Homemade Eats

Oopsies! I have a correction to be made from my last post.

This was actually a new grain I tried!

My dad bought a box of buckwheat awhile ago and I decided to try it. This was delicious! It was much creamier than oatmeal because the grains are much smaller than oats. If you do try it, make sure to really use that amount of liquid it asks for and maybe even a bit more once it’s done really cooking. But this was satisfying to my taste buds and I enjoyed every spoonful.

Recently, some very fabulous and very inspirational ladies have passed something special along… the Happy 101 Award!

Now I’m going to list 10 things that make me happy. But before I list 10 things that make me smile, I just want to say that reading what your reasons to smile are.. they’ve reminded me how wonderful all of you are. Of course I have reminders everyday, but I just felt like I got to know all of you a little bit better through this award.

1. Music! I remember at one of my parties I overheard someone saying “this is the best dance party I’ve ever been to!!!” It’s funny because it wasn’t intended to be a dance party per se (actually every party is). Also, my exhange student and I’s farewell party before we left for Germany, there were enough people dancing that we all brought the temperature up to 80°+F.

2. Packaging. What can I say? I like to surround myself with aesthetically pleasing things, down to the bottle of shower gel. Actually, I put my shampoo in old glass bottles because they just look nicer.

3. Family and friends. I am very close to my family and I can pretty much share anything with them. I’m a horrible liar and there’s really no point in hiding things from them. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such caring and non-judgmental people. All of you fall under this as well!

4. Random acts of kindness. I love witnessing little moments where people make someone else’s day and they expect nothing in return. It makes me think that this world isn’t so bad afterall.

5. Beautiful clothes. Fashion is a passion! Seeing clothes that can take my breath away never fails to lift my mood. Whether it’s something genius and  bizarre, or timeless and delicate – appreciating clothes is not hard for me to do.

6. The breeze. Every time a breeze goes by it reminds me to take a deep breath and slow down a little.

7. My bedroom. My bedroom is a haven and sometimes I find it hard to step out of. There’s a piece of me in everything in my room. Whenever people come into my room they always mention how comfortable it is and that they just want to lie around it all day. Hey bud, that’s my bed!

8. Antique stores. You never know what you’re going to find! It’s a place to let my imagination go wild and create stories for the people who these little treasures once belonged to. It’s especially exciting when you find something hiding all the way in the back of a shelf, dust it off, and you just feel transported back to another time and place.

9. Hellos. I’m not the kind of person who avoids eye contact when I walk down the street so when someone walks by me and gives me smile and waves hello, it makes me smile. Why should we just remain in our little box when there are millions… billions of people to greet!

10. Food. Let me be a little bit more specific… good food. I try to make the most of life and food is included. Who doesn’t enjoy biting into something delicious? I think people often think you have to be some master cook to be able to make something worthy of drooling. But this is not true. If people just put a little more thought into what they make or put together… they’d see how simple it is! When I go out to eat, I like to try new places that are usually local restaurants. I feel like more care and thought goes into the menu and if I’m paying to eat a meal I want it to be special and delectable.

And now I will tag 10 people: Neela, Maya, Gillian, Nicole, Sam, Lauren, Holly, Devan, Maggie, and Jess. Now it’s your turn ladies to write 10 things that make you happy!

Another bright breakfast

Peach slices, pomegranate arils, and granola over yogurt.

Fresh Mint and Cucumber Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette

Another winning recipe from ‘The Conscious Cook’! The tahini vinaigrette for this salad was incredible! It had a subtle sweetness to it and mixed with the nutiness of the tahnini.. yum! The salad was truly refreshing with every bite.

The tahini vinaigrette

My mom made an old favorite from Germany - Bratkartoffel mit Gewuerzsalz

Basically fried potatoes with seasoning – onions, paprika, pepper, celery, parsley, curcuma, cumin, caraway, garlic, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom.

Speaking of German things, we finally recovered the bag of missing chocolates my mom got from her recent trip!

