Pass It On

Thank you for all the well wishes everyone! Taking it easy this weekend was a good idea, so I can feel and look well-rested for RVA Fashion Week’s casting today. They’ll be figuring out which models will work for each show. I’ve also got a photo shoot to go to later this day for my fashion photography class. Anyway, the other day I noticed that I haven’t posted any breakfasts lately, but that’s not to say that I haven’t been eating it. Afterall, it is my favorite meal of the day! Since I have class in the mornings Monday through Thursday, I usually just make OIAJ or something else convenient (i.e. bagels!) the night before and bring that to class with me.

However, it is nice that I get a few days in the week where I don’t have to have breakfast on the go.

Oatmeal topped with banana slices, my favorite pumpkin butter, and toasted & salted hemp seeds. Toasted hemp seeds can go with anything! I’ve been trying to use up my jars of fruit butters and jams by using them as a sweetener for my oatmeal.

Caramelized anything is fine by me!

I thought of Erica this particular morning, and was inspired to top my usual bowl of oatmeal with something special. Rather than simply slicing some apples and leaving it at that, I caramelized them. First I heated some coconut oil on a pan and then sautéed the apple slices, dates, and cinnamon sticks. After cooking them for a bit I added a splash of apple juice.

This bit of deliciousness was topped with pistachios and honey to boot!

Now on to lunch, dinner, and some lovely side dishes.

Honey Glazed Carrots

This was a recipe from “The Flexitarian Cookbook” that I finally got around to making. Rather than cooking them in regular butter though, I used ghee. This changed the flavor a bit, and in combination with the honey… I just wanted more.

Parmesan-roasted Parsnips

I haven’t made a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks in awhile! Maybe some of you can guess which book it is, but for those of you who can’t it’s Simon Rimmer’s “The Accidental Vegetarian“. I wanted to marry him because the recipes in this book are so good. He still hasn’t proposed to me, and I’m not the kind of girl who sits around waiting. But that won’t stop me from cooking up his incredible recipes!

Addictive!

Almost a mish-mosh, but not quite.

I had lots of scallions leftover and the first thing that came to mind was Thai food. Then I started thinking of recipes involving noodles since I have a lot to use up. I ended up making a spicy Thai peanut sauce to go with some random veggies I had on hand, fried tofu, and a combination of rice and soba noodles. I’d bring this with me to class, and by now whenever I pull out my meals my mates ask me what I brought this time. They also remark on how everything I bring smells so good. Well, I can assure you that not only do my meals smell good, but they taste good too.

Soup for the season

This past week I made a batch of Angharad’s curried squash and carrot soup. This sounded like one of those soups I see in stores that I don’t buy because I’d rather make them on my own. I usually don’t end up making them, and I’m just left with a reminder whenever I stumble upon one of those convenient soups. This kind of soup was new to me though. I had never made a soup with summer squash, and I was wondering how well the flavors would hold up. The curry added just enough spice, but didn’t stand alone. I find that curry picks up other flavors, and goes well with so many things. Take tabasco sauce (not a big fan), for instance, it just cuts right through everything–so acidic!

A cup of Colombian hot chocolate aka the best hot chocolate.

Why is this the best? Well, first off it’s made using a chocolate tablet vs. cocoa powder. That automatically makes it tastier. I’m going to tell you how my grandma makes it. First she pours milk (almond for me, please) into a chocolatera (and aluminum pitcher), and brings it to a boil on the stove. She’ll let me skim off the yummy layer that forms on top, which is called nata in Spanish. There is a cake that is tediously made entirely of those delicious layers called postre de natas. After the milk is boiling she puts in the tablet of Colombian chocolate and takes a molinillo (a wooden whisker) to froth the melted chocolate. Then it’s lovingly poured into a cup for whomever is dear to you, that includes yourself! In Colombia it’s typical to let a chunk of queso blanco melt in the cup of rich, frothy hot chocolate.

I think you should try it.

The other day I brought in a non-conventional battery to my class.

This was a for a mini-project for my time-based sculpture class to help us think outside of the box. Food can be fuel, and I remembered reading a recipe in Brendan Brazier’s “Thrive:…” that offered fast energy. I didn’t bother explaining the science behind the dates and coconut oil to my class. Instead I just let them enjoy, which they did! Speaking of energy I have a little challenge for you…

 

Who Would’ve Thought

Hello everybody! I wanted to update you all, and let you know that I won’t be posting as frequently. I won’t be getting a laptop until the end of November or December, so I’m taking a deep breath until then. It seems like recently my life has involved practicing letting go of modern conveniences like cars and computers. It’s been very refreshing actually to live life at a more human pace. Of course these things are useful, but when do we start becoming dependent on them. Take cell phones for instance. You send a text message or make a phone call, and it expresses this notion that this person should always be available. I guess in a sense I’m claiming my time back and becoming more creative with it. Even just sitting there and doing nothing is absolutely fine by me.

