Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

December 2, 2013 Kathleen Henry

Hello? Anyone there? I feel like it's been a little while. I guess I strayed from my usual peculiar ramblings in favor mostly of lounging about the house, reading. There was also some cooking, socializing and, wait for it...Tempur-Pedic mattress buying! Now wait just a minute! No, I do not by even the slightest definition engage in any sort of "Black Friday" monstrosities. I think it's absolutely horrendous. It is! Admit it. I'm just the messenger. We all know it. Is it really worth it all just to save 20% on a second microwave that you don't need anyway? No. Also, according to NPR you probably aren't even getting that much of a steal. So stay home and enjoy some good ol' fashioned family time. Oh no, I'm not done. I can't even imagine wanting to go shopping on Black Friday. I can't! But, I do hate shopping in general. Seriously, why would anybody even want to?! If you have to wait until one day of the year when there's a sale, chances are you don't really need what you're buying. Just a thought. People die and get injured! I won't even broach the subject of consumerism. Minimalism...it's going to happen. Whew, boy did that feel good. MOST AMERICANS HAVE SO MUCH MORE THAN THEY NEED! Okay, now I'm done.

Alright, with regards to the mattress...

Story Time

One day, as a poor Radiology student, I found myself in an effort to scrounge up food money, house-sitting for an Orthopedic (a.k.a. bone) surgeon. This surgeon had a Tempur-Pedic mattress in her guest room. I slept wonderfully. Todd didn't snore. He was also less sore in the morning (arthritis). Oh, and did I mention that he didn't snore!? We both vowed then and there that one day, one glorious day...the clouds of awful mattresses and sleepless nights would part and we would get a beautiful Tempur-Pedic mattress. Yesterday was that day.

To think, it all happened because I bought some amazing sheets from Garnet Hill (Bailey put a hole in ours about seven months ago...I swear we are not hobos). These are adult sheets. Real nice sheets. Legit sheets. Anyways, our prior bed arrangement was two twin mattresses shoved together with a very sad, sunken memory foam mattress-topper from Costco thrown on top. No, I'm not making this up. Don't judge us. Anyways, I forbid these BAMF sheets to ever grace that...setup. I decided to stash them away for when had a "real bed".

That lasted about a week. Yea...we had to get a real mattress. Unfortunately, that also meant that we had to move our former bedroom from the loft to the living room and the living room up to the loft, because the new mattress most likely will not fit up the stairs. We also do not have a bed frame...or a couch, because the couch won't fit up the stairs into the "new" living room. It's all very confusing. We kept the two twin mattresses for an awful (awfully awesome?) excuse of a couch. Maybe I'll post some pictures on Facebook today or tomorrow so you can feel better about your couch situation or the fact that your abode isn't the size of the thimble. Or the fact that you have a bed frame. Any of those will probably work.

We are currently taking donations. Live a minimalist life! Who needs a real couch? Yes, we both make fairly good money...we just choose to live like hobos. OMG...I've turned into my grandpa. Just not rich...or as homeless looking. My grandpa is a very homeless looking, former physician. He's also a bajillionaire and he his extraordinarily frugal. Grandpa Doc, for a long time, was the only doctor here in the valley. He uses a bungee cord as a belt to hold up his pink holey sweatpants that he got from Costco and gripes about how diesel fuel de-geller costs $8 a bottle. He only needs a few drops, you guys! I love you Grandpa.

Cookie Time

Whoa, I got way off track there. These cookies. Anyhow, basically, we really didn't have any desserts for Thanksgiving and so Friday night I was seriously craving some sweets! Cookies were in demand. It'd been way too long since I'd made them anyways and I really needed to satisfy a major sweet tooth. These were awesome.

No butter in these! Well...peanut butter! Peanut butter oatmeal cookies speckled with dark chocolate chunks and the perfect sprinkling of flaked salt on top. Sophisticated enough for your adult side but nostalgic enough to bring out the kid in you.

Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Slightly adapted from Paint and Tofu

Makes about 20 cookies

1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 cup of vegan sugar (I use Zulka)
1/3 cup cartoned coconut milk or other nondairy milk
1 tsp. Kahlua or vanilla extract (I still haven't bought vanilla extract...)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chunks
sprinkling of finishing salt

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, oil, sugar, milk, and Kahlua. Stir until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Make your Home Ec teacher proud and gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Don't you dare scoop out the flour with the measuring cup. Don't do it! I'll be watching.

Now, add the dry ingredients slowly into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Add in the oatmeal and the chocolate chunks to the dough and stir until just combined. Be sure to not overmix it!

Coat a baking sheet with a nonstick cooking spray and drop cookies, so they are spaced about one inch apart.

Bake at 425 F for about 8-10 minutes or until the edges are just barely golden brown. The top should not be brown and they will still be a bit pillowy. They might look like they need a few more minutes, but once removed they will set.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with finishing salt. Allow them to rest a couple minutes on the baking sheet before placing on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Serve warm with a tall, cold glass of your favorite vegan milk!

