Chia Seed Pudding

I am terrible at getting up in the morning.

Like 

sleep-in-my-clothes-for-tomorrow

wake-up-10-minutes-before-I-leave

bad..

Pathetic? Probably.

But listen, adulthood.

I learned how to file my own taxes.

I own a vacuum cleaner.

Isn't that enough for you?

You can't have all of me.

I still want to buy beer that costs less than a pop from 

an airport vending machine

and eat more freezie pops than dinner sometimes.

You can't take that away from me.

So anyways, I suck at waking up.

This means weekday breakfast generally consists of

Instant oatmeal, mints from the bottom of my purse, or whatever baked

goods people leave out in the break room at work.  

(Do I sound like a yogurt commercial yet? Good.)

That's why I was probably a little too excited 

when I tried this chia seed pudding.

It's healthy as crap, it tastes like dessert, and it requires

NO EFFORT in the morning. 

RECIPE

5 TBSP. Chia Seeds

3 TBSP. Honey

1 TSP. Vanilla Extract

1/8 TSP. Salt

1 1/2 C. Coconut Milk

Instructions:  Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 

Stir thoroughly to remove lumps.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Remove from fridge, give the mixture a good stir, 

and top with fruit, jam, nuts or granola. 

Happy Eating!

Until the next!

Sopapillas

Working with yeast has always been a difficult thing for me.

It usually starts with a lot of confidence and anticipation and ends 

 with me swearing at a lot of sad, unrisen dough in the garbage.

So needless to say, it is a very satisfying feeling when it comes out right.

Like the kind of satisfying that you feel when your mom calls and you can report that

none of the plants that she gave you are dead.

It's something that you're pretty sure you're going to fail at,

and then when you miraculously succeed somehow,

you feel both confused and very proud of yourself.

It's a complicated emotion, but us folk that are fumbling our way through

everyday life will take all the high notes that we can get.

As you can see by the puffy and delightful state of the sopapillas pictured, 

this was a successful yeast endeavor. 

AND my mom called to see if the plants were still alive.

And they were. 

I'm nailing life right now. 

Sopapillas are a type of fried dough, popular in South America.

They are kind of like a donut, but less sweet and with a lighter, airier dough.

They are amazing because they are dessert. 

If you don't like dessert, we have an issue.

I went with mitten shapes for mine because it is DAMN COLD outside

and nothing sounded cozier than eating a warm fluffy pair of mittens,

but any shape you fancy will work.

Since i'm no yeasted dough expert, I followed this recipe from one of

my favorite blogs, A Beautiful Mess.

If you don't read their blog, you're doing it wrong.

Until the next, dears!

Pad Thai with Zucchini Noodles

Everyone has weird things that they irrationally, yet passionately hate.
 I am no exception to that, and if you have ever had a
 conversation with me at any point past 3 beers,
you probably know ALL too much about them.

Victims of this hatred include Jack Kerouac, transition lenses 
 and low carb diets.

To me, a diet where you can eat an entire block of cheese for 
breakfast, but an orange is out of the question 
is some serious nonsense. 

So please, don't let this recipe lead you to the conclusion that I'm 
a carb hater. I would live in a sandwich house if I could.
Zucchini is just delicious in this recipe. 
Hear me out!

If you've never tried Zucchini noodles, I highly recommend giving them a shot.

They require NO COOKING and have a very similar texture and

flavor as regular noodles. 

And since you are just eating a bunch of zucchini, you can pig out so hard.

It's a win across the board.

I made mine using a spiralizer tool, but if you don't have access to one,

making thin strips with a vegetable peeler or slicing the 

vegetable into noodle-like strips will suffice. 

RECIPE


Sauce: 

6 TBSP. Soy Sauce
2 TBSP. Sriracha
4 TBSP. lime juice
2 TBSP. sesame oil
2 TBSP. canola oil
3 TBSP. brown sugar

Instructions: Simply whisk all of these bad boys together and set aside!


Pad Thai:

1 package extra firm tofu
2 large zucchini 
1/2 c. shelled edamame
1/2 red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
2  stalks green onion (chopped)
1/4 c. cilantro
3 eggs

1/4 c. peanuts (shelled and chopped)
lime wedges for garnish


Instructions:

Start by pressing the tofu. 

**If you like your tofu on the squishy side, you can
skip on past this.

Cut your tofu into thin pieces.
 Layer 2 paper towels on a plate,
then cover the surface with your tofu slices. 
You can layer more paper towels on top and 
make another layer if you run out of room. 
Layer 2 more paper towels on top of your tofu, and set another plate or heavy
pan on top of your layers of tofu.
This will help draw water out of the tofu and give it a firmer texture 
when you cook it. 

Let the tofu press for 15-20 minutes, then dice it into 1-inch cubes 
and move it to a large bowl.
Pour half of the sauce mixture over the tofu and allow it to marinate 
for 10-15 minutes. 

Once marinated, cook the tofu in it's marinade 
in a frying pan on medium heat until it has browned 
and has become more firm. 

In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of oil. Scramble the 3 eggs
and pour them into the pan. 
Once the eggs have cooked 2/3 of the way,
add the vegetables.
Once the vegetables are tender, add the tofu mixture to the pan
and give everything a good stir. 

Make your zucchini noodles 
(either with a spiralizer or an alternate slicing method)
and plate some up.

Spoon the warmed vegetable and tofu mixture on top of your noodles.
Spoon on some of the remaining sauce 
and garnish with chopped peanuts and a lime wedge.

Chow down, my friends. 

Until the next!