Author Archives: Lauren

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T-minus 7 hours until liftoff!
 
Are we excited??  You BETCHA!
 
Where are we going?
 
Here’s a hint.  (All of the Friends fans out there should appreciate this.. )
 
England swings like a pendulum do
Bobbies on bicycles, two by two
Westminster Abbey, the tower of Big Ben,
The rosy red cheeks of the little children.

Now, if you huff and puff and you finally save enough
Money up to take your family on a trip across the sea,
Take a tip before you take your trip; let me tell you where to go,
Go to England, Oh..

England swings like a pendulum do
Bobbies on bicycles, two by two
Westminster Abbey the tower of Big Ben,
The rosy red cheeks of the little children.

Your mama’s old pajamas and your papa’s mustache,
Falling out the window sill, frolic in the grass,
Tryin’ to mock the way they talk fun but all in vain,
Gaping at the dapper men with derby hats and canes

England swings like a pendulum do
Bobbies on bicycles, two by two
Westminster Abbey the tower of Big Ben,
The rosy red cheeks of the little children.

England swings like a pendulum do
Bobbies on bicycles, two by two
Westminster Abbey the tower of Big Ben,
The rosy red cheeks of the little children.

 
Roger Miller – “England Swings”

Canon Clark

We have a new addition to our happy little duo!

Meet Canon Clark!

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We named him after Superman (or rather his alter ego) with his extreme eyesight and powerfully sharp focus power. At least that’s what Kyle says!

Clark is our first DSLR and he comes with a bit of a learning curve. Unfortunately I haven’t had much time to play with it in the daylight. Here are a few of my favorite practice photos I’ve taken so far!


Mint Crinkle Cookies


Jules, my 9-year-old himalayan cat.


Tabasco, my mom’s 9-year-old cat (who thinks she’s a dog).


Granola I made in my dehydrator. I was teaching myself about focus and depth of field. At least what I understand of it.. =)

And now I’m off to bed.

Only 4 more days! *squeal*

Goodnight all!

Gravy Train

On my way home yesterday I picked up some mushrooms that were on manager’s special (along with 5 pounds of apples.. hey they were 89 cents a pound). Tonight I made dinner. After work – a feat in itself. I am usually way too hungry when I get home to actually cook and end up living on leftovers from my weekend cooking.

My new obsession, Appetite for Reduction, boasted a falafel recipe that was pretty simple to whip up. Unfortunately I forgot to add salt so they were only so-so. Next time I will remember the salt and they will be fantastic!

The real star of the meal was the mushroom gravy. Kyle’s parents bought me The Miso Book for Christmas and I finally got to make a recipe from it tonight.

Who knew gravy could be so delicious? Perfect served over some hot brown rice and falafel!

Kyle almost licked his bowl clean.

Happy Tuesday – and check out AFR and TMB! You won’t regret it!

Diner Groupie

For a late Valentine’s Day meal, Kyle took me to a restaurant I’ve been lusting after for almost a year.

The Chicago Diner!!

I was so excited I couldn’t stand it! For those of you that aren’t familiar with the Diner, it is an all vegetarian/mostly vegan diner in Chicago. Everything on their menu can be made vegan. I think the only non vegan things they have are cheese and eggs, but they have the vegan equivalents.

For a Sunday, that fun little diner was PACKED! When we walked in, we gave the greeter our name and he directed us around back to their heated patio to wait. After about 15-20 minutes a waiter came to bring us inside. Instead of going around the front, he brought us in the back door and through the kitchen. Both Kyle and I love that we were brought through the kitchen – proof that they have absolutely nothing to hide from their customers!

After having a seat, our waiter (Brian) popped over to see what we wanted to drink. I explained it was our first time and we weren’t quite sure what we wanted yet. He was super nice, telling us to take our time and ask questions if we needed. For every table in the restaurant being packed with people I never once felt rushed.

On Brian’s recommendation, I went with the reuben and sweet potato fries..

umm.. heLLOOOOOOOOOO gorgeous..

Kyle went with the Dagwood and a side of sesame ginger kale salad

That kale salad was tasty!

On top of all that deliciousness we shared a vegan chocolate chip peanut butter cookie dough shake!

The Chicago Diner forever has my heart!  I can’t wait to come back for another shake.. mmm..

I, of course, topped the meal off with some coffee!

Then we ran away from Sue..

Fin.

P.S. – Kyle’s NOT flipping me off in that picture.  I’m not sure what he’s pointing at, though..

Frozen Mint Chocolate Swirl

Just a quick and fun little recipe to use up those avocados on your counter.

Yep, avocados.

In vegan ice cream!

Creamy, delicious and good for you.. what more can a girl ask for??

(PS – can you spot my newest cookbook addition sitting on top of my beloved Veganomicon??)

