hearts & beets

Winter is a long cold son of a bitch in Canada. That coupled with being in school full-time = full time hibernation mode. I have been trying to keep cosy, but also forced to stay home due to the mountains of school work piled high on my poor little desk.

Feeling overwhelmed most of the time, I've ignored this wee little internet space in hopes that once I become a human again when I finish school in July I will graduate to a more professional blogging platform. But why let this space get dusty? Especially when you make PB&J Coconut Flour Pancakes.

March starts on Sunday and daylight savings is the following Sunday, so there's light at the end of the tunnel. I know it's not very yogic to wish so much for the future to hurry up and get here, but the older I get the more I realize that winter and I were truly never meant to get along. One of these days I will migrate to a warmer climate.

Until then, I will hold onto the hopes that mother nature will follow the rules and bring us Spring on March 21st. 

But for now, pancakes.

PB&J Coconut Flour Pancakes

Adapted from Nourishing Days

Ingredients

2 organic eggs

1/2 cup nut milk

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup coconut flour

coconut oil for frying

1/4-1/2 cup strawberries

1-2 tablespoons almond butter

Optional: 1 tbsp sweetener (I've been trying to cut down my sugar intake as of late so have been forgoing the sugar if I know I'm going to have a little maple syrup on top, I mean come on, I am still Canadian at heart!)

Directions

Heat the pan to medium low while you prepare the ingredients.

Crack 2 eggs in a bowl and whisk them up to make them nice and frothy.

Add the milk, vanilla, baking soda and salt.

Add the berries

The last step is important - add the coconut flour right before you're ready to cook because it will start soaking up the wet mixture.

Plop about a teaspoon of coconut oil in the pan, once it's fully melted start adding the batter. I usually use my 1/4 cup to scoop the batter evenly.

Once the pancakes start to bubble they're ready to flip.

As you cook you can keep adding a little bit of coconut oil at a time to keep the p-cakes from sticking to the pan.

When the pancakes are ready to serve, top with a little more coconut oil, nut butter, and a wee little drizzle of syrup.

Makes about 6 medium pancakes, if you're hungry extra hungry, eating with a friend/lover or want leftovers, simply double the recipe.

This time last year my life looked different, like completely and totally different. I worked a 9-5 corporate job that I hated and I started 2014 with one resolution, one goal, just one little intention: quit.

One little four letter word, so innocuous, yet so powerful. It haunted me for many years. My life was pretty planned out; childhood, university, travelling, corporate job. Adulthood. I did what everybody else did, that was the thing to do. Immediately I wasn't happy, but you're not supposed to be happy trapped in a cubicle all day are you? I drudged on, hoping that perhaps there was more to life than clocking in and clocking out. Coming home and sitting in front of the TV drinking too much wine, drowning my sorrows. Everything else in my life was perfect; love, friends, family. Just one missing piece. One big piece.

I started reading a lot of self help books (shout out to the Toronto Public Library for having such a great selection). With each book, came more hope. I knew I had to do something, but I didn't know what. I kept reading, kept searching. I had hobbies, but no real strong skills. I went to a career counsellor. A therapist. A nutritionist. I sought out answers from anyone who might be able to point me in the right direction. Ultimately what I came to realize was no matter how much I paid, or read, or researched, the only person who had those answers was me.

On January 17th, 2014, I quit my job.

What a relief. Followed by intense fear and anxiety. What now...?

I looked for new jobs, but knew deep down I would be exchanging one unhappiness for another.

Colleagues and friends continued to ask, "what's next?" Rather than a disappointing, "I have no idea!" I decided to just give a vague "travelling", as my response. Where was I going, no where really, I just wanted to end the conversation there.

One month later I was boarding a plane to travel across the world to embark on a journey that would change my life forever. 

How cliche is that?

But it did.

(#manifesting)

I spent five solo weeks in Ubud, Bali. Learning to teach yoga, learning about myself, Hinduism, Buddhism, karma, reincarnation, aliens (for real). Uncovering a spirituality inside of me that I'd been missing for 28 years. At times it was uncomfortable, painful, lonely. But I wouldn't change it for a second.

Upon my return I took a humble job teaching yoga at a small studio. It was a modest and simple way to live. I was scraping by, but I was happy.

I decided to listen some more, dig a little deeper.

In September, I went back to school to become a Holistic Nutritionist. At the time, I did not know what I was getting myself into.

And here I am. What a roller coaster this year has been. Not all rainbows and butterflies, but full of laughter and tears. Challenges I never thought I'd face. Parts of me I never knew existed. 

Through it all I know that in the end, everything is as it should be.

