Eggplant recipe overload!

My friend Bev asked for some eggplant recipes, so I thought I would share a few that my family likes.  First though, a tip regarding selecting eggplants.  The smaller, the less bitter they are.  If you buy a big ol' eggplant, chop it up and throw it into a stir fry or sauce, it is going to be GROSS.  For recipes like that, select Japanese (baby) eggplant.

OK, so you have a big ass eggplant...what to do?  Here are my three favourites:

Katie's F'ed Up Healthy Sh!t Dip

So named by my brother in law who loves this dip, but actually hates every single ingredient in it.  Hence the F'ed up part!  You can also use this as a sauce for pasta or rice.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
1 red pepper
2 zucchinis
3 tomatoes
1 head garlic
1 handful parsley
1 red onion
2 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper to taste

Rough chop eggplant, pepper, onion, tomato and zucchini  and place on cookie sheet.  Add cloves of garlic, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and then pulse in a food processor until very lumpy, but mixed.  Add a handful of parsley and 2 tbsp ketchup, continue to puree to a grainy texture.  Best served warm.

Eggplant Lasagna (Vegan..feel free to add cheese)

4-5 Japanese eggplant
2 cans tomato sauce
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
3 handfuls spinach
olive oil
1 onion
1 handful mushroom

On a mandolin, or using a very sharp knife, slice eggplant as thin as possible to make "noodles"
Boil eggplant until soft
Sautee remaining veggies in olive oil until semi-soft, add spinach and allow to wilt.
Layer eggplant noodles, sauce and veggies into a lasagna, bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Eggplant Parmigiana

1 large eggplant
1 cup soy milk
1 can crushed tomato
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
olive oil
1 green pepper
1 zucchini
1 onion
1 handful mushrooms
1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Sautee onion, mushroom, green pepper, and zucchini (all diced) until soft, and then add can of crushed tomato and Italian seasoning.  Allow to simmer.
Slice eggplant thinly and allow to soak in soy milk as you preheat a skillet with olive oil about 1 inch deep.
Combine flour and cornmeal and dredge eggplant slices, fry 2-3 at a time until crispy and golden.  Serve immediately with marinara sauce made above, and enjoy!

Edge of Glory

Last week it was really hard for me to get up early and go to the gym without my gym buddy.  So this morning, even though I hit snooze one extra time, I was ready to get up and go! I just felt ready to shake off the cranky that I went to bed with last night.

What better way than to get in my car and hear The Edge of Glory playing?  I don't know what it is about this song, but it forces me to turn up the radio, pretend I am an amazing singer and absolutely belt it out.  I love it!  Abby and I are actually rocking out to it right now as we eat breakfast.

Anyway, I was pumped to get to the gym and Kaella was already there and she was killing it on the treadmill, and that really inspired me to kick it up a notch or two as well!  We knocked out 30 minutes on the treadmill, then an arm interval, and then some v-sit ball bounces.  I felt grreeeaaat when I left!

I got home and Abby was still sleeping (apparently she had put in a brief appearance with Ty this morning but settled back down easily) so I lay in bed and read the book that I am plowing through right now for a bit and enjoyed a cool breeze blowing into the bedroom.  When she was ready to get up, we cuddled in her room for a little bit, and now I am enjoying my new fave breakfast.

My friends, this is oats, soy milk, a big scoop of melted crunchy peanut butter  topped with crumbles of the granola bars I made.  HEAVEN.

Despite going to a funeral this afternoon, today is going to be a great day.  An amazing day actually, because I owe it to myself and everyone else after my crank episode last night.

So, I am going to keep listening to some Lady G and have a great one, and I hope you do too!

Fajita Casserole

After our delicious fajitas (remember, pronounced Fah-JIE-tahs) the other day, Ty and I were both craving more!  So, I mixed it up a little and made a delicious casserole!

Ingredients

1 c salsa
1/2 pkg fajita seasoning
2 c brown rice
1 c corn (Frozen)
1 sweet pepper
1 c cremini mushrooms
1 small onion
1 c beans (I like something called "soup mix" that you can get at Bulk Barn.  It has about 5 different beans, plus split peas and a little barley).

