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!

mini vacation, Apple Crisp tester muffins

Tomorrow we are off to Florida for a mini vacation! Jared is riding in a bike race in St. Pete on Saturday and I'm tagging along to visit my family who live in Tampa (St. Pete is only a bridge away from Tampa). It'll be cool to hang out with my dad and step mom, doing what we do best: cooking, talking about cooking, watching cooking shows. With all the crazy stuff going on with me trying to get into school and Jared surviving tax week, it will be a well deserved break from real life. Plus I get to see my sister, brother-in-law and new baby nephew Gabriel! I might even get to see my little brother, who is attending U.S.F, which are both mine and Jared's Alma mater and where we met.
As I mentioned before, I am a recipe tester for Happy Herbivore. Since we will be gone this weekend, I had to test the Apple Crisp Muffins before I left . . . plus, we do need a snack for the long car ride tomorrow (which is about 7-8 hours). I seem to be stuck on her muffins, which is a good thing because I love muffins!

Quick Trip to Jacksonville, Fla

Jared's family is from and around the Jacksonville area in Florida and we decided to take a short trip to see them this weekend for Easter. Jared's family is always a lot of fun, especially his Grandmom, who we are staying with. Apparently, there will be tons of relatives in Jacksonville this weekend, some of which I haven't even met yet! I think typical Easter fare in his family (like a lot of families) is spiral ham with sides loaded with milk and butter products. No surprise, Jared and I are more than likely going to be the only vegans celebrating this weekend, so I have made a few things to take with us so we can enjoy a meal with family without having to stress.
I made my very first Roasted Tofurky, which I basted in olive oil, soy sauce and fresh sage. Jared has made this roast before and loves it. If it tastes as good as it smells, I know I'll love it too.

For sides, I made roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary & thyme, garlic and olive oil, as well as fresh steamed green beans.


For a sweet treat, and to warm over wary non-vegans, I also made some of my chocolate chip pecan cookies, which is always a huge hit.

I am also bringing cereal and soymilk for breakfast and a raw nut mixture of cashews, almonds, pecans and pistachios.
I hope everyone has a Happy Easter and a lovely weekend with friends and family!

Happy Valentine's Day!

On this Valentine's Day, I'll share a photo of Jared and I when we went to Seattle for our honeymoon 3 years ago. We also rented a car and drove down to Portland, which was also very nice. We weren't vegan then, so we would love to go back to Seattle and Portland as vegans. I love this picture because we got the perfect skyline with the Space Needle, downtown and Mount Rainier. The sun was setting, so it was just a perfect moment. Plus we were smiley newlyweds!

Sweetpea (the dog) and Peeny (the cat) also wish you a Happy Valentine's Day. They are forever life partner cuddle bugs (they really do spoon like this when it's cold out).

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.

flight cancelled

Even though my flight was postponed until tomorrow, I still think snow is beautiful. At least I'm not stranded at some airport.

I got to hang out with Jared one more day (he's about to throw a snow ball).

I also got to build my first snow person. I'm not sure if this is a snowman or snow woman but they have strawberry eyes and a carrot nose. Jared thinks this is a snowman and the twig is a moustache. I think it could be a snow woman who is frowning.

vegan travels

I am flying to Tampa tomorrow to see my family and new baby nephew. This will be the first time I will be flying and having to wait at airports as a vegan. So, knowing that airports are full of fast food chains and not so great snack options at the gift shops, I am going prepared. Initially, I didn't expect to pack so much food BUT it might snow tomorrow (definitely gonna rain), so I wanted to be prepared for any flight delays. I have my laptop with loads of good music, this wonderful book I'm reading called Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong by James W. Loewen and this lovely spread of goodies including Japanese Rice Snacks, Animal Cookies, homemade cheezy crackers and a throw together mix I made out of dried cranberries, raw cashews, roasted almonds and dried coconut chunks. I am prepared in case the mood strikes me for something sweet, crunchy, salty or just in need for a little protein.

