#232 Matt Frazier stopped in Lincoln!

On my List of 1,001 Awesome Things To Do Before....list, #232 is to attend a book tour/signing by an author that I love.  I did that!  I intend to do it any time I get the chance, but I think this is the first.  No, not true.  I met Isa Moskowitz at a bake sale in Omaha and she signed my Vegan Cookies cookbook, but that was a few years back, way before I had The List.  Plus, its on the list to meet her again (maybe when she gets her vegan restaurant open?!?)

Matt Frazier writes a blog that I read regularly called The No Meat Athlete and his book, Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self just came out a few weeks ago.  On his book tour, he made a stop at the Lincoln Running Company and Willa and I made sure we could make it!  Matt is an ultramarathon runner who just happens also to be vegan.  He spoke about his training, what he eats, what he wears, goal setting, strength training...all kinds of good stuff!  He was very informative.  I haven't read the whole book yet, but I did just try out one of his recipes (for buffalo hummus) and it was so good.  I don't know why I hadn't thought to put buffalo sauce in hummus before but it was genius.  I am very excited to try the rest of the recipes.  Aside from recipes, there are also training plans for various distances in the book.  A great read for anyone who is thinking of getting into distance running or anyone looking to replace some meat with some healthier options in their diets.  He doesn't get in your face at all about the ethics of a vegan diet, as some vegan writers do.  He makes some good points, for sure, but he also acknowledges that even just a reduction in red meat consumption can make huge positive impacts on your health and your training.  If you're curious, you should check it out!  I'll loan my copy out after I try a few more recipes:)

Pinterest is always there for me. Its such a good friend.

Almond Milk Iced Coffee from Oh She Glows

Roasted Strawberry and Toasted Coconut Popsicles

I use my Pinterest account.  I really, really do.  When I'm on my game, and planning my meals, and packing my lunches, I use Pinterest heavily to decide what to make and create grocery lists.  I admittedly have NOT been on my game the last few weeks, but I thought I'd share a few things I did try.  First of all, the iced coffee.  It tasted so, so good.  And it wasn't a difficult process at all, until I got to the step where you strain the coffee concentrate and I don't own a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.  So I was trying to do it with coffee filters and that took ages and was pretty messy.  But you can bet your sweet patooty that I am going to get a nut milk bag and use this recipe all the time.  Plus, that will really aid in my other goal of making my own nut milk.  Duh.  The second thing I wanted to share was the strawberry-coconut Popsicles.  They look a little bit intimidating, as far as making Popsicles goes, especially since you can buy them for cheap.  But the taste on these bad boys was just so good.  And they really were not hard at all.  You do want to make sure to toast the coconut VERY briefly.  Like 2 minutes.  And the suggestion to use full fat coconut milk probably isn't a bad one.  I used the Trader Joe's light coconut milk and it still tasted good, but I could for sure see why they said full fat.  

I have a list going of recipes that I want to try in the next few weeks, and I'm very excited about it.  I'll share.  Because I am constantly over sharing.  Just ask the poor girls that I work night shifts with.  They know all about my hemi.

Need a great ebook?

I recently purchased this e-cookbook, written by a girl that I follow on Instagram, and I am loving it!  I have already made the Pad Thai a few times, the chocolate chocolate chip muffins, chipotle tilapia, spicy tuna salad and the super seed loaf.  The recipes are all very clean, all gluten-free, and the author gives suggestions on how to make most of the recipes vegetarian/vegan as well.  I highly recommend it, if you are looking for some easy, healthy ways to perk up your food-life.  Her blog has a lot of really great recipes on it, as well.  Take a peek!

Brad's 32nd Birthday weekend

Its Brad and Josh the Handyman.  And several shots of tequila.

Willa got a new stuffed dog.  I named him Bacon.  She named him Donut.  We compromised and call him Bacon Flavored Donut.  Its probably a real thing.

Might I recommend the bloody mary? And the brussels sprouts?  And the truffle fries?  And will someone take me back here again so I can try the mushroom pizza?

