Just Desserts

One of the truly fabulous things about smoothies is that they are so dessert-like. I feel like I am having a milkshake every morning for breakfast, even though my smoothies are fairly low-sugar and very nutrient-dense. Smoothies do such a great job of satisfying my sweet tooth that I rarely feel compelled to make desserts. But I am always happy to break out the whisk and baking pans for special occasions.

On the anniversary of the day my son came home, we celebrated with a Funky Monkey Pie from Peas and Thank You. Bananas, peanut butter, chocolate, and graham crackers? Sign me up! 

What, pray tell, would an avocado, cacao powder, dates, some collard ribbons (?!?), and a big blob of raspberry jam all be doing in the same food processor at the same time?!

Making Gena's Chocomole, that's what (well, the collard ribbons were my idea....obviously.) It was so creamy and naughty-tasting, and it made a fun little dessert topped with sliced bananas and some Kashi cereal.

Sometimes, I wonder if my photography skills could get any worse...

These are Black Bean Brownies from Peas and Thank You. Trust me, they tasted way more amazing than these pictures would lead you to believe.

This is Grandma's Perfect and Easy Apple Crisp from VegWeb. Easy? Yes. Perfect? Ehhh... Although I think it was my fault for not chopping the apples into smaller pieces. Oh well!

And, finally, I made Our Favorite Chocolate Cake from Vegan Express for Father's Day. I should have taken a picture of what this thing looked like after trying to remove it from the pan....let's just say, about 1/4 of the cake remained glued to the bottom. No problemo. I just scraped it up, mashed it onto a plate, and then plopped the rest of the cake on top and pressed down. My cake looked so terrible that it was actually kind of funny. Somehow that didn't stop us from shoveling this down our pie-holes :)

BBQ Chickpea Pizza

Look at me...I'm finally getting past my fear of making bread and pizza dough from scratch!

Yesterday, I baked a kick-booty BBQ Chickpea Pizza. It rocked my socks! I made the Tried and True Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (from scratch!! kneading and rolling and stretching the dough and everything!!!) and Everything's Better With Barbecue Sauce from Peas and Thank You. The barbecue sauce is an answer to my prayers, because I've yet to find a bottled barbecue sauce that meets my strict criteria:
1) vegan
2) no tomato paste (hello, acid reflux!)
3) no crappy artificial ingredients like HFCS
4) not too spicy (hello again, acid reflux!)

Thanks to Mama Pea, I can have tummy-friendly barbecue sauce in just 30 minutes. Yay!

Here's my beautiful dough, all rolled out, stretched, and ready to bake. I'm so proud of myself!

Next, I topped the dough with the barbecue sauce, some thinly sliced onion, and a can of chickpeas.

On top of that went a mix of Daiya mozzarella and cheddar shreds:

Finally, it went into the oven for 18 minutes. What emerged was a gooey, melty vegan pizza that rivaled this pizza I used to shell out $18 for. Not anymore! I think this pizza cost me less than $5 to make, huzzah!

*Drool...* it was SOOOO good, especially with some frosty cold beer on the side. I think this is my new favorite pizza!

What are your favorite pizza combinations?

Weekend Yums

Nothing like being Captain Obvious, but I love the weekends.

Weekends mean movie nights, family hikes, longer runs, visiting with friends, and spending time outside. 

It also means enjoying some favorite treats that I don't indulge in during the week.

Such as...homemade pizza. I usually make a quick/non-yeasted crust, but I just tried Mama Pea's Tried and True Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, and it was great. I topped it with some tomato sauce, chopped mushrooms, diced red onion, and Daiya mozzarella. If I ask my son what he wants for dinner, he will say "PIZZA!" every time. He loves it as much as I do!

It was ooey, gooey, melty, and delicious, although I think some kalamata olives would have really kicked it up a notch...next time!

Another Saturday evening, we came home late and wanted to eat pronto. I grabbed a package of sourdough wraps, some hummus, and vegetable errata (arugula, tomato, cucumber, carrot) and made some quick sandwiches while frozen fries were baking in the oven. A frosty glass of Colorado Native beer hit the spot! Beer + french fries + ketchup = awesome.

Sometimes, it's fun to indulge your inner college kid and just have snacky food for dinner. I made some OMG Oven-Baked Onion Rings from Appetite for Reduction and some Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta and went to town!

