Granola for a long car ride

Alex and I are going on vacation soon. Wait, let me say that again correctly. Alex and I are going on vacation soon!!!!! Soon is Monday. We're driving to Milwaukee to see my best friend, and camping along the way. We will eat Kopps burgers, go to thrift stores and flea markets, eat, take a billion photos (both film and digital! I bought another film camera) and have lots of fun.

Milwaukee is a long drive away from here. About a thousand miles long drive. In preparation for this drive, I have made granola. This granola is full of protein, good fats, fiber, omegas, energy, and delicious fruit. It's not too sweet. When I first tried it I wasn't sure I liked it, but then I kept eating and then almost couldn't stop. I packed a little bag to put in yogurt with some honey for breakfast tomorrow, but the rest is for the road.

This granola was an experiment. I tried some things I've never tried before. I added chia seeds before cooking the granola, which I was nervous about because I wasn't sure if they'd do their gel thing with the oil/honey liquid I poured over. I added protein powder so this granola will fill me up a little more, and faster. I've never baked with protein powder before, and was a little nervous. I know you could, some packages even say 'add to breads and cakes and pancakes!' but I wasn't sure. I added finely ground flaxseed at the end, with the fruits, so it wouldn't lose its omegas and the other good things flaxseeds contain besides fiber.

I added maca powder, because I love it so. Maca, if you've never heard of it, is a root that helps give you energy and balance hormones. It has a malty, distinct taste. I used coconut oil for half of the oil in the granola. Coconut oil is full of good fats. I used two kinds of nuts and three kinds of fruits. See?

Long car ride granola


4 c gluten free oats
1/2 c raw almonds, chopped
1/2 c raw pistachios, chopped
1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 c coconut flakes
2 T chia seeds
2 T maca powder
3 T protein powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 c coconut oil
1/4 c olive oil
3/4 c honey
2 T finely ground flaxseed
1/2 c each dried strawberries, tart cherries, and apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 300. Mix together everything except the oils, honey, flax and fruit. Warm up the coconut oil so it's liquid, then warm up the honey a little so it's runny. Mix them together, then mix in the olive oil. Pour over the oat mixture, then spread into two cookie sheets. Bake 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice until lightly brown. Once the granola is out of the oven, sprinkle with flaxseed and stir in the fruits. Let cool fully, then eat! Yum.

Steak with warm tomato and artichoke salad

Not my best photo, I know. But bear with me. This took about 15-20 minutes from start to finish, and was just what I wanted on a home alone night (while Alex is working late). Followed by a piece of this tres leches cake (really? You haven't made it yet? Do it! It keeps really well in the fridge and is oh so good), I'm in for a good evening of lying on the couch.

Steak with warm tomato and artichoke salad
The salad should maybe be called warm tomato and artichoke and gooey mozzarella and steak juice salad, but whatever. 


a piece of flank steak (mine was about 1 lb, and no I didn't eat it all)
salt and pepper
1 T olive oil or coconut oil*
a few big handfuls of cherry tomatoes (we grew ours!)
a few artichoke hearts, drained from whatever liquid they were in
a few basil leaves
a little handful of mozzarella balls, I like the little ones

Leave your steak out for a while so it comes to room temperature. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and heat up the oil in a pan over medium-high heat until shimmery but not smoking. Cook the meat for about 3-5 minutes on each side (depending on how thick your meat is). While the meat is cooking, slice the tomatoes in half and cut the artichokes into strips. When the meat is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pan to a plate and let rest while you finish the salad. If you're not sure if your meat is done, take a sharp thin knife and cut a little tiny hole in the thickest part of the meat to see if it's cooked enough for you.

While the meat rests, toss the tomatoes, artichokes, and basil into the hot pan. Let cook on medium-high for 30-45 seconds, then toss in the pan and cook without stirring for another 30-45 seconds. Pour the salad into a bowl and toss in the mozzarella balls, which will start to melt. Slice up the meat, and serve!

*I've been cooking in coconut oil because it's healthy and full of good fats, but you don't have to. However, if you are curious about coconut oil and thinking Ew won't that make my steak taste like coconut? The answer is no. I cook almost all the meat I eat in coconut oil and Alex hasn't noticed, unless he comes in the kitchen when I'm heating up the pan with the oil - when you can smell the oil. But the taste isn't there.

Tres leches cake

Back to business! This cake is killer. I just remembered that I love condensed milk in my coffee, then I remembered I should probably do other things with it besides just stirring it into coffee. Somehow I remembered this recipe, and it's been on my mind for days. 

So I went out and bought a can of evaporated milk and some cream, since I had everything else. I got out of work early, and even though it was 90 degrees (still? Isn't summer over?) decided it was a good idea to bake a cake. I was right. It was a good idea to bake this cake. I should have gone with my gut and halved this, because it's a real big cake. At my house, it's just me and Alex. Even if we eat a lot of cake it will take us a long time to finish this. I might freeze half. 

Anyway, this cake is pretty easy, as long as you're not afraid of beating egg whites. You make a quick sponge cake, let it cool, pour a bunch of milks all over it, and top with whipped cream. As long as you have a stand mixer, this cake is, well, cake!

It is delicious, I must say. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it, since I don't like soggy things. Don't get me started on soggy cereal. Ugh. I did like it! So much that I might even forget to eat dinner and eat another piece. 

