Quick Stovetop Blueberry Oatmeal

Happiest bowl of oatmeal on earth!

Happy August, my vegan and vegetarian loving fiends!
It's been a great eight month achievement thus far and still feel like there's so much room for growth.
Like the obsession with zap, zap, zap technology has gotten to let go.
Usually, I make things in the microwave because it's quick and all so simple, but the fact of the matter is that stove top cooking is actually a more enjoyable process.
One of the reasons I find microwaved oatmeal heavenly delightful is because of the burst blueberry effect.
However, I recreated that very well in the saucepan and in almost the same amount of time.

Quick Stovetop Blueberry Oatmeal

1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup quick 1 minute rolled oats
1/2 cup soy milk

On medium heat, stir the blueberries and applesauce together in a saucepan.

One by one, smash the blueberries with the back of a fork.

Mix in the spices and sugar.

Stir in the oats.

Make sure to evenly coat.

Pour in the milk.

Stir until creamy consistency.

Add fresh fruit and almonds if desired.

Yummy work in a little under 5 minutes flat!!!
I licked the bowl clean.
Probably won't use sugar next time for this creamy, sweet, and flavorful fibrous breakfast jumpstarts the day in a warm, fulfilling satisfaction that even the most highly sugared box cereal couldn't compare.
Relished in slow appreciation, I ate my fruity, almond oatmeal with a glass of cold water, knowing that there's nothing greater than loving nature's nutrient enriched food and not harming a single animal for this indulgent, belly pleasure.
Mmmmmmmhmmmm. Goodness.

Creamy Brussels Sprouts & Broccoli Oatmeal

Yummy!

Usually my oatmeal combinations are on the sweet side- peanut butter and preserves oatmeal, chocolate chip oatmeal, fruit infused oatmeal, brown sugar oatmeal...
Yet lately, ever since using this ingredient in making burgers, it seemed a great idea to turn oatmeal into a savory dinner dish.

Creamy Brussels Sprouts & Broccoli Oatmeal Ingredients

1 12 oz package Brussels Sprouts
2 cups of broccoli
2 cups rolled oats
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Bring Brussels Sprouts & broccoli to a boil in about 2 1/2 cups water.

Dtrain the vegetable water directly into bowl of oats, stirring as it cooks.

Chop up the Brussels sprouts.

Add veggies to the cooked oatmeal.

Spice it up!

It turned out amazing.
A surprisingly superb flavor, the warm, vegetable infused oatmeal's consistency a cross between buttery mashed potatoes and mushy brown rice, it was a delicious experience good for anytime of the day. 
With little time to prepare- under 12 minutes, I highly recommend it, but will add chopped red onions, fresh herbs, and a pinch of unsweetened soy milk to make it even more yummy.

The leftovers were even still creamy. Sprinkled a bit more turmeric on top for the perfect yum!

Vegan Ginger Orange Coconut Cupcakes

Mmmmhmmm. Bliss.

I don't eat oranges themselves, not a fan of peeling, of the rind and pulp, but I love a good cup of Tropicana in the morning. This idea stemmed from drinking that sweet morning sunshine and that long ago Thistle catered art event that featured delicious vegan orange bliss cupcakes that still tongue dance in dreams.
Of course, the thought of citrus happiness blended with spicy ginger and yummy coconut made my mouth water in anticipation.

Vegan Ginger Orange Coconut Cupcake Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup plain soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes
pinch of salt

Orange Glaze

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ginger

additional coconut for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper cups.

Blend ingredients well.

Add shredded coconut.

Pour batter into baking cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Mix the glaze ingredients while waiting.

All ready!

Ta da! Covered w/ glaze, coconut, and a smidgeon of ginger, this cupcake awaits!

A bit sticky, but I love it!
These cupcakes are very light, not too sweet, and moist, with the sugary glaze adding a slight crunch effect alongside the coconut texture and that doesn't make me regret not adding walnuts or almonds to the batter. Orange flavor is present, but may need to add more orange juice and less milk next time.
Overall, a good cake.
And funnily enough someone stole my homemade baked treats, leaving a most cryptic note,"yum! Took 2. Thanks."
Haha! The nerve of some people...
As I slowly appreciated and devoured cupcakes, (pinky swear only had 2), I couldn't help but think about doughnuts. With a little yeast, orange extract (or liquor), and zest, these yummy, scrumptious cupcakes can be transformed into the perfect orange doughnuts!
Plus, they taste amazing with or without the glaze- which be a little tooooooo sugary to some.
So I guess it's up to me to create these orange doughnuts, huh? ;)

These Yummy Vegan Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty

Italian spices and nutritional yeast baked right in!

