Friday Favorites
0Crepes
Crepes are freaking delicious. Enough said.
Vacations
Can’t. Wait.
5ks
I ran a 5k today! It went well. Recap coming soon.
Being a Creeper
I love South Carolina and all, but really? A palmetto tattoo?
It really just became a game of “how-close-can-I-get-to-you-and-take-a-picture-without-you-or-other-people-noticing.”
Sleep
Seriously good stuff. Goodnight.
Tempeh Hoagie
2Okay, seriously.
If you live anywhere near a Mellow Mushroom (I’m talking within a 100-mile radius), drop what you’re doing and immediately get yourself there. Once you’re seated, order the tempeh hoagie. I wish you could see how serious my face is right now.
This hoagie is the most delicious thing I have ever put in my mouth.
If you are not lucky enough to live by a Mellow Mushroom, you need to make one at home. I’m about to tell you how so listen (read?) carefully.
Mellow Mushroom’s Tempeh Hoagie
makes one sandwich
Need:
one hoagie roll
1/4 c sliced mushrooms
1/4 c diced onions
2 oz tempeh, crumbled
4 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp pesto
1 tbsp mayo
handful of sprouts
Do:
-
Place the tempeh, onions, mushrooms and teriyaki in a plastic bag and allow to marinate for several hours or overnight.
-
Mix together the pesto and the mayo to make.. wait for it.. pesto mayonnaise! Set in the fridge until needed.
-
After the tempeh has been allowed to marinate, warm in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until everything is heated through and the onions are soft.
-
Cut the hoagie roll in half lengthwise. Spread the pesto mayo on one side of the hoagie roll. Top with sprouts.
-
Place the tempeh on the other half of the hoagie roll and top with feta cheese.
-
Try not to burn your mouth on the melty goodness.
Growing up, I never called a sandwich like this a hoagie. They were mostly “subs” as in submarine sandwiches or Jersey Mike’s Subs. Sometimes they were grinders, but I only referred to them as such when I was taking them to the beach. What do you call sandwiches like these?
Whatever you call it, there’s no denying that it’s delicious. I’m seriously considering putting this on top of my “if-you-were-on-a-desert-island-and-could-only-eat-one-thing-forever” list. Don’t be scared off by the tempeh or the sounds-like-a-weird-combo of pesto and teriyaki. I promise you will devour every last bit of this sandwich. And then promptly make another one.
A Good Day
4Some days are just good days.
Nothing amazing happened. No significant event captured the day and declared it to be wonderful. It was the culmination of a few simple things that added up to equal a great day.
And really, this summarizes life. How often do we have grand events that completely revolutionize life? The birth of a child. A new relationship. A graduation. A career change. Not many.
But the simple, little things? They’re numerous.
Today was a great day at work. I played Batman with the most adorable little boy. I visited with a family of three kids that are healing. I change children’s lives. For that, I am thankful. I am thankful I get to experience my life through the eyes of children every day.
I laughed so hard it hurt today. Absolutely essential sometimes.
I bought two new books. Because I am obsessed. And because they look delightful.
I drank orange juice. Because I could. And because for me, every day is a holiday and worthy of celebration.
By the way, Whole Foods totally read yesterday’s post and invited me to move in with them. Here’s the new setup:
All artistic credit goes to Sam. 
I hope they have enough room for my stockpile of books!
Choices
0Wake up at 5:30am for hot yoga or sleep in?
Watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or start on my new stack of books?
Mini fruit tart or a truffle?
Well duh, both. Followed by an oatmeal cookie.
Speaking of cookies, has anyone had the vegan peanut butter cookie at Whole Foods? I had one the other day and I basically died it was so good. Do you think the folks at Whole Foods would let me move in?
Chocolate Country Disgrace
0So sometimes I get songs stuck in my head and the only way to live out the horrible pain is to listen to it over and over and over.
Today’s song is brought to you by the letter S. Smile by Uncle Kracker.
