Healthy Snack Time

Made these bars today and they are so good, very filling and sugar and oil free to boot!

Carrot Oat Snack Bars (Gluten Free Vegan)
Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together in a bowl:
::  1 Cup Chopped Dates
::  2 Ripe Bananas Mashed
::  1/2 Cup or one small shredded carrot
::  1 tsp Vanilla
::  1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
::  1 tsp Cinnamon
::  2 1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats (I used gluten free oats)
::  1/2 Shredded Coconut
::  1/2 Cup Raisins
::  1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
::  1/4 Cup sliced Almonds
::  1 tsp Orange zest
::  Juice from 1/2 of an orange

Line 9x13 baking pan with parchment (or you can spray it).
Press mixture into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until brown on edges.
Cool on rack completely, cut into bars and enjoy!

I put the dates in the food processor until small pieces. Blended banana, vanilla and spices in it too and used it to shred my carrots  - easy!

Afterwork Snack

I made these potato chips for the Mr. afterwork yesterday and he flipped over them! I had one idea and it sort of went it's own way and turned into these lovelies.
Super easy to make.
I had baked potatoes left over from the night before in the fridge so I sliced them at an angle, heated some olive oil and a drizzle of my garlic oil (here) and fried them up. When they were done, I put them on a cooling rack and salted them while hot so the salt would stick.
Served with hot mustard and catsup.
I handed them to him, answered the phone and when I was done...they were gone.
Good thing I snagged one before handing them over.

Hearty White Bean Soup

Hearty White Bean Soup
16 oz cannellini beans (soaked overnight)
3 large carrots chopped
3 celery ribs + heart with greens chopped
1 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
drizzle of olive oil
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine (optional but has a lot of flavor)
6 cups veggie broth (or chicken if you'd like - I use the non-chicken, chicken broth)
ground white pepper (optional)
salt (if needed)

In a large pot, add a drizzle of olive oil, onions, celery, herbs, garlic and white wine and simmer together for about 2 minutes until fragrant.  Add carrots, beans and broth and simmer together until beans are soft and ready to eat. Mine took a couple hours and my house smelled amazing!
This usually last us a few meals - feel free to cut it in half if you need to it does make a lot.
Easy. Cheap. Delicious.

Studio Clean-out Fun

I found a box of tags the other day when going through some stuff in my studio.
I made this picture to use when playing phone tag.
Feel free to save and reuse.

GFV Chocolate Chip Bars

Made these last night and got rave reviews from the Mr.
They are gluten free and vegan but are by no means low fat or low calorie but they sure are delicious.

GFV Chocolate Chip Bars
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 9x11 baking pan - I just wiped mine with the buttery sticks wrapper.
::  1 Cup Melted Earth Balance buttery sticks
::  1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
::  2 Cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
::  1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
::  1 tsp. Salt
::  1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
::  1/2 Cup White Sugar
::  1 bag vegan Chocolate Chips

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Add melted "butter" and vanilla and mix until everything comes together.
Add chocolate chips and mix again.
Press into baking pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Cool, cut and enjoy!

Garlic Saver

I don't know about you, but I never go through an entire head of garlic and I hate throwing it away! So I devised a plan and so far, so good!

Here is what I did:

• On a solid surface lay the head of the garlic down with the point facing up.
• With a heavy bowl - bash the entire head and it should seperate or even come apart pretty easy.
• Pull the cloves off of the head and put them in a stainless bowl.
• Take a second stainless bowl and put it on top of the other (opening to opening so it looks like a globe).
• Shake it violently - you can count this as cardio for the day if you would like, I won't tell.
• When you peak inside - most of the skins should have come right off of the garlic!
• Take out the peeled cloves and keep shaking the remaining until the skins are off.
• Put peeled cloves in a small jar.
• Add a spring of thyme or rosemary if you want.
• Cover everything completely with olive oil.
• Close jar and store in a dark, dry place.
• When you need a clove fish it out with a fork and use it.
• The cloves will last a loooong time as long as they are covered in the oil.
• When the cloves are gone, use the oil for something yunmy. As my garlic disappears, I like to sprinkle a spoonful of the delicious golden garlic oil on popcorn!

Yes, I buy this brand of jam because I love to reuse the jars!

Kitchen Inspiration

French music inspires me in the kitchen, always has. Stacey Kent, Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, you name it - if it's French, it's playing when I am cooking dinner.  I sing along mostly knowing what the words mean (thanks to Madame Ogle, my High School French teacher) the others I just mimick (one of my secret talents).  I have always had a love for international music - I am also a lover of Arabic and Greek music. I can sing an entire Greek pop song and have no idea what I am saying which I think is pretty funny!

