Greek Yogurt Snack Pack

In every one of my travels i try to order something 'so Greece', 'so Turkey', 'so Paris', you get the idea... but occasionally i discover something thats great for traveling... Story time. When my family took a vacation to Europe in 2006 we went to this little, hole in the wall, Greek Restaurant. This restaurant was no joke, it was to the T - Greek. None of this 'Americanized Greek' ish that we seem to get locally. They had folk dancers, wine in wooden flasks, baked brie with fresh raspberries and yogurt with sliced apples, almonds, grapes, and a drizzle of honey. That. was. dessert. Healthy? Yes, and oh so satisfying.



Alas, my new favorite 'on the go' snack/treat was established and i take this stuff everywhere. Do you realize it has protein, 'staying power' aka almonds, fiber, and all natural sweetness? This goes everywhere.

Greek Yogurt Snack

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (i use Fage 0% or 2%)

1/2 apple (chopped)

5 almonds (chopped)

6 grapes (halved)

1 teaspoon Honey

Place Greek Yogurt on the bottom and top with remaining ingredients. Don't stir until you're ready to eat or everything will be soggy and missing that delicious crunch!

CALORIES: 179 PROTEIN: 10.9 GRAMS FIBER: 3 GRAMS

nom nom nom...

Double Chocolate Cookies.

Sometimes I wonder when i learned to deal with stress by baking. Maybe it was when my parents decided to ground me for 2 months and forbid me to see my friends/boyfriend. That was probably it, nothing to do but bake and eat. That. must. be. it. Thanks Mom and Dad. I guess it's healthier than some other popular alternatives. 

At 11 p.m last night, I climbed out of bed and started baking Giada's, 'Double Espresso Chocolate Cookies'. I realized that three ingredients in this cookie were just going to further my frustration when my sleep was inhibited in 2 hours time: Espresso Beans, Chocolate, and Sugar. I could never deprive myself of actual Chocolate/Sugar (in my case honey granules), so 'good-bye' espresso beans.

A la... Chocolate Cookies. These things are like brownies but cookies. My little sister makes great ones. Mine can't compare, it must be that silpat (if you have it-use it). Ignore my lack of cleanliness, as well as the absence of real spatula's/spoons.

Melt the chocolate and butter over a double broiler. Be careful not to get any water in the bowl as the chocolate will sometimes curdle -yuck. It should be glossy and smooth. (notice my awesome spoon i'm  baking with)

 Then in two separate bowls mix the dry and wet.

add the dry into the wet in 3 parts.

Then fold in your melted chocolate.

Try not to eat all of the batter at this point.

Scoop in 1/4 cup amounts on a cookie sheet (it will make about six this way). I wanted mine smaller but they thin out/crisp up better in 1/4 cup increments. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops 'crack'.

I feel better now mom.

Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (recommended: Ghirardelli)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate-covered espresso beans
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (recommended: Nestle Toll House)

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

In the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the chocolate covered espresso beans. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chopped espresso beans, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, water, and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir until thick and smooth. Fold in the melted chocolate. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, scoop level 1/4 cupfuls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until slightly puffed and the tops begin to crack, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets and serve.

Basil Quinoa Salad with Roasted Veggies.

Okay. I did it. I ate this salad every day for four days. I'm skinnier. Eureka!! Sort of;  It's not a magic salad... but it is super duper healthy and yummy. We don't care for healthy food that tastes like grass. Not here. No, no, no, never. We want healthy food that tastes 'nom nom nom,' good, right?

Here we go, Basil Quinoa Salad with Balsamic roasted veggies. Nom nom nom. 

Start with your veggies, you can use anything but i like baby tomatoes, red onions, eggplant, and zucchini. (Forgive the little eggplants in most of these pictures... the second time around i made it my eggplant had browned a little much in the fridge, i don't suggest letting that happen.)

P.s. I would peel the eggplant. The first time around i didn't peel it and it looked beautiful but it was annoying to continuously get little peels in my mouth.

Mix your vinaigrette in a bowl and pour over veggies to marinate.  

Place the veggies onto a roasting pan/Baking Sheet and Roast for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Take the veggies out. The tomatoes should be ready to pop if they haven't already and the veggies tender.

 Find the corner of your condo where you house your little basil plant that you got from Metro market and snip snip snip (from the top). 

