Tag Archives: walnuts

Fake ‘n Bake

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Aaaand, I’m back [again].

Bring on the pumpkin.

I know, I know.

The blog world has been inundated with pumpkin recipes as of late.

…but I’m still adding one more to it. :)

Tis the season, right?

This past weekend was probably the perfect example of New England in the fall.

It was cool – but not cold. Most of the leaves had turned their autumn shades of gold, red and yellow – and there was a persistant breeze that swirled the fallen leaves all over the yard.

Oh, and it brought down a tree at 11:45 at night…fun.

I digress…

Needless to say, I was inspired to break out the mix(er) and make something pumpkin-y.

In came a lovely little mix that has been residing in my pantry for far too long:

Now – I know I’ve discussed this in the past…I love from-scratch baking…but I have absolutely nothing against a good mix. People don’t necessarily enjoy something more just because you slaved over a million and one ingredients, and spent an entire day in the kitchen (no matter how much you enjoy it).

Plus, like I was saying to Meg from A Dash of Meg on Twitter…a mix just shortens the time between whipping it together and being able to shove it into my face. :)

Pumpkin puree and eggs were added to the mix – and I added walnuts and dark chocolate chips. Dark Chocolate & Pumpkin are inseparable in my kitchen.

While this mix is actually a cake mix – I baked it like I would a banana bread…and it came out deeelicious. The ends were chewy and the bread itself was really moist and studded with all of those walnuts and chocolate chips.

Dessert bread perfection.

  • What are some of your favorite fake-outs and mixes??

It’s a Date {Deux}

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I’m fairly certain I’ve used that title before…but whatever, it fits. haha

So, as of late – my pre-run fuel as been a couple of dates with some sunflower butter. Lots of energy from the sugars and fats – and it doesn’t leave my tummy grumbling with the “pre-breakfast…why are you running, I’m empty…blues.”

That’s been nice and all, but I kind of wanted to spice things up a bit…make it a bit more exciting…so what jumps back into my brain but the ah-may-zing Raw Chocolate Cake that I stole from Gabriela earlier this year.

I basically stuck to that recipe with only a couple of minor changes…

  1. I only had 16 dates – you’d never know that four whole dates were missing. :)
  2. I used dark chocolate cocoa powder this time around – major win.
  3. I did not add the extra melted chocolate.
  4. I added a tablespoon of raspberry jam just to see what would happen (not much)
  5. I used honey instead of agave because I wasn’t sure how “good” the agave I had was… I will say it was challenging to combine the honey and coconut oil…two very different viscosities.
Okay, so maybe there were more than “a couple”..
It all worked out well in the end though.

Ooey. Gooey. Darrrk Chocolatey (and maybe a little raspberry-y – though I think this is just in my mind because I know it’s in there). Coconut-laced goodness.

My favorite part? Probably the “frosting” – for the hard time that the honey and the coconut oil gave me – I love it. It is just sooo thick and gooey…really like a true ganache.

I mean…seriously now.

Basically, if this doesn’t put a pep in my step in the mornings – I don’t know what will. :)

Tonight I’m off to have dinner and drinks at Teatro in Boston with a fantastic friend of mine – very ready to indulge in some calamari, some delicious beverages (margs and sangria are callllling to me), to explore their summer menu and catch up before she gets back in the swing of things for school.

 

Cheese & Crackers

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We allll know that I have a profound love of cheese. I’ve always loved it – but my trip to Paris in 2008 really is what put me over the edge. My brother even joked with me that if I ever have a daughter…I need to name her Brie. hah! Which…honestly, is not a name that I oppose.

… I even bonded with a complete stranger over his cheese plate last night. hah! Cheese…bringing people together in 2011. :) While – no – this was no love connection, it was nice to make a new friend.

That being said – fruit and cheese has been on my mind as of late. I think it was seeing cheddar and strawberry jam on Katie‘s blog, and of course, Kath‘s cheese and jam sandwiches are something that pop into my mind every now and then.

