Random Thoughts which always lead to Food Somehow

A Vibrant Display of My Version of  A Yummy Veggie Stew Inspired by a favorite local deli.

Yesterday I had an amazing day, but lets face it I can find amazing in all of my days.  I just choose to find it, no matter what I am faced with.  My morning started with three hours of cleaning at one of my client's office building at 3AM.  This is something I do every Monday morning, basic routine for me, so I am used to getting up that early.  I have decided it affords me the freedom in the weekend to spend more time with my family so I just do it.  Continuing in my routine I came home and snuggled in with my hubby for about 30 minutes before he had to get up and then I was busy again- making lunches, making breakfast, making sure everyone had the sustenance which would provide ample energy for their busy day ahead of them.   

Dropping the kids off at school, kisses goodbye, "have a good day" I say and now it is my time, time to just "be" for a little while.  I have the car radio all to myself now and turning up the volume on my favorite up tempo beat- I'm ready to sing my way into town as safely and quickly as possible because I am going to Bikram yoga!  The sooner I get there, the sooner I can let everything go and shut my mind off.  I always feel so peaceful when I have finished my 90 minutes of intense heat and stretching- such a feeling of accomplishment too and its all good.

Next I am on my way to the gym- no this is not the typical back to back thing that I do but the timing matched up and I would hate to miss my workout time with Tod.  It has been such a fun way for the two of us to bond.  I think he just enjoys kicking my butt during the weight lifting part, but its OK because I need it, and he doesn't let me cheat- not one little bit!

So can you just imagine my appetite after all this calorie burning.  Yes, I ate breakfast.  It was a beautifully yummy bowl of oatmeal with walnuts, cinnamon and bananas.  And I had a snack between workouts too, but I was definitely ready to eat driving away from that Gym so I decided to stop at Oryana/Lake Street Deli for a hearty bowl of soup or something.  It changes daily there so I wsn't exactly sure what I would get.  So the point of this whole story is that I did find exactly what I had hoped for and ordered a beautiful bowl of soup along with some yummy bread wedges to dip, and also some flame raisins and raw cashews as a side.  The soup was so delicious I could have walked out of there with the whole entire pot of it under my arm, but instead I decided to do what I always do and try to recreate it at home.  

Tonight my family will be enjoying a similar version of my yesterday's happy lunch, I even splurged on some Stone house bread to go with it and made a nice leafy green salad for the fresh side of the meal.  I just love when my little adventures turn out some wonderful creations and this one will definitely make it into my book someday.  I just hope I can recreate it since I am one to just throw everything in and not pay close attention to measurements- so my downfall.  Regardless tonight we will enjoy!

Enjoying A Stellar Life means giving thanks for your God given abilities.  The ability to interpret our own needs among all of life's responsibilities and the decision to find the brighter side with each new day, each new sunrise.

Naturally Green St. Patty's Day Meal

"Leprechaun Soup"

I wanted to do something special for St. Patricks Day for my family tonight.  It is always a fun little challenge for myself to come up with alternatives to classic holiday meals that usually feature animal meat, by coming up with something that is as equally exciting.  So I opened up my fridge to see what I had that would meet the fun criteria of green that most people honor on this day.  Finding something fresh and green in my fridge is usually very easy and this afternoon was no exception.  A lovely large and luscious bunch of broccoli stood out right away and so I thought I would give it the opportunity to be the star of our meal this evening.

Last week while I was grocery shopping at Oryana Natural Foods Store they had one of there recipe features that just happened to be Creamless Broccoli Soup.  I must give credit where credit is due and I was thankful for the idea to give me a start- I thought this would be a fun way to create my "Green" featured food.  Like always I just started throwing everything I had into the pot- celery, potato, onion and kidney beans were the players in my cream base with a yummy veggie stock.  I got to use my new immersion blender that Tod had gotten me for Christmas to blend everything once it had simmered for about 20 minutes.  Have you ever used one of those high power wonders?  They are amazing!  When I think about how I used to scoop hot soup into my blender in batches, making yet another item to wash in the clean up - oh how I love kitchen technology!  

Next my lovely broccoli florets danced their way into the pot and 10 minutes later dinner was ready!  It was so easy, and the chopped cherry tomato and green onion dressed it up enough to make it feel extra special!  The homemade baked pita chips are a family fave so I did a quick batch of those too!  Everyone loved it- and the kids said I was definitely not going to get pinched now since I was not only wearing green but cooking green too!

Homemade Goodies!

When all else fails, what can a girl do?  Make Cookies!!!!!! And Ice Cream of course!!!!

Well that's what this girl does anyways, and I can't think of anything else in this world that marries my passions more poetically than taking my creativity into the kitchen and combining my knowledge and love for whole food ingredients, vegetarianism, cooking and nutrition.  I am thankful for the gifts God has given me, and to be able to share them with my family and friends.

I am a creative modifier, definition being that if it is not a 100% original recipe of my own than it means that I may have looked at another recipe for ingredient portion advice- but then I completely change it up by using my own ingredients.   Its all apart of my learning process and usually it works out for me.  The flops come on the days when I am either PMSing or irritable.  I have had some pretty yucky hummus batches and have thrown away a loaf of bread or two on those particularly moody days.

This past week was a little bit tougher than usual.  As a family we four all arrived home after spending ten heavenly days in a far away land known as Florida.  We left short sleeved sunny days and flip flopped sandy beaches to return to prickly snow bunkers and icy arctic blasts of subzero tempered air.  Within one day we went from complete relief of real world responsibilities to full recognition of the weight of ALL our responsibilities and even the possible denial of a thoughtful request.  It was a lot to take in all at once but three days later we are feeling more balanced again and back to reality.  All that being said, when we finished dinner tonight all four of us agreed that a treat was in order for all.  So Riley an I discussed our options and decided on a peanut butter theme for our creations this evening- it was a good choice indeed and thankfully a healthy balanced mood had returned after a tough few days and was within me for the evening!

First we mixed the dough for our Vegan Gluten free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, then while our cookies baked we blended the batter for our Vegan Peanut Butter Maple Syrup Ice Cream and poured it into the ice cream maker.  Sharing my passions with my son Riley made the experience in the kitchen that much more special- I think he likes the taste testing part more than anything else- we make a good little team, him and I.  

If you would like the recipe, please feel free to write me and ask for it- I am beginning to gather my original recipes together for a future book so I may be a little more selective with what I share, but I am always looking for truthful taste testers  and recipe testers too!  Soon I will be inviting friends and family over for taste testing parties and cooking classes so I can get some feedback- if you are intereste din being involved please let me know!  xoxo for now please stay tuned......