Vegan Cookie Cake

There are two weeks every year where I get to make fun of my husband for how old he is. His birthday is two weeks before mine, which makes his age two years older than me until my birthday comes, two weeks later. Yesterday was his birthday. Man is he old.

Have you ever had a cookie cake? What is your birthday treat of choice?

Personally, I like birthday cake, preferably vanilla, unless it involves peanut butter, and then anything goes. But my husband grew up always having a cookie cake for his birthday. You know, those giant cookies covered in brightly colored icing that you get from the little shop at the mall? I bought him one for the last birthday we spent together, two years ago.

This is actually our first set of birthdays together since his return from deployment, and since he became vegan. I couldn't let him down with some ordinary cake, it had to be his favorite, had to be cookie cake. Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, to be exact.

The recipe, was easy, and not mine. Actually a blondie recipe, you would have never guessed it. This was exactly what I was looking for. Dense and cookie like, not cake like, cooked completely through the middle with a slightly raised edge that is just a little crunchier than the rest of the cookie. I used a 9" springform pan, and pretty much followed the given directions precisely.

The directions do say to spread it out into the pan, and you do have to do that. But the dough is really cookie dough like, not blondie batter like, so it is a bit of a task to spread it. I suggest using your fingers. I baked for 45 minutes, and I will do a few less next time. There was a big difference between 40 and 45 minutes.

Then I iced! Clearly the most fun part of the process. I used this recipe, which it says is from Vegan Cupcake Take Over the World, which I wouldn't know because I don't have it. Half of it was dyed blue, and it was piped in a perfectly 'homemade' fashion around the perimeter.

When we were finally both home from work, we cut into it. Yum! It had a perfect cookie consistency, and we smeared on some extra icing post photos. We both had two pieces, which was definitely a little much, but so yummy.

I rarely make the same recipe twice, but I definitely feel a tradition coming on with this cookie cake. Not to mention the fact that it is infinitely better, and cheaper, than the one you buy at the mall, for about $20. If you have any cookie cake lovers in your family, this will undoubtedly please them!!

Raw Banana Bread Cookies

Something about that Love Force raw bar had me in a raw mood. Usually when I "do raw" its all-out for a day, and after that, I'm over it until the next time I decide for a full-on raw day.

This time, something clicked that I didn't have to eat super high raw for the day in order to incorporate some raw food in my day.

I soaked some almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds, and then set to finding recipes for them. Believe it or not, these started out as...falafel. Don't let that sway you, I abandoned that recipe after grinding up the almonds and decided to go my own way.

Banana Bread Cookies were born. And they were yummy. If you are in the mood for something raw, this is a pretty good treat made with things you may very well have sitting in your pantry, begging to be made into raw cookies!

1 cup Raw Almonds, soaked

1/2 Banana

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil*

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Raisins

I processed my almonds when they were still wet, just out of their soak, so they grinded together in the food processor together to make a wet meal. If you are using dry almonds, you may need to add a little more water. After grinding the almonds, add all but the raisins, and process until you have a smooth, sticky batter. Add the raisins and pulse a few times, until combined.

*You can use another oil, like melted coconut oil instead of sunflower.

Use a Tbsp measure to portion out each cookies, and flatten so that it looks like a cookie. The batter will be sticky, you may need to wash your hands a few times.

While these are quick and easy to make, they do take a bit of time to dehydrate. If its nice out (it finally is here), stick them outside for a few hours (we have no outside space). I dehydrated them at 115 degrees for 6 hours, and they are still slightly soft in the middle (in a good way). They were still good at 4 hours though, so anywhere from 4-8 hours would be tops. I always like to flip stuff like this halfway through, so..I did.

This makes about a baker's dozen.

Serves 13

Nutrition Information: 89.2 Calories; 6.6g Total Fat; 0.5g Saturated Fat; 0.0mg Cholesterol; 6.5g Carbohydrates; 1.6g Fiber; 2.5g Protein

If you don't have a dehydrator and live in a small apartment with no lanai like us, you can use an oven. Just keep it on the lowest setting, cracked, and check from time to time. Your oven will be warmer, so it probably won't take quite as long.

Don't feel like making your own raw treats? Be sure to enter the giveaway for some Love Force bars!! Five more days to enter!

With that, I am going to go enjoy some raw cookies at the beach. Peace :)

Perfect Cookie

I take my cookies pretty seriously. While it is hard to have a bad one, some are definitely better than others.

Well, I couldn’t sleep the other night, and without even looking for it, I stumbled upon the simplest vegan cookie recipe I have ever seen. No vegan substitutes, just regular ingredients, that somehow make my perfect cookie.

