I Love My Pajamas

Hello, lovelies :)

So, I have a breakfast post for you even though it is clearly not the standard time for breakfast. But hey, it's 9am somewhere right? I reserve the right as a college student away from home to eat breakfast foods at any time of day. For some reason breakfast is particularly delicious at night. And midday. And midafternoon. And in the wee hours of the morning. It's just the best meal ever.

Since it has been grossly hot (blech) hot oatmeal is just out of the question, unless I crank down the air conditioning to a balmy 60 degrees. I have learned the hard way that I have no right and/or privilege to touch the air conditioning. No way jose. I would rather just wait until the head honcho aka the mom comes home from work and adjusts the air. So I decided that this morning would be an overnight oats kind of morning. Woo! Since I am always searching for new yummy recipes, I had to find a new overnight oats recipe. It's a good thing that me and ohsheglows.com are best friends. It took no longer than .09484 seconds to find a recipe that made me drool at the thought of it. Oatmeal raisin cookie overnight oats. Right? Super fabulous, I know.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Overnight Oats
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1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup milk
1/2 banana, chopped (optional, but we can all use some more fruit in our diets)
1-2 Tbsp raisins
1 Tbsp chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Here's the game plan: Throw everything into the bowl, stir, and pop in the fridge. In the morning, throw in some granola, badda bing badda boom, breakfast time.

Congratulations! You have just earned your degree in the field of delicious breakfast foods from the overnight academy. I am so proud.

You know what? I was feeling kind of down on myself today. It was a gross feeling, plus it was Monday, so yay. I know that so many people go through these things and more severe than this but wow it can be a bummer. All summer I have been working out, lifting weights, biking, and eating well. But still I feel like I should be so much healthier. I have come to the conclusion that my problem is: comparison. I compare myself to everyone. This blogger ran 8 miles today so that makes my 10 mile bike ride futile. I ate ice cream last night, that blogger never eats after 9pm. This movie star says this about health and fitness, I say that about health and fitness. Every single nuance of my life is compared to someone else. I'm talking every. thing. From the size of my bum to the miles that I run, nothing ever seems like an accomplishment when I read/hear/see someone doing it better/longer/or faster. I think I have been doing this my entire life and I just realized that today. What is up with that? I have no idea. But I believe things will be a changin'. For the better.

I realized today that it is a blessing to have just woken up. I got one more day, I know that some people were not as fortunate as me. I got to speed around on my bike, I know that some people don't even have legs. I got to volunteer at hospice, some people are in hospice care. Every negative thought soon turned into a beautifully positive one. There is nothing better than that transformation.

Instead of moaning and groaning about whatever new problem that I find with either myself or the world I should be greeting the world with a smile. Kind of like her...

How adorable? 

I love my pajamas too!!

I need a bigger sink...

Plus, I saw this picture today. 

tee hee.

From Wilderness to Bread

I typically don't blog on weekends. I find that spending time with my family and doing things outside of the house are more beneficial to my happiness then a little blog post. This weekend was a great weekend, just like all the rest. The family spent the day together today, which is wonderful because we hardly get to do such things anymore. My sister and I decided to go out on a hike this morning to a local nature center that is just a wee distance from our house. It was really nice! It was also eerily quiet, something that I just could not get over. I have never been surrounded by such...nature. If you call undisturbed palm trees and brush as nature. We did spot a tortoise though, well my sister spotted it, she's the nature one. I was the one who was pretty sure that we were going to get attacked by a wild boar. Thankfully, the noise that I was sure was the snort of a vicious wild pig was just a bullfrog, oh my imagination.

I did manage to snap some decent pictures. I also managed to remember that poison ivy is such a thing and that is why the park rangers want you to stay on the path.

Trail markers

If a tree falls in the forest...

Pretty purple berries (may be poisonous...)

Wild mushroom

The clouds look so strange, like coffee with old coffee creamer in it.

Coolest grasshopper ever!

Long winding trails

Pond

Another tortoise. The other tortoise we saw was just chilling in the bushes. Hey, it was ninety degrees! 

It was brutally hot, but so worth it! It was great time spent with the sister and getting in touch with nature. 

...

My mom does not ever really get excited about food. She poo poos cake and serves herself one measly spoonful of ice cream. It is funny to think that we are even related since I love food, whether it is cooking it, baking it, eating it, planning it, or talking about it. I guess we are just different in that regard. There is one thing, however, that my mom loves that I make. Naan bread. I remember the first time that I ever made the bread. We were outside grilling it and because I am grill-challenged she was assisting me. Curious about the taste of such a foreign food entity, my mom sneakily took a piece of the hot bread and ripped off a piece for her to try. Her eyes lit up and she held the piece out for me to try, still oohing and ahhing over her first bite. I tried the bread and could not believe how flavorful and light the bread was. We shared our little foodie moment, our first and last, that night. Ever since that moment she has requested that I make the bread. Today I decided to surprise her with just whipping it up without her asking. She was more than delighted.

Naan Bread

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1 cup warm water

1 package (.25 oz) of active yeast

3 Tbsp milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

4.5 cups bread flour

2 cloves garlic

4 Tbsp butter, melted

To kick it off, take 1 cup warm water and add 1 package of yeast to the water. Stir a little and let sit for 10 minutes. The yeast should get frothy, like this:

After 10 minutes, pour the yeast/water mixture into a large bowl. Add in sugar, milk, salt, and egg (beaten), give the mixture a quick stir. Add in one cup of the flour at a time until a soft dough has been formed. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 6 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl, add dough into the bowl and turn to cover all sides. Cover and let rise one hour.

