Saturday Sites : Week Four

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2. I enjoyed this article on meaningful living, as it tunes right into how I hope to live my everyday life. As the researcher mentioned states, “The unhappy but meaningful life involves difficult undertakings and can be characterized by stress, struggle and challenges. However, while sometimes unhappy in the moment, these people – connected to a larger sense of purpose and value – make positive contributions to society.” This is precisely how I attempt to approach my life (granted it is often difficult and I fail frequently!). Regardless, it felt good to have some reinforcement that my efforts aren’t in vain.

3. One word: TOTCHOS. These would go over wonderfully around here.

4. Some of these vintage recipes are absolutely terrifying, to say the least. For future reference, Jell-o is not a binder for all things. And go back to the first link in this post – eat anything you want that you cook, but please make it real food. For your own good.

5. This list, “18 Things We Should Have Been Taught As Teenagers” was my favorite read of the week. I found every point well thought out and relative to things I was learning at 13 years old, 16, 18, 22, today… I immediately felt the need to share this with everyone I know, young and old alike.

6. I really hate spending money on salad dressing… so I’ve been making my own. This lemon dressing sounds like something I would enjoy and I look forward to this recipe!

7. I have been trying to make time every day to stop, breathe, and express gratitude – silently, or writing (its been years since I had a journal of any sort, although for many years I made the time to write daily). This expression of gratitude was a great reminder for me.

8. Optical illusions have always baffled me. This t-rex very nerdily blew my mind for the entire time I watched this video.

9. My favorite thing about portrait photography is capturing people who aren’t expecting it, those who are completely natural in their every day occurring lives. Even though the actor here requested the photos in this post, the rawness of the moments captured still resonated for me in the same way.

10. I would like these cookies. Now. Please. And thank you.

11. I am certain if I had a daughter, she would be like this. And it would be brilliantly beautiful.

12. Drunken noodles are so damn good. There is a Thai restaurant about 100 steps from our house. Their drunken noodles make me fall in love everytime I eat them. I have made a homemade version before, but this one sounds easier while maintaining some tasty flavor.

13. The chocolate fudge poptarts were always my favorite as a kid. This homemade recipe is going on my list of things to make ASAP.

14. So are these meyer lemon pull apart sweet rolls. Lemon sweet things are my love language.
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Overnight Peanut Butter Apple Cinnamon Oats

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Lazy Girl Breakfasts : they are the best. This oatmeal totally falls into that category. Since I don’t often eat breakfast at normal person breakfast hours, I often try to think of something that will feed everyone else but still be easily consumable somewhere near lunch-hours, when I am actually hungry. The thing about overnight oats is that all the work happens in the crock pot as you sleep and it serves both those needs – it’s ready at breakfast time, but still tastes wonderful at lunch time .

Steel cut oats are generally nuttier in flavor and break down much more slowly than rolled oats. When cooked slowly in your crock pot, they become creamy and extremely flavorful, while maintaining some stability rather than turning into a pot of mush. I’ve posted various versions of these oats before, such as these pumpkin oats, or this version with apples, pears, and walnuts, or this blueberry nut version

But the last few times I cooked this type of oatmeal, Silas very hesitantly ate them, saying he didn’t like them. I decided to take a chance anyway because, quite honestly, I am sick of eating pancakes – the sole breakfast request from Mr. Silas Henry these days. I added more liquid this time, hoping for a creamier oatmeal come morning time. I also used mashed banana, mainly to add some natural sweetness. One ingredient we’re all fans of in oatmeal these days is peanut butter… so that went into the crock pot, too.

This may have been my favorite pot of overnight oats. It’s creamy, but flavorful in a completely un-overwhelming way. Plus I made Silas a bowl, topped with a little bit of butter, whole milk, and dried blueberries. He demolished the first bowl, demanded a second and then ate that as well. It was certainly kid-approved despite previous hesitations. I’m certain this flavor combination is going to stick around for a while.

