Raw Power

I've switched out my usual rolled oats for steel cut oats, since they're supposed to be better for you, less processed. They do require a slightly higher alertness level in the mornings. Can't microwave them, as they will bubble over and make a mess. So I spend five minutes over the stove, whisking them. Then I stir in flax meal, maca, mesquite powder, peanut butter, and cacao nibs.

Olivia was a good sport about accompanying me on a boring errand (oil change that ended up taking an hour since I needed a belt replaced), so afterwards we treated ourselves to lunch at JuiceLand. She had a banana smoothie, while I tried the raw hot chocolate. It's made with cacao, almonds, coconut oil, vanilla and agave, and it's phenomenal. I'll be hooked on these all winter! We also shared a bag of Just Pure Foods raw onion rings.

Olivia and I both couldn't get enough of the onion rings! We quickly polished off the bag. The only bad part is -- holy onion breath! Good thing I had some gum in my purse!

Olivia always enjoys playing on the covered patio. It's a nice quiet place to chill and let her play.

After finishing her smoothie, she turned into a wild climbing monkey! She was full of raw power.

I had to take a pic of this drawing in the restroom. We have all been there.

For dinner I made a double batch of Appetite for Reduction's 40 Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli. We just had this a week or so ago, but it's so awesome, I want it all the time now.

You can never go wrong with some Iggy. (The original, not Azalea! Ha!)

After School

Jackson has a snack at school right before dismissal, so he is usually not too hungry when he gets home. We tend to dive right into homework to get it over with, followed by some reading, playtime, or TV. Although TV is not my own personal favorite pastime, we believe in moderation, so if he has had a good behavior day at school then he can watch his Spongebob.

Some days he does get a little snacky before dinner is ready. Luckily Jackson is perfectly happy to snack on an apple, so that's easy to keep on hand. And some days Olivia and I will make treats and he can be tempted by those as well. Today we made Kathy Hester's Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I like that the recipe calls for an entire can of pumpkin. No leftover pumpkin to find a use for; all those lovely antioxidants and vitamins A and C go straight into the cookies.

Dinner was a couple of recipes from Appetite for Reduction. 40-Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli, a recipe I should definitely make more often. Also, the Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples sounded nice and autumn-y.

Vegan MoFo Day 16: 52 Cloves (or Thereabouts)

This morning Olivia and I popped into Whole Foods to pick up a few treats. I was craving a yerba mate. I love the mint flavor. Olivia chose Brad's Raw Broccoli Poppers. Similar to kale chips, but broccoli! We quickly finished off the bag together. Olivia also got a free orange. At our Whole Foods there's a little wagon full of fruits by the cash registers, and kids can pick out a free piece of fruit each visit.

We stopped by the outdoor play area so Olivia could do some climbing.

When we got home, I tossed three heads of garlic in the oven to roast. This is always a wonderful sight because I know that in a few minutes, the whole house will start to smell amazing.

Can you believe that wasn't all the garlic that went into 52 Cloves Red Lentil Soup? The recipe calls for five heads total. Three are roasted, two are sauteed. I didn't get an exact count for my cloves as I was peeling and chopping them, but suffice to say, my hands will be smelling like garlic for days. (I don't really mind.) Besides garlic, it also contains other healing ingredients like ginger and turmeric. Goodbye, back-to-school sniffles!!

Spanish Dinner

Today featured a zoo outing with the grandparents. It was a beautiful day for a train ride, followed by a stroll through the zoo. If I haven't said before, Austin's zoo is actually an animal sanctuary, with all rescued animals. I love that about it!

Jackson is a little skittish about hand-feeding the deer and goats.

Olivia gets right in there. A little deer slobber never hurt anyone.

For dinner I made a couple of Spanish recipes I found on Pinterest. Sopa de ajo or garlic soup, served chilled like gazpacho. Interesting but a bit too acidic for my taste, since it calls for a good deal of sherry vinegar. I was a huge fan of the patatas bravas -- roasted potatoes in a smoky, spicy red sauce. Grapes on the side, why not?

Monkey x2!

