Treats from an Unconventional Kitchen

I hate receiving flowers. You have to be one freakishly special guy if you want me to smile when you hand over the floral bouquet. Not too long ago, a guy who knew, whom I had expressly and emphatically told, that I did not like getting flowers, gave me a vase of tulips. WHY?! Sigh. Are boys stupid?*

When I told Gena this story, she responded that I am unconventional. Boys don't know what to do with me because they cannot get away with treating me like any other girl. Just like Gena doesn't like a boyfriend to call her "cute," I similarly have preferences that are not the usual and live life along a different beat. Unfortunately, vegan goodies and whole foods aren't very conventional. The following items are the things that have recently invaded my unconventional tummy.

Roasted almonds. Dark chocolate. Gooey vegan marshmallows. What more could a girl ask for? Sweet & Sara's Rocky Road Bark tasted just as glorious as it looks. WOW. You can get these from Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe. This was so good I actually had to buy another one the next week.

[Pizza made with mozzarella Teese, Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, balsamic-and-olive-oil-marinated tempeh, red onion, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes]

I have never made myself pizza before! What a fun culinary adventure! I guess it helps to have a pizza stone, which I don't, but my crust got really soggy and thin in the middle. Whilst I was chowing down, I got messy but it was super tasty! Now I really, really want to make a calzone with Teese!

I would eat another one of these in a heartbeat...

[CINNAMON BLISS premium organic ingredients: Almonds, cashews, pecans, agave nectar, orange juice and rind, spice.]

Titled Cinnamon Bliss, this raw vegan cinnamon roll by Journey to Bliss Raw Foods is heaven on earth. It's a big ole 6-ouncer though (not to mention its big ole price tag of $7.99), so portion control is a must. For perspective, a Larabar is 1.6 to 1.7 ounces. Yeah, this baby is big. It doesn't taste like a Larabar, though - it is a touch fancier! So wonderful! It comes with a warning, though: Tastes best refrigerated - and don't take that lightly!

Nora from Pride & Vegudice did a Weil Bar giveaway on her blog, and my winnings arrived in the mail earlier this week - check it out:

An entire box - 16 bars! - of Goji Moji Weil Bars, as well as three other flavors and two cookies baked by Nora herself (the chocolate PB fudge ones from the Simple Treats cookbook, which remind me of my favorite vegan packaged cookies). Woo - it feels good to be a winner! It has been five days since I received the package, so naturally I have devoured the cookies and have sampled all four bar flavors. My favorite bar? Glad you asked:

Deeelish! I shall be buying the Pistachi-Oh! flavor again! As for the Chia Razz...'twas too much on the fruity end of the spectrum (as opposed to nutty), so I wouldn't eat that one again, even if it was free. On the other hand, what I love about the Goji Mojis are the dates, figs, cashews, and goji berries, but these are among several other ingredients. These bars are fruitier more than nutty as well. I like them a lot but I think Dr. Weil should increase the cashew-ness; if he were remaking the bar just for me, it would still contain the dates, cashews, figs, and gojis, but omit the other extraneous ingredients (e.g., cranberries and possibly the citrus too). I love figs, Dr. Weil! The Banana Manna was great but tasted just like the banana-flavored Larabar.

Once upon a time, I was proclaimed the Breakfast Queen by my wonderful friend Chocolate Covered Katie, and I have been churning out new oatmeal combinations like mad. I had this bowl bright and not-too-early this morning:

[Rolled oats, quick-cooking steel-cut oats, sea salt, whipped bananas, Tempt Original Hempmilk, chia seeds, cinnamon, raw almonds, and a chunk of an Honest Foods Maple Almond Crunch Granola Plank]

For the preparation of these granola-crumble oats, I used my Oatmeal Risotto technique (which I explain in this post). I stirred in the chia seeds before heating up the last bit of hempmilk (which I cooked over low-medium heat because I feel like hemp is more delicate than soy), and I was so surprised at how fast the chias plumped up and gelled in the presence of heat! I let the oats cool and thicken longer than normal so I could taste the flavor of the chia better, and then I added the almond and granola toppings.

I am madly in love with these granola planks. They are so fresh, almond-buttery, and maple-y. I reserve them solely for oatmeal toppers. They are that special. Oatmeal is a sacred meal in my kitchen. I don't mess around with the oats.

Another winner, my first foray into oats-eaten-chilly-from-the-fridge:

[Rolled oats, vanilla soymilk (though I prefer hempmilk), sea salt, chia seeds, whipped bananas, shredded unsweetened coconut, raw cacao nibs, and hazelnuts]

[Rolled oats, vanilla soymilk (though I prefer hempmilk), sea salt, chia seeds, whipped bananas, agave-ginger cashews, shredded unsweetened coconut, and raw cacao nibs]

With the last two bowls pictured, I cooked the oats and a pinch sea salt in water, removed from the stove, whipped in some thinly sliced bananas, and then stirred in the chias and soymilk. After a few initial stirs and a 15-minute fling in the fridge, they were ready for adding fun toppings and eatin'! This differs from the method used for the granola-crumble oats because for these, the chia seeds gelled up in the chilly atmosphere of the fridge rather than directly in the stove pot.

In summary, the moral of my breakfast story is I love chia seeds in my oats! They have replaced flaxseed in my breakfast routine for now - at least, while my wallet can keep up. I wish ChiaSeedsDirect.com would ship their chias in smaller amounts than 4.5 pounds! I got mine from a natural foods co-op grocery - the brand is Love Raw Foods, and I got a half-pound for $6.50. Not bad!

I love sharing my new foodie loves with you - thanks for taking a peek! I start classes on Monday - this is my senior year of college! Woo.

*[Note: Just for clarification, I would rather have nothing than get flowers. I would prefer a lot of unpleasant things happen to me over getting flowers. I don't want to take care of them. I don't want to have to change the water. I don't want to have to watch them wilt and get ugly. I don't want to have to clean my counter every day because the petals etc. shed all over. I don't want to see them snatched out of the ground, from where those pretty flowers belong and are very happy and perky, and thrust into my ungrateful hands. And most of all, flowers from an anything-but-perfectly-ideal male source are just creepy and give me an icky feeling. Anyway, I told him I was a dark-chocolate-kinda girl. I don't even care if I don't get a gift at all - just. NO. flowers! Whew.]