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Overnight Peanut Butter Apple Cinnamon Oats

Serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients:

2 cups steel cut oats
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups whole milk, coconut milk (canned works), milk of your choice
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup smooth unsweetened peanut butter
1 large banana, mashed
1 large fuji or gala apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

optional toppings such as: dried cranberries/blueberries/raisins, shredded unsweetened coconut (toasted or plain), milk, butter, light brown sugar, maple syrup, chopped fresh apples, sliced fresh banana, etc.

for more of this post, read on here…

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Salted Honey Pie

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Sometimes I will start a post such as this one a day or two before it actually gets posted… Because let’s face it – life happens. While many times I’d like to sit down and write about some recipe then move on and do other things, that only happens 50% of the time. The truth is, it often gets broken down like this: I will cook something and photograph it. Another day, hopefully close to the time I cooked the dish, I edit the photos and get them ready to be blogged. Another day, I write the recipe from start to finish. Maybe even this little blurb, then post. Other times that latter part gets split into two days. Somewhere in between these things, I answer e-mails, do mountains of dishes and laundry, go to the gym, cook other things, stay time-flexible with kid-shenanigans, sleep, keep our house livable…

And then there are times where brain farts happen, where I’ll be mid-post. Then hit “publish” and swear out loud because, oh hey, all you e-mail subscribers who receive whatever original version of anything I publish… That said, sorry for the e-mail last night. Surely there was a recipe with half the directions and this area, which simply read, “Writing!” Let’s get real. When it comes to grammatical and spelling errors, they make me a crazy lady. It seems no matter how many times I read a post before it ever gets published, I still spell things wrong, or leave words out that complete a sentence… but accepting the flat out public nature of blog posts has allowed me to forgive myself more easily when it comes to moronic typos. Or publishing mishaps.

Those things said, this pie… Yes, this pie. Have you ever had a honey pie? I hadn’t, but I did see this recipe floating around the inter-webs forever and finally tried it out. The scent alone of this filling, is deliriously intoxicating. It reminded me of these caramels. I didn’t use the pie crust from the original recipe, as I am quite fond of my own flaky pie crust recipe. The consistency of this pie once it’s baked is somewhere between that of a custard pie and perhaps a pecan pie that has no pecans… It’s warm and inviting, beautiful in color, and just the right amount of sweetness.

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Salted Honey Pie

Recipe modified from Four & Twenty Blackbirds.

Yields one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3-6 tablespoons ice cold water

For the filling:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
3/4 cup honey
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 – 2 teaspoons flake sea salt, for finishing

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For directions, read more here…

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Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Crock Pot Chili

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Winter around here in the Pacific Northwest – it lingers. In this particular valley, we have some trickery that happens every February, where a stretch of 3 to 4 days will bring warmth, sunshine, and the hint of spring. Folks flock to the parks, they lay around in tank tops and shorts and forget it’s nowhere close to March, April… And then BOOM! The cold is back and hangs out until June. I don’t often mind, really. I love the cold just as much as I enjoy warmer weather.

Cold temperatures beckon warm foods like hearty stews and soups. As a mostly vegetarian cook, these types of dishes offer quite an array of possibilities. A good spicy chili always goes over well around our house. Making it in the crock pot makes it a breeze and much of the work happens without you having to do a single thing. The result is a filling, fragrant, and delicious chili that can feed an army of folks (or family made up mainly of hungry boys).

This vegetarian chili includes a few things I find enjoyable: Gimme Lean is a vegan meat substitute that is wonderfully spiced – by far my favorite veggie meat substitute. I’ve also included dried beans rather than canned pre-cooked beans, as this allows for more flavor absorption. The unsweetened cocoa adds just the slightest bit of sweetness to balance out the spiciness, plus the way it deepens the final color of this chili is gorgeous (which is important after all, as the age old saying goes, “you eat first with your eyes…”).

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Vegetarian Crock Pot Chili

Feeds 10-15 people, easily.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 small red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1- 14 ounce tube Gimme Lean vegan sausage
2 large carrots, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
1- 10 ounce bag frozen corn
1 pound dried red beans
1- 6 ounce can tomato paste
4 cups diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups No-Chicken broth (vegetable broth is okay, too)
1 heaping tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 dried bay leaves

* optional: 1 teaspoon applewood liquid smoke

Directions:

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the onion softens and is nearly translucent. Crumble in the Gimme Lean, stirring to evenly distribute with the sautéed onions. Cook until the sausage is lightly golden brown.

Once the sausage has browned, dump it, along with the onion/bell pepper/garlic into your crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients to your crock pot as well, stirring to mix everything well. Cover and cook on low for at least 8 hours, until the beans are completely tender. (I actually cooked ours for 15 hours, but this isn’t necessary – just how timing worked out!)

After 8 hours, check the level of liquid in the crock pot. You can add more broth (or water) as necessary. Add more salt and pepper to your liking once the chili has finished cooking.

Serve hot, with your favorite toppings. We like sour cream, grated cheese, a hefty dose of hot sauce, and freshly sliced avocado, with a side of steamed rice and/or cornbread.

