Friday Things

It's legit cold here today. Like 40 degrees with blustery winds. The leaves are flying everywhere. Our little heater is working wonders. Just one more week until we get our very adult Christmas present: a brand-spankin' new furnace. I hate to turn the heat on before November anyway.

But. Well. I saw snowflakes! That's early. Even for us.

We'll be fine, though. Next week is supposed to bring warmer temperatures. To cozy up in the meantime, I made myself a gigantic mugjarful of homemade chai. And I type "homemade" in the most serious of ways. I made the almond milk and the chai mix myself.

It sounds much more intensive than it actually was.

My friend Jacqui had passed along to me this method for making almond milk. Worked like a charm. The chai mix is a recipe I shared a couple years ago. Sweetened with a little maple syrup.

I warmed it on the stove. Whisked to get some froth.


Of course, feel free to make your own chai with store-bought milk and mix. Or just go get one made FOR you at your favorite coffee shop. Whatever you do, though, drink a warm beverage this weekend. Cider is next on my list.

Ada and I ventured out after her morning nap thanks to some advice we received on Writing Chapter Three.

We bundled ourselves in big sweaters and hit up the children's museum for some fun. Ada is still young and not quite walking, so she can't take full advantage of many of the displays. She loves looking in all the mirrors and playing in the "Under 3" room.

Hello! (Mommy is having a bad hair day.)


I've been picking at this dish of vegan brownies all day.


I tried my best to invent a new, lower-in-sugar recipe last night. They taste good, but not nearly as good as the Change-Your-Life vegan brownies I made a few years ago. If you choose to take on another homework assignment from me this weekend, I instruct you to make them.

You will not be disappointed.


Now I'm going to savor the rest of Ada's nap. I have about 20 minutes left. The heater is blasting at my feet. I've got a cat to keep me company.


This weekend includes an 8 mile long run (tapering for the half next weekend!), a photo shoot of two adorable sisters, and some alone time. For me. I need it!

Have a lovely weekend. (I haven't been sharing much from Writing Chapter Three -- so if you'd like to get caught up, head over there for stuff about Ada's first birthday, DIY baby booties, notes on getting out and about, and more.)

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12 Cookies of X-Mas: Fudge-Topped Chai Bars

Two chai baked good recipes in one week? Indeed! Julie's Chai Tea Cakes inspired me -- for sure. So, when I had to come up with something tasty to bring to a post-run celebration, I decided to included in it two heaping tablespoonfuls of chai mix. Homemade chai mix, of course.

Don't let the tahini in this recipe scare you. It blends extremely well with the other flavors. And speaking of taste, this bar's got a lot of it. In fact, though at first it may seem somewhat usual. In like two seconds, there's an "explosion of flavor" as our friend Chris put it the other night.

If you're going for something intense, give this recipe a try!

FUDGE-TOPPED CHAI BARS
Print this Recipe!

What you'll need . . .

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup rolled oats (uncooked)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons chai tea mix (dry)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet (or other) chocolate chips
• 1 to 2 tablespoons almond milk
• chopped pecans or other nuts (optional)

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spritz an 8 x 8 inch pan with some canola oil and set aside.
2. Cream together the Earth Balance, tahini, and brown sugar. Beat in the vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chai tea mix. (Note: Instructions on how to make the chai tea mix are also on this blog! But if you have a store-bought one, you can use that, too!)
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Dough should be moistened, but somewhat crumbly.
5. Press into the 8 x 8 inch pan until flat and even. Then bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until browned on the edges.
6. Allow to cool. Then add the almond milk to the chocolate chips and microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes. Until melty.
7. Spread chocolate over the bars and then sprinkle chopped pecans (or other nuts) on top. Let cool in the refrigerator.

Be sure to check out the rest of our 12 Cookies of X-Mas series -- Day 1 (Salted Cornmeal Sugar Cookies), Day 2 (Mexican Hot Chocolate Chippers), Day 3 (Festivus Bars), Day 4 (Julie's Chocolate Chai Tea Cakes), and Day 5 (Chocolate Chunk Oaties).

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Chai-Spiced Autumn Oats

Finally! Fall! It seems the cooler temps are beginning to stick. Our highs this week are going to average in the 60s! Just in time for the bulk of our marathon training . . . well, to END. That's right: We're both officially in taper mode after this Sunday's 3rd 20+ miler of the season. More on our weekend happenings later, though.

As you can imagine, eats are far more important to me this morning.

Remember that chai recipe we posted a few weeks ago? Of course, we've been sucking the stuff down like there's no tomorrow. And good news! We found another use for it: Vanilla Chai-Spiced Honey. Perfect for sweetening morning oats.


VANILLA CHAI-SPICED HONEY

What you'll need . . .

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon dry chai mix (tea leaves and all!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method . . .

1. Mix everything together! Let "steep" for half an hour . . . to let the flavors mingle a bit.
2. That is all.
3. Honest!

And if you're not keen on caffeine, simply make the chai mix with decaf black tea. That's what we did with our most recent batch. And to make the syrup even more interesting, add in an equal part (to the honey, so 1/4 cup) pumpkin puree.

Yeah. We put pumpkin in EVERYTHING. And it never gets old!

• Greek Yogurt Pancakes (with Pumpkin-Maple Syrup)
• Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese
• Pumpkin Garlic Knots
• Tri-Colored Veggie Pasta (with Pumpkin Coconut Sauce)
• Chocolate-Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Frosting
• Pumpkin Soup
• No-Knead Pumpkin Loaf
• Pumpkin Puree: How to Make Your Own!

And that's how you make these delicious oats (though I'm sure the plain chai-spiced honey works very well, too!):


AUTUMN OATS

What you'll need . . . (for one hearty serving)

• 1/4 cup dry steel-cut oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon (or more) of the vanilla chai-spiced syrup (mixed with pumpkin puree)
• 1 apple, diced
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Method . . .

1. Prepare steel-cut oats according to package directions. It's just the 1/4 cup dry mixed with the 1 cup water. Heat until boiling . . . then lower heat and cook for around 20 minutes.
2. Put oats in a bowl. Mix with the syrup.
3. Throw in the apples. I chose to put them in AFTER the oats were cooked for a little crunch.
4. Top with the peanut butter. Mix and enjoy.

Happy Monday!

What did you all do this weekend? I don't think I mentioned it on the blog, but we had some bank fraud trouble on Friday. A lot of our weekend was spent dealing with that. And worrying. Ugh. No rest for the weary, I suppose. Hopefully we'll get to fully celebrate our anniversary this coming weekend!

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