Tag: Fall

• Apple Spice Cupcakes…Turned Muffins

  Posted at 7:48 AM by Brittany, on August 28, 2013

  The other day I started to bake some cupcakes, because you know..I didn’t get enough last weekend. In my defense, the cupcakes my mom brought me just didn’t hit the spot. DON’T get me wrong, they were unbelievably delicious, but a lemon cake with raspberry filling is so… last summer. (Disclaimer: I’d never turn down a cupcake regardless of flavor.)

  I am foaming at the mouth for fall to hurry up and get here, so to honor my favorite season I got spicy in the kitchen with cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring on the fall spices! Sadly, the maple “butter” cream icing I attempted to make turned into a soupy mess, which means these went from cupcakes to muffins faster than you can say, “vegan butter is a b*^ch.”

  Apple Spice Cupcakes/Muffins

  

  For the apples

  • 3 peeled and cored apples, diced into cubes
  • 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tblsp flour
  • 2 tblsp brown sugar
  • 1 tblsp coconut oil

  Toss your apples in the spices and flour. Over medium heat, heat the brown sugar and coconut oil until slightly bubbly. Add in your apples and cook until caramelized, most of the liquid has been cooked off, and the apples are soft. Remove from heat and let cool.

  For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 tblsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 cup raw sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

  Mix together the almond milk and lemon juice and let sit for a minute to curdle. Then add in the oil, sugar, and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine your spices, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Once combined, add to the milk mixture.

  

  So much apple goodness

  Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. I used the ADORABLE liners my dear friend Lily sent me a while back. Fold the cooled apples into the cupcake batter and fill your liners almost to the top. Your kitchen will smell like FALL!

  I am a bit depressed that the icing didn’t turn out, I had some high hopes for these cupcakes. Muffins are good too though, and sometimes trying to turn a non vegan recipe into a vegan one just doesn’t work. Live and learn. Overall these were still delicious and I ended up eating them with a GLOB of PB on top. I will make these again!

  Q: Do you get bummed when you have kitchen failures? I’ve gotten a lot better in time, I used to have internal melt downs. Failures are now excuses to bake again! 

  

  | 65 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Fall, Recipe, Vegan

• Brittany, Party of One…

  Posted at 9:58 AM by Brittany, on August 22, 2013

  …your table is ready! Does anyone else ever feel like it’s easier to slap some bread together or throw some spinach in a tortilla and call it dinner? This may be easy, but where is the fun, where is the inspiration, where is the EXCITEMENT?! Who says elaborate meals have to be enjoyed with other people? I want to start making them for myself..solo style.

  I haven’t been in much of a cooking mood these days, but with a bit of a push I am slowly getting back to making myself some decent meals. Not to say that a PB&J isn’t decent, it’s just not decent to eat every morning, afternoon, and evening. Sure, cooking with others is WICKED fun, but don’t think for one minute solo dining isn’t worthy of a solid meal.

  

  A classic meal is always a good place to start when jumping back onto the cooking bandwagon. Whole wheat spaghetti with roasted Brussels sprouts, sauteed asparagus, raw Swiss chard, and an avocado. Lightly tossed with lemon juice and simple seasonings.

  Even after a long, LONG day, there is something so rewarding about taking the time to prepare a proper meal. No body likes a lazy lass. I look forward to making lots of squash and potatoes in the next few months. Fall is coming, and we’ve already started to decorate.

  

  Sure it’s still August..but you can never be too early for fall, HAHA! Just ask Starbies, they already have the PSL mix (not available to the public yet)!! Sadly it contains milk, perhaps there is a vegan with benefits day in my fall future! Or maybe I should create my own..

  I’m feeling optimistic today, and I have a calm/positive mind. If I could, I would take a leaf blower and send some of my feel good to all of you! Sharing is caring my friends. Next time you feel like you’re lacking motivation to treat your body to a good solo meal, slap your hand and get your fanny to the market to buy some fresh delicious food! You’re welcome.

  

  Food for thought!

