Don’t Snow on My Parade

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Katharina

This post may be a bit like the weather I’ve been experiencing over here lately–a whirlwind. There has been consistent snow for the past two weeks and there is more to come! Not only has it been snowing constantly but it’s also been super windy. But I haven’t let the weather stop me from adventuring and atleast there’s been plenty of sun to help keep my mood up. Sophia recently asked what we appreciate from nature. Well, the sun is something I wholeheartedly love. It brings up my spirits and I can’t help but feel better on sunny days.

Starting off a sunny day with some chocolate!

I decided to try out another one of the chocolate bars the folks at Newman’s Own Organics sent me. I had only tried their dark chocolates and I wanted to change it up a bit with some milkiness. Deliciously creamy and made me feel like a kid again. Oftentimes milk chocolates get overwhelmed with all the other ingredients, but I like how you can still taste the chocolate in this bar. I feel like milk chocolate is often forgotten about nowadays. But I think dark, milk, and white chocolates all deserve a little love.

And this is how Matilda started out her snow day.

She dug it!

And came back 10 minutes later to see if there was more.

Leftover chickpeas in coconut milk over rice & roasted butternut squash tossed in coconut oil + cinnamon

Then went on an adventure to visit a friend of ours!

I'll admit the snow sure is beautiful though.

Soul sistas!

Back of the Virginia Center for Architecture

Snacks were had--I found the Coconut Macadamia flavor!

I'd like to think this was a delicious snowball. Soft, chewy, and cocoNUTTY.

Our beautiful friend in her barista zone! She made us yummy Cinnamon Dolce Lattes "with love."

I hadn't had an English muffin in ages!

I spread Sunland’s caramel peanut butter on one slice and the other had butter and the berry jam Holly sent me awhile ago. I also had a bowl of yogurt + a minneola, pomegranate arils, and granola.

Sauteed mushrooms + salsa verde + manchego + Italian bread

Umm YUM!

All together now!

Letfover AMAZING ziti and roasted butternut squash

And my dad came to stop by since he's in town on business.

How sweet

After some hang out time with my dad I went over to a friend’s house. I got to try a most delicious vegetable lasagna recipe she made up + garlic bread (ON HOMEMADE BREAD)! Afterwards we headed to one of the bars around here that reminds me of a tavern.

A supreme peanut butter oatmeal cookie made by one of her roommates, the expert baker!

CranBran Vitatop + coconut oil, Kashi GoLean Crunch, bruleed banana slices, Sunland's caramel peanut butter over Greek yogurt.

Met up with my dad at a new cafe for some afternoon bites.

I loved the openness and natural lighting.

He ordered the carrot + ginger soup.

He let me try some of it with the bread they served it with (SO delicious). I also got a white chocolate chip and cranberry scone + soy cappuccino

The place is called Urban Farmhouse Market & Cafe and it’s really neat because you can even go grocery shopping in there. They sell things like organic milk, cake mixes, eggs, quinoa pasta, and granola made by a local Richmonder. We definitely plan on going back for lunch! It also seemed like a really nice place to study and have a nice change of environment.

Snapped a picture before another meet-up!

Look who I got to hang out with!!!

I met up with Brittany at a local cellar for some wine and chocolate sampling. I haven’t seen her in ages and she’s just as radiant even in the winter! We both brought our dogs, but Matilda was being a brat to adorable little Olive, and Isaac had to bring her back home. I hope they get along next time they meet!

Wine!

Crazy Matilda

Yummy chocolate samples, and they even opened up a bar for us chocolate lovers to try.

Look at these two dolls!!!

She also gave me the most delicious Coconut Macaroons she made (recipe from Raw Food/Real World).

Friday turned out to be an up and down and up day. I got really upset at one point but before totally giving into it I knew I had to do something to help me calm down. I have worked so hard to not succumb to things that in the end are not good for me. I reached out, communicated my feelings, and ended up rising above the stress. I did what I knew would be best for me. So glad I wasn’t incredibly stubborn and didn’t give in. Now I plan on going out with some friends and dancing my worries away! Do any of you find it hard to let things go out of stubbornness?

This weekend there’s going to be tons of love in the air. Who knows what’s in store!!! Either way, I hope you all enjoy it whether you’re single or taken!

The Way to Someone’s Heart is Through Their Stomach

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Katharina

Heyy everybody! So I’ll be compiling the questions and I will answer them via video post by the end of this week. If any of you come up with a question randomly throughout the week, just comment! Moreover, you guys are all so sweet. I should read your comments everyday before I head out the door!

On Friday I played catch up with one of my bests, Kelley. We went to a local coffeehouse and talked for some hours.

Best friends since 9th grade!

Ya dig?

Then we got ready to go to our friend's birthday shindig.

I saw some old friends that I had wondered what the heck happened to them. I was so glad to see them and just hang out. There were lots of beats made- it’s crazy what you can do with technology these days. And there were a couple of freestylers and anyone else who felt like taking the mic.