Besides my new La Chamba pot mentioned in my last post, my boss also got me a great knife for Christmas that has left me chopping as fast as Jaques Pepin (again with the French).  New tools lead to kitchen inspiration, wanting to try new recipes and venture out a bit but I am telling you - that pot beckons me each week to make a one pot meal and I always follow. This week's was a doozy and so delicious. The Mr and I each ate two bowls full and he even took some for lunch today! SCORE! Luckily he doesn't have a picky palette and is willing to try anything.

I got the recipe here - check it out, make it and get ready to taste something so lovely and warm.  I added an entire bunch of Tuscan Kale (stripped of the spine and chopped). I also served mine with some steamed jasmine rice on the side of the bowl. My mouth is watering now and I must heat some for lunch.

See that turmeric there? I had to buy it at Safeway - ech! It is organic at least and no harm done - unless you count that I left Korra out of her crate while I ran down the hill and when I came back the cat food was mysteriously gone. She was still in her bed, but licking her chops...sneaky little pup.

What inspires you in the kitchen?

La Chamba

Let's act like I have not posted in over and month, kiss and make up and just move forward.

I have to share my new love...my La Chamba casserole dish with lid that I got for Christmas from my parents. I wanted something multipurpose and this is the best! I can make soup or beans in it on the stove stop and also bake in it, in the oven. It is gorgeous as well. Nice and deep and about 4.5 quarts so good size for 2-4 people.

More information here Toque Blache.

So far I have made my pinto beans ole, roasted tomato & rosemary soup with kale & potatoes and a cannellini bean stew (no link, I didn't write the recipe yet).  They all have been wonderful and cooking in this pot always makes me happy.

Next time I make the Cannellini Bean Stew I promise to share the recipe because it was delicious!

So Many Outlets

With so many social networks out there it is hard to keep up.
I have to admit a lot of my time spent on pinterest, twitter, facebook and instagram.  They are all quick and fun to use and easy to get sucked into.
With that said, that explains some of my absence from this blog.
The other reason is my writing project. I am finally making some good headway and once I am inspired to write, I have to write which has made this little place on the web fall along the wayside per sea.

I hope to post more this year even if it is something completely random that I want to share. I hope everyone is having a good new year so far.

BayLee Singing by the Tree

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I got a wild hair and put on Christmas music the other day (which I usually don't like) and decorated my house.  Everything seems so early this year since Thanksgiving was earlier than usual - seems like the weekend after Thanksgiving is usually the first weekend in December but not this time. I have never been this far along by the end of November.  Kind of nice for a change. I am trying to embrace the holiday's this year. I have had too many bummer holidays to be honest. Here is a sneak peak - not too much this year, but enough to make it seem like the holidays. Not so great photo of my wee tree, it was dark in the room and I didn't want the flash used.

My vintage skaters had to go up, every year I must have them to honor my Aunt Mary who was so kind to give them to me - I even put up the lights!

I love my kitchen shelves that my Dad put in, they are a great place to stash little holiday things.

I even was motivated enough to swap out my dishes...yes, I have holiday dishes.  I don't get them out every year, but wanted a change so I did it this year.

Nothing says your old like bringing up boxes of decorations from the basement and putting them back down there once you have taken out what you want to use. For those of you who have seen it, I have a tiny staircase to my basement that curls on the way down which is a little scary when you are carrying things. But I did it! Phew!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving.
I hope you all had a great day.
Small and simple here at our house since Tim had to work.

I didn't keep gluten free but I did stay vegan and it was super yummy.
Here is a sneak peak...started off making a pumpkin pie on Wednesday night.

Still had the baking bug, so I made some rosemary rolls - this recipe plus rosemary salt on top (mix 50/50 salt and rosemary with a mortar and pestle).

Then came the real food - I decided to make stuffing and added sauteed onion, celery, apple and kale.

I also made some cheezy garlic mashed potato casserole, steamed green beans and veggie gravy. Oh, don't forget the cranberries.  I love this meal so much, I could have it every day!
Hope you all had some great food and fellowship.

Happy Veteran's Day

To all of the Veteran's out there - Thank you for your service and Welcome Home!

My Dad during his time in Vietnam.

GFV Gingerbread

GFV Gingerbread
Modified from Jim Fobel's recipe called Grandma's Gingerbread.
Preheat oven to 350

::  2 Cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
::  1 tsp Xanthan gum (imperative in GF baking)
::  1 tsp Baking Soda
::  1 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
::  1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
::  1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
::  1/2 tsp Salt
::  5 Tbls Earth Balance (vegan butter) - melted and cooled to room temp.
::  1/3 Cup Honey (I still eat honey - I'll never stop)
::  Ener-G Egg Replacer equal to one egg (mix together and set aside)
::  2/3 Cup Dark Molasses
::  3/4 Cup Almond Milk

Grease a 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan (9x9 preferred, I used 8x8 and it needed a little more time baking).
In a bowl sift together all dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat together melted butter, honey, egg and molasses.
With a spoon, stir in the dry ingredients into the wet alternating with the milk - starting and ending with the dry.  Just stir until blended like a cake, you don't want to over mix or it will be tough.
Turn batter into baking pan, smooth the top to make even and bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.  If you use a deeper pan (like I did) you may need to add 5-7 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.
Serve warm with your favorite topping - whipped topping, nondairy ice cream, whatever tickles you fancy.

