oh yes my lovelies it's mutha frickin' pumpkin season up in this hizzie! as you know, i loves me some pumpkin, and this recipe is my favourite of them all.

From food

( oh, let's DO this! )

i haven't had a chance to update this blog in over 6 months. first with work taking every fucking second and leaving me completely beat, and then with school starting. i had to get into the flow before i could start blogging and stuff. BUT, now i am ready to start blogging up a storm!

i am very excited because it is now officially autumn and YOU all know what that means! PUMPKIN BITCHES!!!! yay. pumpkin time is my favourite time of the year. i have a ton of recipes i want to share. i am hoping to make a bunch of them so i can have pictures to post along with them in the next few weeks. maybe you can even use one or two of them for thanksgiving or something. i definitely plan on post a cookie, a scone and a streusel recipe. i have been looking into a cake and a of course pie.... but pie is kind of a pain in the ass, am i right?! :P i just got frozen puff pastry, and i would LOVE to make a pumpkin turnover type thing. oh yeah baby!

if you have any recipes or suggestions you want to share. please feel free. i'd love to hear them.

so, i haven't posted anything in a while because i was rocking project vegan! i am glad i was vegan for a month, it made me very aware of just how much cheese i actually eat on a daily basis! ho-ly balls it was a lot. the first week or so was almost unbearable! it took me a while to get used to it. i think it was a good little experiment for me. i eat a lot less cheese now, and hopefully i can keep up my healthy streak. it made me feel a lot better to not eat so much cheese and dairy.

i have a bunch of recipes to post. i took a bunch of pictures and have uploaded them i can post them along with the recipes. i think there will be a post every day for the rest of the week... provided i have the time!

so, tonight i am going to make the pizza dough that molly sent me the recipe for. this one is already looking like a winner since it only has to rise for about 40 minutes instead of about 2 hours! i am really enjoying experimenting with different recipes and things. it's been a lot of fun. i feel like some crazy food scientist!

also, even though we are in the middle of a heat wave!! i have been wanting to bust out the ol' crock pot and make a bunch of soups and things. if any of you have some awesome recipes to share, i would love them! i got a vegetarian slow cooker recipe book from the library... but some of those recipes are a bit too hippie... if you know what i mean! i am also on the lookout for a chicken and dumpling soup recipe. i am of course going to modify it, to make it a fake chicken and dumpling soup! i found a couple of funky ones on the web, but if you have an awesome recipe from your grandma or something i would love to try it! :)

so, i made refried beans and they were not horrible! i don't feel like they are as good as they could be, so i am going to make another batch tomorrow. i think i am going to hold off posting the recipe until i feel i have mastered it.

an update on the pizza dough, which is exciting! i got an email from my lovely friend molly with a recipe that she loves from ina garten (whom you all know i love!) AND i went to the library and checked out a cookbook with nothing but pizza. (we have some awesome cookbooks at my local branch of the library might i just say!) the cookbook has two different pizza dough recipes, a napples one, and a new york style (ie: the u.s. recipe). i have decided to try all three and then post the winner! i made the cookbook u.s recipe last night. it was pretty good, but it was kind of a pain to work with... tuesday i will make the ina garten one that molly sent me.

i have a feeling i am going to become pretty sick of pizza by the end of the month.... oh who am i kidding!?!

i am attempting to make refried beans tonight to go with my portabella fajitas. i tried to make these once before, and it, to be kind, a frucking disaster! i am older and wiser now though, so i hope this time it works out! it takes about 2-2 and a half hours to cook the beans the first time, and only about 15-20 minutes to finish them with the second cooking. if i had a pressure cooker, the first cooking would only take 45 minutes....i think i need to look into getting one of them!

i am going to attempt to make pizza dough tomorrow. if i can master that, i swear to god i will save millions of dollars!

i will post more later, when i am sure i have figured out how to make them both! i might post again tonight with the fajitas recipe!

today i am making my pumpkin scones and i am trying my hand at making hawaiian bread. i am pretty stoked about both of them, and of course will post pictures and the recipes in the next few days. the scones i already know are a hit, it's the bread i am a little apprehensive about. i have never made it before. i checked out a book from the library all on hawaiian cooking and island recipes. i love hawaiian bread, it makes the best p.b. and js and the most amazing french toast. (which i will also post a recipe for!)

on another note, nate and i are making homemade ginger ale today too! it is much easier then i thought it would be, and it's pretty cool to be making your own soda! how cool will it be to have jamie and gingers with my own ginger ale!?

so, i was going to start compiling my list of the holiday treats i was thinking of attempting this year and i kind i kind of feel like i don't even know where to start! (i KNOW it is kind of early, but since i was kind of thinking of doing a bunch of new things and maybe getting fancy i was just trying to see what my options are and start narrowing it down!)

what says you guys? so far my tentative list is such: marshmallows (since they were a HUGE hit last year.) nougat (it doesn't look any harder then marshmallows, so why not?!), truffles, and then of course cookies. for those of you who might receive some, ie: those that live in the area! what do you think of these choices? also, i will be posting pictures and recipes on here, so i guess; what kind of things do you want to see on here? what kind of recipes do you want?

over and out!

what is it about grilled cheese sandwiches (or toasted cheese sandwiches as our friends across the pond call them!) that is SO great. i think those sandwiches are the sole reason i absolutely CAN NOT be a vegan!



