Tag Archives: breakfast

by Wendy | May 7, 2010

Almond Date Cream: Take 2

As mentioned in a previous post, I love almonds and I love dates, so I had to try the Almond Date Cream recipe in my new Vegan Planet Cookbook. (I think the book calls it Almond Butter Cream, but that didn’t seem an accurate description to me.)

The first time around, I couldn’t resist modifying the recipe to include the almond butter I already had. I loved the results, but decided to play by the rules this time and do things by the book…

I wasn’t sure if there would be a big difference in the results.

There was!

I combined 1 cup of almonds, 5 dates, and 1/2 cup of hot water in my little puree machine and let it all soak for about 2 hours.

It took a lot of effort on the machine’s part, but it handled the job. The almonds jammed up a little, so I did have to add a bit of almond milk to help it all blend and achieve a nice texture.

This wasn’t nearly as sweet as my first attempt, and the texture was thick, creamy and a bit grainy. I wasn’t sure about the mouthfeel at first, but I reserved judgement until I added it to my morning oats.

I dropped a tablespoon of my new creation in with my slightly heated oats, almond milk, and some dried cranberries. I gave it a little swirl and…POOF!…it disappeared!

I like to keep my ingredients a bit separated in the bowl so I can choose what I’d like to have in each bite. Luckily, I didn’t really blend the cream in all the way. Just a little swirl. I was disappointed that I couldn’t really see it, but it made each bite taste a little different. Fun!

One warning: Try to pay attention to where this is in your bowl! The cream and the oats are so similar in color that you could end up with a mouthful of straight almond cream and then the rest of your oats could end up sad and plain.

The flavor was creamy, mellow and barely sweet, and the texture was surprisingly nice. Very subtle, but a lovely addition.

Of the two versions, I think I’d have to pick this one as my favorite because the ingredients were completely whole. The almonds are less expensive than the almond butter, too.

A winner!

Dates and the Internet Cafe

Hi, all! Long time, no blog!

I didn’t post yesterday. I got home from work around 5pm, and it was a beautiful, sunshiny day. Two choices: sit down and blog, or move my butt and get some exercise with my boy. I love you dearly, but you lost. Nothing personal.

News: We decided to invest in a new Pest Management System for our Garden Irrigation Tank. We went for the eco-friendly version.

Oh, you want to see it?

HA! Four new goldfish for our rain barrels! (Gotcha!) …for a grand total of $.44! They eat the skeeters. It’s quite efficient.

So I started off this morning with some Overnight Oats. Yes, I’ve jumped on the blogwagon…and it’s turned into quite the little love affair. If you’re not familiar with the OOs, get the lowdown at Kath Eats Real Food. It’s not really rocket science, but it’s great information.

Yesterday’s oats qualified less as Overnight Oats, and more as On-The-Way-To-Work Oats, which is even more convenient for me. I used quick oats and they were quite nice by the time I ate them after my hour-long commute.

I think the reason I’m ready to elope with my oats is the addition of the Almond Butter and Date Cream I made using a recipe from my new cookbook.

First, I soaked 4 dates in water.

Then, I put them into my handy puree machine along with a big scoop of almond butter, adding a little of the soaking water until it was the right consistency.

And it looked a little something like this…

I threw a biggish dollop into my oats along with a few cranberries, and I have to say: The dates made a big difference. I love dates, and now I love this! You gotta love a quick recipe that calls for three whole ingredients.

The recipe called for whole blanched almonds and, because I can’t resist tinkering with a recipe, I used almond butter ( also because I happened to have almond butter), but I won’t do that next time. I just purchased a bag of blanched almonds for that very purpose. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Incidentally, I also found a big jug of Green Works laundry detergent on clearance for less than $4, and I had a $1.50 coupon! Boo-ya.

Hey, you know how sometimes you’re sitting at an internet cafe trying to write a blog post and your son gets hungry and you try to discreetly nurse him and then he latches on and then you let down and then he decides that he’s done and then you spray like a sprinkler all over the place?

Yeah, that just happened. Gotta go!

Ta ta(s) for now!

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Share your favorite two- or three-ingredient recipe!

2 Comments

Filed under Home & Garden, Parenting & Family, Recipes & Food

Tagged as breakfast, breastfeeding, dates, oats, whole, whole foods

by Wendy | April 29, 2010

Semi-lazy day

Since today is my only day off this week, I really wanted to sleep until at least 7am. The little person in my house, however, had a different plan. At about 6am, I woke to a little fist repeatedly pounding me in the face. When I opened my eyes, I could make out a huge smile in the dark and heard, “tatatatatataTA!”

I knew what that meant. Sleepytime is over – it’s time to play.

So my plan for the day was to go pick up a few groceries and make sure we get in a good jog (at least 3 miles is pretty good for me.) Now that we have a new jog stroller, no excuses! Then, home to clean up the house and spend some time outside with Finn.

I put together a quick breakfast of grapes and fruit and seed crunch crackers from Ryvita. I wasn’t too sure about these crackers at first because they’re really dry and look a bit like packing material, but it only took one bite for me to fall in love with them. They’re all natural, with honey and currants for the perfect amount of sweetness, and chock full of whole seeds. They are the perfect mate to this organic white tea with cinnamon from Clipper that I would marry if I could. I was devastated to give it up while pregnant (because of the cinnamon content.) I try to keep it in moderation now that I’m nursing. It’s absolutely heavenly, and it can almost trick you into thinking it’s a dessert

A quick pic taken on my laptop. I do not recommend eating these anywhere near a laptop, however. Lots of crumbs.

I’ve been experimenting with my camera, so here are two pictures. One inside by the window in the morning light, and one outside by the picnic table. I like to use the cutting board when I can for simple meals and snacks, because I like the feel of it and because I don’t have a dishwasher and it makes for a really easy clean-up!

A little note about the violets: these are wild ones from my yard. They were one of my Gram’s favorite flowers, and the flower we used at our wedding. There are only a few left so I’m trying to enjoy them while I can. We used candied ones on our vanilla bean white chocolate wedding cupcakes, and I love the scent and taste of them. One of these years, I’m going to learn how to candy them as well as make a sugar syrup out of them to use on pound cake. Aren’t they pretty?

No plans yet for dinner. Sometimes a lack of planning leads me to my best creations, and sometimes it causes me to cave in and settle for less than what I want to be eating, At this point, I’m thinking fish, so it’s looking good. Either way, it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day so I’m going to force myself to abandon laptop and get my hands in the dirt with my boys.

Bye, all!

2 Comments

Filed under Recipes & Food

Tagged as breakfast, Ryvita, tea, violets