Kale and Quinoa Cakes

26 Nov

Kale and Quinoa Cakes | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
Okay, let’s be honest: you just spent the last four days stuffing yourself didn’t you? If not, discontinue reading, because you’re obviously at the wrong blog and potentially not even human. If this is the case, then today you have another reason to be thankful — I am making you detox all week.  Yes, you have to thank me for this.

We begin detox with Kale and Quinoa Cakes. STOP IT! Stop freaking out right now. Stop making your puss face. Stop making gagging noises. Stop thinking about logging onto Pinterest instead. At least read through the rest of this post before you cast your judgment.

I won’t beat around the bush; these aren’t full of sugar, they’re not frosted, nor do they contain chocolate, but, oddly enough, they still manage to taste good. They’re from Joy the Baker, so I wouldn’t expect anything less. If you have not met Joy, please go visit and say hello.  So what are Kale and Quinoa cakes? Let’s break it down word by word: Continue reading →

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Fired Up Friday Nov 23

23 Nov

I’m all for speed and going fast — it’s my preferred modus operandi — but sometimes things pick up too much speed and you can’t keep up, or worse still, you can’t enjoy the moment. I’ve been feeling that way lately and even more so with the holidays. You want everything to be perfect and you get so caught up in the details, schedules and making everyone happy that when it’s all over, you feel kind of empty. Don’t do that. Slow down. It’s Thanksgiving after all, so just take a moment, breathe, and appreciate whatever moment you’re in: the run, the climb, the airport, the crazy family, the Black Friday shopping lines. No, scratch that last one. That’s just a waste of time.

Get some Tritonal – Still With Me fired up in your headphones and breathe in the moment.

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Layered Pumpkin Squares

21 Nov

Layered Pumpkin Squares | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
Ok people, we’re in the homestretch of pumpkin week, so let’s go out with a bang. Here’s the scenario: you love pumpkin pie, but a pie isn’t enough to feed your crowd and pie crust is too obnoxious to fathom making more than one pie. The solution: layered pumpkin squares.  What do I mean by layered? I’m not talking layered like a green Pixar ogre, I’m talking graham cracker crust, cheesecake, pumpkin mousse, whipped cream. Layers of love my friends, layers of love.

Redhead math fact: anything made in a 9×13 pan is infinitely easier than a pie crust. I standby that statement even though this recipe has four layers and requires the use of gelatin. Guess what? I’d never used gelatin before I made this – nailed it. Don’t be intimidated by the mousse layer. Mousse is your friend. Egg whites and gelatin make mousse happy. C’mon, make the mousse happy. And the whole double boiler trick – don’t be afraid, just don’t let the top bowl with the ingredients actually touch the boiling water below. Remember, we did this with the white chocolate brownies and those turned out delicious didn’t they?

I made these bars for an office function and it was the first time I happily took the leftovers home because I wanted them to be MINE ALL MINE! Plus, I was in between my first and second half marathons at the time, so what harm could there be in eating them straight from the pan? How could I not – these bars are like pumpkin silk pie, like a pumpkin ice cream cake, like pumpkin pie parfait. Continue reading →

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Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake

20 Nov

Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
Pumpkin Week continues with Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake! If you want your sweet something pumpkin to be a showcase piece at Thanksgiving, this could be it. I mean look at those ribbons of chocolate floating through the moist orange pumpkin. Fancy comes at a price though ? just ask the Real Housewives of Orange County. This cake is a labor of love because of the two separate batters and the need to get excess moisture out of the pumpkin.

I realize I’ve nearly talked myself out of a sale here, but bear with me. I’m going to be honest, this is one of those recipes I second-guessed the whole way. I have to strain water from the canned pumpkin? I have to split how much in half and add half of what to which? But, when I finally got to the point of pouring the batters into the pan, I couldn’t stop myself from eating most of it as I went (especially the chocolate), which in my mind is the first sign of a good recipe.  In the end, the cake was exactly what I wanted (minus my sub-par marbling skills). So, like I said, fancy comes at a price: your time and patience. If I have no patience does this mean this cake was half off or twice the price?