Frozen Mint Chocolate Swirl
2 ripe avocados
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pure mint extract

In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth. Chill overnight and freeze in your ice cream maker. Once the ice cream is finished, but before you stop the machine, drizzle in chocolate. You could melt some chocolate chips with a bit of oil or mix up some quick “syrup” out of cocoa powder, sugar, canola oil and a bit of water.

If you aren’t devouring it immediately, make sure you let it sit at room temp for about 5 minutes before you try to scoop it!

Happy (week after your) Birthday, Dad!

I promised you pictures of Dad’s birthday dinner and I’m delivering!

Dad loved the enchiladas! I made my homemade enchilada sauce again to accompany the best vegan enchilada recipe I’ve known to date! I always use red sauce instead of the green sauce and sometimes switch up the type of veggies I add to the lentils, but that base recipe is fantastic!

Just ask my mom!

I also tried a new cheeze recipe to go on top of my masterpiece. The recipe was just recently posted on Post Punk Kitchen and can be found here. I had no carrots so I swapped in some frozen corn and a pinch of mustard powder.. let me just tell you that I can eat that stuff with a spoon and nothing else.

Top all that yumminess with avocado slices and some cilantro..

and chow down!

Be My Valentine!

Happy Valentine’s Day! And Happy Birthday Dad!
(more on HIS celebratory dinner at a later date)

Today marks both the national “holiday” and a bit of an anniversary for Kyle and I. A two and a half year one!

I wanted to do something special but definitely different. We are trying not to spend too much money since we’ve got a HUGE vacation coming up in.. oh.. 27 days. Not that I’m counting or anything..

So I made cheesecake. Vegan cheesecake. Vegan Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake.

Happy Breakfast to us!

I adapted it from the recipe for Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Vegan Pie in the Sky. For those of you that love a great dessert this cookbook is. a. MUST. I missed the fluffy, velvety goodness of cheesecake something fierce and this book certainly lets me have it whenever I choose! And the healthy way!

I only changed a few things in Isa’s drool worthy recipe. I swapped oil for the Earth Balance and unsweetened chocolate for half of the semi-sweet in the brownie crust. For the filling I used homemade almond butter for the peanut butter and pureed strawberries for the pureed banana and for the lemon juice it called for. I also left out the extra 2 tablespoons of sugar that were called for. I was a little afraid the strawberries would make the cake too acidic and it wouldn’t set right. I needn’t have worried. It was PERFECTION!

Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera to Kyle’s apartment for photos after we sliced it and I sent the rest with him to work. I look forward to the reviews of his coworkers!

Enjoy your “heart day” everyone!

First Veganversary!

My how time flies!

One year ago today I decided to try eating vegan for 30 days. Well I sure stuck with it for a LOT longer and I couldn’t be more pleased. The best part is the impact my diet has had on those around me. My older cousins are eating vegan meals on their own a few times a week. My 11-year-old cousin was excited to find a recipe for vegan cupcakes in her cupcake cookbook. My aunts and coworkers are asking me for healthier substitution options in their recipes. My parents have started only buying organic meats at the grocery store and are eating meatless meals a few times a week. I’m so proud of my loved ones!

To celebrate, I whipped up some chili! I used a recipe in one of my cookbooks and substituted the heck out of it. It’s got an awesome combo of grated tempeh, roasted potatoes, black beans, lentils, sun dried tomatoes and corn.

The best part?

It made a VAT and now I’ve got leftovers for the week!

Now to go grab some vegan cheesecake from the freezer (thanks to one of my awesome Christmas presents.

Happy belated New Year to all! Both Chinese and otherwise!

Eggplant Parm.. My Way

This may look a hot mess.

And boy oh boy it is.

A delicious hot mess.

I got this idea last Saturday while watching Giada make a veggie parm. I rushed right out, bought an organic eggplant and got to work! I sliced and salted the eggplant to drain the bitterness. Let me tell you that it makes all the difference in the world with tenderness. The salting created that beautiful eggplant texture I used to get at Maggiano’s..

There’s not really much of a recipe, just a basic idea. If you don’t like eggplant, swap it for some other yummy squash or even some sliced potatoes! Perhaps I’ll try that next..

What I used:
*1 large organic eggplant; sliced, salted, drained and roasted according to Veganomicon’s instruction
*2 cups kale leaves, chopped and sauteed in canola oil with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper
*3-3 1/2 cups homemade marinara (mine had lots of mushrooms, garlic, sauteed onions and crushed red pepper in it)
*1 recipe cheese “sauce” from Lulu’s Mac and Cheese (found here)
*Daiya cheese (Mozz flavor)

I oiled my big glass baking dish and spread some sauce on the bottom. Then I layered in 3 slices of eggplant (they were HUGE) followed by some kale, half of the cheese “sauce”, a sprinkling of Daiya and some sauce. I repeated that process once more and finished off the last layer of sauce with an additional sprinkling of Daiya. I baked the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Kyle and I had to restrain ourselves from eating the whole pan in one sitting. I finally know how to cure my eggplant parm craving and still treat my body right.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Spend time with those you love and I’ll see you back here soon!