For the meat eaters
1 chicken breast
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tsp fajita seasoning


For the casserole you will need to soak the dried beans all day or overnight, so make sure to do this!  I then put them to boil at the same time as I turn the rice cooker on.
Prepare the rice while you sautee together onions, mushrooms and pepper.  When veggies are almost cooked, add corn and fajita seasoning. 
Mix together with (drained) beans, salsa and rice and serve.  No need to bake in the oven.  Delicious!

For the meat, I used the slow cooker, water and sriracha sauce topoach the chicken breast all day and then shredded it.

I served mine with broc and zuc done over the rice cooker again.  Yum!

WARNING!  My kitchen started off looking like this...

...and ended up looking like this!

Granola Bars

When I was growing up, my best friend's Mom made the BEST homemade granola.  It was full of delicious things like sunflower seeds and raisins and goodness.  I loved getting a bowl full of that when I slept over!

Because I am VEGAN (as my Mom so kindly points out to waitresses, ha ha!  Love you Mom!), I can't eat most commerical granola bars.  So, when I saw Julie's recipe for granola, I lifted it, added in a few things of my own, and made it into a bar!

Ingredients

3/4 c crunchy peanut butter (you could use regular, but you'll be missing out!)
3/4 c honey
2 c oats (I prefer a smaller flaked oat for this)
1/2 c raisins
1/4 raw almonds, chopped

Melt the peanut butter and honey in the microwave and mix in the almonds, oats and raisins.  Stir together, this should form a slightly wet, doughy consistency.  Press into a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 14  minutes.  Let cool before cutting into squares

So yummy!

Hello my little vegan friendly bar

The best part of these bars?  The crumbles that are left over
after.  Because they fell OFF of the bar, they are actually
calorie free.  All of the calories stay with the original bar.  Awesome!

Imma gonna eat ya!

Recipe: Fajitas!

First things first:  In my family, we pronounce it fah-JIE-tahs.  Why?  Because it is funny...and kind of sounds like a dirty word.

Here are your ingredients:

1/2 package low sodium fajita seasoning
1 cup rice (short grain pearl works well)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp canola oil
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 handful sliced cremini mushrooms
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
OR
1 tbsp Francois sauce (that's fancy talk for Frank's Red Hot) 
Tortillas

Ok, here's how this goes down.  I made a vegetarian version for myself, and I used Stir-fry turkey for Tyler, and that was so convenient because I didn't have to cut it into strips.  About 2 hours before dinner, I placed the turkey and cremini mushrooms in (separate) ziploc baggies, and marinated with about 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp fajita seasoning each.

Later, I placed both into (separate) preheated pans that I lightly sprayed with oil.  There is no need to add additional oil because there is some in the marinade already.  Cook both over medium heat, and add sliced peppers and onions to the mushrooms.  When about 1/2 way cooked, add in ~1/2 cup of water with either Sriracha or Frank's mixed in (whatever your preference is) to the pan and allow the veggies/turkey to poach a bit.



Sizzle baby, sizzle



In the rice cooker, add rice and about another tbsp of fajita seasoning, allow to cook.  I wanted broccoli for a side dish, and my rice cooker is super cool and has a steam basket so that I can do both at once.  Check it!



Double duty!



Once the liquid has reduced in the pans of veggies/turkey, add more fajita seasoning (dry) and increase heat.  I really like cooking these in a grill pan because it causes the seasoning to get trapped and blacken a little.  You want the veggies to have a bit of a char on them.

Just before serving, brush both sides of tortillas with oil and place into dirty grill pan.  Let warm for about 15 seconds per side and collect all of those flavor bits!

Yummm...flavor bits!

The finished product!  So delicious.

Pizzagasm (recipe)

You guys, I made the most mind blowing pizza of my life tonight.  I took one bite, and literally said "I think I just had a pizzagasm".   This will change your life.

I made the dough as I normally do ( dough recipe here), but I omitted the Italian herbs and added in flax.  Then, the toppings:

Sauce
Black olives
Zucchini
Sauteed spinach
Mushrooms
Roasted acorn squash
Hummus

Ok, so the acorn squash is something I had on hand already, but it is worth making in advance!  Halve an acorn squash and remove the seeds, then place down on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let cool completely, and then peel off rind.  It freezes beautifully as well!

I ate 4 pieces, this baby was so good.  The creamy hummus combined with the buttery texture of the squash is phenomenal. 