When modern conveniences leave your side for a bit, do those moments seem like a blessing in disguise for you?

Playing hide-and-seek...

Or pretending I'm a wild animal on the loose!

Oh my gosh! Ants have attacked my breakfast!

Oops, those are just chocolate sprinkles.

A delicious bowl of lentil curry with aromatic basmati rice.

Sitting down and eating with no distractions...

Enjoying some of the best bread ever from a German bakery.

Spread on a thick layer of mascarpone and pumpkin butter, and you're in for a treat!

And top some yogurt off with homemade granola.

I made this batch using a simple recipe I found in , but made it special by also adding in puffed millet and chia seeds.

Making it feel more like October by making a batch of pumpkin pie hummus.

I haven’t made pumpkin pie hummus in ages! I had a friend try it, and he said that it tasted like pumpkin pie filling. Perfect! This morning I served it over a warming bowl of oatmeal, along with medjool dates, walnuts, granola, and cinnamon. I like thinking of all of the different kinds of hummus flavors I can make, and who knew that a sweet hummus would be a success! Try it out and let me know what you think.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’m hoping to go apple picking with some of my best friends up in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. I’m going to make sure to take in all of that fresh air and beautiful scenery while I’m there.

Oh wait! Here’s a random question before you go! Name an item of food, i.e. pasta, squash, lentils, apple… you get the picture!

p.s. I ended up not advancing to the next round of the Project Food Blog challenge, but I wanted to thank you all for your support! It was really wonderful to see that people had faith in me and were excited about it like I was. Also, I ended up getting to do my favorite challenge anyway (the dinner party)!

Inspired Eats

Hello hello there! I am so happy to say that these past few days have been awesome. I think it’s the whole mentality I’m trying to maintain to get me through the winter.  It was actually the title for a recent post of mine, “life is what you make of it.” The winter doesn’t have to suck the life out of me (okay I’m being dramatic here), but instead I focus on what I’m doing now and all the positives of this holiday season. And all your answers really stuck with me and reminded me of so many things I have to smile about. Don’t we all?

Here are few of my reasons, inspired by some of you, in the past couple of days.

A different version of frozen yogurt

I took a container of So Delicious coconut milk yogurt and stuck it in the freezer.

Two cookies for good measure!

The night I received the package I had a couple of Holly’s homemade vegan pumpkin molasses cookies. Wow! These were so good, I’m glad she shared her recipe.

Inspired by two very special ladies.

The other day I saw that Maya and Eliza had each made a bowl of gingerbread-inspired oats. Do I need to explain? This is why I love breakfast. When I’ve had a delicious breakfast then I know it’s going to be a good day.

On my day off from classes I felt like dressing-up.

One of my favorite scarves - it makes me feel like Mozart.

And a skirt I should wear more often.

Along with some dark grey tights and red Mary Janes flats.

I had recently gotten a ton of basil.

So I decided to make a pesto. Rather than using raw pine nuts I toasted them first and it really made a difference in the flavor.

Afternoon snack

These are the Apple Grahams that came in the package Holly sent me. I’ve tried them plain, with the medley jam she also sent me, pumpkin butter, dipped in Sugar Cookie tea, and pumpkin spice soymilk. I have yet to crumble them on a nice warm bowl of oatmeal.

Almost forgot about lunch!

For lunch I tried another Gardein product. This time it was the chick’n scallopini. I really liked how they lightly-seasoned these, and they were also a really nice size. There are some vegetarian products out there that give such small portions and that can be frustrating. I decided to cook up the rest of cauliflower and chick’n scallopini in a Sweet Pepper and Coconut cooking sauce. Served with Nishiki rice. So good that even my little Moofia toy wanted some.

I recently picked up a new item at the grocery store.

What could it be? A rutabaga! I’m pretty sure I’ve never tried one before. My darling darling, Brooke, said this was one veggie I needed to try. She recommended to try them with cranberries, so of course I listened! I roasted the rutabaga and an apple with sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. I also had a Tofurky Kielbasa decorated with ketchup, beer-brewed mustard, and a bit of sweet relish. Yum! I definitely was looking up more rutabaga recipes after this.

This was a special bowl of oatmeal...

