Tag Archives: salads

Caprice & Intellect

Posted on by

4

Surprisingly my last post was on the first day of August, and today I’m posting on the last day of the month. I didn’t realize that much time had slipped in between. A lot of the reasoning for my lack of posting is that I’ve shifted focus (more on my studies at IIN), and I’ve also been more active leading me to do things that don’t take as long, i.e. writing a post. My writing style on this blog is very much compositional, and I don’t feel comfortable sharing something regurgitated or for the sake of posting. I have multiple drafts with ideas and pictures I want to elaborate on and structure into something that goes well together. For later.

But today… I’m not sure what to say, but I do want to say hello. I think for the past month I haven’t known what I want to share. I have pictures, but not much to say. Or is it too much to say, but don’t know where to start? Maybe that’s what happens when you are constantly giving your energy. Actually, here’s a word that’ll carry through this post…

Arrangement

-

Accidental groceries arrangement

Collaborative arrangement

1. Grilled halloumi with fresh mint, chopped olives, lemon juice, and olive oil; 2. a salad with cherry tomatoes, avocado, balsamic, and red onion; 3. a salad with radishes, apples, lavender, orange juice, and olive oil.

-

Fresh strawberries filled with a raw vegan vanilla coconut cream

-

Here’s a dose of what I’ve been up to for Perricone MD on the Daily Perricone.

Continue reading →

Nothing To Do But Float In The Ocean

Posted on by

11

Here’s a little recap of my time down in Florida, which was mostly spent on the Gulf coast.

It seemed like a secret spot.

Continue reading →

For The Love Of Vegetables

Posted on by

5

Ever since I was little I always remember having a love for vegetables. Whether it was my grandmother’s sopa de auyama or a plain bag of carrots and lettuce, I was known to be a veggie monster. Or perhaps I thought I was a bunny?

Proof lies in the spinach beard I proudly showed off for the camera

Although I don’t have it often, one of my all-time favorite breakfasts is a plateful of latkes. I would usually just eat them with applesauce, but people also serve them with sour cream. My dad likes to add corn to them when he makes them–something I definitely recommend trying.

Over the weekend I went on a full-blown cooking storm, and I’m pretty sure that’s what I spent most of my time doing. But really there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t prepare something. Anyway, I had stumbled upon a recipe for Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers. Having just used the sweet potatoes for another recipe, I used delicata squash instead. Besides it had been hanging around for too long. For the spices I used a ‘blackened seasoning’ blend, nutritional yeast, and thyme.

After the veggie burgers were done, and I had gone on a late night run (my prime running time), by the time I came back… I don’t know what it was but I decided that the veggie burgers would be great for breakfast! Not just that, but instead of serving them as a patty I thought they’d be interesting as pancakes. Something reminiscent of potato pancakes or latkes.

Something was missing...

It needed something to contrast in color and in flavor.

Aha!

I love how spring onions are a mild yet put a skip in a dish’s walk. They tasted good, but were a bit dry even if I had served them as veggie burgers. Next time I’ll experiment by adding in some eggs and oil to the equation.

So remember I said I was part bunny when I was little?

Continue reading →

The Root of It

Posted on by

11

Your responses on my last post were so kind! Thank you for your words and encouragement. I think since right now I’m going through a major transition period in my life (fresh out of college)… it sometimes feels like everything is new to me. Including my blog.

On another note, I wanted to share one of the many things that have been on my mind. I was thinking back on when I went to Colombia a couple years ago, and stayed with my grandparents for a month. They do almost everything there the old-fashioned way. From melting a chocolate tablet in boiling milk and whisking it vigorously to make hot cocoa, to washing the laundry by hand and leaving it out to dry on the line. I love going to places where you really get a sense of how things are made. No special equipment made for convenience sake. Instead you become in tune with the primal way of preparing something. That’s one of the reasons that keeps me interested in cooking. I just think it’s awesome that what grows from this earth can be eaten and we can flourish.

I also think it’s interesting to see why parts of the world have an abundance of certain foods. For instance, you can find so many rye breads in Northern Europe. Did you know that wheat grows poorly there?

Rice is a crop that is available in abundance, so I’m going to share a delicious recipe using this grain.