Now, I know that people have differing opinions on cookies. However, I like mine crunchy. If I wanted something cakey, I would eat cake. I like them light, airy, and crunchy on the outside, with just enough chewiness too. A tall order. To have such perfection come from such a stupidly simple recipe was amazing.

To give credit where credit is due, I didn’t come up with this recipe. You

can find the original here. I’ve read a lot of reviews on it though. Other people have said that theirs didn’t spread at all. Mine definitely did. I suspect because I didn't use raw sugar? I'm not quite s But I like a cookie that spreads. I had been trying to make a cookie spread like this all last weekend.

I only changed the recipe slightly, and made two different cookies.

First, I made some Snicker Doodles

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light oil (I used sunflower)

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp sugar

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl mix the oil, vanilla, and sugar. Combine wet and dry.

For Snicker Doodles, I took a Tbsp of dough, rolled one side in a mix of 2 Tbsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp sugar, then flattened them to about 1/4 inch and slapped them on a baking mat. These have plenty of oil in them, so I don’t think you need a baking mat, or even a greased cookie sheet, but my regular baking sheet was in the freezer, and the thing I was using had holes in it...not ideal for cookies.

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. It should make about 2 dozen cookies.

Cookie perfection, I’m telling you. Give them a minute to cool before taking them off and just be happy. If you’re as happy as me, maybe you’ll make some more.

I made some more. Second came Tropical Orange cookies. This time I used only spelt flour, used orange extract instead of vanilla, and rolled them in unsweetened coconut prior to flattening.

That’s really all I can say about these. Awesome. Perfect. Go eat some now. That’s all I’ve got. Enjoy.

Animals, Avocado, and Angelica's

I spent this past weekend at my parents' house. Yes, again. I know, I can't get away from it. I guess it is mostly because Nick isn't home, but he should be back sometime next week. Anyway, my brother and his wife were visiting and even though the rain ruined our hiking plans, we still went out and did something I had been wanting to do for awhile.

Sunday we visited Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Long story short, it was amazing. The tour was great, the animals were happy, and surprisingly...

the skies were blue! We met all the animals on the farm (except the cows, they were on the other side of the field being anti-social).

All of the animals were amazing, really. I don't understand how someone could go to a place like this, look in an animal's eyes, and not see their food differently. I was the most surprised by the turkeys! Those strange looking heads of theirs are actually incredibly soft, and they love to be pet. They're so sweet. Everyone we met was really great, from the goats and pigs to the ducks and chickens.

After the sanctuary we went back to town and I had had lunch at the Garden Cafe, a vegan restaurant. I had an excellent Mexican corn souffle.

The next day I went into the city with my mom and brother. We went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, but had to grab something quick to eat first. This was nothing special but these avocado spring rolls totally hit the spot.

The fruit is a mango nectarine, which I thought sounded so cool! It ended up just tasting like a really juicy and delicious nectarine, but I'm not complaining. The Rock and Roll Annex was fantastic. The regular museum was really very cool, but the special John Lennon exhibit made it even better. I've never been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio, but the way it works here is really cool. You get your own headphones that are attached to this transmitter, and the music changes depending on where you're standing. Really cool.

We also went to Strands, the home of 18 miles of books. It was cool, they had a lot of old books, but I was tired and hungry, so I visited the travel book section and found a place to eat. Now, whenever I go to the city, I have big plans for places to eat, and it almost never works out. This time, when I had no plans, we ended up being just a few blocks from Angelica's Kitchen. The atmosphere was great, casual but intimate enough. It actually reminded me of a place we had breakfast when we were in Kauai, just in the way like you truly felt as though you were in someone's kitchen. I guess that's why it's called Angelica's Kitchen, huh?

My mom and brother both made their own combo bowls. My brother featured tempeh, which I thought was some of the best I've had. My mom's had soba noodles with a yummy sesame soba sauce. I had the three-bean chili, mainly because it came with cornbread, which I had been craving for awhile!

I also had this coconut carob orange cookie, which was good, although I think there was almost too much coconut in it. My brother had a peach cinnamon muffin, which tasted amazing, plus there were huge slices of peaches in it. It was a tad on the dry side though. When I go back there (and I will go back there), I will get dessert again, but I would definitely be going there for the food first. FYI, if you go, they are cash only.

I know I promised that my next post would be a giveaway, but I didn't want to put this one off, since it actually happened this weekend. Tomorrow is giveaway day, and I'm really excited about it!

