Welcome back to me (let’s celebrate with breakfast pie, shall we?)

Hello! It has been quite some time away from this blog – this brand new baby of a blog that I have so badly neglected since last spring. Dear blog, I am so so sorry. Truth be told, I was just enjoying life, living in the present, and really appreciating everything for what it was (and I may have forgotten about this post for…11 months. Oops. Time flies!).

Let’s revamp this site – let’s actually bring it into being, instead of just a nicely green-colored page on the internet! Let’s bring together our loves of food, fun, life, balance, and silliness. And let’s start with breakfast!

And by breakfast, I really mean pie.. fruity yogurt pie!

Now, the “recipe” for this is really quite simple, and can vary depending on what you have at hand. For the crust, I mixed half a cup of Grape Nuts cereal with half a cup of oats and cinnamon, then a citrus yogurt layer (greek yogurt, cottage cheese, dried valencia orange peel). On top I arranged whatever fruits and nuts I could find in the fridge and pantry: almonds, blueberries, pistachios, and a peach, with chia seeds, whole flaxseeds, and maple syrup drizzled overtop. With some coffee this makes a great breakfast, dessert, snack, lunch… really, the sky’s the limit!

I’m always looking for new ways to eat life’s happiest meal.. How do you take your breakfast?

Sugar + spice + everything nice [+ bananas] = love on first bite

I meant to go to yoga class today. I really did, honestly. I even got on my bike. I pedaled. I biked all the way down to the edge of campus… And then there it was: my new favorite clothes shop. While I’d like to say I kept on furiously pedaling on my way to Vinyasa, that would be a lie. And ask anyone, I’m a terrible liar. So I did a little shoppy shoppy, got a little orange dress (ironic, since it goes all the way down to the floor) and then went back to my bike. I missed my yoga class. Whoops. So I went back home, and had lunch. Because lunch, yoga, what’s the difference really, right?

And then – the magic! I’ve always loved experimenting with recipes. You should ask my parents about my early culinary adventures. I was 5, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing (do I now even? Debatable), and I threw together anything that looked appealing. In other words, I made my parents “cakes” made out of flour, eggs, cheese, chocolate, food coloring, sprinkles, mushrooms, and black pepper. And they ate it! God bless ’em. But last night – oh last night was great. I found my (actual, edible, delicious) recipes – including one of my all-time favorite (healthy!!) banana muffin recipes. It’s fabulous – and can easily be spiced up with a thick frosting to make cupcakes! And who doesn’t love cupcakes.

Banananananaananana….Batman!

 

Spiced banana honey muffins

Yield: 12 self-contained pieces of heaven. Oh I mean muffins. 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 bananas
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. coffee grinds
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ground cloves, to taste

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with muffin foils.
2. Mix wet ingredients (bananas, honey, egg whites, egg, milk, vanilla extract) together in a bowl.
3. Mix dry ingredients (everything else..) in a separate bowl until well combined.
4. Add the dry to the wet and mix until just combined.
5. Pour batter into muffin foils and bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and golden in color.
6. If you wanna be all fancy, grab an extra banana and slice it diagonally (like in the photo) and place a banana slice on top of the muffin halfway through baking.
7. Eat! Enjoy! Be happy!

The most amazing cookie you will ever eat

Do I really need to say anything more than the title? No. Not really. I’m almost certain that you’re going to want the recipe though. But first, a story. A short story, don’t worry – I don’t want you to get all hangry on me right away. I once had a friend (who also happens to be myself, what a coincidence!) who liked cookies. And Oreos. And one day, she said, what if we put these two seemingly godsent food noms together? So she did. And down from the heavens came the singing of the angels, to bless the Oreo-stuffed cookies in all their glory, and all was well with the world.

Slight exaggeration? It’s possible. The angels won’t faint from joy when you eat these cookies. You might, but that’s your call.

Need I say more?

Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies

Yield: 12 giant MUFFIN-SIZED cookies. Caution needed to not eat all 12 in one sitting.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (even a little less) packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg (or a mashed banana, if you don’t have one)
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 5 oz (half a package) chocolate chips
• 12 Oreos (I highly recommend Birthday Cake Oreos. No regrets.)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray
2. Using two knifes, a butter cutter, or a stand mixer (really, whatever you’ve got, I’ve improvised this in a dorm kitchenette with two spoons even), blend/cut/beat butter and sugars together until nicely combined, ideally slightly light/fluffy/everything nice
3. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined
4. In a different bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined
5. Add in the chocolate chips and fold over until combined (you might need to use your hands and mix the dough together, scooping up leftover flour “scone-making-style,” until it’s a decent consistency)
6. Using a spoon, place a small ball of dough in each muffin tin. Press these dough balls down to form the bottom part of the cookie-muffin. Place an Oreo on top of the dough, and repeat the dough-ball process, squishing down this top layer over the Oreo
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through but not burned. The cookie-top should be a nice golden brown color. Remove from heat, turn off your oven, and let cool in the muffin tin until cool enough to be transferred to a wire rack
8. Eat the cookie. Watch life become infinitely better. Try to not eat the rest of the cookies. 50% chance of success. So worth it

 

Oh hey!

“You had me at, “Hello World.””

But no. Not really. I’m not about that computer science life (sorry, Silicon Valley..). Actually, you had me at, “Cookies?” Yes. Cookies. Cookies are always a good idea.

Anyways, welcome to this thing I call a “blog.” It’s more of a “look I made something and baked something and did some yoga things, enjoy!” I hope you enjoy the ridiculousness that is my life, the deliciousness that are my culinary creations, and the inflexibility that is me in any yoga class.