Buddha Bowls

Buddha bowls are by far my favorite meals. You may not have heard the term "Buddha bowl," but I'm sure you know the concept: it's an entire meal in a rice-based bowl. I have a ton of different ways to make these bowls, but the basic ingredients are the same: brown rice, roasted veggies, roasted protein (I usually use tofu, but chickpeas, tempeh, or beans would work as well), and a well-crafted sauce (my favorite is a homemade spicy peanut butter sauce, but I also like goddess dressing - this is my favorite brand - or a teriyaki-based sauce). Let's jump into the recipe to make your own Buddha bowl.

Peanut Butter Blondies

I attend a wicked fun monthly event in my city called Brews & Board Games. Last month, the host wanted to raise money for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center through a raffle, silent auction, and bake sale. I made these rich peanut butter blondies for the occasion. This recipe makes 9-12 bars and is adapted from a recipe by Gal on a Mission. Oh, and if you make this recipe and like it, consider donating a few bucks to the Baltimore Child Abuse Center!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

In September, I rescued a dog. For the holidays, I decided to make her (& some of her dog friends) homemade treats. They're so much healthier for the dog because you can choose exactly what to put in them. This recipe is a huge one and makes quite a bit of treats, so be sure to share and eat within the week, or freeze for future use (up to 3 months). This recipe is adapted from Kevin & Amanda (be sure to click through because they have the cutest photos of their pups posted!).

Chickpea loves homemade treats

Chilled Peanut Butter Noodle Salad - "The Mental Salad"

Golden West Cafe in Baltimore has one of my all-time favorite dishes: the vegan Mental Salad. It is essentially a romaine salad topped with cold peanut butter sauce-covered noodles, carrots, scallions & sesame seeds. It is so delicious and I just had to replicate it! I needed a starting place, so I used a Table For Two recipe as a guide. My recipe was enough to feed two people dinner, plus a few days of leftovers (these noodles are perfect for leftovers, since they have to be chilled anyway). Enjoy!

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Sandwiches

These cookies are my absolute favorite. I have a good friend that makes them for every occasion (mostly because everyone that she knows practically forces her to do so), and I decided to try my hand at it for my Annual Great Cookie Exchange. This recipe makes 30 cookies and will blow your mind with how easy they are! Enjoy!

Spicy Peanut Butter Tofu Stir Fry

This recipe was a first for me. Preparing tofu is always something I get nervous about every time I make it because it is such a finicky food (it can go anywhere from tasting like an amazing and filling meal to tasting like a sponge). This recipe is based off of a peanut butter tofu recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen and turned out really well. It wasn't as smooth as the original recipe made it look, but it was every bit as delicious as I wanted it to be. Pro tip: the meal tasted even better as leftovers, so try to save a little if you can handle it. This recipe makes about 4-5 servings.

Low-Fat Peanut Butter Dip

I think it's safe to say that I am addicted to peanut butter. I can eat (and have eaten) peanut butter as a part of every meal of my day. I realize that this isn't a sustainable model, especially if I am trying not to gain a million pounds simply because I can't cut out Jif. I found this recipe on FitSugar and it promises to be much healthier and lower calories (40 calories)** than peanut butter, but still has the same taste. I tried it out and was pleasantly surprised. The dip doesn't have the same consistency as peanut butter, but it does taste similarly! I'd suggest eating it the same way you would peanut butter, with fruit, veggies, sandwiches, etc. (although I haven't tried eating it on anything warm yet, not sure how that would go). Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Last night was the annual Great Cookie Exchange at my house. I baked some chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies that were decadent and filling, to say the least. These cookies aren't too difficult to make, but have a bunch of ingredients, so make sure that you have everything you need on-hand before you start! This recipe is a alteration of one over at Kitchen Treaty and makes 18 cookies.

Leftovers Club: Peanut Butter Bread

This month for Leftovers Club, I made peanut butter bread and it is magical! It tastes a little like a peanut butter cookie, but not as dessert-y (or, as my partner suggests, "It tastes like victory.") I suggest eating it warm and topped with butter, topped with jelly (your own PB&J!), topped with Nutella, topped with cinnamon apples, topped with vanilla ice cream or simply by itself. The possibilities! I got the recipe from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and it makes one loaf. My Leftovers Club partner (Dan from Platter Talk) will be very happy!

 

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had some super-ripe bananas left over this week and yes, I love banana bread, but I really don't want to eat it every time my bananas get too ripe. (Seriously -- this is a recurring problem that probably could be fixed by my buying less bananas. Oh well.) Anyway, it hit me. Bananas. Peanut Butter. Chocolate. YES. A quick Google search pulled up a few recipes (like this one from How Sweet It is) & I was off to preheating my oven. These cookies were delicious, and next time I might sprinkle a bit of cinnamon in them, or something wild like that. This recipe makes a dozen large cookies & I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Hamantaschen

Happy Purim, everyone! I am technically not Jewish, but I absolutely love celebrating Jewish food holidays because, honestly, no other culture parties & eats even half as good! I luckily have a good friend, Rebecca, who teaches me a lot about the Jewish culture. Rebecca held a Hamantaschen Baking Party this weekend and it was just so much fun and so delicious. Below is the recipe that we used (modeled closely to this recipe she found online) and some photos of our adventure. One batch made about 20-30 cookies (this will vary slightly depending on the sizes in which you choose to cut them out). Oh, and if you're interested in learning the story behind Purim and the origin of Hamantaschen, click here!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

My mom used to always ask me to make these cookies for her when I was a kid, and since I saw her over the holidays, I just had to bake them. Of course, I used to make the prepackaged stuff when I was a kid, but I'd venture to say that the homemade version is even more delicious. This recipe makes two dozen extra-large cookies, or bunches of smaller ones (but I wouldn't know because I made super-big ones). Oh, and here's the original recipe, if you're interested.