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1 2 3! Just trying out a blog post from my new smart phone! I have finally evolved with technology and jumped on the smart phone bandwagon:)

Date night

We had a date night last weekend and it was so much fun. Our date night happened for a few reasons: reason the first- things have been pretty crazy around here since we got our little puppy Estes. It's been much more challenging for us to get out of the house for a date or even just to spend time alone without her. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with our puppy but it's still important that Michael and I get some alone time!

Reason the second: I'm going back to school in the fall to work on my PhD and my schedule is going to be so crazy. We realized that I do most of the cooking (because I love to!) and I won't have that kind of time in the fall. So Michael is going to have to do more cooking which is great but not as fun for him to plan by himself so we decided to start trying out new recipes together.

So this post doesn't include any recipes but I thought I'd share some pictures of the food we made. By the way- whether you're in a couple or not a date night is something you should try. It would be fun with one of your friends or even just by yourself. The point is to try something you haven't made before and to take your time and enjoy the cooking process. We definitely took our time and enjoyed the process. It took us about 2 or 3 hours with all the prep and cooking but the meal was well worth it and it was enjoyable to spend the time together making something special we both could enjoy.

Our menu:

Potato kale enchiladas with mole sauce
Mexican millet
Strawberry plum crisp (all from Veganomicon)
Vanilla ice cream (from Chloe's Kitchen)

This took such a long time to make because I don't know if you've ever made it before but mole sauce takes some planning. It's easy to make and definitely something worth trying but I think next time we'd make it the day before or earlier on in the day so the meal could come together with less dirty dishes.

I'll leave you with some pictures:

Michael, prepping the mole sauce

Spice mix for the mole sauce

Millet on the left, potato/kale enchilada mixture on the right.

Finished enchiladas! They don't look delicious but they were.

Finished Mexican millet.

Michael, posing with our food.

Yummmmm

Don't forget about dessert!!

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

Michael and I stumbled across a neat organization on the Front Range called "W.O.L.F. Sanctuary". It's a nonprofit that helps wolves and wolf dogs. We came across this group from a random email I received from a Fort Collins vegan group asking for meals via Meal Train to give to volunteers from W.O.L.F. Sanctuary who were helping relocate and take care of the wolves displaced by the High Park wildfire. (As many of you know, since it made national news, there's a giant wildfire burning near Fort Collins. We're OK where we are- but we can see smoke from our bedroom window at night!) 

So anyways. I got this email asking for food for the volunteers and I thought YES! Food! I can help! I didn't know anything about the organization but I thought it'd be a great way to help with the wildfire in some way. We've recently been devouring the "Best Garlic Bread in the World" from Chloe's Kitchen (amazing- just Earth Balance buttery spread, nutritional yeast, minced garlic- our new "go-to" bread) and I decided to bring that with Chloe's "Ooh-la-la Lasagna". I hadn't made the lasagna yet so Michael and I made a double batch to try it out so we could have one too. Ooh la la! It was fabulous. The cremini mushrooms added a toothsome bite which was a nice addition. So glad we brought those helpful volunteers some yummy food.

Before going in the oven!

A really bad picture of a really delicious lasagna!

When we brought the food up to the people helping with the wolves one of the kind volunteers offered to give us a tour and meet some of the wolves! (!!) Michael and I actually got to get up really close to them and they licked Michael's hand! A lot of these guys were actually wolf dogs and we only got to see the calm and friendly ones (of course) but it was still so cool. They are huge and their paws are gigantic. It's so sad the fire got to where they live but from the sound of it they will get to go back once the fire has cleared. And apparently the fire is leaving some grassy patches.

So no recipes with this post but really, go buy Chloe's Kitchen- I haven't met a recipe in it I haven't liked! Also- check out the W.O.L.F. Sanctuary site. Also- they are having a fundraiser the end of the month that looks like fun. Check it out!

Benefits of a weekly meal plan

There are so many benefits of making a weekly meal plan. You know ahead of time exactly what you're eating and when so you don't have to worry about running to the store at the last minute or stressing about what to make for dinner, you save a ton of money because you can plan multiple meals around specific ingredients and you don't buy unnecessary items at the store, you plan what you're eating so you can make healthy choices ahead of time. Michael and I have been really good about making a weekly meal plan and then going to the grocery store about once a week. In a perfect world I'd do it the French way and hit up the local bakery and veggie market on the way home from work but we just don't have that luxury where we live.

