halloween party food

we had our halloween party last night. the kids are big fans because they get to dress up and run around like crazy and enjoy yummy party foods.

the one time they were all calm, at the table eating dinner.

for this special occasion, i put together a few things.

on the menu was:
-rice with roasted veggies
-mummy dogs (for the kids)
-a veggie tray with hummus
-chips & dip
-tortilla chips with salsa
-bucket of candy

i made these mummy dogs today for myself.

aren't they cute? found the recipe in the coupons from the sunday paper. just use veggie dogs and vegan crescent roll dough. cut the dough into strips and wrap the dogs. bake at 375 degrees F for 14 minutes. then dot on eyes using mustard and a toothpick.


this pumpkin cornbread was made on friday evening. the recipe can be found at the edible perspective. my only changes to the recipe were using regular flour and coconut flour in place of the buckwheat and corn flours. turned out incredible!

ahhh comforting and simple. i knew i was going to need a meal to satisfy the adults at the party. so what better way to go than to serve rice and vegetables.

i didn't dress up this year. but since hannah was being stubborn and refusing to put on the wings to go with her costume, i stole them for myself.

happy halloween!!!

wiaw IV

breakfast:
french toast from the vegan girl's guide to life. best french toast ever. drizzled with agave. hannah and i each had 1 & 1/2 slices.

lunch:
i was lazy at lunchtime and, since hannah wasn't hungry, just poured a bowl of cereal. nature's path maple pecan something or other, with so delicious coconut milk. love in a bowl.

snack:
i've been craving a pumpkin pie smoothie for a few weeks now. it was time!

dinner:
pasta with white beans and sauteed kale.
with a side of.....
roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower with dried sage from the garden. had to double up on the veggies ;)

happy wednesday!

smoothie time

it's been a long time since i made a smoothie. like probably since summertime. crazy. i kind of miss the strong sweet flavor of berries. so i made one today using frozen blueberries.



this smoothie contained:
-2 bananas
-1 mango
-3/4 cup frozen blueberries
-splash of apple cider
-& chia seeds

not much else went on in the kitchen today, other than bread makin'.

this bread makes the best french toast. i can wait to get cooking in the morning ;)

monday foods

my mom and dad came over to visit today. it was nice to see them. we live about 50 miles apart so i don't see them often. they stayed for a while so i made lunch. they loved it :)

biscuits and gravy with roasted veggies and chickpeas. it's one of my favorite meals.

for dessert tonight hannah and i each had a so delicious ice cream sandwich mini. i LOVE these. and apparently so does hannah. when i finished photographing mine, i went to sit down and noticed she was almost done with hers. she devoured it!

some raw brownies i made yesterday using walnuts, dates, and cacao powder. gotta love the simplicity!

getting ready for halloween:


it's the best holiday ever. and i just realized that our party is this saturday so i need to figure what foods i'm making for it! haha. so far, i'm thinking pumpkin soup and veggie-dog mummies. probably a vegetable tray, and chips and crackers.

roasted squash and cauliflower

i LOVE roasted veggies. they are the best. i could eat them every day. as it seems that cauliflower is in season, i've been buying it every other week. i also have been buying some type of squash every week.

a few nights ago i used some leftover butternut squash and cauliflower i had in the fridge. and roasting was the way to go.

roasted butternut squash and cauliflower

peel the squash and cut into bite-size pieces (like 1-inch). chop the cauliflower the same size and toss both with some olive oil. spread out onto a large baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and some dried sage. roast in a 450 degree F oven for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. it's also nice if they lightly brown. serve over rice or pasta. sprinkle with parmy cheeze and sea salt.





next time i think i'll add roasted chickpeas. yes.

the pancakes

i was happy to see that a few of you were curious about the pancakes i had for breakfast yesterday.
hannah liked them so much that she wanted them for breakfast again today! so i took a few more photos, and decided to share the recipe :) i was in the mood for leftovers so i simply halved this recipe just for her.

chocolate chip coconut pancakes

(serves 2 / makes 6 small pancakes)

1 cup of flour (i used unbleached white)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk substitute of choice (i use so delicious coconut)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips

in a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and coconut. add the milk and oil and stir until just combined. add the chocolate chips and mix one more time.

in a large skillet over medium heat, melt some earth balance or whatever margarine you choose. using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop the batter and drop into the pan. i don't have any special tricks for making them perfectly round. just pick one spot for the batter and keep it dripping into the center. the pancake will spread out evenly into a circle. make 3-4 per batch.

wait for the pancakes to get those little holes over the surface. flip carefully and cook about 3 more minutes or until browned. serve with your favorite syrup.

