sweettater

His and Hers Salads

In Dinner on March 30, 2010 at 6:59 pm

Hers

Many a veggie burger has been consumed in the past few days and while I haven’t documented all of them, I felt it necessary to share a quick look at my veggie burger salad…

And Stew’s.

"Don't take a picture of mine!"

The King of Veggie Pizzas

In Recipes and Meals on March 30, 2010 at 6:53 pm

Bow down to me.

All rise for His Royal Highness… King of Veggie Pizzas. You may be seated.

OK, so maybe this wasn’t that good (yes it was), but I’m pretty excited about it considering I pulled the “recipe” right out of thin air.

I started with a Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free crust mix and topped it with my green sauce (sans green onions but still awesome) and grilled onions, zucchini and asparagus.

BEHOLD

I had to pull out all the stops on this and use every kitchen appliance Stew has gotten me: KitchenAid mixer for the crust, Breville panini press for the grilled veggies, immersion blender food processor attachment (that I bought but only because he convinced me it was worth it) for the green sauce and the Cadillac of pizza cutters… for cutting. I would’ve used my fancy pants roller but sometimes you’re hungry and you think using your hands is faster. It is not.

The whole adventure took me about 30 minutes. Not bad if you ignore the fact that Rachel Ray also would have made a side and a dessert in that amount of time.

Easy Oat Crackers

In Recipes and Meals on March 29, 2010 at 2:32 pm

Oat crackers

Oats. Salt. Baking soda. Olive oil. Water.

That’s all it takes to make delicious homemade crackers.

I think an unfortunate misconception among American consumers is that food must come from a factory because it’s difficult to make. Can you blame us for thinking that way? Take a look at the list of ingredients in most packaged foods. It’d be impossible to replicate that at home.

That’s because you don’t want to replicate that crap at home. Because you can make something better and easier and cleaner.

I was excited to try this oat cracker recipe from Wheatless and Meatless after being disappointed in the ingredient lists on many gluten-free food packages. It would appear that all kinds of funky stuff is required to replace the missing wheat and gluten in many packaged foods. Not so. This simple recipe yields a quality cracker and proves you can, in fact, replicate you favorite snacks at home without all the garbage they add at the factory.

Look forward to many a variation on this basic recipe. It just screams for the addition of herbs, spices and the like.

Note: The recipe calls for 2 tsp of salt. I thought that was a lot so I used about half that and my crackers are still a bit on the salty side.

Veggie Burgers

In Recipes and Meals on March 29, 2010 at 5:36 am

Veggie burger... made of vegetables

Ever wonder why when you buy a “veggie” burger in the frozen food section, the ingredient list is often severely lacking in vegetables? Dr. Praeger burgers excluded, a lot of veggie burgers are full of anything but vegetables. That’s why it’s fun to make them at home. Here’s a quick and (very) easy recipe from Diet, Dessert and Dogs that I saw adapted on Oh She Glows.

Ricki used garbanzo flour and Angela used spelt. I went with oat flour and it worked very nicely. To make oat flour, just put whole oats in a coffee grinder and go to town.

These burgers are really great and are filled with red pepper, chickpeas, spinach, carrot, sunflower seeds, onion, dill, basil and all kinds of awesome. Definitely the best burgers I’ve made at home.

Grape vs. Strawberry

In Snack on March 28, 2010 at 7:32 pm

The battle rages on...

In the battle of grape jelly versus strawberry jam, there’s really no contest in my book. Grape jelly is gross and in no way resembles or tastes like its whole fruit counterpart. Strawberry jam, in the other hand, actually tastes like a strawberry. Hell, you can see chunks of strawberries in it. WINNER.

However, when it comes to whole fruits, I can’t pick a favorite. That’s like trying to pick a favorite cat. (PS – I was at a church thing tonight to watch Stew play and the speaker asked what brings people joy and one girl shouted out “CATS!” That one girl was not me.)

Anyway, I’d never let grape jelly bastardize a delicious Nuttzo and strawberry jam toast break. But if we’re working with whole fruits… there’s room for everyone on my plate.

Throwback: Rice Krispies

In Dessert on March 28, 2010 at 7:23 pm

Mmmm, childhood

Last night Stew said he wanted a rice crispy treat which led me to think about nothing but that all day until I finally just made them. I will not insult your retro snack prowess by posting the recipe here, but I will say that you can (and I did) sub vegan margarine and vegan/gluten-free marshmallows.

Yessss

My mom used to make us these all the time when we were little and no one can top them. She always managed to get just the right marshmallow to crispy ratio so that little pools of sticky awesome would form in the bottom. So good. I left out two full cups of crispies just to try and get that consistency. Close, but no cigar.

Failnuts

In FAIL on March 28, 2010 at 11:28 am

Nope, not good

If you’re thinking, “Mmm, chocolate-covered nuts” then you understand the logic train that brought me to this “recipe.” What recipe though, right? Melt chocolate. Add nuts. BAM. Chocolate-covered nuts. NOPE.

So we eat a lot of nuts around here–mostly cashew and almond–but for some reason I felt compelled to buy peanuts a few weeks ago because they were on sale or something. Mistake. Even though I like peanut butter better than almond and cashew butter, peanuts themselves pale in comparison. Stew doesn’t like the peanuts either. So great… what are we going to do with these peanuts.

WELL, rather than turn them into something practical like peanut butter, I decided I wanted to cover them in chocolate. Problem: I only have unsweetened chocolate. Unsweetened? Why did I buy this? I have no idea. (PS – Unsweetened chocolate is NOT like dark chocolate. Not at all.)

No problem, I think. I’ll just add almond milk as it melts and it will be milk chocolate.

NO IT WILL NOT.

It will be runny unsweetened chocolate that will soon become SALTY RUNNY UNSWEETENED chocolate once I add the nuts.

Dear lord, this was awful.

Not even coconut will save you

I tried to salvage it with some coconut but there was just no getting around the fact that this was a big fat batch of failnuts.

I rolled them up so they resembled the giant turd that they are and threw it straight in the trash. Never again.

Caturday 3/27/10

In Cats on March 27, 2010 at 8:44 am

Weasel dedicates this Caturday to Ron

Happy Caturday! This is an exciting week for the cats (mostly Weasel) as they are achieving international fame. A few days ago I received an email from my first (and only) reader in the Philippines. His only request: More pictures of Weasel. I shared this tidbit on Facebook and a string of pro-Weasel comments confirmed that people only read this blog for Caturday.

The people have spoken.

It’s cool. But let’s get one thing clear… Weasel isn’t the only cute cat around here. Need I remind you that Ralphie is where all this began? From her womb came Weasel. Without her persistence in convincing me to adopt her stray, abandoned, pregnant ass… none of this ever would have happened. Never forget that.

Never forget it.

I am the Jesus of kittens.

On to some things Weasel does that are ridiculous…

One thing you may not know about Weasel is that she loves ice cubes.

I LOVE ICE CUBES

Weasel loves ice cubes so much that I have abandoned drinking ice water so I don’t have to listen to her yell at me about how she wants an ice cube. There’s no way to sneak it by her either. She’ll either hear your hand in the ice bucket or she’ll here the cubes hitting the glass in your drink. Once she gets her paws on an ice cube, she throws it around like a hockey puck and then cries when it gets stuck under a piece of furniture. It’s ridiculous.

You're ridiculous

She also waits for Stew to pet her everyday before he leaves for work. It’s her favorite part of the morning and one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. She jumps up on the entertainment console so she can be closer to face level and purrs uncontrollably until he pets her.

PET

DO PET!

Then she chases him to the door and watches him out the window.

But all this Weasel talk makes Ralphie feel left out.

Pensive Ralph

So here’s a picture of her looking cute but getting in my way.

Cute Ralph

French Fries and Beer

In Restaurants on March 26, 2010 at 4:19 pm

Or not.

Stew and I took a lovely Friday afternoon stroll down Main Street and I made a very uncharacteristic suggestion that we grab a beer and fries… which Stew did at Blue Ridge.

Or yes.

I had hummus and carrot sticks. Also good. Now we’re sitting on the porch blogging and reading Vegetarian Times (Katie) and writing music (Stew).

Hooray!

