recipe journal // 3

We have been greeted with cooler temperatures and breezy days this week in Athens! I've been sleeping with my window open and the A/C has been put to rest - straight up bliss I'm tellin' ya! All week my mind has been kept on making my first pot of soup of the season. I have this thing about doing things that fit with the weather. I think my body is really sensitive to temperature. When it's hot, I am really hot and when it's cold I am always "freezing." This means that I really cannot fathom wearing jeans when it is above 80 degrees outside and I would never want to eat hot soup unless it is at least chilly outside. Thanks to the 75 degree highs, I've gladly slipped on a pair of jeans and eaten a can of Trader Joe's split pea soup.

I made a big pot of black beans last week, so big that I ended up needing to freeze a container of em' so that they didn't go bad. I was at Trader Joe's on Sunday with my Mom who kindly bought me a butternut squash (thankful for her), among of things. Last night, I was thinking about these two ingredients and the soup that I make at least once every year popped into my head. I headed to Kroger after class to grab the few things I need to make this soup happen. Came home and got to work - this soup comes together super fast though, no lie.

Dear fall, happy that you came around this week, stick around please and don't let winter come too quick. Sincerely, Katie B.

BLACK BEAN & BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP //
adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

1 tsp. coconut oil (or other heat stable oil)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
2 tsp. cocoa powder
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
3 cups cubed winter quash (butternut or delicata, skin removed)
2-3 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can)
2 heaping cups of sliced cabbage or bagged slaw
2 heaping cups sliced kale leaves

// method

melt the coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. add chopped onion and a couple of pinches of salt, stir. cook over medium heat until translucent. add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. add spices and stir. pour in vegetable broth, bring to simmer. add squash, beans, cabbage, and kale. simmer until squash is soft- about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. At this point, I used my immersion blender to give the soup a few pulses so that it is thicker, but not smooth. You could put a portion of the soup in your blender or food processor or just leave it as is. Totally your preference. This will make around 6 bowls of soup. Store in fridge for up to a week or freeze.

Top off your bowl with tortilla chips, cilantro, and/or avocado slices.

Open up your windows and enjoy!

recipe journal // 2

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS //

But if we are being honest, they are much more than that. After my friend Audrey tasted her muffin and I told her what all is NOT in these muffins, she said they should be called "liberty muffins" because they are free of so many things you find in typical muffins. I liked that idea, but I want these muffins to be considered mainstream (a.k.a not hippy food) so a mainstream name it is --> blueberry muffins.

I made these this morning kind of on a whim. I did not give myself an adequate breakfast because I woke up real early and rushed out of the door, so I was hungry. I finally had all the ingredients I needed to whip these puppies up. And (this is key), our house was cool this morning, which is crucial because I have a gas oven that basically become a furnace when it's turned on.

Now I would not say that these muffins come together super quick, but that's the nature of "liberty" baking. Plus, they are worth it. Super worth it. I ate not one, but two. One super hot out of the oven, which I do not recommend, and the next at a nice warm temperature. My roommate, Hayley, ate one and then asked me who they were for. I said, "just for me slash us." So she took another one "for the road."

(recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories)

// dry ingredients
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup rolled oats (certified gluten free if ya want)
2/3 cup buckwheat flour (can be ground from raw buckwheat groats)
2 TBSP potato starch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

// wet ingredients
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup coconut oil, or olive oil 
2 ripe bananas, mashed
5 dried dates, pit removed
3 "flax eggs" = 3 TBSP ground flax seed + 9 TBSP water OR use regular eggs
large handful of blueberries, fresh or frozen

// oat topping
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP honey (omit if you don't want any sweetener)

// method
preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

grind sunflower seeds, oats, and buckwheat groats (if needed) into a powder/flour using a coffee grinder or a food processor, add to large bowl. add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl and stire with a whisk. 

let flax seed and water sit in a bowl together for 5 minutes to thicken up, or alternatively whisk up your eggs. bowl some water on the stove or in the microwave, place the pitted dates in the hot water to soak for 5 minutes. add 1 tsp of vinegar to the almond milk and let sit for 5 minutes. mash the banana while waiting for all that. remove the dates from the water and mash with the banana, you want a paste-y consistency. add the rest of the wet ingredients to the banana & dates. Stir well. 

add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. scoop out batter evenly into a 12 cup muffin tin. in a small bowl stir the oats, coconut oil, honey together. press a few blueberries into the top of each muffin and then top with a little oat crumble. bake for 18-20 minutes - watch the tops of the muffins, cover with aluminum foil if the crumble toasts up too fast. 

recipe journal // 1

I am back... again. This will be the third time I am coming back to this space. With that I have learned that I am not a very habitual person when it comes to routine. The excitement of "new" wears off quickly and I am on to the next thing. I don't know if I like this about myself or not, but I do know it is true. So blogging and me have had multiple break ups and make ups.

My plan for this space this time looks different than has before. I just want this to be a recipe journal, where I give you a recipe I've just recently made and tell you it's story. Think an extension of instagram... the picture + the recipe and story. Simplicity is key because I know if this starts to feel like a burden, I will stop doing it real quick.

So friends, I give you

CHICKEN PESTO ZUCCHINI NOODLES

I made these last night at this little house on Springdale Street in Athens, GA where a lovely group of Young Life leaders live. Directly across the street live a group of Young Life leadin' boys and their house is known as "Springdale". So the girl version (which is much cleaner and prettier) is called "Ladydale". In short, it's a good place to be. I had been studying there all afternoon with my friend Sophie, who calls Ladydale home. We got to talking about dinner at some point and I said I had chicken and pesto and she said she had sweet potatoes. We figured we could make that work. I went home to my house (only a couple of streets over) to grab my ingredients, came back, and got to work. I forgot my noodle peeler, but luckily Catherine had one in the upstairs apartment of Ladydale. After a little chopping and chatting with Dory and Laura, all of us nibbling along as we lingered in the kitchen, dinner was served. Sophie scarfed hers down before I could get a picture of both of our plates, but that means it had to be good right? No offense taken Soph' :)


// pistachio kale pesto (adapted from Edible Perspective and Sprouted Kitchen)

1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup shelled roasted, salted pistachios
1/2 cup packed cilantro
1/2 cup packed parsley
3 kale leaves
1/4-1/3 cup good quality olive oil

-- bring a few cups of water to boil. submerge the kale leaves into the water for about 30 seconds, then run cold water over the leaves to stop the cooking. shake the excess water off the leaves and place in food processor.
-- add the rest of the ingredients except for the oil into the food processor. pulse the ingredients a few times to get things chopped up. turn the processor on and stream in the oil. scrape down the sides frequently. the consistency should be thick but spreadable. makes enough for 4-6 servings of noodles.

// zucchini noodles
-- use 1 zucchini for serving 2 people. you will need a serrated peeler or a zucchini spirilizer to make the noodles (i found my peeler on amazon for 7 dollars).

// baked chicken
-- use 1 chicken breast for serving 2 people (i just cooked 2 breasts at once and use the leftovers later). rub the raw chicken breast with oil, salt, and pepper. bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. let cool. shred the chicken using a fork and knife or pull apart with hands. alternatively, you can dice the chicken.

// ASSEMBLE
toss noodles and chicken in desired amount of pesto. serve alone or roast some veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, onions) in the oven while the chicken is cooking.

Enjoy!