October 14, 2015

Coconut Steel Cut Oats

I got an email from a reader named Meghan, (Hi Meghan!) who wrote:

“I am writing from Pittsburgh, where I work downtown for a law firm. Nearby is a small cafe that serves coconut milk steel cut oats for breakfast. They. are. to. die. for. The oats are thick, but not too thick and have the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment by the nutty flavor of the coconut. Per your request they top it with mixed raisins and brown sugar. This breakfast is honestly an obsession of mine and one I would love to make myself. However, inventing recipes is not my specialty, which leads me to the point of this email… If one day you have the opportunity, could you do a recipe on coconut milk steel cut oats (Shutterbean style)? There are recipes “on the web,” but there is no food blogger I trust more than you/Shutterbean.”

****THAT IS SO AWESOME!!!!****

And here we are! Challenge accepted. I have made what I think to be EXCELLENT steel cut oats with coconut milk (I used full fat!), cinnamon, and shreds of coconut. I’m not really an oatmeal fan (hate it when it’s MUSHY!) but these oats have me changing my tune. I’m on a bit of a steel cut oat kick thanks to this recipe.

The oats are CREAMY and they’ve got such a good bite to them. Sometimes I like to imagine that I’m eating warmn rice pudding when I have steel cut oats. That’s what it reminds me of.

The coconut shreds add a little to the texture. Pair it with your favorite toppings. I like raisins, bananas and walnuts on mine. I add a little bit of brown sugar and milk to the top and we’re golden. Thank you so much for the inspiration, Meghan. I hope they live up to your expectations!

recipes

October 12, 2015

Almond Joy Rolls

In my friend Billy’s new cookbook Whip it Up! (comes out soon!) there’s a section called “Choose Your Own Adventure Rolls.” I thought…OOH. YES PLEASE. LET’S MAKE THE ALMOND ROLLS. Because DOUGH and ALMONDS and DO I REALLY NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY?! No.

After I measured out all the ingredients for the dough, I went to take a picture and realized I left my camera at my parent’s house. I thought, “Oh! I’ll just use my older camera!” Which… lead me on an hour long hunt around my house that left me empty handed. I grabbed my phone and Cooper’s point & shoot camera and here we are.

All of this happened on the last day of Mercury being in retrograde. Figures, right? Fortunately, the batteries on both the camera and the phone died RIGHT before I was finishing the last shot. Oddly enough, I find those particular photography challenges exhilarating. I mean… it’s kind of unnerving and stressful, but I think it’s fun to try new equipment out and test myself. Also, I’m lazy. I didn’t want to drive to my parent’s house. Let’s just be real here.

The rolls turned into Almond Joy Rolls with the addition of milk chocolate and coconut shreds mixed in the cream cheese filling. I know, you’re thinking where’s all the chocolate? There’s melted chunks studded throughout the inside of the rolls! They’re doughy, they’re gooey and holy mother….they need to get out of my house right now before I eat them all. Thanks, Billy for an awesome recipe. So proud of you and your book! And thanks for cellphones that have pretty decent cameras. Look, Mom! There’s a benefit to having my phone attached to me. We have Almond Joy Rolls to enjoy now and I now I can say that I totally “phoned” it in.

Inspiration

October 11, 2015

And I Quote:

my everyday life, Photography

October 10, 2015

My Everyday Life: Week 41

Here’s what My Everyday Life – Week 41 looked like:

Purple everything.

My life is filled with purple and I love it.

I stopped on the side of the road to get this shot. Still not the way I want it.

Stay with me. We’ll get there.

Blue Angels practicing outside work on Friday. So loud.

Side note: I love when I see birds flying by as the Blue Angels pass because I like to imagine it’s them making all those trails and not the planes. #weirdbrainalert

This keeps us busy.

A pepper from Tucker that made it into our slow cooker pulled pork this week.

Friday night reading my astrological chart with a cocktail.

That pretty shade of turquoise gets me.

We are obsessed twistable crayons. And by we I really mean ME.

October 9, 2015

I love lists Friday!

Welcome to I Love Lists Friday. Let’s surf the ‘net together!

Weird food pairings that are strangely good.
Reverse Shibori!
Nate Berkus’ house is my everything.
Spiral Pumpkin TWISTS. ZOMG.
Anthro Dresses I love: One /Two/Three/Four
I bet my dad would love this cake.
This is creepy. But I also get it.
A Manhattan Penthouse of my dreams.
Purrrrfectly Timed Cat Photos
This single dad teaches other dads how to style their daughter’s hair!
I brought up Double Dare in a conversation last week and here’s the oral history of it!
What happens if Amazon goes away?
Time to get out my exact-o knife
How I Deal with a Cold…
This cactus wallpaper mural is INCREDIBLE.
Artifacts from the Titanic will be up for auction soon. Fascinating!
When You Feel Like Giving Up
Hopefully I’ll visit Tahoe soon.
This cocktail will get you through the weekend.
The most popular Instagram photos EVER. Well at least thus far.
Take the moment IN, people!

recipes

October 8, 2015

Salami + Cheese

This is not a new combination. Nope. It’s just something that I ate a lot when I was low-carbing it. I would take a slice of salami, add a piece of cheddar to it and top it with an almond for crunch. This snack could end up as a meal sometimes…especially if mustard was introduced to the scene.

This serves as just a reminder for you that you can make a really good/protein packed snack out of two ordinary things. Sometimes all you need to do is change the way it’s presented and you can turn something from boring into something more exciting. Here we take salami + cheese and we skewer them on a toothpick. I’m all for portable snacks that have their own sticks. Plus I kinda like stacks so you know….win/win.

To see more of my Thursday Snack Ideas, follow my Pinterest Board!

recipes

October 7, 2015

Grilled Turkey Pepper Jack Sandwich

Sometimes you just need a really good sandwich. One that’s hearty and full of flavor. One that makes you want to punch something because it’s SO DANG GOOD.

Here we have a PEPPER EXTRAVAGANZA! Sliced peppered turkey with pepper jack cheese, pepperoncini and roasted peppers. I threw in some sliced red onions for extra bite.

This is all sandwiched between one of my favorite sandwich breads- Dave’s Killer Bread (in 21 Whole Grains and Seeds). That seedy crunch you get from their breads can’t be beat!