Tag Archives: apple

Three Sets of Cookies

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Man, oh man, has it been an interesting day!  Many ups and downs and LOTS of time in the kitchen.  This has to be an extra long post to fit in all of the crazy!

I started things off this morning with a pot Wegman’s eggnog flavored coffee.

I had two big mugs with a sprinkle of nutmeg and lots of skim milk.

The coffee made me feel so full that I never got around to breakfast, which was a good thing because I spent the morning immersed in Orgo Lab work.  I got so much done that I had extra time to play this afternoon (also a good thing!).

In addition to schoolwork I spent some time in the kitchen.  Many blogs have led me to believe that you can turn this –

into coconut butter with some food-processor loving.  25minutes later here’s what I got –

Not quite what I was hoping for.  This was actually my 2nd failed attempt; the last time I was afraid I didn’t blend long enough so I decided to give it a second go.  Well, today I processed for 25minutes (10minutes longer than all the recommendations I’ve read) and I still didn’t reach creamy perfection.  I did, however, make my food processor very, very hot, so it seemed like time to quit.

I was feeling down about my failure when I realized that I could still turn my pulverized coconut into something amazing!  I got so excited I wanted to get started right away, but that would have meant missing Orgo and Anatomy and since I skipped class two weeks ago to catch up on Grey’s Anatomy that seemed like a bad idea 😉

Instead I grudgingly ate lunch.

Progresso Chicken Tortilla Soup (bought with a free coupon from BlogHer).

This was just spicy enough and very satisfying.  More on that in a minute though…

I also had a small Sweet Tango apple and a serving of Garden of Eatin’ Blue Chips.

Yums all around, the Sweet Tango was so crisp and juicy.

Sadly, lunch ended up turning into a massive fail, as I spent the next 45minutes throwing up  😦  I have an intolerance to some (not yet identified) food preservatives and apparently the canned soup contained an offender.  Side note – if random additives don’t make you puke I still highly recommend the soup!

I headed to class and when I felt 70% better at 3pm I headed to the gym.  I realize that sounds a little crazy, but it’s been practically a month since my last workout (!!) and I’ll be damned if a can of soup is going to keep me off of the treadmill!

I walked for 3minutes to warm up, ran/sprinted until I reached 2miles (17.5minutes), then walked another 5minutes to cool down.  All total – 25minutes and 2.3miles.  All the while thinking of cookies.

I walked home from the gym and wandered down Elmwood gathering my needed ingredients.  After a quick trip to Wegman’s it was time to get baking.

My yellow stand mixer, wedding gift love!

I hunkered down in the kitchen and ended up churning out three different varieties of cookies!  I tweaked/created the recipes to accommodate my pulverized coconut surplus and achieved success!

First, an attempt at Jenna’s macaroons with coconut subbed in for almond meal.

Plus some cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

To make Coconut Mini Macaroons with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling (recipe at the end of this post).

Holy creative culinary masterpiece, I am so proud of these cookies!  This was my first time using my stand mixer, my first ever attempt at macaroons, a recipe combo I thought up on the spot, and these little beauties are so tasty!  Mine are not as pretty as Ms. Eat, Live, Run’s, but there is no way hers are any more delicious!

Next, I made a batch of American-style coconut macaroons.  I followed this recipe from Cooking Light, but used 2cups of pulverized coconut and full fat sweetened condensed milk.

They don’t look anything like the original (and they spread a little bit) but the taste was fantastic!  If you like coconut but don’t like the stringiness of traditional macaroons I highly recommend trying this variation.

I had extra batter (just coconut, flour, vanilla and sweetened condensed milk) so I poured in ~2/3 cup of oats to make some no-bakes style cookies.

Coconut Oat No Bakes?  These were awesome as well; I might make a batch of batter again sometime just to create the no-bakes!

I did a meal’s-worth of snacking while baking alone (assume ~2 of each cookie), but I still took the time to make a snazzy dinner for the husband, bazam!

