Baltimore--Not Poeing it yet.

My intention this week was to post a recipe for a lovely spinach salad with warm bacon dressing.  I love an old fashioned spinach salad.  However, two things changed my mind.

First, I haven't quite gotten the dressing recipe right.  The first time it was---okay.  Just okay.  My mother told me to try to make it with two slices of bacon instead of just one.  I did it, but it was awful.  Inedible.  I cannot even begin to describe it.

Second, I am in Baltimore.  Baltimore is awesome.  I am not getting to Poe it out as much as I would like, but I did get to go to this lovely place called Jack's Bistro.  We went with a native of Baltimore who recommended Mac and Cheese and Chocolate.  It sounds disgusting.  Even as he described it, I thought it was disgusting. 

IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER!!!!

I know.  You think I am exaggerating. I am not.  It was pretty much the best thing I have ever eaten. 

Jack's Bistro describes this appetizer in very simple terms:  " shell pasta * smoked cheese sauce *
Columbian dark chocolate."  It is certainly not that simple, though.  It is nothing short of magical. 

Obviously we had already eaten some of this.  It smelled so good when the waiter sat it in front of us that we immediately reached for it.  That fork in the corner?  Mine.  (Thanks to Rachel Vaughan for the picture---I couldn't stop eating long enough to actually take a picture of my own). 

The moral of this story is that mac and cheese and chocolate trumps spinach salad.  Now if only I can recreate this. I think I need some smoked gouda.  Maybe some goat cheese?  It was super, super creamy.  Just so so good.

The other moral of this story is that if you are in Baltimore, stop by Jack's Bistro.  You will not regret it.  Everything we had there was amazing.

Spring Break for the...fail

Spring Break has not been my friend.  I had travel trouble...twice.  I ate a horrendous amount of food and did not exercise. I have not finished anywhere NEAR enough work. 

All of this negative will not destroy me, though.  Spring Break is not over and I decided to start today the right way.  This means one thing:  oatmeal.  Who can feel bad with a yummy bowl of oatmeal?

My choice for oatmeal this morning was steel cut oats.  I don't enjoy them in their chewiest form, but they are perfect for overnight oats in the CrockPot. 

Normally, I make apple or banana steel cut oats, but I didn't feel like that this time. Instead, I went for plain oats.

Here is my recipe:

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats
1 cup water
1 cup milk (I used light original almond milk)
Dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla  (optional)
2 packets Sugar in the Raw

Spray the liner of the CrockPot. 

Add the ingredients to the CrockPot.

Cook on low overnight.  I put mine on at 12 AM and turned it off at about 9 AM. 

Bob's Red Mill recommends only water (filtered water).  I like the added creaminess of milk, which is why I add it in here.  I've used apple juice instead of milk before, but I increase the water (1 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup apple juice).

You can add fresh chopped apples or pears (I've used both), a mashed banana, canned pumpkin, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice), etc, if you want.  I made this version plain so that I could have different  toppings.  This makes two servings, so I can have it tomorrow morning too.

For breakfast today, I added cinnamon (always), Plum Medley dried fruit, chopped dates, and walnuts.  The dried fruit adds a lot of sweetness, but if you like your oatmeal very sweet, you can add more sugar in the CrockPot before it cooks, or you can drizzle honey or sprinkle more sugar on top when it is finished.

I was thinking about adding PB2 and drizzling chocolate syrup on it tomorrow, but today's version was so, so good.  Just looking at it again here makes me want another bowl.  I will try to control myself.  Two meals of oatmeal in one day may be excessive.

Happy Pi Day!

Not only is today pie day, but it is (my) first day of spring break.  Celebration time.  Of course, I have a ton of work to do, but it is still a break from going to class.  I am spending it in Oklahoma with friends (a break from Texas!  Yay!).  We, of course, could not pass up a chance to celebrate Pi Day.

I thought about a nice pot pie or Shepard's pie, but we were too lazy.  Instead, we made pizzas with premade crust.  I made a Tony Packo's pizza, which of course was not as good as Vito's version.  Jason made veggie pizzas on focaccia with vegetarian pepperoni.  Both were lovely.

I decided a pizza (pie) was not enough to celebrate Pi Day, so I made a modified Ozark Pie as well.  I modified this recipe from Sour Salty Bitter Sweet, partly because I left the recipe my parents always made in Lubbock and partly because Jason was more accepting of it when it was called Huguenot Torte.

Ozark Pie

1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


1/2 large pear
1 small apple
1/2 cup chopped salted pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a pie pan (I followed the recommendation of Sour Salty Bitter Sweet because I've had problems with it sticking in the past).

Chop the apple and pear into small pieces.  Chop the pecans as well.  Set them aside.

Mix the egg, sugar, and vanilla together. I would have replaced the vanilla with bourbon, but we didn't have any. 

 Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Mix in the apple, pear, and nuts.  You could add dried cranberries, too, but we didn't have any.

Pour it into the coated pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until puffy and browned.

The salted pecans made it a little saltier than I like it.  Blending the apple and pear (instead of using just apples) adds a nice layer of flavor, though.  I added the cinnamon and nutmeg because everything is better with spice!  If I had thought this through more, I would have brought my cranberries and bourbon with me.  Oh well.  Maybe I will make it again next time I visit (which will actually be later in March, so probably not).

This was the first time that Brad and Jason had Ozark Pie.  I think it was a hit, but I also think I ate more of it than both of them! 

Nutella Swirled Banana Muffins

I've been talking about trying this recipe for weeks.  Originally, I had planned to make them after my conference in Albuquerque.  However, I didn't have the energy.

Instead, I made them on Friday and brought them in to share with my coworkers in the Writing Center, because there are no better people to share baked goods with.  Really.  They are awesome.

My intention had been to begin with the base recipe I always use.  Some vegan friends of mine shared it with me.  I never followed the recipe exactly (I have a problem with that...I modify everything).  That recipe is a hit, though, so I highly recommend it.  It is Chocolate Covered Katie's Polka Dot Banana Bread.   Ultimately, I was too afraid to modify my hit recipe (I get requests for this. Frequently.).

Instead, I started with a fairly standard banana muffin recipe.  Then, I added mini chocolate chips, banana Chobani, and swirled World Market's Banana Chocolate spread on top (Although Nutella would work just as well, I just can't get enough banana flavor.).

These ones are just for me!  :-)


Nutella Swirled Banana Muffins

1 Banana Chobani greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar (I actually used a scant 1/2)
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
2 eggs (or 6 Tablespoons Egg Beaters)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (vanilla bean paste would be great here)
4 very ripe, medium bananas (or three large), mashed
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
~4 teaspoons Nutella or Banana Chocolate spread, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the Chobani, butter, and sugar together.  I smooshed the softened butter in the bottom of the bowl, then mixed in the Chobani, and then mixed in the sugar.  Mix in the eggs one at a time. Then, mix in the mashed bananas and the vanilla.



In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda).  Make sure that it is combined well.

In small batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet.  You don't want to overmix, or the muffins will be a bit tough, but you don't want to have a lot of lumps, either.

Fold in the mini chocolate chips.  You could add nuts here, too, if you wanted.

Spoon the batter evenly into the lined or sprayed muffin tins.  I actually ended up having extra batter, so I sprayed three ramekins and filled those as well, for a total of 15 muffins.

Drop the nutella or banana chocolate spread by 1/4 teaspoons on each muffin. Swirl the Nutella over the muffin.  I used a toothpick, but a knife would probably work better.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (if you can avoid the nutella).

These muffins might have been as much of a hit as the Polka Dot ones I usually make.  I certainly enjoyed them!