Erica

Vegan Caesar Panzanella

March 10, 2014 by Erica

Vegan Caesar Panzanella

I think we should celebrate springtime today.

To my friends in the Northeast still caught in the polar vortex, I apologize. Here in Utah, the birds are chirping, the crocuses are blooming, and I’m starting to feel like I should be spending time outside instead of huddled in front of the space heater wearing a robe and a hat.

Daylight savings seems to mark the beginning of spring here. It’s pretty lovely, even though I dread “springing forward” past an hour of sleep. I can hardly believe the sun doesn’t set until 7:30 tonight! That’s a guarantee that I won’t be leaving work in the dark. The mornings are a different story… back to running with my uber-dorky headlight on. But even that won’t last for long.

I hope it’s nice and warm and sunny where you are, too. Otherwise you might be getting mad. Because I thought we could celebrate the milder weather with a fresh springtime salad today.

Vegan Caesar Panzanella

I recently made a vegan Caesar dressing for the first time, and well, it pretty much blew Nate and me away. It tastes different from non-vegan Caesar, but in the same way that any homemade dressing will taste different from store-bought. I honestly don’t think you’d know it was vegan (unless you eat a lot of tahini, in which case you might be able to pick out the tahini flavor). I was afraid to tell Nate (tahini hater numero uno) what it’s made of when he asked, but he wasn’t scared off, which is really saying something. He requests it regularly, and I’ve been finding an excuse to eat it on top of everything, from salad to pasta to roasted veggies. I have to say that this panzanella is probably this dressing’s highest and best use, though.

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Yellow Curry Popcorn

March 7, 2014 by Erica

Yellow Curry Popcorn

Today I have the perfect Friday recipe for you.

Perfect because it involves you, your microwave, and 2.5 minutes of your time. (Or however long it takes your microwave to pop popcorn… and not a SECOND longer, because as any kid who’s made microwave popcorn after school knows, the hardest part is not burning it to a black, stinking crisp.) Anyway, assuming you can handle that part (not gonna lie, it usually takes me two tries), this recipe then involves you, your couch, and a movie for the next 2.5 hours.

The popcorn? It won’t last that long. You might have to take 2.5 more minutes to make a second batch. (Or a third batch if you burnt one of the first two…)

I “tested” this recipe when the craving struck at about 10:30 PM on Saturday night. Anything for a blog recipe, you know? I just haaaad to.

Yellow Curry Popcorn

I posted another DIY microwave popcorn recipe on the blog back in 2012, but assuming you’re newer here, this is the deal: It turns out that microwave popcorn is actually incredibly easy to make on your own at home. You just need some lunch-sized brown paper bags, popcorn kernels, and whatever flavorings you like. Scoop the popcorn kernels (no more than 1/4 cup!) into the bag and fold the very top of the bag down once or twice. If you have a stapler and want to get fancy, you can staple the top after you’ve folded it. I don’t own a stapler, and it works just fine without it, too. Then place the bag on its side in your microwave and microwave until there is a second or two between pops. It’s just as convenient as unwrapping the plastic off a bag of pre-packaged microwave popcorn, but no need for the fake butter and other chemicals. It’s like magic!

When you can take out chemicals and replace them with curry, I would say that’s pretty much always a win.

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Muhammara Roasted Veggie Bowl

March 5, 2014 by Erica

Muhammara Roasted Veggie Bowl

Thank you for all your sweet comments on Monday’s post. You all sure know how to comfort a girl! Even when that girl is being a self-indulgent whiner. Oops!

I’m going to take my complaining down a notch. As I think we all know, Sunday anxiety is way worse than the actual work week. So next week, feel free to give me a virtual slap if I let out a peep about my busy schedule!

Still, I appreciate Monday’s virtual hugs. You are all way too sweet, and I can’t believe my luck that we get to hang out and talk about food together all the time. Seriously!

Muhammara Roasted Veggie Bowl

We are still enjoying the double batch of muhammara I made last weekend, and this has been one of my favorite combinations: a bowl of wheat berries and roasted veggies topped with a big dollop of that rich spread. It’s not exactly earth-shattering (more like fridge-emptying!), but it’s still high on the deliciousness scale.

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Muhammara (Syrian Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

March 3, 2014 by Erica

Muhammara (Syrian Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

As I type this, I’m in the midst of the Sunday blahs.

I’ve eaten too much, our apartment is a mess, I haven’t done any of the work I have to do before tomorrow (despite the fact that I dreamed about it both Friday and Saturday night), and I’m trying to get up the motivation to go to the gym before it closes at 7:00.

Why does the gym close at 7 pm on Sundays?!

Muhammara (Syrian Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

The more I think about it, the more I conclude I need a clone to stay at home and take care of all the things I want to avoid, like cleaning the sink and revising PowerPoint presentations. That way I can go about doing the important things, like baking cupcakes and getting to the gym on time, without that other stuff hanging over my head and causing unsettling dreams.

Any volunteers?

I guess if the worst things in my life are ~~dirty sinks~~ cleaning and PowerPoint, that’s not so bad, after all.

Forgive my complaining. I’ve been too busy lately, and I can just tell it’s going to be another crazy week. But isn’t that always the case? Luckily, this weekend I made it a priority to cook some delicious food to share with you. So let’s just hop to it, shall we?

Muhammara (Syrian Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

Today I want to introduce you to something called muhammara. Because you need to get to know this deliciousness.

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Chocolate Rye Pancakes

February 28, 2014 by Erica

Chocolate Rye Pancakes

Whoa, where has this week gone?

I had the odd sensation of looking down at my watch yesterday at 3 pm and thinking, “why is this thing backwards?” Because it felt like 9 am. Aaaand it was 6 hours later than that. I guess I can’t complain about the workday and workweek flying by, but man… I sure have a lot to do before Monday!

Chocolate Rye Pancakes