Hooraaaay!

You're welcome.

This delightful afternoon brought to you by springtime–snapping me out of winter-induced depression since 1985.

$4 Fridays at Soby's

In Restaurants on March 26, 2010 at 4:14 pm

Soby's on the Side

Though they have one of the most cringe-inducing slogans I’ve ever heard–Eat ‘em Diem–Soby’s on the Side still has great food and even better deals. All of their salads and sandwiches are just $4 on Fridays and you get to build your own from their list of toppings so the combinations are seemingly endless.

I got a mixed green salad and added tomatoes, sunflower seeds, asiago, carrots, olives and broccoli.

Salad toppings

It was great but apparently not great enough for its own photo. I guess I was too busy worrying about this:

Peanut butter puff

Soby’s on the Side has a great dessert case and really affordable prices. I got that peanut butter puff for $0.50.

Dessert case beauty

For the most part, everything in the case appeared to be under $4 and still of substantial size. Awesommme.

Rosalinda for President

In Restaurants on March 26, 2010 at 6:23 am

Cutest/strangest little restaurant

If you claim to love Mexican food but have never had the pleasure of dining at Rosalinda’s (or in Mexico) then I’m afraid you don’t know what you’re talking about. Its dramatic movie score soundtrack paired with ballerina artwork and a single purple neon light make Rosalinda’s a uniquely adorable choice among Mexican restaurants. This strange but adorable little nook hidden in an unassuming strip center behind a Jack in the Box cranks out incredible, authentic Mexican food.

Like this homemade margarita.

Mmmargarita

No neon green margarita mix here, folks. This is lime juice, simple syrup and tequila. As it should be. We had three of these. No problem.

Chips and salsa

Guacamole

We started with chips and guacamole. Obviously. And both of our meals came with soup–lentils today.

Lentil soup

Rosalinda’s soup is a cheap and simple staple they toss around for free, but Stew thinks it is quite possibly the best thing in the restaurant. It is really, really good and almost always vegetarian.

I had potato tacos aaaaagain. They’re just so good.

Tacos de papa

I brought one home with me because I thought I might explode. Very excited to eat that…

Stew always gets something new and it’s always amazing. Last night he had the vegetarian chile relleno.

Chile relleno

Good lawd, this was amazing. Minor food envy. But mine was so good too… We’ll just call it gluttony then. This stuffed pepper was filled with things you never see at Mexican restaurants–peas, okra, zucchini, carrots. Beautiful.

And so, with this review I hereby submit my nomination for ROSALINDA FOR PRESIDENT. What a beautiful world it would be…

Smoothie Abandonment

In Breakfast, What's for Lunch? on March 25, 2010 at 4:04 pm

Do I know you?

What is this? Food? On a plate? That you chew? For breakfast??

Where is my smoothie?

Well, in a tragic case of you-forgot-the-spinach… I, uh, forgot the spinach. Yeah, I didn’t buy enough to get me through the week so I couldn’t have a green smoothie this morning. It’s ok, though. This peanut butter and banana millet bread sandwich was there to comfort me.

And it was good too. GASP.

It was also, however, way more filling that my smoothie so when I ate the same amount of food I always do at the same time for lunch, I thought I would surely perish.

Curry squash soup with quinoa and nuts

Last night I made a great squash soup by sautéing onion and carrot, adding broth and chopped kabocha (cooked yesterday), sprinkling with curry powder and red chili and pureeing with the immersion blender. Delicious. Easy. Win.

Le Whif is Le Stupid

In Weird on March 24, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Le Whif

Are you ready to see the stupidest product ever created? Yes, stupider that Bootypop panties…

Presenting: Le Whif, a chocolate inhaler designed to give you just a taste of the sweet stuff to satisfy your cravings.

You look le lame.

I mean seriously. Can you think of anything dumber? Or more unhealthy? Mentally, I mean…

Oh, you want chocolate, little girl? NO. IT WILL MAKE YOU FAT. Here, eat this air. Mmm, good girl.

What the hell? Oh AND… they make it in coffee too so you can get all jacked up on air. Wooooo.

Last Supper Supersized

In Weird on March 24, 2010 at 6:35 am

The real Last Supper

This is very interesting… According to a story in the LA Times recapped by Slashfood, serving sizes on the table in paintings of the Last Supper have increased 69% over the past 1000 years. Researchers Brian and Craig Wanksink examined 52 different Last Supper paintings comparing the dinners to the size of Jesus and his disciples’ heads as a point of reference. What they found was a 69% increase in entree size, 66% increase in plate size and 23% increase in bread loaf size.

You know why? It probably has something to do with the increase in food consumed by the painter who created each piece. The paintings reflect the lifestyle of the time and, therefore, the food has increased as it has become more readily available.

So now it looks a little something like this:

The not real Last Supper - from Supersize Me

Drop the Sword

In Yoga on March 23, 2010 at 5:09 pm

Peaceful warrior

I’ve talked about peaceful warrior before, but it continues to resonate with me so we’ll have another go at it.

I’ve been on a yoga hiatus for three weeks due to some wrist pain and an outrageous life schedule. It throws me off kilter to miss class, leaving me cranky, stressed and easily irritated. Suffice it to say, this has been a trying month. Nevertheless, I always know I can go back. And so that’s what I did today.

Allison taught a slow and mindful class tonight forcing us to move deeper into the poses and get comfortable with our weaknesses. (I had plenty of those after almost a month off.) Longer sequences means fewer poses, which allows you to really focus on what you’re doing. Sometimes this sucks a little bit.

Take, for example, my nemesis: exalted/peaceful/reverse warrior. It makes me anxious and uncomfortable. I can’t hold it. I look around… think around… and finally move around the pose. I feel like I’m doing it wrong. I just don’t like it.

Tonight Allison broke it down like this: Turn your raised palm toward your face and focus on that. Your empty hand is a symbol that you have dropped your sword, that you can stop fighting whatever imaginary forces it is that you’re fighting.

As always, yoga is an excellent metaphor for life. Well… Yoga and quicksand. Yoga and quicksand and Chinese finger traps.

Quicksand: The harder you fight, the deeper you sink.

Chinese finger traps: The harder you fight, the tighter it locks.

Yoga: The harder you fight, the more difficult the pose.

Life: The harder you fight, the more difficult (and less enjoyable) the experience.

Calm your breath. Clear your mind. Drop your weapon. The fighting only makes it worse.

My Idea of a Hotdog?

In Dinner on March 22, 2010 at 7:31 pm

Uhhh...?

I’m not really sure what’s going on here tonight with dinner… My idea of a hotdog, maybe?

This is toasted millet bread with mashed avocado, cold tempeh and good old yellow mustard?

What? Why?

I just don’t know. It was amazing though.

Lunch Bowl

In What's for Lunch? on March 22, 2010 at 7:25 pm

Bowl of awesome

I’m a big fan of eating my lunches in bowl form. It’s just so easy… and delicious. I don’t cook anything. Nope. Just throw a bunch of odds and ends in a bowl–preferably a whole grain, protein, green veggie and fat–and microwave. (PS – Yes, the whole grain is cooked ahead of time.)

Today I had quinoa, kidney beans, snow peas, daikon and sunflower seeds.

So.damn.good. Kidney beans are definitely one of my favorite foods. Perfect foods, in fact. What I like about this meal style is that you have an endless array of combinations available…

Grains – quinoa, millet, brown rice, couscous

Beans – kidney, chickpea, black, pinto

Other proteins – tempeh, tofu, seitan, nuts

Veggies (canned, frozen or fresh) – broccoli, spinach, kale, artichoke hearts, asparagus, carrots

Fats – nuts, olive oil, avocado

I added some umeboshi vinegar to my bowl, but I don’t really add a lot of excess sauces or anything. But you could also certainly keep a marinara, curry, vinaigrette, etc. on hand to top it all off.

So good.

Mr. Yogato Frozen Yogurt

In Dessert on March 22, 2010 at 5:42 am

Tangy yogurt with strawberries and kiwi

After Red Star Bar, we headed over to Mr. Yogato for frozen yogurt. Flavor options were tangy, creamy, blackberry or caramel. After a taste test, I went with tangy since it tastes like all the other frozen yogurts I’ve had and added strawberry and kiwi. So good. Tasty even…

YES

Mr. Yogato is awesome not only for this logo…

Hooray

But also for naming a yogurt after you if you eat here every day for 30 consecutive days.

