Friday night is pizza night!

MUST TRY THAI CHICKEN PIZZA FROM TRADER JOE'S WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!
Found here: http://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=28
Add a little Siracha and YAY-YA!
oops, we forgot carrots!

Ellie likes!

Memories of Mexico- Best Recipe EVER.

Mat and I received a sack of sweet potatoes as a parting gift upon leaving Ohio over Christmas. Since then, I have been racking my brain to figure out what to make.. Yes, there are so many sweet potato recipes (casseroles, pies, fries, etc.), but I wanted to do something savory that I could use as a main dish.

Along with some *fabulous* tips from Chicago's own, Rick Bayless, here is what I made today (and it's clearly amaze-balls):

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Taquitos (baked-not fried, son!)

Makes 12 (perfectly... surprisingly)
Serves 4 (3 each filled both Mat and I)

You will need:

• 2 LARGE, nearly jumbo sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 can of whole black beans, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning (Trader Joe's is by far the ruler)
• A few dashes of salt

• 12 corn tortillas (I like Milagro- they are make local and are about 29 cents at Jewel) 
• cooking spray

The fixin's include:

• cheese (dairy/soy/almond/rice.. etc.)
• sour cream (dairy or soy)
• salsa
• diced avocado or homemade guacamole

To do:

• Bake sweet potatoes at 425-450 for about an hour (you will know when they are done)

• Once, cool enough peel potatoes into a bowl. Add black beans, seasoning and salt. 

•  Meanwhile... Lightly spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray, and stick in the still warm oven. This is Rick Bayless at his finest. This oil technique prevent the tortillas from crumbling when rolling the little guys up. Leave in oven for about 5 minutes. When you remove them turn the oven up to 425.

• Dollop about 2 tablespoons of filling onto each tortilla. 

• Roll 'em up! Hold them together with a toothpick, if necessary. 

• Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Take them out and serve with "the fixin's" on top.

 

Wa-bam!!!!!!!!!! 

Full of protein and fiber- Just what you need!

Surprise!

2011 was a rough year, as evidenced by my blogging failures and many other things. I have struggled to get into a routine. I am adjusting to the world without school, and working a regular old 9-5.

On that note..

High hopes for 2012.

I'm baaaaaaaaaa-ack.


I have developed a Care Plan for myself, since this is something I do every 45 days for my clients.. I feel as though we should all have one for ourselves.

This year's goals include:

• Blogging on a regular basis
• Training for a 1/2 marathon.
• Saving for a new car
• Recipe creating
• Crafting
• Visiting Mom and Dad in Arizona
• Taking a vacation with my main squeeze

Raspberry, Lemonade, Strawberry Popsicle!

Too much work for something too strange.

I saw a recipe today for chocolate chip cookies made from hard-boiled eggs. It immediately made the 3 cups of coffee I had just consumed travel quickly up into my mouth, as well as making me yelp loudly in my closet of an office.
Has anyone ever heard or tired such a thing?
First off, why would you go through the motions of making the hard boiled eggs just to bake them in cookies? Raw eggs bake up just fine, right?
Secondly, WHY? It's just weird. I mean, I'm cool with weird, but that's really weird.

Perhaps, this is because I am on the fence about eggs in general. I like them because I know they are a really good start to the day in regards of protein, but the taste is sometimes funky and I am not a fan of them in baked goods. They kind of remind of of wet dog.

On another note, today is 8th grade graduation at my internship. I get to sit through the 2-hour dress rehearsal in about 10 minutes. I distinctly remember my 8th grade graduation. I also remember that afterwards we went to Pronto in Royal Oak to eat!
Let's hope I do not cry. I'll miss you Rhodes School.

Saturday night with the Food Network.

Tyler Florence's Steamed Asian Greens with Honey Soy Sesame Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds spinach, baby bok choy Chinese broccoli, or a combination
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
• ~1 tsp. red chili sauce added to recipe

Directions

Pour about 1-inch of water into a wok and bring it to a boil over high heat. Put the greens into a bamboo steamer and cover. Put the steamer into the wok and steam the vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they are just tender. Meanwhile make the dressing by combining the soy sauce vinegar, honey, oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds in a small bowl. Put the cooked greens onto a serving platter, drizzle the dressing over them, and toss well to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately. 