  Q: Do you cook for yourself (or your family) everynight? I find it’s easier to consistently cook meals when there are other people involved. Cooking for one is harder for me, but SO much more important. Treat yourself right! 

  

  | 55 Comments Tagged Adventure, Fall, Food, Recipe, Vegan

• Hanging On and Moving Forward

  Posted at 6:54 AM by Brittany, on August 14, 2013

  Last week I ran on my treadmill without wanting to blow up a building full of bunnies. Running inside on that hamster wheel makes me more angry than having to share my cupcakes. Usually I can’t stay on the treadmill for more than 3 miles, but I did and the run was actually very enjoyable. I was able to punch dance to some good music too.

  To celebrate this running success (because I will find a reason to celebrate anything) I decided to bake! I haven’t baked in two months. That’s two months too long. After seeing some bananas in my kitchen that were on their last days of life, I knew what to bake. I had enough bananas to bake TWO variations of banana bread. One to honor summer, and one to move forward into fall..aka the best season..aka pumpkin central..aka I CAN’T WAIT!

  “Hanging Onto Summer” Blueberry Banana Bread

  

  • 3 large overly ripe bananas
  • 2 tblsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup raspberry honey*
    
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries

  *I use honey in my baking, for a true vegan recipe use agave or molasses.

  

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or wipe a 9×5-inch loaf pan with oil.
  2. Mix the almond milk with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and let sit until it curdles.
  3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and add the remaining lemon juice, almond milk, and honey. Stir well to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, and stir just until the mixture is well-combined. Fold in the blueberries.
  4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

  

  “Moving Forward to Fall” Pumpkin Cinnamon Banana Bread

  

  • 2 overly ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • chia seed “egg” (1 tbsp chia seeds + 1/8 cup water)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tblsp cinnamon

  

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mash banana and then add the melted coconut oil, pumpkin puree, vanilla, chia seed “egg” and mix together.
  3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine. Then add the cinnamon and stir.
  5. Pour into 4 small loaf pans, and then sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top of each loaf. Bake for 50 minutes.

  

  The pumpkin cinnamon loaves made my entire house smell like fall! I will be making this version again very soon. It was hands down my favorite. If I could make some changes I would have baked the blueberry bread in the four loaf pan as well to help minimize chewiness. Overall this was a successful 3.5 hrs in the kitchen.

  Q: What’s your favorite version of banana bread?

  

  | 73 Comments Tagged Baking, Fall, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• Love

  Posted at 8:09 AM by Brittany, on October 15, 2012

  Lately there have been a few things I have been loving. First and foremost would have to be my fall walks. I have been going on quiet a few walks the past few weeks, some with a partner and some alone.

  

  I don’t know what it is about the blog world, but I have never “met” so many people who love fall just as much as I do. It must be an unspoken rule that to blog you must love the season of pumpkins and crisp air.

  I went for a longer walk into town and back a couple days ago, and the walk was about 2.5 hrs. Nothing crazy, just another walk. The next day..I felt like I was hit by a bus. I can run 13 miles in 2.5 hrs and feel fine the next day, but walk for 2.5 hours and feel like I just gave birth out of my hips?? I have no other explanation other than I haven’t been eating/drinking enough. My appetite has been off so I haven’t been eating much, but there is no excuse for the water consumption.

  In an attempt to help with my energy levels I made myself a batch of the most amazing balls. I have been loving these for weeks, it’s damn near an addiction at this point. Please do yourself a favor and make these today. It takes 20 minutes of your time, and will “money back guarantee” balance your serotonin levels. I’d like to thank Gimmie Some Oven for this amazing recipe. For a coffee kick version of these click here.

  No Bake Energy Bites 

  

  • 1 cup dry oatmeal
  • 2/3 cup coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/2 cup ground flax-seed or wheat germ (both turn out equally delish)
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I tried Crasins too and they were great)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1tsp vanilla

  *Note: Peanut butter also works in place of the almond butter, however both need to be creamy, and preferably store bought jars. While I love my self ground nut butters, they are much too dry for this recipe. If you must use fresh nut butters, try adding a little bit of coconut oil to ensure the end result isn’t too dry. Otherwise the bites won’t stick together!

  Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge up to 1 week..if they last that long!

  

  If you’re lucky, the last ball you roll will end up having twice the amount of chocolate chips. I am saving that one in the top right corner for last! These are great as bites on the go, but I have been eating them as a dessert as well. SO good.

  Sometimes if I am feeling really wild, I will make these with both chocolate chips AND crasins. Best of both worlds!

  

  Q: What’s your favorite no bake recipe??

  

  | 51 Comments Tagged Fall, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• It’s Official

  Posted at 8:21 AM by Brittany, on October 4, 2012

  As I finish out my last week at TJ’s, I have been lucky enough to be around for some of my favorite seasonal items to return. Nothing says fall like honeycrisp apples. It’s official, fall is here.

  

  Last year these apples sold for 99cents each..99cents!! That is unreal. I remember one time going to a different grocery store and paying around $3.00 for ONE!! This year, TJ’s is selling these apples for $1.19. I wish they were still 99cents..but it def beats $3.00! Even more important than these apples..are cookies. Cookies cookies cookies.

  

  I am obsessed with these cookies. Not only do I love Joe Joe’s..but anything Halloween related gets my adrenalin glands swelling with excitement. My inner 5yr old oozes for cookies with pumpkin faces. I may or may not have a box of these stashed in my locker to quell my hunger at 4am. I have worked 4am-1 all week, and then go to class tue-thurs. I will be ready for casual mornings.

  I have been doing a lot of snogging with my main man these days. Snog/study time is what I call it. I start out reading like a good student, but then become easily distracted by black fur and long whiskers.

  

  He’s so dark you can’t even tell he’s there.

  My best friend is moving about three tenths of a mile away from me this week. She used to live in the same neighborhood, but moved away when we graduated high school. I am so jazzed to have her in walking distance again for the days I become swarmed with boredom and need to laugh at funny videos online.

  

  Q: Please tell you me you go bat shit cray over honeycrisps too..?

  

  | 32 Comments Tagged Cookies, Fall, Halloween, TJ's, Trader Joes

• The Final Harvest

  Posted at 7:52 AM by Brittany, on October 1, 2012

  I harvested the beets from my wine box garden. These were the last to be harvested.

  

  Baby beets. This was what my parents called me when I was a small drooling child. Beeters, beets, and on taco night–beaners. I have no idea where I get my odd quirks from. My favorite harvested beet was the largest of the bunch.

  

  They may be small, but I am still proud of these bite sized beets. I must admit, pulling these final veggies out of the final wine box was a bit sad. With the final harvest comes the complete reflection of the garden. It was a complete success, and I couldn’t have asked for a better first time. One last reflection…

  1. Swiss chard came first. This was eaten for months until finally the deep green faded from the leaves, and the stalks grew tall and frail.
  2. The onions were the next to be harvested, however the first harvest was simply to “thin” out the wine box to make room for some of the onions to grow larger. These were harvested over the course of a few months, and finally at the final harvest I had three giant onions that lasted for days!
  3. Next up were my carrots. These took their time to grow and were harvested twice. Once to thin them out, and one final harvest to finish off the box. I may have bragged about that carrot the size of my hand.
  4. Lastly, are the beets seen here in this post. Smaller than I hoped for, but bigger than the seeds they started as.

  I can’t wait to start another mini garden. Right now I am trying to grow jalapenos. I actually planted these a few months ago, and they are moving pretty slow. Stay tuned for the progress on this.

  Random pumpkin photo in 3..2..1..

  

  It reminds me of Cinderella, or Jack and the Beanstalk, or a pumpkin with a funky stem. I love it. YAY FALL!

  Q(s):

  • Did you garden this year?
  • Favorite inspirational quote of the week?
  • Any funky pumpkin sightings?