Fruity Food

Since I've been back at my apartment, I haven't been feeling exactly inspired. More often than not, when I decide to have at it again, after not cooking for awhile, I usually end up with something bland, burnt, or just...bad. Well, today I was quite pleased with myself.

First though, you'll never believe what did inspire this meal. I was at the gym, watching Paula Deen. First, off, its kind of funny to be watching the butter queen at the gym. Second of all, I rarely watch Paula Deen at all. Anyway, Paula and her son made a Zesty Grilled Tilapia with Mango Coconut Rice. I've been trying to use up what I have in the pantry and fridge this week, plus, the tilapia was obviously not vegan, so I made some changes. Yummy changes.

Please excuse the fuzzy photo and bad lighting!

Tropical Rice

1 can light coconut milk

1/2-3/4 cup water

1 cup brown rice

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups pineapple (I used crushed canned pineapple, but you could use fresh, or diced, or anything)

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (optional)

Boil the rice in the coconut milk, water, and salt. When it is finished add in the pineapple and shredded coconut. Yum! And a little goes a long way with this, even with the light coconut milk, its rich and realllly nice and creamy! Best of all though, it makes a lot, and once its chilled, it makes an awesome rice pudding-like dessert.

Orange Chickpeas

1 tbsp light oil or non-stick spray

1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas

6 tbsp orange juice

1 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 1/2 tsp hot sauce

Mix it all in a big bowl and let it marinate for about 20 minutes. Spray a pan with non-stick spray and set to medium heat. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the chickpeas are cooked through and taste orange-y.

I was really the most excited to make the rice. However, while the rice is awesome, creamy, and delicious, the chickpeas were definitely the star. I was surprised how much they retained the orange and little hint of spiciness from the hot sauce (I used Tabasco Sweet and Spicy that we got on our trip to Louisiana). All around, one really yummy meal.

I feel like I need a personal life update since its been awhile. I don't know if I ever mentioned, but I obviously didn't end up driving cross country with Nick. The reason why is a long story, but he still appreciated everyone's advice!! He had some vegan donuts earlier this week on someone's suggestion. He also drove through Forks, WA the other day. Haha, I guess that tidbit is really only relevant if you have read or watched Twilight.

Hopefully the "inspiration" will keep flowing and I'll be blogging a little bit more! Stay tuned, hopefully tomorrow, I've got a giveaway coming up!

A New (Raw) Day

The first time I ever did a "raw day" I was nervous about exercising.  Worried that I wouldn't be eating enough, not getting enough calories, would be tired, sluggish, etc.  Yesterday, after having some dates, I went out and ran (and walked) a total of 5 miles, and I'm still feeling pretty peachy.  

The menu included a lot of nut and seed soaking, prep time, and a very messy kitchen, but it was well worth it.  

Breakfast was a Vega Smoothie.  The very lovely people at Vega sent me a nice sized bag of Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion last week.  While the hemp in Vega is raw, the other proteins aren't (like the pea protein).  I figured with so much good stuff in it, was still okay with me to start a raw day.  

But, I was skeptical.  Oh SO skeptical.  I have regular Vega and I'm not a fan of it.  I bought it because it has so much great healthy stuff in it, but I just can't have it every day, for various reasons.  I decided I'd make their Blueberry Smoothie suggestion on the back of the package, since I had fresh blueberries from the farmer's market yesterday.  My first impression?  Ew.  The powder is a gross green color...but that's because its filled with greens (spirulina, spinach, broccoli, etc)!  So I sucked it up and made the smoothie.  And...it was really good!!  It was still a gross greenish brown color (hence the lack of picture...you didn't want to see it), but that's just what happens when you add greens to a smoothie.  The Vega Smoothie Infusion is about 120 calories a serving and has 14 grams of protein.  So the verdict is, if you're looking for a very healthy, very easy way to start (or end, or continue) you day, there is no denying that this stuff is really good for you, and pretty tasty to boot!

I can't possibly say enough about how delicious my lunch was, so I will just give you a picture which does not do it justice.  

This is the Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Everyday Raw, with Buckwheat Cheezies (recipe follows).  This was SO good.  What really made it just the best was that it was dehydrated for awhile, so the squash softened a little bit.  Really, this is fantastic, if you have the book, you must try it.  

The Buckwheat Cheezies are based on a recipe that was in Vegetarian Times a few months ago, but I made it raw-ish, so I will share.    

