Good morning :)
Thank you for your comments on my second entry for Project Food Blog!
I left you with a bit of a cliff-hanger as to what my surprise was when I got back from Paris…
I came home to a bedroom without furniture, without flooring…
Well, some flooring. ;)
and a closet without shelves and clothing!
Where were my clothes!? Oh right…they were all jammed into my suitcase… ;)
I tried to remain calm. I was working with a 12 hour day of travel, no sleep, and a stomach that was growling for dinner.
‘Surprise!!!!!’
Eric exclaimed, beaming with pride like only a man would who was installing his very first hardwood flooring.
And then he quickly added, ‘Sorry about the mess….I was planning on being finished by the time I picked you up from the airport….’
I looked around.
I think the saying, ‘So close, yet so far away’ applies here. ;) LOL!
But renos take time and of course I understood. I was just happy to have that ancient carpet gone!
On Saturday, Eric taught me a few things and I helped him lay down the hardwood. It was actually quite fun, almost like putting a puzzle together!
The tricks to laying down hardwood: 1) Don’t ever let the boards line up (within 6 inches), and 2) Try to mix and match the shades of the wood.
I left the nail gun to his guns, however.
We are almost done our bedroom and the upstairs hallway is about half done now. I really love how the blue paint looks so crisp against the hardwood. We are also going to put up a large white baseboard to polish it off.
As for our closet, we are going to put in a closet organizer– probably one from Ikea. The one that was in there previously was made from particle board and it made our clothes stink.
That’s our story and we’re sticking to it!
I don’t believe I have done a breakfast post since I have been back. Well, do I have a fun one for you today…
Meet the Pumpkin Pie Monster:
Don’t worry she’s nice. ;)
I was craving Pumpkin Pie the other morning and I dreamed up this delicious concoction:
That would be pumpkin, blackstrap molasses, almond milk, pumpkin pie spice, and ice.
It tastes like you are drinking a pumpkin pie. I kid you not!!!!
Pumpkin Pie Monster
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 frozen banana OR 1/2 serving Vanilla Protein powder
- 2 large ice cubes
Directions: Add all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Serves 1.
Nutritional Info: (Without protein powder): 121 kcals, 3 grams fat, 6 grams fibre, 2 grams protein.
It tastes SO good!
I couldn’t think of a more perfect drink for Fall.
Even if there are still flowers around where you live… ;)
With my Pumpkin Pie Monster I had a craving for baked apples in a huge way. I decided to stuff my apples with Power House Glonola and some Earth Balance.
Easy Glonola Stuffed Baked Apples
Ingredients:
- 3 Macintosh apples, cored
- 1 banana, sliced into wedges
- 3/4 cup Power House Glonola
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp of Earth Balance butter
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F and grab a small casserole dish. Core 3 apples and place into the dish. Now stuff them with the glonola until 1/2 cm from the top. Take 1/3 of the pat of butter and stuff it inside the top of the apple. Repeat for other two apples. Take your banana and slice it and place it into the dish. Sprinkle remaining glonola into the dish. Finish by sprinkling on cinnamon. Bake for 25-28 minutes at 350F. Serve hot or refrigerate and serve cold for a vegan overnight oats effect! Serves 2-3.
I accidently forgot about my apples in the oven and they turned into over-baked apples! Whoops.
They were so delicious. I actually liked them best after chilling in the fridge. It tasted WONDERFUL with the Earth Balance melted throughout the apple. Don’t skip this part! It tasted like a buttery applesauce + a vegan overnight oats dream. The baked banana was also delicious.
A huge congrats to my best friend Allison and husband Matt who had a beautiful baby girl on Saturday night! It is hard to believe that my best friend since grade 7 has a baby of her own now. Time sure goes by fast…
That pumpkin pie monster looks/sounds SO good!
Ohhhhh gooodness, liquid pumpkin pie. I just drooled on my keyboard.
