Tasty Tidbits

For my birthday breakfast, I wanted pancakes. I had a recipe I've been wanting to try & W said he'd make them for me. They were delicious!

A lot of the pancake recipes that we try are just so-so. The pictures look great, but then we find out they aren't quite what we want...too mushy, too thin, no flavor, etc. Since I started trying gluten free recipes, we've been very impressed. The pancakes have all been full of flavor & much fluffier than ones with wheat flour. My favorite gluten free mixture is the one Ashley from Edible Perspective uses - it's oat flour, almond meal, & sweet rice flour. Occassionally she adds ground flax, coconut flour, cornmeal, or raw buckwheat flour, all of which turn out great too. I love that she doesn't use any weird gums. Her recipes are all delicious & they don't have that gluten free taste that so many ones with gums do.

We had a great weekend at the cabin, just the two of us. I was sick with a bad cold, but it cleared up a lot with the mountain air. We hiked, played games, read, ate, & had a relaxing time.

We made a fancy birthday dessert that dirtied a LOT of dishes. Just look at that dark chocolatey goodness. We licked all the spoons! There are still leftovers in the freezer, so we'll be enjoying this again soon without all the effort.

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Pineapple Coconut Granola
• Ashley's GF Cinnamon Roll Pancakes - W made me these for my b-day breakfast. They are SO good. The best pancakes we've made in a looooooong time. They didn't even need any toppings, which blew our minds! Can't wait to make them again soon!
• Ashley's Baked GF Peanut Butter Cup Donuts via Wit & Vinegar - Baked donuts...what's not to love?
• Panera bagels (pumpkin spice for me, asiago for W)
• Crumbled zucchini oat bars with puffed millet & unsweetened almond milk
• Bananas + pb

Lunches

• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Grilled cheese on Food Netword's Anadama Bread with pesto
• Angela's Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic, & Onion Coconut Soup
• Heidi's Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
• Apples & pineapple

Dinners

Saturday:

• Grilled tofu brats
• Grilled onion & mushroom skewers
• Grilled hot peppers
• Roasted butternut squash
• Green salad

Sunday:

• Angela's Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic, & Onion Coconut Soup - We had these 3 days in a row, we liked it SO much! (This was actually the 3rd time - we had it Fri. night & Sat. for lunch.)
• Grilled cheese on Food Netword's Anadama Bread with pesto

Monday:

• Pepper, mushroom, & onion egg scramble
• Toasted Food Netword's Anadama Bread with mashed avocado

Tuesday:

• Tracy's Pasta with Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• Baked polenta topped with a sauce of mushrooms, peppers, onions, & tomatoes
• Green salad

Thursday:

• Tortilla pizzas
• Green salad

Friday:

• Spaghetti squash with tomato pepper sauce

Treats

• FragrantVanillaCake.com's Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Cheesecake - This is what I decided to make for my birthday treat. It was delicious, though a lot of work to make. Super rich, which is something I rarely say, so I'm glad that it's a frozen dessert. We can take our time enjoying it & it won't go bad.
• Pumpkin oreo stormer (me) / regular oreo stormer (Bup) - Our traditional May's ice cream stop on the drive home from the cabin!
• Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate - First cocoa of the season! We almost forgot how good it is...

Tasty Tidbits

Some co-workers told me about a place nearby that sells beer by the six pack. This is pretty exciting, since before now the only place I knew that offered that option was a Whole Foods a few hours away. If we want beer, we have to buy a case. That's a lot of beer, especially if you want to try something new!  Anyway, I found this Tangerine Wheat flavor & it was surprisingly good! I usually like fruity wheat beers, but had only had cherry & various berry flavors before. The tangerine was light & refreshing. It's made by Lost Coast Brewery in CA, so definitely not a local beer, but I'd definitely get it again if I come across it!

I'm super excited because today's my birthday! Last Sunday, my parents had us over to celebrate because they left for vacation on Tuesday. I don't mind extending the celebration! We had a nice dinner with them & my grandparents, & then we played pinochle. Men vs. women & we each won once.

On Thursday, my boss gave me my first b-day gift - a low light plant for my office. I love having greenery in the office, but mine has no windows. Now I have 3 plants, although the bamboo one lives in her office more than mine because she has a window.

Now it's time to celebrate & relax! Happy weekend!

