Recreated Cruise Ship Oatmeal Cookies

 We didn't bring many purchases home from our cruise trip - in fact, we only brought one small one - can you guess? Something food related, of course... Vanilla! I'd previously purchased huge bottles of vanilla on trips to Mexico, so I was eager to try local carribbean vanilla. And for its first test recipe... My attempt at recreating our favorite dessert on the cruise ship: oatmeal cookies. These must have been seriously good oatmeal cookies to top all the elaborate pastries, right? Oh, indeed they were...

If you want the exact experience of the cruise cookies you can swap the SmartBalance spread used here for real butter... But I think this recipe either way produces some very grown up oatmeal cookies... And our new vanilla added an extra nostalgic touch!



Cruise Ship Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup SmartBalance Light
1 1/2 cups raw turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
~ Cream together the SmartBalance Light and sugar until fluffy.
~ Add the eggs and beat well.
~ Stir in the almond milk and vanilla.
~ In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 3 spices. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet.
~ Fold in the oats, raisins, and walnuts.
~ Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheets, and bake approx. 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks... Or serve warm!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

 
I should really stuff vegetables more often. I always imagine the creation of stuffed vegetables as a huge Production, perhaps awakened by the visceral stress reaction associated with stuffing, say, a 20 pound turkey. Yet I had these beautiful yellow acorn squash, and it seemed a shame not to utilize the lovely shell, so I made a very classic, creamy stuffing, and viola, the perfect vegetarian Thanksgiving main course. In January. 2 months late, one might argue. However, I'd prefer to think I'm 10 months ahead of schedule, wouldn't you?

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 large acorn squash, cut in half and seeds removed
2 T olive oil
1 lb vegetarian sausage style crumbles, such as GimmeLean or Morningstar brands
1/2 lb portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup reconstituted vegetarian gravy mix
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a skillet over medium heat, brown the veggie crumbles, mushrooms, onion, and garlic.
- Stir in the celery seed, wine, and gravy, and simmer for 5 min.
- Remove from the heat, and stir in the breadcrumbs and cheeses.
- Spoon the stuffing into the acorn squash shells.
- Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 45 min to an hour, until the squash is tender, tenting the tops with foil if needed. Serve warm!

Quick Wintertime Super Bowl Salsa

The Super Bowl is stereotypically associated with rich, caloric foods, as recipe magazines make a startling shift from January's light recipes to February's Super Bowl and valentines day, well, you know. I'm never going to complain about chocolate... But since I'm ambivalent about hot wings anyway... (I know, I'm sure someone is going to be scandalized) it seemed fitting for me to step forth with a healthful Super Bowl recipe. I had plenty of inspiration, because my visit with my parents took place during the last weekend of playoff games, and mom took the opportunity to introduce me to her favorite football snacks... Perfect for a healthful Super Bowl party!



Roasted Edemame

- Toss whole Edemame pods with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and roast for 30 min, stirring halfway through... Serve warm! Protein packed nibbles!

Quick Wintertime Salsa

28oz can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
15oz can black beans, drained
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup dehydrated onion
2 pinches cayenne pepper

- Stir all the ingredients together, and season to taste with salt. Serve with baked chips or nice crunchy whole grain crackers! We served them with some spelt flatbread crisps and some great whole wheat crackers with no added salt, fat, or sugar - just wheat, water, and spices! They had a great nutty flavor that paired well with the spicy salsa...

Vegan Chocolate PB Truffle Pie

Chocolate peanut butter pie?? That's vegan?? And made with tofu instead of tons of cream and saturated fat?? And tastes crazy blissful over the top delicious?? YES!!!

(can you tell I'm excited?)

I'm also extremely excited about my new mobile blogging app, but I haven't yet discovered how to move pictures within the post to change the layout - right now all the pictures I upload from my phone appear only at the bottom of the post. Does anyone know how to fix the placement of photos within the blogger mobile app? I would be oh so grateful for advice!

And I promise to share this amazing pie recipe... Right now!

Vegan chocolate peanut butter pie

1/2 cup cocoa powder
12 oz silken tofu
1 cup natural peanut butter
3/4 cup maple syrup
Pinch of salt
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 graham cracker crust
1 container TruWhip or another vegan frozen whipped topping

- In a food processor or with a whisk, beat the cocoa powder, tofu, peanut butter, maple syrup, and salt until smooth.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the mixture into the graham cracker crust.
- Spread the TruWhip on top, using your whisk to make decorative peaks.
- Chill until set, and serve cold!

Life changing mobile blogging

I've been contemplating ad nausim the various reasons I've been blogging less recently, but the most honest, non-existential, unglamorous reason is that I'm simply not home enough!