So this week…with Trader Joe’s goat’s milk brie sitting in my fridge – along with Crofter’s North America Superfruit Spread…I knew I needed to take action.

In came the following goodies:

  • 1 Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita
  • 1 oz of TJ’s Goat’s Milk Brie
  • 1 Tbsp of Crofter’s
  • 10 oz. of chopped walnuts

Assemble like a pizza and shove it in the oven until the bread is toasty, the cheese is melted and the walnuts are roasty.

The result?

Sort of like cheese & crackers…. but better.

Way. Way. Better.

xoxo

Pesto Pizza

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Ahh – so a lovely rule of thumb when you go on vacation is clean out your fridge!! After all, nothing is more pleasant than returning from the trip of a lifetime to sour milk and rotten produce.

With a vacation looming for me – don’t worry, I’ll let you in on it soon enough! If you’ve been a blog reader for a while now, you might be able to guess based on past vacations – I’ve been doing my best to use up the most perishable of items in my fridge….

Greens are one of those lil’ items. Spinach goes bad in the blink of an eye – one moment, the bag is full of lush, beautiful leaves…the next a slimy mess.

In an effort to save the greens, I decided that a makeshift spinach pesto needed to be a part of my life!

Enter: 1 clove of garlic, a palmful of walnuts that have graced the bottom shelf of my fridge for a bit too long now, a dash of hot red pepper, and enough spinach for me. I didn’t make a huge batch. Oh, and I didn’t have parmesan so that didn’t make it in there – though it’d be wonderful!

Annihilate those ingredients prior to drizzling in just enough oil to bring it together.

Final Product: Garlicy. Green. Glorious.

I probably ended up with about 1/3 to a little less than a 1/2 cup of pesto.

Now came the question of what to do with it?!

The remnants of a wheel of Trader Joe’s goat cheese brie was calling to me from my fridge, and a ball of pizza whole wheat dough had been thawing in there, too.

Time for pesto pizza!!

Rolled the dough out as thin as I could get it, and docked it with a fork and then par-baked it to try and stave off sogginess.

I then smeared on a generous amount of the pesto, and dotted it with about an ounce of brie – yes, rind and all. I love it.

Then back into the oven it went.

Awesome.

Seriously.

A great combination of the crunchy crust, the melted brie, and the garlicy pesto.

Oh, I will make this again in a heartbeat…or once my fridge is restocked post-vacation. Until then, the remainder of this pesto is tucked away in my freezer…we’ll see how it does! :)

A Happy Monday!! – is that an oxymoron?

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So as I mentioned last night — I was extremely stressed last night when I got home from work. My body hurt, my mind hurt and I just didn’t want to have to think or function at all. Luckily, my mom came home from her trip last night (why I was watching the dog and cat), and she let me vent to her about work, about finding my niche in a new city…just about everything…It was wonderful. It’s amazing to think that maybe 2-3 years ago, I definitely couldn’t have had that conversation with my mother. We didn’t get along so well. However, I’m so happy that our relationship is so much better nowadays. Nights like last make me extremely thankful for her and for our bettered relationship.

Okay, so last night after our conversation, my mom goes rummaging through her purse. She says to me “Oh, I have something for you…I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but I want to give it to you now.” Gifts?? Seriously, how cute.

THIS is what she pulls out of her purse!!

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It really did put a smile on my face (yayyy for gifted Starbucks!!!). She told me that she had a choice, with her credit card to receive “gifts” for spending however much she spends…and that out of all of her options, she chose the Starbucks Gift Card because she knew I’d love it. I love my mom. How sweet of her, right??

However, she wasn’t done. When I woke up this morning she had made me cookies…breakfast cookies!! They’re oatmeal cookies with walnuts and dried cranberries. YUM. I had a couple… haha :)

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Needless to say, there is a grin on my face today — and it is absolutely gorgeous out! I’m going to enjoy the suburban beauty of New Hampshire for a couple of hours and then head back into Boston and get back to reality.

Hope everyone else has an amazing week!!