Hazelnut cookies with Cinnamon Sugar (GF possible)

So the holidays have come and passed. Or for me, the season of baking and cooking non-stop has come and passed.  There's nothing like some free time and a huge kitchen at my parent's house to get me in the mood to bake.

While last Christmas seemed to be all about peanut butter cookies, this past Christmas was all about shortbread and hazelnut cookies.  I really got into the art of the slice and bake with  some real tests of patience in waiting for dough to freeze and thaw out again.

Adventures in baking: Christmas Stollen edition

I hope you all had a great Christmas!  This whole week has been a glorious week of relaxing, TV watching, and sleeping (following a not-so-fun beginning of the week where I suddenly got sick).  I didn't even workout until finally getting the strength to go for a short walk/jog this afternoon.

Baking cookies is easy enough for me, but bread....well bread is something I do less often.   Yet that didn't stop me from doing some Christmas baking because my family all loves any bread-related food...leading me to tackle a Christmas Stollen recipe.  

Keep reading for the recipe!

Mama Rouge - An exciting new arrival to Georgetown

After a long and torturous break from blogging (thank you, school and your endless papers..), I'm excited to report back on a great new restaurant in DC. There are a lot of good places to eat, but to be completely honest, none of it really excites me.  I never think of Georgetown as the first place to go to when I want some really good food.

Mama Rouge, however, which just opened two months ago, definitely excites me.  It just opened two months ago on the Waterfront Harbour, replacing Bangkok Joe.  The owners are also the previous owners of Bangkok Joe, which can only mean a good thing.  Mama Rouge features a fusion of Southeast Asian and French cuisine, so think bahn mi's inside croissant buns and curry mussels served with a fresh baguette.  Yeah, that sounds good.

Photo from Washingtoncitypaper.com because I am a bad blogger and forgot to take one...

After making some reservations with OpenTable, a couple of friends and I went to celebrate the end of finals and the beginning of our holiday seasons.  

As I glanced over the menu and tried to choose a reasonable amount of food to order, I made a few quick observations: 

1. There are lots of options - from chicken to bahn mi to noodle to barbeque-esque dishes, there are a lot of options for whatever you're in the mood for. And the good thing about this range is...
2. There is pricing to fit every budget - as a graduate student, and also a recent college student, finding a good meal for cheap in DC can be difficult.  Thankfully, Mama Rouge has items ranging from $10-$30, with some of the cheaper menu items being their bahn mi's and noodle dishes.  This makes it easy to find some unique dishes without racking up a huge bill! Definitely a plus in my book.

Upon finally deciding on some items, we decided to start with some Chicken Lettuce Wraps and the Pork Belly Bao Buns.  Unfortunately, I seem to have deleted some of the pictures I took, but I was definitely impressed with both of them.  The chicken lettuce wraps were perhaps a little bit less unique than some of the other dishes, but it was a light dish to start our meals with.  The pork belly buns were as usual, one of my favorites.  Anything with pork belly is a win for me, and this take on a Chinese classic.  

For my entree, I ordered the Bean thread noodles, which came with chicken, cilantro, basil, and a delicious sauce with a heavy dose of chiles.  It was definitely a spicy dish, but with me, the spicier it is, the better!  This is also one of those dishes that doesn't look too spectacular, but the blend of flavors is delicious.

Another dish my friend ordered with the Spicy herb chicken, which was a delicious mix of chicken, chimichurri, sriracha, and the most tender chicken I've had in awhile.

I'm already eyeing this dish for the next time I go....


Finally for dessert, I finished off with some Creme Brule, which was absolutely amazing.  It was light, creamy, while still being decadent.  It was the perfect end to my meal!

The only dish we were slightly unsatisfied with was my friend's Crepe Suzette.  Although the flavors alone were delicious,  the Suzette sauce seemed to overwhelm the texture and flavor of the crepe, making the crepe seem like it was drowning in the sauce.  The amount of sauce probably could have been halved while still remaining true to the Crepe Suzette recipe, so we wouldn't order that again.