Brown Rice Salad

Ingredients

3 cups cooked brown rice 
3 green onions, chopped (about 1 cup) 
1/2  red bell pepper, seeded and diced 
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced 
1 carrot, grated 
1 green apple, cored and diced 
1 cup finely shredded cabbage (green and purple)
1/2 cup golden raisins

Dressing
1/2 cup Vegenaise (or regular mayonnaise)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar 
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
2 teaspoons curry powder 

Directions

1. Place the rice in a large salad bowl, then add green onions, bell pepper, celery, carrot, apple, cabbage, and raisins.

2. To make the dressing, in a small bowl, mix Vegenaise, vinegar, mustard, and curry powder.

3. Pour over salad and toss to mix.

The fruits mixed with the tangy dressing makes for a refreshing summer salad! Actually, if you like cole slaw, I think you will enjoy this as well.

I never noticed the purple hue on artichoke hearts until the other day.
Recently, I tried an ancient recipe… manna bread.

I didn’t make it myself, although I do have the ingredients on hand now, so I just need to get to soaking. I’ve heard about Nature’s Path’s Manna Bread from various people, and have always been curious to try it. I decided to try out the ‘Cinnamon Date’ loaf.

For breakfast with coconut butter, a glass of almond milk, and a crisp apple.
The bread was so dense and moist that it almost seemed like a slice of cake! Delicious too.

Supposedly, manna bread has been around since BCE. Now that is a lay of the land recipe, don’t you think?

Simple salads have been making their way on to the kitchen table.
Simple salads with plenty of avocado.
And a salad for the kale lovers!

My mother is definitely a kale lover, so when I saw Natalie’s recipe for Marinated Kale Salad I was on it ASAP! Tahini dressing is not something I usually have, but it makes me raise my eyebrow in interest as soon as I hear about it. The process of preparing this salad really did break the kale’s toughness down, and there was no cooking involved (besides roasting the beets). Simple and delicious.

What’s something that has recently truly fascinated you?

A Dinner Guest

Posted on by

7

Hey there good lookin’ (you get into the gallery through the passenger door).

Richmond’s First Friday Artwalk was last Friday, and I stopped by my professor’s opening–”Passenger Position”

The exhibition really made me think about his own experiences of things around him.
A new grain for breakfast.

I was trying to look up breakfast recipes using buckwheat groats, so I just put my own twist on this one found on the Pure2Raw blog. This was my first time actually going on the blog, and all of the recipes looked so tasty and fresh–just what I’ve been in the mood for lately. Not to mention, they seem like such an awesome duo living in harmony with each other and life’s journey.

I love how nutty they tasted.
Leftover coconut rice revamped–inspired by rice pudding.
Finally got around to using the corn kernels that have been sitting around for who knows how long.
Cooked in coconut oil, and seasoned with cinnamon and nutritional yeast.

This is such an economical and simple snack. If you’re use to buying popcorn that you heat up in a bag, I suggest just buying some corn kernels and they will last you longer + it’s not hard at all. Not to mention, you aren’t exposed to the harmful chemicals found in paper-wrapped convenience foods.

This past week, I had someone special over for a three-course dinner.
I spotted a beetroot and goat’s cheese salad in a cookbook I was browsing through at the bookstore.

We also tried the first cucumber from his garden!

I also made baked polenta with wild mushroom ragout...

And a secret ingredient–Idiazabal cheese–baked into the polenta.

The original recipe calls for pan-grilling, but since I was making the polenta in a cast-iron skillet I had the option of baking it as well. I love things roasted, baked, what have you.

Yum!

After dinner we went to take Matilda out for a nice walk. Then when we got back it was time for the last course…

A raw vegan apple crisp for dessert.

 My favorite kind of desserts are the raw vegan kind because you can just really taste the flavors. The sweetness comes from a fruit usually, and I just love how simple the ingredients are–just using things that have been around for thousands of years. You can find the recipe for the raw vegan apple crisp here.

And he brought over the creamiest ice cream made by a local creamery.
Creamy chocolate goodness–had to stop myself from eating too much since I know my tummy would have its woes otherwise.

 It was a delicious dinner, if I may say so myself, and I got to share it with someone! I’ve been so use to making single-serving dishes, or ones with leftovers, but intentionally making a meal for more than just myself is such a nice feeling. I’ve been making meals for more than just myself a lot lately though. The weeks leading up to my move from Richmond, I just wanted to spend as much time with my close friends as possible, which included lots of meal sharing.

Speaking of my move. I’m down in Florida now, but I’ll be recapping my last few days up in Richmond. Hope everyone is doing well, and staying hydrated!