After one hour, punch dough down. Add in 2 cloves of garlic, well chopped or with the help of a garlic press. Knead until garlic has been well distributed. 

Separate dough into 12 balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat grill to medium high heat and grease.  Melt 4 Tbsp of butter. 

After dough has finished the final rising, spread into flat discs. Place dough on heated grill, spread a little melted butter on top, and cook for about 4 minutes, when the dough bubbles (like a pancake) it is ready to flip. Repeat with other pieces of dough. Place in a bread basket to keep warm, serve immediately.

Voila! Delicious, garlicky, and did I say delicious already?

 It is the perfect summer bread!

I Dream in Paris

I had a dream last night that I moved to Paris. I was alone and walking down a crowded street studying a map from one of the guide books my Dad bought me for a birthday gift. I was wearing a scarf, which was interesting because usually I don't really pay attention or remember the outfits that I am wearing in my dreams. Do you even dream in outfits? I have no idea, but I did. I kind of like the idea of moving far away. Sometimes you have to put yourself in the most uncomfortable situations to truly appreciate your home. Even if this dream is a hint for what is to come, I know that I will always have a loving home waiting for me and that is the best kind of life insurance if you ask me.

Anyways, I did eventually wake up from my French inspired dream and was very hungry. The stomach does not wait too long after waking up to scream at every fiber of my being in a bossy way to get me into the kitchen. Yesterday, I whipped up some amazing sweet potato oatmeal from ohsheglows.com. It was a rainy morning yesterday so what better way to spend the darkening morning than in the kitchen with cozy oatmeal. This is one of my favorite recipes, I really encourage you to give it a try!

Sweet Potato Pie Oatmeal
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1/2 cup rolled oats
2 cups milk
2 small sweet potatoes
1 banana, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey

Topping
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat.

Peel and chop sweet potatoes, add to boiling water. Stir occasionally and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and set in a bowl. Rinse the pot.

Add two cups of milk and rolled oats to the pot and bring to a boil. Be sure to watch the milk and stir often, burnt milk is not pleasant! After the oatmeal and milk have come to a boil, let simmer on medium low.

Add sweet potatoes and banana to the oatmeal mixture and mash with a potato masher. Add in the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and honey. Stir until well combined.

Make topping by adding all ingredients in a small bowl, crushing the butter with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

Grease a casserole pan (I think mine was 8x8 inches). Spread the oatmeal mixture into the casserole dish. Finally, sprinkle the topping evenly over the oatmeal.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Afterward, set the oven to broil on a low temperature. Keep the oatmeal under careful watch while it is under the broiler so as to not burn the topping. With the broiler set a t 400 degrees F, I kept mine under for about 4-5 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve immediately!

I love this oatmeal! It is even great the next day, which is why I indeed devoured it today. There is nothing wrong with liking oatmeal that much.

I sprinkled some extra walnuts on top of the oatmeal the second day to add some crunch. 

Walnuts look like brains. 

Dental Issues

I had to go to the dentist today. Blech. I don't know if you know this, but I absolutely dread the dentist. I even have anxiety over the appointments. It just isn't something that I look forward to. Because it is in no way fun. Sure, they try to get on my side with their frivolous gifts of toothbrushes and toothpaste, but you can't fool me. Oh, boy I am nobody's fool. For some reason I always leave the office in pain, both physical and psychological pain. Today was no different. For an hour and a half they poked, prodded, scraped, cut, took x-rays, and questioned me about my life. Don't misunderstand me, I am sure that they are great people blah blah blah, but I want nothing to do with them except a thumbs up for my checkup. That's it.

After an extremely painful day in the dentist's torture chamber office, I needed to cope with all the pent up anxiety, bad feelings, and overall painfully sore mouth. So I baked. Marvelous idea if I do say so myself. I know, brilliant. My Aunt sent me a really neat bread recipe and I have been itching to give it a whirl. I have been super busy though with volunteering, so my baking afternoons have been usurped by my making the world a little better. Today was different. Plus, it was raining so there is nothing that I would rather do on a rainy day than bake.

This recipe is really great because you can mix and match ingredients so that any combination is a crowd pleasing one. I made a whole wheat zucchini bread in my bread machine a while ago, so I thought that I would sort of replicate it with this new recipe.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Step 1

Choose from an apple, pear, zucchini, carrot, shredded. Or a banana mashed. Whichever item that you choose make sure that it equals one cup.

I used zucchini because it is delicious!

Step 2

Choose from: Walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried currants, raisins, dried figs, dried apricots, pitted dried dates, rolled oats, chocolate chips, and/or sweetened shredded coconut. Whatever you choose should equal 1.75 cups. Any nut combination should not exceed 3/4 cup.

I used 1 cup rolled oats and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Step 3

Grease pan. You can either use 1 9x5 inch pan or 3 6x3 inch pans.

Step 4

Time to make the batter! In a large mixing bowl, combine:
1.25 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Add in your chosen ingredients from step 2 to the batter mixture.

In a small bowl combine:
2 eggs
1/2 cup cooled, melted butter or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil)
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (Sour cream was the choice for me)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp citrus zest (optional) (I did not opt for the zest)

Whisk all wet ingredients together until well combined. Then add in the choice of your fruit or vegetable to the wet ingredients.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined.

Step 5

Bake! Pour batter into greased pan(s) and bake at 350F for 55 minutes for large loaves or 35-40 minutes for small loaves.

 Cool in pan for 30 minutes on a wire rack, then transfer out of pan and on to wire rack to cool completely.

Voila! A scrumptious bread from a wonderful recipe that just keeps on giving.