Continue reading →

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

19 Nov

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
You know how Discovery Channel has Shark Week? Well get ready, the Hungry Redhead proclaims this to be: Pumpkin Week. Ahhh! Get the kids out of the kitchen! Toss me the oven mits! The oven mits! We’re about to step into a giant cage and be lowered into the depths of spicy, squashy baked goods.  And when I say it’s “Pumpkin Week,” I mean there will be pumpkin recipes today, tomorrow and Wednesday. Thursday is a holiday and Friday will be another fresh Fired Up Friday pick. So it’s a pumpkin trilogy then. I hear the kids like trilogies.

Up first is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars. I get lots of requests for this recipe and it pains me to admit that it’s a Martha Stewart recipe. Well, it used to pain me to admit that when I thought Martha Stewart was a pompous wasp of a woman and it was an act of desperation to use her recipes. As it turns out, the former felon knows what she’s doing (or her editors do anyway) and I’ve learned that if you need a solid recipe – Martha is the place to start.

Continue reading →

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Fired Up Friday Nov 16

16 Nov

I’ve been in Miami the past couple of days, a city I don’t particularly like. One of the things I don’t like about it is the traffic. I hate driving here. The roads are weird and don’t make sense to me, the highways all seem to be tollways (without cashiers) and I might have to give Florida the “worst drivers in the U.S.” award. It’s not rush hour, we’re on the freeway, speed limit is 65… why are we all driving 55? I’ve found music is the best way to combat Miami traffic, with Feed Me’s “One Click Headshot” being the best fit. Be thankful you’re not stuck in Miami traffic and go for a run, a hop, a skip or a jump.

You can also just blast this song in your car, bob your head and feel really cool.

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Oatmeal Caramel Bars

14 Nov

Oatmeal Caramel Bars | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
I think these Oatmeal Caramel Bars may have been the predecessor to the slutty brownie. They are scandalously delicious (based off the noises people make when they eat them) and they’re really quite easy to make. I’ve often heard this type of bar referred to as a “Carmelita,” which sounds rather saucy as well, like a Spanish go-go dancer. The oatmeal and lack of pre-packaged dough makes these a little more wholesome though (if melted caramel, heavy cream, brown sugar and butter is your idea of wholesome – passes my test) So, perhaps the Carmelita is an 18th century king’s mistress and the slutty brownies are, um, strippers?

Like any good mistress, the key to these bars is not to over bake the bottom layer. Wow, embarrassing… I have no idea where I was going with that simile. Anyway, if you over bake the bottom layer, the bars won’t slice well, they’ll crack. Plus, a soft and chewy oatmeal layer beats a rock hard oatmeal layer any day.

Continue reading →

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San Francisco Treat Pt. 2

12 Nov

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts from Elite Cafe | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
Continuing onward after logging 13.1 miles, Al picked a great place for our post-race brunch: Elite Café. I had the Cajun Style Braised Beef Hash with Poached Eggs and even though the eggs were overcooked, the hash made up for it as did the cinnamon sugar donuts we ordered as our brunchatizer. I just made that up. Is that catchy? We had mini biscuits with strawberry butter too. Wait, are you lost? Did you miss Part 1?

Continue reading →

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A San Francisco Treat Pt. 1

11 Nov

Erin & Al at U.S. Half Marathon | Adventures of a Hungry Redhead
A week ago today I was running 13.1 miles along San Francisco Bay, over the Golden Gate Bridge and to Fisherman’s Wharf. I didn’t run as fast as I normally would, but the whole thing went by a lot faster than I remember other half marathons going because I had my friend Al at my side.

Continue reading →

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Fired Up Friday Nov 9

9 Nov

I am not a fan of country music, but the new Taylor Swift album* is not country music.  And she named the damn album after me so I had to get it. This is my favorite song from the first “country” album I’ve ever purchased. If you pull up next to me in my car and I’m rocking out oblivious to the world, this is probably what’s playing. Thus, it makes for excellent running, jumping, kicking, catapulting music. Oh, I knew you were trouble when you walked into my ears Taylor Swift, you and your high school love songs.

*I initially typed “Taylor Swift CD” and then I laughed, because nobody uses CDs anymore.

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