Out and About


The letter K for breakfast.

K for Katharina

I found a delicious yogurt...

I still have a few freebie coupons from Oikos left and I was on the hunt for the strawberry flavor. Much to my delight I finally found it! I couldn’t wait to try to it because the blueberry one was great. So what’d I think? This was so good! Sometimes those fruit at the bottom yogurts taste really artificial and have a strange texture. But this blended so well with the tart and creamy Greek yogurt.  Now I’m on the search for the caramel flavor!

Another recipe from The Conscious Cook

Asian Tacos with Kinpira and Spinach-Sesame Salad

I didn’t follow this recipe exactly, but it still came out delicious. I didn’t shape the won tons like tacos because I didn’t feel like it, and I substituted rutabaga for burdock root. I also used kale instead of spinach for the side salad. The seitan was cooked with freshly grated ginger and garlic and other various flavor enhancing items. This was such a satisfying lunch. Partly because it felt like a mini-project since there were so many steps.

Me and my roommate started finally decorating the living room!

And she also baked something

Cottage cheese muffins from 101 Cookbooks

These had cottage cheese, parmesan, almond flour, sun-dried tomatoes, eggs, and basil. I surprisingly liked them because I usually don’t like eggy things. However, this did cause my stomach to act up. Eggs + Katharina = Indigestion.

Tada!

Went with one of my favorite ladies to see a salsa band play at this eco-chic restaurant called Balliceaux.

The band

That night, right before the last song, a man asked me if I wanted to dance. That was the first time I said yes. I’m glad I did because I danced salsa in a way I’ve never danced it before. The music and the setting had a great vibe and I felt on top of the world. Being up front and feeling the beat of the conga and the song being brought to life by the playful trumpet, I felt it in my soul and out through my feet. I noticed that I had been smiling so much that my mouth got dry… I could feel the sweat forming in the creases of my pants. He had me doing triple turns and then go right back to the swing of things at the very front. Then the final song ended with a dip but the thrill lasted and left me wide awake at 2:30 in the morning.

I came home to make some hot chocolate with the marshmallows Maya sent me--in my special cup!

Inspired cinnamon breakfast

When I saw Sam’s bowl of cream of wheat I knew I had to have a bowl for myself soon. It looks kind of funky because I used a vanilla protein powder that has spirulina. This was so delicious. I topped it with a diced apple, Sunland’s caramel peanut butter, granola, and homemade cinnamon-sugar wonton crisps.

I have been in the mood for salads!

I guess Florida left me craving fresh foods! I made a salad with romaine, corn, Southwest Sunshine burger topped with Sun-dried tomato mustard, and BBQ sauce. Yum!

A dog and a cat!

To celebrate my dad’s birthday we were invited to a family friend’s home for dinner. How sweet of them to have us over!

My dad and his favorite... salmon!

Knowing I love my vegetables--they made a delicious salad, and baked some biscuits on the side.

The orange blob is the most delicious sweet potato mash. It’s the one I made before from “The Conscious Cook”. It has sweet potato, cashew cream, chipotle pepper, butter (Earth Balance if you’re vegan), and s&p. I think this is my favorite mash.

Dinner time!

She was trying to open the jar of Red Pepper Jelly she got from Alabama.

Never had it before but it always sounded interesting--it was like a sweet and spicy sauce.

The chef and his dessert!

His pie turned out wonderfully! It was so fresh tasting and had such a great lime flavor.

Posin'

"Smell it!"

He fell for it hahaha! Sucker!

Afterwards I met up with some friends at a bar.

And I took my first shot of tequila with "training wheels".

Only with my lady!

Last night I had two people offer to cook for me! What a treat!

This does not happen often so I happily agreed. Well, I made a compromise. I decided to have dinner with the girls and then later I would go to my other friend’s place for dessert.

The bottom half--and the lone slipper in the back.

When I arrived at my friend’s house I got a text from yet another friend asking if I wanted to go to this awesome Cuban restaurant a couple blocks down. Was there a blue moon or something? Three dinner invitations in one night? Sadly, I had to turn down the last one.