What? It's super catchy...Katy Perry – Hummingbird Heartbeat Also, I might be somewhat of a hobo...

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Vegetable Quiche + Herbed Crust

November 26, 2013 Kathleen Henry

On our very first date ever, Todd brought over a cheese and bacon quiche and a bottle of wine. I still tell him that was the moment that he tricked me into thinking he cooks! You see, he ~~later~~ much later professed that his uncle (who is possibly more devious than Todd) helped him make said quiche. It was supposed to impress me...and it did. A quiche! Oooo la la. I don't even know if I had ever made a quiche at that point! I've never been real big on eggs, so that's probably a just explanation. Well, our very first date was on November 23 only four short years ago and so we decided it would be kind of fun to make a quiche to celebrate. However, being vegan that really didn't seem very appropriate. However, would you be surprised to know that one doesn't have to use eggs to make a quiche?! That's right! Eggs don't make the rules and they certainly aren't needed to make a great quiche. You're not the boss of me, eggs! I'll make a quiche if I want to!

Quiche always seems a little intimidating, doesn't it? Well, you'll feel silly for thinking that after you bust out this awesome quiche like a pro.

Sauteed vegetables nestled in a smooth tofu filling and baked in a herbed, flaxseed-studded wheat crust. This quiche is creamy, healthy and a bit fancy pants. Oh yes! It's also shockingly fast and incredibly easy.

Surprise baby shower!? Impromptu ladies night?! No problem! You've got it handled with this awesome and downright snobby dish. They'll think you slaved over it for hours.

Vegetable Quiche + Herbed Crust

Inspired by Veggieful

Serves 6

--Crust--
2 cups whole-wheat white flour
2 Tbsp. whole flax seeds
2 tsp. Italian herbs
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
--Veggies--
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced small
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 oz. small button mushrooms, chopped
4 sun dried tomatoes (dry packed), thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, diced small
1 large handful of fresh spinach
2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
--Tofu--
1 14 oz. block of extra firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup plain unsweetened soymilk
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F and coat a tart pan with a nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, add the dry ingredients for the crust and whisk to combine. Then, drizzle in the water and oil while stirring (don't use the whisk for this bit). Stir until just combined.

Form a ball with the dough and place on a solid surface. Knead about 6-8 times, then roll out with a rolling pin to a circle larger than your tart pan.

Press the dough into the tart pan, ensuring that the edges make it all the way up to the top edge of the pan. Poke with a fork several times and allow to bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Leave the oven on.

Heat the olive oil for the vegetables in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add in the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add in the mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes. Now, add in the remaining ingredients for the vegetables and saute for another 5 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted then remove from heat.

In a food processor, add in all the tofu ingredients and processor for about 3 minutes, or until silky smooth. Then, add the tofu mixture into the vegetable mixture and stir well to combine.

Add the tofu/vegetable mixture into the pre-cooked crust and smooth over with a spatula.

Bake at 350 F for about 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the quiche is set. Place on a cooling rack and allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Cut into slices and serve warm, room temperature or chilled. Whatever pleases you most!

Listening to Haim – The Wire

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Peppermint Mocha Cookie Dough Bites

November 22, 2013 Kathleen Henry

I've seen a bunch of these little no-bake-cookie-dough-ball-bites rolling around the internet for quite some time now. Yet, I've never really had the itch to make them. I don't really know why. They're easy, delicious, pretty healthy and fun to make! I guess it's because I knew I'd gobble up all those little guys at once, so why even try. In terms of sweets...my willpower leaves a lot to be desired.... Well, I'm happy to say that yesterday I put on my big girl underpants and I made some of these little mofos. They were super easy and very tasty. And I exhibited excellent willpower in only eating one ball...and maybe several gobs of dough off the spatula. Okay, so it might have ended up to be about the equivalent of 3-4 balls. That's not too bad. Right?

Just look how cute they are! Peppermint Mocha Kahlua is amazing, by the way. I've been using it in my coffee lately but it was begging to be used in a recipe! And no, I am not a Kahlua spokesperson. Maybe I should be though...Anyways, these little cookie dough bites are sweet and nutty and mimic the texture of raw cookie dough perfectly. The cacao nibs lend a rich, dark chocolate crunch!

Peppermint Mocha Cookie Dough Bites

Inspired by Lauren Conrad

Makes 12 bites

2/3 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup dry oats
pinch of kosher salt
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. Peppermint Mocha Kahlua
1 drop of peppermint extract (optional)
1/4 cup cacao nibs
finishing salt, for topping (optional)

In a food processor, add the oats and processor until they are the texture of flour. Add in the cashews, and pulse until the nuts are pulverized and mixed in well.

Now, add in the remaining ingredients except for the cacao nibs and pulse until very well combined.