Remember how I told you guys about my date being moved to Monday? Well in the short span of a weekend, I almost completely forgot that I’m going on a date… TODAY! I’ll definitely report back. I’m still excited, but things between an old crush of mine have been rekindling. Is it it just me but when one person shows interest in you, then a whole line of them all of a sudden show up? Well, this is definitely happening. My friend who had the birthday on Friday also randomly texted me the next day saying that we should get breakfast some time. This is while I was hanging out with my “old” crush. Oi vey!

: Honey Chobani

This was the last Chobani flavor I had left to try out. Honestly, I didn’t think it was really that good in terms of it tasting like honey. The texture was on point as usual, but where’s the honey??? I had gotten use to seeing chunks of fruits, that I expected there to be swirls of honey in here. Here’s what I ended up mixing it with…

: MultiBran VitaTop + banana, and cranberry raisin swirl toast with cream cheese and one half with Crofter’s fruit spread and the other half with Creme of Date and Almond spread.

I surprisingly liked another Bran VitaTop. It’s also a very versatile VitaTop because you don’t have to worry about any interfering flavors. It’s almost like a blank canvas, except it tastes good… so it’s not really blank!

Well my “old” crush ended up staying over and I made him a delicious bowl of oatmeal. I can’t even remember what I made for him, but he really liked it. He couldn’t finish it though! I think it’s hilarious that I can eat more for breakfast than he can. Actually, that’s how it is in most cases when I’m with friends, and there I am with a clean plate! My mom is also known for having a good appetite hehe. Guess it runs in the family! Anyway, so the “old” crush asked if I wanted to go to Trader Joe’s with him. YES! While I got ready he offered to take Matilda out for a walk. How sweet! He loves Matilda, but really… who doesn’t? We were heading over to Trader Joe’s, then I asked him about that store World Market. I’d always seen it but I never knew what their deal was. I’ve heard they sell furniture but then I also heard my friend say that she bought a crate of mangoes there once. As you can see, I was very confused. He asked me if I wanted to go, “yes,” then he managed to switch over 3 lanes to the right and pull into the parking lot! Whoa! I went to the imported food section and I bought something you will see later in this post. Trust me, you will appreciate it! Next stop was Trader Joe’s and I got some more new things to try out. Since Whole Foods is pretty much Trader Joe’s next door neighbor we went there as well.

: Funkay town!

So far the day was awesome! Our last stop was an Indian grocery store. He had never been. If you’re a friend of mine there is some point in time of our friendship that I will take you over to some specialty market.

: Bags of puffed rice. Check out the mondo one!

: So colorful

After we got some more new things to spoil our tastebuds (aside from the incense *their prices are always way lower than anywhere else), we headed over to the new Indian pastry shop next door.

: INDIAN PASTRY SHOP!

He asked me if he could buy me a veggie samosa. How cute! And did he even need to ask? Of course I’d be okay with that!

: Just a couple of the things I got to try out.

GINGER SYRUP! I had no idea that the folks at Ginger People also made a syrup. Where have I been? This is what I got at World Market. Oh my goodness! When I saw this I knew I had to have it no questions asked. I also got Tofurky’s Italian Sausage – a freebie thanks to the kind folks at Turtle Island Foods. The jar of Tamarind-Date Chutney isn’t new, just restocking an old favorite. But those are the famous peanut butter filled pretzels I’ve seen on a countless number of blogs! They were very yummy – and I dipped them in even more peanut butter; Jenny you’d be proud! I also got some other sauces to try at the Indian store, but I’ll leave those for another day.

After some hours apart (haha) my “old” crush came over to watch The Lost Boys. Yes, that old 80’s vampire flick! Anyway, because my apartment is too cozy to ever leave, he slept over again. This time I was able to snap a picture of what I made him for breakfast.

: All the boys around here should be jealous!

He commented on how beautiful it was! I’ve been joking around that I will seduce him through the powerful ways of Majesty Oatmeal. I just sliced an apple, threw in some almonds and poured on a bit of the Maple & Apple syrup. However, I used a new grain that I got to try out that morning too. Have you ever had Cream of Wheat? Well this was a brown rice version. Erewhon sent me a box of Brown Rice Cream; made from organic brown rice. How could I forget?! I also sprinkled a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice I picked up at Trader Joe’s.

For me?

Pineapples and cashews! And the ginger syrup, of course.

The Brown Rice Cream looks kind of funky because I mixed in Spirutein.

The Brown Rice Cream looks kind of funky because I mixed in a scoop of vanilla Spirutein.

I really enjoyed how creamy this was. I’ve never blended oats, but I’d imagine this is what they’d be like. Another wonderful and versatile breakfast grain!

In other news, Angharad from Eating for England asked me to do a guest post for her. Heck yes! Check it out: Putting your twist on things. Guest posts are so much fun!

p.s. next post = serious food porn. Viewer discretion is advised… okay that sounds scary. I swear it’s not, but it will make you drool a lot!

