Living in a Cereal World

So how was your Thanksgiving? My actual Thanksgiving day was not nearly as stressful as usual, thanks to it being immediate family-only this year. I never realized how much of a distraction too many cooks in the kitchen can be. But the days before and after? Hectic and busy, as you can see by my just now sitting down to blog about it. I made two pies, which is really what this entry's for: The first is Gingery Pear and Apple Pie  which was not nearly as gingery as it could have been, as I'm sure I've mentioned recently about another recipe. Someday I will bake for people who appreciate fresh ginger. That being said, it was still delicious with only ground ginger. If you're hesitant about baking with pears this would be a good recipe to try. You really can't tell the difference between the pear and apple slices unless you're trying really hard to suss out the two textures (pears are softer). The second is a Classic Pumpkin Pie  with a key substitution:...

The second pie's in the oven, we scrounged up enough decent-looking green beans, and the replacement fridge is working. So how's your Thanksgiving prep going? Yeah, it's been a crazy couple of days. I didn't even use the computer yesterday. No time. And I have all these blog entries and no idea where to start. Let me check my notes...oh, looks like cereal today. So last weekend I finally got around to opening my box of Strawberry Tiny Toast. I didn't like it as much as the Blueberry  flavor. The berry scent and taste were more artificial, like the filling of a Nutri-Grain bar or Pop Tart. That being said, I'm still going to eat it. Last week I mixed it with Pumpkin Spice Life and there wasn't really a flavor conflict there. ****** In holiday cereal news, I picked up a box of Cinnamon Star Crunch yesterday. Saving it for next month.

Even though things are crazy again (on top of regular Thanksgiving craziness) I still need to wrap up Pumpkin Week #2 first. Two requirements: I wanted a pumpkin yogurt recipe, and I wanted it to not use too much pumpkin. And not be a parfait. Okay, that's three things. But I only had a little bit of canned pumpkin left, so I went with this recipe: Protein Packed Pumpkin Pie Yogurt . Alliteration never hurts, either. I went ahead and made granola last week--anticipating this week's busyness (and I was right)--and used it to top my yogurt. Otherwise I would've used pepitas and store-bought granola. Oh, and I used plain Greek yogurt which wasn't my original plan but turned out to be a good call. I can't imagine how thinned out regular yogurt would've been. I guess what I learned this week is that you can make just about anything taste like pumpkin pie. Including pie. And after I make one for Thanksgiving I am done with pumpkin things in 2016. Come the new ye...

Continuing Pumpkin Week 2...I still had canned pumpkin left but I didn't really want to do any more baking with it. I have a few pumpkin oatmeal recipes but then I thought, well, let me see if the Internet has any pumpkin Cream of Wheat recipes. Lo and behold: Pumpkin Pie Cream of Wheat . Yes, and definitely. This was another surprisingly filling breakfast, although my nearly full bowl should have tipped me off. It's also really easy--if you find making Cream of Wheat easy--to just add the canned pumpkin while you're already stirring. Just keep stirring 'til it blends. It will. Then you add in your spices. I waited until after pouring in my bowl to add maple syrup to taste. We'll call it two drizzles. And it tasted just like pumpkin pie but with a little more texture. I'll have to remember this one the next time I have a small amount of leftover canned pumpkin. Oh, but this week isn't done yet! I had enough pumpkin left for one more recipe. Maybe I'll...

Continuing Pumpkin Week #2...a few weeks back I wondered if it would be possible to put pumpkin in a biscotti. One might think, no, the canned pumpkin is too moist, you'll just end up with soggy, gummy sticks. Well, not only is Pumpkin Biscotti  a thing, these particular biscotti are so light and crisp you'll be amazed (and be tempted to grab an extra one). The secret, I think, is in the oven-drying. This is a technique I've read about but never tried before. Basically you just turn the oven off, crack the door, and let the biscotti cool completely. I didn't even know my oven door could stay cracked. But these biscotti--there's actually too words coming to the front of my brain right now. They're a beautiful golden orange color. You can almost eat them without a hot beverage (but why would you?). And for only having half a cup of canned pumpkin they are soooo pumpkin-y. I was more than pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure I really need another pumpkin bisc...

