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my dear friend ashley has inspired this blog. we've been best friends for about a decade now and at least half of that relationship has been long distance. now, as wanna be hippies working in the service field and trying to save money and the earth, we talk a lot about what we eat. she posts on her blog, i... well now maybe i'll post on mine!

Let's get to know each other!
Here's a list of some of the food items that I make all the time and adore:

• "Mom's Hippie Granola" -a great, easy recipe i got from my mother-in-law


• Apple Carrot Bran muffins- yum!


• Making my own yogurt (an adventure in the making)


• Fair trade coffee. YUMMMMM. We get ours from Whole Foods. Yuppy, I know.


• Nut burgers- making veggie burgers from scratch tastes better and cuts down on waste


• BEANS! Anyway, anyhow! Buy dry organic beans from the bulk section, soak overnight, and make millions of masterpieces in the morning.


• Rice- also go organic, bulk products


• Burritos. Classic.


• Veggies from the local co-op or organic grocery store (if only we could fit a garden in our apt complex... the herb garden pot will have to do for now)


• Spicy chickpeas- yum. cumin, coriander, and masala will get you far.


• Tofu Stir Fry


• BROWNIES!!!! The exclamation points do not do them justice.

Why did I make that list? I'm not sure. This blog is mostly a way to procrastinate from planning for grad school applications for 2009-2010 or planning for my killer 6th grade class in the fall. Anywho, here are some of my favorite recipes. Use them at will:

Whole Wheat Pancakes
1 ¼ cups of wheat flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg
1 ¼ cup skim milk
Mix, cook, and eat. Feel free to throw in any fruits, nuts, or chocolate chips!

Mom’s (as in Sam’s Mom) Hippie Granola
*All amounts are approximate. Use whatever you have.
1 canister of 42 oz. oats
1 bag of sweetened coconut
1 cup unshelled sesame seeds
1/3- 2/3 cup dry milk
½ cup ground flax seed oil (we leave this out just because we don’t have it around)
½ cup canola oil
1 ½ cup honey
1-2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp allspice
2 tbsp nutmeg
2 cups of peanuts
Preheat oven to 325. Mix ingredients in two large baking dishes. Cook 10 minutes. Add peanuts. Cook 5-10 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Press granola flat down in dish. Allow to cool before breaking apart into chunks. Enjoy! One batch will provide a quick and delicious breakfast for weeks!

Beer Bread
3 cups self rising flour
3 Tablespoons of sugar
12 oz. beer
Mix together, bake in greased loaf pan at 375 for one hour

Health Nut Blueberry Muffins
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 banana, mashed
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

Apple Carrot Muffins
1 3/4 cups raisin bran cereal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled tart apple
3/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple, carrots and walnuts. Fill paper-lined muffin cups or cups coated with nonstick cooking spray three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Nut burgers
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 cup canned, drained chickpeas (or black beans)
¼ cup diced red onion (we normally use white onions if it’s all we have)
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp chopped parsley
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbsp seasoning (whatever you want)
2 Tbsp olive oil
Toast the walnuts and sunflower seeds in a frying pan on the stove, then mix everything together. Make into patties and cook on the frying pan just like the carnivore version!

Guacamole
2 avocados
Handful of fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon of lime juice
¼ cup of chopped onion
Salt
Throw it all in the food processor and mash it up! The amount of each ingredient that you use really doesn’t matter. Get some chips or make some burritos. Grab a beer, and relax!

Heavenly Brownies
1 cup butter
3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 ½ cup flour
1 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix it all together and bake in a greased 9x13 pan for 35-40 minutes. Delicious!!!!! We always add walnuts too!

Cinnamon Rolls
3 ¼ tsp yeast
¼ cup warm water (soak the yeast in the water for 10 minutes)
½ cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 cup milk (scald in a pot on the stove. Just bring it to a boil)
1 egg
4-5 cup sifted flour
Soak the yeast. Scald milk and pour it over the butter. Add sugar, salt, and cool. Add yeast and beaten egg. Add flour. Knead and put in well oiled bowl to rise 1 ½ hours. Once the dough rises, spread it or roll it out. Cover the dough in cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins. Then cut strips, roll them up like a jelly roll, and put them in a 9x13 pan to bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.