May 2013
1 post
I'm not dead.
It’s officially summer which means I can blog again!!
I’m starting small though.
This past week, I’ve made two decent recipes. Both from the PPK.
This site is always a good choice.
I made the Tempeh Orzilla and the Sanctuary Dip.
Both excellent. I used the dip as a dip but am also going to drizzle it on some baked potatoes and (duh) pizza :)
Check out these fabulous...
September 2012
1 post
Vegan and Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
If only they were SUGAR free and then they’d be perfect!
This recipe is pretty great- I’m surprised I haven’t posted it yet.
(Also- I swear I’ll take pictures with an actual camera someday and not my iphone..I’m just lazy)
These cookies turn out great every time and are especially good when they come out of the oven a little early. Check out the recipe at Cake...
August 2012
2 posts
More Sweet Potatoes..
I swear I’m not on a sweet potato kick or anything.
But these looked so good! The recipe is from Chloe’s kitchen, one of my favorite cookbooks. This recipe is very simple and even quick, aside from baking the sweet potatoes. I toasted some walnuts and tossed them in with the gnocchi and sage butter. The sage butter is so simple but packs a distinct and delicious flavor.
This recipe...
A Change of Scenery.
Oh hey.
Remember me?
I used to have a blog..
and then I fell off the face of the planet!
But I’m back!
And now I live in beautiful Santa Cruz, CA.
Living in such a beautiful place has definitely inspired me to cook more. I’ve tried cooking with almond meal recently and I love it! Check out this recipe from oh.she.glows. These almond thumbprint cookies are SO good…I did not...
June 2012
2 posts
Let Summer BEGIN!
Tonight we enjoyed a beautiful day in Portland and a delicious dinner in the backyard.
Marinated and grilled Portobello mushrooms, sweet potato coconut mash, green goddess kale and a fresh baguette (made by my huz). It was so nice to sit together and enjoy a delicious meal. These recipe are simple and easy. The mushroom and green goddess dressing recipe (which is my new favorite dressing) is...
Vegan Mimosa Cupcakes
This weekend we celebrated our friend’s 30th birthday. He is a huge supporter of cocktails and merriment so I decided to make some cocktail themed cupcakes. My favorite of the night were these mimosa cupcakes. (I know my pictures are terrible but I normally don’t have time to take a nice picture of food…or I start eating it and realize half way through that I should’ve...
May 2012
4 posts
Sugar Free Fruit Tart
It’s been over a month since I began my sugar fast and I am a new woman. This last week I wasn’t quite as religious about it but I still made every effort to avoid sugar. Over the weekend we hung out at the park with friends and I brought this tart for dessert. It’s so delicious and simple. I made mine the night before and let it chill over night.I felt that the amount of...
Sugar Free Fruit Tart
It’s been over a month since I began my sugar fast and I am a new woman. This last week I wasn’t quite as religious about it but I still made every effort to avoid sugar. Over the weekend we hung out at the park with friends and I brought this tart for dessert. It’s so delicious and simple. I made mine the night before and let it chill over night.I felt that the amount of...
A little update.
Here are a few of my favorite meals I made during my sugar free fast. The first is an asparagus stir fry from 101cookbooks.com. It’s fresh tasting and a bit spicy. I served it over quinoa and it made the perfect meal for a beautiful summer evening.
The second is a Caribbean bowl recipe from Chloe’s kitchen. Fried plantains with seasoned yams, tofu, broccoli and kale served over...
Sugar Fast Wk3: Feelin Good, Feelin Good.
You guys, I’m doing it! I am 3 weeks into this thing and I feel awesome! I’m starting to notice physical changes in my body and cravings. We’ve also been thinking a little harder about the meals we plan each week.
Some of the meals we made this week included spelt flour crepes, polenta pizza and thai curry. I also made a batch of kale chips with our dehydrater that I’ve...
April 2012
5 posts
Sugar Fast Wk2: Things are lookin up!
Week 2 has been way better than week 1. The cravings have gotten a little more manageable and I’m feeling great. I don’t think I’ve lost weight (I don’t own a scale) but i feel really good. I feel more agile, lighter…just healthier. It has really been difficult and I did have some white flour this weekend but I’m OK with that. The more I experience my body...
Sugar Fast, week1: There's a learning curve
It’s been about 5 days of this sugar fast and I’m already failing. Trying, but failing. There’s sugar in everything! I feel like such a dope because I keep accidentally putting sugar in things. Not like white sugar…hidden processed sugar. We usually use dry beans but in a pinch I went for a can of beans for our dinner last night. After it was in the oven I looked at the...