Brad turned 32 a few weeks back and it was a great weekend.  We had dinner in York with his family on the evening of his birthday, and then had some drinks with friends downtown in Lincoln  Then on Sunday, we went to Omaha and stayed at the hotel that is home to CoCo Keys waterpark.  We had waaay more fun there than I had planned on!  What a fun place!  I think what made it the most fun was that Willa was totally game to try everything, even the really big waterslides.  For the first time around water, we saw her have no fear and completely let go and have a blast.  We left the waterpark totally exhausted!  That night, we had dinner at Pitch, which was so good, and then we got ice cream and ate it in bed in the hotel room while we took advantage of the cable tv:)  On Monday, we bummed around in the Old Market, had lunch at Blue, and did a little shopping.  How does anyone who lives in Omaha get anything done ever, besides eating and drinking?!?  I wouldn't!  So far, Brad is wearing 32 well.  I love this period where, for 4 months, we are the same age and I don't feel like such a cradle robber.

The holiday of L-O-V-E

I feel like we kind of made Valentine's Day a big deal this year.  I think it was because Willa got to celebrate at preschool and that got her kind of revved up for it.  Usually, aside from my love of the colors red and pink together, I'm not a huge fan.  (If any of you reading ever lived in Babcock Hall from the years 1998-2000, do you always on Valentine's Day picture those cut-outs in the bathroom that were from "the magazines"?  With the strategically positioned construction paper flaps?  I do.)  

Anyhooters...this year was fun!  On the Monday before Valentine's Day, we had a family date downtown.  First, we got coffee at Indigo Bridge, then we made stuff at Paint Yourself Silly, then we had ice cream at Ivanna Cone, and then we had dinner at Bison Witch's.  All fun stuff.  Lots of good food.  I swear Willie was having more fun than it looks like she was having.  She painted herself a little duck and also helped with Brad's pencil cup.  I think she has figured out how OCD I am about certain things, as she didn't even ask if she could help with my spoon rest.  She knows I would freak out if she painted out of my lines.  And today, she wouldn't let me play Monopoly with her, as she said I would make her play it "the right way."  Damn straight, child.  

Wednesday night, we made brownies.  And we ate a lot of frosting.

Thursday night, Brad brought home Noodles and had flowers and wine awaiting us:)  Note that he has learned that I do not think that roses are pretty flowers.  No picture, but I bought him some spicy garlic sauce from BW3s.  And some pink sea salt.  A tasty gift, but I did feel a little lame when another gift arrived for me the next day and it was this little guy that I have been wanting and wanting and he cost much more than wing sauce...

See?  Cute little guy.  Ready for a cute little plant, when I find the one that I am imagining.

All in all, it was a very nice holiday.  But Easter is my favorite and it is next.  And again, I have sworn off excess/refined sugar from Valentine's Day through Easter.  So Friday morning, I gave away the leftover brownies and have been saying no to all my favorite things ever since.  No, that was pretty dramatic but I did order black coffee at Scooters while Willa ate red velvet cupcake ice cream with M & M's on top the other day.  And today while we were snowed in all day, I may have mixed a lot of unsweetened cocoa powder with peanut butter, honey and banana and eaten it like yogurt.  I'm really blurring the lines of what is acceptable, natural sugar and what isn't.  Honey?  Really?!?  I was desperate.  Brad is giving up soda.  I am so proud of how well he is doing.  We stocked up on many flavors of green tea to get us through.  Tosha gave up meat again.  She is discovering the joys of Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs.  We are all suffering together:)  Except Willa.  She is getting a really sick kind of pleasure out of my inability to eat candy.  She went so far as to rub my back with a little bag of Valentine M & M's the other day, singing to me about how they are made of sugar.  Mean, mean little creature.  Its fine.  I'll get her back on Easter Day.  The Easter bunny might bring her a basket with only candy wrappers.  Wrappers from reece's eggs, starburst jelly beans, and sweet tart bunnies and chicks.  I really like Easter.

Guys, here's how to please a (vegetarian) lady.

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The title of this post is indeed a shameless attempt to get to the 10,000 views mark.  I admit it.  I bet that gets googled a lot, don't you?!?  Especially around Valentine's Day.  But don't be scared, I am not about to share any faux-fur lined handcuffs

Yes, this is what (soft core) porn looks like to me:)

Just this recipe for vegan chocolate avocado pudding.  This might be even scarier than the handcuffs.  You're thinking that I have lost my mind, putting the words "avocado" and "pudding" in the same sentence.  My mind is still just as together as it was before I found the pudding recipe, whatever that means to you.  This stuff is so good.  If you have an aversion to coconut, as about half of the world does, you can leave it out.  And you can use any type of milk.  Also, I used honey in place of syrup, and really not very much of it.  Tastes so much better than any pudding you can buy in the store and its pretty darn good for you!  Please try it.  Even if you think you don't like avocados.  Which if you don't, you should not be reading my blog.  Its like saying you don't like Willa.  That's how close avocados and I are.  We may be closer, as an avocado would have hurt A LOT LESS coming out of the birthing canal.  I've also never had an avocado yell in the library that she "can't find the damn dog" in the Where's Waldo book.  But at the same time an avocado never tells me I'm pretty or snuggles with me at night.  Its a toss up.

