A New Dip

Just something quick.

Another Black Bean Dip :)
Nice and tasty!

Black Beans
Onion Powder
Cumin
Cayenne
Salt
Tumeric
Cilantro
Olive Oil

Blend in a food processor and eat!
I tried some one a cracker...It wasn't great, but I don't know if that will be the case with all crackers and a smoother texture.

What Do You Eat When You're Sick?

Today I was "sik."  It is gross.  At least though, we have medicine in pill form to save me from a tissue-overload!  Ahhh!!
That'd be gross.
Anyway!  When I woke up, I thought I was going to school.  So I made a bowl of cereal with almond milk and dried cranberries.
Later, when I didn't go to school, I made CCK Chocolate Oatmeal.  The sad thing is, is that I had unsweetened cocoa so it was kind of bitter, but I did try to sweeten it with some extra chocolate chips (I didn't think of those though until I was one-third of the way through the bowl), agave, and sugar.
I made it extra thick, though.  Just how I like it :)
So what does one do on their day off because of sickness besides cook?
I read Specials by Scott Westerfeld.
I played Skyrim and am now part of the Dark Brotherhood.  (Assassins) It is pretty disturbed but I am only in it because of a horse you get :))
Sigh.
Furthermore, I did nothing.
I was curled up on a couch with Magical Unicorn PillowPet :))
I also watch Downton Abbey.  The best show ever. 
I hope I get better soon :( By Sunday preferably because I don't and can't afford to miss another horse lesson or I will go crazy.  More or less so.
More good news:  I got Catching Fire to read soon.
So excited.
Oh yeah!  Back to cooking.
I also just made some more rice, beans, celery, with turmeric, cayenne, dried cilantro, and cumin.
Warm and Spicy.
Two things I have been needing all day to get better.

They are FINALLY Here...

Granola Bars pg. 23 (Picture 2)


Notes: Regular recipe is great on it's own :))

Neapolitan Smoothie pg. 14 (Picture above)


Notes: Easy and good 


Basic Tofu Scramble pg. 28 (Picture 7)


Notes: Really Good.  I put in Pinto Beans and celery.  My dad and I loved it.  Can't tell the difference between eggs and tofu.


Dark Chocolate Pancakes pg. 43 (Picture 6)


Notes: I made 3 large pancakes...it was supposed to make 6.  The only two explanations are either I didn't measure right, or I ate three pancakes worth of batter...  I also ate these with the raspberry jam.


Chocolate Spice Muffins pg. 51 (Picture 4)


Notes: These are adorable and very good.  I ate a considerable amount of these within only a few days.  There were a dozen, and I ate six one day... :))


Bella Tacos pg. 91 (Picture 3)


Notes: Best. Tacos. Ever.


Taco Sauce pg. 293 (Picture 5)


Notes: Great with everything 


Fried Bananas pg. 259 (Picture 9)


Notes: They are okay-good if done correctly...


CCK Nutella 

Notes: Better than the "real" stuff. 


Yes!  I finally did it!  Good.  I need to see how many recipes I have left because it seems about half way if not a little more.

My dress!!!!

Yep, X1654 from dance-again.com is my dress.  :D and better yet, I will have it in time for the feis!  She is packing it as we speak!
Sigh of relief.
Next thing.
I might make waffles tomorrow if we get snow.
Where I am, we are supposed to get 3-6 inches.
Nice and cozy!
OR
I will make the Dark Chocolate Pancakes that I still haven't reviewed yet on here -tis tis me.
Hey, so the Nutella is gone now too :((
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
For dinner, I had four of my special tacos :))
Black beans, Green Mt. Salsa (medium), Corn Tortillas, and Daiya Mozz. Cheese.  YUM
It really is a great combo.  You just really got to try it.

Off topic a minute,
the weather channel has really pretty music when it is showing the satellite map....

Is there anything else I need to say...
No :)

I am a Bad Blogger

I never posted this past weekend!  And it is even more shaming that I had a three day weekend!  Gr.  Well, since I still haven't posted pictures and reviews, I will at least give two recipes :):
Flowery Smoothie (The word flowery just literally popped into my head)
1 c frozen/thawed-ish strawberries
1/2 a frozen/thawed banana
1/2-1 c Quick Oats
1 - 2 Small handfuls of Cacao Nibs (I used Sunspire)
A few icecubes (Optional)
1/4 Unsweetend Almond Milk

Blend and Serve

Note: I finally used some of the Cacao nibs that have been sitting in my baking drawer :)

Next.
I made homemade Nutella.  Only, it is better than Nutella.
It is healthier.
Vegan.
Lower in calories/fat.
No crap-ingredients.
And it is just really good.
My dad and I have started eating it.
It is almost half gone already after making it two days ago.

