Pashwar Naan & Mango Red Curry

Two and a half recipes today! Because it's Spring Break, I'm off work until next Tuesday (my birthday, by the way), and I was a little bored and I wasn't quite ready to get to grading on my vacation. Also, all this past weekend, Caleb and I and the rest of the Gamers Northwest gamers have been stuck inside the house during our Epic Disney Marathon. It was super fun, but also really exhausting. I felt like recharging a little by getting some time in the kitchen with my other favorite past time.

These two recipes today can definitely be made separately, but together, they make a fabulous Asian-ish fusion meal, which I had all to myself for dinner last night. Because I'm a lonely lady and the cat doesn't eat Asian-ish fusion. My point is, I have naan and Pashwar filling for days.

Healthy Foods: Cheesy Cauliflower Pizza

This pizza crust tastes exactly like the melted cheese on top of typical pizza, which is the best part, of course. I mean, for me, it's the part I can't stop nibbling on long after I've hit my 2-slice maximum.

This pizza crust is also extremely easy to make. To give a not too graphic example, I am currently under the heavy weight of yet another cold (that's what I get for teaching grade school), and I am also pleasantly full of delicious cauliflower pizza. This whole process took me about 30 minutes from start to finish to plate to mouth, and I even have left overs for lunch tomorrow!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I LOVE the holiday season! For me it means traveling to visit my family in California, eating good food, relaxing and having fun! In my mind, today is the real start of the holiday season. I'll plan some trips to go to the outlets for present shopping (although I'm not big on presents, I'm big on shopping), and I'll make lots and lots of cookies.

Gosh, I love cookies. And there are few things as wonderful and warm gooey cookies fresh from the oven and a hot cocoa or cider (or something something alcoholic for us big kids). This season, I will be making one new cookie recipe every week and share the results with you!

Today, I bring you an ultimate holiday-y flavor of spices and pumpkin in one scrumptious cookie!

Day 13 (Thirty-Day Vegan): Fast Food Breakfast

This morning, for reasons that will remain unspoken, I ran out of time and didn't make myself any breakfast :/ Ok, so maybe the reason I ran out of time is because I spent so much of the morning digging through my closet for boots and a cardigan that would go well with my new Shrödinger's Cat shirt... so maybe it's my fault, but come on, it's such a cute shirt*!

Day 2 (Thirty-Day Vegan): Popsicles and Beer

So today was a... difficult day at work :/ Sometimes we just have those days, and it's ok, you just pick yourself up, dust off, and keep on going. And I like the work I do, so I can look forward to having better days ahead. Occasionally, I'll instinctively turn to my good old standby comfort foods to get on the track to happy town, but today I got home and the first thing I went for was a Popsicle Brand ice popsicle. I have a couple in my freezer from recent days, I usually rehydrate with one after riding my bike home from work. Today, however, it occurred to me that I had no idea if these Popsicles were vegan friendly.

Adventures in Bread Making: Soft Vegan Whole Wheat Bread

The search for homemade, vegan, healthy, whole what soft sandwich bread has come to a happy ending with a warm and delicious discovery!

Healthy Eats: Zucchini Nugs

I have a really awesome co-worker who gardens and makes her own wine and brings in lots of treats to share all the time. She's also a badass when it comes to training big dogs, running a whole Planetarium, and talking science :D This summer, her garden was particularly fruitful so she brought in lots of zucchini, kale, garlic, and beets for us all to take home. I was especially grateful because I always want to cook with fresh produce, but I can never get to our local farmer's market on time since I work weekends :/ But with Sue's goodies from her garden, it was like the market came to me! I came up with a list of recipes I've always wanted to try, but have never gotten around to because of my lack of certain kinds of produce.

Classy Noms: Baked Crab Rangoon

Every now and then, I put down the Stormtrooper action figures and put on a flowy dress and high heels and go out like a grown woman. I know, it's shocking to me, too, but it's fun to get dressed up and sip wine and talk about grown up stuff. The other night, I went out with some friends to a local winery for some live music and yummy wine. We went to Sweet Cheeks Winery out here in Eugene and it was soooo beautiful! The weather was perfect, the scenery was gorgeous, and the wine and music were lovely.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Lime

My boyfriend and I agreed to cook two healthy meals together for every one going out to dinner date to save on money and eat a little healthier. Both of us individually are pretty good at eating well and exercising regularly, but we're not so diligent when we're together. Today is one of our home-cooked meal days, and we're planning on making Curry with Coconut Milk from Skinnytaste (awesome site for yummy, btw) and it looks so good! But, inevitably, I know I will want dessert after. So to keep it still in the acceptably healthy range, I turned to another food blogger I really like, Chocolate Covered Katie and her "World's Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies" aka "Not Guilty Chocolate Chip Cookies". I love her site because she's vegan and so she only puts up recipes that are dairy- and egg- free, and she has some really creative ways of making desserts from whole foods, which I like.