today, we baked!

it was like a sign from the heavens. this morning i woke up to this post, by sydney, and she had me right at the title. ya see, penny has recently realized that she can have an opinion on the things she eats, and it's making meal times much more interesting. she still eats really well, but it's like some days i'm the greatest chef she's ever known, and then others, well we'll just say that the dogs are getting their fair share of my cooking as well.

so when this recipe boasted health AND yumminess i was right on board with it. and my little sous chef, once she saw that she could nibble on chocolate chips while helping, was definitely on board as well!

 we copied the recipe sydney posted, and just made a few little adjustments...

* we didn't have any nuts on hand so we just left them out. kinda sad about that one.

* we kept this recipe vegan by simply leaving out the eggs. since many of the ingredients in the recipe already act as egg replacers it's simply not necessary to add actual eggs.

* we used almond milk instead of cows milk. easy peasy!

i can say that these are indeed a yummy treat. it made 12 regular size muffins, and about 10 mini muffins. i say 'about' because the minis are already gone. yum for sure! 

a pizza date with my loves...

saturday we had a little family date to eat some pizza. it doesn't take much to make us 3 happy as little clams. just give us a little sunshine, some delicious nibbles, and no specific plans for a day, and we're good to go! oh, how i wish every day were a saturday... 

^^ fake tough face ^^

i think it was especially enjoyable because of the freezing temperatures that kept us cooped up all of last week. i can't wait to see some spring!

a first birthday party

last weekend we had penny's first birthday party. we were waiting until MLK weekend so that some of my family could fly down from NY to be here. it was a great little at home party, with just family and a couple close friends, complete with lots of homemade goodness. i was too busy just enjoying the day to remember to take a bunch of pictures, but here's a few i grabbed with my camera and phone. it was a "love" themed (all vegan) snacks and sweets party, which pretty much happened out of the blue when i fell head over heals for all the adorable valentines day decor out there (seriously target, you're killin' me!) oh, and you best believe these decorations are staying up until AT LEAST february 14th!

we're still eating sweets to this day, and sadly penny's biggest balloon in the world deflated just yesterday. man, was she ever in love with this thing!

the big crafty holiday edition

this past sunday evan and i toted all of my handmade goodies over to asheville, nc for the big crafty holiday show. i was so super stoked to be a part of it this year. i've done the summer one a few times, but this was the first year i was accepted to the holiday one, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait!

at 35 weeks pregnant i was a bit apprehensive as to how i would hold up at such a busy craft show, but penny cooperated perfectly and the day went smooth as can be. i took all of your basic preggo precautions, drink lots of water, sit and relax at any down points, and be sure to snack on all the vegan nibbles that were being offered up there. no joke on that last one. we started by having breakfast at the green sage cafe which has my most favorite breakfast burrito on the planet. with a green monster smoothie on the side, it was quite a way to start the day! we then moved on to snacking on goodies from the firestorm cafe. they were actually at the show and were walking around to each vendor with trays of snacks to choose from. so smart... and certainly appreciated guys! we got a brownie and a blueberry muffin and each made for a happy baby belly! as if that wasn't enough, we then celebrated a successful day with some chocolate shakes from the hop. we were happy campers...

the only bummer on the day for me was that i didn't get to walk around the entire venue to see all the vendors. what i did get to see was amazing, and it's probably best that i didn't get to browse. it would have been so very easy to spend all of the days profits in no time. aside from that though, it was a perfect day full of crafty goodness, great nibbles, and fabulous people. i've said it before, and i'll say it again, i love you big crafty!

vegan ice cream cake

i've had some questions about the making of evan's vegan ice cream birthday cake, so i thought i would just go ahead and share the recipe here. it's really so super easy, it just takes a little bit of patience, and maybe a dash of restraint as it's pretty tough not eating the ice cream as you're making it!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED...

1- spring form cake pan

1- gallon of ice cream, or 2 half gallons if you'd like 2 different flavors

1- package of oreo cookies

1/2 cup vegan butter (i used earth balance)

1- bottle of magic shell, we used the reese's one cause it's super delicious!

1- large ziploc freezer bag

TO MAKE THE CRUST AND MIDDLE LAYER-

put all oreos into the ziploc bag and mash the heck out of them! you want a very crumbly consistency here. the crumbier the better! next melt the butter and dump it over the oreos in a large bowl. mix it all up so that everything is coated. there ya go, the crust is made!

