vanilla strawberry chia seed pudding. (paleo, gf, vegan)

Have you heard of chia seeds? I reviewed them before. They have an insane amount of fiber, and make their presence known by texture more than taste. Dry chia seeds are crunchy. When soaked, the seeds absorb the liquid and develop mucilage - which just means they get a little polysaccharide gelatinous coating.

This property is vital in order for chia seed puddings to work. In all the variations I've found, chia seeds are mixed with a non-dairy milk (probably to retain the vegan aspect), and let sit, with occasional stirring. After a couple hours (or overnight), the mixture has thickened substantially, forming a "pudding." Fruit, purees, nuts, and flavorings are added afterwards.

whole wheat carrot zucchini muffins.

The two busiest weeks of my senior year ended today, and I cannot be more at peace. Before 9pm, I had washed my face, brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, and was watching a movie, and IT WAS GREAT.

I figured I would blog since I had the time, even if I made these muffins a while ago.

tres leches cake.

WHOLE, EVAPORATED, CONDENSED.

Whew, now that's out of the way - I read somewhere that tres leches cake (which means three milks' cake) was invented by canned milk companies in a ploy to increase their sales. Isn't that interesting? The recipe has really stuck around.

For good reason. The just perfectly viscous mixture of milks. The way the cake has a gradation of custardiness - the top retaining more of the original sponge texture, and the bottom also with a sponge texture, just that of one absolutely saturated with sweet milk. The lightly sweetened cushion of whipped cream on top.

I could go on and on. When you're deluged with work, emails, and just general stress, I highly recommend stopping whatever you're doing, remembering that chronic stress leads to cancer (I will have written & defended at least 35 pages on the matter by mid-April), and making this cake!