 

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Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Meatless Meat, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Day to Day Life: Week Three

The last week has been a blur. Even so, here’s a look at what the blur included:

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Homemade cookies and cream ice cream! Newman O’s make organic cookies and cream a delicious possibility.

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This girl agreed with me that the cold is totally going to have to take a break. We’re ready for warmth and sunshine.

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This is my favorite aisle in the food co-op. I visit often.

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I did a shocking thing outside of my comfort zone and enjoyed company in my kitchen this week. My friend Janet came over to make enchiladas and spanish rice. These are tofu-laden. Her’s were chicken (and delicious).

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Our uniform colors as a household are so very dark. I’m certain the only color comes from that shirt in the bottom right and maybe some un-pictured underwear.

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A torta panini for the win! Naan pressed with black beans, guacamole, fresh tomatoes, cheese, corn, olives… YUM.

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Mid-week margaritas! Because why not?

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This was my throwback post for the week. It makes me laugh.

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Waffle pizzas as per Vincent Love’s request. Tracy Shutterbean, your malted waffle recipe is magic.

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Having this boy in the house again for the first half of the week was enjoyable. Staying up to help with homework well into late night hours reminded me of how much I do not miss high school.

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Drinking kombucha makes me feel like a good ‘ole hippie. This is the best I have ever tried. I got the spiced apple kava, hoping to alleviate a three-day stomachache. I cannot wait to try the other flavors, too! I would also like to experiment with making my own booch.

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An easy brunch for one lady. Scrambled eggs, chipotle salsa, cotija cheese, guacamole, and corn tortillas.

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Dude.

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Crock pot vegetarian chili. With rice, because I’m from Hawaii. With guacamole because I had leftover guacamole that had to go somewhere. 

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We finally had some warmth (with the cold) and sun.

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Saturday Sites: Week Three

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1. I came across this site and loved the idea behind Chino Otsuka’s project, “Imagine Finding Me.”

2. Having grown up on some of the most gorgeous white sand beaches, I still find both sand and the ocean fascinating. Do you know what happens when you magnify sand? The results are magical

3. Although I am not a burger kind of lady, these tater tot burgers look easy and sound like they’d go over pretty well around here.

4. I love children and the incredible things that they express at times… These notes from kids had me cracking up. This was one of my favorites:

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5. This is my kind of pie. I have never had or made a chess pie, but when and if I do, this goes to the top of my list!

6. Last year, I grew leeks in our garden. Every single one I planted had come from the ends saved, then regrown, from organic leeks I got at the grocery store. I loved this post on other food-plants that can be regrown, as it included things I hadn’t previously known!

7. There is a serious love of pancakes in this house… but to be entirely honest, I am absolutely over eating and making them at the moment. However, these ricotta hotcakes look delicious and I hope to make them in the (distant) future.

8. This post filled with 20 side effects of practicing self-love was a good read for me this week. I’ve never been particularly good at practicing self-love, but as this post says, “self-love is simply about owning our own power and acting from a place of kindness toward ourselves.” An important reminder, for sure.

9. I have been on an ice cream making kick and this white chocolate chunk lavender ice cream sounds like something I need to make ASAP.

10. Naughty pets have always been my favorite pets. Growing up, we had a cat named Kiki. When we got him from the humane society on Kauai, he was the kitten hanging on the cat crate door by all four paws, meowing profusely. This post had me laughing out loud. This naughty kitty had me simultaneously grossed out and entertained:

956ea-6(Ewww.)

11. I’ve always found stuff like this interesting. As the second oldest in a family of four kids, I could easily see us fitting into these roles to an extent. I surely suffer from middle child syndrome.

12. When it comes to noodles (and most carbs) I could enjoy them every day. This bowl of miso soba noodle soup is enchanting in every sense. From the flavorful broth, to the sriracha roasted tofu, roasted shiitake mushrooms, to the final bowl of everything coming together… this dish is definitely on my list of recipes to try.

13. I had no idea that drinking lemon water first thing in the morning has as many benefits as it does. I remember drinking it while doing a cleanse, but now I also know part of the reasons behind it. While I enjoy fresh lemon for this, I equally adding a drop or two of lemon essential oil to water instead.

14. For all you moms:  these words.

15. I told you… ice cream kick… I absolutely, certainly, cannot wait for fresh local blueberries to show up around here… just so I can make this ice cream. And more blueberry spice jam, since we polished off the last jar I canned last week.

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The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz: Chocolate Ice Cream

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Last week I shared a recipe from David Lebovitz’s book, The Perfect Scoop, for vanilla ice cream. This week, I’m bringing you another recipe from the same book – chocolate ice cream. Since these two recipes were my first attempt at homemade ice cream, I decided to keep things pretty un-fancy as far as elaborate ingredient lists are concerned. I figure if I can get basics like chocolate and vanilla ice cream down, then adding things into them later will be an easy way to dress things up.

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Much like the vanilla ice cream, this chocolate ice cream is straightforward. I suggest using high quality chocolate, as the flavor will shine through handsomely. The ice cream itself kamagra prezzo più basso is decadently rich and a good quality chocolate simply steps up the intensity of the chocolate flavor in the final ice cream. I’ve started joking that my KitchenAid ice cream attachment was a bad decision gift request, because with its ease, throwing together homemade ice cream is simple and not at all time-consuming. I  suppose there are worse things that I could be making – or consuming…

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Chocolate Ice Cream
Recipe from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop

Yields approximately one quart of ice cream.

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (this is what I used)
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used this dark chocolate)
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Warm half of the cream and cocoa powder over medium heat, whisking until the cocoa blends into the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, simmering for 30 seconds, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add your chopped chocolate, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the remaining cream, then pour the mixture into a large bowl (I prefer steel), being sure to scrape down the sides. Set a mesh strainer over the top of the bowl.Warm up the whole milk, sugar, and salt in the same pot you just used, over medium heat. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until creamy. Slowly pour the warmed milk into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the egg/milk mixture back into the pot. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pot as you go. Continue cooking the custard until the the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of your spoon or spatula.Pour the custard through the mesh strainer, into the chocolate cream mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract. Continue stirring the custard over an ice bath, until the custard cools. Place the custard into your refrigerator until it’s thoroughly chilled.When you are ready to churn the ice cream, remove the vanilla bean from the custard. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream will not freeze hard in the machine, but reach a soft-serve consistency. You can serve it like this if you wish (it’s delicious) or scoop the mixture into a lidded container and allow it to harden in the freeze for 2 to 4 hours, for it to reach a scoop-able consistency.IMG_6253IMG_6589

Posted in Cookbooks, Dessert, Ice Cream, Kids | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Meaty Veggie Burger

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When someone says “veggie burger,” I envision this perfectly round, frozen patty. Perhaps laden with black beans, whole grains, and duh – veggies. And then I silently say, “yuck,” because burgers are not in the realm of my preferred meals. I can tell you absolutely, without hesitation, how often I crave burgers for any meal: never.

But when you marry a guy whose go-to answer for “what do you want for dinner tonight?” is “I don’t know… burger?” eventually you figure out some kind of burger that’ll work for you, too. I use Lightlife’s Gimme Lean vegan sausage for all sorts of things, especially in recipes where I would’ve used ground beef earlier in my life. As a kid, my mom made hand-patted hamburger patties and never relied on some pre-made mixture, or formed meat patty. It felt like a no-brainer for me, to create a hand-patted no-meat burger.

As with many vegetarianized recipes I concoct, I treat the vegan sausage as if I were using ground beef. Since Gimme Lean does not have any fat that renders down while cooking, I like to add a bit into the mix in order to create a patty that won’t dry out while cooking. The result is a juicy, golden-brown burger that is flavorful and filling. Around here my husband enjoys bleu cheese, tempeh bacon, caramelized onions, American cheese, and mustard on a homemade bun.

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Meaty Veggie Burgers

Yields 8 to 12 patties (depending on your preferred size)

Ingredients:

One 14-oz. tube Gimme Lean vegan sausage (not the “ground beef style”)
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sunflower or other lightly flavored oil, plus more for cooking
3 tablespoons butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup panko style bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch of ground smoked paprika

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Use your hands to mash everything together evenly. Get messy, don’t worry about it. Make sure the bread crumbs are evenly distributed into the mixture, so they get enough moisture.

Meanwhile, heat about two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scoop about 1/4-cup of mixture into your palm, then flatten into a patty about a half-inch thick, and 4 to 6 inches in diameter, depending on your preference. Place the patties into your heated pan, cooking until golden brown (5-7 minutes) then flip and cook the remaining side until also golden in color (another 4-5 minutes).

You can serve these burgers on hamburger buns, dressed with your favorite toppings – American cheese, bleu cheese, caramelized onions, ketchup, spicy mustard, lettuce, pickles, whatever. You can eat these topped with gravy, alongside rice or mashed potatoes. These veggie burgers are meaty in texture and hearty; they certainly aren’t your store-bought frozen variety. Dress them as you would any other burger.

