Oatmeal Smoothie

I found this recipe on my first day of using pinterest

I am almost always running late in the mornings.. I love my sleep, what can I say! So, often I make a smoothie and then run out the door with my breakfast.


This recipe (via martha stewart) had this description: All the nutritional benefits of oatmeal and fruit can be enjoyed in this simple, healthy smoothie.
sounded good to me! So I tried it out this morning.

Over all, tasty, filling and easy BUT.. it had a bit of a chalky taste from the oatmeal. Other than that, you couldn't taste or feel the oatmeal.

I will likely make this again!

Oatmeal Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup ice

• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup coconut water (or other liquid, such as juice)
• 
  
• Directions

1. Place ice and raspberries in the bottom of blender, and all other ingredients on top. Whir until completely smooth. Serve.

emily & ashley's amazing bowen island scones

last Spring michael and i were able to spend time visiting with our wonderful BC friends - Thomas & Emily. they took us up to this beautiful little cabin on bowen island and we spent time enjoying the scenery and one another's company.

we made these scones while we were there, and they were so delicious that I asked em to send me the recipe. makes me think of her while I enjoy them. can't wait to see them again!! (my friends, not the scones... although they are that good! ha!)

ingredients:** I found everything I needed that was a bit more "obscure" at Bulk Barn
1 1/2 cup spelt flour (you can use a mix of whole wheat and white if you don't have spelt)
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp (scant) salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup canola or grape seed oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup yogurt or buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup frozen berries (optional)

other additions (whatever amounts you would like. i used about a tablespoon or so of each, to make it extra tasty)
flax seeds
hemp seeds
millet
sliced almonds (or another nut)
sesame seeds
cinnamon

Set the oven to 375 degrees

mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

add in oil and mix with your hands until all crumbly. stir in chocolate chips and all additions you would like (except frozen berries).

add in yogurt/buttermilk and vanilla. on a floured surface turn out dough in a circle so it's about 7 inches across and 3/4 inch thick (if dough is dry, add in a little more buttermilk or yogurt. it should be slightly wet, but not overly sticky
cut circle into either 6 or 8 scones (depending on how big you want them)

take frozen berries and smooth them into the scones wherever you want them (you can mix the berries into the batter sooner, but then the dough is very cold on your hands, so it's a bit easier to put them in after)
line a baking sheet with parchment paper, transfer the scones to the sheet.

lightly brush the tops of the scones with milk and then sprinkle with sugar.
bake 19-22 minutes until tops are lightly golden and scones are firm to the touch. put on a cooling rack.

eat with a big smile on your face, and maybe a fruit smoothie :)

enjoy!

whole wheat cinnamon buns

my friend becky posted this recipe on her blog, so i immediately snatched it up. i made them this weekend for michael & i - and they are so delicious.

another reason to love this recipe? you make them ahead of time and then bake them in the morning. perfect!

give them a try:

whole wheat cinnamon buns

ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp dry yeast (1 pkg)
1/4 cup warm water
3-3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk - which I almost never do.. use regular milk and add either white vinegar or lemon juice - 1 tbsp of vinegar or juice to 1 cup of milk - then stir and let it sit for at least 5 minutes)
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt

directions:

In a large bowl, stir together yeast and water, let stand 5 minutes, until bubbly.
Add in 2 cups flour, sugar, buttermilk, butter, vanilla and salt.
Stir well, until dough is smooth.
Gradually add in remaining flour until dough comes together into a slightly sticky ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth.
Add flour as needed - dough should be "tacky" but not wet. (keep it nice and tacky for the softest buns)
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2 - 2 hours (**again, my trick is to put the bowl into a sink of very hot water, helps speed up the rising process)

You will soon need:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp coarse (or regular) sugar (see photo below)

**side note from becky, and i agree: cinnamon buns are a treat! why not make them the treatiest? i just slather a bunch of butter and pile on the sugar and cinnamon**

lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.
turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. press dough into a rectangle, roll dought out into a sheet about 12x6 inches.
spread dough with softened butter, leaving a 1/4 inch border. sprinkle evenly with cinnamon, brown sugar and coarse sugar. working with one of the long sides, roll dough up tightly into a log. pinch seam and divide log into 12 even pieces with a sharp knife. place in a prepared pan, leaving space between rolls.
cover with plastic wrap and REFRIGERATE overnight

here's the part where you get to feel like spouse/mom of the year... set your alarm,
place refrigerated rolls on counter for about 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 400 degrees
go back to bed and set your alarm again...
bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

** i topped the cinnamon buns with a salted caramel sauce as soon as they came out of the oven. it was a nice touch. see this post if you want to add it!

this is the 'coarse sugar' i use. i also use it in drinks and sometimes on top of muffins or cupcakes. a nice treat to have in your pantry.

apparently i can't count. i was sure i had 12.. until i put them in the pan. oops!

all ready to go into the fridge for the night.

hot out of the oven!

all iced and ready to enjoy!!

banana cranberry fiber muffins

kind of a denser muffin, but very delicious!

