Wild Rice Breakfast Porridge

I'm in the middle of studying for my first final that is coming up on Friday, but I thought I'd drop in to share this awesome-sounding recipe for wild rice breakfast porridge. It sounds like a perfectly warm and filling winter breakfast that I can't wait to try.

As I occasionally usually leave only a few minutes to make breakfast each morning, I love that this recipe makes enough for a week!  Also, I love that the recipe suggests serving with maple syrup. I hadn't pushed my maple syrup beyond the borders of pancakes and waffles until recently, and now I'm hooked.

Wild Rice Photo via Gourmet Sleuth

A Really Good Friday Night

Yes. This is how I define an amazing start to the weekend. Reindeer cookies. Correction: Reindeer brown sugar cookies. My roommate found an awesome recipe here and found our decorating inspiration here.  These were by far the most moist and fluffy cookies I have ever had. 

The frosting was another story. We used this recipe after searching for a frosting recipe that didn't require powdered sugar (it was about 11 pm at this point and we had already made an emergency trip to the grocery store for M and Ms and chocolate covered pretzels). I think I'll continue my search for a good vanilla frosting recipe because this one tasted a little bit too much like straight butter and sugar. Not something I would normally complain about, but I do like a little extra kick to my frosting sometimes. Any recipe suggestions?

Maple Granola, A Love Story

After much delay, I bring you my favorite granola recipe. While I haven't made all that much good granola in my day, I have made A LOT of bad granola. I don't know if it's just one of those things that I have trouble with, or maybe granola is hard for everyone. Thoughts?

Anyway, this recipe is a winner. I first made it to include in a batch of banana granola pancakes (heavenly, by the way). Since then, this has been my go-to granola recipe. It's easy and delicious and even gets a little bit clumpy like store bought granola.

My advice: don't skimp on the salt. My favorite part about this recipe is that the sweet is perfectly balanced by the salt. As all good granola recipes are, this one is pretty adaptable. I start with this recipe as the base. I usually leave out the oat bran (I don't hate on oat bran, I just don't always have it on hand). Then, I use any combination of walnuts, almonds and/or pepitas. I haven't tried it with dried fruit but I image it would be delicious with some craisins.

A mason jar filled with granola and topped with a festive bow might make a great holiday gift, don't you think?

Photo by Howard Puckett and styling by Fonda Shaia via My Recipes

Taza Chocolate

What do salt and pepper, salted almonds, chipotle peppers and ginger have in common? They each accent the wonderful, stone ground Mexican chocolate made by Taza chocolatiers. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of touring their Somerville factory along with Slow Food BU and the Nutrition Club.

While we were warned early in our tour that the owners hate any reference to Willy Wonka, you couldn't help but make the comparison. The factory contained a mix of vintage equipment from Italy and the Dominican Republic. These machines were huge, imposing looking things that roast and winnow (shell) the cocoa beans. You can learn more about their process on their website.

Taza Chocolate is the country's only maker of stone ground organic chocolate. The chocolate is made as pure as possible (as few as three ingredients in some of their flavors) and tastes amazing because of it. If you haven't tried stone ground chocolate before, I highly recommend that you do! It will be unlike any other chocolate you've had -- almost gritty and crumbly and absolutely delicious.

Below you can see the tempering machine (a repurposed donut machine) as it drops measured amounts of chocolate into a mold.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

This is the perfect way to finish off an open can of pumpkin puree. When your oatmeal is almost done, just stir in about 2-3 Tablespoons of pumpkin and a few sprinkles of cinnamon and nutmeg. Top with a drizzle of maple syrup and you are set for an AMAZING breakfast.

Too Much Pumpkin?

Never. But for reals, it just came to my attention that at least 4 of my blog posts thus far have mentioned pumpkins. I would try to argue that I do have food interests other than pumpkin, but right now, I see few dishes that wouldn't be improved with the addition of some orange squash. Below are 5 fall-ish recipes that I'm currently lusting after (believe it or not, that's the abbreviated list).

1. Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes. You could probably sub in this Pumpkin Spice Coffee that I saw at Trader Joe's last Friday.
2. Pumpkin Oatmeal (Which would mean two of my favorite things of all time combined in one bowl). Wouldn't that just be delightful?! And after snooping around to find a recipe, it seems that pumpkin oatmeal requires nothing more than stirring a spoonful of canned pumpkin into your oatmeal during the last few minutes on the stove. But if you're feeling extra decadent, this recipe looks pretty amazing.
(Obligatory dietetics note: aside from being delicious, this is an excuse to have a VEGETABLE FOR BREAKFAST. Awesome.)
3. Homemade Pumpkin Butter. 'Nuff said.
4. Pumpkin Bread Pudding. Ditto.
5. Pumpkin Pie Dip. I saw this on Pinterest (my new favorite toy) and it looks amazing! I'm trying to think of a few ways to lighten it up a little and maybe something that could sub in for the Cool Whip. I'll let you know what I come up with.

I'll let you know when a few of these get made it my kitchen...hopefully it won't be too long!

Photo from Boston.com Tumblr

Apples + Yogurt

A winning combination. Let me elaborate on my current snacking obsession:
Equal parts plain yogurt and apple sauce, drizzled with honey. That's it. Plain and simple. Top it with granola and you get my breakfast/lunch/dinner/dessert on any given day during the past few weeks. I'm obsessed.

P.S. Later this week I'll share my favorite granola recipe!

