Yummy Lumpkins

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