Author Archives: Emily

Biscoff Banoffee Pie

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When I first read about Banoffee Pie (probably somewhere on Pinterest!) I wasn’t even sure what to think.  You take the sweetest nectar of the Gods – i.e. sweetened condensed milk – and turn it into caramel?!?

Who? Where? When?  Apparently  Val Hargreaves at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex in 1972.
What?  The SCM basically turns into dulce de leche that you pour on top of sliced bananas.
Why?  Why the hell wouldn’t you?!

I’d never tasted Banoffee Pie before but I knew that I would love it.  I also knew that I could improve it, because nothing isn’t better with Biscoff.

I swapped a cookie crust for the boring old pie dough and jazzed up the whipped cream with more of the good stuff.  Awesome.

Biscoff Banoffee Pie, serves 8

  • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (unopened!)
  • 22 Biscoff cookies
  • 6 Tbsp butter
  • 3 small bananas, sliced into quarter-inch rounds
  • 8 oz heavy whipping cream
  • 1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Creamy Biscoff Spread

toffee

Remove the paper label from the sweetened condensed milk and place the sealed can in the bottom of your crock pot.  Fill the pot with water until the liquid is at least a half-inch above the top of the can.  Turn crock pot on to “low” and set for 8.5 hours.

After 8.5 hours, turn off your crock pot so that the “warm” setting doesn’t kick on and walk alway until the pot is cool enough to handle safely.  Place the pot into your sink (do not drain the liquid!) and run cool water into it for 5 – 10 minutes, until the can is cool to the touch.  Place cooled can in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours so that it cools completely.

crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Place cookies into your food processor and pulse until you reach the consistency of rough sand.  You can break up the cookies by hand by placing them in a large baggie and mashing with a rolling-pin, just make sure that you pick out any large pieces left in the mix.  Put butter into an 8-inch pie pan and stick the pan into the preheating oven until the butter is completely melted.  Remove pan from oven and pour cookie crumbs into the melted butter.  With a fork, mix the butter into the crumbs and then use your fingertips to press the crust into an even layer in the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Bake for 9 minutes at 350*.  Allow crust to cool completely before filling.

whipped cream

You can do this by hand if you want an arm workout but it will be easier with a hand mixer and easiest with a stand mixer.  Put your mixing bowl and beater into the freezer for 15 minutes so they get nice and cold.  Pour heavy cream into chilled bowl and whip until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in sugar and Biscoff Spread until peaks form. Try not to overmix, but if the cream starts to get lumpy you can add a little more cream and rebeat.

assembly

Place sliced bananas in a single tight layer in the bottom of the cooled Biscoff cookie crust.  Remove sweetened condensed milk can from the fridge and carefully open it.  Use a spatula to pour the toffee over the bananas, smoothing it out to the edges of the crust as needed.  Use a clean spatula to top the toffee with the Biscoff whipped cream.  Optional – crumble a Biscoff cookie on top of the whipped cream for a little flair.

Place the pie in the fridge if not serving immediately.  Pie will keep in the fridge for at least two days; I can’t attest to any longer than that because ours was all gone!

Have you eaten Banoffee Pie before?

Cows, Elephants, And Buffalo

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After two days of waking up before 6 am, today’s 7 o’clock alarm felt like a breeze.  That’s a lie, but I did manage to get out of bed and go for a run.

2 minutes running/ 3 walking, x 11 (plus a little extra to finish the loop) for 4.8 miles and 56 minutes.

I brought 20 oz of water with Lemon Lime Gu Electrolyte Brew with me on my run.

I didn’t fuel so well for breakfast. There was no time to pack any proper meals for school but the endorphins were worth it.  Running (and run/walking!) puts me on cloud nine.

Psst, Mom – I wore the sweet flowered top that you got me over a t-back tank and it was cute and didn’t look dorky like you told me pairing it with a t-shirt did.

Self photos are hard, self outfit photos are almost impossible.

For “breakfast” (quotes because this was not enough food but it was the only thing I managed to grab and I drank it at breakfast time) I had a Sneaky Pete’s Apples Away.

The SP’s were on sale at Wegman’s and looked interesting, so I took a chance and was rewarded.  The flavor was mild – just a little apple and no oat – and I liked the slightly thick texture.  For 40 calories it was packing 3 grams of fiber.  I would definitely drink one again.

Lunch featured apple as well, in juicy Pink Lady form.

I also packed a cucumber with two Laughing Cow Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese wedges.

Trying to prep that with a plastic butter knife was a little messy but the flavors were delicious.