Giving up sugar and other forms of torture.
There has been a lot of talk of sugar lately. Apparently, it’s killing me. This is the worst news because sugar is my favorite thing. Some days the only thing that is getting me through is knowing that there is a cookie waiting for me at home. But it’s time to be honest with myself: sugariskilling me.
I’m an honest to God sugar addict with all the symptoms to prove it. When I...
Giving up sugar and other forms of torture.
There has been a lot of talk of sugar lately. Apparently, it’s killing me. This is the worst news because sugar is my favorite thing. Some days the only thing that is getting me through is knowing that there is a cookie waiting for me at home. But it’s time to be honest with myself: sugariskilling me.
I’m an honest to God sugar addict with all the symptoms to prove it. When I...
A New Cookbook!
A couple weeks ago I ordered Chloe Coscarelli’s Chloe’s Kitchen. I’ve been following her ever since she won cupcake wars a few years ago. She’s so cute and young and her recipes are amazing. When the cookbook came in the mail I was so excited!
I’ve made several of her recipes already and they’ve all been fabulous. My favorite recipe so far is her BBQ...
March 2012
2 posts
A Quick, Cheap & Delicious Dinner
Since we go grocery shopping on Saturday, Thursday and Friday night’s dinners are usually on the meager side. Tonight’s dinner however, while consisting of very simple ingredients, was extremely delicious! The cauliflower steaks were delicious and simple. If you have yet to try roasted cauliflower, you are in for a surprise. Raw cauliflower is so bland but roasted cauliflower is...
Saying Sorry with Breakfast Bars & Food Porn
So I haven’t posted in a million years- sorry about that. It’s been a busy season for my little family. Huz and I celebrated two glorious years of marriage by flying to Cabo! We read in the sun and drank smoothies in our bathing suits. It was excellent.
There isn’t a whole lot of Vegan food in Cabo but we did make one great find: Pura Vida. Here we drank fresh smoothies and at...
February 2012
3 posts
Vegan Orange Muffins
Yes yes, y’all. This is an ORIGINAL recipe! One that I have been trying to create for quite some time. You see, these muffins are the vegan version of a muffin I now only dream about it; an orange muffin from Smith’s Bakery in Bakersfield, CA. You may be saying, “Erin, Bakersfield is the least vegan place on the planet..” and you would be right (because a man is currently...
Arabian Lentil Soup
We’ve had a few dreary days here in Portland. The kind of days where all I want to do is snuggle with my cat and have a hot bowl of soup. This recipe from (my lady crush) Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Appetite for Reduction is so delicious and simple. I love recipes where the ingredients are normally in my pantry. When a recipe calls for fennel, parsnips or rosewater… it kinda takes...
Beet Burgers & Curry Fries
I love Isa Moskowitz. Love her. I feel like we have the same pallet. Everything she makes is delicious. These two recipes are no exception. The burgers are very flavorful and thick. The stay together perfectly even without gluten! You could easily make them gluten free with GF bread crumbs. The fries are also fabulous. I’m so glad this recipe asks you to parboil the fries- it makes the...
January 2012
6 posts
Gluten Freen Vegan Recipe Idea #4: Chili
I love recipes that involve throwing ingredients into the crock-pot in the morning and doing nothing else. If only all recipes could be as simple as they are delicious. At our house, we make chili by putting three different types of beans (garbanzos, black & red), a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, salt pepper and chili powder in the croc-pot. Turn to high and enjoy 4 to 6 hours later!
I tried...
Gluten Freen Vegan Recipe Idea #3: Gluten Free...
Gluten Free pasta, in my opinion, is one gluten free item that actually tastes like the real deal. Whether brown rice, corn or quinoa; gluten free pasta is OK by me. I made some broccoli pesto from 101cookbooks (trading parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast) and it was delicious. Try this gluten free alternative out! You can find gluten free pasta almost anywhere these days so there’s no...
Gluten Freen Vegan Recipe Idea #2: Pumpkin Soup
Once the holiday season is over, I’m ready for winter to be done. The rain and snow and cold seems far less magical once I’m no longer looking forward to Christmas. But the one thing I still look forward to is delicious winter comfort food.
This recipe is one out of The Vegan Table but there are a ton of pumpkin soup recipes out there. Here are some tips for ensuring that your...
ceedubbb asked: Do you have any gluten AND dairy free recipies? Im allergic to both and most recipies will be gluten free but still have dairy..
Gluten Free Recipe #1: Pad Thai
Happy New Year, friends!