I stir-fried the greens with celery, carrots and garlic and it turned out good as well! 

 Coconut Brown Rice (from Darlene Schmidt on About.com)

• 1+1/2 cups brown jasmine or basmati rice
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut (baking type)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, or other vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Rub the oil over the bottom of a regular-sized pot (you will also need a tight-fitting lid).
2. Add the rice, coconut milk, water, salt, and shredded coconut. Stir and set over high heat. Bring to a bubbling (but not rolling) boil.
3. Immediately reduce heat to low and cover tightly with a lid.
4. Allow to cook for 1 hour, or until the coconut-water has been absorbed by the rice.
5. When all (or nearly all) of the coconut-water is gone, turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner (covered). Allow the rice to sit for another 5-10 minutes, or until you're ready to eat. Your coconut rice will stay warm in this way for 1 hour or more (a great make-ahead tip if you're expecting company!).
6. Fluff the rice with chopsticks or a fork, and serve with your choice of entree(s). If desired, coconut rice can be topped with a sprinkling of toasted coconut (simply 'dry-fry' 1-2 Tbsp. shredded coconut in a dry frying pan until toasted), OR top with a sprinkling of sweetened shredded coconut ENJOY!

 YUM! =)

 

Dreamin..

Graduated.

Photo by Jacob Yeung

H'orderves & Cocktails by Jacob Yeung.

Little Black Bears.

Sugar Rush.

Filling, Sides and Pancakes.

For Veggie Potluck H'orderves and Cocktails I made Samosas. I read a few recipes and kind of made my own thing up ('cuz that's what I do.. !). This recipe from Real Simple has all of the ingredients I used and is definitely proportioned better.

Simple Samosas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 cups store-bought refrigerated mashed or frozen mashed potatoes, thawed (about 16 ounces)

1 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed

1 15-ounce package refrigerated piecrusts

1 jar mango chutney (optional)

Directions

1.Heat oven to 375° F. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the curry powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the potatoes and peas.

2.Unroll the piecrusts and cut each into 6 triangles. Place a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture in the center of each piece. Gather the corners of the dough and pinch to form a point. Pinch the seams to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet.

3.Bake the samosas until golden, 22 to 25 minutes. Serve with the mango chutney, if using.

** A few modifications:
Make your own mashed potatoes, you will only need about 1 1/2 c.
Add a whole bunch of ground red pepper to spice it up!
FRY THEM in about 1/2 of veggie oil til brown on both sides. What's better than fried food? Not much! Duh.

ENJOY! with Spiked Chai Tea Lattes (vanilla vodka!)

If there are left-overs, which there are because I thought it would be smart to mash a whole bag of potatoes (who does that!!??), you can use the filling for other things. It would work as a side (or today's lunch, which has made my office smell of curry. blech!), or add an egg or two and make some mashed potato pancakes to serve with sour cream. YUM.

Monkey Theme.

Everything I create seems to be named Monkey something or other. I also tend to bake with oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate ALOT.
So, in the theme of things, here is my new recipe.


Chewy "Monkey" Granola Bars (Imitation Avalon Bakery Vegan Granola Bars)

In a medium saucepan melt:
1/2 c. soy margarine
1/2 c. Agave Necture
~1 C. crunchy peanut butter
Add:
1 tsp. Vanilla
Dash of salt
1/4 c. Flax meal
1 C. coconut
~3 c. dry oats
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Spread in a glass pan, cover with foil and bake for about 12 minutes at 350 to make them toasty tasting. Let cool (as in, put them in the refrigerator so that they harden) before you cut and enjoy.

Does anyone know where to get vegan white chocolate chips??

I would probably keep them in the refrigerator too. YUM!!!!!

Ooo ooo eee ooo ah ah!

Have I told you I cloned Jack?

Now, how crazy is that?

So, it's been a while, right?

Due to the intensity of the current semester, my kitchen has been lonely and dirty. I have been eating lots of soy cheese nachos, quesadillas, and tuna fish sandwiches, as well as whatever I can shove in my mouth while I am babysitting.
My goal is start cooking again and get back track on the blog.
This winter, we have had one pot-luck and the theme was Asian food. This coming Friday is an H'orderves and cocktail pot-luck. Here we go... 

