Erica

Red Lentil Tacos

April 2, 2014 by Erica

Red Lentil Tacos

It’s all about the first impression.

A while ago, I tried out a (bad) lentil taco recipe, and forever dismissed lentils and tacos as being all wrong for each other in terms of flavor and texture.

WRONG. (That’s me making the buzzer sound. Sometimes I get frustrated with how many sounds I apparently use to communicate that just don’t come across when typed.)

Red Lentil Tacos

Anyway, it turns out that lentils and tacos are so totally RIGHT for each other. It just took me far too long to discover it because of the rude first impression lentil tacos made on me. I don’t know what got me thinking about them again, but I recently gave them another shot, and discovered there are a few secrets to making my ideal lentil taco:

…

Shocking Pink SunButter Smoothie

March 31, 2014 by Erica

Need something to wake you up on a Monday? This oughtta do the trick.

Just looking at this smoothie is a jolt to the senses. I, for one, prefer dim lights in the morning until I’m fully awake. Where is the dimmer switch on this thing?! Please pass the sunglasses.

The electric color of this breakfast makes me giggle. It is just SO pink! And when you see that shade of pink, you know the culprit…

BEETS.

Beets in your breakfast. We’re doin’ it.

…

Apricot Honey Goat Cheese Spread

March 28, 2014 by Erica

Apricot Honey Goat Cheese Spread

Happy Friday!

First of all, I have to say that I’m so glad you all love chocolate cake as much as I do. Not that I suspected otherwise… but, you know, I like bonding with you over cake. It’s kind of like a girls’ night, you know? We bond as we chat and eat chocolate together. My favorite.

Yesterday the phrase “I love you like a fat kid loves cake” popped into my head. Actually, I heard a wedding ceremony (on TV, thank goodness, not real life) where the bride included that phrase in her vows! Is it just me, or is that a little weird and… insensitive? Also, it implies that the speaker does not love cake, which I would hope to be false. Especially given the cost of wedding cakes. If you are gonna pay for a wedding cake, you better freaking LOVE that cake.

Anyway, let it be known that I love cake. Whatever that makes me, so be it!

But we are not here to talk about cake. We’re here to talk about goat cheese. Remember the time I put goat cheese on top of cake? That was awesome, and I think I’ve mentioned it in every post since. But I digress. Goat cheese. Focus.

…

Fudgy Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting (Vegan and GF)

March 26, 2014 by Erica

Fudgy Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting (Vegan + GF)

Where oh where do I even start this post when that big hunk of chocolate is staring me in the face?

Luckily I planned ahead enough to save myself some, so I can nibble while I think about that question.

Fudgy Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting (Vegan + GF)

That’s better. The worst kind of food blogging torture is trying to write a dessert post when you don’t have any left to eat. Actually… the worst food blogging torture might be dish duty. But writing about chocolate without eating chocolate is clearly high up on the list.

How about reading about chocolate without eating chocolate? Sorry about that. Not to interfere with your evening plans, but I have to say that this cake is worth rushing home after work to make. Dare I say it’s even worth skipping the gym to rush home and make? I have, on occasion, been known to cancel my evening exercise plans for a reeeeally good-looking chocolaty dessert recipe. Not that I think you would ever sink to that level… but if you would consider it, now should be the time.

…

Thai Red Curry Quinoa Soup

March 24, 2014 by Erica

Thai Red Curry Quinoa Soup

Hiya!

Are you surprised that I want to talk about curry today?

Prooobably not. Curry seems to be all that’s on my mind lately – in popcorn, in peanut sauce, and now in soup. What can I say? I <3 curry. And I especially <3 coconutty curry as a spicy base for a veg-filled soup.

Thai Red Curry Quinoa Soup

This soup is a mix between authentic (lemongrass, Thai basil, Thai chilies) and inauthentic (quinoa and kale). I hope you guys are OK with that – I know I am. Mostly, I wanted to use red curry as a base for a soup, but then I quickly realized that I wanted to add quinoa and kale to it. Quinoa and kale happen to be my two favorite soup additions. They add such great texture, and I love that they hold up no matter how many times you reheat the soup. (You know the same isn’t always true if you’ve used, say, noodles and broccoli before.) So curry, quinoa and kale it is! A rockstar combo, if I do say so myself.

…

Connect