1/2 cup Raw Buckwheat Groats

1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (not raw)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves

5-ish Basil Leavs (depends on how much you like basil)

2 tsp salt

1.  Soak buckwheat groats overnight.  Give them some space because they just about double in size.

2.  Dehydrate the groats for about 3 hours at 104 degrees.

3.  Blend together the oil, garlic, salt, and basil until it makes a thick paste.

4.  When the groats are dehydrated, add them to a bowl with the paste and mush everything together until all the groats are more or less coated with something (it may not be even).  

5.  Dehydrate for another 30-60 minutes.

These are so yummy!  I wouldn't eat them by themselves, the raw garlic is fairly strong, but they were absolutely perfect over the baked mac and cheese.  Also, for those of you without a dehydrator, you can do this in a 300 degree oven too, which is what the original recipe calls for.  If you want to roll that way, you don't need to pre-dehydrate them, and you should only keep them in for 30 minutes.  Also, if you're not keeping it raw, you could cook the garlic with the oil.  

Makes 8 2-Tbsp Servings

Nutritional Information:  90.5 Calories;  4.1g Total Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  10.7g Carbohydrates;  2.6g Fiber;  4.6g Protein.  And 181% of the RDA for Vitamin B12!

One of the things I was really itching to make with the dehydrator was Ani's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread.  

I had it as a raw sandwich for dinner along with her Sun-Dried Tomato Cheeze, topped with some avocado and tomato, along with some fresh farmer's market green beans.  This Cheeze was okay.  The Black Pepper Cheeze was way better.    

The bread was somewhat of a disaster, although it worked out in the end!  Because my kitchen is still in pieces all over the country, I don't have things like sieves, so it was hard to get all the water out of the teeny flaxseeds and sesame seeds.  I think that made it too watery, and it made a bit of a mess.  Again though, it worked out.  Next time I make it I think I'll take her advice to make a few batches of it.  I calculated the nutritional information for it and was really surprised.  I'm not a big "real" bread person, so I'd choose this any day.  

Makes 9 Slices

Nutrition Information:  167.6 Calories;  13.0g Total Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  9.6g Carbohydrates;  7.0g Fiber;  6.6g Protein

Dessert, of course, was the impetus for having a raw day at all.  I've had my eye on the Key Lime Kream Bars in Ani's Raw Food Desserts since the moment I opened the book.  

I really didn't need a "raw day" as an excuse to make them, since they came together in all of 5 minutes (plus freezing time).  They are yummy!  I made a dessert or two in Ani's first book and I thought that they were incredibly salty, but it seems like she's toned it down for this book, and everything I've tried so far (like the Strawberry Macaroons) has been fantastic! 

I really love having an (almost) entirely raw day.  Because I have far too much time on my hands now, I calculated the nutritional information for everything (email me if you want any of it), and it came to just about 2000 calories (including an orange I had for a snack), which is perfect for me.  What is really more important to me though, is that it all came from good, whole food.  Nothing is better than that, right?  

  

Another Momentous Day

It was going to be so hard to top a 100th post, that I figured I would wait for another momentous day.  Luckily, one came quickly!  

Today is our third anniversary!  (Wedding anniversary, if that wasn't clear).  Its hard to believe, really, maybe because we've been apart for more than half of it.

For our first anniversary, we went to our favorite place at the time, Roy's.  This was just around my switch to vegetarianism, and I remember being really conflicted about the fish.  For some reason people seem to view fish as lesser beings, hence the increase in pescatarians, but fishies have always been some of my favorite animals, so I didn't quite get that.  I had goldfish wen I was younger and when I was in college, my husband (then boyfriend, obviously) got me two goldfish.  Once we have our own house and little more room, we hope to get a really big tank (we'll see how Zoe feels about that).  (By the way, some Roy's locations have really fantastic separate vegetarian menus.  For example, the one in Maui is fantastic.  The one in Baltimore, sucks).    

Anyway, our last anniversary he was in Iraq, so we didn't really do anything.  This year we're finally together again, there is no fishy conflict, and my husband offered to make dinner.  That's right ladies and gentlemen.  Not only has he decided to try out eating a vegan diet, but he's trying to learn to cook too.  If you knew my husband, you would probably want to call him up to confirm this because it even sounds to ME like I'm making it up.  I'm happy for him though.  

He made the Three-Bean Chili from The Vegan Table, substituting the three cans of beans we had on hand. It took every ounce of self control for me to not go over and check on him constantly, but I tried my best to relax and watch the train wreck that is Daisy of Love (did I just admit that??).  