All in all, I (and my friends) were very impressed with the experience. Although Mama Rouge is fairly new, the food was good and unique, with enough options for any mood, and the concept is done well for the most part.  Southeastern cuisine already blends many flavors, but the addition of French techniques is something I don't see very often here in DC.

Would I go back? Absolutely.  I'm going to have to revisit this again and try some more menu items to officially declare it in my top list of restaurants, but it has a solid menu.  Unfortunately, due to my gluten sensitivities, I won't be able to try out their croissant bahn mi's, which has received a lot of praise.  However, the plethora of rice-noodle and rice based dishes means I can still try a lot of items on the menu!  I imagine that with some more tweaking and a few months extra time, this place can become truly spectacular!

For more information, check out the Mama Rouge website.
To make reservations, try out OpenTable.  
(They're also great to manage all your other reservations!)

Address: 
3000 K Street Northwest, 
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 333-4422

Have any of you tried Mama Rouge?  What do you think?

For the Hummus Addicted: Sabra Hummus House in Washington, DC

Bringing you all a quick post about a must-go-to restaurant only available for a couple more weeks!  Having a packed schedule from day-night leaves me with little time to sit down and blog, but I had to get this up so you can all enjoy it while there's time.

I love hummus.  It's dangerous to put me near a tub of hummus because I will try to eat it with every meal.  With eggs, vegetables, bread, chips...you name it.  Imagine my excitement when I heard that Sabra was opening up a pop-up restaurant in DC!  It basically meant that I had to go and check it out.

I quickly arranged to meet at the Sabra Hummus House with a friend to indulge in a hummus centered meal.

My first impressions - the people are really friendly.  If I hadn't read beforehand that you absolutely do not need to tip, I would have thought they were competing for some serious tips. All the waitresses were incredibly accommodating and helped make the environment relaxing.  As I was waiting for my friend, one of the hostesses asked me for her name and actually stood outside until she came in. Even though it's a really small space, making it easy for the staff to be attentive, this extra step really impressed me.

The decor is also really nice. Although unfortunately my phone died before I was even in the restaurant,so I couldn't get any pictures.  But there's a nice earthy, homey feel to the restaurant with incense and candles burning throughout.

Although there aren't too many options for food, all of it sounded amazing.  The only concern I had is that they didn't have many gluten-free options.  However, I wasn't really in a position to complain because hummus is usually eaten with pita anyway...I'm sure I could have asked for vegetables instead of pita in all of the dishes, but I decided to opt for the one hummus dish that was already served with vegetables. I figured since I was in a hummus-themed restaurant, it was only fair that pita would be the standard accompaniment.  However, I was still extremely satisfied in eating my vegetables with the spreads and dips.  The vegetables were so fresh, and complemented the hummus perfectly. I know that the chef tried to source as many things locally as possible, and my vegetables were part of that. In fact, I knew they were serious about freshness when I saw actual fresh vegetables are part of the decor.

I think I would definitely go back just to try out everything else on the menu. There isn't a huge selection, and I wonder if that would change if Sabra House became an actual restuarant.  However, what's available now offers a fresh and healthy meal!

If you are interested, get down to Georgetown ASAP!
They are only open until October 26!

For more information, check out their website!

Restaurants in DC - Oyamel

It seems that even though I love to eat my way through DC, I rarely ever actually post about it. I think it's because most of the time, I am just so excited by the food that I start eating it before I actually take photos.  Food blogger faux pas, I know......

Except I'm hoping to make a fresh start and start blogging my food adventures.  Although I try not to eat out too often,  there are days when I just want to try something completely different that I know I have no ability to make.   And when the occasion to go to an Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull concert came around, I knew that it was one of those times I wanted to go out of my way to try a new restaurant I've always wanted to try that isn't just a neighborhood favorite.

Enter Oyamel.

I had heard about Oyamel from so many people, along with the other restaurants that the Chef, Chef José Andrés owns.  Although we had originally planned on going to Proof, we changed our minds at the last minute and decided on something a little more whimsical and Spanish/Central/South American themed to get us in the spirit of the concert.  Cue me looking through Open Table to find a restaurant within the Penn Quarter area near the Verizon Center that wouldn't be completely packed..and I stumbled upon Oyamel.

