Friday Five: Favorite Cool Weather Drinks

Linking up today with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney for Friday Five. Today's theme is favorite cool weather drinks. While I tend to skip the non-running related link up topics (I can think of plenty of off-topic, rambling thoughts to force invite you to read on my own), this one sounded fun to join in, primarily because it's a chance to share my mom's spiced cider recipe. 

1. Hot chocolate. Probably one of the most obvious! Lately on rainy afternoons at work, going to the kitchen and putting together a mug of hot chocolate (we have some packets of powdered mix in with the tea supply) has been a lovely pick me up.

2. Hard cider. Not a warm-up kind of drink, and sure you can get it year-round. But it tastes better in the fall! I love the Cider Boys combo ciders (e.g., strawberry apple).

3. Lemon tea. It reminds me of visiting my great-aunt after holiday get-togethers like Thanksgiving and Christmas. She'd have home baked goodies and tea, and my family would meet up with her for breakfast.

4. Peppermint hot chocolate. There are only a couple things I get at Starbucks - double chocolate chip frappuccinos (which I fully acknowledge are basically a milkshake), and the peppermint hot chocolate when it's in season. It's delicious and tastes like Christmas!

5. My mom's hot spiced cider. It's fairly basic, but she's made it for parties and holidays for as long as I can remember, and I love it!

Mom's Spiced Cider

2 quarts apple cider or juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp whole cloves (can put in a teaball for easy removal before serving)
dash of nutmeg
dash of ginger
dash of cinnamon (optional)
orange slices (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot or large pot. Heat on low heat for a few hours.

The Best Christmas Cookie

While planning Thanksgiving with Abe's family, he asked me what food needed to be there for it to really be Thanksgiving to me. Easy answer - mashed potatoes! That, and maybe rolls, are really my favorite thing about holiday meals (even before I became vegetarian, I wasn't a huge fan of turkey). At least, as far the dinner itself. 

Holiday desserts are even better, I suppose; pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and cookies for Christmas. There are a few kinds of Christmas cookies that my family always has: spritz, sugar cookies, hello dollies. The best, though, are nanaimo bars. I believe, as far as family traditions go, they originated on my dad's side, but my mom's side has them now, too.

If you only ever take away one thing from my blog - make it this recipe!

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp margarine (vegan, like Earth Balance, works fine) or butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg (I haven't had great success with vegan alternatives - it really needs a good binder)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut
3 Tbsp milk (dairy or any alternative)
2 Tbsp vanilla pudding mix (cook and serve, NOT instant pudding mix)
2 cups powdered sugar
8 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate

Bottom layer

Cook in a saucepan on medium-low heat:
     1/2 cup margarine
     1/4 cup sugar
     5 Tbsp cocoa
     1 tsp vanilla
     1 egg

Mix in:
     2 cups graham cracker crumbs (put crackers in a ziploc, roll with rolling pin)
     1 cup coconut

Press into a 9" x 9" pan and chill.

Middle layer

Mix:
     1/4 cup margarine
     3 Tbsp milk 
     2 Tbsp vanilla pudding mix (the cook and serve mix, NOT instant mix)
     2 cups powdered sugar.

Spread on top of first layer and chill until firm.

Top layer

Melt in saucepan on low heat:
     1 Tbsp margarine
     8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate.

It is crucial that there is no water in the pan, or you will end up with lumpy chocolate.

Spread on top of second layer and chill.

After the top layer has chilled for about ten minutes, score the top layer (to facilitate cutting into pieces after it has fully hardened). At a minimum cut into 5 by 5 pieces, consider 6 by 6. 

Les Miserables Sing Along

Although I politely refrained from subjecting a theater full of strangers from my singing when I first saw the newest version of Les Miserables, I knew I had to host a sing along party once it came out on DVD. (I then also had to wait until the end of tax season - but hosting guests was a great motivation to clean up the hazardous black hole that my apartment turns into by April 15.)

A quick trip to Goodwill provided some basic decor to set the scene: a red tablecloth and silver candlesticks. For food I went with more generally French-inspired, since the movie itself really only provides for bread and wine as refreshments.

Menu:

• Wine
• French toast casserole (from this recipe), with maple syrup
• Potatoes Dauphinoise (a vegan version that I was introduced to as Thousand Layer Potatoes - recipe below)
• Quiche - from Whole Foods freezer section
• Crackers and baguette slices with rosemary olive oil, Bonne Maman French preserves, and spreadable Brie cheese
• Swiss, cheddar, and smoked mozzarella cheese pieces
• Fruit - blackberries, strawberries, and grapes
• Veggies - rainbow carrots, grape tomatoes, and bell pepper
• "Red and Black" dessert - angel food cake dyed red(ish) and brownies
• My friends brought candy and French cookies

Thousand Layer Potatoes

Adapted from recipe by Chef Hugo Gutierrez at Haramara Retreat, Sayulita, Mexico

4 - 5 medium potatoes

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 Tbsp Thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Peel potatoes and thinly slice using a mandoline, then layer in a casserole dish.

Combine the rest of ingredients, then pour over potatoes. 

