Orientation Smoothie Shake, Bikes!

**Update** Jared has informed me he put his break back on his bike.

I am not one to eat breakfast when I wake up but I have my orientation this morning at the college and know I'll need something in my belly to help me pay attention. I made a very filling smoothie shake out of vanilla soymilk, a frozen banana and a handful of frozen strawberries. I seriously doubt the campus will have any thing to munch on today and the orientation lasts about 4 hours, so I may have to pack a snack.

Oh, and I also wanted to show off our bikes. We went biking in downtown Decatur on the Trail this past weekend and had a lot of fun. It's starting to get hot though!
My bike is the pink Schwinn cruiser bike and Jared's is the orange IRO fixed gear/no break. I'm thinking about selling my cruiser bike and getting a fixed gear myself, although I personally would like to have a break on mine. Jared is super into bikes, so it would be a nice hobby for us to share together. You can check out Jared's blog here.

I love this picture of Jared!

Kitchen Clean Out = Beans & Rice

Spring-cleaning has still got a hold of me! The past few days I have been throwing clutter away (which is really, really hard for me) and reorganizing the whole apartment. Part of my reorganization plan is cleaning out the kitchen cabinets/fridge and using up items that I know are getting a bit old.
On my last trip to Tampa, my Dad shared his pillow-sized sack of jasmine rice with us, so I needed to use my old supply. We also have way too many dried beans (if there is such a thing) and so I decided to make plain old black beans with rice, with a side of fried plantains and an avocado tomato salad. The beans were cooked in water, garlic, onion, olive oil, dried oregano and sofrito (that has been lurking in my fridge for way too long) for a few hours. The beans weren't nearly as good as my Dad's but they filled me up none the less. The rice wasn't all that. I don't think my (almost always) trusty steamer cooked the rice very well. It was a tad on the al dente side, which is not a good feature in rice. The avocado and tomato salad was simply an avocado, tomato, red onion, red wine vinegar, salt and olive oil. The plantains were perfectly sweet and fried in canola oil. Dessert and side dish all in one!
Since I have been so busy with stuff around the house, this meal not only got rid of a few items in my kitchen but also gave me a much needed energy boost.

Grapefruit Marmalade: A Total Failure

I'm sad to report that grapefruit marmalade is probably the worst thing I've ever made. I've had homemade grapefruit marmalade before, so I know it can be a great success but the batch I made tasted like we were eating aspirin like you'd eat candy. In short, it was the most bitter thing ever to touch my taste buds. Jared couldn't even pretend to like it and he is usually very excited about anything I make. It was so bad, I won't bother to tell you how I made it . . . just know it's not around the house anymore. The worst part is, the recipe used a TON of sugar. It was also a 2 day process and required a lot of stirring over a hot stove. I feel so wasteful tossing it, but there was no way we could choke it down. Anyway, I can cross that off my list of things to do to use up grapefruit. You've been warned!

What a shame, huh?

the Sunshine State

Jared and I got back from another one of our quick and fully packed Florida weekend trips. Jared did great in the bike race in St. Pete but did manage to get a bit sunburned in the strangest places like on the very tops of his knees, the back of one of his calves, and the top of his left hand. I guess it makes sense if you think about what is exposed when you ride a bike. Sunburns aren't funny, but it is a little comical to see him with random red patches and not in the usual spots like his face or arms.
We stayed with my dad and step mom the whole trip, which always means loads of good food. Unfortunately, I only took pictures of the last meal we had together and only because my dad reminded me. My baby nephew, Gabriel, was an adorable distraction. I got to hang out with sister, Erin, all day Saturday but my poor brother-in-law, Mike, had to work, so I only got to see him for a short time at dinner. While I didn't get to meet up with my busy little brother, I did get to see my Aunt Jennie, who brought the most lovely homegrown nasturtiums. If you have never had nasturtiums, they are a peppery edible flower. They look gorgeous on any plate, but I think they are the most beautiful in salads.
Our last meal on Saturday night was a mostly vegan Southern veggie plate. The vegan items we had included: squash, pole beans, vinaigrette coleslaw, baked sweet potatoes, tomato slices and marinated cucumbers. I also added an orange nasturtium to my plate. The only non-vegan thing made was cornbread, of which I of course didn't eat a piece of. For dessert, my dad and I made a vegan apple crisp and of course, I forgot to take a picture of it. I was very proud that my family ate a mostly vegetarian, if not a vegan, diet while we were in town. (This isn't the best picture because the lighting wasn't ideal for these shades.)