Three Bean Chili with Roman Beans, Kidney Beans, and Small White Beans

I was in charge of dessert.  This was a toughie.  If I made a cake, I'd spend the next few days stuffing my face with it.  He requested chocolate, and the same fate was true with brownies.  Yes, I want to relax and enjoy my anniversary, but I don't want it carrying over to the rest of my week and causing me grief.  I scoured the cookbooks...Vegan with a Vengeance?  Ani's Raw Food Desserts?  Veganomicon?  Vegan Express?  

I finally settled on the Chocolate Orange Pudding from Vegan Soul Kitchen.  Who doesn't like a rich chocolately pudding, right?  From there I took the easy way out and made mini chocolate pudding pies using store-bought pie crusts.  

I made the topping, and if anyone wants the "recipe" feel free to email me.  It was really easy and it went perfectly.  The only problem?  They were super good and even though I only made half a recipe of the pudding it filled five mini pie crusts.  So we both had two...but that's what anniversaries are for :)   

On Monday I mentioned an announcement, and I still have it, although it has changed a little.  Nick just found out that he has some temporary duty at Ft Lewis starting at the end of this month.  If you are unaware, Ft Lewis is in Washington state.  We are in New Jersey now.  And we are driving!  The drive out there, I think is going to be a straight shot.  One the way back though, I'm hoping to take a little bit more time and see California a little, and go through the middle of the country.  I've gone cross-country before with my family, but never to Washington, and never as a vegan.  So...if anyone has some must-see, or must-eat-at places, a suggestion for a route to take on the way back, advice, etc, let me know!!  And I mean, anywhere in the country really.  Comment or email, I want to know the best places to stop at, from random to obvious.  And, if anyone lives near Seattle, let me know, I will most likely be pretty bored!   

A Warming Sensation (POST 100!!)

Can you believe this is my 100th post?  That is something crazy.  Its been almost nine months, which also means I've been vegan for a little longer than that.  Its all so "milestone-y".    

Okay, well the first order of business is, husband says to use his name.  Husband = Nick.  I'm sure you would have caught on.  

Second order of business.  We moved!  I know, I mentioned this time and again, that I wanted to move, that we were going to move, that we were living in a hobbit's shoebox, that we were in the process of moving, etc.  Well its done.  Some of our stuff is still on its way from storage in Hawaii, but I thought I'd give you a tour of one room that looks like it is completely finished:  the kitchen!  

Now, the apartment is small, so the kitchen is small, and its not even an eat-in, but its pretty nice.  Here you are walking in:  

Nick wanted me to show you the fridge.  I don't think he's ever seen this many vegetables in one place before!  We went to the farmer's market yesterday and picked up local greens and strawberries, squash and eggplant.  Yum.  

I am a big fan of the Debbie Meyer's Green Bags (yes, they work!!!).

You will then turn and see my makeshift pantry on the left.  There is a ton of storage all over the apartment.  Our bedroom has three closets.  Yet, there is no pantry in the kitchen.  So, this is what we did.  It works.  

Oh wait.  What is that?  I told you, its my pantry.  No, no.  That big giant black box on the right.  Ohhh, that.  

That is my new dehydrator!!  I was so stressed around my birthday that I never told my parents what I wanted, or rather, exactly which dehydrator I wanted.  I finally got around to it (easy decision), and when I went home last week it was waiting for me!  I know, its gigantic, its the 9 tray Excaliber, and I am very excited about it.  

Okay moving on (don't worry, I'm getting back to the dehydrator in a minute), we have been eating food.  In fact, Nick even went and cooked by himself the day I was home last week, and I suspect he'll want to be sharing it with you at some point.  This weekend though, someone has been sick.  Someone is not me.  He spent way over 24 hours of this weekend in bed with a fever.  So, tonight we had soup.  Possibly, the most simple soup ever in the entire world because I was being super lazy.  

This is 1 coffee mug of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix (we don't have measuring cups), 4 coffee mugs of water, 4 tsp low sodium vegetable broth powder, 4 tbsp tomato paste, liquid smoke, salt & pepper.  This belongs in the "stupid easy" category, but I enjoyed it so much!  It simmered in the broth for 30 minutes, then I added the liquid smoke, salt, pepper, and tomato paste, and gave it another 30 minutes.  I am really happy we have leftovers because I want more.  Does anyone else buy low-sodium broth and then end up adding salt because it tastes like nothing?  I wonder if it ends up being more or less sodium in the end.  

Anyway, on top are a few of Peanut Butter Boy's Roasted Chickpeas,which I also made today.  I was hoping for a stronger peanut butter flavor, but the do give a good crunch!  

