Back in the Kitchen, and My Bed with Snowman Sheets

I'm back!!!

or should i say I'm home. 

but let me back up.

i logged my goal of 27 miles last week! for someone who always said, "i hate running, so i simply refuse to run," i think of it as a monstrous feat :)

the whole week went by very quickly, and for the first time in my life, someone made ME something vegan, a complete surprise! some awesome guys that lived in Halls made me vegan pancakes and melted vegan chocolate for them! one chocolate bar suffered from being thrown in the microwave for two solid minutes...haha boy did it seize. i explained later the general rule of melting chocolate:

if you are using the microwave, do 20 seconds on high, stir, 20 seconds more, stir, and continue this until it is nice and melty and gooey :D

the vegan pancakes were thrown together with soya milk, flour, and egg replacer. no recipe for these boys! they were pretty good, especially completely free-form! the consistency was more of a very eggy crepe (perhaps too much egg replacer? ;) ) but that worked perfect with the chocolate smeared on, and rolled up nicely :) 

the chefs were so surprised at how easy making this vegan treat was, and they even proposed vegan Thursdays! (wish i could be there!) but i also told them that i had a much easier pancake recipe, that didn't even require "special" expensive ingredients!

so if you're feelin' pancakes, this is my adaption of Oh She Glows pancakes:

Yummy Template Pancakes

Serves 2

• 1 cup of Spelt flour (or really any other kind)
• 1 1/2 cups of almond, soya, or even rice milk. but if you have none of that on hand and you want to try something different, juice works and adds a fruity flavour! (using soya milk will make the pancakes more full tasting however)
• 2 T baking powder 
• 2 T of cacao nibs (optional) 
• 2 T coconut or flax oil (you can use vegetable oil instead though)
• 1 T of sugar or a light sprinkle of stevia if your not a sugar fan (i'm thinking of one special vegan in particular :) )
• 2 t of vanilla extract (vanilla essence)
• 2 t of cinnamon
• 1 t of garam masala (optional but recomended)
• 1/4 t salt
• oil for cooking (coconut oil adds a nice sweetness to it)

1.  grease the pan or skillet, and heat on a medium temperature (about 3 or 4 in the Hall's kitchens)
2. mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl
3. whisk together the wet ingredients (if using coconut oil make sure it is melted), and add them to the dry ingredients and whisk until any clumps are gone
4. pour the batter into the heated, greased pan in 1/4 c measurements or about 60 ml measurements
5. cook until brown on one side and flip to cook until brown on the other side
6. continue until you have used up all the batter! if you want to know how i serve mine, check out the pancake picture and caption in this post 

on a side note, i broke my wheat-free and gluten free diet eating those pancakes they made, and i have unfortunately eaten gluten the four (including today) days since. but after today i am planning on being straight gluten free, as best i can :)

so Friday i did my 8 mile run. 

getting up at 7:20 after no sleep, a belly fully of pancakes and chocolate, when it is still black as night outside isn't easy.

and being met with the sudden emergence of snow from the sky the second you step outside...boy does that make it harder.

i ran from when the ground was simply dark pavement to when everything was white with a light layer of snow. 

it went something like this:

crazy snow flurries, slippery new snow, freezing rain, crazy wind. 

and i stuck it all out, and left Ireland feeling like a champ. i celebrated with a huge vegan gluten-free breakfast at Cornucopia.

it was a perfect little end.

of course saying good-bye to my wonderful roomates was very sad, but i've promised them i will visit eventually, and they are welcome to visit me :)

leaving Saturday was difficult, not to mention i lost track of the time and ended up rushing out the door. but it all ended just fine, and i got to both my flights, was met with a huge salad and fruit from my grandparents in O'Hare, and then at 8:30 Oregon time i got home.

it felt so good :)

we immediately went to New Seasons where i bought peanut butter, eggnog, and vegan cookie dough.

...i'm ashamed to say i have already eaten the whole container of cookie dough...to be fair i did have a little help.

im psyched to see my friends here again, genuinely thrilled. i missed them so much! and i get to see one of my oldest friends on a ski trip Wednesday, which is just completely savage. 

when i got home last night i couldn't wait to try out this recipe. in fact, it is in the oven with 30 minutes left right now! :)

(i adjusted the recipe to use more common flours in my house, if it works out, i will post my version)

but i got up at 5:22 this morning because of my "new" internal clock, and i couldn't wait around forever for yummy bread.

so i put some of that cookie dough in a glass jar to microwave with cinnamon raisin peanut butter and jam...haha YUM. that's when i finished my cookie dough.

my dad also showed me how to use the french press, so i will be drinking coffee nonstop now :D

and then i made this: 

welcome home to me

it is Quinoa Millet Porridge. very easy. my recipe?

 "Holiday" Quinoa Millet Porriage

Serves 2

• 1/4 cup of millet
• 1/4 cup of quinoa
• 2 cups of water 
• 1/2 cup of frozen berries
• 1/4 cup of chopped almonds, dried fruit, or other nuts (i used a superfood mix)
• 1/2 cup of Vegan eggnog for pouring over
• 2 T agave or maple syrup 
• peanut butter for topping (optional)

1.  heat the water in the pot until it boils, then add quinoa and millet and cook for 12-15 minutes
2. add the frozen berries and reduce heat, then cook until the liquid is absorbed and remove from heat
3. add the agave and mixed nuts to the pot and stir
4. divide between two bowls, pour over the eggnog and whichever other toppings you want and serve!

easy is beautiful. so is this bread:

i nibbled a bit...

i probably will start running again tomorrow, but mixing it up with biking. at least until Wednesday when i go snowboarding. ahh Christmas is so close!!!

Happy Holidays :)

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