When making a weekly meal plan, try to think ahead to your crazy weekly schedule. For example, on Wednesdays I work late and don't have time to make anything too homemade unless I do it ahead of time. So, this Wednesday we're having lasagna that I'll assemble in the morning and then leave in the fridge during the day, ready to pop in the oven when I get home. Don't be afraid to make more complicated things- you can always chop veggies or do other prep the night before. Also- try dedicating one day a week to meal prep. Today, for example, (with the help of my mom who is visiting which of course makes it easier) we'll be baking bread, pita pockets and buns to stick in the freezer for later in the week. You can also do this with casseroles or other easy-to-freeze items.

So without further ado, here is our weekly dinner plan! (I also plan some lunches and breakfasts but here is the dinner part at least) I'll try to add the recipes to it on the blog if I have time! Some of them are already on there:)

Monday: crustless quiche, salad, bread
Tuesday: baked falafel, pita bread, cucumbers, tahini/lemon dressing, salad
Wednesday: Roasted broccoli tofu ricotta and spinach lasagna
Thursday: Veggie burgers, homemade buns, kale chips
Friday: Michael is on his own! My mom and I are going across the mountains:) But he'll probably have the staple.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

The vegan-friendly city of Chicago!

I was in Chicago this weekend for a friend's bachelorette party and it was the first time I've ever been (except for the airport to change planes and go somewhere else). If you haven't been to Chicago you must go! It's such a cool city with a beautiful skyline and quirky, interesting neighborhoods. I got to explore only the tip of the iceberg so Michael and I plan on going back at some point.

I'm doing a post on Chicago because I wanted to share how vegan-friendly this city is! Even the fancy shmancy places had separate vegan (and gluten free) menus which shocked me. So anyways, I had the chance to visit with my brother-in-law's lovely girlfriend Laura and she took me to a place called The Chicago Diner.

From the the blog Vegan For the People.

I'm still digesting the menu. So many choices. All of them wonderful. Laura suggested we order milkshakes and they were amazing!!! I chose the chocolate chip cookie dough and she chose the vanilla chai. Seriously, just go in there for the milkshakes if nothing else- this goes to non-vegans and vegans alike!

For food I chose the Pesto 'chicken' which includes: "fresh basil and arugula, roasted red peppers, panko breaded seitan "chicken" patty, pesto ranch sauce and melted cheeze (a vegan cheese) on a grilled artisan ciabatta". I also had a side of sweet potato fries. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Laura, with our wonderful treats. These were seriously the best milkshakes I've ever tried!

Fooooood.

We met up with Justin afterwards and went to Jamba Juice. You might know it. There were many other restaurants recommended during our conversations and I already can't wait to get back to see them but now my mouth is watering thinking about all the good food we will get to try! Michael and I will definitely be going to Chicago in the future. For those of you who live in the Denver airport area there are tickets to Chicago from Denver on Southwest for $70 each way. Great price and only a 2-hour flight!

So anyways, after my fun visit with Laura and Justin I met up with my girlfriends for the start of the bachelorette festivities. Nothing too crazy the first night:) We went out to eat at a Lebanese restaurant called "Kan Zaman" and we sat in a booth on a floor with pillows. So fun! There was even a belly dancer and Lebanese music. This place has a vegetarian/vegan friendly section on the menu and I ended up with the lentil soup, falafel and bulgur wheat. Yumm!

On Saturday we spent a lovely lunch at a French Vietnamese place called "Le Colonial". Did you know that Vietnam used to be a part of the French colony of Indochine? I did because I teach French *pushes up glasses*. Check out some of the photos of the interior of the restaurant here. The food was absolutely wonderful. They actually have a separate vegan menu they will give you if you ask. I'm so not used to this! I ended ordering the "Tau Hu Cari"which is: "Lightly fried tofu with eggplant, asparagus, mango, yams and cashew nuts in a yellow curry sauce". It was lovely. So nourishing and calming. I didn't take a picture of the food because this was a fancy place and I was already wearing sneakers with my outfit because I had hurt my foot (there's always something going on with me).