I mentioned how excited I was to get Ani's Raw Food Dessert book a few weeks ago (and many times on other's blogs too).  I got it the week it came out, and until today, I hadn't made anything from it.  So sad.  Well, I finally had my dehydrator.  Although not many of the recipes in the book actually call for dehydration, I still wanted one of them to be the first thing I made.  So, at the farmer's market we got strawberries.  I picked up a few medjool dates at the store, and everything else was in my pantry to make Strawberry Macaroons!  

Her recipe says it makes 6.  She is making GIANT macaroons!!!  I got 15.  They dehydrated, nice and quietly, for 3 hours.  My husband and I split one when they were done.  His reaction was something like "....?!?!  These are amazing!!  Good thing we have a dehydrator now."  They really are awesome.  They're just firm enough on the outside that you can pick them up no problem, but they're still so soft and moist on the inside, and you can taste the fresh strawberries.  He was looking through Ani's Raw Food Kitchen later on, and he wanted to know what she was eating on the front cover, and then wanted to make it, so....I see her burgers in our future. 

Okay, well that it is it for the food portion of this post!  But...I do have more to say and show you.  When we were living in the hobbit house, I mentioned that Zoe was very unhappy.  Well, she is much much happier here.  

Her new favorite activity:  Watching cars 

(we live outside of the mall entrance, lots of action for her!)

She likes to cuddle with smelly boots.

Blurry, but too cute not to post it!

We got her this scratching "thing" on Saturday.  I heard her scratching *something* she wasn't supposed to be scratching in the middle of the night.  I'm pretty sure it is our chair seats, and this thing has a really cool texture, which is just what she seems to like.  

The idea is that they "sit" in the seat part, and then scratch the woven part.  So, she's doing it wrong, haha.  Nick calls it her "couch", and she does snuggle with it.  Here she is "with" him.

So far she loves it.  I'm really hoping it'll keep her attention away from our chairs.  

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting on my last 100 posts.  It has been so wonderful getting to know so many of you, and I appreciate everyone who has stuck with me even though I haven't been able to post as frequently.  I hope that I will get know even more blog friends (whether or not you have a blog, feel free to comment or email!) over the next 100 posts!  

Now its on to a busy summer of blogging...and it WILL be busy...an announcement and a request tomorrow!

Success?

Seriously, what makes a good brownie?  Some people like them fudgey, some like them cakey.  

Personally, if I wanted cake, I'd eat cake...with frosting.  Fudgey brownies are so moist and squishy, they don't really need frosting.  

Well, my husband and I are going to have dinner with my best friend and her husband tonight.  I am bringing dessert.  A few months ago I brought brownies that were a complete disaster.  I had to redeem myself.  

I don't claim to be a baker, so I used the Fudgey Wudgey Brownies recipe from Veganomicon.  Were they fudgey?  Yes.  Were they wudgey?  Yes.  If you are wondering what wudgey means, make the brownies and I think you'll be able to come up with a definition.

Are you a middle or end person?  I really love the corners, I think the "crust" of the brownies is by far the best part.   

I was able to get kind of solid pieces out of the sides:

However, the middle came out looking like this:

If you decide to make these, I suggest making it as she directed, with the blueberries.  I made the raspberry variation, and I think the raspberries broke down to much and added too much moisture, and making the middles become brownie wudginess.  

But...these are still completely delicious.  I can't believe I almost forgot to add that.  Yes, you may want to eat them with a fork.  Yes, you may only want to eat one, because they are intensely sweet and rich.  But they have such a great combination of fruit and chocolate, along with chunks of fruit and chocolate chips...they're just yummy.  

Life is still a little crazy here, although I now officially never have to see my last "cooperating" teacher again.  I'm going on the field trip with the kids monday (she isn't going), and then I'm going to go back and spend a few days at the high school again.  Grad school will be over this week too.  

I really can't believe its all coming to an end :)  Brownies will be a perfect way to celebrate!  

Cleanse Favorites

Spring Break is almost over.  Sad, because I had a ton of stuff to do and I didn't really do any of it.  I did relax though, and I do feel a lot better, and I did finish Breaking Dawn (in less than 3 days, pathetic).  I really liked it.  My mom came in and asked me if it was as weird as she had heard.  Seriously?  Its a book about vampires, it wasn't any weirder than I expected.  I know there was a lot of fuss about it, and that a lot of people didn't like it, and I can't see why, except that they were upset it was over!  Joanna and one of my students both told me I would like it though, so I'm glad I got around to reading it.    

The cleanse is almost over too.  It has gone really well, but I think what I got out of it the most was how much planning the week helped.  So I sat down and planned out all of next week.  This doesn't really make for exciting blogging, but I am going to be so ridiculously busy this week that it would have been either this, or go back to eating like crap.  I chose planning.  

