Veggie Garden Pizza and Graduation!

I love pizza and I happen to be married to a pizza fiend. Instead of measuring the cost of things in dollars, he measures them in Little Caesar's five buck Hot N' Readys.

"That costs four pizzas!"

"If we cut back on X, we could save six pizzas a month."

You get the idea.

The other night, I had a vegetable drawer full of stuff that needed to be used, so I whipped up a whole wheat pizza crust from the recipe from Better Home and Gardens, slathered on some homemade pizza sauce and piled on every veggie I could find.

Here she is all decked out in eggplant, mushrooms, sweet peppers, spinach, arugula, garlic, and onions. I used real cheese because I haven't yet found a non-dairy cheese I like and I'm a little leary of cheeseless pizza. Another adventure for another night.

10 minutes later at 350, I added a little black pepper and some grated parm, and here it is:

I thought it was amazing, but Sam was a little disappointed. "Where's the meat?"

I guess I need to go buy Sam some meat, because I've forgotten for the past few months...

Oh well. This is a great way to use up random veggies. You can just buy a pizza crust, use a mix or find a good crust recipe online or in a cookbook. This one was only ok, but I think my yeast might be a little too old. I'll try again another time.

And...I graduated! It's really weird to NOT be a student anymore. I jumped right out of high school and into college and worked right through without a break, so this newfound freedom, delicious as it is, is kinda scary.

But I'll get over it:)

My parents (The Hungry Mommy and Daddypillar?) and paternal grandparents. This is where I get my good looks, intelligence, etc. :)

I love my Sam!

Have an awesome Monday!

Kella

Almost done!

I graduate one week from tomorrow! Four years of working my tail off and I'm finally getting my BS in English Creative Writing! I'm staying with my current job for the summer and I'm going to try to get my novel published, so life is good and let's see how everything works out, huh?
So here are some of the culinary adventures I've been up to, in no particular order:


Green smoothie making in my new Blendtec! This one is banana, papaya, and kale with a little almond milk.


More creative lunches. This is seitan with barbacue sauce (Amber Shea, avert your eyes!) and a salad topped with homemade baked kale chips! When I first made the seitan, I thought the texture was a little weird, but I found it gets lots better after it sits in the fridge overnight or even for a few days.


Chocolate peanut butter thumbprint cookies, to feed my pb and chocolate addiction. I found these on Pursuing Balance, so go say hi to Meredith and pick up this yummy recipe!


Banana softserve, courtesy of my Blendie. I got a huge case of overripe bananas from work, so I peeled them all and stuck them in two plastic ice cream buckets in my freezer, so I just pull a few out and blend whenever I want ice cream! I usually mix it with cocoa powder, but it's more photogenic this way.

Congratulations to any other students for finishing another semester, and double hooray's if you're graduating.

Kella

PS- Louka, my kitty is curled up next to me asleep, and she's snorting like a little piglet! I've never heard a cat do that.

Move over Lunchables!

Remember those nasty things? In Elementary, the cafeteria introduced their own version of Lunchables complete with cold cuts, crackers and dried-out veggie sticks. I tried one to be cool once...I'll take greasy cafeteria food any day.
But don't worry, I've got you covered for lunch, with not one, but TWO yummy recipes I threw together in the name of using up leftovers.
For fun, I decided to try Chocolate Covered Katie's Chopstick Challenge. I bought a bunch of fun chopsticks in China last summer, so I eat with them all the time, but I'm always up for a challenge.
Here we go:

Recipe #1: Orange-cashew seitan



Ingredients:
1/2 daikon, cut into matchsticks
1 C chopped cabbage (or bok choy if you really want to get fancy)
1 T sesame oil
1/4 C water or broth
1/2 small can mandarin oranges, drained
2 T orange juice
2 T soy sauce
1 t apple cider vinegar
2 T minced chives
6 oz seitan, cubed (this is a guestimate. I just threw in a big cutlet. Also, feel free to omit or use tofu if you don't do gluten.)
1/4 C cashews

Saute the daikon and cabbage in the sesame oil until tender. Add all other ingredients and stir-fry until mixed and heated through. Eat by itself or on a cooked grain. I put mine on millet.
Eat with chopsticks! (note: millet is not the easiest thing to eat with chopsticks!) Serves 2