Keep Cool My Babies

Posted on by

15

Boy oh boy. These past couple of weeks have been feeling very hot! I thought I’d share some things I’ve been doing to spruce up a plain old salad, since salads and cold things are what I’m gravitating towards nowadays. It’s really neat how the foods that are in season now have this amazing ability to refresh and quench our bodies’ thirst. Juicy peaches and watermelons, cooling cucumbers, and ruby red strawberries.

Actually, Matilda is the expert on this so I’m going to let her take it away!
First, make sure you’ve got a sassy fan and sunhat!

Ahem, and now back to the actual salad tips…

Adding roasted kabocha and Japanese sweet potatoes can make any salad that much more delicious.

Recently, my two favorite ways of roasting them are using these two variations of the sweetly glazed daigakumo recipe:

Version One

Version Two

Beets are also a wonderful addition to salads–not to mention they are beautiful!
You can use beetroots as well

 Separating the greens from the stems makes it easier for cooking. Here are some ideas on how to prepare them.

Roasting the root vegetables
Now do you want to try those recipes?

This reminded me of the glorious mountains of root vegetables that Kelsey usually bakes.

More fixing for salads: cannellini bean spread and beets
Admiring the beets as usual
Marinated grape tomatoes
Homemade dressings using up the last of the beer mustard and the container
Exhibit A: Tasty Salad
Yellow Split Pea Puree, fried Daigakumo, avocado, bell peppers, cucumbers all on a bed of romaine and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Exhibit B: threw in some beets, diced golden delicious apple and red bartlett pear
A sweet, savory, and truly delicious salad
Or you can just go to one of your favorite local eats
My favorite thing on the menu.

Cafe Gutenberg’s Vegan Caesar Salad… I just had to have it before I leave Richmond. I asked for their recipe, alas it’s top secret and they don’t give it out. I understand. Atleast they had someone from the kitchen tell me some tips about how they prepare the tofu (it’s the best tofu I’ve ever had).

A delicious salad and lovely company to boot!
An attempt at recreating the caesar salad and de-veganizing it with grated idiazabal cheese.
“Secret’s in the sauce”, but I haven’t figured it out yet.
I’ve shared this recipe before, and I’ve made about seven batches of it since I posted about it.

This Indian Inspired Red Lentil Rice Salad is seriously tasty. Especially if you’re in the mood for a fruitier salad with a little bit of tang from the curry yogurt dressing.

Here’s one more person vouching for it!
Watermelon to “keep cool”

It’s definitely hot when the potluck’s theme is “Keeping Cool”. So we wore clothes that kept us cool, or we thought was cool.. and of course brought cooling foods.

You can spy the flat rosemary focaccia I made, while some fruits were being muddled.
A beautiful and refreshing summer drink: lemon, strawberries, honey, and chilled prosecco.
Fresh greens from the host’s garden, and a taste of everyone’s dishes.

Happy and cool.

So when the sun goes down and the air is cooler, just open your windows and play some relaxing tunes into the night.

At the end of a hot day my feet are tired, and I’ve got a layer of grime and dried sweat on me. It may sound unpleasant, but I like feeling the length of the day  in my body. After a long day being out and about in the heat, feeling exhausted is just another cue telling me, “it’s time to relax.”

What do you do to keep cool on hot days?

Frame of Mind

Posted on by

26

Halli hallo! I hope all of you are doing well, and enjoying the last day of July. The last day of July? Yep! In two weeks I’ll be going back up to Virginia to settle in to my place (yay for not having to actually move this year), and then starting my final year of college. Yessssss! I’ve been doing wonderfully with taking care of my liver. It really hasn’t been hard. If anything, it’s been relaxing and rejuvenating. Ayurveda doesn’t just cover the topic of food (although it is key), but also helps us take notice of how our environments may affect us. For instance, what we smell can be aggravating, calming, or what have you. For my constitution sandalwood is suggested to pacify the excess Pitta. I’m a combination of doshas, and that’s quite common actually. What exactly does dosha mean? “It’s an essential biological energy or structure in Ayurvedic anatomy. There are three primary doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, which sustain all life. They move cyclically on a daily basis, and act as transporters and communicators between the essential tissues, and the bodily wastes. Their balance is a key to health. They also determine our physical constitution at birth.“ Vata-Pitta is mine, and I benefit from oils; so it’s even recommended that I rub coconut oil on my feet and legs before I go to bed. Am I reading correctly? Treat myself like an Egyptian queen? Why, of course.