In Brooke’s survey one of the questions was, “bowl of hot cereal you have been wanting to try.” And I answered a banana rum cake-inspired oatmeal. Lynn thought it sounded good too, so I decided to make it! I made my way to the liquor store and got a miniature bottle of Captain Morgan’s spiced rum. I did not prepare my oatmeal as I usually do because I additionally cooked it with a couple spoonfuls of spiced rum and a bruleed banana. I topped it with a sliced banana, some pecans, New Morning Honey Grahams, and a ZenSoy banana pudding cup.

I even mixed spiced rum in the banana pudding!

I wanted to be drunk for my Taoism class! Kidding of course!

I hadn't worn this blazer in ages!

Lunch was surprisingly yummy.

I wanted to try out something different for the wee bit of kale I had left. It was just enough to help make this sandwich (I just boiled it). I assembled the sandwich with French Meadow Bakery’s gluten-free sandwich bread, cashew butter, kale, and pumpkin butter. This was a new combination I thought of and wanted to try out; I think some onion jam would’ve definitely sealed the deal, but this was delicious as well. I had some of the leftover hummus from Brittany’s sandwich recipe – perfect for the broccoli!

Bright and early on a Saturday!

Since I have to wake up really early on a Saturday morning (and I hadn’t gotten home on Friday till 4:30 am), I just want as much sleep as I can get. So when I woke up I quickly put my breakfast together. I tried another 18 Rabbits flavor that was sent to me; that morning I decided to try the “Nibble a Sultana” bar. I had it with a container of vanilla Greek yogurt, a diced apple, and cinnamon. I’ve seen sultanas baked with apples in little tarts. This bar didn’t have that same perfect granola-y flavor the other one had. It was okay, but I probably wouldn’t buy it for myself.

Carrots and rutabaga mash + sandwich

With the rest of my rutabaga I followed Brooke’s advice again and made a mash out of it! I stumbled upon this recipe and I knew it would be nothing short of delicious. However, I ended up sprinkling on some pumpkin pie spice and mixed some coconut oil in as well. This had me licking my bowl clean. The sandwich was inspired by a local coffee-shop item on their menu. It had my homemade basil pesto, Gardein chick’n scallopini, roasted red peppers, and goat cheese. Wow! Do any of you ever recreate restaurant recipes?

I just had to!

After going on a long walk excursion with a friend I came home to work on my project.

And I got kind of side-tracked...

Okay, really side-tracked!

Then I finally got back to work.

Then, next thing you know dinnertime rolled around! I had become so focused that I had totally lost track of time.

Yin and Yang

I made sweet and sour lentils and had it with leftover Nishiki rice and coconut oil.

Korean-Russian Carrot Salad

I’ve had this recipe saved for a really long time and totally forgot about it! This tasted very different from what I usually eat, sweet and spicy, but it was a very pleasant change.

Later that night I ended up going to some of my friends’ art exhibit and met up with another friend. Afterwards we went to a birthday celebration and eventually I came back home and I woke up with two thoughts on my mind. “I have on last night’s makeup” and “April’s pumpkin French toast sticks.”

An example of a perfectly delicious Sunday breakfast.

April’s recipe also calls for a peanut butter frosting. I changed it around a bit and made it vegan by omitting the eggs, and used Pumpkin Spice soymilk (highly recommended!!!) and a thickening agent. I used two thick slices of Rudi’s 100% Whole Wheat bread. The toppings include: diced apple, more pumpkin pie spice, and some Apple & Maple syrup. This breakfast was such a great way to start a beautiful day.

Well now I’m off to enjoy the sun and walk to the Farmer’s Market with Matilda. I hope you all had a relaxing and fun weekend! I’ll leave you all with a clip from a new hit TV series aka a video recording I made:

Original Video – More videos at TinyPic

Much love!

Life is What You Make of It

Hi everyone! I hope your week has started off on a good note. I know mine has. Aside from my computer crashing, things have been looking up. After a week of no sun and dreary weather, the weather gods decided to give us the gift of sunshine and warmth. Thank goodness! I think this is just what I needed to reenergize myself for this busy week. Without my computer I will find myself with less distractions. But I’ll do my best to keep you all updated – hence I am sitting in the toasty Fine Arts building’s computer lab. So many computers buzzing!

I’ll start off with my Saturday night. I was going to go to some experimental sound art show, but I wasn’t really in the mood for that. Instead I called up one of my best friends to see what she was up to.

Driving to meet up with them.

Strawberry Street Market's selection of beers. They even had a Honey Basil kind.

We ended up going to our friend's house for a house show.

The band seemed to be cooped up in this one room – I think they should’ve played in the middle. But a friend of mine came out of that room with a bloody nose but the biggest smile on her face!