A little side note here, OpenTable has been pretty useful for me in trying to figure out what restaurant to go to, especially when I just search for a time that I can go to and the area that I'm going to be in.  It takes the trouble of calling around different restaurants trying to find one that will work for me.  And by going through OpenTable, I have compiled a verrrry long list of more restaurants that I want to try out.  This is a pretty well known tip by now, but still, I'm realizing more and more how useful they are.

Right from the front door, it is easy to see that a lot of thought went into the design of the restaurant.  There are monarch butterfly designs scattered throughout the restaurant, and the orange/red paint gives off a great vibe.  According to their website, Oyamel is named for the fig trees that monarch butterflies take refuge in during their migration. I have to admit, the butterflies weren't something I expected out of a Mexican restaurant, but after being in there for awhile, I can tell that it definitely fits with the whimsical theme of the restaurant.

Oyamel kind of uses a tapas style, antitjitos, small plates philosophy, which is always fun for me.  It gives me the opportunity to try out multiple things at once.  They have all sorts of dishes, as well as a great selection of tacos.    But, does anyone else get overwhelmed by menus whenever they go to a restaurant?  I love eating, but I am also so indecisive. Thankfully, Oyamel has a large menu, but I was able to pick out the top things that I wanted to try pretty quickly.  

While we waited for our orders, we munched on chips and salsa and  enjoyed some drinks.  I'm usually a beer person, but they have quite an impressive list of cocktails that I would love to try out.  

One quick note in here, and probably important for many of you - I was really impressed with their service.  We had made a note before we started ordering that we had to make it to a concert later that night so we made sure that all the food we ordered would come out fairly quickly.  Everything came out quickly, even when our waiter said it would probably take about 10 minutes, and all the servers were so friendly to us.  The chicken mole we ordered came out just a few minutes after receiving our chips, which worked just fine for me because I was starving by that point.

Chicken Mole, by the way, is one of those dishes I always order whenever I'm in a Mexican restaurant.  The complexity of the sauce means that I haven't even attempted making it myself yet, but the mix of poblano, chile, and chocolate is the most amazing combination of spicy, bitter, and sweet.It came with a generous side of herbed rice, which was also incredible. It was flagrant and flavorful, but not too strong to compete with the mole sauce.  I could probably eat this everyday....

To keep with the "quick and light" theme, we ordered two tacos each.  Again, I think they might just be a tad expensive, but I think the flavors made it worth it.  I ordered the "Tinga poblana con puerco" - Pork with chorizo, lettuce, and avocado.  Anything with chorizo, pork, and avocado is a win in my book, but the real standout was the "Pancita de puerco al pasto," or also known as pork belly, with some pineapples thrown in there as well.  Pork belly is one of my favorite foods to eat, no matter how decadent it is, and the pineapple was a really great addition to cut through the fat of the pork belly.

Total satisfaction in the form of tacos.

Although we didn't have the time to eat through a full meal,  the little samplings we ordered left me wanting more. While I've eaten at quite a few restaurants in DC, not too many of them will stand out enough to have me thinking about it for days after.  DC is certainly in no shortage of restaurants, but I think what ultimately sold me was the overall environment of the restaurant.  I just felt relaxed, and like I could have fun.  This time around, the decor played a pretty role in my experience in the restaurant.  That along with the easy going servers who were attentive to our requests, and the great food that came out makes me want to go back...and soon.  I think next time I'm there, some "must eats" are their tacos with grasshopper, the "Chapulines," and their Papas al mole - potato fries with mole sauce...although I honestly would happily eat anything on their menu!

Who can resist a picture in front of some butterflies?

Next time you're in the mood for some fun Mexican, and you're not looking for a restaurant to overstuff you with food, check out Oyamel.

And make reservations with OpenTable because they get pretty busy.

Oyamel Website
Make a reservation with OpenTable 

Address:
401 7th Street NW, Washington DC  
(Penn Quarter; Gallery Place)


Got any other favorite restaurants in DC?  Let me know because I'm always up for eating....and make sure you stay tuned for more restaurant reviews in the future!