Why does it seem all the cheesy, terrible songs get stuck in my head? I’ve been listening to it all morning and I literally cannot. stop. They played it during hot yoga on Saturday and it has just now surfaced to my consciousness to haunt me.
I typically don’t like country songs, but there’s something about this song that is so melonchaly and sweet. Previous songs that I’ve listened to repeatedly include The Republic Tigers’ Made Concrete, Paper Route’s Are We All Forgotten, Jack Johnson’s No Other Way and Griffin House’s Better Than Love. I suppose there are worse songs to get stuck in your head.
Besides listening to my future wedding song smile all morning, I’ve been prepping for truffle day. I usually suck at eating candy, or so I’ve been told, because it takes me seriously 6 months to go through a box of chocolates. I find I tend to crave salty snacks over chocolate or candy. I know, I know. I’m a disgrace to my gender.
In typical me fashion, I’ve had these truffles since either Christmas or my birthday, I can’t remember. The point is that it’s been awhile. Good thing chocolate doesn’t spoil easily. Lindts is my favorite brand, obviously. It’s real and not full of corn syrup like some other brands.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go curl up with some truffles, a good country song and my monogrammed blanket like a good little South Carolinian.
Ha! Just kidding. I’m going to be watching this video and wishing I was in New Jersey with jughandles.
Chocolate Parfait Day..? No Way!
0Excuse the cheesy rhyming title. I’m crazy.
I went back to the book sale today because everything was half off, and let’s just say I went a little bit, um, overboard.
Okay, let me explain. Most of the books (as in, the majority of them) were only one dollar. Regularly priced. Since everything was half off today, most of the books were 50 cents, with the other books coming in at a dollar or two, max. I scored that whole stack of books for $26. Yes, twenty.six.dollars. That brings my book count over two days to 59 books, for a grand total of $39.
Anyone selling a bookshelf? 
In between buying books and buying more books, I made a delightfully refreshing breakfast. I consider it breakfast because it’s full of fruit and fiber, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to start having one for dessert every night too.
Hippie “Neapolitan Ice Cream” Parfait
makes one vegan parfait
Need:
1/2 c frozen sliced strawberries
2 tbsp dry oats
1/4 c rice milk, divided
1 medium frozen banana
1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
1/4 c granola, divided
Do:
- In the food processor, combine the strawberries, oats and 2 tablespoons of the rice milk. Puree away until the mixture is about the consistency of italian ice. If you find the strawberries aren’t blending well, add a little more rice milk.
- Layer half of the strawberry puree in a glass. Set the other half aside, in the freezer if you want.
- Layer half of the granola atop the strawberry puree in the glass.
- Using the same food processor (you don’t even need to rinse the mixing cup out), blend the banana and chocolate powder. If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons of rice milk. Be patient, the banana will come together after some patience.
- Gently spoon the banana mix over the granola and strawberry in the glass. Top with a bit more granola, then the other half of the strawberry mix.
- Finish the whole cup off with more granola. Eat. Be refreshed. Enjoy.
Crunchy, sweet and satisfying. It gave me a ton of energy for all the vicious shopping I did today, and held me over for several hours.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my kitchen to make another one. Or twelve.
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
0Used. Book. Sale.
That’s all I needed to hear. I was there. I think my book addiction is going to warrant another bookshelf. I’m running out of places to store all these books.
That whole box was thirteen dollars. Score! I may or may not be going back tomorrow, when everything is half price. 
In between buying books and hot yoga, I made delectable oatmeal raisin cookies. You didn’t think they’d be vegan? Well, they are.
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
makes 12 cookies
Need:
1/4 c Earth Balance, softened
1/3 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 tbsp ground flax + 2 tbsp water, mixed to create a flax “egg”
1 tsp agave nectar
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 c uncooked rolled oats
1/3 c golden raisins
Do:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the Earth Balance and brown sugar. Slowly incorporate the flax egg and agave nectar.
- Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and oats.
