Maple Cherry Almond Overnight Oats

About a month ago my friend Ilana texted me this recipe for overnight oats. It was my first foray into this new food trend, despite my friend and co-worker Sarah trying to get me on the overnight oat bandwagon for a while, and I was instantly hooked. If you haven't tried them before, overnight oats "cook" by soaking in liquid overnight, and are eaten cold. They have since become my go-to breakfast, especially since mornings have recently become a lot busier in our house! No need to worry about Aaron stealing them as he doesn't like them, and affectionately refers to them as "left behind oats" and "forgotten oats." I also heard him once talking to our child and referring to them as "Mama's weird oats." At any rate, I made this version that's a bit more decadent and am excited to share it!

Maple Cherry Almond Overnight Oats (serves 1)

1/2 cup oats

1/3-1/2 cup non-dairy milk (depending on how juicy you like your oats)

2 Tbls. almond butter

2-3 Tbls. chopped toasted almonds

1-2 Tbls. pure maple syrup

1 cup fresh or frozen cherries, pitted

1 tsp. brown sugar

Heat the cherries and brown sugar over medium heat.

Keep stirring until they are reduced and syrupy, about 10 minutes.

Refrigerate overnight.

Meanwhile, combine the oats, milk, almond butter, and maple syrup.

Refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, layer 1/3 of the oat mixture, 1/3 of the cherry mixture, and 1/3 of the almonds. Enjoy!

Carrot Coconut Muffins

Aaron and I ate at Meli Cafe recently, which is an amazing example of a restaurant that does a ton of vegan and non-vegan options to please everyone. I especially like that their vegan options aren't limited to "salad," but rather they have a ton of creative options, including carrot coconut pancakes. Which I didn't get and promptly regretted, though the wrap I had was super tasty. Anyways, I was inspired to make these muffins...and I guess we'll have to go back soon to see how they compare to the pancakes!

Carrot Coconut Muffins (makes 12)

1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. coconut extract (use vanilla if you don't have coconut)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbls. flax meal
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded carrots (2 large carrots, shredded)
1/2 cups + 2 Tbls. shredded coconut, divided
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a muffin tin pan with liners. In a large bowl combine the milk, oil, sugars, and extract.

Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flax and stir until not quite combined.

Stir in the carrots, 1/2 cup coconut, and pecans.

Divide into 12 muffin wells and top with the remaining shredded coconut.

Bake for 25 minutes. Yum!

Hearty Muffins

Blogging note: I wrote this recipe at the end of September, around the time when Google changed their photo uploading system. I couldn't figure it out for a while and then the early arrival of our little one put blogging on the back burner for a while. But we have figured out the photos so behold, a belated but still-tasty post!

Where has September gone? I've made these muffins twice so far this month and am deciding when to make them again. Though Aaron is in the kitchen right now making me a birthday cake and it has an Oreo crust, so I keep on heading over to grab Oreos instead. (Yes, Oreos are vegan.) These muffins are super tasty and super crunchy (slang-wise, not texture-wise, although they do have great texture). This recipe takes a little planning ahead but isn't difficult. Substitute other seeds, grains, nuts, and/or dried fruit if you're so inclined.

Hearty Muffins (makes 12)

2 Tbls. each:

• Wheat berries
• Amaranth
• Millet
• Chia seeds
• Shredded coconut
• Flax seed

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup almond milk

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbls. molasses

2 Tbls. canola oil

2 Tbls. maple syrup

3 Tbls. oats

Soak the wheat berries, amaranth, millet, and cranberries in hot water and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. This will soften them to make them more palatable in the baking process. 

Next, combine the chia seeds and almond milk and let them hang out in the fridge while the grains and fruit are soaking. They will turn into a chia gel.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the chia gel, sugar, molasses, oil, and maple syrup.

Gradually stir in the flour mixture until about half combined. Then drain everything that's been soaking and toss that in along with the coconut, flax seed, and walnuts.

Line your muffin tin and divide the batter evenly. Top with the oats and bake for 30 minutes.

Tofu Scramble

I never ate scrambled eggs in my egg-eating days, mainly because I didn't like the texture. Scrambled tofu though I'm fine with, as I think it's much more versatile texture-wise than eggs are. This morning I had to have a blood test where I wasn't allowed to eat sugar beforehand. They advised me to have scrambled eggs for breakfast (um, please look right there in my chart where it says VEGAN) but agreed that scrambled tofu was okay. Not that I normally dump spoonfuls of sugar on my tofu scramble, but sugar lurks in pretty much everything. So I'm crossing my fingers that everything worked out okay! And if it didn't, at least I started my morning off well with this delicious tofu scramble. Aaron enjoyed his sugary cereal for breakfast, but it would be super easy to up the quantity of this dish if you are cooking for more people.