Quinoa salad - the lemon chickpea edition (Gluten-free, vegan possible)

I told you all that this summer would be the summer of quinoa salads, and although there was a little bit of a hiatus with all my traveling, I'm not quite done with them yet.  With corn coming in season, it's all I can think about eating.  There's nothing like the taste of fresh sweet corn mixed in with...well, just about anything I have in my fridge.

For the latest installment in my quinoa salad saga, I wanted to make a fresh, minty salad that would be filling and easy to eat.  This is another one of those salads that I make for the week and come home and eat after a busy day when the last thing I want to do is cook.

What I like about this salad is that I can eat it hot or cold, and it mixes well with so many things.  You could throw in some spinach in here for more greens, or some chicken for even more protein.  

My inspiration for this recipe came from Gourmet.com, but as usual, I added my own twists to it.

A Baking Conundrum - Cinnamon Sticky Buns for Father's Day

There are few things more wonderful than the smell of butter mixed into dough, slowing baking in the oven until something golden brown and delicious becomes the final product.

On another note, today was Father's Day.

On a related note, among my dad's favorite foods are desserts.  More specifically, he loves all kinds of baked goods, especially anything with raisins.  

Now since I love baking, especially when the aforementioned magic of butter and dough take place, it leaves me in a difficult spot when I can't really tolerate wheat flour...or excess amounts of butter.  And sticky buns definitely use a lot of butter.

My solution?  Bake for a crowd that can tolerate my recipes so that I get all my baking urges out of the way.  There's something about kneading dough and the scent of cinnamon and sugar and butter mixing together to create a tantalizing aroma and just an overall comforting atmosphere.  

So...to satisfy my need to bake and the need for some willing eaters, I tackled a sticky bun recipe for Father's Day.

Sticky buns aren't my own creation by any means, but after finding some recipes to reference, I set off on my own cinnamon and butter filled journey.

To see what I did, keep reading!

Quinoa Salad Variation #1 - Summer Quinoa Salad (GF, Vegan)

As the weather has been getting warmer, I have been obsessed with making quinoa salads.  Inspired by a bean salad recipe I found, I soon found myself playing around with different ingredients to add into my quinoa salads.  Over the past couple months, I've come up with countless variations, but wasn't able to get a good picture until the most recent one I made yesterday.

I love making a big batch of this so that I can take it with me to class or work throughout the week.  Since it's a cold salad and has a great balance of proteins, carbs, and fats, these are one of my favorite foods to make in advance.

Paired with some salmon, this was the perfect dinner!

To see what's in here, keep reading:

Frittata - A Second Try Success

I tend to not consider too many of my recipes complete fails except on rare occasions when my pancakes become scrambled almond flour/banana/egg mixtures and my GF scallion pancakes become crumbles....but there are a lot of things that I wouldn't exactly call successes, either.

My attempts at frittatas could be placed in the "not so successful" category.  My first attempt for my family a few months ago -- perfect.  I can't even remember what I put in it, but I just remember everyone loving it, and it had the most perfect texture.  I know that I didn't put it in the oven at all, and I just let the eggs slowly cook on top of the stove. My second attempt.....wasn't so successful.  I think I added too much liquid (eggs + egg whites), making it too thick.  It didn't really cook right, and the center took forever to set, even after broiling it for a few minutes.


Determined to get it right again, I made it for a third time.

Success!

Adventures in cooking: Chinese Scallion/Green Onion Pancakes - Going back to the roots and a diferent kind of pancake stack

I don't often make "traditional Chinese" food, most because well..I never learned it.  As a child, I would always spend hours watching my mom make all types of food - garlic sauteed vegetables (which is about a daily occurrence in my house), steamed fish, stuffed tofu, dumplings, you name it, my mom would make it.  However, I never really had the desire to learn it on my own, and the most I ever did was help her chop vegetables.  Chinese food is also really labor intensive, even though it's not always actually that difficult.  All dishes have some food that needs to be chopped or sliced or julienned, and cutting the meat was always an exhausting job because most Chinese dishes have meat with the bone attached. I am eternally grateful for work that my mom puts in every single night to prepare multiple dishes, prepping for dinner about three hours in advance every day, and now when I go home and visit, I am sure to help out however I can...also with the added benefit that I can start learning how some of my favorite foods are made. 