We love yogurt

I would definitely eat this for 30 days if I could…

Red Star Bar Baltimore

In Restaurants on March 22, 2010 at 5:30 am

No-burger burger and potato hash

After the Fitbloggin festivities came to a close on Sunday, my delightful friends from DC joined me at Red Star Bar for brunch. Red Star has a cool laidback drink-mimosas-all-day (unlimited mimosas/bloody Marys for $8!) kind of feel to it but limited vegetarian options.

Red Star Bar

Oh wait… Before we got there Isaac went into a toy store to ask directions and was taking forever so we joked he must have been coerced into buying something. He emerged with this:

A pile of pigs

As some (my mom) may or (everyone else) may not know, I used to collect pigs as a child. Not real pigs, pig figurines, stuffed animals, t-shirts, etc. We still have it all at my parents’ house. Anyway, my pig joined me for lunch.

No meat! says the pig

Due to the lack of vegetarian lunch options and my distaste for sweet heavy foods like pancakes, french toast and ANY egg product, I ended up going with a bacon burger topped with grilled onions, tomato, portabello, etc. sans bacon burger. The waiter was like, “Cool. We’ll make more money if you leave off the meat.”

Cool. Why don’t you discount it for me since I’m just eating garnishes? Whatever.

I asked for no bacon but there was still pork on my plate…

Don't eat me!

The best part was the potato hash–white potato, sweet potato and purple sweet potato diced and baked.

Go Paladins

Very enjoyable experience. So glad my friends came. After meeting dozens of Internet friends for the first time, it was nice to see the faces of some people who know me in real life and are prepared for my constant swearing.

Fitbloggin Dinner

In Dinner on March 20, 2010 at 9:15 pm

Chiu's Sushi

Post-conference we assembled a group of bloggers for a sushi dinner. And by “we assembled” I mean that I tagged along with a bunch of people who all know each other. New girl syndrome. It’s fine.

Miso soup

My sushi was amazing. I had the Ivy Roll–carrot, pickled squash and APPLE–and the Veggie Roll–avocado, cucumber, and pickled squash.

Amazing sushi

Apple in a sushi roll is so right. SO RIGHT. And these cute little gums came with the bill:

Better than a dinner mint

I weaseled my way into a truly wonderful group of bloggers and very much enjoyed dining with them all.

Bloggers!

Like a loser, I suggested we all go around the table and state our name and blog. The following list is brought to you by the notes I took during the share time:

Allison from Green Dog Wine

Jasmine from Sweet and Fit

Brittany from Eating Bird Food

Stephanie from Cookinfanatic

Amie from The Healthy Apple

Meg from Be Fit, Be Full

Quinn from Everything in Moderation

Heather from The Single Dish

And, of course, my roommate Cara from Cashews and Hummus.

We did hit up a bar after dinner, but in true Katie fashion I bailed around 9:30pm and closed down Whole Foods with Brittany and Stephanie. Awesome? Yes.

Fitbloggin Sessions

In Conferences on March 20, 2010 at 9:00 pm

F YES I WOULD

No, I’m not blogging for income. Yes, I would still blog without income. That’s what I’m doing now.

Today I sat in on several awesome and informative sessions, including:

Don’t Blog About Junk Science: How to Critically Evaluate Research

Getting Noticed: How to Pitch to Traditional Media

Beyond the Blog: Getting Published

Making Money from Your Blog: Should You? Could You? How?

I learned a lot and met a lot of fantastic people. ALSO… Apparently, to turn Sweet Tater into a money maker, I just need a BILLION more hits each day, corporate sponsorship, ads and 10 more hours in the day. It’s fine.

Lunch was good. Grilled veggies, focaccia and fruit.

Lunchy lunch

And I collected another pile of free stuff…

Swag central

I’m seriously leaving this conference with a pile of swag valuing more than I paid for my plane ticket and hotel combined. Return on investment success.

We’ve been wearing these Gruve things that track our calorie burn and indicate your progress with a red-yellow-blue-green color progression. I’m proud to report that even after a day sitting in conferences, I’m in the green. BAM. Thank you, 5k. PS – We were told we were just trialing the Gruve and then they announced today that we get to keep them. Retail: $200. HOLY HELL.

I was perhaps most excited about sampling products from the twins at Pure2Raw. They were there with goodies from their Twin Cakes Bakery and I strategically skipped a bathroom break in order to grab one of each.

Twin Cakes Bakery mini muffin

The day wrapped with a lovely cocktail reception courtesy of Jello. No, I don’t eat Jello products but YES I will eat the sushi bar provided by Jello.

Freeeeee sushi

This was an awesome conference and I’ve had a wonderful time. We all owe Roni a huge thank you for organizing such a great weekend for us to enjoy while she ran around keeping everything in order. Thank you, Roni!

Caturday 3/20/10

In Cats on March 20, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Weaz says...

Oh HELL. I forgot about Caturday…

Ralph says...

That picture of WeazWeaz is so outrageous I am convulsing in silent laughter in the middle of this session about how to go from blogger to published writer. Should proooobably be paying attention to this.

Fitness

Fitbloggin 5K

In Conferences on March 20, 2010 at 6:45 am

Courtesy of Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point

This morning we had the option of running a 5K or walking a mile sponsored by New Balance. It was a chance to try out our new shoes so I decided to just go for it and run the damn thing.

New New Balance shoes

I haven’t run since the dreaded Turkey Trot in which I was near tears around mile 2.5, but I figured I could just walk if my knee acted up.

Don’t be fooled by the action shot provided by Caitlin as it makes me look much faster and happier than I was. I was in all kinds of pain but I had no idea where I was so I had to keep going to avoid getting lost.

Lovely Baltimore

But I made it and it was great and I’m glad I did it. I do miss running a lot but I just can’t put my body through it. I’m going to try and get some time with the New Balance team and see if they can give me some advice on what I’m doing wrong as far as stride, gear, etc. But for now, I am a yoga-only kind of girl and I’m just fine with that.

Our post-run breakfast was an oatmeal bar courtesy of Quaker.

Oatmeal breakfast

I added dried cranberries, cinnamon, pecans, honey and banana.

Now we’re off to get more free things and learn stuff. PS – I’m wearing my “I Like to Say Things and Eat Stuff” shirt. Fitting.

Fitbloggin Cocktail Party

In Conferences on March 19, 2010 at 8:15 pm

POMtini

Fitbloggin kicked off tonight as every fit and healthy evening should… with a slew of alcoholic beverages and passed hors doeuvres (I have to spellcheck hors doeuvres every.single.time.).

Mushroom tart = good

I didn’t mean to give Marriott that awesome product placement but since I did I suppose now would be a good time to point out that this hotel is awesome. We even have a Keurig in the room.

Weeeeee

Back to the cocktail party… I had a POMtini upstairs and then a group of us too impatient to wait in the line for free drinks descended upon the hotel bar for instant gratification. I got Absolut Citron and soda.

Supagood

Look who we found…

Casey, Stacey, Whit and my roomie Cara

Allow me to take a moment to say I could not possibly be more excited to be rooming with Cara (Cashews and Hummus). Delightful. Normal. Definitely check her out. Makes you want to eat cashews and hummus, right? Right.

With Cara and Ashley

Sana and Ashley

Fun fun. I was starving by 8pm and we finally rounded up a group to grab Mexican. I haven’t a clue the name of the restaurant. Must.eat.now.

Veggie fiesta bowl

The plan was to go bar hopping but as predicted I started to drag once I had food in me and voted for a return to the hotel. Cara and I made a Starbucks stop for some chocolate and now we’re here blogging away so we can get to bed and be ready to rock at New Balance’s 6:30am 5K. Ack, that’s early.

Travel Food

In Conferences on March 19, 2010 at 11:39 am

Backpack of awesome

If ever you catch me with a bag of some type–purse, backpack, fannypack, etc.–on my person, it will contain food. Today is no exception. My backpack is filled with Larabars, oranges, apples, dried fruit, nuts and a Nuttzo jar filled with the makings of oatmeal.