Photo from "Alex's Wonderland Kitchen" blog site. 

We wandered around and did some shopping and then went to have tea at The Peninsula, a very fancy Chicago hotel. There was a wedding reception going on that evening and we saw the bride leaving with her parents to go to the chapel (insert emotional sigh here) and we also were allowed into the ballroom to check it out as it was all decorated for the wedding. So beautiful. I did some internet searching and they actually post their vegan tea menu online! As at Le Colonial, they offered vegan/vegetarian/gluten free menus when they brought around the other menus. This really blew my mind. I guess Denver just isn't at that point yet but maybe Chicago just really is a city that caters to people with different food interests.

Photo from Hotels of the Rich and Famous site.

So I can't wait to explore more of Chicago and not just the food! You should go there too:)

Brahms and cinnamon apple slices

I sing with the Larimer Chorale and we are performing Brahms' requiem in Fort Collins on Sunday. Check out the program notes on the link and you'll see what kind of piece it is. Usually I've sung alto 1 or alto 2 but the director of the group put me on soprano 2 for this piece (basically this just means I'm singing a part that's much higher in pitch and has the melody more often). For those of you who don't sing, performing the soprano part of Brahms' requiem is like running a marathon with your voice. We rarely go below the C above middle C and there are lots of G's, A's and even a Bb (basically, really high notes). The piece is long and the text is so meaningful- even singing the text on low notes would be exhausting. On high notes you just really have to save your voice but give it your best effort at the same time- even when you're exhausted after just the first movement (there are 7 movements).

So why do I mention Brahms on my blog (other than as a shameless plug for my concert)? Well, at the end of our 3-hour rehearsal last night I was physically exhausted, but not so exhausted that I couldn't keep going. Yes, my back ached, my feet hurt, my brain hurt and forget about my voice, but normally after a marathon rehearsal I just want to sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open and I feel like I've just had a hard workout at the gym. I started thinking about how I've been using food lately to help fuel my body which is my instrument. Athletes take care of their body and fuel it accordingly and reap the benefits of higher energy, better performance, higher concentration, etc. Why not singers? (Or pianists? violists? trumpet players? etc.). For those of you non-musicians out there this might sound crazy- what do you mean? You're just standing there? Well, performing is hard work- it takes every ounce of concentration and energy you have, especially when you're performing Brahms.

So here's where I'm going with all of this: I strongly believe that food affects energy and performance. I've been taking better care of myself- eating balanced meals, high energy snacks and lots of fruits and veggies and I know this is what works for me to feel my best. Yesterday, for example, I made some whole wheat carrot snacking bread (recipe here) and I snacked on apple slices and nuts before rehearsal, had a balanced breakfast and lunch and I had good energy to work through my long rehearsal. If you are a musician you need to take care of your body and fuel it with whole, healthy food, just as athletes do. Your body is your instrument (or the instrument is an extension of your body) and playing music is a whole body experience.

So Cinnamon apples:

Photo courtesy of "Fresh Squeezed Nutrition"

A snack! I discovered a wonderful way to eat apples. Slice them thinly, place in plastic bag and sprinkle cinnamon and maybe a bit of coconut sugar or toasted crushed almonds. Shake around in the bag to evenly coat and voilà! Easy snack, great for kids and adults alike.

Thanks for reading through! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

General update

Sorry for the delay in posts! I've been very busy cooking and eating but not blogging. I wasn't sure where to start with my posts so I thought I'd just give a general update. Liz was here! We made lots of yummy food which you will find out about in future posts which will hopefully pop up today and tomorrow on the blog. We explored Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver and my tummy was very happy with all the good food we had. Today my plan is to catch up on episodes CBS Sunday Morning while I do some blogging.

My brother sent me this photo this morning- it's me circa early 1990s. I still get this excited about food!!

My dad circa late 1970s to early 1980s. This is such a bad ass picture!

Michael and I have been enjoying the outdoors- yesterday we went on a 7.5 mile hike with some new friends. We hiked Grey Rock, in the Poudre Canyon near Fort Collins. It was an awesome hike and we are exhausted but so happy we spent all day outside. We made it down the trail just in time for sunset. Phew! The weather forecast for our area says we'll be enjoying sunny days in the 60s and 70s all week. Yes! Welcome spring? We've also been busy watching Game of Thrones which just came out on DVD. So no blogging.

