Hemp Protein Granola Bars

When either Daniel and I get hungry, it's in our best interest (or mostly in the best interest of anyone around us) that we eat immediately.  We try never to leave the house without a snack and usually it's some kind of Power Bar.  I've been looking for a homemade granola bar recipe for awhile.  I tried once before and I failed miserably.  Daniel said it was fine but I think it turned out a bit like cardboard.  Not the flavor or texture that I was going for.

This recipe comes from the food blog My New Roots.  The blogger is a holisitic nutritionist and so far, I've loved every recipe of hers that I've made.   There are usually some ingredients in her recipes that I've never used before or really know nothing about.  In this recipe those ingredients were hemp protein powder and chia seeds.  What's great about her blog is that she always provides nutritional and background information on the ingredients that she uses.  I've learned a lot just by browsing her site.

The granola bars came out great!  They have a great texture and flavor.  I didn't have all of the ingredients so I had to make some substitutions.  I've listed them in red below.  I think next time I make them, I'll try adding a little cocoa powder.    

From the food blog, My New Roots.

Hemp Protein Granola Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped (I used peanuts as well)
1 cup dates, chopped
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup hemp protein powder
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup sunflower oil (I used coconut oil)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used agave syrup)
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
6 Tbsp. water

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, mix the chia seeds and water together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.
4. In a food processor or blender, mix bananas, oil, vanilla, and maple syrup (or mash everything together with a fork). Add chia gel and pulse to mix. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
5. Spread the batter evenly into a baking pan (mine was 9" x 11"), and smooth out the top with the back of a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Let cool completely, store in airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. You can also freeze these.

Molly's Cupcakes

Prior to visiting Molly's Cupcakes, I had only been to one Cupcakery before and that was Crushcakes in Santa Barbara.  I came across Molly's Cupcakes in one of my many Chicago food Yelp searchers.  It came up when I entered "best desserts Chicago."  After a long day of shopping with my mom, we decided to take an hour detour and go to Molly's Cupcakes instead of going home.  We were so glad we did.  The cupcakes were delicious and truly decadent.  My favorite was the peanut butter cake with nutella filling and a nutella buttercream frosting.  To me the more decadent the better and this one was intense.  We also got the Kahlua (chocolate cake, kahlua cream filling,coffee buttercream, chocolate curls) the Mixed Berry (blueberry cake, raspberry blueberry filling, buttercream and fresh berries), and the Coconut Castaway.  The coconut was our favorite.  It has a custard type filling and the frosting was topped with toasted coconut.  Unfortunately, the specific ingredients of this cupcake aren't listed on the website but I'll be going back to find out, especially since there are about 15 more flavors that I need to try. 

Our Neighborhood Boulangerie

Prior to moving to Chicago we were not at all familiar with its many neighborhoods.  We chose Logan Square because the apartment that we fell in love with was located there.  Little did we know that it was a great part of the city with a diverse culture and plenty of good restaurants, neighborhood grocery stores, and cool bars.  There is even a French bakery just a few blocks away from our apartment. 

When my mom came to visit a couple of weeks ago, we headed over to La Boulangerie for an afternoon snack.  It is very cute and quaint with chalkboards serving as menus and the bakery cases always filled with tempting treats. There are a few small round tables and when the weather gets a bit warmer, there will be patio seating outside. We had a lemon curd filled crepe and a crepe filled with a fruit preserves, brie, and walnuts. They were delicious!  La Boulangerie also has fresh baked bread, macaroons, croissants, pastries, locally made preserves, and a few French food items.  I'm planning to work my way through the crepes menu so hopefully we'll be visiting again soon!  

Soba Noodles, Veggies and Tofu with Peanut Dressing

One of the best things about living in Chicago are all the different types of ethnic grocery stores, literally around every corner.  There is a Cuban market at the end of our block and a Mexican market about two blocks away.  One of our favorite Asian markets is Joong Boo, a Korean market, about 10 minutes from our house.  It is huge with a great (and inexpensive) produce section, a large meat and fish department (including some very exotic cuts of meat), a freezer section with all the dumpling choices my little heart can desire (my heart desires a lot of dumplings), a kimchi buffet, an awesome noodle aisle and many, many other items.  I love to wander around the store and look at all of the interesting food.  It really reminds me of being in Asia.  There is even a small area at the back of the market where they cook made to order Korean dishes.  There are a few cozy tables to sit and enjoy your food.

Daniel and I have a bit of an obsession with noddles.  We usually have several types of Asian style noodles in our pantry and freezer.  A couple of months ago we went to Joong Boo to stock up on some Asian cooking essentials.  We came out having spent about $60.  $40 of it was on noodles.  You name it, we bought it.  Udon, soba, rice noodles, Korean vermicelli, etc.  For awhile now I've had a recipe in mind for the soba.  I found the recipe on 101coobooks.com.  We made it with a few changes based on the veggies we had in the fridge and we cooked it as a warm dish instead of a cold noodle salad as indicated in the recipe.  It was very tasty and filling.

