still platin'

The oats situation isn’t letting up…

Before heading out for work errands today, I knew that the only breakfast that would satisfy me would be the Scottish oats I finally picked up. Again, they were plated to ensure no overheating while eating them. We went to one of the larger Whole Foods in Michigan on Saturday after working until the early evening and found all sorts of goodies.

After the realization that I also love steel-cut oats, I now have two favorites. Scottish Oats are quicker on the stovetop than steel-cut oats and create a wonderful fluffy texture when cooked with lots of water, almond milk, chia (or flax) seeds, and half a banana. Of course I always add cinnamon and vanilla as well, but I also usually add a tiny amount of stevia for a touch of sweetness. Since I was out of my NuNaturals stevia and couldn’t find any at the store, I picked up a new sweetener that V picked out.

Today, I tried one half teaspoon in my oats but didn’t feel it sweetened them as much as my usual packet of stevia. This Vivagave powder clumped when heated, similar to stevia, but had even smaller granules. I may have to try adding this after cooking so that it spreads more evenly. Another way I sometimes sweeten my oats is with banana mashed with splash of maple syrup.

Often writing that I am sad to finish off pints or more of berries, it is quite silly considering that I make sure to pick up more as soon as I know that I am almost without. The raspberry container was the one that went today, but I still have many blueberries and peaches to fill up my oats for the next few days. The butter topping of choice was coconut butter that I made sure to swirl around my oats soon after photographing. I won’t pretend that anything else compares to oats in the morning. They really do the best job at staving off any morning hunger and please my taste buds at the same time.

Another place we had to go this weekend for work and apartment (mirrors for fitting rooms) essentials was Ikea. It seems that we have yet to make a trip to Ikea without picking up more jars. V is just as into them as I am and bought large ones for all our rice and dried beans. My favorites are the little ones that I’ve filled with nuts, seeds, and the granola I made yesterday.

Nothing compares to my Salvation Army Ball Jars though. The classic jars sit lined up on my shelves with all my lentils and grains. We didn’t seem to have any dried fruit for granola except for dates which resulted in some googling for a recipe. One of my all time favorite sites, Epicurious, was the place I found a recipe for Chunky Date, Coconut, and Almond (Pepita) Granola. Although not as good as my favorite recipe, it sure is a tasty crunchy granola.

Thank you for all the Vegan Pizza topping suggestions. I am saving them for a pizza planned in the next few days using these…

garlic scapes. Angela’s garlic scape pesto will most likely be involved.

Other things:

-Although I am disappointed the Netherlands lost the final World Cup game, I found the game pretty unexciting. I had much higher hopes for the game and felt it was kind of a let down. There have been much more thrilling matches in the past (2006 France vs. Italy, etc.) and Sunday’s was just a dirty game with no real power play moments. Did you watch? Were you excited or disappointed?

-Have you ever had Garlic scapes? Any other recipe suggestions using them?

About these ads