Oat Bran with Agave-Cinnamon Apples and Dried Cranberries

This is the beautiful and delicious breakfast I enjoyed Thanksgiving morning. I felt good eating it and it help fuel me through my morning workout. I kept it simple because I love the flavor of oat bran. It is smooth and not overpowering like old fashion oats. You can use any kind of apple for this quick breakfast. I used an organic green apple because they are tart and crisp. A tablespoon of light agave was just enough sweetness for this whole dish to come together with the dried cranberries and a generous scoop of crunchy peanut butter!

Oat Bran with Agave-Cinnamon Apples and Dried Cranberries
By Fallon

Ingredients:
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped small
1 tablespoon light agave
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted oat bran
1 cup water
1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
Optional: almond milk

Directions:
In a small pot on medium-low heat, add the chopped apples, cinnamon and agave. Cook until the apples are slightly soften and the agave has created a syrup, about 4 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and the oat bran to the pot. Bring to a boil and stir every phew few seconds until the oat bran starts to thicken. Add the cranberries and cook for another minute.

To serve top with crunchy peanut butter (almond butter works too) and a couple more cranberries. I like to add a splash of almond milk to help cool it off.

   

See simple and delicious.

Always.
Fallon

Happy Thanksgiving from Fallon’s Cucina!

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!! I just wanted to wish all my blog friends a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m spending Thanksgiving with my mom at my best friend’s house. I love celebrating Thanksgiving with a huge crowd, so I’m thankful my best friend invited me to her place. I also don’t have to cook a huge feast, phew! Stuffing and a bottle of wine. I got it off easy this year. Don’t even need to make dessert! Did you get it off easy this year too?

I woke up at 5:30am this morning and saw this beautiful sunrise from the kitchen sink. I took a moment to think of everything I’m so fortunate to have and even though life isn’t always perfect, my life in itself has been very lucky for me. A morning like this deserved a hot breakfast, like oat bran. This was simple, not over the top and very tasty. I’ll be sure to share the recipe this weekend.

My mom just went to pick up the newspaper. I can’t wait to check out all the sales! I’m in the market for either a new desktop and/or laptop. Of course I work tomorrow but I’ll be shopping online. Way better then being in lines and being cold. ;)

Time to get ready for my Thanksgiving workout. Body pump sounds like a plan.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Fallon

The Secret Recipe Club: Polenta Pizzas

It feels so good to be back and participating in The Secret Recipe Club. I missed a few months and couldn’t wait to start at it again. I can’t believe how many people are part of this club now. It is truly amazing.

For this month I was given the blog Penny Pinching Provisions. Robin has found a way to save money and not depend on using coupons. Thank you! I don’t get how the coupon people can get 5,000 bottles of mustard for free and if that is even necessary. I’m always looking for ways to save money at the grocery store but making sure it is healthy and fits with my dietary guidelines. I’m slowly easing into a gluten free diet and saw these cute polenta pizzas on Robin’s blog. She actually found the recipe through Trader Joe’s (my favorite store!). It is perfect to make after a long day of work. I can make these easily thanks to the premade polenta, that is sliced, top with sauce, cheese and in 20 minutes I have a healthy meal. I pair it with a side salad, glass of red wine and dinner is enjoyed. I added a little goat gouda and mushrooms for a different twist. Very versatile recipe and great to serve as appetizers as well!

Polenta Pizzas
Adapted from Penny Pinching Provisions

Ingredients:
1 package organic polenta
Favorite marinara sauce
Ricotta cheese
Goat gouda
Sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Slice polenta into 1/2 inch thick rounds, 12 slices total. Top with a tablespoon of sauce and ricotta cheese. Place 1 sliced mushroom on each pizza and sprinkle goat gouda on top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn broiler on for another 3-4 minutes.

The polenta rounds will crisp up and the cheese will be golden brown. Serve with a simple green salad and balsamic dressing.

Always,
Fallon

Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut Flour

I’m trying new things and one of them is trying to cut out dairy and gluten from my diet. Dairy is kind of hard because I like cheese and ice cream! It is even worst when you have a self serve frozen yogurt place right next to where you work. TOO convenient. Luckily my dairy tolerance isn’t as bad and I can enjoy cheese and ice cream from time to time. Gluten has been a bit easier to cut out because there are so many alternatives for gluten free diets. Although when eating out, it is more of a struggle. I’m glad Wholefoods hot food bar works with my new diet. I’ve noticed a difference in cutting out gluten. More energy, no bloating, I sleep like a rock, feeling fuller longer, and bowel movements are normal. I’m very happy with the results and will continue to watch my gluten. Although I will enjoy a slice of pizza or the delicious crusty bread used to dip in olive oil from time to time. If you know me, I’m a huge believer in moderation. I thank god I don’t have severe allergies to gluten and dairy like some kids and adults struggle with on a daily basis.

The other day I saw coconut flour at Wholefoods and picked it up. I had to ignore the price tag because it wasn’t cheap. I’ve recently seen several food blogs using coconut flour in baked goods. It is high in fiber and gluten free. The coconut flavor is very subtle and once baked up you can’t notice the flavor. There was a chocolate chip cookie recipe on the bag and I decided to try it out. The cookies do not spread out at all and bake up into a delicious doughy cookie. My mom said I need to make these again for the holidays. She really doesn’t like coconut and when I told her I used coconut flour, she said she didn’t even notice.

This cookie is even approved by Mason (my best friend’s two year old son). We went on a 5 mile walk this morning and I brought him 2 cookies. Turns out he finished them all up and wanted more towards the end of the walk!

Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe Adapted from Let’s Do…Organic

Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour (I used Let’s Do... Organic)
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter or non-dairy alternative, softened
1/2 cup stevia
1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Blend together the butter or non-dairy alternative and sugars until fluffy and well mixed. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the flours and baking soda. Add this to the butter/egg mixture until smooth and well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Those are the BEST chocolate chips ever and I love that they are vegan. They taste just like chocolate if you are wondering. The coconut spread is something new and you can bake with it too. I like it!

Drop the dough with a cookie scoop or teaspoonful onto a pre-greased cookie sheet. Cookies should be spaced about 2 inches apart but you’ll notice they don’t spread when baked. You can put about 12 scoops on a cookie sheet. Bake about 8 to 12 minutes or until brown on the edges, Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

This recipe made a total of 23 cookies. I did swipe some raw bites of cookie dough. The raw egg doesn’t bother me since it is just a little bit. This recipe can easily be turned vegan with using a flax egg instead. I should try that next time and see how they turn out!

  

I decided to flatten out the second batch of cookies going into the oven. Either way works. I think I like the rounded cookies better because they show the doughy-ness of the cookie. It is nice that this recipe is loaded with chocolate chips too. You could even add 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans too. It would be delicious!

Enjoy,
Fallon

Martha Stewart Baked Brie with Pecans

Tis the season to eat lots of delicious appetizers. One of my favorite appetizers is the cheese and crackers. I love the fancy cheeses like goat cheese, smoked gouda, raw milk cheeses and such. There are many great cheese varieties and pairing them with certain wines is a great way to bring a crowd of people together.

One of my favorite cheeses is brie. I love when it is baked up and becomes so gooey. Goes perfectly with a fig jam and water crackers. I saw this delicious brie recipe from Martha Stewart, Baked Brie with Pecans. The pecans are toasted and then a brown sugar/maple syrup is poured on top of the whole thing. It is absolutely delicious. My best friend loves brie as well but she didn’t like the added sweetness of the brown sugar/maple syrup topping. If you like brie plain, there is nothing wrong with that but if you are looking for a twist on an old classic, this recipe is a must.

The recipe calls for a whole wheel of brie but since it was only a few of us enjoying this dish, I opted to use a quarter of a brie wheel. It was a bit messier, since it didn’t keep its shape at all but it was just the right amount. The recipe below is for using 1/4 wedge of brie. If you are using a full wheel just make sure to triple everything, including the minutes to toast the nuts and the syrup, since you will be using.

Baked Brie with Pecans
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1/4 wedge of brie (about 3-4 ounces)
2 tablespoons pecan pieces or whole pecans roughly chopped
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Water crackers

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cheese on a rimmed baking sheet, bake until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and cool.

While the cheese cools, place nuts on a clean baking sheet, bake until toasted and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle nuts over cheese.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and syrup. Bring to boil over medium heat, simmer until foamy, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drizzle warm sauce over slightly cooled cheese and nuts, serve with crackers.

I love how simple and quick this appetizer comes together. It looks really fancy and like you took a while to put it together. I’ll be enjoying lots of brie this season! Bring the wine and I’ll bring the brie.

Enjoy,
Fallon  

  

It’s Been Awhile..

I’m checking around my blog and realized my recipe index has not been updated since July. OOPS! We are already in November. Again.. where is the time in 2011 going? Just think, in about 3 weeks we will be enjoying a Thanksgiving feast. Then we will put the Christmas tree up, Santa will come and then we will ring in the new year of 2012. It is crazy, I don’t want to keep getting older!

Every year I set a few goals I’d like to achieve for the new year. I always want to achieve them but sometimes life gets in the way. My goals for 2011, well some were made and some were broken.

2011 Goals:

• Figure out what I want to do in life!
• Run another race, possibly a 10k or half marathon. Will someone join me?
• Continue to expand on my blog to increase readership and have people love visiting Fallon’s Cucina!
• Spend more time with my boyfriend and build a stronger relationship. Goodbye long distance relationship!

-Well.. I never ran any races. I simply just don’t like running a distance longer then a 5k. I’m glad I’ve accepted this realization and I’ve moved on. Instead I finally brought Body Pump into my life, which has been a blast.

-I didn’t work on my blog like I would have liked too. I’m sorry. I’m disappointed I didn’t do more but I also need to work. So finding a balance was difficult but no matter what I’ll always be around. Baby steps work for me.

-Well, didn’t see this coming. I moved back home to Las Vegas this year, after moving in with my ex-boyfriend who had lived in Texas and temporarily in Georgia, to end up back in Las Vegas single. Life is such a mystery and how much I’ve realized my life in 2011 has been turned upside down.

-I don’t think I’ll ever FIGURE out exactly what I want to do in my lifetime. I do know I’d love to marry a wonderful man and have babies. I’ve always wondered what it be like to have a bigger family. I now want this more then ever. I just can’t look for it.. and let it look for me. Right? In the meantime, I’m now employed full-time and will be starting my new job in 1 week. I’m very excited for this change in my lifetime and I need to prove to everyone I can do this. I have set some personal goals I’d like to hit a year from now.

With only less then 2 months to go I’m going to enjoy 2011. I have my family, I have my friends and you know what.. that is all you need sometimes.

Have you hit your goals? Are you already thinking about your 2012 goals? Do you even set goals for a new year?

Don’t forget that my recipe index is now updated! I forgot how good the vegan bean burgers, grilled basil chicken breast, pumpkin banana bread, and baked polenta rounds were. Which can all be found in my recipe index plus more! 

Oh yeah.. and don’t we look cute together? Too bad Brandon Vera is married, I tried!! LOL

 

Always,
Fallon