Sort-of-Greek Barley Salad

It's been a long time since I've posted here - and I have my reasons, trust me, but that's neither here nor there. Right now, it's all about quick, easy, summer food, the kind you make when you and your spouse are both ravenous and you're broke and your AC is broke and it's 90 degrees out and running the oven is patent suicide. It's made even better by a side of cooling Ecuadorian-style marinated onions, an easy recipe I learned to make from my amazing past employers, who taught me all kinds of lovely cooking things which will probably end up on this blog.

Elephant Smoothie Bowl + Homemade Salted Magic Shell

Hello, friends.

This is a smoothie bowl. 

You probably already know that.

But you're about to see a lot of pictures of it, anyway.

 I used to live on peanut butter banana smoothies. Sometimes I would have them for two or three meals, which illicited some concern from my parents, as any seemingly liquid diet probably should. But, seeing as it has plenty of carbs from bananas and fat and protein from peanut butter, I maintain it's basically a perfect meal, especially when you throw in some spinach. And, it tastes like dessert. I'm not even joking, it's like ice cream.

Think Pink

Juice beet it.




Yes, that happened.

Really Special Pancakes

Why, you may be asking, are these innocuous pancakes, which, if this photo is any indication of the overall condition of the general surroundings may have been made in squalor, special? Well, these pancakes are suitable for special people. The kind of people who don't eat refined sugar, or gluten, or animal products. And they can be made without a trip to the health food store for a package of buckwheat, or some other gluten-free flour expensive enough to have been a gift to the infant Christ. In fact, they can be made with stuff you probably already have lying around. Lucky you.

Creamy Chickpea Pasta

Ready for another easy, pasta-based recipe? Really, these are changing my life. This one is creamy and rich and, due to the rosemary, reminds me of my mother, with her rosemary-filled garden beds and epic rosemary-roasted potatoes, and my grammy, who gave me my first gigantic bottle of dried rosemary when I got married and moved out of state.

Funfetti Salad

You're probably thinking one of two things - "what is funfetti doing on a salad", or "oh, this poor vegan, she's been eating vegetables alone so long she thinks they're fun. And confetti-like."

  My advice to you, in either case, would be to just stop and eat this delicious salad - complete with creamy hummus dressing! - and look at a ton of pictures I took of said salad, because it's amazing and I want to remember it forever and ever. Ready?

So far, I have made this salad as a meal and as a side with two different dressings. A great addition to the toppings I already have pictured are celery and radish, by the way, but I was out so that was a no-go.

hi.

 Winter days are for . . .

And also - 

Tuscan Beans with Sage

                                   

I've been very much into convenience food lately. And by that I mean, make-ahead, can-be-carted-around-in-a-backpack-and-eaten-cold-hours-later food.

Trail Mix Cookies

    Today is all about procrastination. It is cold. The hot water pipes in my house, in their typical spirit of perverse defiance and tenacity in the face of opposition, have frozen despite being left trickling overnight. I was looking forward to a visit from some family members which was cancelled due to illness (one of the less-known hazards of going to church: tell your friends). I had taken the day off in anticipation of spending it with my visitors. Logically, I should use the day to catch up on school work.

    That’s silly talk.    

                      

Travelling Lentil + Sprout + Lemon Salad

   My love affair with lentils having reached something of a fever pitch, it seems high time I shared another lentil-based recipe.

   This salad has been saving my butt all week. I made the lentil base, courtesy of that spectacular mensch, Mark Bittman, and have been playing with that as a base for other creations. My experimentation came to an abrupt end, however, after making this variation, which I think is generally an indicator of a winner.