May 7, 2014

Avocado Superfood Smoothie

Casey & Cooper do not like avocados. I think we already covered this in my Spicy Sesame Guacamole post. Actually…they DO like avocados because I put it in a lot of their smoothies. HA! I’m sneaky like that.

I’ve learned that it’s best not to say anything. Just let them enjoy the smoothie and then maybe mention it to them at a later date. Really, I just need someone else in our household to help me dig into my avocado stash. Whenever there’s a sign that says 4 avocados for $3 I’m there for the taking.

Have you ever put avocados in a smoothie? If you haven’t, avocados make them extra creamy and thick. If you add a bunch of other fruit, you’ll never taste the addition. I’m not a person who generally drinks smoothies for breakfast (they never fill me up!) but this one, with the protein, antioxidants, greens and FRUIT will keep me satisfied til lunch. And yes, I told Casey it had an avocado (right after he finished!) and I got the WHAAAAAAT?!! Told you, I’m sneaky.

recipes

May 5, 2014

Gluten Free Blueberry Waffles

Gluten Free Blueberry Waffles!

One of my latest guilty pleasures is stalking Paleo & Whole30 focused Instagram accounts. I’m not sure why, but I find it fascinating to see how it all works. There are some really good weight loss Instagrams that I’m into too. It’s so dang inspiring.

One of the accounts I follow is @againstallgrain (Danielle of Against all Grain). She’s lives in the Bay Area too! I checked out her latest cookbook from the library and was intrigued by all of her Grain Free/Dairy Free options. First on the list of things to make? Blueberry Waffles. I was hoping they’d be a good option for Cooper, who told me two days ago that he now loves blueberries. I wonder if he’s been reading his favorite Curious George book again when he’s supposed to be sleeping? That’s a big fat YES.

As someone who loves waffles, I think these are pretty good for being gluten & dairy free! The best part is getting a fat juicy blueberry every few bites. How did Cooper fare? Well, he decided he only likes uncooked blueberries this week. So two of these waffles were made sans blueberries. Still good and still kid approved. I wonder if he’d like it if I made them with strawberries? Bananas? Chocolate? He did like these vegan Banana Walnut Waffles and these Gluten Free Coconut Waffles were a hit too (aaaahhh baby Cooper!!). Will these waffles replace my flourless pancakes obsession? Who knows…

my everyday life, Photography

May 3, 2014

My Everyday Life: Week 18

Here’s what this past week looked like:

A good reminder to look up.

May 2, 2014

I love lists, Friday!

Wes Anderson meets Forrest Gump (not really….but can you imagine?!)
What I Wish I Knew After My MFA Ended. Writers! This is for you.
Don’t you love looking into people’s fridges? Here’s Julia Turshen’s.
In another life, I used to see Mike Rowe every week (I worked at a recording studio). He’s full of wisdom.
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying reading through the new Blog Life Class at ABM. Highly recommend!
Food packaging that got lost in translation.
This might be the next alternative milk I make….
21 Best Pics of all time of the week volume
Can this be MY birthday cake? Cooooool.
A eulogy for twitter?
Just had a treat yo’self moment with these silver sandals. Can’t wait to wear them.
If you love fashion & interior design, you’ll love this new feature on Coco & Kelley. I do!
Need to heat up butter? Try the tripod trick. This cracks me up.
The fact that Emma Stone picked HOOK makes me think we’d be good friends IRL.
Who doesn’t love a good Mad Men animated gif roundup? So many good parts I forgot about.
I love anything ALMOND and these almond sweet rolls??! I WANT THEM ALL.
Do you know what a froob is? Kristin will fill you in.
Sometimes I forget you can make soup in a blender! This tortilla soup might hafta happen soon!
I’ve been obsessed with the public playlists on Spotify. THIS ONE IS MY JAM.
I got a 94 on LifeSkills. Well…I think I could fix a leaking faucet & vacuum belt if I RTFM

Did you check out the latest Joy the Baker Podcast?? In episode #119, Joy gets interrupted by her crazy upstairs neighbors. We concur that she is the R.A. of her apartment building.