Behold the beauty!

Recipe: Couscous Salad

I'm just going to warn you ahead of time:  DON'T FEED THIS TO YOUR BABY!  It made a giant mess everywhere.

On Abby

What?   Is there something on my face?



Heh heh heh, you are gonna have fun cleaning me up! 
How did I get couscous IN my diaper?
I'll never tell.

 On the Dogs

How did he get couscous in his fur?  Ask the baby.
At least he is cleaning my floor for me!

Ugh.  Seriously, unless you are prepared to put a tarp under the high chair, do not give this to a child.  I literally had to put her in the bathtub immediately following dinner because she was such a disaster.  It was delicious though.  I love couscous because it is so fast to make and is super tasty!  Here is one of my fave brands.

Abby and I both had seconds of this one (I gave her some that didn't have margarine or spices).  Here is the recipe!

1 cup couscous
1 cup water
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp margarine
Garlic to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place couscous in serving dish and cover with boiling water.  Cover dish and let stand 5 minutes.
Warm lentils and peas in olive oil
Fluff couscous with fork and add in the (now) cooked lentils and peas, season to taste.
Once seasoned, add in 1 tbsp of margarine and allow to melt.  Don't skip this step, you need a bit of extra oil.
Serve cold or hot.

You think I look bland?  Taste me!

Busy Bee

I cannot keep up with my baby

Seriously, Abby has gotten so busy lately.  She is a body in motion during all of her waking hours.  She has Go-Go- Gadget arms that can extend past where you could ever imagine, grabbing at anything in sight.  Nothing on a table is safe.  She wants to walk everywhere and is far too brave considering she hasn't mastered walking only holding on with one hand yet.  But she is bound and determined!  She has figured out how to move forward through a combination of crawling, slithering and rocking side to side, so now she is unstoppable.  She twists, turns and shimmies if you are holding her, and if her feet touch something solid while you are, you better be sure she is going to start bouncing too!  She is a fearless baby, a quality that I like, although it is sure making my life a lot busier!

No wonder she sleeps 12 hours a night!

Speaking of which, gone are the days where I could bring her into bed with me and she would sleep for another half hour to an hour.  Nope.  Not anymore.  Once she wakes up, she is up and ready to go!

I was thinking that she was going to be sleeping with me this weekend after I walked into her room yesterday and saw her sitting up in her crib.  Well, that's new I thought as I walked in to interrupt her pulling down her mobile.  Upon seeing me, her eyes lit up and she grabbed the side of the crib.

And then she stood up.

Oh no.  You've got to be kidding, right?  Tyler has been gone for all of 3 hours and she picked today to endanger her life on her unlowered crib.  Crap.

A quick phone call to Grandpa Stan and he was over, tools in hand, playfully questioning Abby about her recent activities.  He lowered the crib down to the second lowest level for me and I figured I could sleep easy.  I put Abby in to test it out, and the little turkey stood right up again.



Oh please, this is too easy now!



Oh well, hopefully she can't flip herself out.

On an unrelated note, at Alisha's suggestion I made overnight oats last night.  They are so good and I will definitely be doing this for breakfast more often!

Chocolate Almond Overnight Oats

2/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup large flake oats
1 tsp cocoa
1 handful of raw almonds, chopped

Warm the soy milk enough to dissolve cocoa and combine with oats and almonds. Stir and refrigerate over night.

Easy, no?  These are suppose to be eaten cold apparently, and although I had a little trepidation about that, I really liked it.  I am glad I put almonds in mine because the crunch really added a nice balance to the texture.  Raisin bread...you might be on your way out!  (Who I am kidding...I'll never leave you.  I'll just cheat on you instead).

Here is what mine looked like.

Heaven in a bowl.

I've got a new recipe I will post later today, so check back!

Recipe: Barley Casserole

This is one of our favourite quick "go to" suppers at our house.  I always have the ingredients on hand and it takes no time at all to cook up.  A family friend first made this dish for me last Christmas, and I have been tweaking it ever since. Barley is loaded with protein and fibre, so it makes a great meal when meat isn't involved.

