Hotter than %$#&

The heat is back in Southern California. Last week I was a happy little clam welcoming fall making pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pie like creations but like a Jersey Shore girl in a bar fight, summer grabbed us by our hair and screamed "I'm not done with you yet." Yesterday's high: 108°F. No, that's not a typo.

The day started out great. I got up early and made a triple berry version of my baked pancake. Yum! The perfect Sunday morning breakfast. I ate breakfast outside on the patio then did a little gardening. It was actually quite nice in the morning.

Shelly's Baked Triple Berry Baked Pancake (Clafoutis -ish)

1 cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Cherries (fresh or frozen)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (SF Vanilla or Almond would be great too)

Batter
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Cottage Cheese
3/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Multigrain Pancake Mix (I use this)
1/4 cup Strawberry Protein Powder (20% off discount code info)
1/4 cup Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)

Saute berries and 2 T of SF syrup for a few minutes till slightly softened (or you can nuke them) Arrange berries (solids only) in a Pyrex baking dish or deep pie plate (any size around 8x8x2 would work) that has been sprayed with Pam non-stick spray. Whiz the batter ingredients in a blender till smooth.

Pour batter over top of the berries.

Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden brown.

Serve a wedge with a squirt of Sugar Free Land o Lakes Whipped Cream and/or a drizzle of warmed SF Maple Syrup. A piece topped with a dollop of sweetened Greek Yogurt is great too. I served it with a drizzle of warm SF Raspberry Maple Syrup.

Shelly's Raspberry Maple Syrup

1/4 cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Raspberry Torani Syrup

Stir to combine. Nuke for 30 seconds.

For lunch I filled my super cool bento and sat outside again, well I tried to... a few bites and I went inside for refuge from the heat. I jumped on the computer to check the temperature and it was already 100°F.

Pink Box (top left): Provolone & Manchego Cheese and a few homegrown, just picked, warm from the sun tomatoes
Green Box (top right): Baby Carrots
Blue Box (bottom left): Ham & Chicken Cold Cut Roll-ups
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Roasted Onion Dip

Shelly's Roasted Onion Dip

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup Roasted Onions
1 Tablespoon Mayo
Kosher Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper
pinch of Thyme

Whiz in a mini food processor till smooth.

Makes a great high protein dip for meats, fish, cold cuts, veggie dippers or mix it in chicken salad.

I tried to continue my day normally... laundry and other chores but it got to a point where you just couldn't and ultimately all I could do was collapse on the couch in a melted heap. I even tossed my dinner plan out the window and ended up making a Mango Lassi Protein Smoothie. I couldn't bare to turn on the oven or stand in front of the stove and I wanted minimal clean-up, washing the blender was about all I could handle.

It stayed hot forever too which is unusual for us. It was still 90 degrees at 10 PM when The Amazing Race finished. The new season started last night. Are you watching? Amazing Race is my favorite show. So my three are back Glee, Grey's Anatomy and The Amazing Race... good because I was sick of watching those Real Housewives and the above mentioned Jersey Shore and they seem to be the only thing on when I turned on the the TV.

It's supposed to be even hotter today. Note to self: research real estate in Greenland.