Why is my week going to be so busy?  Glad you asked.  First, my husband is coming home on Monday.  Not like, he's coming to visit, he is coming HOME.  Here.  Done with active duty Army.  Finished.  Holy crap.  So after school on Monday I go to pick him up (2 hour drive from school).  Oh right, school.  I take over all the Physical Science classes on Monday, doing a Biology review for their state exam (I hate Biology).  Tuesday I'm being observed by my clinical supervisor.  Wednesday I have a meeting right after school with one of my professors about my research project.  I have started said research project, even have the data, but still have not compiled it, which is what she is looking for.  Thursday I have my Capstone Project due for my student teaching, which I have actually started, but still have a ton of work to do on it.  Friday might be okay, except I'm jumping in the car after school and driving down to Baltimore to spend the weekend with my husband and my inlaws.  My dad has business in Baltimore next week, so he is going to drive my husband down with him on Wednesday, because, as you can see, I don't really have time for him (that's terrible, right?).  Whew.  

After this week, things should calm down a little bit.  Its really almost at the end.  I'm almost done student teaching, I'm almost done with grad school, I get to move out (again) soon.  Its all good, I just need to get through this week.  Good thing I planned my meals.  

Okay, so wrapping up my food during this cleanse, I want to share two things.  First, another dish was was originally raw that I de-rawified.  This Cauliflower Curry was on GoneRaw, and sounded awesome.  A curry sauce made with avocado, coconut, flax, etc.  Lots of healthy fats.  The problem?  The idea of raw cauliflower seemed icky.  I know they don't taste the same, but when I think of cauliflower, I think of broccoli, and I hate raw broccoli.  So....I cooked it!  

So this is steamed fresh cauliflower and steamed frozen peas, with a raw curry sauce.  This was really good, nice and spicy but not overwhelming, and I highly recommend it.  I did only put in half the cayenne, and then added about 1 tbsp of agave nectar because something was a little off at first (I think it was too much tumeric).  This was easily my most favorite meal I made this week.

Of course, I had a favorite dessert too.  Technically, um, I wasn't supposed to "snack", but I did anyway.  

This Melon-Berry Sorbet was so easy.  So very easy.  It is a bag of a frozen, organic, melon-berry blend (canteloupe, honeydew, pineapple, and blackberries).  I took out the blackberries, and mixed the melon and pineapple in the food processor with a tbsp of liquid coconut oil and some water until it was pretty smooth.  Then I added the blackberries and pulsed until they were slightly broken up.  Yum.  This made a lot.  You could easily have it be two servings.  In fact, I made it to be two servings, but I ate them both.

I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of the holidays, whatever it is that you're celebrating.  We have Easter Saturday  today at my grandmother's (we thought this was an Italian thing until about two years ago...turns out she made it up!), and Easter Sunday at my aunt's tomorrow.  Easter is my favorite holiday.  Spring is also my favorite season, I was always that loser in school who didn't say summer was her favorite season.  Anyway, I love that its starting to get warm, and I love all the cute things:  bunnies, chicks, all baby animals, etc.  What I like the most though, is that it is such a low-key holiday.  There's no pressure, there's no fuss.  Its just relaxing.  

Nice way to end my Spring Break, right?  

It (Was) My Birthday!

So I mentioned awhile ago how excited I was for my birthday, and then, I completely missed the opportunity to post about it.  I did have a good day, no one important forgot, I got a hug from my yoga teacher, Denny wrote a lovely post in my honor (that's a first, thank you Denny!), and my mom went crazy finding me a vegan cake.  But find one she did!  So, I felt I would be remiss to not share it with all of you.

It is from Back to Earth, which I have actually never been to before.  I've intended to go a few times, but never actually made it.  And, it is peanut butter chocolate.  Oh man...you all are most likely aware of my slight peanut butter obsession.  Needless to say, it did not last long.  Thanks mom :)  

The main reason I didn't post on my birthday was because I was so busy.  Too busy to even come up with birthday present ideas.  My brother was smart enough to ask me almost a month ago, and I got his present a few weeks ago (he's at college), and have been using it, so there is no real picture, but it is this Gaiam yoga mat bag.  

Love it!  I wanted one where you could open it to place the mat in, not slide it in, because my last mat-holder (meaning the mesh bag it came in) was like that, and I hated it.  This has a nice magnetic closure, and lots of pockets.  I have no use for said pockets, but I love that they're there.  Gaiam has lots of other bags and yoga accessories, if you are in need of anything like that.  

