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It’s time for another round of behind the scenes! For part 1, see this post.
Once again, I’m showcasing all of the flops, disasters, forgotten, and so-so recipes I’ve made since July. Only the best recipes get posted on the blog, but I think it’s fun to give you a sneak peek of what didn’t make the cut!
And show you some of the flops that I had to eat until I was blue in the face. I’m telling you I don’t want to see a sweet potato or spaghetti squash for a very long time…
Speaking of squash, I made a sweet cinnamon & Sucanat flavoured spaghetti squash.
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I thought I was going to LOVE this change up from the usual savoury squash. It tasted good and all, but something was off and I got sick of it real fast. Butternut or acorn squash and a lightly sweet topping works, but somehow it just didn’t work with spaghetti squash…
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Sure was pretty, though!
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I’m guessing this was a brownie flop?
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I really don’t remember! This was the only picture on my camera…no finished product. Suspicious…
I tried to replicate my Project Food Blog S’more in a jar, yet again.
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Still didn’t turn out how I remembered it! I lost the recipe and haven’t been able to replicate it since last Fall.
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Homemade Vanilla Bean almond milk!
It tasted pretty decent, but I didn’t find that it was much cheaper than buying it from the store. And the leftover almond pulp just stressed me out…
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I made a navy bean based pasta sauce that was a huge flop.
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Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but it was just bland no matter what spices and seasonings I added to it.
Navy beans are tricky to get right…
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I tried an all natural, oil-free, and no sugar added granola bar recipe that I found on Pinterest, but I wasn’t a fan…It was pretty mushy and tasteless.
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I made a gorgeous two-tier carrot cake…until it crumbled!
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But love is all you need, clearly.
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They are holding hands, right? bahah
I made a peach and cilantro pesto.
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The pesto tasted great, but once on pasta it just tasted bland and boring.
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Watermelon smoothies!
Just watermelon, ice, and almond milk.
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Crock Pot Blueberry Pie steel-cut oatmeal.
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I didn’t post this because I prefer the make-ahead steel cut oatmeal. Mainly because I really don’t like cleaning the crock pot! The oats just get all stuck on (even when I grease it) and it’s not a fun cleaning job. Or maybe I don’t know the trick?
I made s’more granola bars, based off my chocolate chunk toffee bars. I didn’t like them more than the original recipe, so I figured there was no point in posting. The toffee bars are the best! So far…
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I made nut-butter crusted potato chips, but they didn’t turn out.
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Stick with the nut butter parsnip fries, for sure.
I made that cinnamon sweet potato coconut soup that I told you about…
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Nothing to write home about.
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I also tried this magic trick for instant oatmeal. You pour boiling water over the oats and leave it in the jar for 15 mins. Sadly, it didn’t work for me after 4-5 trials using different amounts of oats.
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Update: I did hear from a couple of you that you need to fill the oats half way up the jar. I tried this a couple times, but maybe I should give it another shot!
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I made a vanilla cake batter smoothie. I prefer the chocolate one!
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I roasted cherry tomatoes…
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and made a roasted cherry & lentil wrap. The dressing I made for it was a bit off, so I didn’t post it.
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Click “continue” for the other half of the post…lots more pictures to come!
Eric likes taking pictures of the moon…lol.
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I bought a new kind of wheatgrass powder from Whole Foods.
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These espresso beans are addicting, but a bit hard on my stomach!
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I made ANOTHER sweet potato soup. I’m stubborn.
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Second time is not a charm.
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I made crispy pan-fried tofu which tasted pretty good, but I was reminded why I don’t eat soy. (I get stomach pains from soy)
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Really good Cinnamon Bun oatmeal…lost but not forgotten.
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I made roasted red pepper pasta sauce. I had such high hopes for this!
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I wasn’t sold on it. It just wasn’t thick and creamy like I wanted it to be.
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So I made another.
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Close but no cigar.
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I made Carrot Cake Granola Bars.
