Valentines Day

Yesterday afternoon my kitchen was busy and I was a frazzled mess. Don't worry, I cleaned up in time. To make Valentines Day special, I whipped up a Mediterranean inspired dinner. As a result of my efforts, I ran out of time, made a big mess, had a stressed phone conversation with Matt, and had to skip one dish that was planned. No fear, it always works out in the end. Matt gave me a little extra time and I was even gussied up when he walked in the door.

Here are some kitchen happenings of the afternoon.

Three pots bubbling and spelt pizza crust rising thanks to all that warmth.

Many a clove of garlic was chopped. We've been married long enough to not worry about garlic breath. Actually, dating didn't even curb my love of garlic.

Almost ready!

This is what we ate.

Crostini with three spreads. Greek Garlic and Potato Dip, Lentil, and Sun-dried tomato and Spinach Bruschetta.

The Garlic and Potato Dip won the prize. So tangy and garlicky.

Salad Pizza. Spinach tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, served on top of a mini pizza crust. It was delicious, especially with the addition of more Garlic and Potato dip.

Grilled Polenta with Triple-Pepper Sauce.

To finish, Chocolate Chip Biscotti and coffee.

Matt spoiled me with calla lilies and chocolate.

I got him a copy of Android Karenina.

Hope you all had a special Valentines Day!

All recipes can be found in the book, Vegetarian Times Cooks Mediterranean.

Bananarama Bread

This bread has got it, yeah baby, she's got it. What is it that she has? A caramelized banana topping that's what. So grab your favorite banana bread recipe and preheat that oven. I tend to gravitate towards Babycakes gluten free Banana Bread. Light and airy and delicious. I love that it uses a liquid sweetener in the recipe so that it is easy to choose a healthier option than cane sugar. I like to use brown rice syrup or coconut nectar. Regardless of the recipe you use, this caramelized banana topping will enhance it to the max.

Mash up one banana with 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of Earth Balance or coconut oil (I have not tried the coconut oil, but I'm assuming it would work well). Stir in 2 tablespoons of your sweetener of choice. I used evaporated cane juice as the bread was a low sugar recipe.

Pour over the bread halfway through the cooking process. The gluten free recipe I use always takes longer to bake than the time given, so I baked the topping for about 30 minutes. If your recipe takes about that long or a little longer to bake, I would just pour on the topping before you put the bread in the oven.

The result is a chewy, flavorful topping that melds with the bread beautifully. I stored my baked bread in the fridge and found that the topping got a little gooey, so I just reheated it when I enjoyed the leftovers. That way the topping would be crispy each time.

Enjoy your weekend!

I'm Salivating

There are so many great recipes and so many incredible blogs. I am constantly bookmarking amazing looking dishes, probably more than I will ever get to try. I do try a lot of them though, and I thought it would be nice to have a regular posting of the deliciousness the Internet has to offer.

First off is this Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake from Gluten Free Goddess. It was quite impressive. I didn't have the brown sugar the recipe called for when I made this, and I think I missed out on the deep sweet flavor, but regardless it was a great recipe. I was quite impressed with the smooth creamy texture of the cake. Try it sometime, and check out her blog for a better picture of the cake. One that will make you salivate!

Next up is an incredible dish from Angela at Oh She Glows. Her 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta is partially raw (the sauce), and amazing. So amazing that I will be making it again this week. Unfortunately, I did not have any fresh basil and am really hoping to come across some soon. It was delicious without, but I love basil so much that I can imagine how incredible this dish would taste with it. If you get a chance, you must look through her treasure trove of recipes.

This past week we tried a new to us ingredient, canned jackfruit in a brine. While I have had fresh jackfruit (which is a favorite and a rarity), I've never had it canned. I picked up some at an Indian grocery a while back and finally decided to try Chow Vegan's BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich. The recipe was a simple one with impressive results. Matt really enjoyed it as well. Even though the contents of one can may not seem like much, It could easily

serve 4 - 5 people.

