I’m still feeling the warm welcome back and I love it! I had missed blogging and reading about all of you! Each of you has your own style of writing and I almost get the sense that some of you are right there in front of me–in person, obviously not on a screen haha. Anyway, keeping with the spirit of the last post I’m going to flash back to wonderful times with friends, and what that entailed!
When my mom came to visit, it involved special breakfasts like these...
A bowl of oatmeal topped with beautiful berries, Futter’s hazelnut butter, thick and creamy coconut milk, and the jewel of it all–Coconut Bliss’s Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge. If you haven’t eaten ice cream for breakfast, then I highly recommend you do. In fact…
You should also try ice cream in your hot chocolate... with sprinkles to boot!
It’ll melt into your cup of hot chocolate, making it creamier and even more delicious!
When Maya had come to visit she left me with a jar of peanut butter, and I had OIAJ!
So thank you, Maya! Note: if the container is plastic the oats aren’t actually cooked in the jar. This may seem obvious but you never know who may think otherwise.
I went to my first wedding shower for a dear friend of mine.
Check out her bridal “throne”.
There was even a cake decorating contest, which was so much fun.
Behold, our beautiful creation!
Afterwards my mother and I met up with some good friends for wine, laughs, and...
Being up to no good!
The next morning I went on a walk with my beautiful mother in a quaint neighborhood along the James River.
Lucky for my mother, Virginia was experiencing unusually warm weather when she came to visit me back in November. She’s a big baby when it comes to cold weather, but it’s kind of adorable and funny to see her bundle up when it’s in the low 60’s
- Holding my little naked nugget (she had gone to the groomers).
Once my mom left I felt a little empty because I’m so close to her. There have also been some very shaky things going on with my family, and during that time I remember they were really in a dark place. When my mom came to visit I just wanted her to know that there are people in this world that will love her no matter what. I wanted to show her what it felt like to have someone care for you, and not have constant strife. It was heartbreaking to send her off because I knew what she would be going back to, and all I could do was wish that she’d be okay.
But life went on...
and I had to let myself just enjoy the moment. Do you ever get like that? Where something seems so all encompassing that it’s hard to step outside of it? One thing I’ve really experienced through these tough times is that I can step outside of it. I just have to let myself. It sounds easy, but the build up to that moment where you let go… is hard. But once you do it, it’s so freeing.
Plus, I had nice little reminders of my mom, like her new found love for goat cheese; pictured here with some jam on a bagel.
Goat cheese works just as well as cream cheese… if not better! The other half of the bagel had butter, lots of brown sugar, and cinnamon!
I’ve said it before, but I like to surround my self with things that do something for my soul. Whether it’s the music I listen to, the way I walk, the food I eat, the people I call friends, the strangers I say hello to, the outfit (or costume) I decide to wear on any given day. Lighting a candle because it fits my mood, sitting in a chair with a book because I plan on falling asleep, or looking at something someone else seems to notice. Appreciating the things that sometimes have nothing to do with me. When I first heard this quote by Nancy Stark Smith something in me just clicked, “the earth is bigger than you, so you might as well coordinate with it.“
In this case, the power lies in the homemade relish to make a sandwich extra special!
In Katharina fashion, I took this beautiful and delicious sandwich with me to class, and I thought to myself "I would."
The recipe is “The Veganomicon’s” Roasted Eggplant Muffuletta Sandwich with the addition of smoked gouda… making this not vegan. Seriously though, this sandwich was hitting every inch of my tongue’s palate making fireworks go off. Since the recipe calls to let the sandwich sit for awhile (overnight if you have time), it allows all of the flavors from the relish and roasted veggies to soak in. This is why leftover’s usually taste so great!
Before we knew it, Christmas was already on its way and we put up an Adventskalendar!
We split a yummy milk chocolate every day to countdown till the 24th!
