Don’t Snow on My Parade

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Katharina

This post may be a bit like the weather I’ve been experiencing over here lately–a whirlwind. There has been consistent snow for the past two weeks and there is more to come! Not only has it been snowing constantly but it’s also been super windy. But I haven’t let the weather stop me from adventuring and atleast there’s been plenty of sun to help keep my mood up. Sophia recently asked what we appreciate from nature. Well, the sun is something I wholeheartedly love. It brings up my spirits and I can’t help but feel better on sunny days.

Starting off a sunny day with some chocolate!

I decided to try out another one of the chocolate bars the folks at Newman’s Own Organics sent me. I had only tried their dark chocolates and I wanted to change it up a bit with some milkiness. Deliciously creamy and made me feel like a kid again. Oftentimes milk chocolates get overwhelmed with all the other ingredients, but I like how you can still taste the chocolate in this bar. I feel like milk chocolate is often forgotten about nowadays. But I think dark, milk, and white chocolates all deserve a little love.

And this is how Matilda started out her snow day.

She dug it!

And came back 10 minutes later to see if there was more.

Leftover chickpeas in coconut milk over rice & roasted butternut squash tossed in coconut oil + cinnamon

Then went on an adventure to visit a friend of ours!

I'll admit the snow sure is beautiful though.

Soul sistas!

Back of the Virginia Center for Architecture

Snacks were had--I found the Coconut Macadamia flavor!

I'd like to think this was a delicious snowball. Soft, chewy, and cocoNUTTY.

Our beautiful friend in her barista zone! She made us yummy Cinnamon Dolce Lattes "with love."

I hadn't had an English muffin in ages!

I spread Sunland’s caramel peanut butter on one slice and the other had butter and the berry jam Holly sent me awhile ago. I also had a bowl of yogurt + a minneola, pomegranate arils, and granola.

Sauteed mushrooms + salsa verde + manchego + Italian bread

Umm YUM!

All together now!

Letfover AMAZING ziti and roasted butternut squash

And my dad came to stop by since he's in town on business.

How sweet

After some hang out time with my dad I went over to a friend’s house. I got to try a most delicious vegetable lasagna recipe she made up + garlic bread (ON HOMEMADE BREAD)! Afterwards we headed to one of the bars around here that reminds me of a tavern.

A supreme peanut butter oatmeal cookie made by one of her roommates, the expert baker!

CranBran Vitatop + coconut oil, Kashi GoLean Crunch, bruleed banana slices, Sunland's caramel peanut butter over Greek yogurt.

Met up with my dad at a new cafe for some afternoon bites.

I loved the openness and natural lighting.

He ordered the carrot + ginger soup.

He let me try some of it with the bread they served it with (SO delicious). I also got a white chocolate chip and cranberry scone + soy cappuccino

The place is called Urban Farmhouse Market & Cafe and it’s really neat because you can even go grocery shopping in there. They sell things like organic milk, cake mixes, eggs, quinoa pasta, and granola made by a local Richmonder. We definitely plan on going back for lunch! It also seemed like a really nice place to study and have a nice change of environment.

Snapped a picture before another meet-up!

Look who I got to hang out with!!!

I met up with Brittany at a local cellar for some wine and chocolate sampling. I haven’t seen her in ages and she’s just as radiant even in the winter! We both brought our dogs, but Matilda was being a brat to adorable little Olive, and Isaac had to bring her back home. I hope they get along next time they meet!

Wine!

Crazy Matilda

Yummy chocolate samples, and they even opened up a bar for us chocolate lovers to try.

Look at these two dolls!!!

She also gave me the most delicious Coconut Macaroons she made (recipe from Raw Food/Real World).

Friday turned out to be an up and down and up day. I got really upset at one point but before totally giving into it I knew I had to do something to help me calm down. I have worked so hard to not succumb to things that in the end are not good for me. I reached out, communicated my feelings, and ended up rising above the stress. I did what I knew would be best for me. So glad I wasn’t incredibly stubborn and didn’t give in. Now I plan on going out with some friends and dancing my worries away! Do any of you find it hard to let things go out of stubbornness?

This weekend there’s going to be tons of love in the air. Who knows what’s in store!!! Either way, I hope you all enjoy it whether you’re single or taken!

Hope You Had Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Part II

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Katharina

Hold on to your seats ladies and gentlemen we’re blasting back a little bit further into the past!

Granola girl is back!

I had this bowl of Udi’s Au Naturel granola with the apple grahams Holly sent me, spiced applesauce, Sunland’s caramel peanut butter, and vanilla yogurt. This granola is really good if you want to keep it simple or basically, it would go well with anything! The Au Naturel flavor is basically a wildflower honey sweetened granola.