Barley Casserole

1 cup pearl barley (I have tried it with pot barley...not my fave)
3 cups low sodium veggie stock
1 onion, diced
1-2 carrots, diced (I always use about 12 baby carrots because they are always on hand)
1 cup frozen corn
1 red pepper
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp Montreal Steak Spice
Olive oil
Garlic

Bring barley and stock to a boil, and then allow to simmer until the liquid is absorbed.
Sautee carrots and onion in a generous amount of olive oil, adding corn when veggies are almost soft.  Season with garlic and steak spice.
Combine together and add chia seeds for a punch of protein! 

I served mine with homemade wheat bread...delicious!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats

Full disclosure:  I did not come up with this idea.  I saw it on PB Fingers a while ago, and then remembered it yesterday when Ry and I finished off the peanut butter for the muffins that we made yesterday.

New rule: Do NOT throw out peanut butter jars anymore.  I go through about 1 jar of peanut butter a week (don't judge) so I am super excited that I am going to get this treat about once a week!  It is sooooo delicious and filling and really, there is a lot of nutrition in there if you do it right!

I made my oats with soy milk, because when you don't eat meat you need to pack in the protein and calcium anywhere you can.  That is also why I use spinach in..well...everything.  Chia seeds look like little poppy seeds and pack a mean punch of protein and fibre.  You can make the oats however the heck you want, but this way was delicious!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats

1/3 cup oats
2/3 cup soy milk
1 tbsp cocoa
1 pinch chia seeds

Stir all ingredients together and microwave for about 2.5 minutes, stirring halfway through (or, if you are like me, microwave for 2:27 because there is NO WAY I ever put an even time on the microwave.  That is my weird little thing).  Once cooked, pour into the empty peanut butter jar and let cool for as long as you can hold off for a few minutes.  Then enjoy!

Naturally, I took a few pictures

Delicious oaty goodness



Oh dear, you can actually see the scrape marks from where
I tried to get every last bit!



My reaction.  I would have given 2 thumbs up, but
someone had to hold the camera!

Rainy Day Tuesday AND Recipe Post

Yesterday I decided that I was going to need to have Abby at home, so rather than take her to my sister's house to watch the Littles, I had them come here.  Stroke of genius if you ask me, aside from the fact that I had to lock my dogs in my bedroom because it was absolutely pouring rain.  Again.  Ugh.
 
What to do with 3 kids under 5 (my baby included) for about 5 hours when it is raining buckets and we can't go outside? 
  

When it looks like this outside...



This and a movie is my first go to



Then we burn off some energy!

 

By running around in circles!



This is what happens when you turn your back for TWO SECONDS.  Might I point out that Ryann is in a bucket?

So, that kept us amused for about an hour and a half, and then Ryann started getting a little bored.  As such, we decided to do an "invention".   Ry and I do a lot of inventions, mostly because she is a picky eater and I find letting her create something is the best way to get her to eat a balanced meal.  We decided to make some muffins, and as such, bananapeanutbutterchocolateoatmealchocolatechip muffins were born.  And YES!  THEY ARE STILL VEGAN!  Yay!



Creating up a storm




Are they done yet?



Here is the recipe as best as I remember it...now keep in mind that this was an invention, so the measurements weren't by any means exact, but this is an approximation.

2 mashed, ripe bananas
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup peanut butter

Cream together then add

1 cup each whole wheat, white flour and oats
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips  (Bulk barn lists it's ingredients on the tubs, and I found a chocolate chip there that is dairy free. And this is a major score because carob chips are GROSS).

Mix together, pop into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-22 minutes.  These are SO good, and are actually almost gone already!  They are a great sweet treat that are still half healthful!

Recipe post: Vegetable lasagna

I'm really trying to get more recipes up on the blog as I have received a lot of feedback from you folks (still so shy though, what gives?  NO ONE comments in the actual comment section.  Don't get me wrong, I love to hear from you in any way, shape or form, but feel free to give that ol' comment box a try!).  You might also notice that there is now a Whacha looking for? section on the side of the blog where I have labelled posts so that you can find things more easily.

