Vegan

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

October 21, 2013 by Erica

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

Well, we’re back from Moab! And all four of us survived the half marathon. I’ll have a race recap for you in the next few days, but for now, let’s just say it went better than last year! And that at the moment, I’d rather talk about cookies.

I don’t know about you all, but I absolutely love classic no-bake cookies. I ate them for the first time in our college dining hall, and I didn’t stop for four years straight. Those things are so good; they were seriously my downfall. They had them for dessert maybe once a week or every two weeks, and I had to get several every time. I would enter the dining hall planning to eat no dessert that night, but as soon as I saw those no-bake cookies, my sugar-free intentions fell by the wayside. That was the problem with dining hall desserts. There were some I had no interest in, and some I loved. God forbid they put out two of my favorites on the same night… because I had to have one of each. Never mind the fact that you knew it would be there again in a few weeks. At that moment it always seemed like you would be missing your last chance on earth for a no-bake cookie if you didn’t get one right that instant. That, my friends, is what we call the freshman 15.

My freshman 15 was made up almost exclusively of no-bake cookies, Twisted Smirnoffs, and discovering I loved cream in my coffee instead of milk. But let’s stick to the no-bakes for now.

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Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

October 14, 2013 by Erica

Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

Hello, and happy Monday to you!

Some recipes I have a lot to say about; others, not so much. This is one of the latter. The big story about this recipe is that a version of it has been on my idea list for quite some time – about a year – and when I got a massive amount of green peppers in my CSA box, I decided to finally try it out. It would have been almost irresponsible not to, you know? So… I made it.

The end?

Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

No, of course that’s not the end. That would leave you with far too many pictures of peppers and far too little of my sass for one day.

Although maybe it’s the peppers, not the sass, that you’re after.

Lucky for you, I’m not sure I have anything too sassy to say today. More pictures of peppers it is!

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Mashed Butternut Squash

October 9, 2013 by Erica

Mashed squash may not be the most romantic-sounding dish. This I know. But trust me, it is up there with the tastiest!

Each week for my CSA, I get an email containing a few recipes for this week’s ingredients. This was one such recipe, and I knew immediately I had to try it. It sounded quite similar to the spiced butternut squash soup I made last winter – one of my favorites. Butternut squash, onions, apples and spices in yet another spoonable form? Yes please!

These are the squashy version of mashed potatoes. And if you like mashed potatoes, let me tell you how you will feel about mashed squash: you will FREAK OUT. Unlike potatoes, with butternut squash there’s no need to add cream (just a little bit of butter!), because it already has plenty of moisture. Instead, the focus is on flavor. Apples and onions and maple syrup, oh my! Plus a hint of warm spices to round out the dish and make it absolutely heavenly. Seriously. I swoon every time I reheat a serving of these. They are just THAT good.

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Vegan Chocolate Coconut Pudding with Coconut Caramel Sauce

October 3, 2013 by Erica

Chocolate Coconut Pudding with Coconut Caramel Sauce (Vegan)

This is up there with the longest post titles I have ever published. Let’s just go with it, though, because it’s a special occasion.

One year ago today, I posted my first recipe on this blog. The site wasn’t beautiful, the recipe wasn’t great, and the food photos were taken with my iPhone on my living room floor. But I posted it anyway, because I knew I had to start somewhere.

I actually registered this domain name and published an introductory post almost 2 weeks earlier. But then I was kind of… paralyzed with fear. What should I write about? Should my first recipe involve quinoa? Crap, I don’t even know how to develop my own recipes – I always follow other people’s! So my little blog sat with no content for a while, until I figured it out. And that’s why I’m considering the date of my first recipe post as my blogiversary – the day I decided to put my food out into the world and see what happened.

Chocolate Coconut Pudding with Coconut Caramel Sauce (Vegan)

I knew that a year later, I might not be blogging anymore. And if I was, I would be embarrassed to look back on my first posts. I knew there were thousands of other bloggers out there who would always do it better than me. I decided to be OK with that and just take baby steps.

So here I am, a year later! The proud mama of a little toddler one-year-old blog. Happy to say that I am still blogging and that yes, I am embarrassed of my first posts, especially the pictures. But also that I know I have a loooot further to go… and I fervently hope that a year from now, it’s these pictures I’ll be embarrassed of, because I will have progressed that much further. There are still thousands of bloggers who do it better than me, and I’m still OK with that. Because the truth is that I love creating recipes and sharing them here with you all. It’s the best creative outlet I’ve found, not to mention such a great community. That means YOU! Thank you so much for reading this food-related mumbo-jumbo that I post here. Every comment and email means so much to me – seriously. I feel so lucky to have you all as readers and invisible internet friends.

But enough of the mushy stuff. Let’s eat dessert, shall we?

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Sweet and Savory Farro Salad

October 2, 2013 by Erica

Farro Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Raisins & Celery

Good morning! Not only am I posting another salad today, but it also has “sweet” in the title… just like Monday’s. I didn’t plan it that way, but sometimes you just need a week full of salads, you know? Especially after a weekend in Vegas.

Can I write about the weekend on a Wednesday? I didn’t have time to do it for Monday’s post, so let’s just go with it, even though it’s hump day.

I was in Vegas this past weekend on my company’s annual trip. Vegas is not really my scene, especially given the 7-hour bus ride each way, but I had a really fantastic time! There was a lot of food, a lot of wine, and a lot of fun bonding time with co-workers. And the weather was also gorgeous, which was a perfect break from the cool temps I’m still not ready for here in northern Utah. But I have to say that the highlight of the weekend was this celebrity sighting:

Sister Wives

Just Kody and Janelle out for date night on the strip! If you’ve ever watched Sister Wives, you’ll understand why I was so excited about this. Also, as a side note, I originally posed on Kody’s other side, but he asked me not to stand next to him for the picture. What?! This must be some sort of agreement he has with his wives… bizarre.

Another weekend highlight was actually the batch of Bloody Marys that a co-worker made to enjoy on the bus ride down. I had one (toward the end of the bus ride – not when we left at 6 am!) and I have to say it might be the best Bloody Mary I’ve ever had. I got the recipe from him and, although I’m a very inexpert mixologist, I’m determined to bring it to a blog near you sometime soon!

Anyway, I came back from the weekend with a very full tummy and a very sore throat, and am still digging myself out of the depths of my sleep deprivation. Vegas will do that to a girl! I’m excited to get back to my normal eating, sleeping, and (lack of) drinking routines. This salad, followed by nine hours of sleep, is very much needed!

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