Looks like I couldn't help but take a bite of the tortilla before I took the picture!

I just stuffed it with black beans, peach salsa, sour cream, nutritional yeast, and cilantro.

Whoa mama!

I hadn’t had banana soft-serve in forever! Size does matter when it comes to this – the bigger the banana the better (you get more)!! My toppings: coconut milk, Artisana Cacao Bliss, and Bekah’s scented almonds. YUM to the 10th degree!!! I’m talking love in exponential amounts.

Have any of you guys ever taken or heard of Zumba? Well this is a dance class I go to whenever I’m down in Florida. My mother and I love to dance and all of those classes have so much energy and happiness from everyone that you can’t help but have fun. There are even some professional ballroom dancers that attend the class. Everyone in that class just lets loose and gets down. For real!

With some friends from the old dance academy.

And with Wilson, one of our old instructors!

We also did the hora!!!

The dance instructor was touched by the students' card and gift to her.

Santa Claus came!

There was never a boring moment in that class!

After the dance class my best friend came over and Matilda got some presents! But I guess she really liked the necklace I got.

I went to go meet up with a friend for coffee.

Keeping it natural.

I tried Udi’s Muesli that morning – muesli is one of my mom’s favorite breakfasts. This was a really good muesli!!! There were lots of dried fruits – which I find to be lacking in a lot of pre-packaged cereals.

Agave-Lime Grilled Tofu with Asian Slaw and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Another recipe from ‘The Conscious Cook’. The best mashed sweet potatoes ever!!! You mash it with a cashew cream, butter, and chipotle pepper. Everything in this dish was incredible and complimentary to each other. I love when a meal touches so many different kinds of flavors. This took my taste buds on a delicious ride.

Pistachios

My dad came home form the store with a container of pistachios! I love these nuts, especially with dried cranberries and golden raisins. I really want to make a pistachio butter. Has anyone tried pistachio butter? Do you like it?

And I FINALLY wore the shorts my mom got me on her trip to Germany.

They gave me two coffees but I had only ordered one! Maybe I should've played the lottery that day.

I've known her since I started middle school!

Later on we went to Target and they had me try on the new Rodarte dresses. I didn’t know Target had such cute things!!!

My friend up at school sent me a little box of treasures!

And the ring lights up!!!

Tempeh Creole

Dinner that night was something special. I made another recipe from ‘The Conscious Cook’. I love the variety of flavors this book has. I usually stick to using the same spices and seasoning when I cook, but this was different from what I usually use. I served it over some brown basmati rice and with a colorful pepper medley on the side.

Breakfast is a calling!

Looks like I had English muffins for breakfast that morning. One slice with butter and the other with pumpkin butter. I also tried the egg nog flavored yogurt with a lot of cinnamon sprinkled on top. Does that count as “sprinkled” still? It looks like it was actually doused! I also had apple slices with caramel peanut butter = delicious.

Yummy snack

I know some of you are always keeping your eyes out for new snack ideas. Well I found one that is not messy and perfect for when you’re on the go! Not to mention it tastes really good. I tried Udi’s granola nuggets! Let me quote them , “Snack-perfect granola chunks made with honey, oats, and lots of nuts.” They contain almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds. I tried the little nuggets with Wallaby’s Downunder Mango Tangerine flavor.

And now we’re going to blast somewhere else into time.

Personally, I like raw collard greens better than cooked.

I tried cooking them the other day but I wasn’t too keen on the flavor. Anyway, these collard greens made for perfect wraps for the leftover Moroccan stew. There wasn’t much liquid left so I didn’t have to worry about stuff spilling out. I also had some Mestemacher bread with mashed avocado, tomato slices, and horseradish sauce.

Check it out!

Look at what my mom made!

We had to use up a bunch of veggies that we had in the fridge so this was a mish-mosh of things! She even cooked daikon radish! I’m not sure what she put in here exactly but I’ll tell you what I do know – besides that it tasted delicious – cauliflower, yellow squash, daikon radish, mushrooms, yellow onion, turmeric, fenugreek, coconut milk, and other things!

Another nighttime snack

A bowl of fruits with coconut milk is something I’ve been eating daily while in Florida. That night I remembered that I still had some Fig Newmans! I love the chewiness of these fig cookies.