On our way back to Atlanta, we stopped to see my Grammie and Poppie, who live near Ocala, Florida. As usual, they unloaded a TON of fresh grapefruit from their trees (aren't we so lucky???). Somehow we managed to bring home 2 huge shopping bags packed to the brim with grapefruit. In fact, if you live in or around Atlanta, let me know if you'd like a few (leave me a message and we will try to meet up with you, if I know you). We have more than we could ever eat. I'm not sure what I am going to do with them other than juice or eat them, but I see sorbet in my future. If anyone has any grapefruit ideas, let me know! We have more than double than this picture shows.

For breakfast, I just cut off all the skin and cubed one up. It was super juicy, a bit sour and a little sweet. It was essentially, the best grapefruit!

farmers market loot, bruschetta, tester muffins

Since Jared was working on his bike today, I went to the farmers market. I always forget how much I dislike that place on the weekend until I am already there. It gets so packed and people have no rhyme or reason in the parking lot or navigating in the aisles. A normal 30-minute trip took me about an hour and a half!!! I am already someone who doesn't like crowds, so I didn't enjoy myself as I usually do when I go on a weekday. We desperately needed some fresh produce, so it was worth it, I suppose. I got a lot more stuff than in this picture but I just liked the way this picture turned out, so I'm sharing it. I LOVE the Chinese eggplant. It's seriously one of my favorite things right now. It doesn't have too many seeds and is a gorgeous purple when raw and kinda has a blue hue to it when it is cooked. I also scored some basil, which is always great. Also pictured is some parsley, tomatoes, a sweet onion, orange and green bell peppers, avocado and bananas.

For some reason I haven't had the biggest appetite lately so I ended up just making bruschetta tonight for dinner. My version has Roma tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, sugar, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I got the French bread from the farmers market and toasted it up with a little olive oil. One of my all time favorite simple spring/summer meals.

I am happy to report that I am a recipe tester for a cookbook Happy Herbivore is writing. The first recipe I tested (for her or anyone other than myself) was the Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins.

It is super exciting to help contribute to someone's culinary ventures. I can't wait to see what I get to make next!!! Stay tuned.

break from a very trying day

UGH! Getting into school is so frustrating. I don't even know how I handled this the first time I went to college at 17/18 years old. I was informed today I gotta do a million more things despite thinking I had everything in order to get in this summer. I'll spare you the details but I ran into a roadblock with my transcripts, in state tuition petition and can't get the same answer from different "advisers" letting me know exactly what I need or don't need to take to get into the nursing program. Anyway, I've been stressed and haven't felt like cooking, or even eating for that matter. I know I need to keep my head clear to deal with this Dilbert-esque college, so, to clean out my fridge and get a power punch of nutrients, I made a veggie plate for dinner tonight. I roasted a head of cauliflower with olive oil, salt and Herbes de Province as well as a broccoli spears and a bunch of asparagus in olive oil, salt and black pepper. Needing some comfort, I also made some smashed potatoes with an Earth Balance, garlic, maple syrup and nutritional yeast sauce.

For dessert, my favorite fruit in the world, WATERMELON!!!!
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I can always count on my sister Erin to send me pics of my adorable nephew, Gabriel. He always makes me smile, even on the worst of days.

the BEST strawberry pie, ever

I have already informed Leigh from Raspberry Swirl that it is her fault that I made this particular pie today. After all, she brought this No-Bake Strawberry Pie to the potluck yesterday. The recipe is from this adorable zine called Papa Tofu by Kittee (Cake Maker to the Stars) and it is probably one of the best pies I have ever had. It kinda tastes like a cheesecake with serious strawberry action. The pie is basic but does have a few steps that make it interesting to make.
First, I made her piecrust (which does requiring baking). I couldn't find my pie pan, so I used a 9-inch cake pan and it worked just fine.

While the crust baked, I made the strawberry jam (that's right HOMEMADE jam) topping so that it could be cooling at the same time as the crust. I also whipped up the Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese and let it set out to so it wouldn't be so hard to spread on the cooled crust.

These beautiful strawberries were sliced while the crust and jam cooled and the cream cheese was brought to room temperature.

