Tardy for the Party

As someone who feels semi-up-to-date in the world of food, I feel like I missed out on two semi-recent food trends. Here are my thoughts, albeit a little late: 

1. Kale Chips
I was somewhat familiar with kale and had heard inklings of making a kale chip over the past year, but I never actually tried it until today. The verdict on the kale chip: meh. The verdict on the half-done kale chip: welcome to my world, you beautiful creature.

Laurel was raving about kale chips at her graduation last weekend, so that gave me the hankering to try them. I made three attempts at getting them the right amount of crispy (using varying temperatures and lengths of time), and all were failures. While they didn't appear burnt, they just feel apart in a crumbled, charred mess when I bit into them. On attempt four, I just decided to take them out of the oven before they got crispy. Winner, Winner, Limp Kale Dinner!!!

Roasted (not crisped) kale is delicious and has definitely earned its spot in my vegetable rotation.

2. Overnight Oats
I'm really into oatmeal right now, so as soon as I saw the idea for overnight oats on Peanut Butter Fingers, I knew I needed to try it. And the verdict...I have eaten overnight oats every day since. They are a delicious addition to my breakfast rotation.

And I now possess a three pound bag of chia seeds. And apparently these are also a new food trend. And what's not to like about that?

***If you're interested in my personal relationship with oatmeal, see below for a literary account.

Are there any other food trends that I've missed out on??







Oatmeal: An Allegory

My relationship with Oatmeal has always been precarious. Things were great in college. Oatmeal was dependable, yet exciting. He was always there for me, but allowed me to mix things up and be adventurous.  The day I lost my soy milk v-card was a particularly memorable milestone. Like many college relationships, I really thought we had a future together. Until one morning my senior year. Out of the blue, I decided that I could no longer be in a relationship with Ol' Oatey. I couldn't explain it, but I was repulsed by the sight and smell of him.

For a few years after college, I was pretty promiscuous when it came to breakfast options. Eggs every which way, Cereal, English Muffins, even Blueberry Muffins. You name it, I tried it. But a few years ago, I decided to give Oatmeal another chance. And he was just as I remember, that is, before everything went downhill. Things have been good between us since then. I don't depend on him everyday, and when I do enjoy some QT with Oatmeal, I try to be really creative with my toppings.

Some of my recent hits:

• Steel cut oats with butter and heavy cream (How could that not be good?)
• Quick cook oats made with coffee K-cup left in my Keurig, with splenda and cocoa powder. (A delicious accident!)
• Old fashioned oats, made with soy milk and a mashed banana on the stove, served with pineapple, coconut flakes, and pecans. (Hummingbird cake oatmeal)

Now I don't want to get burned out, so after this package of oats, I might take a break from Oatmeal. That is if I can resist him, in his new, exciting (dare I say, sexy?) form.