Mushroom and Sausage Ragu with Polenta from Cooking Light.  I used plain button mushrooms and subbed in 12oz of Al Fresco Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage, but other than that I stuck to the recipe.

Delish!  This was rich and creamy and meaty but not too heavy.  I think the sauce will be even better leftover.

This won’t be as early of a bedtime as I’d hope for my 10 day challenge, but with the amount of kitchen productivity I had today I’ll take it!

Have you ever made macaroons (either kind)?  Are you comfortable going your own way with recipes or do you prefer to stick with the book?

My version of the cooking recipe follows.  I know the instructions seem lengthy, but these are deceptively simple, and definitely worth the effort!

Coconut Mini Macaroons with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling, makes about 25 mini sandwiches

for the macaroons

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup pulverized sweetened dried coconut*
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 drops green food coloring

for the filling

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon extract
  • 4oz 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1 drop red food coloring
  1. Preheat the oven to 350*.  Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Combine powdered sugar and pulverized coconut, mixing to achieve a homogenous mixture.  Whisk if needed to eliminate any lumps.
  3. In a large, clean bowl with the speed set on high (speed 8 on Kitchen Aid stand mixers) whisk the egg whites until they are foamy.
  4. Add granulated sugar and food coloring and resume mixing on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks are formed.  Watch carefully; if you overmix the air bubbles will be destroyed and the mixture will curdle.
  5. Working in two batches, use a spatula to fold in the coconut mixture.  Do not overmix.
  6. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag, or a large baggie with the tip of the corner cut off. 
  7. Pipe small circles, evenly spaced onto the baking sheets.  Each cookie should be between the size of a quarter and a sliver dollar.  You can use the tip to flatten/spread the batter; peaks or “kiss” shapes will keep the sandwiches from sitting flat.
  8. Bake for 12minutes at 350*.  Do not open the oven door during baking.
  9. Wait 90 seconds after removing from oven, then carefully peel the macaroons from the parchment paper and set aside to cool.
  10. Meanwhile, prepare your filling.  Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and beat 1-2minutes until smooth.
  11. Identify sets of two cookies that are similar in size.  Spread a thin layer of filling on a flat (bottom) side and sandwich macaroons together.
  12. Store uneaten cookies (if there are any left!) in an air-tight container.

Squashing My To-Do List

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When Adam and I were miserable, teaching in New York, we would escape in entertainment.  I genuinely believe that “Scrubs” saved our sanity (and our marriage!) during our first year.  During our second year, things had gotten much easier but they were still much harder than we had ever imagined.  On Sunday nights, when none of our plans for the week were complete and things felt hopeless because even after we stayed up all night writing them we’d still never get to teach the damn plans, one of us would say it – “Do you want to see what’s playing at the movies?“

Something was always playing.  And if there hadn’t been I’m pretty sure we would have convinced ourselves that something from the previous week was worth rewatching.  Our studio apartment was on the corner of 2nd Avenue and the movie theatre – a fabulous revamped spot with a galaxy of stars sewn into the carpet and classic movie posters lining the walls – was on the corner of 13th.  Those eleven blocks, and every single store and restaurant along the way, are forever etched into my memory.  No matter how we felt before the decision to see a movie, that walk always felt hopeful.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

But times have changed.  Now I’m in a Dietetics program (that I quit my job career to join), and letting Adam talk me into seeing “Paranormal Activity 2” (I hate scary movies) at 9:10 on a Tuesday night is just a bad idea (a really bad idea).  But that’s what I was doing yesterday!

Thankfully, today I really did get it together and I managed to take care of my to-do list.  My eats were nothing if not unorthodox and I can’t help but credit that in my success at actually taking care of business.  Should I have chocolate for breakfast every day?

Because that’s what I did today.  I let Adam gobble up most of the homemade pb cups, but this one was special.  A layer of chocolate and a layer of butterscotch, sandwiching a layer of crunchy peanut butter?  Oh yeah!