Did you know roasted hazelnuts seem to either taste like "Nutella" or popcorn?
Yes, I was eating some when they came out of the oven while I skinned them.

Sigh.
So good.
CCK is helping fulfill my dream of eating a "whole" container of Nutella :))

Anyway,
dance is tonight and maybe tomorrow too.  I hope not though because I am exhausted.
(Got too excited about some snow and ice accumulation warnings)
...

Next recipe.
Another TACO!

1 corn tortilla, warmed
A small handful of Daiya Mozzarella
Some lettuce
Black Beans, your choice of how much
Some Green Mountain Gringo Medium Salsa

Put it all together and eat!
I had two.
They were really, really good.
They are a little messy...
Feel free to comment about what eating tactic you used to get it all down :)
I went from all sides.
Yummy.

Miss Me?

Hello!
Sadly, this post will not have any pictures, but some other foodie-dance-random related this.
I have had many Happy Herbivore recipes in the past...whatever time period from the last post.  In fact, I just made one and happily ate it.  The serving was very large to my small appetite but I couldn't help myself to put it in another container for another day!  The second serving, I'm afraid, is going to have to be made into a third serving.  The "afraid" part, is my laziness speaking.  Sigh.
Well, besides that, I had dance last night.  And last week too.  :) My blister from November is still slowly healing along with a bruise on the opposite foot and just two days ago, my other toe started to hurt on the blistered foot and now, I must suck it up because it kills to walk but I strangely have no idea what happened to it.  Stupid Advil doesn't work either...Humph.
Still haven't watch Christ McCandless yet...
OH!  I had my first PB&J this past weekend on a Youth Group retreat on a blueberry bagel type thing... AMAZING.  My new favorite two-condiment sandwich :)
Also, I have started using Nutritional Yeast!  Only, my fear still plagues me to the point of using Latex Gloves when I do...I look so stupid.
Anyway, what else...I got taller :)
And I think I am more than half way done with the Happy Herbi. cookbook.
Back to dance though.
I have it again tonight and we are going to learn White Blanket, a set dance that will be needed for levels higher than Novice which I am currently in.
Our next competition is on Feb. 18.
I am still looking for a dress.  So frustrating!  I am thinking about getting a custom made on though.
And by the way, I suck at Jockey to the Fair.  My rhythm just disappears when I do it.
Hey, has anyone heard about the new TLC show coming out in the summer called, Tween Irish Dancers?
The producer called my teacher to ask her and our school to be on it.  She said no because she wouldn't do that to us unless we went and emailed the producer ourselves.
I looked into it last night.
It screams Toddlers and Tiaras + Dance Moms = Tween Irish Dancers.
The show will probably make the guys look gay.
The girls bratty.
And the dance, which they call, "Irish Jig Dancing," look stupid and snobby.
The just turned many peoples passion, look like complete scum.
At first, I was really excited.  I would only have done it if I got paid (Save up for college and beyond that), but then again, I don't really have time for a TV stalking me.
They will take all the good I say, and make it sound like I am cussing behind the camera and putting all the crap I didn't stop myself from saying, and put that in place of all the good.
The also say our dance costumes look strange.
That we have only "tween" dancers, but really, we have dancers from the ages of 3-80.
Buzz-kill.
So!
Who wants to watch that show now?
They already have 8 episodes recorded :D
(Sense the sarcasm)
Moving on!
DAIYA
I finally tried it.
The Mozzarella though.
It is fantastic.
Throw some Portobello mushrooms, lettuce, Happy Herbivore's Taco Sauce, and melt some cheese on a Spinach Wrap, and I have a really nice meal.  - I had this for breakfast the past two days :)
Or!
Lettuce, Cheese, and Kidney Beans on a Spinach Wrap, though I am strangely sensing I forgot to write down another very important ingredient...I hope I will remember.
What else do I need to tell you?
I am going to try to make my own granola bars...
I had the BEST taco ever from this cookbook...
Um.........................
I think that's it.
I promise to post this weekend too. :)

"I Do My Own Stunts," Especially Around Christmas

 - it will be on my vehicle (;-) one day

An early dinner to be exact.  For the pictures above.  So, I wasn't that hungry, but it was pretty good and I had a flood full of ideas that could be added to this big, messy, overloaded, wrap.

