700 posts?!?! oh! and Pesto!

Somehow, I managed to reach over 700 posts without realizing it.  That may be an impressive milestone.  I am not really sure.  It sure seems like quite a few.  I remember the day I wrote my first blog post I thought to myself  "I doubt I will ever bother to do that again".  I guess I was wrong.  I may have come a long way or simply written far to many words that no one will ever bother to read.  I may never really know but if there are folks in the blog world dying for more vegan food porn, here is another post!

spaghetti squash and pesto for work!

Pesto has been on the mind recently.  I wish pine nuts were not so costly Pesto is amazing and so easy to take to work.  After making another spaghetti squash with pesto meal for me to have to work, Ashley and I used the remainder on a pizza!  We topped the pizza with some vegan cheese, peppers and tomatoes.  It was quite a tasty pie!

Reaping the Rewards

With a couple buckets of strawberries on hand, some ended up in the freezer for later use (pancakes, smoothies, etc) while other got used immediately.  Some simply ended up sliced with a dash of sugar and eaten.  Others met a more creative end.

In the tradition of a mix of my Nana and Priscilla (my semi-faux grandmother) I made another attempt at a strawberry rhubarb pie.  It was delicious but still unsuccessful.  The crust was inspired by my Nana but altered slightly to fit my abilities which are far more limited than hers were.  The insides were straight from the dessert table of Priscilla.  However, this is where the serious fail presented itself.  It was soup.  I think that next time I will attempt to use powdered sugar instead to try to keep it from becoming liquid.  I hope that will work.

In lieu of the failure of the the pie, I went with an old standard.  Strawberry muffins.  I have been making muffins since I was a teenager and have actually become decent enough at it that I could pass more the muffin man.  The muffins were great and unlike the pie, they stayed together.

Strawberry Season!

Last Thursday, I picked both Ashley and Kaleigh up after they each got out of school.  We headed a little east of Atlanta to a local pick your own strawberry patch!  For me, strawberry picking has a long tradition and I would love to be able to share that with a child as special as Kaleigh.

As a kid, my mum and I used to go to a place in Maine called Pop's.  We would get up at the crack of dawn and drive even further into the country to pick berries.  As a kid, I can recall eating more berries then I picked.  I can even remember my mum getting in trouble for having a young kid with her and eating all the berries before we paid for them.  She stuck up for me and we returned year after year like nothing ever happened.

Now, as the grown up, I am still eating berries as I pick them and even convincing Kaleigh that she should try them to make sure they are good.  She is occasionally sceptically but all I have to do is tell her we are causing mischief and she will quickly jump on board.  She likes a bit of mischief.

The three of us picked 2 huge buckets of berries and then had some pitas on the picnic table.  We also had some watermelon that we brought with us.  Kaleigh had the brilliant idea of eating the watermelon and a strawberry together, in one big bite!  I was all over that but sadly, her mouth was not quite big enough so she just had to watch me gobble them up!

Toward the end of the evening, Kaleigh took a bad fall off the top of the picnic table (she was standing on the table) and scrapped herself up pretty good.  To calm her down a bit we did what any kids would want to do, we trespassed into an old abandoned farm house and looked around.  She was a little concerned after I told her to watch out for nails in the floor and snakes but she was still brave.

Strawberries, Watermelon & berry sandwiches, Trespassing, what more could we want in an afternoon in late April?

18 Jet-lagged Hours of Fun

Laura, one of my best friends in the world, recently took a trip to Ireland.  She was there for about 10 days with a friend of hers.  I rarely get to see Laura, about 6 years ago she moved to Los Angeles.  On their way home from Ireland, she planned an 18 hour lay over in Atlanta so we could spend time together!  Eighteen jet-lagged hours of fun!

First, right from the airport, Laura wanted to go to Southern Sweets.  She says that there is nothing comparable in LA and each time she comes to Atlanta, she make it a priority.  We got nearly one of each slice of vegan cake they offer and ate most all of them.  Sugar coma.



That evening we planned to meet up with Ashley and Kaleigh and walk around Piedmont Park and a trip to Green Sprout, another must do on Laura's list.  We all ate too much and left with the wonderful feeling of nearly exploding.

The green space in Atlanta is much more abundant then most cities of it's size which is why both Laura and her friend were impressed with Peidmont Park.  Kaleigh brought her bike and we spent a couple of hours in the park, relaxing.

Then it was an early night due to an early flight the following day.  It was a short visit but I am glad I got to see her and her friend was really nice.  I hope I get to see Laura again soon!

Day of Relaxing and Eating!

Last Friday was a lazy day.  Ashley and I lounged a bit, went to Harmony for a late lunch.  Generally, I only frequent Harmony for weekday lunches.  They have some insanely cheap specials and their dinner prices are a bit over the top.