So that was the time traveling adventure! Now that we’re all back up to speed, I have a story to share with you all. This was shared with me over Christmas dinner and I thought it was inspirational. They told me about a writer who was diagnosed with cancer but wasn’t going to give up without a fight. So what did they decide to do? They had heard of “laughing clubs” in India and other countries, so they got their wife to go to the library and find a bunch of comedies. Everyday the two would wake up and watch a funny movie. Eventually he was able to cure his cancer with laughter. So never underestimate the power of bursting out in an uncontainable laughter or even just a giggle will do. What’s a miracle you’ve had in your life?

Food, not the bad four letter F-word

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Katharina

Thank you all for your kind and honest words! It seems I’m not alone, but I didn’t think I was really. There’s a condition called “seasonal depression” – I think this feeling, however, is totally natural. All seasons have a purpose and I think our personalities go with the cycle. We rest, recuperate, and comfort our souls. Then when spring and summer come around we’re bursting at the seams with energy and vibrance!

Anyway, let’s eat, shall we?

: Friday night dinner

I didn’t do much cooking for dinner, but it was so good nonetheless. I baked some kale chips and served them with Gardein “chicken” tenders, and Newman’s Own Organic pretzel sticks. To polish it off I had an Original Hermit topped with sunflower seed butter – yum! The Gardein “chicken” tenders were actually quite delicious and I do recommend them. They didn’t taste like those freaky mock meats that make me do a double take on the ingredient list. You can find them at Whole Foods, but I’d also check your local grocer as well just in case.

This is my sketchbook... or actually where I write down my ideas for projects.

I’m currently working on creating a peaceful environment for myself. Not necessarily something that’s sacred, but somewhere I just feel comfortable. I’ll be setting it up, documenting, and doing things with it in open fields around my area.

Up close and personal!

Crispy apples

For breakfast I prepared a bowl of Brown Rice Cream with raisins. After I was done cooking it, I topped it with a chopped apple, pumpkin pie spice, NuNaturals vanilla liquid, Artisana almond butter. It was missing something though. That’s when it hit me! Maple & Apple syrup! Personally, I wasn’t too keen on Artisana’s almond butter.

I decided to get a little fashionable for my Saturday morning class with a pair of cool tights!

My breakfasts never hold me over for the entire class which goes till 11:40. And I always forget to bring a snack! Today someone did a presentation on Japanese gore films, and I was still ravenous despite seeing all that gross stuff. Oh my gosh I can’t even explain how disgusting the clips the guy showed us were. I can usually handle things like that, but this was too much. Anyway! When I got home I knew just what I wanted to make. I put on a big band record on the turn table, and me and my roommate prepared our lunches side-by-side.

With all the bread I have now, I knew I'd be making a sandwich.

I cooked some portobello slices, red onion, garlic, and tomato in a balsamic vinegar reduction with black pepper. Then I spread on some goat cheese on one slice and toasted it all in the oven. I used two slices of French Meadow Bakery’s new Our Daily Bread – awesome sandwich bread! Once it was done toasting I snuck in some basil for the finish touch. For the kale I wanted to try something different. I sautéed it in olive oil with raisins, toasted pine nuts, sherry cooking wine, and seasoned it well. Afterwards I grated some parmesan on top. Delicious! Delicious! Yum yum yum.

So freaking good.

I was actually browsing for awesome sandwich ideas and I stumbled upon this little gem I thought I’d share with all of you: Vegetarian Sandwiches to Take to Work .

And to finish my meal I savored a piece of chocolate.

I decided to try the Orange Dark Chocolate sample the people at Newman’s Own Organics sent me. This was delightful! I usually have a hard time letting things just melt away in my mouth – like hard candy. But chocolate has never been a problem, especially if it’s a good one!

Today I ran a lot of errands and got some things to start my latest sculpture project. Dinner time rolled around and I whipped out The Accidental Vegetarian once again.

Gnocchi with wild mushroom and rosemary ragu

Simon Rimmer be my best friend, please?

This was, too put it lightly, absolutely delectable. I didn’t use regular red wine when making the ragu, since I only had sangria on hand. But it’s safe to say that the sangria did no harm. The hint of citrus might’ve amped the flavors a bit – but in a good way.

So this leads me to today’s truth…

I love food!

Basil Green with Envy

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Katharina

I wrote to Maggie earlier that I took a break from looking at food blogs for a bit. It’s silly really, but it made me crave all those wonderful veggies and fruits you guys all put together… EVEN MORE! I’m not into the idea of chewing my arm off ; how would I write these posts?! Anyway, I was very interested by the feedback I got from you all in my last post. Eliza had made a very great point! She said, “but we all deserve to eat the way we enjoy.” This is so true. Although this past week and a half really made me realize that my situation wasn’t that bad, I know that when I can then why not? When I have money to get groceries I make a list, but if something interesting catches my eye then into the cart it goes! Thank goodness I do this because when I thought I had nothing, I had plenty! But in general, I do a really good job of saving money and not spending mindlessly.