My other brother and my parents gave me my presents the night before my birthday, along with going for Indian food at Saffron, and then my cake.  

The only thing I could come up with for my parents was a stainless steel water bottle.  I think the rest of my present will be a dehydrator, but I'm still on the fence, plus, I haven't had time to research them.  Anyway, the water bottle is great!  Its a liter, but because of the way it is shaped I can still fit it in my hand.  Made by Enviro Products.  My brother who lives here got me a turtle Build-A-Bear (the shell is a backpack!).  Its really cute, and he knows I love turtles!  Its name is funny but...well, also potentially offensive, so I am choosing not to share it online.  Trust me, its better this way!  Plus, the fact that my 16 year old brother spent half an hour in Build-A-Bear making my birthday present?  That is almost present enough!!

So that was, more or less, my birthday in a nutshell!  I did go to DC the weekend prior, had fun, went to Sticky Fingers (awesome), and I do have a few pictures from there, but they're on my phone so....don't count on ever seeing them, frankly, haha.  I expect to be going back there soon, so I'll try and remember to bring my camera and take real pictures.            

HanGawi

I recently found myself in New York City with no plans for lunch.  Scratch that, we had plans, but the place was closed.  We, by the way, is my dad and brother.  Them being great, and loaded with iPhone goodness (them, not me), they set off on finding a new vegetarian restaurant that we could walk to.  Mind you, we had already walked about 4 miles.  Anyway, my brother won the race, and we ended up being only a few blocks away from HanGawi, a Korean vegetarian restaurant on 32nd street.  It was still a little bit of a walk, but it was most definitely worth it.  

First, when you walk in...they make you take off your shoes.  Fun!  If you're not into that, they have slippers, but the shoes must come off!  (They also have bathroom slippers outside the restrooms, so you're not in there barefoot/socked because that'd be gross).  Then they take you to your seat.  

Now is about when I should apologize for the pictures being crappy, but I didn't want to be obvious, and the lighting was very low.  Anyway, I don't know if you can tell, but there aren't any chairs.  It sort of like a big hole with a table that comes up out of the middle, and then you sit on the ledge, which is kind of a bench with nice cushions on it.  

Then its food time.  It wasn't very crowded when we were there (a very odd time on a Sunday), but there was a couple next to us, and their food looked awesome...and we were starving.  It was time to eat.  

First, we had this sweet potato noodle appetizer.  It came wrapped up in this paper, and they cut it open at the table.  

Really good, nice and simple, noodles with vegetables.  

We all got pretty different things for dinner.  

Me:  Spicy Grilled Todok and Asparagus on a Stick

If you are unfamiliar with todok, as I was, it is a mountain root, of the Codonopsis plant.  They're really big on it there, when I asked, he said it was chewy and it gives you a lot of energy.   I can't find too much information online about it, but if you are interested, you can read a little about it here.  I can tell you that it is definitely chewy.  It tastes pretty good, but I didn't experience anything so magical that I would order it again though.  

Dad:  Mongolian Hot Pot

 

This was really good.  It was a nice broth, spicy from kimchi, and filled with vegetables and tofu.  Tasty.  

Brother:  Tofu Pizza

They used slices of tofu for the pizza base, and topped it with...stuff.  I honestly don't remember what it was, although I know there was strawberry involved, as well as a pine nut cream sauce.  He was nice enough to let me have a piece, and it was really good.

In addition to our meals, we also had brown rice, wild rice, spicy kimchi, and some lemon-ginger kimchi (is it still called kimchi if its not spicy? if not, then lemon-ginger cabbage).  This was actually my first time having kimchi, which is kind of surprising since it was pretty prevalent in Hawaii.

After that, we put our shoes back on and...

No, no, wait.  We're at a vegetarian restaurant.  This does not happen often for me.  We must have had dessert, right?  We definitely did.  I'm sure this is not a Korean specialty, but it was awesome, and also happened to be the only picture that came out well:  Tofu Cheesecake 

 

Yes, I forgot to take the picture until we were halfway through it.  

Not that the food wasn't good here, it was excellent, but what would bring me back the most is the atmosphere.  With so many good vegetarian places in New York, its hard for me to justify coming back to a place that I've already visited.  This place is just so mellow though, quiet, relaxed, and they pride themselves on being a really spiritual restaurant.  So, if you're ever in the area, I recommend.  

By the way...anyone in the New York "area" want to meet up one weekend?  I don't know when, but if you're interested you can email me rather than leaving a comment, I just thought it might be fun to get some bloggers (or readers!) together.