Waiting like little kids for "mommy" to cook us dinner.

She made us a seasoned pasta dish with mushrooms, feta, parmesan, and caesar dressing.

I brought some seasoned seitan and sprinkled some dill weed on top + Sugar Cookie tea!

I have a love-hate relationship with Jack the cat.

Then she offered to make us dessert!

Banana bruleed in a brown sugar sauce + vanilla ice cream + chocolate chips (but the rum was missing) = BEST MOM EVER RECIPE!!!

She knows how to take care of her babies.

Then I went to my other friend's house for dessert and wine.

Spiced pear compote with maple syrup. When I say spiced I don't just mean cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. There was also cayenne!

There was some leftoever and I had it with part of my breakfast. Guess what? My friend made me breakfast too! I had a bowl of cooked homemade grain mix with sunflower seed butter and the spiced pear compote + more maple syrup. I also had an orange and tried my first meyer lemon. It was actually really delicious and nice to have someone make me something for a change. Don’t get me wrong–I love to cook, but sometimes I like to be treated to. Who doesn’t?

Well this was my first week back in Richmond and I must say it’s been full of fun and has left me anticipating this upcoming semester. AHHHHHHH!!! I hope you all had a wonderful week. I’m going to have to catch up on all you lovely people’s lives now.

Hope You Had Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Hello hello everyone! I hope you haven’t forgotten about me. I am going to have to catch you all up on things – and I have some major catching up to do for myself. I want to know what everyone has been up to! To get you guys back up to speed I decided to do things a little differently. I’m going to go backwards with two part post. This means we’ll be time traveling! If only I could time travel back to when women wore beautiful decorative hats! And then I’d go further back to BC times and listen to Plato speak.

So let’s begin! I’m going to start off with the day after Christmas!

Warm spiced vanilla oatmeal with banana, coconut oil, Cacao Bliss, and a crumbled gingersnap.

Then we got ready to meet up with some old family friends. I’ve known them since my family moved to America and I haven’t seen them in years! We decided to meet up at this Latin grocery store that’s the size of a regular supermarket. Usually, specialty stores are very small – so this was quite a treat.

They had a cafeteria-style eating area.

A machine that makes freshly-squeezed orange juice. It reminds me of the 70's.

I've never seen an arepa de choclo look like this, but it was delicious nonetheless!

Hi everybody!

Leche (milk) de moras (raspberries) and a HUGE tamal!

Afterwards we went and did some shopping. Surprisingly the mall wasn’t too crazy.

Big ornaments

A winter wonderland.

Oh my, I had to stop myself that day. We walked into a store and I was trying something on and then I turned around to my mom and said “I’m done.” I figured since me and some friends wanted to go on the hunt for some New Years Eve stuff, I should not go crazy all in one day. Save some for later! I feel my style is in the midst of another evolution. Although I always have my underlying style motto: keep it classy. But I will show you guys some things I got.

I feel like a horseback-riding, biker, crime-fighting woman of the future in these pants. And yes, I wore them out later that night.

Sequins shorts!

I seriously think I have had this extra surge of confidence go through me. I feel like being more daring. When I browse through fashion magazines I find myself “oo-ing” and “aah-ing” at all these wonderful clothes – so why shouldn’t I be able to pull it off? Besides, life is too short to be worrying about if something is too “crazy” to wear. Of course, if you don’t feel like it’s you then don’t do it. Everyone has their own style, so embrace it!

I remembered that I never showed you guys the black shoes!

Whoops! How did these little hermits and strawberries find their way here? Who am I kidding, these guests are welcome anytime!

I also got a rock star faux-fur vest.

And my best friend was rockin' it too!

Too cute to handle!

Before I forget! Matilda got a new do the other day.

And she's going to be stylin' in a super cute vest as well! Like mother like daughter.

I love this picture!

