Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread: New & Improved

A couple of weeks ago, I made this Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread for my mom for the first time. I usually like to stick to the recipe the first time around, so I surrendered to the call for 1 cup white flour.

I ended up loving the bread and, since it was so simple, I decided it would be good morning toast bread. I usually eat Ezekiel or Silver Hills' Steady Eddie sprouted bread, but it's quite expensive and with my trip to Europe drawing nearer, every penny counts. Though I could stand to eat un-sprouted bread for a while, I could not stand to eat white flour. So, I decided it would be fun to try and change the recipe to 100% whole wheat, while maintaing its light, toast-able texture and without complicating the recipe too much.

Oatmeal Cookies

James is coming to visit me in a couple of weeks and I like to use his visits as an excuse to bake. I always think "finally, I'll have someone to eat the product other than myself" and avoid the dangers of living and baking alone.

Apple Crumble

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits." — Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples

Not much of a back story for this post...I had a friend coming home during reading week and I asked her what baked good she most desired. She picked apple crumble, so that's what I made!

Irish Mum's Brown Bread & a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My parents went to Ireland this past September and, upon their return, my mom raved about the bread, specifically some homemade soda bread she had at a small, family owned pub. Anyways, when I came across this recipe for Irish Mum's Brown Bread, I bookmarked it with her in mind. Although the bread she was eating in Ireland was made from entirely white flour, my mom usually prefers whole wheat, so I thought this would be perfect.

Peel Sessions: How to Peel a Mango

Over reading week, I was visiting my friend Katie. She happened to have a bowl of mangos sitting on her kitchen table, so I asked if I could have one. I cut it up into a million irregular pieces and ate it that way...the only way I really knew how. Afterwards, as I was tossing the peel, her dad came in and said something along the lines of "you know you can peel a mango like a banana." No...I didn't.

I have actually eaten a mango every day since I learned this trick. I even tried an Ataulfo mango, which tasted pretty similar but...they were on sale. I know mangos aren't exactly the picture of local eating during winter in Canada...but...I love them. And, like I said, they were on sale...poor students can't be too picky.

Anyways, I still I wish I had known How to Peel a Mango a little earlier in life...

Score the top of the mango with a knife.

Peanut, Peanut Butter! (and Chili?)

Every time I go home, I ask my mom to make this Peanut Butter Chili Recipe. The tradition started this past summer, after I had been away from home for 7 months. For two of those months, I was working in a hotel in Jasper National Park and, every day, I had to serve chili to people...chili full of meat. One day, a strong wif of the chili hit me and I thought "that would go well with peanut butter."