Yummy Lumpkins

A great light lunch or snack, lettuce wraps are so versatile, tasty and not to mention, super easy to put together. You can use any of your favorite veggies, sprinkle on some of your favorite seeds, add any fresh herbs your heart desires, top with some dried cranberries and add any dressing that satisfies your taste buds. Really, you can make them so many different ways! Plus you're getting tons of great nutrients from all of the raw veggies. What I have written below is just one in a hundred ways you could create your veggie wrap. Feel free to sub in more or less of anything or add in anything you would like. The amount it yields is also easy to change. The amount of veggies you need depends on how stuffed you like your wraps and how many people you are feeding. What I have below is a lunch just for me, myself and I. Enjoy! Healthful Veggie Wraps 2 large, hardy green leaves of your choice (such as romaine, kale, chard) 1 small zucchini (or cucumber), cut into large match

Roasting veggies are probably one of my favorite ways to eat vegetables. Carrots and onions being one of my favorite combos. I love the simplicity of these types of dishes and the wonderful flavor that they deliver. You don't need much to make your veggies taste incredible. I love a light drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of fresh herbs and a couple dashes of salt and pepper. That's it!! So simple and beautiful. During the fall and winter months I use my oven like a mad woman. The heat and smells just make my entire home feel so comfortable and heartwarming. The recipe below is just carrots and onions but feel free to throw in some cubed or baby potatoes. Or even some big cloves of garlic! You could even switch up the herbs. Of course you could use dry herbs but I always recommend fresh. It's really a versatile recipe. This makes a large enough amount to feed about 4 people, or 2-3 if you're serving it on it's own (which I have done many times! It's so filli

The other evening I was majorly craving the delicious, simple ingredients of a salad, but it's starting to cool off a bit around here and a cold salad did not sound appealing. I started to peek around in my fridge and tried to think of something that would satisfy the craving I had. And whoa, the salad that was born not only did that, but it was incredible tasting! Not to mention super simple and healthful. After my husband and sister tried it and said how delicious it was I decided that this salad is going to become a regular in my house. Especially during the fall and winter months because this is a slightly warmed salad that hits all the right spots. Some would call it "wilted" I guess, but "warmed" sounds so much more comforting to me. Caramelized onions and lightly seared tomatoes give this salad great texture while delivering wonderful flavors at the same time. Now, when you look at the photos it will appear that this salad isn't very big, but jus

When I think of warm summer nights I think of good times on the back porch: firing up the BBQ, fresh summer fruit, cool beverages, good conversation, good friends... and potato salad. Potato salad is one of those classic summer dishes that everyone enjoys. Unless for some reason you hate potatoes and in that case you must be from another planet. But I can't help you there... Jumping into a lifestyle of no dairy products had me wondering if I would ever be able to find a replacement for my beloved potato dish.  But when there's a will, there's a way. And I made sure I found my way back to a delicious, flavorful, healthier potato salad. After a lot of recipe searching and testing I found the perfect combination of ingredients to make one of the best potato salads I have ever had. Not only is this recipe perfect for summer nights, but it's perfect to pack up in tupperware and take on a picnic, bring to a potluck or to have just because it's so darn good. Enjoy! Cr

It completes me. It's true. I can't get enough asparagus. If I could, I would have it with at least one meal every day. It has such a wonderful flavor and is so versatile. I wanted to share a quick recipe that came from the amazing Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's cookbook The Vegan Table . It's a super fresh, delicious (not to mention, beautiful) take on asparagus that I instantly fell in love with. And it's quick and easy! I urge you to give this recipe a try. Ladies and gentlemen.... Pan-fried Asparagus with Lime Juice 1 tsp nondairy butter (I use Earth Balance) 1 Tblspn olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium- size shallot, minced 1 bunch fresh asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed Juice from 1/4 lime Salt and pepper, to taste Directions Melt butter with olive oil in a large-size skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and shallot, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in asparagus spears; cook until bright green and tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Squeeze