She came over and we got ready for a night out on the town. We decided to go to a place we haven’t been to yet. It was funny because when we got there we thought the lounge was very trendy and cool – a bit too dark – but we were wondering why the music wasn’t pumping. The music was good but not really heart-thumping and energizing. They did however end up playing some happy-go-lucky Beatles and James Brown tunes. So we did our thing. Then as we were leaving my friend saw there was an upstairs. Naturally, we went to go check it out. This was where the party was at!!! So we stayed for a while longer and danced our hearts out.

Random picture of the place outside.

So now let’s rewind one day and go back to CHRISTMAS! This is how it started out…

Snowmen bowls!

From a very dear friend!

This is why I love the holiday season!

My favorite ginger!

Gorgeous Brooke sent me a wonderful Christmas card and a glamorous wintery picture!

I made my dad a brochure of things around south Florida I think he'd be interested in doing + a bowl of Key Lime (R)Ice Cream.

Somethings he enjoys... opera, bike riding, spirituality, and healthy living.

Spiced pumpkin oats, a gingersnap, maple syrup, coconut oil, sprinkles, and macadamia-cashew butter for two eyes and a mouth.

Mmm butter stollen!

And Archer Farms' bread pudding yogurt!

And Archer Farms' bread pudding yogurt!

I made my mom some macadamia-cashew butter since she can't eat solid nuts anymore.

Another recipe from The Accidental Vegetarian - Grilled Eggplant with Nuoc Cham.

We were invited to a Christmas dinner so here are some prep pictures!

Make the crust...

Macadamias, walnuts, coconut-rolled dates, maple syrup, and cocoa powder = gluten-free and vegan crust! It’s practically raw too.

The cake part...

Tofu, coconut cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and some very ripe bananas.

Now into the oven it goes!

My dad looks like he's up to something.

Moroccan Stew

I followed the recipe that the lovely Lauren sent to me. Thanks so much girl! This recipe was a winner and I’m so glad I had leftovers. Actually, I just finished the last bit that was left. All the spices, veggies, and chickpeas cooking together for hours just made it out of this world. On top I garnished it with the “scented” almonds Bekah sent and cilantro. Mouth-watering.

They made pop-overs as well and had teenie roasted potatoes!

Look at what found its way on to my plate and I wasn't even looking for it!

This was such a cute little happy surprise. April! It’s a teeny purple potato!

Then it was time for coffee and dessert!

Happy with homemade tres leches complete with whipped cream and a cherry on top!

There was also a postre de nata which is basically a cream dessert. All these Colombian desserts! Where is the one I made?

A vegan banana coconut cheesecake with chocolate macadamia crust

Wow! That’s a mouthful (a delicious one). Here’s the recipe for the cake. Although I would make a suggestion: use a bit less banana and up the vanilla extract. Everyone loved how fresh tasting this cake was. And the crust… the crust was to die for!

Some of them were fellow vegetarians!

They shared stories of the different parts of the world they’ve been in and the various interesting people they’ve come across. They were so intriguing themselves. You can literally see their inner-glow in this picture! This was such a fabulous Christmas dinner. There was great food, wonderful company, and new friends.

More wonderful family friends!

Mom and I!

Passing a childhood book on to a new family.

This was such a reminder of what Christmas means to me. The whole day I was constantly reminded of how precious our lives are and the ones who are in it do care. And it’s so wonderful to feel that.

‘Twas the night before Christmas…

My dad walked into the house and told me I had a package!

It was from Maya!!! Look at the gingerbread people doing yoga poses! This was such a sweet package and not just because of the goodies. Maya, your words mean so much to me. Seriously, if you don’t now this young lady – you should. She’s one of my role models.

A yummy package from Maya! Jam thumbprint cookies, homemade marshmallows, pumpkin seed brittle, and world peace cookies!!

A yummy package from Maya! Jam thumbprint cookies, homemade marshmallows, pumpkin seed brittle, and world peace cookies!!

Homemade marshmallows - I'm never going back! You hear that Jet-Puffed?

So that is all for right now. Next post will be a blast further back into the past!

I hope each and everyone one of you have been able to spend the holiday season with dear ones and warming up with their love.