So for breakfast I had apples and sunshine…

Apples and sunshine

Followed by oatmeal in a jar and a panic attack (details are not important)…

Oats in a jar

And now I’m at the airport drinking Jamba Juice and eyeing the Starbucks in the gate.

Berry (soy) protein smoothie

Makes me feel like this:

Brad Pitt is awesome

See you in Baltimore! (Unless I post again…)

Cake vs. Pie Tournament

In Events on March 19, 2010 at 11:25 am

The bracket

This is amazing and no, I don’t mean the free wireless I’m getting at Charlotte International Airport… BAM, connected. I mean this delightful Cake vs. Pie Tournament hosted by Jezebel.

Do you love pie? Do you love cake? Do you love one more than the other? More importantly… do you hate basketball and hearing people talk about it the entire month of March? MADNESS. Then this tournament of food is for you, my friend.

I just cast my vote for birthday cake (please, like fruitcake stood a chance there) and apple pie (sorry, grasshopper pie but that’d be un-American).

[Thanks, Stew!]

Off to Fitbloggin

In Conferences on March 19, 2010 at 6:40 am

Hooray!

I’m super excited to be headed to Fitbloggin today to meet up with other bloggers, feel overwhelmed by the number of names I forget and hopefully get some tips on how to make money off this bad boy as it consumes much of my waking hours.

Last night’s meet up was a nice way to ease into the insanity that will be the welcome cocktail reception tonight. Four people are easy to meet and talk to. 115 is another story… I realize I won’t meet everyone there, but I want to. So we’ll see if I can put my people skills to good work.

See you in Baltimore!

First Blogger Meet Up

In Restaurants on March 18, 2010 at 9:26 pm

Mini tarts from Amelie's

Tonight I had my first ever blogger meet up with Jessie, Jennifer and Diana. Oh, you’re not thrilled for me? You should be. Blogger meet ups seem to me to be like blind dates but with the fear that they could be more awkward because not only do you already know what the person looks like but you also already know everything about their lives so you kind of think you know them but, hello reality, you don’t and… yeah. It’s kind of odd. Except that it WASN’T AT ALL. It was great fun and if ever you are subjected to a real blind date, you should hope it goes as well as this did.

I bet you want to know the deal with that delicious little morsel above, but first…

We met up for dinner at Zada Jane’s, which I had stumbled upon at some point, likely during a search like: “vegan, gluten-free awesome restaurants in charlotte.”

I didn’t really search that, but I could have…

Yep.

It’s not really any of those things… but AWESOME. They have a cute little patio and shuffle board out front and the inside is all funky/eclectic/cute. Purple ceiling, anyone?

Zada Jane's

I had the vegetable soup and chopped salad.

Veggie soup

Chopped salad

The soup was really good but the salad was kind of meh. I think I just had buyer’s remorse and wished I had gotten the zucchini and squash cakes. Next time…

The best part about dining with food bloggers? You don’t look silly whipping your camera out to document the food because with this crowd it’s the norm.

Hi Diana!

After dinner we headed over to Amelie’s French Bakery for dessert. Delightful. This place is incredible. Adorable decor, insane pastries and maintaining a steady stream of traffic 24 hours a day. I couldn’t decide if I wanted fruit or chocolate so I got both.

Good choice

And you know what? I think I event liked the fruit better. Just barely. It was a close race. Next time I think I’ll be diving into the salted caramel brownie that Diana tried.

I seriously had so.much.fun. It’s fun to ramble on about the intricacies of blogger etiquette, the foods that make you truly happy, and the horrors of blogging in WordPress rather than Live Writer or Ecto with people who don’t think you’re crazy.

Thanks ladies!

Can’t wait to find my way back up here again soon…

Pomegranate Does it Again

In Restaurants on March 18, 2010 at 8:51 pm

Kashk bademjan

Stew and I went to lunch the other day with his parents and brother because it has been far too long since we’ve done that.

And you know what? Pomegranate has done it again and been AWESOME. I love this place. It only has two vegetarian dishes and yet I can’t get enough. We started with kashk bademjan (which, by the way, I can now pronounce) and hummus. Always a good choice.

Hummus

And, of course, I once again got the veggie kabob because it is perfect. Peppers, onions, zucchini, squash, pineapple, portabello… awesome. Plus lima bean dill rice and a grilled tomato.

Veggie kabob

Lovely meal on a lovely day.

Insanewiches

In Sites I Love on March 18, 2010 at 9:40 am

The Alohawich

While I struggle to understand exactly what is “Hawaiian” about the Alohawich above (Is Hawaii a renowned donut-producing region and I don’t know it?), I generally catch the sly humor on Insanewiches.

I have combed through every single one of their posts and now you should too if you’re in need of entertainment.

I’m a fan of the relevant social commentary in the Recession sandwiches, like this Downsizewich.

Downsizewich

And anything in the OMG! category, namely this Nile Pickocodile.

Nile Pickodile

Clever and entertaining. Love it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In Holidays on March 16, 2010 at 11:16 pm

Stuffed green peppers

This nauseatingly festive meal was actually a fortunate accident that happened to fit perfectly with today’s holiday. I’m trying to use up all of my produce since I’ll be out of town this weekend and all my produce decided to be green this week–spinach, green peppers, green onions, zucchini. FATE.

So I decided to saute up all that green goodness and stuff it inside a green pepper with some brown rice. But wait. What sauce will I use? Certainly nothing tomato-based. There’s nothing Irish about that at all. Nope, this dish called for something special…

Blowyamind green sauce

Green sauce = spinach, green onions, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper pureed in a food processor. Upon first taste, this happened:

Me (via text): if you’re hungry, i just made something awesome

Stew: what’d you make?!

Me: stuffed green peppers with BLOWYOURMIND sauce

So OBVIOUSLY Stew came home and sampled the meal with me. It was good. Very good. I think the green sauce is the best thing I’ve ever made. EVER.

Green Sauce

In Recipes and Meals on March 16, 2010 at 11:15 pm

The best thing I've ever made

So I’m making a pretty big deal out of this silly green sauce, right? Right!

I’m certain it is definitely the best thing I’ve ever made. It’s kind of pesto-y but with spinach instead of basil. Totally works. You will love it.

The Best Thing Katie Has Ever Made

2 big handfuls of spinach (I used real spinach, not baby)
1/2 c chopped green onion
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil to combine

Put everything in a food processor and combine. I’m sorry I don’t measure anything but I’d estimate there was probably about 1/4 c olive oil used. Maybe less? Maybe more? If you have too much oil, add more spinach. Not enough oil… ADD MORE.

I hope someone really makes this and loves it because it is perfect.

Oh, and if it happens to be St. Patrick’s Day, it’s best to eat this green sauce on Food Should Taste Good lime chips.

Green theme!

Ode to Green Smoothies

In Smoothies on March 16, 2010 at 10:49 pm

Green smoothie loves you

Do you love green smoothies yet? I sure hope so because they love you back. If you still don’t believe me, head on over to the Green Monster Movement and see for yourself the ever growing pool of devotees to the green.

Stew drinks them because…

I drink them because I like:

Clear skin – Yep, it’s true

Energy boosts – No coffee required (but I still drink it)

Improved digestion – Trust me.

Strong hair and nails – Yep.

Easy nutrient absorption – From plant to me.

FIBER – Lots of it.

Being alkaline – Nobody wants to be acidic, right?

The taste – Yes, the taste. No, it doesn’t taste like spinach. At all.

My green smoothies contain: carrot juice, spinach, water, lemon juice, ground flax, maca powder, cinnamon, frozen banana, chia seeds. But you can add whatever you want–frozen fruit, fruit juice, etc. Try it!

Baked Potato Kit Kat Bar

In Weird on March 16, 2010 at 6:58 pm

Baked potato Kit Kat

Oh, Japan. You and your crazy candies… like baked potato-flavored Kit Kat bars.

Adam informed me today that these exist and you can even buy them here.

Yeah, try to figure this one out

I actually want to try these because my mind simply cannot compute how that flavor combination would play out. Anybody had these? Do tell…

ALSO. Check out this baked potato cat…

Baked potato cat!