Over that Hill

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Katharina

It’s Wednesday everybody – can I get a witness??

Maple Pecan

The first bite into this ProBar was “meh” but then the second, third, fourth bite- you get the point – afterwards the flavors really started to come out. There is a warm nuttiness to it; due to the mix of peanut butter, pecans, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts cashews, and coconut perhaps? There are also some dark chocolate chips in there as well, which I enjoyed biting into. I also saw that they used cardamom seed, nutmeg, fenugreek, and nutmeg. Practically everything is organic in this bar even down to the orange oil. Speaking of spices. I made my favorite okra recipe the other day:

Check out that turmeric action.

Vendakkai Poriyal

You can find the link to this in my recipe section.

Vendakkai Poriyal with coconut oil and a very crispy sandwich!

Cheddar cheese, tomato slices, tamarind-date chutney on Cranberry Cinnamon Swirl bread.

I ended up taking the tomato slices out because I felt it kept the real combination from shining – cheddar cheese and tamarind-date chutney. Those two together are awesome! If you want, you could even just make a grilled cheese sandwich and have some chutney out for dipping. Kind of like a tomato soup, although I wouldn’t advise eating the chutney like a soup.

Now let’s move on to some sweeter things.

Last but not least

I saved the Banana Walnut Kardea bar for last. I heated it up, but this time I kept an eye on it. It wasn’t bad at all – although it wasn’t my favorite and I was half-expecting it to be the best. Don’t get me wrong it was good, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

Oh lala

The other morning I knew exactly what I wanted. I tried the AppleBerry VitaTop. I actually really liked this one! I tried it plain so I could give you all an honest opinion. Unlike the other bran tops, this was very yummy! I came prepared to liven the bowl up though, just in case. It really wasn’t necessary because it was tasty on its own, but I guess it doesn’t hurt! I also tried Nature’s Path Flax Plus® Maple Pecan Crunch. I spot a pecan! This cereal is definitely a whole grain cereal but they were able to keep it from being bland by using just enough maple syrup and other sweeteners – not to mention the pecans! What else is in this bowl? I heated some apple slices and sprinkled them with cinnamon and threw in some more almonds into the mix. This was all sitting pretty on a Plain Chobani pillow.

I also poured on some Maple & Apple Syrup

All together now... YUM!

What else is sweet?

Getting some cash for taking a survey!

This was so crisp I thought it was fake.

I think fall is finally starting to peek through; I’m not ready yet though! I still have to bring up a lot of my warm clothes up from Florida, and take some jackets to the dry cleaners. Ay Dios mio! (That’s for you Sarah!)

Oh! Don’t forget to submit your cheese recipe for the First Day of the Month Giveaway over at The Biggest Diabetic Loser. The contest ends today! There’s also another giveaway going for a Paris care package on at Gillian‘s blog here. Oh lala!

My favorite grilled cheese sandwich!

An oldie but a goodie – Grilled Mango Chutney and Cheddar Cheese Sandwich

p.s. Thank you all for being so kind, and I’m glad we feel the same way! Moreover, Matilda’s ego is now the size of a blimp, but that’s okay because she really is that cute. You guys should see her in action though. Actually, I have a video of her from one of our walks. I posted it before, but I’ll post it again in case someone missed it: Matilda’s Walk.

p.s.s. Tammy over at Defining Wellness gave me the honor of being featured on her blog for a series she does called “Behind the Blogs.” You can check it out here.

Doubt your doubts

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Katharina

On Friday, I met up with my partner for our group project – she overslept and left early. I ended up making the entire powerpoint including cutting the clips for the different films. Then on presentation day the professor said our focus was not what he wanted (even though he never said what he wanted). Thank goodness I did my research though, so it wasn’t a big deal. However, my partner I guess didn’t inform herself of the subject she was going to present and she actually said, “excuse me Professor, but honestly we don’t have anything to say. So can we go next week?” Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? I ended up doing most of the talking, then I paused and asked her if she wanted to say anything, then she says into the mic, “yeah, I was going to say… when are you gonna let me say something?” – with the biggest attitude. I couldn’t believe her. But I’m glad that’s over with! So I didn’t get to really go to the First Friday Artwalk like I wanted to because I had to work on the powerpoint, but I did have to take Matilda on a walk. To my pleasure, the artwalk was still going on and Matilda got some free Texan smoked ribs. There was also farmer’s market out of a bus! What an awesome way to support local farms – too bad i left my wallet and camera at home.

Breakfast to give me brain power before my presentation!

I tried the plain Chobani flavor that morning. I am still loving the consistency of this yogurt! Can’t say much about the taste though, plain is plain. I had it with Zoe’s Granola, almonds, and mango chunks bits.

Anywho, after my Saturday class presentation ship sunk, I vented to my mom a bit and she made me feel better. I decided to take some “me” time to do whatever the heck I wanted to. I met up with a friend on an avenue with lots of monuments and a huge grass median. Then we went on a long leisurely bike ride and learned more about each other. She’s gone through a lot of the unusual college circumstances I’ve gone through, so it’s nice to have someone that can relate.