THE ASSEMBLING-

take half of the oreo mixture and press it into the bottom of the spring form pan. try to get it as even as possible. finger tips work best here folks! now stick the pan in the freezer for about 30 mins to harden. while waiting on this, take your ice cream out of the freezer to soften. if you're using 2 different flavors you only need to take one out now.

remove pan from freezer and dump your first flavor of ice cream (or just half of the gallon if you're using a single flavor) over the oreos. spread out as evenly as possible and stick it back in the freezer. freeze for 45 mins to an hour.

remove pan from freezer and dump the rest of the oreo mixture in. spread evenly, and yup, you guessed it, stick it back in the freezer. this time for about 30-40 mins. take your second ice cream flavor out now to start softening.

remove pan from freezer, add your second flavor of ice cream (or the rest of your gallon), and spread evenly. put back in the freezer for 45 mins to an hour.

remove pan from freezer. run a knife all along the inside edge of your pan to release the ice cream from the sides. unlatch your spring form and remove it, while leaving the cake on the bottom piece. grab your bottle of magic shell and get messy! i dripped it all in one direction first, and then crossed in the other direction. i also made sure to get it to drip down the sides too. do this on a large piece of wax paper, or tin foil so that you won't care about it dripping everywhere. then stick it on back in the freezer!

freeze for at least another hour, a minimum of 2 hours is probably best though.

lastly, cut it up and enjoy the heck out of it!

side notes- if you're impatient like me, you can microwave your ice cream for a few seconds to soften it up. this makes for easier spreading if it hasn't softened enough sitting out. i used trader joe's cherry chocolate chip for the bottom layer, and vanilla on the top. this was a delicious combo! i've also done it with the cherry on the bottom and chocolate on the top and that was super yummer too!

The Big Crafty sum up!

(above photo taken by my crafty bud ashley of this paper ship)

the big crafty was great this year! evan and i originally planned on heading to asheville saturday afternoon, staying over night, and doing the show on sunday. however i got a bit behind schedule with my prep work and decided it would be a better idea for us to just go on sunday morning. it was so much less stressful, and doing that also saved us the cost of a hotel and boarding the dogs for a night, so that kept my profits up. always a good thing!

it was a hot and muggy day, but that certainly didn't keep the shoppers away (hey, that rhymed!). i got to come back home with a lot less then what i went with, and for this preggo, lugging less things was happy news!

we started the day off by dropping off my stuff at the event, and then immediately headed across the street to The Green Sage for a bit of breakfast. evan got some vegan sausage biscuits and i got the vegan breakfast burrito, which by the way was THE BEST breakfast burrito i've ever had!

then with full bellies we headed back across the street to set up. i've used a number of different table setups in the past, but so far this one is easily my favorite. i worked out some of the placing of things the night before, so i got this all up and ready in about 40 mins. not too shabby!

bottle openers are always a big hit at shows i've noticed, so i always to try and stock up before hand. old cigar boxes make the perfect little display cases for them :)

about half an hour before it was pack up time evan hit his wall. i gave my helper permission to catch a few Z's behind my table while i handled the home stretch. by this point we were both exhausted, but he was doing the driving home so he got to score the nap.

we then celebrated my successful day with an amazing dinner at The Laughing Seed Cafe. we've been there for brunch before and it was fabulous, so i had high hopes for the dinner. let me tell you, it did not disappoint. everything is super fresh and absolutely delicious. after that we were ready to get our buns on the road and head on home.

overall it was a great day. i sold lots, ate great, and got to see some crafty friends. i will definitely be applying to this show again next year, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone else in the area for selling or even just some amazing shopping!

good eats!

i gotta say, i'm kinda proud of myself these days. i've been cooking! now, to be clear i love cooking and i do it all the time, but lately i'm actually planning meals out. which never happens! evan and i usually stumble into the kitchen around 8pm to see what we can create out of what's in our cabinets, and while it's always delicious, it's rarely creative. for the past week though i've been prepping in advance and making actual dinners... kudos to me!

you already saw last weeks stuffed pepper night...

then there was zucchini boats and israeli couscous. these rocked my face off!

i even did dessert. warm brownies with cherry ice cream!

and tonights meal... a 10lb lasagna!

this beast is cooking as we speak!

it feels really good to switch things up a bit and add some delicious new vegan goodies to our routine. let's just hope this trend continues, cause it's making my belly happy!

vegan comfort food

a few months ago while evan and i were visiting my parents in atlanta, my mom busted out her beef stew recipe and veganized it for us. i think evan had been craving it every day since! so last night adam and steph came over for some cooking and hang outs and we whipped up a big ol' pot of stew. good lord was it yummy! it goes a little something like this...

