Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'd like to introduce to you, my new love! Impossibly soft pumpkin cookies kissed with the perfect amount of chocolate.

I've heard everyone rave about Joy the Baker's soft pumpkin cookies. I made these cookies months ago, but haven't had the chance to post them until now! It wasn't even technically fall yet, and I had already pulled out my pumpkin puree and fall spices! I love the fall, with its beautiful light and chance to cuddle up in bundles of coats and knitted scarves.I slightly adapted the recipe by substituting whole wheat flour for the all purpose and by reducing the sugar and oil. It did nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to the taste of these babies. That's what is so great about all things pumpkin; it's so forgiving! The cookies were still incredibly moist and with the chocolate chips, the sugar wasn't even missed. So basically, when you munch on these monstrous cookies, there's no need to feel any bit of shame. Just let that pure joy wash all over you!

Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: about 16 large cookies

Slightly adapted from here.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, set aside. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color. Next, mix in the oil,

pumpkin and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the flour to incorporate. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Using an ice cream scoop (1/4 cup size), scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2 inches apart. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds. Bake until tops feel firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Com Ga/ Vietnamese Chicken with Mint Rice

Vietnamese Com Ga is probably one of the simplest, homeliest meals of our culture. Simple as it is, it's still one of my favorite meals.

I love how simple everything is, yet there's so much flavor, and the chicken really shines through. That's why it's super important to use free-range chicken in this recipe, because since the chicken is your main ingredient, you really want to use the best quality available. What makes the meal spectacular though, I feel, is the ginger fish sauce! It's sweet, tangy, salty and sooo delicious. Actually almost any kind of fish sauce makes me happy! The mint, cucumbers and marinated onions add great freshness to the dish as well.

The soup is optional but if you've never had fresh chicken stock before, please try this! With the leftover stock, you simply add some fish sauce to season it, then some fresh "Gai Xanh." I'm not sure what the English name of this is but it's similar to bok choy, so you can also substitute that. The broth is just so rich with flavor, it's incredible. I love this meal especially because though it's super healthy, you feel so satisfied after eating it.

Com Ga/ Vietnamese Chicken with Mint Rice

Yields: 4 servings

1 small, whole, free-range chicken

2 cups rice

4 cups chicken stock (reserved from cooking the chicken)

1 cup mint leaves, julienned

1/2 large white onion, sliced

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 persian cucumbers, washed and sliced

nuoc mam gung, for serving (recipe below)

For the soup:

gai xanh or vietnamese bok choy (regular bok choy is fine too), roughly chopped

fish sauce, to taste

black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, place the chicken (whole) inside. Fill the pot with enough water to almost cover the chicken. Heat over medium-high heat until the water is boiling, then reduce heat to medium to allow the water to simmer and the chicken to cook, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to rest and the water to cool down. Once cool enough to handle, remove the chicken from the stock, but DO NOT discard the water. Cut the chicken into small pieces, for easier eating.

In the meantime, put the rice in a large bowl with a few cups of water. Gently swirl your fingers in the bowl to allow the starch to separate from the grains. Once the water becomes white, drain and repeat this process twice more. With each time, the water will get less cloudy. The idea is not to get rid of all the starch, just enough so that the rice will not be too sticky or too dry when cooked. Put the rice in a sieve and drain until the rice is fairly dry. In a rice cooker, combine the rice with 4 cups of chicken stock and cook according to your machine's setting (alternatively, you can also cook this on the stovetop). Right before serving, stir in the mint. You do not want to do this ahead of time because the mint will turn brown.

With the remaining broth, you can either save it for future use or make soup. To make the soup, re-heat the remaining broth over medium heat until just boiling. Add fish sauce, to taste. Add the gai xanh/ Vietnamese bok choy until just wilted. Turn off the heat. Enjoy sprinkled with some black pepper, alongside your Com Ga.

In a medium bowl, combine the onions, vinegar and black pepper. Let sit for at least 5 minutes to allow the vinegar to soften and marinate the onions. To serve, place some rice on a plate. Top with some marinated onions, cucumbers, pieces of chicken and a drizzle of the nuoc mam guon. Enjoy!

Gai Xanh/ Vietnamese Boy Choy:

The ginger-fish sauce concoction & the marinated onions:

Nuoc Mam Gung/ Vietnamese Ginger Fish Sauce

2 - 3 limes, juiced

2 tbsn. fish sauce

2 tbsn. sugar, to taste

2-inch piece of ginger, finely minced

1 red chili, finely diced (optional)

Combine everything until well mixed and the sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

I love oatmeal.

But of course, you already know that,

judging by the many oatmeal recipes, as seen here, here, and here.

So this is just another oatmeal recipe. One that is incredibly hearty and incredibly healthy. Oats that stick to your ribs and keep you fueled the whole morning. Mmmm nothing beats a warm bowl of oatmeal! This oatmeal takes a bit more time, since it's all steel cut oats but there's something about slow cooking a nice bowl of oatmeal that calms your nerves and starts your morning off to a good mood.

