Google It

There are so many things that warrant questions in our day to day lives.  Like coffee, the highlight of our mornings, the pick me up in our afternoons, and a very Googly substance.

Why do coffee shops that don't sell coffee beans exist?

Why do people care more about organic coffee than shade coffee?

Why is coffee cake called coffee cake if it doesn't actually have coffee in it?

How are sliced almonds made?

You might thing that the last question doesn't really relate to coffee.  But while drinking coffee with one hand and chopping almonds for this coffee cake with the other, my brain slowly turned on and noticed the rough, misshapen pieces jumping all over my cutting board so I had to wonder - how in the world are those perfectly unnatural nuts crafted?

My wonderment turned into a smile because, you're right, the shape of the almonds doesn't really matter in this case.

What's really important is that they are here, in this coffee cake.  A cake whose crafting is easily explained as it was made in the name of nutty, spicy, sweet, cocoa, caramel-y coffee goodness and is filled with actually coffee to make it make more sense.

So go ahead, grab a slice, no questions asked. 

Coffee Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 c oats
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c white flour
• 2 t cocoa powder
• 3 t cinnamon
• 1 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t cardamom
• 1 T baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 c brown sugar, or 1/3 c white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 c coffee* + 3 T coffee grounds
• 3 T coconut oil

For the topping:

• Roasted, unsalted almonds, chopped
• Unsweetened flakes of coconut
• Cocoa powder
• Cinnamon

Combine:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a 9x5 pan with parchment paper.
2. Dump the oats into the bowl of a food processor and blend on high speed for 15-30 seconds until finely ground.
3. Add in the flours, spices, baking powder, and salt, then blend again on medium speed for 20-30 seconds until the ingredients are well incorporated.
4. Add in the sugar and blend for 20-30 seconds until well incorporated, then add the egg, coffee, grounds, and oil.
5. Blend on low speed/dough setting for 30 seconds until everything is mixed together.
6. Pour the batter into the baking pan, sprinkle with almonds, coconut, cocoa powder, and cinnamon then bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it but not dry.
7. Let cool for 15 minutes then enjoy!

*I made cold brewed coffee for this recipe mainly because I recently shattered my french press and have yet to replace it.  Feel free to use hot brewed coffee but make sure you let it cool before adding it to the recipe or else it may cook your egg.

Gazpacho and BLCT

Sometimes it's okay to be a super lazy "cook".

 Aka it's totally alright to eat sandwiches for dinner, especially when it's a thousand degrees in your apartment and especially if the sandwich is a B.L.T. paired with a side of fresh gazpacho like this!

( Bonus points to those of you who also add cheese to your B.L.T.s. )

This summer I was reintroduced to how amazing B.L.T.s and gazpacho are and craved the two together for a lazy, sweaty, summer dinner.

Although my first sandwich used pork bacon, sharp cheddar, and actual lettuce I work with what I have and substituted fresh mozzarella, turkey bacon, and a handful of baby greens on slices of fresh spelt bread.

The first gazpacho recipe I ever tried was from my mom, but had to pull from memory after losing the recipe card - and yes I totally still write my recipes on index cards!

Luckily gazpacho is one of those soups you can literally throw any summer veggie into.  Tomatoes, peppers, onion, and cucumbers usually make up the base.  Feel free to use fresh tomatoes or canned ones in their juices, any color peppers, and more or less jalapenos for spice factor.  Toss everything into your Ninja and voila, dinner is ready!

Gazpacho

Ingredients (large batch)

• 3 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 3/4 sweet or vidalia onion
• 3/4 seedless cucumber
• 2 tomatillos
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded
• 2 T white vinegar
• 4 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 T worcestorshire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine

1. Wash and chop your veggies.
2. Put everything into a food processor or high speed blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
3. Enjoy!

B.L.C.T.

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 2 slices bread
• 2 oz mozzarella
• 3 slices bacon, cooked
• 3 slices tomato
• greens of choice
• mayo, as desired

Combine

1. Toast your bread then spread with mayo if using.
2. Lay the cheese, bacon, tomato, and greens on one slice of bread.
3. Top with the other slice of bread and cut in half, diagonally of course.
4. Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Banana Bread

Nothing makes a Saturday morning more complete than the smell of freshly baked goods filling your house, especially when the recipe is as easy to throw together as this one.

Some included perks of this recipe:

1. It's delicious.

2. It's literally foolproof.  (Even though it's Saturday and you are dying from a hangover)

3. It's super easy to manipulate, see below for suggestions!

4. It stays fresh on a counter for 5-7 days, so if you refrain from engulfing the entire loaf while binge-ing on Netflix in your pjs you'll be set with breakfasts for the week.

5. It's freezable: after letting the loaf cool, slice it up, place it in an airtight container, and freeze.  Microwave or toast slices when you are ready to enjoy them!  Quick tip: when I freeze baked goods I usually place parchment paper in between each piece so they don't freeze together.

6.  You don't have to wait until the weekend to make it so get baking!

Banana Bread

Ingredients

Dry

• 1 c chopped pecans or walnuts or chocolate chips
• 1 3/4 c flour (I used 1 c wheat and 3/4 white but any all-purpose flour will work)
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t cardamom

Wet

• 3 ripe medium bananas
• 2 lg eggs, beaten
• 1/2 c sugar, I use dark brown but white also works.
• 1/2 c melted or browned butter or whole fat greek yogurt
• 1 t vanilla

Combine

1. Preheat the oven t 350 degrees and line a 9x5x3 pan with parchment paper.  Note: due to the shape of the pan you will have to crease the corners to make the paper stay put.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, peel and mash the ripe bananas, beat in the eggs, then whisk in the sugar, butter, and vanilla.
4. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until fully combined and pour into pan.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Enjoy!