Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownies from Simply Vibrant / February 14, 2018 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownies from Simply Vibrant | dolly and oatmeal

happy valentine's day! if you've been reading this blog for a while then you probably know, i'm not that into this holiday. sorry to be a bummer. consider me one of those people who always thought it was a hallmark holiday. but(!) i am finding it easier to get into the spirit now that amesy's old enough to find googly-eyed hearts, or mickey mouse valentine cards funny and interesting. we're not doing any valentine projects (yet, i'm sure they'll come in time), but there is definitely a bit mote of a fuss over all the silly heart-shaped treats and decorations everywhere. dare i say that i'm excited for next year when we'll be able to make cards, or decorations together!? we'll see what happens ;) but until then, BROWNIES!

these brownies come from anya kassoff (from the ever inspiring blog, Golubka Kitchen) and her daughter masha davydova (she takes all the stunning photographs!), and their cookbook: Simply Vibrant. this is their second cookbook that focusses on plant-based, vegetarian meals spanning the day. the contents are broken into very clever categories: morning meals like porridges and pancakes. then there are: wraps and rolls; noodles, pasta, and pizza; and fritters and veggie burgers. the last couple of chapters include sweets, and basics and sauces. anya, like she does on her blog, makes her recipes so inviting not only with the beautiful photos that grace the pages, but the different flavors and textures she incorporates into each dish.

these brownies for instance are made lusciously fudgy by using sweet potato - something i would never think of incorporating into a brownie batter. there's also a good amount of chocolate, but anya instructs you to chop it in the food processor which basically makes the chocolate into a meal, it's then stirred in with the rest of the batter to form these delicious treats. and i especially love a dessert i don't have to worry about giving amesy nibbles of. they're sweetened with dates (and aforementioned chocolate), and i assume some sweetness comes from the sweet potato as well ;) these are the perfect treat to induge in on this day, or any day, really! whatever you're partaking in, i hope it is serving you well!

big XOXO's!

sweet potato chocolate brownies | v & gf

my notes: i used 85% cacao bittersweet chocolate. next time i would use between 60%-70& cacao chocolate, as most of the sweetness in these brownies comes from the chocolate.

recipe from Simply Vibrant by Anya Kassoff

print the recipe!

| makes 12 large or 24 small brownies |

1 cup (200 g) chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup (50 grams) almond flour
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the brownies
pinch of sea salt
9 to 10 (140 g) large, soft medjool dates, pitted
1 medium sweet potato, baked, peeled, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup almond butter

method

preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, extending the paper up the sides. place the chocolate in the freezer.
spread the hazelnuts on a baking tray and toast them in the oven for 10 minutes. remove them from the oven and let them cool, then rub them with a clean kitchen towel to remove the skins. reserve a few whole nuts for garnishing the brownies, and place the rest of the nuts in a food processor; grind into a meal. make sure you don't overprocess. transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
place the chilled chocolate in the food processor and grind into the smallest pieces possible. transfer to the bowl with the ground hazelnuts and add the almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt. stir to mix evenly.
combine the dates, sweet potato chunks, and almond butter in the food processor and puree until smooth. spoon this mixture into the bowl with the ground hazelnuts and chocolate; stir to combine thoroughly.
spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish and even out the top with a spoon. transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top of the brownie is firm to the touch.
remove the pan from the oven and let it cool to room temperature, then transfer the brownie to a cutting board, using the parchment paper to lift it out of the pan. dust the brownie with cocoa powder chop the reserved whole hazelnuts and sprinkle them on top, if desired. slice the brownies into bars.

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"Cheesy" Herb-Crusted Squash / November 30, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

"Cheesy" Herb-Crusted Squash | dolly and oatmeal

the past few weeks have been a little crazy around here. frank and i have essentially been switching off weeks for work travel, all mixed in with the beginning of the holidays, and family and friends coming in to town. life seems very, very full at the moment. i took a trip for work at the beginning of the week with lots of mixed emotions. it was the first time i was going to be away from amesy and something about not seeing him wake up in the morning, and not being there for his nighttime dinner-bath-sleep routine made me somewhat of a mess. i think that a lot of times it's the anticipation of things that are far worse than what the reality is. while i missed amesy dearly, it also felt really good to put my work hat on, be in a different city (that i can't wait to go back to one day!), and let myself sit with the idea that i was okay without him. something about being a mom for the past 14 months has felt very safe. and so getting outside of that (wonderfully amazing) comfort was a much needed reminder that we as moms can wear two different hats and still be ok. :)

switching gears to squash, and "cheesy", crusty goodness! so basically this recipe is roasted squash that's breaded with grain-free cracker crumbs, a good bit of nutritional yeast (giving it that cheesy quality), herbs, and seasoning. there's also a good bit of olive oil that tops these squash chunks making the topping extra crispy and flavorful. it's a great back pocket recipe to have around this time of year when you need a hearty side dish, or are just looking to up your squash game ;) i highly recommend serving this with the pomegranate seeds, they definitely offer that little bit of brightness at the end of each bite.