Breakfast’s dessert was significantly healthier.

Yesterday I roasted this delightful orange acorn squash with a teeny bit of honey and salt.

And today all I had to do was reheat and mash with a bit of Smart Balance Light.

Sort of like mashed potatoes, but a thousand times better.

For lunch I crunched through Anatomy with a bag of baby carrots and sliced Empire apple.

Btw – after the curves I scored an 89 on the Orgo test and a 74 on Anatomy.  I need to step up my Anatomy game for the remainder of the semester (I do, however, have a 96% as my Anatomy Lab current class average!).

Adam came to study with me between classes and Orgo lab and generously shared a few bites of pizza with me.

When I realized that I was actually considering punching him in the face and trying to make a break for it with the pizza I deemed it time for an early dinner.

Huuuuuge chicken burrito.

We took a quick walk around the ‘hood on the way home (glorious!), so 4 hours after my burrito I had dinner, part 2.

Low fat plain yogurt topped with 1/4 cup gingerbread granola, 2tsp maple syrup, a sliced plum, and a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut.

I need to remember this combo in December, it felt very ‘visions of sugar plums.’

Maybe you’ve noticed my lack of gym time?  My plan/goal is to smash my to-do list over the next 4 days.  Whether I succeed or I fail in that endeavour, I’m returning to the gym come Monday!

Do you ever escape in entertainment?  How often do you go to see a movie?

Save the Second Bowl

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We had a great Halloween last evening, cozy and creepy, exactly as it should be.  Sitting on the couch, eating nachos, watching “Hocus Pocus;” pretty much perfect!  But I guess that holiday’s over…

Smashing pumpkins sans Billy Corgan aside, my excitement level was high this morning.  I knew in advance, breakfast was going to be good.

For the most part I tend not to follow blogland trends.  My cabinet is not stocked with chia seeds and I’ve yet to find the obsession allure of almond butter.  But when Kath describes something as “oat batter” I know it’s time to get on-board.

My smoothie contained

  • the 2nd serving of yesterday’s oats
  • 1 medium frozen banana
  • a splash of vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • ~1/2 cup skim milk

In addition to being tasty, this kept me full so long that I didn’t even want to eat lunch before I headed to class!  That’s not to say I wasn’t starving when I got home at 3:30 😉

I made myself a snack plate very quickly.

A sliced apple,

and 1.5 servings of Sahale Snacks Sing Buri Cashews.

I also ate a serving of these Pillsbury Sweet Moment Caramel Chocolate bites (free via coupon from BlogHer).

I wasn’t expecting to be a fan, but these were pretty good.  You know how sometimes cheap cakes have that granular sugar mouthfeel?  I know a lot of people find that gross, but I love it.  Anyway, these had that.

On a more serious note, I want to remind you to take care of your health.

In order to keep your boobs safe, I’ll give you a close-up of mine –

My mom sent me this “Save 2nd Base” shirt from a fundraiser she attended a few weeks back.  I sported it to school today, and I just wanted to remind my readers that you (or a loved one) should be feeling you up each month, for safety!  Just don’t try to give me a pink ribbon…

Did you get to watch Hocus Pocus this year?

Spooky Saturday

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It’s been a full and fabulous day!  A race, some shopping, good eats, going out with friends; yup, it was pretty perfect!

Our morning started bright and healthy with the Jack O’ Lantern 5k.

The course looped 3.1 miles around Goat Island (Niagara Falls) and was beautiful.

I split a Cliff Crunchy granola bar with the husband on the drive up.

Today’s race had everything going against it – I had to run alone (Katie had to back out at the last minute and the husband wanted to actually run), the lack of bathrooms meant my full bladder bothered me the entire course, I was slow as all get out, and it was frigid out.

But you know what?  Even a terrible run is still a great one!

I don’t know my exact time but, it was something less than 31:20, I’ll take it!  I was terrified of coming in last (ask me to tell you that story sometime!) but I ended up only coming in behind 75% of the racers.

We hit up the food tent afterwards – Adam housed at least two sandwiches – and I ended up eating part of an ice pop.

I didn’t really it get it together to eat a real meal after that and my hunger ended up hitting hard later in the day.  The husband requested a pumpkin chocolate milkshake (he’s a genius!) and I did take a few sips of that before we headed to the grocery.

Adam had to go into the lab in the afternoon so I went with him and did some school-work.  I packed a snack for while I studied.

Apple slices and baby carrots dipped in a serving of sun butter.

Unfortunately this was around the time my hunger hit and I ended up not getting much work done.

Afterwards we headed to the mall to pick up a few things.  We must have done at least 4 full loops of the mall and by the time we stopped at Cheesecake Factory I was ready for diner!

Bread, x2 with butter. (Sorry for the blurry pictures, I don’t know why CF is always so darn dim!)

I ordered off of the appetizer menu for dinner and my salad was still huge!

The Fresh Vegetable Salad – Asparagus, Green Beans, Tomato, Cucumber, Roasted Beets, Apple, Edamame, Radicchio, Romaine and White Cheddar All Chopped with Pomegranate Vinaigrette.  I subbed in spicy peanut vinaigrette for my dressing, which somehow also got me edamame; score!

This is sooooooooo good.  <– That’s what I said to Adam at least 10 times during dinner 🙂  Huge as it was, I still managed to finish 2/3 of it.  I have a nice takeout container for lunch tomorrow as well.

I stole a few of Adam’s french fries too.

After we got home a couple of friends came over and we hung out for a bit before heading out to some nearby bars to check out people’s costumes.  We had a lot of fun, but I didn’t bring my camera so you’ll have to take my word for it – I’ll show you my “costume” tomorrow!

While we were out, Adam and I split a Woodchuck Cider.  And once home I ate part of a vegan pumpkin pecan blondie.

What a day, what a day.

Start of Sandwich Week

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Some bloggers have their dinner posts up before I even eat dinner, how do they do it?!?  We’re on a pretty late schedule here, but it works well for us.

That Paula Red apple was mealy and sad, I traded it off to the husband (he liked it!).  Instead I ate a Crispin apple with a spoonful of peanut butter.

My night class got out super early today, and I completed the online quiz and walked home all before 7; score!  I celebrated with a small piece of pumpkin chocolate chip square.

Btw – the husband has demolished these bars, almost all of them are gone!  He took a container to school today and said all of his classmates freaked out about them as well.

Now, on to sandwich week……

Since it’s already Tuesday into the week, I decided to start things off with a bang.  What’s that?

Oh, nothing.  Just homemade from scratch mayonnaise!

It took team work, and more time than predicted, but in the end we were victorious; go us!  I used the recipe from Katherine Darling’s Under the Table – which is an amazing book in general, I highly recommend it – but you could easily Google a recipe.

The sandwich vehicle for the mayo was Buffalo chicken subs, which came together in a snap.

I slow-cooked chicken breasts in a bit of broth for 8hours on low today and then shredded the meat with two forks.  Then I doused two servings worth in Buffalo sauce.  Next we stirred crumbled blue cheese into two portions of mayo.  Finally we spooned and spread that fantasticness onto split rolls.  Perfection.

Seriously, I can’t even handle this picture.

This was way healthier than a fried chicken sandwich and much much tastier!  Speaking of health, as I told Adam – “I dont’ care that we forgot the asparagus, I’ll be damned if I’m serving blue cheese and mayo but no veggie!”  So we made a quick side of microwaved kale.

Very, very not good.  But I choked it down for the nutrients.

All together, even with bitter, chewy kale, the meal averaged out to be fantastic.

A fabulous start to Sandwich Week.