Tofu Scramble (serves 1)

1/4 block tofu, pressed
1 Tbls. canola oil
2 Tbls. diced red onion*
1 leaf kale, chopped*
1/2 Tbls. nutritional yeast
1/2 Tbls. hemp seed
Salt and pepper, to taste**

* Use whatever veggies you want and adjust the cooking time accordingly
** Season however you want

While the tofu is pressing, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onions for a few minutes until they lighten in color.

Crumble in the tofu using your hands and cook, stirring frequently, until just starting to color.

I forgot to take a picture with just the tofu so once I added the kale I tried to move it over to the side to capture just the tofu...

Add in the kale and saute a few more minutes.

Once the kale is starting to crisp up in places, lower the heat and add in the nutritional yeast, hemp seed, salt, and pepper. Cook just until the nutritional yeast starts to color. Eat!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Last night I dreamed that I was eating a muffin. Wild, I know. I then promptly woke up and whimpered to Aaron that I needed a muffin. It was 7:02 and the vegan bakery down the street from us didn't open until 11:00 (you lost business this morning, guys) but I remembered that over the summer my friend Aimee and I (yes, the same Aimee of Dream Bars fame) had gone to a little coffee shop nearby that had vegan pastries. So I searched through our texts to find out the name of the place and Sol Cafe indeed was open! I threw on some clothes, hopped on my bike, and raced over there but...no muffins. I had a really good scone but it was not a muffin. So I whipped these up when the scone was done and had second breakfast...they are tasty!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (makes 8)

1 lemon
2 Tbls. coconut milk
6 Tbls (1/4 cup + 2 Tbls.) almond milk
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp. lemon extract (use pure, not imitation)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbls. poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl zest the lemon.

Combine the milks and squeeze in the juice of a quarter of the lemon. Stir it a bit and let it sit; it will curdle and become like buttermilk.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In with the zest combine the sugar, oil, extract, and milk mixture.

Stir in the flour mixture, then the poppy seeds.

Spoon evenly into 8 lined muffin tins and sprinkle with sugar on top.

Bake for 25 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Wildflour Smoothie

Last weekend I took a trip out east to visit my dear friend Alex in Rhode Island. We went to a delightful vegan bakery and cafe, Wildflour, which I highly recommend the next time you find yourself near Providence. We shared a raspberry oat crumb bar and a coconut chocolate chip scone and brb while I go to Rhode Island to get some more. I also had a deliciously amazing smoothie there, called the Princess Leia. It wasn't on their website when I checked jut now but the original concoction had orange juice, blueberry, pineapple, and ginger. I tweaked it a bit when I got home and my the result is delish! I don't have anything against pineapple, I actually love it, but it makes my mouth feel very strange and gives me a weird aftertaste. Does anyone else have this problem? Swap out the mango for pineapple if you're so inclined.

Wildflour Smoothie (serves 1)

1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup frozen mango chunks
Small handful of spinach (gotta sneak those greens in there!)
3 chunks crystallized ginger
1 Tbls. hemp seed

Blend everything together and drink away.

Banana Pancakes

"I'll make you banana pancakes, pretend like it's the weekend now." Oh, Jack Johnson. The high schooler in me still swoons to hear that song. Aaron and I both had a snow day from work a couple weeks ago so we did pretend like it was the weekend. We went to the beach and played on the frozen landscape, but not before I made us banana pancakes. At the risk of exposing how cheesy I can be, I did manage to play the song and open the door to the bedroom carrying two plates of pancakes. Aaron would say that we woke up too early and that maybe we should sleep in, but it's hard to complain when your wife brings you pancakes in bed I guess ;).

Banana Pancakes (serves 2)

2 tsp. plain unsweetened non-dairy yogurt
1/2 ripe banana
2 Tbls. coconut milk
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbls. oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbls. white sugar
1/2 Tbls. brown sugar
2 Tbls. walnuts and/or chocolate chips (optional)
Vegan butter

In a blender combine the yogurt, banana, and milks. Stir in the vinegar and let sit for a minute while you prepare the dry ingredients.

Combine the rest of the ingredients, except for the butter.

Stir in the wet ingredients and the walnuts or chocolate chips, if using.

Heat a large pat of butter in a skillet. When hot, drop heaping tablespoons of batter and cook until bubbles start to form on top. Flip and cook a few more minutes until golden brown.

Serve topped with additional butter. We also topped it with some leftover granola from this recipe.

Cinnamon Apple Parfait

I feel like yogurt parfaits were all the rage about 10 or 15 years ago. Didn't McDonald's even have one at one point? Sunday mornings are usually pancake mornings at our home but I changed it up a bit this morning and made this yogurt parfait. I actually made it yesterday too but it was not so great, so I tweaked it today and it is much better. It's pretty simple to make and is full of lots of good-for-you stuff.

