The blog turns 1! With awkward video!

If you woke up this morning, felt something special in the air, and couldn’t quite put your finger on it, look no further. SSATT is having its very first birthday! (Or anniversary? I can’t decide which one sounds more appropriate.) It has been quite the year since my first post…..highlights include:

• My introduction to Zumba (my one true calling?)
• A half marathon
• An event that ruined my affinity for portabella mushrooms
• Graduating from law school
• A 20K and competitive cooking triumph, all in one day, and
• Finishing the bar exam

I asked the blog what she wanted for her birthday, and she said “KitchenAid stand mixer, DUH.” Well, sorry, sassy-pants, but we don’t have the funds for that, so we’re going to celebrate with something a little different. Today, I present the very first She Sings at the Table video segment, in which I make carrot cake cookies. And, can I just say–cooking on video is hard! I tried not to be too terribly awkward, but getting good at this would definitely take lots of practice…

Thank you all for reading! I truly have tons of fun cooking and writing for this blog, and it means a lot that a few people actually read it. Here’s hoping year #2 will bring gainful employment, grand times with wonderful people, and more delicious food.

Carrot Cake Cookies (makes 20-24)

• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (I forgot this in the video. If this were “The Next Food Network Star”, they would kick me off, and while packing up my measuring spoons I would say something dramatic through my tears, like “You haven’t heard the last of me, Food Network! You’ll see!”)
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp dry ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water)
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. melted coconut oil (could also use canola or vegetable oil)
• 1/4 c. drained crushed pineapple
• 1/2 c. almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. golden raisins (or regular raisins, whatever floats your boat)
• 1 c. grated carrots
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Combine the ground flax and water to make the flax egg, and set it aside so it can thicken. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, oats, and spices. In another bowl, mix the flax egg, brown sugar, coconut oil, pineapple, almond milk, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined. Fold in the raisins, carrots, and walnuts. Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.

Smoothies and happy thoughts

In preparation for the bar exam at the end of July, I’m taking a review class that meets every weekday from 9:00 until about 12:30. We get two ten-minute breaks, and the rest of the time is filled with dry lecturing by a law professor on video, and diligent note-taking. Then we’re supposed to go home and study, and study, and study some more, I guess. I won’t complain too much, because it’ll be over by the end of July, and I did voluntarily sign up for this whole thing, but…..UGH. It’s pretty gross. One day last week, I woke up and looked in the mirror, and this is what I saw:

YIKES. OK, fine, that’s actually Charlize Theron in Monster, but you get the idea. (Source)

I decided it was time to create a before-class routine that would make life seem a teensy bit brighter. I love morning routines like I love polka dots and musical theater (i.e. I love them a lot). I like to start my days with quiet time and vegetables, so my “Survive the Bar Exam” morning routine has two main components: green smoothies and 15 minutes of meditation.

I’m no expert at meditation, but I started doing it for 10-15 minutes every morning several months ago, and I love it. I’m a big-time over-thinker, and right now there are about a million half-complete legal rules floating around in my head, so it’s nice to just shut everything out for a few minutes and think happy thoughts. I just set my cell phone alarm for 15 minutes, and sit down on the floor criss-cross applesauce. (According to my mom, retired first-grade teacher, “criss-cross applesauce” is the new “Indian-style.” More culturally sensitive, you know.) Sometimes it doesn’t work and I just sit there thinking stuff like “What exactly IS a “secured transaction?” or “I wonder what ever happened to those kids from ‘Salute Your Shorts’?” But–no matter what you spend this time thinking about, it’s pretty wonderful to have 15 minutes of quiet before the day gets going.

After meditation time is over, I break out the blender and make a green smoothie. Here’s my favorite combo so far:

Key Lime Pie Smoothie:

• handful of spinach (about a cup, loosely packed) (You won’t taste it, honest to blog.)
• 1/4 of an avocado
• zest of one lime, and the juice of half
• 1/2 banana (slightly overripe and frozen is the best)
• 1-2 tsp agave nectar
• about 1 c. milk of your choice, more to thin it out as needed (I use almond milk, always and forever)

Blend until completely smooth, and then pour into your most festive glass.