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Posted in Dinner, Kids, Lunch, Meatless Meat, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Day to Day Life: Week Two

Here is a glimpse at the last week! Are we really approaching the middle of January? 2014 is well on its way…

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Lithia Park is pretty any time of year…

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Made a batch of this salad… but this time I added some homemade spicy dill squash pickles I canned over the summer. (Yum!)

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Homemade veggie burgers one night… with homemade honey wheat buns. (Recipe next week.)

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Since I had leftover dough while making the rolls, I turned it into apple cinnamon rolls.

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This week’s reading!

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I had been craving hamburger stroganoff like my mom used to make when I was growing up, for over a month. So I finally gave in and made this vegetarian version.

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I’d forgotten how good fresh juice is. This one was exactly what I’ve been craving.

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Silas and I had a date night. First, there was pizza…

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And then we met up with some friends to go ice skating. Silas and I got there a bit earlier than our company and I royally busted my ass on the ice three times, the last of which I landed with both hips flat on the ice, hands sprawled out, and face almost in the side of the rink. I was reminded quickly that I am an old lady. Luckily our friends showed up then and Silas still had folks to skate with as I watched. Like a cold, beaten up, little old woman in need of a stiff drink.

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Since I am an old woman and also nowhere near a “morning person,” my preferred method of making breakfast is either at dinner time, or the night before. I made these apple cinnamon almond protein muffins for the kids one night, for my husband to feed them for breakfast the following morning.

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TAMALES were made this week. I want to perfect this recipe… so close.

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Sometimes mid-week is difficult. And it requires a good margarita.

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I also made dark chocolate ice cream that had to be hidden in the freezer until I could take this photograph.

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We finally saw some rain this week, after the skies had threatened for a while. I missed that sound.

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Silas had his friend Sydney here for a sleepover last night. There was a pancake feast this morning.

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They were very sweet.

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We’ve been eating a lot of paninis around here. My husband and I shared a couple the other night. We split one filled with cheese and basil, then split another filled with Wild Friends’ cinnamon raisin peanut butter and sliced bananas. It was so damn delicious.

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I cannot even tell you how many nights and days we ate tamales this week. I call them hapa haole tamales, as they were certainly not traditional by any means. I made spinach/crimini mushroom/feta, jalapeno-cheese, and fresh pineapple with vanilla bean. While tasty, the last dozen are going into the freezer.

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Saturday Sites: Week Two

Saturday Sites 2

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1. According to The Kitchn, broccoli could be the new breadcrumb in 2014. Although I am a die-hard panko breadcrumb fan, I do like this idea. On scalloped potatoes or macaroni and cheese, this could be a fun alternative.

2. These 27 problems that only introverts would understand made me laugh, but only with complete approval of oh yes, I have felt or thought this before…

3. Once upon a time, I’d post selfies like a teenage girl. Well, because technically I was one. However, The Selfie Olympics make me question selfies all together. Who are these people and… what the hell?

 4. pizza

Last summer when we were in Berkeley, I stumbled upon The Cheese Board online, while googling pizza places closeby. We drove by and saw a line wrapped down the sidewalk, around the next block. Needless to say we didn’t jump in line. I’ve been fascinated with them since although I’ve yet to try a slice of their pizza. I found this roasted potato and pasilla pepper pizza on Taste Duds blog, inspired by The Cheese Board (who also has a cookbook I plan to get my hands on eventually). I see this pizza in our future soon.

5. Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn has been my go-to reading for the last few days. I love the emphasis on cooking for families. She also provides tips for grocery shopping with kid, how to stretch out leftovers, the benefits of planning ahead and relying on one-dish meals. The photographs are also gorgeous.

6. I came across these abandoned farm house photos from photographer Niki Feijen of The Netherlands and have loved looking through them time and time again.

7. This recipe for totopos with salsa de arbol and cotija cheese immediately made it on one of my pinterest boards. It also introduced me to a new place to eat in San Francisco I look forward to trying!

8. I loved this post by Lori Yates of Foxes Love Lemons blog, “Season Your Soup Like You Mean It.” Her suggestions for ways to season food other than salt were spot-on with how I enjoy cooking.

9. I watched this video, This Is What Happens When A Kid Leaves Traditional Education on TEDx and thoroughly enjoyed Logan’s story and perspective. His declaration of wanting to be happy and healthy when he grows up was also refreshing, rather than providing a long list of occupations he may think he’d like to pursue…

10. In case you need the reminder like I do, often…

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