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Pumpkin kefir smoothies
• Pineapple Coconut Granola
• 3J's for breakfast - french toast (me) & veggie breakfast pizza (W)
• Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
• Happy Herbivore's Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scone - I liked these. They were easy to make & made just 6, which was the perfect amount.
• Bananas + pb

Lunches

• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Roasted Cauliflower Soup
• Skinny Taste's Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites - These had a serious kick of heat! I used brown rice flour & it worked great. I will definitely make them again.
• Out to lunch at Houlihans
• Apples & watermelon

Dinners

Saturday:

• Grilled eggplant with pesto
• Grilled tomato halves topped with parmesan & basil
• Grilled hot peppers with provolone
• Green salad

Sunday:
Early birthday dinner at my parents' house

• Whole wheat spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce
• Green salad
• Homemade applesauce
• Birthday cake: white cake with chocolate icing

Monday:

• Martha Stewart's One Pan Pasta
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Where the Cookies Are's Smoky Brussels Sprouts with Lime and Avocado
• Green salad

Wednesday:
Campfire!

• Tofu dogs on whole wheat buns
• Veggie foil packets
• S'mores (with 77% dark chocolate - this totally makes the s'more over the top!!!)

Thursday:

• Mega Salad - lettuce & spinach with onions, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, avocado, almonds, apples, & roasted Brussels sprouts

Friday:

• Dinner on the way to the cabin

Treats

• Jessica's Amaretto Apple Crisp

Tasty Tidbits

Last weekend, my dad, uncle, & several of my cousins worked on this year's wine! The grapes came in on Friday & they got right to work. I stopped by on Wed. to feed the cat & punch down the grapes. I love the whooshing sound & the bubbles that come from the process!

Couch shopping was a little stressful. It's supposed to be fun, buying new furniture, but the overwhelming amount of options is crazy. Plus most sectionals are too big or not configurable for the space we have. We're still searching. At least we got a good idea of what we want. This was one that we looked at, but we don't really want a chaise on it.

So...we're having another rainy/floody October. Stay dry!

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Watermelon smoothies
• Pineapple Coconut Granola
• The Sweet Life's Vegan Pumpkin waffles - We liked the flavor, but the batter was super wet, making less than crispy waffles. I'd add more flour if I try this again.
• Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
• Apple Pumpkin Beer Bread - I almost forgot I had this recipe in my archives. This time, I used almond milk instead of beer (not as fun, but more breakfast appropriate). I also reduced the liquid by 1/3 cup & made a regular loaf + a mini loaf. The mini loaf disappeared a little too quickly...
• Bananas

Lunches

• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Mega green salad with lettuce, spinance, quinoa, kalamata olives, peppers, red onion, apple, & sliced almonds
• Backwoods Home's Rustic Country Rye Bread with dipping oil
• Celery, carrots, & crackers with No Meat Athlete's Buffalo Hummus (via Angela)
• Out to lunch: Roasted Veggie Sandwich with side salad
• Apples

Dinners

Saturday:

• Whole wheat rotini with Angela's Pumpkin Cheeze Sauce - A vegan fall favorite in our house! Tastes a lot like mac 'n cheese without all the heaviness.

Sunday:

• Twice baked potatoes
• Roasted cauliflower & onions

Monday:

• Out with friends - me: I got the Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Beer with my dinner. It was the best! Lots of spiced flavors, almost similar to pumpkin pie mixed with gingerbread, but still without being too heavy. We split hummus with veggies & nachos to go with the beer.
• Leftover pasta with pumpkin sauce - W

Tuesday:

• Joy's Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup - This was delicious! Super creamy & FULL of flavor. Plus, it was a fairly quick meal to prepare.
• Backwoods Home's Rustic Country Rye Bread for dipping in the soup
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• Grilled cheese with pesto sandwiches on Deb's Black Bread
• Green salad

Thursday:
Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choir

• Cauliflower with Peas over Forbidden Black Rice
• Pepper Cabbage Slaw

Friday:

• Tofu nuggets
• Roasted buffalo cauliflower
• Roasted butternut squash

Treats

• Tessa's Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream with Crumbled Ginger Cookies
• Two Peas & Their Pod's Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies - They're vegan, so that means I got to eat lots of batter! :-)
• Mom's Coconut Cake (leftover from their celebration of Mommom's b-day)