Here's hoping to no flight delays. Now I see why snow is frustrating for those who get it all the time!

a hearty breakfast for a day in the mountains

The mountains ARE my favorite place to be of all of this beautiful world's settings (this may change as I travel more, but for now, that's it). I've mentioned before that I spent most summers with my Grammie and Poppie in the house (which they built themselves!) in the mountains of Tennessee, so my love for the mountains started there. Jared and I live about 2 hours away from decent mountains in Georgia. Not having enough time to go back to my stomping grounds in Tennessee this weekend, we decided to take a quick afternoon trip up in Fort Mountain National Park for a little nostalgic nudge to my summers spent and a hike since it was gorgeous out.
No hike should begin without a very hearty breakfast, not something I am generally used to. Since I hadn't had tofu in a while, I decided to make my VERY FIRST TOFU SCRAMBLE!!! I guess I should mention also that my darling Jared bought me a copy of the Yellow Rose Recipes cookbook (which can be ordered at Cosmo's), which is where I got the spice blend idea for the scramble. Except for the spices, I didn't follow the recipe 100% but it turned out well. Our scramble had red peppers and onions cooked for a few minutes until soften and two veggie sausage patties chunked up. I set the peppers, onions and veggie sausage chucks off to the side. Next for the tofu, I sprayed my pan with Olive oil spray and let the tofu firm and crisp up. Once they were cooked I used a few shakes of the book's Tofu Scramble seasoning mix recipe, along with a couple splashes of soy sauce. I add the peppers, onions and veggie sausage chunks back in with the now seasoned tofu. I also used my new cookbook's technique for making homefries, which included parboiling the potatoes the night before and chopping, browning and seasoning the next morning. I added salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and dried rosemary in ours. Jared said they were his favorite! I also served sliced avocado and a small bowl of the last of the sliced strawberries.
Jared's plate filled up! He had his strawberries in a bowl off to the side.

My plate's more modest portions were able to fit my berries on the plate.

So, full bellies and all, we headed to the mountains.
This first picture was at a lookout going up the mountain towards the park. It just is so peaceful for me to be able to see and feel the mountains again.

Jared and I at a waterfall we came upon on the hiking trail. If it was warmer, I would have stuck my feet in!

Jared being my Mountain Man, although holding MY hiking stick (I found along the way the start of the hike. Isn't nature cool!) as his prop. He's goofy like that!

Lastly, this was me checking out this lovely lush green carpet-like moss on some cool rocks.
Notice, I got my hiking stick back!

eatin', hangin' & a bread machine

Jared and I went to Florida for Thanksgiving and it was a whirlwind trip. We got to Ocala, Fl to spend Thanksgiving Day with my grandparents, dad and step mom. We left Atlanta so early that by the time we got to Ocala, I was delirious and forgot to photograph the food I brought. We had garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, corn and banana bread. It wasn't the best spread I ever put out but it was more about having a meal with my family. After we ate, we headed down to Tampa and stayed with my dad and step mom. Besides all the good eats at the house, we made a trip to one of Jared's favorite restaurants in Tampa called Trang (sorry, no website), which is a Vietnamese place with two full pages of vegan options!
I wasn't super hungry so I got three appetizers including wonton soup, sesame lemongrass "beef" and spring rolls (which weren't very pretty).


On Saturday, my sister Erin had her baby shower. The shower was at a Mexican restaurant called Red Mesa. The menu was lacking vegan selections but I spoke with the staff and they made me a bean burrito with enchilada sauce on top and a side of roasted corn, red peppers and spinach. I also added some guacamole and it was very tasty! I was so wrapped up in the shower activities that I forgot to take a picture of my food but I did happen to snap a picture of my step mom and sister.

Besides hangin' out with all my family, I also scored a barely used bread machine my dad bought at a garage sale. He got it a while back and has been teasing me about a kitchen gadget he had for me when I came to visit. I was totally thinking it was a garlic press or something small like that and then he brought out this super fancy bread machine. I am one happy girl!

As soon as I got home I made a loaf of whole wheat agave sunflower seed bread. Yum!!!