coconut brownies, anyone?

guess what i finally got around to opening?

the tropical traditions coconut cream concentrate i won in miss stephanie's giveaway like two months ago!

i'm so on top of things.

so, what is it?

coconut cream is simply ground coconut meat. period.

just like how peanuts are ground up to make peanut butter, coconut meat is ground up to make coconut cream.

it's 70% fat, so it's similar to coconut butter, except coconut cream has all the fiber of whole coconuts... score!

ok, so what do you do with it?

the website recommends using it to make homemade coconut milk (my wallet rejoices!), as a spread on toast, a soup base, or blended into smoothies.

well, what did i do with it?

funny you should ask...

cocoa coconut brownies

adapted from the tropical traditions recipe blog

1 cup coconut cream concentrate

3 room temperature eggs

1/3 c maple syrup or brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

splash vanilla extract

1/3 c cocoa powder (my favorite ingredient ever!)

and 1/3 c each add-in: nuts, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, dried cherries, etc.

mix all ingredients until just combined.

bake in a greased 9x9 at 325* for 18-20 mins.

um... aren't they gorgeous?

i couldn't help but drool.

these. are. so. good. these. are. so. good. these. are. so. good.

hey sexy!

i wish i had planned to be this awesome, but i also realized after i made these they are flour and gluten-free.

score. my little sister can now join me in snacking my face off.

and promise you won't laugh?

here's... um... dinner:

ohhhhhhhhhh mmmmmyyyyyy.

because really,

what's better than yogurt, fresh strawberries, chocolate, and coconut?

thanks again stephanie!

p.s. - check out the tropical traditions website.

they're a really cool company with an awesome story behind them. and hello coconut peanut butter!!!

- r

y'all make me blush.

you guys are too sweet!
thank you all so much for your comments on my pictures yesterday...

the crazy thing is, i had long, curly hair halfway down my back in high school...! see?

from summer 2007...

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last night, i had the pleasure of meeting up with two lovely blog buddies, brittany and meredith, at one of my current restaurant obsessions, ipanema cafe. is it obvious how much i love this place?

it's also a favorite of miss brittany's, and since meredith had never been, we felt we must introduce her :)

meredith, brittany, and i in front of a 7-11...

gotta love richmond!

i had an amazing arugula salad with roasted beets, gouda cheese, and the most incredible salad dressing of all time! brittany donated a handful of her sweet potato fries, too, which i could have kissed her for.

think if i ask really nicely, the chef would give me the recipe???

the girls were lovely, and we chatted the night away about foreign food, work, and how our men deal with our quirky blogging habits.
i mean, doesn't everyone photograph their food?

if you guys haven't checked out their blogs yet, please do! they both have incredible, motivating stories to share, and their eats ain't too shabby either.

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i also did a little sumthin' in the kitchen.
roasted up an eggplant, zucchini, and a sweet potato for lunches this week.

i also marinated some tempeh in sriratcha, honey, and dijon mustard, and popped it in for the last few minutes of the veggie roast...

by the way, i roast my veggies/taters on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean up. i set the temp to 350* and leave them for 40-60 minutes. try it!


aaaaaaaaaand i made more hummus. 
try this recipe if you're in the market for some incredible, face-rockin' curried honey hummus.

thanks ashley! this girl is amazing, talented, and super sweet, as if her hummus recipe wasn't rockin' enough!
it's her picture, too - i'm clearly not that talented, because mine was too gross-looking to post.

if you guys are still buying hummus, you're cheating yourself!
the cost for this recipe?
- can of chickpeas: $.89 at whole foods
- 2 cloves of garlic: basically free???
- scoop of peanut butter: maybe $.30 or so
- tablespoon of sesame oil: $.15
- spices: only a tablespoon of each, probably $.05 each
total: around $1.50 for a container, versus $4.99 from whole foods... whaaa?


and allow me to introduce you to the best thing you'll ever eat:
whole wheat wrap, banana, strawberries, sprinkle cinnamon, and a spread made from 1 tbsp cocoa and 2 tbsp almond milk.
holy junk.

i really doubt i could ever top this snack. my life is complete.