With the piecrust cooled, the crust bottom was slathered with cream cheese.

Next the sliced strawberries were arranged on the cream cheese layer. I didn't get a great pattern, but hey, if about the taste in the end!

Last, the strawberry jam was poured over the whole pie. I kinda wish the strawberries were peaking through more than they did but I wasn't about to waste any of this amazing jam.

Don't you want a slice?

Then you need to buy this zine. Look how cute it is!

However, if you need to make this pie like right now, Kittee was kind enough to post the recipe here.

Very Berry Vodka Sorbet

It got kinda hot here in Atlanta today, upper 70's (just the day before it was in the 30's, so that's a big change) and I was wanting a fruity/icy but not at all creamy treat. I wanted something to appease my sweet tooth and cool me down in the rising temperatures both trapped inside the kitchen and outside with spring fully upon us. First thing to come to mind: SORBET!
I learned that the trick to keeping a sorbet less icy and keeping it from forming into a solid rock, alcohol can be added since alcohol doesn't freeze and allows the mixture to remain a bit soft.

Very Berry Vodka Sorbet
1 cup of water
1 cup of natural sugar
12-14 ounce bag of Frozen mixed berries. My mix almost always has strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. If you wanna use other frozen fruit like peaches or cherries you could, you'd just need to adjust the sweetness depending on those fruits.
Juice from 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon high quality Vodka

First, make simple syrup in a small sauce pan by combining the sugar and the water together. Heat over medium heat until sugar is totally dissolved. Do not boil the simple syrup since it will take longer to cool. The point here is to just dissolve the sugar into the water.
In a large mixing bowl, add the frozen berries (not thawed) and pour lemon juice over the berries, stirring to ensure an equal coating of lemon juice hits each fruit. Next, pour the simple syrup over the lemoned berries. This will slightly warm the frozen berries, but the berries will have a frozen center still. With an immersion blender, blend everything (EXPECT the Vodka) together until all the skins are pulverized. With a fine mesh strainer, strain out the seeds from the base into a bowl and refrigerate until it is nice and cold (a couple hours for best results).
Once mixture is cold, follow your Ice Kream machine's suggested instructions for sorbet. My machine ran for about 20 minutes and then I drizzled in 1 tablespoon of vodka into the base while it was spinning. I let it spin for about another 5 minutes to ensure the vodka was mixed in well.
Eat it right away or store it in the freezer in a bowl with a tightly fitted lid so it doesn't get freezer burn.

Black Bean Soup, Fruit Salad

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't been feeling all that great. I'm congested, have a nasty cough and a bit of a sore throat. Since Saturday, I haven't been too excited about being in the kitchen but wanted to use up some of the produce I got last week. To soothe me, I decided to make a simple and quick Black Bean soup and Fruit Salad for dessert.
The Black Bean Soup had black beans (dried that were soaked over night and cooked), red onion, garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper, chipotle powder and veggie stock. I mashed up the beans with a potato masher and added the veggie stock until it got to a soupy consistency. I topped the soup with quartered cherry tomatoes and avocado that was left over from the sandwiches I made for our picnic this past weekend. Very comforting!

The Fruit Salad was super easy. I just diced up a golden delicious apple and mango and coated them with juice from half a lemon and then threw in the blackberries, blueberries and cut up strawberries. I think fruit based treats are my favorite way to end to any meal.

Signs of Spring

True signs of spring for us are tax season, picnics and allergies.
As I've mentioned before, Jared works as a stockbroker. Under normal circumstances, it can be a stressful job. Throw in tax season and Jared's job can be down right bad. This week ended especially awful for Jared, so I made him one of the first things he eyed in My Sweet Vegan: Peanut Butter Bombs!!! Okay, okay, I had one or two myself and they were good, but Jared really needed them, I swear! Little did he know, I had a great Saturday planned too. (Sorry for the blurry pic, we were hypnotised by these delicious and naughty treats.)

I decided to surprise Jared with a picnic. For Saturday's picnic, I made some lower fat potato salad on Friday night. That's right, lower fat potato salad. Yes, I did use Yukon gold potatoes and a little Vegenaise BUT to make a very creamy dressing for the potato salad I used soy milk and lemon juice. The lemon juice thickened the soymilk and gave it a tangy bite. I also added celery, grated onion, mustard, salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence. Of course, Jared saw the potato salad and got into it when he got home from work Friday so I told him of our picnic plans.