After having onion rings and bruschetta for dinner, it just makes sense to follow up with some "Not Guilty" Chocolate Chip Cookies. I mean, really. You've got to hit all your food groups!

As much as I love my big salads and smoothies, I also love to have fun foods on occasion.

What are some of your favorite weekend indulgences?

Breakfast, My Favorite Meal of the Day

I just love breakfast. It is my favorite meal of the day, for sure. I think I know why: to me, there is nothing better than waking up, getting some exercise (running, hiking, weights), stretching, and then sitting down to a delicious smoothie, the morning newspaper, and Sesame Street with my son :) It's a great way to start my day!

Here's some breakfasts I've been enjoying lately:

Quinoa flakes, sliced almonds, pistachios, goji berries, goldenberries, and mulberries. Super yummy!

Quinoa flakes, sliced bananas, sliced almonds, raisins, and blackstrap molasses. Mmmm!

Smoothie with 1 cup frozen mango, 1 frozen banana, 3 stalks chopped celery, 1 cup almond milk, 1 TBS chia seeds, and 1 TBS hemp protein powder.

Mama Pea's Flex on the Beach Smoothie. *Drool*.... A thick, tropical, nutritious, and dee-licous blend of banana, strawberries, pineapple, coconut water, avocado, coconut oil, chia seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. This is so refreshing and it makes a great post-workout recovery drink.

My old standby smoothie: frozen blueberries, frozen banana, raw cacao powder, hemp seeds, hemp protein powder, water, ice, Amazing Grass powder, 2 raw collard leaves, and 3 stalks celery. I have this for breakfast at least 3 times a week!

Any other breakfast lovers out there? I'm always looking for new ideas! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday to My Little Guy!

I really can't believe it, but my little guy just turned 3 years old!! He has been the greatest blessing to my husband and I, and we just praise the Lord for him. He is the light of our lives and we are just so thankful that God chose us to be his parents!!

To celebrate his birthday, we took a trip to the Mystic Aquarium in nearby Mystic, CT. We've been wanting to take J to the aquarium for a while now, so we thought his birthday would be the perfect occasion. The aquarium ended up being a great choice, because it's just the right size for a family with small children. They have both indoor and outdoor exhibits, which allowed us to get some fresh air as well as duck inside when we needed to warm up.

J is a huge fan of "Finding Nemo," so he was thrilled to get up close and personal with Nemo and Dory.

He especially loved the "black Nemos" they had in one tank!

Later, we enjoyed a special birthday dinner at home with J's grandparents. I made Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from Peas and Thank You, since a) we love carrot cake and b) J is incredibly smitten with Gigi. All I had to do was tell him that this was Gigi's fifth-birthday cake, and he was sold. Mama Pea, J asks me at least once a week if we can come to Oregon for a playdate with Gigi. Do you think that could be arranged? :)

Anyway, the cake was AMAZING. Like, no joke, the best carrot cake AND best cream cheese frosting I've ever had. Seriously drool-worthy!

J was super-excited to eat his "Gigi-cake"and declared it "yummy in my tummy!" His grandparents also loved it and even had seconds....yay!! All in all, we had a wonderful day with our special little guy. But I don't think we're going to wait another year before eating that cake again! :)

I'm Still Here....

...but Vegan MoFo nearly killed me.

Well, not really. But it sure did make me want to take a blogging break!

I've still been cooking, baking, and trying new recipes. I just haven't been motivated to blog about them :) But here is a sample of what I've been cooking lately:

Apple-Cinnamon Pancakes from Peas and Thank You:

Blueberry Carob Pancakes from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan:

Mini Tofu Frittatas, also from Peas and Thank You:

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili and Cornmeal-Crusted Plantains, both also from EDBV:

Spinach Salad with Persimmons and Spiced Pecans in Shallot Lemon Dressing, with a side of steamed mixed veggies, from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen:

Two Step Southwestern Stew from Vegetarian Times:

...along with some Cowgirl Cornbread from Peas and Thank You:

More cornbread-y goodness: Fresh Corn & Scallion Cornbread from Appetite for Reduction:

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili, also from AFR:

A Vegan Bowl from AFR - quinoa, baked tofu, carrots, red pepper, steamed broccoli, and Caesar Chavez dressing:

Portobello Salad with Spicy Mustard Dressing from Veganomicon:

Perhaps I will be getting my blogging mojo back soon. It is fall, after all, and that means lots of yummy breads, soups, and pumpkin-y foods for me. I definitely need to up my pumpkin consumption!

