Vegan

I have been go go go lately, which hasn’t left much kitchen time. The same breakfast smoothie and lunch sandwich aren’t really interesting talk around here. Well, I did find a smoothie shop in our new neighborhood, so I may actually tell you about that soon.

My kitchen is about half unpacked, so I am able to partly function in there, and it is my main focus to get organized first. I am looking forward to cooking again.

The best thing we have eaten recently, when I finally did get in the kitchen? Individual six layer dips.

We ate these three times last week – as a dip for lunch, over crunchy lettuce as a salad, in a quinoa bowl topped with crushed tortilla chips. These flavors are so good, and don’t get old.

Using the fire roasted green chiles I brought back from Santa Fe last spring, this layered lunch has a southwest spin. The sweet corn mixes perfectly with the sweet-spicy noocho cheese, while the crisp lettuce and avocado provide a cool and creamy finish.

All together? A perfect warm weather lunch that is both light and filling.

Now I want to visit Santa Fe again…

I’m posting at Fork You! No, Fork You! while Christina is off getting married – see the recipe here – southwest six layer dip.

eta: two things – sorry about the formatting. Also, I am guessing Christina is offline for a bit, so all comments are going into moderation. Thanks for reading!

 

 

Related posts:

{ 16 comments }

As of this weekend, we have only one house! We are all moved out of the old place, and can relax a little bit. Then I start unpacking here…

In the short time we have been in our new house, we have met a few of the neighbors, all very nice. There are two other dachshunds on our street, one right next door! Basil is thrilled. After we are settled in, I am going to look up Oregon Dachshund Rescue again, and look into Dachshund #4 for the street – a sister for Basil.

This weekend, out of nowhere, I had a cake craving.

Since we are seeing awesome weather in the 80′s here, I was thinking something light. Sunny. Fresh.

Citrus!

We were headed to a patio party, and I brought these along for dessert. These were very easy to make, using that box of cake and bottle of soda method, and while I wouldn’t really call that a recipe, I will tell you what I did.

orange creamsicle cupcakes

gluten, dairy and egg free, vegan

makes 12 cupcakes 

1 package vanilla cake mix (vegan + gluten free)
1 tablespoon vanilla paste (or extract)
pulp from 1 orange (reserve juice for frosting)

10 ounces orange soda

Combine cake mix and soda, stirring until just combined. Fold in vanilla and orange pulp. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

citrus cream cheese frosting

gluten, dairy and egg free, vegan

8 ounces cream cheese (Tofutti)
2 – 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
juice from 1 orange
2 droppers full Orange NuStevia

Beat cream cheese, orange juice and NuStevia until softened, gradually adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Transfer to piping bag or frost as normal.

Yum. These are bright and light, sweet and citrusy. Perfect for sunny summer.

 

{ 36 comments }

 

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.

 

Related posts:

{ 40 comments }

garden fresh grilled cheese

April 28, 2012

Did you guys know April is National Grilled Cheese Month? I have been taking full advantage, while still trying to keep things relatively healthy. Relative to what, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure italicizing it blurrs that line even more. This is one of my new favorite sandwiches. I have had three this week. I [...]

Read the full article →

mini wedge salads

April 26, 2012

It is no secret that I love iceberg lettuce. It gets a bad rap for being void of nutrition and flavor, but I love its crunch in a salad or a sandwich. We stayed at our new place for the first time last night. As we are still in packing mode and haven’t yet scheduled [...]

Read the full article →

celebrating Earth Day

April 21, 2012

…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 [...]

Read the full article →

carrot juice waffles

April 20, 2012

I am always honored when asked to write a guest post on another website. When Cara asked me, I was beside myself giddy, as she has not only become a good friend, I look up to her as an extremely talented and creative blogger. We met while participating in last year’s Vegan MoFo, and our friendship has [...]

Read the full article →

easy vegan cut out cookies {our new house}

April 19, 2012

A few of you already know this good news – after months and months of looking and dozens of houses, we found the perfect house! Today is the big day – we pick up the keys to our new house this morning! We signed an inch of paperwork yesterday, went out to a celebratory lunch, [...]

Read the full article →

salsa cheddar grilled cheese

April 16, 2012

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 [...]

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 →