VEGAN BEEF STEW

2- packages of gardein beef tips

1- 16oz bag of baby carrots chopped in half or so

1- bag of celery cut into 2" pieces

1- large onion chopped

2- bay leaves to be removed before serving (we actually didn't have these and it was still delicious!)

2- envelopes lipton onion soup mix

1- carton veggie broth, or 2 cans

there is really no exact way to do this so you can adjust and flavor to your liking as well.

first brown the beef tips in a bit of oil, this will give the gravy a bit more flavor. once browned, set aside. add broth and a few cups of water (start with 2 cups and add more later if needed) to a large pot. then add all veggies and bay leaves and bring to a boil. reduce to simmer and let cook for about 40 mins until veggies are tender. add beef tips, salt and pepper to taste (we added lots of pepper but no salt since there is a lot in the soup mix) and simmer for another 20 minutes. in a separate bowl mix corn starch and water together and slowly add it to the stew to thicken the gravy. definitely do this slowly because it thickens quick!

we served it over bow tie pasta with a side of crescent rolls (also vegan!) and it was the ultimate comfort food! it fed the 4 of us last night (and evan and adam can do some eating!) and we still have leftovers today. that's the kinda cooking i like! let me know if you give this a whirl. my momma would be so excited!

also, don't forget today's the last day to enter the nautical giveaway. i'll be announcing the winner later on... happy friday!

vegan reese's peanut butter balls

evan and i aren't really big valentine's day celebrators. we actually had absolutely nothing special planned for yesterday and we were both just fine with that. i went to yoga, evan worked late, and when we got home we ate some yummy dinner and caught up on 30 rock... a perfect evening in my book!

i did want to do one little special thing for evan since he's been so wonderful about me cutting sugar and carbs out of our dinners these past few weeks. so i got this recipe for peanut butter balls from our friend lia, who got it from our friend bryan, who i'm not really sure where he got it from. lia made us a huge batch of these for our wedding and they were a hit! evan loved them (as he loves anything involving chocolate and peanut butter), and i thought it would bring a little smile to his face to come home to such a fabulous sweet treat! they're so super easy to make and taste just like reese's peanut butter cups... which p.s. were my favorite pre-vegan candy so these really hit the spot for me! here's how to make 'em...

you'll need...

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup softened margarine

dash of vanilla extract (optional)

2 cups powdered sugar

chocolate chips

stir together peanut butter, margarine and vanilla in a mixing bowl. i was actually out of vanilla and didn't feel like going to the store, so i just left it out. i couldn't tell a difference. next add 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. mix together starting with a spoon or fork, then use hands to knead it into a dough ball. add the remainder of the powdered sugar for a chalky (more reese's) consistency, or leave it out for a creamy filling. i added the extra!

melt the chocolate in a double boiler, and while that's melting make up your little peanut butter balls.

you can then either drop the balls in the chocolate to coat them...

or drizzle the chocolate over top for a fancy pants look! (note: i had to thin my chocolate with a bit of soymilk to get it to drizzle)

place on wax paper and let cool in the fridge...

these can be eaten while still warm and gooey, cooled in the fridge, or even as a frozen treat! evan loved them, and i even broke my no sugar for 21 days rule to enjoy one. how could i resist?

getting back on track

this past week and a half i've been making a real effort to get myself back on the good health track that i was on before winter hit. for the past 4 months or so i had quit exercising, began eating all sorts of junky sweets, and just generally stopped taking care of my body. this is fully expected around the holidays, but come on, enough is enough!

i've gotten my butt back to the gym, and started hitting up yoga again. i forgot how much i absolutely love yoga and how it makes me sore in all new places when i haven't done it for awhile. definitely in that oh so good way though! in a grand effort to also get my eating habits back on track, i decided to completely cut sugar, simple carbs and processed foods out of my diet for 21 days. why 21 days you ask? well evan and i, along with my entire family, are bound for a voyage on this amazing ship! we booked this trip 2 years ago, before the ship was even built, and i can't believe it's almost here! i want to look and feel fabulous while sunning myself, hence the healthy boot camp!

this definitely isn't a crash diet to lose weight kinda thing, i would never recommend that! this is me making an effort to remove the harmful things from my diet, things that do nothing good for my body, and replace them with fresh, energizing, good for me things! in just the 10 days i've been doing this i already have more energy, i stopped needing caffeine in the morning, i'm sleeping better, i'm learning new recipes, and i'm generally just feeling good about treating my body with the respect it deserves. we only get one of these things, so why junk it up!

a lot of this was inspired by my purchasing the "crazy sexy diet" book. honestly i don't feel like it's fair calling it a diet book, because it's not. it should be called the "crazy sexy lifestyle" book. it's all about making daily choices to put better things into yourself, so as to get more out of yourself. it's really a great, informative, enjoyable read and i certainly recommend it!

so here's to our health!

(all photos grabbed from google images)

vegan comfort cooking

one of the things that i'm striving for in life is to actually use all of the cookbooks that evan and i own. currently they sit in a cabinet and generally only see the light of day about 2 or 3 times a year. terrible, i know! i would love to be the kind of person that plans out meals for the week (or at least for that day) and isn't rummaging through the cabinets at 8pm wondering what evan and i should eat for dinner. i really love cooking, so this shouldn't be such a big task. it's just that i'm not that much of a planner. i'm kinda a fly by the seat of my pants type of gal.

anywho, for the past few days i've been going through our cookbooks and post-it noting everything that i wanted to try sooner rather then later. i made a list, went shopping, and got it all checked off. kudos to me! so without further adieu, i give you, last nights dinner!

chickpea broccoli casserole

-from the vegan with a vengeance cookbook-

admittedly it's not the prettiest of things, but it was so super delicious and yummy! the chickpeas take on a creamy mashed potato effect and it's like the ultimate comfort food!

and on the side we had...

garlicky kale with tahini dressing

-also from the VWAV cookbook-

these were knock my socks off gooooood! i've been craving kale lately, and i also have a love for tahini that just can't be described, so this really hit the spot for me!

i definitely recommend giving this meal a go. it did take a good deal of prep time, but it was absolutely worth it! i've also got enough casserole left over for another 2 dinners! gotta love that :)

here's the casserole...

3 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 large onion, thinly sliced

3 carrots grated, about 3 cups

1 head of broccoli chopped, about 4 cups

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1/2 a cup of bread crumbs

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup veggie broth

1 tsp salt

preheat oven to 350

first, mash up the chickpeas using either a potato masher or a large fork. this takes a few minutes, but not every single chickpea needs to be broken down. think chunky mashed potatoes! next add the onion, carrot, broccoli, and chives and mix it up. then add bread crumbs, mix. add oil, and mix again. last add broth and salt and give it one last stir up. i also added a few splashes of braggs liquid aminos at this point just to give it a little extra nums! dump it all into a 9" x 13" casserole dish and press firmly. cover with foil and bake for 45 mins. remove foil and bake for another 15 mins. at this point it's all set to eat. i however put it on broil for just a few more mins to really get a good crisp on top. apparently a lot of people say that this is somewhat bland, but it can certainly be dressed up anyway you like. i thought it was absolutely perfect though, just the way it is! (evan added salt, but that's to be expected)

and now the garlicky kale...

2 or 3 cloves of garlic (they suggest 5 or 6, but i thought less was just fine)

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped (remove stems from below the leaf and also if they're more then 1/4" thick)

saute garlic in olive oil for a few mins until it's golden brown. add kale and a splash of water. toss it around and get it all coated in the delicious goodness. i also added another splash of braggs here. i just love it! cook about 5 mins and serve with tahini dressing...

the dressing...

8 tsps olive oil

3 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 a cup of tahini

2 tsps balsamic vinegar

1/2 a tsp of salt

juice of one lemon

a bit of black pepper

1/2 tsp of paprika (which i was out of and it was just fine anyway)

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh parsley

1/2 cup cold water

heat garlic in 6 tsps of the olive oil just until it starts smelling yummy. place the garlic, and everything else except the parsley, in a blender and blend until smooth. add parsley and pulse a few more times. stick it in the fridge for at least half and hour before eating. a little bit more water can be added if it's too thick.

enjoy!!!