MIA Strikes Again!

Oh Boy have I got to catch up!
I do think about this blog every day, I just don't ever get to it.  I know I have done this before. I think when things get hectic, this is the first thing I cut off my to do list. It all started with Manic Monday disappearing and then my posts all together...eeeek.  I am not comfortable with long silences so I will try to pick back up where I left off.  Like old friends, you can pick up where you left off without any hard feelings, right?
What have I been up to?  Well, I am taking the second part of my memoir class (started in October and ends in March) and have been writing a LOT.  This has really taken away from blog time for sure but I am making progress and can't wait until I can announce that I got a book deal (thinking positive here).
My day job has also kept me very busy as of late with expense reconciliation, video editing, blog postings (another blog), presentations, meeting planning, travel booking, etc. - basically all of the things that come along with assisting an executive who travels all the time who I never get to see plus some extras.  I really like my boss and that is important when there is a ton to work to do.
Keeping house as much as I can.  Now that my living room and kitchen have been painted I am a bit obsessed with keeping them as tidy as I can, but don't have a lot of time. I think need an assistant myself!  Hey, how do I get an intern?
Anyway, I have been making some pretty good food to fill my belly and stick to my bones (as my Mom would say) during my long working days.
Here are a couple of my favorites:

Greek Tomato Roasted Potatoes
Preheat oven to 350
:: 2 lbs of potatoes (cut into wedges)
:: 2 large tomatoes (or the equivalent)
:: 1/2 large onion
:: 4 Tbls Olive Oil
:: Salt and Pepper
:: 1 tsp Dried Oregano - rub between hands and sprinkle on top
(toss together the above ingredients in a deep baking dish)
Place baking dish on middle rack and pour 2 Cups of water down the side of the pan, as not to disrupt everything too much.  Jiggle the pan a bit to make sure water covers the bottom and bake for about an hour and 30 minutes until most of the water is soaked up and potatoes are golden brown.  Turn the potatoes every so often while cooking so they don't stick on the bottom. My potatoes got nice and creamy inside and were deeeelish.
I will have just this for a meal and be totally happy!  Fry up leftovers in a skillet with breakfast and you are good to go. Potatoes can do no wrong in my book.
Before:

After:

Tim has been working most evenings so we don't have dinner together much anymore so I try to make things that are easy for him to reheat as well (without a microwave).  I made this soup last week - recipe here. I didn't use the crock pot though since peas cook so fast. I also wanted more green so I added an entire 1 lb bag of organic frozen spinach - yumm.

No matter how inundated with projects I get, I do feel it is super important to fill myself with good, wholesome food.  This is the time of year we almost always have soup (with leftovers in the freezer) and some sort of beans going on the stove top or crock pot.  Yumm.

As busy as life is (and let's face it, no one is busier than anyone else these days), I am a true believer in taking time for myself whether it be for a nap, writing or cooking (which mellows me out). I no longer give myself a bad time about it either. Life is too short. If I can't be good to myself, how can I be good for anyone else. Right?

This little cutie reminds me to take breaks as well and gets me out walking a couple times day which I love!

Uncanny

The hands, the hair, the attitude.  

New Blinds

So, we got new blinds when my parents were here painting our apartment and I have to say, I love them!  They are super easy to clean and look great however, I didn't know they would also double as a cat sling.  BayLee seems to love them too and when he can't seem to hold his arm or head up anymore, he just rests it on a slat and falls asleep. Ridiculous and probably not what my Dad was thinking when he hung them.

Summer's Official End

Korra hanging by the fire pit at the Beach House

This year, the annual Beach House Weekend marked the end of summer. Since then, there has been a chill to the air which makes me walk a little faster.  The smell of fireplaces in the neighborhood perfume the evening air when I walk Korra and leaves are starting to dry and carpet the harsh cement my feet walk upon.

Beach House this year was 3 couples and we had a wonderful time!  This was the first time boys were allowed and we may have to start something new.  They made us gals dinner on Sunday night and it was terrific.  Between baseball, drinks and wonderful food the weekend could not be beat.  Here are some photos.

Manic Monday

If I had the closet of my dreams, this is what I would be wearing today...

Holy Caftan Batman

I love a good caftan, not the kind Mrs Roper used to wear on Three's Company but the very stylish beaded, Middle Eastern type.  I love the flowing fabric and the air of mystery they possess. I can hear men whispering...what do you think she looks like under that fantastic dress?
Check out these lovelies I just came across while checking out the latest from fashion week.
These are from Naeem Khan Ready to Wear Spring 2013 - check out his show here.
All photos from style.com.