Today it was absolutely pouring rain, so I decided to whip up a lasagna while my sister's kids were watching a movie.  I think that this recipe is a good way to:
a) cram a ton of veggies into your meal
b) use up anything that might be starting to turn in the fridge

I topped Tyler's side with cheese, but didn't put any in the layers.  Here is the recipe:

1/2 box of whole grain, flax lasagna noodles (Catelli makes my fave).
1 zucchini
1/2 head of broccoli
1 handful of mushrooms
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow onion
3-4 handfuls of spinach
1 jar of your fave tomato sauce

Now, there are 2 ways you can do this.  The quick way is to sautee all of the veggies and then layer them on (cooked) noodles and sauce and then pop in the oven @350 for about 20 minutes, just enough time to get the sauce warm.  The other way is to layer the fresh ingredients on the cooked noddles and sauce, and then cook for about 2 hours @200.

If you have someone who is really fussy, you could cook up the veggies ahead of time and then puree them right into the sauce as well.  Sneaky sneaky!

Some pictures:



Piping hot and delicious!



Side view!

I gave some a whirl in the food processor for Abby when she wakes up.

Duct Tape Smoothie

Before I start this post, my husband Tyler was quite upset that I didn't mention that it was him who initially thought that Abrielle's red cheeks were from teething and not from a sunburn.  So, honey, here is your shout out.  You were right, just as you are with a lot of things with her.  You are a really intuitive father, and you know your baby girl and what she needs. Love you!

Moving on.


One of my favourite blogs is Peanut Butter Fingers (link here:  http://www.pbfingers.com/).  Julie posts a lot of the meals that she eats, and among those are a lot of smoothies.  Inspired by that, and feeling like I need a good, nutritious, carb reduced meal, I pulled out my blender and decided to whip up one of my own concoctions, inspired by her.

I haven't used the blender in a while, and we have a nice Cuisinart model that has a spout for the smoothie to pour out of.  Problem:  I couldn't find mine anywhere.  I searched, and searched, and searched and no luck.  Unwilling to not have a smoothie, and not wanting to pull out the Magic Bullet, I decided to duct tape the hole closed.

OK, confession. I tried to electrical tape it shut first, and that was a huge mess.

So, I duct taped the hole closed, and I tested it with water first to make sure it wouldn't leak.  I'm not an idiot, I wanted to make sure that this baby was water tight.  And it was.  Apparently it wasn't smoothie-tight though. 

The darn blender started leaking out soy milk before I even had a chance to press blend!  Not only that, but I was boiling apples on the stove for Abby, had muffins in the oven that were almost done, bread going in the breadmaker and huge mess that was developing.  The last thing that I really wanted or needed was soy milk dripping down my cupboards and onto my floor.   Oh well, the results were delicious!

In the mix was:
-Ice
-Soy milk
-Chocolate flavoured protein powder
-Spinach (that is not a typo)
-A banana

When it was done I poured it in a bowl and added a whole bunch of large flake oatmeal.  It was really good, but super filling.  I ended up throwing out over half of it.

I'd definitely do this again, just in smaller quantities...and perhaps in the Magic Bullet until I find the spout to my blender. ;-)

Recipes are back!

I've been inspired to keep up with the recipe posting, because I have been slacking majorly in that area lately.  The recipes that I post are things that I have either come up with in my little head, or have modified to suit my tastes enough that I claim it as my own.  This recipe however came from (I think) Allrecipes.com, and I take no claim to it!  It is amazing though and completely vegan!

I suggest leaving the apples unpeeled because it saves times and adds nutrients to a pretty un-nutritious dish.  I also use large flake oats and generally put in more than 1 cup so that there is more fibre in the dish.

Filling

5-6 large apples (cubed)
1/2 cup each brown and white sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Dissolve the cornstarch in water then pour over apples.  Mix together sugars and spice and then mix in with apples.

Topping

1 cup each oats, flour, and brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup canola
3 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt.

Mix dry, then add in wet ingredients to form crust.  Pack on top of apple filling, cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve warm


DELICIOUS!

Raisin Bread: For the love of carbs

Can you believe that this is figure friendly?

Every morning I have raisin toast with peanut butter for breakfast.  Every morning.  Well, with the exception of when I am away (particularily when we went to Cranbrook, and the entire town was devoid of raisin bread.  Whatever).

I make my own, because it is even more delicious than store bought and I have modified a Weight Watchers recipe so that I don't have to feel completely terrible about scarfing it back every morning.   This is (naturally) vegan, but you can substitute the...well...substitute for an actual egg and use real milk and I am sure it would work just fine!

