Mint Chocolate Chick

Last night I got bit by the baking bug really late. Like 11pm late…normally that’s my bed time! Maybe you cooking enthusiasts would agree. Sometimes you just need to bake something in order to relax for the night. No?

Last night I halved a carrot cake bar recipe and used my mini pan to bake it.

The above photo was taken this morning, so obviously I didn’t need to eat my late night baking; I just needed to know it was ready and waiting for breakfast.

At first bite I knew these bars were winners. Instead of inhaling them all at once I decided to stretch their life by crumbling just one square into some plain overnight oats. You can check out the full recipe at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. My mini version used white whole wheat flour and I nixed the raisins (they are not my thang!).

I continued to enjoy the Carrot and sweet potato chickpea curry fritters over my lunch salad with lentils and hummus on top.

Before I even thought about dinner tonight I decided I needed to try something I’ve been reading about for ages…homemade granola!

I rolled with this Maple Pecan Pie Granola recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Makes about 8 servings.

This granola is delicious! A little high on the sugar content meter, but it tastes like it’s called, Pecan Pie!

My only change was to replace the canola oil with coconut oil. I also tried to cook the granola 2 ways. The first two-thirds made it onto the baking dish that was baked in the toaster oven and the last third got tossed around a lightly oil-sprayed skillet.

Result: Skip the stove top method. I ended up popping the skillet cooked portion into the toaster oven to make them match the crispness of the batch from the oven.

Dinner was another chopped fritter with marinara sauce for dipping.

And a fried spinachy egg with goat cheese to finish up the marinara dip.

After dinner I prepared some iced coffee concentrate.

I soak lots of coffee grounds with filtered water for 12-14 hours and then strain out the grounds with my ghetto coffee filter set-up.

Okay, time for confessions.

1. We haven’t bought paper towels in a long time. I’ve been using coffee filters to clean kitchen surfaces, soak excess oil from fritters, and serve myself small snacks when I’m too lazy to wash a plate.

2. 90 percent of the time that I cook for myself I use mainly one spoon. I can have 2-3 small meals going at once and I employ the lick-and-wipe method as I transition from say spooning marinara to stirring granola. The only exception to this is when I cook meat, I’m not crazy! Although, I may need to curb this behavior to fully transition into a responsible adult.

3. I was telling a coworker about my recent cooking experiments today and she stopped me cold and said “It’s like you and I are from completely different universes!” She always looks at me like I have six heads when I talk about chickpea flour or dessert flavored oatmeal. Her astonishment at these things always amuses me.

That’s all for tonight. One day soon I will accept that we are now in August and in less than 29 days all things fall will be in full swing. I have a can of pumpkin hanging out in the back of my pantry that I’m not just not ready to unleash yet.

Tags: breakfast, Confession, Curry, goat cheese, salad, sweet potato