Do you eat mayo or does it skeeve you out?  Have you ever made your own mayo?  In general I’m not a big fan; I’ll eat Miracle Whip in tuna and chicken salads, but I prefer mustard varieties.  I was pretty jazzed about it tonight though 🙂

I Like the Other Kind of Shot Better

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Whoops, guess I do have time for a lunch post!  I decided that since I’m staying for lab tomorrow 12 straight hours on campus today was a bit much….so I went home!  Plus my arm was sore, but more on that in a minute.

Breakfast was the last of my samples from Zone Perfect,

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bar.  I’ll say it again, Yuuuuum!  I was not expecting to fall in love with these, but I totally did; if I see them at Wegmans more will be purchased.  The texture was very pleasing and the pb flavor was perfect.  It was just sweet enough.

I had some time after Library (I always get out early because the assignments are pretty basic) and I manged to get the Orgo notes I missed yesterday copied.  I hate missing class 😡

110’s lecture today was all about MILK.  We learned all about cooking milk, the nutrient properties of milk, and how milk is made into cheese(s), cream, buttermilk, etc.  Nothing about ice cream though now that I think about it.  The lecture was pretty fascinating; I learned a lot more about homogenization and pasteurization.

Pasteurization – or ultrapasteurization which cooks at the highest temp for the shortest time and has the least impact on flavor – is used to kill pathogenic bacteria.  Basically, it takes away all of the bacteria that can make us sick.  The bacteria that lead to spoilage are not affected, which is why you have to refrigerate milk.  Evaporated milk and dry milk powder are processed in a  different way that allows them to be stored for a longer time.

Homogenization doesn’t deal with bacteria – which is why non-homogenized milk is not illegal in most of the US like raw milk is.  Milk is ~ 87% water, and homogenization is the process that keeps the milk solids from separating out.  In the olden days milk bottles had a thicker layer of fat (cream) at the top due to the separation as they sat.  If you are making your own cheese you have to use nonhomogenized milk.

Interesting stuff!

After class I decided to be a responsible adult and get my flu shot for the season.

I think it’s also a responsible adult thing to reward yourself for a sore arm; cinnamon bun latte anyone?

This actually didn’t have a strong flavor (it wasn’t sweet at all), but the scent was delectable!  I sat in the coffee shop near my house and sipped while reading Orgo.

Then I came home and ate my final serving of pumpkin pasta leftovers for lunch.

This stuff just gets better and better as it sits!

I have to get back to Orgo, but I’m going to much on this Paula Red apple while I study –

I have my night class from 4:30 to 7:40 tonight, but I’m hoping we get out early so I can kick of Sandwich Week.

Have you gotten your seasonal flu shot yet?  Do you get a flu shot each year?

Frozen Feet

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Has everyone done the Friday dance?  I’m sure glad for the weekend!  I actually have a ton to do the next few days so I made sure to include some relaxation in today’s plan.

My morning was a little too relaxed; leaving my warm bed feels bad, but running around like a headless chicken trying not to be late feels worse!  After I went to the trouble of buying a banana last night I couldn’t even get it together to make breakfast this morning.  Also, 30minute walk in 40* weather, not a sandals time.  Who knew!  😉  At least my tortured toes gave me a good excuse to buy a coffee before class.

A medium skim latte with sugar-free English toffee syrup. 

We had a guest speaker this morning who works in pediatric nutrition; she was fascinating!  The teacher of my Friday course is super energetic and excited about Dietetics and the speakers she brings in have all been just as enthusiastic.  They make me really excited about my future career!

After class I met up with my group; we have a poster presentation on November 19th and we are already 2/3 of the way finished.  I had ~ an hour between our meeting and Orgo so I made the best use of the time possible – I went to the gym!

