A Gloomy Day

My day was kinda like the weather outside...

...gloomy!

It started at 6:00 am, when my fiance ran down the stairs in the dark to get the door...fell and jammed his knee in the wall.  He's okay...but the wall isn't.

 

Then, it just kinda went down hill from there.  My fiance and I got in a little tiff (probably shouldn't be writing that)...and I've been moping around the house ever since.  For the record, it wasn't over the massive hole in the wall. 

Working out made me feel a little better...but I didn't push myself on my run like I had the past couple days.  And every magazine that I picked up today talked about the benefits of running outside...and alas, I am still on my stupid treadmill (I don't think the people that write these articles live in Georgia). 

I also got a letter from my principal trying to get us all excited about the 2010-2011 school year.  To me, all the letter said was..."Your summer is over.  Your summer is over.  Your summer is over."  In all actuality (I've never used that phrase in my writing before), I think that I'm ready to go back...it's just there are still so many things that I wanted to accomplish over the summer that I didn't (uh, like my dissertation).  AND I know that the beginning of the school year is soooo busy...It is going to be difficult to work and do all of the things that I need to do (i.e. workout, clean the house, blog...and uh, finish my dissertation). 

Anyway, I did spend a lot of time in the kitchen today (see previous post...taco-ish soup).  I finally made Angela's Carrot Chia Spelt Muffins.  They were vegan...which made me feel all of chef-like when I made them...for whatever reason.  The recipe was pretty easy...I just had to make sure that I had all of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS


Dry:

• 2 cups spelt flour (See note below)
• 3 Tbsp sugar (I actually ended up using 4 1/2...will explain later)
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp cacao nibs (uh...nobody warned me NOT to try these before cooking.  Super bitter!!!)
• 3-5 Tbsp raisins (her recipe only called for 3...but hey, I like raisins!)

Wet:

• 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp vanilla soy milk
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup sweetened applesauce (or 1 cup mashed banana will work)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Preheat oven to 375F.  Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Add wet to dry, mixing until combined.  (I think that I could of mixed a little more than I did...I found a little uncooked mixture or powder on one of my finished muffins).

 

Spoon into greased muffin tin. 

Cook for 25-27 mins.  Makes 12 muffins.

I had to grate the carrots for this recipe.  Have I ever shared what my "food processor" looks like!?!? 

Yes...my little hand is bigger than my food processor.

Don't worry...already registered for a real one.  Just counting down until the big day!!

After 25 minutes or so...we had the finished product.

If my camera (phone) was a little clearer...you could actually see the bits of carrots.  Mmmm...lots of yummy raisins too!!!

As far as taste...they were okay.  I didn't use sweetened applesauce (I couldn't find any)...so I added a tablespoon and a half more sugar.  It's good that I did because they still were not very sweet.  But I thought that they were good (I didn't even bother making my fiance try them...don't think he would be a fan).  Anyway, I had them with some Neufchatel cheese (which tastes exactly like cream cheese to me...with less fat)...and I liked them.  Like this afternoon's taco-ish soup...all it needed was a garnish:)

For dinner, I whipped up something quick.  Open-faced Mahi Mahi burger with cabbage and corn.

There's a burger under all that cabbage!!

I even whipped up a little sauce with some Greek yogurt to go on top of the bread.  I used to use mayonnaise for the sauce...but Chobani did the trick!!  I was kinda impressed with myself.

Anyway, my future in-laws are driving in from Arkansas tonight.  They should be here in the next couple of hours.  I need to stop moping and put on my game face.  

Oh!  Before I go, I need to see if I can come up with 10...okay, that's stretching it...5 reason to be happy:

1)  I'm becoming quite the little cook (all this from a girl who used to order out at least 3-4 times per week)

2)  I'm making new blog friends:)...that is always nice.

3)  I found a BOGO 1/2 off coupon for some tires (I must be worse off than I thought cause this is really like pulling teeth...)

4)  The day is almost over.

5)  ...and tomorrow is new day:)

Okay...that took much longer than it should have.  And because I'm in such a grumpy mood...it was REALLY hard.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.