I have to say, I haven't made toooo much progress on learning how to make some of my favorite dishes, but I'm starting to get a better idea just from watching how things are done. Now that I almost never go home, I'm having a desire to learn more about Taiwanese culture and to go back to some of the foods I ate growing up.  I'm doing the best I can with some recipes that I'm finding on my own, supplemented with memories of how things were done with my mom, but I definitely have some work to do.

So on to the food.  I needed to make something traditionally Chinese/Taiwanese (yes, they are different, but they also share many foods) for an end of semester party for the students I teach English to.  I was absolutely stumped for days, as I wanted something that wouldn't be too difficult to make, would be universally liked, and would be unique enough to not be a standard menu item at a typical Chinese restaurant.  It wasn't until yesterday that I had the idea to make scallion pancakes.

I should also note that I tried to make a gluten-free version......and failed.  I'm going to try it again, changing up what I did next time, but the results were pretty hilarious.  The taste was there, even if the texture was completely off.  See the end of this post for some real failure :p

Gluten Free + Dairy Free Irish Soda Bread - A Successful Experiment! + Going Gluten-Free for Real?

As much as I love soda bread, and always had it in the house around St. Patrick's Day (who knew...Asians eating soda bread?), I know surprisingly little about it.  All I knew was that my parents always really liked it and we would both buy and make it.  It was actually kind of a shock that some people had never had it before - but then again, it was the only aspect of St. Patrick's Day that my family ever celebrated...or "observed" might be the better choice here.  

Alas, when it came to being asked some trivia questions about St. Patrick's Day.....here's all that I could come up with:

Well...I tried.

All I know that Irish soda bread is one of my favorite breads....but after experimenting with some more foods in my house and eating regular soda bread and my mom's pasta...I can nearly confirm that I now have a gluten-intolerance.  I was always suspicious of it, especially after coming home from Europe last summer and realizing that everytime I ate anything gluten-heavy (breads, pastas, pizzas), I would feel nauseous and get a headache after.  I didn't really quite believe that it could happen to me - especially after four months of eating some type of bread, pasta, or pastry on a daily basis in Europe.  I kept experimenting and somewhat stayed away from anything that had a lot of gluten in it, but didn't follow it really strictly.  I'd say I stuck to about a 75% gluten-free diet but wasn't picky about it at all.  

Then I went home for spring break and was surrounded by all things gluten - pasta, bread, cookies, mom's homemade noodles and buns (which were delicious!).  I didn't go crazy, but I had two main meals - noodles and these Chinese buns filled with sauteed tofu, ground pork, and chives.  These were the only times I felt nauseous for the rest of the day and night after eating, leading me to believe that the use of regular white flour was what was causing my discomfort.  

I haven't seen a nutritionist, nor can I say 100% that gluten is causing my discomfort, but I think these experiences plus my discomfort in the summer say something about my gluten intake and my stomach.  I know now that I will be much more conscious about being gluten-free, and doing some more testing to see how much gluten I can tolerate.

Anyway, explanations aside, I managed to make this:

 A total experiment on gluten free Irish Soda Bread.  

A little non-traditional, I know, but I daresay I liked it BETTER than traditional soda bread.

What I've Been Eating Recently

It occurs to me that if I posted more often, I wouldn't have to compile 20+ pictures from the past month into one massive post, but all of these pictures seem to add up until I look at my phone one day and realize I have hundreds of uncategorized pictures.

It also is apparent that I like to eat certain things - everything I make is some variation of some core ingredients I always have around.  I am now planning a post of a detailed grocery list and what exactly I like to buy, but you'll see from these posts that I favor:

• avocados
• green/red peppers
• onions
• eggs 
• spinach
• kale
• chickpeas 

 Heh. I'm pretty sure I could only these for the rest of my life if I had to because I can prepare them in so many different ways.

For once, none of these really have distinct recipes, but I will list the main ingredients and techniques that I used for everything that I made!