A few nights ago, my friend invited me over to watch a crazy BBC documentary called “America’s Most Hated Family”. It was about the people of Westboro Baptist Church. They’re the ones that picket outside of soldier’s funerals with very distasteful slogans. It was mind-boggling and interesting to watch. Afterwards, we turned on Julie & Julia. We didn’t get to finish it, but I really want to!

: This little set-up was waiting for me when I got there!

Don’t you just love how hanging out with friends can make problems magically disappear? I never tried Sake before and I learned that heating it up is actually an insult to the artisan. Basically, heating Sake up is like adding salt to a dish that’s been served.

: Breakfast!

For breakfast I had something different! I toasted a Rudi’s Organic English muffin, one of the samples sent to me by the company. My roommate’s boyfriend asked what I had made in the oven. It was just an English muffin! Well, not just an English muffin. This one happened to be incredibly yummy! Especially with cashew butter and some raspberry preserves. I also had a ZenSoy Vanilla Soy on the Go and a hemp brownie bite. A what?! Okay first let me say that these soy milk-to-go packets are genius and make me feel like a school kid again. Now back to the hemp brownie. I was sent some samples of French Meadow Bakery products and those were one of the goodies sent to me.

: The motherload! Please pass on some sandwich recipes.

The hemp brownie bite was awesome! Brownies are something I’m picky about, but the texture of this one was just right. And the taste? As funky as a hemp brownie sounds, there was nothing off-putting about it!

: More bread and a chocolate protein shake with some coffee mixed in.

I tried another slice of Rudi’s bread, but this time I chose the Cinnamon Raisin bread. I spread on some coconut oil. Well I do love the thick slices each load seems to have, but I think the cinnamon flavor could’ve been stronger.

: Creme of Almond and Date spread made this just right.

: I’ve also been sampling some sweets.

Since the incredible package of Newman’s Own Organics came in at the right time, I thought what better way to munch my way through the days with some cookies!

First up are the Champion Chip Cookies! The flavors I got were Double Chocolate Mint Chip, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, and Espresso Chocolate Chip. I’m not a big fan of the Chocolate Chocolate variation, but the rest are right up my alley! I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Double Chocolate Mint Chip cookies!

Second batch? Hmm… let’s go with the Hermits. I tried the Original and Cinnamon flavor. Both are good, but I personally preferred the Original ones. Not sure why though. I bet the Ginger Hermits are delicious – I love ginger!

Now on to the Fig Newmans! The only difference between the two I got is that one is fat-free and the other is low-fat. There’s was no apparent difference to me as far as taste goes. So I guess it’s just what you prefer as far as fat-content goes.

Last but certainly not least are the Alphabet Cookies. Maybe I’m boring when it comes to cookies, but these were my favorite! They’re so simple but so good. I want to spell my full name out, including my middle name, and then eat it. Thank goodness I’ve got a really long name.

: Breakfast this morning…

This time I tried a slice of Rudi’s 100% Whole Wheat bread. I love love love the thick slices. I usually buy artisan bread, but I really think Rudi’s makes great bread for morning toast. And we can’t ignore that indulgent looking cup in the back! That, my dears, is a ZenSoy Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl pudding cup. I’m turning into a kid again and if eating these pudding cups are a sign, then I don’t mind one bit. More please!

Aside from it being a glorious day because it’s Friday, I was able to get groceries today!

: I didn’t cook at all, but I fully enjoyed!

I chose the crunchiest and crispiest things to munch on as far as fresh foods go. I love carrots and apples with peanut butter. I also had a delicious Southwestern Sunshine Burger and munched on some Newman’s Own Organics pretzel sticks. Nom nom nom!

Later on…

: More apples!

I sliced up 2 apples and crumbled on a Cinnamon Hermit, and into the microwave it went.

I try not to dwell on things, so I just went about my rainy days looking at fashion magazines and going to my classes (of course). Aside from the dreadful weather the tropical storm has caused over here, I’ve been trying to remain positive. This brings me to my truth of this post.

The weather deeply affects my mood. During the winter I embellish the idea of this season by reminding myself of all the cute clothes I get to wear and this is season of giving. I’ll snuggle with Matilda even more, but the truth is that deep down inside I just don’t feel the same. It’s like I allow some part of my spirit to escape me. I just can’t help but feel like it’s me against nature when I walk out the door – not a good feeling. What do you all do to keep a positive outlook during the bittercold months? Or does it even bother you at all?