I tried to capture the crowd surfing that was going on haha

I didn’t want to get back too late because I was planning on going hiking the next day.

So I ended up heading back around 3 in the morning.

Not a bowl of oats!

My tummy wasn’t feeling too well the next day so I wanted to take it easy. I had some leftover okara from when I made soymilk when I got home super late. Yeah, I made soymilk around 3 am… Anyway, I mixed it with pumpkin butter, stevia, and cinnamon. I topped it with a sliced apple, dates, some more pumpkin butter, and the last of the Artisana almond butter.

Matilda, down.

Aw!!! How can anyone resist?

Some things I packed for my hiking trip!

I made myself a PB&J sandwich using Rudi’s Wheat & Oat bread. Oh my gosh this bread is so good by the way. It’s perfect for sandwiches – especially a classic PB&J. I love how thick the slices make it so much more satisfying to bite into. When I was making my sandwich I had trouble deciding which jam to use. I remembered that Boysenberry jam is one of my favorites, but I currently do not have it in stock.

Well guess what? My computer crashed  and I knew that I would have to take care of that before I went on any hiking trip. And the sun was shining so brightly on Sunday I knew I didn’t want to be indoors.

This necklace spoke for my excitement about the weather!

I headed over to my nearest Apple store and I ended up making an appointment for today (Monday). By the time I was done with that, my friends that were going to go with me either a) didn’t want to anymore or b) didn’t answer. But you know what? I still wanted to go hiking so I went. I called up a good friend of mine that is usually up for doing stuff. I didn’t get to go to the Shenandoah Valley like I had planned, but atleast I got to go exploring and get some easy hiking in.

Crossing the bridge to Belle Isle.

The hiking begins!

My shoes along with the wet mud were not a good combination, but it was fun nonetheless. I love adventures!

I think Matilda does too.

I love letting Matilda off the leash so she can sniff around as she pleases. She’s so cute because she never strays too far. When she was walking ahead of us she kept stopping and looking back to make sure we were still there. What would she do if we decided to play hide-n-seek with her?

There's a pond on the isle.

I just thought these pods were beautiful.

The James River is really high right now from all the rain.

Admiring the sky.

I love being out in nature and being amazed by it. Nature is beautiful and it doesn’t have to try.

City skylines can be amazing too.

Dinner

This time I just sautéed the kale with white cooking wine and seasonings. I also had some of my leftover “meatloaf” I made with the okara. Last but not least I made a recipe inspired by Katie’s mashed cauliflower. I pureed mine with salt & pepper, nutritional yeast, and soymilk. Then I served it with some all-natural butter. Yum!

Then it was time for some homework!

This is a part of what I’m working on for my sculpture project.

I'm not much of a painter, but I think it's fun. I haven't done it in years!

Monday mornings

This breakfast was interesting. I wanted to use up the rest of my okara, so I mixed it with a ZenSoy banana pudding cup. By the way, I think the banana pudding flavor is my favorite. I heated that up till it liquified and then dumped on some Aztec Crunch Corn & Amaranth cereal. Excuse my half-eaten apple that I enjoyed with my favorite crunchy peanut butter.

I assembled my sandwich the night before because I knew I would be pressed for time today.

I also sautéed some kale with raisins and toasted pine nuts. I love toasted pine nuts!

Le Sandwich

I used two slices of French Meadow Bakery’s Woman’s Bread. What’s so special about Woman’s Bread? According to the site, “with 14 grams of protein and 2.6 mg of soy isoflavones per serving, Women’s Bread contains key nutrients for women’s health. Sprouted grains bursting with vital nutrients and vitamins are easy to digest. Dried cranberries provide an antioxidant boost.” I enjoyed the dried cranberries very much! Okay so what’s in between the bread? Portobello mushrooms, basil, red onion, cream cheese, fakin’ bacon bits, and tomato paste + honey.

After my readings in apocalyptic Literature class I wanted to go exploring around Belle Isle some more. Apparently I just couldn’t get enough and the weather was gorgeous! It was so much fun not knowing where I was going but taking random trails that would lead me to who knows where! Afterwards I came home and showered and did some pampering.

Tea tree and spearmint mask - ah so refreshing.

And dinner time rolled around.