Saturday morning came and I surprised Jared with breakfast in bed. I made him banana waffles with mixed fresh berries and maple syrup. I first let the blackberries, blueberries and strawberries macerate in maple syrup while I made the waffle batter.

I made the Banana Nut waffles from Veganomicon, minus the nuts. On top I added the mixed berries with maple syrup and little whipped Earth Balance. These were so good.

After breakfast and lounging around a bit, I made sandwiches for our picnic lunch. I got some ciabatta rolls from the farmers market and slathered homemade pesto that I made with that lovely basil in my last post. I used the pesto recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I also added cucumber, avocado (just a little), red onion and tomato.

So, we packed up our food, blanket and dog Sweetpea and headed over to Grant Park. We couldn't have asked for a better day. It was in the upper 60's and very sunny.


There was also these beautiful flowers surrounding us, (which I think were actually weeds . . . but, hey, sometimes weeds have the prettiest flowers) that reminded me that allergy season is around the corner.

Sure signs of spring, maybe, but I am feeling like a cold is in the making so winter may very well still have it's grip on me. Hopefully, it is just allergies come early.

Happy and Amazed

I went to the farmers market today to stock up on produce and bulk items. I got a TON of food for only about $50. There is no way I could go to any grocery store and get all the beautiful herbs, fruits, veggies and grocery items for $50. In fact it'd probably be double that! I have been to the farmers market probably a hundred times by now and I am still amazed by this place! I get such quality and quantity for so cheap.
Starting with these beautiful herbs, I got a huge bunch of basil, a big bunch of parsley and a small bunch of cilantro for $3. I have already washed and bagged the herbs and I got about 4 packed cups of basil. WOW! I am making pesto with it for veggie sandwiches tomorrow and I am going to freeze the rest for future use.

I have been eating a lot of fruit lately because some of my favorites have been the cheapest they've been in a while. Today I restocked our apple supply (not all pictured) with Empire, Gala and Golden Delicious varieties. I also got blueberries (2 packages), strawberries, blackberries, bananas and a mango. The fruit cost $17 but I did buy a lot of apples since they were 20% off.

Jared and I cook a lot on the weekends, so most of these veggies will be used by Monday. We tend to do a lot of veggie plates, sandwiches and pasta or bean dishes on the weekends. Today I got zucchini, broccoli, ginger, asparagus, carrots, avocados, cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic, green onions, kale and a green bell pepper. All of these veggies came out to be $13.

Lastly, I picked up a few pantry/fridge items including locally made tofu, tempeh, tofu crumbles, soy milk, sesame oil, organic whole wheat pastry flour, organic spelt flour, organic whole rye flour and organic dried black beans. This all came out to be $18. I see tofu crumble tacos with black beans and brown rice in our future.

I'm BAaacckk and I've been Baking!

It's Lori and I'm back! I went to the doctor today and was told no surgery was needed for my elbow/arm fracture and that I do not have to wear a cast or a splint . . . just a sling when I venture out. Turns out I broke my arm in a good spot (if there is such a thing) where I heal faster and better with movement. In fact, they said that if I DON'T move my arm, I could actually do permanent damage. It feels weird to move it and I am still in a lot of pain but I was told to get home and start using my arm (no heavy lifting though).
I have so wanted to get back in the kitchen. It was nice to have my own gourmet chef making whatever my heart desired but cooking is my hobby so it was killing me being on the sidelines. I made two treats already today, although my arm is telling me to take it easy, so it might be the only things I make today.
I made the Banana Blueberry Muffins from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. So Yummy! Notice the crack in the muffin . . . in honor of my poor broken wing.

I also made a loaf of really great bread that had flax meal, sunflower seeds, walnuts and dried cranberries. I had a tofurky sandwich and it tasted like Thanksgiving in sandwich form. After all, I am thankful I don't need surgery.