It’s Really Not That Bad

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Katharina

Maggie started this thing called “truth week”, and each day she’s tagged somebody to tell the truth. Well she had tagged Mitri and then the Queen of Oats tagged me! So here goes.

The truth is that this week has been hard and I’ve done some reevaluating. I’d say my relationship with food now is a pretty healthy one, but I think this week has been a challenge for me. I’d say… my lack of funds led me to panic for a hot second. I’m use to being able to buy fresh foods and cooking each day. Well, I haven’t been able to spend money for over a week now and I didn’t mind at first because I hadn’t run out of produce. All my frozen produce is gone as well now. And that’s what got me thinking. I have plenty of things in my pantry, I just got so antsy about the fact that – oh my gosh – I have no fresh food. Fresh foods are the only things I really crave too. Weird, I know. I always have a bag of carrots on hand because they’re refreshing, tasty, and I’ve loved carrots ever since I was little. I might’ve said it before but when I was little I swore I was part bunny. I mean… I’ve got raisins and other dried fruits at least and this is only temporary. I’m hoping to get money in a couple of days and I’ll be buying some vegetables and fruits again. It got me to thinking how fortunate and picky I actually am. There are people that live off rice and beans every day. I am so fortunate to have a wide variety of things to choose from. I’ve got grains like rice and oats, nut butters, canned legumes, the package of Sunshine Burgers, Tofurky, and other yummy things. I was also able to use my soymilk maker to make some almond milk this morning. But I guess I got upset because I couldn’t have something. And when you can’t have something… you want it even more, and it almost seems like nothing else matters. So, that is my truth for today. And lots of things I have are simply luxuries, and now I really see what the necessities are. I just had to get that out of my system. Hmm… the bright side? Hey Janetha, I’m also taking part in your “clean out the pantry” challenge!

Hooray for seasonal items.

I heated up the Iced Gingerbread Clif bar and enjoyed every bite with sips of a cup of ZenSoy chocolate soymilk I warmed up. The people over at ZenSoy sent me a gracious sampler package not too long ago. I’m going to do a full review on them soon.

More Nishiki rice!

Last week I used my batch of okara (the pulp leftover when I made soy milk) to make a vegetarian meatloaf based on this recipe. I didn’t have any vegetarian “ground beef” on hand so I used a can of beans instead. I just melted some mozzarella on top and went a little crazy with the ketchup.

Quinoa pasta

I finished off my can of chickpeas and frozen spinach. Actually, a little ray of sunshine inspired me for last night’s dinner. Maya is quite the chef! The things her and her sister, Eliza, whip up make me so hungry! I saw she had a recipe for Spinach Ricotta Pine Nut Pasta. I didn’t have ricotta, but I pretty much had everything else. I just grated some parmesan on top and sprinkled on some pine nuts. Now I feel so silly for freaking out.

Breakfast this morning

I had a bowl of Farina with a ton of raisins and some cinnamons. I also decided to mix in a Banana ZenSoy pudding cup and a glob of cashew butter. Afterwards I attempted to make some almond milk for the first time.

Too watery, but I'll get it down next time.

Now I've just got to look up what I can do with almond pulp.

I went to the UPS station to pick up some packages that were sent to me, but too large to fit in my apartment complex’s box. Seriously, once I got home and opened these packages up, I counted my blessings again. On the topic of being grateful, check out Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness!

Exploding package!

The folks from Newman’s Own Organics sent me an incredibly generous package for me to sample and review on here. Wow!

I was even more excited to see that Matilda had some treats for her as well!!!!

Matilda sampled the Peanut Butter flavored treats and she gave it two paws way up!

Awhile ago I had used my last freebie coupon Tofurky sent to me. What’d I choose to get? The beer brat “sausages”! I tried it with beer mustard, ketchup, and sweet relish, and by itself! Yum yum yum. I’ve read that some of you didn’t like the other flavors except for the beer brats. I, however, do like the other sausage flavors and this one as well!

So there’s really been no cooking for me but I have been munching my way through tasty snacks! I hope you are all enjoying your Wednesday aka “hump day”.

Oh, and before I forget, I’d like to tag Holly to partake in “truth week”!

Katharina's Food Adventures

Tag Archives: newman’s own organics

Don’t Snow on My Parade

Hope You Had Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Part II

Food, not the bad four letter F-word

Basil Green with Envy

It’s Really Not That Bad