Peanut Butter Mousse

Weather is getting pretty cold, which makes me want to curl up on the couch and eat delicious food. Luckily I stumbled across this recipe. This dip goes great with fruit and even pretzels! The original recipe can be found here.

Here is what you will need:

1 can of coconut milk, refrigerated over night
2-3 Tbsp. natural creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. maple syrup


1. Refrigerate your coconut milk overnight. In the morning, without tipping or shaking, open the can and scoop out the cream into a chilled bowl. You can save the coconut water to put in smoothies for later.
2. Using a mixer, beat the cream on high for 45 seconds, until light and fluffy.
3. Add 2-3 Tbsp. of peanut butter and 2 Tbsp. of maple syrup. Then continue to beat with mixers another 30-45 seconds.
4. Use as a cake frosting, or let chill in the fridge to use on fruit/pretzels as a mousse.

ENJOY!

THAI CASHEW COCONUT RICE WITH GINGER PEANUT SAUCE

I will forever be grateful for this summer. It has taught me so much about myself, life, and letting go. I'm very grateful for the strong friendships I have, old and new, and for a family that supports me when I have needed it most. It's been a rough year and a half, but I truly feel like I'm on the path to feeling more like myself and most importantly...healing.

And now, I rebuild.

Oh yeah, how about a recipe? :) This dish is basically a party in your mouth. There's so much going on, and it all works so well together. The original link can be found here.

Here is what you will need:

Coconut Rice:
1 1/2 cups rice (it says jasmine, but I usually use brown)
1 (15oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 clove garlic (or more), minced
1 cup water

Salad
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
1 red cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 bunch cilantro (it says a cup, but I hate wasting food so I use all of it)
3/4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup cashews, finely chopped

Sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
water to thin (I didn't use very much)
lime wedges (one lime should do it)

Directions:

1. In a rice cooker, put all ingredients in as listed, turn it on, let it do it's thang.
2. As you wait for the rice, make the peanut sauce.
3. In a small sauce pan, combine the peanut butter and honey. Heat on low to medium heat, or until the peanut butter thins. Stir well. Add the ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir again. Thin as desired with water.
4. Fluff the rice and combine it with the chopped vegetables and cashews. Drizzle with a bit of the Ginger Peanut Sauce and serve with lime wedges.

Enjoy!

Tu-NO Fish Tacos

Well I have officially been out of school for a month now. Surprisingly, I have actually done quite a bit in these four weeks. Here are the highlights:

1. Traveled to Cancun, Mexico for a week to soak up the sun with my aunt. We went to Tulum to see the ruins and swam in by far the warmest ocean I've ever been in. Very touristy things were done in Playa del Carmen, but I successfully ordered my meal in Spanish...correctly I might add. Finally, on our last night we saw sea turtles laying eggs on the beach. It was one of the most beautiful experiences to witness such a thing. I didn't want to leave.

2. Puppy sat for a week to further remind myself that not only is adoption right for me, but to also make sure they are at least 2 years old/potty trained. I got lucky with my baby.

3. Planted a garden...that is actually growing, like holy moly growing! I cheated though and planted zucchini too. I needed a confidence boosting season.

4. Painted about 1/2 of the interior of my house and my fireplace. It's amazing what a can of paint will do. I'm so proud of that fireplace now.

5. Dumped an entire can of paint on me and the floor, which wasn't too bad because...

6. Tore out my laminate "wood" crap floors and baseboards...by myself!

7. Read 3 books...and counting.

8. Went to my first Shakespeare Festival. Was completely confused, but it was a beautiful night with one awesome friend.

9. Escaped the 110 degree Idaho heat and went to California to celebrate my grandpa's 88th birthday and drink copious amounts of red wine. Found out the news isn't completely full of crap because there really is NO WATER there. Empty fountains, dying plants, I just feel so bad for them. I hope they get out of their drought soon.

10. And now here I am. In the middle of putting tile flooring in my house and more painting. I'm completely overwhelmed, but so proud of myself, especially since I haven't had much help. Just a few hours from my dad to teach me a few things and I'm back on my own. Empowering doesn't even begin to describe it.

Oh and I've also been cooking...because a girl's gotta eat! This recipe can be found here. This recipe reminds me of either tuna or chicken salad and is FANTASIC!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

2 cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans, or I found out this weekend Italian's sometimes call them ceci beans
4 ribs celery, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 avocado, small diced
romaine lettuce, chopped
1 package corn tortillas

Dressing:

1/2 cup raw, plain cashews soaked in 1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons apple cider or rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation:

1. Place the nuts for the dressing in your blender and add the 1/2 cup water. Set aside and let soak while you are chopping and preparing the other ingredients.

