Wet Kitties

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday break! I am relishing every moment that I get to relax, without thoughts of unfinished homework cluttering my conscience. Before I go home home, I am staying at my aunt's house for Christmas. Now, this is infinitely better than being at my dorm, because here I have a full-size kitchen and therefore can cook! However, the many animals that reside at my aunt's house think they can cook, too. Well, they are greatly mistaken. The little kitten pictured below thinks he can stick his nose in my oatmeal and climb in the sink when I am trying to fill up my water glass. So, since the little kitty insists on getting in my way at the most inconvenient times, I definitely think he had it coming... Today, when he put his head under the faucet, I turned it on and let a nice stream of water plop on top on his head! Soooo funny!



Every year our relatives get together for a big feast on Christmas eve. I do not know what I want to do about this situation, but I know for sure that I won't have anything to eat if I don't plan ahead and make some dishes myself. I definitely want to make a dessert - I am thinking about some Maple-Pecan Sticky Blondies from ED&BV. I made them for my birthday/Thanksgiving this year (they were on the same day), and my family and I loved them. Or I could make these Pumpkin Pie Brownies from Isa's blog.


In the kitchen, I have been focusing on quick, easy meals. Since health is one of my major priorities (very fitting, since I'm a nutrition major), I focus on making my food heathly as well as delicious. I make my French toast with 100% whole grain bread (by Ezekiel), round it out with Mr. Apple, and used a recipe from here:



If you were to say the words "hummus" or "pita" two weeks prior to today, you wouldn't have struck my appetite, but lately, I've been in a hummus-and-pita mood. Here's a Greek-inspired for lunch yesterday and then again for dinner tonight:



I also had my favorite veggie with this meal: Brussels sprouts. (Kale and butternut squash are close behind. And sweet potatoes! Ha, I love pretty much any veggie.) I got the whole wheat pitas and hummus (Traditional with Sesame Tahini) from Trader Joe's. The hummus tasted really plain until I added some flax oil and herbes de provence, which is a bottled spice mixture that includes thyme, rosemary, and marjoram. My grandma had been raving about this spice the last few times I talked to her on the phone, and she arrived at my aunt's house a couple of days ago and gave me a bottle of the spice yesterday. My grandma definitely knows what she is talking about: Everyone go buy a bottle of herbes de provence! She said it's also great on roasted veggies.

To prepare the pita triangles, I coated them with a very light layer of extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkled them with sea salt, baked at 350 degrees F for five minutes, and broiled them a couple more minutes. Such a yummy, simple, nutritious lunch!

Finally, I tried a new Veganomicon recipe. Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango is a delicious, healthy dish that is a breeze to make. I chose it because I love mango and quinoa, and the bean protein rounds it out and makes it a satisfying meal-in-a-bowl. The end product ended up being very colorful, even though I left out the green onions and cilantro. I know it would have tasted much better with these ingredients, but honestly, I thought was only cooking for myself and didn't want to go back to the store and spend any more money to get them. My grandmother was very interested while I was whipping up the dish, and so I let her try some. (I usually quarter recipes because I'm only cooking for one, but this time I made the full recipe so that I could have leftovers for later in the week.)



My grandpa has told me several times that my grandma's practically a vegetarian, and after my grandma tried the quinoa salad, she said, "Well, I might just become a vegan too!" She's been very interested in the food I've been making all week, and keeps saying, "I want what she [meaning me] is having!" I also left Veganomicon laying out, and my aunt read the foreword and was telling a couple other people what she read about the health benefits of a vegan diet (lowering cholesterol and blood triglycerides, reducing the risk of cancer, treatment of diabetes). How awesome is that? I better be bringing some vegan dishes to Christmas eve dinner, at this rate! Plus, my aunt and grandma also commented about how clear my skin is and about how shiny my hair is since I've been eating this way. Veganism'll do that to ya! :)


My grandma's mini-dish (plus, she kept saying how good it was and even took seconds):



Thanks to the vegan culinary genius of Isa and Terry, a few vegan flames have ignited in my family members.

Coming up will be a review for P. F. Chang's China Bistro and/or California Pizza Kitchen. Stay tuned!