I can't quit Pinterest

Its been awhile since I've shared my most recent favorite pins...

Dude, this soup rocks

Fell in love with this bedding, still haven't committed though...

Made this advent calendar for Willa this year

January is National Oatmeal Month

I know.  There is a "National-Everything-Month" these days.  BUT, I love oatmeal, so I'm gonna go ahead and talk about it.  First of all, a few months ago I made the big decision to switch from the el cheapo quick cooking instant oatmeal flakes to steel cut oats.  I thought I loved oatmeal before, but this was game changing.  They do cost more, and take longer to cook but if you are an oatmeal fan, you won't mind one bit.    Then last week, one of my most favorite fitness bloggers posted this recipe for baked coconut-blueberry oatmeal.  That is like, all of my favorite words in one recipe title.  So, after I went to the grocery store Sunday  night, I stuck a pan of it in the oven and have eaten it for breakfast (and a few little snacks) all week.  I just had the last bowl and it made me a little sad, until I realized that I can just make it again and not be sad.

Yes, it called for one of the "good" bowls:)

Its a very simple recipe, which is great.  When recipes even look the least bit complicated, I get nervous.  And sweat.  And usually tear them up and throw them away.  I tweaked a few things about it, to accommodate what I had on hand/what was less expensive/etc.  For instance, I had a few cups of soy milk to use up instead of almond milk, then I used coconut milk for the rest.  I don't really stick to any one type of "milk" around our house.  We never have dairy milk, just soy or almond or coconut.  I haven't branched out to hemp or rice milk yet.  I just kind of rotate through whatever is available or on sale at whichever store I am shopping at.  I think this recipe will work with any type of milk.  Then, I did half frozen-half fresh blueberries, just to see how it would turn out and it was fine.  I also omitted the dried blueberries because they were kind of expensive and very few came in a bag.  We're on a budget here, people!  I don't think the recipe necessarily needs any added sweetener, I believe the blogger used vanilla stevia drops.  I used a bit of honey, but that could be skipped if you were really concerned about sugar.  The great thing about this oatmeal dish is that it is something that is actually better as leftovers.  It needs to sit for awhile for the oats to soak up some of the milk, but I found that it didn't lose any of its tastiness over the days that I ate it.  I just popped a bowl of it in the microwave and then put a little extra coconut milk on top and it was awesome.  I can't wait until it is cherry season, as I think I might try to alter the recipe and use cherries.  And then maybe alter it again and instead of coconut flakes and coconut milk, I will use just almond milk, some almonds, and maybe a tiny bit of almond extract with cherries.  I really like the cherry/almond combo.  Many, many thanks to Erin for sharing this oatmeal gem this fine, cold January!

32 is definitely older than 31.

I just had one of the loveliest birthday weekends.  Seriously.  There was really nothing loud or exciting about it, I just kind of did what I wanted to do all weekend long and it was fantastic.  And by "doing what I wanted to do" I am staying within a very modest budget and time frame:)  On Friday, Tosha and I ended up having a very short cleaning day, so we were able to sit and have a nice lunch, at which she presented me with the above bottle of Jack Daniels Honey.  If you haven't tried it yet, it is stupendilicious.  Just pour it over some ice and try your hardest not to drink the whole bottle.  We had intended to have a few happy hour drinks later on that day, but that darn girl keeps trying to die on me, so I made her go to the emergency room instead.  It turned out to be a false alarm but always better safe than sorry.  In which sorry means blood clot to the ole' melon.

For dinner Friday night, we put on our fancy clothes and had sushi at Kinja.  Yum.  But it really bugs me that whenever I try to take a picture in a sushi restaurant, (or really, most restaurants) the color is always icky.  SO try to ignore the icky color.  We actually looked really cute.

After dinner, I made Willa stay up with me and eat cupcakes.  Then I made Brad stay up with me even later and watch the final movie in the Harry Potter series.  I still can't believe that it took me this long to see it!  I think I'm going to have to go back and read the final book again though, because I was left with a little confusion about Professor Snape.  Were we supposed to think that he was really Harry's father?  Or just a guy that was in love with Harry's mother?  Can't remember.