so, your turn!
do you guys have an incredible snack/meal recipe to share with me?
i'd like to see you beat this one! :)
- rebekah

p.s. - check out katie's awesome giveaway for a giftcard!

friday foodzzzz

i'm not quite sure why i'm not sleeping right now... i've been up since 4am and it's past midnight.

body, we need to talk. insomnia is SO 2009.

i didn't toss and turn or anything. i was just up and at 'em at around 4 something. it was a good thing, however, because shortly after my little sister got up to leave for her spring break. she and her buddy are driving to tampa, florida!!! when i was 18, there was NO WAYYYYY my mom would have let me do that. but i'm happy for her :)

some of her swag i picked up from wf...

cashew cookie larabars, justin's maple almond butter (!), ener-g brown rice bread, and cream of buckwheat. you know, normal stuff.

to send her off right, i made her some banana bread millet:

½ c millet

1 reaaaaally ripe banana (not sad to see him go!)

3 prunes

1 packet stevia

1 c milk

sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg

splash vanilla extract

how I did it, and what you shouldn’t do
I toasted my millet in the bottom of my pot first. That was all well and good. But I got the crazy idea (hey, it was 5am!) that it would be a good idea to go ahead and boil the milk in the micro so I could just add it right to the toasted millet. Sounds good, right? Well apparently I’m the only one who didn’t know that hot pot + hot liquid = hot explosion on your countertop.

it does.

after I washed the milk foam from all over hell and back, I brought the millet back to a boil, then cut it down to simmer for years and years… ok, more like 25 minutes or so. She loved it, so that’s all good.

because i'm a terrible blogger before sunrise, no pic. but here's another egg wrap to add to my growing collection:

1/2 c egg whites, pinch salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder, sauteed mushrooms.

sex on a plate!

after breakfast, my mom and I were supposed to go on a walk in our nice weather (it got to 85 here in Richmond!!), but she didn’t sleep much either, so we rescheduled until tomorrow. I went to the gym and started reading some new james patterson book. I got about 5 pages in, got bored, and talked to my friend zach for the rest of the time on the elliptical. today was an easy cardio day, so not too worried.

upon my return, i promtly snacked my face off on what else? cottage cheese oats!

1/2 c cottage cheese

1/2 c old fashioned oats

packet stevia

1/2 tbsp liquid crack (a.k.a. white chocolate wonderful!)

also, i daily consume about 10932043 cups of this:

deeevinee.

I threw myself at the bed for an hour after eating. It was gooood...

Eventually I reemerged, then went to California pizza kitchen for lunch with the boy!

 I hadn’t been in ages, and I totally forgot to take a picture because I was so hungry! the line to get in was CRAAAZY long today because of the nice weather, and the boy and i were not pleased. I got the grilled vegetable salad…

credit-o. because i was too hungry.

omg – it’s heaven. It has pretty much every grilled veggie you could ask for! grilled corn, asparagus, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and avocado. I didn’t even need salad dressing it was so good.

The boy and I shopped in urban outfitters and levi’s for a bit before he had to go back to work. I got a scarf!

And I wore it. Obviously.

... still squinting from that flash.

and i finally got to wear sandals!

After that, I pretty much sat inside on this gorgeous day like a bum.

But… I won my first giveaway!!! Tropical traditions coconut cream concentrate!

If you guys have any ideas on what to use it for, please share! Thank you to Stephanie!

Later, mom and my older sister and I got a girl’s night out! We graced Tara Thai with our presence.

 It was fantastic, as usual.

i ordered the plah goong - cashew shrimp in lime-chili sauce!

i get it everytime. i try so hard to pick something else, but it's just that good!

and now, food porno, friday style :)

we're pretty heavy drinkers, us three.

mine.

mom's.

kristen's.

sense a shrimp theme?

us too.

right before that, i was totally vanna white-ing my plate, but mom couldn't get the camera to work.

so now, i'm just cheesin'.

and my nightcap:

trader joe's berry blend, sprinkled with stevia.

so good frozen.

well i'm finally hittin' the sack. hope you guys had a great friday!

tomorrow i am going bikini shopping (eek!), then to a friend's house for a little pre-easter dinner.

i also have a post planned on soy... stay tuned :)

- r