Spinach Tortilla Bean Wrap:

Ingredients

1 Spinach Wrap

1/2 Cooked Rice

1 c Black Beans, slightly drained - don't keep all liquid, but just enough for a sauce

Tumeric

Cayanne 

Fresh Cilantro, roughly torn

Cumin

2 Long, Large-ish Carrots, broken

Lettuce (Optional)

Cut Tomatoes (Optional)

Directions

Lay out the tortilla.

In a separate bowl, mix rice with the amount of spices you want and cilantro as well and the carrots - if using lettuce, chop and mix, same with tomatoes. Then, put on tortilla and add beans with sauce.  Voila.  It really is a good, filling wrap.  Sadly, I overcooked the rice a little and I didn't think to add the bean liquid as a sauce - it was really nice when I had the final bite that did have it on.  It did change it completely.  

The only thing with my wrap, is that I couldn't wrap it together!  Too big! So, it was very complicated to eat.  Filling too.  I had a whole can of beans... Arghhh :) Lots of Protein and other stuffs... 

The wrap was also very hot.  It was, because I put the spices on the rice and mixed some with the beans.  I had a tall glass of Almond Milk, Crasins, some So Delicious Mint Chocolate Milk, and gum - still chewing... It hurt :( 

The carrots helped though too.

So why the "Stunts" sticker?

I really like it :)

I want it.  Badly :-)

Oh!  Also, the purple unicorn you see, which is also pink, is another gift from my friend Brandy!  Its name is Magical Unicorn.  Isn't that creative?  I got it right from the tag!  But maybe I'll name it Cake Dough :) That's what unicorns remind me of... Don't ask.  Brandy's boyfriend reminds me of waffles.

Today is officially the last day of school this year!  No school tomorrow!  :D  Exciting.
See ya tomorrow!

The Salad

From Savvy Vegetarian

Notes: We did not cook the black beans.  Also, we used basil.  Another thing, I don't know what they mean by this country in the Cooking tips because Savvy Vegetarian is in Canada - I think... yeah?  We also used jalapeno, not ginger.  We used green beans not yellow.  We used garlic cloves not garlic powder.  

So today was Family Shopping day that we did for the first time... It was fun.  We went to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch where I discovered I am really having soy in moderation; not once a month.  We had tofu battered with rice flour and spices and served with a really fantastic sauce.  Next, I had a bowl that contained food (will try to post picture) that would normally give me two meals a day!  :) It was mixed vegetables with vermicelli noodles and more tofu.  The waitress didn't hear me say the other similar option with no tofu, but it was great either way.  I also had Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade.  Yummm...  Now, as for what we bought, we went shopping mostly for ourselves :) My dad got a Scent Lock Camo Jacket, my mom running shoes, and me a perfume from a local tack shop called Eau de Toilette that came from Goode Rider - it smelled really good.  Sadly, we didn't find any new riding pants there for me since my old pair is shockingly too big everywhere and my oldest pair almost fit but was a little small.  Me being picky, couldn't find the same brand as my most-recent pants from Kerrits or something Carrot-like.  

(My mother is very jealous of my new scent and is sorry that we can't have the same scent :) 

Ok, that's it.  I am going to explode and die.  But, before I do, I will finish my very first bottle of Fiji water of 15 oz. 

Very Bored...

Catching onto how miserably bored I am?  My parents are watching Christmas movies and I don't like Christmas movies... Sad, isn't it? :) Anyway, I could have posted another fantastic recipe (not from Happy Herbivore) from Savvy Vegetarian.  It was great!  Ah, I have been choosing really great recipes, yeah? ;) It was a Quinoa salad my dad made.  I was going to a few days ago, but I was too lazy...and busy!  So to explain the pictures,first, I wanted to find a possible new background for the blog, the dancing banana, but I found the decaying-looking flowers and chose that instead.  Next, the Saltines, I have the craziest craving for them!  Now, as for the cartoon, I loved it and found it on another blog that I didn't linger looking at too long... By the way, about the burgers I made - Quick Burgers - they are also fantastic when it is just the raw mix and it was really good as a chip/tortilla dip... same with the Quinoa salad I will hopefully post tomorrow.

