Roasted Fennel

i love roasted vegetables. they are delish. fennel is also delish. it packs a lot of licorice-ish flavor into a healthy vegetable. once you know how to roast one vegetable, you can pretty much roast them all. first, preheat the oven to 350'. slice the fennel and arrange on a baking sheet. drizzle some balsamic vinegar on the fennel and sprinkle with crazy janes pepper. place in oven for about 45 mins to an hour. (depends on how thick the fennel slices are). once the fennel is done, you can toss it over a bed of lettuce to make a salad, add it as a side dish to some chicken or just eat it plain. its delish. enjoy!

Tomato Sauce

recently i made whole wheat pasta, and it was so delish i had to make tomato sauce to go with it. so i came up with this. you need:
EVOO (to drizzle)
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic
21 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 celery stalks
basil leaves
balsamic vinaigrette
brown sugar
take a medium soup pot, and drizzle EVOO along the bottom at high heat. add the minced onion and grate the garlic cloves into the pot. let cook on high heat for 4 mins, occasionally stirring so the onions do not burn on the bottom. then reduce the heat, and add the can of crushed tomatoes. if you do not reduce the heat, tomato will pop up at you and burn your arms. let the canned tomatoes simmer and chop the celery stalks into small chunks and add to the pot along with a handful of ripped up basil leaves. add a tablespoon of brown sugar and stir. let the sauce simmer for 15 mins and then stir into pasta. enjoy!

Oatmeal Apple Muffins!

ok i admit, i have been a little bit of a muffin addict recently. but these, hands down are better than any muffins i have ever made or eaten. disregard all other muffin recipes on this blog, this one is the champ. you need:
1 egg
3/4 cup half and half
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped into even sized chunks
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cook oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash nutmeg

in a mixer, mix the egg, oil and sugar. in a bowl, mix the raisins, walnuts, flour, oats, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. if you have yet to do so, peel and chunk up the apples. you want them to all be relatively even and smallish. you want a few chunks to fit in each muffin. add the apple chunks to the mixer and mix. then add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix. scoop batter into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350' for 15-20 mins. and if your feeling special, sprinkle some oats on top of the muffins before baking, they will stick to the top like sprinkles.

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.