I’ve been kind of quiet around here lately.

Not in the way of rambling on + on about whatever recipe I’ve made, but more in the way of life-things. This is for a few reasons.

ONE: I lack confidence in my writing ability, or lack thereof. If you go back to my old posts from 2-3yrs ago [wait, don’t do that] you will see what I mean. I was really into using a lot of “!!!!!” and about 27 too many commas in each post. It has improved overtime, but I’m just not the best at expressing myself through t.y.p.e.d word. Can you just come over to my house instead? We can hang out and chat and eat doughnuts. Sound good? I hope you like dogs.

TWO: There is still so much that is up in the air with this whole life-career-goal-stuff. That’s to be expected, though. Right? So, sometimes I feel like if “said thing” isn’t for sure happening I should keep quiet about it until it is. To some extent I should, but I do want to share more. More of what I’m trying to currently do and wanting to do in the future.

THREE: Writing about food is easy. Errr, easier. I’ve also wanted to really keep the focus on my recipes + photos with just a little bit of life sprinkled in.

So, I’m going to try to open up a bit more. Share some things here + there. It will start small, and hopefully grow a bit as I feel more comfortable typing + expressing.

Sound good?

Now.

COOKIES!

Vegan + gluten-free chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to be exact. As promised!

Because this is very similar to the oatmeal cookie recipe from last week, I made sure to complete a few trials so I could report back with the best possible cookie.

Make that TWO cookies.

We have the standard chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and an everything but the kitchen sink chewy oatmeal cookie.

They are thick and chewy and filled with some of my favorite ingredients.

And you know what else? You can bake them in a mini muffin pan! Photographed below. I forgot to mention this last week, but if you looked closely you may have noticed a mini muffin pan in one of the photos.

Print this!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

vegan + gluten-free// 20-24 cookies

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
3/4 cup coarsely ground gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup vegan chopped dark chocolate
2 tablespoons ground flax meal
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted + warm
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

vegan + gluten-free// 22-28 cookies

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
3/4 cup coarsely ground gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup vegan chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup raisins
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons ground flax meal
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup banana, mashed until egg-like
3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted + warm
1 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions for both recipes:

Preheat your oven to 375*F.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Vigorously whisk all of the wet ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a large spoon until combined. Mixture will be very thick.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Press the dough into 1-inch balls by passing back and forth between both hands until it holds together.
Place each ball on a cookie sheet with 1-inch spacing.
Lightly press on each cookie with a spatula to slightly flatten to about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick. Or, flatten further between your palms for a thinner + larger cookie and then place on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 9-12 minutes and let cool for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. *Cookies are fragile and very soft until set. 10 minutes was perfect in my oven for the flat and thicker cookies. The flattened cookie is not crispy. If using a mini muffin pan make the same 1-inch cookie ball and press into the mold. Bake time should remain the same.

notes/subs:

Sucanat or pure cane sugar can be subbed for coconut sugar.
Unsweetened applesauce will work in place of the pumpkin, but I preferred the texture from the pumpkin.
If you don’t like bananas sub pumpkin puree for banana in the 2nd recipe.
Almond flour can be subbed for almond meal.
Oat flour can be subbed for coarsely ground oats. The cookies will have a slightly softer/smoother texture if you use flour. I preferred the texture with the coarsely ground oats.
To make the coarsely ground outs: Place a scant 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor, mini food processor, blender, coffee grinder, etc. and pulse until about 1/2-way to flour.
To make almond meal: Grind whole, raw almonds in a high-speed blender or large food processor. Blend no more than 1 cup at a time until flour-like in texture. Do not over process. Sift and store excess in the fridge in a sealed container.

This post is thanks to inspiring and motivating conversations with Maddy, Ashlae, Dana, + Jessica, a great read from Erin, and a good ol’ kick in the pants from myself. Oh, and thanks to you guys for sticking with me all these years and cheering me on in the process. You are a major reason that I am where I am.

Ashley

I am out-of-control-hooked on red grapefruit. I will dig at it for an hour making sure every last piece of sweet-juicy goodness is consumed and then proceed to squeeze all the juice out and slurp that down as well.

I haven’t really explored many [or any?] citrus recipes before, so I’m challenging myself to come up with a few this year. I want to keep the recipes simple and focus on highlighting their flavors, colors, and textures.

Today, Chris and I headed out for a brisk winter bike ride. The roads we rode on were [finally!] clear of ice, the sun was out, there was minimal wind, and it was about 35 degrees. With the warm winter sun it actually didn’t feel too cold. So we bundled up and headed out for a 15 mile ride. The views were gorgeous and we stayed perfectly warm once our hearts were pumping.

When we arrived back home I quickly started on this snack that had been brewing in my head during our ride. I knew it was going to be the perfect pick me up. And it was. Citrus fruit is one of my very favorite things to eat after a workout.

The fruit was tossed with honey and lime juice then spooned over creamy Greek yogurt and topped with chopped pistachios. The nutty crunch was a nice contrast to the incredibly juicy fruit and the honey added just the right amount of sweetness.

But the lime is what made this simple snack shine.

You will most likely find me eating this every single day until red grapefruit vanish for another year.

Print this!

Honey Lime Citrus Parfait with Pistachios

gluten-free // yields 2-3 servings

4 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest, divided
1 orange
1 red grapefruit
1 1/2 cups plain 2% Greek yogurt
1/4 cup roasted/unsalted pistachios, chopped

Whisk together the honey and lime juice until smooth, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon lime zest. Set aside.
Peel the orange then pull apart the segments and cut each piece in half.
Slice a grapefruit around the center [not end to end] then scoop out each segment of grapefruit. It helps if you cut along the pith lines with a sharp knife before scooping. A smaller spoon or grapefruit spoon will also help.
Place the orange + grapefruit pieces in the honey lime bowl and lightly toss to coat.
Add about 3/4 cup of yogurt into 2 glasses or bowls then top with half of the fruit mixture in each including some of the juice from the bowl. Use more yogurt if splitting into 3 servings.
Top with chopped pistachios and a pinch or two of lime zest. Serve immediately.

notes: You can prep the fruit mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge until ready to top on the yogurt. But I would use it within one day. This would be a great snack to serve at a brunch!

My very favorite Greek yogurt is from Wallaby. I recommend using a 2% Greek yogurt for the best taste and creaminess.

This isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of citrus around here. Hope you can deal.

Ashley