I hope you are all enjoying your 2012. We have had a beautiful holiday season and ate a ton of wonderful food but now it’s time to settle back into our regular routine. Before the new year, my huz was working with a naturopath to figure out his allergies. First he took out nuts but nothing really changed. Next, we stopped eating corn..nothing. Now it’s time...
PPK Orange Macaroons
Happy New Year, Friends!
I hope you had a beautiful holiday season and enjoyed amazing food. I know I did! We were exceptionally gluttonous this holiday season and are not one bit ashamed! I especially enjoyed my time in the kitchen. One day in my in-law’s kitchen, huz and I decided to whip up some cookies. We found this recipe on the post punk kitchen website. I have always loved coconut...
December 2011
2 posts
Girly Girl Cookie Exchange Snuggle Time Christmas...
This past weekend I hosted a little get together for some girl friends. It was a cookie exchange so everyone brought a batch of cookies.
I made the chai almond cookies that I made for the catering party and a delicious gluten free crinkle cookie.
I made some delicious appetizers as well including a white bean pesto puff pastry, spicy cheezy popcorn and a vegan boursin-style spread from...
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
After a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family, we are back home in rainy Portland. A friend of ours sent us home with a batch of his pear vanilla jam. It was so sweet and flavorful that I wanted to find a better use for it other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I knew I could count on good ‘ol Martha to have some delicious thumbprint cookies so I checked out her website...
November 2011
4 posts
Vegan Crepes: A Photo Essay
Banana Bundt with Brown Sugar Icing
We recently found ourselves with a surplus of bananas. I wanted to make something a little more involved than just the usual old banana bread. I had some vegan sour cream left over so I made a banana sour cream bundt. I found this recipe on veganyumyum, a very reliable and delicious site. For the icing, I used a left over batch from the pumpkin cookies I made. This was a delicious dessert that...
So I Married A Vegan Caters!
We did it!
I am proud to say that with the help of some friends we pulled off a lovely catered affair for 75 hungry individuals. I had a lot of fun doing it. I love cooking for people and I love getting paid to cook for people even MORE!
The menu consisted of winter soup shooters, golden lentil dumplings, hummus and muhammara, roasted sweet & spicy nuts and a few vegetarian selections...
Spiced Hot Chocolate
This was a very random discovery. I wanted hot chocolate but I wanted hot chocolate with a little somthin’ somethin’. So I made this recipe and WOAH…so good. Chocolate and chai? Two of my favorite things!
I made a mix so we have it on hand in our cupboard. We happened to have powdered soy milk on hand but I realize that not everyone has that. If you buy some then you can make...
October 2011
4 posts
Very Tasty and Unhealthy Pumpkin Cookies
My catering gig is rapidly approaching and I am still trying out recipes. Today I made some appetizers that were pretty decent. But the most recent success were these tasty sugary morsels. I had been searching for a pumpkin cookie recipe for a while. My pumpkin cookies always turn out cakey…which is fine but I wanted something with a better cookie texture. After searching through all of my...
Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
I tried this recipe from theppk.com a couple days ago and as usual it was great. We bought a bunch of apples from a local market and I made applesauce so I wanted to make this recipe. This recipe doesn’t skimp on the sugar but that’s probably why it tastes so good.
I totally ate this for breakfast this morning....
Golden Lentil Dumplings
Another recipe test for my catering gig. My housemate suggested I try this recipe from 101cookbooks.com and I honestly wasn’t sure they were going to work. They looked time consuming and when you’re catering an event for the first time you want to pick recipes that you can do well. But, credit where credit is due- the recipe is great! Sure the won ton folding is a bit time consuming,...
Spiced Chai Almond Cookies
I have a very exciting opportunity coming up! Our housemate is hosting a work event at the house and she asked me to cater! So I’ve started to try out some recipes that I’m thinking about preparing for the event. The party is all appetizers with some desserts. A few nights ago I made butternut squash apple soup which was tasty. Tonight I made these tasty treats from Vegan Table....
September 2011
5 posts
Gluten Free Vegan Cookies that Taste GOOD!
No lie y’all. These cookies are Fabulous.
In the past I have been a little grumpy about eating gluten free baked goods. They sometimes have a “unique” texture and I’m not usually down. But I made these cookies for some girlfriends, I am vegan and one of the girls is GF so these puppies seemed like a good pick.
I found this recipe in Vegnews magazine. I made some...
Vegan Nachos Tutorial
We’ve been on a nacho kick lately. Especially because we may have perfected the “vegan nacho”. Seriously- this stuff is GOOOOD!