I felt like a little kid again, knocking on my roommate’s door splitting the chocolate with her. Or when she’d peek in to give me the other half on a given day. It’s such a wonderful thing that this little lady is in my life. We had met in a yoga class a couple years back, and who would’ve thought we’d end up living together! She’s such a special person in this world, and someone I feel at harmony with. I’m so lucky to have her just a few steps away, and honored that she sees the same in me.
We all know that food can be comforting as well... corn and sweet potato soup.
I got out my book filled with hundreds of soup recipes to soothe some winter blues. Soups just seem to be the ultimate comfort food during the winter. It turned out looking a bit greenish-brown, but that’s just because of the vegetable bouillon. Anyway, the point is that it was yummy, especially because I love corn and sweet potatoes! The texture from pureeing half of it and mixing in the rest of the vegetable chunks was satisfying as well.
Warm sandwiches are what it's all about.
A chickpea cutlet, goat cheese, green pepper jelly, roasted red-peppers, and wilted greens sandwiched between two slices of toasted whole-grain bread. This sandwich was so good that I exclaimed to my friend in class that she should have a bite! That way someone else would understand why I was making “mmmm” sounds while eating.
I also went to a restaurant downtown that I never heard of before called LuLu's.
The restaurant played off of Richmond’s architecture and city skyline, which I thought was really neat. And who wouldn’t love a place called LuLu’s? If you’re in the area you should definitely check them out. They’ve got a wonderful menu with so many choices, it’s incredible. They’ve got dishes from Moroccan-spiced grilled quail, mezze platters, to arancini.
Notice the letters are actually buildings.
I wanted something comforting for that chilly night, so I ordered the tomato soup with a grilled pimento cheese sandwich.
This is what I call a sophisticated big kid’s meal, don’t you think? It was so tasty, and it was the first time I ever had this traditional combination! You bet I dipped the grilled cheese in the thick tomato soup. Biting into this sandwich filled with ooey-gooey thick cheese i crispy buttered bread was perfect! Actually, before I ordered the soup I wanted to make sure that it was made with a vegetable broth. The waiter thought I meant to ask the chef what vegetables they had used, and he came back with an answer which was more than what I had asked for, “he made the stock out of the vegetables we had in the house, but he can’t remember which ones”. I guess that means that they make everything out of scratch, which always impresses me.
Everyone was ready to eat and enjoy!
We also ordered some desserts to share: an almond tart with homemade whipped cream.
This heavenly slice of pumpkin roll had me saying, "oh my goodness" multiple times.
It was by far the best dessert I’d had since I could remember!
Baking means sharing in my book!
I made a batch of moist vegan pumpkin chocolate, chocolate chip muffins.
I also went out to eat with one of my closest friends and his incredible mother.
We went to one of my favorite places, Cafe Gutenberg, and I ended up ordering what I had gotten last time because I loved it so much…
The vegan caeser salad made with romaine, hearts of palm, grape tomatoes, grilled tofu, and a lemon-caper dressing.
I saw that they also had rolls made by a local bakery, so I asked if I could have that to go with my salad. The tofu they use is the best in the world, and comes from a local commune called Twin Oaks.
Remember those yummy mozzarella bites I featured awhile ago from Farm Rich?
Not only do these taste good, but they’re made with real cheese. Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you’re interested in more information about their products like ingredients and methods, you can check out their FAQ site here. Anyway, the people over at Farm Rich kindly gave me another opportunity to try them, and they also sent me a voucher to share with a lucky reader! I also wanted to include some other things, so I thought I’d throw in a voucher for Gardein, and also a mystery prize that I’ll make especially for the winner.
It's giveaway time!
Here’s how you can enter:
1. Go to their site and comment on this post telling me one of their products you’d like to try.
Additional entries (don’t forget to comment on this post telling me you did these things):
2. Follow them on Facebook.
3. Follow them on Twitter.
4. You can also link back to this post on your blog, and make sure to let me know!
Make sure to get your entries in by Tuesday, January 18. Best of luck everyone!
Katharina's Food Adventures 