Green Smoothies are kind of a rarity for me now, and they really only happen when I have extra time.  However, they still remain my favorite post-workout drink, especially something cardio heavy.  It's refreshing and full of nutrients, allowing me to refuel quickly right after my workout before I make something that takes longer.  I believe this one had kale, almond milk, a pear, half a banana, and cacao nibs sprinkled on top.  I have to admit, I was still experimenting with cacao nibs when I made this smoothie and I definitely prefer to blend them in with everything else instead of sprinkling them on top.

To keep seeing my recent eats, click below!

Variations on a Mug cake (Gluten-free and Vegan options available!)

I've kind of made a recent discovery - I love mug cakes.  They're way quicker than trying to bake an entire cake (along with the risk of me eating the entire thing), but I find that they're so much easy to play with.  I love trying out different ingredients together, and since the ingredients are in much smaller quantities, messing up ingredients is a little more forgiving.  It also allows me to have the illusion that I'm eating something completely decadent, when I really am just sneaking some healthy ingredients in there.  I've used them as a post-workout meal with oats, peanut butter, and eggs (carbs, fat, proteins!).

I've been tweaking several recipes and have come up with two variations that yield a slightly different consistency, but are both wonderfully delicious.

The first version is a bit more brownie-like. It's slightly gooier, and when a bit of peanut butter is added in the middle before microwaving it, it has something like a molten cake consistency.

Look at this.  How does this not make you run to the kitchen and start throwing ingredients together?  You would never guess that it's actually about 75% healthy..

 Read on for the ingredients (and a bonus version!)

The Opposite of Losing My Cookies and (Healthy) Addictions featuring Avocados

I'm back.  And by "back," I mean I've been finally cooking again. More time = more experimenting.

A new year means new inspiration and ideas - and a fully stocked pantry is certainly giving me motivation to do something with it!  My obsessions recently are quinoa, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and kale..convenient that I find a recipe using all of those!  But..not convenient that I didn't take a good picture of the AMAZING salad I put together incorporating all those ingredients.  Don't worry though, it'll come up again in the very near future.  Because I'm obsessed.

In the meantime, I tried out some recipes from a handy cookbook that I found recently.  It's the Gluten Free on a Shoestring: Quick and Easy by Nicole Hunn.  I know nothing about her, but I've been enjoying the quick and easy recipes in it.  I'm also not a gluten-free eater, but like to reduce my white carb intake in any way I can.  Here is her chicken fajita recipe that I modified into a pseudo fajita bowl...ish thing.

Read more to see the recipe, more food, and COOKIES!

Leaving cookies out for Santa....

Christmas time = Christmas cookies.  Nothing gets me in the mood for baking like the holiday season does. It fills the house up with a tantalizing scent of butter and sugar, and as we all know, food brings the family together. 

Even while trying to eat clean, I took a liiitle break and took a few more liberties than normal.  Those that know me well know I almost never use butter, sugar, or flour in my baking.  This week I used all three.  What a shocker, right?  In addition to the traditional shortbread cookies that are oh so classic for Christmas, I decided to feed my addiction of peanut butter by making peanut butter cookies. 

I messed around with a few different recipes, and am extremely happy with how they came out.  They were dad AND brother approved.  It's a pretty basic peanut butter cookie recipe and absolutely loved it.  

I tried snapping some pictures while baking and afterwards, but the lighting was pretty dismal wherever I went.  I did my best though..

A warm plate of cookies for Santa!

Click after the jump to see what I did!

Updates and changes...A whole lot of random!

While I'm on a short break from school,I thought I'd take the time to catch up on some recent beauty, food, and life updates. My life has been a whirlwind of school and work, and while I love it, it's incredibly draining and challenging. Must of the week my schedule is packed from 7am to 8pm, and by the time the weekend arrives, all I can think about doing is sleeping.

I've made a couple small changes to this blog, mostly just some formatting and adding a new header and footer.  They're some small changes, but I like the extra details they add.  Let me know what you think of them!  

If you've been following my Instagram, you would still see any food pictures that I have, but my cooking experiments have also been drastically reduced. Although it's been ages since I've made anything noteworthy, here are still a few updates of what I've been up to recently....


