Here’s what this past week looked like:
My grandparent’s plant is blooming. Christmas cactus? I think of them every time I look at it.
I love lists, Friday!
- How many times have I watched this? 3,020.
- If you’ve seen Homeland, then you must watch the SNL parody of it.
- Why Camera Angles Are Critical.
- I love hummus. Especially when it’s green.
- This Cashew Fried Rice looks SO. DANG. GOOD.
- I love this photo series. I kinda wanna be in a bubble. Is that weird?
- I really want to make homemade lip balm. This sweet orange one looks great.
- My friend Cheryl is not only hilarious, she one of my favorite authors.
- Are you aware of the term humblebrag? I’ve seen many people do it these days…
- Do you love Dim Sum? Here’s an awesome guide.
- I liked reading Lena Dunham’s Ideal Bookshelf. So many good ones!
- This blog is so gorgeous/well-designed. I can’t take it!
- To purple crayons & Kale Gratin! You’re goals sound fab, Megan!
- An important reminder to slow down & LIVE. The idea of an ANTI-BLOG!
- Lisa’s post about LESS? YES TO LESS.
- If you need a good book, you should check out The Power of Habit. I’m reading it now!
Ha-Bitch-ual What are our habits? Good? Bad? Who is obsessed with Homeland? An all new Joy the Baker Podcast is ON.
My High Straightenence ORGANIZING GOALS for 2013 is up! I hope to knock out most of them this year!
My Bites Around the Net:
Bakecetera adapted my Carnival Cookies.
Angeline Hue made my No-Knead Walnut Raisin Bread with Whole Wheat Flour!
Pale Yellow made my Chocolate Chunk Brownies.
Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread
Last night I went on Facebook and asked if it was still OK to make gingerbread since you know…Christmas has passed. The general consensus was that there is not specific season for gingerbread; we can eat it all year round. Let me just say that I LOVE YOU. Thank you for humoring my gingerbread craving. I didn’t get to taste any gingerbread this holiday season, so here I am rectifying that. Gingerbread all day, everyday…until I finish this one.
I do believe that cranberries won’t be around for much longer, so let’s take advantage of those and make this seasonal gingerbread cake. Once upon a time I made a cranberry apple upside cake and it was fabulous. But it lacked the depth and spiciness that only molasses can provide.
So here we are with a fantastic sticky cranberry gingerbread that I’ve had my eye on for months. It’s a sturdy cake that’s so rich and gooey. I’m sure by the time you read this I’ll have eaten half, but can you really blame me? I had a craving.
Curried Cauliflower Soup
My horoscope keeps telling me that this is the time to start creating new/healthy eating & exercising habits and since it’s the new year, I’ll be more motivated to do so. Should I listen to my horoscope or do I think it’s trying to get me to buy a gym membership? I bet Leos aren’t the only ones getting this horoscope. You can never tell with these apps anymore!
It’s been awhile since I made a new soup. Perhaps I could tell the horoscope writing people to include “make some good soup” into our daily horoscope? That would be a good habit, wouldn’t it? If I could write horoscopes, I’d tell Geminis to make up their mind on what soup to make. I’d tell Capricorns to get out of their food comfort zones and try something new! A Leo must go to the newest/hippest restaurant known for its soup and a Pisces should not just be focused on what the place setting looks like around the soup, but should make sure it actually tastes good. Flavor is important!
But you never know, I could be giving the wrong horoscope to the wrong sign. It’s all a matter of interpretation, isn’t it? What I do know is that this soup I made to set my body straight this January is a keeper. It’s the first soup I’ve made with cashew cream and it definitely won’t be the last. It’s vegan, gluten-free, hearty, spicy and packed with flavor. The texture is smooth & creamy and it will most definitely fill you up. My carb brain thought I needed some bread to accompany it, but I was fine without. That should tell you something!
My Everyday Life: Week 1
Here’s what this past week looked like:
Teaching my mom about bokeh after dinner. See, mom?
I love lists, Friday!
- 17 Things Your Flight Attendant Won’t Tell You. {yikes}
- I’m smitten with this hand lettering. WHOA!
- I heart Mark Bittman.
- 25 Food Trends for 2013. Interesting!
- TV Show Addiction. Umm. Homeland, anyone? We’re starting season 2 tonight!
- Gonna make this smoothie this weekend.
- This soup has me smitten <3
- I wonder if Cooper will like this oatmeal?
- I know just the pair of shoes I want to make glittery.
- Top 15 Songs of 2012. Some good ones there!
- Homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream? HECK YEAH!!!!
- I recently started watching TED talks on Netflix. This one is a gem.
- A beautiful/new-to-me blog. Stunning!
- Instagram has ruined the way we eat. (WHATEVER)
- A beautiful post about welcoming baby #2. Gorgeous pics, Jen!
- I’m really loving Apartment Therapy’s January Cure.
- Need to set some goals/resolutions for 2013? This worksheet will help.
Did you catch last week’s episode of the Joy the Baker Podcast? We talk about 2012 and our resolutions/intentions for 2013! SUPER SUPERSTITIOUS.
My Bites Around the Net:
Channeling Contessa made my Mom’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake.
Taste Space adapted my Super Spinach Salad.
Wild Flour Child adapted my Flourless Chocolate Coconut Drops.
Inky Twin Eats adapted my Coconut Chai Coffee Cake.
The Hoot Eats made my Apricots with Basil Goat Cheese & Almonds.
A Tale of Two Bougies adapted my Baked Caramel Apple Donuts.
Happy Wifey made my Homemade Amaretto.
Orzo Salad
Oh, December! I fell hard down an eating rabbit hole. I blame these cookies & blondies. While I gave most of my goodies away, I ate quite a lot myself. I am not ashamed of it, I totally had fun. It was the holiday season after all! But now I want to set a few intentions for the new year-nothing too major. I’d like to get back on the path of healthy or at least balance out how I ate the last month of last year. Getting more sleep is on the intention list as well, but I’m not sure that will happen until we finish watching all of Homeland. We’re sucked in!
I love healthy food. It’s kind of obvious that I do since I have so many salads & healthy things on my blog. It’s just that…I forgot what eating healthy tastes like. For some reason I got my brain into thinking that I have to have something sweet after every meal and you can imagine how well that went… It’s delightful and yet for some reason my pants are tight. Hmm.
I made this Orzo Salad with the intention of shocking my healthy brain into life and I think it worked. It’s a salad that’s super lemony, full of parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers & feta; all the good things for you. It’s total Homeland binging food. Well…that and popcorn.