*if making a second batch, turn the heat down to low. keeping it too hot will make the pancakes too dark without cooking them all the way through. once the pan cools down a bit you can turn the heat back up.

i used a medium skillet here, which works, they just get smooshed together :)


the little holes. i've heard them called bubbles before but to me they look like holes!

ahhh perfect :)

served with a bit of earth balance and agave drizzled on top.


please let me know what you think if you try these :)

wiaw III

it's that time of the week again. here's what i ate this fine (but rainy) wednesday.....

breakfast:
pancakes! surprised it's not leftovers? lol. hannah and i were both craving something sweet so i made these chocolate coconut pancakes.

lunch:
here's the leftovers ;) brown rice, black beans and onions, organic corn kernals, guacamole, and tomatoes.

plus some tortilla chips to finish up the guac.

snack:
perfectly ripe banana + square of endangered species dark chocolate with raspberries. my favorite. does anyone else find overly ripe bananas disgusting to eat plain? for me they have to be yellow with very little brown spots. no brown spots at all is even better.

went to the garden to pick some broccoli. i was planning on pasta for dinner but hannah suggested something different.

dinner:
pizza with parmy cheeze, broccoli, black olives, and mushrooms. i put some rice cheese on hannah's and hubby's side.

dessert:
my favorite dark chocolate avocado banana pudding. mmmm.

spaghetti squash cakes

weather's getting chilly. it's been windy. getting lots of these flowers lately:

i love this season for so many reasons. cosmos and zinnias are in full bloom. leaves are falling. apples and cider, halloween decorating, i could go on and on. oh, one of the most important things is squash! of course!

i'm not sure what my favorite squash is. i had so much zucchini over the summer that i am kind of sick of it. but it's still a favorite. pumpkin is awesome in desserts. but i think it's a toss between acorn squash and butternut squash.

last night i roasted a spaghetti squash. i am still new to it so i just scooped some into a bowl and had it with earth balance, salt and parmy cheeze. it was delicious. but i still have some leftover. even after making these:

this was real simple. i just heated some oil in a pan and squished a few scoops into patties with a fork. i let them brown for about 10 minutes on each side, then plated. love it!


i'll be making these again tomorrow. but i'm thinking they need something extra, like an herb of some sort. any ideas as to what goes nicely with spaghetti squash?

painting, carving, and roasting

yesterday i decided i had to carve a pumpkin.
& hannah decided she had to paint one.


like it?

& of couse i had to roast the seeds. i always do, even if i don't eat many. they are hard to chew!

i did half with olive oil and sea salt. the other half i made with brown rice syrup, turbinado sugar, and cinnamon. they turned out pretty good! really sticky though.

do you like pumpkin seeds? when's the last time you carved a pumpkin?

i think it's been years since i've carved one, hence my desire to do so. i should make it a yearly tradition. it's really fun!

the magical loaf

around this time of year i start to use the oven more often for dinner. nothing is better in the fall than a warm comforting meal. it's kind of annoying though because those meals seem to be more complicated to make.

tonight for dinner i made a veggie loaf. and i can't take full credit for this recipe as it was made using the magical loaf studio. have you heard of it? it's really cool, you pick the ingredients and it creates a recipe for you. and not only that, it's pretty easy to make.

here's mine:

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, grated
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup veggie broth
1 heaping tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. spray a loaf pan.
grind sunflowers into a coarse meal. set aside.
in a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil and cook the onion, garlic, and carrot until tender.
in a large mixing bowl, partly mash the chickpeas. add the vegetables and mix. add the sunflower seed, quinoa, flax, basil, oregano and nutritional yeast and mix well. slowly add veggie broth while mixing. you want it to be smooth and moist. if it is still too dry add a bit more broth.
press mixture into loaf pan and smooth out evenly.
bake for 50-60 minutes. let cool in pan 10 minutes before serving.

the photo really doesn't do this food justice. next to the slice of loaf is a sweet potato and cauliflower gratin with sage that came from one of my favorite magazines, whole living, november 2011 issue. it was easy to veganize.

pumpkin yumminess

hannah being silly, taking a picture of me taking a picture of her :p

i made some cookies today....

they were good but nothing real special. just a typical oatmeal cookie. could have used some chocolate!

found some mushrooms growing in a tree stump:

spikey!

oh and oh, one of my new favorite recipes:

can you guess what it could be?

NOM. pasta with pumpkin cheeze sauce from oh she glows.
i'll admit, i was a bit scared of making this. i've never put pumpkin on pasta before. i don't think i've ever eaten a savory pumpkin dish. but this was delish! hannah even gobbled it up and she is one tough cookie to please. i'll be making it again....and i'm excited that there's leftovers in the fridge for me to enjoy in the morning ;)

wiaw II

happy wednesday!


breakfast:
leftover rice.


lunch:
leftover wheat berry salad that was made for hannah's party.


snacks:
pieces of carrot with white bean dip.

slice of fresh ( & still warm ) bread with peanut butter.


dinner:
pasta with red sauce and veggie "meat"balls.