 Boil your quinoa and mix the remaining half of the vinaigrette and basil into the warm quinoa. Serve 1 cup quinoa with one cup of the veggies and smile. You just fed your body something it will appreciate.

Here's the detailed recipe!

Balsamic  Grilled Veggies with Basil Quinoa Salad.

for balsamic dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper

for grilled summer vegetables
1 small italian eggplant (about 2 cups when cut into big cubes)
1 small zucchini (about 2 cups when cut into big cubes)
1/2 small red onion (1/4 of a large red onion)
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped. (i used 1 tsp. of oregano)

for basil quinoa salad
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1/4 cup basil leaves loosely packed, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk together all the balsamic dressing ingredients and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, boil water for the quinoa salad. Add quinoa and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer covered, till all the water has been completely absorbed, about 20 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, cut the eggplant and zucchini into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Cut the red onion into rings. Place cubed eggplant, zucchini, red onion, tomatoes and thyme leaves in a bowl. Pour half the balsamic dressing over the vegetables and toss well.

Place into an oven at 450 degrees F' for 15-20 minutes. Tomatoes will cook faster and blister.

Reserve the balsamic dressing that remains in the bowl, to serve with the meal.

When the quinoa finishes cooking, toss it with the second half of the balsamic dressing. Stir in chopped basil, salt and pepper. 

Serve with 1/2 cup Quinoa Mixture and 1 Cup Veggie Mixture. Top with walnuts, tofu, or pine nuts. 

I adapted and changed this recipe to my liking from Veggie Belly. >>http://www.veggiebelly.com/2010/07/balsamic-grilled-summer-vegetables-with-basil-quinoa-salad.html 

Twins. Tart. Nom Nom

(www.tartcollections.com). 

I'm blogging about my weekend as i gobble up my breakfast of steel cut oats, cinnamon, and cantaloupe. Seriously, cantaloupe actually tastes good in cinnamon oatmeal. Please try it. Anyway, the weekend was spent in Minnesota for the Twins/Brewers series. The Brewers had an '80's night' theme for their travel day and R chose Tom Cruise in, "Risky Business" as his inspiration. 

When i got to the hotel i couldn't check into the room and dealt with my stress by ordering a Chocolate Molten Cake at the bar. It was. sublime. Although, when the bill came for $18 i was a little peeved. (seriously??)

 Saturday night we went out to dinner with Trevor (@tplouffe24), Olivia, Diane, and Anthony. We went to an awesome restaurant (i wish i could remember what it was called...) whose focus is 'foods from around the equator'. Surprisingly delicious; Who knew a restaurant could successfully serve sushi and steak tacos?

 nom nom nom

xoxo

Fathers Day :)

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there; especially to my dad, Grant! 

I wouldn't be where i was today without your support, advice, tough love, and brain (minus the physics part of yours). Besides that i would be missing some of my greatest memories, i.e. rolling into the trashcan (asleep) and waking up to you holding me a plate of eggs and bacon--dying my hair for the first time (always knew you'd do a good job)--discovering that breakfast, lunch, and dinner, really do taste better over a fire with extra bacon--chopping down our own xmas tree--sledding-dancing--making BISCUITS and kneading them...just a little!! #. 1. Dad. 4. us. ever. 

 You told me to 'stand there and look pretty', when i was only 10 years old; How inspiring.

Story time: This Fathers Day my family ventured to 'Strawberry Reservoir' to go 'crawDAD fishing', for those of you who don't know what that is think of shrimps with claws, caught with a chicken wing and a net-it. is. so. fun. On the way there they stopped in Heber at a gas station. Being the exerciser of the family my mother probably motivated everyone to get out of the car and stretch their legs... minus our dog, Tyko. This was the result. 

I wish the time stamp was on there... 7:30 a.m. on Fathers Day. Great start to the day. Don't worry, the dog was okay; he used his intelligence to press the 'unlock' button after the cops were called. 

Thanks to all the Fathers out there that have dedicated their lives to their kids, they appreciate it more than they can ever say. 

Also, extra thanks to Joe Braun--for without you i wouldn't have a wonderful boyfriend and we would for sure have rats in our house! Oh, and i would still know nothing about baseball. :) Thank you for everything you do; i am so so lucky to know you. 

 making biscuits for breakfast tomorrow, wish you were here paps...