Cinnamon Apple Parfait (serves 2)

2 cups of your favorite non-dairy yogurt (I love Whole Soy & Co.)
1 apple, diced (I used pink lady)
1/2 Tbls. vegan butter
3/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup oats
2 Tbls. chopped walnuts
2 tsp. flax seeds
2 tsp. slivered almonds
1 Tbls. hemp seeds
1 Tbls. chia seeds
1 Tbls. shredded coconut
1 Tbls. brown sugar
1 Tbls. maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 F and heat the butter in a small pan. Saute the apple with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon over medium heat for a few minutes until the skins start to fade in color and the apple is very sweet. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

While the apple is cooking, combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, sweeteners, and remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. This will be the granola.

Spread in a single even layer onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for a few minutes until it is toasty brown. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn! Set aside to cool.

When the apples and granola are at least at room temperature, start assembling the parfaits. Into each glass layer 1/4 cup of yogurt, 1 heaping tablespoon of apple, and 2 tablespoons of granola. You may have some granola leftover. Dig in!

Almond Maple Mini-Scones

Shameless plug for the blog Donatella Says, which is written by my college friend Doni. We haven't kept in touch since our undergrad days but her blog is 100% her. I don't know if "lifestyle blog" is the correct term, but at any rate her posts are hilarious and you read every one thinking "Thank GOODNESS there is someone out there who also thinks those things!" A couple months ago she posted an almond milk tutorial, which I read and thought "Wow, she is so much cooler than me because I just buy almond milk." Flash forward to last night, when Aaron and I faced the stark realization that we were almost out of almond milk and *gasp* we are too lazy to go to the store in sub-zero temperatures and how will we have breakfast without almond milk?! As I was falling asleep I remembered Doni's post (true story, Doni) and mumbled something to Aaron about googling it, which he did. So this morning before we left for work we fired up the Vitamix and made ourselves the freshest almond milk you've ever had.

If you read her almond milk post you will note that she says "Some people use the remaining almond pulp for baking, but I am not that brave." Challenge accepted, Doni. I intended for these to be cookies but Aaron said they tasted more like scones, so scones they are. Thanks, Doni, for the inspiration!

Almond Maple Mini-Scones (makes ~20)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbls. maple syrup* (use the real stuff, none of this corn syrup garbage)
2 Tbls. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup almond pulp from making almond milk
1/2 cup almond milk* (you just made it!)
1 Tbls. frozen butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds

*These scones have just a hint of sweetness. If you want them sweeter, trade some of the almond milk for more maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a large baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cloves using a fork until it looks fine and there are no clumps.

Just as an fyi, this is what almond pulp looks like.

In a small bowl combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, almond extract, and almond pulp.

Add the maple syrup mixture into the flour mixture using a fork until it looks like large crumbs.

(This is my favorite part). Using a zester or micro-plane grater, grate the frozen butter into the mix (how cool does it look?!). If you don't have a fine grater, chop it as small as you can. Mix using a fork until it looks like more large crumbs.

Finally, add in the almond milk, mixing with a fork until it is almost fully mixed.

Using your hands, press the mixture onto the pan about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and press lightly.

Slice the dough into whatever shape you want your scones to be. I did rhombuses that are small enough to fit int the palm of your hand but do what you like.

Bake for 20 minutes. Immediately after the scones come out of the oven re-slice on the original lines you cut. Enjoy!

Banana Sesame Muffins

Happy new year! I took a short blogging hiatus to enjoy the holidays, including spending time with Aaron's family in sunny Florida. Which I am missing like woah now because it's flirting with negative temperatures here in Chicago at the moment. But we've got snow so I can't complain. Anyways, back to the recipe...right before we left for Florida we had a banana that was at prime baking ripeness and I wanted to use it before it went bad. Banana goes well with various nut flavors and thus I got the idea to use pair it with sesame, which is quite nutty for a seed. Veganness and bananas tend to make for quite a dense muffin but this one is surprisingly light and fluffy. Enjoy for a hearty breakfast or snack and keep the dustpan handy to clean up the sesame seeds that will inevitably end up everywhere.

Banana Sesame Muffins (makes 12)

1/2 cup sesame seeds, divided
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste, find it near the peanut butter. Stir well before using!)
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly toast the sesame seeds while you prepare the rest of the batter.

In a small bowl combine the milks and vinegar. Let sit for a couple minutes, it will curdle and become like buttermilk.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl mash the banana and combine with the tahini and sugar.

Add in the milk mixture.

Stir in the flour mixture. Set aside 1 1/2 Tbls. of the sesame seeds and stir in the rest of them.

Line a muffin tray and divide the batter equally among the wells. Top with the remaining sesame seeds.

Bake for 25 minutes and cool on a wire rack.