snacks

grilled rosemary date cookie bars

by spabettie on May 11, 2012

in appetizers,baking,Dessert,Gluten Free,grilling,recipes,snacks,Vegan

If you’ve been reading spabettie since at least last summer, you know we love to grill. Jason always says he would grill year round – if we had a covered porch, he would be out there in the snow.

Right now, the weather is perfect for grilling! We have been enjoying temps in the 70′s and 80′s, which are to continue through this weekend. Not even completely settled in our new house, the grill is set up and this was the first recipe I grilled!

The grilled part of this recipe is my new favorite snack - a date stuffed with rosemary. Grilled. Sticky charred sweetness infused with fresh rosemary is simple and complex all at once. We ate plenty of these as is, warm straight off the grill. I saved enough for these bars, adding that grilled flavor to a sweet and savory treat.

I have entered this recipe into the Dole California Cook Off, for a chance to travel to California and compete at The Grove. There is a contest to submit a recipe for a possible $10,000 prize, with two runners up prizes of $1000! There is also a sweepstakes to enter – a chance to travel to LA and judge the contest!

I’ll be here, sitting in the sunshine, stuffing rosemary into dates. See my recipe here.

Compensation was provided by Dole via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of spabettie and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Dole.

celebrating Earth Day

by spabettie on April 21, 2012

in Dessert,recipes,snacks,summertime,Vegan

…and celebrating this sunny day – this weekend the temps are in the 70′s, just perfect.

It’s been a long day so far, I was up early and helped my brother move. Jason and I went to lunch and brought a few things over to the new place. We are hiring movers, but there are things we want to move ourselves, so we’re taking a few trips over there today and tomorrow.

Right now, though? We’re taking a break. I am drinking a 4 shot espresso and making Earth Day Peanut Butter Cups – enjoy:

Happy Earth Day!

The Earth Day Network has a goal of A Billion Acts of Green, and it got me thinking of what I can do above and beyond what I already do, today and ongoing.

I am happy to live in an area where recycling has always been the norm. Back in college I was vacationing in three southern states, and remember being shocked at the lack of recycling – even of the basics like aluminum cans and newspaper. It’s a huge eye opener, and I shudder to think one day we will have a real life Idiocracy on our hands – mountains of landfill.

I could go on and on about how the foreshadowing of Idiocracy scares me, but that is a whole other conversation.

today my pledges include:

- spending very little time on the computer today, and the television is off.

- spend much of my time outdoors to take advantage of natural light and conserve our electricity. Basil and I were just sitting on the deck in the sunshine, while I wait for this espresso to kick in.

- start planning my vegetable garden at the new place – we are building planters and I can’t wait to start!

Earth Day Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

makes 12-14 depending on wrapper size

dairy free, vegan

1 bag chocolate chips (trader joes dairy free)
1 bag white chocolate chips (vegansweets)
1/2 cup peanut butter
food color (seelect is vegan + gluten free)

Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Fill candy cups 1/3 full, coating the insides of the wrapper to the top. Cool in fridge until set. Spread a spoonful of peanut butter almost to the edge of the wrapper. Melt white chocolate, reserving 1/3 for final step. Pour white chocolate over peanut butter layer, smoothing and covering completely. Return to fridge to cool. Separate remaining white chocolate into two bowls, coloring one green and one blue. For the last layer, swirl greens and blues to make earth shapes.

first layer chocolate, all the way up the sides:

second layer peanut butter, almost to edges:

third layer, white chocolate covering completely:

unwrapped:

yum:

My favorite saying for today? Every Day is Earth Day.

What can you do today (and every day!) to celebrate Earth Day and help protect our planet?

Have you seen Idiocracy?

salsa cheddar grilled cheese

by spabettie on April 16, 2012

in Dinner,Gluten Free,recipes,snacks,Vegan

We have spent the last week in Missouri. We have seen bright sunshine, booming thunderstorms, sideways rains, and currently? A tornado watch for several areas, including BoCoMo (Boone County).

