A hodge-podge of Ravings!

I’ve been an absent blogger for a while because my sister stole my camera cord and I wanted to post some pictures… sorry!

I’ve tried a few V’con recipes! My first one was sort of an improvisation of a recipe… the Quinoa-Pineapple-Cashew Stir-fry. I didn’t have pineapple, so I just subbed in lemon and lime juice and had no fruit-bits in it. The taste was okay, but maybe I should stick to the real one yesterday. I snapped a picture, anyway… along with some orange pop, of course 🙂

 

It seems like I’ve been working quite a bit lately and I’ve been a bit tired. I managed to get 2 days off in a row last week, though, since I picked up a Sunday shift, so I went to visit my sister, went shopping and had lunch with her one of the days. That same night, since I’m dog-sitting at a house on the beach, I invited my parents over for dinner and relaxing! They loved it! It wasn’t a problem that I was running so behind on my plans, because they just enjoyed being at a serene and tranquil water-atmosphere! I love being by water… there’s something very peaceful about it. SO- I broke out my V’con and made some super-spicy Black Beans in Chipotle Adobo Sauce. I used real chipotles, not canned, and I wasn’t sure what the “Adobo sauce” was, but I managed. I think I underestimated the heat, because I kept mincing more peppers! Oops! I served them on top of the Spiced Sweet Potatoes to off-set the spiciness of the beans and sauce. I also had some cool avocado and tomatoes on the side, and sauteed zucchini, squash and peppers! YUM! To drink, there was plenty of Pomegranate Lemonade to be had.

Dessert was excellent, too. At work, everyone’s been raving about this new coconut milk ice cream. It’s soy and dairy free (vegan, in fact- Purely Decadent brand), and totally delicious! I got the vanilla kind because they were out of coconut, and it tastes like vanilla, but it’s like you can’t pin-point the flavor… what is it?! Oh yeah, coconut! I picked up some fresh kiwi and blackberries and heated some semi-mashed berries and served it on top. Y-U-M! So fresh and summer-y!

Okay, so am I a real vegetarian?! I got a much-needed and long-awaited pedicure (soo nice, sitting in those massage chairs). My color: “Cajun Shrimp.” It was just too cute to pass up because of the name, which is how I determine whether or not a color is worthy, many times! If it doesn’t have a name, I’m not going to pick it! Anyway, I went to the beach and snapped a picture of my sandy, shrimpy toes!

Sorry for those who have something against feet!

Work today until close, unfortunately, so I’ll have to miss my family’s dinner celebration, again with my dad’s side at our house. Oh well, I guess more meat for them!

Ah, summertime!

It sure is summertime in FL! School is out in this county, but since I don’t go to grade-school, it almost feels like I’m always on break! Yeah… still looking for that job and waiting for fall semester for college! Kelsey (my oldest sister, who lives in NJ now, but comes home frequently!) and I went to the beach– it was a scorcher! I went in the gulf for the 1st time this year, actually and it felt fabulous! I saw some dolphins, too, which is still cool everytime I see it! Also, summer in FL means clouds and/or rain EVERY afternoon and, without fail, the clouds rolled in and we left after only over an hour lounging at the beach. I still got some sun, even with my SPF! No cancer for me! 😎

When I got home, I was feeling like making a GOOD sandwich! I love-love-love tempeh and have had a tempeh-Reuben and tempeh-chicken salad before, but we had no sauerkraut and I didn’t feel totally adventurous, so I made this:

 

Toasted honey-wheat bread, sundried-tomato hummus, lettuce, tomato and bell peppers with pan-fried soy-marinated tempeh. A mish-mash of flavors, but very good! It was a little dry with the toasted bread, so I had some extra hummus to lather each bite in! Delish! Of course, I had some orange popbecause, well, I love it and I’m thirsty. It’s like FL’s new OJ… OP? OS? OK! I don’t even say “POP!” That is such a northern thing… it’s “Coke!” No matter what flavor…

a: “You want a coke?”

b: “Sure.”

a: “What kind?”

b: “You have orange?!”

a: “PSH, YEAH!”

…but you can’t expect to have a blog called, “Orange Coke!” How does that sound?!

Have I said that I LOVE summer and I LOVE tempeh?! It was very good and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some sauerkraut… however gross that may be, this girl likes that combo!

I am a vegetarian and have been for over 2 years, I think… I am the only one in my family that chooses to live this way permanently, but the rest of them are learning how to make substitutes for me. I also cook once, twice, or more each week and it’s usually a meat-free dish, though sometimes I have someone prepare, say, the poor little chicken, while I do the rest.

Tonight I made dinner. I have loved some of Rising Moon’s products, and I found some ravioli on sale, so I got 2 packages (each package SAYS it feeds 2, and there were 3 of us). That’s something I love to… a good sale! No matter what it is, I’ll take a double-look if it’s on sale! Well, good thing I did with these babies! I mixed the ravioli with some lightly sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, green beans and cherry tomatoes and tossed it with olive oil and this parmesan Italian blend seasoning. That, and a salad (with raspberry walnut vinaigerette) and dinner was made! Oh, my mom made apple crisp for dessert!
Gosh, I had some gooooood eats today 🙂