Mid-Weekly Round Up
It’s happened again. I’ve accumulated a bunch of random pictures that somehow never made it through to the blog world. They deserve their moment in the limelight too, right?
That’s what I thought.
Pancakes are still in full force around these parts.
Stuffed with anything and everything I can find in my pantry.
Like coconut butter.
And granola.
And topped with dried cranberries, plus nut butter and maple syrup.
Nothing like watching your boyfriend eat plain pancakes without toppings to make you feel like a total glutton.
I’m okay with that.
Speaking of gluttons, a fabulously delicious shrimp recipe went through this kitchen last week and despite thinking it would serve 4, we managed to scrape every pot and pan clean. All except the extra cashew cream sauce. What’s a girl to do with an excess of cashew cream and no shrimpy goodness to drizzle it over?
Yeah, a quinoa cake would be the natural answer.
Served over a bed of greens, a la Jess.
Don’t worry, that shrimp dish will be made again and when it does, I’ll definitely be sharing the recipe. I feel like I’ve been on a shrimp binge lately. I also don’t mind this.
I thought I went through peanut butter fast, until I vacationed with my family. I have nothing on my dad. Luckily, I am the happy inheritor of his almost empty PB jars.
Plethora of nearly empty PB jars –> overnight oats in a jar kick. I have a love/hate relationship with overnight oats. I assure you we’re in the love phase of our relationship right now. Coupled with peanut butter, it tastes like a jar of dough-y love.
This peanut butter is the best I’ve ever tasted. Crunchy to boot!
Oh and that cookie recipe I promised? Here ya go!
Simple Tahini Cookies
- 1 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or raisins (optional)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Beat ingredients until fully mixed.
- Add in chocolate chips or raisins (if desired).
- Wet hands and roll dough into balls. Place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake 10 minutes or until golden.
This was hands down the easiest cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. Plus they’re gluten free and super soft and moist (although I hate that word).
Note how you can’t see any chocolate chips in there. Yeah, I’d already eaten those by the time I took these pictures.
Favorite peanut butter? Favorite cookie recipe? Favorite pancake mix-in/topping?
Happy Wednesday!
Kakawa: The Ultimate Chocolate Experience
First and foremost I wanted to thank you all on the positive response to my post about drinking. I was nervous to post about something so controversial but it sounds like I’m not alone on my stance on alcohol. Thanks for contributing your opinions 🙂
Anyways, remember way back when when I said I had one more Santa Fe food spot to review? Well, you may have forgotten (and maybe I did too a little bit…) but my family did not. They’ve been badgering me about writing this post since we got back. So without further adieu, I give you Kakawa.
Kakawa is chocolate shop that specializes in chocolate elixirs, aka warm chocolate drinks that come in dozens of flavors and are all made of some really high quality chocolate. Although the shop offers an assortment of chocolates and caramels, their elixirs are what they’re known for.
I can’t decide which was better; the drinks or the owner, Peter. He was so generous – I think he had me sample about 6 elixirs before I picked one to order (and that was before he knew I wanted to write about Kakawa!) And besides being completely generous, he was also very passionate about chocolate. He said he was inspired to open Kakawa after reading about the history of chocolate and realizing that there was some really good stuff out there; stuff that was so much better than the chocolate candy we’re all so used to today.
It turns out drinking chocolate is a really old tradition. And one I really wanted to be a part of 
The elixirs come in a 6 oz. version.
Or, for those of us with a dinner reservation in half an hour (and we did that day), there’s the 3 oz. version.
Not sure why my hair looked like that…
My dad got the Chocolate Chai Elixir, my sister and I shared the American Elixir and my mom got the Marie Antoinette Elixir, which took the cake.
I also sampled some cocoa nibs and two pieces of dark chocolate. Really, it was dark. Like 100% and 85% chocolate dark. Are you cringing while reading that? Don’t, it was so smooth and not bitter at all. I almost bought a piece, but my heart was set on some Marie Antoinette Elixir wafers. Plus I left with a caramel for later, compliments of Peter.
Yes, that’s right, you can buy a chocolate wafer and make these drinks at home. And I did just that.
Ignore that these dishes say ‘espresso’’ – there’s no coffee involved here.
One wafer makes one 6 oz. drink, so I cut one in half to make a drink for Joey as a mid-birthday treat 
Kakawa makes their drinks with almond milk and encourages buyers to do the same. No problem!
I wish I could transfer the fragrance of this drink through the screen. This smelled so good.
I’m still holding on to that caramel.
Is that sea salt I sea see? Peter knows the way to my heart.
Overall, I love what Kakawa is all about. Good quality ingredients, a taste that’s phenomenal and a concept that’s unique.
And if this post wasn’t enough for your sweet tooth, I’ve got a super easy (and gluten-free to boot!) cookie recipe coming at you later this week. Or is this another one of those times when I promise something and don’t give it to you till weeks later? I guess you’ll just have to find out
The Ugly Truth
It occurred to me that I may be giving the impression that I’m not like your average 21 year-old. That the craziest I get is using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes in Shepherd’s Pie. That I’m above consuming alcohol to have fun.
I’m sorry, I can’t lie. The truth is, I drink.
I hope you’re not picturing scenes from the Jersey Shore right now. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. In fact, I only occasionally go out, but it does happen. And when it does, it’s fun (and legal, might I add). The truth is, I went through a phase where I was above drinking and while not drinking might be better for your physical health, I’m a firm believer that physical health is nothing without mental health. And an occasional drunken night out with my friends makes me happy and keeps me sane.
I hope this doesn’t change your opinion of me. P.S. I totally respect anyone’s decision not to drink. To each their own.
Now that you know the ugly truth, let me re-assure you that I’m still on the healthy living bandwagon by showing you the kinds of things I eat the day after a night out.
Like “more green than eggs” and ham. Okay, ham wasn’t involved but it sounded better.
Sweets are out of the question on mornings like this. I crave savory things like eggs and hey, why not throw some green stuff in there while you’re at it?
Blogging behind the scenes. Close ups = a way to avoid having to find a towel to use as a backdrop.
After getting my grocery shopping out of the way, it was time for lunch.
Cous cous, peas, hummus + Nut Thins, carrot and hummus on the side. Yes, I like hummus.
Roasted red pepper hummus to be exact.
I made extras of the cous cous/pea/hummus mixture. Leftovers make my life easier.
Have you tried these crackers? You should. I love them.
I ended the night with a sandwich from Whole Foods (pre-made/packaged food makes dinner at Rockies game so much easier) + some brussel sprouts. What, like you don’t eat brussel sprouts at sporting events? They’re a finger food, I swear.
By the way, funny story: Upon entering Whole Foods, I called my sister (who was attending the baseball game with me) to ask if she wanted me to pick her up something for dinner and she just so happened to also be at Whole Foods… at the register… with a specially made sandwich and no money. What are the chances that I would walk into the store right then and rescue her by paying for her food? Very odd.
I don’t mean this post to be a tutorial on what and how much to eat to beat a hangover – I ate more than what’s in this post!! I just wanted to give you a sample and to tell you that clean eating feels so much better after a night of not-so-clean partying 
Vegetables may very well be the cure for everything.
Anyways, I hope your mental health is just as important as your physical health and that you never miss out on a chance to have fun with friends, sober or not.
Lauren Loves Good Food 