Tres Leches Cake

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

1 c flour mix

1/2 t xanthan gum

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

5 eggs, separated

1 c plus 3T sugar, divided

1 t vanilla

1/3 c milk

1 can condensed milk 

1 can evaporated milk

1 pint heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 13x9 pan. Stir together the flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Beat the egg yolks with 3/4 c sugar until light yellow, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Stir into the flour mix and set aside. Beat the egg whites until it holds soft peaks. Add in the 1/4 c of sugar, and beat to stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the yolk-flour mixture gently and spread into your greasy pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the cake starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, it's golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean. 

Cool the cake, then prick all over with a fork. Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/4 c cream in a bowl. Pour about 2 cups of the mix over your cake, slowly, letting it absorb. 


Here's where I disagree with the Pioneer Woman - she says to toss the rest of the creamy mixture, I say keep it and stir it into your coffee in the morning. 


Anyway, let the cake stand for half an hour or so. It will absorb almost all of the liquid, if not all. Dump the rest of the cream into a mixing bowl with the remaining 3 T of sugar. Beat on high for a minute or three until the cream and sugar turn into whipped cream. Plop the cream on top of your cake and spread around over the top and down the sides. 


Eat. 

Cleaning

All right. So I've finally cleaned up my site, now all the links work, and it looks a little cleaner. If you aren't listed and would like to be on the links page, let me know.

Also I got a neat film camera that I am trying to learn the quirks of, so maybe I will be able to post real film photos of food. Who knows! Anyway, see you soon!

Eggs Benedict

Alex and I thought that today we probably needed to eat all our fat for the week this morning. It was worth it, but won't happen again for a while. I perfect the art of poaching eggs, made my favorite English muffins, and tried out blender hollandaise. Alex cooked some super thick cut bacon, and all together, oh my gosh. This is a special breakfast, and didn't even really take that long. All together it took about an hour - way more than I'd spend on breakfast on a regular day but very worth it, especially if you have guests to impress. Sorry I'm not posting recipes, I don't want to lift off Simply Recipes and I've already posted about English muffins.

Eggs Benedict

for two

2 poached eggs (to make absolutely, positively perfect poached eggs, Elise at Simply Recipes wins)

a few pieces of bacon

an English muffin (I make pretty easy ones that take about 45 minutes)

Hollandaise (again, Elise at Simply Recipes nails this one)

Thick bacon is the best, but make sure you cook it enough that it can break apart, and it's not too chewy.
To assemble, place an English muffin on your plate. Top with some slices of bacon, a perfect poached egg, and some Hollandaise. Try not too inhale it.
Blender hollandaise is genius. No more whisking over a water bath and the fear of breakage. Hooray!

Rice crispy treats NEW AND IMPROVED!!

We all know rice crispy treats. Apparently I already talked about them this year, but I'm going to talk about them again, real quick. I've been eating rice crispy treats my whole life. Butter, marshmallows, crispys.

This time something magical happened. I stirred in some peanut butter. WHAT!! It was awesome. I feel like I've been missing out my whole life. Did you guys know about this?

Chocolate crispys + marshmallows + butter + peanut butter = <3<3

Chocolate and peanut butter crispy treats

2 T butter

1 bag marshmallows

1/2 c peanut butter

5 c rice crispys (I used Erewhon chocolate ones)

Melt butter and marshmallows in whichever method you want. I like to use the microwave, but if you use the stove don't forget to stir constantly. This is hard work. Once your marshmallows and butter are melted, stir in the peanut butter, then the crispys. Press into a buttered pan and let cool, then try not to eat all at once.

Let's talk about something different for a minute

Not cakes or desserts or sweet things. Have you seen that commercial for the burger that uses grilled cheese as a bun? That's so something I would do. Fat kid city over here. Sometimes.

Anyway, you know that breakfast thing, egg-in-a-hole? Where you punch a hole in a piece of toast and cook an egg in it? That's cool and all, but how about instead of boring old toast, you use a grilled cheese sandwich? That way, you get cheese in your egg-in-a-hole, since eggs and cheese are, let's face it, meant to be together. This is SO AWESOME. I used Udi's bread, since it's the only GF bread I've found that makes delicious, regular tasting grilled cheese. Use cheese of your choice, I used American (which I do not like at all) because that's what they accidentally gave me at the deli when I asked for cheddar. At least it works in grilled cheese.

Grilled cheese egg-in-a-hole

2 slices bread (if you keep bread in the freezer like I do, let it thaw first)

butter

2 slices cheese - American, cheddar, mozzerella, Gouda, go nuts

1 egg

salt and pepper

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Heat up a small grilled cheese making pan, and put one slice of bread, butter side down, in the pan. Place the cheese on top, then the second slice of bread on top, butter side up. Cover the pan (for maximum cheese meltability) and cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat, until the bread is just starting to be crispy brown. Flip and cook on the other side for 3 more minutes, uncovered (for maximum crispiness). Remove your sandwich from the pan and punch a hole in it with a cookie cutter, or some sort of round thing like a cup. Remove the circle of sandwich and set aside. Put your sandwich with the hole back in the pan and turn the heat back on to medium low. Break your egg into the middle, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover. Cook about 5 minutes, until the white is set. Remove the egg-hole-sandwich to a plate, and eat, along with the sandwich circle you removed earlier. If your yolk is runny, like I like, you can dip your sandwich circle into the runny egg yolk.