2. Place the drained chickpeas into your food processor bowl and pulse briefly, just until beans are broken up and sticking together slightly (around 6 pulses). Scrape into a large bowl and toss the celery, onion, basil and parsley, and avocado.

3. Blend the dressing ingredients (soaked cashews and water, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder) in a high-speed blender until smooth (I used my magic bullet). Add this to the bowl of beans and vegetables, and mix thoroughly.

4. Serve in corn tortillas along with the chopped romaine. ENJOY!

Summertime Fudgesicles

Swim.Bike.Run. Yup, I'm training for a triathlon sprint. My goal is to one day do a full, but baby steps for now. Plus, the fact that I can even run a 5K is a miracle in itself! However, training makes me feel like this...

It also makes me want to eat anything and everything, especially FUDGESICLES! This recipe is fantastic and makes me feel like I'm actually eating regular chocolate ice cream. The original recipe can be found here.

Here is what you will need:

1 13 oz. can coconut milk
1/3 c. dark baking cocoa
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
pinch of salt

1. Put all ingredients in a blender on high for about 60 seconds, until completely blended. I had to scrape the sides halfway through.
2. Divide the mixture evenly into popsicle molds and freeze for 3 to 4 hours before serving.
3. When ready to eat, you may need to run warm water over the molds so they come out easier.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Platter

I've been craving Mediterranean food and can't quite make it to Boise due to house/puppy sitting. The good news is that there's Pinterest to help, and of course this adorable picture...

My most favorite things to order are hummus, tabouleh, and saffron rice. Well that and falafels, but I didn't have time, as I was chasing a non-potty trained puppy around. Here are the links to the actual recipes:

Tabouleh 

Saffron Rice

Hummus- definitely bought it from Whole Foods, maybe one day I'll find a recipe as good as theirs. 

Tabouleh

Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. (or less) olive oil

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 c. bulgur wheat

1/2 red onion or 1 small

1 bunch parsley

1 large English cucumber, cubed

2 tomatoes, cubed

1. The original recipe says to whisk the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, and salt together in a medium bowl and add the bulgur to soak for 30 min or up to two hours. However, I couldn't wait that long, so I cooked the bulgur for about 10 minutes and then drained the water in a strainer. Seemed to work just fine for me. 

2. In a large bowl, finely chop the parsley. Then dice up the tomatoes, cucumber, and onion and toss in the same bowl. Mix it up and add the bulgur. Also add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, and salt if you didn't soak the bulgur to begin with. 

3. The longer you let the flavors marinate, the better it tastes. I however couldn't wait that long the first night, but leftovers were delicious!

Saffron Rice

And now for the rice. I changed some ingredients to make it vegan.

Here is what you will need:

2 cups vegetable stock

1/4 loosely packed teaspoon saffron

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup brown rice

1. Add the saffron and turmeric to the vegetable stock, stir, and let it sit while you chop and saute the onions.

2. In a medium pot, add the oil and onions and saute over medium-high heat until unions have started to brown around the edges.

3. Add the rice, and stir to coat evenly with the oil.

4. Add the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil.

5. Turn down the heat and cover the pot, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. Brown rice takes longer, so set the timer for about 45 minutes. 

6. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, but do not remove the lid. Let the rice steam for another 10 minutes. 

7. Remove the lid, and fluff the rice. 

Add some warm pita bread, divided into fourths and you have a delicious platter. Enjoy!

Wild Rice Vegetable Soup

I was getting tired of making the same recipes every week so I went searching for something different. This soup is fantastic. I got the recipe from Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, but modified it a bit...mostly because I didn't realize the rice was cooked before it went in the soup. However, it still was amazing, despite my inability to read a simple recipe sometimes!

It made about 4 servings for me. Here is what you will need for this recipe:

1 cup wild rice

1 onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms (sliced)

4 cups vegetable broth

4 cups water (or less)

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

a pinch of red pepper flakes (it said to use hot pepper sauce, but I didn't have that) 

pepper

1 bunch of parsley (you could do cilantro instead, but I haven't tried it)

couple handfuls of spinach (or more)

1 bay leaf

1. In a soup pot, stir-fry onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and wild rice until everything gets a little soft.

2. Stir in broth and water and add in the bay leaf. Heat to boiling, stirring regularly. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 40 minutes until rice is popped and tender. 

3. In a small cup, dilute cornstarch with a little water until it is a smooth paste; then stir it into the soup. Cook a few more minutes, until soup thickens. 

4. Stir in Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, and pepper to taste and cook a few more minutes. 

5. Just before serving add parsley (or cilantro) and spinach. 

ENJOY!