Q: What do vegetarian zombies eat?

A: GRRAAAAAAIIINNNSSSS!!!!

I crack myself up. 😉

Anyway, that’s what I wanted this morning too.  I was really in the mood for some kind of hot cereal; oats just weren’t going to cut it. This is what I decided on after rummaging through my bulk storage containers…

Don’t you just love the little tails on cooked quinoa?  I know I do.

It all started with chucking these few things in a pot…

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup almond milk
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• various dried fruits

After mixing…

I let it come to a boil uncovered then turned it down to low and put the lid on. It cooked on low for about 15 minutes, then I turned off the heat and let it sit covered for another 10 minutes.

While I was waiting, I attended to the needs of this rather insistant individual…

Did you miss him? He and Liam have been spending most of their time sleeping in a pile due to the colder weather, so he hasn’t been in my face as much recently. I had to pick him up and rock him to get him to calm down this morning though. He loves to be held!

By the time Lucas was sufficiently soothed, breakfast was ready!

I poured a little more almond milk in my bowl to make a sauce…

It was sweet and warm and satisfying, just what I needed.

Maple cinnamon breakfast quinoa

A hot breakfast cereal made from quinoa with the flavors of maple and cinnamon.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: About a cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• as much dried fruit as desired

Cooking Directions

1. Add everything to a pot and allow to come up to a boil uncovered.
2. As soon as it boils, cover and turn the heat down to low.
3. Cook on low for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow it to sit for another 10 with the lid on.
4. Serve with a drizzle of almond milk if desired.

Time to finish my tea and get on with enjoying the weekend!

November 6, 2010 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 10 comments

I’m nearing the end of my beloved jar of apple butter.  Sigh…  I know I can always buy more, but for some reason it still gives me heartache to see those last dredges lying listless at the bottom of the jar.

So in the wake of this obvious tragedy, I decided to take the last pie pumpkin sitting proudly and patiently atop my fridge and grant him with a most noble calling… that of becoming pumpkin butter.

Ok. That was way too dramatic.

But seriously, I almost bought some overpriced pumpkin butter at Whole Foods the other day and snapped myself out of it when I realized that I had a whole pumpkin at home and that I could totally make it myself.

I started by making pumpkin puree and transferring it to a heavy-bottomed pot.

I added about 1/4 cup of apple cider, a hunk of Earth Balance (1-2 tbsp.), 4 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

I turned the heat on to medium-low and stirred until everything was melted and incorporated.

After about 25 minutes of cooking, having stirred often throughout, it turned into this luscious creamy spread…

I turned off the heat and stirred in about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  I covered it and let it cool on a windowsill for a few hours.

And this was my marvelous breakfast this morning!…

Homemade oatmeal topped with a bit of crumbled vegan pumpkin bread and a generous dollop of the rich autumn-scented pumpkin buttah!

Yes, it was awesome.  Thank you for noticing.

So the verdict is that yes it was worth it to make it myself.  Mine was just as rich and decadent as store-bought pumpkin butter and not terribly labor-intensive.

What if I made oatmeal with pumpkin butter and apple butter!?!?  I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow.

October 28, 2010 Alayna Recipes 2 comments

Started the day with this heaping bowl of goodness…

An apple, a banana, granola, chia seeds, toasted buckwheat, cinnamon, and almond milk.

The idea was to get up and go on a run immediately, but it started raining pretty early so I ended up waiting most of the morning before I could go. I did manage to get in almost 2 miles while it was still sprinkling out.

I’m running my first 5K this Saturday, so while I don’t want to overdo it this week and wear myself out, I don’t want to sit around all week either.  I think I’ll do one more short run tomorrow and just take a few walks before Saturday.

Also this week, I’m attending my first ever blogger meetup on Friday! I’m excited to meet other Georgia bloggers and just have a good time.  I haven’t been blogging for very long, so maybe I can learn a few things too!

Ok.  Gonna munch on some of these and try to get some work done.

It’s pouring down rain now, makes me want to go back to sleep……zzz.

October 27, 2010 Alayna Discussion 2 comments