and the winner is....tropical oatmeal!

I am so excited about today I can barely drink my coffee. It is a gorgeous day in Philadelphia, I am off of work for three whole days, and I already have a plan how I want to spend them. There is a delightful little farmers market down the street (I love the paradox of a farmer's market in the city, especially since there is nothing but bricks and cobblestone where they host it) and it's only open on the weekend and only from 10-2, so the timeframe certainly adds to my sense of urgency. After I hit that I will head down to the Italian Market (but I'll drop off my finds first, since I live halfway in between the two), an open-air market along the sides of 9th street. I've found some pretty incredible deals there and there is one vendor who can unfailingly complete my list after I've made my way up and down the street.

Other things on my list of "fun ways to pamper me" include my inaugural trip to Cafe Fulya which looks so cozy and has some incredible treats on their menu and offer organic soy milk with their coffee/espresso drinks. Also, having heard stories from my husband, I'm dying to try my tastebuds at Turkish coffee. At the moment, I'm thinking Apricot Walnut cake, but I may go for the apple and walnut filled (huge) cookie. I've come to realize that although I love chocolate, I am more inclined towards fruity sweets these days...more on that in a minute.

Finally, the ultimate in pampering - a new salon opened across the street from my house last night. First of all, I think it is beyond cool that a salon had its Grand Opening on a Friday night (and I do mean night - it was 8pm). When I left for work yesterday morning, I took a distant peek through the front windows of the salon and I love the way it's decorated...it's really hard to describe from that short peek, so I will give a more thorough description if I spend hours in there this afternoon as I intend to.

Now, about that oatmeal.... As I mentioned, I'm trying to be a little more creative with my oatmeal this fall/winter. Yesterday, as pondered, I cooked my oatmeal in soymilk and then stirred in two chocolate caramel truffles until the melted (which, by the way, was about 2-3 stirs). It was good, definitely chocolately, but I lost the darkness of the chocolate by mixing the truffles in with oatmeal cooked in soymilk. I'm considering trying again, this time cooking the oatmeal in plain old water, then stirring in the truffles.

Today, however, I cooked my oatmeal in a half and half mixture of water and pineapple juice, then stirred in about a tablespoon of coconut flakes at the end. It was sublime. It smelled like baked goods...bread or muffins or something that you just want to eat until there's none left. Which is exactly what I did with my oatmeal, and I savored every last bite. I will definitely do this again. I realized yesterday, contemplating why I was less than in love with my truffley oatmeal, that for breakfast at least, I prefer warm fruity sweet, not gooey chocolatey sweet. I also know I prefer baking fruit and vegetable based things. Don't get me wrong, I was completely and utterly infatuated with those chocolate cookies I made from Veganomicon, but my next baking conquest will be a carrot cake (also from Isa) and I'm already getting ready to dig out my pumpkin/zucchini/banana bread recipes and my mouth is watering thinking of my apple cobbler cookies with sweet-tart chunks of fresh apple and dried cranberries competing with smooth pecans. Mmmm...I love baking season.

Anyway, the time to venture out to the markets is drawing near and I haven't showered yet, so let me share with you my Saturday through Friday menu (I've given up on defining weeks - my schedule is too liquid):

1. Minty Moroccan Mishmash (from last week)
2. Red Rice and Beans, part II (also from last week)
3. P.B. Thai
4. Roasted Heirlooms on Orecchiette
5. Hearty Peasant Soup (from wholeliving.com)
6. Polenta & Vegetable Bake (from Eating Well magazine)
7. Fiesta-dillas, with Spiced Potatoes & Green Beans (from the September issue of Cooking Light magazine)

I love my tastebuds

I have had a couple of great-tasting days! I have finished my bars, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow (I've gotten myself into a habit now), although I'm thinking of "sharing" one of Mister's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Clif bars.

Yesterday I had my Chocolate Coffee Jocalat bar. I have to say, this was my second experience with these bars and I can see why people love them! This one was deliciously rich...I couldn't necessarily taste the coffee, but I think it served to enhance the very dark, bittersweet chocolate taste. It was dense and satisfying, with just the right amount of nuts, and tasted like clean food should. Furthermore, all of the ingredients are organic, and if that isn't enough, the coffee used is Fair Trade Certified. Even though it had only dates in it with three different kinds of nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, and cashews), it still counts as a fruit serving. A chocolate fruit? Don't mind if i do!

Today's grand finale reached its culmination in the Cinnamon Roll Larabar. This was incredible. When I opened the wrapper, it smelled like the inside of my cinnamon jar. Cinnamon is both a favorite scent and a favorite flavor of mine, so this bar was the perfect way to end this week's parade of alterna-fruit-servings. Again, it was the perfect combination of nuts and sweet cinnamony goodness. It tasted just like the wonderful gooey stuff between the rolls of a cinnamon roll, but there really wasn't any taste of the roll itself. I'm okay with that.

Last night I just heated up some of the leftover Mediterranean Risotto and finished the Killer Wheat Bread (be careful, it contains wheat!). I think the problem is the sun-dried tomatoes...I cut the quantity by more than half and they're still too strong...Next time, we'll try something in place of them, or just leave them out in favor of the olives and roasted peppers.

Upon his return from work, hubby gave me a present!

I am so loved!

On a related note...kind of...we've hit a serious cool-down here in Philadelphia (which Mister and I are absolutely relishing). I had strawberries and yogurt earlier this week, but today I happily had my very first oatmeal of the season! It was wonderful - I cooked the oats in unsweetened soymilk and threw in a handful of dried cranberries about halfway through. I didn't take any pictures because I can barely see in the morning (squint squint), so aiming a camera is pretty much out of the question. Anyway, my recent reading has inspired me to get a little more creative in my oatmeal preparation this fall and winter.

Ordinarily (as in, for the past two winters), I cook my oatmeal (real oats, none of that instant crap - it's hard to get whole grains when they're ground to oblivion) in apple juice and water with some cinnamon sprinkled in. Every once in a while I got fancy (read: I ran out of apple juice) and made my oatmeal with almond/soy milk and swirled in this delightful pure maple syrup, given as a gift from my husband's boss, in a real mason jar! Well, taking a cue from Chocolate Covered Katie I think I'm going to do something completely out of character tomorrow morning:

I'm going to cook my oatmeal in soymilk and then throw in a truffle or two and stir until it melts! In my head, that tastes so good...

Finally, for dinner tonight I reprised Nava's BBQ-Flavored White Beans and Sausage with Spinach. It was just as good (and fast to make) this time, and instead of roasting some potatoes I heated up the leftover coconut rice and served the BBQ beans over that. Also, this time I used Tofurky Italian Sausage, rather than their Bratwurst. It has a bit of kick to it, I'll tell you that! It was almost too exciting - I think without being served on that creamy rice to calm it down, it would have been too much for my poor little tastebuds.