Sushi night in the R house!

Today was one of those days that just feels like failure. I sat down to work under the threat of looming deadlines and still managed to get very little done, realized too late that I let a very important day pass unceremoniously yesterday, and was depressed to find out that my favorite summer dress from last year is far too tight on my apparently significantly larger thighs to be donned for an upcoming wedding. Ugh. I decided we needed to have a yummy dinner to make up for the disappointments of the day. So…sushi, obviously.

I raided the fridge and freezer and came up with “deconstructed sushi rolls” - brown rice topped with thin cut orange and white carrots, avocado and ahi sashimi - and raw broccoli and apple salad on the side.

Because you know what? The rest of my life might be a mess but DAMNIT I CAN COOK. 

Raw Broccoli and Apple Salad

1 head broccoli
1/2 crisp sweet apple
1/4 red onion
3 Tbls apple cider vinegar, divided
1 Tbls raw honey
approx 2 Tbls evoo

Wash and finely chop broccoli florets. Place broccoli in a medium sized bowl. Chop apple until pieces are roughly the same size, and add to broccoli and mix well. Toss with 1.5 Tbls of apple cider and refrigerate. While broccoli mixture is marinating in apple cider vinegar, finely chop red onion and soak in a small bowl of cold water for approximately 10 minutes. 

While onions are soaking, combine honey with the rest of the apple cider vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add red onion and honey dressing to broccoli mixture and toss until well combined.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, unless you’re hungry right away like I always am.

“Chunky Monkey” Morning Oatmeal 

This morning there was only one bowls worth of granola left in the box, and C is a big fan of granola for breakfast. I’m a nice wife so I decided to leave it for him and make myself oatmeal. I hate plain oatmeal, though, so I raided the cupboard and came up with what I will from this day forward refer to as “Chunky Monkey” morning oats, because it basically tasted like Chunky Monkey Ice cream in breakfast form. I was pretty stoked about this. Chocolate for breakfast. Yumm.

Chunky Monkey Morning Oats

1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal 
1 cup milk of choice
1/4 cup water
1 Tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
splash vanilla extract
handful of nuts (I used hazelnuts)
1 ripe banana
scant 1 Tbls pure maple syrup

Rough chop hazelnuts and combine with oats, milk, water, vanilla and cocoa powder in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer stirring continuously until oatmeal has reached desired consistency. Turn off heat and drizzle with maple syrup. Slice bananas into oatmeal and fold in carefully. All done!

Yumm.

Yeah. They’re birds now. 

Apple Pie

This week is a very busy week, and looking at my to-do list today I got a little overwhelmed… so instead of working I spent the afternoon testing my apple pie making ability. An example of poor coping skills that will inevitably lead to more stress down the line? 

Probably. 

BUT I DON’T CARE BECAUSE I HAVE PIE.  

“I don’t think I need a recipe” Apple Pie

Pastry for two 9-inch pie crusts
7-8 Granny Smith apples
1 lemon* or sweet lime
2.5 Tbls unsalted butter
3 Tbls all purpose flour 
scant 1/3 cup water
1 Tbls vanilla
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp-ish cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Line oven floor with tin foil to catch any drips. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel apples, cut into 1/4 inch slices and transfer into a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon or sweet lime juice over apples, and reserve. 

Melt butter in a large skillet and add flour to form a quick rue. Add water, vanilla, brown sugar and honey, whisking everything together until well combined. Bring mixture to a simmer.

Place bottom crust in pie pan. Transfer apples into skillet and toss together with the sugar mixture. Rest approximately 5 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer apples into pie crust, mounding in the center. Slowly pour 2/3 of the hot sugar mixture down over apples. Cover with pie crust strips and pour remaining mixture over top crust. 

Bake on center rack of the oven for approximately one hour. Check after 20 minutes to make sure that crust isn’t getting too brown. If it is, place a sheet of tin foil on the top rack of the oven. Let cool completely before serving. 

*if using a lemon, up sweetener by approx. 1 Tbls. 

My day yesterday 

Sparkling wine and a good book. The definition of heaven? 

Just pulled a batch of Life Changing Bread out of the oven… now just waiting for it to cool so we can have the best dinner ever.

…hurry up and wait time is always the hardest time…

I love Sundays, and spring time.

How we spent our day:

A lazy morning, drinking coffee on the porch
A few hours of work
Lunch together on the hammock
A bit more work
Gardening in the evening
Lemon Thyme Chicken and Corn on the Cob BBQ dinner

Just perfect.

It was a gorgeous day ‘round these parts…

My flowers are loving all this sunshine and warm weather!

Green Garlic! My spoils after an afternoon of digging in the dirt.

Chilled Double Chocolate Torte

I am obsessed with C’s birthday dessert this year! This may be the best treat I have ever made and it’s healthy and packed with good-for-you fats! It’s definitely going in the family favorites cookbook this year!

Recipe from the amazing Angela at Oh She Glows

No Bake Chocolate Crust:

2 cups pecans
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp coconut oil (other light taste oil may work)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Chocolate Avocado Mousse:

2 cups avocado flesh (approx 3 small avocados), pitted and scooped out
1/3 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (or other nut or sunflower seed butter)
1 tbsp cornstarch 
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tbsp chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted if clumpy

Crust: Oil a 7-10 inch springform pan and line it with a circle of parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the pecans until crumbly. Be careful not to over process them as you still want them a bit chunky. Now add in the rest of the crust ingredients and pulse until just mixed. Scoop mixture onto prepared pan and press down firmly and evenly with slightly wet fingers or a spatula. Pop into freezer to set while making the mousse.

Chocolate mousse: Place all mousse ingredients (except chocolate chips) into food processor. Process until smooth. In a small bowl, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave and scoop melted chocolate into food processor mixture. Process until smooth.

Remove crust from freezer and scoop this mousse on top of crust. Smooth out as much as possible and then place in the freezer for 2 hours to firm.

Once firm, remove from freezer and allow to sit on the counter for about 5-10 minutes before serving chilled. Place leftover torte in the freezer wrapped and placed in a seal container.

Note that this torte should be served chilled as it gets soft at room temperature.

Hummus, Cucumber and Tomato cups - perfect easy appetizers, and so damn cute too! Thank you pinterest!