Happy St. Paddy's!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For dinner last night I made this Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole from Vive le Vegan.

I wanted to serve it over brown rice, but white was all I had on hand. It was delicious, light and healthy. Also very fast to prepare (although you do have to bake it for an hour), and best of all, you make it right in the casserole dish, so there is only one dirty dish to clean!

How are you celebrating St. Paddy's? There is no green beer on my agenda today since I will be out having fun with my kids. It is SXSW week here in Austin, so we will try to catch some family-friendly outdoor concerts. The other night we saw M. Ward at a park down by the river. I am a big fan of his. It was Olivia's first concert! I think she had a good time.

Have a happy day and watch out for leprechauns! They'll steal your gold!

Organic

Before I had kids, I always swore that when I did have kids, I would feed them nothing but the absolute best foods. Even though I didn't buy organic food for myself, there was something about the idea of harsh pesticides in tiny toddler bodies that kind of horrified me.

But by the time my babies arrived, I guess I had other things on my mind. Also, I had this idea that organic food was always so expensive.  As Jackson and Olivia started eating solid foods, the fruits and veggies I served them were not organic. They were healthy and thriving, so it didn't seem to matter.

However, I recently came across these lists of the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen." I didn't know that some fruits and veggies have higher levels of pesticides than others. A lot of produce I buy often is on the Dirty Dozen list. That does not make me feel good.

So I think I'm going to start buying organic versions of the Dirty Dozen, at least. This week, I bought organic apples and spinach.

The spinach was a bit more expensive. (I'm glad I didn't want to buy strawberries, because they cost twice as much as the non-organic ones!) However, the organic apples actually cost two cents less than the non-organic.

And then, everything I get from my little backyard garden is organic. Right now the collard greens and kale are doing well, and we should have some carrots pretty soon. Unfortunately, that is all I got from my fall plantings. I am going to plant some new stuff for spring this weekend and try to keep my black thumb from killing everything.

Do you buy (or grow) organic fruits and veggies?

The warm temps are making me crave all things tropical and fruity! I didn't realize this until I got home from the store and sensed a theme. Tropical fruit gum...Jamaican ginger ale (so good with a squirt of lime)...

The theme extends to non-food items, as well. This Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia body butter cost twice as much as the Bath & Body Works stuff I usually use, but I think it's twice as good.

Dinner, however, was the opposite of tropical. I made Caldo Verde with Crumbled Tempeh from Appetite for Reduction, a soup so thick and hearty it would be perfect for a winter snowstorm. Instead of making the tempeh according to the recipe, I threw in some Turtle Island tempeh bacon that I needed to use up. It added an extra level of smoky, maple-y flavor to the already tasty soup.

King Jackson bids you a good evening!

Review: Sun Warrior

Recently I received some samples of Sun Warrior protein powders to try out.

These powders contain only raw and vegan ingredients.  The Warrior Blend is made from pea protein, cranberry protein, hempseed protein, and coconut. The Sunwarrior Protein is made from brown rice.

I started with the Chocolate Warrior Blend. I combined it with soymilk, using the blender to really mix it up well.

You know how some protein powders have a chalky, artificial taste? That is not the case here. It's unbelievably good. I guess it's the hemp protein that gives it a distinctly nutty flavor. Almost like a chocolate-peanut butter shake. The shake I made with the Vanilla Warrior Blend was also delicious -- very creamy and filling.

I added some Natural Sunwarrior Protein to a smoothie made with strawberries, spinach, almond milk, vanilla, and stevia. I couldn't even tell it was there, except that it provided a slightly thicker consistency. Jackson and Olivia drank their smoothies down in record time, and I enjoyed mine as well. I definitely felt satisfied and full afterwards.

The next day we used Vanilla Sunwarrior Protein in a smoothie with peaches, soymilk, vanilla and stevia. Again, delicious and barely noticeable, except for added thickness.

The only thing I had bad luck with was adding some Natural Sunwarrior Protein to a bowl of overnight oats. They took on a chalky, weird flavor and I only ate a few bites. So it seems like these protein powders are better designed for blending into shakes and smoothies. I would totally recommend them if you are a smoothie drinker! Now that the weather has warmed up and we are starting to drink more smoothies, I think we will need to keep a pouch of Chocolate Warrior Blend on hand. That was my favorite out of the bunch.

Do you use protein powders? Do you have a favorite brand?

Olivia is 2!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Olivia. Although we would like for you to please, please stop growing so fast, we are totally head-over-heels in love with the silly, cuddly, clever, inquisitive, funny, beautiful little girl you have become.

Plans, Schmans

What a crazy week it has turned out to be! On Wednesday, we were going to have a little birthday party for Olivia with our play group friends. Then, on Thursday, we were going to head up to Oklahoma for a long weekend, celebrating her birthday with our family. Fun! We were so looking forward to it.

