Time for some Friday Things:
1. Thanks to the Huffington Post for featuring my Homemade Thin Mints in their Girl Scout Cookies feature
The next day they featured 3 recipes in their Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes: Fruit Cakes, Cookies, and More story – slide 3, slide 4, slide 5
I even have to pinch myself sometimes that the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies don’t have gluten. Nor do they have any butter or white sugar.
2. The Good Bean – All Natural Roasted Chickpea Snacks. Gluten-free, nut-free, cholesterol-free, low fat, low in carbohydrates, nothing over-engineered, nothing artificial.
I am in love with the Sweet-Cinnamon flavor. Think cinnamon toast in the form of super crunchy little nuggets.
They’re exceedingly crunchy. If you’ve ever had dried peas or dried green beans, they’re like that; except crunchier. And I love that about them.
3. They give the crunchiest crackers I ever made a run for their money
And for something a bit less crunchy, try Caramelized Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Chickpea “Peanuts”
They’re beans masquerading as candy and I’m all about real candy. But I dare you not to stand at the oven door and eat half the tray immediately.
4. Travel Mug Reviews – Cook’s Country and Cooks Illustrated shares their reviews of 7 mugs from highly to not recommended.
In general, I find mugs to be so expensive for what they are, and each promises to be the best, yet most of them either leak or the coffee doesn’t stay hot. I use a mug from Starbucks made from recycled plastic that I bought in 2009. I use it daily, run it through the dishwasher, put it in the microwave, beat it up, and I think it will last another five years.
I cannot use travel mugs that have any metal on them because I always, always heat my coffee in the mug in the microwave as I’m walking out the door. I don’t have time or desire to heat the coffee in a separate microwave-safe cup. Plus, I like to get the mug extra toasty, too. I have a thing for piping, and I do mean searing hot, coffee; which limits my selection of mugs.
5. Flower Power: Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower – Such pretty little stalks
Roasting veggies is so easy and there’s always a new seasoning, spice, oil, or vegetable to roast.
A recent fave was Lemon Rosemary Coconut Oil Roasted Vegetables (vegan, GF)
6. My friend Marla’s post, 10 More Skinny Secrets is a gem. The post has nothing to do with being skinny, and everything to do with being mindful, healthful, and making compassionate and thoughtful choices each and every day. I adore Marla and miss our coffee dates but reading her post was almost as good as a coffee date. Almost.
7. Creamy and Crispy Hash Brown Casserole was featured in the Featured in the eCookbook, 14 Easy Recipes for Potato Casseroles
If you’re looking for easy, potato-based comfort food recipes, Click Here to Download the ebook.
Tis the season for warm comfort food.
8. A reader, Stacy, emailed to tell me that there is a heart-shaped crumb in at the bottom of this photo of Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
I never noticed it until she pointed it out, and couldn’t replicate or duplicate that in a million years, even if I tried. She thought it was perfect for these cookies and I think it’s perfect in advance of Valentine’s Day.
9. Faceted Friendship Bracelet – On sale for $9.95 at Anthro. Quite the step up from the raggedy friendship bracelets I used to make, circa 1988, with yarn that was 50 cents per pack at the local drugstore.
I used to love making friendship bracelets and could go for hours just making rows and rows of knots. Mindlessly therapeutic. It was my yoga back then.
10. New Le Creuset Color: Quince. I’m in enamelware lust. Don’t bother with roses or chocolates for Valentine’s Day, but one or four of these would do.
That color is so me. I love it.
What are your Friday Things?
Favorite travel mug? Friendship bracelet memories? Thoughts on super crunchy foods or favorite finds?
If you’ve made anything, done, seen, or bought anything fabulous recently, feel free to link it up in the comments.
Have a great weekend and check back for giveaways!
Definitely going to give those Good Beans a try! I am obsessed with those peas, especially the wasabi kind!
I love chickpeas in all forms, but those cauliflower photos have won my heart. Congrats on your feature!
Cauliflower is easily my favorite real veggie to roast. (Obviously, squash is my favorite overall, though technically a fruit. Hehe.) It gets so sweet and creamy. And with onions? Oh my.
I would loe to try those chickpeas, but as you know….they are dangerous. :)
I reallllly want to try your thin mints. My dad and roommate are both crazy about them and what better time to make them than during girl scout cookie season.
Also, I love The Good Bean products. I really like their bars – the chocolate berry flavor. I’m kind of inspired to roast my own chickpeas and then make some granola/protein bars.
Have a nice weekend!