I'll carry some sandalwood around, and Matilda can carry her skeleton leaf with her.

Now this was a real treat for my taste buds!

Remember when I tried the Coconut Bliss pint of ice cream? Specifically the cherry amaretto flavor, m’mmm! Anyway, I was also kindly sent a voucher to try their ice cream bars. You can choose from two flavors: dark chocolate or naked coconut. Oh gosh, speaking of flavors I just looked at their list of retired flavors. Ah so sad! Maybe a Dr. Frankenstein move can be pulled and some of these flavors can be revived! It’s ALIVE!!! Okay okay, so time to turn this frown upside down by giving my review for ze bar! Guess which flavor I chose? If you guessed naked coconut then you know me well hehehe. Ah yes, the review. Well, I LOVE COCONUT! So now that that’s clear, I also want to make it clear that these are the bomb.com. I loved the flavor; and the texture was so awesome because it was creamy, melt in my mouth (but not in milliseconds), and I spied the shreds of dried coconut too. Imagine a hot summer day (that is going to take little imagining as I just have to step outside) and all you want is something refreshing, tropical, and creamy. Yes, this bar would be my answer. “The pure coconut experience on a stick.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Sweet potato and yellow split pea dhal + flax seed oil & ghee

Watercress is a new vegetable I’ve been incorporating into my diet. I’ve had it before, and I use to just think of it as more of a garnish. Now I see that it can also make a delicious salad! Speaking of salads, I found a helpful guide on how to make a great salad with lots of side tips: salad days. “Try and get all the tastes at each meal, even if it is a salad: carrots/beets for sweet, greens for bitter, cilantro for astringent, fresh ginger for pungent, lemon juice for sour and rock salt for salty.“

Munching like a goat is easier

One of my favorite foods.

I think many of you can agree with me on this one: sweet potatoes are delicious… and happen to be very nutritious. They are a great source of beta carotene, which may explain why my palms and the bottoms of my feet look the way they do. The beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in your body, and may help slow the ageing process and reduce the risk of some cancers. And did you know that it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties as well? I’ve been having mine with a combination of flaxseed oil and ghee.

Last week I did some major re-organizing and decorating around my parents house.

It’s pretty cool that the black-and-white photo is of me with my film camera, and I’m in the mirror with another one!

Remembering vacations in South America.

Frames galore!

Rather than painting a wall.

Different colors for frames as well.

A diptych of little Matilda going on an adventure.

Some call this a pampering room, but for some reason ever since I was little I've called it "the emergency bathroom".

My "office" area.

I also decided to take out something I got when I went to London.

A fireplace in Florida? Indeed.

A combination of something I made, nature, and a thrift-store find.

Another fitting thrift-store find--except change the 'c' to a 'k'.

And one of my favorite thrift store finds!

I left a note by writing one of my favorite quotes.

Stay tuned for next post! I’m finally going to make a video, and share with you all that even while taking extra care of my liver, I was able to cook wonderful meals to share with my family’s guests.

When the Going Gets Tough

Posted on by

26

Let’s pretend it’s morning time and you hear mom yell, “breakfast is ready!!!” What do you do? Forget about Saturday morning cartoons and run to the kitchen!

More ricotta goodness.

More ricotta goodness.

I blended about a 1/2 cup of ricotta (I used this amount for my “pillow” as well), 2 sliced peaches, and NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia. I wanted to use it to make a parfait a la K. Alas, you couldn’t see the layers of granola, so I ditched that idea – for aesthetic purposes! I ate it with the last of my Zoe’s Honey Almond Granola, and some more almond joy!

Good morning again!

Good morning again!

Then I tried mixing it with peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, pistachio extract, and stevia. The recipe actually called for almond extract, and I suggest to stick to that! The pistachio didn’t do anything for the poor peanut butter. I topped this pillow with Zoe’s Cinnamon Raisin Granola. I looked at the picture and for a split second I thought those raisins were bits of chocolate. That would’ve been perfect with the ricotta and peanut butter pillow!!! Am I right or am I right?

Here I go again!

Here I go again!

I just heated up these tomato chunks on the stove with some olive oil, red onions, s+p. That little bowl hiding in the corner is just some good ole’ buttered grits! I didn’t like grits before (maybe because I tried them at Waffle House?), but when I made these at home my mind was changed. Someone asked me once if I like my grits sweet or salty. I can’t imagine eating sweet grits… well, maybe with maple syrup. But I think I prefer salty.