What if you’re having fun and you want time to slow down?

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! I have quite a few goodies in store for you. Thursday night I stayed up late watching TV with my mom and worked on my post. I have so much fun writing these up. I really enjoy thinking about what I would like to share with you all. So let’s get to it!

Mom and I knew that we’d be waking up early today for a kickboxing class – 8:30! But I know there are some people who take cycling at 5:30. Imagine having the energy to do a cycling class at 5:30. Do any of you get up super early for a workout? After we came back, despite having a big pre-workout snack, I was so hungry! I didn’t have to wait to cook anything though because I had a bowl of muesli I had sitting overnight in my fridge. My mom made a pouty face and said, “you didn’t make one for me?” Aw man! I quickly made a bowl of muesli for mi madre.

Pomegranate seeds, a baby banana, sultanas, and some plums
Mom’s bowl consisted of pomegranate seeds, a baby banana, sultanas, and some plums
I had pomegranate seeds, plums, sultanas + honey & peanut butter
I had pomegranate seeds, plums, sultanas + honey & peanut butter

Do you see that beautiful pink and green fruit on the side?

A guava! You can eat the skins as well.
A guava! You can eat the skins as well.

My mom also put peanut butter and honey in her muesli. I love how she tries whatever I’m having!

After lounging around some we got ready for the beach and packed a lunch. Oh my gosh! The weather was beautiful, but the wind + sand = painful.Then we went swimming in the water and I saw a huge sting-ray and a big fishtail + chunk of fish floating around. Gross! So we battled it out in the sandstorm for a bit, went back in the water, then headed home. Atleast I got my tan on though! When we got home I took a shower and tried to get as much of the sand out of my hair as I could. After I got ready it was time for an outing with my dad. And I looked up recipes for tonight’s dinner while he drove.

I highly recommend the cookbook on the left! Both are great, but the one on the left is my favorite.
I highly recommend the cookbook on the left! Both are great, but the one on the left is my favorite.

We went to the local health food store called Tunie’s. It’s a really great place with so much selection. They sell a lot of things that are hard to find – even in places like Whole Foods. Not to mention, they have some of the cheapest prices around – even cheaper than Vitacost sometimes. So let me show you some of their selection…

Check out all the seaweed!
Check out all the seaweed!

I instantly thought of Katie and grabbed a bag of arame. Okay okay, I will warn you guys. What I’m about to show you requires your full attention and a moment of silence.

The Land of Milk and Honey
The Land of Milk and Honey

Those are jars upon jars of nut butters. Did you know that Maranatha has dark chocolate spreads – like dark chocolate almond.

So this is what I got:

Dulse and Arame
Dulse and Arame
So good!
So good!

This pasta made out of quinoa sounded interesting. My favorite BBQ sauce (thick style) and my favorite pumpkin butter. Replenished my coconut oil supply. I’ve never tried hemp protein powder. My dad also noted that I can use it in baking to add some protein. Brilliant! I also got some sample packets of other kinds of plant based proteins. Don’t worry I didn’t forget the jar of cashew butter! If there’s a word to describe cashew butter I think it would have to be… sophisticated. I know that’s a weird word to be describing a nut butter, but it’s so subtle yet delicious.

Coconut girl?
Coconut girl?

So much So Delicious action going on here. I had a coupon for the ice cream and yogurt, and I’ve never tried to kefir.

Duh!
Duh!

I got the Purely Decadent Blueberry Cheescake. This was so good! I loved the little blueberries and just everything. I announced to my family that dessert was coming after dinner. This was before I even started making dinner!

Yay! My mother what could she do to help.
Yay! My mother asked what could she do to help.

My dad turned on some Best of Simon & Garfunkel and poured us glasses of wine.

What a little coquette.
What a coquette.

Recipe? Measurements? I'll just eyeball it! As usual.
Recipe? Measurements? I’ll just eyeball it! As usual.
Baked butternut squash (ketchup in the background
Baked butternut squash (ketchup in the background), avocado, and hot sour chickpeas

Deeelicious! I went out with my friends later on Friday night, and I’ll be posting those pictures up next. It was definitely an eventful night; but when you’re in Miami, when is it not?