New Mexico Part 3: Albuquerque and on to Santa Fe

We reached Albuquerque in the afternoon, checked into our hotel, and realized that the ABQ BioPark Aquarium was nearby and we could squeeze in a visit before it closed for the day.

First stop for me was the stingray tank. I love them. Look at that creepy little face. It's smiling at me.

The top attraction for Jackson and Olivia was the shark tank.

Moray eels are one of the freakiest creatures I've encountered. This guy just laid there making direct eye contact with us and opening and closing its gaping jaw. Without speaking, it told me it will haunt my dreams.

Thank goodness for tiny jellyfish. Everyone: "Aww, tiny jellyfish!" (Moray eel: "I'm still here. Waiting.")

On the lower level, a pirate ship display allowed Captain Olivia to practice her navigational skills.

After saying goodbye to our aquatic friends, we had dinner at Church St. Cafe. I forgot to take a picture. I was still full from lunch, so Olivia and I shared a quesadilla. The coolest thing about this restaurant was the building, which dates all the way back to 1706.

There are many old buildings in the aptly named Old Town section of Albuquerque. This church, San Felipe de Neri, is also over 300 years old.

On the Old Town plaza, the kids made a new friend and stretched their legs.

Goofballs, ready to head back to the hotel and hit the hot tub before bed.

The next morning we had a few stops to make before heading out of town. First, The Candy Lady, a cute little candy shop.

Pinons (pine nuts) were a big thing in New Mexico; I saw them used in lots of different ways. Pinon caramels? Awesome.

And here's where I reveal the extent of Tony's and my Breaking Bad love obsession.

The Candy Lady made all the "product" used on the show. It's actually blue rock candy. And now she sells little baggies of it. 

We also visited the White residence. How many pizzas do you think have been thrown on that garage roof?

The car wash is a few blocks away.

After we finished dorking out over BB landmarks, it was on to Santa Fe. We arrived in town hungry and, thanks to my guidebook, stumbled upon the wonderful Cowgirl BBQ. The children's patio was just what this travel-weary family needed. Beer for me and Tony, and a playscape, chalkboard, and beanbag toss game for Jackson and Olivia. 

Austin may be proud of their barbecue, but they really shouldn't be until they get a Cowgirl BBQ.  Not only is the children's area awesome, so is the food -- and for a barbecue place, there were a ton of veggie options including tofu fajitas, veggie burgers, and butternut squash casserole! I long for a BBQ place in Austin with multiple veggie options and a playscape. It would make dining with my parents so much easier.

We started with the Cabeza de Ajo, roasted heads of garlic served with melted jack cheese, tomatillo salsa, and crostini.

I had the daily special (yep, a vegetarian daily special), mushroom ravioli served over braised kale. Wonderful. 

Santa Fe, what other wonders do you contain? We shall find out tomorrow.

From me and my stingray BFF, have an A1 day!

Lucky Day

Over the weekend we were out for a family stroll, and I stopped to take pictures of Jackson and Olivia in front of this mural. 

 

 

 

This is a very popular mural. Every time I pass by it, there are tourists posing in front of it, film students shooting a scene, or a couple having their engagement photos taken. When I finally came across it when it was deserted, I felt like it was my lucky day.

 

And it really was. As we continued our walk, we spotted a $50 bill on the ground! I immediately felt bad for the poor soul who lost it. But, after looking around to see if anyone had dropped it, we realized there was nobody in our vicinity. We were cutting through an empty parking lot. So, there was nothing left to do except celebrate our good fortune!

 

My good luck continued at home, as I tried out three new recipes from The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe, and they were all phenomenal. So far I've been very impressed with this cookbook.

 

Spanish Rice, with olives and capers. This would be perfect in a wrap with some veggies and salsa, or as a side with any Mexican dish.

 

 

Chickpeas and Roasted Garlic...did you know it's possible to roast two heads of garlic in ten minutes? Neither did I, until I came across this recipe. Now, you do have to peel all of the cloves first. That actually might have taken longer than my traditional method of roasting the bulbs whole for 45 minutes, then squeezing the roasted cloves out of their peels. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but I don't really care for peeling garlic. I typically reach for the giant Costco jar of minced garlic rather than buying fresh. Oh well. It was worth it in this case. There's nothing better than the smell of garlic roasting in the oven, and it made this chickpea salad special.