Mmmm! I also had a Pumpkin Monster on Saturday before seeing your monster! The only thing I did different was added half a frozen banana and a teaspoon of coconut butter. Oh and no molasses, but I’ll try that next time instead of the banana. OH! And I added a tablespoon of ground flax meal (which made it have that “crust like” taste!). Ok, so our recipes are completely different. hee hee hee…
1 cup almond milk
1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of ground flax meal
1 teaspoon of coconut butter
YUM!!
Great idea about the ground flax too!
haha how sweet of Eric to try to surprise you!! Even though it’s still a mess- that’s very sweet of him :)
I got a little anxious just looking at the unfinished floors! Luckily I don’t have to see them every day, LOL!
The pumpkin pie monster looks awesome!
I love the photography of the monster (hehe) sitting amongst the fallen fall leaves. I can’t help but imagine you scooping some up nearby and arranging it beautifully :) This sounds so delicious! I will be making this.
I’ve made baked apples before, but they weren’t as delicious as these sound! One idea is you could chop of the some of the apple from coring and add it to the inside!
Or maybe you could involve apple cider in some way??
Love your hardwood and wall colour combination. I actually have almost the identical wall colour with dark hardwood floors and I love it. Smoothie looks yummy!
I just had a coconut smoothie with…PURSLANE. Yup, the Union Square farmer’s market has purslane at the moment! Very yummy.
I make a Pumpkin Pie smoothie with carrot juice, raw sweet potato, vanilla, avocado, pumpkin pie spice and ice. I never like flavored protein powders, but when I want extra oomph i add plain hemp powder. Try it, it’s amazing! A little less creamy than yours perhaps, but you could sub a little bit of the almond milk for some of the carrot juice to make it a little more milky.
I seriously can’t bring myself to make a smoothie that isn’t a green monster, but all these pumpkin pie smoothies lately look delicious! What’s the fullness factor? Smoothies usually don’t fill me up
I really like your new floors!!!! Would love to have something like that some day in our house… First we need to buy a house though ;P
Your baked apples look so delish!
How’s Eric feeling about all the pumpkin? Because I think if I add pumpkin to one more thing, Pea Daddy is going to strangle me. :)
I’m not sure why I’m afraid to try pumpkin flavors… I think I will have to conquer my fear very soon, since it does look good and that’s all I see recently : ) I almost got a pumpkin latte this morning, and then chickened out! : )
I think you are my hero today – I have been craving a pumpkin pie smoothie, and this is exaclty what I was looking for! Thank you!
Just wanted to drop a note to say that I’ve recently made two of your recipes (ultimate vegan oatmeal cookies and maple butternut squash apple casserole) and they are both off-the-hook wonderful! My 2-year old son *helped* me make the cookies (he presses the button on the food processor ;)) and it’s SO nice to make cookies for him that are delicious and filled with healthy ingredients!! Thanks so much for your creativity in the kitchen!
That Pumpkin Pie Monster looks amazing. I love adding pumpkin to my smoothies..makes them so smooth!!
Ahhh!!! I love the fall leaves!! So pretty! They don’t change too much around here. However there are a ton of Aspen trees that change to the most amazing golden yellow you have ever seen! Adding molasses is a great idea for that smoothie..mmm
Omg I HATE renovations. I am sooo anal and neat and clean and tidy that it just annoys the hell outta me to see my house and my possessions in a state of chaos…but, gotta start somewhere in order to get to the final result, dont you :)
The pumpkin pie smoothie looks great as do the apples! yum!
I love the DARK wood you guys chose for your flooring too. It looks sooo modern and crisp and classy. Lovely! I redid my whole house in slate gray, ivory, and dark wood about 12-24 mos ago. It was a work in progress b/c not every room $$ can be done at once if ya know what I mean, $$ but yeah, I love dark wood these days!
:)
Oh you are definitely my favorite person today with that pumpkin monster. Pumpkin and green monsters, two of my favorite things!
Ok, I REALLY need to invest in a blender! Smoothie looks sooo good. I used to be on a BIG apple kick by doing exactly what you did (complete with some brown sugar), just makes the apples so good. I should definitely get back into doing that!
Reno projects stress me out big time! Way to keep your cool!