I made the FAQ video on Friday but  due to some technical difficulties it’s just not available right now. Sorry!

p.s. thank you for the compliments on the dress! I bought it awhile ago at none other than… Anthropologie.

*For some reason my comments were disabled but I fixed it!

Part 3

Overnight oats with peaches, bananas, and coconut oil.

Overnight oats with peaches, bananas, and coconut oil.

I was missing some of my usual morning eats, so I whipped a bowl of overnight oats. Yes, when I got back to the hotel room the prior night kind of tipsy I thought about this. What can I say? The first time I’ve had this in a mug too! Okay, I have a confession to make. I used the coconut oil my mom puts on her hair, but the bottle said it was edible. I didn’t get sick, but it tasted weird. Never doing that again… unless I’m desperate.

Mom and I went to the fitness center and I made use of my iPod and podcast collection I’ve accumulated. I’ve never done this before, but I followed my YogaDownloads recordings. It was cool because I kind of felt like I was guiding my own yoga time. Not to mention, I usually start my Saturdays by going to a yoga class, so I was kind of keeping up with my routine.

Afterwards, we all went downstairs to really start our day!

IMG_5890

I met up with my parents downstairs for breakfast and asked for a cup of green tea.

Green tea with lime

I asked for a cup of green tea and they surprised with a lime rather than the usual lemon.

Then this was spotted.

Then this was spotted.

I believe this was a blintz with oatmeal. Whatever it was, it was so good!

Being forced to take a picture together ugh. Kidding of course - love you Mom!

Being forced to take a picture together ugh. Kidding of course - love you Mom!

I think you guys can guess what we did next. Beach time!

My mom is going to kill me for posting this, but I think she looks adorable!

My mom is going to kill me for posting this, but I think she looks adorable!

A friend and I have an insider that if we ever go bald we'll have one strand that'll survive. And that's mine!!!

A friend and I have a joke that if we ever go bald we'll have one strand of hair that'll survive. And that's mine!!!

Guess what? I tried Amazing Grass’s Whole Food Energy Bar. I really wasn’t into it. But I’m looking forward to trying the chocolate one because I tried the chocolate flavored GREENSuperFood powder and I really liked it. So I gave the rest of the bar to my parents. I think they like anything I give them because they were all like, “mmm!” To each his own.

After some hours of swimming and sunning we headed back to get ready to meet up with some friends for dinner. The only real plans we had the whole vacation! I was looking forward to this because they’re such wonderful people to be around. Actually they are the relatives of my old boyfriend who passed away. We’ve only known them for about 3 years, but they treat us like family. That means no formalities, plenty of bear hugs, and burping if you’ve got the urge.

I totally forgot they have a St. Bernard!

I totally forgot they have a St. Bernard!

His name is Diesel.

His name is Diesel.

He was like a big baby and the perfect pillow! I think these dogs are incredible, and they said he’s related to the dog from one of the Beethoven movies. How many are there anyway? It’s like the Land Before Time series – there are so many!

It's like an outdoor kitchen!

It's like an outdoor kitchen! Grilling some seafood with homemade sauces.

They have about 3+ acres, and they take so much care of it. What’s even better is that they actually get to enjoy it too!

Gigantic baby!!! Watch out for that tail.

Gigantic baby!!! Watch out for that tail.

Imagine how big his poo must be! Oi vey!

IMG_5924They set up stations in the kitchen and on the table. We built our own salads and grabbed the mix-ins with our hands! I didn’t take a picture of mine but I made a huge salad with the veggies, chickpeas, avocado, and I mixed in some pastina. Pastina is a pasta that’s so small it looks like cous cous. Moreover, they had marinated artichokes and peppers that were delicious. I also helped myself to some sesame semolina bread with butter. Oh man, I kept popping those cherry tomatoes in my mouth – they were extra tasty. Do you guys like the goblets for the wine? I love using out of the ordinary things, just makes it more special and silly.

