Hey Hey! Guess what I did at work today? I will give you some hints. First, it’s a science class for 2-4 graders. Second, it’s edible. Third, it involved salt and ice.  Fourth, the answer is mentioned else where in this post. I have nothing to offer the person who guesses correctly, but you will earn my love and acceptance.

Anyway, after work I did a good deed by taking Mark’s car to the Honda Dealership for servicing. I didn’t think to take pictures, but they had a sweet set up – water, soda, muffins, bagels. You know those bagels were calling my name, but I already had lunch, so I sipped some cheater’s green juice instead. 

It was a relatively painless and quick trip. After this I went to the gym for some ellipticizing. I know, boring, right? Then I remembered that my Monday Mini Goal was to do three strength workouts, so I did a Level 2/3 hybrid of Jillian’s 30 Day Shred. I haven’t done this in a couple weeks and it was hard! I hate strength things. It’s boring and hard. I would rather run 8 miles than lift weights.

When I finished Mark wasn’t home yet (I wanted to clarify that ambus.tv is a job Mark does at night and on weekends. He has a much more standard, corporate job during the day), but I was already hungry, so I had dinner at a time my dad would approve of: 5:30. I just threw together lots of things to make a meatless party in a bowl. Here’s what I created.

Warm Lentil Salad

• 1 Cup Cooked Lentils (I previously and froze these)
• 1 can of Organic Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Medium Zucchini
• 1 Medium Summer Squash
• About 2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Romano Cheese
• 5 pieces of Fresh Dill chopped
• Red Onion (1/4 Cup chopped)
• 1 Capful of Balsamic Vinegar

1. Slice the zucchini and squash into 1/2 thick circles.
2. Put zucchini and squash on a cookie sheet and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic powder and Romano cheese.
3. Roast in oven at 425 for about 20 minutes. I broiled for a few minutes at the end as well.
4. This is very simple because I am a simple cook. Put every thing but the zucchini and squash in a big bowl.
5. Pour the olive oil that remains in the cookie sheet into the bowl.
6. Add in the squash and zucchini.
7. Sprinkle with more Romano Cheese.

I was really pleased with this simple dish. It was quite tasty, especially the burnt zucchini bits and fresh dill from my herb plant. If I had a grill I definitely would have grilled the veggies. And although I ate it while the zucchini and squash was still warm, I am sure it would be just as good cold. If there is any left over after Mark eats it, I will let you know tomorrow.

After dinner I had my dessert. I chose plain Oikos with a drizzle of Agave. Looks like ice cream, doesn’t it?

You can substitute Agave for any sweetener in a recipe. For example,

• Honey: Replace each cup of honey with one cup of agave syrup.
• Corn Syrup: When replacing a cup of light corn syrup, use 1/2 as much agave, and increase other liquids in the recipe by up to 1/3 of a cup. Like corn syrup, agave nectar will not crystallize.
• White Sugar: For each cup of white sugar replaced, use 2/3 of a cup of agave and reduce other liquids by 1/4 to 1/3 cup.
• Brown Sugar: For each cup of white sugar replaced, use 2/3 of a cup of agave and reduce other liquids by 1/4 cup.
• Check out this link for a full list of substitution ratios.

On Saturday I made two kinds of Vegan Brownies with agave nectar.

The first was Agave Vegan Brownies, a take on these brownies, minus the cinnamon and walnuts. The result was a fudgy and moist brownie, which I love – almost like the batter wasn’t quite baked enough! Agave is quite sweet and so these brownies are quite sweet. Mark kept asking if they were made with fruit, specifically, he tasted prunes. I think this might be because he assumes I bake with weird things, but they were very sweet. Next time I would either reduce the amount of agave, or add the cinnamon to cut the sweetness. I would mention that these required much more than 15 minutes of baking.

In the second batch, Pecan Butter & Cinnamon Brownies, I used the cinnamon and added about 1/2 cup of fresh Pecan Butter. I enjoyed the layers of taste that the cinnamon and Pecan Butter added better than the super sweet first batch, but they were a little dry. The texture of these was more like a solid piece of fudge than a moist or gooey brownie.

The moral of this baking story is that baking with agave is fun and delicious!

And if you want your very own agave nectar you are in luck!!!!! I am donating a bag of Trader Joe’s goodies to Angela’s Shop 4 A Cause. One item in the goody bag is Trader Joe’s Organic Blue Agave Sweetener!!!