Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Something old, something new...

EDIT: Yay, my pictures are working! :D

As I was going through the recipes I have posted to this blog, I found this recipe that I completely forgot about. I know it's not exactly the time of year for pumpkin, but I had a can of it in the pantry, along with some dried cranberries that I thought would just be very tasty in these little bites. So I decided to do this recipe again, this time using whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat flour, and adding in the cranberries. This time around, I also added a dab of molasses, which really helped to add a hint of depth to the flavor. These "cookies" are soft, not overly sweet, and fat free, and I enjoy them for breakfast.


I have updated the original recipe to reflect my modifications this time around...

That was the "old" part. For the "new" part, I got inspired by DGMGV's devilish dessert that she recently blogged. The recipe is from La Dolce Vegan! and consists of bananas, peanut butter, chocolate, and phyllo dough. But I made it my own by leaving out the chocolate (I didn't want to be TOO naughty) and instead adding a healthy dusting of cinnamon sugar.


Oh, yum. Hot out of the oven, this banana strudel was so gooey and just tasted devilish! Whoever put bananas and peanut together for the first time is one of my heroes...

One of my friends has been in town this week, and we went to lunch today at her old favorite Athens eatery--a diner called Clocked.


It has a very eclectic feel. The bases of the light fixtures are actual records--and each light is unique. This place serves your typical diner fare, but most everything can be turned vegan. We started with an appetizer of hummus and pita chips.


The pita chips were deep-fried, unfortunately. The hummus was delicious, though, and different from your standard hummus.


I ordered a cheeze sub, which consisted of vegan cheeze slices (cheddar and Swiss style) melted over a pile of sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms. The sandwich was spread with a nice jalapeño-basil sauce, which gave it a good kick. A very flavorful sammy, though one that I certainly would not care to eat every day!

Thanks for your comments about my new layout. I've been wanting to give this place a facelift for quite some time now, and I finally had the time and creative energy to do it. It makes the whole site feel all new and fresh to me, and I like it!

Peace, friends.

16 comments:

bazu said...

Silly blogger- you'll be able to upload your photos soon, I promise. And I can't wait to see them, because the food you describe sounds yummy. I think every time of year is the perfect time of year for pumpkin and cranberries (in fact next year, after thanksgiving, I'm going to buy tons of bags of cranberrie to freeze for smoothies all year long). Oooh, and the devilish dessert- sounds so good.

Congrats on the new layout- isn't it fun? It feels like a spring cleaning. When I re-did my blog, it made blogging more fun.

Anonymous said...

i eat pumpking all year long yum!

the food looks very good!

scottishvegan said...

Those pumpkin cookies look so cute…and I love that they are fat free! And the banana/peanut butter/phyllo pastry dessert looks heavenly! I just wish I could take a little bite out of the screen!

theONLYtania said...

Ahhh everything looks great! I can't wait to get a kitchen back. Too bad about the pita chips.. I would have been bummed.

Caty said...

Everything looks great, especially the banana strudel!

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

hi laura -- i love your new look! so professional looking with beautiful food photos. clocked looks like a fun place - the lights are fabulously funky and awesome that they'll veganize the grub. your banana + peanut butter strudel looks soo yummy! :o)

KleoPatra said...

*sigh* Banana strudel... with the cinnamon sugar on top. Oh wow, what can i say? Peanut butter & bananas (& chocolate, even though you elected to leave that out) together is an absolutely win-win(-win) situation in my book, Laura. i'm a fan of phyllo dough also. What could possibly be bad about that sweet hot dessert?

That cheez sub looks soooooooo cool. It's always heartening to see melted non-dairy cheese, since it is a rare occurence!

LOVE THOSE CEILING LIGHTS. That is SO my kind of fixtures there. What a need vibe that place must have...

Hummus looks really good. Deep fried pita chips? That's a first for me. But they look good, if not especially low in fat...

And pumpkin is good any time of the year!! Nice cookies...

Amey said...

Oh wow,
that banana strudel looks so so so so good!!
mmm.

Candi said...

I love the layout! The title bar is very cool!

Mmm, the cookies looks so soft!! I can see why you'd want them for breakfast!

Oh my.... the bananas dessert!!! I have never worked with phyllo dough, but this is sure incentive!!

I love those lights at Clocked! The food sounds really good too, for something different.

I will dream of that banana strudel now...

laura k said...

Bazu, you're right--it does make blogging more fun. Cranberries in smoothies--I never thought of that but it would be fun to try!

Johanna, yes--pumpkin all year long! It's one of my favorite things.

Scottish vegan, lol--somehow that just wouldn't be the same, eh?

Tania, it is frustrating not having access to your own kitchen, isn't it? Especially the way you love to bake...

Caty, thanks--it's really easy, too.

Vicki, one of the things I love about Athens is that there are a lot of funky, unique places like that here. It's just cool. Thanks for your comments!

Kleo, I would include chocolate in that banana + peanut butter combo as well, but you know... gotta think a little less decadent sometimes! I would love it if the light fixtures in my house were that cool--they're totally my thing too!

Amey, thanks! :)

Candi, that's funny. The banana strudel was so easy to make--though phyllo dough can be tricky because it's so thin. but you should try it, and then your dreams will tease you no more! :)

bazu said...

Laura, I just want to clarify (showing how obsessive I am) when I said "silly blogger", I was referring to blogger itself, not you, whom I consider a most UN-silly and cool blogger! Blogger sucks. As a blogger, you rock! Ok, I feel better now.

Oh, and cranberries in smoothies is one of my favorite discoveries- just pop them whole and frozen into a smoothie- bananas or other sweet fruits/juices mask their tartness and voila- you have upped your smoothie's health quotient.

Linda said...

mmm banana dessert. YUM!

laura k said...

Bazu, hee hee--I knew what you meant! And I am going to try the cranberry thing for sure, next fall when I can actually get my hands on some!

Linda, my thoughts exactly.

MeloMeals said...

I don't remember if I commented on the new look, but I love it too!

Pumpkin is so good an comforting... and that last sandwich looks delicious..

Kati said...

I was going to comment on your new layout the other day when I visited, but Blogger wouldn't let me post any comments! Maybe this was around the same time that you were having picture problems. Anyway, I like your new layout a lot.

I would love to try that banana strudel! Your picture is making my mouth water. I agree that bananas and peanut butter are a heroic combination - yum!

laura k said...

Melody, pumpkin is definitely a comfort food for me. That's one of the reasons I like finding more nutritious ways to use it (not that cookies are nutritious, but mine aren't SOOO bad...), because I still feel like I'm indulging.

Kati, thanks for your comments about my layout! Oh, Blogger... Try the strudel--it's amazing! LOL - I had peanut butter-banana oatmeal for breakfast today. Perfection...