Life without hummus and recent obsessions

I told y’all I’ll be back really soon! 😆  Anyways, on to my “regular” post!

While I very much enjoy Taiwanese food while at home, I sometimes do miss the various nut butters and hummus that can only be found back in the States. For example, while prepping my lunch today, I was really craving raw broccoli and carrots with hummus.

No hummus? Any peanut butter? Sadly, we just ran out as well.

What’s a girl to do when she obviously needs some dippage to go with her raw veggies? After scrummaging through the fridge, I decided on this:

Obsession # 1: Black Sesame and Honey Paste

It’s definitely not your regular nut butter, but it’s still nutritious, full of healthy fats, and most importantly, delicious! I usually spread this on bread, but I took the chance and dipped my raw broccoli and carrots in there. Verdict? Not bad. I’d still prefer to have hummus for my raw veggies though

So I may be craving for hummus, but the everyday eats here still makes me one happy gal! 😀

Obsession #2: Sweet Sop (sugar apple or custard apple)

This fruit is native to tropical Americas, India, and Pakistan. It’s believed to have been brought over to Taiwan by the Holland folks about 400 years ago.

[Sidenote: Taiwan was inhabited by Hollanders in the 1600s]

Sweet sop, as its name implies, is very sweet, very soft, and has a texture much like custard. Its seeds are huge (you see the black oval shaped stuff there?) and are scattered ubiquitously throughout the flesh of the fruit. Much like avocado, it becomes softer as it ripens. At its ripest and sweetest time, you can easily cut the fruit open and either (more lady-like) scoop out its flesh with a spoon or (more barbarian) attack the fruit with your teeth. It is definitely not a pretty fruit to eat. You are going to be spitting out on average 4-5 seeds with every bite you take. You’ll acquire a gooey, sugar substance around your mouth too.

Despite its messiness, it’s oh-so-good! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in California. Anyone else seen it in stores/farmer’s market around where you live?

Obsession #3: Oats with salted egg

It’s savory, it’s filling, what’s not to like? This stuff is perfect to fill up my hangry tummy after my morning Ashtanga yoga classes (2 hours!!!). I simply cook 1/3 cup oats with 2/3 cup water (shamelessly in the microwave) and then add chopped/mashed salted eggs into the oats. Stir the goop up and call it a satiating meal…and it is! It’s been awhile since I’ve had this combo of grains+protein, so I’ve been having this for lunch almost everyday.

What about the high sodium content? Okay, not exactly the healthiest stats, but I justify by claiming that I need to replenish my salt storage in my body after sweating off a a gallon of fluid in my yoga class.

Obsession #4: Mr. Mark Bakery

This is, hands down, my favorite bakery, ever ever ever, on the face of this planet. It’s got dozens and dozens of different types of whole-grain bread and pastries, from plain to savory to sweet. This is where I get my Black Sesame and Honey Paste from. Some of their breads include:

• Sunflower seed multigrain toast
• Cream cheese bun
• Barley and oats toast
• Green tea with red beans (adzuki beans) toast
• Soy bean toast
• Sweet potato stuffing roll
• Chocolate and walnut loaf
• Cream cheese and red beans (adzuki) loaf
• Crispy rye multigrain toast
• Chocolate truffle roll
• Organic vegetables toast
• Walnut and cheddar cheese loaf

Let’s see what goodies I got recently, shall we?

First up, red beans (adzuki) with sweet cream multigrain bread.

Secondly, rye multigrain bread with red bean stuffing with white sesame seeds sprinkled on top (see the red bean trend here? :)).

Last but not least, Original Sugar-Free Multigrain toast.

I certainly didn’t waste time tasting these doughy breads? I quickly incorporated the toast into my breakfast the next morning.

Original Sugar-Free Multigrain toast, papaya, guava, and Black Sesame & Honey Paste

Look how thick the slice is! So doughy and so soft! I ate that toast with some Black Sesame paste. On the side I enjoyed some fresh papayas and guava.I bet you’ve never seen green guava before :).

Guavaaaa, whole fruit.

Papayas the size (or larger) than footballs!

Cut up papayas and guava

Obsession #5: Amanda’s Blissful Banana Bread

I couldn’t help but pull out my baker’s hat (no I don’t really own one) after seeing Amanda, then Jessica, rave about it. I had a serious itch to try it, and it’s also been ages since I’ve made myself some ‘nana bread.  I deserve it. 🙂

I substituted the spelt flour for whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt for regular yogurt, and maple syrup for honey. I also didn’t have ground flax seeds (omitted), and neither did I have coconut butter (replaced with vegetable oil). With all these modifications, I prayed that it would turn out alright. It did.