 

 

Paprika Tofu...yes, there are slabs of marinated tofu hiding under that beautiful rainbow assortment of roasted veggies. You season both the tofu and the veggies with smoked paprika and pop it in the oven, couldn't be easier or more delicious.

 

This dinner was a hit with all four of us, and that is rare! Jackson and Olivia seem to be polar opposites these days, with their taste preferences. It's almost guaranteed that if Jackson likes a certain dish, Olivia will turn up her nose at it, and vice versa. Hearing them both request seconds, I felt like it was a lucky day, indeed.

 

 

Date Night

On Saturday evening, Jackson's school held a babysitting fundraiser, so Tony and I were able to drop off the kids and enjoy a few precious hours of "Couple Time." 

Since I knew we were going out for dinner, I had a light lunch that day -- Sabra roasted pine nut hummus with carrot sticks and pita chips. Well, I'm not really sure how "light" it was, considering I polished off half the tub of hummus. Oh Sabra, why must you put crack in your hummus?

For dinner, we headed to NXNW, a restaurant/brewery we had heard good things about. To start with, we had goat cheese crostini with roasted garlic cloves.

I love roasted garlic. I felt kind of bad for the server, who had to pick up three bulbs of roasted garlic and squeeze them over our crostini with her hand while we watched. I sat there thinking, "We could have done that!" I was imagining her hands smelling like garlic for the rest of her shift. But you know, some restaurants like to make a big deal of doing things "tableside."  She was probably used to it.

For my entree I had the roasted veggie pizza. It came topped with red peppers, red onion, eggplant, pesto, and feta cheese. It was great -- the crust was perfect, nice and chewy.

Friday Randomness

We had a busy Friday. I woke up early and did my weekly housecleaning, and then ran a couple of errands with Jackson and Olivia.

First we checked out a store by our house called Natural Grocers. I had driven past it several times and was under the impression that it was a vitamin shop. I needed to restock my B-12 supplements so I thought I would check it out. I was surprised to find that, while it is half vitamins, the other half is a well-stocked health food store. No bulk bins or deli, but the prices are low. So, it looks like I've discovered another alternative to Whole Foods when I need special ingredients I can't get at my regular supermarket. That's cool because the Whole Foods by me is laid out like a maze and I can never find anything. (Is that a white whine or what? Haha!)

We got some garlic, soy flour, Braggs, buckwheat groats (for dehydrator experimentation purposes), and vegan cheese spread.

I'd seen We Can't Say It's Cheese spreads on other food blogs, but never in stores, so I had to to pick up a tub. I love the hickory smoked flavor, and there's no funky, off-putting smell like with certain other vegan cheeses I've sampled in the past. What a nice find.

Next we made a quick stop to vote. Jackson loves going to vote because he always gets a cool sticker. He was excited about this sticker because he is really into flags right now for some reason. He points them out every time he sees one waving in the breeze.

After returning home and putting our groceries away, we made some granola bars.

I veganized this recipe from Pursuit of Healthfulness by using brown rice syrup in place of honey. Also, out of laziness, I didn't boil the wet ingredients before adding to the oats.

Yum. They have a buttery, rich flavor, but are actually pretty healthy. And I love that they contain flax meal. I keep a bag of flax meal in my freezer and add a spoonful to my oats in the morning for the omega 3's, but I am always looking for other ways to use it.

For dinner, I made two dishes from Appetite for Reduction -- 40 Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli, and Scarlet Barley.

I've made the chickpeas before, they are a favorite. Don't worry, they don't really contain 40 cloves of garlic! Just one bulb of lovely, roasted garlic goodness. Olivia loves them, too.

The Scarlet Barley is a sight to behold, isn't it? Beets are grated into the barley, dyeing it a bright purplish hue. Nature is pretty cool sometimes, giving such lovely vivid colors to the simplest of vegetables, like the beet. Be careful though -- the juice will stain!

Oh well, I guess cooking stains are the mark of a much-loved cookbook. Which AfR totally is!

Enjoy your Saturday!