Carrot Cake Energy Balls

Ask me what my favorite cake is and I’ll immediately exclaim, “Carrot Cake!” This is my adult answer. My inner 10-year-old silently responds with “Funfetti Cake.” Not gonna lie, that pure white cake scattered with rainbow sprinkles makes me smile. But carrot cake? That’s just pure goodness. Or as Tom Haverford would say, “a big ole cookie.”

This is one excited face ready to devour a carrot cake:

I’ve made my own carrot cake once. It took a long time and I made a huge mess. Was it worth it? Yes. Would I do it again? Maybe for someone really freaking special. In the meantime, I’ll keep making a (much) healthier and quicker version.

Carrot Cake Energy Bites

adapted from Baking Serendipity

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 raw almonds, quartered (or chopped)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup milled flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

Preparation

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together oats, shredded carrots, almonds, raisins, flaxseed, and cinnamon.
2. Add almond butter and maple syrup and stir until evenly combined.
3. Place mixture in refrigerator for at least one hour.
4. Shape mixture into one-inch balls. Makes about 18-20.

This is the next best thing to carrot cake, I promise. Not only do you get a similar flavor from them, you get natural energy! Toss one back before a workout and you’re golden.

Toss two back and you might explode with happiness.

Strawberries Are Taking Over My Life. And maybe Guy Fieri too.

…along with beets, pickles, Chick-fil-A, alcohol. I have too many obsessions.

With the first batch of strawberries, I made Lauren an angel food cake for her “4th anniversary of her 25th birthday.” I used Alton Brown’s recipe and it came out so light and moist. Angel Food cake is awesome because you can top it with anything you want and it’s fat-free!

I made the cake on Friday night and as I was walking out the door to dinner, I spilled strawberry juice all over my white shorts. I then turned around, put on a new pair of white shorts and drove downtown. I parked, picked up the bag her cake was in, and strawberries then leaked all over my shirt. I wanted to scream, but I thought, this is life, just go with it. So, in these pictures, you will see a lovely spot on the front of my shirt and my bra hanging out. I = the epitome of class. HELP!

Please note her “25” candles.

After dinner, we went to Midtown for dancing and drinks.

And shots. This is one of my favorite photos of the night because of Jenny. She obviously didn’t care that we were taking a picture – she just wanted her damn shot. Nothing wrong with that.

Tonight, Lucy and I made Chelsey’s Talkin’ Crack Bars. These bars are awesome because they contain only natural sugars and are low in fat! They are also deeeeeeeeelicious. We are currently eating them warm, but we can’t wait until they cool down so we can try them again.

These bars could have easily been the best part of my day, but I got an exciting phone call from my friend Joey today. Joey (Joe Girard) is the afternoon DJ for 95sx and occasionally he gets tickets to Charleston events. He was lucky enough to get tickets to see Guy Fieri at the Performing Arts Center and invited me to go along with him! I practically squealed when he told me. The performance will include interactive cooking stations, secrets tips and dishes from his new book and stories from the road.

If I meet him, can I ask him if I can touch his hair?

I will probably be star struck if I meet him….or at least spill something all over myself. Because, clearly, that is what I do.

Luck of the Irish Cranberry Banana Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan!)

I feel like I’m either baking or thinking about what I’m baking next. This doesn’t seem to be a problem for anyone around me….except Lucy. My sweetheart roommate is allergic to dairy, so she can’t eat the majority of what I bake. I checked Bethenny Frankel’s website for  vegan recipes. I stumbled upon Cranberry Banana Oatmeal Cookies and immediately made them.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 3/4 cup Irish steel oats
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp. canola oil
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup banana puree (1 medium-size banana)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 °.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together until well combined.
4. Use a medium-size ice cream scoop or a large spoon to scoop batter onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown.

The batch made 16 small cookies, at around 112 calories each. The texture if very different than your typical cookie. It’s not a bad thing, just different. I think they’re muffin-like. Bethenny has a few other recipes I’d like to try, including her Wheat-Free Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and Boo Boo Banana Bread.

Speaking of banana bread, when I got home last night, Lucy told me that there was a brown bag at the door when she came home from the gym. Praying it wasn’t another love letter (true story), I approached the bag like it might be a bomb.

Obviously it wasn’t a bomb, or else I wouldn’t be typing this…but it was banana bread!! Joey had left a couple of slices of a recipe he made last night. This bread is ridiculous. If you’re interested in a loaf that contains enough sugar to give you diabetes in one slice but tastes like heaven, you should make this. Here is the recipe he emailed me:

“Glad you liked it. I actually just improvised with the walnuts, raisins, & blueberries, but here it is from memory.

Melt 1/3 cup butter

Combine with 3-4 mashed (ripened bananas)

Mix in 1 egg

1 tsp. Van Extract

1 tsp. Salt

1 Cup Sugar

Then, add 1.5 cups all purpose flour or whole wheat flour if you choose.

I then just added 2 oz. chopped walnuts, handful or raisins and a handful of blueberries.

Bake on 350 for an hour, and you should let it cool before you cut it. I didn’t which is why your piece wasn’t a perfect slice (impatient haha)”

I really appreciate the manly writing style of this recipe. So caveman like. “Melt this. Mix that.” Ha.

. . .

I just noticed that I have reached over 400 Google followers. I feel like it happened overnight! Thanks guys!!! I’m really curious though – I know all of you who comment, but the rest of you…where are you? Please leave a comment stating who you are, where you’re from, and if you have a blog. And click here to follow if you haven’t already. GRACIAS!

Apple-Cinnamon Oat Squares. Impulsive or Spontaneous?

First, I need to clarify something from my obnoxious gym photographs post. I didn’t mean that I work out solely so that I could eat more. I absolutely love working out for fun and because of the health benefits. Being able to eat more is just an added bonus.  And I also do not go straight home and stuff my face with chocolate. I eat a protein-rich, balanced meal to refuel and indulge in my much-deserved goodies later.

Moving on. Wednesday night Lucy and I were up to the usual: internetting with the TV on some random channel. Gah, are we losers? Neither of us wanted to work out, so we started drinking white wine with dinner and perused Whole Foods’ latest issue.Do yall read these? You should. Each issue contains several recipes, weekly meal planners, nutritional information and tips. I was catching up on my google reader when this conversation occurred:

Lucy: Oooh, listen to this recipe: Apple Cinnamon Oat Squares…

Me: Let’s make it. What’s in it?

Lucy, giggling: almond milk, oats…

Me: Ok, let’s make it right now. I’m impulsive. Er, spontaneous. Idk, whatever, let’s do it.

We scanned the ingredient list, and lucky for us, we had everything…but almond milk. We needed 2 cups, and I only had 1/2 cup left in the fridge. We debated quartering the recipe, but instead of taking the chance of baking fugly bars, we drove over to Whole Foods.

Less than 30 minutes later, we were back with almond milk. Oh, and four bottles of wine. You know, for a snowy day.

Apple-Cinnamon Oat Squares

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans walnuts
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 (about 1 lb.) apples, cored and grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Dry ingredients:Apple, shredded in my food processor!

2. Transfer mixture to a foil- or parchment paper-lined 9” square baking pan, press down and smooth out the top. Bake until firm and golden brown, about 1 hour.3. Let cool in pan; cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.I ate mine topped with coconut flakes and drizzled with honey.

I don’t think I mentioned it before, but Lucy is vegan. Slowly but surely, I have been training her how to be a baker and she has been introducing me to vegan recipes. Tonight we joined forces and made a really easy and delicious treat. These squares can be eaten warm or even cooled for breakfast or a snack. Store them in an airtight container to be enjoyed throughout the week.

So the question of the night is…am I impulsive or spontaneous? Immediately after calling myself impulsive, I corrected myself saying I was spontaneous. I feel like the word “impulsive” has a negative connotation but I’m not sure why, so I looked up the definitions.

I don’t see much of a difference. What do you think?

Question: About what kind of things are you impulsive/spontaneous? I am with anything related to baking/cooking/eating. Once I have an idea in my head, I have to do it. Life if short…just go with it.

Before I say goodbye, check out these pics from when Auburn stole the National Championship. We were soooooooo happy! (And I’m Asian again!)

I love my bestie and am so glad she got me hooked on college football!

Snowpocalypse 2011: The Day We Had No Snow

Sunday evening news reports were claiming icy rain and possible snow in Charleston on Monday. We already had flurries a couple weeks ago, so I wasn't really surprised. Charleston is the new North. Except the people aren't rude. (I am originally a Masshole, I am allowed to say that.) I begrudgingly got out of bed at 7:30, got ready, and headed into work. On my way there, Victoria called me and yelled "TURN AROUND! The office is closed!" I nearly screamed into the phone like a 5-year-old, veered onto the next exit ramp, and turned around to go home. I was overjoyed! But on my way home, I spent over an HOUR on the Ravenel bridge. I saw 5 different accidents, with cars facing all different directions. Maybe one or two of these accidents were caused from black ice, but I actually think people just panic while driving under "inclement weather conditions" and end up driving worse than I do. Which is really, really bad. 

So how did I spend my random Monday off? 

As soon as I got back home, Lucy asked if I wanted to go to Target. That was a big fat yes. She, Rebecca, and I spent well over an hour in every department in Target (other than Men’s and the baby section, of course). Purchases included some rainbow-heart printed dish towels (very necessary), chocolate, mints, biore strips, and other womanly things. These are all things worth driving in the Snowpocalypse for. 

We also made a quick stop at the pet store. Now here's why Lucy might also be a bad driver. Instead of letting me get out to move this grocery cart, she said, "Don't worry about it! It's fine." And just parked. Like this. Haha.

When we got home, we did what we do best: sit on the couch with our laptops and surround ourselves with  magazines, books, and food. We usually leave the t.v. on too - any random channel will do. Every 5 minutes it seems that one of us asks the other, "Um, what are we watching?" or "Why are we watching Rachael Ray? She is soooo annoying." or "You can totally change it if you want." Yet we never really change the channel.

Lucy was itching to bake something so I suggested we make homemade granola. We again decided to brave Snowpocalypse 2011 to pick up supplies at Whole Foods. Very worth it. I was inspired by the Carrot Cake granola on Allie's blog, but I made mine a little differently.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup rice crisp cereal
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces
• 1 tsp apple pie spice (or 1 tsp total of cinnamon + nutmeg + all spice)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raisins (save for the end)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325*. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together oats, coconut, cereal, carrots, walnuts, raisins, and apple pie spice, and salt. 2. Add honey, pineapple juice, and vanilla extract. Stir until dry mixture is fully coated.3. Spread mixture evenly over a baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping granola halfway through baking time.4. Once cooled, toss raisins into granola.

This granola can be enjoyed by the handful, over Greek yogurt, or atop oatmeal.

Immediately after baking, I again braved Snowpocalypse 2011 so I could go to Spin class. Today was my first class with David Cross, and he is fantastic! His high-energy level was so encouraging, and I loved how during our cool down song, he came around and high-fived everyone. But my absolute favorite thing from yesterday's class was that he played Meatloaf's "I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” Now that is how I want to start my Mondays. With this guy:

After Spin class, I hurried to get ready to watch Auburn play in the National Championship game. At the end of the game, a 19-yard field goal by Wes Byrum at the end gave Auburn the National Championship, with a 22-19 win over the Oregon Ducks. Champagne bottles were definitely popped!(Look, I’m Asian!)

In summary, Snowpocalypse 2011 meant great things: shopping for unnecessary crap, watching mindless television, baking, exercising, and drinking champagne for football games. I decided that work is overrated and anyone willing to financially support these habits of mine should feel free to call me on my telephone. I may or may not silence your call and text you back. That's just what I do.

WAR EAGLE!

Pumpkin Bars and Adventures in Golf Carting, Big Sunglasses, and Bad Hair

Hello ladies and probably 1 or 2 gents...

Last week Meg posted about a pumpkin crumble bar recipe she found on about.com. I've been waiting since January's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to start baking with pumpkin again. Yes, canned pumpkin has been available at Whole Foods all year, but is it appropriate to make pumpkin desserts in the Summer? I had no problem baking pumpkin muffins when I was in Massachusetts, but that was because it was like 60 degrees at night and it felt like it was fall. I guess it doesn't even feel like fall yet in SC, but damn it, it's September, and I was ready.

This recipe is super easy but it contains a truck load of sugar and butter, so I made some modifications that I knew wouldn't sabotage the flavor. 

Pumpkin Bars with Crumb Topping (adapted from Southern Food)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup butter

Filling:

• 1 15.5 oz canned pureed pumpkin
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375*. Combine oats, flour, 1/2 cup sugar,  salt, baking soda, pecans, and butter. Beat until crumbly. Reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture and press remaining mixture into a lightly buttered 13x9 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Prepare filling: Beat pumpkin, milk, 1/3 cup brown sugar, egg, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Spread filling over the crust. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture on top. Bake for a 25 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Pecan oat crust:

Pumpkin filling:

Crumble topping:

Pumpkin bars!

These are the moistest bars ever ever ever. Margaret, Sarah, and I enjoyed them from Thursday until last night at about 3 am. They stayed incredibly moist and made our pee a really special highlighter color. Has anyone else experienced this from canned pumpkin?

Now that you have a delicious fall recipe, let's talk about some other junk. Golf carts. Marg's dad brought her a golf cart last weekend, and since I pretty much live with her now, we've been using this sassy vehicle to get around...

to places like Harris Teeter when we run out of wine...

...and to scare boys.

Say hello to Matt, fully dressed in boxers.

He was so impressed that he came for a ride around the hood too.

On Saturday, as much as we wanted to golf cart it to the beach, we drove a real car to Folly. 

Ummm how is it that I made pumpkin crumble bars on Thursday, yet went to the beach in 86* weather on Saturday? Oh, Charleston.

After the beach, we stopped at Chick-fil-A for Margaret's very first experience. Can you believe that she had never been before? We got one of each sauce!

I'm pretty sure she liked it.

And then Sarah brought home the largest banana pudding I've ever seen.

I liked it. FYI that is my beach hair look. Super hot.

That night we went out "under cover."

You can't see our faces in these glasses. 

Let it be known that wearing super large glasses to the bar brings a lot of attention.


Sunday morning, looking like people of walmart, we ran some errands for I don't even remember what. And we bought nothing. But damn, I looked good doing it. Kinda like my friend Tinkerbell!

Confidence and bloggy love is being able to show my readers when I look like Tinkerbell/trash :)


We sat on the couch for hours until Matt stopped by wanting to go for a ride on the golf cart. So we went for ice cream.

Since Matt was nice enough to chauffeur us downtown last night, Margaret let him drive home. Mistake. We went off-roading. 

And this driver of ours found it humorous to speed through every.single.puddle. The face of a naughty  man:

How was YOUR weekend? Any new fall recipes you'd like to share?