We got some errands done and then made some Spaghetti Squash with Pesto Sauce.  It has been a couple year since I made this dish and I forgot how amazing it is.  There were even leftovers for me to take to work the following day.  This dish sits so well and is great cold.

For a bedtime snack, Ashley made a sort of dessert quesadilla.  It was topped with cinnamon and sugar, with a side of oat based ice cream and filled with bananas, peanut butter and chocolate.

French Toast topped Afternoon at the Park!

I am really enjoying my new camera.  There is a huge learning curve which is fun but can be frustrating.  I have been trying to take shots in places and lighting that I had not previously bothered and I have gotten some good results.

Thursday, I picked Kaleigh up and we went to the playground.  There were several other kids but she mostly played with me or by herself.  She is so cerebral, it amazes me.  I think her leanings on her thought process will really benefit her in life.  She spent some time building sand castles and sand caves.  Then I encouraged her to run and play on the phenomenal playground equipment.  She had fun but it was like pulling teeth to get her started.

For dinner, we had a simple vegan french toast with some soy sausages and fresh mango.  Ashley joiced us for dinner but Kaleigh gobbled all the mango before anyone could get a share!  I can not say I blame her, the couple slices I had were fantastic.  When it comes to her diet, I would much prefer her to fill up on the mango then the french toast...although, that is what I did...

Sick Day; Muffins and Pasta

Kaleigh had been diagnosed with strep throat last Sunday.  She had to stay out of school for Monday, sadly, missing her perfect attendance that she had been working for all year.  However, Ashley still had clinic so I offered to take Kaleigh for the day.  I figured we would watch a few movies and relax, since I was also off from work that day.  We did, precisely that.

We did make some raspberry and chocolate chip muffins though.  Somehow, we messed them yup and the came out a little tough and a little overdone.  It was ok, they still all got eaten.

Ashley joined us for dinner.  I made a simple dinner of pasta with a store bought sauce.  I used the remaining pepperoni deli slices that I had in the sauce though.  It was actually another great way to use them, they were perfect with the pasta.  I also made some roasted brussel sprouts.  It was quick and easy, sometimes that is just what is needed. 

A week later, Kaleigh is feeling much better.  I can recall being a child and recovering from illness with such quickness.  Now, I get a cold and it lasts three weeks.  I am envious, but glad she is better.

Random pictures with my new camera!

I have been trying to learn how to use my new camera.  I have been taking pictures indiscriminately for a week.  Things I might not usually take a photo of, just to see how the shot can be done.  I am really enjoying the experience (I am trying not to think about spending the money).

I figured I would share a bit of my dorky photography journey with the blog world.  Thus far, I am really impressed with the quality of the pictures.

Stuffed Peppers and a Goodbye

Friday I did something rare, for me.  I spent some money.  In fact, I spent a decent amount of money on something I wanted but did not need.  Historically, I have had issues with spending money on non-necessities so this was a big deal.  I bought a new camera.  This is likely to be the last post in which I use pictures from my old camera so it is almost like a farewell to an old pal.

Despite my anxiousness about a new major purchase, I was able to spend a nice afternoon with Ashley.  We went to the store to figure out what we wanted to make for dinner and decided on stuffed peppers!  I have never made them before but I had made enough other stuffed dishes that I figured it would be an easy transition.  It was. I stuffed them with TVP, brown rice, veggies, and herbs.  I topped them with some tomato sauce and vegan cheeze.  They were delicious.

As side dishes, Ashley made my brussel sprouts recipe and together we made some mashed cauliflower.  It was a great meal and a good distraction from my buyers regret.  I am looking forward to learning my new camera and showing off some new pictures.

Liberated from Daycare!

Since Kaleigh was on her spring break, and ended up spending a lot of her time at daycare because Ashley still had classes and clinic, I took one of my days off and set up a special day for her.  We started the day with some hummus and pitas and then went to the Atlanta Center for the Puppetry Arts.  We saw a a cool puppet play about Brer Rabbit.  She thought at first it might be boring but she really enjoyed it. 

After the puppet show we made our own hand puppets and looked around the Jim Henson inspired museum.  They had a great Labyrinth exhibit which we both were impressed with as we recalled our favorite parts of the movie.

After the puppet show, we went to see a movie.  We were trying to stay inside for as much as we could since the pollen was really thick.  After the movie we did another extra special event.  We went rock climbing!  Kaleigh had never been and the place had a special kids wall.  She was able to get up quite well for her first time.  She had so much fun, despite being intimidated at the sight of the huge walls.  We had an awesome day and I hope she felt like she did not waste away at daycare all week.