All the Rage

Oh, bloggies, do I have some things to share. It is high time I introduce the latest obsessions of the Gillianasana kitchen. Hold on to your food processors, people!

1. Xantham Gum

I finally bit the grit after seeing countless images of protein ice cream and banana soft serve and ponied up the 13 buckaroons for this little bag of magic. Considering I use 1/4 tsp. at most at a time, it was a very worthy investment. Worthy and delicious. Not only can I create fruitylicious ice cream with a light-as-air texture on a whim, in any shade of the rainbow...

Oh yes. Green Monster ice cream. Don't be jealous - go make your own!

...but I have also created what may be one of my favorite oaty creations ever. Which leads me to obsession #2: Ice cream for breakfast, anyone?

Whip up your fave hot cereal & top with a fresh batch of ice cream. It will change your breakfast-lovin life. Seriously. It has that fun hot-cold thing going on, and it's sooo much better than just throwing fruit in the bowl (which, don't get me wrong, has it's place - on a pedestal lower than this.) Carby, creamy, fruity, fluffy...this has it all. Next stop: as a pancake topper. Stay tuned.

#3: PB & Co.'s White Chocolate Wonderful

Oh. My. God. I don't even like white chocolate. But apparently when combined with peanut butter, it's a horse of a different color. A really, really, amazingly yummy & addictive horse.

[P.S. - I can't speak for the company, but I'm pretty sure no horses were/are harmed during the production process.]

Seriously, I cannot decide if I like this better than Dark Chocolate Dreams, and I'm a dark choc fiend. It's sweet, it's salty, and it's good on anything - but my personal preference is a spoon. I have no words left. 

#4: Avocado

More specifically, Gena from Choosing Raw's Dilly Carrot Avocado Spread. I made this to bring up with us to Maine (I promise that post is coming!) and it was a HUGE hit. I have a history of not being much of a fan of this particular brand of produce - and it still bothers me in salads when it gets a slimy and odd (same issue with bananas...well, not so much in salads....you know what I mean) - but I have recently discovered a new love for this green goodness when smashed into other things. Sounds violent, tastes delicious. I have many future plans involving this little guy!

#6: Eat a cupcake - Save the world.

Ok, maybe the world won't be saved. But there is something so comforting, so restorative, so blissful about stopping into a local bakery and treating yourself to a little buttercream bliss . And really, if you think about it, wouldn't the world be a happier place if all the haters just stopped for a cupcake break every now and then? I think yes.

(I haven't been eating a cupcake on a daily basis - that would take away its specialness - so this is less of an obsession, more of a discovery. Potay-to, potah-to.)

#7: M. F. K. Fisher

Dear Mrs. Fisher,
Can I please be you when I grow up? And also, could we do gastronomical tour of France together? Call me. Hope all is well in the afterlife. Thanks,
Gillian.

I'm making friends with this book, a collection of her best work, as I chose her as the topic of my senior thesis (of course). The way she writes and weaves food into her stories, it's so...delicious to read.
"People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? Why don't you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way others do?...The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry."

P.S. - expect the quotes to keep coming. I have to write a small book about this woman and her writing...I'm gonna have some stuff committed to memory, methinks.

And finally, no list would be complete with chocolate.
#8: Stonyfield's Organic Minty Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

I knew this would more than likely be good. But it is SO much more. It just epitomizes that perfect combo of mint + dark chocolate. I'm amazed and impressed with my own restraint that three days after bringing this pint home, it still resides in the freezer not completely empty. YUM with a capital Y.

Tomorrow brings a new Over-the-Humpday Challenge...bring it on!

~Namaste~