Oh my goodness!  I am craving Tacos too!  Thank God Happy Herbivore has them!  Ugh I just need to get through the next recipes I planned... Grrrr...

"Everyday Happy Herbivore"

                   Someone heard me try to open the door for a better picture.... he had been sleeping and on his back... Thanks a lot Cole.

First of all, I just want to say how good my tummy feels right now.  It's great.  Yesterday, I think, yeah, I had the very first recipe from the cookbook called Cinnamon Bun Smoothie and then today, just an hour ago and a very moments, I made and cooked five bean burgers and ate two Quick Burgers. They were great! GRRRRR :) Besides the greatness of the recipes, I don't have dance again till January 7, 2012 :( but that gives my heel some time to heal!  Hehe Anyway, here ya go:


Cinnamon Bun Smoothie - Serves 1 page. 13


Notes: I used Oat milk and added no extra milk.  Also, "whiz" means blend :)



Quick Burgers - makes 4 burgers page 81


Notes: I cooked 10 minutes on each side and it still wasn't cooked all the way through.  I didn't have instant oats so I used rolled oats and soaked them in hot water till I was done smashing and mixing the rest of the ingredients.  I also used Dijon mustard.



Enjoy!  

Happiness in Food, Friends, and Life

11.13.## is my birthday!  Tomorrow.  :D SO!  I had all my best friends over, 7 - two boys and fours girls + me being a girl haha.  I LOVE my friends!  They are the best!  It was the best time ever and they all agreed too!  One of my friends, I think I had called him Bryant before... he locked himself in the uppermost room's closet.  I and the girls fled outside while my other friend, "Louise," was in the bathroom on the floor below Bryant.  When I and the girls came back in, since we had run outside, we saw Bryant looking absolutely terrified and seemed like he could have been shaking, he was so pale!  Thank goodness Louise saved him.  Well, we ran around the house even more after that for maybe three hours making fools of ourselves on my front yard since it is a busy street - dancing, waving and yelling.  The guys gave me and two of my other friends piggyback rides, which by-the-way, absolutely terrified me now.  Louise and Bryant are maybe four to five inches taller than me.  I didn't feel comfortable getting on Bryant's back, so my friend "Keira" had to pick me up the few inches and get me on... "Oh my goodness!" "Bloody hell!"  "Oh crap!"  "AHHHHHH!" "Put me down!  Put me down!  Bryant, put me down!" "I think I am going to throw up, oh no."  "Maybe not..."  I don't like the notion that I am going to fall.  Planes, backs, buildings, steps, elevators, ect.  Scared. My friends said I looked like I was going to puke, I looked extremely pale - which is saying something considering how pale I already am, and I was just so scared and wide-eyed.  While I was on him still, I was grabbing his shoulders, had my fingers in his neck, and arms wrapped around his throat.
"You almost made me fall," Bryant said from me holding on to his neck.
"Well, I thought I was going to fall because you leaned forward, so I thought that if I fell, you were coming down with me." I said in mock-amusement.
"That's not nice."
"Hm."
Love my friends.
Anyway, here is a recipe and then I shall go back to my amazing story and how Vegan ties into it:

Very Simple Black Bean Spread
1 can of Black Beans, not drained.
A little Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Pepper
Lots of Paprika - or to your liking

Put in food processor.  Blend to liking.  When ready, put some more Paprika on.

Oat Milk Smoothie
A little less than 1/4 cup Oat Milk
1 Chilled, In freezer for 1 hour, Chopped Banana
Vegan Chocolate Chips
Ice Cubes

Blend to liking in Blender.

Nice and easy!  Now back to the story.
Cupcakes - I will post pictures later - from Carousal Cupcakes.  Sadly, none of them were Vegan, so I happily got six cookies from Whole Foods that were.  They only had six... 3 Chocolate Chips and 3 Gingerbread/Molasses.  Yummm.
We also had pizza.  Peppers and Onion, Plain, and a Pepperoni.  I had a few bits with as little cheese as possible of the Peppers and Onions.  It was really good, but  I mainly had salad - Button Mushrooms, Kidney Beans, some lettuce, Craisins, and Tomatoes.  Apparently to my dad, this didn't sound all that great, but it actually was really good.  It was even better w/o the lettuce.
Have I cooked anything else recently?  Hmm... I don't think so.
Hey!  News!
I am going to try and be a Soy-Free Vegan!  But I will, on occasion, have some soy.