Vegan MoFo Day 31: A Smorgasbord of Vegan Food

It's the last day of MoFo, so I wanted to leave you with a smorgasbord of yummy stuff I've eaten the last few days. I haven't traveled to Sweden, but I'm Swedish on my mother's side of the family, so there ya go.

Lemon Lentil Soup from Peas and Thank You:

Oatmeal Bread from How It All Vegan!:

Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup from Appetite for Reduction:

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad (with avocado), also from Appetite for Reduction:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance:

Orange-Date-Walnut Bread from 1,000 Vegan Recipes: 

Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan:

I used black tortilla chips and Daiya vegan cheddar to make it look very Halloween-y :)

I'll be back with a MoFo recap soon!

Three S's: Soup, Salad, and Snacks

How did it get to be Thursday again already? Where does the time go! I feel like I've been a whirlwind of activity lately. Today alone I did the following: woke up and went for a run; came home and made breakfast for my son and got my hubby's lunch together; stretched and made a smoothie; did two loads of laundry; mowed my lawn (half-acre!); brought in all the toys/lawn stuff in advance of the hurricane; cooked soup, made salad, made salad dressing, and made roasted chickpeas; went to the chiropractor; vacuumed the downstairs; dumped an entire ice-cube tray full of water inside my freezer; mopped up the water that landed on every conceivable surface of my freezer; cleaned my bathroom floor approximately 27 times due to errant aim on my son's part; shopped online for sunscreen; and ate copius amounts of bananas, both in smoothie form and also just in its frozen-deliciousness-form, in order to fuel all these activities. It's now 8 pm and I'm tired!!

I haven't been posting for two main reasons: one, I've been super busy lately, and two, I've been eating a lot of meals I've already blogged about. But tonight, I have three (count 'em, three!) new foods to share with you!

Yesterday, my son and I went to visit my parents. Not only did we get to have fun with them, but we also got to go home with a bunch of free food (yes!!!) One of my Dad's coworkers has had a bumper crop of yellow squash, so my Dad sent me home with a whole bag of 'em! Aren't they cute??

My Mom's friend Linda also gave her an enormous bag of fresh basil, an enormous bag of fresh parsley (which I forgot to photograph - sorry!), and some gorgeous tomatoes. I was super impressed with the quality and size of both the basil leaves and the tomatoes - nice job, Linda!

I was not about to let this beautiful FREE food go to waste! I knew just what I wanted to make.

First, that huge bag of basil was just begging to be made into a summery salad dressing. I immediately thought of the Creamy Basil Dressing from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. I've made this dressing several times before, and it is such a great use of fresh basil. It's also easy as 1-2-3.

I put all the ingredients into an old almond butter jar that I've cleaned and repurposed.

I use my immersion blender and whiz it up until it's creamy and emulsified.

Then I pop the lid on and stick it in the fridge until I'm ready to dress the salads.

I kept the salad simple so the dressing would be the star. This is baby spinach, cucumber, scallion, and fresh tomato.

 And here it is with the Creamy Basil Dressing. Yum.

As for the yellow squash, I wanted to make Sunny Summer Squash Soup from Susan Voisin's blog, Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. I'd made it years ago and absolutely loved it. I knew it would be the perfect way to use up a ton of that beautiful squash!

Yellow squash, potatoes, onions, celery, and spices are simmered together until the potatoes and squash get nice and soft.

Then you puree it up with an immersion blender so the soup gets nice and creamy. At this point, you also stir in a little bit of tahini and nooch to add some extra creaminess and body to the soup.

You know why pureed soups are great? Because you can get your picky toddler to eat a TON and not realize how many veggies are hidden in there :) He also had his first real salad tonight, and I'm proud to report that he ate several bites! I gave him exactly what my hubby and I had - spinach, cuke, tomato, and the creamy basil dressing. I chopped everything up into small pieces and also added some shredded carrot.

Finally, we noshed on some Lemon Rosemary-Roasted Chickpeas from Peas and Thank You. Chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. So simple, so good.

I love to snack on roasted chickpeas - in fact, all three of us do! They're a great, handy little protein-packed snack.

Okay, now that I'm caught up on my blog, I'm off to watch Top Chef: Just Desserts. I taped it last night and I can't wait to watch it! Yes, I said taped. On my VCR. Stop snickering.