From W-NOM Boston, it's This Greek Feaster.

Let's talk about food.  Nourishment.  Vittles.  Eats.  Food, glorious food!  My post today will be in four acts.  Act One: Lunch.  A brief tale told through photographs.  Act Two: If It Has "Cake" in Its Name, It Has To Be Good.  Act Three: Top of the Morning.  Oatmeal will never be the same again.  And finally, Act Four: Sneaky Peaky.  I'll give you a taste of my newest culinary endeavor.

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Act One: Lunch

The VIP was Channa Masala, which I made this weekend using Jenna's recipe.  She hit the nail on the head when she mused, "For some reason (like most things) Indian food never tastes as good when you make it yourself."  C'est vrai.  I followed her greatly-detailed recipe exactly, and before I knew it, my kitchen smelled of pizza and channa.

Supporting crew: a spiralized CSA salad (starring broccoli, carrot, tomato, kale, cucumber and romaine) and a chocolate brownie Z-Bar (omg so good), plus a shy, unpictured minneola orange.   It was a very good lunch.

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Act Two: If It Has "Cake" in Its Name, It Has To Be Good

Friends, meet Four-Grain Flapjacks.  I don't have pictures of this one, but I promise that once you try the recipe, you won't care.  I love to make pancakes on Sunday mornings- it's become a bit of a tradition for me and Jake- and freezing the leftovers between sheets of parchment (I'm fancy, y'all!).  During the week, I can pop one in the toaster and top it with yogurt, sliced bananas, nut butter, maple syrup, preserves and anything else that tickles my fancy.  I like these flapjacks because they aren't too sweet: you can really load up on the toppings.

Four-Grain Flapjacks

Adapted from Joy of Cooking

•  1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda (just realized I forgot to throw this in the last time.  Jake, I didn't kill us!  Success again!)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 3/4 cup milk (I used vanilla almond)
• 1/4 cup butter (I used Earth Balance, try PB??), melted
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 4 eggs

Whisk everything together.  Cook like a regular old pancake, but be warned: it won't taste like one.  You will love it!  It's like a bowl of oatmeal in 'cake form.

Tip: pancake griddle is ideal temperature when a drop of water ~dances~ on the surface.

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Act Three: Top of the Morning

I have this very bad habit of going shopping after I work out.  Blame it on the endorphins.  Today, I hit up TJ Maxx and grabbed some fixins for my Oatmeal Shelf (it's right above my Nut Butter Shelf).  Afterward, I had a photo shoot on the train, starring another TJ Maxx find- my gym bag!

It's coconut.  It's chocolate.  It's granola. It's Coconola!  I also tasted coffee and cinnamon.  Twill be a glorious crunchy layer atop my creamy bowls of oatmeal.  A bargain at $1.99

Dried cherries (no sugar!): $2.49

Dried mangoes (no sugar!): $2.49

Vanilla paste: $7.99.  I've wanted to try this for a while.  It smells soooo good.

Chocolate sunflower seeds, a $plurge.  But how cute will they be on top of oatmeal?!

Also spotted at the Maxx: all manner of Madhava and Ohgave! agave nectar, from raw to hazelnut.  There were even GIANT jugs of the stuff for only $9.99!  TJ Maxx is a great place for specialty food items.  I've found everything from Bumble Bars to Fleur de Sel there.

Speaking of oatmeal, it's almost that tiiiiiiiiiiime!  Cold weather means oatmeal, and lots of it.  Is there anything better than a hot, comforting bowl of oaty goodness on a chilly morning?  Besides crawling back under the warm covers, fool!

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 Act Four: Sneaky Peaky

My sweet roommate, dear friend and celebrity mother of Mr. Waffles, Janesy, celebrated her 23rd birthday over the weekend. She's a vegan, but that don't scare me none.  I did some research and made my very first vegan dessert: Vanilla Coconut Macaroons dipped in Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate.

 

These babies were SO. GOOD.  If I do say so myself.  Just look at them!

We have a date to make juice and another batch of 'roons tomorrow night, during which time I'll tweak the recipe and stuff my face perform taste tests for quality control.  You can expect to see the recipe mid-week!  One pot, no oven necessary and you won't believe the secret ingredient...

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Believe it or not, this post was not brought to you by my favorite NPR show, This American Life.  I am just a big phony, errrrr, Ira Glass superfan.

This post was, however, fueled by roasted sweet potato rounds, leftover baked tofu, corn on the cob and maybe even some chocolate sunflower seeds.  Yes, my keyboard is a disaster zone.  And that sound you hear is my dad shaking his head from Maine.