Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins!

another variation on the wonderful pumpkin muffin. taste delish with cream cheese. you need;
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup quick cook oats (NOT old fashioned oats)
3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
3/4 cup fat free milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
2 palm fulls shredded coconut
1 palm fulls nuts
1 palm fulls raisins

preheat oven to 400' and spray nonstick spray onto a mini muffin tray, or a big muffin tray. mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. (flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & pumpkin pie spice). then mix the pumpkin puree, milk, canola oil & egg using a stand mixer, hand mixer or wrist strength. add the flour mixture, coconut, nuts & raisins to the pumpkin mixture. blend until everything is mixed together, being careful not to over mix. (over mixing causes tough muffins.) scoop the batter into the muffin trays and bake for 22-25 mins.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins!

a delish combo of all the leftover cans of pumpkin from thanksgiving and bananas. simple and delish. you need:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat bran (or you can use wheat germ)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 mashed bananas (preferably on the brownish side. and if they are not very brown, mush the banana around while it is still in the peel.)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (pumpkin puree is the stuff in the "one pie pumpkin" can. do not confuse pumpkin puree with canned pumpkin pie mix. they are not the same)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 beaten egg
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
handful or so of raisins/ nuts.

preheat over at 400'. stir dry ingredients together in a bowl. (both flowers, wheat bran & baking powder). mix the wet ingredients using a mixer or beaters or really intense wrist strength. (bananas, pumpkin, milk, egg, vegetable oil & nuts/raisins) carefully mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ones. scoop batter into greased mini muffin pans and bake for 20 mins.

Panera Bread

Panis meaning bread in latin, is the inspiration behind this restaurant chain. and yes many other languages use words starting with P to mean bread, but latin came first. any who this is a delish place. well priced, many comfy chairs and delectabilis (latin for delectable) food. (why yes, i do enjoy latin.)the chicken Caesar salad had delish croutons and parm shavings on top. the Asian chicken salad has a sweet and tangy dressing and crisp won tons. the dressing may be a bit strong but goes well with the almonds and cilantro. each come with a good hunk of bread or their own chips. all sandwiches are top of the line, just be sure to get it grilled. really brings out the flavors of the fresh baked breads and melts the cheese. i also enjoy all of their baked goods and cookies. they also make some nice coffee and use republic of tea tea which is delish times 10. my loves (leah and nikki) agree this place is magically delicious.

Soy Milk

i have been reluctant to jump on the soy bandwagon. i struggled to imagine the edamame i have come to love and cherish in a white liquidity consistency. but recently my friends have been telling me i am lactose intolerant because i cannot digest food. so i decided to give this soy milk a try. at first sip of the soy latte, i missed my skim latte. but a few lattes later i have come to appreciate the soy milk. its sweeter than actual milk and is frothier than skim. the soy has more fat and calories than the skim, but it is loaded with nutrients as well. and the soy is delicious in coffee. to further extend my soy vegan-ness i baked with soy butter instead of regular butter. regular butter is like death on a stick, but in most cases its so worth it. i was skeptical about the fake butter at first, because the badness in butter makes it oh-so delicious. but after sticking my fork into the apple crisp, i did not miss the real butter. sadly, i have yet to find a non dairy option for cheese; but i shall continue the hunt.

Fro-Yo

I have fallen in love again. with pints of Ben and Jerry's Fro Yo. for those of you who don't know, fro yo is frozen yogurt, all of the usual lovin' from ice cream with much less fatness. i usually have to leave my house and drive to jp licks, white mountain creamery, or pinkberry for a delicious cup of fro yo. but no longer. i have discovered the selection at Whole Foods, and am blown away. My absolute favorite is black raspberry chip. i was turned on to this after buying a super premium pint of this at a farmers market. the Ben and Jerry's version is delicious too. mounds of dark chocolate chunks with velvety smooth raspberry ice cream. B&J's (Ben and Jerrys, duah) also make a great Chocolate Brownie fro yo. it can be too chocolaty some times, but if you are in the mood it is perfect. fro yo is even better than light ice cream, because after compairing pints in my freezer, the fro yo is actually much lighter. (who knew!). overall, i dont think a bad pint of fro yo exist because what can be bad about ice cream that makes you less fat?

breakfast, lunch or dinner.

this is delicious. an epic combination of sausage, eggs, veggies and hash browns; beautifully layered and lightly browned in a skillet. first take a sausage, i used a sun dried tomato chicken sausage from whole foods, but any flavor will do. cook it for a little bit in a big skillet, until the outside is brown and you can slice it into 1/2 inch thick slices. (handle slicing the sausage the same way you would handle preparing raw chicken) while the sausage is a'brownin', slice up a few veggies. for this one i used 1/4 of an onion and some celery. but you could get more creative and throw in some peppers or mushrooms, just whatevers lying around. throw the peppers and onions in with the sliced sausage into the skillet thats on medium heat. now, when i was making this, my mom had just finished a big pot of hash browns and because i love hash browns, at this point in the cooking i threw a handful into the skillet with the veggies and sausage. now, my moms uses the frozen hash browns and just heats em up on the stove. if you have them lying around, then great throw them in, otherwise dont worry about it. mix everything around in the skillet until the sausage slices are cooked through. then whisk together 2 eggs in a separate bowl and pour on the skillet. turn on a low heat and sprinkle with cheese when the eggs are almost done. slide the wonderful egg thing onto a plate when the eggs are done, and enjoy. i find it to be particularly good with maple syrup, but then again, what is not good with syrup.

Lincoln Street Coffee

I love coffee. its an addiction. if it involves caffeine, im obsessed. but sometimes, one grows tired of star bucks and needs a change of scenery. thats when its time to hit up the independent coffee houses. Lincoln Street Coffee is my personal fave. they take coffee to a new level dunkies, starbucks or peets cannot reach. the lattes are beautifully foamy and the iced coffee is orgasmic. times 10. their blended mocha is 10 times better than any freshen i have ever bought at starbucks. (and i rarely have anything bad to say about 'bucks). i was once waiting for my blended mocha when someone brought out a tray of cookies, and i immediately bought one to have with my mocha because they smelled and looked so beyond delish. and there is an extremely comfy couch for me to sit on to enjoy my coffee. the tea is also great quality, not quite Teavana, but the best i have ever seen at a coffee shop. yay coffee!! {~dedicated to jenny-poo, i love you!}