My bike is back in business and better than ever!

Windblown and wise?

That’s the “kangaroo pouch” I carry her in when we go on bike rides. She rides in style and she looks like a G with one paw out and bobbing her head.

After dinner, I ended up taking a nap (this is rare for me) to replenish myself before I went out to meet up with some of my favorite ladies.

I had a little snack before I left - Pomegranate Chobani!

I enjoyed this flavor Chobani as well. So far so good. Can I remind you all that Greek yogurt has a lot of protein! Just what I need. The consistency of this is creamier rather than whipped. Oh and I love pomegranate seeds, so biting into them wasn’t weird for me at all. My mom actually makes stir-fries with the seeds and it adds a tiny burst of flavor when you bite into one.

Before I headed out I spritzed my "ladylike" perfume.

Before I headed out I spritzed some of my "ladylike" perfume on.

I have different perfumes for different moods. I use Prada Tendre when I want to embody the feeling of… “I am WOMAN!”

We went to Capital Ale House thinking they had some Oktoberfest celebration going on...

So we went to another bar... a sports bar?

Sports bars are not really my “scene”, but I really didn’t care because I was just happy to be with my friends.

Cocktails all around!

The next morning I got up when my body was ready – 9 am. I usually wake up before that, so when I saw what time it was I literally jumped out of bed!

Boo-berry!

Heyy it’s October, I can make those jokes if I want to.

BlueBran VitaTop, sliced banana, Blueberry Chobani, and the rest of my Artisana Pecan Butter jar.

At first I thought I would include some frozen berries, but then I thought… overkill? So I opted for a banana instead. Okay so, the Blueberry Chobani was also a winner! I just love yogurt – can you believe I hated it before? The consistency used to freaked me out. But then I tried Greek yogurt, and overtime I just got comfortable with other kinds too. The VitaTop was “meh”. It’s surprising that I’m not really digging the “Bran” VitaTops. And the Artisana Pecan Butter? Diiiivine! I really wish they had it in stores though! You hear that Artisana? I’m pretty sure if you guys put your nut butters on store shelves they would be best-sellers! I would spread the word – they’d think I’m a crazy fan. Well, I am!

Let’s see… now on to some snacks!

I'm not use to this kind of snack!

Okay, so my twelve year-old mind is giggling at this. This is the Kielbasa Tofurky sausage, I posted about it before. This time I squirted on some ketchup, Trader Joe’s organic sweet relish, their horseradish hummus, and some red onions. Yum! I wanted to get a better taste of the product itself. And I must say that I approve. Like I said before, I had really only tried veggiedogs before, but never any of the hefty sausages. I think I will buy these kinds from now on because whenever I have the veggiedogs I always need 2 or 3 at a time to feel satisfied. And with these, I’m fine with just one.

I had to laugh at this!

I tried the Chai Spice Kardea bar flavor. It looks like a mound of something because I over-heated it in the microwave. My bad! Nonetheless, it didn’t lose any of its delicious flavor. Yup, that’s right, Kardea did it again. It tasted like I was chewing a cup of chai tea. That sounds weird, but that’s the only way I can describe it. I swear, I have one more bar to try, and I’m looking forward to it. They haven’t let my tastebuds down thus far.

CranBran VitaTop

I’m just not a fan of the “Bran” variation. Well, I haven’t tried them all, so I can’t say that really. But yeah, I wasn’t too keen on this one either. I smeared some coconut oil on it hoping to make it taste better, and it worked. But the VitaTop itself? No bueno. Maybe it’s because I got use to the sweetness of their chocolate flavors, that I was expecting the same for these… just a more natural tasting sweetness.

Earlier today I wanted to go to the state fair, but then I realized how far it was! I looked at Matilda and she gave me that “look”. The one that makes me feel bad if I leave her alone. Hmm… what could we do?

Matilda and I went to the neighborhood I lived in 7 years ago.

They have lots of trails, and there are tons of trees. I didn’t encounter another person on the trails so it felt like a beautiful hideaway. While we were walking we did encounter some other four-legged friends though!

Why hello there!

Two superbly groomed poodles

This was so hilarious to watch! The dog kept doing that.

This hyper dog was so hilarious to watch! He's jumping if you didn't notice.

Then I was in search of my favorite house in my old neighborhood. Matilda and I kept walking, and I wasn’t sure I would even remember where it was.

Snack break!

Uh... hello?

Okay, now I've got your attention.

Yummy!

High-five!

Here you go!

Pretending to have manners.

Puppy paws!!!!

Okay I've crossed overload territory... just a few more I promise!

Hehe she looks funny here.

-sniff sniff-

I think we're close!

There was a house on a hill...

... with a beautiful view.

I love it! I looked around to make sure no one saw me - maybe they'd think I was a private eye?

The front of the house has a neat design because you can see all the way through to the back.

