We Should Be Folding Laundry

I made you a sandwich.

I hope you like tuna.

Okay, actually I made myself a sandwich but I’m sharing it with you because it’s really tasty and it contains some of my favorite pantry staples.

This particular sandwich came to be years ago because I wanted a tuna sandwich but I wanted to jazz it up a bit.

I think I may have been out of relish or eggs or maybe even both at the time and since tuna with just mayo is sad, I searched my kitchen to see what else I could come up with and this particular version of the tuna sandwich was born.

My husband and I have been eating it this way ever since.

You can use leftover tuna, canned tuna, or those little pouches of tuna.

If you don’t like tuna, you could substitute salmon or chicken instead.

For a tasty vegan option, use mashed chick peas.

Ingredients:

tuna

kalamata olives

roasted red pepper

marinated artichokes

sun-dried tomatoes

lemon zest

1-2 tbsp mayonnaise or veganaise (optional)

parsley (optional)

salt & pepper

This really couldn’t be easier to put together. Just shred the tuna with a fork. Then chop up the olives, pepper, tomatoes, and artichokes and add to the tuna. How much of each of those things you add is totally up to you.

Add the zest of a lemon along with a good squeeze of the juice. Add salt and pepper to taste and chopped parsley if you want it.

Sometimes I add mayo and sometimes I don’t. This one is your call. I think the extra creaminess is great on a sandwich or in a wrap, but if I’m topping a salad with the mixture, I leave out the mayo.

That’s pretty much it. Just spoon your tuna mixture onto a hoagie roll, roll-up in a wrap, mix into a salad, or just eat it straight from the bowl with some crackers or pita chips.

You’re probably wondering if I’ve lost my mind.

Or maybe you’re thinking that I’m so desperate for blog content that I’ve actually done a whole write-up about beans on toast.

Well, yes and no.

Stay with me here.

We are talking about beans on toast but it’s not what you think.

We’re actually talking about some of my favorite pantry staples to be exact. Those food items that have a special place in my pantry at all times.

Those items are (in no particular order of importance): sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pasta, beans, canned tomatoes, and roasted red peppers.

The reason that I always keep those things on hand is because I can make about 100 different things with them and all of those things are easy to prepare and delicious.

Also, I like them. So there you go.

Over the next few days, I thought I would share some of my favorite ways to use my favorite pantry staples with you.

Maybe it will inspire you to create something totally new from your favorite pantry staples.

First up: Beans on toast.

Who’s excited!?

Think of this as a classed up version of beans on toast. Classy because in my mind, pureed things + roasted garlic = fancy.

Actually, I think any time you roast a whole head of garlic, you’re already well on your way to something special.

For this particular application, no real recipe is needed. It’s more of a process, a no-recipe recipe, if you will.

You will need:

a head of garlic

can of canellini beans – rinsed and drained

pesto – store-bought or homemade

extra virgin olive oil

sun-dried tomatoes

kalamata olives

marinated artichoke hearts

jarred roasted red pepper

baguette – sliced and toasted

parsley – optional

First, you’re going to roast a whole head of garlic. Just chop off the very top, drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, wrap in foil, and roast for 45 minutes at 375 degrees until the garlic is super soft.

While the garlic roasts, drain and rinse the beans, and then toss them into a blender or food processor along with a tablespoon or two of pesto, a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and pepper.

Once the garlic has roasted, squeeze all of the cloves into the blender and blend everything until completely smooth.

Now you could totally stop at this point because your bean spread is done and it’s fantastic just by itself on toasted bread, warmed pita, or tortilla chips. But why stop here when you can put lots of other things on top!

Chop up some marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and parsley (if you want it). Just toss it all into a big pile and chop it all up together.

How much?

That depends on who you’re feeding and how hungry they are. Just eyeball everything.

To assemble: grab some toasted baguette slices and top them with a smear of the bean spread. Then add a spoonful of the artichoke/sun-dried tomato/red pepper/ olive/ parsley mixture on top.

That’s it!

I also like to top mine with crispy roasted asparagus when I have it. Yum!

These little bites are the perfect combination of smooth, crunchy, sweet, salty, and they have just a little bit of tartness from the sun-dried tomatoes.