But really, why I wanted to do a general update was because I wanted to share some photos and talk about tea. My new-ish favorite tea, Tulsi Rose is lovely. It's supposed to be a stress reliever. We can all use some of that in our lives:) Happy weekend, everyone!

Also- isn't it wonderful to have a bowl full of fruit on the counter!?

Oh! And I just recently purchased Chloe Coscarelli's new cook book Chloe's Kitchen. I can't wait to try out these recipes!

Save your veggie scraps!

Since we don't yet have a composter, I started saving our veggie scraps (onion peels and ends, garlic ends,   carrot peels, celery ends, etc) in a plastic bag (that I've put in the freezer) to use one day to make homemade veggie broth. Stay tuned for more!

Beer rosemary pizza dough

This recipe was inspired by our trip to the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins last weekend. Try this with different kinds of good, interestingly flavored beers. I used some Fat Tire and then enjoyed the rest while I was cooking:) I also used some fresh rosemary that was left over from our rosemary focaccia with roasted garlic and cracked black pepper from a few weeks ago.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (I used 2 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs chopped, fresh rosemary
3/4 cup warm water
1.5 Tbs active dry yeast
1/4 cup beer

1. Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water and set aside to let it react and get frothy.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients and rosemary and drizzle in the olive oil.

3. Add the beer to the water/yeast mixture and add to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon and then your hand and knead a few times in the bowl. Let sit for about 15 minutes to rest.

4. Stretch out to desired pizza dough shape and top as you'd like and then bake at about 425ºF for 15 minutes.

Before toppings.

I drizzled some olive oil, then put on a few cloves of minced garlic,  emergency tomato sauce, steamed spinach, mushrooms, olives, red peppers and topped it with caramelized onions.

The end result! Delicious.

New Belgium Brewery

 Michael and I have been waiting a long time to go on a tour of the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins. Before today we had only tried their "Fat Tire" an amber ale, "Snow Day" a winter ale and "Blue Paddle" a pilsner. We love all 3 of these, but most of all we love Fat Tire. It's one of their most popular choices- if you try it you'll understand why. By the way, their beers are vegan friendly!

The brewery itself is a work of art- not just the architecture but they have quirky and tasteful pieces of art and little exhibits throughout the brewery. They also have a rock climbing wall, ping pong tables and pool tables for the employees. The people who work there are super fun and obviously love what they do. Heck, I'd quit my job in a second if I had a chance to work there!

If you want to tour New Belgium be sure to sign up well in advance for a tour. Weekend tours are hard to come by and you might have a one to two month wait. Weekday tours are much easier to get. We signed up for our tour the beginning of January just to be sure we could get it for this weekend. It was so well worth the wait! The tour is about 90 minutes long and is fun and informative. It was especially interesting to learn about all the sustainability practices followed by the brewery. Oh, did I mention you get 5 free samples on the tour!?

OK. Here is what we tried on the tour: 

1. "Abbey", a Belgian Style Ale. This was really good. I'm not great at describing beer so you should just go there yourself and try it.

2. "Biere de Mars", an ale brewed with spices. I liked this one a lot- it was earthy tasting and refreshing and also interesting.

3. We got to pour our own. I chose their springtime seasonal Pale Ale "Dig" and Michael tried the "1554" "Enlightened Black Ale". "Dig" was good but not great- but I'm comparing it to all their other beers that are all also really good. I think I was also comparing it too much to their winter seasonal beer "Snow Day" and they are not even in the same category really.

4. "Fat Tire" was next and Michael and I both remembered again how much we love this one. It's just really good.

5. "La Folie" was the last one on tour. This was one of the most interesting beers I've ever had. It's a sour beer- and not sour like it's gone bad but sour in a good way like a sour apple candy. I'd definitely get one of these again. It's not necessarily a beer I'd like to have with food but it's just great on its own.

After the tour (and all the time that they're open) you can order samples and normal sized beers at the bar. Sooo of course we tried a few more samples before heading to dinner:) It was really nice to sit for an hour or so at the bar and enjoy the atmosphere of the place.