Mission accomplished! I headed back and picked up a couple things from the store:

"Say hell-oh to my leetle friends."

Then I came home and made myself a silly dinner

Meet Barbarella.

She’s made of delicious Virginia grown gala apple slices, sultry appleseed eyes, onion-breath smile, sprouted hair that she accessorizes with pine nuts and parmesan. I’d say she has a tomato aura! Her prized possession is her Ak-mak fan that her boyfriend, Hommus, got from Armenia. Right before she rushed out of the house for her dinner plans, she remembered to put on some Honey Mustard dressing.

This may seem random, but I’d like to set aside some space to let you all know how incredible you are. When I first started reading blogs I was just a silent reader. Then one day I decided to make my own! I started out by just posting recipes I had done, but I felt like I wasn’t making any connections with people. One day I just decided to make my posts more inviting by actually putting my personality into them. From that point, I started to make new friends. I wanted to let you all know that you really mean a lot to me. I feel like I’m going to get all sappy here, but I really care about you all. Even if someone is MIA for a while I start to get worried, and then some days later they make a post and my worries are put to rest. When I read what you guys have to say I feel like I’m having a conversation. Sometimes I read about the days when one of you is feeling down and just plain not up for anything. It makes me sad to read those posts and I wish I could give that person a hug. But I know we all have those days, and it’s totally natural. And some of you put up honest and very personal posts, and those remind me that we’re all human – that’s a good thing! No one is perfect; perfection is a moving target. Then I read people’s responses and it warms my heart to see the compassion and care we all possess. It’s refreshing because in a world where people avoid making eye contact or even say hello, I don’t want to lose faith. I don’t really know where I’m going with this, but I just want to let you all know that you are all amazing; I often think to myself, “wow, these are people I admire, and they’re my friends.” So… this is going to be SUPER cheesy, but… you’ve got a friend in me!

Enjoy your week!

There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full!

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Katharina

Hello everyone! Today is Friday, the end of another week. These past 2 weeks have been very overwhelming for me, but sometimes that happens. However, I’m use to just 1 week of madness rather than 2 consecutive weeks; it almost seems as if there’s no end! I’m almost expecting something else to pop up. Uh oh, I shouldn’t jinx myself. Yesterday I was riding my bike and in the middle of the intersection my only working brake decided to break. I put my feet on the ground, but it was scary because I thought a car was coming. So right now I have no bike, and that just means I’m walking around everywhere. The only problem with walking everywhere is that it takes a lot of time up. While I’m on my walks though, I allow that to be my “me time” of the day, since the other hours are spent using my brain to do schoolwork. Good news – my bike should be fixed by tomorrow and the weather has been nice.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down I'm using a better moisturizer.

For years I wouldn’t use body lotion, but since I started taking better care of myself, I’ve incorporated this into my daily morning routine.

Ice cream for breakfast!

Hey Sarah, I finally remembered to have some good old ice cream with my oatmeal. I also decided to incorporate it in a breakfast similar to a “peach crisp” Sarah made to get her day started. Good idea!!! I also blended my oats with the last of my ricotta and Zoe’s Granola – leaving in style.

Spaghetti squash with Lemon Garlic Sauce and Ricotta

This was my first time trying this squash, and I loosely followed this recipe. As you can see I used more than just a dollop of ricotta. I also got to try out the soon-to-be discontinued CLIF nectar bar: lemon vanilla cashew flavor. One question: why are they discontinuing them? This bar was so good!!! And the squash was…

SO much fun to eat!

I ran to my roommate to show her how cool this was. Not to mention, less dishes! What’d I do with the other half? Here are some clues:

Holla at the steal! I got the last two packages.

This was also at the Manager's Special price of $1.69!

This time I served it with a Tofurky Kielbasa sausage, tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and EVOO, red onions, and freshly grated parmesan.

I’d never tried the Tofurky sausages before, but I had a feeling it would be yummy. I think this would be wonderful with a potato salad, or some rotkohl. I can’t believe that there is so much flavor in a vegetarian alternative product. I’ve had Veggiedogs before, but these are more substantial. I can’t wait to try their other flavors!

Yesterday I got a phone call from the UPS man, and when I walked downstairs my eyes popped out of my head at the size of the package I had received. Hmm.. what could it be?

Greek yogurt!

It’s been so long since I’ve had Greek yogurt in my life, and I miss it so. It’s really just a matter of cost really that keeps me from buying it. But you know what, an occasional “splurge” shouldn’t be a big deal. I just hate being 100% financially dependent on my parents – I feel like such a burden – so I try my hardest to save. Anyway, I’ve never tried Chobani’s Greek yogurt, so of course I had to try one ASAP!

The pineapple flavor.

So. Good! It had an awesome texture and actual pineapple chunks. I’m so glad they sent me 2 containers because this was awesome. I can’t wait to try another flavor out. Furthermore, I can’t believe this has 13 g of protein! Great for vegetarians, great for anyone and everyone!

For dinner I had something simple, and comforting.