( i likes grilled sneezes! )

my dad is a terrible cook! but he CAN make a pretty tasty chili. he puts meat in his, so i modified it a bit, but this is basically his super easy recipe. since it is getting colder i was thinking it would be nice to have some soups and warm hearty comfort foods on here. (not that i have posted on here in forever! tee hee!)

From food

( brrrrr chili! )

You Are a Chocolate Chip Muffin

You are an interesting set of contradictions. You are innocent yet bold. Funky yet predictable. You are a bit dramatic and showy. You love attention. And you know how to charm people into giving you what you want. You are very determined and ambitious... but you're also lazy. Success tends to come easily for you. You often “luck out”.

the results to this quiz don't even make sense! but i DO like chocolate chip muffins! so there you go.

so, i am often looking for ways to make veggie versions of the food i ate as a kid. i am not sure why... maybe it's a comfort thing! but i figured out how to make a "hamburger" helper type casserole. it's actually pretty tasty, AND since it is a casserole it's pretty easy and pretty forgiving.



( didn't that hand have a moustace?! )

who wants cookies?! everyone does. duh. especially when they have jam in the middle, cos then you can say," well, they have FRUIT!! so they are good for me right?!"


( let's kick out the jams )

well, someone hasn't updated THIS blog in forever! looks like i am apologizing for my lack in ability to keep my shit together, yet again! i have good news though, i have TONS of recipes and pictures to go with them all ready to be posted for you hungry readers! (all one of you! hahaha!)

i am also borrowing a dvd from the library that is three discs of the one and only julia child! in it she makes an authentic french baguette. i watched the episode, i have figured out what i have done that is different (and wrong) and now i think i will be able to master this french baguette... wish me luck! and i will keep you posted. i also plan on posting a recipe later today. i am not sure if it will be a savory or sweet one yet. i'll check on how many of each i have and then decide.

look who has a picture of cabbage!

From food

so, ingredients:

*one clove of garlic-finely chopped
*one small bulb of shallot sliced
*one head of cabbage (green not red)
*one tablespoon of butter (or margarine)
*salt and pepper to taste

this is the EASIEST recipe in the world, and the only way i will eat cabbage with out a fuss!

-chop up your cabbage into pretty big chunks. cabbage is like spinach, it will cook down, so leave the pieces kind of big!
- melt the butter or margarine in a pan on medium heat. cook the shallots for a little bit to get them soft. throw your cabbage and garlic in. sauté it for a few minutes until the cabbage is soft but still a little crunchy. add salt and pepper and serve! i like my cabbage (and most vegetables for that matter!) with still a little crunch, so i only cook the cabbage for minute or so, if you like it a little less crunchy, feel free to cook to your own desired texture. :) super easy right?! AND your cabbage will not taste bland, and it won't be mushy! yay!

this is how i make cabbage for st. patrick's day every year, since cabbage is kind of mandatory, but boiled cabbage is the worst... and i think it is a form of punishment in some countries!

will someone PLEASE explain to me why i keep trying to make a fucking baguette?! jesus h criminy!! all it does is frustrate me. i will say this though, i HAVE managed to get the crust just right. it turns out crispy and perfect... now if only i could get the inside nice and airy we'd be in business!

this here is the bane of my existence:

so, i have all these kinds of basic recipes to make a base for something... like for example, i have stir fry, quiche and couscous recipes i was thinking of sharing, but those kinds of things don't necessarily need to be made with the ingredients i made them with.

i was thinking of just posting the base recipe and then ideas of what to cook it with. i am just afraid that might make for a boring post... although i am guessing this post is a little boring! ha! what does everyone think? i personally like to see ideas in cookbooks or websites, but i don't know if other people like that kind of thing.

also, on a completely unrelated note (well, MAYBE not, i mean it DOES have to do with suggestions! heh), i have another question. what does everyone eat with their oatmeal in the morning? (provided of course you eat oatmeal!) i have been eating it a few mornings a week, and all i ever really put in it is brown sugar... and, well, it's getting a bit old, and pretty boring! i have some dried fruit... but i have put dried apricots in oatmeal before and wasn't that big of a fan of it. and we know how i feel about raisins! but seriously, ANY suggestion would be welcome! i am pretty much over what i am doing with it!

one of my most favourite desserts to order out is creme brulee. it rules all! it is custardy and sweet and crunchy. holy balls, i want some right now! just thinking about it makes me wanna burn some sugar right now!!

just LOOK at this thing!

( it'll go straight to your hips! )

so, i KNOW i said i would post a recipe about 2 or 3 hours ago! but, i have been making muffins and got a little caught up in that action. i also ended up making WAY more then i needed to... whoops! the good thing is now i can share them with my friends and family and not have to send them all away to the catering!

i am turning that zucchini bread recipe into delicious muffins. that is when i noticed something on a previous blog post. i FORGOT to put how much flour was needed in that zucchini bread recipe!! how retarded am i?! jesus. so, i fixed it. and just to let you know now, it is 3 cups of flour, but like i said i went and added it to the other blog.

whooo! feeling like an idiot.

phew, i have been blowing it with this blog the last few days. (or week, whatever) i have been doing a bunch of stuff outside of the house all day, thus making it hard for me to post. boo to that. (well, boo to not posting, but YAY to being busy and out of the house!)but fear not, i will be keeping it real this week! AND since next week is st. patrick's day i will have an all irish inspired week. every day next week will have either a recipe or cocktail or something that has to do with ireland and irish food and irish people! yay! i am really looking forward to it actually.

so, i promise, the next blog will be a recipe. the next blog will also be in about a half hour to an hour. awesome!

go team!