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Yields: 1 serving

Original recipe here.

2/3 cup water/ soy milk/ almond milk/ rice milk

pinch of salt

1/2 cup dry steel-cut oatmeal

1/4 medium zucchini, finely grated

handful of chopped pecans

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg, if desired

pinch of ground ginger, if desired

1 heaping tbsn. almond butter/ any nut or seed butter

2 tbsn. brown sugar

Maple syrup, to serve

In a heavy bottomed pot, bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the oats, lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice (if the bottom begins to scorch, add a bit more liquid). After 15 minutes, add the zucchini, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir well, then cover again and cook for another 5 minutes (if oats are dry, add a bit more liquid). Remove from heat, stir in the almond butter and the brown sugar. Serve with an extra dousing of maple syrup more milk, if desired.

Braised Sea Bass Claypot/ Ca Kho To

Of course, you all know I love food. I love baking, I love cooking, I love eating, I love gawking, I love just the smell of it all. My ultimate favorite type of food though, is Vietnamese. It's probably because I am Vietnamese, but hey, we have some good eats.

This dish is one of my absolute favorites! It's fish that is caramelized in a claypot so it's sweet and salty at the same time; the ultimate combination, I think. Traditionally it is made with catfish, but at my work they upscale it and make it with Chilean Sea Bass so I decided to give that a try. It was still just as delicious and uberly buttery and rich. The perfect accompaniment with rice, especially with all that deliciously sweet sauce.
Braised Sea Bass Claypot/ Ca Kho To

Yields: 4 servings

For the caramel:

1/4 cup water

2 tbsn. sugar

For the sauce:

1 tbsn. oil

2 shallots, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/2 cup coconut water

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 lb. sea bass filets, about 1/4 inch thick

Black pepper, to taste

3 - 5 dried thai chilis

1 green onion, julienned (for garnish)

Clean the fish filets and pat dry. Rub the filets with black pepper, to taste; set aside. In a medium saucepan, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and lightly brown, about 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and heat over medium heat until begins to bubble and reduces slightly, about 5 - 7 minutes, then turn off the heat and set aside.

In a medium sized pan, combine the sugar and water for the caramel sauce. Heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves and starts to brown. As soon as the sugar mixture turns a light brown, add the filets and sear the fish on each side for 1 - 2 minutes. The sugar mixture should be darker in color and caramelized on the fish filets.

Remove the fish and add to a claypot (which is traditionally used but not necessary) or keep in the same pan. Cover with the braising sauce then add the thai chilis and cover. Cook on medium high heat for 5 - 7 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Top with the green onions and serve with rice. Enjoy!

Breakfast Cookies

As you can see, I am still on that 'health kick'. My pantry is nowfully stocked with all sorts of healthy things: steel cut oats, baby food, agave, whole wheat flour, flax seeds, you name it! Eating healthy has been an attempt I've been making for some time now, but now that I'm taking a Human Nutrition class, I'm even more hell bent on doing so!

Not much of the information applies much to my baking habits, but when I learned that white flour and white rice has almost ALL of its nutrients removed from it, I was pretty shocked! Plus, when baking with whole wheat flour doesn't make much difference in taste, what's the harm in making things healthier?

These cookies are just as good as everyone says they are in the reviews and are most appropriately the perfect breakfast as their name suggests. They are chock full of goodies that keep you fueled throughout the day and just for some fun, I added a little spiced glaze, which just gave it that perfect amount of sweetness to make it seem like dessert too :)

Breakfast Cookies

Yields: 12 large cookies

Adapted from this Ellie Krieger recipe.

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food

3 tbsn. apple sauce

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup bran cereal flakes (I used cornflakes)

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted and chopped

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 F. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a medium sized bowl. Combine the applesauce, oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down the sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat for an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins, and walnuts and mix on low until just incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than typical cookie dough. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and using 3 - 4 tbsn. of batter, form a ball and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I simply just love these muffins. First of all, they're healthy; full of whole wheat, fruit in three forms, and a bit of agave to sweeten. Second of all, this recipe is a small batch which I love because muffins I usually bake for myself and I can never finish 24 muffins before they go bad. Thirdly, they're easy as can be. And lastly, they are freaking delicious! Sweet enough, perfectly moist and full of flavor; mmm I can't get enough of 'em.

About the lime glaze, it's definitely not necessary since the muffins are perfectly sweet on their own, and quite delicious nonetheless but, I happen to just looooove the lime in the glaze. It gives the muffins a nice zing-y taste and a pop of flavor.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Yields: 6 muffins

Each muffin is about 100 calories and less than 1 g fat.

Original recipe here.