I didn’t really feel like cooking tonight. Well, I guess I did cook the cauliflower mash with garlic and herb, but that barely counts! So I just baked some Gardein “chicken” tenders in the oven and seasoned with Old Bay blackened seasoning, and ketchup + curry. Curry ketchup is delicious. All you have to do is mix in some curry powder with ketchup – simple! It reminds me of buying pomme frites on the streets in Germany served with with curry ketchup. Please excuse me toasts for being shy. I promise they are delicious once you meet them. Tonight I wanted to try French Meadow Bakery’s Gluten-Free Multigrain bread. That’s a mouthful! Anyway, the bread was seriously delicious! I just spread on some butter on one slice, and butter and fruit spread on the other. I can’t explain really how tasty this bread was. Just biting into it was awesome and I can’t believe it has no wheat. Can you see the all the little flaxseeds? So good! I highly recommend this bread, even if you don’t have a gluten intolerance.

Lastly, the ever so lovely Brooke tagged me to fill out a little survey she made up! Here goes…

1. favorite variety of apple? Gala

2. apples dipped in? Peanut butter… or caramel! How about  both?

3. favorite way to enjoy pumpkin? Pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin and ginger cookies, and pumpkin penne

4. favorite soup? with crackers or bread? My mom’s spinach soup with fresh crusty bread.

5. do you eat orange foods all year round? Not consciously, but the time of year doesn’t stop me from eating them that’s for sure.

6. most used spice in your autumn cooking: Cinnamon and tarragon

7. you are baking some homemade bread, what flavor combination of bread would you like to make? Oh my gosh! Some sort of spiced bread. How about a spiced bread with almonds and cranberries. However, I recently stumbled upon a garlic pull-apart bread recipe.

8. favorite autumn vegetables and ways to eat it? Winter squashes out the wazoo! Recently, I’ve been digging cauliflower and kale

9. hot chocolate, hot cider, coffee or tea? Hot chocolate made with coconut milk. And I love this one tea called Richmond Blend. It’s a black tea with cinnamon, orange peel, and cloves. It’s out of this world and actually has an intense flavor on it’s own. Not to mention the cinnamon helps keep me warm during the cold months.

10. favorite seasonal dessert? I think it’s a tie between double-layer pumpkin cheesecake and sweet potato pie.

11. lets make a fall stew! pick any 6 ingredients to create your one: Sweet potato, onions, carrots, kale, curry, and white truffle oil

12. pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts or almonds to snack on? Almonds!!!

13. popcorn flavor/seasoning? Cinnamon & sugar or nutritional yeast

14. bowl of hot cereal you have been wanting to try: A banana rum cake inspired one! I actually just came up with this.

15. post a link to a recipe that you recently bookmarked. April’s pumpkin French toast!

Anyway, I just wanted to fill you all in on how my weekend went and how my week started. I’m going to try to keep up with all you lovely people! I hope you all are doing well and keeping your chins up. Remember, as William James once said “…Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.”

101 Dalmations!

This is why I believe the number 101 is better than 100! This is reason why I decided to have a giveaway to celebrate this special occassion. Definitely special enough!

Original Video – More videos at TinyPic

Yeah that’s actually my contained version of my excitement! I know I’ve expressed it quite a few times what this blog and all you friends out there mean to me. So what’s my way of celebrating this special occassion? With a snip-it of what it’s like to live in my life for a couple days and a special surprise at the end from yours truly. I’ll be honest, these last couple of days have been rough. But I had a reminder of how much harder things can get when I learned some sad news relating to someone I know. It really helped me push through, and helped me to stay motivated to rise above the stress. Anyway, here’s a little glimpse starting from Saturday night…

Scarves really help out when coming up with an impromptu costume!

Warm soy milk with Nature's Path Hemp Plus granola and sliced banana.

A nice way to start a grey chilly Sunday. I swear Nature’s Path makes some awesome granolas for something that comes out of a cereal box. Usually I find those granolas to really be lacking. The two flavors I’ve tried – Vanilla Almond Flax Plus and Hemp Plus are nothing short of delicious.

I decided to go out and check my mail, since I’m special and I get mail on Sundays. I really just forgot to check the day before, but let’s pretend.

From one of my most favorite and admirable people ever!

I had forgotten my driver’s license and cash in her purse from the night we went clubbing in Miami. I got way more than that! One time someone complimented her on her sweater and she asked if they’d like to have it. This girl means what she says. I had mentioned that I liked her keychain cover, and she remembered that.

Gio is one year old!

I did some things around the apartment and before I knew it my tummy was growling for lunch!

Penne with Artichoke hearts, spinach, parmesan, ricotta, and pine nuts.

I stumbled upon this yummy site full of pasta recipes. I was feeling kind of down and out after some studio time and some “old/new” crush heartache (he decided to go MIA), so I called a good girlfriend of mine to do some retail therapy.

Note: it's a big deal if I wear my hair up.

