baked pasta

there is nothing quite as comforting as pasta. it's cheap! it's easy! it's tasty!

this is an easy, straightforward baked pasta recipe. feel free to make substitutions, use what you love!

mint chocolate chip ice cream

matt bought me an ice cream maker. need i say more?

i quite like ice cream, but like many things in life, i find it too sweet, and too full of ALL THE LACTOSE. problem: solved!

mint chocolate chip was the first ice creamy experiment i did, and it turned out just perfect. i happened to have mint essential oil in the house, and not mint extract, so i used that... i'm not sure how much mint extract you would use, but i'm sure you can figure it out!!

one thing i will note is that i have mostly made and eaten my ice creams fresh - i have found that ice cream made with almond milk freezes too hard. you do have options though: a: let it sit on the counter for a bit to soften before serving, or b: freeze into popsicle molds!

this recipe makes 4 servings!

guacamole

i think as a vegetarian and a healthy eater, i’m obligated to love mexican food. i have no problem with this… i could eat beans and rice and salsa and corn chips every day!

but what would mexican food be without guacamole? it’s a key part of a tasty mexican meal, and a huge personal favourite of mine. i could eat avocados every day - and i probably should, i struggle to get enough fat in my diet, and avocados are full of healthy, awesome fats.

this is my favourite guacamole recipe, and makes about 3 cups!

chocolate oatmeal with peanut butter

i really wish i had've come up with this recipe in the winter, as opposed to once the weather started getting nice... warm oatmeal on a cold day is so delightful.

regardless, i am head over heels in love with this oatmeal. IN LOVE! WITH OATMEAL! who knew? it's a little bit sweet, nice and peanut buttery, and ever so filling!

it goes remarkably well with chopped up banana, but you could put any favourite topping on it, that's the beauty of oatmeal!

this recipe serves one - and i'm not gonna lie, i don't eat a lot. it makes about 1/2 c oatmeal in the end, which is plenty for me with half a banana on top... but if you're a big eater, feel free to adjust. 

whole spelt potato bread

i made this bread the same day as i made my seedy potato bread. we were going to some friends' house for dinner, and one of them has a wheat allergy, so i thought this would be a nice treat for them! 

it's made of just whole spelt flour, no wheat at all! when baking whole-grain bread, it's important to let it rise long enough, or the bread can be overly dense and hard. as long as you give it time to rise fully, whole grain bread can still be light and airy.

this recipe makes 2 small loaves.

strawberry pancakes

neither of my parents were really into cooking when i was a kid, but we always had fabulous breakfasts. pancakes, fried eggs, bacon, maple syrup, peanut butter... does anyone else put peanut butter on their pancakes?

this is a pretty classic pancake recipe, with the addition of the strawberries and vanilla. i find the vanilla flavour goes really well with things like berries or bananas.

this recipe makes about a dozen 4" pancakes.

homemade granola

i like cereal a lot, but (like many things) i often find it too sweet. i don't want it to be BLAND, just not overly sugary. it seems like the options available are all either far too sweet, or far too boring. 

solution? make your own!

i did use one type of pre-made cereal in this, it's called mesa sunrise, made by nature's path. it's one of those very-healthy-but-overly-bland options. it's gluten free, and made from a few different grains, and is in "flake" format. 

this recipe makes about 4 1/2 - 5 c.

homebrew beer!

matt and i brew our own beer and wine. he is in charge of beer, and me wine. 

he's done up a really great post about brewing beer on his blog (which is mostly about cars!)

check it out

seedy potato bread

mmm potato bread!

i had actually never made potato bread  before, and i made this recipe up as i went along, but it turned out wonderfully and just what i wanted... 


it's light and fluffy, moist and chewy, everything a good bread should be! 


i used both white and whole wheat flours, and sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds and oats.

look what i made!

i used my "tuna" to make sushi!

NOMNOM!

vegetarian "tuna"

i am not a vegetarian because i don't like meat. meat is very tasty... it's an ethical choice. i don't like anyone to be preachy about their choices, so i'm not going to be preachy here - just explaining that i have no issue with the TASTE, SMELL or LOOK of meat. some people really seem confused about vegetarians eating fake meat products. my opinion is that if it tastes like meat and no animal had to die, wicked. load me up.

so, explanation aside...

i never was a huge meat eater, but one thing i always loved as a kid was tuna sandwiches. the first time i found a recipe for vegetarian tuna my mind was blown. it is SO GOOD. i discovered the trick of adding nori to it later on, when i got into making my own sushi.

this recipe was put together from reading many different recipes online for inspiration, then finding what works for me.

apple crisp

a while back, i made the mistake of buying a big bag of apples. i am not much of an apple-eater. i have a smoothie every day with berries and bananas, but i don't really eat fruit on it's own.

needless to say, the apples sat around, and started to look a little funny. they started to get a little wrinkly and soft. they were clearly past the point of just eating... but what to do with them?

so i made an apple crisp!

it fits well with my feelings about dessert - fruit is good, not too sweet, etc. i called my dad and got his old recipe... although i have changed it somewhat, that's what it's based on.