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Chili

Delicious. And fibrous. We made this for a Nutrition Club meeting a few weeks ago, so naturally I had to run home and make a pot for myself. Between the sweet potatoes, spices and lime juice, this warms your throat with every bite. It is really thick (as you can probably tell from the picture, before everything was stirred together) but it makes it more filling and wintery, I think. The recipe is from the cookbook Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. 

I had to finally post this after reading about other lentil chili recipes here and here. 

P.S. Please excuse my dirty oatmeal pan in the background :) Sometimes the oatmeal pan has a tendency to linger...

Mama Leone

She sure knows how to make some delicious soup. Well, more accurately, Elephant Deli in Portland, OR knows how to make delicious soup. This is an amazing recipe. It's as comforting as your favorite chicken soup but creamy and garlicky and just a little bit spicy. And it has spinach. What's not to love?! You can find the recipe here. I made a ton so that it would last me most of last week...it lasted until Tuesday. Oops. It was just so good.

I love that the recipe calls for fat-free evaporated milk to thicken without adding much fat. I also didn't add quite the full amount of butter that it called for and instead increased the olive oil by a smidge. It didn't taste any different to me!

My friend Alex pointed out that the name Mama Leone is from a Billy Joel song. I wonder if that's where the soup got its name from. Hmmm...the things I think about. 

Just 'Cuz

Photo from Bon Appetit... don't you just love the Halloween header for their website? So festive.

It's The Great Pumpkin Drop, Charlie Brown

Walking home from class today my friends and I stumbled upon the BU Physics Department's annual Pumpkin Drop. It was amazing. I was able to watch about a dozen pumpkins being pushed off of the roof of the science building before my toes went numb and I had to run home and make some tea.

If you look closely you can see the pumpkins in both pictures. I also found these awesome pictures on Boston.com from one of the last pumpkin drops. I love my school.

Brilliant Halloween Costume

Enough said. 

Things That Make Me Happy

1. Watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with my roommate while eating mass quantities of Halloween candy (it's the 45th anniversary of the Great Pumpkin!).

2. Halloween Packages from home. I got a rock :) Actually, I got candy (and coffee!).

3. Planning classes for next semester...I think I'll only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays! CRAZY! 

4. Planning pumpkin-based recipes to make for a Halloween celebration this weekend. So many to choose from...

5. Thinking of buying some nail polish to attempt this candy corn manicure. Yes, I take festivity to a whole new level. 

6. Sipping on a homemade chai tea latte. Ahhhh.

Top photo from ABC News

Returning to Civilization

And if this is what civilization is, I love it.

I've had a busy few weeks all leading up to today. Exam and presentation are now done. My roommate and I just celebrated by making a trip to the Emack and Bolio's that is just down an alley from us (less shady than it sounds, I promise). And they had...PUMPKIN ICE CREAM. PUMPKIN ice cream. So that's what I had. In a waffle cone. Yes, all is right with the world.

I'll be back much more often now, hopefully.  I need to fill y'all in on my trip to the Taza Chocolate Factory in Somerville (it was even more awesome than it sounds) as well as some other delicious things :)

But for now, it is 8:30 and I am going to bed. Ahhh it feels good to be done with my test.

Photo of Snickerdoodle and Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches from Pennies on a Platter.

Pumpkin Cookies

Ohh, these cookies. They are even better than they look. I made them last October and they lasted for about 3.682 minutes in my kitchen before my roommates and I devoured every last one. I am trying to find a time this week to make them, as they are warm and comforting and just what a person should be eating when she has loads of biochemistry homework to do. They taste like spicy, buttery velvet. Have I gone too far? Possibly. Have I convinced you that these are the best pumpkin cookies you will ever have? Definitely. 

Note: I don't think these cookies lasted long enough in my kitchen to actually receive their proper frosting adornment and they were still wonderful. I can't imagine what they would taste like with the frosting...


(Recipe and photo from Pure Mod Life)

Pretzel-People

Being a full-time student doesn't usually leave a whole lot of time to go to the gym (or to do anything but study for that matter). Enter My Yoga Online -- a perfect way to exercise and de-stress whenever it's convenient for you. I first read about it here (very cute article by the way, I would highly recommend it).

My Yoga Online is an awesome website for anyone who wants to supplement their usual yoga class regime or for anyone who doesn't have regular time each week to commit to a yoga class. (I'd be in the later group.) For just about $10 a month you get unlimited access to the videos on their website. The videos vary from 10 minutes in length to 60.

Armed with my subscription and the small amount of free floor space in my room, I have now done yoga at just about all times of the day. It's a great way to sneak physical activity in without having to leave your house! Happy stretching!

P.S. Look at this amazing yoga practice!

Pumpkin Soup

Fall has me dreaming of delicious, cozy soups to sip on. Two Recipes that I've been dying to try:  here and here.

(Photo from 3191 Miles Apart, don't cha just love the colors in this picture? Gorgeous.)

New Season, New Blog

Fall is officially here! And I have enough school work to prove it; I'm cleaning my desk and making to-do lists (fun Friday afternoon, right?) to prep for a weekend filled with studying. And how does a nutrition student prep for a weekend in? By puttering around the kitchen. I made a batch of granola to last me the week and a huge pot of spiced cider. There are few things more fall-ish than smelling cinnamon-clovey goodness as cider simmers for a few hours.

Also on this weekend's to-do list: Buying my first pumpkin of the season! I heard there was a shortage this year so I must stock up early.

(Photo from marthastewart.com)