  

  | 25 Comments Tagged Fall, Gardening, Pinterest, Pumpkin, Wine Box Garden

• Pumpkin Lentil Soup

  Posted at 6:09 PM by Brittany, on September 24, 2012

  The first pumpkin of the season has been consumed by my face.

  

  TJ’s pie pumpkin, whopping price of $1.99. This happens to be the same price as the canned pumpkin. Why buy a can when you can use the real thing? This pumpkin was sliced, diced, chopped, emptied, and eaten like it was my job. I was able to get three uses from this bad boy.

  

  Coconut oil and sea salt pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds happen to contain a variety of minerals, vitamins, protein, fiber, and are low in carbohydrates. Ideal snack for my vegan diet.

  Half the pumpkin was saved for the next mornings breakfast, pumpkin pancakes.

  

  Early morning shadows

  I have missed my pumpkin pancakes. I do prefer canned pumpkin for pancakes because it’s much creamier than fresh pumpkin. My favorite part of this pumpkin was the deliciously spicy soup it was initially purchased for.

  

  Pumpkin Lentil Soup

  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 small cayenne pepper (or if you don’t like spice, a mild pepper works too)
  • 1tsp cumin
  • 1/2 pie pumpkin
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup red split lentils (I used the ones from TJ’s)

  –The first thing I did was cut the raw pumpkin in half (actually Manfriend did, I’m a wimp) and bake the halves at 350 until the pumpkin was pliable. When the pumpkin was done I set it to the side and started getting the other ingredients ready.

  –Dice up the onion and pepper into a pan to saute. Add the cumin and cook until the onions turn translucent. Once these are done you can then add the vegetable broth, water, pumpkin and lentils (make sure your pan/pot is big enough.) The lentils need a few minutes to cook. Once the lentils are done to your liking, pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.

  This is the perfect fall soup. I knew I had to start the first day of fall the right way with pumpkin, pumpkin, and more pumpkin. I even tried my first pumpkin spice latte (soy) from Starbs! I hope to find plenty more fall inspired recipes over the next few months!

  Q: Favorite ingredient that reminds you of fall? Pumpkin…and cinnamon. 

  

  | 32 Comments Tagged Fall, Pumpkin, Recipe, TJ's

• Lean Green Machine

  Posted at 10:10 AM by Brittany, on August 25, 2012

  Green is my favorite color. It’s a neutral color, and doesn’t imply that I am manly nor girly. I tend to migrate towards green foods, possibly because I like the color and because of the nutrients in them. I had a green themed evening the other night and it all started with these.

  

  These crisps, are unreal. I hadn’t had them in years and I decided…it was time. They are SOSsososSO good. Don’t believe me?

  

  I think this photo speaks for itself. Three servings in the bag obviously means you have three times the opportunity to eat them within 20 minutes.

  Dinner for the night was all green as well. I cooked my asparagus in this stuff, which happens to be a new to me item.

  

  The oil itself was clear, and didn’t have much of a flavor. I liked it because it allowed the asparagus to really POP with its natural flavor. Cool stuff this oil. I then put my Blendtec to use for the first time making something other than a smoothie.

  

  This is my poisonous sludge. Touch it and you will die.

  

  Wheat gnocchi with vegan pesto, brussels, and asparagus.

  Vegan Pesto

  • 2 cups of spinach
  • 6 large basil leaves (or more!)
  • 2 small/medium cloves of garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of cashews
  • salt & pepper to taste!

  Combine all ingredients into a food processor (I used my blender) and combine until you get a desired consistency! I added water to mine to thin it out.

  This stuff was great, a fun new sauce to spice up my pastaaaaas.

  On a completely unrelated note, this is what my front porch looks like.

  

  No green..but LOTS of fall colors. I am so FrrEaKinN excited!! I LOVE FALL!!

  Q: Are you ready for fall!? YESS!! CORN MAZE, pumpkin patch, hot tea, snogging, squash, cool temp running, winter clothes! 

  

  | 34 Comments Tagged Fall, Recipe

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