Tasty Tidbits

We're still under construction! Tink loves it when we have drywall on the floor. As you can see, she's made it her home, complete with toys. :-)

I can't wait to have another fire this weekend! It's supposed to be warmer, too, so maybe I won't need to wear 5 layers!

Have a happy weekend! What are your plans?

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

Breakfasts

• Ashley's Chocolate Cherry Cake Batter Smoothies
• Peach yogurt with Eating Well's Lisa's Granola
• Lisa's Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
• Angela's Chia Seed Breakfast Bowl
• Baked oatmeal
• Whole wheat oatmeal bagels
• Bananas & crunchy pb

Lunches

• Leftovers
• Sandwiches
• White bean hummus
• Kale salad with broiled tofu, avocado, carrots, onion, mushrooms, & blood oranges
• Apples & clementines

Dinners

Saturday:

• Veggie Summer Rolls with peanut dipping sauce

Sunday: 
Campfire Cookout!

• Mountain Pie Pizzas
• Vegetable Foil Packets
• Banana boats

Monday:

• Ashley's Cocoa Chili - We were hungry for chili, so of course I went to our go-to chili recipe. This time, I added another can of tomatoes, some mushrooms & a small sweet potato, diced. It was a nice little change & kept it a little lighter for spring.
• Adrianna's Baked Polenta Fries
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Rigatoni & broccoli with vegan cheezy pumpkin sauce
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• Black bean burgers on potato rolls
• Broiled brussels sprouts
• Carmelized onions & mushrooms
• Green salad

Thursday:
Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choir 

• Tortilla pizzas with pesto, tomato sauce, bbq sauce, onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, & cheese
• Bean salad
• Green salad

Friday:
Out to dinner at Lazarros

• Gluten Free Gnocchis in Sun-Dried Tomato Vodka Sauce
• Green salad

Treats

• Heidi's Rhubarb Crumble Bars
• Mama Pea's Chocolate Protein Truffles from More Peas, Thank You
• Maryea's Clean Eating Raw Brownies - These are SO chocolatey & delicious! I was super impressed with this recipe. Often, the dried fruit & raw nuts combos aren't as authentic to the flavors of the food it's imitating, but this was spot on with the rich brownie taste.
• Healthy Happy Life's Minty Vegan Grasshopper Pie - So good! It wasn't as creamy as I expected it to be, but I actually liked it better this way. Dad loved it!

Plants & Campfires

Our hens & chicks are looking beautiful! This is the first year that their purple hues have really come out. I love how they multiply each year. They remind me of warm weather.

When I was a kid, we had a small patch of them on a rock at our cabin. I thought they were my pets, so I'd water them when we were there. Now I have my own patch & it's at least 5 times the size. I don't water them at all & they are flourishing. Nature really knows what it's doing.

On Sunday night, we had our first cookout of the season! I can't wait to have more. We decided that now that we started, we have to have one every Sunday that we're home. I'm excited to try some new ideas for things to cook over the fire. It was pretty chilly, so we started early, before it got dark. Bup installed another patio light for when we have fires after dark. It's nice to sit by the fire in the dark, but when we're trying to assemble/cook food, it's tough without a light!

I'm super excited about our new fire pit. The old one finally rusted through the bottom, so we couldn't use it anymore. I think this new one is a little more durable. We're going to bring the insert inside between fires so that it doesn't get rusty as soon. This was also our first time using our mountain pie makers. We borrowed my parents' last year & they gave us these for Christmas. One is a double-wide...that's a lot of sandwich!

Bring on the campfires!!

Tasty Tidbits

This cat...she's been a terror this week! I think it's partly because we have our living room all moved around & it's throwing her off. She's constantly getting into things (like the plants & plastic bags), even more than usual. I just hope that after we get our new carpet that she doesn't scratch at it!

I bought a coconut last weekend. This is the second one I've purchased in my life - the first intimidated me & sat on our counter until it dried up. Ew.

This time, I vowed that we'd use it right away. The Bup poked holes in it & we drained out the coconut water. Then he tried to crack it open & broke a knife, so he got out the hammer & hack saw. :-) He got it open at last, & we sampled the water & flesh. Both were VERY salty, almost like coconut flavored ocean water. It was nothing like the kind you can buy pre-shredded. I didn't expect it to be the same, but I thought it would be better, not worse! We used the coconut water in some barely worth mentioning cocktails. I tried to make coconut butter from the flesh by putting it in the food processor, but it never butterized. I was so frustrated by then that I just put it all into a container & froze it. Better luck another time!

Any ideas on what I could do with a pureed coconut?

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

Breakfasts

• Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothies
• Mama Pea's Low Sugar Blueberry Orange Muffins - I made the gluten free version. They were super light & fluffy!
• Raspberry yogurt with Eating Well's Lisa's Granola
• Leanne's Cinnamon Roll Porridge - This is made with millet & chia seeds. It's almost like eating oatmeal, but with a slightly chewier feel.
• Bananas & crunchy pb

Lunches

• Leftovers
• Fast Paleo's Grain Free Cheez-its Crackers 
• Sandwiches
• White bean hummus
• Kale & Egg Scramble
• Apples, grapefruit, oranges & clementines

Dinners

Saturday:

• Portobello caps topped with roasted asparagus & Tuscan cheddar cheese
• Roasted sweet potato fries
• Green Salad

Sunday: 
Out to eat at The Circular

• Me:
• Salt Roasted Heirloom Beet & Arugula Salad
• Spring Vegetable Risotto
• Bup:
• Shaved Vegetable Salad & Puffed Fruit
• Wild Mushroom Wellington
• Sides to share:
• Grilled Asparagus
• Chester County Mushrooms
• House Cut French Fries
• Chocolate Fondue for Two

Monday:

• Brittany's Zucchini Noodles in a Thai Peanut Sauce - We got a spiralizer for Christmas & it was perfect for this! I made this awhile back & sliced the zucchini into noodles. Not only was that a pain, but it didn't turn out nearly as good.
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Mega salads: Romaine, spinach, & watercress topped with roasted asparagus, carrots, onion, mushrooms, leftover baked sweet potato fries, & apple slices with orange balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday:

• Ashley's Quick Gluten Free Flatbreads - These were pretty simple to prep, the longest part was the actual cooking. I got impatient waiting! The flavor is really good & they're nice & bread-y. I think they'd be great for using like bread for sandwiches, too.
• Leftover lentil dal (frozen from before)
• Sauteed mushrooms & onions
• Green salad

Thursday:
Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choir 

• Spicy quinoa & bell pepper enchiladas - Seriously delicious with a mega-kick. My nose was running & my mouth was on fire, both things that in the past I would have started whining about. This time I was really enjoying it. Plus, she had a little leftover potato salad to cool down our mouths.
• Green Salad with maple roasted walnuts
• Coconut truffles & chocolate covered strawberries - Mom went fancy on us this week!

Friday:
Girls' night dinner

• Surprises! We each bring something to eat & then have a grand un-veiling. So fun!

Treats

• Ashley's Strawberry Doughnuts - I altered these by omitting the lavender & simplifying the strawberry puree to just that - pureed strawberries. Then we drizzled extra puree over the top. Yum! 
• Angela's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzards - This is an old favorite. The cookie dough is fantastic & then it gets stirred into banana soft serve. We love this!
• The Vegan Chickpea's Double Chocolate Ice Cream
• Mama Pea's Chocolate Protein Truffles from More Peas, Thank You