I've been pinning recipes of cinnamon buns for years, but have yet (until now) worked up the ambition to commit. There are a bajillion recipes for paleo, vegan, gluten free and yeast free buns. I don't care what's in it I just want it to be simple.

Enter The Minimalist Baker's 7 ingredients cinnamon "rolls" (I prefer BUNS). Bonus - they're vegan! I served them to my unsuspecting meat-loving family on Christmas morning and they loved them just the same (with a side of bacon, God love em). 

I was/am so proud of how they turned, absolute perfection. Yes, there are a few different steps and some waiting, but in the end it was all worth it once I sunk my teeth into this bad boy:

<drooling>

Ingredients:

1 packet instant yeast

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup Earth balance 

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups all purpose flour (I used 2 C spelt, 1 C pastry flour)

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar, divided

Technically if you add icing it's more than 7 ingredients, but who's counting? I just made a simple almond milk/icing sugar, but there's all sorts of different variations, including some with cream cheese, mmmmm.

Heat almond milk + 3 tbsp earth balance in a pot. Don't let it boil, just enough so the "butter" melts. Remove from heat and let cool, too hot and it will kill the yeast.

Transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle on the yeast. Let it activate for about 10 minutes. Then add 1 tbsp sugar, the salt and stir

Next add the flour slowly, stirring as you go. I used my hands to get the last bit of flour worked in.

Transfer to a fresh bowl coated with oil (I just used olive), cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least an hour (save the plastic for later).

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a rectangle (I just used my hands). Brush with 3 tbsp melted Earth Balance top with 1/4 C sugar and cinnamon.

Carefully roll up the dough nice and tight with the seam down.

This is the fun part! Take a piece of dental floss and use it to cut the dough in 1.5 - 2 inch pieces and position in a "buttered" pan. Should be about 10 pieces.

Set on top of the oven while it heats to 350, cover with the plastic if you want them to rise a bit more.

Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly crispy and golden brown.

This has been my go-to recipe for this holiday season's potlucks, and let me tell you, these babies are crowd pleasers. I have both vegan/health peeps and regular peeps in my circle of peeps and these make everyone happy.

So if they're vegan, why does it say eggnog, you ask? Well technically I didn't use eggnog, the little vegan bakery a block away from me happens to sell vegan coco-nog, so there. I've also seen lots of recipes for making you're own vegan eggnog, so if you're feelin' ambitious, giver a go.

Note: donuts call for donut pans! If you don't have one, you should get one, that way you can turn anything into a donut, and who wouldn't want to do that?

Inspired by Produce on Parade.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup eggnog

2 cups spelt flour

1/2 cup organic sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. chai spice

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze

1/4 cup eggnog

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 tsp. chai spice

Mix all the wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another bowl. Mix together until just combined. Grease up your donut pan with a little coconut oil and don't fill the pan too high or you'll end up with weird upside-down miff/donut thingys (speaking from experience).

Monday morning.

On holidays.

Slept in.

Listening to bluegrass record.

Pancakes for one.

3 tbsp ground oat flour 1 tbsp coconut flour 1 scoop protein powder 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 organic egg 1/2 banana, mashed 2 tbsp fresh cashew milk  1/4 cup blueberries pomegranates maple syrup coconut oil for pan

Not to sound like all new agey and weird, but this week I suddenly felt like I was being called to India. The same thing happened before I went to Bali and I manifested that sh*t in a few weeks. Since I can't just take off to India anytime soon, I figured this was the next best thing.

I have been making this recipe for years. One day I was at home sick from work and watching the Food Network, as you do. I'd only ever eaten Indian food in Asia and had never considered making it myself. This was back in the days where I was just venturing into the kitchen, so this seemed extremely exotic for me to be cooking.

Now that I'm off the meat train, I wanted to see how it would taste with some vegetarian modifications. My meat-eating BF said he never would have known that wasn't meat in there, so another win for this gal!

The original recipe is from Bal Arneson. Here's my remix of a remix of an Indian classic:

Ingredients

2 to 3 tbsp oil (coconut or ghee

1 Tbsp chopped ginger

1 red onion, chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric

pinch chili pepper flakes

1 Tbsp garam masala

½ tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

1 package tempeh (I used Noble Bean)

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 - 1/2 C coconut milk (I added a dash of vinegar to make it more yogurty tasting)

1 cup water

Directions

1. In a large wok, heat oil of choice at medium. Add the ginger and onion and cook for about 4 minutes, until onion is soft.

2. Turning the heat low, add the tomato paste, spices, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tempeh, stir well to coat and cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the brown sugar, coconut milk and water, turn heat up to medium-high and cook for about 7 minutes, or until the saucey part is a thick reduction.

4. Enjoy with some naan bread and/or rice of your choice.