I also bought a doppio espresso, with vanilla sugar and lots of skim milk.

The vanilla sugar at the cafe at my school is ridiculous good.  The spot is just a Barnes and Noble Starbucks but the vanilla powder is so much better than the stuff you see at the “real” Starbucks; it has little flecks of vanilla bean!

Speaking of tasty beverages… I poured myself a beer when I got home this afternoon.

Tusker (a Lager brewed in Kenya) is in my “top 3” list for favorite beers.

Dinner was an old favorite too.

My Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta recipe page was updated.

Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta, serves 4

  • 8 oz rotini pasta
  • 8 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 1 T butter
  • 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts; chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • ½ cup plus ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
  • 8 oz 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese
  • ¼ cup blue cheese dressing
  • ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.  Set up your colander or strainer in the sink and put the raw spinach inside.
  2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.  Pour cooked pasta over the spinach (the heat will “cook” it) and return pasta and spinach to the cooled pot when all of the water has drained off.
  3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to the pan and cook until done, about 4 – 6 minutes on each side.
  4. Add ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce to the chicken and cook 1 more minute.  Remove chicken from pan to the pot with the pasta and spinach and reduce heat to medium-low.
  5. Combine cream cheese, blue cheese dressing, and remaining ½ cup buffalo wing sauce in the pan.  Heat until melted, 3 – 5 minutes.
  6. Remove pan from heat and pour sauce over the pasta.  Stir until all ingredients are well-combined.
  7. Pour the pasta mixture into an 8×8 inch casserole dish.  Top evenly with the shredded cheddar.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned.

It is spicy, creamy, cheesy, and even a little bit healthy.

The rest of my evening includes a walk with the dog and hopefully some polishing time with the “Minted” I’ve been eyeing all week.

I hope everyone enjoyed the official first day of summer!

I know it’s like trying pick a favorite child, but if you had to choose – Buffalo sauce or Sriracha?

Window Shop Wednesday

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I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin. The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours. It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe. But I like the idea of things. So I’m an avid window shopper. I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew. So while I’m stuck at school on Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Can I just wish for a bazillion dollar gift card to David’s Tea?!  This time I’m unable to pick a favorite; the flavors all sound so good!  I’m unsure of how I feel about loose teas but I have seen lots of cute infusers.  I tried Cream of Earl Grey in Toronto and adored it.  I thought this week I’d just highlight a few of the flavors I think sound extra tasty –

1.  Organic Cream of Earl Grey

“Lovers of Earl Grey adore this creamy alternative to the original blend. You’ll recognize the same high-quality black tea, the same citrus burst of bergamot oil, the same beautiful grey-blue petals. However this version adds a touch of vanilla, and the result is an unexpectedly rich, creamy taste experience.”

2.  Santa’s Secret

“Ever wonder how Santa manages to deliver all those presents in just one night? Well here’s the hush-hush formula. He uses a special combination of Chinese black tea, peppermint leaves and spices – all sprinkled with real little candy canes. It’s both energizing and remarkably soothing. All Santa needs is one cup and his motto changes from “ho ho ho” to “go go go”.”

3.  Salted Caramel

“There’s no better treat than a salted caramel. You won’t find this in your history books, but we’ve heard that Romeo seduced Juliet with a salt-sprinkled toffee. Rich, buttery and sweet with a kiss of salt – who can resist? So it goes without saying that it makes for a seriously delicious tea. This is a rich black tea blend, strewn with pieces of English toffee, coconut, caramel and a touch of French sea salt. It’s guaranteed to seduce your taste buds.”

4.  Organic Buttered Rum

“Hot buttered rum is so delicious we want it all day long. Unfortunately, most employers frown on workplace drunkenness, so we came up with this rich and creamy alternative. Toasted coconut and vanilla beans mingle with black tea in a caramelized caress of flavours. Decadent hot or iced, it also blends perfectly with dark rum, brown sugar and a dash of milk – so go ahead and indulge your inner pirate, off the clock.”

5.  Birthday Cake

“What’s the best thing about birthdays? It could be the presents, or spending time with loved ones, but let’s be honest. It’s all about the cake. With vanilla icing, and lots of sprinkles. And this sweet and festive rooibos blend brings the taste of birthday cake to your cup any day of the year – sprinkles and all. Best of all, not only is it low in calories, it also has all the goodness of rooibos. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.”

Are you a tea drinker?  How do you take your tea?

Cukoo For Coconut

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I know I said this morning that I’d be a grump, but today wasn’t so bad.  Coffee helped.