And the best part is, you can mix and match the ingredients that you like. Don’t like olives? Leave them out. Love artichokes? Throw a few extra into the mix.

I hope you enjoy this snack as much as I do.

I’ll take a plate of these and a glass of white wine over a bag of chips any day!

There are approximately eleventy thousand recipes for chai cupcakes.

Some involve adding the tea leaves directly to the batter, some involve steeping the tea in water or milk before adding it to the batter. I’ve tried most of them (with various flavors of tea) and I can tell you that they’re all perfectly fine.

But guess what?

Some days I don’t feel like heating milk until it is just the right temperature and then steeping tea for what feels like INFINITYMINUTES.

Some days I just want cake. And I want it sooner rather than later so I came up with my own recipe (as I often do).

If you’re impatient like me, you will love these snack cakes.

If you like chai tea… and cake, you will love these snack cakes.

If you’ve never had chai tea but you’re a fan of spice cookies and gingerbread, you will love these snack cakes.

Also, This recipe is the best.

Yes, this one.

I realize that’s a bold statement but once you’ve tried one, I think you’ll agree.

And if that’s not enough, this is a one bowl situation. Oh yeah. Dump in the dry stuff, whisk. Dump in the wet stuff, whisk. Fold in some white chocolate chips and you’re ready to bake!

To make them, all you need to do is follow the snack cake recipe here with a couple of small changes:

•  Instead of 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar: Use 1 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar

• Instead of 1 cup of almond milk: Use 1 cup Tazo Chocolate Chai Latte Concentrate

• Omit the vanilla and citrus zest

• Fold a big handful of white chocolate chips into the batter just before baking. These give the cakes the “latte” flavor.

I’ve found that these cakes come out so much better if you let the batter rest for about 10 minutes before baking which is just enough time to preheat your oven to 350, drop some cupcake liners into a muffin pan, put everything away, and clean up your kitchen.

This recipe should make at least 12 snack cakes. I wound up with 14.

These little cakes are so good on their own that they don’t need anything else on top and that makes them super easy to freeze, store in an airtight container, or toss into a lunchbox.

However if you wanted a little something extra, you could always dust them with powdered sugar, dollop some sweetened whipped cream on top, drizzle a little honey over them, or smear on some frosting and call them cupcakes.

*To make these snack cakes for your vegan friends, use vegan white chocolate chips and Oregon Chai Vegan Chai Tea Latte concentrate (or your preferred vegan chai concentrate), and about 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. You can also leave the chocolate out completely. They’re fantastic either way. 

And that’s pretty much it!

Just give the glaze a few minutes to set up and you’re good to go!

This recipe is so fast and easy. And it’s all mixed up in one bowl so there’s hardly any clean up!

These are great to toss into a lunchbox or as an after school treat.

My kids prefer when I make these snack cakes with cow’s milk as opposed to almond milk so go with your preference on this one. Any milk works so if you normally drink coconut or rice milk, those will work just as well.

The snack cake pictured above was made as written. But the beauty of these basic little vanilla cakes is that you can add whatever you and your kids like so they’re totally customizable!

Lime zest, coconut, and/or a small can of crushed pineapple would all be great in the batter, but if you prefer to leave the fruit out completely, you could always add cinnamon, cardamom, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, (you get the idea).

And if glaze isn’t your thing, you can always drizzle over some chocolate or peanut butter ganache or maybe some warmed preserves, jam, honey, or lemon curd.

A dusting of powdered sugar is quick and easy too.

How about tea-flavored cakes? A couple teaspoons of matcha powder stirred into the batter would be amazing as would Earl Grey or chai. To glaze, just stir a little brewed tea into 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar until it is thin enough to drizzle over the cake(s).

Lavender would also be lovely with the vanilla. Just add a tablespoon or so of edible lavender flowers to the batter and fold gently to incorporate. Then drizzle a little vanilla glaze over the top.

Simple Vanilla Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp milk (almond, cow’s, coconut, rice)

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake(s). Let sit for several minutes to set up. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more milk and stir until it is the right consistency.

* Click on the image to enlarge the recipe.