3 medium bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup of high fibre cereal
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped*
1/4 cup dried cranberries

*i didn't have fresh or frozen, so i just used dried cranberries instead

preheat oven to 400
put the bananas in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher
add the egg and sugar and using the masher, continue to whip the mixture to combine
add the milk and melted butter and stir together.
put the cereal in a medium sized seal-able bag and crush with a rolling pin.
add the flour, baking powder & salt and shake to combine. stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and add the cranberries.
fill muffin tins and bake about 25 minutes.

enjoy!

crepes

i am definitely a breakfast for supper kind of girl
when i can't think of something to make, or don't feel like making something, i normally choose to have cereal. if i ask michael to make supper, it's normally crepes that come out of the kitchen. good thing he's so good at making them :)

my grandpa klassen was also an excellent crepe maker. although, we called them german pancakes. and we only put corn syrup on them. then he'd show us how to hook one prong of our fork into the crepe & roll it perfectly.

when i met the thiessens, the simplicity of the corn syrup covered crepe was blown out of the water! (in a good way of course) crepes with the thiessens is more of an 'event' than a meal. there are so many options, that you can feel quite sick at the end because you want to try everything.

when it came to our wedding planning, we knew that we wanted the wedding to be uniquely michael&ashley - so we decided to have crepes. i remember the look on the caterers face when i started explaining the meal to him. he showed me this teeny tiny bowl that he would use for whipped cream & i said 'no no no, you obviously have never met my husband' and then he took me to his kitchen so i could find the right sized bowl.

the crepes themselves are the easy part. it's the toppings that really make the event, the event!

i also recommend getting a good quality crepe pan (about 25 bucks at home outfitters) it can really help.

crepes

2 cups flour
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt

mix ingredients together with a whisk so that there are no lumps. heat pan over medium-heat. pour just enough batter to make a nice layer over the entire pan & tilt the pan as needed so that you get the batter covering the pan evenly. when it starts to brown on the pan side, loosen the edges with a spatula and flip the crepe over completely (this is where i'm terrible & michael is great with the flipping). cook the other side till it's browned (it won't get as golden as the first side) then put onto a dinner plate & make the next one. we stack all of the crepes directly on top of one another & cover them with a tea towel till we're ready to eat. ** for whatever reason, we think that the batter is easier to work with if left in the fridge over night, or for an hour or two.

suggested toppings:
whip cream
maple syrup
nutella
peanut butter
corn syrup
vanilla sauce (or a thickened pudding)
bananas
peaches
plain yogurt (with a bit of brown sugar & cinnamon)
strawberries

mike's mom also makes a meat sauce (almost like a stroganoff) to make a savoury crepe. the batter itself is a savoury crepe because of the salt & no sugar, so you can go either sweet or savoury.

my personal favorite? a thin line of nutella. half of a banana sliced up. a line of whip cream. roll it up & drizzle with maple syrup. mmm tasty.

**just an fyi - i have tried to make it easier to comment by removing the word verification step. so feel free to comment as you like!

stack them like so

this picture is from google images. i can't claim the beautiful presentation of such a tasty looking crepe! but mine do always look that good, trust me ;)

this picture speaks for itself.

chocolate-walnut banana bread

i get an email from the chatelaine website every day. a little much to be honest, but every now & then it sends me a wonderful recipe. today the delightful sound of "chocolate-walnut banana bread" woo-ed me. hopefully it tastes as good as it sounds!

here's the recipe...

chocolate-walnut banana bread

3 large, very ripe bananas
1 cup flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp rum
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil or spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Mash bananas in a medium bowl (they should measure about 1 1/2 cups).
Stir both flours with ground flax seed, baking soda & salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter with sugar in a large bowl until combined, then beat in eggs, rum and vanilla. Stir in bananas. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture just until combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in chocolate chips & walnuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Smooth top.

Bake in centre of oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the load comes out clean, 50 to 65 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes if top browns too quickly. Remove pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside of the pan to loosen loaf. 

Carefully turn out loaf, then turn top-side up on a rack. Bread will keep well at room temperature up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 months.

cinnamon raisin bread

mmm doesn't that just sound delicious??

i love the smell of cinnamon, and i love the smell of bread baking in the house

this afternoon i felt quite chilled, and i thought that some nice warm fresh bread would hit the spot. also, i remembered that i had raisins so... cinnamon raisin bread was an obvious choice!

again, i use my breadmaker, so i don't really have steps for making it without the breadmaker. i know you alternate kneading & rising, and then with baking, the whole process takes 2 hours & 20 minutes.

so hopefully you have a breadmaker & you can use this recipe!

cinnamon raisin bread

1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup raisins *

Put ingredients into the breadmaker in the order listed above, except for the raisins. Make a well in the flour & put the yeast in the well. Start your breadmaker. Set a separate timer for 10 minutes. *At the 10 minute mark, pour in the raisins a little at a time. Use a rubber spatula to press on the dough as it is being kneaded so that it will pick up the raisins & incorporate them properly. then leave it be. 2 hours & 10 minutes later... voila! warm tasty bread.

fresh from the oven

cinnamon buns with sugar glaze

this morning my sister phoebe came over to make cinnamon buns
she had been craving them
and i claimed to have a delicious recipe
so she came over. and inbetween episodes of a bachelor marathon (it's so much more fun to watch, when you can see the episodes back to back) we made cinnamon buns

ooey gooey
soft & delicious
cinnamony goodness


this recipe is for a bread maker
i'm assuming you could make it without the breadmaker
but i don't know the directions for kneading & resting the dough

here it is:

Breadmaker Cinnamon Buns

dough:
put the following ingredients into the breadmaker in this order:

1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon milk
2 1/4 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Set your breadmaker on the "dough" setting.
my breadmaker takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete this cycle (rising time included)

Once the dough is ready, and risen, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle (15 x 9 inches)
Spread 2 tablespoons butter or margarine on the dough.

Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar & 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Sprinkle over butter.

Roll up tightly, beginning at the 15 inch side.
Pinch edges to seal.
Stretch roll to make even.
Cut nine 1 1/2 inch slices.
Arrange in greased 9x9x2 inch square pan, spacing evenly.
Cover, let rise until double in size; about 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
Top warm rolls with glaze (see recipe below)
Makes 9 rolls.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, softened
1 or 2 tablespoons water or milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, blend ingredients until smooth. Spread or drizzle on warms when they are still warm.  *I used chocolate milk this time (it was all I had) and it made the drizzle a subtle chocolate flavour.

delicious