This is a wonderful photo taken by Jacob Yeung of my only winter success....Veggie Sushi!

Here is my main squeeze getting his cook on..

Hope to see you soon!
Emily

Cooking Club

Made my first tart a few weeks back for Cooking Club- without the proper pan, making it EXTREMELY difficult. It was good though!!

BTW:Cooking Club is a group of women who try new recipes with a theme. It meets every few weeks and is by NO MEANS vegetarian or vegan friendly. I don't even know why I go- I usually drink the drinks and eat my dish. It's kind of fun.

I found these recipes for savory tarts at Tartlette and sort of combined the two. I could not find arugula, so I used spinach. The goat cheese I used was on sale and already formed into cubes-weird and kind of dry. Trying to make classy dishes on a TIGHT budget is oh so tricky..

Tomato, Goat Cheese and Spinach Tart

Serves 6-8

For the crust:
1 sheet of store bought puff pastry. I used Pillsbury. It is cheap, dairy-free, but still pumped full of crap.  Living on a budget can be tough..

Filling:
1 egg
3/4 cup Almond Milk (original flavor)
salt and pepper to taste (don't really know how to taste this- It is raw egg. Blech!)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup heirloom tomatoes, halved ( I sliced Roma tomatoes, placed them on a paper towel to absorb some moisture-Thanks Mom!)
2 cups raw baby spinach
3/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup vinaigrette (depends how soaked you like your salad)

Prepare the crust:
Preheat oven to 350F.

On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick and line it into a 9 or 10-inch round tart pan or rectangular, etc... Place the tart on a baking sheet and line it with a piece of parchment paper on top and fill with dried beans or ceramic weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool.

Lay pastry sheet on small cookie sheet. If you have a pastry pan, USE IT! It will be ssoooo much easier. (I had to press the dough into a rectangle inside the pastry so that there was sort of a crust. I then placed dried beans into the center and placed it in the oven. Bake for about 15 minute.)Hopefully, the pastry will puff around the beans leaving a spot for the filling. Try it! It worked for me.

For the filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and the milk until well combined. Add the salt, pepper and mustard and whisk to incorporate. Pour the filling inside the shell and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.

Mom says to test the tart with a fork near the edges. I can't remember why, but there was a good reason!

Mix all the tomatoes, greens and goat cheese in a large bowl. Toss with as little or as much vinaigrette as you like and spoon the salad on top of the tart. 

It's ready! 

Slice it up and serve it on a classy looking plate.

Do not McGyver a lid, wrap layers of plastic and towels, put it in a Trader Joe's bag, ride the train an hour, and get lost in a blizzard with sub-zero temperature just to serve it at Cooking Club. Kind of makes it soggy... 

<3

 

Creative Pestoooos

I've been experimenting with pesto sauces lately. I love parsley and walnuts and can't wait to try cilantro and something or other!

Spinach/Almond Pesto= SOOOOOOOOOO good and creamy!!!

Got some spinach, garlic pasta for Christmas and thought about making a light olive oil sauce for it.  Upon cleaning the refrigerator, the sauce turned into something amazing..
I was going to wilt the spinach and eat it with my pasta, but the blender tempted me. I put a handful in with olive oil and it was so beautiful. I tasted it. Not bad. Added some garlic. Even better.  Made a sauce. WOW.


1-2 cups of raw spinach
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
Nutritional Yeast
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
Dash of paprika

Blended in Blender.
Divided in half.
Tossed pasta in half.
Put other half in freezer.

YUM.


Totally ready for 2nd dinner.
Fried Chickpeas anyone?

Birthday Love!

(

This sums up my 26th Birthday.

MM MMmm good!

(photo by Jacob Yeung)

Bored with a cold, as the snow starts to fall.

Almost Allergy-Free Chocolate-Chip Peanut-Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Cream
1 Cup Smart Balance
1 1/4 C. Brown Sugar
3/4 C. white sugar or sugar sub (agave nectar)
1 tsp. vanilla

Add
1 banana- mashed
1/2 C.  Peanut Butter w/flax seeds

Then..

1 1/2 C. Flour  (I used Bob's Redmill gluten free flour mixture)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 Cups of Oats
1 package of dairy-free chocolate chips

Makes 2-3 dozen depending on what size you make your cookies.

