savouring 2010
December 31, 2010 Maple butter is a dangerously delicious ingredient. I first had it this past summer when I visited Angela in Canada. It doesn’t actually contain butter, or any dairy for that matter. Does anyone know how it’s made? I’m thinking it’s whipped until it turns into creamy goodness, but I really have no clue.
My bro-in-law + sis-in-law just got back from a trip to Vancouver, where they brought this jar back for me. I’m going to savor, or should I say “savour,” it as long as possible. So, hopefully at least until next week.
I made a bowl of Bob’s Red Mill high fiber breakfast cereal. I noticed it in the bulk section at Whole Foods, so I bought about 2 cups worth. It’s basically ground oats, wheat germ, flax, and a few other grains. I liked it okay, but probably won’t buy it again. However, it does pack 10g of fiber per 1/3c serving and 8g of protein. Pretty impressive!
I stirred in pumpkin at the end and plopped it into my new mini-pie dish, that 99% of the time, will be used as a bowl. :) Love Grown Foods granola, almonds, almond butter + drippy maple butter on top. I don’t have to tell you how good this was.
Yesterday, I was telling you about the 58* weather and today I will tell you that it was 16 degrees with snow all around. I was SO excited when I looked outside this morning. We only got about 3” of snow all in all.
The dogs were more excited than I was this morning!
Ohhh the simple minds of dogs, chasing snowballs and never finding them…
Happppppppy Birthday to Kenna Beans!! She just turned TWO the other day! She still has a lot of maturing to do.
I had a lot of cooked chickpeas leftover from the other day’s Chana Masala. These delicious beans were seasoned + broiled to crispy perfection!
Nothing fancy here…
- Turn your oven on to broil.
- In a single layer spread your chickpeas on a baking sheet.
- Season to your liking. I sprinkled garlic powder, salt, pepper, + smoked paprika on top.
- Stir with 1T of olive oil [per 3/4c chickpeas].
- Broil for 5-10min, depending on desired crispiness.
I got the idea to roast chickpeas from Mama Pea. Broiling them worked really well, especially if you’re starving, like I was. It’s always hard to tell, but this salad was huge.
contents:
- 5 large handfuls mixed greens
- 1c broccoli
- cucumber + carrots
- 1/2 avocado
- 3/4c broiled chickpeas
- ~2T walnut oil + red wine vinegar
yum.yum.
Chris + I were sick of sitting indoors, so we went out to run some fun errands downtown. Of course, we stopped at my favorite coffee shop, The Bean Cycle.
Shifty eyes.
Lattes all around!
Perfectly delicious on this frigid day.
Also inside is a new + used bookstore, that is also a non-profit book publishing company. Pretty freaking sweet!
Just a few years ago, you couldn’t pay me to read for fun. Okay, maybe you could pay me, but you would never find me reading books for pleasure. That is a completely different story now. I think that stemmed from hating being forced to read certain books throughout every single year of schooling.
After gallivanting around town, we finally decided to check out the vegan restaurant, Tasty Harmony. It didn’t disappoint! I wasn’t in the mood to whip out the camera, and the lighting was dark anyways. We took dessert to go + it was definitely wroth photographing.
Meet the best, BEST, cookie ever.
It’s hard to tell, but it was 1” thick and about 4” wide. It was oatmeal chocolate chip, with the perfect amount of coconut + walnuts hiding inside. I’m not a huge nuts in my cookies person, but this was outstanding. It was SO CHEWY and just melted in your mouth. It tasted extremely buttery, but contained no butter at all. It was definitely vegan.
This MUST be recreated!
This brownie was 2” in height about also 4” wide. Ridiculous!
It was delicious, but not our favorite. A bit too rich + fudge-like for us.
But not to worry. There will be no crumb left behind!!
Time to rest up for a full day of NYE fun tomorrow!!
Wishing you all the best in the new year. Stay safe tomorrow night!!
See you in 2011….[insane!]
<3 Ashley
Family + Friends, Recipes, Restaurants, chickpeas in seasonal
Reader Comments (50)
HAPPY NEW YEAR, ASHLEY !!
those desserts...look perfect! Both the cookie and the brownie, I love my brownies fudgey,or cakey, or just any way, really :)
I love watching dogs play in the snow, it's so entertaining!!! Those desserts look so good!! Have a Happy New Year!!!
Have a great New Year!
Sounds like a wonderful way to get out of the house and enjoy some of the day. Lattes and cookies are the perfect afternoon diversion.
I was thinking about you because we are leaving for Cleveland today. My husband has family there and we are celebrating the New Year. Too bad our paths didn't cross while you were visiting your family. Oh well, hopefully someday! :)
Happy New Year to you Ashley!!
I made roasted chickpeas yesterday too. They are amazing! Kind of like a peanut but better for you. My first time. I did cayenne, salt, pepper, EVOO, baked for about 30 minutes.
Glad I found you in 2010. Happy new year!
Those baked goods definitely don't look vegan to me :P (Not that it matters.. I'm not vegan!) And your salad? Absolutely gorgeous! Roasted chickpeas looks so good!
Happy New Year Ashley!!
I am not a cookie person, but that cookie really does look
perfect!
Ana
Your dogs are hilarious in the snow - so is mine. If you're pup still has maturing to do at 2, I'm in for a long ride with my new 8 month old baby! :) He's so big that I always forget he's "still a puppy".
That cookie looks amazing - and next time you can send the fudge like brownie over to me as I loooove fudgy brownies!