Note: Baked Potato Cat is actually Hoverball Cat, but he looks like a potato, right? Thanks, Max.

▶ View 6 Comments

Inappropriate Mochi

In Products on March 16, 2010 at 6:49 am

Grainaissance Mochi

I bought a pack of Grainassance cinnamon raisin mochi the other day because it looked like it might taste like cookie dough straight out of the package. Heads up: it does NOT. It is, however, quite good when baked into a little puff.

But be warned. What starts as an innocent little cube…

Innocent mochi cubes

Will grown into THIS after 8-10 minutes in the oven:

Inappropriate mochi

Mochi is made from brown rice and this particular flavor includes: organic sweet brown rice, filtered water, raisins, cinnamon and sea salt. They also have a pizza flavor that sounds awesome and… chocolate brownie.

Stew and I had never had mochi like this (I’ve only had the ice cream in sushi places) so we thought it’d be much sweeter, which is why we went for it as a dessert. It’s really not sweet at all, but I kind of loved that. I just baked three more pieces to take with me for breakfast.

Grits Casserole

In Dinner on March 15, 2010 at 8:08 pm

Vegetable casserole topped with grits

Last night I made this casserole that just popped right out of my head. Naturally, there is no real recipe, but I can try to break it down for you.

Saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add any veggies you like: corn, carrots, celery, beans, etc. If you’re adding fresh spinach, wait until the end so it doesn’t over cook. Add some vegetable stock to deglaze the pan and add a scoop of corn starch to thicken the mixture up.

Pour the veggie mixture into a greased casserole pan. Prepare grits according to package (I used 1 serving) and add 1 egg (I used a flax egg, 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water) and nutritional yeaster (optional – or cheese). Spoon grits on top of vegetable mix. Bake on 425 for about 30-40 minutes until grits begin to brown.

I hope that is at least remotely accurate. You can’t really mess it up. Just play around with it.

Mmmore Millet!

In What's for Lunch? on March 15, 2010 at 8:03 pm

I love it

With the exception of my friend Glanz who fears small things in large quantities, I think everyone should eat millet. It’s good and it’s good for you… and it’s cheap and easy… like your mom. What?

But what do you do with it?

Step 1: Toast it. Place dried millet in a pan on medium heat and toast until you smell a nutty aroma.

Step 2: Boil it. Put your millet in boiling water (2 c of water to 1 c of millet) and reduce to a simmer until the water is absorbed.

Step 3: Eat it!

Millet for lunch

We had millet for lunch today with zucchini, chickpeas, snow peas and some curry sauce. Mmm.

Millet is a great gluten-free grain and is a good source of Vitamin B, magnesium and iron. You can learn more about millet at World’s Healthiest Foods.

Vykasa Tea

In TJMaxx Finds on March 15, 2010 at 6:00 am

Cumin in my tea? OK!

I love cumin as much as the next cumin-lover but cumin in my tea seemed like a bit of a stretch when I spotted this latest TJMaxx find. I’m telling you, if you are not shopping the food aisles at TJMaxx… you are a fool.

Anyway, I found this Vykasa tea and it contains crazy things: green tea (not so crazy), rosemary, cumin seed, coriander, tumeric, oregano, fennel and lime. Uhh… awesome?

Yes. It is. It is so awesome. I love it.

I can’t find a company website, but you can buy it here.

Brown Rice Pancakes

In Dinner on March 14, 2010 at 7:48 pm

Brown rice pancakes

These brown rice pancakes are inspired by Alicia Silverstone’s brown rice waffles in The Kind Diet. Aaactually, they are Alicia Silverstone’s brown rice waffles from The Kind Diet. I just don’t have a waffle iron so they’re pancakes.

Brown Rice Pancakes/Waffles

2 c cooked brown rice
1 c whole wheat pastry flour (I used gluten-free)
1 tbsp miso mixed with 3 tbsp water

Combine all ingredients and cook in a waffle iron or as pancakes in a skillet. Her recipe goes on to create a “vegetable melange” but I just sauteed some onion, spinach, zucchini and chickpeas.

Brown rice pancakes and veggies

So, so, so very good. Try this.

Happy Pi Day!

In Holidays on March 14, 2010 at 9:21 am

Pipie!

Happy Pi Day to anyone laaaame enough to know what it is! I actually thought about making a pie today to celebrate but… then I’d have a pie. And what would I do with it? So instead we’re just going to look at some pictures of my favorite pies.

1. French Silk pie – Has Baker’s Square really not gone under yet? I thought for sure it’d be non-existent by now… Anyway, BS is a terrible casual family chain restaurant in the midwest that I frequented in my youth. But no one goes for the food. Nope, this is pie country. French silk was our pie of choice as kids because it’s less a pie and more a pudding cup in served in pastry dough.

French silk pie

2. Strawberry Rhubarb pie – I’ve actually never even eaten a strawberry rhubarb pie but in college I saw a special on Food Network about pies and they featured one from an LA baker (whose name escapes me) that I have dreamed about ever since: strawberry rhubarb.

Strawberry rhubarb pie

3. Pumpkin pie – Be serious. This is obviously on the list.

Pumpkin pie

4. Pizza pie – Yeah, I can do that. Switched it up on you. How can we forget the greatest savory pie of all? The pizza pie.

Pizza pie!

5. Pot pie - No, no. Not this…

Not pot pie

THIS:

Vegetable pot pie

6. Apple pie with cheddar – This baby is about as midwestern as pies come. Straight out of the proud and cheesy state of Wisconsin, I bring you the cheddar-topped apple pie. Don’t crinkle your nose at this regional delight. It’s excellent. Hate on, haters.

Apple pie with cheddar cheese

What are your favorite pies?

Caturday 3/13/10

In Cats on March 13, 2010 at 12:16 pm

And the winners are...

Ralphie and Weasel are pleased to announce the winners of the Food Should Taste Good chip giveaway. Each winner will receive a sampler pack of their choice of five flavors. Congratulations to:

Yummy Sushi Pajamas and Travis had winning comment numbers 3 and 12 from the random number generator at Random.org. The number only went up to 34 because my mom’s comment didn’t count as an entry.

Congratulations! Please email me your address (sweettaterblog@gmail.com) and the five flavors you’d like to try and I’ll pass the info along to Food Should Taste Good.

Now for some cats…

Weasel reads The Kind Diet

Ralphie says thanks for the box

Aww

You can call me a crazy cat lady all you want, but somebody needs to get onto Stew about his cat habit. Here he is with my sister’s roommate’s cat asleep in his arms.

The Cat Whisperer

I Still Eat Stuff

In Eat Stuff on March 12, 2010 at 10:13 pm

Millet bread with mashed avocado

Remember that time I documented everything I ate? And I thought it was boring? And I kind of bitched about it?

I kind of miss documenting my food. I still don’t think I want one of those this-is-every-single-bite-I’ve-eaten-today-down-to-the-bite-I-took-of-someone-else’s-cookie blogs, but sometimes I do kind of want to share a lovely little toast with avocado that makes such a healthy and enjoyable snack but isn’t really worth a post of its own. Whew.

So maybe I’ll just share some collections of things that didn’t get their own posts this week.

Vegetable awesome

This was a mountain of awesome leftovers, including roasted veggies and tofu, brussels sprouts and rice and beans with nutritional yeast. Everything was good except my beloved brussels sprouts that mysteriously tasted like wasabi. (I hate wasabi.) So Stew at those.

Bowl of invincible

On the day of this particular office lunch, I felt invincible. By 11am when I ate it (I eat when I’m hungry, don’t judge) I had already consumed a green smoothie, a cup of miso soup and the equivalent of two bottles of water and I swear to you I thought I could fly. Then I ate this bowl of quinoa, beans, snap peas, olive oil, umeboshi plum vinegar and avocado and my mind exploded.

Chia pudding

This is probably worth it’s own post because people are going to be mystified… Behold chia pudding. You know how I put chia seeds in smoothies, oatmeal, baked goods, etc? Well, you can also just add them to almond milk, cinnamon, cocoa powder if you’re feeling feisty… and wait for it to congeal into a pudding. It’s good.