The real reason I was looking forward to dinner with our friends.

The real reason I was looking forward to dinner with our friends.

Debbie had baked a blueberry sour cream cake. She also shared with us that this was her first time using cardamom. When she told us this, I was even more excited to try it! It was so good and you could taste the cardamom. I mean it smelled divine, but it tasted heavenly. After dinner, we just stayed at the table and kept talking for hours. Our families exchanged crazy stories. My mom – she’s like a movie spoiler – likes to start out this one story with, “did I ever tell you the one about the serial killer we met?” Mom! You’re not suppose to say that at the beginning. Regardless, she tells the story because, frankly, you’d be crazy not to want to hear it! It was getting late, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.

Day three of our vacation was one filled nostalgia – from the overnight oats, Saturday morning yoga, and one of the best families we know. With that in mind this young lady peacefully went to sleep.

Part 4 tomorrow! It’s taken me almost a week to recap my vacation for you guys!

p.s. I’m going to save my surprise supermarket find for tomorrow. Hmm what could it be?

Dinner is served

 Yesterday I told you guys that I would be posting yesterday’s dinner today. Did that sentence make sense? Just double checking!IMG_4001

I think mealtimes are very important parts of our day. Of course there are times when we are rushed, and scarfing down food is something I try to avoid. Some times I’ll make meals the night before if I know that I will be pressed on time. Anyway, back to dinner. My family is the kind of family that sits down together for meals. I definitely don’t ask to be excused, because why would I? I’m lucky to feel connected to my family and enjoy their company. Yesterday was so nice. My parents helped set the table outside, since I prepared the food. We ended up sitting out in the backyard for a couple of hours just talking. Matilda also joined us. It was so cute watching her. She would scurry around the patio like she was hunting for the pack. Then she’d come sit upright at my feet like she was reporting for duty.

For dinner I made

IMG_4002Avocado Mac and “Cheese” over super high protein pasta (23g!!!)

IMG_4003Sweet Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms with Parmigiano Reggiano over a bed of spinach

I served it with some fruity berry tea. We usually have teas with our meals. I also had some of the Almond and Black Sesame Seed spread with some dipping foods. I finished dinner off with a So Delicious Vanilla frozen sandwich. The meal was a hit with my parents, but the avocado mac and “cheese” was the real star of the show.

Not sure if you noticed the little set up going on behind the table. Last summer break was when I put together what I call the “shrine”. I was so proud of myself when I completed it. It had a lot of greenery going on and fresh herbs. However, my parents didn’t exactly take care of it while I’ve been away at school. I guess I’ll have to start over again?

I’m not sure if you can see, but on the “frame” (I just made it into a chalkboard) I had written “Please take care of me!”

After dinner I had to go on a 12 hour fast to get blood work done this morning. Even though I would be asleep through most of it, I was starting to get impatient. Luckily, I was in and out of the doctor’s office in no time! It was nice because my family was able to sit down and have breakfast together on a weekday. That usually doesn’t happen because I normally eat breakfast around 9. I made my parents some overnight oats. This time I decided to put in some golden raisins, pistachios, and orange blossom water. For myself I made a bowl of warm oats with chocolate protein powder and banana. I also mixed in some coconut oil and peanut butter. I also spread some more coconut oil on a slice of arequipe filled banana bread. I almost forgot! I made a papaya and mora smoothie as well. My dad also made a juice that consisted of kale, apples, beets, ginger, and carrots. Here’s to rosy cheeks!

I decided to catch some rays this morning and start reading a book I brought with me. It’s called Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. So far I’m enjoying it.

Well I have to go! I’m about to meet up/catch up with a friend and try Jamaican food for the first time! My friend said they had vegetarian options for the patties. I’m so excited!

This weekend I’m going to be watching a show called Tango Desnudo with some family friends. Beforehand we’re going to meet up at their place to have dinner and it’s going to be a small potluck. I’m thinking I might make an Indian recipe.

Does anyone have a vegetarian/vegan recipe that has amazed non-vegetarians?