I got dressed quickly enough that I had time to take Webster on a morning walk and when I met the husband to do a backpack/dog swap he ended up driving me to school.  We got iced coffee with skim milk along the away.

Sidenote – my bladder probably wished I’d skipped the coffee; I also had a breakfast drink, a soda, and a huge bottle of water.  At one point all four were sitting on my desk, which made everyone crack up.

Breakfast was a celebration of coconut.

A Liberte Coconut Yogurt,

and a Zico Chocolate Coconut Water.

I tried the chocolate Zico in Ohio last spring and loved it, it’s like a lighter Chocolate Nesquick!  When I finally spotted some at Wegmans last week I freaked out.

My lunch looked an awful lot like last night’s dinner.

Tempeh and veggie brown rice casserole topped with white cheddar.  I microwaved it at school.

I have one final casserole serving stashed in the freezer and I’m looking forward to remembering it in a few months.

After class I spent time on some job applying things.  <– please cross your fingers for me!  Then I took the world’s hardest nap.  When you wake up from a nap remembering dreams you know you needed sleep.

Dinner was simple but oh-so-good.

  1. Chop the top off of a bulb of garlic, drizzle with evoo, stick in an oven at 400* for 30ish minutes.
  2. Boil ~1.75 cups of bow tie pasta.  Add ~.25 cup frozen edamame and 1 pint frozen mushrooms during the last three minutes of cooking.  Drain and return to pan.
  3. Squeeze roasted garlic into pasta.  Add ~3 Tbsp creamy mushroom soup, ~2 Tbsp evoo, and a liberal sprinkling of salt.  Stir vigorously.
  4. Portion onto two plates.  Dig in.

Adam gave me a bunch a bunch of crap when I told him the dinner plan but we both swooned our way through the finished dish.  Roasted garlic is so flipping creamy.

I’m up late because I was typing up the posts with the pie and dog treat recipes from last weekend.  It was worth it even if no one else tries them out because I will definitely make both recipes again.  In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow at noon for some window shopping!

Early Mornings

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Two 5 am wake ups in a row make me a grumpy girl. But you’ve gotta do what you gotta do; particularly if you haven’t been doing what you have to do!

Monday morning the alarm rang at 5, I was up at 5:10, and I was finished working by 8. I even had time for breakfast.

A 0% Plain Oikos Greek Yogurt with 1 cup of Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal, a sliced nectarine and a tsp of honey.

Adam will have eaten all of the cereal (which was bought with a free coupon from HLS) before I can pour another bowl, but this combo was great.

We went on a tour of the Meals and Wheels facility for class. They make more than 1,600 meals a day at the site we visited! The size of the kitchen equipment was insane.

The weather was warm enough to skip a cardigan and cool enough not to sweat like a river so it was the perfect opportunity to rock my frilly sleeved top.

That shirt is so fun.

Lunch was fun too, but also a failure.

The Strawberry Push Pop was great (duh!).

But they reformulated the Cool Mint Chocolate Clif Bar and I’m not a fan any more. It had a strange aftertaste and I ended up throwing it out halfway though.

The great pear made up for it though.

I swear that it tasted like vanilla!

I also bought an iced Americano with skim milk.

– – apparently I didn’t photograph that – –

We stayed at school later than usual and even with my coffee I was off the charts cranky by the time I got home. Thankfully I had this face waiting for me to get home and take it on a walk.

Don’t mind if I do, Webster.

The husband’s laptop broke recently and we’ve had to spend a lot of time and money (more than we can spare of both!) at the mall getting it fixed. The silver lining is that there’s froyo at the mall.

I got coconut and plain tart topped with lots of fruit and popping boba.

We ate grape leaves (two each) as an appetizer of sorts.

And had casserole leftovers with evoo and white cheddar for dinner.

When we ate this dish the first day I sort of hated it, but the taste has gotten significantly better with each serving.

I sat and stared at my computer for a while last night but I knew I wasn’t going to make any headway. Around 10 I determined that my best bet was to set another alarm for 5 and get myself to bed.

I slept, I got up (30 minutes later than planned), I worked, I finished, I’m ready.  But since my presentation is on dress code and personal hygiene I should probably go shower and gussy up!

Father’s Day

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Did everyone have a happy end to their weekend?  Things have been quiet around these parts, mostly because the husband caught a summer cold.  Poor boy!

I did get up at 6 am to start my book club recipe but then I spent half the day napping to make up for it.  And we did start our second morning (at 10am!) with a quick Fur-Fathers’ Day walk.

I love those guys.

The tree outside of our house is sprouting cherries!!!!

Would it be crazy to eat them?