Nothing special, and I had to use up the rest of my sprouts.

The pine nuts and raisins were nice, and I got to use up the rest of my sprouts.

A simple tomato and cheddar cheese sandwich on buttered bread.

For a nighttime snack I tried the Banana Nut VitaTop.

With it's partner in crime, peanut butter - the crunchy kind!

I am not really a fan of this VitaTop. I felt it was lacking in flavor incomparison to the other ones I’ve tried. I thought the peanut butter might salvage it, but I guess not all of them can be winners. Maybe it’s because banana bread is usually some mom’s secret stellar recipe, that this VitaTop just seemed off.

I’m not the only one that’s getting to eat treats though!

I want it!

A cheese biscuit for my little nugget.

Get in muh belly!

I'm such a tease.

She's just too cute.

I’ll leave you all with just one more goodie I got to try.

Superfood Slam

This time I tried one of Art’s Original Flavors. Wow! I am still loving how you can see every ingredient. This may not look too appetizing but don’t be fooled. Some of the unique ingredients in this bar are barley grass, dates, acai, peanut butter, and chocolate. There’s was so much goodness going on in my mouth when I was eating this bar. So far, I’ve enjoyed every flavor I’ve tried. Perhaps, you just can’t go wrong!

Now we're both satisfied!

Well everyone, I hope you all had an enjoyable week and have some fun things to look forward to this weekend. Tonight marks the first Friday of October, which means all the galleries around here have new exhibitions. I’ll be doing the First Friday Artwalk.

What are you all doing to kick off the month of October?

When the Going Gets Tough

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Katharina

Let’s pretend it’s morning time and you hear mom yell, “breakfast is ready!!!” What do you do? Forget about Saturday morning cartoons and run to the kitchen!

More ricotta goodness.

I blended about a 1/2 cup of ricotta (I used this amount for my “pillow” as well), 2 sliced peaches, and NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia. I wanted to use it to make a parfait a la K. Alas, you couldn’t see the layers of granola, so I ditched that idea – for aesthetic purposes! I ate it with the last of my Zoe’s Honey Almond Granola, and some more almond joy!

Good morning again!

Then I tried mixing it with peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, pistachio extract, and stevia. The recipe actually called for almond extract, and I suggest to stick to that! The pistachio didn’t do anything for the poor peanut butter. I topped this pillow with Zoe’s Cinnamon Raisin Granola. I looked at the picture and for a split second I thought those raisins were bits of chocolate. That would’ve been perfect with the ricotta and peanut butter pillow!!! Am I right or am I right?

Here I go again!

I just heated up these tomato chunks on the stove with some olive oil, red onions, s+p. That little bowl hiding in the corner is just some good ole’ buttered grits! I didn’t like grits before (maybe because I tried them at Waffle House?), but when I made these at home my mind was changed. Someone asked me once if I like my grits sweet or salty. I can’t imagine eating sweet grits… well, maybe with maple syrup. But I think I prefer salty.

I spy something that should look familiar to you all!

To go with the cheetahs I cooked some kidney beans and broccoli in peanut sauce. The fortune cookie said, “it’s easier to be critical than to be correct.“

I had a sweet potato on hand so I thought it would be appropriate to finally make myself some Cheetahs!

Since I had kidney beans leftover, I searched through my recipes hoping I would find something. Luckily, I stumbled upon an old favorite of mine, Rajma Masala.

I like to go to ethnic stores to buy my spices.

Star anise

Isn’t it crazy how things in nature are shaped??

Rajma Masala, more Cheetahs, and some steamed broccoli with sesame seeds and oil.

Rajma Masala, more Cheetahs, and some steamed broccoli with sesame seeds and sesame oil.

The other day, after seeing these on so many blogs, I tried a Sunshine Burger!

I got the Falafel kind. The design on the plate really makes it look like the sun.

I filled a wrap with the Falafel Sunshine burger, spinach, red onion, tomato, and sprouts.

In the bowl you see a mix of NatureNaise, garlic, salt, and lemon juice – topped with a bit of Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing. That was used as the dressing for my falafel wrap. I had to take a bite of the Sunshine burger while it was still naked so I can tell you guys if it actually tasted good without “all that jazz”. Well first of all, I was pleasantly surprised to see kernels of corn! It was really good, but it’s definitely more fun to dress up. You know what is interesting about these burgers – and why they’re called Sunshine Burgers?

“These delicious veggie burgers are made of sunflower seeds and contain absolutely no soy or wheat, which is ideal for gluten free diets.”

I tend to overfill wraps... so I end up eating them like a big, floppy taco.

I'd like a salad and a sandwich please!

It was crazy hot the other day so I opted for a salad. As you can see I’m loving those sprouts I got the other day. What the heck is in my sandwich?

Sunflower seed butter, and edamame hummus. On the other half I snuck in some tomato slices with smoke sauce.

Sunflower seed butter, sprouts, and edamame hummus. On the other half I snuck in some tomato slices with smoke sauce.

