Category Archives: random

And the award goes to…

I’m sorry I didn’t come back “tomorrow” from my last post. Things have been all up and craziness. We’re moving my Grandma this coming weekend and I feel like I haven’t seen my mom forever, so Sunday I hauled myself down to their house to have lunch with Grandma and dinner with Mom and Dad. Then a friend I haven’t seen forever called, so I went to her house for dessert, a movie and some wine! Yesterday my teeth started aching, dang wisdom teeth, so I have to try to schedule an oral surgery appointment that I can’t afford.

See? Craziness!

Now for some exciting news! Last week I received a note from Sheila over at Elements. The note informed me that I was a recipient of the Versatile Blogger Award! I was so excited and honored! My first award! And an award from a fantastic blogger! Sheila has some beautiful photography of such yummy recipes. The kind of recipes that make you want to have taste-o-vision installed in your computer so you can taste all the yumminess. Please head on over and check out her awesome blog!

Thank you SO much, Sheila!

The rules of accepting and passing on the Versatile Blogger:

*Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post.
*Tell 7 random facts about yourself.
*Pass the award on to 15 new found bloggers.
*Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to and let them know you’ve done so.
*Let the giver of the award know you accept it…or not!

7 random facts about me:
1: I love to dip things. Salsa, guacamole and chips, veggies and hummus, apples and peanut butter, bread and olive oil.. I’m even known to put condiments on the plate instead of on a sammich just so I can dip it.
2: I spent a year working in a dressage horse barn in Brentwood, New York (on Long Island) and 4 months working on an Arabian horse farm in Tucson, Arizona. Unfortunately I’m not currently riding.
3: My mom is my best friend.
4: My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. Oatmeal, bakes, granola, toast, cereal and almond milk.. it’s ALL good!
5: I have an Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts. I’m sorta working on a painting right now but I have painter’s block!
6: I’m traveling to London this year or next to visit my Aunt’s sister (she’s working over there right now) and brother-in-law. Any suggestions on vegan eats?! And Indian ones? =)
7: I don’t have a favorite genre of music. All types of music have beauty and emotion and I want to experience it all.

15 Newly Found Bloggers:
1. Noelle @ An Opera Singer in the Kitchen
2. Anna @ Newly Wed, Newly Veg
3. Heather @ with a Side of Sneakers
4. Snacking on Sunshine
5. Heidi @ Food Doodles
6. Mighty Vegan
7. Jamie @ Make it Healthy
8. Vegan Culinary Crusade
9. Nichole @ Vegan Niche
10. Dreena’s Vegan Recipes
11. Bitt @ Bitt of Raw
12. Mel @ Melomeals: $3.33 a Day
13. Namastegurl
14. Jessica @ Clean Green Simple
15. Sarah @ Baking Serendipity

So there we have it! I love TONS of blogs and I wish I could pass the award on to everyone. Just know that if you haven’t been listed here, I still visit your blog daily and drool over your recipes. =)

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Blueberry Lime “Cheesecake” with a Kick

The internet connection I was getting in my house is now completely inactive.

That sucks.

Of course that’s what I get for not setting up my own internet connection.

So now I’m sitting at Starbucks, sipping on a sparkling water (my first time drinking this San Pellegrino stuff) and kicking myself for forgetting to download the pics of my newest bake from this morning!

Another time, another post I guess!

With the temperatures reaching the mid 70s yesterday, I was itching to spend the day outside. When I got home from work, Kyle surprised me with some yummy wraps for a picnic lunch. He roasted his own red peppers, caramelized some onions and placed them on top of a nice soft green onion tortilla with a layer of red pepper hummus and some romaine! He’s so sweet sometimes. ;)

We packed up those wraps with some extra snackables I had in the pantry and headed out to the park to soak up some sunshine. Leave it to me to soak up too much and burn myself.

Darn my fair skin.

Lunch was DELISH!

Afterward we wandered around outside the strip malls to soak up some more sunshine in small doses. We would have preferred to play frisbee, but the ground was SOAKED from 2 straight days of rain. Sadness.

After a while we started to feel peckish again.

Kyle offered to take me to my absolute favorite restaurant in this town, La Villetta. I was ecstatic! This place is the only place in town I’ve found that is super vegan-friendly. However odd my request may seem, they always get it right. And get it right with a smile.

I left the camera in the car and was too excited to take photos with my phone. I just wanted to enjoy our meal. I know, bad blogger!

We started with a free bruschetta appetizer (it’s customer appreciation month after all) and their yummy fresh bread. Kyle decided to get the endless soup, salad and breadsticks. I decided on pasta. The part I was most excited about: the marinara sauce. I have an obsession.

I. Love. Marinara.

I had fettucini cooked in olive oil with tons of fresh sauteed veggies. Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, onions and jalapenos all made it into the pool. Along with some garlic and oil. The marinara came on the side.

I have to say I was SO impressed with this that I will request it the next time we go in.

If you’re ever in the area and decide to go to La Villetta, be sure to ask for Melissa. She was the best server I’ve had in a long time (they’re all good but she was fantastic!)

After stuffing ourselves silly, we decided to walk some of that off by stopping at Walmart to pick up Season 5 of CSI. WOO HOO!

We hurried home to watch.

And make tarts.

This raw tart idea came from Vegan Culinary Crusade. I’ve been seriously drooling over this tart for almost 3 days and finally decided to make it. Kyle did deserve a yummy dessert after all his hard work from making lunch and taking me out to a fantasmic meal!

Boy was this thing worth the effort I put into it. I don’t think the filling whipped up as well as Lisa’s but it was tasty! To me it tasted just like cheesecake filling, but better! And way more nutritious!

Blueberry Lime “Cheesecake” with a Kick (adapted from Vegan Culinary Crusade)
1 cup raw walnuts
4 dates, pitted
pinch of salt

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
3 dates, pitted
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons non dairy milk (I used soy milk, but you could use raw homemade milk to keep it completely raw)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Fresh blueberries (or strawberries) to top

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts, dates and salt until fully combined and formable. Press the crust mixture into tart tins, little souffle cups, shot glasses, whatever you’ve got that’s tiny and cute. Make sure to press up into the sides a bit so you can see the beautiful crust after you put the topping on. I got about 3 small tarts and a shot glass tart out of this recipe. Plus I had some filling leftover (which I used in my chickpea bake this morning..) Place the containers in the freezer while you make the filling.

Without rinsing the food processor, toss in the cashews, dates and cayenne and let ‘er rip. While the processor is on, add in the lime juice and milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together. It will look like a thick cream cheese mixture. I think mine took about 10 minutes.

Remove the tart shells from the freezer and fill them with that yummy cashew filling. Even out the tops of your filling a bit and place back in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to chow, remove from the freezer, top with blueberries or strawberries and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.

You will enjoy this.

I guarantee it.

Check out Vegan Culinary Crusade. This woman is amazing and has fantastic recipes. I have so many of them bookmarked already and she just keeps adding more. I can’t wait to conquer another one!

Neat-o Cool!

I want to start off this post by saying that tonight I had the best “neat”loaf I’ve ever had. Technically it’s also the first I’ve ever had, but it will not be the last! The best meatloaf prize still goes to Kyle’s mom. =)

More on dinner in a bit.

Last night was a blast! It was great to see the family and my little niece.

She is way too cute for her own good!

We made pizzas. Lots of them.

NOM!

Dad's cutting up their deep dish creation!

I made myself a veggie one and proceeded to eat 3/4 of the thing myself!

Worth every bite! Every veggie that was laid out ended up on this bad boy!

I blame it on these:

Mom’s margaritas go down too easy. =)

I got tonight’s recipe for Neatloaf over at Oh She Glows. Angela absolutely NAILED the texture of real meatloaf with her recipe for the Ultimate Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf. My friend Melba enjoyed her first vegan meal with this recipe. I was happy to be the one to make it for her!

This recipe made a lot of food! Last week I was all about my Split Pea and Potato Soup and this week is all about the split peas in this loaf! I’m way too excited for lunch!

I was too excited to eat this and didn't take many photos!

I followed Angela’s recipe almost exactly. Why change perfection? My differences were to use yellow split peas instead of lentils.. are they the same thing? I really didn’t know but just assumed I could swap them easily. I was right in that regard! Anyway.. let’s see.. I also left out the carrot and added a 1/2 ounce bag of dried crimini mushrooms in with the lentils while they were cooking. I added 1/4 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke (the company proudly claims that they are vegan and gluten-free right on the label. Mega cool of them) and used the toasted bread method for the bread crumbs. I pureed 75% of my onion mixture as well as the lentil mixture since my chunks of onion were pretty large.

You know what else? I made my own ketchup to go on top.

Oh yes I did.

It was easy but really messy. Just an fyi: warm homemade ketchup just tastes like marinara sauce. As it cooled I noticed it tasting more like ketchup. Maybe that explains why I like to eat spaghetti right out of the fridge..

Homemade Ketchup
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 cloves crushed and diced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 bay leaves
pinch of salt
pinch of cloves
pinch of cinnamon

In a medium pot over medium heat, add all ingredients and heat until it just starts to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the tomatoes from burning. Cool and puree in a blender. Store in the fridge and try not to just eat it with a spoon..

Cheers for Chocolate!

When the mail lady walked into the bank this morning with a little flat package under her arm, I about leaped for joy.

A few weeks ago I won a contest for some chocolate over at Diet, Dessert and Dogs. I ripped open the package with excitement to show my coworkers my prize! The bar came wrapped in a cute kitchen towel and a nice note from Ricki. =)

I had never heard of the company, Camino. They produce fair trade, organic and vegan chocolate, definitely a major treat! I won the Coconut flavor. I had never had a chocolate bar with coconut, so the thought intrigued me quite a bit.

Cute packaging.
A little about the company printed on the inside of the outer wrapper.
French writing.

My dad always brings home Canadian chocolate bars from his business trips. I truly believe that the best chocolate is encased in those brightly colored wrappers I can’t read. This chocolate bar is no exception!

Oh man I cannot praise this bar enough. So rich and dark chocolatey with a light crunch from the coconut, almost reminiscent of a Nestle Crunch bar. I also LOVE the way the bar is sectioned off, tiny squares, 4 across. The perfect amount of luxurious and rich chocolate for a pick-me-up!

Now that I’ve got you all drooling for some chocolate (sorry!), Kyle and I are off to spend the evening at my parents’ house. My brother and sister-in-law are bringing my niece out for a visit and we’re having a pizza bar!

Enjoy your Saturday night!

Lunch at Whole Foods!

Hello there!

Sorry I’ve been slack with the recipe posting. I’m finally recovered from some N-A-S-T-Y viral thing I picked up that landed me in the ER 4:00 Friday morning for severe dehydration. Pretty scary there but after some drugs and some rest I seem to be back to myself. And after 4 straight days of being pretty much confined to the couch, I made a run for it.

This morning, I took Kyle and ran to Whole Foods. Ever since my first visit last year, I’ve been jonesing to get my lunch on there! Today we did!

I ate the entire container. After 4 days of pretty much nothing but clear liquids and bread I think I deserved it.

I was able to try farro for the first time. Oh my. I’ve GOT to get some of that for the pantry. Yum! Also in there were some awesome marinated mushrooms, roasted garlic cloves, roasted beets, spinach, cilantro and teriyaki marinated tofu, a spicy grain salad and some indian veggies over cardamom rice.. oooooh yum! Plus lots and lots of SWEET POTATO! Mmm.. I’m also guilty of eating some guacamole from the sample tray.. >_>

I really wish there was a Whole Foods closer. I would probably eat lunch there every week!

In other awesome news, Angela over at Oh She Glows featured my Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits on her Recipe Link Love page! I am so thankful to have my own recipe featured on her page with so many great vegan recipes! Scoot on over and check them out. I’ve got so many more pages bookmarked I’m amazed my computer still functions.

Have a great remainder of your Sunday night and I shall return soon with some more recipes. Promise!

Zoom Zoom

For a day off, I was sure busy!

I went to the Chicago Auto Show, something I have wanted to do for a few years now! The bank gave all the employees free tickets, so all it cost me was parking! And lunch! But we’ll get to THAT later!

Even for a Wednesday afternoon the show was pretty packed.

A sea of people!

Oh and did I mention that it was over 50 outside??

Here are some of my auto show highlights!

Hooray for spinning Mazda color wheels!

For pimpin' out the wheels..

This was the coolest paint job..

How many colors of silver/gray do you need.. really?

Look at the rear of this Lexus concept vehicle! It goes 202 mph. The spoiler is what keeps it on the ground. Yikes!

Chevy's new rechargeable car. It will only raise your electric bill about $2 a month!

And now.. my favorite vehicle of the day (aside from my own Mazda.. whose name is Inky..)

The Infiniti Essense.

Not in production and purely a concept car, Infiniti is going to take elements and incorporate them into their line. But this car – Friggin’ GORGEOUS.

Yes, that is luggage. It comes with the car.

What did I do after all this excitement??

I went to lunch, of course! And at a PURELY VEGAN RESTAURANT! Well, after checking out the cool leaping water inside the Mc Cormick.

Awkward self portrait to prove I was the one taking the pictures!

I had looked up a few vegan restaurants before heading up to Chicago and settled on Soul Vegetarian East. This is a tiny little restaurant on the south side with a great little atmosphere and lots of regulars. The wait staff was super friendly and listed her favorites after I asked her opinion. A gentleman (who I assume was one of the owners) made sure to check up on me while I waited for my food, offering to go in the back and rough up the cook for being too slow and a woman stopped on the way to her table to ask what I was having. The two college kids at the table next to me were kind enough to tell me what they were having, too.

So what did I get?

On the recommendation of the waitress I decided on the breaded tofu sandwich with a side of carrot salad. I could not believe I was not eating fish. Everything was mega tasty and I envision myself going back for another round at some point. Next time I want to get something with their BBQ sauce. It smelled heavenly wafting from the college table. My only real complaint was, being in a residential area, parking was a pain in the neck. I almost left before I even went in, but after 15 minutes of searching for a spot and circling the block, a spot opened up on my last lap.

My lewt!

After my incredibly filling lunch, I headed to one of my favorite little grocery stores up in Olympia Fields. Bizios Fresh Market. They always have their “old” bananas packaged really cheap in huge quantities, so I grabbed some of those, some kale, black peppercorns, some jimaca (which I’d never tried before but obviously liked since I ate the entire container on the way home) and some Opal apples. I had never heard of Opal apples before, but they were on sale and felt ultra crisp so I grabbed a few.

Next stop was Trader Joe’s for some staples along with some PEANUT flour! Woo HOO! So excited to try it! My last stop of the day on my journey home was a market I have always seen but never stopped inside of. Brookhaven Marketplace in Mokena. Oh my.

They have a HUGE selection of produce and some awesome tofu options. I only picked up some vital wheat gluten and a humongo container of fresh sun dried tomatoes, but spent some time browsing. This fantastic place has many of the things I would journey all the way to H Mart to buy. I can’t wait to go back there with Kyle!

Well, it is off to bed for me! Too much excitement! Have a great night!

Oh greens, how I love thee..

I have been craving greens something fierce. You know how those chocolate cravings can get at *ahem* certain times? It was THAT strong of a craving. So strong that 90% of everything I bought at the store was green. Included in that “everything” were some chard leaves. Some time back I was floored by a unique breakfast creation on The Edible Perspective. Ashley cleverly created the green wrapped breakfast.

I couldn’t wait for this morning to come so I could chow down! I will tell you, these were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G and they kept me full through work. All four hours of it. Aaah banking hours..

Chard Wraps (adapted from The Edible Perspective)
2 large swiss chard leaves, washed and de-stemmed
1 tablespoon cocoa walnut butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon dried blueberries
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
sprinkling cayenne pepper (optional)
1 banana, halved

Split walnut butter in half and spread evenly on both chard leaves. Sprinkle coconut, flax, blueberries and maple syrup evenly between leaves, followed by cayenne. Place banana halves in leaves, closest to the tip, and roll ‘er up! I can’t wait to make this again!

This afternoon Grams and I lunched at Baker’s Square. I have never had a bad experience in the many years I’ve enjoyed going there. The waitress was wonderful and kindly wrote down the substitutions I made to my order (the butternut squash salad) to veganize it (leaving out the chicken and bacon while adding avocado, tomato and olives with a teeny side of hummus). My options when wanting to dine out are pretty limited around here so it is key to have a waitress that pays attention and gets the job done. She definitely got an extra tip. =)

To add to my already fantasmic day, Kyle made dinner!

He’s learning to cook in general and picked out a recipe from Peas and Thank You for Roasted Chickpea Tacos. I’m pretty sensitive to salt so we would use a bit less next time, but the flavors were right on point. How great is that? Chickpeas in a taco! Love it!

As an added surprise, Kyle surprised me with a bottle of perfume I’ve been lusting after for a few years. And momma surprised me with a new book to read!

I just finished Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi on Thursday. Not for the faint of heart, this book was everything I expected it to be; beautiful, real, heartbreakingly brutal and captivating. I couldn’t put it down.

This was the randomness of my rambling mind about my fabulous day. Over and out!

How Corny!

So Tuesday morning I checked out some more vegan cookbooks from the library. SCORE! I’ve already come across about 30 recipes I have got to try! Some of those I will be posting about after this weekend. It is Annivalentinese New Year celebration weekend for Kyle and I! Greek themed, even! I had to be different.

In the Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health cookbook, I found a recipe for corn bread. Now I’m a cornbread spaz. I can’t get enough. This recipe looked so good I just couldn’t wait until I had all the correct ingredients to try it. So what did I do? I improvised.

This is what came out of it:

Warmed up and topped with my cocoa walnut butter and some sliced nanners, of course!

Chipotle Buckwheat Cornbread (adapted from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch metal pie plate and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix together buckwheat, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and chipotle powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, maple syrup and almond milk. Slowly pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the pie plate and bake 15-20 minutes or until the center is just set and the edges are slightly pulling away from the side. Allow to cool overnight before slicing.

This was so yummy! I made it with 1/4 teaspoon chipotle but I think I would up the dosage to 1/2 teaspoon or more the next time. I like some kick!

Yesterday I also received an exciting package at work! I recently won a contest on The Kind Life’s website. I was in dire need of some new makeup tools and a makeup bag! Plus I have two extra bags I can set aside!


Sweet!