Now for some cookbook love, I made the Smokey Red Bean Chili with Chipotle- Cornbread Dumplings from Vegan on the Cheap. I ended up making it on the stove top, and baking the dumplings in the oven instead of using a crock pot. Both worked out great. It is a deliciously spicy and filling chili.

Finally here are two more gems. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from The Kind Diet, and Chocolate-Coconut Truffles from Living Raw Food. I made these for a party and sadly didn't get a picture. These were incredible though. A must try if you get your hands on the books.

And for your viewing pleasure, here are some more recipes I have my eye on.

Easy Coconut Kefir Yogurt from Yum Universe

Glazed Rum Raisin Cupcakes with Walnuts and Orange Chocolate from The Cinnamon Quill

Raw Banana Cream Pie from Manifest Vegan

Kale Garlic Bread from Busy Vegan Mama

Hope you enjoy these and get the chance to try them. What are you salivating over this week?

Comfort Food

This post depicts comfort food at it's finest. Meaning this is the epitome of comfort food for me at this time. Sure I will move onto another dish in the near future, but for now this one has me in a tight hold. Warm, gooey, and delicious!

Gather the fixings for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Organic peanut butter, organic raspberry jam, Sami's Millet and Flax Bread, and some soy free Earth Balance. I prefer to use natural peanut butter with no added sugar as well as all fruit jams, but this is what we had in the house. You could also use any nut or seed butter in place of the peanut butter.

Heat up a George Foreman grill, or a frying pan. Assemble your PB & J to your liking, then spread on some Earth Balance on each side of the sandwich (or do this before spreading on the peanut butter and jelly). Grill to perfection.

Try adding some banana slices to the mix before grilling. I was a bit skeptical about the combination of jelly and banana, but it was very tasty.

It really is a dish that could work for any meal. Eating this sandwich takes me back to the days when my sister would eat grilled PB & J instead of grilled cheese. Also makes me wonder why I always opted for grilled cheese.

Pair with a green smoothie so you can feel a little bit healthier about consuming this as a meal.

Happy Tuesday to you all!

A Breakfast Post

Breakfast for me usually is just a green smoothie, and if I'm feeling especially hungry, some gluten free toast (Sami's Bakery Millet & Flax bread is so good). On my days off of work, I like to switch it up a bit. This morning I was inspired by Sarma's chia pudding recipe

from Living Raw Food, and made a chia porridge of sorts.

Chia seeds are quite amazing. When you soak them in any liquid, they become softer and create a tapioca like consistency. They are a complete protein, contain omega fatty acids, are an ancient energy food, and yes they are used for chia pets. Here is some more information if you are interested.

This is more of a base for a breakfast with some suggestions rather than a recipe, but here is what I did. Mix 1/4 cup of chia seeds with 3/4 cup of almond milk. You could make your own almond milk and keep this dish a raw one, or you can just use a non dairy milk of your choice. I used Almond Breeze original. Add a drop of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and a bit of your sweetener of choice, be it stevia, agave, or brown rice syrup. Let the seeds and milk set for 15 - 20 min or longer. This will allow the seeds to soak up the liquid and become like a gel or tapioca. Sprinkle in some nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and fresh fruit. I opted for raw pumpkin seeds and raisins, and topped it off with a banana.

You could mix up the base ahead of time and leave it in the fridge for a quick breakfast in the morning. The chia base will keep for a couple days.

Enjoy with a cup of Teeccino.

Recently I've been on a knitting kick and have been making mug cozies. Matt thinks it's funny that I'm making sweaters for my mugs. I like to think that it keeps my drink warmer for a longer amount of time, but that's probably just wishful thinking. Oh well, at least my mug looks cute.