There are a few important components to great vegan nachos. First is the protein. We make beans and use that as our base, but sometimes it’s nice to add in that meat like substance. So in our nachos, we use soy curls. Soy curls are really...
Broccoli Pesto Pizza
The meals I cook are often times inspired by non vegan things I want to eat. A few days ago my housemate made some broccoli pesto. Everyone went on and on about how amazing it was but unfortunately for me, it contained dairy. So I promptly went to the store and began making my own version.
The first time we ate it was on pasta, but we had so much left over that we wanted to do something else...
My New Favorite Salad.
I love all of Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s cook books. I would recommend them all! Her most recent one is called Appetite for Reduction and it’s all about eating better. In, this recipe she makes fakin bacon out of…wait for it…EGGPLANT! I think it’s super tasty. I don’t know how much nutrition the eggplant actually retains after you get it so crispy but it’s...
A VIP Vegan Dinner
Last week was my husband’s birthday. In the past I have been known to surprise him for his special day. There was the year when I made him dress like a crazy person and we went to a trampoline gym..
And his “golden birthday” which included out of town friends and fake grillz for all..
Sadly last year we were so busy that we didn’t get to celebrate so this year I...
August 2011
4 posts
Blackberry & Spice Muffins
It’s blackberry season here in Portland. Between picking them along the road and finding them in our backyard, our fridge is full of delicious berries!
We had some friends come into town and I decided to make these tasty muffins one morning for breakfast. They weren’t as crumbly as I would have liked but the taste was spot on. The recipe is from Fat Free Vegan and is very simple.
...
Fig & Walnut Cheez Tart.
There is this awesome produce market right by my work. It has tons of local goodies and everything is priced so low. I have no idea how they do it…but I don’t ask questions I just buy the produce. Last week they had the beautiful figs and I bought them without really knowing what to do. Figs are always paired with cheese and wine and decadent foods. I searched and searched for a...
Skull and Crossbones Cheezy Crackers
So as you all know..I’m kind of a bad ass. Which is why when I replicated this recipe from “Have Cake Will Travel”, I used a “skull and crossbones” cookie cutter. I know…pretty rebellious. But you guys, these crackers are SO good! They’re like cheez-its which I used to totally devour!
This recipe is solid. I added a pinch of garlic powder and onion...
Banana, Date and Coconut Milk Smoothie
It’s been a while.
But trust me, we’ve been eating and lately it’s been a whole lot of sugar.
So tonight for dessert, huz proposed something healthier.
We made a delicious smoothie out of dates, coconut milk and bananas. Huz added a drop of almond extract and a Tbs of cocoa powder. We finished it off with some home made granola and wow- I devoured it!
July 2011
4 posts
Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger
Our housemates had a BBQ this weekend and lots of people were at the house. Whenever we have people over, I try to cook something. We decided to bring some corn to the BBQ but I also wanted a veggie entre. These burgers are from The Vegan Table and are pretty simple and fast to prepare. While they are too delicate to actually go on the grill, they pack a lot of protein and are incredibly...
Nanaimo Bar
Ever since our Canadian Vackay I have been dreaming about these babies. I finally got around to making these for our married people’s group. The recipe has several steps but is pretty simple to make. You don’t even need to bake it, just let it set in the fridge for a couple hours.
The only issue, if you can even call it that, with this dessert is that it is incredibly rich. There is...
Asparagus Tart with Grilled Peach & Arugula Salad
I love VeganYumYum. The blog is so well put together and all the recipes I’ve tried from the site are awesome. I’ve had my eye on this recipe for a while. It looks so beautiful and flavorful.
It was surprisingly easy to make thanks to the food processor and Pepperidge Farms. I was shocked to find that their puff pastry doesn’t contain any animal products. It certainly...
Home Grown Cilantro Pesto
Our little garden is blowin up! We have had an abundance of cilantro these days and have been meaning to use it. Today we needed a little som’n som’n to tied us over until dinner so I decided to whip up some cilantro pesto. I served it on crostini but you could easily make a meal out of this my mixing it with veggies and pasta or using it as a pizza sauce.
One thing I would do...
June 2011
11 posts
My Mother-In-Law Can Beat Up Your Mother-In-Law.
There are a million reasons why I treasure my mother-in-law. She is hilarious and generous and was singing a Katy Perry song the first time I met her. But one of the top 10 reasons why she can beat up any other Mother-In-Law (and probably most of your aunts for that matter) is that she is an amazing cook!
One of my favorite recipes of hers is her “soytash”. It’s simple, fresh...