But none of that happened because, on Tuesday, my throat started to hurt, and Jackson developed a cough. The next morning I had a fever and body aches, so I went to the doctor. As I feared, it turned out to be strep -- again! I just had it in January. The doctor said I may be a "carrier" and will have it a few times before it goes away for good. Sweet. Awesome. Thankfully, it was a much milder case this time around. I already feel a lot better. And Jackson's strep test came back negative, so we are just giving him honey and lemon and running the humidifier for his cough. He seems to be on the mend.

I was sad that we had to cancel Olivia's party -- I had to remind myself that she is only turning 2 and doesn't even really understand what a party is! Anyway, we might be able to reschedule it for next week or something.  And I was sad we couldn't go to Oklahoma as planned. But I was considered contagious until today, and I would feel terrible if I got any other family members sick. So it was best that we stayed home for now. 

Anyway, our meals haven't been too exciting. My appetite is fine, but there were a few nights that I didn't feel like being on my feet in the kitchen for very long.  One evening we had leftover shells with chickpea sauce. On the side, I served Mandiee's Maple Curry Roasted Cauliflower. The kids asked for seconds, and I loved the combination of sweet and spicy flavors. Plus, the maple syrup and curry powder made my kitchen smell amazing as the cauliflower was baking!

Another evening, I made the Caprese Sandwich from Celebrate Vegan, with a side of garlicky sauteed spinach. The sandwiches were OK. The raw tofu is marinated in olive oil and soy sauce, before being added to the sandwich along with tomato and basil. So the tofu does take on some flavor -- just not enough for my liking. It still tasted like I was eating raw tofu.

I was a tester for Celebrate Vegan, so I don't want this to seem like a dis of the cookbook in any way. There are a ton of awesome recipes in it. You can see my reviews of the things I made in these posts. And the caprese recipe is here if you want to try it yourself -- it may suit your taste better!

On the plus side, the Alexia frozen ciabatta rolls I used were pretty tasty. I typically buy fresh ciabatta from the supermarket bakery, but if I shop in the evening, they tend to be sold out. So it is nice to have an alternative in the freezer section.

The leftover rolls were devoured with hummus. There was a sweet sale on Cedar's hummus that I took advantage of.

Today I got out the dehydrator and made some kale chips, using my favorite recipe.

I love that my babies love kale chips! Yum!

Have a good weekend!

Catching Up

Here are some recent eats, as I clear off my camera in preparation for Olivia's upcoming 2nd birthday. I have been on a Dreena Burton kick. I am having a lot of success with her older cookbooks, so I'm sure I will be buying her new one soon.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto with Toasted Almonds and Pine Nuts from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. So good. I made a lot and happily snacked on it for the next couple of days.

Pureed Chickpea Pasta Sauce with Fresh Herbs from Vive le Vegan! We all loved this. It has almost a potato salad flavor to it. Some smoky tempeh bacon would be a great addition. On the side, roasted asparagus. I was so happy to learn that Jackson likes asparagus when I serve the long stalks like this. He thinks they are fun to chomp on.

One night I made potato and chard quesadillas, which I served with H-E-B tomatillo salsa that was surprisingly awesome. I've seen Krys mention making these quesadillas and I thought they sounded good. They sure were!

One evening we went to one of our favorite family-friendly restaurants, Phil's. I love Phil's for their tasty veggie burgers and sweet potato fries...

But the kids love Phil's for the blue cows!

There is also a full playscape, but Jackson and Olivia prefer to spend all their time riding the cows. I think Jackson is moo-ing in this pic.

Have a great day!

Dandelion Season

Hey all, sorry for the lack of updates. I've been preparing for Olivia's birthday, trying to finish a book in time for tomorrow's book club (100 pages to go, hmm) and, as always, getting the kids out of the house as much as possible to preserve all of our sanity!

But last night I made the Tomato Basil Breakfast Quesadillas from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan and I felt like I absolutely had to post about them. They are that amazing.

First I made the sundried tomato hummus. There will be leftovers of this hummus, and you will be very happy about that.

Next I made the smoky avocado sauce. Liquid smoke is so magical, isn't it?

I assembled the quesadillas with the hummus, tomato, fresh basil, and some tempeh bacon. I didn't feel like making my own tempeh bacon, so I picked up this Turtle Island bacon. Good stuff.

The finished product...

So it took an hour to make this meal, which seems like a long time for a quesadilla. But it was one of those occasions where I didn't mind the effort because I was so excited about the outcome. And it was every bit as delicious as I imagined.

Jackson and Olivia have discovered dandelions. I showed them how you can blow the seeds off them, and now they get all giddy whenever they come across one. Luckily, our untamed and in-need-of-mowing backyard is full of dandelions and other interesting weeds.