Brunch was a veggie scramble.  I cooked chopped poblano and broccoli into four eggs (split between the two of us).

Plain yogurt and creamy mushroom soup were also in the mix.

I rounded out my meal with some tasting as I spent my afternoon in the kitchen.  A puppy treat and a people treat were made and I’ll be sharing the recipes this week.

I’m not feeling so hot either and cooking was basically my only accomplishment this weekend.  I spent half my day moping because I’m just so tired of myself.  It would have been too flipping easy to get my stuff done in advance and instead I’m waking up early tomorrow to plough through things last-minute.

We had salads in the afternoon.

Romaine topped with 2 Tbsp of Wegman’s peanut sauce and 1 Tbsp each buckwheat groats, tamari almonds, flax, and white cheddar.

It was really good.

I stocked Adam up with leftovers and I ate dinner at book club.

We didn’t actually read a book this month but it was good to get together and talk (and eat!)

I had bruschetta, cheesy artichoke dip, and strawberry guacamole with blue chips.

A small glass of wine.

Roasted veggie enchillada.

And (messy, tasty) pie.

(Recipe’s coming by Tuesday)

P.S. I love you Daddy!!

Friday Eats

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Here is how my day was on the food front.  You can probably guess how my good decision-making went, the 2am post is a giant clue.  Netflixing old episodes of “Scrubs” was genius!

Bar for breakfast.

The Peanut Crunch Zone Perfect Bar was my last flavor to try from the Perfectly Simple line.  This flavor was my favorite.  The texture reminded me of a crumbly oatmeal cookie!  And I liked the fact that the flavor was peanut butter-y without being too overwhelming; sometimes peanut flavored bars make you need a drink.

Coffee with skim milk and Irish cream syrup.

Lunch was a slice of buffalo chicken pizza.

And a mini ice cream.

And dinner was a bowl of casserole leftovers.

I added a drizzle of evoo and 1.5 oz of sharp cheddar to the mix and the dish was much improved.

With several spoonfuls from a fresh Biscoff spread for dessert.

And a side of tv reruns!

So. Much. Coffee.

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The week’s almost over!  Last night we did indeed walk the dog straight to snacks.

A diet pop and a York Peppermint Patty for me.

The three of us sat on the couch and watched “Solitary.”  I discovered the show and watched the first season on my own and now that we’re on season 2 I’m sad to say that my opinion is going downhill.  For such a big committment and such a tiny prize ($50,000 for the winner) I feel like the challenges should focus on resilience and conviction.  Now that they are becoming fitness competitions I’m losing interest.

I’m not sure why Adam found it necessary to take an hour-long shower after we stayed up late watching tv, but when the alarm went off at 6:00 this morning I wanted to punch him in the face.  I basically guzzled caffeine all day and then he brought me home pizza so we’re okay now!

Coffee count – #1: A medium iced coffee with french vanilla creamer for funsies.

#2/3: A small coffee with chocolate milk, x2.

#4: A Medium coffee with skim milk and three sugars.

I spent most of my day peeing and I’m still twitching.  Worth it.  Apparently I like my drinks sweet in the summer; I’m going to have to watch that habit.

Pre-coffee I did get in a workout. 30 minutes on the elliptical at random level 6.  Plus arm strength moves on the machines.

For breakfast I had the last bit of spicy chicken and rice.

Lunch was from the dining hall again.  Spicy tofu with sautéed peppers and onions plus broccoli cooked with cherry tomatoes.

I thought the food was good and most of the students I surveyed agreed with me.  Part of my summer school assignment was supposed to be analyzing patient surveys about hospital tray service.  I had to tweak the survey form a little bit to make it fit, but the same general ideas about food temperature and serving size applied.

When I got home in the afternoon I ate my slice of husband-delivered cheese pizza.

He only has a few more shifts at the hospital with the great cafeteria so I’ll take advantage while I can.

Our dinner casserole was assembled yesterday and all we had to do today was bake, easy peasy.

In the dish (the casserole dish!) was –

  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • 8 cups raw baby spinach
  • 2 cups roasted broccoli
  • 1 poblano pepper, diced
  • 1 lb tempeh, roughly chopped
  • 3 cups Imagine Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup
  • (1 cup crushed Monterey Jack Cheez-Its)

Mix.  Put in a 13×9 casserole dish.  Sprinkle with crushed Cheez-Its.  Bake 25 minutes at 400*.  Serves 6.

On my new plate.

It was closer to healthy than tasty, but it worked.

With a handful of candy-coated sunflower seeds for dessert.

Have you watched/heard of “Solitary” yet?