2/3 c + 2 tbsps warm water (omit the 2 tbsp if you are using a real egg)
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp egg substitute ( I really like panne riso)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp margarine
2 3/4 cup flour ( I like to use 1 cup white and the rest whole wheat, otherwise this gets really dense)
1/2 c raisins (or as many as you like, I just don't love  ton of raisins!)
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp yeast
2 tsp cinammon

Add the ingredients in that order to your bread maker and use the sweet setting...ignore the add in beeper.  Or, if you are doing it by hand, knead, let rise and bake for about an hour.
Enjoy!

Indian Curry Stew with Naan Bread

Tonight for dinner I was going to be lazy and do veggie nuggets, roast some sweet potato and maybe some spinach.  Then Tyler inquired for about the 3rd time this week if we were having curry. 

Yes, the man who refused to try any ethnic food not found in a food court is asking for Indian.

So, off to work I set.  This dish does take a little while to actually simmer, but isn't at all labor intensive.  The naan bread...well...here is the story on that.  I had never made it before and all of the recipes online looked really time consuming and complicated.  So, without measuring I threw stuff in my bread maker and let it work for about 20 minutes.  Turns out we had a winner!  Not sure if I could ever duplicate it, but I will try.

Here are the recipes

Indian Curry Stew

Onion (diced)
Carrots (diced)
Green Peppers (diced)
Can of coconut milk
Lentils
Madras curry powder (or your fave curry)
2 potatoes, baked and cubed
2 sweet potatoes, baked and cubed
Soy milk

Sautee onions, carrots and peppers in olive oil until semi-soft.  Add in sweet potato, potato and lentils.  Add in one can of coconut milk and about half a cup of soy milk, and as much curry powder as you like.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer while stirring frequently until thick.

Naan Bread (as best as I remember)

1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp yeast
flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
garlic powder

Dissolve sugar in water, and then add the yeast until active (bubbly and kind of frothy...it will look a bit like miso soup).  Pour into bread maker and add about 2 cups of flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt.  Use dough setting (or knead if doing by hand) and add flour until dough is stretchy and elastic and easy to handle.  Form ovals and fry until golden brown in a greased fry pan.

I swear, it tastes better than it looks!

Everyone loved it!  Abby got a bit of a deconstructed curry. although I did let her try the sauce because I made it pretty mild. She especially loved the naan!  A carb freak after my own heart.

The cheerios weren't actually part

of the dish, but made a lovely

side for Abby

Summer dinner on a dreary day

I got a surprise call from one of my best friends Rachel this morning who I haven't seen in a few weeks.  Thankfully she was free for dinner, so we threw together a quick little something-something.

Pasta Salad

Easily one of my fave summer meals, because you can load it with nutritious veggies, use whole wheat pasta and eat it for a whole week. Tonight I used snap peas, cherry tomato, kalmata olives, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms. I find that this is the kind of thing that just gets better and better the longer it sits in the fridge (within reason...).  For a dressing I use a Tuscan Italian from the bottle.  For extra protein, you could add some chia seeds or chickpeas, which I didn't do tonight, but they are a delicious add in. So easy!

Italian Buns

I combined my pizza dough recipe with a bun recipe (basically adding in some margarine, removing some salt from the dough itself and topping the buns with it instead). I use a 2/3-1/3 whole wheat to white flour blend so that these buns are really light and flaky. Rachel even took some home, so it is not just me telling you they are good!  It is super fast and easy, and to get a nice shape I just stretch a ball of dough and then wrap it around my fingers

 These babies really puff up after proofing!  I brushed them with margarine, and topped with a little sea salt.

Cinnamon Buns

Also now known as Rapture Buns...due to the "upcoming" rapture.  I use a plain old roll recipe, and then top it with margarine, cinnamon, cane sugar and brown sugar.  Delicious!

I roasted some asparagus with olive oil and sea salt in the oven for a side dish. Ty also grilled up some steaks for the carnivores at the table.. picture not featured but here is the chef.  Can you guess who his fave team is?  And that is also a Canuck's hat, you just can't see the emblem in this picture.

I couldn't figure out how to rotate this, sorry!


A delicious (completely vegan, with the exception of the steak) meal, done in almost no time at all!  If you want any complete recipes, let me know!