Finally, today I’ve eaten this:

Green smoothie

Miso soup

Chia pudding with peanuts

Mary's cracker's and cheeeeese

Nuttzo and banana sandwich

Plus grapes, a plum, an apple, a peanut butter cup, some Food Should Taste Good Chips and a fantastic dinner that will get its own post shortly…

Blue Heron Sushi

In Restaurants on March 12, 2010 at 9:37 pm

Blue Heron

Last night Stew and I had dinner at Blue Heron over in Clemson. This restaurant defies categorization since it has a reputation as one of the nicer restaurants in Clemson, yet it’s hidden at the end of a long, unattractive hallway in a strip center and you won’t feel uncomfortable in jeans. The menu leads you to believe you’re at a nice (but not extravagant) southern restaurant… until the server sets down the sushi menu? Shwaa? What is this place?

Blue Heron

It’s the Blue Heron, apparently, and I’m not complaining.

We started with the grilled portabello mushroom–two mushroom steaks grilled with pesto served over a cool cabbage salad and topped with red peppers, feta cheese and balsamic glaze.

Grilled portabello

All kinds of awesome. I think my mushroom aversion may be dissipating. There was also some bread with assorted dips, but I have a hard time eating warm, crusty, wheaty bread while no-more-gluten Stew looks on with great self control and simply and asks, “Is it still warm?” Aw, break my heart. Nope. Not warm. Cold and stale. Let’s send it back.

Sorry bread

For dinner we shared four rolls–avocado, carrot, spicy vegetable and fried green tomato (hooray!). Remember how Stew is vegetarian now? Yep. Why, you ask? I have no idea! Maybe he will respond to questions…

Sushiiii

This was all awesome. Simple as it may be, the avocado roll is always my favorite. Avocado is perfect. The fried green tomato roll was also very right.

Lovely meal at a lovely (albeit identity challenged) restaurant.

Lazy Goat Lunch

In Restaurants on March 12, 2010 at 4:33 pm

Hummus appetizer

The Lazy Goat has a really affordable (and attractive) lunch menu so Stew and I took a rare trip outside the office yesterday to test it out.

We started with the hummus appetizer (sans pita for Stew) and it was fantastic. I rarely eat hummus with just veggies but I really enjoyed this. Stew had a hard time finding anything free of gluten/wheat so he went with black truffle fries and the marinated Greek vegetables.

Parmesan truffle fries

Marinated veggies

And I had the veggie wrap sans goat cheese because I just don’t really like goat cheese. Our waitress probably thought we were pretty crazy with our dietary/allergy restrictions. Stew is actually vegetarian now (I had nothing to do with it and was surprised too) so his dining out experiences are about to get really interesting. Vegetarian is easy, but vegetarian PLUS gluten-free is pretty tough. We’ll make it happen.

Grilled vegetable wrap

The wrap was really good but it kind of seemed like a much healthier much more expensive version of the McSnack wrap only instead of a chicken finger wrapped in a tortilla I had a grilled eggplant wrapped in a pita. Is that offensive? I still liked it a lot.

Oh and Stew had a glass of wine.

It was after noon...

Peanut Butter Cups

In Dessert on March 12, 2010 at 4:21 pm

Vegan peanut butter cup

Yesterday I made these vegan peanut butter cups from The Kind Diet for my little sister’s 22nd birthday. What? Twenty-two?!

Did I ever mention that Stew bought me that book? I have this cheap library habit that he apparently won’t stand for because every time I check a book out from the library and say good things about it, an Amazon box with that book shows up a few days later. Cute.

Anyway, these babies are amazing but the Harry Potter cake my sister’s friends made was way more amazing.

Awesome Harry Potter cake

I’m not into wizardry and all that nonsense but apparently Harry at some point receives a cake with Happy Birthday misspelled. And that’s why this cake was created.

Also…

You're famous!

Here’s the how-to on the peanut butter cups straight from Alicia’s blog:

INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup Earth Balance butter
3⁄4 cup crunchy peanut butter
(preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
3⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
1⁄4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips
1⁄4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk
1⁄4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts

STEPS
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. (If You Care makes unbleached liners made from recycled paper.)
Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat.
Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.
Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.
Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.
Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
Top with chopped nuts.
Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

In my opinion, they are way heavy on “butter” and would probably be fine with half as much. Other than that they are fantastic. Make these.

FSTG Giveaway

In Giveaway on March 11, 2010 at 5:21 pm

Yes it should

You’ve heard me rave about Food Should Taste Good chips here and here and now I’m going to do it again.

Look what I just got in the mail…

JOY

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the FSTG crew for this box of joy: blue corn, lime, chocolate, cinnamon and cheddar. I.can’t.wait. Did I mention that Stew and I polished off the four bags he bought in a WEEK. We are embarrassed.

OK, so at this point you’re probably thinking, “Shut up and give me some chips, Katie!”

You got it. The time has come. But don’t thank me; thank the fine folks over at Food Should Taste Good. They’re offering a 5-bag sampler pack of chips to not one but two lucky Sweet Tater readers. Thank you!

Take your pick

To win the chips, do any (or all) of the following and leave a separate comment for each task you complete. Each comment will count as one entry. I’ll use a random number generator to pick two winning comment numbers. Ralphie and Weasel will announce the winners at 12pmEST on Caturday 3/13. Sorry, contest only open to residents of the US and Canada. Stew and family members, you absolutely cannot enter.

Ways to enter:

1. Visit Food Should Taste Good‘s site, drool over the goods and then report back here with a comment stating the 5 flavors you’d put in your sampler pack.

2. Tweet: “I want to win Food Should Taste Good chips from @sweettaterblog!” And then leave a comment with a link to your tweet.

3. Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this page. Leave a comment with a link to your post.

4. Add Sweet Tater to your blogroll and leave a comment with a link to it.

Good luck!

Small Bites Blog

In Uncategorized on March 10, 2010 at 5:49 pm

My latest obsession

NYU nutrition student Andy Bellatti posts bite-sized nutrition niblets for our reading pleasure over at Small Bites. I somehow just found this site today and somehow have made a decent dent in reading everything all the way back to the 2007 archives.

Lies. I have a job. But I’m gonna do it.

Highlight from The Vegan Essentials posted 3/2/10:

If anyone ever tells you “you can’t get all the essential amino acids from any food that isn’t of animal origin”, memorize the list below and suggest they do some more research!

Amaranth
Buckwheat (pictured, right)
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Nutritional yeast
Quinoa
Soybeans
Spirulina

Bonus points if you recite the list alphabetically!

Sweet. Yes. Consider that list memorized.

Etsy Food Finds

In Etsy Finds on March 9, 2010 at 9:44 pm

Me too!

I spend an outrageous amount of time on Etsy sifting through their endless piles of adorable food-related items so I’ve decided to make use of my skill by sharing these finds with you. Just don’t buy them because I saw them first.

Here are some of my latest Etsy discoveries:

1. Above is the I [Heart] Potatoes postcard from ubertuber, $1. Sadly, sold out.

2. Because everyone should say brekkie: Veggie brekkie tea cloth from MrPS, $14

Veggie brekkie tea towel

3. TRUTH: Eat Fruit, Be Healthy print from Roosevelvet, $15

Eat fruit, be healthy

4. Too bold to put in the kitchen?: Good Eats Served Here print from ChattanoogaPaperie, $18

Good eats served here

5. FAVORITE: Sweet pea necklace from AsilDesigns, $35

Sweet pea necklace

6. ARE YOU KIDDING ME: Goldfish charm from TheSprinkleFactory, $10

Baked, not fried

7. Cats eat too: Ate Series cat and mouse necklace from tulipstokiss, $44

My cats don't eat mice

8. OTHER FAVORITE: Julie Child necklace from lanyapi, $39

What is this... flatware for ants??

9. Stinks McGee: Garlic lovers necklace from BeauCoup Bandit, $19

But... why the cheese grater too?

10. For the love of God, PLEASE…: Eat like you give a damn pin from thedogcoatlady, $1

Do it.

Boil-Free Brussels Sprouts

In Vegetables on March 8, 2010 at 5:59 pm

No water here

Mushy boiled brussels sprouts are nas-tay, right? So stop boiling them, crazy.