Have a great NYE!
That maple butter sounds great! Happy new year! Thanks for all of your awesome posts! :)
I love your photos, they inspire me. I am currently learning my camera through a 365 project. Enough about me - here's for you:
To make maple butter, you want to cook maple syrup down to the soft ball stage. (110°F) then cool it in the fridge. Once it is cool, leave it out on your counter until it softens a bit. (No more than 65°F. Then you put it in your mixer, and mix it on medium speed until it is whipped.
That's it! Hope that helped!
Yum, those desserts look delicious. Can't wait til you recreate:-) Happy and Healthy New Year!
That brownie looks delicious. *drool*
I LOVE roasted chick peas! Mmm... such a good snack. I usually sprinkle them with curry powder.
Maple butter is amazing, as well as maple candy. It's too sweet to have tons of it now, but I used to buy boxes of the broken maple candies for really cheap and eat it with my sisters way too fast. Or we would just stop by the one of the maple companies for free samples of everything maple. Mmm!
happy birthday kenna!!!!!! wish we were there to celebrate with you....and save one of those lattes for me.
happy new year and much love to two of the most special people in my life!!love you guys
aunt sherie
Happy New Year! You look super cute in that headband!
Happy New Year!!!
Yup, I've had those cookies from Tasty Harmony before! My dad has Celiac's and that's one of the (sort of few) restaurants he and my mom eat at in FoCo. I've never had the brownie, but the fact that it's extra fudgy/rich sounds aaaammazing! :)
Those desserts look fabulous! I want to eat that brownie right through the screen (chewy and fudgy are just my type)!
The snow looks beautiful!
And happy birthday to Kenna!
Wow, what better place to get maple butter than from Canada?! Love the pie dish/bowl!
I can't believe after a near 60 degree day that you got that much snow! Crazy!
Happy New Year! Looking forward to your 2011 posts!
Roasted chickpeas are most definitely a fast and delicious meal. Love!
Have a Happy New Year Year!
Your oatmeal NEVER fails to make me drool!! And that oatmeal choco chip cookie... I think it definitely needs to be re-created!
You are so adorable with that headband and latte!
I am so happy i stumbled across your blog this year. It has been a pleasure coming back day after day.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Dangerous indeed, I got pecan maple butter once that was seriously addictive. Yum on breakfast, it looks amazing!
Cute pics, I'm pretty sure my dog would have nothing to do with snow! And the bookstore looks like the kind of place I could spend hours at, wow!
The book store looks so cute! I seriously need to get back into the reading game; not just school stuff, but for fun.
Everything looks so amazing!
Gotta love the snow :)
Wish you an incredible NYE, love!
xoxo
Umm, as delicious as the cookie and brownie look, I think your bowl of oats looks even better. Holy CRAP--you are a genius! Question: do you eat all of your toppings in separate bites, or do you mix the whole bowl together for little bits of all the toppings combined? This is my eternal morning-oats struggle.
Yummy, yum yum! More specifically, beautiful chickpeas and amazing cookie! I'm going to need more details if I'm going to recreate this. Didn't you take that food descriptors class at Foodbuzz? ;)
Happy New Year! Can't wait to see you in 2011!
I went to The Bean Cycle when I was in Fort Collins earlier this month and LOVED it! As a bookworm and lover of chocolate peanut butter scones, I was in heaven. I wanted to eat at Tasty Harmony, but spotted the Rainbow Restaurant first and was too hungry to go any further :)
Mmmm....maple butter. It is made by heating maple syrup to a certain temperature, I think. And as it cools, it gets thick and smooth like that.
Now I need to go back to my Food Science course notes and figure it out. ;)
Maple butter always reminds me of you now! lol. I want to make some, but I think it involves making a huge mess so Ive been hesitant...my kitchen does not need candy everywhere! hehe.
I cant believe I still have not tried Scottish oats yet...I need to make 2011 my year. :)
Happy New Year!
i love throwing snowballs for our dog! maybe that means that we're pretty simple minded, but it never gets old hehe
Hehehe...we MUST meet up in 2011!!!!! Yeah...I'll leave it to Canada to make the maple butter..hehe Scottish oats are a must....and so is ground farro!
Ooooh, food science...fun!
looooooove bean cycle!!! We have yet to try Rainbow but have heard good things!
You can't recreate it just from the photo??? [shakes head...] Yes, we will definitely meet up in 2011...at least once! xo
LOL!! Your comment cracked me up. I eat the toppings a little bit at a time with each scoop! I used to eat my oats with brown sugar, a little butter + peanut butter and would mix it all in. Things have definitely changed!
Thanks Kel ;) I'm so glad you're enjoying my blog...thanks for reading!!
I'm still thinking about that cookie!!
Wish you guys could have been here for NYE...or wish we could have been there!! I have a latte waiting with your name on it!! LOVE YOU ALL xoxoxo
mmmm curried chickpeas! yum!
Wow...thanks Jason!! That means a lot! Good luck with your photography + thanks for the maple butter explanation!
You're so welcome...thank YOU for all of your sweet comments!
hahaha good luck! It really depends on the breed though!
Thanks Marci :)
Happy New Year!
Where did you find the mini pie dish? Perfect for a pie for two!
Crate + Barrel :) Happy new year to you too, Janis!
Found it online for $4! SCORE!
happy new year.
for the maple butter - try this : http://gocanada.about.com/od/wheretoeatanddrink/r/maple_butter_re.htm