Billy D. Basil (my basil plant, in case you're new here) has once again been sheared. He needed a hair cut and I needed a caprese-style pizza. You know the story.

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been a busy little socialite without an appetite. Also, I haven't been grocery shopping since God was a boy so the cabinets are pretty bare. I road-trip in two weeks so I promise to get more posts up beforehand.

Have excellent days, dear readers!

Busy-Bee, Braiding Bread

How do you do? I stumbled upon this recipe and thought it was such a fun idea. However, it needed serious adaptations. For starters, it was originally named the "taco braid". I was disturbed. Secondly, and more disturbing, was the crust was made from Pillsbury ready-made pizza crust. Fine, if you want a crust with 18 ingredients...yep, you heard me. I was able to pronounce about 5 of the 18...anyway, no thanks. The point is that I wanted to make this stuffed braided bread but I wanted to do it my way. So here's what happened:

Crust: 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons ground flax, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of yeast mixed with 1/2 cup of warm water...so that gives us five ingredients plus water. Take that, Pillsbury dirtbags...filling my friends with chemicals and using that rotund white character to make it seem alright. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Filling: Turkey, provolone cheese, sauteed spinach and onions.

Baked for 15 minutes (just enough time to get in a quick set of pilates) at 400 and voila! Incredibly tasty and my body is super happy to process such unprocessed vittles. Mmmmm!

indecisiveness paid off!

After biking this evening, I was ravenous! I purposely never keep "handy", "quick", or "ready-made" foods in the house. I find that if I don't have to work for it, I'll toss it down the hatch without thinking twice, hungry or not.

Next comes a Sophie's Choice situation. Pizza or Fajitas. My oh my, life can be impossible at times (yes, sarcasm). Meanwhile, unlike poor Sophie, I didn't have to choose. I made both! Introducing....STEAK FAJITA PIZZA!!!

Crust:

whole wheat, yeast, agave nectar, and ground cumin

Sauce:
tomato, corn, and chile salsa with a bit of tomato paste mixed in to thicken things up

Toppings:

Tri-colored peppers, black beans, read onion, and steak strips, a touch of cheese (shown on top picture, bottom picture is pre-cheese)

Gobbled up the first few pieces and the rest is in the freezer...where it's safe from my spontaneous consumption.

Persimmon Passion!

I've tried, and tried, and tried...but I am a wordless woman. It is incredibly difficult to describe to you these flavors. I'll tell you when this cake consists of, and you draw your own conclusions. But just know, it's better than you can ever imagine.

Persimmon bundt cake:

3 large Fuyu persimmons

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups whole wheat flour

cinnamon, nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

8 oz agave nectar (sans sugar)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

I never imagined a cake without sugar could be this sweet. Behold, the power of the persimmon.

I like it cheap and quick

On days when I do spin class after work, my rabbit is lucky if I have the energy to even wash my parts (yes, I realize how sad and lonely that sounds and YES my home is that empty). Anyhow, It's usually about 7:45 by the time I shower and unpack my gym clothes. After such effort, I'd hate to eat something awful for me just to save energy so I have to make a choice to work hard for just 15 more minutes before I collapse, stuff my face, and remain horizontal.

Tonights quick, smart, and CHEAP choice was an excellent surprise. I bought a new Kroger-brand of frozen pizza (click to see which one) and I cannot believe how perfect it was.

First of all, the ingredients were ALL clean. Only whole wheat, water, olive oil, and yeast for the crust. Two different types of white cheeses, and all the roasted veggies you can imagine! No chemicals, no dyes, no sugar, no preservatives...SCORE!!!

So, the pizza was $4.50 and a bag of frozen broccoli was $1 so.....doing the math? I got TWO meals for a grand total of $5.50. (Two because I saved half of both items for my lunch tomorrow). What a steal and they were both beyond easy to make. Hooray for Kroger!!!

Old School Vittles

When I was little, my favorite meal was breakfast. I had two favorite breakfasts, neither of which I could get enough. 1. Rasin Bran 2. My ma's fried potatoes/onions.

Since I refuse to do away with meals I love so dearly, I found a way to make each fit my clean lifestyle. Introcuding: Baby-Angie's favorite breakfasts...revamped! (and easy, easy, easy)

What you're seeing here is Organic, sugar-free bran flakes with 1/3 cup of plain raisins. After adding 1% milk, I was in HEAVEN. Tasted so much better than I remember Rasin Bran ever tasting.


Next, are the glorious potatoes. I have no idea how my ma made them, but I suspect it wasn't good. Here you are seeing 4 baby redskin potatoes sliced and tossed into already-simmering red onion. 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pepper and sea salt to taste.


Go easy on the salt, peeps. Everything edible has a great deal of sodium which occurs in it naturally...learn to ween yourself from the salt lick slowly and I promise you won't miss it. You may even taste your food again....but PLEASE go easy on the salt. (side note: If anyone came to my home to eat and they asked for salt, I could go one of two ways- crazy/violent or inconsolable sobbing...I'd rather you call me ugly than self-season my cooking...end side-note).

Ay! Ay! Ay!

VICTORY IS MINE! Say hello to my homemade wheat/flaxseed tortillas. If you've forgotten how Chicano-food obsessed I am, please reread this post. Anyhow, steak fajitas are way-way-way high on my list of favorite Mexican foods but they're always far too greasy when i buy them in Mexican Town....what's a clean-eating girl to do? That's right, I took matters into my own hands. May I present to you, clean Steak Fajitas with homemade tortillas. Ta-da! (side note, my kitchen appears as if it was hit by a twister and I've just found flour in my bangs...this was some serious work, my hungry friends).

Dear IHOP, you got nothing on me.

Best. Pancakes. Ever.
Ingredients: whole wheat flour, multigrain oats (tossed in food processor for 30 seconds), ground flaxseed, diced strawberry (use any fruit you wish) honey, 1 egg, "buttermilk" (1 cup skim milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar mixed in), and a dash of vanilla.
Tip, for a sweet little crunch, used canola oil on your cooking surface...same goes for your whole wheat french toast. It creates this crispy super-sweet layer on the outside that is outstanding.
Always "no high fructose corn syrup" maple syrup and you're all set for a clean, sweet, and VERY filling breakfast.

Chorizo is my boyfriend

this needs no explanation....oh, except that I'm gonna start making my own tortillas since I avoid the white flour ones and the wheat ones that aren't processed beyond belief are FAR too expensive. It's a shame that people who want to remain healthy and make good choices are charged a higher price. I will not comply, I'm just waiting on my tortilla press to get the fiesta started :)

One more thing, the salsa verde is homemade as well. 5 tomatillos, 1 poblano pepper, 1/2 onion, adobe spices, garlic, and love. <3

Pesto Sans Nuts!

....I guess I couldn't stay away. I will admit I have zero time in my life due to some personal/family situations, BUT, I need a distraction and I think this will do the trick. SO...wanna see what I've been up to?
Pictured is my very first pesto. I've always avoided pesto because it's almost always made with some type of tree nuts (i'm deathly allergic...epi-pen and everything...the works!). Meanwhile, I found this fantastic recipe that I couldn't pass up and my basil plant, Billy D. Basil, was looking especially..um...big. He needed to be sheared and I was long overdue for some pesto so...he got a fade.
I sauteed hormone-free chicken breast, spanish onion, and made whole wheat penne. The pesto was made with artichokes, juice squeezed from lemon, 1 cup of basil leaves, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and 2 garlic cloves. DE-LISH!