I'm sure you guys remember a few weeks ago my post about my habanero infusing vodka that wasn't quite ready. Welllll... I lied. It was ready, and had been for a few days. I happened to read the directions wrong and mistook 3 days for 3 weeks... oops. When Mike and I realized my misjudgment we rushed to separate the vodka from the peppers. Opening the bottle alone made my throat burn and I worried that this vodka would be too spicy for even me...
Yet another request from and the ever lovely Rachel :) I present to you a dairy-free, egg-free, vegan "cheesy" lasagna. I know it's technically an Italian dish, but to me it's about as American as apple pie. That said it doesn't mean it's not a classic :)
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I can't bake. I just prefer to cook. In fact once a year, from October to December, I go baking mad. Cookies, candies, cakes you name it... by the time January 1st rolls around you couldn't pay me to bake one more thing.
I'm feeling very nostalgic lately. So I think this weeks batch of posts will be dedicated to good ol' all American classics (aka the food of my childhood).
Back in the day, sloppy joe aficionado.
Ah sloppy joes, yet another childhood dinner staple. In my eyes, nobody made sloppy joe's better in my eyes than my lovely mother. For the most part if she didn't make it, I wouldn't eat it.
Even though I'm Colombian born, I'm Minnesota raised and my experience with ethnic food as a child was almost non-existent. Basically limited to tacos and spaghetti... But I have one faint memory back when I was in maybe preschool, of a day that they tried to introduce us to foods from other cultures. I honestly can't recall the majority of what we tried that day, but there was this one dish... it was simple, rice with milk raisins and cinnamon. I remember going home that day and demanding my mom making rice because I wanted the rest of my family to try it!
I looooove masala sauce! It's so creamy and tomato-y and flavorful! Oh lord, I could not be happier about the way this dish turned out! Mike had a version of this back on my birthday at Star of India and I'm pretty sure I ate most of it (along with the rest of my dish and... all of the rice... ha, did I mention Indian food is my weakness?)
When I was a kid I dreaded running... I absolutley hated LOATHED doing the mile in gym. Mostly because I'd get winded within the first 30 seconds, which is always awesome... Now a days I have a love hate relationship with it. When I'm in my zone I LOVE it, I could run forever. I feel so at peace, so centered... just free. It's the best feeling ever. But on an off day (when my legs are sore) it's like I can barely squeak a in mile, and my motivation is no where to be seen. Like I said, love/hate haha.
In my experience I've found that nothing complements a running session like a good set of music! Maybe you feel like your cardio out playlist is lacking, or you're just looking for some good music. Well you're in luck! I here's a list of my personal favorite running/workout songs just for you guys :)
But what good is an old fashioned body beat down without a little recovery? No worries, I have a post workout smoothie recipe for those of you sick and tired of the same old vanilla and chocolate crap.
Mango Chili Recovery Shake: (serves 1)
1/2 banana
1/2c mango cubed
1/4t - 1/2t chili powder
1/2 lime's worth of juice
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne (optional)
2 -3 ice cubes
1/4c lite coconut milk (or other non dairy milk)
1/4c water
13g (one heaping Tbsp) brown rice protein powder
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
Just of curiosity, what do you guys listen to when you work out?
Biryani is an Indian dish, but it actually originated in Persia... so does that count for traditional? Maybe, maybe not. Honestly, are you really that concerned?
Here's a recipe for those of you who aren't really sure about Indian cuisine. Think of it like a baby step. It's sweet with bit of curry flavor. Again by no means is this traditional Indian food, but that doesn't mean it's any less amazing. It was one of my favorite things to make this past summer, only now I use seitan instead of chicken breasts. Also, you'll need seitan for my next upcoming recipes.
Recently, I was asked by a lovely friend of mine if I would post some Indian themed recipes, of course I was happy to oblige, especially since I myself loooove Indian food! It's so flavorful and fragrant, what's not to love?
