coconut lovers beware

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I haven’t used canned pumpkin for a few weeks now and was wondering if I would still be in the mood for it.  Pumpkin seems so fall/winter-ish to me but I thought I’d give it a shot.  I had one can left and was ready to bust it open to try with my Irish steel cut oats.

My answer was soon solved.  I am without a doubt not tired of pumpkin.

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This was by far my best bowl of pumpkin oats ever.  Insanely creamy, perfectly spiced, and perfectly topped.

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I Don’t Care That It’s Spring I Still LOVE Pumpkin OATS [kind of a long recipe name…but whatev]

  • 1/4c Irish steel cut oats
  • 1 1/4c water
  • 1/3c rice milk
  • 1 medium banana, thinnly sliced
  • 1/3c pumpkin puree
  • 1/2t cinnamon
  • 1t vanilla
  • a few shakes of Nutmeg + Ginger

Topped with:

  • ~2T walnuts
  • 1T wild berry jelly [organic WF brand]
  • 1t Artisana’s cacao bliss + 1T pnut butter [melted, lightly stirred]
  1. Boil 1c water
  2. Add steel cut oats + stir until the water starts to slightly thicken [~1-2min]
  3. Simmer for about 10-15min.
  4. When almost all the liquid is absorbed add in rice milk + 1/4c water + banana + vanilla + spices
  5. Simmer 3-5min
  6. Add pumpkin in the last 2min

The recipe on the can calls for 1c of liquid for 1/4c of steel cut oats.  However, I like to cook the oats longer to make them creamier.  The extra liquid also bulks them up a bit.  The bowl was extremely creamy with a slightly chewy/crunch from the steel cut oats.

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I am getting a little sick of pumpkin yogurt though.  I wasn’t the biggest fan of the combo, even with my crazed addiction to Greek yogurt + pumpkin.  Enter my new love:

~1/2c Greek yogurt + 6 frozen cherries + 2T homemade granola  SOoooo good!  I loved the texture of the frozen cherries.  I might chop up the cherries next time. mmmm

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I’m feeling about 90% better today.  I haven’t worked out in almost a FULL week.  I think I’m going to hit the gym and ride the bike tomorrow.  I know I’ll be feeling even better but I also know my lungs aren’t ready for a swim.  Hopefully mid-week I’ll be back to my usual.

It was a gorgeous day.  65* and sunny.  Chris and I went over to S. Pearl Street [in Denver] to walk around and grab a late lunch.  It’s a really cute area, that I can’t wait to take my mom to [next week!!].

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We ended up at this pizza place called Kaos.  It was adorable.  There is a lot of outside seating and there is an old house to the left that has indoor seating available.  There is a LOT of seating and only 2 people working.  You go in the little house to order your food and they bring it out when it’s ready.  They had a great list of pizzas, paninis, salads, etc.   

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I had a fabulous mixed greens salad with pumpkin seeds, roasted red peppers, and a honey vinaigrette.

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Chris got a 10” pizza.  The pieces were cut pretty small…I gladly took one off of his hands ;)  I haven’t eaten much meat at all in the past 2 months, however I did eat 1 pepperoni.  Wasn’t too exciting but the pizza in general was really really good!!  The crust was light and crispy and even with all those toppings the middle was NOT soggy at all.  Everything was freshly made and they even cooked the pizza in a brick oven.  And the pizza made it out in about 7min flat.  Not too shabby!

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Hiiiiiii :)

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So many cute shops, restaurants, and bakeries.  Chris ahead walking into a coffee shop we’ve been meaning to check out.  They have little fire pits on the patio for cooler weather.  Fun stuff.  We just browsed inside to see what they had.  Super cute place.

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Now.  Onto the highlight of the day/night!!  HOMEmade coconut milk VEGAN ice cream!!!

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Teri asked me to try to make coconut icecream because she said she has a crazy addiction to Coconut Bliss and Purely Decadent and is tired of pay $5-6 for the tiny tub.  While i have been anxious to try these ice creams, I haven’t given in to shelling out the cash.  I just don’t really buy ice cream.  Yes of course I love it, but it’s one of those things i try to keep off the list!

