I’m what you call a procrastinator.

Right this very second, me writing these words is evidence of me procrastinating. Sure, I have to share this smoothie with you, blah blah, and we’ll get back to it. But really I should be in my kitchen testing recipes for big project I’m working on (I’ll tell you soon!).

Instead of cooking, I’m chilling on my couch, with one hand checking Instagram, another typing this, all while intermittently looking up at the TV to check out what Carrie’s doing on some random re-run of Sex and the City. (Seriously, what’d I do without E! playing these re-runs?! I did work, that’s what.)

It isn’t until I get totally disgusted with myself over said procrastination that I actually get the work done. And I have to say, I do my best work under pressure. I hustle. I get it done. But man, is it painful…

Please tell me you’re a procrastinator too. Don’t tell me you’re prompt, easily self-motivated, etc. Actually, do tell me that and tell me how you are. Procrastination cures. I need ‘em.

Smoothies in the morning are hard for me. Coffee? Or smoothie? I’ll always choose coffee. I go to sleep at night dreaming of the next morning’s cup.

This smoothie is a healthy marriage between the two.

Some cacoa nibs (a.k.a. super hero food) give this smoothie a chocolatey flavor and add some nice texture.

Since it’s not sweetened you’ll need some agave. A banana adds awesome flavor. And a few splashes of coconut milk makes this smoothie vegan appropriate.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go cook wash my hair.

Cacao Coffee Banana Smoothie

Print this recipe!

2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled
4 tablespoons coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons agave
1 handful of ice

Add everything to the blender and pulse for 60 seconds. Yum. Hi, healthy smoothie!

Winner Update! The random calculator chose number 47, which was Misie! Her suggestion for a cozy meal:

Thanks everyone for playing!
———————————————–

I. Can’t. Get. Warm.

Yesterday I spent most of the day on the couch–under a pile of blankets–contemplating if I should turn on the heat or not. I didn’t.

Saturday night I spent 2 hours watching Hugo (so beautiful–especially in 3D!) just straight freezing.

Friday was the last day I was warm. I was in sweats and colorful socks, baking up these scones (and various other treats!); which lead me to the realization: If it’s cold out, head to the kitchen. Grab your baking sheets, pre-heat your oven. You’ll be warm in no time. Guaranteed.

Now, let’s talk scones!! And this giveaway!!

This scone recipe comes from Pam Anderson’s new book, Cook without a Book: Meatless Meals: Recipes and Techniques for Part-Time and Full-Time Vegetarians.

Phew! What a title.

This book will do just as promised–teach you to cook without a book.

The entire book provides you with basic recipes for everything from breakfast foods (see: scones!) to soups and salads, along with ideas to change the recipes depending on your taste or what is available to you.

After you master each recipe or technique, you’ll be able to put the book away (or reach for it only for reference) and cook…without a book! Genius!

COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY DEETS!

Leave a comment below answering the question:

“What do you eat when you’re cold?” Let’s talk cozy food!

Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, December 7th at noon.

Thanks to Pam and Maggy for this awesome giveaway! YAY!

Orange and Chocolate Scones

Print this recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon orange zest (from 1 orange)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, frozen solid
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
2 teaspoons turminado sugar

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle positition and preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or nonstick liner.

Mix the flour, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, baking soda, and orange zest in a medium bowl. Grate one-third of the butter into the flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; toss to coat with the flour. Repeat grating and tossing twice more. Using your fingertips, work the butter and flour together a bit more. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Mix the sour cream and egg with a fork until smooth. Stir the sour cream mixture into the dry ingredients with the fork until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the side of the bowl to form a ball. (There may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together. If necessary, flick a little water into the bottom of the bowl to get the last bits to adhere.) Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 7 1/2-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with the turminado sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 wedges. Place the wedges about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Recipe by Pam Anderson from Cook Without A Book: Meatless Meals

Two days ago I got the sickness.  All that ran through my head was that I had the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, I’M SO SICK, OMG, (!!) I HATE THAT STUPID NYQUIL COMMERCIAL thing going on.

No biggie. I put on my happy sick face (it’s cute, seriously!) and embraced it.

I made a stack of pancakes, threw on some sweats, curled up on the couch and watched Wet Hot American Summer for the thousandth time. Best remedy for a cold ever.