I wasn't trying to do it. I thought I'd left pumpkin behind in October. But then I decided to try to find a pumpkin scone recipe, and one thing led to another, and you can't waste perfectly good canned pumpkin, so here we are. Pumpkin Week 2: Return of the Pumpkin. Starting with the aforementioned scones: Harvest Pumpkin Scones . You know, King Arthur Flour has some pretty good recipes. That may be obvious to you, but that's not where I think to look first for recipes. What can I say, I grew up on Gold Medal. But anyway, these scones. They were a little bit drier than I'm used to, almost like a traditional scone. But I guess you wouldn't want to go too far in the other direction considering how moist your baked goods can get when you add pumpkin. Speaking of adding things, I threw in some Craisins that I needed to finish off (I'll get a new bag for Thanksgiving). It was only about half a cup and I really wished I could've filled up that cup with some c...

So I hadn't really felt like writing--or eating--for the past two days. But then I remembered what this blog is about: a shared love of food. I believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day, whenever you eat it. So, my Internet friends, let's get back to it. ...although actually we're talking about dessert today (but if you eat one of these cookies for breakfast I won't say anything). Last week I made these Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies  for several reasons: I had a banana in the freezer; I had some semisweet chocolate chips to finish off; and I had a taste for oatmeal cookies. Going by the title, though, I guess they're supposed to be chocolate chip cookies with oats added. The banana adds flavor (obviously) and a moistness but not an overly chewy texture. This cookie leans more toward the hearty side. And it's made with just a little bit of butter. Bananas are baking magic. (I've been eating these cookies while watching The Crown . Fa...

What? Three entries in a row? I guess I'm making up for last month. I might even make it four tomorrow. Or not. So I bought this cereal back in September (just to make sure I got one) and I'm just now getting around to opening it. It's another multigrain Life--as opposed to just oats--but really, it's not much of a difference. The color is a very light orange, as opposed to something weird or neon. I'm still trying to figure which other pumpkin spice product to compare this to. It's very subtle, and I think the Life itself tricks your taste buds into thinking there's nutmeg involved. In fact, there's no spices in the ingredient list, only "natural flavor." Natural what flavor? Pumpkin? Spices? So the misleading product name was disappointing but the cereal's actually not half bad. After this, though, I need to take a break from Life. Also pumpkin products.

Remember back at the beginning of year when Quaker had their Bring Your Best Bowl contest? Well, it's time to vote for the three finalists: Apple Cheddar Rosemary, Lemon Ricotta Pancake, or Vanilla Chai. While I was a little disappointed that my Tropical Sweet Potato idea didn't make the cut, I didn't really have a compelling story to boost my entry anyway. "Because I thought they'd taste good together" was not going to help much. But anyway, today I tried the Vanilla Chai. Confession: as soon as I got the notification from Quaker in my inbox I went straight to the site and voted for this flavor. Then I went out and bought the oatmeal. And it was certainly worth my vote. These flavors can't be found in their current lineup, and I love the chai spices this time of year. I still felt like something was missing, though. What could complement vanilla? I thought about it: strawberries. Next time (unless someone gets to it before I do) I'll add my own ...

Don't freak out: I made bran muffins. I never thought I'd eat a bran muffin, much less make some but I had bran cereal left from these cookies  and buttermilk from two other things so I figured there had to be some way to put them together. When I think of bran muffins I think dry, brown, hard as rocks, good-for-you, flavorless. While there's nothing wrong with the benefits of bran, this recipe for 2-Week Bran Muffins  quelled my other fears. Does this look like a boring bran muffin to you? (Ignore the phone shadow; it was a last-second decision to get a shot of these. :P ) The scent wafting from the oven and the texture of the first bite reminded me of corn muffins, so if you don't like that grittiness this isn't the muffin for you. But there's also plenty of moist muffin goodness thanks to the buttermilk, and the best part was my decision to use dried apricots. No way was I making a raisin bran muffin, so I diced the apricots as fine as I could and...

What to do with leftover pitas? Put scrambled eggs in them? That never would have occurred to me but this BHG recipe for Eggs and Canadian Bacon in Pita Pockets  sold me on the idea. It helped that I had some Canadian bacon that needed to be eaten. And a green onion. I just had to buy the avocado. That was the one thing I wasn't sure about. Not so much the avocado for breakfast but with scrambled eggs? I couldn't imagine the flavor/texture. Honestly, it was barely even noticeable. If you like salsa on a breakfast burrito then this (soft-chunk texture?) wouldn't bother your tongue either. In fact, adding salsa would make this even tastier. All we had were some old McDonald's picante sauce packets but it worked in a pinch. ******* Cereal reviews are coming. Honest! Next week or a few days after.