Author Archives: Emily

Pumpkin Butterscotch Bars

by

It’s Pumpkin Month!  But you already knew that.  I really wanted to make pumpkin squares, so I did some Googling.  I got lots of results, but most of them were for pumpkin chocolate chip squares.  I wanted butterscotch.  So I made my own!

These bars have just a bit more chew than a pumpkin loaf.  They pack a lot of spice, but it’s nicely tempered by the butterscotch and toffee.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Bars; yields 16 small squares  (base ingredients inspired by 20 recipes from the internets)

  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup butterscotch morsels
  • 1/2 cup Heath toffee bits
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare a 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together pumpkin, sugars, oil, and vanilla.  Fold in remaining ingredients.
  3. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake 40 – 45 minutes until firm and slightly browned.
  4. Cool and slice.

P.S.  Did anyone notice that when I first published this post I had three different recipe names between the post, the title, and the picture?!  I’m not feeling very well!

Three Day Weekend

by

My “three-day weekend” only refers to blogging.  I still went to school on Friday.  And work.  And volunteering and work on Saturday.  And school and work on Sunday.  I guess it actually wasn’t a very relaxing weekend!  I did take pictures, but recapping every single thing I ate sounds pretty tedious.  Instead, let’s focus just on things that were fun and sweet!

Sweet Eats from 10/12, 10/13, and 10/14

An apple, cereal, cinnamon bowl that quickly became one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.  Certainly the best bowl of cereal that’s ever passed my lips!

1 serving each of Vanilla Almond Special K and All Bran Bran Buds, topped with 2 Tbsp Skippy Natural Super Chunk with Honey pb and lots of cinnamon.  I microwaved the bowl for 30 seconds to get everything warm then poured on skim milk.  Ridiculous!  Expect to see many repeats of this.

White chocolate candy corn M&M’s.

These were delicious and I have no idea why they aren’t listed on the website or available at more stores.  I found my bag at 7-11 and snatched it up.  The chocolate isn’t sickly sweet like some white chocolate can be and the candies really do taste like candy corn!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Bars.

Exactly what they sound like.  I made a batch on a whim and I’ll be sharing the recipe tomorrow afternoon.

Red velvet hot cakes from Nelson’s Ridge Diner.

“Red velvet hot cakes served with a cream cheese icing, powdered sugar, and whipped cream.”  Adam and I shared a plate and neither of us could stop swooning!  In addition to being amazing, these were the best pancakes I’ve ever had.  We were also pretty intrigued by these….

What was sweet about your weekend?

It’s 10-11-12!

by

I’m blogging a two-day recap from a blanket nest with a killer migraine, so please excuse any typos.  I was hoping to be back on a “normal” blog schedule by now, but I’m not sure that’ll ever happen this semester!

Going back to yesterday… Wonder of wonders, I made it to the gym!  20 minutes on the elliptical; random level 6.  The machine was out of water so I drank a fruit punch g2 while I worked.

It was embarrassing to have so much fuel for such a short workout but I ended up being very thankful that I had it.  I guzzled most of it during my workout, then refilled the bottle with water and drank all of that on the drive home.  I guess I came back from Philly a little dehydrated.

From my trip to the gym, I came back short on time.  Thank goodness Adam had the day off yesterday; he drove me to school and packed my breakfast.  FNCE expo samples were heavily featured.  An iced coffee with skim milk.

A mini apple pie Larabar.

An apple it its true form.

And a serving of Cheddar Cheese Beanitos.

I was a big fan of the (pinto bean and flax-seed) chips.  They were nice and crunchy with just a touch of spice.

I’m also a big fan of things working out in the lab.  Look at what I made in Microbiology – spread plates and pour plates!

Adam’s undergrad degree was in Microbiology Immunology and sometimes it is downright embarrassing to show him my class-work!

I had several to-do’s after lab, but I made it home in time to make dinner before work.  My mid-day meal was pretty lame.  2 small corn tortillas microwaved with ~1/4 cup shredded cheese.

Plus a 2% Fage with Peach.

And the last two Buttered Rum Raisin Cookies from the batch I brought my friend.

We are getting in all of our Christmas stock now and work was more like a workout; I carried boxes up and down the stairs for my most my shift.  I was very glad to have dinner already finished when I got home.