Recipe #2 Hash-brown tofu scramble



Ingredients:
1/4 chopped onion
1/2 chopped bell pepper
1 small potato, grated, thinly sliced, or cut into matchsticks
handful of spinach
4 oz. firm tofu
1/2 tomato
3 T snipped chives
1 T nooch
salt, pepper, tumeric, and cumin to taste
Salsa and diced avocado for topping

Spray a skillet and cook the onion, pepper, and potato until tender. Add the tomato, tofu, and spinach. Add chives, nooch, and spices. Stir until everything is cooked and the tomatoes start to get saucy. Top with avocado and salsa, then devour. This one is more chopstick-friendly.
Serves 1 if you're hungry, 2 if you're willing to share.

Stay tuned for dessert!

Kella

Three yummy lunches

I love coming home between school and work for a homemade lunch. I usually for for something light because I like to snack in the afternoon. Here are three lunchies I made this week:

A big ol' green salad with avocado, peppers, broc, and homemade carrot-orange-ginger dressing.

Carrot-orange-ginger dressing:

5 or 6 baby carrots, or 1 or 2 large ones

Up to 1/4 C OJ

2 t mac nut oil (optional)

ginger to taste

Blend until smooth. Add a little more oj to keep things moving.

Wrap with whole wheat torilla, chickpeas, salsa, avocado, spinach, and fresh chives.

And the lunch of the week:

Sesame maple ginger glazed tofu on a humongous salad!

I got this recipe from the incomparable Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga! I loved it so much, I think it might be my lunch tomorrow too.

But go check out Averie's blog; it's one of my very favorites and her recipes are out of this world. I recommend the peanut sauce with zuke noodles and the raw cookie dough balls. Also, Averie is an amazing Yogini, so if you're looking for a side of yoga tips with your dinner, she's your girl.

Recipe is here.

Ok Kella, less blogging and more homework. Four more weeks till graduation.

Happy eating!

Kella

Redefining 'instant' pudding.

Some days just call for a warm, creamy dessert. However, most of those days also call for loafing on the couch with a good book and not slaving over a hot stove. What to do, what to do...

Instant banana pudding of course!

This healthy, naturally sweet treat is perfect for dessert, a snack, or even breakfast! Just what I needed tonight. I have a ton of homework and nearly every dish I own is dirty, so I needed something quick. Here's what to do:

Smush a banana in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until melted. That's it.

Top with peanut butter, chocolate chips, mix in cocoa powder, do whatever you want. I topped mine with chocolate chips, dates (I love dates; they taste like caramel!) and homemade "mounds bar" filling. (Great way to use up pulp from making almond milk)

I'd better hop to that homework. Have a great Monday!

Kella

Oat to Joy

I was going to get up and make a yummy brunch, but I was almost finished with an awesome murder mystery (Deeper than the Dead by Tami Hoag. Read it.) and couldn't put it down long enough to make anything.

Instead, I went with my breakfast standby for when I don't have the time or desire to cook: Oatmeal. I'm not talking the colorless sludge you'd find in continental breakfasts at three-star hotels, I mean scrumdidilyumptious, dessert-inspired oats that pack an energy punch.

Chocolate cherry oats

I love oatmeal because it's cheap, filling, nutritious, and above all, versatile. I just mix one part oats with two parts water, nuke it for a minute or so, then play with mix-ins. I almost always sweeten my oats with agave, stevia, or non-gmo xylitol and I add a little almond milk it I want it creamier. Here are some of my favorite combos:

Cinnamon roll oats: raisins (cooked with oats), cinnamon, a swirl of agave (not mixed in) and a dollop of whipped cream (or cashew cream, or coconut cream...)

Reese's oats: cocoa, a big scoop of peanut butter, and sometimes chocolate chips

Almond Joy oats: cocoa, chopped almonds, shredded coconut, Artisana coconut butter (optional)

Cookie Dough Oats: vanilla, chocolate chips (optional) and chunks of Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Bites (recipe later)

Trail Mix oats: Dried fruit (cooked with oats), chopped nuts

Banana nut oats: banana (sliced on top or mashed and cooked with oats), chopped nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Tropical Oats: Sliced banana and other tropical fruits, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, cinnamon.

These are only a few of the amazing combos I come up with, but oatmeal is my breakfast probably four days a week. Try these out and come up with your own. If you get any more great ideas, let me know!

Happy last day of spring break :(

Kella