holiday hugs, friends! xo

"cheesy" herb-crusted squash | v & gf

i used grain-free, vegan crackers and made my own crumbs (instructions below), but any cracker crumbs or bread crumbs will work well here. this recipe can also be easily doubled if you're serving more than 2-4 people.

| serves 2-4 people |

1 small-ish winter squash (1-2 pounds)
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cracker crumbs (i used these)*
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme and sage, plus more thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)
fine salt & freshly ground pepper
chopped parsley, to serve
pomegranate seeds, to serve

*quickly pulse whole crackers in a food processor or blender until you get small cracker crumbs.

method

preheat the oven to 400°F.
slice the squash in half, then slice into quarters. drizzle a good amount of olive oil into the bottom of a rimmed baking dish (enough to cover the bottom generously).
whisk together the cracker crumbs, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, herbs, salt, and pepper.
brush the squash halves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. sprinkle the crunchy "cheese" mixture onto each of the squash pieces, pressing the crumbs onto the sides if need be, and spray the topping with oil (or drizzle with oil)
bake for 35-40 minutes, until the squash is tender, and the tops and sides are golden brown.
serve the squash warm topped with chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds.

more holiday-friendly recipes:

garlic & spice-roasted carrots w/ tahini yogurt

(Baby-Friendly) Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread Pancakes / November 15, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread Pancakes | dolly and oatmeal

it's fall and i think i can finally say we've somewhat settled here in our new LA home. frank and i have increasingly found our groove a bit more, navigating work schedules, the baby's schedule/non-schedule, and trying to take the time for ourselves to just be. i think part of feeling at home, and cozy in your space, is what you surround yourself with. before making the move out here, we lived in a literal shoebox apartment in brooklyn. the living room (if you could even call it that) and kitchen area was narrow and dark, and kind of depressing. i know it's small change compared to a lot of other problems out in the world, but i yearned for more natural light, and real space to dress.

when we moved, one of the first things i said to frank was that i wanted an actual dining space. one that we could gather around as a family, share meals, and memories. we took our old table with us during the move, and intended to use for a much longer time than we did. but our once, too-big-for-our-former-space table was lost in our much larger dining area. not to mention that all of our chars didn't make the move either. and with amesy only growing bigger, and get more messy, i knew we needed something baby-friendly, and practical, so i settled on plastic shell chairs which are light weight and easy to clean. we find ourselves having so many more meals than we did previously, which is such a welcome change.

and now that amesy is eating actual food, we really get to share in a meal together. breakfast is the one meal we all eat around the same time, so when the weekend rolls around we try to make it more of a point to eat together. ames generally eats yogurt with almond butter (his favorite!), and some sliced berries for breakfast. but for his mid-morning snack he usually munches on a couple of these pancakes. i load them up with healthy fats, and protein (and the only sweetener used is the banana), so that way they keep amesy full for hours. i usually make a batch on the weekends and make 2-pancake pouches for amesy's snacks during the week. and bonus! they're totally good for adults too ;)

xo!

*chairs provided by rove concepts

pumpkin spice banana bread pancakes | gluten-free, sugar-free, grain-free

these pancakes are a bit delicate, i would advise to make silver dollar pancakes as opposed to big ones, as they can easily fall apart.

| makes 14 silver dollar pancakes |

1 ripe banana
3 large pasture raised eggs
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened full-fat yogurt (preferably grass-fed), or plant-based yogurt
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
coconut oil, for cooking

toppings:

yogurt
almond butter
chia seeds
banana slices

method

place all the ingredients, except the coconut oil, into your blender (if you don't have a blender, a food processor will work as well) and lend for 45 seconds - 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed, until the batter is smooth. let the pancake batter thicken for about 10 minutes.
heat a skillet over medium heat, once the pan is hot, add a knob of coconut oil. spoon about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons worth of batter into the pan (i usually only cook 2 at a time since the pancakes are quite delicate) and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. repeat with the remaining batter.
eat right away and top with yogurt, almond butter, chia seeds, and banana slices. or, make 2-pancake packets and store in the refrigerator and/or freezer.