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

Tasty Tidbits

 

Last weekend, we made homemade ravioli! It was fun, but a lot of work for the amount that we got. We didn't use any cheese - instead, half were stuffed with a mushroom cashew filling & the other half had a sweet potato filling. Both were really good & went well with the tomato mushroom sauce we served them with. Plus we had plenty to freeze for future meals!

 

 

We've been watching Pixi, my parents' cat, this week. They had a wall of wine crates set up to block her from getting into the living room where Mom's quilt is set up, but she was in there when I got there. Sneaky cat! 

 

These are a few of my new favorite things! Right before we left for Florida, I got The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out in the mail. I had pre-ordered it through Amazon & couldn't wait to check it out. I love her vegan recipes & have been reading & cooking from her blog for years. This cookbook hasn't disappointed yet! I made a few things from it this week (see below!) & have lots more bookmarked to try soon.

 

The other favorite from the picture is almond milk lattes! We have an Aerolatte Frother, which works great. Plus W has been practicing & he's can get the froth to be 2 inches thick. Yum! Then he tops it with either cinnamon-sugar or cocoa-coffee from these grinders we bought at Trader Joe's. It's sooooo good! I wish coffee shops would offer almond milk instead of always having just soy milk.

 

Happy weekending! Hope you have fun plans & it's not too rainy. It's supposed to rain here, but I have lots of house stuff to do so I'll be cozy inside.

 

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

Breakfasts

• Hungry Girl Por Vida's Blueberry Lemon Dutch Baby - This was basically a baked pancake. The thing that made it special was the blueberry sauce - yum!
• Tropical Green Monster Smoothies from The Oh She Glows Cookbook - I usually use bananas in our smoothies, so this was a fun change of pace. Plus the flavors were spot on fantastic! 
• Angela's Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Breakfast Parfait - We liked the flavor a lot, but aren't huge into the texture, so I turned half of this into pancakes, which were delicious!
• Happy Healthy Mama's Lightened Up Homemade Granola
• Bananas & grapefruit

Lunches

• Spaghetti squash with onions, zucchini, & bell peppers
• Grilled cheese on Everything Onion Bread from Sandi's Breads
• Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale & Pecan Parmesan from The Oh She Glows Cookbook - Loved this!!!!!
• Leftovers
• Sandwiches
• Oranges, grapefruit, & apples

Dinners

Saturday:

• Brittany's Peanut Butter Vegetarian Chili - The combination of using tomato sauce & peanut butter made this a nice thick chili. We'll definitely make this again!
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crostini from Sandi's Breads

Sunday:

• Homemade whole wheat ravioli, stuffed with vegan mushroom filling & sweet potato turnip filling
• Green salad

Monday

• Kale salad with baked sweet potato, carmelized onions, pecans, & a cinnamon apple dressing

Tuesday:

• Portobello "Steak" Fajitas from The Oh She Glows Cookbook - I wasn't sure the time for marinating the mushroom was enough, but it was perfect. This is my new favorite way to prepare portobello caps.

Wednesday:

• Red quinoa with grilled zucchini & asparagus
• Green salad

Thursday:

• Roasted Brussels sprouts with red quinoa

Friday:
Dinner at Hershey Road Family Restaurant for my mother-in-law's birthday

• Veggie burgers with side salad

Treats

• Angela's Chocolate Peanut Butter Chews
• Snowflake cookies
• Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate
• Summer's Gluten & Dairy Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - I added dried cranberries & walnuts to these, too. They were soooo good!