Michael got the "Belgo" Belgian Style IPA and I ordered the "Trippel" which is a Belgian Style Ale brewed with coriander and I really really liked it. After that I ordered "Frambozen", a Raspberry Brown Ale. Sooo yummy. Now, I like all kinds of beers and not necessarily fruity beers but this was just so tasty. I could really see myself sitting outside enjoying a Frambozen on a warm summer evening. Apparently they don't always have this one in so I might just have to pick up a 6 pack to have on hand.

Oh! I forgot to mention that they have a slide at the end of the tour. Yes, an adult-friendly slide. Be sure to lift up your feet or you might scrape your elbow like I did:( I don't know, a slide seems kind of dangerous after 5 samples... Nah, it was just fun!

Before! All smiles!

After: I skinned my elbow:(

For a Valentine's Day present, Michael had me pick out a pair of earrings which are made out of a recycled can of Fat Tire. Coooool! If you don't know me, I collect jewelry from places I visit and I have a really nice (in my opinion!) collection of jewelry from all over and I try to get pieces that remind me of the places. So for example, I was in Nice, France and I picked up a pair of beaded earrings that look like palm trees and I was at the Oregon Coast and I got some Agate earrings because my favorite restaurant in Eugene, Oregon is the Agate Alley Bistro. I could keep going on and on about my jewelry from places but it's really not that exciting for anyone else out there. Anyways. These will be my official Fort Collins, Colorado earrings!

"i once was a beer can now i'm a pretty pair of earrings"

Naturtint Hair Dye

Photo courtesy of this site

I know this is supposed to be a food blog, but I couldn't help but share a good beauty product! I've been dying my hair on and off since I was 16, when I found my first gray hair (yikes). My great aunt was completely gray by the time she was in her mid 20s. Things were not looking up for me! Anyways, I just started to dye it more regularly because it's gotten worse as I've gotten into my mid-late 20s. The last few times I've been going to a salon to get it done and getting your hair colored at salon is so expensive!! The last time I went to get my hair trimmed and colored it cost over $100. Yikes. I can't swing that every month. Also- the chemicals from salon colors or from most boxed colors always smell really bad and the make my scalp hurt and they hurt my nose.

Sooo I was just thinking how I wish I knew of a more natural hair dye that would work well without hurting my scalp and that would be easy enough for me to do myself. I found this dye, Naturtint from the site "Healthy Bitch Daily". If you don't already subscribe to their daily emails you should- they are always pretty interesting and full of useful information. Anyways, they have a section called "What the Hell do I Buy" that is all about different natural beauty products and other things. They mentioned this product and I figured hey, $17 will not break the bank so I'm going to give it a try instead of going to a salon to get my hair done. The results were exactly as I hoped they'd be!! This is the first time I've dyed my own hair- usually my mom or a friend does it for me- or I'll go get it done at a salon. It was really easy and not too messy and there are no crazy chemicals that make your scalp itch and burn and the color is really nice! I used 3N- their dark chestnut brown and it's a natural looking color that still looks radiant and interesting. I can't really describe it but you should try out the product yourself if you're looking to save some money/your scalp and nose. Also- they don't test on animals and their product packaging is recyclable. You can find it at your local store- I'm SURE Wegmans has it if you're lucky enough to live near one of those. I got mine at Sprouts but I've seen it at Whole Foods and Sunflower. You might be able to find it at your local store! Or order it online:)

Super Bowl spread!

We had a few friends over yesterday for a Super Bowl get-together and it was a lot of fun! Here is a picture and list of food we had. The menu included:

cashew queso dip
spinach artichoke dip
chips and salsa (we bought peach this same peach salsa)
veggies and apple slices
rosemary focaccia bread with roasted garlic and cracked black pepper
roasted curry chickpeas
mini crustless quiches with "bacon", green onion, red pepper and rosemary
lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting
puppy chow or "muddy buddies"

I linked the above recipes I posted on the blog.

It was a lot of food BUT I wasn't overwhelmed with the cooking. I made the quiches and cupcakes on Saturday and the queso dip Sunday morning and reheated it before people came over. I also made the spinach dip early and then just popped it into the oven before we were ready to eat it. You could even chop the veggies ahead of time and stick them in baggies in the fridge.