autumnal mornings.

Although I have been raving about all the fall produce making its way into farmer’s markets & grocery stores, I must admit the sadness that also comes when I can no longer find some of my favorite summer goods at the market. Of course it is partly my fault that I am holding onto my dear peaches, berries, and sungold tomatoes for fear of finishing them. You see, I didn’t manage to arrive at the farmer’s market on saturday until 15 minutes prior to closing. Fortunately, some stalls weren’t completely closed up and I still made it out with kale, cucumbers, zucchini, and raspberries. After circling a few times, I realized I missed the peaches and apples I was most eager to come home with.

The peaches from the week before are on their last leg, but I’ve been decreasing the quantity in each serving of steel or scottish oats each morning to keep savoring the summer flavor.

One day I made delicious coconut milk steel-cut oats with chia seeds, cinnamon and vanilla topped with peaches and naturally nutty cinnamon vanilla sunflower butter. It has been a few months since I last ate the sweet, frosting-like nut butter, and I was reminded how wonderful it was.

Today, I woke up with ideas of raspberry and peach flecked scottish oats. These were cooked in the usual way, with unsweetened almond milk, chia seeds, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. The raw almond butter, one of my favorites, made it extra tasty.

Although our blueberries are now gone, I can’t forget my summer combo of choice, peach and blueberry topped oats. The only meal I often had time to prepare for work was this combination. Again, raw almond butter made an appearance on the cinnamon-vanilla-chia-almond milk steel-cut oats.

Although I had oats for breakfast hours before, I wanted to make V some pumpkin pancakes to celebrate the end of the movie he has been working on every week night since July.

When finding the trader joe’s pumpkin yesterday, I knew it was going to be a pancake day today. Isn’t that what sunday’s are for (and it just happens to be national pancake day) ?

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

1 cup spelt flour

1 t baking powder

2 T sucanat (or other sweetener)

1 t chia seeds (or flax)

1/2 t pumpkin pie spice

1 cup nut milk (I used a mix of almond and light coconut milk)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 banana, sliced (optional)

-Heat a large pan over medium heat.

-Mix flour, baking powder, sweetener, chia seeds, and spices.

-Add milk to well mixed dry ingredients.

-Stir in pumpkin and add optional nuts and banana slices.

-Coat pan with cooking spray and pour 1/4 cup sized pancakes onto the warm surface. Cook 2-3 minutes each side.

-Serve warm topped with earth balance and maple syrup.

V ate the majority but I was able to steal one away for myself that I topped with some earth balance and real maple syrup. These were some of the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted. Although cooked through, they were still soft in the middle from the pumpkin and the crunchy walnut flavor melded wonderfully.

I hope you enjoyed some of my recent breakfasts. The next post will be dedicated to the more savory dishes I’ve been eating.

Now, it is time to head out for an early dinner at my favorite nearby pub with local produce. Hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend.

Other things:

I can’t wait to make this delicious sounding pizza hummus. Do you have a preferred spin on classic hummus flavors?

There is still close to 6 months until my next birthday, but I think I just found my next birthday cake recipe. Peanut butter and chocolate, yes please. What is your cake of choice? Instead of typical fluffy cake, I always opt for a more mousse like dessert with chocolate.

What is your favorite way to eat pumpkin? I think pancakes might just be mine. Yes, the muffins were truly great, but pancakes really do it for me.

a rebellious weekend.

For the weekend only, I will be having a little fling with this guy…

This shot of the borrowed Canon Rebel was taken by my lil old fujifilm that has some funky white balance issues (that won’t seem to change). I must admit that photography is something I never really considered growing up and even well into my college days. That is pretty unfortunate because I did go to a college focused on the arts and communication, where I could have really gotten my foot in the door. Other than photography though, I really have a passion for styling. If I could, I would style food, clothes, rooms, etc. at all times. When I was at my aunt’s farm last weekend, my mother kept telling me what would be a lovely picture as she walked through the garden with me. I guess that is what happens when you are raised by a stylist and a creative director, constant art direction. My father, the creative director, let me borrow this from his company for the weekend only, and I am almost feeling as though this is too much of a tease. Not only do I have no clue what I am doing with this baby, but I also have no time today to read the entire manual or play with it like it deserves. This little fling won’t get the proper attention it needs because I have to head out to see the real man in my life after being apart for much too long. Poor rebel, maybe I can play with you tomorrow…

This morning, I already had planned on making Angela’s Spelt Pancakes but tripled the recipe for my sister and father to enjoy with me. In the batter went some organic blueberries and I made a scrambled banana (mash) like yesterday to top them. This time I also added some mashed black raspberries for some pink action.

I feel like such a newbie with the Rebel…after attempting to take a photo of my bite, I ended up with a fuzzy mess. If anyone has any tips for close-ups and which settings I should use, etc. I would really appreciate it!

The pancakes were divine though, and cooked in coconut oil for some nice crispy edges.

Heading out the door right after I publish this, I am taking my sister on a little run. She hasn’t had time for it these last few months so I am going to attempt to slowly build up her endurance and speed with the walking/running method. No one wants injury’s here!

A fun afternoon and night with V is in the works so I won’t be able to post until tomorrow. I will leave you with some shots I promised of my Aunt’s farm in Blauvelt, NY. Remember, she sells at the Nyack Farmer’s Market under the name Blue Field Farm, so stop by if you live nearby.

Valerian Root…helps ya sleep.

Lettuce that she says is no longer good…um, I’ll take some!

Cali poppies, my Cali boy’s favorite flower, and another beauty behind.

Peas, one of my absolute favorite veggies.

I will always be a garlic lover…

The back of the barn…

Bees.

Rhubarb.

Hiding Strawbs…almost time for them at the farmer’s markets!

Baby Bloobs.

Currants, not even close to ripeness.

Other things:

-Do you have a DSLR? I would love some tips since I am hoping to get one in the near future…

a farmer’s market fourth.

The trip to the market was another success. After going to the market many times with ideas of what produce I wanted for recipes that week, I have been let down. This time I went to find what looked best. The Chioggia (or candy cane) bright red beets below the usual purple beets will be beautiful served sliced in a salad. They will be wrapped in tin foil and then baked at 400 degrees for about an hour, until tender. I will probably create a nice dressing with fresh squeezed orange juice, vinegar, and olive oil. Shallots would be a great addition as well as avocado and orange segments. After reading in Body + Soul Magazine that the key to finding the best beets was by picking the ones with the best greens, I was convinced.

I strangely adore fava beans. I blame this on my british father.

There were petite bunches of radishes.

The pattypan squash are growing in size as the season develops.

.time to get cooking.