I Am... Black Sesame Sugar and Toffee Snicker Doodle Totoro Cookies
I've been wanting to make cut-out Totoro cookies for a while. I'm in love with my Totoro cookie cutter. It's a little on the smaller side, but that's why I love it so much. It's perfect for using to make avocado Totoros, Totoro pancakes, and Totoro egg-in-a-holes. I've made so many Totoro things, but this is the first time I've made cookies with it, mostly because I'm lazy about rolling out and icing.
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I Am... Totoro Pull-Apart Buns
It's Totoro Week! It's something I look forward to every year: the last week in October, where I dress food up as Totoro, that magical bunny-cat hybrid from the cult classic anime, My Neighbor Totoro. Totoro is cute in all renditions, but I think he looks especially handsome in food, so it's no surprise that I love making anything and everything Totoro themed. I'm still dreaming of meeting a real life Totoro, but since you only see him if you're very young (at least according to the theme song), I guess I'll just have to setting for celebrating Halloween with Totoro food stuffs.
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I Am... Take Out at Home: Black Bean Beef Chow Mein
It's sunny and raining at the same time right now and that always makes me so happy. I just love it when the sun breaks through the rain clouds. I love how you can see every rain drop, in crystal clarity. The streets are shiny and slick and the sky gets bright, the wind pushing the clouds away to make room for the blue sky that was always there. A gentle reminder from nature that, hey, don't worry, better days are on their way.
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I Am... Just Your Basic Challah Recipe
I'm not a huge bread baker. People say baking bread is a science and it's one that I haven't quite figured out yet. I LOVE bread with a passion but it doesn't always love me back. I remember the very very first loaf of bread I baked – I did it fearlessly, not knowing much about bread baking – turned out fantastic. I still remember our friends being super impressed that it wasn't a store bought loaf. But after that one success, many of my bread baking experiences have been fails.
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I Am... Friday Finds: 10.14.16
Whew! We missed Friday the 13th in October by just one day! Friday the 13th freaks me out normally, having it happen in October would be even more disturbing. But, we're safe and it's October! It's definitely October weather around here. We've been making lots and lots of soups to keep warm and are hopping out for walks in between the breaks in the rain.
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I Am... Herb Crusted Roasted Chicken Sheet Pan Supper
Crispy autumn weather, cozy nights in, and sweaters forever! The days are getting shorter and shorter, which means we're spending maximum time outside in the fall leaves before heading in for a warm dinner and Netflix. Are you guys into TV dinners? I used to be fascinated with them. And, truthfully, I still kind of am, just not the ones that you microwave.
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I Am... Thanksgiving Poutine
We had a very Voon Thanksgiving the other day. No turkey, but lots of meats, seafood, and veggies cooked at the table, hot pot style. Conversation topics included turf wars, saltiness (in people), and my dad excusing himself running out to go to the gym. My family is truly hilarious, in the best way possible. The night started out innocently enough, with us chatting about the day to day, but soon devolved in very heated conversations about, wait for it, Pokemon Go.
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I Am... Hot Roast Turkey
Are you guys turkey fans? I'm a HUGE turkey lover. I know a lot of people only eat turkey because of tradition, but I really love the stuff! This year my mom isn't hosting her typical Thanksgiving. There won't be any turkey, just a hot pot extravaganza. Truth be told, I'm really, really looking forward to that as well, but I couldn't resist roasting up a turkey too, just because.
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I Am... Canadian Thanksgiving Round Up!
Canadian Thanksgiving always sneaks up on me because it's in October, not November. I used to get confused when I was a little kid because all of the things on TV told me that right after Thanksgiving, it was Christmas. So I'd be hanging out for the rest of October wondering where all the Christmas decorations were. Now I know better and Canadian Thanksgiving is just my gateway into all things Fall.
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I Am... Chocolate and Vanilla Slider Cakes
The weather has been sunny and gorgeous and it's giving me all the fall feels. Mike and I bought some decorative gourds (because it's motherfucking decorative gourd season! Click the link, it's hilarious >_<) and a fall themed bouquet to fall-ifize the house and it's really adding to the ambience around here. You know, you gotta have fall things, even if you're just sitting around, binge watching Netflix while eating cold pizza.
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I Am... Banff National Park
It's funny, but I'm not very well traveled in terms of Canada. I've never been to Montreal, Toronto or Prince Edward Island. And until a couple of weeks ago, I had only been to Banff once, when I was very young. Mike was pretty surprised because apparently Banff is a quintessential "I'm in my early 20s" road trip for Canadians. It's far enough from Vancouver away to be a destination and close enough to be a weekend trip, making it ideal for a quick getaway.
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I Am... Vegan Gluten Free Hazelnut Donuts
I'm a daydreamer. Sometimes I'll just sit and stare into space thinking about everything and nothing at all. Mike always asks me what I'm thinking about – usually it's nothing. There's a lot of empty sky space in my head filled with fluffy clouds. It's nice to have no thoughts at all but I try not to do it too often because really, it's just like binge watching Netflix without the bonus of having talking points with people. My headspace is calm and neutral with pops of color and thoughtful thoughts; it's kind of how Lindsey's blog, Dolly and Oatmeal is. If you haven't been over to Lindsey's space, do it! She posts dairy, gluten-free recipes that look delicious, even to my meat-eating, gluten-hoarding self. She's a sweetie, that Lindsey. And, her and her man are welcoming a baby boy! I am so, so happy for the two of them. So happy that I did something that I don't normally do: I baked something vegan and gluten-free! I cheated a bit because I used Cake in a Crate (created by the one and only My Name is Yeh!). These doughnuts are nutty, a touch sweet, and have a delightful shower of pastel sprinkles. I think they're perfect for a baby shower. Congrats Lindsey! And a big thanks to Sonja and Sara for hosting!
Vegan Gluten Free Hazelnut Donuts makes 6-8 donutsRead More →Donuts
- 2/3 cups raw hazelnuts
- 1 1/4 cup gluten free flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2/3 cups maple syrup
- 1/3 cup melted, but not hot coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2/3 cup full fat coconut milk
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
via My Name is Yeh and Cake in a Crate Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a donut pan and set aside. In a skillet, toast the hazelnuts over medium high heat, moving around every so often, until toasty, 5-8 minutes. Remove from the pan, let cool and grind in a food processor or blender until fine. In a large bowl, whisk together the hazelnuts, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk togehter the maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and coconut milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking well. Pipe or spoon the batter into the donut wells and bake until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out clean. Start checking at 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and then tip out of the pan. Repeat if you have batter left over. Let the donuts cool completely while you make the ganache glaze. Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time. When chocolate is fully melted, stir in the coconut milk and maple syrup. Let cool slightly, then dip the donuts into the ganache and top with sprinkles. Enjoy!
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- sprinkles, if desired
