January 19, 2012

Grapefruit Carrot Ginger Juice

I’ve been reading my monthly horoscope for over a year now at Astrology Zone. Susan Miller is legit! Even though she keeps telling me I’m going to have a baby every month, she’s been pretty accurate with everything else. This month she says that us Leos will be getting into shape. I trust her; I’ve already done a juice cleanse this month!

If you listened to our first podcast in 2012, you might know that I want to treat my body right and be good to myself in 2012. I got a manicure last week and am hoping to get more massages in 2012. I also want to eat more whole grains, reduce my sugar intake and eat less processed foods. I think more juices like this one here would also pave the way to health in 2012. It’s a SUPER cold fighting juice. Just look at that color!

recipes, Uncategorized

January 18, 2012

Banana Nut Waffles

I make a lot of vegan recipes, yet I’m not vegan. Why? I think it’s because I liked to be surprised by food. I love when a few ingredients can come together and taste almost identical to what it’s like in its original form- kinda like this coleslaw that used cashews in place of mayo. It’s pretty cool when things taste like other things like this Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad that tasted like pizza! I also get pretty excited when I find a recipe that pleases the guys in my life like this Kale Coconut Salad with Sesame Oil. I’ve made that recipe at least 5 times since then.

What I hoped to get out of this recipe was a batch of healthier waffles using what I had in my pantry; I almost always jump at a recipe if I’ve got all the ingredients. What I didn’t realize is that I’d get a batch of waffles that tasted like banana bread. Being a lover of banana bread, I was thrilled.

While I could only eat one for breakfast, Cooper ate two. Future professional food eating champ? We’ll see…

recipes, Uncategorized

January 16, 2012

White Bean Soup w/ Crispy Prosciutto

Think of soup like your favorite old sweater. It’s warm & comforting and with different accessories and separates, you can create several different outfits out of your old standby. For the past two years I’ve been obsessed with white beans. I’ve made different variations of this soup with similar flavor profiles. There’s the Tuscan Ribollita that uses white beans, bread, kale & pancetta. There’s my favorite soup ever, Sausage White Bean Soup and most recently my mom’s Pasta Fagioli Soup that also uses sage, pancetta and white beans. Never have I made a soup that purees white beans so they make the base of a soup. This is also the first time I’ve baked prosciutto in the oven and created shards out of them! I liken these little adjustments to putting your sweater over a hot new dress and sealing the deal with a fabulously fancy red scarf.

When you puree white beans in soup, magic happens. It’s as if you added a cup of silky heavy cream…And those crispy Proscuitto shards? Scrumptious! I think most of them bypassed the soup and went directly into our mouths.

Hello White Bean Soup, you’re like an awesome new outfit in my repertoire.

around the home, my everyday life, Photography, Uncategorized

January 14, 2012

My Everyday Life: Week 2

This is what this past week looked like.

My favorite erranding outfit.

Uncategorized

January 13, 2012

I love lists, Friday!

I want a unitard. There, I said it.
10 words you mispronounce that make people think you’re an idiot. SHERBET!
Oooh! I can make Cooper look like Ryan Gosling now! Sweet.
The Joy of Books. What books do at night. (thanks Cheryl!)
Another gem & the SWEETEST anniversary gift. Fun to watch too!
The most perfect food EVER. Like…wow.
I totes wanna make my own glitter shoes.
50 things to stop doing forever. (thanks, Sabrina!)
Avery & Martha! Music to my ears!!
My hair could totally benefit from this DIY hair mask.
OOOOH a stripey DIY camera strap. Yes please!
YES! A new Wes Anderson movie. I can’t waaaaaaaaaait!
Blood Orange Sugar Scones. I’ll take 4, thankyouverymuch!
This made me laugh.

But wait, there’s more!

This week on the Episode #33 of Joy the Baker Podcast we’re talking about Juggling & Stalking. Joy’s dad got an iphone & I got truffle salt (uhhh).

Check out High Straightenence this week for Packing Tips & Tricks! You can see how I packed for our cruise!

out & about, Uncategorized

January 12, 2012

Disney Cruisin’ Part 1: The Food

The day after Christmas we went on a Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise for 7 days with Casey’s family (22 of us total!). My in-laws decided to take EVERYONE on the cruise. I never imagined that I would go on a Disney cruise! (thank you thank you Linda & Phil!). It was a blast!

Rather than inundate you with TONS of photos, I’m going to break it up into a few parts. Today I’ll be showing you the FOOD!

Can I tell you that I was a little scared about the food situation on the boat? I read reviews online that the food wasn’t that great. Someone said that it was like eating at Sizzler for a week. While I do like their cheesy toast, I have my standards! I feared I would miss my kitchen terribly. I kinda did but overall there were some great options.

recipes, Uncategorized

January 11, 2012

Potato Feta Gyros

I lived as a vegetarian for 2 1/2 years during my college career; it was the dorm food that sealed the deal. For the first year of my vegetarianism, I was more of a cheese-atarian. I lived in Oregon and it was Tillamook EVERYTHING. My roommate and I ate cheese, pizza, french fries, hummus and stir fry like there was no tomorrow. For a college student, it was all about convenience. Having our own fridge with our OWN food (not managed by parents) was really an exciting thing. That’s why I gained a Sophomore 15 (I managed to avoid it Freshman year due to the crappy food). I clearly needed help!

A few months ago during the busy holiday season, I had the opportunity to meet cookbook author/cool mom Pam Anderson & catch up with her daughter Maggy at a fabulous dinner for her latest cookbook, Cook without a Book: Meatless Meals: Recipes and Techniques for Part-Time and Full-Time Vegetarians. Let me tell you, these two are as good as it gets! I know that if they lived closer, Maggy & I would be tied at the hip. Both these fine ladies have a tremendous amount of love to give and their passion for food and helping others is downright contagious!

What I love Pam’s new cookbook is that it’s vegetarian home cooking in an easily digestible format. Pam covers many cooking basics and gives a tremendous amount of tricks & tips for the aspiring vegetarian cook. She’s basically teaching you how to cook without a book! Each recipe has Pam’s suggestions to change things up a bit. For example, there’s a bran muffin section where she shows you the muffin base and then lists add-ins & extras so you can build your own flavor profile. Her suggestions will keep your brain turning with ideas! I love it. Reading through this book is like having a cool mom teach you how to cook and fend for yourself in a vegetarian world. It would have made my college years as a vegetarian a BREEZE!

As a part time Vegetarian, I fell in love with this Potato Feta Gyro recipe. I made it earlier this week and boy was it incredibly satisfying and simple to execute. The mashed potatoes are flavor packed due to the feta & roasted garlic and the cucumber yogurt sauce is straight up ADDICTIVE. If only I had this recipe in college!

Here’s the deal!

I have an extra copy of this book that I want to give one to a lucky reader!

Please leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win!

Giveaway ends on Friday January 13th (ooh creepy!).

****CONTEST ENDED. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ENTERING!!!!******