Everyone around me is used to this sort of thing, and therefore calm. While I am comforted by the fact that there is a tornado shelter directly across the street, I really don’t want to have to experience a tornado. I have been in Missouri to hear the monthly siren test, and I don’t really want to hear that ominous sound, either. Creepy indeed.

I could use one of these sandwiches right now – a good distraction.

For this sandwich I may have spent another mile on the treadmill, but it was worth every step.

One thing I craved when I could not have it, crunchy buttery toast. Another thing I craved? Tomatoes and cheese. Not having a fresh tomato in the house, I opted for salsa. Hey, it’s close, right?

It’s also good.

salsa cheddar grilled cheese

gluten and dairy free, vegan

2 slices gluten free bread
3-4 slices cheddar cheese (Teese)
2-3 tablespoons salsa of your choice
butter (Earth Balance soy free)

Butter both sides of bread. Arrange cheese on one slice, place both pieces of bread side by side on baking sheet, bake at 350 until cheese melts and bread toasts. Remove from oven, spoon salsa over cheese and cover with second slice of bread.

Straight up comfort food, indeed. This is a craving-satisfying combination.

Have you been in a tornado? Do you have extreme weather in your area?

*edited to add last night’s conversation:

Kris: will we hear the sirens if they go off?

Jason: yes, we will hear them.

Kris: okay, goodnight…

Jason: wait, no we won’t hear them – the next time they go off we’ll be back in Portland.

Good Answer. Made me feel better, and probably my mom too, right mom? We are fine!

double rich chocolate protein cookies

April 13, 2012

Next in the recipes I am creating for NutritionFix is one that uses a new to me protein powder, Complete Protein Diet in Double Rich Chocolate flavor. This is from Optimal Nutrition, a brand I like, so I felt good in choosing it. The flavor is good, not too sweet, and I can drink it as a [...]

Read the full article →

cardamom citrus cookie and NuNaturals giveaway

April 11, 2012

Whew. It’s April, isn’t it? Q1 was bull-shirt. Stressful, exhausting, trying. I told Jason Second Quarter Owes Us. I am keeping my fingers crossed that things will be looking up. I already know of two things that are… more on that later. In good news, spring is most definitely here – we have been having [...]

Read the full article →

apple crunch protein bites

April 10, 2012

I was recently asked to create recipes with products from the online sports nutrition and fitness store, NutritionFix. Pretty sure my love of trying new products is fairly apparent, and when I find products I like, I love to pass them along. NutritionFix offers great brands and many products I already use, and I spend [...]

Read the full article →

black bean and plantain fritters

April 3, 2012

Ashley from The Unintentional Vegan has some of the best round up posts, which she calls Crowdsource Recipe Testing. She posts fabulous recipes from around the web. Remember the amazing caramelized onion bacon dip I raved about a while back? I discovered that through a Crowdsource post. Ashley recently asked me to participate in Crowdsource by making [...]

Read the full article →

Yumvelope Giveaway

March 27, 2012

The latest in monthly snack assortments is Yumvelope. Each month a large USPS mailing envelope is sent to you with a variety of natural snack options. The difference with Yumvelope? They include a minimum of six full size products! I loved my Yumvelope selection – there were some old favorites and some new things I [...]

Read the full article →

National Spinach Day

March 26, 2012

spinach pancakes Today is National Spinach Day. You may know that spinach is one of my favorites – probably always in my top five foods list. I always have at least one large box (usually two) of baby spinach in the fridge at any given time. Right now? Two. I’ll take any chance to [...]

Read the full article →

roasted garlic white bean dip

March 16, 2012

This dip. It is also a spread. You could call it a white bean hummus. It is creamy garlicy and salty good, and it was the savory protein in the bella, pepper and arugula sandwich yesterday: roasted garlic white bean spread gluten, soy, dairy free, vegan 5-7 cloves garlic 1 can white beans, drained (cannelini, [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries