Ever since accidentally making lemon-meringue oatmeal yesterday, I’ve been fantasizing about recreating the amazingness today … the crumbling meringue crunch, the tart lemon custard, mmmmmmm. But before I get carried away, I want to give a few more details of the cooking procedure since it was such a success!
Last night, I combined 1/4 cup dry steel-cut oats in an ovensafe bowl with 2 tbsp unsweetened soymilk, 2 tbsp water, 1 small chopped apple, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Over the top of the mix, I spread about 2 tbsp plain yogurt, solely for moisturizing purposes since cooking yogurt kills off the healthy bacteria. Here’s what it looked like before going into the fridge:
This morning, I got up for my run and even made it all the way outside, but I just wasn’t feeling it! Rather than force a run and hate it, I just jogged once around the block and came back home to do some Gentle Hatha #2. While I was yoga-ing, my oats were cooking in the oven, covered, for 30 minutes at 375. Here they are right out of the fridge, after mixing and before going into the oven:
They came out of the oven looking like this:
In my pretty glass bowl, I layered the hot oats on top of 1/3 cup lemon custard (yogurt + cottage cheese + 1 tsp lemon curd). Just like yesterday, I crumbled two basil-spice meringue kisses over the top and added another dollop of lemon curd. Around the side were two balsamic-strawberry oaties dotted with homemade almond-cashew butter.
Mmmmm, just as tasty as I remember! I am so enjoying this experience of indulging in a pricey, fancy condiment that I never would have considered buying if not for the Forbidden Foods Challenge. It’s good to remember that I am allowed to treat myself every once in a while — my pennies do not always have to go toward things that are abolsutely necessary.
For an out-the-door snack at 10am, I had another oatie with about a tsp more of almond-cashew butter.
In class this morning/afternoon, I thoroughly enjoyed my donation-fueled lunch. First up was my chicken fajita sampler.
Two pieces of regular chicken fajita wrap with tomato salsa and black beans:
One piece of spinach fajita wrap with beans, brown rice, and roasted veggies:
And one piece of sun-dried tomato fajita wrap with chicken, beef, and roasted veggies:
The whole family:
For crunch and spice, I had my snack of the week: 1/3 cup asparagus guacamole with a serving of riceworks.
And for dessert, a 1-cup blended mix of plain yogurt and the cottage cheese from last night’s fruit salad, decorated with grapes and berries (also from the salad) and topped with vanilla almond granola:
On the way home from class, I had to switch trains at the Whole Foods stop, so I decided I might as well stop in for some samples :D. I had a handful of almonds with raisins and dates, 5 cheese cubes, 2 crackers with artichoke spread, and a bunch of carrot matchsticks with spicy miso dressing. I also 
accidentally bought a bunch of things because they were on sale for unbeatable prices: 2 pounds strawberries ($2/lb), brussels sprouts ($1.99/lb), pineapple ($2.99), unsweetened soymilk ($3.20), 2 mangoes (2 for $1.50), goat cheese ($2.99), plum (free because it was sitting on the counter left from the previous customer!). Total cost: $16.50
I’ve been baking up a storm with a special project this afternoon (and eating lots of batter along the way!), but I imagine I’ll be back with dinner at some point!
Do you ever accidentally grocery shop?
Then, I noticed Belkis’ son Emanuel sitting in the conference room. She explained that his school was indeed closed for St. Patrick’s day (have you ever heard such a thing) and that he had baked us a cake to celebrate!! Here’s the masterpiece: a yellow cake with vanilla frosting and a cherry smiley face 😀
Tales of Expansion: Baby Butternut Edition 