An Excuse

Hello everybody! You may or may not have noticed the extreme lull in new posts recently. But wait! I have in an excuse! You see, I was on vacation. In the lovely, buggy state of North Carolina. Nestled high in the mountains with my trail mix (I mainly pick out the M&Ms) and sunscreen, it was practically paradise. And I have the pictures to prove it.
First off, I will start with something that was very far from paradise. It is called vegetable juice. Why would I EVER buy a juice made of vegetables, you ask? Well I was sort of hoping that it would slightly resemble the taste of this delicious Naked juice flavor. Ever tried it? It is delicious. Not a hint of spinach or celery or other vegetable crap. It sort of tastes like one of these.

But this juice, whew. Please do not buy it. Ever. Unless you enjoy the taste of blended celery and water. Then please, be my guest. Just please try and drink it as far away from me and the other normal people (just kidding. kinda.) as possible.

Okay, so, back to the paradise part. Let's start with the views. Can you top these?

This was during a drive. But still. 

View from the living room :)

Ahh, sigh. 

Let me go back now, thanks. 

And then there was the swimming hole. A perfect, private swimming hole. Straight out of a movie. Or the 1920s when swimming holes actually existed. 

There was originally a guy standing in this picture. Can you see where I cut him out?

And of course there was the nature. 

I'd say the only downfall of this vacation (besides, of course, the celery "juice"), filled with zip-lining and hiking and white-water rafting would be the noticeable lack of homemade, freshly churned ice cream. Instead, this necessity was replaced with a plethora of Hershey's brand ice cream. No kidding. See?

Crazy, right?

And then, of course, only in the South would you get gravy with your french fries. My Minnesotan brother was a bit shocked with this one :)

Alright, so enough pictures. Who wants to take me back?

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake (Low-Fat)

I love love love this coffee cake. As does my family.

Combined, these are the reasons why it is almost gone. One day after it's birth. It is moist and fluffy and light and completely and utterly out of this world divine. Dee-vine. Really. It has a distinct almond flavor thanks to the addition of almond paste. I love this about it. And almonds aren't even my favorite nut! I would only eat them for a snack if they were to be covered in that artificial powder labeled as "smokehouse flavor" or "lime and chili". Disgusted yet? But wait, you haven't even gotten to the recipe! And I don't like the wasabi flavor. So ha, I do have a redeeming quality. Remember, if you don't like almonds, don't skimp on the paste! It is a must. I am begging you. And I may or may not have eaten spoonfuls of it while "cleaning up".

We ran to the grocery store just to get this. Totally worth it!

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake (adapted slightly, and I mean slightly, from this link)

Ingredients
Cake:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup almond paste
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut up into small pieces
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup milk
1.5 cups blueberries
2 teaspoons lemon rind
Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tablespoons melted butter
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 inch pan.
Cake: Mix the first four ingredients in a small bowl. Beat the sugar, almond paste, and butter with a mixer until  it is well blended. Add in the egg and lemon juice, beating well. Beat in the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the lemon rinds and blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Topping: Combine all of the topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the cake.
Bake for 35 minutes and then cool in the pan. Enjoy!

It looks a little funky with the topping before baking, but it is lovely afterwards!

*Note: If you are using the same lemon for the rind and juice, zest first and then juice! This may seem like common sense, but I completely spaced out and it was near impossible to draw zest from a slippery, sliced lemon!

Pieces this small have negative calories, so eat up!

Coconut Lime Banana Bread (Low-Fat!)

I really have no words. Except for maybe "yum". And "my stomach hurts from eating so much". But otherwise, that's about it. This bread is delicious and summery and moist and amazing, without and oil or butter.

The little coconut flakes add an interesting texture without being overpowering and the hint of lime adds an amazing tropical punch. Please, please make this. Really. It will transport you immediately to a sandy white Caribbean beach with a tanned cabana boy serving you a piña colada in a coconut shell. I promise.

