Tasty Tidbits

 

Our rhubarb is growing like crazy & I've been taking advantage of that. Newest rhubarb food to love: vegan ice cream!  Made with coconut milk, it's pretty healthy as far as ice cream goes, & it even has minimal sugar (1/2 cup, all of which is maple syrup). One of the main issues with using rhubarb in desserts is the high sugar content used to combat the tartness of the fruit. We don't mind things a bit tart, but the coconut milk also helped to counter the tartness in this treat. It's hard to describe the final flavor, but I think the closest thing I can relate it to is a strawberry-lime flavor. Anyway, it was delicious!

 

The farm market in town opens today & I can't wait to see what goodies they have this year. After that, we're heading on a bike ride. I'm so happy for warm weekends again because that means we get to start our summer biking days!

 

Happy May! Enjoy your weekend!

 

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

Breakfasts

• Cinnamon chia spinach smoothies
• Blueberry muffins with grapefruit halves
• Baked blueberry rhubarb oatmeal
• Rhubarb spelt muffins with almond butter
• Bananas + pb

Lunches

• Brussels sprout grilled cheese on homemade 7-grain bread
• Out to eat for Mother's Day: bean burgers w/ fries & salads
• Katie's Melty Pizza Hummus with crackers, carrots, & celery
• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Canteloupe, apples, & watermelon

Dinners

Saturday:
Out to eat with friends

• Summer salad (me)
• Caesar salad (W)
• Cajun fries (we split a side order)

Sunday:

• Mega salads: lettuce, spinach, fennel fronds, roasted sweet potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onion, feta, & Brittany's Coconut Bacon with Rossetti's Italian Vinaigrette

Monday

• Broccoli fried brown rice
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Grilled zucchini, ramps, & asparagus with perogies
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• The First Mess' Roasted Carrots + Rice w/ Zingy Turmeric Broth - This was delicious! The broth was super flavorful. It also stained my countertop when I spilled some on it...so if you try this, beware of spills!
• Green salad

Thursday:

• Keepin' It Kind's Sweet Potato-Black Bean Pasta Summer Rolls with Coconut-Lime Tahini Sauce - I didn't actually make these into summer rolls, but might do so with the leftover noodle mixture for lunch this weekend. The flavor combination of the noodles, sweet potatoes, cabbage, & sauce is perfect!
• Mango guacamole with popchips

Friday:

• BBQ tempeh on sweet potato slices
• Green salad

Treats

• Happy Healthy Mama's Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls - These are made using black beans, but you would never know. They're a perfect chocolate snack that still boasts high fiber, protein, & iron.
• Ice cream (me) & choc cake w/ pb icing (W) while out to eat
• What's Cooking Good Looking's Rhubarb Ice Cream
• Ashley's Vegan & Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Tasty Tidbits

 

When we have time, I love to sit & have coffee/tea in the morning. Sadly, it's very rare, but we did take a moment recently to just savour breakfast together.

 

 

This cat is a serious problem. We can't go in or out the kitchen door without her being right there, trying to sneak outside. Sometimes, I let her out just to avoid the hassle of trying to keep her in. Lately, if I do that, she loves going onto the garden (this is where we planted potatoes this year).

 

W got Tink a harness so that she can go outside with us & we don't have to worry so much. She hates it, but is slowly learning that if she wears it she'll be allowed out. He had her wearing it around the house one evening & she somehow found her way out of it. That doesn't bode well for keeping her secure outside!

 

Our flowers are blooming & something new pops out every day. I love the bleeding heart.

 

Spring is here at last!

 

 

We both have off this weekend & are doing a outdoor work day at the church followed by dinner with friends.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, including mine!