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Eric said, “It’s a crime against humanity that you didn’t post this recipe.”
I think he liked them. ;) I loved these as well, but will need to work on the recipe a bit more.
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I made Peach oats.
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A bit tart.
I made tropical coconut milk pineapple oatmeal. It was quite good!
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Pumpkin Butter Swirl Oats….also very good.
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I shot my new Fall header on a coffee table in the back yard!
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And things got a bit crazy, as usual.
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So that’s what you haven’t seen since July! Time sure flies.
Any surprises in this post? Any crimes against humanity?
Thanks for the honesty! It happens to the best of us. Oh, and yes, cleaning the crock pot is a major undertaking!
Even your disasters make good pictures! That first and last picture of the pot?? That’s whats happens to me way too many times making yogurt!!
Fun to see ideas, even if they don’t turn out!
I have a question, kinda unrelated, but I have seen posts of yours about oatmeal, and different ways of making it and etc, and on other blogs too.. is there a reason for ‘overnight oats’ or the steel cut oats? I mean I make and have always made rolled oats in the microwave or stovetop.. just wondering if there is a health benefit or reason for these other methods?
I have far too many of these incidences, thanks for sharing yours!
PS secret to crock pot cleaning is to not clean at all, by getting crock pot plastic lining. They apparently don’t stick to the crock pot and all you have to do is throw them out when you’re done eating/cooking. My aunt uses them all the time for Thanksgiving so we don’t have to clean up a whole lot.
Such creative flops! Sometimes flops are the most fun. My disastrous attempt at savory vegan ice cream sandwiches is one of my most popular posts. What’s up with that?
Cleaning oats from the crockpot is pretty simple… I just empty the crock pot and fill it with water up to where the “oat line” is. Then I just go to class and leave it to soak (for a few hours) and it pulls the oats right off the side. Good luck!
try marinating and then pureeing gigante beans. Add a teensy bit of evoo and red wine vinegar-amazing pasta sauce.
Any more crimes against humanity? Yes: not posting the Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal recipe! The recipe for apple Pie Oatmeal on here is my favourite thus far, but… perhaps I’m mistaken and just have yet to taste something as heavenly as Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal sounds.
I was always under the impression that almond milk was much cheaper to make than the store-bought stuff… unless it’s that much cheaper in Ontario than it is in BC. And I don’t doubt that the oatmeal and boiled water trick works for others, but I’ve never gotten it right either. :| At least overnight oatmeal always seems to turn out just right!
I want those recipes SO bad!!!! :)
I love how you post your ‘flops’…although what you consider a failure is probably delicious.
I like these behind the scenes posts :-)
For the oats and boiling water, I have had great success with using a bowl, pouring the boiling water over the oats/ingredients so you can JUST see it at the top of the oats and then cover for 5 minutes. It produces great almost-creamy oats. Very quick & yummy
I have a sweet potato soup recipe and it’s great…it uses peanut butter, but you could sub cashew or sunflower butter (not almond, that wouldn’t taste right). Are you interested?
oh my god, carrot cake granola bars? what a great idea! I can’t wait til you perfect and post that recipe. I may experiment a little myself!
Just saw your comments about making almond milk at home. In the UK, making your own almond milk is definitely cheaper than buying store-bought. However, I initially had the same concerns about wasting the almond pulp – until I discovered you can easily swap out half the flour in most quick bread recipes (e.g. banana loaf) with the almond pulp and you end up with a super moist crumb that is a bit nutty and has a bit more bite to it than using just flour (and I actually prefer it that way now!).
All the best
Sophia
Thats a great tip!
Angela! The secret to slow cooker oats is that you don’t use a slow cooker at all…use a RICE cooker! The nonstick coating and steam release, as well as different settings (you have to use one of the “fancier” computerized ones, although mine was only $60) and set it on either the quick cook/porridge setting or the white rice setting. It’s magic, every time. I will never go back!