Nothing like a little vacation and nutrition in a glass before a few hours of Real Property. Seriously, friends–make yourself a green smoothie a few mornings each week, and you will eventually look like this:

(Source) Maybe not exactly like that, but close.

Treasures from times gone by…

It has been a little over a week since I moved into my parents’ basement, and I have made some spectacular discoveries.  For example, feast your eyes on the dress I wore to Jefferson-Scranton High School’s junior-senior prom, circa 2003:

Yes, it totally still fits, thank you for asking.  It just doesn’t zip, which is a minor detail.  A strategically-draped shawl, a few safety pins, and BAM, I could be ready for my very own royal wedding in ten minutes, tops.

(Oh, by the way, isn’t my mirror charming?  My sister-in-law painted it for me many, many years ago.  She’s all kinds of brilliant and artsy!)

I also found……drumroll…….

My very first cookbooks!  Do you remember the American Girl dolls?  I swear, everybody I knew when I was a tiny little Darcy had one of those dolls, and about fifty outfits for it.  I was not into the dolls, but I was really into the cookbooks.  They came in a set of five: Molly (World War II era), Kirsten (pioneer girl), Addy (escaped from slavery on the Underground Railroad), Felicity (daughter of the Revolution), and Samantha (hoity-toity turn-of-the-century girl with a butler).

They’re full of historical information and easy recipes one could make with adult supervision, AND in the back of each one there are detailed instructions for throwing a theme party.  Molly’s book, which was my favorite, was set in 1944 and had instructions for throwing a “patriotic slumber party.”  Here’s a tip:

Uhhh, sure.  Or, how about you just don’t invite fun-haters to your patriotic slumber party?

Here are two of my favorite recipes from Molly’s book.  They’re both really easy, but the first requires a knife and the second requires a hot oven, so if you are not an adult, please find one to supervise you.  I definitely waited until my mom was home for the hard parts.

Frozen Fruit Cups (adapted—barely—from “American Girls Pastimes: Molly’s Cookbook”)

Makes 8-12 small cups (I used 8 oz. cups and made 9)

• 1 c. orange juice
• 15 oz. can of crushed pineapple in its own juice
• 1 small (about 11 oz.) can of mandarin oranges, drained and coarsely chopped
• about 3 cups sliced strawberries
• 2-3 bananas, sliced
• 1 1/2 c. club soda

These are not rocket science, obviously, as the recipe came from a cookbook for elementary school-aged children.  But they are delicious, and a great refreshing snack for summer.  I used to make them all the time and eat them while swaying in my mom’s hammock with a Babysitter’s Club book.  Feel free to substitute whatever fruit you like, your favorite juice, and 1 1/2 cups of something fizzy (the original recipe calls for ginger ale, which is good, and I’ve also used 7-Up).  Stir everything up in a large mixing bowl, ladle the mixture into small cups, and freeze.

Raisin Bread in a Can (adapted from “American Girls Pastimes: Molly’s Cookbook”)

This recipe didn’t have a lot of fat in it (because, as explained in the front of the book, Molly and her mom were conserving for the war effort).  It also only had one egg, so I went ahead and made a few adjustments to vegan-ize it.  To bake, you need a clean, empty coffee or juice can—about 45 ounces.  You could use a loaf pan, I suppose, but where’s the fun in that?

• 3/4 c. white flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/3 c. chopped nuts (I used walnuts, leftover from my rapture cupcakes)
• 1/3 c. raisins
• 1 flax egg (Mix 1 tbsp ground flax with 3 tbsp water in a small bowl, and allow the mixture to thicken for 5-10 minutes)
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/4 c. almond milk
• 1/4 c. molasses

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the white flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, nuts, and raisins.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the thickened flax egg, canola oil, almond milk, and molasses.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well-combined.  Grease a large, clean tin can (about 45 ounces), and pour in the batter.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  After an hour, place the can on a rack to cool.  When it’s cool enough to handle, loosen the bread from the sides of the can with a butter knife and try to shimmy the bread out of the can.  If you’re having trouble, use a can opener to open the bottom of the can and carefully push the bread out.

