Saturday, March 5, 2011

Chocolate Sweet

Double Chocolate Sweet Potato Oatmeal

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Last night as I watched American Idol draw out two long hours of results, I had some time to do some thinking.
I wanted to create a fun Friday breakfast to celebrate the approaching weekend, incorporating fresh sweet potato into my morning oatmeal. I wasn’t in the mood to bake anything or for it to take longer than 10 minutes, so I decided that finely grating the fresh sweet potato into my oatmeal would be a sneaky way to cut down the cooking time that is normally required for such a tater.
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Oh, and it worked. It worked wonderfully!
And because I was already sneaking in some veggies into my breakfast, I decided that some chocolate was in order to round it out. It’s all about the balance, right?
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Normally, I am not a fan of overly sweet things in the morning, but I found that just a tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1/2 square of dark chocolate was enough to turn a normal bowl of oatmeal into something quite decadent, while still being nutritious and energizing.
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First, bring the oats, milk, chia seeds, and salt to a low boil and reduce heat to medium. Now stir in the finely grated sweet potato and 1/4 cup of water. Cook on medium, stirring frequently, for a few minutes.
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Now stir in the cinnamon and cocoa powder, making sure to get out all the clumps!
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Chocolaty goodness!
Cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently. Now add in the maple syrup and vanilla and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl and add your desired toppings!
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On top: 1/2 square chopped dark chocolate (it got all melty and wonderful!), a few shreds of sweet potato for garnish, and 1 tbsp of granola.
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The result is a super chocolaty and decadent-tasting bowl of oatmeal with a ton of volume thanks to the sweet potato. It was just the right amount of sweetness for me, but of course you can always adjust to your own taste buds!
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I’ve seen this blog survey making the rounds so I decided to fill it out myself (I also did this while watching American Idol last night!).

A-Z Survey

A. Age: 27
B. Bed size: King (as of 2011)…can’t believe we waited so long! I think my legs are getting longer from all the stretching I do now.
C. Chore you dislike: Scrubbing tile floors
D. Dogs: growing up- Pepper + Jasmine….RIP!! Both muts, both amazing dogs. I can’t wait to adopt my next one. I’m a huge, huge, huge dog lover. I was never a cat fan until Eric bought Sketchie! Now I love both cats and dogs, but I am still partial to dogs….shhhh.
E. Essential start to your day: Slippers
F. Favorite color: I can’t pick just one so- Blue, Pink, Orange, Green. I love colour!
G. Gold or silver: Gold…I’m old school and it looks best with my skin tone. I prefer silver for house décor though.
H. Height: 5’4.5" (but with my stilettos 5’9"!)
I. Instruments you play(ed): Well, let me just say that my best friend and I were formerly (currently!?) known as the ‘Squeak Sistas’…we rocked that Clarinet throughout school! Squeak!
J. Job title: Business owner/recipe developer/photographer/blogger/dish washer/molly maid.
K. Kids: Just Sketchie and our stuffed animals right now!
L. Live: Gorgeous green & hilly countryside…aka: The Sticks. We have 1 traffic light. Seriously. We did the big city thing for a couple years and did not enjoy the traffic headaches, pollution, and congestion.
M. Mom’s name: OSGMOM….Or Lori.
N. Nicknames: Dawn (middle name), Angie/Ange, Granola (one of my friends started calling me this when I went vegan! ha), Martha, shots, Lulu, Lil Gal, Skirts, Lids.
O. Overnight hospital stays: None yet…*knocks on wood*
P. Pet peeves: Stinky feet, finding another person’s hair in a hotel bathroom, pesticides on produce, finding used bandaids on the ground/swimming pool, when post office loses my parcels, Tigerblood, thinking I have a food in the fridge and finding out it is GONE!
Q. Quote from a movie: ‘You guys look like a bunch of ice cream cones!’ (Any guesses?)
R. Righty or lefty: Righty, but I used to try to teach myself how to be ambidextrous when I was young. no such luck.
S. Siblings: Sister Kristi, half-sis and half-bro: Kerrie and Chris, Step sis and step bro: Jennifer and Michael.
T. Time you wake up: Between 7-7:30am. Bedtime is 11:30-12:00 (we are both night owls and LOVE to stay up late, especially on weekends!).
U. Underwear: Oh I didn’t think this was that kind of questionnaire!
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Chard. That is the only one I can think of, so I guess I’m doing good!
W. What makes you run late: Traffic, Blogging, unexpected clothing freak-outs. I’m usually early though and hate to be late.
X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, pelvic area (when I had pelvic strain from running in 2009), Head (I fell on the ice and hit my head in 2008…outcome still unclear!).
Y. Yummy food you make: I’m really loving my spin-off oatmeals lately.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: The animals that are released back into the wild!
PS- My current American Idol Favs are: Paul, Pia, Haley, and Casey! What about you?

 

Chocolate Mania

Chocolate Prices, CA Chicken and Pork Recall, Mardi Gras Cake, New Ben & Jerry Flavor

 

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Every Friday we’ll spotlight a few key stories in the week of food news.  Please feel free to share links to stories you think are important:
- Google introduces new recipe search feature (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Chocolate prices are on the rise (Business Week)
- California food merchant recalls 64,000 chicken and pork products (LA Weekly)
- Bakers reimagine Mardi Gras cake (Washington Post)
- Ben & Jerry’s latest ice cream flavor is Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Late Night Snack’ (Huffington Post)