1 8 ounce package soba noodles

12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu
Sesame seeds
3 cups of broccoli florets and stems cut into pieces
2 cups of green beans cut into 3 inch pieces 

3/4 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy and loved the extra peanutiness!)
1/4 cup rice vinegar (the original recipe calls for brown rice vinegar.  I used regular rice vinegar and it was fine)
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, more or less depending on how spicy you want it
1/4-1/2 cup hot water

1 small bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup peanuts

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook the soba noodles per the packages instructions.  Once they are done run under cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain put back in pot and set aside.

Coat the tofu in sesame seeds.  Lightly fry the tofu in olive oil adding some salt and pepper for taste.  Add a splash of soy sauce.  Once the tofu is lightly browned toss in broccoli and green beans.  Continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes.  This allows the veggies to be warmed through but to remain crisp in texture.

While the veggies are cooking make the peanut dressing.  Whisk together the peanut butter, vinegar, garlic and red pepper flakes.  Use hot water to thin out the consistency to your liking.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix everything together in a large bowl.  Garnish with peanuts and scallions.  The noodles were very tasty.  I ate them cold and straight from the fridge the next day and they still had a lot of flavor.  Next time I'll add a few more red pepper flakes.

A quick note on broccoli - before I started cooking with Daniel I always threw away broccoli stems.  Daniel likes to use them just as he would the broccoli crowns, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how well they cook up.  They have less flavor than broccoli crowns but they soak in the flavor of the dish, retain their crunch and are great for stir fries or in pasta dishes.  Also, they can last quite a long time in the fridge. 

    

As a Baby I Needed Two Bottles

As a baby I needed two bottles, one with apple juice and one with milk. Even as a child I appreciated food! When I was young I always wanted to order off the adult menu, because there were more options and the portions were larger. Who wants a kid's sized pizza or spaghetti with one meatball?? Not me! When we were kids my sister and brother use to give me their leftovers. Sarah still offers them to me and I usually gladly accept. I try hard to strike a balance between eating healthy and not depriving myself of foods that I love but as an YBARRA I think I am predisposed to loving all things delicious, which can sometimes make things difficult. My brother says that he thinks our taste buds are extra sensitive and the signal they send to our brain is much stronger than that of the average person which translates into us getting more enjoyment out of food. Whatever it is, I'm glad. It's part of what makes me, ME.

Hot Diggity Dog and Pizza

Since we moved to Chicago fifteen months ago, Daniel and I have made it a goal of ours to try as many Chicago restaurants as possible.  We've tried all different types of cuisine including Colombian, Jamaican, Korean, El Salvadorian, Peruvian, Mexican, and many more.  Daniel actually created a Google map to plot restaurants in our neighborhood as well as others around the city that we want to try.  This is serious business and I am proud to say that we are making pretty good progress.  

Two of the restaurants that we like to take visitors to are Hot Doug's and Pequod's.  Hot Doug's, The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium, has an awesome selection of specialty sausages as well as the regulars including Chicago Dog's, Bratwurst, and Polish Sausages.  We waited for about 45 minutes, luckily it wasn't cold outside.  The first time we went to Hot Doug's we waited for about an hour in 20 degree weather.  Even then it was worth the wait!

Pequod's is our favorite pizza place in the city.  Hot Doug's and Pequod's were a must on our list of places to take Ashley and Roy.  We managed to hit both in the same day.  Hard work but worth the effort!

Ashley and Melissa patiently waiting in line.

 Finally at the entrance to Hot Doug's!

Counter case where orders are placed.

We ordered The Atomic Bomb: Damn Spicy Pepper-Jack Cheese-Stuffed Pork Sausage with Passion Fruit Dijonnaise and Smoked Gouda Cheese, Hot Doug's BLT: Bacon Sausage with Avocado Mayonnaise, Iceberg Lettuce and Cherry Tomatoes, a Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Pork Sausage with Roasted Tomato Dijonnaise and Trugole Cheese, 2 Merguez Lamb Sausages with Spicy Harissa and Feta Cheese, a Chicago Dog, Bratwurst with sauerkraut, and 2 orders of duck fat fries.

Ashley approves of the spread.

At Pequod's we chose a sausage (a must in my opinion on any Chicago deep dish) mushroom, and bell pepper deep dish pizza.  The cornmeal crust is unreal and the cheese that caramelizes at the edge of the crust where it hits the pan is out of this world.  Pizza is my favorite food and of all the pizza I've ever eaten, this is by far the best.  I like to sit and dream about it every once in awhile.  Ash, Roy, and Melissa were not disappointed.  Melissa even ranked it as her favorite pizza in the city.  Thank you Pequod's for the wonderful foodie memories.  Your pizza is da bomb!

Ashley in pizza heaven!

Fun with The Bean

The first thing on our to do list whenever guests come to visit is "The Bean."  It is officially known as the Cloud Gate and was unveiled in May of 2006.  It was one of the first sites we hit during Ashley and Roy's visit.  I will never tire of visiting this special Chicago site.