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I consulted a few recipes and then merged + changed a few things to come up with my own version.  My inspiration came from here + here. 

I wanted to make this vegan [just for fun] so I left out the eggs from the Whole Foods recipe.  I added vanilla beans, per the instructions from the 101 cookbooks recipe.  Instead of plain white sugar, I of course used sucanat.  I also used 1tsp tapioca starch in fear that it wouldn’t thicken enough because I was leaving out the eggs.

Coconut Vanilla Dream Ice Cream [vegan]

  • 1 can regular coconut milk
  • 1 can lite coconut milk
  • 2 vanilla beans
  • 1/2c sucanat
  • 1tsp tapioca start [optional]
  1. If using the starch, whisk into a small amount of the coconut milk.
  2. Once dissolved, add that mixture, the rest of both coconut milks, and sucanat into a medium saucepan.
  3. Slice each vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla paste/beans.
  4. Add the paste to the pan and heat gently over med/low.
  5. Whisk vigorously to break up the vanilla beans and disperse evenly throughout the mixture.
  6. Add the vanilla beans into the pan and cook for 8-10min [do not simmer or boil] until the mixture begins to thicken.
  7. Once slightly thickened, pour into a large bowl and freeze for appx 3hrs.  [until mixture is very cold all the way through]
  8. Mix in ice cream maker, per your machines instructions.  It took about 20min in mine.
  9. Pour into a storage container and press saran of the top, and then cover with the lid.  This will help prevent ice crystals from forming.
  10. Freeze 1-2hrs and enjoy.

Always freeze your ice cream machine mixing bowl for at least 24hrs before making the ice cream. 

This turned out rich, creamy and just plain fabulous.  It had a nice vanilla taste, smooth coconut milk flavor and the perfect amount of sweetness.  I can’t wait to try making different flavors and adding mix ins!!  Watch out Coconut Bliss + Purely Decadent!! haha 

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Dinner was Sweet and Sour Stir Fry from the Spring section in my Clean Food cookbook!!  I was so excited to dive into the Spring section!!

The recipe called for Soba noodles.  This specific type are made 30% from buckewheat flour and 70% spring wheat flour.  You can find them in the Asian section of your store.  I LOVED this pasta.  It was hearty but softer than whole wheat pasta with just as much nutritional density.  It is high in protein and seems to be less carb loaded than regular whole wheat.  I really loved it!!

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Let’s be depressed…in the middle of the kitchen!!

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Who will get the raw noodle on the floor first???

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Aaaaaand DONE.  We had mixed greens salads on the side too.  The toasted sesame seeds [as the recipe called for] were a delicious addition.  I think next time I would take out most of the carrot…not really a fan of carrot in stir fry and replace that with peppers.  I also added mung bean sprouts, which were awesome!  Love the crunch. 

broccoli + snap peas + carrots+ mung bean sprouts + pineapple + sesame seeds

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The sauce was light but flavorful.  It included: garlic + ginger + soy sauce + brown rice vinegar + mirin + toasted sesame oil

At first I thought the flavor was a bit lacking.  I would add in a bit more garlic next time…but overall it grew on me with every bite and I had a hard time putting my fork down.  I think I’m used to making stir fries with a thicker sauce, so it just took a minute to get used to.  Chris really enjoyed it and I can’t wait for leftovers!! mmmm

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Before I go a reader asked me what was in my bowl of oats from yesterday…

  • 1/4c Irish steel cut oats
  • 1c water
  • 1/3c rice milk
  • 1 medium banana, sliced thinly
  • 1/2t cinnamon
  • 1t vanilla

[I add in the banana, cin, and vanilla in the last 5min of cooking]

Topped with:

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p.s. I LOVE the blog world!!!  I loved ALL of your comments on what I should do with my wedding dress.  I feel so much better knowing that many of you still have it in your closet or your parents, waiting to get it cleans or turn it into something else!  I’ll keep you posted on what I end up doing.  Also, your enthusiasm about the GREEN cleaning products got me even more excited.  Yay!!  Can’t wait to start mixing! 

Night!!

Ashley