Some baked pumpkin spice oatmeal:

It was ridiculously simple, following this recipe from Skinnytaste.com.  It was a great breakfast/snack/dessert, and I loved pairing it with some peanut butter, as well!  I may try this with quinoa in the future just to mix things up a bit.

Going home for a weekend now seems like much more of a luxury than it did before.  I can relax, use my parent's (large!) kitchen, watch TV, and forget about school for just a little bit.  However, I think I might like the FOOD the best of all! There's nothing like having a fully stocked pantry and refrigerator to play around in.  Trying to figure out what to do with a gigantic head of cauliflower, I decided to try out some cauliflower crust pizza, with homemade tomato sauce (my first ever!) and sausage, mushrooms, spinach, and mozzerella cheese on top.

It was pretty successful, except I don't think I let the crust bake enough, and the sauce could have used another 20 minutes of simmering to become thicker.  However, it tasted JUST like a real pizza, only without all the carbs!  The only downside was that this took my a better part of the afternoon to prepare the sauce and the cauliflower.  It turns out that wringing moisture out from pulverized cauliflower takes a lot longer than I thought...

Read after the jump to see more pictures and other happenings in my life

New (food) Obsession: Cinnamon Toasted Almonds

It is a widely known fact that I am obsessed with almonds and all almond products, so when I started experimenting with toasting almonds, I went into almond heaven.

I toasted almonds in cinnamon and honey and I've already eaten a ton of them, as seen in the almost half empty jar above.  They aren't as sugary and heavy as the candied almonds you might buy, yet they pack some great flavor and sweetness, and it's a super easy recipe to top it all off!  The hardest part by far was waiting for them to cool down before I ate all of them. ;)

 Here's what I used:

2 c. raw almonds
2 T. honey or agave nectar
1 T. olive oil (make sure it's regular, not extra virgin, or just use canola oil, or even coconut oil)
1 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F.  In a large bowl, pour honey, oil, and cinnamon.  Mix well, then add almonds.  Mix until all the almonds are evenly coated, and then pour into either a cooking ceramic/glass dish, or straight onto a flat baking pan.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  After 6 minutes, toss the almonds to make sure they are evenly toasted.  At this time, I usually add more cinnamon to add on some extra flavor, but if you want your almonds to be more mild tasting, feel free to skip this step!  Let the almonds cool about 20 minutes since they will be soft initially after baking.  Enjoy.  Try not to eat the whole batch.

The perfect breakfast, snack, or topping on salads and yogurts! 

Excuse me while I go grab another handful, and think of new ingredients to toast my almonds in....

Some More Food to Show Off! Smoothies, Stir-fry, breads, and Spaghetti Squash Galore

 Although I seem to be cooking all the time now, I now need to work on taking actual, aesthetically pleasing pictures before I devour all of it.  This seems to be a serious issue for me, but it just shows my impatience to eat all the time.  For now, you'll have to deal with some hastily snapped pictures, but now my new goal is to improve my food photos!

 Keep reading to follow my food adventures!

Some Recent Food Love

If any of you follow me on Instagram at steph_peng, then you would see all my food posts.  And there are a lot of them.

First up is this green smoothie I made last week or so.  I don't remember the exact proportions I used, but the ingredients were  almond milk, spinach, mango, banana, half a cucumber, and hemp seeds with a sprinkle of cinnamon over the top.  It's wonderfully delicious and refreshing that satisfies my sweet cravings without being too sweet!

Keep reading to see a whole explosion of food posts!

Food, food, food, and more food! And a BRIGHT FOTD! (for me, at least)

I seem to go in phases of cooking and not cooking, but a low stock of food in my fridge has had me back in the kitchen.  I know everyone says this, but there's something therapeutic about cooking and mixing ingredients together until you get that perfect flavor. I apologize for the blurry pictures, but I was trying to snap these quickly before they were devoured..

A quinoa, black bean, corn, and pepper salad with basil

Sauteed chicken with greed pepper and jalapenos

Keep reading to see how it all turned out, and how I pushed my comfort zone with some green shadow!