Bake about 15 minutes.

They bake up nice and fluffy! Look and taste like the real deal!
Mat has been crawling to the counter from the couch on his hands and knees and sneaking cookies behind my back while I type this.. They must be pretty good!!


This recipe was made up by me. =)

My new favorite food is..

Parsley!!

WHA??? you say. I know- wierd. I did not like parsley too much until about 3 months ago. My new favorite thing is to buy a bunch and make different salads with it for lunch. I've always liked tabboule, as long as there was hummus, but nothing more. Now, there is something about that makes my tummy really happy. Those of you who know me, know that my stomach is rarely very happy. But, parsley! Parsley makes her feel nice and healthy.

Just in case you want to know..

Promote Optimal Health

Parsley's volatile oils-particularly myristicin-have been shown to inhibit tumor formation in animal studies, and particularly, tumor formation in the lungs. Myristicin has also been shown to activate the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, which helps attach the molecule glutathione to oxidized molecules that would otherwise do damage in the body. The activity of parsley's volatile oils qualifies it as a "chemoprotective" food, and in particular, a food that can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens (like the benzopyrenes that are part of cigarette smoke and charcoal grill smoke).

A Rich Source of Anti-Oxidant Nutrients

The flavonoids in parsley-especially luteolin-have been shown to function as antioxidants that combine with highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (called oxygen radicals) and help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells. In addition, extracts from parsley have been used in animal studies to help increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood.

In addition to its volatile oils and flavonoids, parsley is an excellent source of two vital nutrients that are also important for the prevention of many diseases: vitamin C and vitamin A (notably through its concentration of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene).

Vitamin C has many different functions. It is the body's primary water-soluble antioxidant, rendering harmless otherwise dangerous free radicals in all water-soluble areas of the body. High levels of free radicals contribute to the development and progression of a wide variety of diseases, including atherosclerosis, colon cancer, diabetes, and asthma. This may explain why people who consume healthy amounts of vitamin C-containing foods have reduced risks for all these conditions. Vitamin C is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, which explains its usefulness in conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. And since vitamin C is needed for the healthy function of the immune system, it can also be helpful for preventing recurrent ear infections or colds.

Beta-carotene, another important antioxidant, works in the fat-soluble areas of the body. Diets with beta-carotene-rich foods are also associated with a reduced risk for the development and progression of conditions like atherosclerosis, diabetes, and colon cancer. Like vitamin C, beta-carotene may also be helpful in reducing the severity of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. And beta-carotene is converted by the body to vitamin A, a nutrient so important to a strong immune system that its nickname is the "anti-infective vitamin."

Parsley for a Healthy Heart

Parsley is a good source of folic acid, one of the most important B vitamins. While it plays numerous roles in the body, one of its most critical roles in relation to cardiovascular health is its necessary participation in the process through which the body converts homocysteine into benign molecules. Homocysteine is a potentially dangerous molecule that, at high levels, can directly damage blood vessels, and high levels of homocysteine are associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack and stroke in people with atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease. Enjoying foods rich in folic acid, like parsley, is an especially good idea for individuals who either have, or wish to prevent, these diseases. Folic acid is also a critical nutrient for proper cell division and is therefore vitally important for cancer-prevention in two areas of the body that contain rapidly dividing cells-the colon, and in women, the cervix.

Protection against Rheumatoid Arthritis

While one study suggests that high doses of supplemental vitamin C makes osteoarthritis, a type of degenerative arthritis that occurs with aging, worse in laboratory animals, another indicates that vitamin C-rich foods, such as parsley, provide humans with protection against inflammatory polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis involving two or more joints.

The findings, presented in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases were drawn from a study of more than 20,000 subjects who kept diet diaries and were arthritis-free when the study began, and focused on subjects who developed inflammatory polyarthritis and similar subjects who remained arthritis-free during the follow-up period. Subjects who consumed the lowest amounts of vitamin C-rich foods were more than three times more likely to develop arthritis than those who consumed the highest amounts.

So, next time parsley appears on your plate as a garnish, recognize its true worth and partake of its abilities to improve your health. As an added bonus, you'll also enjoy parsley's legendary ability to cleanse your palate and your breath at the end of your meal.

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