Life is soooo good.  Like food :))

One Starving Girl, A Food Processor, and One Very Happy Stomach

Well, I don't have a picture, but I can sure tell you it was probably the most beautiful thing I've seen in a while ;)
I was very hungry, had tons of vegetables in the fridge to sate my veggie craving for the next few days and I should have them all the time, and have been wanting a wrap also.
And boy!  It was delicious!

Ingredients for Spread
about a teaspoon of salt
about of teaspoon of pepper
about 2 tablespoons of olive oil (yes, it will be a little watery, but the spread should be chunky and the taste it gives is good)
1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of paprika on the side

Directions
Put it all in the food processor.  Leave it be chunky and serve or refrigerate.

Ingredients for Wrap
A few rings of Peppers (Green, red, yellow, ect.)
A little less than 1/4 cup Button Mushrooms (maybe 8 mushroom tops)
2 lettuce leaves
1 Tortilla

Directions
Spread 2 teaspoons of Chickpea Spread on the Tortilla.
Then lettuce.
Then mushrooms.
Then peppers.
Now eat it and love it :)

Hmmm... I will have more recipes over the next week, except the weekend - it is my birthday :D
Well, I am excited for the foods of this week, nutritionist tomorrow, but sadly, no dance :(

An Extremely Early Dinner

One use for the "Fudge": Smoothie :)

1 Frozen Banana

A few chunks of Frozen Fudge

Maybe 1/3 cup Regular Soymilk

Blend and serve 

Makes 1 serving.

Yeah, I had a very early dinner... I was going to cook some Collard Greens tonight from a recipe I had, but maybe that'll be next Friday since I have something Mon, Tuesday, maybe Wed, and Thursday.  - Technically everyday.  

Where are the pictures from last nights' dinner?

I am not sure I can put them up tonight - taking pictures of some things we are going to sell.  Plus, my parents are using it too so...

I also had a picture of the first shots of the season on a target... Got better towards the end but wow... Bad... My consistence was good though: Bottom right hand corner.  Lost an arrow though.  Down to six plus two with no tips.  

So, when will I cook again?  Hopefully soon.  I also found another cookie recipe and I have all the ingredients!  They were everything I used for the fudge!

"I took some time out for life."

:) I am now finally writing again!  But not for long.  Vacation and a wedding are coming up!  10 days!  Sighs, for the past nine days I have been kicking myself to get on here and type again, but I have been either too lazy or busy doing something else that I haven't been able to get here.  Anyway, I have multiple new recipes that my family and I have had in the past few days.  First of all, Black Bean Hummus, which is excellent!  I just put the two tablespoons of the hummus on a medium whole-wheat wrap... It was amazing!  I also came up with my own recipe :)  I entered it in a WholeFoods contest but I didn't win :(  But that doesn't mean my recipe wasn't great!  'Cause it was!  

A Dancer's Raw Energy Boost

1 cup of unsalted almonds

1 cup of (Vegan; Dark) Chocolate Chips

1/3 cup of raisins

1/2 cup of craisins

1 teaspoon of salt (+ maybe a little more - pinch?)

.......

Mix together in a bowl and done :) 

And if you want a serving amount, I have been having 1/4 cup.

........

Next, my dad made three baguettes.  The first time he tried, the yeast didn't "activate," so he started again a few days ago, and today, we had three amazing breads.  Well, we had one :).  I will try and post the recipe tomorrow, because I am too comfy to get up right now, sorry.  

The next recipe, is Stuffed Vegetarian Peppers.