Last night, all this changed, however, because I awakened at two am wondering if a blogger app existed. Of course it did. And my life was thus transformed.

Case in point, Im currently at my parents home, miles away from Ohio, leaving Dayton in a rush to visit my grandmother who, sadly, had a stroke last week. Yet now, small and insignificant as it may seem, I'm able to find comfort in writing a note to my lovely blog friends, sharing a few photos of the more cheering elements of my brief trip: a bowl of blueberries, cheese on toast for breakfast, intensely black coffee, and greetings from my mother and Marigold the dog, of course.

I'm not entirely sure how this post will format when I publish it, so if you have mobile blogging tips to share I will gladly receive them! I've enjoyed being able to say hello from afar...

Honeymoon at Sea...

Where have we been? On our honeymoon!

Yes, we did get married 7 months ago, but at the time Zach's military schedule didn't allow him enough time off for a wedding and a honeymoon, so we grateful accepted the time we had for our wedding and postponed our honeymoon until Zach's vacation time in the new year!

We flew to Miami...

and took a little cruise...

To Puerto Rico...

St. Thomas...

And St. Martin!

Most magical vacation. Ever.

 

So thankful for the memories... and happy to be back home in our own kitchen! :-)

 

2011 Favorite Recipes

Drumroll please... The 11 most-popular recipes of Food for Laughter in 2011!

(Determined in a completely unbiased way by the number of page views, in case you were wondering... :-)

#11. Rosemary Garlic Whole Wheat Bran Bread

This bread was created during an unprecedented snowfall in Georgia. I adore baking yeast breads, so I was delighted to discover one of my favorite yeast bread recipes was a blog favorite as well...

#10. Pumpkin Spice Cookies

It seems as though pumpkin enthusiasm increases every year - which is just fine with me! Especially since Zach has recently discovered he enjoys pumpkin after all... We even found pumpkin Kefir this fall! These delightful little cookies are so cozy with a cup of tea, and are reasonably sensible as well.

#9. Quorn Stir Fry with Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms

We discovered Quorn brand vegetarian products in 2011, and while this may seem an inconsequential event they are a revelation when you have a household that regularly attempts to introduce non-vegetarians to vegetarian dishes... This flavor-packed stir fry is a perfect universal dish.

#8. Protein Powder Banana Muffins

I became utterly obsessed with hemp protein powder this past year... and still am! This particular recipe also commemorated a long journey to healing...

#7. Fajitas

I was honestly surprised that this recipe emerged in the top ten, because it's such a fundamental dish, but I'm delighted that this Foodbuzz inspired creation did rank so well - it's positively delicious and perfect for a speedy weeknight supper!

#6. Strawberry Layer Cake with Amaretto Cream Cheese Frosting

This is one of those lifetime achievement cakes - the kind of cake your friends and family still talk about 6 months later... I am ridiculously proud of this cake.

#5. Acorn Squash and Leek Soup

Last winter I posted quite a few recipes introduced to me by a friend who grew up in rural France. Almost all of these recipes involved leeks, and all of them are now personal favorites in our home. This gorgeous squash recipe is the very first...

#4. Coconut Milk Mocha

I'm the first one to admit I love the atmosphere of a community coffee shop. However, everyone should start making these amazing mochas at home too... because they are so much more healthful, so much more delicious, and so much more economical than anything from a cafe...

#3. Teff Crepes

As close as you'll come to making injera at home without days of fermentation... The healthiest, most fiber and protein packed crepes I've ever seen... Also the most perfect, paper thin crepes I've ever made... Pure magic. Completely worth searching out teff flour, even just to make these crepes.

#2. Red Cabbage with Red Wine Vinegar

Our runner up for 2011... Is cabbage. After I ran all the stats, plugged numbers into an Excel spreadsheet, and began tallying this list, I was somewhat in shock when I discovered that my second most viewed recipe from the past year wasn't a layer cake, wasn't homemade bread... It was a side dish of cabbage. Yet, once my surprise dissipated, I was truly delighted. Cabbage is a totally underrated vegetable, and this is seriously amazing cabbage. Totally worthy of joining the most-viewed lineup this year and ushering a new era!

#1. Peppermint Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

The title says everything. Since the first time I fixed these for the holiday season an entire year ago, they have been requested repeatedly... and then requested again... Without a doubt my most requested dessert recipe among family and friends this year - and apparently the recipient of quite a bit of blog love as well.

Speaking of blog love, I would just like to send warm hugs to all of my wonderful blog friends across the globe... You all keep me inspired, keep me laughing, keep me energized at the end of even very long days! My gratitude and fondness knows no bounds.

I'll be away from the blog for at least the coming week, and look forward to sharing energized recipes for a new year when I return...

Happy January, Y'all.