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!!!!******

recipes, Uncategorized

January 9, 2012

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Everyday between 2-3pm, my body craves chocolate cake. The cake I crave is not a cake that’s saturated in chocolate frosting. I’m talking about a dense/moist/slightly chewy chocolate cake with a few drizzles of chocolate frosting. When I’m not able to fulfill this craving (which is like all the time), my mind goes into daydreaming mode and I start to fantasize about a chocolate cake delivery service at my work and how wonderful it would be if there were ice cream sundae vendors at every street corner. Imagine that. That would be the life!

I also had this thought the other day: Has anyone ever put EAT MORE CHOCOLATE on their New Year’s Resolution list? Doubtful.

With a chocolaty dense bundt cake like this, I can’t see why that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Maybe I should give in to my chocolate cravings more often. Maybe then I could consider myself a chocolate lover.

around the home, my everyday life, Photography, Uncategorized

January 8, 2012

My Everyday Life: Week 1

A new year & a new photo project because I refuse to stop using my camera regularly! I’m going to call this series- My Everyday Life.

It’s not a photo everyday; it’s a collection of pictures from the week.

What you will see: moments of time, food, prettie things, details of the world around me & a few self portraits too! It’s like 365 food but with less food and more living.

Let the fun begin!

This is what this week looked like:

On a walk with my boys.

Uncategorized

January 6, 2012

I love lists, Friday!

This week the list is longer than normal. I had some serious catching up to do!

This Blood Orange Gin Sparkler has my name written ALL OVER IT. Gorgeous photos too!
Bookshelf Porn. This pleases me so!
I’m not a fudge fan, but I’m pretty sure I’d convert for this recipe. YUM.
Going quiet. I admire what Shauna is doing. I wish I could do it myself!
Look at how cute this butter is! Oh and the sweet potato biscuits look divine too!
Sheena always blows me away with her photography.
This article on the Joy of Quiet just proves we could all benefit from a little less screen time.
Non Goals for 2012. LOVE this idea. Erin is brilliant!
I want this for breakfast & lunch this weekend.
20 New Year’s Resolutions for 20- somethings. This is good!
Because I always get asked how to cut a Butternut Squash. Elise helps you with that!
Just another reason to love my friend, Cheryl. She’s hysterical.
Oooh! A pretty peacock print for sale!
I’m totes gonna make one of these Vintage Style Headbands!
Bon Appetit has a good looking Food Lover’s Cleanse. My friend Kimberley shot the photos for it!
This homemade ginger ale is totally going on the TO DO list.
OprahReadsNews on Twitter. OHHHHH MY GOOOOOOSH.

But wait! There’s more:

Check out the first Joy the Baker Podcast of 2012! I go over my Disney cruise, we talk about EAT DAYS and how to start off your 2012 right!

Need some motivation for your resolutions? Let me help! I rounded up some of my favorite inspiration prints on Etsy over on High Straightenence this week!

Photography, Uncategorized

January 5, 2012

365: Favorites

My favorites from my 365 Food Photo project!

I decided to pick two photos from each month that represent:

– a special moment in time

-a photo that got me really excited about photography

-a meal/snack that totally blew my mind

ENJOY!

01.12.11

recipes, Uncategorized

January 4, 2012

Kale Slaw with Red Cabbage & Carrots

I’ve spent the past 48 hours feeling like I’ve been rocking back and forth (spending 7 days on a cruise ship can do that to you!). Everything right now is a bit off kilter because in the past week, time zones were crossed, climates changed, calendar days were disregarded, and I did something I never thought was possible- I spent a whole week without using my cellphone (OMG!). Instead of tackling the laundry, emptying suitcases and sorting through the mail when we got home Monday, I immediately went grocery shopping to get provisions for the week. I figured the only way to feel like normal again at home was to get back to work in my kitchen and binge on kale.

When I was eating lifeless romaine salad with extremely unripe yet mushy tomatoes on the boat (not all the food was dreadful!), I daydreamed of crispy kale salads with toasted coconut. Spending a week without kale was absolute torture and when I was standing in my kitchen swaying from side to side chopping kale, I vowed never to let that many days go by without my leafy green security blanket.

The crispy crunchy kale & cabbage shreds tasted amazing with the roasted cashew pieces and hemp seeds. The apple added a nice sweetness too! What you have here is a gigantic plate of HEALTH! I think the slaw could have potentially erased all of those chocolate dipped mickey mouse ice cream bars I ate. Who am I kidding? What I actually need is some serious Mousercise. For reals.