I was inspired by Mitri, who has created many interesting sandwiches with various fillings. I wanted to see exactly how an unexpected combination might turn out. Well, I LOVED IT! Both sides were delicious. Try making an interesting sandwich, it’s fun and kind of risky!

Not too long ago, Angharad featured a recipe for arepas on her blog. I can’t express how much I love arepas, and her recipe looked delicious. I didn’t make my own, but my dad brought me some arepas from a Colombian cafe down in Florida.

This variation is called arepa con choclo, which means it's made with sweet corn and farmer's cheese.

A salad to go along with it: romaine, tomato, red onion, roasted potato, sprouts, sesame seeds, and honey mustard dressing.

Last night was probably my favorite dinner this week. I invited my dad over and whipped up this recipe.

"Eggplant dripping with a tomato and ricotta salsa" served with basil polenta, and avocado.

The balsamic vinegar added a smokiness to the tomatoes.

This took me under 30 minutes! I think some day soon I want to film myself cooking a meal.

Since school has involved lots of nighttime studying I’ll show you some of my latenight snacks!

I forgot how much I liked this cereal!

Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter has been finding it’s way into almost every meal and in between! Here I tried it with a juicy peach.

While taking a break from studying for my Taoism quiz, I tried another VitaTop!

This time I tried the Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTop. I kept in mind that I didn’t want to chips to be totally melted, so I just heated it up for 20 seconds. Then I had to quickly take a picture before the vanilla fro-yo melted. It already started melting though!!! I also had an apple with peanut butter. Oh and the VitaTop with some peanut butter smeared on top brings it up to another level of goodness! I really enjoyed this because when is chocolate and peanut butter not a winning combination?

Fro-yo was defeated by the delicious, ooey-gooey, and warm VitaTop.

Fro-yo was defeated by the yummy, ooey-gooey, and warm VitaTop.

The chips remind me of mud-baths on top of a mountain. What kind of place would this be? “Bathe in melted peanut butter, then relax atop Mt. Chocolate and enjoy the view of the world below.” Oh and the vanilla fro-yo would be a cloud since Mt. Chocolate is really tall!

Roomie's boytoy baked some banana bread.

Roomie's friend baked some banana bread.

Hey Lauren, do you see that jar in the back? Yup, it’s empty! I can only find McCutcheon’s apple butter, and I forgot to have my dad buy some and bring it up from Florida. I guess I’ll just have them send me a “care package” hehe. Getting snailmail and packages is such an exciting thing!

There have been a couple of things that have been on my mind lately. I touched on it a couple posts ago, how I feel that my responsibleness makes it hard for me to relate to people my age and vice versa. I was talking to a friend the other day about self-motivation and how it’s a hard thing to come across among college students. I don’t expect others to handle situations like me, but it gets frustrating when I hear people around me complain but they don’t actually do anything about it. I was wondering, what are some ways that you guys motivate yourself? Do any of you have some sort of mantra? It could be about anything really, even getting your foot out the door! Because sometimes all you want to do is lie in bed all day. By the way, those kinds of days I feel should be prescribed sometimes, no ifs ands or buts!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Another Part of Me

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Katharina

Hello everyone! This is an exciting post for me because I get to introduce you all to a part of my life that is very important to me. As I’ve mentioned in my ‘About Me‘ page, art drives and shapes every aspect of my life. Which is why my plates look the way they do! I can’t help but consider color, placement, things like that. Obsessive? Not to me. I just enjoy making things that are aesthetically pleasing. Anyway, today was my sculpture class’s first critique of the semester. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could get to a couple of our pieces – including mine. So, I’ll report back to you all once that’s done.

Critique days are my crazy days. It becomes my one and only real priority, so that means no cooking for me!

: Thank goodness for these babies!

The folks at ProBar gave me a nice little package not too long ago. What better time to bust out my first bar on a day where everything is just too cray-cray.

“Apple Cinnamon Crunch is a flavor reminiscent of Mom’s homemade apple pie with just the right combination of sweet apples, nuts, and a dash of cinnamon. This bar is so good it might compliment your next Thanksgiving dinner.”

I was a bit weary of this because I feel dessert-y bars are hard to pull off. So how was my first bite into this dense bar? Delicious! I believe their choices of nuts, dried fruits, and the most wonderful surprise – carob chips – were perfectly combined. This was even better with a pack of soymilk and a couple of peaches. I wish I took a picture of what the bar actually looked like! It had the texture that I love in bars – you could see every ingredient, like whole almonds and sesame seeds. However, I would call it Apple Cinnamon Chew, as it was very chewy. But maybe they thought “crunch” just sounded better. My overall review? If you are considering trying a ProBar, or aren’t sure which flavor to get – try this one!

All their bars are made from whole, organic, raw foods, and 100% vegan.

I also got to try some other new things today. I went to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods the other day with my dad, since he’s in town, and picked up some new items.

So many bars!