Green Tuna Enchiladas; serves 4-6

  • 1 tsp evoo
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
  • (2) 10 oz cans tuna
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 cup green tomatillo salsa
  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • 4 Tbsp light half and half
  • 3/4 cup reduced-fat shredded taco or Mexican-style cheese
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Heat evoo in a large pan over medium heat.
  2. Add onion and peppers to oil and brown, about 7 minutes.
  3. Add tuna and 1/2 cup salsa to veggies and cook 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat.
  4. Spoon 2 T filling into each tortilla and place into a 8×11 inch casserole, seam-side down.  Too keep tortillas from cracking and breaking, it is helpful to cover them with a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds.
  5. In a separate bowl, stir together the last cup of salsa with half and half.  Spoon mixture over enchiladas.
  6. Sprinkle cheese evenly over casserole and bake 20 minutes.

Dinner did not fill me up like I was hoping.  I ate a huge spoonful of Skippy Natural Super Chunk with Honey; aka the very best peanut butter ever.

And I had dessert.  I am working on a hot chocolate recipe so I’m not going to share the ingredients now, but I will tell you that this batch included a serving of Caramel Apple Milky Ways for funsies.

It was ridiculous good.  Ridiculous.

Moving on to Tuesday… Today had a productive start but has steadily gone downhill.  I had a difficult time getting out of my warm bed and ended up eating breakfast on the walk from my car to the hospital.  A Sweet Tango apple,

and a Full Moon Brownie Z-Bar, which I actually hated.

I couldn’t put my finger on what the problem was specifically, but the taste of the bar was not good to me.

Today was my busiest day at clinic yet.  I had a patient on my own in the morning, then worked on another in a group later in the afternoon.  We had our first practice with tube-feeds today and it was both fascinating and frustrating.  We’ve learned a lot in school but it’s all been in isolation; in the real world conditions overlap.  For example*, you might have a patient in End Stage Renal Disease that has increased protein needs for wound healing and is also a Diabetic. *just an example, this wasn’t a specific patient that we worked with today

Also, my friend Janessa and I offered to turn-key some of what we learned at FNCE, so we did a short presentation on ketogenic diets for epilepsy.  The group had to stay late so that we could present and I love them all for still being interested in what we had to say.

I ate a late lunch during my afternoon errands.  Vegan pecan cornbread stuffing from the co-op.

Buffalo peeps – run to the co-op to get some of this stuffing, it had the perfect blend of flavors and textures.

Then hot bar at Wegman’s while I ran through my notes before shopping.

I did three types of vegetable stir-fry.

I am glad that I got in veggies and time studying, because both were in short supply when I got home.  Minutes after walking in the door, I got an immense migraine.  It came on much more quickly than they usually do and made me unbelievably nauseous.

Adam brought home pizza for dinner and I ate a big plate once I was able to get out of bed.

Now I have to go try to study for tomorrow’s giant exam.  <– so screwed

What is your favorite store-bought peanut butter?

Food Fun At FNCE In Philly

by

I’m home!  If you didn’t know, I spent the past five days in Philadelphia attending the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ (AND) Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE); alphabet soup, much?!

I went with two fabulous friends and we had a great time.  Our days were packed (I need a vacation from this vacation!) and I am very glad I made the decision in advance not to blog.  In fact, I’m barely going to do a recap.

I would love to talk about the sessions I attended, and all of the things that I learned, but I have homework to catch up on, a shift at work this evening, and a huge test on Friday, so I doubt it’s going to happen.

I do have a few shots of some of the fun food though.

Amazing (2nd only to my favorite place in Brooklyn) eggplant pizza that we had the first night when we stayed with one of my friends from high school.

Taro milk bubble tea.

Hot, spiked, apple cider from a street fair.  We also had pumpkin beer and apple pie shots; we were drinking seasonally this trip.

The expo –

My swag –

It was amazing/ridiculous and my friends and I ended up offering a bag of food to a man I saw digging in a trash can as we were walking from the conference to our car.

Pumpkin pie frozen yogurt.

The best espresso I’ve ever had.

Sidenote – I drank my coffee holding back tears.  We went to eat a vegan cheese-steak on our last day in town and found out that the place was out of seitan!

The Chobani bar at the expo was hands-down the best part.

This Strawberry FrozFruit was a very close second.  My favorite thing in high school was the coconut version.

And a final treat at home – tiny chocolate hamburgers that I brought back for the husband.

Who’s hungry?!

Coconut Egg Creams

by

I’ve loved egg creams ever since I was a little girl.  My father might not have ever taken me to synagogue, but he did teach me to appreciate a chewy bagel, a well-made blintz, and a good deli.