Coconut Lime Banana Bread (adapted from this and inspired by this)

Ingredients

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3 medium bananas; smashed

1/3 cup buttermilk*

1 tablespoon applesauce

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded coconut

zest from 2 limes

*No buttermilk? No problem! Add two tablespoons of white vinegar to 3/4 cup of milk. 

Directions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease a 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch pan, then dust with flour. Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl for 5 minutes or until thick and light. Mix in the smashed bananas, buttermilk, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Then sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Add the coconut flakes and zest and mix until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (the top of the bread should be golden brown). Flip outside of the pan and enjoy! 

Mysteries

I am having some troubles today. Number one. Why can't I get my pictures to stand vertically?

Every time I rotate them they rotate back after I upload them! Grr. Technology.

Also, why are all the corn bread muffins I make so bland? I love corn and I love bread so why can't they just mold themselves together magically to form a moist, tender, flavorful burst of wonderfulness? Why?

Third. Who wants to do dishes? :)

But seriously. Corn bread suggestions?

The Distinguished and Exclusive Pumpkin Muffin (Low-Fat)

Not going to lie. The original title for this post/recipe was Single Pumpkin Muffin. But that just sounds so blah, no? Why would you have a single pumpkin muffin when you can have an exclusive or distinguished pumpkin muffin? See? Thank you, Thesaurus.com. This muffin is so simple. Really. You don't even need to get out your beater or blender or whisk or mortar and pestle! All you need is a fork, your measuring spoons, and two bowls. Not even big bowls. Tiny bowls! Like this:

Okay maybe not that small, but small. I used cereal bowls. And I know, I know, more pumpkin. Maybe it's because it's almost July and it's still 52 degrees outside which means it's the sort of weather where you should be crunching through multicolored leaves and breathing in crisp air scented with apple cider and other fall things that I can't think of, and...ugh. Whatever. I just love pumpkin. 

These muffins are awesome. They are sugar and spice and everything nice. They are filled with gooey chocolate and topped with a crispy sprinkling of coarse sugar. And best of all, they are the definition of portion control. One batch equals one muffin. Easy peasy. 

The Distinguished and Exclusive Pumpkin Muffin 

(inspired by the One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes from the incredibly genius blog, How Sweet It Is, and adapted from this delicious pumpkin muffin recipe).

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon oil

1/8 egg (I just estimated for this. Try cracking an egg and then scooping some out with a spoon.)

1 tablespoon canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon water

2 tablespoons flour

1/8 slightly heaping teaspoon baking powder

1/8 slightly heaping teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 heaping teaspoons chocolate chips

1 teaspoon turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and set up your muffin tins with either muffin cups or by greasing thoroughly. 

2. Mix the sugar, oil, and eggs together in a small bowl and add the pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and mix. Stir in your chocolate chips. 

3. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle the muffin with turbinado sugar and bake for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

Happiness Is...

...A giant stack of freshly baked cookies. 

Pumpkin Pancakes (Low-Fat)

As you may be able to tell, I have a thing for pancakes. What you may not know, however, is that I am a little bit obsessed with pumpkin. Okay, I lied. I am REALLY obsessed with pumpkin. I love it. Cannot get enough. Give me pumpkin muffins, bars, breads, whatever. Make it pumpkin and I am happy. These pumpkin pancakes are not to dissapoint. They are moist and fluffy, like little clouds of pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pancakes (adapted from Tasty Kitchen)
*This version only makes two servings!*

Ingredients
1 cup All-Purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cups pumpkin
1 egg
2 1/4 teaspoon applesauce
chocolate chips

Directions
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In a smaller, separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture of the small bowl into the large bowl and whisk until just combined. Pour dollops onto a hot nonstick pan and put on desired amount of chocolate chips. Flip when bubbles form. Cook for a few more moments on the other side and serve!

The tester pancake :)

Put on your chocolate chips! I like a lot of them :)

Flip!

Top with bananas and syrup and enjoy!