soup is my life
After a brief visit to the midwest last week, and basically living off of fruit and Nature Valley bars, I am starved for home cooked meals and tasty baked good. Not that the food was horrible in Missourri-I was just pressed for time and on the go. Luckily, thanks to my iphone and urbanspoon, I stumbled across an organic market/restaurant in St. Louis called Winslow's Home (http://www.winslowshome.com/Home.aspx). It was pretty much a midwestern version of La Grande Orange here in Phoenix. I knew I liked it even before I went inside, when I saw a huge patio with lunch-goers enjoying the weather and sipping lattes out of oversized mugs. The market had everything from local produce to baby toys and unthinkable kitchen gadgets. There were not too many vegan options but the atmosphere made up for that. I ended up ordering a basil hummus, cucumber, and tomato wrap with field greens on the side. Amazing. I went back the following day and wandered around the market for about an hour exploring the handmade notecards and shelves of cookbooks. As much as finding hidden gems is exciting I was very excited to cook on Sunday. First thing in the morning a made a trip to Whole Foods to stock up for the week. The first thing I was craving was cookies! I've been meaning to try the recipe that my roomie sent me (thanks Breanne!). The recipe is from 101 Cookbooks called Nikki's Healthy Cookies (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-healthy-cookies-recipe.html) They are basically oatmeal-coconut-banana-chocolate chip cookies. Everything I love rolled into a beautiful little bite sized snack. They are also guilt free because the recipe is flour-less, eggless, butter-less, and sugar free. YUM!
Another cookie recipe that I have been obsessed with recently is a brown sugar cookie recipe from Glue and Glitter blog (http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/10/02/brown-sugar-cookies/). I found the recipe originally because I wanted to make my chiropractor a treat but I ran out of vegan sugar. So I needed a brown sugar recipe. My only complaint is that it only makes about a dozen cookies (which is not enough to last more than a day in my household), so I would double the recipe. To make the cookies a little more exciting I added a cinnamon nutmeg frosting. I usually wing frosting recipes so this is an estimation of what I did (it was bomb frosting so try it!!):
2 tablespoon of Earth Balance softened
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 tbsp vanilla almond milk
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
I combined all the ingredients and then added extra powdered sugar and milk until I got the perfect texture. You can also add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. These cookies are sooo delicious and very easy to make.
And now onto some savory recipes. After a week off from ballet class, Monday seemed extra long. But I got through the day knowing I was going to make this Zucchini Basil Soup that my wonderful sister suggested to me (thanks Whit!). (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Basil-Soup-242831). I looked at some of the reviews before I made it and one person suggested doubling the recipe because it really only served two. So, I doubled the recipe and now I have enough green soup to last a month. This yummy green super soup is definitely worth trying and comforting during all the stormy weather in Phoenix this week!