The box of chocolates in the middle has three different flavors covered in chocolate and marzipan! A chocolate mousse, raspberry mascarpone, and caramel creme. I swear Germans make some of the best chocolates in the world. Isn’t that right Neela?

Bottle-shaped chocolates made of bittersweet chocolate – with a fine sugar crust are now world-famous.

Asbach, “the great brandy from the Rhine”, started making chocolates in the 1920’s when it was “unthinkable for women to drink alcohol in public places.” Did you know they are the only distillery in the world with a chocolate factory? Biting into this fine piece of chocolate and discovering that there really was a sugar crust inside… was nothing short of wonderful.

I took a shot at making a dessert inspired hummus.

I’ve read that some of you have tried this particular brand of hummus that specializes in dessert flavors. Well I went on to their website and spotted a pumpkin pie flavor. So what’d I do? I clicked more to see the ingredients and attemtped to recreate it! I didn’t have safflower oil so I use almond oil instead. How’d it come out? Phenomenal! It may be weird to say this about hummus, but it really livened up my taste buds and they were happily surprised.

Delicious with cinnamon raisin bread.

And with fresh cream cheese as well!

Freshest and most delicious cream cheese I've ever had!

And the freshest, biggest block of feta cheese. This is bigger than a block of tofu!

Chef Tal Ronnen's Summer Chopped Salad

I served it with chickpeas + tahini vinaigrette and buttered seasoned mashed potatoes with a slice of gouda cheese melted on top.

Green Bean and Fingerling Potato Salad with Miso Dressing

I told you I’m going to make as many recipes as I can from that book! The great thing about these recipes is that most of them are easy to make. I’m realizing more and more how simple and quick it is to whip up your owns dressings and sauces as well.

Old bay tofu cakes with pan-roasted summer vegetables, horseradish cream, apples, and beets

Now I didn’t do the pan-roasted summer veggies for this recipe because I didn’t have some of the ingredients and I thought those were more for some added freshness against the tofu cakes. So I opted for some romaine instead.

The taste brought me back to when I was younger and ate fish sticks - only this was obviously more sophisticated.

My next post will recap a very special event that happened in my life recently and I’m so excited to share it all with you! Until then, I’ll leave you with a sneak peak…

Hmm... what could it be?

There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full!

Hello everyone! Today is Friday, the end of another week. These past 2 weeks have been very overwhelming for me, but sometimes that happens. However, I’m use to just 1 week of madness rather than 2 consecutive weeks; it almost seems as if there’s no end! I’m almost expecting something else to pop up. Uh oh, I shouldn’t jinx myself. Yesterday I was riding my bike and in the middle of the intersection my only working brake decided to break. I put my feet on the ground, but it was scary because I thought a car was coming. So right now I have no bike, and that just means I’m walking around everywhere. The only problem with walking everywhere is that it takes a lot of time up. While I’m on my walks though, I allow that to be my “me time” of the day, since the other hours are spent using my brain to do schoolwork. Good news – my bike should be fixed by tomorrow and the weather has been nice.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down I'm using a better moisturizer.

For years I wouldn’t use body lotion, but since I started taking better care of myself, I’ve incorporated this into my daily morning routine.

Ice cream for breakfast!

Hey Sarah, I finally remembered to have some good old ice cream with my oatmeal. I also decided to incorporate it in a breakfast similar to a “peach crisp” Sarah made to get her day started. Good idea!!! I also blended my oats with the last of my ricotta and Zoe’s Granola – leaving in style.

Spaghetti squash with Lemon Garlic Sauce and Ricotta

This was my first time trying this squash, and I loosely followed this recipe. As you can see I used more than just a dollop of ricotta. I also got to try out the soon-to-be discontinued CLIF nectar bar: lemon vanilla cashew flavor. One question: why are they discontinuing them? This bar was so good!!! And the squash was…

SO much fun to eat!

I ran to my roommate to show her how cool this was. Not to mention, less dishes! What’d I do with the other half? Here are some clues:

Holla at the steal! I got the last two packages.

This was also at the Manager's Special price of $1.69!

This time I served it with a Tofurky Kielbasa sausage, tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and EVOO, red onions, and freshly grated parmesan.

I’d never tried the Tofurky sausages before, but I had a feeling it would be yummy. I think this would be wonderful with a potato salad, or some rotkohl. I can’t believe that there is so much flavor in a vegetarian alternative product. I’ve had Veggiedogs before, but these are more substantial. I can’t wait to try their other flavors!

Yesterday I got a phone call from the UPS man, and when I walked downstairs my eyes popped out of my head at the size of the package I had received. Hmm.. what could it be?

Greek yogurt!

It’s been so long since I’ve had Greek yogurt in my life, and I miss it so. It’s really just a matter of cost really that keeps me from buying it. But you know what, an occasional “splurge” shouldn’t be a big deal. I just hate being 100% financially dependent on my parents – I feel like such a burden – so I try my hardest to save. Anyway, I’ve never tried Chobani’s Greek yogurt, so of course I had to try one ASAP!

The pineapple flavor.

So. Good! It had an awesome texture and actual pineapple chunks. I’m so glad they sent me 2 containers because this was awesome. I can’t wait to try another flavor out. Furthermore, I can’t believe this has 13 g of protein! Great for vegetarians, great for anyone and everyone!

For dinner I had something simple, and comforting.

The pine nuts and raisins were nice, and I got to use up the rest of my sprouts.

A simple tomato and cheddar cheese sandwich on buttered bread.

For a nighttime snack I tried the Banana Nut VitaTop.

With it's partner in crime, peanut butter - the crunchy kind!

I am not really a fan of this VitaTop. I felt it was lacking in flavor incomparison to the other ones I’ve tried. I thought the peanut butter might salvage it, but I guess not all of them can be winners. Maybe it’s because banana bread is usually some mom’s secret stellar  recipe, that this VitaTop just seemed off.

I’m not the only one that’s getting to eat treats though!

I want it!

A cheese biscuit for my little nugget.

Get in muh belly!

I'm such a tease.

She's just too cute.

I’ll leave you all with just one more goodie I got to try.

Superfood Slam

This time I tried one of Art’s Original Flavors. Wow! I am still loving how you can see every ingredient. This may not look too appetizing but don’t be fooled. Some of the unique ingredients in this bar are barley grass, dates, acai, peanut butter, and chocolate. There’s was so much goodness going on in my mouth when I was eating this bar. So far, I’ve enjoyed every flavor I’ve tried. Perhaps, you just can’t go wrong!

Now we're both satisfied!

Well everyone, I hope you all had an enjoyable week and have some fun things to look forward to this weekend. Tonight marks the first Friday of October, which means all the galleries around here have new exhibitions. I’ll be doing the First Friday Artwalk.

What are you all doing to kick off the month of October?

Your Imagination, My Dear Fellow, is Worth More Than You Imagine

Hey everyone! Good news on the critique. A friend of mine actually wanted to sit in on my classes critique just to get a feel for them again. He was able to brush up on his analyzing skills. Critiques are always heavy days for me, and I usually end up with a headache. You get to hear so many perspectives, insights, and you just learn so many new things. Another interesting thing you get to observe is the manner in which different people think. It’s funny how we can view the world. Anyway, my video got a lot of discussion – a whole hour! Usually I end up feeling disappointed with critiques because I get nothing from it, or I don’t even realize what happened. But I did a lot of self-discovering and revealing about why and what my short films evoke.

While I was setting up I got to try a flavor of ProBar that’s new to me: Cocoa Pistachio

Neat artwork on the packaging.

I snapped a picture beforehand so you guys could see what I was talking about, when I said you could see every ingredient.

Oh my gosh; this was so yummy! I’ve really enjoyed the random chocolate chip bits in the ProBars I’ve tried. Pistachios are also one of my favorite nuts, so my expectations were pretty high – and met! It’s a mix of pistachios, peanuts, dark chocolate chips, and sunflower seeds. This bar + a cup of soymilk and an apple successfully kept my my hunger at bay for about 3 hours. But I think my body works like clockwork. My hunger usually chimes in before 3 hours or right on the dot – it’s funny. I agree with Holly though, what’s up with it just being half the size of the wrapper? Want to know some information on this bar?

Gourmet meal replacement

Unique taste of pistachios with chocolate is irresistible

Balanced blend of carbs, good fats and protein

Certified Organic, 100% Vegan

5 g of fiber and same nutritional benefits as Original Collection

As a college student, bars are such a convenience to me – as with any busy person I can imagine. So far, my experience with ProBars, is that they are very delicious, nutritious, and  satisfying!

Projecting my piece on to the wall.

Here’s the link again if you guys wanted to check it out: Who Am I Becoming

My friend that visited the class is on the right.

After our critique we got a 2 hour break and I made this messy deal…

Roasted eggplant, ricotta, tomato sauce, sautéed red onion, and basil.

The class met up again after 2 hours and we headed over to one of the school-funded art spaces to see Richard Carlyon’s retrospective. He was a dancer and artist who ended up teaching in the area for about 40 years when he thought he lost his dancer’s body.

You can get a sense of his background as a dancer by the way he places the canvases.

He also drew very interesting diagrams and made videos as well.

The class got out about 30 mins. early so I got a head start on my many errands. I took way longer than expected! I guess that can happen, especially if one of your stops is TJ Maxx. The day really felt like Autumn had arrived, so I made some comfort food, but I wanted to try something I’ve seen around the blogosphere.

Green oats!

I used the Original Amazing Grass Meal packet to turn this bowl of oats green. I also mashed in a banana, NuNaturals liquid vanilla, and coconut oil! I feel like everyone’s bowl or cup of something green tastes different so I’m going to spare the details and just say that I was pleasantly surprised! I was contemplating whether or not I should mash the banana in because “what if” it tasted like crap? Then it’s bye bye yummy banana.

I also tried Lindeman's Framboise dark cherry flavor.

I seriously forgot that it was beer and beer makes you drunk; so I got a little buzzed about 10 minutes after hahaha, then I put two and two together. Oh! And I didn’t drink the whole bottle hehe.

Anyway, so far this week it seems a lot easier to breathe. I had a photoshoot with a friend of mine – I haven’t done one of those in a long time! I feel like I need to have a creative outlet with other people so I get more dynamics going on. Sometimes working by myself gets to feel like I’m running in circles.

He has a lot of neat camera equipment.

You can check out his site here. The first picture with the blue velvet pants was from the shoot we did; and you can find a couple more over on this site. It’s so weird for me to be in front of the lens! I really worked on just getting comfortable – so I ended up talking a lot.

Let’s eat now shall we?

I used up the rest of my edamame hummus.

In this wrap is roasted eggplant, sprouts, NatureNaise, grape tomatoes, and red onions. Since I don’t have a grill press I just used a pan and heated up each side. This was so delicious!

Roasted parsnips, almonds, and another interesting sandwich!

Don't let the ordinary looks of this sandwich deceive you...

The other day when I was browsing through pizza recipes that had ricotta cheese, I stumbled upon one called Peach-ricotta pizza. Well I made it in sandwich form, but the secret ingredient is the addition of cilantro. Since I didn’t have fresh cilantro on hand, I just subbed in Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing. Wow! I would have never thought of cilantro, but it took this sandwich to another level. It’s funny how the simple addition of one surprise can change everything; this also applies to other things on a much broader scale.

I feel like I try something new everyday!

Before I forget! I wanted to share an entertaining site I found earlier today. I was looking up ways to prepare a certain squash (you’ll find out next post), and I stumbled upon this little gem: 50 Ways to Eat More Produce. I think these ideas work well for adults and kids alike. So check it out.

p.s. Marina asked if I was studying culinary arts – I wish!!! Another friend of mine actually asked me that same question, and I think it’s a sign that I should look into it – perhaps a summer program? I’m actually majoring in sculpture, so I guess that’s why I’m so visually oriented.

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

Another Part of Me

Hello everyone! This is an exciting post for me because I get to introduce you all to a part of my life that is very important to me. As I’ve mentioned in my ‘About Me‘ page, art drives and shapes every aspect of my life. Which is why my plates look the way they do! I can’t help but consider color, placement, things like that. Obsessive? Not to me. I just enjoy making things that are aesthetically pleasing. Anyway, today was my sculpture class’s first critique of the semester. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could get to a couple of our pieces – including mine. So, I’ll report back to you all once that’s done.

Critique days are my crazy days. It becomes my one and only real priority, so that means no cooking for me!

Thank goodness for these babies!

The folks at ProBar gave me a nice little package not too long ago. What better time to bust out my first bar on a day where everything is just too cray-cray.

“Apple Cinnamon Crunch is a flavor reminiscent of Mom’s homemade apple pie with just the right combination of sweet apples, nuts, and a dash of cinnamon. This bar is so good it might compliment your next Thanksgiving dinner.”

I was a bit weary of this because I feel dessert-y bars are hard to pull off. So how was my first bite into this dense bar? Delicious! I believe their choices of nuts, dried fruits, and the most wonderful surprise – carob chips – were perfectly combined. This was even better with a pack of soymilk and a couple of peaches. I wish I took a picture of what the bar actually looked like! It had the texture that I love in bars – you could see every ingredient, like whole almonds and sesame seeds. However, I would call it Apple Cinnamon Chew, as it was very chewy. But maybe they thought “crunch” just sounded better. My overall review? If you are considering trying a ProBar, or aren’t sure which flavor to get – try this one!

All their bars are made from whole, organic, raw foods, and 100% vegan.

I also got to try some other new things today. I went to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods the other day with my dad, since he’s in town, and picked up some new items.

So many bars!

On Katie‘s blog I read that Clif nectar bars were going to be discontinued. I had never tried these bars, but I feel the need to know what these bars taste like. I also picked up 2 others that I’ve seen floating around blogland. I tried the MoJo sweet-n-salty bar as a snack today. Meh, it wasn’t horrible, but I don’t see myself buying it again. Isn’t there a PB&J flavor though? I do want to know how that one tastes.

Peaches born and raised here? Yes ma'am!

So much to talk about here folks.

I picked up some pine nuts because pesto recipes have been dancing around my head. Dried cranberries because summer is officially over (say it isn’t so!). I’m so excited to try these falafel patties – garlic sauce recipe hunt begins after this post. I highly recommend buying Lindemans Framboise beer in any flavor! I’m thinking… Mrs. Marshall’s Carytown Cafe for the best potato salad (no lie) + Kielbasa? Look at those sprouts! There are garbanzo, alfalfa, red lentil, and another sprout I can’t remember!

One old best friend and one new best friend in my life.

I love 365’s crunchy peanut butter. I should also mention that a jar of this is less than $2! I also bought myself a jar of Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Butter. After I tried it at my friend’s house I vowed that I would pick up a jar the next time I would venture out to TJ’s. It’s goodness is overwhelming, and my tastebuds are so happy whenever I eat it. This more than makes up for the other day when I accidentally burned my tongue – sorry tastebuds!

Still pretending it's fresh out of the oven.

While I was at Whole Foods, me and my dad smelled some heavenly aroma wafting through the bulk bins. We knew it was coming from the bakery! After we checked out the hot-bar, we moseyed on over to the breads. My dad got straight to the point and said he smelled something spiced and wondered what it was. Well, they told us they just got done baking a loaf of pumpkin bread. They were testing out the recipe = we are the guinea pigs. They wanted us to let them know if it had too much salt, too much sugar, any input we had. Umm… I felt like a horrible critic because my vocabulary failed me while I chewed, smiled with my eyes, and gave them a thumbs up. I saved a portion of the generous slices they gave us…

A nighttime snack!

Mashed kabocha with coconut oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon topped with vanilla fro-yo and the rest of the pumpkin bread. Just a little something to treat myself before the BIG CRIT DAY! Here are some pictures of some of the pieces:

I noticed how cool it looked when she was taking a picture of her piece from that point.

Hey everybody, it's me!

First attempt to get out.

The way I came into the world... I think. Or was it the stork?

At this point I was hoping not too much of my buttcrack would show.

Free!

Now it’s time to meet my professor!

This man is incredible! I’m not sure how one human can have so much information coming from so many different places in his head, but he manages. Sometimes when he’s talking he closes his eyes, pauses for literally a good minute, gathers his thoughts, and then decides to say something.

Oh and afterwards we learned what the title of that particular piece was; “The Fucking Part of Life” haha!

Katharina, where are these breakfast pictures you promised in your last post? Alright, alright:

Ricotta, warmed up apple chunks with cinnamon, topped with Zoe's granola + toast on the side.

Beautiful figs on toast with cream cheese, honey, and cinnamon.

Lauren, inspired me to pick up some beautiful fruits at the grocery store. She always incorporates a wide variety of fruits in veggies, and I love it!

This is the first time I blended oats with ricotta; certainly not my last!

Since we’re on the topic of figs, I’m gonna go there!

I got to try something new!

I heated up a Chocolate Fig VitaTop and served it with some fresh figs, and a cup of almond milk. The almond milk is in that cute chickadee cup in the back. Back to the muffin tops. I didn’t think the flavor was bad, it was mostly very dry though. With each bite, I kept wishing I had ice cream – something to moisten it a bit. I’m on the fence on whether or not I should recommend this products. I have another one, and I’ll give you another review.

Moving right along… warning, this is a superb bowl of oats. Superb.

Everything looks so pillowy.

What’s that sitting on top? I whirled up a frozen banana, ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, and a bit of stevia. This is much like Gena’s soft-serve, but more volumunious and creamier. It was an incredible way to start the morning with a warm bowl of oats with coconut oil. I suggest crushing some candied walnuts if you really want to take this up a notch.

I licked my blender and bowl clean it was so good.

I don’t think anyone figured out what the surprise green mushy stuff I made was. Well, now I will reveal to you all – drum roll please…

Edamame hummus!!!

I followed this recipe, and it came out wonderfully. I love the color and the flavor the sesame oil adds to it as well. The first time I saw this was at Trader Joe’s, and I was thinking about how ridiculously simple this must be to make. It is!

Yin and yang

Here are some ways I’ve been eating it:

My lunch looks more like a snack plate.

In a sandwich layered with cream cheese, spinach, red onion, tomato, sprouts, and the edamame hummus.

It would probably be really yummy if I added something smokey to the sandwich, or maybe I’ll test the waters like Mitri and spread a nutbutter on – sunflower seed butter anyone?

What's that?

I think Matilda approves.

Although my critique hasn’t happened yet, I’ll show it you all anyway. And let me know what you guys think!

Who am I Becoming

A Very Special Birthday

I baked this peach upside-down cake for my best friend’s birthday. I usually have a difficult time flipping things over, but it turned out alright. I decided to make it look pretty and fresh by arranging some daisies on top.

Moreoever, I made this delicious sandwich awhile back as well! I made this sandwich with Veggeroni, sauteed mushrooms with sweet basil, and provolone on wheatberry sprouted bread. As you can see I took a modest bite out of it before I snapped a picture. Oops!

Wine Simmered Peaches with Wine Flavored Yogurt

 

Peaches
White wine
Sugar
Greek yogurt

1. Wash the peaches carefully and put them in a small pan. Add white wine until the peaches are half covered.
2. Add sugar, I usuallt take 2 parts wine and 1/2 part sugar but you can change that if you want it sweeter.
3. Simmer the peaches until soft, you have to turn them over some time in the middle.
4. Take out the peaches and slip off the skins, it’s very easy when they are cooked, and leave them to cool down.
5. Let the wine simmer until it has been reduced with at least a third and has become syrupy.
6. Add some of the syrup to the yogurt until you have a more sauce like consistency.
7. Serve the peaches with a dollop of yogurt and some of the wine syrup if you want.

Recipe from Lucullian Delights