I <3 the Farmers Market

I think I am seriously in love with the The DeKalb Farmers Market. It is a warehouse sized building packed to the brim with loads of wonderful things. They do carry meats, fish and dairy BUT they also carry a huge selection of soy milks/yogurts/margarines, faux meats, organic produce, loads of international foods and the name brand grocery items you'd find at Whole Foods for way cheaper. Basically, it’s my version of heaven (you know, when you take away the non-vegan stuff). They also have several kinds of nut butter machines (such as cashew, almond and peanut), a very lovely cut flower section, fresh coffee, a deli with olives and various pickled items, a bakery with lots of vegan breads/muffins/bagels and a wine/beer section with quite a few organic choices. One thing I really, really love about this Farmers Market is the bulk items they have. Think of just about any dried fruit, nut, seed, spice, grain, bean or snack you'd like and they have it already bagged and reasonably priced (and most of the time organic). Another cool thing is that they have a HUGE recycle center in the parking lot so I always bring my recyclables and drop them off before shopping! So, if you are ever in Atlanta, this is a must go to place. The best time to go is in the mornings or the afternoons during the week (the weekends are PACKED). Oh yeah, and they have a fantastic cold salad bar and hot bar with lots of vegan items for lunch and dinner (open 11 a.m til 8 p.m.) but a lot of people go there during lunch. I had lunch there at about 1 p.m. today and it was still full of people on their lunch breaks. I got a plate full of salad and some tofu from the hot bar and it was under $3! Now on to the groceries!
The veggie items I got included white creamer potatoes (20% off), fresh herb packet with rosemary, thyme and sage, cauliflower, zucchini, green onions, an English cucumber, garlic, shallots, a red onion, daikon radishes, Roma tomatoes, asparagus (really cheap!) and carrots. All of the veggies were about $15 and mostly organic!

The fruits included organic bananas, Granny Smith apples, Empire apples, Gala apples, Fortune apples, a lime and a few lemons. All of these fruits added up to about $7 (all the apples were discounted by 20%).

Finally, the bulk/grocery items included organic pearled barley, organic dried kidney beans, organic almonds, nutritional yeast, Herbes de Provence (for 68 cents!), garlic salt, red Thai curry paste, organic canned whole peeled tomatoes, organic canned tomato sauce, organic canned diced tomatoes, dried cranberries and organic dried garbanzo beans. This stuff was the priciest coming in at around $25 but most of these items will last a very long time.

As you can tell, today's trip to the Farmers Market was basically to restock my pantry, counter tops and fridge. I think I did pretty good coming in at around $50 and I got to have a delicious meal before I shopped.

Juice Fast/Detox

Jared and I are getting into better shape and wanted to give our bodies a day off from having to break down food. So, for the past week we have been prepping our fridge/kitchen to do a one day juice fast today. It doesn't sound very ambitious but juice fasts are tough if you are use to eating whenever and whatever you like.
I've posted about juicing before, so today I'm just sharing what I call my Juice Feast Buffet. The easiest way to be a juicer is to be prepared by washing and cutting the fruits and veggies (that won't turn brown) a head of time. To make juicing a breeze, I prepared two over flowing plates of prepared or nearly prepared fruits and veggies to have ready all day. You should really drink homemade juices at room temperature since you get the full flavor and usage of nutrients at this stage, so I am keeping everything out on the counter top.
Plate #1 is my Greener On the Other Side plate. It has parsley, green onions, cabbage, cucumber, broccoli stems, romaine lettuce, celery, garlic, ginger and green bell pepper.

Plate #2 is my Sweeter Than Pie plate. It has beets, beet greens, carrots, granny smith apple, red apple (not sure the kind), tomatoes and lemon.

Since you should never eat OR drink something too sweet on an empty stomach (screws up your blood sugar/insulin levels), Jared and I made up our own versions of V8s for breakfast. Mine had tomato, celery, cabbage, carrots, beets and their greens, cucumber, green bell pepper and parsley. Jared's had broccoli stems, parsley, carrots, beets with their greens, celery, ginger, cabbage and cucumber.

back from sunny Florida

Well, it was a whirlwind trip. I managed to see about 15 family members and most of my old co-workers (which is a LOT) in seven days time. It was fun but I'm glad I am back in Atlanta with Jared, Sweetpea, Peeny and the colder weather.
First things first: I got to meet my new nephew Gabriel. He is a cuddle bug! He's winking at you.

I got to hang with my dad watching cooking shows, talking about, making and eating food. Always fun!

I managed to still eat beans everyday while on vacation.
My dad made this white bean stew which was very tasty.

I also made this very colorful salad with my famous House Dressing.

I did make these naughty cookies for myself and the family:

But I justified a few cookies since I was eating some of my Grammie and Poppie's lovely pink grapefruit from their trees.