creamy dreamy

I’m definitely hooked on cooking my oats with water or water + almond milk.  I can’t get over how delicious and strong the oat flavor is.  By strong, I do not mean harsh.  It’s very smooth, nutty + slightly sweet.  I absolutely love it and am not missing my 1tsp of cinnamon I was dumping in it before.  I’m also much preferring the banana on top, rather than mixed in. 

Today I made steel cut oats, with half water + half almond milk.  Steel cut oats are such a fun change of pace.  They take a bit longer to cook, but have a fabulous texture.  Crunchy + creamy…a breakfast dream!

Simple Steel Cut Oats [serves 1]

• 6T steel cut oats
• 3/4c water
• 1c unsweetened almond milk

1. Combine ingredients into a pot and bring to boil.
2. Stir + reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until desired consistency is met. ~12-18min

Toppings:

• 1T raw buckwheat groats
• Coconut Almond Butter
• Crofters fruit spread
• walnuts
• 1/2 banana

This mini pie dish was scraped clean.  You’ve gotta try the water/milk only cooking method.  Obsessed!

I’m trying to make time this week, to stock up on some staples, while we’re without a kitchen at the new house.  We move on Saturday, but most likely won’t be in full-working kitchen mode, until the 2nd week [or so] of April.

I was already running low on nut butters, even though I made 2 batches last week!  I did give about half of the nut butter to friends though.  One of my favorite nut butters, also one of the simplest, was my salt kissed cashew butter.

I wanted to make that again, but with a sweet twist.  I’m totally loving the local, raw clover honey I picked up a few weeks ago.  Honey perfection!

Back-lit photo love.

cashews + honey + salt + vanilla

That’s all you need! 

Salted Honey Cashew Butter

• 2c raw cashews
• 3T honey
• 1/4-1/2t fine grain sea salt
• 1/2t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325*
2. Line a pan with parchment paper.  Trust me, you want to do this.  Do not use wax paper or foil.
3. Spread cashews on the pan and toss with honey.
4. Spread into a single layer on the pan and roast for about 15min.
5. Turn once or twice, while cooking, and remove when golden brown.
6. Let cool no more than 5min.
7. Scrape into your food processor and turn on.
8. Process + scrape as needed until buttery.  ~12-15min
9. Add in salt + vanilla and process again until smooth.

*This took quite a long time to process because of the sticky honey.  If it’s been 15min and it’s still not smooth, you can add 1/2-1T of oil to help smooth it out.  This nut butter was very thick, but creamy + smooth.

*I use an 11c food processor.  If you have a 7c, I would not process more than 1.5c of nuts.

This almost tasted like sugar cookie dough or chocolate chip cookie dough without the chocolate chips. 

Love the sweet + salty contrast with a delicious thick texture.

To stock up even more, I made my all-time favorite nut butter.  I haven’t made this in months! 

This is my Roasted Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter.  I think this has been my “most made” recipe by YOU guys! 

I forgot just how delicious it is!

My next-in-line favorites are as follows:

• chocolate chip cookie dough almond butter
• vanilla bean maple flax almond butter
• pumpkin spiced almond butter

My food processor is my favorite kitchen tool.  Yes, I love it more than my Vita-Mix.  Shhh, don’t tell! 

There wasn’t much to do at the house today, so I stayed home and got a HUGE to-do list 85% done.  I also hit the gym and lifted legs.  I’ve been working out about 4/5 times per week, instead of 5/6.  It’s been really important for me to de-stress by working out.  It’s not always convenient to fit it in the schedule right now, but I feel so much better when I do.  Like I’ve mentioned a few times, my appetite has increased from all the extra movement, so I’ve definitely been eating more.  I haven’t been to the pool in over a week, but will get back to that once we’re moved in.  The rental house is about 50% packed.  I just started the kitchen, which is always the hardest.  I’m so excited that we won’t be packing again for quite some time!  Back to painting tomorrow.  The kitchen drywall + a few other patches are complete, so it’s time to get busy.  Crunch time!!

Recipe page is updated!!

Ashley

Detox Day 4 – getting creative

I’ll admit, I’ve been craving chocolate.

It might not help that I’m detoxing during my time of the month [sorry Dad]. 

That brings me to curbing my cravings with breakfast.  Or at least trying to!

Chocolate Scottish Oats!  They look a bit more delicious than they actually were.  I got a little heavy handed with the cocoa powder, and since I’m not using any sweeteners, it was a little bland.  Definitely not terrible though and saved with the coconut butter + peanut butter.

I made a BIG bowl this am:

• 1/2c Scottish Oats [ground steel cut oats]
• 1c almond milk
• 3/4c water
• 1t cinnamon
• 2T cocoa powder
• vanilla

You better believe I ate every last bite. :)

In between breakfast and lunch, I got one huge thing crossed off my to-do list.  I updated my recipes page!  It was long overdo…like since August.  My recipes are a bit out of control, and I even weeded some out.  I’m hoping to have it better organized when I redesign the blog.