Peel off the outer leaves, cut off the stems, cut them in half and then saute face down in a little olive oil until you get a nice crispy char.

Like this

Then add a splash of vegetable broth (or white wine) to deglaze the pan, cover with a lid and let steam for about two minutes.

Tah dah, brussels sprouts that are not gross.

I know I’ve discussed this method of brussels sprouts prep before but there was a boiling step in there. Not necessary. Skip it. This is better.

Mmmillet Bread

In Snack on March 8, 2010 at 5:54 pm

Millet bread with Nuttzo, coconut and apricots

Do you want to know something delicious? Millet bread.

Millet is a whole grain rich in niacin (B6) and lots of other awesome things like folic acid, calcium, iron and other things people like to tell me I must eat meat in order to receive. Ground into a flour, it also makes the hands-down best gluten-free bread around.

Try it out, say, toasted with some Nuttzo, dried unsweetened coconut flakes and dried apricots as an afternoon snack. You won’t be sorry.

Crazy Cat Lady & Cazbah

In Restaurants on March 7, 2010 at 3:45 pm

Foreshadowing

After our wine tasting we headed over to The Cazbah for Isaac’s birthday dinner where we found the ultimate crazy cat lady’s car in the parking garage. Yep, that’s TEN cats. Two down, eight to go.

I had hummus and a salad for dinner and then proceeded to lose my camera.

Black and white hummus

Caesar salad sans Caesar dressing

I also brought gluten-free vegan chocolate chip cookie cupcakes with homemade vegan chocolate icing (complicated!) but Isaac sat on them in the car so pictures were not a good idea. Still good though.

Lucky for me, the staff found my camera. NOT lucky for the staff, I’m going to post the pictures they took of themselves with it. Sorry guys. Confirm the owner of a lost camera is not a blogger before proceeding next time. WINK.

Hey guy

Whoops sorry

Ha, thanks for this

Wine Tasting

In Wine on March 7, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Wiiiiiine

My friend Isaac is in town from DC and Friday just so happened to be his birthday, a combination that to me signaled a perfect excuse for a Friday Tasting at Northampton Wines.

Northampton does wine tastings every Friday covering different regions each time. We learned about the Cotes du Rhone.

Our line up consisted of 8 different samples (enough to get me tipsy!) and I’d list them all off but if my readers are anything like me then $50 bottles of wine mean nothing to you. My hands down favorite was actually the first wine of the night, a Caves Carod Clairette de Die. Light, sparkly, delicious.

We also had bread to cleanse the palate and two cheeses to enjoy–robiola and Cabot seriously sharp cheddar.

Friday Tastings at Northampton take place each week 6:30-7:30pm and range from $20 to $30. Check the schedule for more details.

Bakery by the Beach

In Uncategorized on March 6, 2010 at 11:23 pm

In my dreams...

I have had not one but two dreams this week in which I own and operate a small bakery by the beach. In our spare time we also run an animal rescue because in my dreams there is apparently a real problem with mice wandering into the waves and needing a good rescuing. I have no idea.

HALP!

Though pleasant, this bakery deal is a funny joke since… I can’t really bake. But it’s a nice thought, right?

I could definitely save mice that fall into the ocean though. In fact, I would excel at saving mice. When my granddaddy was building a barn in the backyard for his motor home I noticed that a field mouse had fallen into one of the holes that was about to be filled with cement. I stopped all construction, fashioned a mouse scoop out of a stick and a Solo cup, and would not relent until the mouse was out of the hole. Mission accomplished.

Blueberry Frog

In Dessert, Restaurants on March 6, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Blueberry Frog = joy

Say what you will about our small southern city, but we say that LA can take their Pinkberry (and NYC can take their Tasti D Lite) and shove it. We’ve got Blueberry Frog down here.

We love… LOVE Blueberry Frog. And now that spring is making its triumphant return, the frozen yogurt season is back in full swing for Katie and Stew.

I always get blueberry yogurt with strawberries, blueberries and pineapple (or kiwi), but there are endless options for toppings.

Toppings!

Stew got the same toppings I did today (though he used to be a fan of Fruity Pebbles pre-gluten issue) but tried a new yogurt flavor: pomegranate. Very fitting considering our lunch right next door.

Mmm, pomegranate

Ooh, and you know what? They’re offering crepes now too. Mmm. Must try.

Pomegranate on Main

In Restaurants on March 6, 2010 at 4:23 pm

Photo credit: Metromix

Stew and I have had a most perfect Saturday full of lots of aimless walking, lots of sunshine and lots of delicious food courtesy of Pomegranate on Main. This is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in town that I simply do not eat at nearly enough.

I lost my camera last night (don’t even get me started) so all photos are courtesy of Stew’s iphone.

We started with the kashk bademjan (yeah, try to say it).

Crispy fried onions!

Kashk bademjan

We would have gotten hummus like we always do but this sounded too amazing AND I had hummus last night which you would know about had I not LOST MY STUPID CAMERA. It’s fine.

It comes with a plate of butter, feta cheese and fresh mint. Delicious. It also comes with pita bread for dipping but it’s good enough to just eat with a spoon. And we did.

I had the veggie kabob as my entree and Stew had the vegetarian fesenjan, a ground walnut and pomegranate based stew with portabello mushrooms.

Veggie kabobs

The veggie kabobs are amazing here. Perfect char on everything. And it comes with a mountain of rice and a grilled tomato that you chop up on top of the rice. So good!

Fesenjan

Stew’s stew was like nothing I’ve ever had… in a good way. It was much sweeter than I was expecting but it worked really well. It also came with rice.

We noticed another couple sipping tiny glasses of brown liquid so Stew asked what they were and that’s how we ended up with free Persian tea. Curiosity works.

Tea

To drink it you’re supposed to put one of the slow-dissolving sugars in your mouth and then sip the tea through it. Definitely one of the best (smelling and tasting) teas I’ve ever had. Perfect end to a lovely meal.

Caturday 3/6/10

In Cats on March 6, 2010 at 9:02 am

Weasel endorses Herbal Water

Happy Caturday! Wouldn’t Weasel’s ridiculous little face next to any product make you want to buy that product?

After Ralphie’s encounter with internet fame last week, Weasel was feeling a little left out. So when she sat next to this bottle of Ayala’s Herbal Water, I quickly snapped a picture to start her portfolio of food endorsements. If you want Weasel to endorse your food, send it on over.

Ralphie is not interested

I’d volunteer Ralphie too, but she doesn’t work for free. Remember the photo shoot on America’s Next Top Model when Melrose had to pretend to be a model who wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $5K? Of course you do.

Speaking of food… this happened this week.

Newman's Own Organic Cat Food

Yes yes, the cats got freaking $12 Newman’s Own Organic Cat Food. It’s only because I was completely out of their other food, was at Fresh Market and refused to go to another store just to get cat food. So I sucked it up and bought the expensive one. They really like it.

Back to cats… One thing you may not know about my cat craziness is that I refer to the little pads on their feet as jelly beans.

Because they look like jelly beans

We’re trying to get her to cut back on her computer time, but Weasel likes to watch YouTube.

Weasel watches YouTube

You can see what she’s watching here.

Ralphie watches from afar

When I try to take it away from her, she threatens to break my things. It’s fine for a 10-pound cat to sit on a MacBook, right?

I am not fat

Sushi Koji

In Restaurants on March 5, 2010 at 8:48 am

Sushi Koji

Last night Stew and I had dinner at a new restaurant, Sushi Koji.

They have done wonders with the renovations on this old building, which used to be home to a tacky Mardi Gras-themed restaurant. Now it’s all sleek and classy–big granite bar, exposed brick, local artwork. It’s always nice to see a new restaurant open with so many others continuing to close their doors. (Heads up, Greenville: Corner Pocket closed.)

The menu was not very vegetarian friendly, but I can always find something. I realize I was in a sushi restaurant, but I’ve found that most still have a dedicated vegetarian section on the menu. Not here, but they did have some vegetable rolls.

I really wanted some soba noodles but the waitress confirmed that all the broths were fish based. No big. So we started with the tempura appetizer that kind of took forever so the very sweet and very attentive owner brought us free miso soup.