Sidenote – I actually did attend synagogue on my own for years.  My best friend was the rabbi’s daughter which meant I sat in the “important” seats reserved for the rabbi’s family.  I loved every minute of the services but never did learn any of the prayers and had to mouth “watermelon, cantaloupe, watermelon, cantaloupe…” whenever it was time to sing!

Anyway.  When I was a little girl, my family went to dinner at Parkway Deli every single time we visited my aunt and uncle in DC.  The Deli had a front room stocked with desserts, a vending machine out front shaped like a giant chicken that clucked as it gave you your prize, and a pickle bar with the best bread and butter pickles I’ve ever eaten.  Also, the Deli sold me my first (and 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th…) egg cream.  It was love at first fizzy sip.

When I put “eat an egg cream” on my birthday list I didn’t think it would be much to accomplish.  But after much Googling and asking around, I have determined that I will not be purchasing an egg cream anywhere near Buffalo.  The next time I head into the city it’ll be one of the first things I get, but for now I have to make it happen on my own.

Coconut Egg Creams, serves 2

  • 1 cup seltzer water
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup chocolate syrup (u-bet if you can get it!)
  1. Divide the seltzer evenly between two glasses.
  2. Stir chocolate syrup into coconut milk.  Pour chocolate coconut milk into seltzer.

Easy enough, and a check on my goal, but nowhere near as good as the real thing!  The coconut was just too thick.  I’m glad I tried, but I will be eagerly awaiting my next trip to the Deli.

Have you ever had an egg cream?

Caramel Apple Squares

by

I realize that it’s Pumpkin Month now, but I couldn’t skip over the caramel apple themed goodie that I’ve been dreaming about since September.

Chewy apple bars with a square of caramel in the center?  Don’t mind if I do!

Caramel Apple Squares, yields 12 servings

  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 12 caramel squares, unwrapped
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare an 8×8 inch baking dish with baking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, egg, canola oil, skim milk, and vanilla extract.
  3. Fold flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into the wet ingredients.
  4. Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
  5. Picture a 3 x 4 grid creating 12 squares on top of your baking dish.  Place 1 caramel into the center of each “square.”
  6. Bake 40 – 45 minutes, until firm.

I’m Going To Philly!

by

By the time you read this, I’ll be in a car that’s bound for Philadelphia!  Two friends and I are making the drive so that we can attend FNCE (Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo), the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ national conference.  There will be loads to learn, and hopefully some swag too.  And with any luck, I’ll find time to eat another vegan cheesesteak.

For people who actually want to read about me every day (hi, mom!) –

I will not be blogging from FNCE.  I am unable to bring my laptop and I’m not sure that I’m comfortable taking pictures of my food at a professional conference (i.e. 75% of what I’ll be eating this weekend).  I will do a highlights post of any amazing eats when I get back.  Keep your eye out for a few recipe posts that I’ve scheduled to pop up early next week!

For people who are down with the technology (bye, mom!) –

I will be making somewhat of an effort to be active on Twitter and Instagram (my user name is “emilywax.”  Are you following me yet?

For other Dietetics students –

I’m going to be at FNCE with a great group of students from Buffalo State.  Shoot me an e-mail if you’d like to hang out and please say hi if you spot me!

I’ll be back on Wednesday.  I’m going to miss you guys!

I’m Packed, With Pizza

by

In less than 12 hours, I’ll be headed to Philly!  Guess I should be getting in bed, huh?  Between clinic, packing, and baking what felt like a million things, it was a busy day.

Food at the hospital.  GoGo Squeez cinnamon applesauce packet and a vanilla Stinger waffle.

1 serving of Vanilla Almond Special K with Tempt vanilla hemp milk, chopped plum and nectarine, and 1.5 Tbsp chunky honey peanut butter.

Taste-test #1; look for the recipe on Monday.

Here’s a hint –

Taste-test #2; look for the post on Tuesday.

Taste-test #3; my Buttered Rum Raisin Cookies.

Actually, I “tested” two cookies.  Adam and I have decided that these cookies are the best I’ve ever made!  My friends and I are staying with a high school friend of mine for a night before the conference starts and I’m saying “thank you” with a big box of cookies.

Grocery store sample.

Adam and I split this plate of carbs and veggies (lasagna, mac and cheese, kale, tofu, and broccoli).

I ended up mostly sticking with the greens.  I realized two bites in that the “vegetarian lasagna” was loaded with pork!!!!  So sad; but on the plus side we got our food comped so Adam ate for free.

I tried again with pizza plate for dinner.

Veggie slice, buffalo chicken roll up, baby carrots, and blue cheese for dipping.

When was the least time you ate something you didn’t mean to?