Yum

So, over the next few days, last chance for me to type is Wed., I will try to keep writing and keep you posted.  And just a few songs that remind me of where I am going:

My New Hampshire ( I get the best memories listening to these songs - and whenever I am listening to a song up to these places, that song will remind me of the place, hence, these songs:)

My Maine

My MA

My CT

My VT

My Boston

My RI

My New England

The Different Meals of the Day

                                                                  Spiced Chickpea Soup

                                                                     Date-Nut Bread

                                                                     Lunch <3
Okay, I got to make two new recipes today!  First of all, the first thing I ate today, was the third picture (Lunch <3).  It was the rest of the blackberries from the other day mixed with the Spiced Vanilla Granola; that was REALLY good!  Next, the first thing I made, was the second picture which was the Date-Nut Bread (recipe at bottom); earlier today my grandmother brought me to Whole Foods to get some things we didn't have to make the bread and soup.  While we were there, I got the pecans, chickpeas, some other things I don't remember, and Vegan chocolate chips :) (just for other recipes).  I only got the chocolate chips because this morning, I was watching Totally Delicious TV: Totally Vegetarian.  On the show, the woman made some Jamaican Tofu Jerk (http://delicioustv.com/2007/06/jamaican-jerk-tempeh/) with Rice with Toasted Vermicelli (http://delicioustv.com/2007/06/vermicelli-rice/) and Chickpea Salad with spicy lemon dressing (http://delicioustv.com/2007/06/chick-pea-salad-with-basil-and-pine-nuts/), and for dessert Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cake http://delicioustv.com/2007/06/vegan-banana-chocolate-chip-cake/) (the cake had the (Vegan) chocolate chips, but you don't need those).  Anyway, the bread was amazing!  And the soup, I only had a sip, but my dad had it and said it needed to be thickened, so if you make it, add extra chickpeas to thicken it (my dad added rice before we saw we had extra chickpeas).  Also, my lunch was excellent too!  ;), here's the recipes:
Spiced Chickpea Soup- serves 4 to 6

• 1 1/2 (Plus more to thicken) cups dried chickpeas
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped (fresh) flat-leaf parsley 

"Put the chickpeas in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan (or the pot you will cook the soup in) and add water to cover by about 3 inches.  Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat, cover, and let soak for 1 to 2 hours.  Drain and rinse.
"In a large pot, combine the chickpeas, bay leaf, and 7 cups water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the chickpeas are almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
"In a medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onion, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, ginger, and cinnamon and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the onion mixture to the chickpeas and simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes.  Stir in the 1/4 teaspoon salt.
"Discard the bay leaf.  Transfer half of the soup to a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  pour the puree back into the soup pot.  Add additional water, if necessary, to thin the soup.  Add the lemon juice and more salt, if desired.  Stir in the parsley and ladle into serving bowls."
Date-Nut Bread-makes 2 loaves (20 slices)

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I didn't have this, so I used probably 3 quarters of a hot chocolate packet; I drank the rest)
• 2 cups chopped pitted dates
• 1 1/2 chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (to toast: heat a saucepan, then put the nuts in the pan and stir occasionally and shake pan too till a fragrance emanates from the nuts)
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (doesn't matter about the old-fashioned) 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (I didn't have light, so I just put less brown sugar in; 3/4 cup)
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup dark molasses (put less in if you don't want the taste to be too prominent)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

"Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.  Stir in the dates, nuts, and 1/2 cup of the oats.
"In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, oil, brown sugar, eggs, milk, molasses, and vanilla.  Stir the dry ingredients into the milk mixture with a wooden spoon just until combined.
"Lightly grease (or use parchment paper) two 8-by-4-inch pans, then dust lightly with flour.  Divide the batter evenly between the loaf pans.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup oats over the loaves.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick or paring knife comes out the clean when inserted in the center.  Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes.  Turn the loaves out onto a wire rack and let cool completely."
 (Goes well with cream-cheese.  BTW, my mom couldn't stop talking about how she had been craving Date-Nut Bread before she had me, and how she grew up eating Date-Nut Bread until the brand was discontinued.  No one in her family ever thought to get the recipe)  Also, when I was cutting the onion, instead of me crying, I felt depressed.  Strange right?  Anyway, one last thing.  A few hours ago I was practicing the piano, and while I was playing I Celebrate the Day by Relient k, I became frustrated and stopped halfway through the second to last page, and while I sat there, I started yelling at myself to keep playing and I kept trying to find reasons why I should keep going, until I found one: Berklee probably looks for students who don't give up, and they probably teach the students to keep going and not to give up on something you've already started.  (Such as a song), and I kept playing.  I finished triumphantly.  GOOD DAY! ;P BYE