On Katie‘s blog I read that Clif nectar bars were going to be discontinued. I had never tried these bars, but I feel the need to know what these bars taste like. I also picked up 2 others that I’ve seen floating around blogland. I tried the MoJo sweet-n-salty bar as a snack today. Meh, it wasn’t horrible, but I don’t see myself buying it again. Isn’t there a PB&J flavor though? I do want to know how that one tastes.

Peaches born and raised here? Yes ma'am!

So much to talk about here folks.

I picked up some pine nuts because pesto recipes have been dancing around my head. Dried cranberries because summer is officially over (say it isn’t so!). I’m so excited to try these falafel patties – garlic sauce recipe hunt begins after this post. I highly recommend buying Lindemans Framboise beer in any flavor! I’m thinking… Mrs. Marshall’s Carytown Cafe for the best potato salad (no lie) + Kielbasa? Look at those sprouts! There are garbanzo, alfalfa, red lentil, and another sprout I can’t remember!

One old best friend and one new best friend in my life.

I love 365’s crunchy peanut butter. I should also mention that a jar of this is less than $2! I also bought myself a jar of Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Butter. After I tried it at my friend’s house I vowed that I would pick up a jar the next time I would venture out to TJ’s. It’s goodness is overwhelming, and my tastebuds are so happy whenever I eat it. This more than makes up for the other day when I accidentally burned my tongue – sorry tastebuds!

Still pretending it's fresh out of the oven.

While I was at Whole Foods, me and my dad smelled some heavenly aroma wafting through the bulk bins. We knew it was coming from the bakery! After we checked out the hot-bar, we moseyed on over to the breads. My dad got straight to the point and said he smelled something spiced and wondered what it was. Well, they told us they just got done baking a loaf of pumpkin bread. They were testing out the recipe = we are the guinea pigs. They wanted us to let them know if it had too much salt, too much sugar, any input we had. Umm… I felt like a horrible critic because my vocabulary failed me while I chewed, smiled with my eyes, and gave them a thumbs up. I saved a portion of the generous slices they gave us…

A nighttime snack!

Mashed kabocha with coconut oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon topped with vanilla fro-yo and the rest of the pumpkin bread. Just a little something to treat myself before the BIG CRIT DAY! Here are some pictures of some of the pieces:

I noticed how cool it looked when she was taking a picture of her piece from that point.

Hey everybody, it's me!

First attempt to get out.

The way I came into the world... I think. Or was it the stork?

At this point I was hoping not too much of my buttcrack would show.

Free!

Now it’s time to meet my professor!

This man is incredible! I’m not sure how one human can have so much information coming from so many different places in his head, but he manages. Sometimes when he’s talking he closes his eyes, pauses for literally a good minute, gathers his thoughts, and then decides to say something.

Oh and afterwards we learned what the title of that particular piece was; “The Fucking Part of Life” haha!

Katharina, where are these breakfast pictures you promised in your last post? Alright, alright:

Ricotta, warmed up apple chunks, topped with Zoe's granola.

Ricotta, warmed up apple chunks with cinnamon, topped with Zoe's granola + toast on the side.

Beautiful figs on toast with cream cheese, honey, and cinnamon.

Lauren, inspired me to pick up some beautiful fruits at the grocery store. She always incorporates a wide variety of fruits in veggies, and I love it!

This is the first time I blended oats with ricotta; certainly not my last!

Since we’re on the topic of figs, I’m gonna go there!

I got to try something new!

I heated up a Chocolate Fig VitaTop and served it with some fresh figs, and a cup of almond milk. The almond milk is in that cute chickadee cup in the back. Back to the muffin tops. I didn’t think the flavor was bad, it was mostly very dry though. With each bite, I kept wishing I had ice cream – something to moisten it a bit. I’m on the fence on whether or not I should recommend this products. I have another one, and I’ll give you another review.

Moving right along… warning, this is a superb bowl of oats. Superb.

Everything looks so pillowy.

What’s that sitting on top? I whirled up a frozen banana, ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, and a bit of stevia. This is much like Gena’s soft-serve, but more volumunious and creamier. It was an incredible way to start the morning with a warm bowl of oats with coconut oil. I suggest crushing some candied walnuts if you really want to take this up a notch.

I licked my blender clean it was so good.

I licked my blender and bowl clean it was so good.

I don’t think anyone figured out what the surprise green mushy stuff I made was. Well, now I will reveal to you all – drum roll please…

Edamame hummus!!!

I followed this recipe, and it came out wonderfully. I love the color and the flavor the sesame oil adds to it as well. The first time I saw this was at Trader Joe’s, and I was thinking about how ridiculously simple this must be to make. It is!

Yin and yang

Here are some ways I’ve been eating it:

My lunch looks more like a snack plate.

In a sandwich layered with cream cheese, spinach, red onion, tomato, sprouts, and the edamame hummus.

It would probably be really yummy if I added something smokey to the sandwich, or maybe I’ll test the waters like Mitri and spread a nutbutter on – sunflower seed butter anyone?