Jeez Matilda!

But she can also be a little lady.

Picking up my friend and admiring the leaves.

Matilda welcomes all passengers!

We picked up some coffee and headed to the doggy store. I got Matilda some goodies!

A couple pumpkin "pup"cake cookies, a spooky cookie, and a new harness (finally!)

Then we headed to Anthropologie! And what did Matilda do the second we got there? Peed, of course! It was weird because she had never done that before.

Some things I tried on...

Being sneaky taking pictures in the dressing room. I always feel like this is forbidden.

Super cool shirt!

Here’s a new addition to my necklace collection

Why hello there!

My friend snapped some pictures of us crossing the James River on the way home.

Appreciating the fall season.

Got home and cooked some dinner.

I vaguely followed the recipe for pasta with ricotta, basil, and tomato. On the side are some hot butter and garlic artichokes with grated parmesan. Later I prepared my meals for the next day so I could spend all day in the studio.

Ah, Monday Monday…

I had some European style plain yogurt with Crofter’s raspberry superfruit spread, cranberry cinnamon swirl toast with cream cheese, pumpkin butter, and some slices with Artisana tahini and agave nectar. Oh! And can’t forget the apple I had already started biting into. May I just add that tahini + honey or agave = the bomb.com?

Then it was off to my morning Taoism class - first day of learning some exercises with sticks.

Then I stopped by my apartment real quick to get a snack and the rest of my goods.

Graham-wiches!

U.S. Mills sent me these awhile ago and I finally got around to trying them. I got to try the Honey Graham & Vanilla Creme sandwich cookies and the Chocolate Graham & Peanut Butter Creme kind. Both were seriously so good.

Sandwich cookie powers unite!

Then it was time for my "Kick Ass in the Studio Day"

Then I took a break to go to my Literature class.

I came prepared!

I made banana dahl + coconut oil with brown rice and vanilla butternut squash mash with cinnamon and ricotta.

All mixed together.

Some of the butt-kicking that went on.

Energy bar break!

Have you guys ever tried the Prana Bars by Divine Foods? Well, I was lucky enough to be sent some to sample for a review, which I will be posting later. The sneak preview – this flavor was incredibly delicious and I could definitely taste and even see the coconut shreds. The sweetness mainly comes from the date paste and agave I believe.

After having a dance party while setting up my piece in one of the critique rooms, I finally got home around 9 pm and let Matilda out to take care of her business.

So Tuesday rolled around the corner and it was critique day. Dun dun dun.

Random breakfast

I crushed up Trader Joe’s peanut butter filled pretzels, a fun-size Butterfingers, vanilla yogurt, and Crofter’s raspberry superfruit spread. I had an orange for a vitamin-c boost since I was feeling under-the-weather.

Crit Room 3

All that stuff on the table and in front of it on the floor fit into someone's Nissan Sentra.

And my sculpture... it also had a sound piece to it.

I was so scared about this critique… nauseous scared.. I wanted to go against my perfectionist tendencies as an artist, and just experiment and go with the flow. That felt so uncomfortable, so a lot of insecurities rose up. However, much to my surprise, the critique did not make me cry, nor did I actually throw up.

So now here’s the surprise! I decided to have a giveaway in celebration of this blog’s 101st post. The prize?

Lots of goodies!

A Sunshine Burger baseball cap so you can rep the best veggieburgers in town. A Nature’s Path Optimum Blueberry Flax and Soy bar (yummy icing). All the Prana Bars which are vegan, high-raw, and delicious. There are also some coupons and a vitamin case. Last but not least, I’ll also be sneaking in some other goodies but that’s a secret.

So what do you have to do?

1. Tell me your favorite recipe! It can be a sandwich, yogurt-mess, bowl of oatmeal bliss, dessert, whatever your hearts desire! I will recreate the winner’s favorite  – and no worries if it’s not vegetarian. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

2. Link back to this contest.

3. Add me to your blogroll.

And please let me know if you do numbers 2 & 3. The contest will end on Saturday noon time EST. Thanks and good luck!

p.s. All you folks that have been treating yourself to Pumpkin ice cream, try it with walnuts!!! Speaking of sweets, I will be updating my recipe page so you can see the recipe for the scones! Enjoy your Wednesday everybody; we’re in the middle of the wave and it’s smooth riding from here.

Joy of Baking

I forgot to mention that Mitri’s mom’s baked ziti recipe, the one I feared would send my tummy ailments over the top, actually left me feeling 100% better the next day. This would be my cure; Who would’ve thought?

Ah my tummy finally started to not act all funky on me.

I tried some Artisana Walnut Butter on cranberry cinnamon swirl toast. I don’t thing there’s a single Artisana nut butter that I’ve tried that I haven’t absolutely loved. And I love cinnamon-anything toast for breakfast; especially the smell when it’s toasting! I also smeared on some of my favorite pumpkin butter and cream cheese on two slices. Oh! That’s also a bowl of European style yogurt with Crofter’s superfruit spread.

Thank goodness for leftovers! I enjoyed Mitri’s mother’s baked ziti recipe for lunch, and I gave my dad the other half to have at work the next day. SO GOOD!

I visited the Caribbean the other day... kind of!

I followed this recipe for a taste of Haiti: Polenta, Beans, and Coconut or Maya Moulen Kole Ak Pwa Ak Kokoye, or Polenta aux Haricots Rouges et a la Noix de Coco. The above picture has the addition of tamarind-date chutney, but my favorite way to eat this was with melted cheese!

Let’s take a break from the food for a New York minute. The other day I went on a bike ride with my friend and Matilda on an unusually beautiful day.

We stumbled upon one of the many secrets parts spread out among the old Victorian neighborhood.

Pretty solid jungle gym!

Uh oh this was a lot longer than what he thought.

Is he going to attempt it?

Let go!

He went zooming down.

Yeah!

Matilda and the dog on the balcony were having a conversation.

Cray-cray!

My little warrior.

While we were at the park, the woman who helped keep it from being knocked down came and talked to us. She told us about events that are in the works, then she was summoned by her little son telling her the kitchen was beeping. “That means the rice is done cooking!”

Matilda was in her element running around and exploring.

Then we headed over to Strawberry St.

Might I also add that I bumped into my ex on this street. I was just trying to send brainwaves to my friend hoping he would hurry up!

Remember this from your childhood?

I had a bowl of Farina creamy hot wheat cereal. I mixed in one of sample packs of rice protein powder, NuNaturals vanilla liquid, and cinnamon. On top I sliced a banana and finished the rest of my Artisana walnut butter sampler. I tried to make something inspired by banana-walnut bread. Eating the Farina was so comforting as I felt the chilly morning through the window pane.

And something to wear on a chilly day.

I forgot I had these!

After I got back from my Taoism class I wanted to bake something!

I decided to bake some pumpkin pie spiced dried cranberries, and ricotta cheese scones.

Mixing!

In to the toaster oven you guys go!

And shortly after these little guys were ready, and smelling better than ever!

I had a friend in my Literature class that I wanted to give some scones to.

That’s the thing I love about baking – it’s just so easy to share. Maybe it comes from the infectious smells that come from the oven whenever something delicious is baking.

Enjoyed for breakfast the next morning!

I spread on a dollop of ricotta + pumpkin butter on one scone, and the other I tried with coconut oil. I don’t think I could ever go wrong with coconut oil. Afterwards, since it was my free day I decided to walk over to my friend’s place of work. She works downtown in the heart of the medical campus of my school. I had a special delivery to make, so that meant dressing up! This is part of the work criteria when you work for Katharina’s version of FedEx.

This dress is rather large, but I love it anyhow!

One of the problems I encounter as a member of Petite People crew.

The back that had me at hello.

I have been wearing some of the Forgotten Shoes this week.

I’m so sorry for my absence this week. I have been studying for a mid-term and working like a busy bee in the studio. But I have been trying to keep up with everyone’s blog because I just can’t get enough of you all!

Now here’s something for you all to chew on. The other day as I was browsing for recipes I stumbled upon an Ayurvedic recipe site, and I noticed they use the word pacify when it came to eating. Why not pacify ourselves? Afterall, we deserve it.

p.s. Next post is super special! This is my 100th post, but 101 is so much better. So don’t miss it, okay???

When Life Gives You Awesome Bread

Make sandwiches!

But first let me start out with the little treat.

A cold Milano cookie.

I’ve never had these before, and this is what I think. Where have I been?!

A nice thick slice of Sullivan St. Bakery's multi-grain pullman bread.

I love cream cheese with fruit preserves. By the way, Crofter’s has a new line that I’ve been dying to try. I discovered that a thing such as yumberries exist! So far I’ve tried two of these flavors, and I must say they are full of fruity goodness. I love when fruit spreads have actual fruits in them!

Super cute continent jars!

An incredible breakfast sandwich with bananas, peanut butter, and pumpkin butter.

The multi-grain bread also worked well with more savoury ingredients as well.

Topped with pepper jack - accompanied by zucchini with sweet-n-sour cashews, and black beans and corn recipe with chunks of Hanover tomatoes.