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients together to form the dough. If the dough is too wet, add a bit of flour. If the dough is too dry, add a bit of water.
- Gently fold the raisins into the dough.
- Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Flatten the balls slightly on a greased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until edges look crisp. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes.
Due to all the recent food holidays, I have six metric tons of baked goods laying around. Anyone want an oatmeal cookie, a zucchini muffin, a sunflower cookie or a pineapple upside down cupcake?
Friday Favorites
0Royal Wedding Drinking Games/Memos Reminding You Not To Watch The Royal Wedding at Work
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So, I haven’t really been “into” the Royal Wedding like most everyone else on the planet has, but I do find certain aspects of it amusing. Like the Royal Wedding Drinking Game. I personally think it would have been hilarious for me to start drinking at 5am EST. Then, I show up to work and read a memo reminding me that “improper use of state equipment is a violation” a.k.a. don’t watch the Royal Wedding at your desk. Yes, I seriously did get that memo. I suppose when two BILLION people tune in to watch, memos like that are necessary.
Pasta
Of course it’s not shrimp scampi, but come on now, any form of pasta is delicious. Yum.
Random Curls
My hair used to be super curly. As in, tight ringlets curly. It had a mind of it’s own 87% of the time.
Prom, circa Spring 2005. Why yes, I did find the most ridiculous picture of myself solely for your entertainment. You’re welcome.
Then, freshman year happened and my hair gradually turned straight. My hair now is mostly straight with a teeny bit of wave. Definitely not ringlets. So imagine my surprise when I noticed a random loose ringlet dangling in front of my face.
(apparently I still make the same stupid faces. Gotta work on that. )
I once read an article that said your hair can change every seven to ten years. Since my freshman year was seven years ago (!!?) it might be about time for my hair to go back to curly? We’ll find out I suppose!
The Book of Awesome
This book is, in a word, awesome. It’s based on a website, 1000awesomethings.com, and it’s literally full of awesome things. It reminds me of 14,000 things to be happy about, only this book gives more of an explanation after each awesome thing, rather than just listing them out. The author just came out with a second book, The Book of (Even More) Awesome, and I plan on picking it up after I finish with this one.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
AHHHH!! I.love.Harry.Potter. Yes, I am a huge nerd. I LOVE the distorted theme in the beginning of the trailer. It looks SO good, so evil. Such a wonderful way to finish the series. I’m pretty much going to have a Harry Potter movie viewing party this weekend. And then I’m going to be counting down the days until July 15th.
Blueberries
0I can’t wait for the return of the farmer’s market.
Can I say that enough? Because I really can’t wait. One thing I vividly remember about last year’s market was the juicy, plump berries.
Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, you name it, they had it.
Super cheap produce, mostly organic, all local? Yes, please. I’m excited to see if there are any new booths this year. Maybe I’ll finally buy some local cheese.
Until May 7th, when the farmer’s market finally returns, I suppose I’ll settle for blueberry pie via yogurt cup.
Mm. Creamy.
Celery is Ribbed
0So today I was presented with my first real food holiday challenge.
It’s prime rib day. I’m a vegetarian.
I thought long and hard about any way I could vegetarian-ize prime rib. I came up with nothing. I did, however, come up with a play on words.
Celery is ribbed. And this little snack is prime. Prime. Rib.
Peanut Butter Stuffed Celery
Need:
celery
peanut butter, preferably Peanut Butter & Co’s Cinnamon Raisin, if not you will also need:
cinnamon
raisins
Do:
- If you don’t have the cinnamon raisin PB, mix together the raisins, cinnamon and peanut butter to taste.
- Take spoonfuls and spread the peanut butter into the long recess of the celery stalk.
- Eat. Swoon.
Stuffed Celery is so delicious and so simple. There are literally thousands of combinations you could try. Peanut Butter, Hummus, my all time favorite is cream cheese and green olives. Reminds me of holiday time. Is it Memorial Day yet?