Recently I've been experimenting with incorporating more raw food into my diet because, frankly, it's great for you. I'm sure your mind either immediately says "Ew." or "So, just salad?", but let me assure you neither of those are the case. Of course having a great big green salad loaded with fresh veggies is an easy and excellent way to get raw food into your body, but that's just the tip off the ol' iceberg. I plan on sharing many raw recipes with you, but first I'd like to share my absolute favorite: Raw pad thai. Now, I'm a big pad thai fan. I crave pad thai. The spiciness, the peanut flavor, the tang and the downright deliciousness of it all.  If that's your thing too, then I suggest you give this bad boy a try. Plus it will be a new and fun way to get some good ol' raw veggies in your diet. Enjoy! Raw Pad Thai 1 zucchini (spiraled into noodles or use a peeler to create long noodles) 2 carrots (julienned) 2 cups p

I know that I have been somewhat failing at keeping up with this blog. To be honest, I forget about it, then remember it, jot down notes to blog about, then get distracted.... Story of my life, really. I really want to keep it updated though! So I am going to try harder. I plan to set aside a specific time at least once a week to blog. I have so many incredible things that I've been making that I want to share! So thank you to whoever has even been checking on it and I promise you better updating. Hope you're all having a beautiful week!

It has been quite some time since I was last able to put up an entry. I've been a bit busy and the computer is the last thing I was spending time with. But I've actually kind of missed blogging and talking about delicious foods so I decided to get back on it and share, share, share! I've made tons of great dishes over the last few months and have taken some beautiful photos. All of which I plan on posting up for you. But first, some news! Recently my hubby and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary in Las Vegas. On this wonderful (but killer hot) trip we were lucky enough to catch The Bodies Exhibition at the Luxor. You may have heard of this and you may think it's somewhat disturbing, but it was incredible! It’s a display of the muscles, bones, tissues, ligaments, etc of the human body. Along with healthy human bodies and parts, there is an assortment of unhealthy parts as well. Healthy lung vs. smoker’s lung, etc, etc. Anyways, there were organs shown that were par

Have you ever bought a few packets of fresh herbs for a recipe, maybe only used a 1/4 of each and then frantically tried to find recipes to use up the rest of the herbs before they went bad? I have. Fresh herbs are expensive and sometimes only come in one size. I wish more places sold them by weight because then you wouldn't have to worry about money going bad in your fridge. Sadly, that's not how it is. BUT! I recently found a fantastic idea in the newest issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray! Herb cubes. Sounds strange, right? Well it's an amazing idea that I wish I had thought of first. Here's what you do: Puree 1 1/2 cups leftover fresh herbs with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze. (Mixture won't fill whole tray, but fill each cube to the top) Throw the cubes into hot pasta, soup or risotto, or defrost and drizzle over grilled veggies (or chicken for you non-vegans)! You may no

Portobello (also called portabella) mushrooms are probably my favorite meat stand-in. They have a great meaty texture and the best flavor. Plus, you can marinate them just like you would your steaks! Portobellos contain high amounts of Vitamin D. This mushroom has also been shown to possess possible immune system enhancing properties. These mushrooms are actually the common button mushroom, just matured. My most common way of preparing portobellos is by marinating the cap for 30 minutes to an hour, then either cooking them on the bbq or grilling indoors on a grill pan. I serve them just as "steak" side or if I use lighter marinade ingredients we'll throw them on a bun with all the fixings and enjoy a great veggie burger! They are to die for! I like to char them a little bit because I think that helps give a meaty texture, plus, the grill marks just look pretty. You should definitely consider giving them a try! And to woo you, here are some recipes and photos. Enjoy!!