I couldn’t resist to sprinkle some muesli and some mini chocolate chips on top. Why, hello beautiful! 😀

I made these two days ago, and I had my last piece today while shopping and with an iced Starbucks latte. Truly b-l-i-s-s-f-u-l.

Obsession #6: Quaker’s Barley milk

Have I told you yet how much I love 7-eleven’s here in Taiwan? Yes! This is another one of my fabulous finds there!

Barley, barley loveee! 🙂

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I’m meeting up with an awesome and lovely lady tomorrow for the first time. I’ll be showing her around Taipei city, as this is her first time to Taiwan. I cannnnnn’t wait! I’ve never done “touristy” things here before, so I’m actually excited to hop from one tourist attraction to another tomorrow!

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+ If you live in a big city or near tourist attractions, do you do “touristy” things?

+ Current obsessions?

+ Make sure to check out my guest post here!

Today I… + EcoEd Thursdays

Today I…

…made a simple breakfast…

Cinnamon spice alternative bagels, smeared with raspberry preserves and PB2. Sliced nectarines and cottage cheese on the side.

…went into the lab for 2 hours and did some lab work…

…ate three EXTRA LARGE slices of San Biagio’s Veggie pizza…

…came home and took a siesta…

…on the comfy couch and pillow.

Today I whipped up my virgin Janetha-inspired faux frosty…

…topped with the last of my raspberries :-(.

Today I did some reading…

(yawn)

MUCH better 😀

YESTERDAY I cooked up a batch of polenta and let cooled in a pan overnight.

Today I was calm in the kitchen, and cut them up into squares to make polenta gnocchi.

(Sprinkled with some nutritional yeast and baked at 350 degrees for ~ 25 minutes)

Meanwhile, I steamed a bunch of green beans in my rice cooker/steamer (hauled from TAIWAN!!!)…

…and chopped up some SmartDogs.

I cooked some plump, meaty mushrooms in some vegetable broth and white wine vinegar…

…threw in the Smartdogs…

…then dumped in the last of my TJ’s basil marinara sauce.

(empty jar)

Of course, we can’t forget some parsley flakes and pepper…

…and before you knew it, dinner was ready.

Still had some leftover slaw

From kitchen to table in less than 30 minutes. What a big difference it makes when you are calm in the kitchen.

Today I also made use of these sad-looking bananas…

…and decided to transform them into Banana Oat Cookies.

Banana Oat Cookies
(adapted from Steph Chows)

You’ll need:

• 3 large, ripe bananas (the browner the better!), well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup almond meal (almond slices + food processor for a few pulses) whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1/3 cup flax seeds
• 1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & sweetened
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup dried cherries or other dried fruit of your choice (I used craisins)

Destruction Constructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, wire rack on the top third of the oven.

Combine bananas, vanilla, and apple sauce in a large bowl and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.

Add dry to wet. Mix till just combined.

Add in the sweet bits and mix.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack. Lay them out pretty and take pictures.

Today I devoured these cookies.

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Today is…EcoEd Thursdays!!!

Okay I’m going to keep this one short since I still have some boring exhilarating readings to do. So sort of branching off from my last EcoEd post on plastic bags, today I am going to talk about Ziploc bags!

You use ’em, you love ’em. Don’t deny it, you probably have 5 boxes each of different assortments and sizes at home. It’s so convenient, from keeping veggies fresh to bringing it with your sandwich inside to work, to using them to keep your toiletries, loose coins, candies, cookies, chapsticks, lotions etc, in one place.

It’s okay, I use them all too often as well.

But one way to be more environmental-friendly with these cute, handy ziploc bags is to reuse them. I’d pack sliced apples to work one day, but I’ll wash and reuse them to pack other stuff for up to five times. They don’t break easily, as you can see. If I buy a box containing 50 sandwich-sized bags, I can subsist on this one box for up to a year.

Next time when you’re subconsciously tossing a “dirty” ziploc bags into the trash, consider the conditions of the bag and see if you can reuse them. Not only will you be reducing plastic waste on this planet, you’ll also be saving some moolah! 😀

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Till Friday fellow blogsters!

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+ Complete the sentence: “Today I…”