pumpkin oatmeal

No, but really. Pumpkin. Everything.

I had leftover pumpkin puree from the doughnuts, so I've been putting it in my morning oatmeal along with pumpkin pie type spices. Few things can make me smile before 10am. This is one of them. You can see I had some real trouble stopping long enough to get a picture.

Pumpkin Oatmeal
 
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. steel cut oats
2 T. pumpkin puree
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. allspice
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger 
1 t. brown sugar
dash of salt

Bring water to boil in small sauce pan. Stir in oats, then simmer for 20-25 minutes on low heat. When oats are almost cooked, stir in pumpkin puree and spices. Continue cooking until flavors have mixed and oats are desired texture. 

weekday breakfast

This is currently the best way to get me out of bed in the morning. Sliced bananas, walnuts, drizzled agave nectar. Also works with pears and raw almonds.

I'm just nuts about it. Sorry, had to.

weekend breakfast

I had a long long holiday weekend. It actually started on Thursday with bowling and the Bob Inn for my friend Sophie's birthday and then just took off from there. In between were several recipe duds that do not deserve to be written out here, leaving me with a strange mix of ingredients. So on Sunday I woke up (maybe hung over, maybe not. I'll never tell), looked in my fridge and came up with some great breakfast tacos. In this I got to use up some of the cabbage halves and green onions I had left over from the dairy-crazy and bland coleslaw as well as some mozzarella from my intense pizza-making phase (with the disappointing sauce) earlier in the week. It made me so happy that I had to immediately go back to bed and nap.

I doubt you need the recipe, but in an effort to be somewhat consistent I'll include it. 


Crispy Breakfast Tacos
makes 3 for a hungry lady


Ingredients 
1 c. finely sliced mix of purple and green cabbage
2 green onions, finely sliced
olive oil
1 lime
3 eggs
2-3oz shredded mozzarella 
1 can of black beans, drained
1 t. cumin
2 t. vegetable oil

corn tortillas
hot sauce


Process
Dump black beans into a small bowl. Add cumin. Using a fork, stir and mash the beans against the side of the bowl until about half the mix is mashed. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, add the vegetable oil and heat on med-high until hot.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the cabbage and onions. Add the lime juice and a splash of olive oil and toss to mix. 


When oil is hot in pan, on one side add one tortilla with about 1oz of the cheese, on the other crack one egg to cook. When the mozzarella starts to melt slightly, top with about 1/4 c. of the mashed beans. Continue to heat until the egg white is set. Then remove tortilla, add egg and desired about of cabbage mix to taco. Top with lots and lots of hot sauce.


Now go back to bed and watch Netflix.

apple + walnut oatmeal

Not much noteworthy cooking going on lately. We have been trying to find a new roommate to replace the one getting kicked out because of the fire, hunting down shady contractors and landlords that won't call us back or even get started on the fire room, aaaaand my other roommate Heather loses her job tomorrow. So mostly I've just been trying to stay calm, deal with everything that needs dealing with, and take food when I can get it. February can end any time now. 

Here's a bright spot, though- my morning oatmeal. I have a running contest with myself on the best combination I can come up with (this may tell you something about my current lack of a social life). So far it's a scoop of almond butter and a scoop of raspberry/rhubarb jam. But today's apple chunks, walnuts, and brown sugar was not too shabby!

breakfast burrito

Busy busy busy! I have been so busy lately. How busy, you ask? In the past three weeks I have been to two weddings, Des Moines twice, Iowa City once, and had two (very lovely and awesome and pleasecomebacksoon!) house guests in the weekend between. There have been many meals eaten. Some meals have pictures that go with them. There is a lot of back-log going on here, but we have to start somewhere so let's have a delicious beginning, shall we?

For over a year now I have heard my sister Sarah talk about her boyfriend John's breakfast burritos. Now I have finally tasted them and can vouch that they are, in fact, awesome. On the Sunday of their visit Sarah and I walked to get coffee while John made us burritos. So I really don't have any recipe to give you for this, I mostly just wanted to brag that I got a delicious breakfast and it was in my own kitchen. Sarah's face in the above picture pretty much sums up how you feel while you're eating one of these doozies. Oh, and that salsa? Yeah, that's homemade. You're so jealous.

banana peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes

Yes, you read that correctly. And they were as delicious as they sound.

On Sunday Matt and I really wanted to go to Flo (of course, because that's what you do on Sunday mornings), but neither of us had any money.  So we decided to try a homemade version of my favorite thing on their menu. It worked out! We started with a Cook's Illustrated recipe for buttermilk pancakes, then threw in some mashed bananas and half a bag of peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Banana Buttermilk Pancakes with Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chips

(adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces) (see note)
2	tablespoons sugar
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1	teaspoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
2	cups buttermilk
1/4	cup sour cream
2	large eggs
3	tablespoon unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1 - 2	teaspoons vegetable oil

2        ripe bananas, smashed

1/2     bag peanut butter and milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Spray wire rack set inside baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; place in oven. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in medium bowl. In second medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and melted butter. Make well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients; gently stir until just combined (batter should remain lumpy with few streaks of flour). Stir in mashed bananas and chips. Do not overmix. Allow batter to sit 10 minutes before cooking.
2. 2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Using paper towels, carefully wipe out oil, leaving thin film of oil on bottom and sides of pan. Using ¼ cup measure, portion batter into pan in 4 places. Cook until edges are set, first side is golden brown, and bubbles on surface are just beginning to break, 2 to 3 minutes. Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Serve pancakes immediately, or transfer to wire rack in preheated oven. Repeat with remaining batter, using remaining oil as necessary.

desert island survival picks

If I were going to be trapped on a desert island here are a couple of supplies I'd like to bring to make my tropical mornings more enjoyable: french press, toast, coffee grounds, almond butter, and a water jar. I figure they'll probably already have bananas.

bagel sandwich

Breakfast magic I tell you. Breakfast magic.