Try the Thin Mints! They’re like a 10 min project & well worth it!
Congrats on the Huffington Post feature — your Thin Mints look so wonderful. I’m the roasted vegetable queen….I think I’ve tried it all. It really does make vegetables so much more tasty and appealing, especially for people that just want to choke them down because they have to! I love veggies any which way, but roasted veggies are so comforting and homey. Those good bean treats look like something I need to try…cinnamon is a favorite!
The cinnamon flavor of those beans is my fave! Love em!
Congrats on the Thin Mints feature Averie! I am not only in love with that recipe but the photos are stunning. What perfect lighting. I made roasted chick peas for our little getaway the other weekend to the mountains! They were cinnamon/brown sugar. SO good. I always eat one too many of them though. I need to find The Good Bean variety! The heart shaped crumb! I would have NEVER spotted that Averie! What a good eye Stacy has. Just in time for Vday – I am STILL drooling over those cookies whenever I see them around. They did so well on FG! Let’s see… what are my Friday things… well, it’s rainy here in Baltimore and all we’re going to do tonight is bake (well, I will bake) and Kevin will sit on the couch watching TV. I love lazy fridays after a crazy week! I’m thinking I’ll be baking something with yeast… and I think you’ll be proud. ;)
The chickpea situation of any kind…yeah, I need to be careful too. They’re beans after all but they taste so good going down :)
And the Thin Mints are one of those posts that has been relayed and parlayed; reprinted and relinked. I never knew it would be that popular with magazines. It’s popular with readers but it’s been ridiculously popular with publications who’ve wanted to feature it. It’s been reprinted/relinked in at least six major ones off the top of my head that I can think of. Who knew when I wrote it :)
I’ve never seen the packaged chickpea snacks, but what’s not to love?!! I think the cinnamon sugar would be my favorite too. My kitchen projects this weekend include crackers–your recipe first (and I’ll report back of course)! I have a surplus of baby carrots so I’m also planning to make some veggie crackers in the dehydrator. I made PB roasted carrots yesterday and the roasted pepper carrot soup today. I ran out of peanut butter (GASP!) so subbed sunflower seed butter in the soup. Oh–and I better get some PB made too!
The crackers! Yes, start your loaf ASAP and although you may not want to do what I did, which was to actually let my loaf freeze (whoops) then I had to wait about 4 hours for it to unthaw enough to slice it. But it does need to be SUPER cold to get the thin slices. So it’s sort of a multi-stage recipe spanning…a good 24 hours. They’re worth it in the end!
Those chickpeas are blowing my mind right now! I have to try them.
Congrats on the Huffington Post feature, Averie! Such a great Friday List. LOVED reading about you and Marla, too! Must visit her blog soon. xo
Friday things planned for me are to unpack and get ready for cooking this weekend! I was traveling all this week, and I am pooped. I’m not sure exactly which recipes I’ll be making this weekend, but I came back with a ton of cupcakes from my favorite shop in Nashville, so sweets will be off the table until next week. :) I will definitely have to peruse your collection of healthy entrees to offset the presence of sweets in the house!
And I love, love, love enamelware too. I have yet to purchase my first real set, and I know the time will come when we have to select a color, and I really don’t want to! Can I just have one of each in every color? Is that too much to ask?
Congrats that the Huffington Post featured a few of your recipes, you must have a fan there ;-)
Is it bad that I want to inhale everything in this post? Especially the thin mints. And those roasted chickpea peanut bites of heaven.
Um – need to find those Good Beans. Of course, I could probably make them…
Your crackers look amazing! And I want to try those good bean treats- hearing so many good things about them!! Happy Friday
Oh Averie, I miss out coffee chats as well. You are so kind to include me in your Friday Favorites. I feel honored & you are a wonderful friend. Love your take on my post too :) Think we will have a reunion in April right?? XO
I miss our meetups too, my friend. And yes, April! :)
xoxo
The Good Bean Sweet Cinnamon snacks sound like something I’d really like! Garbanzo beans are my favorite! Cinnamon is my favorite! I’m guessing I can’t go wrong with these.
I bought my first Le Creuset piece in December. I’m in LOVE. Not exaggerating. While I’m struggling with the cast iron pan I bought, the Le Creuset was instant adoration. It has made so many wonderful meals, just perfectly, and clean-up is a breeze! Mine is red . . . my favorite color!
That’s awesome that it’s instant love…and yes, I agree, so much easier than regular cast iron. It’s just so much more user-friendly :)