This should look familiar to you all!

I spy something that should look familiar to you all!

To go with the cheetahs I cooked some kidney beans and broccoli in peanut sauce. The fortune cookie said, “it’s easier to be critical than to be correct.“

IMG_8209

I had a sweet potato on hand so I thought it would be appropriate to finally make myself some Cheetahs!

Since I had kidney beans leftover, I searched through my recipes hoping I would find something. Luckily, I stumbled upon an old favorite of mine, Rajma Masala.

I like to go to ethnic stores to buy my spices.

I like to go to ethnic stores to buy my spices.

Star anise

Star anise

Isn’t it crazy how things in nature are shaped??

Rajma Masala, more Cheetahs, and some steamed broccoli with sesame seeds and oil.

Rajma Masala, more Cheetahs, and some steamed broccoli with sesame seeds and sesame oil.

The other day, after seeing these on so many blogs, I tried a Sunshine Burger!

I got the Falafel kind.

I got the Falafel kind. The design on the plate really makes it look like the sun.

I filled a wrap with

I filled a wrap with the Falafel Sunshine burger, spinach, red onion, tomato, and sprouts.

In the bowl you see a mix of NatureNaise, garlic, salt, and lemon juice – topped with a bit of Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing. That was used as the dressing for my falafel wrap. I had to take a bite of the Sunshine burger while it was still naked so I can tell you guys if it actually tasted good without “all that jazz”. Well first of all, I was pleasantly surprised to see kernels of corn! It was really good, but it’s definitely more fun to dress up. You know what is interesting about these burgers – and why they’re called Sunshine Burgers?

“These delicious veggie burgers are made of sunflower seeds and contain absolutely no soy or wheat, which is ideal for gluten free diets.”

I tend to overfill wraps... so I end up eating them like a big, floppy taco.

I tend to overfill wraps... so I end up eating them like a big, floppy taco.

I'd like a salad and a sandwich please!

I'd like a salad and a sandwich please!

It was crazy hot the other day so I opted for a salad. As you can see I’m loving those sprouts I got the other day. What the heck is in my sandwich?

Sunflower seed butter, and edamame hummus. On the other half I snuck in some tomato slices with smoke sauce.

Sunflower seed butter, sprouts, and edamame hummus. On the other half I snuck in some tomato slices with smoke sauce.

I was inspired by Mitri, who has created many interesting sandwiches with various fillings. I wanted to see exactly how an unexpected combination might turn out. Well, I LOVED IT! Both sides were delicious. Try making an interesting sandwich, it’s fun and kind of risky!

Not too long ago, Angharad featured a recipe for arepas on her blog. I can’t express how much I love arepas, and her recipe looked delicious. I didn’t make my own, but my dad brought me some arepas from a Colombian cafe down in Florida.

This variation is called arepa con choclo, which means it's made with sweet corn and farmer's cheese.

This variation is called arepa con choclo, which means it's made with sweet corn and farmer's cheese.

A salad to go along with it:

A salad to go along with it: romaine, tomato, red onion, roasted potato, sprouts, sesame seeds, and honey mustard dressing.

Last night was probably my favorite dinner this week. I invited my dad over and whipped up this recipe.

"Eggplant dripping with a tomato and ricotta salsa" served with basil polenta, and avocado.

"Eggplant dripping with a tomato and ricotta salsa" served with basil polenta, and avocado.

The balsamic vinegar added a smokiness to the tomatoes.

The balsamic vinegar added a smokiness to the tomatoes.

This took me under 30 minutes! I think some day soon I want to film myself cooking a meal.

Since school has involved lots of nighttime studying I’ll show you some of my latenight snacks!

I forgot how much I liked this cereal!

I forgot how much I liked this cereal!

Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter has been finding it’s way into almost every meal and in between! Here I tried it with a juicy peach.

I tried another VitaTop!

While taking a break from studying for my Taoism quiz, I tried another VitaTop!

This time I tried the Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTop. I kept in mind that I didn’t want to chips to be totally melted, so I just heated it up for 20 seconds. Then I had to quickly take a picture before the vanilla fro-yo melted. It already started melting though!!! I also had an apple with peanut butter. Oh and the VitaTop with some peanut butter smeared on top brings it up to another level of goodness! I really enjoyed this because when is chocolate and peanut butter not a winning combination?

Fro-yo was defeated by the delicious, ooey-gooey, and warm VitaTop.