I told you guys if I take a day off it turns into a month!  I had been going regularly (and loving it!) and after my I’m sick/I have 5 tests/OMG week I haven’t been in 16 days.  I know that I feel 100% better when I’m working out regularly so I’m going to try really hard to make sure I stick with it.  I didn’t have a ton of time today so I tried to use it wisely on the treadmill –

  • 5minute warm up (walking)
  • 20minutes running
  • 3minute cool down (walking)

In my 28minutes I covered 2.58miles, not terrible!  I’m actually running a 5k in a couple of weeks so hopefully that will keep me motivated.

I didn’t ever get it together to get food so I bought myself a Lemon Lime G-2 post gym.

It kept me hydrated but by the time Anatomy started my hunger had zapped my energy.  My class notes today are baaaaad.

A freezing, sideways raining walk home later, and I was heating up a Chicken Enchillada Suiza Lean Cuisine.

I needed some time to reheat while I refueled so Adam and I caught up on a bit of tv.  Has anyone seen the most recent CSI: Las Vegas?  Terrifying!  I also snacked on some Halloween candies,

a small handful of Southwest Cashews from Sahale Snacks,

and the last honey vanilla caramel apple.

The granny smith was the best yet!  I really, really, really recommend trying these.

Then it was time for business, we got out our fall decorations and finally switched out our summer and winter wardrobes.  My toes were oh so glad to see my Uggs!

Before catching up on “Bones” (love) we did find time to make a pretty snazzy dinner.

That’s Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage from Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals.

We basically followed the recipe, although we used a bit less meat and pasta than called for.  Actually, we didn’t use meat at all; I couldn’t find any turkey sausage without pork casing so instead I swapped in some Gimmie Lean vegan meat substitute.

We also used the big can of local canned pumpkin I bought when I was panicking over the possible Libby’s shortage.

The flavor was spot on, but the texture wasn’t quite as velvety as the good stuff.

But the dish was still damn tasty.

This is one of the recipes Adam and I used to make all of the time when we were living in Brooklyn, it’s an old favorite.

I still have to shower and make our grocery list before bed, but I’m hoping to turn in before 11.  Amid a heap of homework, I signed up to volunteer at a health fair tomorrow.  What’s on your agenda for the weekend?

Life As I Know It

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It’s been a rather fun day, especially for a Thursday!  We’ve managed to pack in a lot of good times.  Plus, look at the sun rise I woke up to today:

Not quite as impressive foodwise; I’m not sure how I managed to get so completely out of food!  We actually made a special banana stop this evening so I could make myself oatmeal (a real breakfast) tomorrow!

I did the best I could with breakfast today though.

I knew I didn’t have time for lunch between classes so I tried to make a bowl that would hold me over for the long run.  0% Plain Oikos, maple syrup, homemade pb, peanuts, shredded coconut, and craisins.

Filling, and actually a very tasty combo of flavors.

I got some good news in Anatomy, an A+ on last week’s practical exam!  And in between classes I finished all of my work for tomorrow, which meant I had time to play later on.

Food lab today was all about veggies.  My group experimented with the effects of cooking techniques.  Did you know – if you want your broccoli to look extra green and appetizing you should use cooking water that’s a bit alkali (baking soda).  If you cook it in an acidic medium (with vinegar) you’ll end up with a very unappetizing olive-green shade.  I didn’t sample any of our experiments, but I did take some tastes of the dishes the other groups made.

Adam came to pick me up from school because of the rain, and we took a spontaneous trip to the movies!  You know we split a medium popcorn 😉

We saw “Life as You Know it,” which I’ve been jazzed about for months.  Normally I hate chick flicks but something about Katherine Hiegel makes me unable to resist!  The movie was adorable, very touching but with a lot of funny moments as well.  I give it two thumbs up!

Our apartment is seriously foodless, so when we picked up my banana we also swung by Moe’s for a quesadilla.

I ate my fair share of chips too.

And a honey vanilla caramel apple.

Have you made these yet?  Do it!

Now we are watching “Nightmare Before Christmas.”  Adam’s been trying to get me to see if for years and I’m actually totally loving it.  Hope you all have *sweet* dreams!