I recently posted a little note about how I was craving margarita cupcakes. Of course, I went and ahead and made some up! They came out so moist, springy and zesty!  In fact, they came out so delicious that I will actually be selling some at an event called Montavilla's First Friday, located on Stark Street in Portland, OR! Along with my very popular pumpkin muffins, brownies and pumpkin cookies. I'm very nervous, but at the same time I'm very excited. I've had friends and family pushing me to do something like this for quite some time now. So, we'll see how it goes!  First Friday is held on the first Friday of each month on Montavilla's Stark Strip where restaurants and other businesses get together and have special deals for their customers from 5pm-9pm. I will be located inside of Duds, an amazing little resale shop with hot deals on great clothing. You can find out more information about First Fridays here!! Wish me luck!

Lately carrots have been a favorite veggie of mine. I mean I've always liked them but just thought there was only so many ways to eat a carrot. But once I really jumped into vegetables I started exploring different recipes for so many different kinds. Carrots, making it to the top of my list. Now, carrots are great for you. They are fat free, low in sodium, cholesterol free, a great source of fiber and are high in vitamin A. No other fruit or vegetable contains as much carotene as carrots, which our bodies convert to vitamin A. Plus, they just taste great! Not to mention they very inexpensive. The carrots greens can also be eaten and are high in vitamin K, which the actual carrot itself, is lacking. For the greens, just sauteing in some olive oil with some red pepper flakes and garlic would be good. You can add a little earth balance butter or real butter to make them a little richer if you want. But for the carrots one of my favorite ways to dress them up is with a lemon-thyme

I had never tried buckwheat waffles before, well, buckwheat any thing. I was a little nervous about their flavor and considering I was planning a savory dish to serve up to friends, I decided I should give them a test run. I made some up and poured on some delicious pure maple syrup and let me tell you....AMAZING! It was just me to test drive them so I wrapped the extras up in parchment paper and a plastic bag and tossed them in the freezer. Now I can just pop them into the toaster and have delicious waffles anytime. And i must admit, when I made them I thought the batter seemed reallllly thick, but they ended up coming out perfect anyways. Come to find out, when I was getting ready to make them for the savory dinner, I had forgotten an entire cup of water on the test run. So i made them the right way for dinner. Still just as good, but I would say either way works fine. But onto the savory plans. I made a red wine tarragon mushroom gravy to pour on top of those lovelies. Delicious

YES! Today i am craving margarita.....cupcakes!! So that will be going down. Just have to get my butt to the store and make the magic happen. Of course i will post photos after wards  :)

In our home, my husband and I try to keep a healthy, balanced diet. We base our meals around a plant-based, whole foods diet and try to keep too much processed food out as well. I can't say that we are technically vegan, but that's how we eat about 90% of the time. I'd say we've come a long way though considering that my husband used to be known as one of the most carnivorous people that our friends and I knew. When we started dating I did not cook. A lot of our friends laugh at this because now I'm a cooking machine! At first i just made whatever recipes sounded good, whether they contained meat and dairy or not. Then after a few years I started taking more interest in my health. With a lot of help from my dear friend Grace, I became interested in the vegan diet. I set out to eat healthfully for one month. At first I was doing great, but after about 1 1/2 weeks in i started to feel light-headed and not very energized. I talked to Grace about getting the right nut

I have written a starter two or three times now, posted, then deleted on a later date. Basically, I'm not good at this blog stuff. But I also am not looking to blow anyone's socks off with a blog. I'm mainly starting one because I've had quite a few friends and family members tell me I should start a blog and post stuff regarding my cooking, baking, etc.  I figure, hey, maybe it will be a good way to keep track of all that. After all, I am constantly taking photos of anything I make in the kitchen, anything I've ordered from somewhere that blows my mind (or is plated super pretty!) and other various things that catch my attention. I'm also always trying out new recipes! I love it. Therefore, this is my attempt at making my friends and family happy. Especially Micala, my brother's beautiful wife. She's mentioned a few times that I should start a blog and seems to like the things I have created in the kitchen that I post on my personal Facebook pag