Fro-yo was defeated by the yummy, ooey-gooey, and warm VitaTop.

The chips remind me of mud-baths on top of a mountain. What kind of place would this be? “Bathe in melted peanut butter, then relax atop Mt. Chocolate and enjoy the view of the world below.” Oh and the vanilla fro-yo would be a cloud since Mt. Chocolate is really tall!

Roomie's boytoy baked some banana bread.

Roomie's friend baked some banana bread.

Hey Lauren, do you see that jar in the back? Yup, it’s empty! I can only find McCutcheon’s apple butter, and I forgot to have my dad buy some and bring it up from Florida. I guess I’ll just have them send me a “care package” hehe. Getting snailmail and packages is such an exciting thing!

There have been a couple of things that have been on my mind lately. I touched on it a couple posts ago, how I feel that my responsibleness makes it hard for me to relate to people my age and vice versa. I was talking to a friend the other day about self-motivation and how it’s a hard thing to come across among college students. I don’t expect others to handle situations like me, but it gets frustrating when I hear people around me complain but they don’t actually do anything about it. I was wondering, what are some ways that you guys motivate yourself? Do any of you have some sort of mantra? It could be about anything really, even getting your foot out the door! Because sometimes all you want to do is lie in bed all day. By the way, those kinds of days I feel should be prescribed sometimes, no ifs ands or buts!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Dog Days of Summer

Posted on by

30

First and foremost, I’d like to thank you all for the encouragement and insight on my interest in studying abroad. As some of you may know, I am originally from Germany, so studying there would not be a problem. However, I might choose somewhere other than my motherland since I love traveling and getting to know other cultures. What’s more exciting is getting the opportunity to adapt to them! But, Neela, we can still take a train and find an awesome city to conquer together! We’ll have all the men at our feet while we shop, right?

On another note, since I haven’t been posting that often, let’s get down to business folks. Right now I’m sitting at a new coffeeshop that opened up where I live. They’re concept is really neat -

“…offers the best in delicious, organic, fair trade coffee, served up by our excellent baristas, using state-of-the-art equipment. To go with it, we’ve got a fantastic menu, packed with both sweet and savory fare and using the freshest organic ingredients. And while you’re savoring the coffee and the food, we invite you to jump on our free wireless, and to enjoy entertainment, classes and activities.“

The coffeeshop is actually an extension of a local healthfood store that really pushes the idea of supporting local farmers and making less of an imprint on our environment, while taking our health into consideration.

Let’s see… where to begin? Oh I know! The first and most important meal of the day. It also happens to be my favorite!

Toast for breakfast!
Toast for breakfast!

I was always jealous of my roommates toast always smelling so good. How come mine didn’t smell so good? I think it’s because I usually have the super grainy kind of bread. The other day when I went to the store, I knew I was running really low on cereal, and I knew yogurt was on sale for $1.88 for 32 oz. Then I spotted the one. Meet my new love, cinnamon raisin swirl toast. Well, not really a new love, just a forgotten one. This morning I smeared some whipped butter on one slice and coconut oil on the other. Then I sprinkled on some extra cinnamon. This time I was the one making the roommates wonder where that heavenly smell was coming from. One of the toasts even got Hello Kitty burnt on it. In the bowl I had plain yogurt, sliced banana, homemade blueberry jam, flaxseed and a crumbled honey graham stick. Thank JB for reminding me of how yummy blueberries and banana are together!

I was also inspired, yet again, by the hilarious Jess! For real girl, keep doing your thang. You’ve got an ability to make people smile and laugh!

A wrap that I would like to say was muy delicioso!
A wrap that I would like to say was muy delicioso!

In the wrap was a random veggieburger, Trader Joe’s corn salsa, mayo, and carrots. On the side I steamed some cauliflower and doused it with nutritional yeast and red pepper flakes. Spicy!

I also munched on this!
I also munched on this!

I discovered something wonderful at the bottom of this bag. Besides some of the sugar granules that managed to sprinkle off the nuts, I found raspberry jelly bits! More PB&A goodness right there.

Mini wraps!
Mini wraps!

I was low on groceries so I checked our freezer and I found some chick’n strips that I think have been forgotten. So here’s what I decided to do… I heated up some wraps on the skillet (notice the burn marks). Then I spread some Triple-Layer hummus, topped it with spinach, chick’n strips cooked in tamarind-date chutney, and smeared some Duke’s mayonnaise all over. I didn’t exactly wrap these babies… I just folded them over and got to work eating. I know mayonnaise makes some people cringe. But there are so many varieties now: cholesterol-free, vegan, light, and even with added omega-3′s! Today I was mulling over a menu and I read “sun-dried tomato mayo”. My food processor and I will soon get to crackin’. Now if I could get my hands on some Delouis.

I found another wonderful item at the local grocery store the other day. I browsed through the bakery items and found just the thing!

I had them slice it for me.
I had them slice it for me.

Once I’m at my new place and I feel more freedom to do things in the kitchen, I’m going to start baking my own bread again. When I first moved into my current place I would bake Irish soda bread weekly. However, I felt like my baking skills were being taken advantage of and I stopped baking things all together. This is why when I go home to Florida you might notice that I take full of advantage of the kitchen and my love for cooking and baking. I’m going to stop thinking of buying good quality items as a splurge. It tastes better and it just makes me feel more content about my meal. Why not make everyday special, you know?

A big salad with baby spinach, Hanover tomatoes (THE BEST), avocado, roasted chickpeas, and a sweet honey dijon dressing.
A big salad with baby spinach, Hanover tomatoes (THE BEST), avocado, roasted chickpeas, and a sweet honey dijon dressing.

I roasted the chickpeas in ground cinnamon, powdered onion, honey, and a bit of soy sauce. This smelled so good! Alongside my salad I had some slices of bread with the Three-Layer hummus and a baby slice with avocado!

Something similar for lunch the next day.
Something similar for lunch the next day.

However I buttered my bread and put some minced garlic on it then grilled it.

I scooped some of the chickpeas and tomatoes on the toast and it was so yummy.
I scooped some of the chickpeas and tomatoes on the toast and it was so yummy.

For dinner I wanted to use the chickpeas for something other than a salad.

I wanted something a bit more filling, but still refreshing.
I wanted something a bit more filling, but still refreshing.

I steamed some rice with basil. I dumped the rest of my chickpeas in my bowl of rice and mixed in chopped raw carrots and tomatoes. While the rice was still steaming I stirred in the essential coconut oil. Can’t go a day without it! This was exactly what my tummy was hoping for!

IMG_6540
I also had a cup of Chinese Green Monkey Tea.

I have some exciting plans coming up next week! Besides my move-in date being tragically postponed till Monday, my friend, Liz, will be arriving on Wednesday. Get ready for some serious adventures you guys. This girl has got spunk, sass, and all that jazz. She’s a New Yorker, what can I say? She’s staying till the 9th and I’ll be heading back up with her. I haven’t decided how long I’ll be staying though. So if you guys have any recommendations of places for me to go to (not limited to foodie things) let me know. Oh! And if anyone wants to go on a date that would be nice too! I like to call them dates because it just makes it sound more exciting hehe.

I want some Lucky Candy! Anyone want a piece?
I want some Lucky Candy! Anyone want a piece?

If you haven’t checked it out yet there’s a very interesting contest going on at the Special K Treatment. Go take a look before it’s too late!

Also, Mia was kind enough to honor me with a blog award. I’ve never received one before so this is definitely something special. And thank you so much! Now I have to fulfill the duty as a lovely blogger and pass it on to other lovely ones.

Oh gosh, do I have to choose? I totally suck at this kind of thing because I love everyone’s blog that I follow, or else why would I be reading it?

Neela, Mitri, Nicole, Kelsey, JB, Cate, Gillian, Katie, Brittany, the Brookes, Jess, K, Janetha, Emily, Jenny, Monica, Lauren, Lynn, and Holly. Okay I went over 15… and I could keep going. You seriously are all so wonderful and I can imagine you guys are just as radiant, if not more, in person as you are in your blogs.

p.s. For all you chia people out there, I stumbled upon this recipe that’s perfect for the summertime.

Chia Fresca

1 glass of lemonade

1 tsp Chia Seeds

1. Combine chia seeds and lemonade. Shake or stir. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until chia seeds swell. Enjoy this delicious and healthy chia fresca.

2. Chia fresca can also be made by soaking the chia seeds for 10 minutes separately in a glass of water. Then combine the chia seed gel with any flavored water or juice for an exciting different flavor of chia fresca.

Bet you didn’t think Chia seeds could be had as a refreshing lemonade, huh?

Take care all and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. I’ve got to refill my iced tea and Matilda’s water bowl because it’s just one of those hot summer days!