On Saturday, I slept in.  Like, didn't get out of bed till 9:00.  Ahhh.  Then Willa took me to our new favorite place to sit and chat, The Coffee House.  We shared a chocolate croissant and a soy coconut latte and called it lunch.  Yeah, Willa drinks lattes.  I try not to think about what its doing to her growth and development.  Its just so much fun to have a mini-me who likes coffee shops.

Then we took a trip to Target.  I won't bore you with details about the great sale on cat litter, but I did pick up this cute coffee mug.  And a dress.  And a testament to my ever increasing will power when it comes to saving money, I have been wanting this dress for months but I waited for it to go on clearance not once, but TWICE.  Take that, old me from 2003 who bought everything she ever wanted at full price!

When Brad got home from work and Willa and I woke up from our nap, we went to my parent's house for some of my dad's homemade rhubarb pie, and then we went for a bike ride and played at the park.

Then to round out my birthday weekend, on Sunday we went to the fair!  I was hoping for weather more like Saturday's but it was a tad bit warm.  Willa went on rides for the first time, and I think she really liked them! She was also fond of all the bunnies and goats in the animal buildings.  In keeping with the "doing whatever I want" theme, I ate a funnel cake.  I don't know what it is about those things, but I always want one if I'm at a fair.  I don't even think about them any other time of the year.  Sunday evening, my parents and brother came over for a yummy grilled supper and to watch Willa ride her bike.  And that is where my birthday weekend and doing whatever I want came to a screeching halt, as I had to be at work at 3 in the morning.  Which is where I am now, nearly in tears over the fact that my birthday weekend is over and its back to non-birthday life:)  

I think 32 will be a great year!  I'm definitely going to get a lot of bills payed off, go on a few trips, spruce up a few rooms in the house, maybe run my first marathon (yikes!), and give some serious thought to making Willa a sibling (triple YIKES!!)  Maybe I'll clean a few houses, too.  Yep, good year.  

Favorite places

One of my biggest weaknesses (and possibly one of the reasons we are not quite out of debt) is going out to eat.  Especially when the weather is beautiful and you can sit outside and have a good drink.  It doesn't have to be a whole meal, either.  I get unnaturally excited about iced coffee and/or scones, too.

 Mom, Willa and I like to frequent Bread and Cup after the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday afternoons.  Oooh.  Or the Green Gateau.

A favorite with Brad?  Yia Yia's.  The vegan pizza with capers is delish.  Not everyone can get their vegan "cheese" so melty and cheese-like.  Another plus is the fact that I don't think I've ever had the same beer twice there.  Extensive beer menu.  If we are downtown and aren't at Yia Yia's, the second best bet is probably Bison Witch's.  We even rode our bikes there one night!

Willa had a doctor's appointment one day, not too far back.  Nothing big, not even any shots or anything.  But I *might* have told her if she was a big girl during the appointment that we could go somewhere for ice cream or a cupcake.  Does anyone else do this with their kids?  Reward them with things that they themselves want??  We couldn't make up our minds which sounded better so we went to Toast, where they have both!  We didn't actually order both, but I did let Willa decide which she wanted and she went with ice cream.  She said chocolate, I ordered cappuccino behind her back.  She didn't know the difference:)  If you've never been to Toast, it is fantastic.  It just happens to be the closest place to our house to eat and we are darn lucky.  They have great sandwiches, soup, and a homemade veggie burger that is very impressive.  And their coconut iced coffee is my favorite treat after I go for a long run out in Fallbrooke.  It is very hilly there, so I always earn my treat.

So, there ya have it!  Our favorite places to eat this summer!  In addition to all the sushi places, but I feel like we have covered our family's love of sushi.  Brad and I have a little "date night" in the next few days.  We have been making a date night out of shopping for Willa's birthday and Christmas presents for the last 3 years...so that makes about 2 dates per year that we go on.  I think I have him talked into trying something new (to him.)  We'll see how that turns out (he's kind of the pickiest eater on planet earth.)  Not to spoil the surprise about where we go...but if you had to pick between Thai and Indian, which would you pick?!?

Garden inspiration (via what else? Pinterest.)