3/4 cup chopped strawberries

2 tbsn. agave

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 banana, mashed

2 tbsn. applesauce

Optional glaze:

1 strawberry, finely chopped

1 tbsn. lime juice

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 6 muffin tins with paper liners, spray the paper liners with non stick spray (this MUST be done or else they stick to the liners like crazy), set aside. In a small bowl combine the chopped strawberries and agave, let sit. In the meantime, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl combine the mashed banana, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture. Mix with a fork until just combined. Fold in the strawberry mixture then spoon into the muffin tin, filling to the top as they don't rise much. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. If glaze is desired, mix all ingredients together and drizzle on top of the muffins. Enjoy!

Olive Oil Granola

As a baker, you get a lot of praise, because well, you make things that people love and then that love transfers over to you. Nice huh? Well with that said, sometimes I feel like a cheat. Most of the time I use recipes rather than making things of my own doing because baking is a science and one that I haven't particularly mastered yet. I know, I know!

It makes me sad to say I do not whisk these ideas up in my own head and I nod my head in shame when people say, "I love YOUR recipe." Well, thanks but no thanks because it's not my recipe, but that's fine by me too because the joy of spreading good recipes is a reward all in itself. My favorite kind of recipes are the ones you can change to your liking, that way I can feel like the recipe has just a little bit of me in it.

For example, this olive oil granola. I don't even know the path this granola took to find me but the last hand off was Shannalee of Food Loves Writing and boy I'm glad I was next in line for this one! I don't usually eat granola often. Granola bars? Yes. Oatmeal? Yes. Regular ole' granola? No. After reading Shannalee's awesome blog post on this beauty, I knew I had to make it. Well, I did and guess what? I simply love it. Wholesome and filled with all kinds of customizable goodness. Add/ subtract/ change what you'd like, and even with all that math, you still end up with some good eats!

Olive OIl Granola

Yields: about 5 cups

Adapted from here.

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

1 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup flax seeds

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

heaping 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

heaping 1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, flax, coconut, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer (use parchment paper or a silpat to make it easier to transfer the mixture later). Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and toasted. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add apricots and cherries, tossing to combine.

Steamed Sea Bass in Black Bean Sauce

It's Friday, and for me that means fish fridays. Well not always fish fridays, sometimes cheese pizza fridays, or fruit-filled fridays or crusty bread fridays. Basically, no meat fridays. In the past, I haven't been so good with finding good meals to eat on Fridays that consisted of no meat. Well those times have changed...

Mmmm steamed sea bass. We have a similar dish like this at the place where I work so when I had some sea bass on hand, I decided to try it out. This recipe is INCREDIBLY simple and easy to boot. I highly recommend it if you are short for time and want a delicious dinner!

The results were simply fabulous. Tender, perfectly flaky fish with some great delicate flavor. Some reviews said that they didn't like this dish because it wasn't full of flavor but that's what I like about it. It's a beautifully light fish with the perfect amount of flavor, just really simple and yummy.
Steamed Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce

Yields: 4 servings

Original recipe can be found here.

1 1/2 lbs. sea bass filets, about 1/4 inch thick

3 tbsn. black bean sauce

1/2 inch ginger, cut into matchstick pieces

2 green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 tsp. peanut oil (I used sesame oil)

cilantro or more green onion (to garnish)

In the bottom of a steamer, add 1 inch of water and place the steaming rack on top. Heat over medium high heat to boil the water. If you don't have a steamer, place 1 inch of water in a wok or frying pan and place a rack on top of it. Place the fish in pyrex dish and spread the black bean sauce over it. Then scatter the green onions and ginger on top. Drizzle the oil over the fish, then place the dish on top of the rack. Cover and steam for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Remove from steamer and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Perfectly flaky sea bass!

Mmmm I love Fish Fridays!

Simplicity at its best.

Nikki's Healthy Cookies

I've told you about my favorite cookies before right? Well you can find them here. Well these? These are my second favorite cookies! Actually they are pretty much on par with my favorite cookies but perhaps even better because they are healthy to boot! Generally I don't really care if something is healthy or not. If it tastes good, I most definitely will eat it. You can see me eating a quinoa and tempeh salad one day, then an entire bag of hot cheetos the next day. But if I can cut back on unnecessary sugars and fats without having to sacrifice taste, then I say why not?

I had been wanting to try this recipe for a while now and finally got down to doing it... and boy I am so, so, so glad I did. These cookies are amazing. Pure amazingness in a tiny little package. Would you puuulease look at that ingredient list? It is so hard to believe that there is no butter, no eggs, no flour and no added sugar! These are slightly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They don't have the typical "cookie" texture but they are sure to satisfy your craving for something sweet! I promise!!!

Nikki's Healthy Cookies Recipe

Yields: 3 dozen bite sized cookies

Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks, which can be found here.

Printable Recipe

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut oil or olive oil

2 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup almond meal

1/3 cup coconut, shredded and unsweetened

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

6 - 7 oz. chocolate chips (I like using dark chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 F, racks in the top third. In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla and oil, set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, coconut, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Add the dry to the wet and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate. The dough is looser than a standard cookie dough but don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes.