Simple Romaine Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing, Toasted Pepitas, & Crumbled Feta

I'm been a little MIA the last week, feeling both swamped and thankful for the opportunity to teach what felt like was a million classes and privates. For a long time I thought making a living as a yoga teacher wasn't physically possible unless you were one of the lucky few, so for it to become a reality for me over the past couple months I find I almost have to pinch myself. I am so so lucky. 

On top of that I've been applying to grad schools like a mad woman. I think to admit you really want something is the most vulnerable thing in the world. I've been playing around with practicing the art of surrender. It's not going well. 

And it's January! We've been celebrating by purging the apartment of crap. The first weekend of January we cleaned out and organized our bookshelves, kitchen, and side tables, then yesterday we tackled the worst of it - the closet, under the bed, the dresser, and desk. We've filled trash bag after trash bag of donations. I swear we own less today than we did a year or even two years ago. To get rid feels so good. So freeing. Frankly nothing excites me like organization. And don't even get me started on kitchen organization. Having a well organized kitchen makes me more efficient, creative, and I'm not going to lie, really happy. One of my new year's resolutions is to utilize my cookbooks more. I have so many and just don't read them enough. So in attempt to let them take center stage, we're building a giant wooden bookshelf above the kitchen table. My husband is a rockstar and we're hoping to have it up by tomorrow. 

With it being January, I'm sure a lot of you are aiming to eat a little lighter. And if you're like me and have eaten way to much homemade nutella and sugar in the last couple of weeks, today's post is for you. I came home exhausted from a full day of teaching last week, starving for something hearty, healthy, fresh, and FAST. The last thing I wanted was to sit over the stove for an hour. I swear I even thought "too bad you can't pop a frozen salad in the microwave". So I took to my Pinterest board and made a quick and easy "Green Goddess" dressing. I already had all the ingredients in the fridge, it came together in minutes, and craved something light and zesty to go along with it - so I tossed in a bag of romaine, toasted some pepitas and topped it off with crumbled feta. I made a huge batch for both Nate and I, and then ate the entire bowl by myself. Oops. Not only that, I ended up eating this salad for the next four days straight with the extra dressing. If that's not proof it's good I don't know what is. 

I jazzed up the dressing a little by adding avocado, and it's just divine. So creamy, zesty, and fresh. Oh and it's totally healthy with protein and tang from greek yogurt and creaminess from perfectly ripe avocado. Above all else it comes together in about 10 minutes and you probably already have all of the ingredients in your fridge. Enjoy! 

Simple Romaine Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing, Toasted Pepitas, & Crumbled Feta
Adapted from A Couple Cooks  
Serves 2-4 

For the dressing (makes 1 pint): 
2 green onions, diced
1/2 Jalapeño, seeded & diced 
1 medium ripe avocado
1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used 2% Fage) 
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro 
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon honey
3-4 tablespoons lime juice (I used 4)

For the salad: 
9 oz chopped romaine
1/2 cup toasted pepitas*
2.5 oz (scant 1/2 cup) crumbled feta 

Add green onions, and jalapeño to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely minced. Add in avocado, greek yogurt, cilantro, olive oil, salt, honey, and lime and blend until completely smooth. Adjust to taste, adding more lime, honey, and salt if needed. 

Combine romaine, pepitas, and feta in a large bowl. Top with dressing (note: you will have a lot left over), and toss well. 

Notes: 
Even if you buy pre-toasted pepitas, I like to pop them in the toaster for about 3 minutes until warm and fragrant before adding them to the salad. 

Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate

My definition of hot chocolate was forever changed a little over a year ago while visiting Prague. Prague is known for a lot of things, but of those things in my opinion, their hot chocolate is the most life-changing. We drank it a least once a day while we were visiting and with each sip I remember thinking "oh my god, this must be straight up heavy cream mixed with a chocolate bar" because literally it was that thick, creamy, and rich. We're not talking some weak-ass american cocoa powder mixed into milk, or worse, water, with marshmallows so stale they barely constitute as food. This stuff was the real deal, and it put every hot chocolate I'd had beforehand to shame. 

Obviously I knew we had to re-create it at home, so a couple weeks ago when I discovered that the hot chocolate pellets we'd taken home as a souvenir were looking a little worse for the wear, I knew we had to use them fast. So late one night while my husband was in the shower, I whipped it out. When I looked at the directions, and saw that it recommended over a cup of chocolate per half cup of whole milk, I figured that had to be a typo and thinking it'd be best to preserve this precious chocolate I used way less. When Nate got out of the shower and found out what I had done he was pissed and preceded to make his own following the instructions exactly, despite the massive amount of chocolate and small serving size. His was better. A lot better. 

A couple days later he made us the remaining chocolate but confessed that he'd combined his whole milk and my almond milk together. I don't drink milk, for a lot of reasons, so I skeptically sipped it down, determined to make my own version, completely dairy free. 

I knew I wanted to keep the high percentage of chocolate, but I wanted a creamier consistency than store-bought almond milk alone would give me. It needed cream. Coconut milk! Seriously, that stuff is magic. And because I wanted dairy-free chocolate that meant it had to be dark and seriously rich. So rich it became bitter. I wanted to avoid pouring sugar in, so I went for my favorite sweetener of choice- maple syrup. Perfection. The result is chocolatey. Super chocolatey. You absolutely cannot taste the coconut or the maple and are just left with the creaminess and sweetness they each provide. I've made this what feels like a dozen times this holiday season for vegans and milk drinkers alike and everyone loves it. And best of all, it tastes just like some brilliant person melted a chocolate bar in heavy cream, poured it in a mug and called it hot chocolate. Genius. 

Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate 
Makes 5 1/2 cups; Serves 4-6 

Hot chocolate: 
3 cups almond milk 
1 can full-fat coconut milk 
7.5oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped (see notes)
2 tsp vanilla extract 
4 tbsp pure maple syrup 

For the coconut whipped cream: (optional) 
1 can coconut cream, refrigerated (I use the Trader Joes brand) 
1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
3 tbsp powdered sugar 
pinch of salt 
cocoa powder for dusting (optional) 

Heat almond milk and coconut milk in a medium saucepan, I used cast iron as it retains heat well for serving. Once the liquid comes to a full boil turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Continue to stir until completely melted, then add in vanilla, salt, and maple syrup to taste (see notes). Depending on how warm you like your hot chocolate, you may need to reheat slightly before serving. 

To make the coconut whipped cream pour cream into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, if it's started to separate that's ok - it will incorporate again, and whip on medium speed for about two minutes until fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, sugar, and salt and whisk for another minute. Adjust to taste. 

Pour about 1 cup of hot chocolate into each mug - this stuff is seriously thick so a little goes a long way. Top the hot chocolate with whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder before serving. 
 

Notes: Contrary to what I'd previously thought, just because it's not milk chocolate doesn't mean it's vegan. So if you're wanting to keep this completely dairy-free, check those labels carefully. I ended up using Trader Joe's "Pound Plus" dark chocolate bar with 55% cocoa. If you go darker than that you will most likely need to up the amount of sweetener you use to combat the bitterness. I found 4 tablespoons of maple syrup made it just right, not sweet, but also not bitter. If you're into the super dark, bitter, more "european" chocolate flavor you could totally reduce the amount of sweetener as well. 

You're more than welcome to put alcohol in it too! My dad had his with Kahlua and I'm sure bourbon would be great as well. 

Served cold this stuff is a whole different beast. I've inevitably had extra a couple times so I pop it in the fridge. It's shockingly as good cold as it is hot. 

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Crumble Cake

The week before Christmas is insane. Dealing with the flurry and excitement of family traditions and obligations, spending too much on gifts and stressing over what to buy people, rushing to get christmas cards out all while trying to relax and enjoy a season that is supposed to be magical seems somewhat impossible. We hosted Thanksgiving this year, a holiday potluck with almost twenty people two weeks later, had a friend from out of town visit last weekend, and I'm currently neck-deep in grad school applications, and honestly this year we are just over it. My plans for homemade butternut squash ravioli on christmas eve are going to turn into Indian food take out. And I'm ok with it. 

I've been projecting my exhaustion on my students this week by attempting to gift them with the 10-minute savasana, a rare gem in modern yoga classes and the ultimate christmas gift. It's something we could ALL use. Unfortunately I haven't been to a yoga class in over a month and I'm started to feel it big time. 

But seriously, my husband has never been a big fan of Christmas, he's always been all about Thanksgiving - gratitude, celebrating with family and friends, opening your doors to everyone, and being thankful for what you have, no gifts necessary. And I'm started to think he's onto something, because really who needs to collect more junk? We don't. I'm trying to embrace this by making edible gifts and gifting simple practical things. When my brother told me he wanted glass storage containers for food, preferably used, for christmas I about hugged him through the phone. Have I mentioned my brother pretty much lives off the grid? We have become our conservative consumerist parents' nightmare. My mom called me the other day stressing over whether to make ham, prime rib, or salmon for christmas dinner. I honestly don't know what kind of answer she expected from her vegetarian daughter but all she got was a big laugh. I say all of this being totally guilty myself. I worry about giving people the perfect gift, I stress about getting christmas cards out to the people we care about in time, and I've been obsessing over a holiday Pinterest board for weeks. 

So I'm posting this cake. Then signing off. Attempting to relax and take a break from standing over the stove. Let someone else cook for me, give grad school applications a break, and snuggle with my husband and my puppy. I hope you take some time to do the same. Maybe even go big and give yourself a 10 minute savasana. Then, if you have time, make this cake. It's simple, christmas-y and delicious. Rich dark chocolate and bright sour juicy cranberries become best friends and play beautifully together under the buttery pecan crumble sun. 

I am so tired. Can you tell? Over and out. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Be well, my friends. 

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Crumble Cake
Makes 1 large 9-inch cake
Adapted by Smitten Kitchen  

For the cake: 
2 cups minus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
8.5 ounces, or 2 heaping cups, fresh cranberries
7oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped 

For the crumble: 
5 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and cold

Heat oven to 375. Butter and lightly flour a 9" cake pan then line base with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugars and zest until light and fluffy - around 5 minutes at full speed. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, pour in 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated, follow with 1/2 of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, the other 1/2 of the milk, and finally the last 1/3 of flour beating until incorporated between each addition. Remove bowl from the mixer and stir in cranberries and chocolate until evenly distributed- because the batter is super thick, I found using a wooden spoon worked much easier than a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth over the top. 

Make the crumble. In a small bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, pecans and salt. Using your hands or a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembled chunky sand - there should still be small bits of butter. Sprinkle the crumble over the cake and cook for 40-50 minutes until the crumble is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, flip to remove from cake pan and serve. 

Notes:

We left it at room temperature and like Deb says, it does get more moist the longer it's out. It was devoured within 36 hours, but she claims it will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature, after that pop it in the fridge. 

December 2015 update: I tried it with Trader Joe's Gluten-Free flour and it was tasty but the cake didn't hold together when cut. The lack of gluten made things really fall apart. 

Photography - our awesome neighbor came over the night I baked this and let me play with his camera. Needless to say it was far superior to my current camera which is an iphone...So if you're wondering why some of these photos look better than any I've ever posted that's why!