First Step to Accomplishing a Goal

I had mentioned that learning to make delicious Indian food was one of my goals for the year. I have made Indian dishes before and they were very tasty, but I would love to learn how to make Matt and I's favorite dishes. I would like to make them so well so that we do not always have to go out in order to eat them. My favorite is Aloo Gobi. It is a potato and cauliflower dish. I always intend to try new dishes when we go to Indian restaurants, but I always fall back on this one. Matt's dish is Malai Kofta, a fried vegetable dumpling served with a thick tomato based gravy. On Thursday I attempted to make both dishes and destroyed my kitchen with dirty dishes in the process. Matt was kind enough to do the dirty work for me and do the dishes while I finished preparing the meal. Next time I think I will just attempt one dish.

First up, the Aloo Gobi. I didn't love the recipe I chose to try. It seemed to be missing some of the flavor that I really love about dish. Perhaps I just added to much ginger, as it was a bit over powering. Oh well. The search continues for the perfect recipe. Here are some pictures I took while preparing the dish.

The last picture was the finished product. I ended up adding a bit of the sauce that I made for the Malai Kofta, which added more of a flavor punch to the cauliflower and potatoes.

Moving on to the Malai Kofta. I'm not sure if this is our perfect replication of the dish. It is not technically a vegan dish, so we tried a vegan version. It was delicious! Next time I make this, Matt would like the sauce to be sweeter tasting. I used a can of tomatoes instead of fresh, and it was a bit overly tomato tasting, but I still thought this dish was superb.

So many colorful and delicious spices went into the sauce. I'm sorry I missed taking a picture of the finished sauce, but you will see it plated up at the end.

The vegetable dumplings were made out of mashed potatoes, bread, and spices. Not very pretty, but really yummy. I tried pan frying them, but I have yet to have much luck in that department. Whenever I try this in my stainless steel pan, it just doesn't work out that well. Instead of the dumplings browning, the pan just does. So I resorted to plan b and baked them in the oven instead.

Ta-da! Here is the finished product.

And here is my messy kitchen, and proof that I am cooking by the computer. Sorry Matt.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Lunchbox Post

At least one day a week I have lunch/dinner at work. Most likely it is a packed lunch and more often than not it is a salad. Salads are easy. Easy to throw together, easy to store in the refrigerator until my half hour break, and easy to eat. Well, easy to eat, but not so easy to eat fast. I am usually chewing until the last minute before I go back to the grind.

Another reason I chose salads is that they are an easy energy boost, and I don't have to bother heating anything up in the microwave. We don't have one at home, and I'd prefer not to use one at all. Although I do on occasion. Besides the work microwave is usually pretty grim looking.

So every week I turn to my old favorite, and staple, Apple Pie Salad. I was introduced to this recipe by my mom, from a cookbook she owns (not sure which one it was),

but this is my variation.

Chop up three apples. These portions will typically feed both Matt and I for one meal, with this being the main dish. If you serve this as a side, it should feed 4-5.

Mix with 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats.

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. I'm not sure of the exact measurement I used, but I would suggest starting with a couple teaspoons and if you need more, go for it. Sprinkle on just a bit of Nutmeg as well. Cardamom is also a nice addition to the mix.

Chop up 6 or more dates and add them to the bowl along with a handful of raisins.

Pour on a bit less than 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Be careful to not get to much syrup as it tends to create a sickeningly sweet soggy mess with the oats. You just want a touch of sweetness.

Mix it all together with a fork or spatula.

Feel free to add on to the salad. Perhaps toss in some pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, or walnuts. You could try adding some pear to the mix as well. I added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds for some added protein.

Pack it up and your off to work.

Apple Pie Salad

serves 2 as a main dish and 4-5 as a side

3 apples, chopped

1 cup rolled oats

2 teaspoons of cinnamon, plus more to taste

pinch of nutmeg

1/8 cup plus 1 Tbs maple syrup

6 or more dates chopped

1/4 cup raisins

2 Tbs chia seeds or any other additional nuts

or seeds you would like to add

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Enjoy!