I'm Salivating

Hello all. It's me again, with no recipes to share, no pictures of the cookies, cookie bars, and bread that I have been baking, and no delicious cooking to show off. Oh well, I do have this nice round belly.

Really this is the only "cooking" I have to be proud of as of late. Dinner around here has been the usual fair - pastas, salads, sandwiches, and Matt's sweet potato saute. Instead of cooking, my favorite things to do lately are bake, organize and get rid of stuff, then eat said baked goods. Here are two recipe's that I have been making. The first for some delicious homemade bread that I made into rolls and also a loaf. Second, is these super easy chocolate chip cookie bars. I usually half this recipe and have been using coconut extract instead of vanilla, as well as coconut oil in lieu of margarine. This recipe has become a favorite because I can just press the batter into a pan and bake instead of plopping individual cookies on a baking sheet, therefore getting the cookie fix that much faster.

If I do get the urge to be adventurous in the kitchen again, here are a few recipes that I would love to try.

Chilled Double Chocolate torte from Oh She Glows

Deep Dish Cookie Pie from Chocolate Covered Katie

Raw Cacao Kale Crunch from YumUniverse

Any of these chocolate recipes from this post

(notice a theme - mmm chocolate!)

Focaccia from Veggie num num

Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade from Rawmazing

Fattoush Salad with Za'atar from My New Roots

Salt and Vinegar Potato Salad from Miskabelly

Vegan Stove top Style Macaroni and Cheese from BitterSweet

Noodle Salad with Peanut Mmm Sauce from Peas and Thank You

Zucchini Sticks from VeganWiz

And because I really can't resist dreaming about desserts

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dough Balls from Peas and Thank You

White Chocolate, Raspberry, and Sage Tart from Manifest Vegan

Also one to veganize

Push Pops from One Charming Party

I'm sure I wont post again for a bit, but hopefully you still enjoy these sporadic postings. Have a happy Fourth of July!

Lovely Summer Meal

Inspired by the Warm Spring Rolls recipe in Kim Barnouin's cookbook, I created these spring rolls for dinner last night. I really was planning on using the recipe in the book, but after cutting out some things and adding others, this is what I ended up with. I thought spring rolls would end up being a time consuming task, but with only serving 2 it really was pretty easy.

As a bonus, the vegan version is gluten free!

Saute one small head of cabbage, a package of baby bella mushrooms chopped, diced onion, and carrots cut into matchsticks. Saute them with a some water and add some freshly grated ginger, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes to taste.

For Matt's spring rolls I used Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps. These contain eggs, so are not vegan.

They were pretty easy to work with, just add some filling and roll up according to the back of the package.

For the vegan ones, I used rice paper wraps. These are sold in any Asian market as well as the world food section of grocery stores. They are packaged dried, so they will need to be softened up before the filling is added.

Put some water on a plate and then gently press a single wrap into the water on both sides. You don't need to do this for long as it softens up quick and will continue to soften out of the water as well.

Add some filling and wrap it up, making sure to tuck in the sides.

Usually spring rolls made with rice paper wraps are served cold, but with some experimentation, I discovered another lovely way to eat them. Rub some olive oil on each

spring roll, front, back, and sides. You could use a brush, or just dip a finger or two in some olive oil and rub it on that way. Place on a baking sheet and back for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Check on them from time to time to make sure that the wraps do not get too crispy. They should be pliable and able to easily eat.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Matt made a lovely peanut sauce to go with our spring rolls. Just mix some peanut butter with enough water to thin it down in a saucepan and season to your liking with soy sauce, fresh ginger, and red pepper flakes.

Delicious! I am looking forward to trying more filling ideas.

Simple Lunch

Just a simple lunch recipe for you today. Of course you can eat this whenever you want.

It was delicious.

Pasta with sauteed Kale and Fresh Tomatoes

serves 1

1 serving of your choice of pasta (I used organic angel hair or capellini)

olive oil

salt

garlic powder

dried basil

fresh ground pepper

3 kale leaves, washed, leaves torn off of the stem

handful of grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Cook pasta according to package. Strain and save some of the cooking water to saute the kale in if you like (or use fresh water). Place pasta on plate and drizzle with olive oil and season as desired. Add kale to the saucepan with a dash of salt and enough water to keep the kale from burning. Saute over medium heat until Kale has wilted but is not overcooked.

Toss kale into the noodles along with the tomato halves.

Enjoy!