This morning I couldn't sleep so I got up at 5 and baked sugar cookies (recipe from chooseveg.com) for my coworkers, aren't I a doll? Happy St. Patty's Day! Hope you all have a bitchin' time!
Yay for Indian food! Alu Gobi is a cauliflower and potato dish, and I was super excited to make it for Mike and I since we both happen to like potatoes and cauliflower! And I even promised to watch the spiciness for his sake.
Hotter than most it seems. If it were up to me I would put cayenne in my pepper shaker. If your eyes aren't watering and your nose ain't running it's not hot enough. I'm talking about the kind of heat that makes your whole body sweat. And this is why I love my husband. He likes his spicy too, but not to the point that I do. I can't even count home many times I've accidentally made a dish so spicy that he gets driven out of the kitchen... but he's always a trooper and never complains.
This week I bought a new camera, and had the brilliant idea to hitch a ride up to good ol' Cook, MN with my lovely mother and sister. It's quite a jaunt but the trip went fast, my mom and I talked almost the way, my sister slept. We stopped here and there along the way, and as tradition we stopped at Tobies in Hinckley, home of the most giant gooey caramel rolls in the world. My mom even took a detour in search of the Nature Harvest Co-Op in Virginia for me, though we got lost trying to find it. The ride was fun but I was glad to get out of the car. I immediately demolished a bag of Angie's Kettle Corn (one of my weaknesses) and one sugary-popcorn-induced coma later, I was out for the night.
The next morning I had a mission, to make the best breakfast ever! (and play with my new camera)
I admit it, I've been slacking when it comes to working out... I'm usually pretty dedicated but I think it's something about this time of year. Maybe it's because it's so close to spring and I'm so over all of this cold that I don't even want to go outside haha. But I've got to push through it. Today kicks off my training for the 2011 Men's Health Urbanathlon in Chicago. My husband ran it last October and It was so inspiring! It was seriously like no other athletic event I've ever seen before (not that I have many to compare to), it's a 9 mile run on the coast of Lake Michigan and there are about six obstacles on top of that. For example, you have to hope over taxis and climb over buses, and running up and down stairs through Soldier's Field.
Ahh I'm so excited! I finally made a veggie burger that held together without the use of eggs! And even held up to my George Foreman!
Usually, my burgers and falafel crumble when I try and bake them in the oven... and smoosh and come apart on my counter top grill... But I think I'm on to something now!
I love steel cut oats but there are often times I don't have 20+ minutes to make it in the mornings, but then I discovered you can cook it in a crock pot in large batches. P.S. did you know that cooked oatmeal keeps for up to a week in the fridge? It's true and it seriously comes in handy, just reheat in the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes with 1 - 2T of water and stir in what ever you like :)
Start this recipe before you go to bed and when you wake up you will have super creamy oatmeal all cooked and waiting for you :)
For me and my siblings oatmeal stirs up fawn memories from childhood, when we spent the night at Grandma's and she would make us a big bowl of oats in the morning. They were so simple, just dry oats water in a pot on the stove, but she made it so perfectly. And of course, she would always let us sneak in some brown sugar :)
So I think I've discovered that I can never go back to eating dairy or eggs again. I tried eating dairy on Thursday, woke up sick Friday... But felt better yesterday morning. Then yesterday afternoon I made fried rice for my husband and couldn't resist having a bowl myself... bad idea. So here I sit nauseated and all sorts of unpleasantness... But it's not all bad, at least I now I'm fairly positive I've nailed down the source of my mysterious stomach pains. Also while I was feeling better I made a slew of Italian goodies.
So this morning I was out of hummus, and I had a half hour to make lunch for me and the husband. Tough, me being me, instead of running to the grocery store (which is exactly one mile away) I decided I would just make my own. Oh also, I was also out of chickpeas (canned/cooked) but what I did have was a can of kidney beans. Hooray for the internet! Because I came across a recipe from here. I only altered it a tad, but not much.
This recipe is a southwestern take on hummus. It turned out great! I've already had 3 servings to myself. Though next time I think I wish add more cayenne and lime juice.