For the record, I made these pancakes twice this week. Twice!!

The first time I was too sniffly to stand on chairs, take pictures and try to make stuff look pretty.

Once I was feeling a little better, I made them again. 

They’re everything pancakes should be: light, fluffy, slightly sweet, a little tangy with a total bonus flavor: coffee!

Yeah, I’m seriously patting myself on the back for this one. It’s no big secret I love coffee. I’m a big time addict.

It took me a few times to get these right. The first time I tried them with really good, strong espresso…and it no workie.  The coffee flavor wasn’t strong enough and the batter was watery. Big time bummer.

Second time around I decided to use instant coffee granules and added them to the buttermilk and egg mixture. Worked! Done! Boom! A cup of coffee in pancake form.

#ilovecoffee

#justlikeiloveyou

Coffee Pancakes

Print this recipe!

Yields 8 small pancakes

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

Pre-heat oven to 150˚F so you can keep the pancakes warm while the others are cooking.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  In a large measuring cup (or small bowl), beat together the egg and buttermilk.

Next, whisk in the instant coffee until completely blended. In two batches, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should have some small to medium lumps.

Heat up your griddle or cast iron skillet over medium low-heat and brush with 1 tablespoon of butter. Using a 1/4 cup measure, add the batter to the warm skillet and cook until bubbles form along the sides and in the center. Flip. And cook on opposite side until golden brown.  Transfer to oven until you’ve gone through all the batter. Serve with warm maple syrup and a dollop of butter.

Let’s talk snacks!

You know how all those diets say “eat four-five small meals a day.”  Umm…I can’t cook that often. I have a job. I like to see my friends. I don’t have a dishwasher. I have to curl my hair. These are all reasons why I can’t cook five times a day. Sorry, diets.

BUT I do love snacks, especially ones that take five minutes to put together.

WARNING: I have no idea if theses are “healthy,” but I do know they taste good, and are sorta healthy. Or at least I think so.

The first one is Avocado on Toast. Super easy and delicious.

All you’ll need is a half of an avocado, bread lightly toasted, a little crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, dash of olive oil and a squirt of lemon.  Done.  Delicious.

Second awesome snack of the day.  Perfectly boiled egg on a buttered whole wheat english muffin topped with a little salt and pepper. Easy! Fast! Cute!

This is my favorite. I love protein shakes, but I also love my morning coffee. This is hybrid of the two.

I present to you: Coffee Banana Protein Shake.

Some cooled coffee, scoop of whey protein powder, couple ice cubes, dash of vanilla extract and a half of a banana. That simple!

This isn’t a snack, but more of a way to force myself to drink more water. We all need to do this, right?

Just some filtered water with the latest winter citrus: sliced meyer lemon and a tangelo. And cucumber for some added freshness. It’s like the water you get at a spa.

What are you snacking on?

Yesterday I read Ree’s list of Ten Important Things About Blogging and one of the things she recommended was to tell people who visit and read your blog that you love them.

So I figured our relationship had gotten to that point where I should tell you. And though it feels a bit awkward to be the first to say it–I don’t care. Sometimes you gotta be the first to say it, ya know? Almost like ripping a band-aid off of a hairy arm.

So here it is: I love you. For reals.

I think it’s pretty amazing how you come here each day, or every other day or even once a month, to check out what’s cooking, and what random things are being said.

I love this blog so dang much. Mainly because it gives me an excuse to cook things I never would otherwise. In this case, it’s pushed me to the point where I no longer suck at making pudding.

A few years ago I tried to make this pudding–it turned into a lumpy, gross mess. There’s kinda nothing more gag worthy than eating lumpy pudding. Ugh. After that, I sorta gave up on making puddings, thinking they just weren’t for me…

Until I came across this Cafe Au Lait Pudding, and even though the reviews were grim, I couldn’t get the recipe out of my head.  Which shouldn’t have been that surprising since a little while back I ate these Mocha Popsicles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Coffee.  Milk. Whipped cream.  Cinnamon.  Basically a latte in pudding form. What’s seriously not to love?

So I shrugged the bad reviews off, determined to make the pudding work.

I started with deciding to cut down the amount of instant espresso (since everyone complained about it being too strong), adding a teaspoon of cocoa powder, some vanilla extract and upping the amount of sugar.