Isn't that just a perfect garden?  This is how I would like for my garden to look...eventually.  Maybe when I am a little bit better at gardening.  Like, when stuff actually grows and I don't kill it.  I planted things about a month ago.  Maybe a little less.  Things like tomatoes, jalapenos, Brussels sprouts, rainbow chard, zucchini, carrots, lettuce, spinach, kale, peas, sweet peppers, basil and cilantro.  Some of the things that I planted as plants are looking ok, but the things I tried to start from seed are disappointing me.  I have friends who are already eating salads from their gardens, and they didn't plant much earlier than I did.  Its the curse of my black thumb.  But I won't give up.  I will plant another garden this week if I have to.  On a happier, plant-related note, my mom and I spent some time with the strawberry patch today and it is doing very well.  Lots and lots of little green strawberries that will be ready to pick in the next few days or so.

Picture and recipe here

And also related to food, Willa and I made these muffins the other day.  She is a big fan of cracking the eggs when we bake together.  The muffins were very tasty and incredibly easy, with common ingredients that you probably already have in the pantry.  They don't require you to grow anything from a seed...Can you tell that I am a little frustrated with my own lack of gardening abilities?!?

Food from a truck is way yummier than it sounds

Short and sweet.  If you haven't visited the food truck GUP yet, you really should.  Follow them on Facebook to find out where they will be each day.  I had some curried cashew tacos that were genius.

There was dancing involved

Brad and I had a night out on Saturday.  It was great fun!  We started out with sushi at Dozo.  It never disappoints.  Our server suggested this beer, after I tried to order a Summer Shandy.  Isn't it pretty?  I had just run across the bottle in HyVee the last time we were there and even commented on how pretty it was.  I believe it has a sister beer in an equally pretty bottle called Sophie.  After a few rolls and some sashimi, we took a little stroll over to Brewsky's for a surprise 25th birthday party for Brad's coworker, Sean.  A few drinks there, and Marz, and Main St, and then the Fat Toad.  It had been ages since I had done the downtown bar scene and it was so much fun!  It helps to be keeping great company, I suppose.  Upon discussion the next day, Brad and I realized that we did in fact dance.  Twice. That, my friends, is out of character but apparently that is how much we were enjoying ourselves:)

 

BRAD ATE CAULIFLOWER!!

This is a huge deal in our house.  Let's think about this for a second.  I am a vegetarian.  Who loves vegetables.  And weird grains.  And nut milks and a multitude of soy bean products.  Brad likes...jerky.  And beer.  The list of vegetables that he will willingly eat include corn and occasionally peas.  Grocery shopping for our family is a fun challenge.  (Willa likes grapes, yogurt and plain hot dog buns if you were wondering.)  So the other night when I finally got around to trying the cauliflower crust pizza that I saw on Pinterest, I figured either I would ruin it and no one would eat it, or it would be awesome and I would love it but Brad would hate it.  Either way, I had to try it.  The verdict is that it was really, really good.  And Brad ate it.  And he claimed to like it!  I'll post the recipe, as it was from Pinterest and then I'll walk through my alterations to the recipe.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Serves 2; Adapted from Your Lighter Side.

ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Enjoy!

*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

Ok, I don't own a food processor, which I realize more and more every day is dumb.  I just need to bite the bullet and go buy one, as a ton of my recipes call for them.  Sometimes I avoid making things that would probably be so good, just because I don't own one.  I also don't own a cheese grater.  So I put most of a small head of organic cauliflower in my magic bullet and blended it for quite awhile.  Admittedly, this took some time but I think it would be much quicker with the food processor.  Once I had blended about a cup of cauliflower and microwaved it for about 6 minutes, I added in the egg, cheese, oregano and garlic.  Spread it on my trusty Pampered Chef pizza stone and brushed it with olive oil.  This amount of mixture made a very small pizza.  It truly only does serve 2, and at that, I would make sure to have some sides if you're hungry.  I think I only baked the crust for about 12 minutes before the edges started to look pretty crispy.  I topped the crust with parmesan cheese, one large tomato, sliced, and lots of basil.  Stuck it under the broiler for a couple of minutes.  Oh wow.  It was good.  Brad even said that he wouldn't have guessed there was any cauliflower in the pizza if I hadn't told him.  I will say that the crust was a little bit more delicate than normal, but maybe that means I just didn't quite cook it long enough.  I don't know that I would ever use another store bought pizza crust again after trying it this way.  Picky eaters definitely earn bragging rights for trying this one!!!

Fun little pins

I like wishbone chairs.  I like shades of blue.  I like blingy light fixtures.