For part of lunch I made a juice consistency smoothie. 

It contained:

• amazing grass vanilla chai powder
• coconut milk
• vanilla
• 3 clementines
• 1/2 banana

The rest of lunch was simple + tasty. 

• spinach salad with balsamic/apple cider vin/olive oil + pepitas
• 2 pieces of the chickpea curry bake
• 2 scrambled eggs

After lunch I made a new version of the chickpea bake.  I’ll be posting photos + the recipe for Saturday’s post. 

I made a chocolate coconut version that turned out quite tasty!  It’s not sweet at all, but I still love it.  Definitely not something everyone would like.  Also, these chickpea bakes are actually called “socca.”  The twins, over at Pure 2 Raw, have a whole page dedicated to socca recipes.  They look amazing!

My sis-in-law picked up these 2 bags of farro for me from Costco.  Too bad I can’t eat it right now!!  Farro is a form of wheat…dang!

When I was in Boulder yesterday, a friend that I met through Laura, dropped off a dozen fresh eggs for me.  Amazing!!

He has a number of chickens and also keeps bees.  Two things I love!  I am a huuuge fan of eggs. 

These eggs are gorgeous!

I got creative with dinner tonight and had so much fun making it!  I started of by soaking + boiling beans.  Then I made a Mexican spiced wild rice. 

For 1c of wild rice I added:

• 2c water
• black pepper
• 2t cumin
• 1t chili powder
• 1/2t coriander
• 1t garlic
• 1T oil

I brought everything to a boil, stirred once, covered + simmered for 45min.  Then I took it off the heat and kept it covered for 10min, then fluffed with a fork.  Rice perfection!  Wild rice has such great texture.  A little crunchy and a little chewy!

I really haven’t missed cheese or any dairy at all, but wanted to whip of some Nacho Cashew Cheeze.  I’ve made this in the past from a recipe, but wanted to see if I could throw a few things together and have it turn out.  It totally worked!  No cashew soaking required either and this seriously tastes like nacho cheese.

Quick Nacho Cheeze Sauce [yields ~1c]

• 3/4c raw cashews
• 3T nutritional yeast
• 1/2c water
• 1 medium bell pepper [frozen works]
• 1t chili powder
• 1/2t cumin
• 1/2t garlic
• pinch or 2 of smoked paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper [optional]
• pinch of salt

1. Add water to the blender, then all other ingredients.
2. Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary, until desired consistency is reached. 

Definitely ate quite a bit of this right off the spoon.  Healthy cheese??  YES!  Love it!!!

As you may have noticed, I’ve been loving chard lately.  The crunch is awesome, and it doesn’t have to strong of an earthy flavor.  I actually prefer the flavor raw, over cooked. 

It still baffles me that these intense, bright colors grow out of the earth!

Here is where I had some fun and where things got messy.  I wrapped up little rice + bean burritos in the huge leaves. 

The chard added such a lovely crunch to the meal.  Almost like chips!  Almost… ;)

Avocado + lime on the side with nacho cheeze drizzled all over the top.  This dinner was fabulous!

It was also messy, to make + eat.  I had a a bowl of rice + beans on the side as well.

YUM.

And now for my daily overview:

Detox Day FOUR

• It was even easier to not have coffee today.  I’m not having any problems feeling sleepy in the morning and no caffeine withdrawal issues.
• The lemon water really keeps things moving.  Seriously.
• Definitely need to switch up breakfast tomorrow.
• Was productive all day, but felt tired from 3-4.  I decided to drink the nasty detox tea around 4:15 and then get outside to walk the dogs, for some fresh air.  The tea completely reenergized me, as did the walk.  It may be nasty, but it’s made me feel noticeably better when I start to feel sluggish.
• Rode my bike on the indoor trainer and felt great.
• I was craving sweets + chocolate more intensely today, but got my mind off it with other snacks.  Snacks were the same as usual, but I wasn’t quite as snacky today.  Although, a nice hunk of chocolate would be fabulous. ;)
• Bloating has gone down even more from yesterday.
• No headaches or any other weird things to mention.
• I feel healthier/cleaner, if that makes sense.
• My skin is much softer in the past two days.  Thank you dry brushing.

Time to crash into bed.  I was go-go-go today!

Happy Friday!!

<3 Ash

In case you want some quick links to catch up!

pre-toxing

detox day 1 – part 1, part 2

detox day 2 – part 1, part 2

detox day 3 – part 1, part 2 [dry brushing + swimming]

currently…

…my hands are burrrning from eating 3 tangerines.  The cuts on my hands are not letting up!  Fiery pain all over, but the tangerines were so delicious, that it’s worth it!

Now, onto more important things.  Breakfast.

I used a rye/oat/barley/wheat blend from Trader Joe’s that was delicious.  Had a bit more chew than regular oats.