If you guys haven’t tried it yet, I suggest you put cumin on your black beans along with garlic.

A homemade bulgur veggieburger with lime mayonnaise.

Now that school is back in session, I have been making recipes that I can store and don’t mind having leftovers. As you can see I’ve got a wonderful array of fresh vegetables! I’ve been reading everyone’s posts about the transition of summer to fall. I’m going to miss my salads dearly. I absolutely love buying a large head of romaine, and creating some wonderful salads with it. Adding corn is a must! I’ve even added frozen corn, and to me it’s even more satisfying on those hot summer days.

After taking a bite I thought scooping some corn kernels would be the perfect touch!

Speaking of salads. My roommate spotted an incredible dressing that I highly suggest you pick up at your nearest Trader Joe’s!

Cilantro Salad Dressing

A salad for the heck of it!

Now on to the next loaf of bread – the pane de ruccia. That’s the bread I was holding above my head like the holy grail in my last post. It’s 70% sourdough and 30% wholegrain. What does this mean to me? Well, I don’t judge by numbers, I’m just judging by taste! Is there some sort of genie that can grant me a wish – oh say… make this bread last forever?

A delicious snack

I spread some creamy gorgonzola, grilled an Asian pear, then drizzled honey atop and sprinkled some almond bits for the finishing touch!

I also tried out Trader Joe's peanut satay sauce.

This sandwich is demanding a close-up!

I layered on some homemade chipotle-tomato spread, grilled eggplant, melted provolone, tomato slices, avocado, red onion, and cilantro. I might as well just say it right now, but I have become sandwich queen!

This is where the cilantro craze started.

Another diva sandwich!

For this sandwich I followed the Spiced-Up Grilled Cheese recipe I found on The Kitchen Sink blog. I wish I had used the New York cheddar though.

More eggplant goodness, and I used the chipotle "ketchup" to dip these crispy eggplant chunks.

I made a spread with avocado, nutritional yeast, yogurt, and cumin.

Pumpkin butter, creamy gorgonzola, and red onions. Kept company by some veggies and a dipping sauce I made with nutritional yeast, miso, ketchup, and I forgot what else- oops!

More bulgur veggieburger goodness! Cauliflower and corn with peanut sauce.

Okay, so I must share this recipe with you guys. Especially for all you folks looking for foods to make ahead of time out of convenience. I followed a recipe for Bulgur Veggieburgers with Lime Mayonnaise from Gourmet.com – which is an incredible source for delicious recipes! It was so much fun making these, and I got to bust out my new mini food-processor my parents got me. I was honestly surprised at how well these turned out because last time I tried to make any sort of patty, they sadly ended up being crumbly. Moreover, they were so easy to make!

Lots of layers.

Yummy mush

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes! More bread.

Cream cheese with apple slices and cinnamon.

I put some red onion after taking a bite and coming to the conclusion that something was missing.

I used that Creme of Dates and Almonds I found at Dean & Deluca.

On top of some cream cheese, and the other slice just has natural butter.

Another note, I suggest – for cream cheese – not to use the diet kinds. I don’t know why, but out of all those diet-y products, I think the cream cheese ones shouldn’t exist. They’re really horrible tasting. Personally, I stray away from diet-type products in general because they usually have far less taste than the regular products, and way more ingredients*. Sorry if I sound like I’m on a high horse. Just putting in my two cents.

Gosh, I have so much to catch you guys up on! It’s just hard since school started, but I promise I will get you guys up to speed. I have so much that I want to share!

Matilda in her kangaroo pouch I use for our bike rides together.

I’m sending you all lots of love and hugs!

*In the end it all comes down to taste. If you like it, and it happens to be something with a longer ingredient list than the wait at the doctors – then that’s okay too! Non-diet foods are just my personal preference because they generally taste better, and are more filling.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Oatmeal

 

This morning I knew exactly what I wanted for breakfast… oatmeal! But not just any oatmeal. I had this See’s Candy butterscotch lollipop. The ingredients started out the way I usually make a batch of oatmeal, but this time I decided to mash the banana a bit. I also included some vanilla extract, stevia, and flaxseed (optional of course). So this morning I stirred my oats with the butterscotch lollipop instead of a spoon. I also mixed in the last of my jar of McCutcheon’s pumpkin butter. Oh by the way… McCutcheon’s is the best pumpkin butter I’ve had! Even the consistency is different from most pumpkin butters. For garnish I sprinkled some pumpkin seed granola. I wish this bowl could last forever. Unfortunately, I don’t have another lollipop and that was the last of my pumpkin butter. Darned it!