 

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

Breakfasts

• Cherry green smoothies
• Cookie & Kate's GF Buckwheat Pancakes topped with cinnamon apples
• Mango banana granola
• Oatmeal with blueberries & sesame seed milk
• Chai baked oatmeal with pears
• Bananas + pb

 Lunches

• Mega salads: lettuce, spinach, dandelion greens, roasted potatoes, roasted cauliflower, coconut "bacon," & sweet potato vinaigrette
• Hummus with crackers, carrots, & celery
• Leftovers
• Canteloupe, apples & watermelon

Dinners

Saturday:

• Pizza with spelt beer crust (3 kinds: vegan cashew cheese + Brussels, marinara sauce + ramps, & bbq sauce + onions + mushrooms)

Sunday:

• 10 Spice Vegetable Soup from The Oh She Glows Cookbook topped with Brittany's Coconut Bacon 

Monday

• Leftovers

Tuesday:
Dinner cooked by campfire

• Foil packets:
• Portobella caps topped with cashew cheeze & spinach
• Butternut squash & ramps
• Zucchini, onions, & red bell pepper
• S'mores (of course!)

Wednesday:

• Whole wheat mini shell pasta with ramps & mushrooms

Thursday:
Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choir

• Rigatoni with tomato sauce
• Green salad

Friday:

• Bean burgers
• Grilled zucchini

Treats

• Popcorn with Ashley's Vegan Parmesan 
• Side Saddle Kitchen's Raw Vegan Banana Ice Cream Pie with a Macaroon Crust - You have to try this!!! It was delicious.
• Ashley's Vegan & Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

 

Tasty Tidbits

 

 

We opened the grill this week & officially kicked off spring! It's pretty rare that we have a standard "meat & potatoes" type plate. This is mostly because we don't eat meat, but also because we like more meals that are mixtures instead of each separate on the plate. This meal was an exception, with a portobello cap, brown & wild rice, & asparagus. It was great to be able to grill again!

 

I can't decide if the purple color of the rice combination is fun or gross. I'm leaning toward fun, since I know the hue came from the wild rice. Maybe I should call the combo Royal Rice? Or is that taking it too far?

 

We have seedlings growing inside until they're big enough & it's warm enough to move them out to the garden. Because Tink is crazy about dirt, we had to lock them away in an upstairs room so that she can't get at them. One evening, I found her sitting at the top of the steps & as soon as I opened the door, she bolted in. She looked around briefly, then jumped onto the daybed & buried herself under the blanket. If I hadn't seen her doing it, I wouldn't have known she was there...except for that little paw sticking out!

 

 

I lifted the edge of the blanket & there she was, peeping out at me. So cute!

 

Happy weekending! It's supposed to be pretty nice here & I can't wait to spend some time outside.

 

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

Breakfasts

• Peach & spinach smoothies
• Happy Healthy Mama's Lightened Up Homemade Granola
• Jessica's Whole Wheat Banana Bread Pancakes
• Oatmeal with blueberries & coconut almond butter
• Bananas

Lunches

• Mega salad with spinach, red leaf lettuce, roasted Brussels sprouts, onions, mushrooms, carrots, almonds, & dried cranberries
• Lunch date: Vegetable hibachi at Tokyo Diner
• Leftovers
• Sandwiches
• Oranges, grapefruit, & apples

Dinners

Saturday:

• Two Peas & Their Pod Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Tacos - These were full of flavor & texture! Plus they were super easy to make. We'll definitely have them again soon!
• Guacamole

Sunday:
Dinner at Mom & Pops' with my aunt

• Orecchiette with tomato mushroom sauce
• Roasted cauliflower & fennel
• Green salad

Monday

• Collard green wraps stuffed with the Chickpea Salad from The Oh She Glows Cookbook & cashew "cheese" (learn how to make a collard wrap here)

Tuesday:

• Grilled portobello mushroom caps
• Grilled lemon pepper asparagus
• Brown & wild rice mixture (did you know this turns out purple? fun!)
• Lemon tahini dressing from The Oh She Glows Cookbook
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• Raw zucchini noodles with tomato sauce
• Ashley's Almond & Cornmeal Herb Crusted Eggplant - This was super flavorful & just the right combination of crunch & chew.
• Green salad

Thursday:
Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choirs

• Bean burgers
• Roasted squash
• Green salad

Friday:

• Girls' night for me: waffle bar!
• Minestrone for W

Treats

• Ambitious Kitchen's Flourless Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oat Brownies {vegan, gluten free & healthy}
• Mom's lemon blueberry bundt cake
• Rainbow Snow - pb soft serve on a cone (me) & choc milkshake (W) - They're open again for the season, so we just had to go support them on opening day. :-D
• Mom's chocolate cranberry cake