty rocks, and saw Mockingjay Part 1!

The Rocks

Mockingjay was great! Great actors (I ♥ Josh Hutcherson), wonderful and über tech-y but realistic sets, cool cinematography… and it’s all based on a series that I adore! But back to the food. That was the REAL star of the day.

Most Thanksgiving meals center around Turkey. Not at my house! The boys (both the meat-and-potato type) stuffed themselves on ham (eeew) and potato (See? Meat and potatoes). On the other hand, my mom and I ate a bounty of delicious vegetables. They rocked. The recipes are below.

We ate on paper plates because we didn’t have warm running water at the cottage on Thanksgiving (so it was difficult to wash dishes!)!

For dessert, I broke the caramel apple pie tradition and made and finally tried pumpkin pie for the first time!!! It was pretty tasty. I made it using a Chocolate-Covered Katie recipe.

Below are the recipes for what I ate for Thanksgiving dinner. They all highlight fall veggies and their delicious flavors! All of them are super duper scrumptious. Try them out and you shall see! My favorite dish was the butternut squash and kale, but I also looooooved the maple cinnamon sweet potatoes. What is great about these dishes is that they can be eaten for lunch or dinner. A typical dinner or for a holiday. They can serve one person or many (you may just have to double or triple the recipe!). Yay for options!

              Bon Appétit!

Maple Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes from Oh She Glows

Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale and Almond Pecan Parmesan from Oh She Glows

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions and Nuts (recipe below)

Crustless Pumpkin Pie from Chocolate Covered Katie

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions and Nuts

Serves around 10 people as a side

• around 4o brussels sprouts
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• 2 yellow onions, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance or another vegan “butter”
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ cup nuts (1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup pecans)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large pan, coat the brussels sprouts with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Put the pan in the oven and let the sprouts cook for around 30 minutes. Several times during this 30 minute period, stir the brussels sprouts around so they cook evenly. Take the sprouts out of the oven when they are crunchy and brown.

Cook the nuts in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they are dark brown and crunchy.

While everything else is cooking, melt the butter in a pan on the stovetop. When it is melted, add the onions and  sauté (stirring occasionally) until the onions are golden-brown. This will take about 30 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, throw it all together in a large bowl and serve! Enjoy!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and long weekend! Have a happy day!

xx Ellie

This post is part of A Vegan Holiday, a collaboration among vegan and veg-friendly bloggers. Follow along on social media with #AVeganHoliday. Want to learn more or become a contributor? Find out more here or here. 

Thoughts on the Square Foot Garden + Special Seasoning Salt Recipe

The snow has come and it’s here to stay. That means no more green grass, no more flowers growing outside, and no more garden and grabbing food from the yard. I might even have a snow day at school tomorrow!

Here are my reflections on having a garden, and some pictures of the food we grew! Hopefully it cheers you up if it’s snowing or is gross outside where you live.

I loved having a garden. It’s so nice to just walk outside and pick some veggies to bring back to the kitchen and stir-fry or do whatever with! I’ll miss not being able to do so in the winter. This was my second year of planting a “square-foot garden” in the yard. A square foot garden is an above-ground garden with one foot by one foot squares in it. We covered the garden with a PVC pipe and chicken wire cover to keep the bunnies and other animals who like to munch out. It worked really well (it might have something to do with the fact that the garden lies on the 45th parallel). It produced lots of vegetables for my family and I to enjoy!

The foods that did the best in our garden were kale, swiss chard, broccoli, lettuce, and green beans. Cauliflower did okay. We grew the lettuce last year and it naturally came up again this year (same with strawberries)! We had leafy greens coming out of our ears!

We also planted tomatoes, brussels sprouts, and jalapeño peppers, but we planted them too late in the season for them to do very well. Next year they’ll hopefully do better!

Look at the size of that chard and those beans! Yummy greens! This picture was taken this fall. The veggies were still growing like crazy!

Pictured: brussels sprouts, strawberries, broccoli, and lots of lettuce! The little yellow flowers sprouting from the lettuce made the lettuce spread like crazy!

With the veggies we produced from our garden, I made stir-frys, salads, and sautéed veggies to let their natural flavor shine! The seasoning recipe I love to use on veggies is listed below!

Special Seasoning Salt

Ingredients to make a handful

• 1 and ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½  tsp onion powder
• ½  tsp celery seed
• ½  tsp garlic powder

Mix everything together and then sprinkle on whatever for a blast of yummy flavor! You can just add a little of each spice or you can make a mixture of everything above. It’s up to you!

If you’re thinking about starting a garden, you should totally do it! It’s not too much work, you just have to plant the veggies and water them every day. And you reap so much more than you sow!

Enjoy the green grass if you still have some! Happy fall/ winter!

xx Ellie