Housekeeping: the address for the blog is now http://shesingsatthetable.com, not https://shesingsatthetable.wordpress.com.  Update your Google readers (or whatever you kids use to read your blogs these days) accordingly, pretty please.

Also, thanks to my web designer/13-year-old niece, you can now “like” She Sings at the Table on facebook—see the link on the right side of the page.  That’s all for now—have a marvelous week!

McTofu

I know Lent is supposed to make me think about discipline and sacrifice and being a better person….and it does…..but it also makes me think about Egg McMuffins.

When I was in high school, my family used to go to Colorado every Easter.  We’d leave on Thursday, stay somewhere in Nebraska that night, and cruise the rest of the way into CO on Good Friday.  The general practice was to drive through McDonald’s that morning, get Egg McMuffins, and, because of the no-meat-on-Friday-during-Lent thing, throw the slice of mystery meat (ham?  Canadian bacon?) out the car window once we reached full speed on I-80.  Nebraska, if you’re listening, I’m sorry about the litter.

So anyway, although I don’t generally get Mickey D’s cravings, I do have a soft spot for their breakfast menu.  I associate the greasy, salty McMuffin with spring, open roads, and adventure.  In that spirit, I recently took a block of tofu out of my fridge and made an easy McMuffin knock-off that tastes much better to me than anything that ever came out of the drive-thru window in Ogallala.

For the baked tofu, I used this recipe from Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point.  While you’re getting the marinade ready, you can press the tofu to get some of the moisture out.

I firmly believe it tastes better if you press it with your prettiest plates. Then, dice the tofu into small pieces and marinate as directed in the recipe linked above.  I wanted a round slice of tofu to mimic the perfectly round egg in the McMuffin, but I don’t have any round cookie cutters.  (What’s with that, seriously?  Who AM I?)  So, I used a heart instead.  Nothing wrong with having more heart-shaped foods in your life.

While it’s baking, you can ready your tofu accoutrements.  I like the Food For Life sprouted English muffins in the freezer section of the grocery store—definitely an upgrade from the standard fast food English muffin.  Other than that, you just need some cheese, and veggies of your choice.  I went with spinach and scallion.

I’m not on a roadtrip, sadly, but this sort of made me feel like I was.

Plus, now I have tasty baked tofu for quick stir-fries, salads, etc. all week long.  You should definitely check out Caitlin’s recipe—it’s a tiny bit sweet and a little spicy from the chili powder.  I used agave nectar instead of the honey, because that’s what I usually have on hand, and it worked fine.

I hope you all have a stellar Monday—see you next time!

Study buddies

Another week of lawyer school is upon us.  Some of us have just realized that finals aren’t really that far away.

Some of us are legal superstars with important projects due soon.

And some of us are just generally cranky.

None of us will survive without study snacks.

I’ve made granola bars before (and posted the recipe here), but these are better.  They’re easy, infinitely adaptable, and practically guaranteed to make you smarter and/or more organized.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Granola Bars (makes 9-12)

• 1 2/3 c. oats
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c. sliced almonds
• 1/3 c. toffee bits
• 1/3 c. chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 tbsp melted butter or Earth Balance
• 2 tbsp honey (I think you could probably substitute agave nectar or brown rice syrup.)
• 1 small, overripe banana, mashed

Preheat your oven to 350, and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.  (This made removing the bars a cinch, but if you don’t have parchment just grease the pan.)  In a large bowl, mix the oats, sugar, whole wheat flour, salt, almonds, toffee, and chocolate chips.  In a smaller bowl, combine the vanilla, melted butter, honey, and mashed banana.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir to coat.  Press the mixture firmly into the 8×8 pan, and bake for about 30 minutes.  Let cool completely, and then slice into bars.