Free miso

The owner was very concerned about my vegetarianism and felt the need to explain to me that Japan is surrounded by water so of course a lot of their food contains fish and fish based broths. I assured her it was no problem at all. She offered up lots of other suggestions for me just in case. She says next time to get the cold soba noodles because they come in a soy based broth. Now I know.

And finally the tempura.

Tempura shrimp and vegetables

Stew had the shrimp; I had the vegetables.

For dinner, I started with the tofu and avocado salad.

Tofu and avocado salad

This salad was perfect. The tiny bed of shredded lettuce was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting big romaine leaves, but the quantity/texture of the shredded lettuce gave just the right crunch to each bite. And, of course, sesame dressing is always a win. It was among the more difficult things I’ve tried to eat with chopsticks–slimy tofu, slimy avocado, shredded lettuce–but it was worth the effort. Loved it.

Then we each had a roll. I had the vegetable roll–lettuce, daikon, avocado (more!) and cucumber. Stew had the Greenville Roll–yellowfin tuna, onion, ceviche sauce topped with avocado. He also had a sea urchin nigiri that he really liked.

Vegetable roll and Greenville roll

Mine was absolutely the best vegetable roll I’ve ever had. It was my first experience with daikon (which I’ve been reading a lot about in The Kind Diet) and I really enjoyed it. I find a lot of vegetable rolls to be hastily thrown together and likely to fall apart. This one was just perfect.

Though I’d like a few more vegetarian options (don’t I always?), this was a great meal. Go check them out.

Not Too Much of a Good Thing

In Products on March 4, 2010 at 7:15 pm

Food Should Taste Good (in bulk)

Stew got very excited about a sale at Whole Foods on Food Should Taste Good chips so he came home with four new flavors to try: the works, olive, jalapeno and CHOCOLATE.

We tore into the jalapeno first. Verdict: Amazing.

Jalapeno

I don’t hesitate to admit that I am weak around spices. Jalapenos in particular make me very nervous. But this slight kick isn’t overpowering at all. Loved it.

We also hit up the chocolate. Oh the joy. I didn’t get to take a picture because I was too busy devouring. Confused by the concept of a chocolate chip that’s not in a cookie? Embrace it. Yes, this is a tortilla chip with cocoa powder as an ingredient and yes it is delicious.

Brilliant idea: Chocolate chip nachos–melted chocolate and peanut butter over these babies. That will happen.

Hedgehog Cheese Grater

In Weird on March 4, 2010 at 12:04 pm

Brilliant

How cute is this perfect little hedgehog cheese grater? My sister alerted me of its existence and now… DO WANT.

From the designer: “Scratch my back” is a cute and stylised interpretation of the classic cheese grate, combined with a new approach – the four feet creating a stable stance – that allows for a simpler use. No more carrot grating all over the place, just on your plate.”

Love

Unfortunately, it looks like this was just part of a design contest because I can’t find it for sale anywhere.

Fancypants Coffee

In Coffee on March 4, 2010 at 10:12 am

Espresso maker

It’s no secret that I love my Keurig coffee maker. Why anyone would ever brew an entire pot of coffee when you can make it one perfect cup at a time, I will never know. However, when I am entirely too lazy to purchase K-cups for the machine, we rely on Stew’s espresso maker.

Cute, right?

It’s a Bialetti and I find it to be super cool. Just put water in the bottom and coffee in a little basket that fits above that. Screw the top carafe piece on and place on the stove. The heated water boils up through the grounds and then through a tube up into the carafe for pouring.

It’s awesome. Far more labor intensive than the Keurig, but a perfect back up when the K-cup supply is low.

Sweet Tater Chips

In Products on March 3, 2010 at 6:39 am

Food Should Taste Good

It is my belief that Food Should Taste Good makes the best chips on the planet, and these sweet potato tortilla chips are no exception.

Army of awesome chips

Sweet potato may sound like a strange chip flavor, but it’s really not. I think people are confused by sweet potatoes since they’re generally buried under marshmallows and brown sugar. On their own, sweet potatoes impart a light sweetness that complements savory dishes nicely.

And check this out… true to the bag’s artwork, these chips really do look like mini sweet potatoes.

Just like the bag

Love it. Eat these chips!

How To: Banana Soft Serve

In Dessert on March 2, 2010 at 9:54 pm

Believe it

I know what you’re thinking: There’s no way this really works. I know, I know. I didn’t believe it either. But yes, you can make soft serve with a banana. Here’s how:

Put chopped frozen banana in a small food processor and do yo thang.

Step 1

Don’t give up when you notice that the banana appears to NOT be turning into ice cream.

"NOT WORKIIIING, KATIE," you think.

As I understand it, you can keep blending and this will in fact become ice cream. But since I’m a nonbeliever, I take this time to add a little almond milk–like, a LITTLE… two tablespoons maybe–and some cinnamon.

Step 2

Continue to blend.

Ah yes, magic begins to happen

Tah dah!

Step 3

And now the fun part… toppings! I added crunchy peanut butter and chocolate chips but quickly realized I don’t like chocolate chips in ice cream because they’re like cold little rocks. So I ate them and was left with this:

Mmmm

Now it’s your turn…

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Rice Dream Mint Pie

In Products on March 2, 2010 at 9:17 pm

MMMM

This would be an example of me falling for a celebrity-endorsed food product.

Behold the Rice Dream mint chocolate pie–two oatmeal cookies stuffed with mint ice cream and bathed in chocolate–a favorite of Alicia Silverstone.

She seriously must have a deal with them or something since she mentions these multiple times in The Kind Diet. I’m fine with it. It was delicious. I split it with Stew but next time… we’ll need two.

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That's What She Said

In Snack on March 2, 2010 at 9:11 pm

Your punch line is coming...

One of my favorite snacks of the moment involves apricots and almonds. Almond-stuffed apricots, to be precise.

Just take an apricot, bite off one end… and then take two nuts and shove them inside.

Tah dah

That’s what she said! That’s what she said!

This coated in chocolate would be a dream. [Also what she said]

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Gluten-Free Wraps = Meh

In Products on March 2, 2010 at 9:06 pm

Hummus, snap peas, avocado, sunflower seeds

Tonight Stew and I made wraps using Food for Life’s gluten-free brown rice tortillas. Though our selected stuffings made for an overall enjoyable dining experience, the wraps themselves are pretty mediocre.

I had Stew’s amazing curry-spiced hummus with quinoa, snap peas, avocado and sunflower seeds. He had hummus, Monterrey jack cheese, tempeh, avocado and hot sauce.

Stew's wrap

Good meal. Bad tortillas. They’re dry and kind of rubbery and have no taste at all. I do think they might hold up well as a (very) thin, crispy pizza crust. We’ll test that out.

Yoga Healing

In Yoga on March 1, 2010 at 10:12 pm

Credit: Deirdre Summerbell (via womensenews.org)

Today I felt pushed to explore yoga beyond the standard studio class. I know that I love yoga. I know that it has transformed me–and I’m only just beginning my practice. I know that yoga heals but until a little exploration, I didn’t know just how powerful it can be or how people have been harnessing that power to help troubled children, cancer patients, rape survivors and more.

One story I found that was of particular interest is that of Deirdre Summerbell and her work with female survivors of the Rwandan genocide. I encourage you to read the full article at eWomen’s News. It’s an eye-opening look at the universal power of yoga to heal broken spirits, broken hearts, even broken bodies.

Says Summerbell in the eWomen’s News article: “I knew that we were onto something by the second or third class because one of the women came up to me afterwards and said that she had slept through the night for the first time in 14 years after the preceding class. And then more and more women began reporting the same results.”

It is estimated that an unfathomable 250,000 to 500,000 Rwandan women were raped during the genocide, many contracting HIV. Though Summerbell is able to work with only a fraction–250-300 women–she is making a powerful impact.

Photo from: www.project-air.org

“This was something below the level of thought, below the level of memory, below the level of conscious feeling even, but when it was sparked, it was as if–and I don’t know how else to put this–it was as if the women became able to feel again and to love again the life that was in them,” Summerbell wrote.

What a joy.

To learn more about Summerbell’s work, visit Project Air