1/2 banana + pnut butter + cracklin oat bran [yummm] + dried cherries on top

My dad eats a bowl of oats every single morning too.  His only topping is cracklin oat bran.  Such a delicious cereal!

Things have been a little busy at home.  Even busier than normal.  I did a better job documenting my day and even whipping up a few new treats!

Hellloooo new almond butter!

Cherry chocolate almond?  Yes please!

Just in time for the holidays, this is a decadent nut butter filled with goodies.

It would be delicious on a thumbprint cookie with a little jelly on top.  Or of course on oats…or graham crackers…or on a spoon. :)

Chocolate Cherry Almond Butter

• 3c raw almonds
• 1/3c chopped dark chocolate chips [or white chocolate]
• 2T maple syrup
• 1/2t fine grain sea salt
• 1t vanilla
• 1/4t almond extract [optional]
• 3/4c chopped cherries

1. Preheat oven to 300*
2. On a parchment lined pan, spread almonds in a single layer.
3. Coat almonds in maple syrup and bake for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
4. Let almonds cool for about 10min.
5. While cooling – In your food processor chop the chocolate and empty into a bowl.
6. Repeat with cherries and empty into a bowl.
7. Add almonds and process, scraping bowl as needed, until smooth + buttery.  This took about 6-8min in the 11c Cuisinart that my mom has.  *If you have a 7c processor, halve this recipe.
8. After butterized, add in salt, and extracts.
9. Process again until smooth.
10. Empty into a bowl and let cool for 30min-1hr.  *You want it fully cool so the chocolate doesn’t melt when you stir it in.
11. Once cooled, stir in cherries + chocolate.
12. Store in a sealed container in a dry/dark place, or in the fridge.

No oil was necessary for this one at all!

All mixed up, this nut butter is still very creamy and spreadable.  The hidden surprises of chocolate + cherry will be welcomed by all. :)

Since I was absent yesterday, I have TWO recipes for you today!  I made pecan butter once before, but it did not turn out this good.  I haven’t bought pecans for awhile, because they are pricier than walnuts + almonds.  However, buying a few cups of pecans for this, is highly worth it.  Definitely, by far, one of my favorites.

You might notice the cashews in this photo.  You can’t taste them, but it helped get a super smooth consistency and mellow out the flavor a bit.  My original pecan butter, with pecans only, was a tad bitter.  I’ve heard you should add cashews when making walnut butter as well.

It’s hard to step away from the maple infused butters, because they are just so dang tasty.  I know that a maple pecan butter would be outstanding.  However, I wanted a simple salted pecan butter.

It smells divine and tastes even better. 

Salted Pecan Butter

• 2 1/2c pecans
• 3/4c cashews
• 1/2t fine grain sea salt
• 1T pure cane sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300*
2. On a parchment lined pan, spread nuts in a single layer.
3. Toast for about 20min total, until lightly browned, stirring once or twice.  Keep your eye on them!
4. Let cool for about 10-15min.
5. Empty into your food processer [half the recipe if using a 7c size] and turn on.
6. Scrape down the bowl as necessary, until smooth + buttery.  ~6-8min  *This one butterized quickly!
7. Add in salt + cane sugar and process again until smooth.
8. Empty into a sealed container and store in a dark/dry place or in the refrigerator.

I am really excited about this!!!

And if the nut butters weren’t enough, I also made my smoked paprika almonds today!  Nut butters + spiced nuts just make such perfect gifts!  I’m thinking about turning this into a savory nut butter. 

Can you imagine smoked paprika almond butter on a cracker with some melted sharp cheddar cheese? Ahhhhhhhhh

Imagine my delight when I opened my parents spice cabinet and found my beloved smoked paprika.

la la la la laaaaaaaa

It would be a fun idea to give someone the smoked paprika almonds with a jar of the smoked paprika.  Or you could give a nice bag of homemade graham crackers alongside the nut butter. 

Dinner unfortunately went unphotographed, but I just have to tell you about it.  I made Mama Pea’s “meat”balls [soy free] that will be in her book this August.  I got a sneak peak of some of the recipes and tried this one while I was in Oregon, shooting her book photos.  I looooved it and knew my family would too.  I made the “meat”balls and everyone from my 12yr old cousin Jenna + her 15yr old brother, to my aunt’s mother loved them.  It was so much fun to have them try a veggie meal like that.  I’m lucky they are adventurous!  These “meat”balls could win anyone over though!!  You’ll see soon enough. :)

Also – I just added a “print post” feature, that you can find in the comment bar at the bottom of each post.  It doesn’t only print the recipes, but with 1 click you can remove all photos and you can also delete text by paragraph with one click as well.  I have been trying to figure out how to do the “print recipe” but somehow haven’t gotten it yet.  This was the next best thing.  Hope it helps!!

Off to bed….while visions of pecans are sure to dance in my head….

<3 Ashley