I've had a craving for unsalted "buttery" pretzels for a while, especially hot and freshly baked from the oven. 
At a movie theater, the server made me one, but it sorely lacked. Bland and flavorless, I almost cried, wishing for that $5 back. He went through all that work so of course I wasn't going to complain in his face.
Still, why does unsalted and vegan equate to crispy, tasteless dough?
Twisted Sisters Pretzels
Research led me to this cutesy blog called Peas And Thank You. Featuring a deliciously interesting recipe written by a humorous vegan mama, not only is this a keeper, so is the site. My mouth is already drooling at the thought of Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake....
Mmmmhmmmmmm chocolate.
Ahem!!
Oh yes.
Pretzels.
Back to pretzels.
Well, lots of work involved in the creative process of pretzel making, but in the end, it's all worth it.
Funnily enough, I used olive oil instead of Earth Balance.

Yummy Vegan Pretzels

3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 flour
8 cups water
2/3 cups baking soda
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Mix warm, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add the olive oil.

Gradually stir in the flour. This is at 1 cup added.

2nd cup of flour.

After last remaining 1/2 cup, knead the dough for 5 minutes more, adding more flour if needed. Or kneaded? ;)

In an oiled bowl, set the dough, cover, and let rise for an hour.

Olivia aides in the only part she can- the waiting period!

Cut dough into 4 sections. Mine weren't equal. Also at this point place water and baking soda on the stove and preheat oven to 450 degrees!

Remembering Auntie Annie's in the mall, I tried to make the best shape possible. Obviously need to see a Pretzel Jedi Master.

Four wannabe looking like pretzels raring to go.

Once water is at a boil, gently place in one pretzel at a time, leaving them in for 30 seconds.

Once they are on a greased cookie sheet, place desired seasonings on top.

12-15 minutes later, pretzel glory awaits!

Drizzled extra virgin olive oil on top.

Mmmmmmmhmmmmmmm!!!!
Not bad for a first try.
These pretzels are sooooooo good, especially with the seasonings on top. Better than anything at the movie theater. Hot, soft, & "buttery," the texture was all there.
Impressed with how they turned out.
Seriously, there were a few cringeworthy moments, but I'm so very happy with the final results.
Poor Olivia.
Since my kitty usually misses out on the good stuff, I didn't eat it in front of her, preferring to devour my hot salvation in the corner and immediately washing my hands clean from seasony, olive oil aftermath.
Now she'll never know!  ;)

The Very, Very Sweet Banana Cantaloupe Grape Smoothie

Well it wasn't that orange....

No sorbet today.
But this banana cantaloupe grape smoothie was pretty interesting.

Sweet Banana Cantaloupe Grape Ingredients

1 large ripened frozen banana
1 cup diced cantaloupe
14 seedless plump juicy cold green grapes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup orange juice not from concentrate (I used Tropicana!)
4 extra grapes for garnish (optional)

4 of the 5 ingredients.

Banana is ice cold. Had been in the freezer for 2 days.

Prepared to be mixed fruits!

Blended and ready to drink.

Enough for one.

Very peculiar.
It's as though these flavors don't mesh and they try so hard to be perfect.
It was a "what have I created? Yes. No. Yes.  No. No way. YES! YES! YES!!!!!" Sort of emotional response.  
I loved that it tasted like a creamy, slightly frothy cantaloupe orange juice with REAL grapes and that the banana's purpose was to make sure the smoothie was cold.
Some people hate it, but I personally have become an avid fan of chewing on pieces of fruit in the middle of drinking. To me, it staples this punchline,"you're officially enjoying REAL fruit and not processed, corn syrup, artificial laboratory garbage." There were grape pieces almost throughout, but having plump juiciness covered in remainder of smoothie at the end- excellent! 
So what do I call these? Chunkies? The chunk-smooth? Or the smooth-chunky?
For now, I'm sticking with smoothie until someone tells me different.

Vegan Fruity Ice Cream With Coconut & Almond

Warning: This May Be Hard To Share!

Cherries, bananas, coconuts, and almonds, oh my!
More ice cream smorgasbord.
Only the third try at making this homemade hot day dessert and I do believe someone's becoming mightily addicted...

Ingredients

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lime
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Only 7 ingredients for this summer treat.

Squeezing in the lime juice.

This is gonna be a chunky one!

Top with additional coconut flakes and almonds if desired.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Very incredible flavors cheering the tongue here, mostly sweet cherries (w/ a few surprising chunks! Yay!) with the flaky coconut and crisp almond textures. Banana almost absent (which I wanted!). Getting pretty good at mimicking the texture of ice cream now, I'm almost at the advanced stage of crafting it.
Just need to iron out a few crinks. ;)
Can you believe it?
I actually shared my little bowl of yum and had only 1 complaint- it's tooooo cold! Sheesh. Didn't know that ice cream wasn't supposed to be cold. Hahaha!
Definitely had a fan though. :)
I'm having a ball and am certainly not done experimenting. Summer is not yet over. Plus there's cantaloupe in my fridge. And grapes. A sorbet for tomorrow? Hmmm....