And then an hour later I was met with pure pudding success. Finally. I made a pudding that was not only edible but seriously awesome.

Cafe Au Lait Pudding

Recipe adapted from Gourmet

Print this recipe!

If you like things on the sweeter side, I’d advise upping the sugar to 1/2 cup.  If not, then stick with the 1/4 cup sugar.

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons instant coffee granules

1 teaspoon of Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar, divided

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, divided

Cinnamon for sprinkling

Do a little prep action by making your ice bath first. Grab two metal or glass bowls, one slightly smaller than the other. Fill the larger bowl with ice and a bit of water and place the smaller bowl inside it.

Whisk together milk, coffee granules, cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, cornstarch, 1/4 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup of sugar–your choice), and a small pinch of salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then boil 1 minute, whisking constantly.

Adrianna Note: Be sure to scrap the corners of the pot with your whisk to ensure all the cornstarch is properly combined.

Transfer the pudding to the smaller bowl in your ice bath so it can cool, stirring often, about 10 minutes. If there are lumps in the pudding, simply run it through a sieve or strainer. Then pour the pudding into cups or ramekins and chill for 20 minutes. Since I really despise any skin on my pudding, I placed a piece of Saran wrap on the surface to stop that from happening. If you’re a freak and love it, then by all means keep it uncovered.

While the pudding is chilling, beat cream with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and remaining 2 tablespoon sugar using an electric mixer just until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped cream onto puddings and dust cream lightly with cinnamon.

If you keep the pudding in the fridge overnight or even for a few hours, I’d take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving. I found the consistency was the best when it wasn’t super cold. Enjoy!

Raise your hand if you have a coffee addiction!

Whoa! A heck load of you raised your hand. You know what, I used to be ashamed of my coffee habit, vowing every few months to go on some cleanse to nix it, but I’ve read the reviews and coffee is healthy for me (antioxidants, people).

There are actually nights where I go to bed looking forward to the next morning’s cup of coffee.  I’ve finally come to terms with my addiction and am no longer ashamed. In fact, I recently told myself that I was going to find new ways to implement it in food I love. First way? Mocha Popsicles! Shut up…yes, they’re so amazing. So amazing that on my way into work, I dripped one all over that oxford blue shirt you see in the picture.  (By the way, this is a very common occurence with me.) Thank heavens I use my trunk as a 2nd closet. I’m proud to say that I actually had ample choices to change into! Woo hoo!

Let’s talk popsicles…

They have super strong coffee in them. They have chocolate.  And sweetened condensed milk. Basically, these Mocha Popsicles have every awesome thing ever created.  Except cheese. But that’d just be weird.

Have you ever had Vietnamese Iced Coffee? It’s heavenly. Seriously.  This is basically a Vietnamese Iced Mocha…just frozen solid.

You could make these blindfolded–they’re that easy.  All you have to do is mix super strong brewed coffee (or espresso), sweetened condensed milk, a bit of Dutch processed cocoa powder and mix. I recommend that you do a little taste test and adjust accordingly.  If you want it more chocolately…add more chocolate; want more sweetness…add more condensed milk.  Cooking is fun!

And popsicle molds…umm…why are they made so cheaply? The dang piece of plastic snapped off and broke. Next time I’m thinking I’ll skip the tops and just use plain ol’ popsicle sticks. I’m also taking any recommendations on good popsicle molds…anyone?

Mocha Popsicles

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

Print this recipe!

Makes 8 popsicles, depending on the size of your molds.

I made super strong coffee using my French press. I put 6 scoops of coffee with 3 cups of hot water and let it sit for 5 minutes.  It came out super strong and perfect.  Also, if you don’t have sweetened condensed milk, David says you could substitute using half & half or milk. I would just add a little at a time to taste.

2 cups (500ml) extra-strong coffee or espresso

2/3 cup (160ml) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 tablespoon of unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder

Mix the coffee with the sweetened condensed milk. Add the tablespoon of cocoa powder. Taste, and add a bit more milk or chocolate powder, if desired. (A spoonful or two is fine, but any more and the popsicles won’t freeze as hard.)

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until sold. Mine took about 8 hrs.  To loosen the popsicle out of its mold, hold under warm water until it slides out. Voila! Awesome Mocha Popsicles.