I made these guys the other day.  Well, I tweaked the recipe a bit.  Here's the deal.  I have given up desserts and candies for the duration of Lent.  Not really for any religious reason, mostly just to challenge myself.  I am kind of a sweets-junkie.  And I am obsessed with Easter candy.  This is gonna be tough.  Its been 5 days and most of those days have contained numerous opportunities for dessert and I have passed on all of them! I'm not going crazy and cutting out all sugar.  I put a few chocolate chips in the pancakes the other day.  And I used syrup.  And I made these guys.  Here's what I put in them:  oatmeal, dried cranberries, honey, agave, chia, hemp protein, flax, a handful of white chocolate chips, peanut butter, coconut oil and unsweetened coconut flakes.  They are dangerously close to being dessert.  I should mention that Brad and Tosha are doing the "no sweets" thing with me.  And last year, Tosha swore off meat during Lent.  Just for me, I like to pretend:)  Brad gave me permission to have the occasional muffin or scone for breakfast, I think just because he is afraid that I will become homicidal without them.  I am giving myself permission to buy a few bags of Easter candy and hide them in the back of the pantry for after Easter.  I'm halfway hoping that I won't even want them.  Even after 5 days, it kind of gave us stomach aches just sampling the energy ball dough!

P-p-p-p-pins

Print from here

Found this print on Pinterest.  Fell in love.  Its like the holy trinity of a picture.  Its got bold typeface, the color pink, and its fluorescent.  I have to admit that neon colors weren't my idea.  They were the idea of two of my favorite people that I have never met named Emily and Orlando.  They have such good ideas.

Recipe from here

And this little ball of heaven, she is called a coconut lemon meltaway.  I'm fairly certain that if I can locate some coconut flour, I will make some of these this week.  Does anyone know if coconut flour is something I can buy, like, anywhere?  Maybe Open Harvest?  I will hand-deliver a package of coconut lemon meltaways to the first person to tell me where to find coconut flour.  

Thanks again, Pinterest.  We made it through another night shift.

Oink

 We went out for dinner tonight at Bison Witch's.  That place is so good that I almost don't have words for it.  The veggie sandwich, the queso, mushroom soup.  I want to eat it again and that was only like 8 hours ago.
I'm talking about food because we have been cooking at home quite a bit lately, as part of the money saving plan.  Also, I love grocery shopping.  I would rather be in a grocery store than a mall.  Give me a really good grocery store and I might choose it over an amusement park.  I heard a rumor that Lincoln is getting a Whole Foods.  If this happens, and I go missing from time to time, you can bet that's where I am.  Just gazing at things like soy flax seed chips and vegan chipotle sausages.  Sometimes I wonder how I even have human  friends.
Anywho...Thought I would share a few of the new recipes that I have tried and loved, in case anyone else is on a "cook at home" kick!
Through Pinterest and the advice of kind friends, I have discovered the blog Oh She Glows, and my two favorite new recipes came from there.  First being the Creamy Avocado Pasta and second being the Sweet Potato Enchiladas.  Both were delicious.  I might have used a touch too much garlic in the pasta sauce, as it was a little heart-burny.  Next time I would just use one small clove instead of the giant clove that I chose.  Also, I just used whole wheat pasta and not the spelt or kamut pastas that the writer of the blog used.  Those sound fun to try though.  As for the enchiladas, man were they good!  The recipe says that it makes 4, but I think I made like 8 and put about 5 of them in the freezer, minus the avocado sauce on top.  Although my cousin Mandy taught me the other day that if you leave the pit in with the mashed avocados, it is supposed to keep them from turning brown.  Not sure for how long, but that's a fun little tip for avocado freaks like myself.  I also made a double batch of raspberry almond thumbprint cookies.  I took a few to wine night, as they just sounded like something that would go really well with a good red wine.  And they were.  The rest are in my freezer to take to dinner tonight, as I think I made a few empty promises right after Christmas to deliver more of them to certain friends.  I also have plans to whip up a big bowl of avocado/feta/tomato dip and maybe even play around with some buffalo wing tofu for Super Bowl Sunday.  I'm not exactly sure which teams are playing, but I hear there is going to be a cute dog in some of the commercials, and Madonna is performing at half time.  Sometimes looking at Madonna's 60 year old arms inspires me to do lots of push-ups.
Now you know what I have been eating for the last few weeks.  Cool, huh?  Maybe next week I'll tally up how many times I floss my teeth and then go on and on about it.