Bake until potatoes are soft, about 40 - 50 minutes.

It Doesn't Taste Like Dirt!

At the VegNews vegan yoga retreat, every lunch and dinner started with two questions: What flavor is the juice? What flavor is the dip?

All the food - all vegan - was made onsite, from fresh, local ingredients. I couldn't even begin to list the fruits that were made into juices and the veggies that were made into dip - different kinds each day. Unbelievably, my favorite dip of all was the beet dip! 

I have truly given beets a fair chance; I've tried them, usually roasted (what vegetable doesn't taste great roasted?), peeled before or after baking, and no matter what, they taste dirty. Sorry, I mean, "earthy".

But I promise, this dip doesn't taste dirty at all! Just sweet and delicious (and colorful)!

Haramara Vegetable Dip

Recipe by Chef Hugo Gutierrez of Haramara Retreat (with minor modifications)

2 cups vegetable, peeled and cut into large pieces (beet, carrot, eggplant, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, bell pepper, cauliflower, etc.)
1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped
Juice of one lime
1/4 - 1/2 cup avocado oil or olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

1. Steam or boil vegetable until soft and brightly colored. (I boiled the beets for about 45 minutes.) Drain water.
2. While vegetables are still hot, place in blender, along with rest of ingredients. (I'd recommend starting with 1/4 cup of oil - the original recipe says 3/4 cup, but I ended up using a total of about 1/3 cup.)
3. Blend until smooth.

No-Turkey Day

No, I'm not having veggieducken for Thanksgiving dinner.* Some years I've had Tofurkey, but the more years I'm vegetarian, the less appetizing even a quasi-pretend-turkey is. This year I made maple tofu to bring to my omnivore relatives' house for my main dish, modified from two other baked tofu recipes.

Thanksgiving Maple Coconut Tofu

1 package extra firm tofu
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika 
2 Tbsp shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Open and drain tofu. Wrap in a towel and set a book or plate on top to press out water. Let set while you prepare the sauce.
3. Mix the maple syrup, olive oil, black pepper, and paprika in a small bowl. (My tolerance for spice is quite low; you may prefer more pepper and paprika.)
4. Cut the tofu into half-inch cubes. Spread into a single layer in a baking dish.
5. Pour the maple sauce over the tofu. Use your hands to mix and cover the tofu pieces with the sauce, then spread back into a single layer.
6. Sprinkle the coconut over the tofu.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, then mix and flip the pieces. Bake for an additional 15 - 25 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

*Edited to add: A girl at the VegNews vegan yoga retreat the following week actually did make a veggieducken for Thanksgiving!

Scary Green Smoothie

Yes, I was afraid of green smoothies. I mean, come on, it's spinach or kale (or other veggies). Who wants to drink that? But it certainly makes sense as a post-exercise snack, and if done right can even satisfy a craving for a cool dessert. OK, maybe it doesn't substitute for chocolate ice  cream, but it does stand in just fine for berry sorbet.

Attempt 1: Spinach and blueberries. It was... interesting. Part of it may just been that the blueberries were a little tart, so there wasn't anything really distracting from the taste of the spinach. Also, although my blender is decent, it's no Vitamix, so the texture of tiny pieces of spinach was a little odd.

Attempt 2: Spinach and berry mix. The extra flavors (and fresher flavors - the blueberries in attempt 1 had been in my freezer for a while) helped offset the spinach. It was also much less ugly.

Attempt 3: Spinach, mixed berries, and half a banana. Not too bad!

Attempt 4: Same as last time, plus a protein mix. Although I think it's important to get nutrition from real food, I also don't think that whole-food-based supplements are a bad thing to give your diet a boost. I selected this particular add-in as the only protein powder at Whole Foods for under $1 a serving (actually, I think the only one under $2 a serving), plus a very short ingredient list. Unfortunately, it gave the smoothie that classic chalky "protein powder" taste, and I couldn't even finish it. I guess that's why it cost less than $1.

Attempt 5: Spinach, mixed berries, half a banana, and a spoonful of peanut butter. Delightful!


Basic recipe (rough estimates - you just kind of toss stuff in)
1/2 cup greens - spinach, kale, etc.
1/2 cup berries or other fruit
1/2 banana
spoonful of nut butter
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. My blender has a smoothie setting that runs for 60 seconds, with occasional bursts.

Best Body Bootcamp - Week 2 Goals

I'm setting myself up for healthy eating this week with some lunches:

Baked tofu: Drain, wrap in towel to press out excess water, cut into 1-inch pieces. Put in a glass baking pan, drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and nutritional yeast. Bake at 425 for about an hour, flipping pieces midway.

Zucchini, fresh onion, and garlic, stir fried in olive oil.

Near East wild rice

I also set up a "salad station" in the fridge - washed lettuce in the spinner, plum tomatoes, carrots, green pepper, and cucumber.


Health goals
I think I'll continue to work on the same goals from the first week. Didn't do too well sticking to them, but I think they're important habits to build right now.

1. Drink no more than 1 pop per day.

2. Go to bed by 11:00 pm.