Forbidden Rice Blog made my No Knead Tomato Basil Pizza

Hippocratic Cupcake made my Arugula Pesto

the Rare belle made my Bourbon Salted Caramels

Kinsey Cooks made my Flourless Chocolate Coconut Drop Cookies

A Glass of Milk made my Sausage & Kale Stuffed Shells

Cook the Cover made my Sriracha Glazed Chicken

recipes

May 1, 2014

Strawberries+ Ricotta+ Graham Crackers

I bought too many strawberries the other day, forgetting how fast they can spoil. When this happens, I employ the good ole roasted strawberries trick. Within minutes, I have my own “strawberry jam.” Instead of eating it by the spoonful, (which I normally do!) I decided to make a little snack of roasted strawberries, ricotta (you can make your own!!) & graham crackers. It’s like faking strawberry cheesecake. Make sure you drizzle some of the thick roasted strawberry syrup on top. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar is also a very good idea.

recipes

April 30, 2014

Spicy Sesame Guacamole

It’s kinda crazy that Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby fall on the same weekend. I feel torn because I really WANT to wear a big hat and drink mint juleps but my heart of hearts tells me that I MUST go all out and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Can I just wear a sombrero, eat guacamole, scarf down coconut tres leche cake, sip on cilantro limeade in between sips of juleps all while betting on a horse named Split Personality. No?

Maybe I’ll just watch the Kentucky Derby highlights with a decorative headband and eat a gigantic bowl of this Spicy Sesame Guacamole with sesame crackers.

Actually… that doesn’t sound half bad…

In my Vitamix giveaway, I asked you what your favorite dip was and SOOOO many of you said guacamole. You’re my kind of people. Did you know that Casey doesn’t like guacamole?! He’s generally not a fan of avocado (WHAT!). So, when I make guacamole, I end up eating most (if not all) of it. I found myself in quite a predicament this week when I went to clean up my kitchen and had way too many avocados that were in full on RIPE mode. I swear I thought I paced it so I would have a few days to dip into my stash. I made a batch of chocolate pudding from Sidesaddle Kitchen (love that site & that recipe!!) and then dipped right into Absolutely Avocados by my avocado guru friend Gaby to make a guac that might appease my husband. This guacamole is a real winner. I love the Asian vibe and SURPRISE…so did Casey. I bet it would be super tasty with a fried wontons & Ahi Tuna Poke. I served mine with chopped vegetables and sesame seed crackers. Totally not Mexican and definitely doesn’t fall into the Derby food category, but who cares. It’s just good eats for you guacamole lovers.

featured, recipes

April 28, 2014

The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich

New recipe! The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich!

Did we already talk about how I was a vegetarian for three years in college? Back then, no one taught me how to properly be vegetarian so I ate A LOT of cheese, hummus, pizza, and oh boy did I overdose on stir-fry. Besides all the cheese, I used to make a really good veggie sandwich when I was in my first apartment sophomore year. The sandwich always had hummus as a base with avocado smashed into toasted whole wheat bread and whatever vegetables I had on hand. I ate so many of them throughout my college years that I had to stop eating hummus for awhile. Sad trombone.

Fast forward 13 (!!!) years and this is the ultimate veggie sandwich of my dreams. It’s kind of like the Reset Button Salad but in sandwich form. Present Tracy likes shredded beets & carrots in her sandwich. Present Tracy thought of cilantro hummus and made her own! Present Tracy knows that being vegetarian doesn’t mean eating blocks of cheese and mushroom pizza.

Present Tracy knows that the key to an Ultimate Veggie sandwich is flavor, crunch, mouth watering color and the perfect combination of ingredients that don’t smoosh out. Present Tracy also misses her college party overalls. Why did Past Tracy have to get rid of them??!